Notes on This Issue       Editor       1994


Vol. CXIV           January 1994               No. 1
New Church Life
     A MONTHLY MAGAZINE DEVOTED TO THE TEACHINGS REVEALED THROUGH EMANUEL SWEDENBORG
     PUBLISHED BY THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM
Rev. Donald L. Rose, Editor
Mr. Neil M. Buss, Business Manager
     PRINTED BY ASAP PRINTING AND COPYING
SOUTHAMPTON, PA 18966
SUBSCRIPTION $12.00 TO ANY ADDRESS. SINGLE COPY $1.25
Second-class postage paid at Bryn Athyn, PA
     More than a hundred full-time students (and several part-time) are enjoying the school year at the College of the Academy of the New Church. Among the great assets of this college are the teachers who so evidently care about the students, and who have a deep commitment to the purpose of the institution. Doesn't this come through clearly in the article by Rev. Prescott Rogers on page 11?
     It is important for people to know about the highly useful cooperative education program at the college. Read what Cameron Pendleton says from the student's point of view (p. 14) and then what Ed Allen says from the employer's point of view.
     Applications for the fall term should be received by the college by March 1, 1994. Applications for the spring term of the present year, beginning March 15, 1994, are acceptable if received by February 1st. Contact Mr. Brian Henderson. Phone (215) 947-2511; fax 938-2658.
     Rev. Lawson Smith is pastor in Durban, South Africa. His sermon evokes the great judgment scene of the Apocalypse.
     Many of us have strong affection for a certain song. We sing it at weddings and baptisms and banquets and birthdays. It is part of the life of the church. But could we sing it better? See page 21.
     The eight letters in this issue come from Spain and England and from coast to coast in the United States. Incidentally, do you know that there is a good supply of missionary books in Spanish? If interested, write to the editor.
     We are pleased to have to cope with articles and communications that always fill an issue to overflowing. Think about the communication factor in this and other publications when you read Rev. Ragnar Boyesen's two-page article on a "living church."

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LIBERATING JUDGMENT 1994

LIBERATING JUDGMENT       Rev. Lawson M. Smith       1994

     "And I saw a great white throne and Him who sat on it, from whose face the earth and heaven fled away. And there was found no place for them" (Rev. 20:11).

     This is the great judgment scene in the book of Revelation. The dead stand before God's throne and the books are opened, and each is judged according to his life. Anyone not found written in the Book of Life-anyone whose life does not meet the standard of the Lord's Word-is cast into the lake of fire. If we can picture ourselves standing facing God upon the judgment seat, waiting to be judged to heaven or hell, it is a terrifying thing to picture. The book of Revelation is full of such vivid, often frightening and confusing, images.     
     We are greatly blessed to have the Heavenly Doctrine to help us understand this mysterious book. The Writings' clear, calmly rational explanation gives us a great sense of the steadfast love and orderliness of God, yet it also underlines the warning and promise implied in the literal story. The doctrine helps us see that these things which John saw taking place on a grand scale also take place within each of us. The overall message is that a crisis, such as is described in the first twenty chapters of Revelation, leading up to the judgment, is something we must face to clear the way for the descent of the beautiful Holy City. Revelation teaches us what kind of judgment it is, why it is necessary, and also the heavenly state for which the judgment prepares us.
     The lesson said that earth and heaven fled away from the face of Him who sat on the throne. The next chapter begins, "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away." Some Christians have interpreted these passages as predicting the destruction of this natural world.

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But the Writings say that these words actually refer to lands and skies in the spiritual world, where we all live after death. The heaven and earth that passed away were false pseudo-heavens in the other world that needed to be cleared away before a genuine, truly heavenly state could be established there.
     How did there get to be false heavens? From the time of the Lord's first coming almost 2000 years ago, as people died, they streamed into the spiritual world. The spiritual world consists of heaven and hell. There is also an intermediate region called the world of spirits. This is like a great airport or train station. People coming from many different places mix and then separate into groups, going to many different destinations.
     In this natural world we cannot tell who is really good or evil inside. We often do not even know about ourselves. There are many outward pressures and incentives for us to behave well, whatever goals or motives we may have at heart. In the world of spirits after death, however, our true character gradually becomes clear, both to ourselves and to others. Accordingly we choose our ultimate destinies.
     But it began to happen that people who acted well morally and civilly only for the sake of a good reputation and its advantages, not for the Lord's sake, were allowed to stay in the world of spirits. These were men and women who appeared to be good Christians. They attended church faithfully, they prayed, they discussed religious topics, and they kept up an honest outward appearance. With them were others who were really good at heart. But the first group, though they pretended to be good Christians, secretly committed adultery, stale or extorted money from others, took revenge and abused positions of power. If caught, they excused their misdeeds by church-sanctioned works of penance. Their church leaders taught that no one can keep the ten commandments since we are only human, and that we are not obligated even to try, since we are saved by the sheer mercy of God, not by our own goodness.

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     By outward piety, unscrupulous, hypocritical leaders-both clergy and lay-built up followings From among the good people in the world of spirits. They began to call their communities and churches "heavens." They used various powerful tools of persuasion to glorify their positions of eminence.
     The world of spirits, which was meant to be only a way station toward heaven or hell, became more and more choked with these false heavens, made up of hypocrites mixed with good people who could not see what was wrong. The great majority of people in the early Christian Church were simple men. They had grown up in the sphere of their church, and they tended to go on trusting their ministers or priests in the other world as they had on earth. The church taught morality and obedience to the civil law (though many of its leaders didn't practice them). Men who could see some of the corruption infesting the church still lacked clear, doctrinal arguments based on the Lord's Word to cut through the great web of lies that was built up. They did not have the influence to combat the established church.
     People on earth were strongly affected by these false heavens in the other world. Our spiritual life-our affections and emotions, our feelings and values-are transmitted to us by way of spirits who are like us in the spiritual world. As the false heavens began to control the attitudes and thinking of people in the other world, so they began to close the minds of people on earth as well. They were like dark clouds, shutting out the warmth of feeling and light of truth from heaven to men and women on earth.
     At last there came a point when these false heavens had multiplied to the point that spiritual freedom was about to perish. The spiritual night had become so dark and cold that people would not even have the opportunity to choose between heaven and hell.
     The Writings compare the world of spirits to the stomach and digestive tract, where foods are broken down and separated into the useful and non-useful parts, and each is routed where it needs to go.

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The situation before the last judgment was like a breakdown of the digestive processes, so that food accumulates in the stomach and bowels until the body is in danger of death.
     Then the Lord initiated the last judgment on the Christian Church in the spiritual world. Essentially, what He did was to teach the truth again. The truth is what brings about a judgment. Some people love the truth and are drawn to it. They see that while the truth may point out ways in which they must repent, it opens the way to a new, happier, more productive life. Others find the truth disagreeable, and the more the truth is pressed home, the more they hate it. It shatters illusions that hid the wickedness of their lives. It exposes the fact that they have no right to exercise control over others. The whole framework of their doctrine, philosophy and outlook is a lie.
     Describing the nature of His judgment, the Lord said, "God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned, but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the judgment, that light has come into the world, and men loved darkness better than light because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God" (John 3:17-21, emphasis added).
     The word for "judgment" in the New Testament means separation, as in the parable of the sheep being separated from the goats. The purpose of the judgment was to set the good, or those who wanted to be good, free from the domination and lies of the evil.
     At first the Lord sent His angels to visit the communities of the false heavens to preach the truth.

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They taught, for example, that the Lord did not hand over the keys of heaven to Peter and the popes. The angels taught people to practice repentance by changing the ways they lived their lives. They taught that we cannot rely on a mere oral profession of faith in Christ as the Savior, or on penance in the form of gifts of money to the church and pilgrimages to shrines. They proclaimed that there is only one God, the Lord Jesus Christ, and that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all attributes of the one God, who is our Creator, Redeemer and Savior.
     Good people listened carefully and began to separate themselves from the leaders of the churches. The evil argued and fought back viciously in every way. John saw the evil spirits in the form of a dragon, which he called the Devil and Satan. They went out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth, and to call multitudes together to help them fight. They went up and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city.
     But the truth is the truth and, especially in the spiritual world, it cannot be hidden forever. Once it is clearly presented, it is overwhelming, especially in the spiritual world. Finding their control over the minds of good people broken, the evil gradually gave up pretending to be moral, pretending to love religion. Their real character became obvious-all the ugly, ferocious hatefulness of it. John saw it as fire coming down from God out of heaven upon them, but Swedenborg says that actually the fire was symbolic of their own fierce anger and lust, and that is what devoured their souls-not God.
     So the false heavens were dissipated as the evil fled away from God, away from the truth, to hell. Meanwhile, good people joined together in a common love and acknowledgment of the truth, of their Lord, and of the life of religion, The Lord formed them into new communities of heaven.
     The very truth which dispelled the former heavens and brought about the judgment also formed the new heavens and the New Church.

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The doctrine says, "The Lord brings destruction on no one, but only guards His own and withdraws them from communication with the evil" (Contin. LJ 28). The evil chose their response to the truth. They could not stand the spheres of goodness and truth-spheres of genuine honesty, of clean love of marriage, of unselfish love of serving the neighbor, of delight in understanding the Lord's Word. So the evil rushed away from the heavenly sphere to where they could be with others like themselves. This is hell, while the other spheres are heaven. The judgment is a freely chosen response to the truth and the good life the truth describes.
     The reason the Lord revealed the Heavenly Doctrine was to re-establish human freedom. He gives us the tools and the opportunity to prepare ourselves for heaven, and He urges us to use His tools and take full advantage of our opportunity. But He does not force us.
     Now that the Lord has given mankind the Heavenly Doctrine, freedom and access to the truth are insured forever. Never again will false heavens get built up in the world of spirits, because now the truth is so plainly revealed that evil cannot hide. At His first coming, the Lord taught many things in parables. He said to His disciples, "I [still] have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth. . . . These things I have said to you in parables, but the time is coming . . . when I will tell you plainly about the Father" (John 16:12-13, 25).
     Now that time has come, and the Lord has told us plainly about the Father-about His own Divine love, which is meant by "the Father." Now, as we read in Apocalypse Revealed, people do not stay in the world of spirits more than about twenty years before they have completely sorted themselves out, either for heaven or for hell.
     It is a wonderful thing that the process of revelation is now complete, and that order and freedom are established forever. This is why the New Church, meant by the New Jerusalem, is called the crown of all the churches.

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     This whole great drama takes place in each of us. We have within us a whole mixture of good and bad states. There are elements of genuine Christianity with us: sincere love of the Lord and the neighbor, love of use in our daily occupations, and love of the ideals of marriage. But we also have tendencies to dominate and control others, and pride in our own intelligence (as if that could save us). We pick up spurious or false principles from the culture around us, largely based on fallen states of religion. We tend toward apathy in thinking about religious things, even eternal life. Spheres of evil from the spiritual world make it hard for us to make any real changes in our lives. Many false heavens and panaceas are proposed in the world around us, as if we could make heaven on earth just by human intelligence-by science, government programs, social planning, education without relation to the Lord's Word, even by acquiring certain possessions. We tend to accept some of these ideas and the values they present.
     This is why the story of the judgment preceding the descent of the Holy City will always be relevant, even though the historical events of the last judgment took place 200 years ago. We will always need the Heavenly Doctrine to show us the true meanings of the Old and New Testaments, and to tell us plainly about our Father. We will always need to keep exploring the truth, and our lives in the light of it, so that we may not be led astray by spheres from hell working within us and through the world around us.
     The Lord said, "If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed, and you shall know~ the truth, and the truth shall make you free." Let us rejoice in the revelation given us by the Lord out of heaven, and take full advantage of the freedom and opportunity for spiritual growth the Lord offers us. Equipped with principles from the Word, we can be leaders, not people who follow multitudes to do evil. We can see through false heavens of pleasure without purpose, external traditions without meaning, outward remedies to human problems without internal change.

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We can be filled with hope and zeal to practice real repentance of life. May the Lord's truth shine in our minds and hearts, so that we may separate ourselves more and more from what is evil and false, and the Holy City may descend into our lives. Then, when the day comes for our own last judgment in the spiritual world, and the book of our life is opened before the throne of God, the Lord may smile at us and say, "Well done, good and faithful servant. Enter into the joy of your Lord." Amen.
     Lessons: Rev. 20; AR 865:1, 866:2 MAPLE LEAF ACADEMY '94 1994

MAPLE LEAF ACADEMY '94       Editor       1994

     Festival of Friends

     Silver Anniversary

     Maple Leaf Academy will take place Thursday, June 23 through Thursday, June 30 at Caribou Lodge, Wood Lake, Muskoka, Ontario, Canada. Come join us for this unique New Church summer camp for teenagers entering 10th grade and up. Maple is a blend of worship, recreation, instruction and conversation, focusing on the campers' relationships with themselves, their friends, their religion and the Lord.
     The cost of the camp is $150 Canadian ($113 U.S.). The bus from Kitchener or Toronto to the camp and return is an additional $30 Canadian ($23 U.S.-20/$15 one way). For further information or to apply, contact the Rev. Michael Cowley, 40 Chapel Hill Drive, Kitchener, Ont., Canada N2G 3W5 (phone 519 748-5802).

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ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH COLLEGE 1994

ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH COLLEGE       Various       1994

     Some Recent Material Promoting the College

     WHY NEW CHURCH HIGHER EDUCATION?
     WHY THE ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH COLLEGE?

     The Academy of the New Church College has a dual responsibility: an education that has quality both in terms of academic standards and in terms of spiritual goals. This can be called liberal arts education plus, or a higher education with real meaning. The overall mission of the college is to prepare students for a positive participation in civil life, in moral life, and in spiritual life-all at the same time. The last is what makes all New Church education distinctive and uniquely valuable.
     Because of the Heavenly Doctrines, teachers in all levels of New Church education have a wonderful opportunity. From spiritual truths we educators can understand: the development of the human mind; what constitutes healthy and unhealthy goals, methods and attitudes; how to build healthy relationships with the Lord, with one's spouse, with one's family, and with others with whom a person shares his life; what it means to live simultaneously on the spiritual plane, the moral plane and the civil plane of life; how a person becomes an angel while he is still alive on this planet. These are but a few concepts that guide only New Church teachers and which can be passed on to students who are capable and willing to appropriate them.
     Every level of education offered in the General Church has a unique role to play in this overall mission. Each meets the needs of the developing human mind from childhood through adolescence into adulthood. The natural mind by which we are conscious has three levels, and each level is most active at one of the three stages of development. The sensuous level is dominant in childhood (elementary education), the imaginative level is dominant in adolescence (secondary education), and the rational level is dominant in adulthood (college and above). One level is dominant at any one time, and either or both of the other two might be opened or closed. For example, in early college a student is passing from a time when the imaginative was dominant, the sensuous was open and the rational was opening, to a time when the rational is dominant and the sensuous and the imaginative are open.

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He has some use of the rational, but not full use, and not use of the full rational. He is like Superboy who, when he learned the power of flying, kept soaring into mountains and other parts of the terrain with considerable damage. Like Superboy, he needs to learn how to control his power (the rational) and to use it to fight against evil for the sake of society.     
     Here is the true value of New Church higher education. When all students enter any college, or when all adolescents become adults, they have the ability to understand spiritual truths from and for themselves-for this is the purpose and function of the rational level of the natural mind. But only at the Academy of the New Church College will they be taught these truths in formal education, which is the easiest and most efficient format for young adults to learn. They learn these truths in the intellectual and emotional environment of mutual support, for they all attend the college for essentially the same reason. They are taught how to use these truths for the improvement of their own lives and the lives of others-in a way that they can understand for themselves. This is the time of their lives when they can for the first time form their own faith and their own charity, and they do this when they are properly stimulated, encouraged, and directed, and when they choose for themselves to follow the Lord by doing His will. Students learn to use the as-of-self in a rational way. They do this in a nurturing environment with a great deal of individual attention.
     All of the college's courses to some extent participate in this glorious adventure, for subject matter is taught in the light of the Heavenly Doctrines according to the scope and rigor of academic discipline required of collegiate courses. And it is truly a delight to witness in almost every student an awareness of how the truth and good of the Lord are present in all aspects of creation, and how the various forms of the truth and good are connected. Courses come together. Subjects relate to each other. A unity is seen. In this way a student at the Academy of the New Church College gains an enlightened view of his present world and the world that awaits him.
     Rev. Prescott A. Rogers

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     CO-OPERATIVE EDUCATION AT THE ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH COLLEGE

     Students who choose to attend the Academy of the New Church College now have an exciting set of possibilities open to them. Through the Cooperative Education program they can receive college credit for working out in the "real world." This program expands students' horizons and enables them to try on a given type of work for size. Each co-op matches a student's needs and wishes with possibilities offered by an employer.
     Students who participate in the program keep a daily journal of their experiences and then write a paper upon completion of their co-op, relating their experiences to some aspect of New Church doctrine. Participating students must have been at the college for two terms and have maintained at least a B- average.
     A co-operative education program benefits both students and employers. It not only gives the students the opportunity to try on a career for size, but it will make their academic work much more relevant when they return to their studies. Employers get young, eager workers at low cost while at the same time possibly recruiting students for later positions.
     We would love to hear from employers who might be interested in having a bright young New Church college student helping out in their workplaces. In the four years of the program's existence, students have done co-ops in fields as diverse as aerospace, television news and midwifery. Since co-ops are not limited to the Bryn Athyn area, the program has also given some students the opportunity to experience living and working in other New Church communities, some with the result that they stayed on and became a part of those communities.
     Rev. Jonathan S. Rose,
          Director of Cooperative Education,
          Academy of the New Church College

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     A CO-OP STUDENT'S PERSPECTIVE

     In the fall of 1987 I enrolled at the Academy of the New Church College, where I took a variety of course work with an emphasis in math and science. After two years at the Academy, I transferred to the Penn State main campus, where I finished my undergraduate course work, graduating with a degree in Mechanical Engineering.
     In addition to academic work at the Academy and Penn State, I had the opportunity to work a summer internship at Orbital Sciences Corporation in Phoenix, Arizona. OSC designs, builds, and launches rockets ranging from defense-related test missiles to vehicles for transporting and placing commercial satellites into orbit. My experience at OSC was by far the single most significant factor in defining the profession I would enter. Among the many benefits of an internship/co-op experience, there are two that have been prominent in my life.
     First, the program helped to "bring alive" the theory I was taught in the classroom. The co-op enabled me to see that theory was something applied in industry, not just an answer on an exam or team project. The experience caused me to focus on real-world applications when introduced to new engineering concepts after I returned to college from my internship.
     Second, the program put me in a good position for the job search that followed college. Not only did I "have my foot in the door" at OSC, but I also had a frame of reference with which to compare other job possibilities. I ended up returning to OSC, where I am currently employed full-time.
     The program also introduced me to the New Church community here in Phoenix. Life here is different than in the big church community I was used to in Bryn Athyn.
     I would strongly recommend that students at the Academy take full advantage of the co-op program. I feel that the benefits will carry over into any co-op in any field. There are valuable lessons that can be learned only outside the classroom, and these lessons will make the classroom even more valuable to those who learn them.
     Cameron Pendleton,
          Phoenix, Arizona

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     A CO-OP SPONSOR'S PERSPECTIVE

     At Orbital Sciences Corporation we view cooperative education as a tool to find and develop high-quality workers. From the employer's view, we encourage cooperative student work programs either during or between school semesters.
     The objective of industry is to perform a use by delivering an affordable, reliable product. An objective of an academic institution is to graduate students who can produce in industry. It is the
employer's responsibility to hire people with the right qualities to do the job, and to encourage the employee to develop into a long-term productive member of the organization.
     The key qualities we look for in an employee are integrity, ability, incentive and endurance. Integrity is at the top of the list, and it includes a civil, moral, and spiritual life. New Church education is unique in that it provides an education for the spiritual as well as the natural life, wherein the goal is regeneration through a life of uses.
     We benefit greatly from cooperative education as part of our employee recruiting. Labor is low-cost and high-output; we have always received our money's worth. Students are flexible to change, for they do not have prior company habits. They have a state-of-the-art education and ability to apply the latest tools, such as computers and associated software. We can guide them in selecting appropriate follow-up courses to meet future needs. This is a low-risk approach to evaluate a future work force.
     Program participants at OSC have each worked for engineers to support analyses, design, hardware assembly, testing, and technical reporting. Participants have included: Brent Allen, Clinton Cole, Mark Cooper, Brett Gladish, and Cameron Pendleton.
     Further, these students are a community asset; they can be the basis for significant growth in a New Church society.
     Ed Allen,
          Chandler, Arizona

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LIVING CHURCH 1994

LIVING CHURCH       Rev. RAGNAR BOYESEN       1994

     Modern men claim that a true quality of life can and must be a product of society as a whole, and from society that quality is given or transferred to the individual in that society.
     In the New Church we believe the opposite to be the reality. The Lord cannot gift a group with love, wisdom and perception from without. These spiritual qualities can be given only to the individual through an internal way as these individuals live and breathe causes greater than self.
     By inspiring individuals with a love greater than self-love, the Lord draws man toward a new and richer life. This is what the famous Russian author Pasternak refers to when he says "the fellowship among mortals is immortal."
     Truly experiencing a fellow human being, or just having a meaningful contact with other people, must spring from an inner essence. When what is of the Lord is among people, communication takes place through good: " . . . communication takes place solely through good, and not through truth unless there is good in the truth" (AC 5794). Without communication from good among people, there would be no religion, no culture, no useful occupations. Our history would not be human, but a part of zoology.
     The Lord cannot cast our lives in a common crucible of group faith, group hope, and group charity. The spiritual treasures of faith, hope and charity can be nurtured only in the individual. When these heavenly treasures are shared, then this quality of life will grow until it sparks new ideals and life forms which in turn can come to belong to the group, society or nation. Society registers the spiritual in the natural from each individual who receives the Lord.
     The Lord cannot govern a group as a whole apart from its parts. His leading must be established in human minds, which are individual receivers of His message of love and wisdom.

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This brings us to the crucial point of real life. Only an individual can love. No group can love. At best, society consists of those who love similar goals and ideals. The New Church, therefore, has resurrected the acknowledgment that the church in itself is individual, but primarily for the sake of others, not just for the sake of the individual. Even though it is my church and your church, it becomes our church when we give the best we have to it.
     Each person must take responsibility for asking the Lord to renew the church within himself so that it can remain real outside of himself. This idea is brought out in the teaching that in heaven "everyone is as it were a center to all the rest" (AC 549). This is the spirit of heaven where "the very nature of love finds . . . its joy in being of service to others not for the sake of self but for the love's own sake" (AC 548).
     There is a reciprocal connection between the individual and the group. When an individual communicates his own happiness to others, this not only enriches society, but reflects back to its individual members in a powerful way. The individual benefits from the sphere of the whole, receiving more than he has given.
     The Lord can inspire only individuals to love, but through a number of individuals loving others more than self, there can be a heavenly completeness which transcends the individual. This is the Lord among us.
DAILY READINGS IN 1994 1994

DAILY READINGS IN 1994       Editor       1994

     In February the daily readings (available from the Secretary of the General Church) include the longest of the Psalms (no. 119). On the 20th the reading will be from Apocalypse Explained 560 concerning the sting in the tail: "It is believed in the world that those who are crafty and shrewd are also prudent and intelligent; but craftiness and malice are not prudence and intelligence, but . . . insanity and folly."

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Experience of No-Self 1994

Experience of No-Self       Lois Stewart Sharpsteen       1994

     The Experience of No-Self: A Contemplative Journey by Bernadette Roberts, Revised 1983, 211 pages, State University of New York Press. [This is a viewpoint on the proprium.-Ed]

     Have you ever wondered what it would be like to experience life in the celestial state while living on the earth? Swedenborg gives one description of this state in AC 141: " . . . the celestial man discerns that the Lord is the life of all and gives the power to think and act, for he perceives that it is really so." Perhaps some of you have experienced this state fleetingly. So had Bernadette Roberts, but she did not expect to be able to live in this perception permanently. This is the story of her unexpected journey to a life without and beyond self.
     Part I describes a two-year journey in which the author experienced the falling away of everything that she calls a self. Part II comprises the author's comments on questions raised by friends who had read the account. Her attempts to describe the indescribable, that is, the permanent state into which she emerged, are scattered throughout the text. She no longer has any sense of a life that she can call her own (p. 26). Life without a self is a "dimension that can only be lived, not one that can be understood . . . " (p. 181). "Where before thought had been the product of a reflecting, introspective, objectifying mechanism-ever colored with personal feelings and biases-now what is to be known is spontaneously there. Furthermore, the known arises in the now-moment, which is solely concerned with the immediate present, thus making it invariably practical. This is undoubtedly a restrictive state of mind, but it is a blessed restrictiveness" (p. 95). She calls life with self "non-doing" or "self-activity," and life without self, "doing." When balancing on a walking beam, non-doing finds no foothold, whereas in doing, something is there and "you know you are on a beam and doing as you are supposed to be doing."

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Doing has replaced "willing or that energy we once experienced as life and being. Doing is an energyless non-reflective, effortless (no self energies involved) activity that must be distinguished from a deliberate self-aware type of activity that needs constant effort and maintenance" (chapter 6, Part I).
     Bernadette Roberts is in her mid-forties when the journey begins with an unexpected permanent falling away of self. A period of two years follows in which she learns with difficulty to accommodate to life without self. She says that the transition was made more difficult than it might have been because of the unexpectedness of the change, and because she was unable to find help from accounts of anyone who had preceded her on this journey-except Christ! In the chapter "Where is Christ?" in Part II, she says that the answer to this question is the key to the entire journey.
     Upon completion of the journey she shares her experience with an elderly woman who has experienced a similar transition. The author concludes that this is a transition usually reserved for the elderly, and that a lot of living must take place before one is ready. She describes herself as a contemplative who has experienced brief states of no-self since childhood. At seventeen she experienced what contemplatives call "the dark night of the spirit" to emerge into the center or still-point of one's being (language of experience). This connection was tested for many years in what she calls "the market place." She describes these years in her book The Path to No-Self. She comes to the conclusion that self is given to us by God, and that when, by our choices, we have obtained that required degree of unition, self is no longer necessary and is taken away by God. What remains is a question that she asks herself; the answer is perhaps impossible to convey to anyone who hasn't arrived at this state, which includes the reviewer. Nonetheless, this account resonates with me.
     Lois Stewart Sharpsteen

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STATEMENT OF FAITH 1994

STATEMENT OF FAITH       Leslie Sheppard       1994

     I believe that there is one God, the Creator and Preserver of all things, who came into the world as our Lord Jesus Christ in order to redeem and save mankind.
     I believe that by victories in temptation the Lord overcame the hells and so redeemed mankind, and that by means of those same victories He glorified His Human and became the Redeemer and Saviour to eternity.
     I believe that in the Lord Jesus Christ is the Divine Trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, that is, the Divine Itself, the Divine Human, and the Divine Saving Power.
     I believe that the Sacred Scriptures are the inspired Word of the Lord, the source of all wisdom for angels and men.
     I believe that if I would be saved, I must, in the Lord's strength, shun all evils as sins against Him and live according to His commandments.
     I believe that when my physical body dies, I shall live in the spiritual world in my spiritual body.
     I believe that the purpose of creation is a heaven of angels from the human race, and that those in every nation who believe in God and love their fellow-men, also all who die in childhood, enter heaven after death to enjoy a life of use to eternity, whereas those who love evil rather than good make their abode in hell.
     I believe that the Lord has made His Second Coming by revealing the internal sense of His Word and the Heavenly Doctrines contained therein, and that He is forming a New Church which is signified by the Holy City, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven.
     I believe in the universal and constant Providence of our Lord, whose tender mercies are over all His works.
     Leslie Sheppard

Note: Mr. Sheppard was ordained in June of 1992 and is now serving in Brisbane, Australia.

21


THOUGHTS ON SINGING "OUR GLORIOUS CHURCH" 1994

THOUGHTS ON SINGING "OUR GLORIOUS CHURCH"       LACHLAN PITCAIRN       1994

     There is a wonderful song which we sing for many important occasions. Unfortunately, we have forgotten to think about the words we are singing, and have gotten into bad habits which tend to detract from the importance of the song.
     We start out well: "Our glorious church, thou heav'nly bride, Jerusalem restored." Now comes the first problem: we hold and emphasize "Within" instead of moving right ahead to the important words, "thy pearly portals opened wide."
     Next problem: we hold and emphasize "The" instead of moving to the important words, "nations ever shall in light abide."
     Then, think about and emphasize the following words that are in italics:

     To worship in the opened Word
     The [no emphasis] glory of the Lord.
     Descending from [no emphasis; cut it short] the Lord above,
     Thy beauty shall not cease,
     For [do not emphasize] in thine inmost shrine that holy dove [holy dove is important],
     The [don't hold or emphasize] sweet pure spirit of conjugial love [spirit and conjugial love are the important thoughts in this line],
     Shall dwell forever [cut the 'ev' short] and increase, Thine innocence [cut the first syllable of 'innocence' short] and peace.

     When I suggest emphasizing, I don't mean hitting these words at all hard. Just think about all the words you are singing and put expression into them.

22



     Think of what you are trying to express, and to whom you are singing, when you sing "Our Glorious Church." Try singing it to yourself.
     If we put our hearts into this song, it will be worth singing. The same is true for all our worship songs.

     Our Glorious Church.

     1.      Our glorious Church, thou heavnly Bride, Jerusalem restored, Within thy pearly portals opened wide, The nations ever shall in light abide, To worship in the opened Word The glory of the Lord.
     2.      Descending from the Lord above, Thy beauty shall not cease, For in thine inmost shrine that holy dove, The sweet pure spirit of conjugial love, Shall dwell for ever, and increase, Thine innocence and peace.

23


FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OF THE GENERAL CHURCH 1994

FINANCIAL STATEMENTS OF THE GENERAL CHURCH       Ernst and Young       1994

     For the Year Ended December 31, 1992 with the Report of Independent Auditors
     ERNST and YOUNG               Two Commerce Square     Phone: 215 448-5000
                               Suite 1000                    Fax: 215 418 4069
                               2001 Market Street
                               Philadelphia
                               Pennsylvania 19103-7096
     Report of Independent Auditors

The Board of Directors
General Church of the New Jerusalem

We have audited the accompanying balance sheer of the General Church of the New Jerusalem as of December 31, 1992, and the related statements of support, revenue, expenses, capital additions and changes in fund balances and of cash flows for the year then ended. These financial statements are the responsibility of the Church's management. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on these financial statements based on our audit.

We conducted our audit in accordance with generally accepted auditing standards. Those standards require that we plan and perform the audit to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. An audit includes examining, on a test basis, evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures m the financial statements. An audit also includes assessing the accounting principles used and significant estimates made by management, as well as evaluating the overall financial statement presentation. We believe that our audit provides a reasonable basis for our opinion.

In our opinion, the financial statements referred to above present fairly, in all material respects, the financial position of the General Church of the New Jerusalem at December 31, 1992, and the results of its operations and its cash flows for the year then ended m conformity with generally accepted accounting principles.

     [Signed Ernst and Young]
April 16, 1993

24



     

General Church of the New Jerusalem
Balance Sheet
December 31, 1992 with comparative totals for 1991
                                             Expendable      Nonexpendable          Total
                                        Funds          Funds          1992          1991
                                                            (Memorandum Only)
Assets                                        
Cash and cash equivalents                         634,474          3,002,492     3,636,966     4,204,181
Accounts receivable, principally from related entities               1,152,268     460,168          1,612,436     1,508,667
Inventory                                   97,312                    97,312          110,640
Prepaid expenses                              183,250                    183,250          127,115
Loans to related societies and employees                    2,164,823               2,164,823     2,309,043
Loan to Cairnwood Village, Inc.                         696,600                    696,600          701,040
Investments                                   3,822,648     29,118,936     32,41,584     31,987,342
Investments designated for pension (market - $18,782,000)          8,319,348               8,319,348     7,748,923
Investments designated for investment savings plan
     (market - $6,022,000)                         2,580,261               2,580,261     2,430,261
Land, buildings and equipment, net of accumulated depreciation     1,308,876               1,308,876     1,366,158
Intangible asset - pension                              4,978,371               4,978,371     5,622,593
Due from expendable funds                                   140,689          140,689          143,089
                                        25,938,231     32,722,285     58,660,516     58,259,052
     Liabilities and fund balances
Accounts payable                              312,144                    312,144          352,791
Agency funds                                   378,264                    378,264          370,251
Loans payable                                   540,000                    540,000          512,000
Due to nonexpendable funds                         140,689                    140,689          143,089
Deferred capital support                                        493,175          493,175          536,604
Annuities payable                                        90,515          90,515          120,075
Pension liability                                   10,847,115               1,847,115     10,267,305
Investment savings plan liability                         2,794,982               2,794,982     2,864,077
                                        15,013,194     583,690          15,596,884     15,166,192
     Fund balances:
Unrestricted - available for current operations               1,701,441               1,701,441     1,933,807
           - designated for specific purposes               8,894,433               8,894,333     9,468,052
Restricted - available for current operations                    329,263                    329,263          164,628
Endowment                                             32,138,595     32,138,595     31,526,283
                                        10,925,037     32,138,595     43,063,632     43,092,860
     See accompanying notes.

25



     

General Church of the New Jerusalem
Statement of support, Revenue, Expenses, Capital Additions and Changes in Fund Balances
December 31, 1992 with comparative totals for 1991
                                             Expendable      Nonexpendable          Total
                                        Funds          Funds          1992          1991
                                                            (Memorandum Only)
Support and revenue:
Contributions and bequests                         1,075,390     92,148          1,167,538     1,821,350
Investment income                              2,707,785     360,417          3,068,202     3,155,508
Printing and publishing                              139,434                    139,434          208,407
Gain on sale of investments                         315          25,929          26,244          15,964
Other revenue                                   219,148          6,910          226,058          64,396
Total support and revenue                              4,142,072     485,404          4,627,476     5,265,625
Expenses:
Program services:
     Pastoral and educational                         406,384                    406,384          389,550
     South African Mission                         39,440                    39,440          37,544
     Information and others services                    329,792                    329,792          289,743
     Employee benefits                         799,798                    799,798          513,388
     Development grants to societies                    134,104          4,419          138,523          57,145
     Pension expense                              1,903,726               1,903,726     1,813,835
     Other services                              346,352          203,552          549,904          521,993
Total program services                              3,959,596     207,971          4,167,567     3,623,198
Supporting services:
     Administration                              843,016                    843,016          930,193
Total expenses                                   4,802,612     207,971          5,010,58     4,553,391
Excess (deficit) of support and revenue over expenses
     before capital additions and transfers               (660,540)     277,433          (383,107)     712,234
Capital additions:
     Contributions and bequests                              185,700          185,700          20,000
     Investment income                                   168,179          168,179          154,723
Total capital additions                                        353,879          353,879          174,723
Excess (deficit) of support and revenue over expenses
     after capital additions and transfers                    (660,540)     631,312          (29,228)     886,957
Transfers                                   19,000          (19,000)               
Excess (deficit) of support and revenue over expenses
     after capital additions and transfers                    (641,540)     612,312          (29,228)     886,957
Fund balances, beginning of year                         11,566,577     31,526,283     43,092,860     42,205,903
Fund balances, end of year                         10,925,037     32,138,595     43,063,632     43,092,860
     See accompanying notes.

26



     

General Church of the New Jerusalem
Statement of Cash Flows
December 31, 1992 with comparative totals for 1991
                                             Expendable      Nonexpendable          Total
                                        Funds          Funds          1992          1991
                                                            (Memorandum Only)
Cash flows from operating activities                    
Excess (deficit) of support and revenue over expenses
     after capital additions and transfers                    (641,540)     612,312          (29,228)     886,957     
Adjustments to reconcile excess (deficit) of support and revenue
     over expenses after capital additions and transfers to
     cash provided by operating activities:
     Depreciation                              41,444                    41,444          53,253
     Gain on sale of investments                    (315)          (25,929)     (26,244)     (15,964)

     Loss on disposals of equipment                    10,198                    10,198          
     Interest accretion on loan to Cairnwood Village, Inc.          (28,000)               (28,000)     (28,000)
     Pension expense                              1,903,826               1,903,726     1,813,835
     Changes in operating assets and liabilities:
          (Increase) decrease in accounts receivable          (237,351)     133,582          (103,769)     (374,364)
          Decrease in inventory                    13,328                    13,328          2,317
          Increase in prepaid expenses               (56,135)               (56,135)     (37,437)
          Decrease in due to/from expendable funds          (2,400)          2,400               
          Contributions of investments                         (20,000)     (20,000)     (640,900)
          Decrease in accounts payable               (40,647)               (40,647)     (31,098)
          Pension liability payments               (679,694)               (679,694)     (587,258)
          (Decrease) increase in investment savings
               Plan liability                    (69,095)               (69,095)     238,159
          (Decrease) increase in deferred capital support               (43,429)     (43,429)     62,259
          (Decrease) increase in annuities payable                    (29,560)     (29,560)     62,729
Cash provided by operating activities                    213,519          629,376          842,895          1,404,488
     Cash flows from investing activities
Increase (decrease) in loans to related societies and employees, net     144,220                    144,220          (66,016)
Payments received on loan to Cairnwood Village, Inc.          32,440                    32,440          49,460
Purchases of investments                              (1,529,035)     (1,026,665)     (2,555,700)     (402,024)
Expenditures for land, buildings and equipment, net               (31,960)               (31,960)     (474,607)
Proceeds on disposal of equipment                         37,600                    37,600          
Proceeds from sale of investments                         58,571          886,706          927,277          373,806
Cash used in investing activities                         (1,288,164)     (157,959)     (1,446,123)     (519,381)
     Cash flows from financing activities
Increase in loans payable                              28,000                    28,000          28,000
Increase (decrease) in agency funds                    8,018                    8,013          (208,713)
Cash provided by (used in) financing activities               36,013                    36,013          (180,713)
Net (decrease) increase in cash and cash equivalents               (1,038,632)     471,417          (567,215)     704,394
Cash and cash equivalents, beginning of year               1,673,106     2,531,057     4,204,181     3,499,787
Cash and cash equivalents, end of year                    634,474          3,002,492     3,636,966     4,204,181
     See accompanying notes.

27



     

General Church of the New Jerusalem
Notes to Financial Statements
Year ended December 31, 1992

I. Significant Accounting Policies

Basis of Presentation

The financial statements include the assets, liabilities, fund balances and financial activities of the General Church of the New Jerusalem which provides services at the level of administration above individual congregations. All significant balances and transactions among the funds included in the financial statements have been eliminated.

Statement of Cash Flows

Cash and cash equivalents refer to demand deposits with financial institutions and short-term highly liquid investments

Fund Accounting

In order to ensure the observance of limitations and restrictions placed on the use of resources available to the Church, the accounts of the Church are maintained in accordance with the principles of fund accounting. This is the procedure by which resources for various purposes are classified into funds established according to their nature and uses. In the accompanying financial statements, funds that have similar characteristics are combined into either expendable or nonexpendable fund groups Expendable funds are those available to finance the Church's programs and supporting services, including both unrestricted and restricted amounts. Nonexpendable funds represent contributions which are either permanently restricted by the donor (true-endowment) or are designated by the Board of Directors for a specified purpose (quasi-endowment) True endowment funds and quasi-endowment funds totaled approximately $14,934,000 and $17,162,000, respectively, at December 31, 1992.

All gains and losses arising from the sale of investments are accounted for in the fund that owned the investments income from investments is accounted for m the fund owning the assets, except for unrestricted income derived from investments of nonexpendable funds, which is accounted for as revenue of unrestricted expendable funds.

Capital additions represent true-endowment contributions and bequests, and the excess of restricted investment income over eligible expenses.

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1. Significant Accounting Policies (continued)

Investments

Investments are carried at the lower of market value or cost, if purchased, or fair value at the date of acquisition, if received as contributions. Gain or loss upon disposal of investments is calculated on a specific identification basis.

Inventory

Inventory is stated at the lower of cost or market using the first-in, first-out method of valuation

Land, Buildings and Equipment

     Land, buildings and equipment purchased are stated at cost, and land, buildings and equipment received as contributions are carried at fair value at date of donation.

Depreciation is provided for buildings and equipment using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the individual assets, ranging from five to forty years.

Income Taxes

The Church is exempt from income taxes under Section 501(c)13) of the Internal Revenue Code.

Pension Expense

The Church has a noncontributory deferred benefit pension plan covering substantially all full time employees (see Note 6) Contributions and benefit payment levels are determined by the Board of Directors.

Other Post-retirement Employee Benefits

The Church provides health care benefits for retired employees. As such the Church will be subject to Financial Accounting Standards Board Statement of Financial Accounting Standards No. 106 "Employer's Accounting for Postretirement Benefits Other than pensions." This statement is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 1994 and requires recognition of the cost of providing these healthcare benefits over the employee service period. The Church has not yet quantified the impact of this statement on its financial statements. In 1992, the Church incurred approximately $222.000 in retiree healthcare benefits.

29




2. Designated Fund Balances

The following summarizes the 1992 activity of unrestricted fund balances designated for specific purposes:
                                                   Support and
                              Fund Balance           Revenue and      Expenses
                                             and Fund      Balance
                              January 1, 1992      Other           Other          December 31,
                                   Changes      Changes      1992
Development                $3,029,509          $42,068     $113,599     $2,958,018
Pension (Note 6)          3,941,257          1,184,938     1,911,065     3,215,130
Other                     2,497,286          31,806          78,145          2,730,947
                    $9,468,052          $1,538,812     $2,102,769     $8,904,095
     
3. Investments

The composition and carrying value of investments at December 31, 1992 are as follows:
                                                       Expendable          Nonexpendable
                                                  Funds                Funds
New Church investment Fund                         $13,201,799           $26,367,496
Securities                                             373,691           1,594,580
Real estate                                         1,119,922          -
Mortgages receivable (interest rates ranging
     from 5-1/2% to 10%)                              -               603,077
Limited partnership interests                          6,721                553,783
Other                                    20,124               
                                                  $14,722,257           $29,118,936
     The following tabulation summarizes the relationship between carrying values and market values
of non-real estate investments at December 31, 1992:
                                        Expendable          Nonexpendable
                                                  Funds                Funds
Carrying value                                        $13,602,335           $29,118,936
Market value                                        30,256,520           62,303,409
Unrealized gain December 31, 1992                     16,654,185           33,184,473
Unrealized gain December 31, 1991                     16,372,758           29,072,703
Net unrealized gain for year                         $281,427           $4,111,770

30




3. Investments (continued)

The Church is a partner m the New Church Investment Fund (NCIF). Each individual fund of the Church subscribes to or disposes of units in the NCIF on the basis of the per unit market value at the time the transaction takes place. The Church receives income distributions from the NCIF based upon provisions of the NCIF partnership agreement, subject to modification by the partners.

At December 31, 1992, the Church's partnership interest in the NCIF, having a carrying value of $39,569,296 (589,235,815 at market value), represented 25% of the market value of the NCIF's net assets. In 1992, the Church received distributions totaling approximately $3,331,000 from the NCIF.

4. Land, Buildings and Equipment

Land, buildings, equipment and accumulated depreciation at December 31, 1992 are as follows:
     
     Land, buildings and Improvements                    $1,135,425
Equipment                          62,606
                                                  1,398,031
Less accumulated depreciation                    (189,155)
                                   $1,308,876

Depreciation of $41,444 was charged to expense in 1992.

5. Cairnwood Village, Inc.

In 1980, a loan agreement was executed between the Church and the Glencairn and Cairncrest Foundations (related to the Church via member affiliation). The agreement provided that the Foundations would each loan the Church $400.000 for the construction of a retirement community, Cairnwood Village.

Repayment by Cairnwood Village, Inc, of principal and interest on the Glencairn Foundation loan has been subordinated to the Cairncrest Foundation loan now held by the Church. Upon commencement of payments, the loans payable and receivable begin to accrue interest at 7% per year. Payments of up to $99,000 annually are then required, subject to maintenance of the required residents' escrow fund, with a final due date of December 1, 2010 for any remaining unpaid balance. At December 31, 1992, payments are ongoing, and the outstanding loan balance is $696,600.

31




6. Pension Plan

Included in the expendable funds are assets which the Church has designated for the pension plan. At December 31, 1992, the assets designated for pensions at carrying value consist of cash, $947,426, and investments, $8,319,348 (market value of approximately $18,782,000).

Participants of the plan include eligible Church employees as well as employees of affiliated organizations, including the Academy of the New Church, which provide funding independent of the Church. Total funding from the Church and affiliated organizations was approximately $412,000 in 1992. In addition to designated employer funding of the plan, the pension fund also receives contributions.
          
Net periodic pension cost for 1992 included the following components:
                    
Service cost of current period                              $390,801          
Interest cost on projected benefit obligation                1,055,399
Net amortization and deferral                          457,526          
Net periodic pension cost                          $1,903,726
     The following table sets forth the plans obligations at December 31, 1992:
     Actuarial present value of accumulated benefits
          obligation, including vested benefits of $10,480,105           $10,847,115
Actuarial present value of projected benefit obligation                
          for service rendered to date                              $13,903,382
Unrecognized prior service costs                                   (2,026,239)          
Unrecognized net loss                                   (1,349,750)
Unrecognized net transition obligation being amortized over 20 years           (4,702,697)               
Adjustment for additional minimum liability                    5 022,419
Pension liability recognized on balance sheet                    $10,847,115

The method used to determine the service cost and projected benefit obligation was the projected unit credit actuarial cost method. The lone-term rate of investment return assumed was 8%. The salary increase rate assumed was 6% and the discount rate assumed was 8%.

32




7. Investment Savings Plan

The Church maintains assets designated for the investment savings plan which are included in the expendable funds.

The Church has a noncontributory investment savings plan covering eligible employees. Contributions to the plan are based on a fixed percentage of employee salaries and are made from the expendable funds participants of the plan also include employees of affiliated organizations, including The Academy of the New Church, which provide funding independently.

The plan has vesting provisions after a certain period of service with the Church, Gains and losses due to changes in the market value of the fund's assets are charged or credited to the participants' accounts. All investment income of the plan is reinvested.

At December 31, 1992, the carrying value of assets designated for the investment savings plan consisted of cash, $214,721, and investments, $2,580,261 (market value of approximately $6,022,000).

A summary of 1992 transactions of the investment savings plan liability is as follows:

Liability balance, January 1, 1992                         $2,864,077
Liability was increased by:
General Church and other employers' funding               291,863
Investment income                                        214,508
Total increases                                        506,371     
Liability balance was decreased by:
Employee withdrawals                                   (575,466)
Liability balance, December 31, 1992                     $2,794,982

8. Loans to Related Societies

Loans granted to societies from the development fund amount to $2,164,823 at December 31, 1992. Loans are generally secured and bear interest at rates ranging from 0% to 8%.

9. Letter of Credit

In 1991, the Church obtained a letter of credit with a local bank for $110,000, in order to guarantee payment for improvements to Church property as required by local government authorities. At December 31, 1992, no amount had been drawn against the letter of credit and on February 8, 1993, the letter of credit expired.

33


Editorial Pages 1994

Editorial Pages       Editor       1994

     A PARCEL OF BOOKS FOR RUSSIANS

     "I had the pleasure of seeing a large parcel of books packed up for them." This is the venerable Robert Hindmarsh talking almost two hundred years ago. And the point of this editorial is to remark on the way the Writings have been received in Russia from the time of the earliest receivers in England in the late 1700s. We will return in a moment to the parcel Hindmarsh saw so long ago.
     This editorial is being written a matter of hours after opening a parcel of books brought across the Atlantic by Kay (Mrs. Mark) Alden. The parcel was given to her by Rev. Goran Appelgren in England upon his return from Moscow. It was mostly filled with beautifully bound copies of Heaven and Hell in Russian, hot off the press. There were two copies from the edition printed in Kiev last spring. And there were page proofs of Divine Love and Wisdom and Divine Providence. These were to be delivered to Rev. and Mrs. Leonard Fox.
     The story of DLW and DP is a wonderful one that will surely be told in 1994. What we celebrate now is the growing availability of the work Heaven and Hell in the former USSR.
     Now picture, if you will, the situation back in 1802. War between England and France had ceased, and the early receivers of the Writings in England could visit that land (which reminds one a little of New Church people visiting Moscow after the cold war).
     Hindmarsh relates it this way: "During the short interval of peace between England and France, in the year 1802, curiosity led me, as well as many other Englishmen, to visit Paris." He sought out readers of the Writings. "They were in possession of only a few of the works in their own language, but a translation of True Christian Religion was then in the press."

34



     One of the French receivers had heard from St. Petersburg that some Russian people were "very desirous of communicating with them, and of procuring as many of the works in French as could be spared. Accordingly, before I left Paris, I had the pleasure of seeing a large parcel of books packed up for them, which were to be immediately forwarded to St. Petersburg" (Hindmarsh's Rise and Progress, p. 182).
     Early readers of the Writings in Russia read them mostly in French. But some got busy translating into their native tongue. Now their labors have a bright new hope of bearing fruit.
SECOND COMING 1994

SECOND COMING       Rev. Ian A. Arnold       1994




     Communications
Dear Editor:
     I note your excerpts from my paper on the Second Coming in the November issue editorial. Would you allow me to make these few additional comments?
     1.      If, like me, you still use the Potts Concordance for getting into the Writings, you will find that the only entries for the Second Coming or Second Advent are listed in volume 1 under "Advent." It is much more productive to look it up in the slim Additions to the Swedenborg Concordance where, under "Second Coming," some 30 references are listed.
     2.      Having re-read what I said, as you have correctly quoted me, I probably now would not use the word "imperfectly," as in "Imperfectly, and as it stands in the letter, [the Word] reveals the Lord to us."

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Better it should say "only obscurely" or words to that effect.
     In AR 642:2you really do get an idea of that obscurity prior to the Second Advent as contrasted with the light and brightness of the Lord's appearing there in having accomplished that advent.
     3.      I am, indeed, comfortable with the position, canvassed as it has been from time to time, that the Arcana "contains, embodies or is the Second Coming." By no means do I commit my friend Bill Woofenden to the same position, but I urge your readers to get hold of a copy of the June 1992 Studia Swedenborgiana where, in a wide-ranging and excellent first-in-a-series article, Bill discusses all sorts of issues in connection with this massively important work.
     Rev. Ian A. Arnold,
          Manchester, England
SPIRITUAL GROWTH GROUPS 1994

SPIRITUAL GROWTH GROUPS       Sarah J. Headsten       1994

Dear Editor:
     I am puzzled as to why you printed, without correction, the letter by V. C. Odhner, Jr. concerning spiritual growth groups (October, 1993). In his letter Mr. Odhner states that he is not "aware that any General Church minister conducts any of these groups officially. It is doubtful that Gurdjieff, or others linked to him, would have been selected had GC ministerial sponsorship had its choice.
     The current spiritual growth group format was developed by the Rev. Frank Rose (along with his wife Louise), and at least a dozen General Church ministers have also led spiritual growth groups. I feel it is a disservice to readers of New Church Life to be so misinformed, especially since Mr. Odhner bases his mistrust of these groups explicitly on the notion that General Church ministers are not involved.

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As this is the whole thrust of his letter, he might have appreciated knowing that his facts were incorrect.
     Sarah J. Headsten,
          Huntingdon Valley, PA
SPIRITUAL GROWTH GROUPS 1994

SPIRITUAL GROWTH GROUPS       Karin A. Childs       1994

Dear Editor:
     I believe that everyone who writes in to NCL to express an opinion does so from a love of the Lord and His truth. I truly feel no anger in writing this letter, but only bewilderment and sadness at the attacks on spiritual growth groups in recent issues. I feel that the writers of the letters do not understand what a spiritual growth group involves.
     I attended a spiritual growth group three years ago, and am attending one now. The format for both was put together by a General Church minister. The first one I attended was conducted by another General Church minister. The one I attend now is conducted by a lay person, but follows the format that was put together by the minister.
     I don't know enough about Gurdjieff to comment on him. From Leonard Fox's description, he sounded outrageous. If he caused people harm, it means he was either evil or very mixed up. But don't the Writings say that the Lord can bring usefulness even through an evil person? Certain tools came through Gurdjieff. Tools can be used for good or evil purposes. Perhaps he used these tools for evil purposes-I really don't know. But are the tools evil? The way to tell is to compare them with the Lord's revelation, and to see what results they bring.
     Here are the twelve tools I have learned to practice in spiritual growth groups:

1.      "Waking up" in the higher levels of my mind to recognize disorder in my lower, external mind.
2.      Learning to recognize false messages from the hells that feed unregenerate feelings.

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3.      Learning that evil thoughts and feelings are from hell, and that I don't have to house or indulge them.
4.      Learning to recognize criticism of others in myself, and let go of it.
5.      Learning to look for the good in others.
6.      Learning not to get carried away by an evil emotion.
7.      Learning to recognize and stop forms of lying in myself.
8.      Learning to live in the present.
9.      Learning not to be deceived by "false causes" and discovering that all causes are spiritual.
10.      Deciding to choose higher delights over lower ones.
11.      Learning to forgive others and myself.
12.      Handing my life over to the Lord.

     Can anyone say that these tasks are not in accord with the Writings? The reading material for each week includes many quotes from the Writings and the Old and New Testaments. Meeting each week helps remind me to try putting each task into practice. The point of the spiritual growth course is certainly not to regenerate a person in twelve weeks. It provides an opportunity to practice specific, practical ways of applying the teachings of self-examination and shunning evils as sins against God, so that "little by little" I can work on these things throughout my life. Is there something wrong with this?
     I have experienced very positive results from spiritual growth groups. They have helped me begin to recognize and remove the blocks that separate me from the Lord, my neighbor, and a life of usefulness. They have not replaced my study of the Writings or my church attendance. I have seen very positive results in others that have attended too. One couple came to a first meeting feeling pretty skeptical. By the end, they seemed the most enthusiastic of all about the whole thing! I've seen marriage relationships strengthened. In the group I attend now, about half the people are New Church and half are not. One woman who is new to our church says that she is helped tremendously by what she learns in the group.

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One non-New Church woman has become interested in what the Writings teach as a result of the material presented in the group, and has attended our church several times now. The others keep coming back willingly each week, because all are interested in and benefiting from the concepts they are learning (which are the very New Church concepts listed above). In the Fall 1993 issue of the Theta Alpha Journal, a man wrote of his choice to find his way out of the homosexual feelings he had had all his life. He mentioned a spiritual growth group as one of the "useful spiritual practices" that helped him achieve his goal.
     So what about these results? I'm not talking about the results for people that sat and listened to Gurdjieff. I'm talking about the results for people who attend spiritual growth groups. I'm sure there are many more such examples. Isn't a thing measured by its agreement with revelation and its results? Does it lead a person to the Lord or away? to the Writings or away? toward the neighbor or only toward himself? Would someone say these results are just flukes?
     Have there been negative results from anyone attending spiritual growth groups? Someone feeling uncomfortable at such a group doesn't count as a negative result-it simply means spiritual growth groups are not the right method for that person. Many people are uncomfortable with traditional cathedral church services, but that doesn't make such services bad. No one way of applying the truth of the Writings to life works for everyone! We all learn differently, see the Lord differently, approach Him differently. This is good and orderly! The heavens are divided into societies according to their view of the Lord and the way they carry His truth into life. Spiritual growth groups are certainly not the only way to apply the doctrines of self-examination and shunning evils, but they are one way, and I think a good way.
     Has anyone ever turned away from the Lord or the Writings as a result of spiritual growth groups in the New Church? If they have, we ought to know and analyze why.

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But even if this has happened somewhere, does it give the right to ignore the positive results?
     I would welcome answers to my questions, but I would appreciate, please, specific answers to my specific questions, because I really want to know. Nothing will change my opinion that spiritual growth groups have been useful for me and for some people I have observed. I am ready to listen to examples of ways a spiritual growth group has specifically harmed someone, and to learn another side of things.
     Karin A. Childs,
          Rochester, Michigan
OPEN LETTER 1994

OPEN LETTER       Wilson Van Dusen       1994

Warren David,
     You write me publicly so I answer publicly, though I prefer differences be handled privately. There is already too much public conflict. My Open Letter (NCL 7/93 pp. 314-319) was intended to be provocative, to wake people up I was referring to the majority of people. In all things human there are exceptions. I received a number of kind letters from people in the church who are trying to develop practices. I'll count you among them. I begin to suspect a small current in the church toward spiritual practice.
     I detect in your answer something I would like to bring out. I said no one paid attention to my article on The Messiah about to Come. Your answer was that you may have read it. I had discovered clear evidence for Swedenborg's main spiritual practice. I had hoped people would not only read it but would immediately try it out. By now I would hope to learn of people so mature in this practice that they are teaching it to others. Swedenborg's Practice shown in The Messiah about to Come is quite universal. It occurs in all churches where there is a sacred text.

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     If we look at Swedenborg's life we can see what I mean by maturity of a spiritual practice. Swedenborg pretty much had no literature on spiritual practice to guide him. We now have a flood of it. When he tried automatic writing, he was fumbling for an approach and he discarded this one. In the period of Journal of Dreams and The Messiah about to Come (1745), he begins to show signs of finding his way. As an approach begins to mature, the seeker discovers the Lord's presence in his spiritual practice. This is clear in both of these works. There follows a long period in which the Lord comes and guides the seeker and changes his internals. This is the main subject of the Arcana Coelestia, which arose out of the spiritual practice shown in the Messiah. I would call Swedenborg mature in his practice after the Arcana was written. By then he had been reformed so much it began to be apparent to others. Then he could teach and guide others in the practices he knew so well.
     So I can summarize my article in these terms. Our church does not expand because we have too little to give others. When we have at least a few mature in spiritual practice, then we will expand. So you see I am really speaking of a lot more than reading articles, studying a few dreams, etc.-more than going to a few workshops and meeting gurus. One can take the simplest practices as shown in the Messiah about to Come and with persistence and sincerity enter upon a personal relationship with the Lord in which the seeker is led and reformed. I am actually advocating regeneration, the same as Swedenborg, but spiritual practice is a simple way that doesn't take 33 volumes. And I still say: when we have at least a few who have matured in spiritual practice, we will begin to expand. I would, of course, love to see many. If all the Writings were destroyed except the simple, neglected, and not-yet-understood Messiah about to Come, we would still have enough to find our way! In a way, spiritual practice is the inverse of books; it is a journey in which you enter upon regeneration, in which books are less and less central, because the Lord leads.

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When Swedenborg was mature in practice, visitors commented that the only book visible in his study was the Bible.
     So yes, I hear you, Mr. David, and wish you well in your journey.
          Wilson Van Dusen,
               Ukiah, California
ETERNITY OF HELL 1994

ETERNITY OF HELL       Thomas M. Cole       1994

Dear Editor:
     "Inasmuch as man, on account of ignorance and the like, supposes that the soul of man will be tormented to eternity, this is made evident, that man is condemned to eternal punishment, for he has deserved it; but out Of the Lord's mercy, damnation is at last taken away, yet through vastations and punishments, according to their actual sins, and hence (their) acquired nature-1748, July 10" (SD 2583).
     I can think of few ideas which are more dangerous or have caused more harm than the idea of an eternal hell. Without such an idea the holocaust might never have taken place. Who could object to the execution of all who clearly were "unsaved"? Moreover, Germany was a Christian nation. In this passage Swedenborg clearly taught universal salvation, which is also taught a number of places in the Bible, The idea of an eternal hell goes contrary to reason and a God of love. We must all be saved or all perish, for who could be happy knowing that some must suffer eternal damnation? To believe in an eternal hell is to condemn God to be unhappy to eternity.
     The idea of an eternal hell also clearly denies human free will, which is really the only thing used to defend the idea. If I must spend eternity in hell once I get there and have no freedom to change my mind, than clearly I have no free will.

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     The idea of an eternal hell is such an unpleasant and gruesome one. Why are so many people afraid to let go of it?
     Thomas M. Cole,
          Horsham, Pennsylvania
PREDETERMINATION 1994

PREDETERMINATION       John J. Schoenberger       1994

Dear Editor:
     Again in a recent Bryn Athyn doctrinal class there came up that perennial "question" concerning Divine foresight and human freedom: If today God foresees that tomorrow I'll jump over the fence, how then can I not do so when tomorrow arrives? Where is my freedom?
     Recently I found in one of my pockets a tiny notation of something said in the course of some other sermon or doctrinal class. The minister, I remember, was speaking of other godly things when rather incidentally or as in passing he said, "As He foresaw, so He provided." One thing! Divine Providence!
     What a beautifully simple statement of a lot of doctrine about an omniscient and omnipotent God! What is infinite can never really be divided, yet human awareness requires some attribution, and here we can readily see an important illustration of an all-embracing Divine operation and of what it consists.
     With God, if I understand Him at all, to foresee is to provide; and to rightly provide obviously necessitates foresee ability. But to foresee is not to predestine or predetermine. Its effect, indeed, is quite otherwise, for as it allows and calls for provision, so it tends rather to soften, correct, bend or otherwise improve the effect of what is foreseen. In that important but very limited sense, perhaps to foresee may be said to "change" the thing itself, but certainly not to predetermine it.
     So am I saying that not foresight but providence spells predestination? Not at all. While etymology declares clearly their twinship, prevision and provision each has its separate application within the one Divine Providence which together they constitute.

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Foresight or prevision is before the facts, and contemplates the question of their even existing, while provision contemplates the whole circumstance of certain facts existing or not existing, whether now or in the future or even in the past. In either case those actual facts, if any, are the same. They, and even their very being, are indeed both effected and affected by other Divine attributes (creating, forgiving, inspiring, protecting, e.g.), but not simply or alone by either the prevision or provision of or by an infinite God.
     So let's not worry any more that tomorrow we must do something because God has "foreseen" it. Though in freedom I change my mind a hundred times, God knows what stupid thing I will finally end up doing. He doesn't thereby determine my doing it, but He does accordingly provide for it.
     It amazes me how often comes up the imagined question or problem of predestination's being thought to be a consequence of God' s omniscience or foresight on the one hand and human freedom on the other. "Foresee." Utterly loses its meaning when equated with predetermination. Something foreseen obviously, by definition, is already determined. To foresee something and to thereby determine it is an absolute anomaly and contradiction. Whatever at any time something is, was or will be is the consequence of an immensely complex and continuing chain of causes and effects, including our own contributions freely given. To completely see that chain is what it is to foresee its result. So it is that a wise person foresees more accurately how we will act than does one who is less wise, and a still wiser and more knowledgeable person even more so. God is wisdom itself. He is omniscient. He knows everything and consequently foresees everything, including how under all the circumstances our freedom will be exercised. He knows and foresees the morrow perfectly, and at once He provides accordingly He is God.
     John J. Schoenberger,
          Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania

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PAMPHLET ON THE NEW CHURCH 1994

PAMPHLET ON THE NEW CHURCH       Janet Heilman Doering       1994

Dear Editor:
     It was pleasing to see in your magazine a mention of the reprinting of The New Church. For the record, you must have been looking at one of the former printings when you published that second heading, "The Second Coming of the Lord." In the next-to-last printing of the pamphlet I had been asked to eliminate the statement that we believe the Writings are the Second Coming. But as it was a summary of our principal beliefs, I could not do so. Instead I moved the paragraph to the end and changed it to the effect that we believe the new vision of the Lord in the Writings is what is meant by the Second Coming. I phrased it thus because it was really hard for some to see that a bunch of books could be that coming. I am distressed to realize now that in the moving somehow "We believe that these new truths . . . are a whole new body of rational truths which
can enable us to understand the Lord and His purposes in creation" was left out. Perhaps there will be another printing one day when the above quote can be added to the first paragraph.
     But providentially, placing "The Second Coming" near the end did make it easier to include a bit on the Last Judgment which I had previously not touched upon but which, upon reflection, I now see as one of the most rational, merciful and vital doctrines of the church. Think of all the people who are still waiting in confused fear for the judgment to occur, and more so, the numbers of people who scoff at the Word because of a literal interpretation of it.
     It's a tremendous satisfaction to know that something that was such a joy to write has become such a useful little tool for the church.
     Janet Heilman Doering,
          Mitchellville, Maryland

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LETTER FROM SPAIN 1994

LETTER FROM SPAIN       Theo. Mor Benet       1994

Dear Editor:
     I recall that about 1938 I bought a house trailer in San Jose, California. The owner of a nearby house noticed me always reading the Bible after working hours. He offered me a book of Emanuel Swedenborg's called True Christian Religion. I looked at it lightly and returned it to him, not knowing the book then and being deeply interested only in the Bible. At that time I had never heard of Swedenborg.
     The owner told me that he had a trunk full of those books that an old man had left in a rented apartment when he died. I later took this book again to have a careful look. All of us that are students of Swedenborg truly love the revelation of the Lord given to Swedenborg. I for one, even though I am now 92 years old, keep rising every day at 4:30 a.m. winter and summer and study them with joy.
     By the way, I received a letter from the University of Seville in Spain saying that they had made provision to translate one of Swedenborg's works into Spanish early in 1994.
     My kind regards and best wishes to all of you from a student of Swedenborg.
      Theo. Mor Benet,
          Fraga, Spain
ESSAY CONTEST 1994

ESSAY CONTEST       Editor       1994

     The Swedenborg Scientific Association will be introducing an annual essay contest for college and university students. The deadline is not until January of next year. We will publish details in the February issue, but if you wish information sooner than that, write to the editor.

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APPLICATIONS FOR ADMISSION TO THE ACADEMY GIRLS SCHOOL AND BOYS SCHOOL 1994

APPLICATIONS FOR ADMISSION TO THE ACADEMY GIRLS SCHOOL AND BOYS SCHOOL       Editor       1994




     Announcements






     Requests for application forms for admission of new students to the Academy Secondary Schools should be made by March 1, 1994. Letters should be addressed to Mrs. Robert Gladish, Principal of the Girls School, or Mr. T. Dudley Davis, Principal of the Boys School, The Academy of the New Church, Box 707, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009. Please 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 a day or a dormitory student.
     Completed application forms should be forwarded to the Academy by May 1, 1994. All requests for financial aid should be submitted to the Business Manager, The Academy of the New Church, Box 711, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009 by June 1, 1994.
     Admission procedure is based on receipt of the following:

     1. Application
     2. Transcript
     3. Pastor's recommendation
     4. Health forms

     The Academy will not discriminate against applicants and students on the basis of race, color, or national or ethnic origin.
RECEIVED FROM THE OFFICE OF EDUCATION 1994

RECEIVED FROM THE OFFICE OF EDUCATION       Editor       1994

     We have received four brochures about which we hope to comment in a future issue. Each of the new brochures has the heading "NEW CHURCH HOME AND FAMILY." The first is called "Family Worship"; the second is entitled "After Baptism"; the third, "Laying the Foundation for Understanding"; and the fourth, "Why New Church Education?"

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Notes on This Issue 1994

Notes on This Issue       Editor       1994

Vol. CXIV          February, 1994               No. 2
New Church Life

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     Notes on This Issue

     Following the emphasis last month on the Academy College (see the sketch this month on page 85), we are publishing a major address by Rev. Geoffrey S. Childs, former president of the Academy. It is about the very heart of New Church education. He writes of the Lord's coming to each individual. "He will come especially in prayer, when we open up in need and pray directly from the heart, with humility."
     On page 61 Mr. Childs mentions six suggestions for presenting the ideal of chastity. These are taken from a "beautiful sermon." You can write for a copy of this or other sermons in care of the editor.
     The subject of the eternity of hell was raised in a short letter last month. It has obviously evoked response. More material on the subject is coming in as we go to print.
     Rev. Robert Junge devotes his energies to the development of the Ivyland Circle just a few miles from Bryn Athyn. But he did find time to submit a thoughtful article on the "arcanum" of CL 224.
     We congratulate the Swedenborg Society on the publication of another new volume of Arcana Caelestia. The society works to keep the knowledge of Swedenborg before the public. (Note the letter by Mr. Richard Lines to a British newspaper, p. 91.)

     THOUGHT AND SPEECH

     Fifty years ago this magazine published a study about thought and speech (NCL 1944, p. 211). The writer, Mr. David Gladish, must have been pretty young. His interest in language has continued. The recent translation called Love in Marriage by Dr. Gladish is now widely appreciated.
     Of all the renditions of the work known as Conjugial Love this one is by far the most enterprising in the attempt to put the thought taken from the reading of the Latin into the speech of the modern day.

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LORD AS THE CENTER OF NEW CHURCH EDUCATION 1994

LORD AS THE CENTER OF NEW CHURCH EDUCATION       Rev. GEOFFREY S. CHILDS       1994

     AN ADDRESS TO THE ACADEMY FACULTY

     The 121st Psalm is a song of ascents to the Lord: "I will lift up my eyes to the mountains, from whence comes my help. My help is from the Lord, who made the heavens and the earth . . . . The Lord shall preserve you from all evil; He shall preserve your soul. The Lord shall preserve your going out and your coming in from this time forth, and even forevermore" (vs. 1, 2, 7, 8). This day, when the Academy schools are starting a new academic year, this psalm is a theme of our first love.     
     A vision of the Lord is key to the whole purpose and mission of the Academy. Although not explicitly stated in the charter, it stands as the soul of that statement. Simple and innocent in its first conceptions with each of us, at the same time it embraces all the wondrous complexities of spiritual and natural creation. Our concepts of epistemology, cosmology, liberal arts, and the sciences bow before the Lord as the Creator and Savior.
     How important is the idea of the Lord to the faculties, staff, corporation and student body? As God made us and creation, nothing is more important-nothing. DLW 13 directly states: " . . . how important it is to have the correct idea of God can be known from the truth that the idea of God constitutes the inmost of thought of all who have religion, for all things of religion and all things of worship look to God. And since God, universally and in particular, is in all things of religion and of worship, without the proper idea of God no communication with the heavens is possible. From this it is that in the spiritual world every nation has its place allotted in accordance with its idea of God as Man; for in this idea, and in no other, is the idea of the Lord.

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That man's state of life after death is according to the idea of God in which he has become confirmed is manifest from the opposite of this, namely, that the denial of God, and in the Christian world the denial of the Divinity of the Lord, constitutes hell."
     We are told further that "the right idea of God in the church is like the sanctuary and altar in a temple . . . for on a right idea of God the whole body of theology hangs, like a chain on its first link; and if you will believe it, everyone is allotted his place in the heavens in accordance with his idea of God. For that idea is like a touchstone . . . . There can be no saving good in man except from God, nor any truth . . . " (TCR 163). You are readers of the trinal Word, and know the beautiful teachings of the Heavenly Doctrines that reveal the Lord in His Divine Human, and the powerful confirming passages in the New Testament that reveal the Lord Jesus Christ in His life on earth. And behind this, as a deep supporting theme, stands the Old Testament with its letter and prophecy of the coming Lord. It is this Lord Jesus Christ who is represented by Joseph in the Old Testament. And it is Joseph who said to the butler, as he was about to be released from the captivity of prison: " . . . but remember me" (Gen. 40:14). In unfolding these words, the Arcana states: "Anyone who receives and possesses faith is constantly mindful of the Lord. This is so even when he is thinking or talking about something other than Him, or else when carrying out his public, private, or family duties, though he is not directly conscious of his mindfulness of the Lord while he is carrying them out. Indeed that mindfulness of the Lord present in those who possess faith governs their whole being . . . . This may be illustrated by many aspects of human character. One who is governed by some love, whatever this may be, is thinking constantly about things connected with that love. This is so even when other matters occupy his mind, conversation, or action. This is quite evident in the next life from the spiritual spheres which surround everyone individually.

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From those spheres alone one can detect what the faith is and what the love is that are present in all who are there, even when they may be thinking or talking about something completely different" (AC 5130:1, 2).
     How do we as adult members of the Academy family truly "remember the Lord"? The innocence and remains of childhood are the gifts that make this possible. Each of us is aware of the doctrines of remains, self-examination and repentance. If these teachings are applied in the secret chambers of our heart and thought, then the Lord will come in. And He will be found in charity. This is seen in the Arcana number that continues the explanation of "but remember me." "All who possess faith that is grounded in charity do [remember the Lord], as a consequence of which they do not entertain evil thoughts regarding their neighbor, and that which is just and fair is present in every aspect of their thought, speech, and action . . . . The sphere of faith grounded in charity is the sphere which reigns in heaven, for the Lord flows in with love, and by means of love with charity, and as a consequence with truths . . . . This explains why those in heaven are said to be in the Lord" (AC 5130:2).
     The first essential of the Academy, and of our life on earth, is our love of the Lord and full acknowledgment of Him. And in the New Church, this love and acknowledgment may be at a height and depth, a fullness, never known before in the history of mankind on earth. There is that keystone passage in TCR: "The New Church is the crown of all the churches that have hitherto existed on the earth, because it is to worship one visible God in whom is the invisible, like the soul in the body. Thus and not otherwise is a conjunction of God with man possible, because man is natural, and therefore thinks naturally, and conjunction must exist in his thought, and thus in his love's affection, and this is the case when he thinks of God as a Man. Conjunction with an invisible God is like a conjunction of the eye's vision with the expanse of the universe . . . .

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Conjunction with a visible God, on the other hand, is like beholding a man in the air or on the sea spreading forth His hands and inviting to His arms" (787).
     It is our understanding and love of the Lord, who is now revealed in the fullness and beauty of His Divine Natural, that can bring the crowning vision of the Lord Jesus Christ in His Divine Human. It is stated that "the Lord in the world put on also a Divine Natural, and from this not only is the internal spiritual man enlightened, but also the external natural; and unless these two are simultaneously enlightened, man is as it were in shadow; but when they both are enlightened, he is as it were in the light of day" (TCR 109:2). The Lord can now touch us in ways He never could before in the history of the churches. But how do we experience this? How do we achieve something of this promise?
     The first and vital step is to see truth to be true. And for this to happen, the affection of truth must be present. This love, the affection of truth, was said by an early Academician to be the key love of the New Church. It is the Mary among us, of whom the Lord is born. In a familiar number, the Writings teach: "First there must be learned the doctrinal things of the church, and then the Word must be examined to see 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 must be searched, and there it must be seen whether the doctrinal things are true. When this is done from an affection of truth, then the person is enlightened by the Lord so as to perceive, without knowing whence, what is true; and he is confirmed therein in accordance with the good in which he is" (AC 6047:2). This seeing of truth to be true is utterly key for each Academy teacher and supporter, for it keeps the church alive. Historic faith will undermine us and leave us an empty shell. But the perception of truth from the Lord is our very life blood. Here is where we first meet the Lord as adults.
     The hope is that every Academy teacher and supporter has, in first adult age, experienced the beauty of seeing the Writings as the Lord's Word.

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There is such a sense of awe and wonder in this. It is seeing in the heart the Holy City New Jerusalem, descending from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her Husband. This Husband is the Lord, who opens our inner eyes to the land of far distances-the eternal truths of His Word.
     Once this vision is given, then beautiful confirmations may flow in from one's study and reading. Thereby the church is strengthened and deepened. This same number (AC 6047) continues, revealing that once truths are seen to be true, " . . . it is then allowable for one to confirm them by all the knowledges he possesses, of whatever name and nature; for then because what is affirmative reigns universally, one accepts the knowledges which agree and rejects those which, by reason of the fallacies they contain, disagree; for faith is strengthened by means of knowledges" (Ibid. :3). These confirmations from every field of academic study are at the heart of the Academy instruction and fulfillment.
     First truth is seen to be true, a gift from the Lord alone. Then the varied and complex fields of the sciences and arts speak in beautiful confirmation. As the psalm unfolds: "the heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament shows His handiwork. Day unto day utters speech, and night unto night reveals knowledges" (Psalm 19:1, 2). Spiritual perception of truth and natural confirmations in the arts and sciences-these are spoken of in SD 5709, which treats of the two foundations of truth: "the foundations of truth are two, one from the Word, the other from nature of from the truths of nature . . . . These two foundations of truth agree the one with the other . . . . Since sciences have shut up the understanding, therefore sciences may also open it; and it is opened so far as men are in good . . . . All things of heaven constantly have their foundation in the laws of the order of nature in the world, and in man, so that the foundation remains permanently fixed."

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Seeing the Lord's truth both in the trinal Word and in the confirming sciences and arts brings Him beautifully to our understandings. His light flows in, and we are aware that this light is from Him, not us.
     It is this vision from the two foundations of truth that is spoken of in TCR 109, which speaks of the Lord's being seen in His Divine natural not only by the internal spiritual man, but also by the external natural level of the mind. And when both these levels of the mind see the Lord in His realm of creation, a person is said to be "in the light of day" (Ibid.). It is this vision of the Lord, in His fullness, that fulfills the prophecy of Isaiah: "the light of the moon shall be as the light of the sun, and the light of the sun shall be sevenfold, as the light of seven days, in the day when Jehovah shall bind up the breach of His people" (30:26). It is the same new presence, warmth and light of the Lord that is implicit in the famous Nunc licet number in TCR which invites us to enter with our understanding into the mysteries of faith, which explains how this may be done in true order, and then invites the New Churchman to discover "confirmations . . . by rational means," for these "cause the understanding to be opened" (TCR 508:5).
     So in the Academy, with its adult teachers and supporters, the first quality is the affection of truth, which leads to seeing truth to be true. From this then come the delight and joy of confirmations, bringing the Lord present in all realms of study and experience. Overall, this is a seeing of the Lord in and by the light of His Word and confirmations of His Word. This-seeing the Lord's Word in light-is the first major stage of adult vision and rebirth. But there are vital steps beyond this for Academy adults. For beyond the seeing of truth to be true are further, and even more moving, steps for the heart-steps which bring the Lord closer, nearer.
     Perception of the truth is represented by the Isaac rational. He is followed by Jacob, the next major stage of spiritual rebirth. Technically, Jacob-turned-Israel represents the good of truth in the natural.

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More simply, he is the genuine love of the neighbor that dawns upon the heart, a real love of others that brings a touch of heaven to our humanity. The time when this comes must vary with each regenerating individual, but it may well come in middle age. It is a finding of the Lord within our real love of others. And there is one further step beyond this, represented by Joseph, Israel's next-to-youngest son. Joseph is the celestial within the exterior natural or sensual plane of the heart. More simply, he represents the direct discovery of the Lord-of open, direct and deep love of the Lord.
     Emanuel Swedenborg experienced this "Joseph" discovery just prior to becoming a revelator. He records in The Journal of Dreams the vastations he experienced, but he tells too of the Lord's appearing directly to him. In his vastations Swedenborg cried out: "and oh! Almighty Jesus Christ, that Thou of Thy so great mercy deign to come to so great a sinner! Make me worthy of Thy grace. I held together my hands and prayed, and then came forth a hand, which squeezed my hands hard. Straightway . . . I continued in prayer, and said, Thou hast promised to take to grace all sinners; Thou canst do nothing else than keep Thy word. At that same instant I sat in His bosom and saw Him face to face: it was a face of holy mien [look], and in all it was indescribable, and He smiled so that I believe that His face had indeed been like this when He lived on earth" (53, 54).
     Although this appearance of the Lord to Swedenborg was a call to be a revelator, it also pictures the Joseph stage coming to the human heart. The Lord comes visibly, within. These trinal stages of becoming aware of the Lord-seeing Him as the light of truth, then in the love of the neighbor, and then in the love of the Lord directly-are reflected in the three heavens. Although we remain on earth in the sixth degree of Divine truth (see AC 8443), influx onto this level may come from higher and higher planes as the Lord leads us in rebirth. The natural heaven receives the Lord as light, the spiritual as the moon within which is love of the neighbor, and the celestial heaven as the Sun.

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But it is also true that any time we as adults need the Lord deeply, He will come to us. He will come especially in prayer, when we open up in need and pray directly from the heart, with humility. When we pray from the heart, we ascend the mount of transfiguration. If we ascend this with faith (Peter), charity (James), and the love of uses (John), then the Lord Jesus Christ will be transfigured before us. Our inner picture of Him will be filled with His essential love and nature, and we will feel Him in the warmth and light of His love. He will be transfigured before us, within our perceptions (see AE 64:2, 3).
     The Lord may come to us in other ways as adults. He may come within the Holy Supper, uplifting and healing. He may move us deeply when we see the spiritual sense within the sense of the letter of the Word, for this is the Second Coming of the Lord, in power and great glory (see HH 1). This coming of the Lord in correspondences may also be seen elsewhere, outside the written Word. Correspondences may be seen in nature, in science, and in aspects of the liberal arts; when this is experienced with innocence and enlightenment, the Lord may be seen as present behind such correspondences. Gradually in the New Church, correspondences will again become the science of sciences, and the Lord will be seen in many and wonderful ways, within the beauty of His creation. Sometimes in innocent moments, entirely unexpected, in special moments we may be aware of the Lord's presence and power. There were times at the recent assembly in Kenosha (June 1991) when He seemed to touch our hearts. Especially when we do uses within a team, the Lord is there (see Divine Love XIII). And most tenderly, we feel Him within the conjugial. For inmostly, conjugial love is a reception of the Lord. And finally, again, our prayer, when deep, gives the Lord entrance and presence, and even conjunction. He is there, waiting for us to open the door.

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     The theme of this address is the Lord as central to New Church education. We have spoken of adults, of teachers and supporters of the Academy, and how the Lord may be central to us. And this is the key first step, for if He is not real and present to us, we cannot help lead our students to Him. All our students will become adults, and these reflections about the Lord's coming in adult age will then apply to them. These are perceptions and experiences of the Lord to which we would lead. But what of the students directly?
     AC 5135 outlines the truths a child learns and believes: ". . . there is a God, and He is one; He created all things" (ibid. :3). This starts in infancy, first with the innocence of the newborn, and then with the love of one's parents, who act in the place of the Lord and represent Him. Later, in mid-childhood, His Word, His truths are received with love and innocence, and become a part of heavenly qualities that remain, In adolescence the Lord would instill moral remains, moral ideals. In each case of these major sets of remains-celestial, spiritual and moral-the Lord is the Savior, the true Father behind these gentle loves. And therefore it is vital that the imagination of a child be gifted with portrayals, with vivid pictures, of the Lord. In early childhood, actual pictures of the Lord in His New Testament life are so strong in impact. And then the stories of the Word, the Old Testament leaders who represent the Lord's qualities, and the actual New Testament stories which vividly unfold the Lord's life on earth, are ultimates that receive internal remains and perceptions.
     But I would focus on adolescence, and at the major turning point that looks to the adult age, and the highest adult ideals and dreams. This is represented in chapter 17 of Genesis by Jehovah's changing Abram's name to Abraham, and making the covenant of circumcision with him. This circumcision represents the highest idealism of adolescence, in which lusts are shunned out of innocence and trust in the Lord. Circumcision signifies purity, or "the removal and wiping away of those things that are impeding and defiling celestial love . . . .

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There are loves of three kinds that constitute the celestial things of the Lord's kingdom, namely, conjugial love, love for infants, and the love of society or mutual love. Conjugial love is the principal love of all, because it has within it the end of greatest use, namely, the propagation of the human race and thereby of the Lord's kingdom . . . . Love toward infants follows next, being derived from conjugial love; and then comes the love of society, or mutual love" (AC 2039). In the best of states, an adolescent shuns the lusts that oppose conjugial love. The Lord then inflows with the most tender promise: the sensitivity to and promise of future conjugial love, a future conjugial partner. There is no more potent hope or ideal in the human heart. For the Lord is there, especially in that hope and dream. Subsidiary to this and flowing from it with an adolescent in his most innocent side is his love of protecting innocence, even a love of infants. This is seen in the older boy or girl in a family caring for and loving a new baby in the family. And finally, there is born the ideal and hope of being of service to mankind. This is a time when youth has long, long thoughts, and inmostly there is an openness to serving the Lord in the salvation of the human race. Such a motive is hidden, arcane, yet it is secretly present (cf. AC 2034).
     These three loves-conjugial, love of infants, and mutual love-are called celestial. This means that the Lord is in them: His presence may be felt in their reception and operation. Thus in having the Lord as the center of New Church education, it is these three loves that we stress and foster as crucial.
     I think the Academy is well aware of the vital nature of conjugial love and the conjugial use. Endeavors have been made to bring in this ideal and instruction about it at every level of New Church education. Studies have been made about the best scope and sequence in the curricular presentations. And some of our best courses present this doctrine in varying ways. It is taught directly in both secondary school and college religion courses, and it is strongly present in anatomy courses.

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At times in the past the Academy has been accused of being too idealistic in its instruction about this love, and not realistic enough about the challenges that face genuine marriages. I think this is changing. Such approaches as the "Choices" courses in the secondary schools, and the recent discussions on social-spiritual issues in the college, illustrate this. As a pastor I have found that the students hunger for this ideal, even if sometimes this is hidden. But they were especially appreciative when the opposite evils and abuses and reasonings were openly discussed, analyzed from the Word, and shown to be so harmful to one's spiritual life and innocence.
     The love of chastity, and understanding what chastity is, is the most vital subject in New Church education, aside from the doctrine of the Lord. And genuine chastity expresses love of the Lord. I think of the beautiful sermon "The Importance of Chastity" given by Kurt Asplundh (1990). He outlined six suggestions to help preserve this ideal for students and ourselves. These are: 1) Begin each day with a prayer to the Lord. Ask Him to help you to will and live a chaste life. If you are unmarried, ask Him for a legitimate and lovely partnership with one of the opposite sex. If married, ask Him to bless your marriage with states of conjugial love. 2. Set aside time each day to read some portion of the work Conjugial Love, perhaps one of the memorable relations. Copy and carry with you some passages that you can turn to in a quiet moment. 3. As you go through the day, pay attention to those times your mind slips into unchaste thoughts. Stop the thoughts by reciting words of Scripture, such as "Get behind me, Satan," or "Deliver me from evil." 4. Remove yourself, if possible, from the situation causing the thought; or remove from yourself the picture, the book, or the object stimulating the thought. 5. Focus your thought instead on some use that you can perform and, if possible, work at it. 6. At the day's end, thank the Lord for any success in shunning lust; ask forgiveness for failure; affirm your desire to live chastely and ask the Lord for His blessing.

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     The second of the celestial loves flowing into adolescents in unselfconscious and innocent moments is love of infants (see AC 2039). Witness the effect of an infant on adolescents when they are open to reception. The love of infants involves fostering innocence in all its forms, starting with the love of chastity. Having high school students observe and teach in our elementary schools, and having them work with children of young age, promotes this tender love. In fact, New Church education itself is a system to preserve innocence throughout growing years, to keep children open to the knowledge and acknowledgment of the Lord, to keep them in the company of their guardian angels. Today, through videos, publications, music, and peer abuses, there are such powerful challenges to this innocence. We have such realistic work to do in helping our students, in being honest about obscenity, in imaginatively presenting the realistic ideal. They need us so much.
     Finally, mutual love or service is the third of the celestial loves, and an ultimate containant and expression of the higher two. The entirety of New Church education looks to the future spiritual uses of our students. Such uses are our end, goal, and purpose. That all knowledges taught are to look to uses, and come alive in doing so, is plainly and beautifully taught in the Arcana formative series (see AC 1472, et alia). How vital the doctrine of use is to all education and life becomes especially clear in the small work called the Divine Love (see especially XIII). There it is said: "so far as a person is in the love of use, so far is he in the Lord, so far he loves the Lord and loves the neighbor, and so far he is a man . . . . Loving good uses is doing them, for what a man loves, he does. No one can love the Lord in any other way; for uses, which are goods, are from the Lord, and consequently are Divine; yes, they are the Lord Himself with a person." If the Lord is to be central to New Church education, what could be a clearer statement?
     The direct use with students is being good and reactive students.

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But benefactions of charity can help them also prepare for a life of service. Thus community service is a strong ideal with us in the Academy. And preparation for the use of evangelization, as the greatest gift we have to offer, is also a looking to highest future uses.
     Today many of our students come to us with hurt self-esteem. Through compassion, care, and genuine psychology, we can help them find a truer parenting, and the genuine love of self as a servant. They can come to appreciate the talents and uses the Lord offers them, and love themselves in a healthy and buoyant way as a means to serve and love others. But in the end our most loving goal with our students is not self-esteem. It is use-esteem. For in uses they will get outside themselves and find the Lord. There is a whole set of doctrines on the place of self and the proprium. The Writings have delightful teachings on the good and subordinate love of self and the future good proprium from the Lord. But the call, the wonder before us, is to lead to the highest potential, the highest uses, each student can perform. "I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me and I in him bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing . . . . These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full" (John 15:5, 11). "He who testifies to these things says, 'Surely I come quickly.'. . . Even so, come, Lord Jesus" (Rev. 22:20).
WE GO TO CHURCH 1994

WE GO TO CHURCH       Editor       1994

     A reader for first graders has been beautifully produced by the Office of Education. The price is $4.95.

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SOLELY THROUGH THE WIFE? 1994

SOLELY THROUGH THE WIFE?       Rev. ROBERT S. JUNGE       1994

     "Where there is love truly conjugial this sphere is received by the wife, and by the husband solely through the wife" (CL 224). But what is associated with this transmission of conjugial love? In a true relationship do husbands receive the states of conjugial love from their wives? I think in some special way that's exactly what happens, and we do receive through our wives "innocence, peace, tranquility, inmost friendship, full confidence and a mutual desire of mind and heart to do each other every good; and from all these blessedness, happiness, joy, pleasure and from their eternal fruition heavenly felicity" (CL 180). Yes, this gentles and softens us. But at a deeper level the inspiration which the Lord gives through the women of the church gives us a unique appreciation of what is truly human.
     Still thinking of that sphere we receive through our wives, we note that AE 997:4 seems to add love to the Lord to this awesome list: "Since conjugial love in its first essence is love to the Lord from the Lord, and thus is innocence, conjugial love is also peace, such as the angels have." That's a pretty important "sweet addition to our lives" (CL 297)! I suspect it takes a lifetime to really appreciate it. In fact, the gifts we receive through our wives inspire eternal gratitude and love both to them and to the Lord, and those gifts reach the highest possible levels of mind and heart.
     Certainly, single men can receive love to the Lord, but I believe that there is a special inspiration to look to the Lord which can be received only through wives. Sometimes it's just as simple as inspiring us to go to church. But at other times the sphere of their affection encourages us to be true to some of our deepest spiritual ideals.
     For example: with the sphere of conjugial love received by a man through his wife, what do we make of the teaching that the origin of conjugial love is from the marriage of good and truth?

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Isn't there a special feminine inspiration that encourages that uniquely human response to the Lord? The Lord has different ways of leading us to that full and eternal union. Some come to appreciate it through a single path here on earth, and their deep longing for a partner is the richest preparation the Lord can provide. Some travel paths disrupted by permissions and disappointment. Through these contrasts they can gain a special appreciation for what is genuine and eternal. Sometimes conjugial love is where it appears to be, and sometimes it isn't. We do not know and cannot judge from circumstance. But we do know that for those who are faithful unto death, whatever their circumstance, the conjugial crown of life awaits.
     The gifts associated with the influx of the conjugial through our wives may occur in this world or wait until the next, but they are at the very core of angelic happiness. With a long-term perspective in mind reaching beyond the preparatory circumstances of this life, consider AE 984:2-"Man can become the love which is an image or likeness of God only by a marriage of good and truth; for good and truth inmostly love one another, and ardently long to be united that they may be one; and for the reason that the Divine good and the Divine truth proceed from the Lord united, therefore they must be united in an angel of heaven and in a man of the church. This union is by no means possible except by the marriage of two minds into one, since, as has been said before, man was created to be the understanding of truth and thus truth, and woman was created to be the affection of good and thus good; therefore in them the conjunction of good and truth is possible . . . . For the two partners who are in conjugial love from the Lord love one another mutually and reciprocally from the heart, thus from the inmosts; and therefore although apparently two they are actually one, two as to their bodies but one as to life . . . . Man is born into the love of evil and falsity, which love is the love of adultery; and this love cannot be converted and changed into spiritual love, which is the image of God, and still less into celestial love, which is the likeness of God, except by the marriage of good and truth from the Lord, and not fully except by the marriage of two minds and two bodies" (AE 984).

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     We often speak of women as having a keen sense of human relationships. Our relationship to God as Man or to the Divine Human of the Lord is the model of the potential of all genuinely human relationships. Love to the Lord and love of the neighbor are the heart of what is human. Imagine my surprise, then, the other day when I read a teaching about God as a Man which wasn't there the last time I read the Spiritual Diary. It says: "The truly human idea concerning God is as of a God-Man . . . . Everyone in the other life represents God to himself as a Man, the good especially, but also the evil . . . . But that idea has been destroyed in the world with those who began to think of Three Persons, and to separate the Lord's Human from them, and hence made themselves three invisible Gods . . . . " It further describes how it is destroyed with those who think aerially or attribute everything to nature. But then it says, "Children, the simple-minded, women, in a word all who have not destroyed that idea through the causes mentioned above, have the idea of God as of a Man" (SD 6057). Children and the simple-minded are in the innocence of ignorance. But this teaching seems to say that the idea of God-Man or the Divine Humanity has been uniquely preserved with mature women. Are we inspired through our wives to appreciate what is truly Human? Is that perhaps the deepest form of their moderating our affections? Is their sharing their loving vision of God as Man their most profound gift to the marriage relationship?
     Put the thought together. Husbands receive the sphere of conjugial love solely through their wives. Conjugial love is love to the Lord. The idea of God-Man has been uniquely preserved with women. Women have an awesome role-a perfect complement to that of men. What an opportunity the Lord has provided for mutual appreciation as we learn together to appreciate and love Him.

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ETERNITY OF THE HELLS 1994

ETERNITY OF THE HELLS       Rev. PRESCOTT A. ROGERS       1994

     We recently celebrated the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ and have been reminded that He came to earth in order to save the human race. He did this by subjugating the hells, by glorifying His Human, by judging the Israelitish Church and establishing the Christian Church, and by reordering heaven (see Doctrine of the Lord 3). In doing these things the Lord benefited every human being that had ever lived, whether in heaven, in the world of spirits, or in hell. He brought a stability and increased love and wisdom to the angels, He brought freedom and a greater ability to understand truths to the spirits, and He brought order to the evil spirits. This brief article addresses this last topic and tries to explain why the hells must be eternal if our Lord is a truly loving God.
     The nature of love is to make others happy, and the nature of the Lord's infinite love, then, is to make everyone happy all of the time-even when a person does things to make himself unhappy. He created heaven in order to provide a place/state where humans might live in innocence, peace and joy. But when some people chose to reject Him, the Lord created hell so that they would be happy, because He knew that they would be miserable in heaven. Hell is not a place/state of eternal punishment, It is home to evil spirits where they might be comfortable, content, etc. It is where evil spirits want to be. The Lord does not send anyone to heaven or to hell. He simply allows people to use their freedom and reason to choose a society where they will be the most happy they can and want to be. This is demonstrated in the testimony of Swedenborg that evil spirits are allowed to go to heaven if they wish, but after being there for a while they grow tired of the place and feel suffocated by the spheres of the angels which disagree with the sphere of their own ruling loves.

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So by their own choice they return to their hellish society where they feel fine. They could have stayed if they had wanted to do so.
     The teachings about ruling loves are very important when trying to understand how a loving God could create eternal hells. A ruling love is just that, for it rules over all the other loves a person has. Regeneration is the process of forming a good ruling love, of subordinating all the other good loves, and of removing those rebel loves which oppose goodness. And degeneration is the same process, but by it a person achieves an evil ruling love with his other evil loves subordinated to it and his former good loves removed so that they no longer can disturb him. The Lord does this to prevent spiritual harm to the good loves and to the person who truly does not want goodness. He does it because He loves that person.
     A ruling love is not thrust upon us. We choose it freely and with great affection. Once we have formed it we would rather die than give it up. It becomes the very essence of our consciousness and of our lives. The Lord does not ever prevent anyone from regenerating and going to heaven. And if He could raise all the evil spirits into heaven without doing them harm, He would. But He can't, because the evil spirits won't let Him. Their ruling loves are what they love the most, and they are the last things they would give up. Evil spirits stay in hell because they truly want to do so.
     Once a person regenerates or degenerates he is perfected in his ruling love to eternity, for this is what increases his happiness to eternity. An angel acquires truths by which his good loves are perfected or are made more genuine. An evil spirit learns by means of temporary punishments and by rewards to control his evil loves so that he does not harm others. He is conditioned into becoming a useful citizen to his society, even when he does not love his fellow citizens. He is willing to serve society for the sake of rewards and in order to avoid punishment. The greatest reward he receives is his ability to fantasize within strict guidelines.

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He is not allowed to think harmful thoughts or to harbor evil intentions, for he would then act on them and cause others to suffer, The Lord in His mercy does not want others to suffer, but rather protects evil spirits from each other by means of external order provided by angelic supervisors under His direct auspices. As soon as an evil spirit does harm, he is caught and appropriately punished. Fairly soon he realizes that he can never get away with a crime. He chooses for himself not to do what is harmful and so avoid punishment rather than satisfy his evil lusts and be punished for it. He learns to fantasize with increasing powers as to the results of what it is he wanted in the first place. Instead of stealing, a thief learns to fantasize that he possesses what it is he wanted to steal. In this way his lust is satisfied and so his ruling love is fulfilled-without harming others.
     The evil spirits are truly happy, although their happiness is not nearly as great as the angels' is. Angels can do whatever they want whenever they want, for in this way they and the people they love and serve become happier. Evil spirits cannot do what they want, but they can fantasize what they want, being left in freedom to live the life they choose under the conditions of no harm to others, unless the others ask for it-as we humans on earth too often do.
     The notion has appealed to some in the New Church that the hells are not eternal. I believe this notion exists because of the descriptions of punishments given to evil spirits as recorded by Swedenborg. No loving God would allow such things, unless there was a loving reason for the punishments. That Divine reason was to bring the evil spirits into order so that others would no longer suffer at their hands unwillingly and so that they themselves could be happier.
     Hell is an institution for the criminally insane. Evil spirits have evil ruling loves from which they have committed crimes and from which they would love to commit more crimes if they could get away with them. And they are insane from their rejection of the Lord's wisdom.

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When the criminally insane take over their institution they are extremely cruel to others, including each other. They think that they would be happy being freed from the caring nature and the watchful eye of their director and their guards. This is the conclusion of their insanity. But in fact they are much more miserable as anger and other emotions are expressed without restriction. They become victims themselves.
     This was the situation in hell at the time of the Lord's first advent and of His second advent. He came on earth to restore hell to order so that the evil spirits there could be protected from each other and come once again under His loving power and care, much more so than before the advent. He revealed the Heavenly Doctrines to Swedenborg so that by means of them hell once again could be restored to order and its inmates relieved from experiencing their own evils. Swedenborg's descriptions of the punishments are primarily from the time of the Lord's restoration of order in hell. Punishments are the only way to bring a sensual person back into order (as rewards are used to maintain that order), and evil spirits are all sensual humans. Now that the hells have been reduced to order and we humans no longer stir them up to the extent that our predecessors did at the time of the two advents, the evil spirits for the most part have learned to live within the limits of their lives imposed on them by the Lord for the sake of order and happiness. And they are happy to do so! They want to live in hell. They love it in hell. And the Lord in his infinite mercy makes sure that their happiness is protected and enhanced.
IMPORTANT TO KNOW 1994

IMPORTANT TO KNOW       Editor       1994

     Nothing is more important to a person than to know whether he has heaven within him or hell, for he is going to live forever in one or the other.
     Arcana Coelestia 7181

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Editorial Pages 1994

Editorial Pages       Editor       1994

     THE ETERNITY OF HELL

     Before getting into the subject we would mention an item on the front page of the Wall Street Journal (Dec. 27th). The heading is "Hell Reconsidered."
     One paragraph reads as follows: "Hell is a burning question on some college campuses. Rutgers University . . . had to limit enrollment to 100 students in a course called 'Death and the Afterlife' after 400 signed up one semester. When theologian Herman Tull offered a similar course for 90 students at Princeton last year, the class immediately filled up."
     The article indicates that nowadays people are more inclined to believe in hell than they used to be. However, the concept of hell the writer describes is the traditional one, so different from what has been revealed in the Writings.
     Suppose you were polled on your belief in hell. As a New Church person you have two very distinct concepts-hell as people generally conceive of it, and hell as revealed in the Writings. If asked if you believe in the eternity of hell, which hell would you have in mind in formulating your answer? People think of hell as a place where some people are literally on fire. The Writings show that no one is burning. "It ought to be known that those who are in the hells are not on fire" (HH 571).
     Those in hell are by no means abandoned by the Lord. When He came into the world it was not only for the sake of those on earth and in heaven. It was also for those in hell. He ordered the hells. There is not only a new heaven but a "new hell" (mentioned several times in Coronis). What is meant by the "new hell" is in part the subject of an article in this issue. The insight given into hell in n. 268 of Conjugial Love illustrates the way fantasy plays a role in the life of hell.
     If by definition those in hell are neglected or abandoned by the Lord, of course one would expect this condition to end.

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But the truth is different. People in hell may appear to have been abandoned, but the reality is that from Divine love the Lord is still leading them (see DP 330:2).
     After the Lord's coming He forms a new heaven and a new hell, "and in both He establishes order, so that they may stand under His auspice, and under obedience to Him, to eternity" (Coronis 140).
     "The arrangement of all in the heavens and of all in the hells is most perfect . . . . From this orderly arrangement, induced on both, it follows that both stand under the auspices and under obedience to the Lord to eternity" (Coronis 16).
     Actually, would we not agree with most of what is said by those who express themselves on the non-eternity of the hells? For we affirm the Lord's love and power. One view quoted in TCR 160 is this: "God is not only omnipotent; He is also gracious, and cannot send anyone into eternal fire; and if anyone is there, He cannot but take him out and raise him up." Although this little speech is among mistaken beliefs, this much is true: God does not "send" anyone to hell, and God most certainly does not "send anyone into eternal fire."
VOLUME NINE OF THE ARCANA 1994

VOLUME NINE OF THE ARCANA       Editor       1994

     Many have on their shelves the first eight volumes of the new Swedenborg Society translation of Arcana Caelestia. They have come to anticipate the color of the dust jacket as well as the contents of the new volumes as they come year by year from England.
     We have received volume nine, and without disclosing the color of the dust jacket we offer a few selections. Once again Rev. John Elliott has done exemplary service to lovers of this work.
     Some themes recur in the Writings, but there are some things that seem to occur only once.

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At the point in the Exodus story when Pharaohs daughter takes the baby Moses from the water, it is said that the babe wept and that she took pity on him. This relates to the personal experience of being inwardly called by the Lord to give help. "Indeed when people who are perceptive have feelings of compassion they know that they are being alerted by the Lord to offer help" (AC 6737).
     In Exodus chapter one it is said of the Children of Israel, "The more they afflicted them, the more they multiplied and grew." At this point in the Arcana we are told that when you oppose another person's opinion, the other may become even more entrenched in it! "Everyday experience" shows that "anyone who defends his opinion against others' attacking it becomes all the more convinced of his opinion and also at the same time discovers further ideas which he has not previously taken note of that strengthen it" (6663).
     In volume nine there is also a unique reference (compare TCR 160:2) to Swedenborg's witnessing the "stream" of humanity that continually flows into the spiritual world. "From the size and force of the stream I was able to judge that some tens of thousands arrive every day" (6699).
     A striking passage quotes those people who simply say that when we die, we die. "When we die, we die; as for the possibility of life after death, has anyone ever come back to talk about it? We have no knowledge of anything that will go on living when the life goes out of a person." Having said this they "go back to living in the way they had done previously" (6971).
     Notice the word "person" in the passage above. We are accustomed to reading "man" here. The use of inclusive language* (which is getting considerable attention these days) is one of the features of John Elliott's translation.
     * On "inclusive language" see NCL 1985. p. 85, and 1991, p. 419.
     As a final quotation, note these lines from no. 6945 which show a reason why the Lord permits belief in reincarnation. (Again note the inclusive language.)

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     "They fail to comprehend how a person can be living after death and in that life can have the senses, such as sight, hearing, touch and smell, or can exist there in a human form. The idea that a person is like this when he lays aside his body along with its senses and members appears to them to be very far from the truth. Thus they are enmeshed in impressions received by the senses, and in factual knowledge and illusions that are products of those impressions. If they did not believe therefore that the body is to be rejoined to the soul they would have no belief in any resurrection at all."
MINISTERIAL CHANGES 1994

MINISTERIAL CHANGES       Peter M. Buss       1994

     The Reverend Kurt Hyland Asplundh has been called to assist the Reverend Grant Schnarr, pastor of the Chicago Society. He has been serving as assistant to the pastor of the Bryn Athyn Society for the past year. Kurt will assume his new duties July 1, 1994.
     The Reverend Mauro de Padua has been appointed to assist the Reverend Cristovao Nobre, pastor of the Rio de Janeiro Society in Brazil. He has been serving for the last two years as assistant to the pastor of the Pittsburgh Society, and this year he was also visiting minister to the Erie Circle. In preparation for his new call he has been spending three months of each year in Brazil. Mauro will assume his new duties July 1, 1994.
     Rt. Reverend Peter M. Buss,
          Bishop

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OFFENSES AGAINST WOMEN 1994

OFFENSES AGAINST WOMEN       Wilfred B. Klippenstein       1994




     Communications
Dear Editor and Mr. Weiss:
     Mr. Weiss, I read with interest your letter regarding offenses against women and children. For a goodly number of years I have written about morality, which included pornography and its effects on the psyche of man, and how the contagion of immorality, in its explicitness, is letting down the barriers of morality all over the world. We in the U.S. are not setting a pattern of good behavior.
     I have talked about the thought process and how the imagination can be affected by good or evil. The imagination is of paramount importance, and we who are older should sit up and take notice and learn to work with our children and offer them some deserved consideration.
     What is happening to women and children is heinous. I can think of nothing worse than the practice of child molestation or the rape of women. In writing on this subject, I am concerned about the limited response I have received and the support that is so necessary for the growing minds of children and adults. We, as adults, are as badly affected as children by the evil mores that are general in the world of today.
     We in the church need to be involved. The church is the heart and lungs of a community, and its influence is most important. We should not fear to call a spade a spade. We need to enter into the general sphere of those organizations that are involved in the moral status of their communities. Let us be concerned for those who are victimized and not for the criminals.
     As a church that acknowledges the universalities of the Lord's truths, we need to take a strong stand when evils are lowering our standards.

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We need to get at the easy approach toward separations, divorces and drugs that are so habit-forming for young people, and the contagion that gives them a false feeling of well-being and being in the "in generation." The hardening of attitudes can be blamed on the bad habits that infest the whole mind and body. What is happening at this day has dulled their good senses and is creating a society that has lost its courage, honesty, and integrity, which have always been treasured virtues. These goods of tradition need the strongest of efforts to maintain a connectedness between families and religion.
     Wilfred B. Klippenstein,
          Hot Springs, South Dakota
ETERNITY OF HELL 1994

ETERNITY OF HELL       Rev. Leonard Fox       1994

Dear Editor:
     In reply to Mr. Thomas M. Cole's letter on the eternity of hell (NCL January 1994), I would refer Mr. Cole to a very informative work entitled The Eternal Duration of Hell: A Discussion Between Rev. Albert Bjrck and Rev. C. J. N. Manby (Toronto, 1901). With respect to the well known number from The Spiritual Diary cited by Mr. Cole, the following is Mr. Manby's response:


     Now in regard to n. 2583, which was written on July 10th, 1748 (the first Latin volume of the Arcana was published in 1749), it is closely related to n. 2582, and is included with it under this common heading: "That there is a great multitude of those spirits who delight in bringing harm upon others." In the first number (2582) it speaks in so many words about "the world of spirits" or the spirit-world, thus not about hell. The vastations which take place in the former have for an end to liberate as many as possible from the evil and false which adhere to them, in order that they afterwards may receive instruction and be received into heaven. In that world the evil and the good are still together. It is the world of judgment.

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The good have to be liberated from the evil and false still adhering to them, as has already been stated; the wicked have to be devastated as to such good and truth as has no root in their internal but is only a garment like that of the rich man, and which thus is not expressive of their real nature.
     That in this number the real subject is the "vastation" of good spirits is evident from the following at the end of the number, where it says, "As the punishment (poena) is inherent in sins, it may also hence be evident of what nature is the punishment (supplicium) which awaits them-for before they can be among good societies, such things must be removed through sufferings, if man be such as to his internals-further, how much pain and of how long duration in order that he may at last be master of his mind."
     But we proceed now to n. 2583, which reads: "That man thinks that the soul of a man can be tormented to eternity on account of ignorance and the like, this agrees with [the idea] that man is judged to eternal punishment (supplicio, penance), for he has deserved it, but that by the mercy of the Lord damnation finally is removed, but through vastations and punishments (supplicia, acts of penance), according to their actual sins and the nature contracted by them."

     From this we see, besides from the connection with the preceding number, that the question really is concerning those who as to their internals are good, and concerning their vastation, for mention is made of "ignorance and the like." On account of ignorance no one is condemned, for the Lord has said: "If ye were blind, ye should have no sin" (John 9:41).


     There is a number of plain teachings in the Writings that speak of the eternity of the hells (e.g. NJHD 177: " . . . . there is heaven and a hell;. . . man is to live to eternity, in heaven if he has done well, in hell if he has done evil"). The New Church accepts the Writings as Divine revelation, i.e., the Word of the Lord, not the opinions of man. Being finite, human reason cannot presume to understand the full ramifications of the order established by the Lord in His creation, nor can it presume to comprehend fully the workings of Divine Providence.

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We do know, from the teachings given to us in the Latin Word, that the Lord condemns no one to hell; every individual has the freedom to choose heaven or hell for his or her eternal life. The Writings make it very clear that the Lord does everything possible - within the framework of His Divine order-to save every human being, but He never withdraws the freedom with which He has gifted us. From our subjective human standpoint, we may think that it is "unfair" for the hells, to be eternal, but viewed within the grand structure of the Divine order as it has been revealed to us in the Writings, we can see, if we try to do so objectively, that the eternity of the hells is, indeed, an intrinsic part of that order. ("One who does not know the laws of Divine order might believe that the Lord can save anyone He pleases, thus the evil as well as the good; and for this reason some are of the opinion that in the end all who are in hell will be saved" (AE 745:3).) The objections raised by Mr. Cole are answered in many passages throughout the Writings, and a few hours of study would do much to resolve his difficulties.
     Rev. Leonard Fox,
          Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania
PURITY 1994

PURITY       Richard Linquist       1994

Dear Editor:
     The long thoughts of winter turn reflective upon the past, searching for reflections of precious metal. Here is a silver idea which New Churchmen have found to be of enduring value: "When order fails, uses fail."
     Order is preserved; I believe, when men honestly, justly and faithfully attend to those uses which the Lord calls on them to serve. Such servants are highly sensitive to the influences which benefit or disturb their service.

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     It is not without good reason that New Church men and women are sometimes characterized as being quite independent individuals. I am tempted to call them "territorial," for they will vigorously defend the boundaries of their realm of service to use. Their land is rich in silver, "yielding in externals but firm in internals." They cheerfully cooperate with anyone who serves real uses without altering their own principles.
     I admire the feminine pride which I sense in this poem by Emily Dickinson:


     It dropped so low in my regard
     I heard it hit the ground,
     And go to pieces on the stones
     At the bottom of my mind;
     Yet blamed the fate that fractured, less
     Than I reviled myself
     For entertaining plated wares
     Upon my silver shelf.


     The impure thoughts of self-appointed experts in worldly knowledge have no permanent place on the shelf where we keep our silver. Have you noticed the silvery shine on this concept: "in the world but not of the world"?
     What is man-made fractures occasionally. Yet a real New Churchman is unbroken by an environment of human failings. All is well with him, even in winter.
     Richard Linquist,
          Huntingdon Valley, PA
PERMISSIONS 1994

PERMISSIONS       Donald G. Barber       1994

Dear Editor:
     I have read with interest the recent articles on homosexuality and the letters on the subject which have followed. A letter from Evan M. Butterfield in the October 1993 issue on this subject states on page 476, "Similarly, [Mr. Nemitz] fails to address the fact that most modern studies demonstrate that homosexuality is not a matter of 'lifestyle' or of choosing one particular behavior over another, but of genetics, with actual physical differences in brain structure and chemistry.

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We do not call for laws barring the hiring or housing of persons on the basis of alcoholism, Down's syndrome, baldness, skin tone, heterosexuality, left-handedness, or other equally genetically determined factors. All our personal challenges, even the unpleasant or deeply troubling ones, are given to us by the Lord for some purpose . . . . "
     When I read, as quoted, that our personal challenges are given us by the Lord for some purpose, I understood Mr. Butterfield to be saying that the Lord gives us our genetic inheritance, be it Down's syndrome, Huntingdon's disease, cystic fibrosis, or some other debilitating physical disorder. I do not know the extent of Mr. Butterfield's thinking on this subject, but it seems to me that an extension of this line of thought leads to the conclusion that the Lord creates evila conclusion which we know is incorrect.
     DP 234 begins by saying, "There are no laws of permission by themselves or apart from the laws of the Divine Providence, but the two are the same; therefore, God is said to permit, which does not mean that He wills, but that on account of the end, which is salvation, He cannot avert . . . . That this cannot be done without the permission of evil will be seen in what follows."
     I have read articles which say that a tendency to alcoholism has a genetic basis. Alcoholism seems to me to be part of what is represented by the serpent in Genesis 3:14, i.e., the sensory part of man which does not look up to heavenly things but only downward to bodily and earthly things (see AC 242). If homosexuality has a genetic basis, does it similarly appeal to the senses, to self-love, to love of dominion? Surely the Lord's Providence does not try to lead us into relationships which are described as "an abomination" (see Leviticus 20:13). But since the Lord guards our spiritual freedom, and since freedom includes within it the possibility of abusing the freedom, the Lord permits evil (see DP 234, quoted above).

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Therefore, homosexuality (or alcoholism) is "permitted," not "given."
     Individually we have much to learn about being an instrument of the Lord in helping others live a life which leads to heaven. Part of what we need to learn is to distinguish between loves which we receive from the Lord and selfish loves. When we can make such distinctions, we are better able to be a neighbor to others. Let us not be confused by genetics.
     Donald G. Barber,
          Etobicoke, Canada
HELPING THOSE IN DISORDER 1994

HELPING THOSE IN DISORDER       Rev. J. Hugh Odhner       1994

Dear Editor:
     I must take exception to some statements made by Dewey Odhner in his letter on homosexuality (Nov, 1993 issue). He writes, " . . . if a friend respects my sexual preferences, should I not respect his?" I would ask, why? When an act is clearly immoral and a sin, why should we respect it? May not granting respect imply acceptance? Are we not called to fight against evil and shun it-in ourselves, in the world, and in the church?
     As to the statement referring to "two men or two women choosing to spend their lives together," unfortunately statistics concerning homosexual relationships indicate the chances of this happening are not very likely, especially among homosexual men. This should not surprise us when we consider that from creation the male mind and the female mind were not formed to be interiorly conjoined to the mind of a person of the same sex. Without an interior conjunction, the union of two persons of the same sex can exist only in the external mind and the body.
     "These loves, that is to say, of a man for a man, and a woman for a woman, do not enter deeply into the breast but stand without and merely touch each other; thus they do not inwardly conjoin the two" (CL 56).

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Long-term homosexual relationships among males tend to be weak and prone to failure for at least two reasons. The first is that the sphere of conjugial love is received by the female sex and from it is transferred into the male (see CL 223). The second is that according to the loss of conjugial love, man approaches the nature of a beast as to lusts (among which is the lust of varieties, but in this case with those of the same sex) (see CL 230, 509).
     Mr. Odhner further states in his letter, " . . . we should encourage our homosexual friends to favor the mild forms [of homosexual behavior]." If we do this, are we not encouraging our friends to continue in their disorder, and justifying this by convincing ourselves that at least it's a "mild" form?
     Our purpose should not be to encourage others to continue in disorder (whether it be mild or grievous), but to lead them into good by encouraging the acknowledgment of and shunning of evils. When the Lord confronted the woman taken in the act of adultery, He said to her, "Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more" (John 8:11). Here is a guide to our attitude toward sin. The Lord did not ask the woman to sin mildly or less often, but He told her to sin no more, He demonstrated both forgiveness of the sinner and acknowledgment of the sin, that it must not be done any more. To truly be a friend to homosexuals would be to lead them toward shunning the evil of homosexuality.
     Many of us may have difficulty doing this ourselves. Fortunately, there are organizations which minister to and provide counseling for homosexuals who may desire to change. We may either refer the homosexual to them or obtain information from them ourselves. To mention just a few: Harvest, Box 53486, Philadelphia, PA 19105-phone (215) 985-4031; Nehemiah Ministries, Urbana, Illinois-phone (217) 344-4636; Desert Stream Ministries, Los Angeles, CA-phone (310) 572-0140; Exodus International, Box 2121, San Rafael, CA 94912-phone (415) 454-1017; Pastoral Care Ministries, Box 1313, Wheaten, IL 60189.

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     I believe we are not to give respect to disorder, but to aid our neighbor in overcoming it, and to provide comfort for those wounded by evil and sin.
     Rev. J. Hugh Odhner,
          Maple Glen, Pennsylvania
SPIRITUAL GROWTH GROUPS 1994

SPIRITUAL GROWTH GROUPS       Jr. V. C. Odhner       1994

Dear Editor:
     This replies to the letter in the November 1993 issue (p. 528) in reply to mine in the October issue (p. 467). Mr. Mann thinks I assume spiritual growth groups (SGG's) "teach another 'truth' than is contained in the" three-part Word. This is correct, my thinking being based on the direct statements in the July 1993 NCL letter and the four August letters, where Gurdjieff's teaching et al are analyzed and extolled. Mr. Mann himself adds to those five letters in his description of the SGG approach and methods.
     I accept the church-authorized laity teaching function in theological matters: parents teach their children; Sunday school leaders their pupils; New Church teachers highlight and weave application of the Writings into their various subjects. Almost every New Church elementary school student has the most precious remains from hearing the stories of the Word read and explained by parents and lay teachers. All this the Writings support because of its pleasing orderliness and intent.
     But when it comes to religious classes of the type and complexion of SGG's (no person can guarantee spiritual growth), the church has traditionally furnished ministers to teach the truths of the church and thereby attempt to lead to the good of life.

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With classes like SGG's, the church's practice has traditionally been to give sole possession to the three-part Word, especially the Writings, where no place has been allotted to systems like Gurdjieff's, systems which may be here today and replaced tomorrow. The Divine authority of the Writings hasn't had to compete with such systems. Under these circumstances, there has been no need to apply the teaching of AC 6822. But the SGG's have forced consideration of this number, a teaching which, try as one may, cannot be explained away, for it clearly says: " . . . if others do this [that is, assume the role of 'teaching ministers'], heresies arise, and the church is disturbed and rent asunder." Therefore, this portion of the number is clearly referring to those lay people who would presumptuously assume the role of "teaching ministers" of the three-part Word and introduce non-New Church teachings. I agree with the sentiments and reasons stated in the letters from England and Holland in the October issue, expressing appalling concern about the introduction of Gurdjieff's system into New Church religious classes.
     Mr. Mann suggests that "good insinuation" is the main service of SGG's, but on analysis in relation to AC 6822, and by the very nature of their teaching function, this is open to question, based on Mr. Mann's own statements in his letter as to the methods and subject matter SGG's use.
     Would SGG's be willing to have their classes conducted by ministers, ready, willing and able? If they were, they would have to forego the use of systems like Gurdjieff's. People must act from freedom, it is true, but the essential qualifier is "according to reason." This first law of Divine Providence involves the application of Divine truths and orderly rules.
     V. C. Odhner, Jr.,
          Perkasie, Pennsylvania

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Academy of the New Church College 1994

Academy of the New Church College       Editor       1994

     Come, see what the Academy of the New Church College has to offer. A fully-accredited New Church liberal arts college conferring both four-year and two-year degrees, we offer over 150 courses at the freshman and sophomore levels-from Apocalypse Revealed to Religions of India-from Anthropology to Vertebrate Anatomy.
     Come, see the good that comes from a New Church collegiate education that offers so many opportunities: to make life-long friends, to be a peer leader, to participate in an internship, to learn about yourself, your neighbors, and your Lord.
     Come, see a higher education with both quality academic standards and spiritual goals.
     Now is the time to contact us for more information
     Mr. Brian D. Henderson                    Phone # (215) 938-2511
Academy of the New Church College      Fax# (215) 938-2658
P.O. Box 717
Bryn Athyn, PA 19009 USA
     Your completed application for admission should be received by:
     March 1, 1994 to enter Fall Term 1994
     The Academy will not discriminate against applicants on the basis of race, color, gender, or national or ethnic
     [Drawing of the Academy of the New Church College in Bryn Athyn]

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ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH SECONDARY SCHOOLS SUMMER CAMP 1994

ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH SECONDARY SCHOOLS SUMMER CAMP       Editor       1994

     The 1994 ANC Summer Camp will be held on the campus of the Academy of the New Church in Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania from Sunday, July 10 until Saturday, July 16, 1994.
     The camp is open to boys and girls who will have completed eighth or ninth grade in May or June of 1994.
     Students will receive registration details after the first week in March. We try to send these to every eligible student, but sometimes miss someone. If you have not received the information form by the second week in March, or know someone who may need information, please contact the camp director, Cory B. Boyce. Call him at (215) 947-4200 or write-Box 707, Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009.
CANADIAN ASSEMBLY 1994

CANADIAN ASSEMBLY       Peter M. Buss       1994

     May 27-29, 1994
     The Carmel Church will host a Canadian assembly in Kitchener (Caryndale) from Friday evening, May 27 to Sunday, May 29, 1994 with the Rt. Reverend Peter M. Buss presiding.
     The theme of the assembly is "The New Church: Heart and Lungs in Canada."
     All members and friends of the General Church are cordially invited to attend. For further information contact: The Reverend Michael K. Cowley, 58 Chapel Hill Drive, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada N2G 3W5.
     Peter M. Buss,
          Executive Bishop

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APPLICATIONS FOR ADMISSION TO THE ACADEMY GIRLS SCHOOL AND BOYS SCHOOL 1994

APPLICATIONS FOR ADMISSION TO THE ACADEMY GIRLS SCHOOL AND BOYS SCHOOL       Editor       1994

     Requests for application forms for admission of new students to the Academy Secondary Schools should be made by March 1, 1994. Letters should be addressed to Mrs. Robert Gladish, Principal of the Girls School, or Mr. T Dudley Davis, Principal of the Boys School, The Academy of the New Church, Box 707, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009. Please 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 a day or a dormitory student.
     Completed application forms should be forwarded to the Academy by May 1, 1994. All requests for financial aid should be submitted to the Business Manager, The Academy of the New Church, Box 711, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009 by June 1, 1994.
     Admission procedure is based on receipt of the following:

     1. Application
     2. Transcript
     3. Pastor's recommendation
     4. Health forms

     The Academy will not discriminate against applicants and students on the basis of race, color, or national or ethnic origin.
GLENVIEW CENTENNIAL 1994

GLENVIEW CENTENNIAL       Editor       1994

     This is the Glenview Society's centennial year. There will be several special events, including a banquet on June 18th and an alumni weekend July 1-3.

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FREDERICK EMANUEL DOERING FUND and CANADIAN SCHOLARSHIP FUND 1994

FREDERICK EMANUEL DOERING FUND and CANADIAN SCHOLARSHIP FUND       Editor       1994

     Applications for assistance from the above funds for Canadian male and female students attending the Academy of the New Church in Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, for the school year 1994-95 should be received by one of the pastors listed below by the end of March if at all possible.
     Ideally, acceptance for admission to the Academy should precede application for financial aid, but because academic acceptance (including processing of transcripts from other schools, etc.) can take several months to complete, the Academy business office needs to get started on the financial arrangements before then. Grants are usually assigned in the spring, hence the early deadline.
     In addition, students from western Canada may be eligible for travel assistance and even for another special grant, The vision is that no Canadian student who really wants to attend the Academy should be barred from doing so for financial reasons.
     For more information, help or application forms write:


Rev. M. D. Gladish                Rev. G. G. Alden
279 Burnhamthorpe Road                9013 - 8th Street
Etobicoke, Ontario                    Dawson Creek, B.C.
M9B 126                              V1G 3N3

Rev. M. K. Cowley                Rev. Mark Pendleton
40 Chapel Hill Drive                10 Evenstone Ave., RR 2
Kitchener, Ontario                    Kitchener, Ontario
N2G 3W5                              N2G 3W5
1994 SUNRISE CAMP 1994

1994 SUNRISE CAMP       Editor       1994

     This camp will take place at Mt. Misery, New Jersey, Wednesday evening, August 24th through Sunday afternoon, August 28th, 1994.

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1994 PETERKIN FAMILY CAMP 1994

1994 PETERKIN FAMILY CAMP       Editor       1994

     The theme for our second family camp at the Peterkin Conference Center in Romney, West Virginia, is: "The Challenges of Genuine Charity." You are invited to attend as we explore this subject under the leadership of Rev. Patrick Rose (Ohio), Rev. Erik Sandstrom, Sr. (Bryn Athyn), and Rev. Peter M. Buss, Jr. (Washington). For three days in scenic West Virginia we will focus on worship, study, recreation and fellowship.
     The camp will run from Saturday, August 13 to Tuesday, August 16. The daily morning schedule begins with worship in the beautiful Strider Chapel, followed by classes of study and discussion for adults. We will have a wonderful program worked out for children of all ages, including instruction, arts/crafts and music. Afternoons will be free for family recreation-hiking, swimming, ball games, tennis, horseback riding or just sitting on Gravatt porch reading and talking to friends. Optional afternoon discussions will be offered. After evening vespers on Prayer Hill, we will close our day with a gathering for a campfire, a talent night, or maybe even a dance. All meals will be served in the dining hall. Preparation and clean-up will be provided by the conference center staff.
     Registration forms are now available. Please contact Rebecca Snyder (6104 Lombard St., Cheverly, MD 20785-phone (301) 772-6315) for a brochure and registration form, or check with your nearest church center. Forms will be accepted through March 15, 1994 on a first-come, first-served basis. Once the camp is full, we will place people on a waiting list.
     We had a wonderful first year. We look forward to another uplifting experience which will draw us nearer to others, our church, and our Lord.

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SWEDENBORG SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION ANNUAL ESSAY CONTEST 1994

SWEDENBORG SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION ANNUAL ESSAY CONTEST       Editor       1994

     The Swedenborg Scientific Association is happy to announce an annual essay contest. The purpose is to:

     a)      Encourage use of Swedenborg's works in a relevant and substantial way on issues of general academic interest, and
     b) Recognize and thereby promote quality scholarship among full-time undergraduate and graduate students.
     All entering authors will receive a free two-year membership in the association and the accompanying subscription to The New Philosophy.
     Authors of winning essays will receive the following:
     a)      $100 certificate, to be presented at the annual meeting of the SSA, toward the purchase of SSA publications, and
     b)      Consideration of the prize essay for publication in The New Philosophy. Qualified essays will be subject to the usual review and editorial procedures. If the essay is published, the author will also receive an honorarium of $100 cash.

     The contest is open to all college and university students. Undergraduate and graduate student essays will be judged separately, with one award being made in each category.
     The successful essay will explore some aspect of Swedenborg's work, as found in any of his scientific, philosophical or theological writings, and relate it to modern science or philosophy. The length of the essay will be not less than 2000 and not more than 4000 words (in English).
     Entries must be submitted by January 1, 1995 for inclusion in the 1995 contest. All entries will be judged by a committee of SSA board members and the editor of The New Philosophy. All decisions of this committee are final and not subject to review.

91


No author may win the prize more than once in each category.
     All submitted essays become the property of the association and will not be returned to the authors. The association reserves the right not to award prizes in the event that none of the contest entries are deemed to be suitable by the awarding committee.
     Send entries (marked undergraduate or graduate) to:
          SSA Award Essay
          c/o E. E. Sandstrom
          P.O. Box 717
          Bryn Athyn, PA 19009 USA
IN ENGLAND'S SUNDAY TELEGRAPH 1994

IN ENGLAND'S SUNDAY TELEGRAPH       Richard Lines       1994

     Mr. Richard Lines of the Swedenborg Society sent to the Sunday Telegraph a letter about the "Swedenborg Gardens" project in East London.
     The concluding paragraph of this letter (published on December 12th) reads as follows:
     Emanuel Swedenborg's religious writings (in which little children appear as symbols of innocence, but in which also the depth of evil to which humans can sink is fully recognized) were a direct inspiration for William Blake, whose eloquent lines open and close your leading article. Swedenborg's description in Heaven and Hell of little children being taught by angels in the midst of beautiful gardens is said to have moved Friedrich Wilhelm Froebel to adopt the name kindergarten for his pioneering scheme of infant education.
     Richard Lines,
     London WC1

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POSITIONS AVAILABLE FOR 1994-95 1994

POSITIONS AVAILABLE FOR 1994-95       Editor       1994

     Academy of the New Church Secondary Schools

     1.      A part-time position for a Media Center specialist: Applicant should have a master's degree in Library Science in an ALA accredited program or a bachelor's degree in an appropriate field, with requirement to attain a master's degree in Library Science.
     2.      A full-time position in mathematics. Applicant should have a master's degree in mathematics or a bachelor's degree with requirement to attain a master's degree.
     3.      Part-time positions in French, German and Spanish. Applicant(s) should have a bachelor's degree in a related field and a sufficient level of fluency in the target language.
     Applicants should apply to either Margaret Y. Gladish, Principal of the Girls School, or to T. Dudley Davis, Principal of the Boys School, Box 707, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009 by February 22, 1994.
     4.      A full-time position in English in the Girls School. Applicant should have a master's degree in English or a bachelor's degree with requirement to attain a master's degree. Apply to Margaret Y. Gladish, Principal of the Girls School, by February 22, 1994.
NEW RUSSIAN PAPERBACK 1994

NEW RUSSIAN PAPERBACK       Editor       1994

     Just published in Kiev, this book consists of the first four chapters of the Arcana and the work Doctrine of Uses (D. Love and D. Wisdom), 80,000 copies were printed.

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POSITION AVAILABLE 1994

POSITION AVAILABLE       Editor       1994




     Announcements






     The Academy of the New Church Swedenborg Library invites applications for the position of Academy archivist. This part-time position may develop into a full-time position if combined with teaching or other Academy needs. A background in historical research and education is required. A master's degree and formal archival training are preferred. Send resume to Carroll Odhner, Library Director, Academy of the New Church, Box 740, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009.

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ARCANA CAELESTIA 1994

ARCANA CAELESTIA       Editor       1994


     ARCANA CAELESTIA
by Emanuel Swedenborg
VOLUME NINE
of John Elliott's new English translation is now available
     Hardcover postage paid $19.50
Softcover          postage paid $14.50
Box 743, Cairncrest                    
General Church Book Center               Hours: Mon-Fri 9-12 or by appointment
Bryn Athyn, PA 19009                    Phone: (215) 947-3920

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Notes on This Issue 1994

Notes on This Issue       Editor       1994


Vol. CXIV           March, 1994               No. 3
New Church Life

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     Notes on This Issue

     The Easter sermon by Rev. Douglas Taylor speaks of the Lord's crucifixion and suffering. "The agony and abuse He underwent before the eyes of man may indeed move us deeply, and they should. But even these outward acts, despite their enormity, were not the real suffering."
     It does not seem long ago that the "General Church Places of Worship" could fit easily onto two pages. Now almost five pages are required. There are almost 100 addresses, and keeping them up-to-date and correct is an interesting task. Please help if there is a correction to be made from your corner of the world.
     Have you ever read a description of the New Church which makes it sound much like other churches and gives no hint of its distinctiveness? When Dr. Van Dusen had this experience he went to bed "bothered," and awoke with thoughts to share with us.
     And what is the New Church? That is a question you are likely to be asked. Read Eric Carswell's three-page article at least once, and it will probably change the way you choose your words in answering this question. What if you were asked to declare your faith and purpose in about a page? See three examples in this issue.
     There are three items this month on the subject of hell. Erik E. Sandstrom's is only half a page but packs a memorable point. Many pages of the Writings are devoted to this subject. In fact it takes 25 pages in the Swedenborg Concordance to list the passages! (There are three times that on the subject of heaven.)
     Thank you for your patience, you who have sent material and are waiting to see it published. Some things have waited extra long, for example the declarations of faith and purpose.
     Next month we will describe a new quarterly journal called Arcana.

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REJECTION OF MARY 1994

REJECTION OF MARY       Rev. DOUGLAS M. TAYLOR       1994

     "When Jesus therefore saw His mother and the disciple whom He loved standing by, He said to His mother, 'Woman, behold your son.' Then He said to the disciple, 'Behold your mother!' And from that hour that disciple took her to his own" (John 19:26, 27).

     This incident, in which the Lord made the beloved disciple John to be Mary's son, and Mary to be the mother of John, recalls another occasion on which He very pointedly refused to acknowledge as His mother the woman who had given Him that human nature which enabled Him to come among men and speak with them face to face. On that other occasion He had been told that His mother and His brothers were standing outside desiring to see Him. The answer given then by the Lord implied a rejection of everything inherited from His mother: "My mother and My brothers are these who hear the Word of God and do it" (Luke 8:21).
     But when from the cross the Lord saw His mother, and also John, He made that implied rejection quite explicit, fulfilling the prophecy that was inherent in the previous incident. When He said, "Woman, behold your son," and looked toward the disciple John, He made it an altogether incontestible fact that He was no longer to be considered her Son, nor she His mother. Nowhere in the gospels is it ever recorded that He called her "Mother." She is indeed so called by others, but never from the Lord's mouth (see TCR 102). From this alone we might know that from the time of the crucifixion especially there was never any warrant at all for the adoration of Mary as the mother of Jesus, still less for the use of the name "Holy Mary,"
     "It is believed," we read, "that the Lord as to His Human not only was but still is the son of Mary; but in this the Christian world is under a delusion.

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It is true that He was the son of Mary, but not true that He still is; for by the acts of redemption He put off the human from the mother and put on a Human from the Father; and this is why the Human of the Lord is Divine, and in Him God is Man and Man is God. That He put off the human from the mother and put on a Human from the Father, which is the Divine Human, is shown by the fact that He Himself never called Mary His mother" (TCR 102, emphasis added).
     The complete repudiation of everything human inherited from the mother Mary involved three things. It involved the gradual separation and abandonment of all fallacies of the senses, all fallacious judgments from mere appearances, all falsities. Secondly, it included completely casting out every human affection and reception of truth, for the human could not continue forever to be a receptacle of truth-it had to become truth itself. Thirdly, casting aside everything human meant giving up any and all reception of life, for again the human could not remain a receptacle; it could not continue to receive life, but had to become life in itself.
     The first-separating every fallacy of the senses-is represented by the series of verses that come before the final renunciation of Mary. We read there that the soldiers tore the Lord's outer garments into four parts, giving "to every soldier a part" (verse 23). But the Lord's inner garment, "woven from the top in one piece," they did not tear but left intact. Like those who were responsible for the crucifixion itself, these soldiers knew not what they were doing. They did not know that in so tearing asunder the Lord's garments they were also re-enacting on the physical plane the marvelous change that had been gradually taking place within Him. For during His childhood and youth the Lord had put on the outer garments of truth. He had clothed His natural mind with facts-teachings and histories from the literal sense of the Word.

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He had put on a limited human understanding of the Word, of its doctrinal things and its histories. He did not have in His mind the Word as it is in itself. He had only a human understanding of it.
     All human understanding, even the best, is finite and therefore fallible. It cannot avoid distorting the truth. Such an understanding He finally had to put off. The garments were to and divided into four, and thus dispersed.
     Merely human understanding is finite because the human soul is a finite vessel acted upon by life from the Lord. But in the case of the Lord, while the mind which He built up in the human part from Mary was indeed finite in the beginning, His soul was Divine-Divinity itself or Jehovah. From this His insight, unlike that of everyone else born of woman, was Divine. He was therefore able, even in His thirteenth year, to astonish the temple doctors with His "understanding and answers" (Luke 2:47).
     But the Divine insight flowed into the Lord's human or external mind only insofar as He fought against and conquered the hells. These were summoned and invited by the tendencies to evil inherited from the mother. We are familiar with the teaching that as the Lord fought against the societies of hell which drew near in this way, He gradually conquered and subdued every one of them, so that they were restored to order. We also need to understand that as the Lord did this, as He gradually removed the influence of the hells upon His inherited human mind, that mind became more and more a receptacle for the Divine insight that flowed in from His Divine soul. As the Divine truth itself came into His mind, the merely finite understanding and knowledge of truth was displaced and cast off. This process may be compared to the way a child, as he grows and matures to adulthood, puts off the childish concepts with which he began. It is imaged and reflected also in our regeneration, during which our shunning of evils as sins produces a deeper understanding of the teachings by which our mind had been informed and instructed in the beginning.

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     It is said in the verses that we are considering: "These things therefore the soldiers did"-soldiers because it was by means of the army of truths at His disposal that the Lord was victorious in His temptation battles against the hells. And it was these militant, fighting truths that unwittingly dispersed the merely human concepts of the Word and scattered them to the four winds.
     However, the inner garment or tunic-the inner, seamless garment of the Lord's Divine truth as it is in itself-remained intact, and was by no means dispersed and scattered to the four winds, and this "that the Scripture might be fulfilled." For so it was. It was filled full. The facts and Biblical stories which are the clothing of the Sacred Scripture in the literal sense, the literal things put on by instruction, were filled full of the Divine truth itself, until in the end there was nothing but the Divine truth. The outer garments were, so to speak, rent asunder from within and dispersed.
     But before the human part was made completely Divine, before the Lord could know "that all things were now accomplished that the Scripture might be fulfilled" (verse 28), He had to cast out all states of reception of good and truth. The Lord's human mind could not continue to receive good and truth. There could be no vestige left of states of mind, that is, states of receiving the Divine good and truth. The Lord's human mind had to become the Divine good and truth, and not merely receive them. We cannot talk about the Divine receiving the Divine. Hence, if the Lord was to make His human mind to be Divine, then every affection and state of reception, everything that merely responded to the Divine and acted reciprocally, had to be removed. The Divine itself was to descend.
     Accordingly, the next subject to be treated of is the way the Lord repudiated the last of the human nature from the mother, What was to be cast off is represented by the three women who stood by the cross: the mother of Jesus, her sister or sister-in-law, also called Mary, and yet another Mary, Mary Magdalene.

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These states of reception of truth or affection of truth were represented comprehensively by the mother, for she was the source of them all, the others being related to her in one way or another: one is her sister-in-law; the other bears her name. Mary, in other words, stands for the way the truth affects us spiritually, the spiritual affection of truth, a state of mind in which we are deeply touched or affected by it. Quite obviously this is a state of receiving the truth-receiving it, in fact, with delight. But to receive is human or finite, and all reception, indeed every part of the receiving vessel, had to be cast away.
     It is said that the Lord saw His mother and the disciple John, the beloved disciple. To "see" (when said of the Lord) means His Divine insight into the quality of whatever He beheld. Here the meaning is that the Lord, from His love of saving the human race, perceived the quality of the last vestiges of the human nature from the mother and thus separated Himself from them. With this separation accomplished, the human part was made Divine. The Lord's human part was then no longer the Son of Mary "but the Son of God, not only as to conception but also as to birth, and this was one with the Father, and was Jehovah Himself" (AC 2649:3). The Lord's Human part was Jehovah Himself. There is no mother of God, no mother of Jehovah. Neither is there reception of the Divine in the Divine itself.
     Thus it was that progressively putting off the human heredity little by little resulted finally in the real and actual birth of the Son of God, the Divine Human. And the final accomplishment of the re-birth was represented by the Lord's words from the cross addressed to Mary and to John: "Woman, behold your son." The union of the Divine and the Human was complete, except for the yielding up of the body, which was still receiving life from the Divine Soul. When it too was no longer receiving life but was life in itself, then the Lord could truly say, "It is finished."

104



     However, let us note that the Lord's last words refer not only to the glorification of His Human part, that is, to the process of making it Divine, but they also refer to the completion of His work of redemption, His salvation of the whole human race from inevitable bondage to the hells. The glorification of the Lord's Human part was not the only effect or result of His triumphs over the hells. Simultaneously there was brought about the redemption of mankind. The Lord redeemed or bought back mankind from a state too hideous to contemplate, a state in which mankind would have had no choice but to be dominated and possessed even bodily by the inhabitants of hell. The balance between heaven and hell was in imminent danger of being destroyed. By the Lord's victories over the hells the possibility of free choice, and thus of deliverance from hell, was secured for the whole human race. For did not the Lord say, "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to Me" (John 12:32)?
     When, through His victorious triumphs, the Lord finally became the Divine good and truth even down to the very bones of His body, He at the same time granted to mankind the possibility of being more fully receptive of His good and truth. No longer could marauding spirits infest and obstruct the Divine inflow. There could be no interference. A new church could be set up on the earth which would receive the Lord's truth and be affected by it to the extent of actually doing the good works of genuine charity. This is what is represented by the transfer of Mary to the custody of John.
     We have seen that, in the process of deifying His Human part, the Lord could no longer use the human affection and reception of truth. In fact everything human had to be eliminated. This was portrayed by the fact that the Lord explicitly separated Himself from Mary, who represents this human affection of truth.
     But the human affection of truth was very much needed in the setting up of the Christian Church, which was to follow on after the Jewish Church.

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The Lord's truth as He revealed it needed to be received by men and women on earth and acted open. In fact, the church about to be established could consist only of those who were thus affected by the truth. Hence it is that when we turn to the Lord's work of redemption, which culminated in the setting up of the Christian Church, we see that Mary represents the affection of truth in that church, or the church in which the genuine members are spiritually affected by the truth. Hence the transference of Mary to the custody of John, and the new relationships connected with that change, was a most significant act from the point of view of the Lord as the Savior and Redeemer of mankind.
     To understand this better we need to know the representation of John, "the disciple whom Jesus loved." Every one of the twelve disciples represented some essential quality of the church or the kingdom of God. John, the beloved disciple, the only one of the disciples to remain with the Lord and refuse to forsake Him in His final and most grievous temptation, stands for genuine good works proceeding from feeling charity, or charity in act, the good deed actually done. This is the beloved disciple-the good work that begins with being affected by the Lord's truth and then comes forth into action. In commanding Mary (the affection of truth) to look upon John as her son or offspring, the Lord was saying that the church, which essentially is synonymous with being affected by truth, is to look to producing the genuine good works of charity as its offspring. The Lord's truth is to affect those in the church to such an extent that as a result they actually do what is really good.
     This is a most important lesson for the church, a lesson given by Divine decree. "Woman, behold thy son." The church is to acknowledge that all affection and reception of truth and all good works are gifts from the Lord, the Divine Human, the Subjugator of the hells. It is to acknowledge that the one end and purpose of receiving the Lord's truth is the production of the goodness of charity in act-the life of religion. This is to be the church's offspring. The desire to acquire truths can have no other legitimate end.

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The church is to be affected by the Lord's truth so that genuine good deeds result.
     Let us note, too, the reciprocal nature of this new arrangement. To the disciple the Lord said, "Behold your mother." The good deeds of charity stand as a son to the affection of truth. They are the offspring of being touched personally by the truth, the offspring of being affected by the sight of a personal application of some truth of the Divine Word to one's own life. No son would be in existence but for his mother. Without an affection of Divine truth, without being affected by the Word seen as Divinely revealed, no one can do any of the good deeds of genuine charity. When, therefore, anyone in the church wishes to perform some good work, let him or her reflect that for it to be a genuine work, that is, one done from the Lord and not from self, it must proceed from a state of being affected by something the Lord has said or commanded, which state is a gift from the Divinely Human God. Hence the teaching of the Writings that "this whole passage signifies that the church will be where the good of charity is" (NJHD 122).
     To inaugurate a church which could be in a state of charity was the central purpose of the Lord's coming in the flesh. That was why He had bowed the heavens and come down to earth in human form. He wished to establish a church on earth which would produce the goodness of charity. The deification of His human part was not an end in itself, but was rather the means of redeeming the spiritual, that is, those who are affected by truth and thus come into the goodness of charity. This, therefore, had to be accomplished before the Lord could make His cry of triumph, "It is finished." For it was a triumphant cry. So, too, were the words to Mary and to John.
     That it was a cry of triumph and accomplishment can be seen in the literal sense if attention is paid to the repeated use, in this chapter of John's gospel, of words expressing the idea of fulfillment and completion. The incident of the garments and the soldiers took place "that the Scripture might be fulfilled" (verse 24).

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When the Lord had declared Himself to be no longer the Son of Mary, He knew "that all things were now accomplished, that the Scripture might be fulfilled." And besides the final words of the Lord already referred to, namely, "It is finished," there are two more verses in the chapter in which mention is made of the fulfilment of Scripture.
     When, as New Churchmen, we read in the Writings the many passages which declare that the Lord's suffering on the cross was by no means the whole of redemption but was the last of a lifelong series of acts of redemption, we may understand why, even in the sense of the letter of the Word, there is such an emphasis on fulfillment and accomplishment.
     To adore the Lord crucified and suffering is to miss the whole point of the Easter season. The agony and abuse He underwent before the eyes of man may indeed move us deeply, and they should. But even these outward acts, despite their enormity, were not the real suffering. They were but a physical enactment of the fiendish onslaughts of all the societies of hell acting together as one gigantic monster. The temptations which the Lord suffered, unknown even to the disciples, are quite beyond description. And these battles were fought continually almost every day of His life on earth. They were not merely the happenings of but one or two days. The betrayal, Peter's denial, the trial, the mockery, the scourging, and the crucifixion itself depict the last of these temptations. The actual suffering on the cross was indeed a fitting representation of the extreme of temptation. But the point is, it was the last temptation. The rejection of everything human was accomplished in this state of the final temptation. The three incidents which we have been considering all took place while the Lord was still on the cross. But when the last vestige of the human form and nature from Mary was finally put off, then the Human from the Father (the Divine Human) was completely put on.
     This is the aspect of Easter that we who worship the Lord as the Divine Human need to keep before us.

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We rejoice at the Christmas season in remembrance of the birth into this world of the human in which was the Divine soul. We rejoice at that time, although the coming of the Lord thus recalled to mind was only in its beginning and was comparatively prophetic and promissory in its nature. How much more should we rejoice at Easter time, not only in remembrance of the fact that the infirm human, which brought with it such unspeakable suffering, was cast out and the temptations ended, but also because we are actually celebrating the birth of the Human from the Father, the Divine Human, Divine from first to last. It is only because the Lord could say, "Woman, behold your son" that we can say that the Word is made flesh and dwells among us, and that we behold His glory, "the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth" (John 1:14). Amen.

Lessons: Psalm 22:1-11, 16-19; John 19:23-30; TCR 102 ANSWERING QUESTIONS ABOUT THE NEW CHURCH 1994

ANSWERING QUESTIONS ABOUT THE NEW CHURCH       Rev. ERIC H. CARSWELL       1994

     Many people feel a little lost when a new friend or acquaintance says, "Tell me about the New Church." Or they become tongue-tied when asked, "What is different about the New Church?" And many cringe inwardly should someone ask, "Who is Swedenborg?" The problem is not that we know so little about these issues; it's that we know so much. The broad and comfortable knowledge we have gained over the years suddenly becomes a chaotic mess when we try to explain it to others.

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Another potential stumbling block is that the truth is almost too precious to us, Consequently we don't want to misrepresent it by saying something inaccurate, and we do so want it to be appreciated and accepted. In addition, there can be the lurking fear that the New Church will appear to be weird. Given these conditions, it is no wonder that so many of us have trouble talking to others about the New Church.
     Instead of trying to do the impossible (i.e., convey a comprehensive picture of the New Church in a few sentences), experience seems to indicate that it is far easier and often better if we speak of what the New Church means to us. A "rule of thumb" to help us feel more competent and do a better job of answering questions about the church is: No matter what the question is that has been asked, lead your answer into a form that allows you to say, " . . . and what I like best is . . . . "
     For example, imagine a friend at work, upon learning your church affiliation asks, "So what is different about the New Church?" You could start into an answer something like:

     In some ways it is quite different from traditional Christianity in the way that it explains God, the Bible and the life after death, and in other ways it shares many similarities, but what I like best about the New Church is . . . .

     Or imagine an acquaintance gets around to saying, "So tell me about Swedenborg." You could start into an answer something like:

     Swedenborg was a scientist and religious philosopher who, more than two hundred years ago, wrote a series of books presenting many ideas that are important to my understanding of God, the Bible and the life after death. One of the ones that I value most is . . . .

     Or remember the last time a person said to you something like, "The New Church? What is the New Church?"

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You could lead into an answer something like:

     I think the New Church offers some of the best ideas to explain many questions people have about God, the Bible and the life after death. One of the ideas I particularly appreciate is. . . .

     There are a number of benefits to answering questions in this way.
     1.      We are far less likely to be explaining something that is unclear to us or is such a huge idea that it will not likely be understood by our listener. The ideas or qualities that we like best are more likely to appear useful to our listener than a set of potentially unclear and abstract-sounding doctrines.
     2.      We don't have to feel that we are doing justice to the whole subject of New Church doctrine and life.
     3.      It is easier to be genuine and not overly intellectual when we talk about what we like best. It will be clear that the ideas we are speaking about make a difference to us personally.
     4.      We are much less likely to get a negative or apathetic response from our listener when we speak about something for which we are grateful.
     5.      Long after the listener may have forgotten our specific words, he or she is likely to remember our sense of personal appreciation for the New Church.

     You might be wondering, "What do I most appreciate about the doctrine and life of the New Church?" Here are some possibilities that might remind you of something you particularly appreciate. Perhaps you like the way the New Church explains:

     God (How He loves everyone. Why he lets bad things happen to good people.)
     The stories of the Bible are parables teaching us about the Lord and the steps of our own spiritual rebirth.
     Life after death (its reality; the fullness of life there)
     All people, no matter what their religious affiliation, are welcomed into heaven if they live a good life according to their best understanding of what is true (one of my favorites).

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Our individual freedom and responsibility in the Lord's eyes (another one of my favorites)
     The complementary qualities that the Lord has created in men and women
     Evil and guilt
     How our minds work and how we can best cooperate with the Lord to become more useful and happier people
     The marriage of a loving husband and wife lasts to eternity.

     Or you like the way the New Church supports:

     Marriage
     The importance of caring for and educating children and teens
     Doing your best at the jobs that come before you each day
     The value and use of prayer.

     It is a good idea to speak, at first, about a single idea, because many questioners will not be prepared for an answer of more than a few sentences. If the listener is satisfied with your simple answer or is uncomfortable with the whole issue and quickly changes the subject, don't let the hells inspire you with a sense of failure! The Lord may be able to use that seed of an idea you've sown to bear considerable fruit at a later time. It is important to remember that He is doing a million more things to lead your listener to the essential life and belief of the New Church than we can possibly imagine (see AC 3854). But we can help Him significantly in His efforts by what we say and do.
     I hope you find this idea as useful as I have. With a little practice, many more of us could find that, rather than dreading questions about our church, we could enjoy the opportunity to share some of our appreciation for how it serves us in such important ways.

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DISTINCTIVENESS OF THE CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM 1994

DISTINCTIVENESS OF THE CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM       WILSON VAN DUSEN       1994

     I really feel that even after a couple of centuries we have failed to lay hold of the real distinctiveness of the Church of the New Jerusalem. In my pursuit of a broad understanding of other religions, I bought and read Steven Sadleir's The Spiritual Seeker's Guide.* Mr. Sadleir turned to experts in various religions and got them to compose a one- or two-page description of the essence of their particular church. I immediately looked up Swedenborg in the index and read the entry. Whoever he consulted gave a fairly conventional and acceptable answer. But I was disturbed by the fact that the Church of the New Jerusalem sounded like every other Protestant group. I went to bed bothered by this.
     * Steven Sadleir, The Spiritual Seeker's Guide, Allwon, Costa Mesa, Calif., 1992
     Over the years I have learned to work in the state bordering sleep, much as Swedenborg did. In the early morning hours I awoke with a definite answer. It was so clear and convincing I daresay most followers of Swedenborg will accept it once they understand the answer I received.
     Many would guess our real distinctiveness lies in the Writings themselves, but how? Many religions have voluminous writings. The answer I received is that the Writings are the largest, most comprehensive and dearest map of the spiritual in existence. I need to elaborate this theme for you to see how true it is.
     I am thinking of maps in their capacity to represent a whole region. I have taught marine navigation for years, and an easy session is to give each student a chart and then just start asking questions. "You are in this region. Where is a good place to anchor?

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Consider the shelter, depth and nature of the bottom." I get them to visualize themselves there. Maps and charts present on one sheet a mass of detail impossible to handle in mere prose. It is as though you are looking down on a whole region.
     But our map is spiritual. When Swedenborg said, "In heaven the joy of one is the joy of all," I knew that is where I wanted to be, where there is no conflict or competition, where we participate in the joy of others. Terrestrial maps are based on actual ground observation. A spiritual map is based on spiritual experience. Although Swedenborg's description of heaven and hell in some ways resembles a travelogue or the description of a country, we soon see that this is no ordinary country. With a map or chart you can get a detailed orientation to a whole region. Based on his experience, Swedenborg has provided us a spiritual map.
     You might think every religion draws a spiritual map, but this is indeed not true. For instance, in the whole vast body of Roman Catholic literature there are almost no spiritual maps except for a few small ones drawn by saints from their direct experiences. There are religions with no map at all. They consist almost wholly of interpretations and comments. Many religions, e.g. the Sufi, have beautiful little fragments of maps, so fine you would love to see the rest.
     The only spiritual map I can think of that is as large and comprehensive as that of Swedenborg is that of Buddhism. Since I very much honor and respect Buddhism, I feel I can honestly make a comparison. There are several serious difficulties with the Buddhist map. The central and greatest emphasis in Buddhism is on how to get to the spiritual country, not the country itself. Their how-to guides are far superior to Swedenborg's. But their actual maps of the spiritual have serious drawbacks. One is the dismaying shift between central concepts in Sanskrit, Tibetan, Chinese, Japanese, and other languages.

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Even when they are clearly in the realm of spiritual experience, there is a disturbing shift of frame of reference from experience to physiological, mythological, and artistic representations of experience. Another difficulty is that the Buddhist maps over the centuries were drawn by many different people from different points of view, whereas Swedenborg writes from a single viewpoint and frame of reference. His map is clearer because it is drawn by one man using Christianity as its symbol base. But I compliment Buddhism as having the only other spiritual map of comparable scope. Hinduism is like Buddhism in that it is largely how to reach the spiritual (Yoga), and its actual maps were drawn by so many, over so many centuries, with different frames of reference, that they present great complexity.
     I should perhaps clarify what of Swedenborg's theology is his spiritual map. Both the Spiritual Diary and the Arcana Coelestia almost represent map notes, His most widely read works, i.e., Divine Providence, Heaven and Hell, Divine Love and Wisdom, etc. are the map.
     Swedenborg was presented the opportunity to explore the spiritual world. He seized this opportunity, took voluminous notes, and in his most widely read works he carefully drew what appears to me to be the largest, most comprehensive and clearest spiritual map in existence. At times I have faulted him for not telling us more about how to get there, but when you think of it, the best spiritual map in existence is ample enough to occupy a lifetime. There are certainly other maps of the same territory, but most are little fragments, and the few more comprehensive ones suffer some of the difficulties I described.
     This is the real distinctiveness of the Church of the New Jerusalem. It has the finest map of the spiritual realm in existence. I feel as though it has been on the wall before us for two centuries and we failed to grasp how unique and significant it is. Here is reason aplenty to preserve, study and respect the Writings.

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DECLARATIONS OF FAITH AND PURPOSE 1994

DECLARATIONS OF FAITH AND PURPOSE       Various       1994

     I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, God of heaven and earth and Creator of the universe. I believe that He alone is Divine and Human and that all people through Him are given life, and that through His redemption and salvation, all people may receive eternal life.
     I believe that truth is the means of salvation. I believe in the revelation of truth and in the threefold Word as the only complete and perfect revelation of truth.
     I believe that the essential of salvation is a life according to truth, and that the Lord, in His providence, offers all people a rich variety of ways in which the truth may be lived: in marriage and child-raising; in service to others; in social and community life; in repentance and reformation; in worship to Him.
     My purpose in presenting myself for ordination into the ministry is to faithfully serve in whatever use I am called to in the church. I intend to serve the Lord and the church by bringing people, whether they are the children of New Church parents, established and participating members, or those who know nothing of the New Church, to a realization that the Word is not just a set of books but is instead a set of living ideas that can save a person from despair and destruction and bring him or her to a sense of the living presence and leading of the Lord their God.
     Kurt Hyland Asplundh

     *****

     I believe God has revealed Himself as the Divine Human.

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In this form any person can picture Him now performing the same miracles He did while on the earth-giving spiritual sight to the blind, causing the spiritually paralyzed to rise and resume a life of usefulness, and constantly sacrificing Himself to make it possible for all people to choose freely a life that leads to heaven.
     Behind these images of the Lord Jesus Christ, one can see His love at work. God Himself is love, and this love manifests itself in the form of a Divinely wise Human who loves others outside of Himself, desires to be conjoined with them, and strives to make them happy from Himself (TCR 43).
     I believe the Word is an image of God-it too is love revealed in the form of wisdom or Divine truth. Behind every teaching in the Old Testament, the New Testament and the Writings stands the Lord's love, or His desire that the truth will make a change in people's lives.
     The purpose of revelation is to reveal God's will to people. God intends a spiritual life. Contained in His Word are teachings concerning many facets of this spiritual life: concerning true married love, genuine worship of the Lord Himself, the life of angels in heaven and the life of devils in hell, freedom and the accompanying responsibility to choose to follow the Lord instead of ourselves, In all these teachings the Lord's aim is to inspire a person to repent of his selfish and worldly cares which drag him toward hell, and bring him into the genuine freedom and happiness of heaven.
     As a minister I pray for the enlightenment to see the life of truth, or the way the teachings of the Word work in people's lives, including my own. My goal is to lead people toward a personal relationship with the Lord in a life founded on spiritual principles. I see my primary role as serving the Lord in His church, by providing for worship, and through extension of the church by means of education and evangelization. I pray for the ability to help in my small way to establish the Holy City New Jerusalem more firmly on the earth. In all my ministry, let this saying of the Lord be my guide: "As you go, preach saying, 'The kingdom of heaven is at hand.'

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Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons. Freely you have received; freely give" (Matt. 10:7, 8).
     Peter M. Buss, Jr.

     ****

     I believe God is our Creator and Savior. He is the one God of heaven and earth-the Lord Jesus Christ. He came into this world to save the human race from its own destruction. A new communication and covenant between the Lord and His people was established after that coming. The Lord has come again to save the human race from darkness and obscurity. He has come again by revealing Himself in the Writings for the New Church. The Lord has now established a full and complete covenant between Himself and His people by means of a three-fold Word-the Old Testament, New Testament, and Writings.
     I believe genuine peace, happiness, and contentment come to all human relationships when a person lives a life according to the teachings of the three-fold Word. That Word gives meaning to the complexities of life because it explains what the source of unhappiness and suffering is. The Word also shows the steps which lead to a life of usefulness-a life of heavenly peace and eternal happiness.
     My purpose in entering into the ministry is to be a servant of the Lord. I wish to serve the Lord in His church by teaching His truth so that the people of His creation are led to a life that is both meaningful and useful. I realize that to do this I must look to the Lord alone for guidance, for as the Psalmist said: "Show me Your ways O Lord; teach me Your paths; lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation" (Psalm 25:4, 5).
     Derek P. Elphick

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DIVINE MERCY AND ETERNAL HELL 1994

DIVINE MERCY AND ETERNAL HELL       Rev. WALTER E. ORTHWEIN       1994

     In regard to the eternity of the hells, as well as other issues, it is important to distinguish between our own wishful thinking and what the Lord actually teaches. I appreciate the merciful feeling that leads some to deny the eternity of hell, but I think the conclusion is in error.
     The larger issue here is how we respond to the "hard sayings" found in the Word. From our own fallacious reasoning we cannot see the truth; it becomes manifest only when we stop reasoning about it and believe "from a simple heart that it is truth because so said by the Lord" (AC 1911:6). The more difficult or even offensive we find a particular teaching, the more we need to rely on this principle of accepting it simply because the Lord has said it, then seek to understand how it is true.
     There is a natural human tendency to want to soften some of the Lord's "hard sayings" because we do not want to be judgmental, dogmatic, or harsh; but we must beware of imposing our scruples, or our imperfect idea of what is charitable and just, upon the Lord. His ways are higher than our ways, and His thoughts than our thoughts (see Isaiah 55:9).     
     Certain judgments are made in the Writings (for example, concerning the state of the former Christian Church) which we may not feel comfortable making, but that should not cause us to deny the fact that the Lord has made them. We should resist any impulse to apologize for the Lord or second-guess Him.     
     There can be no question but that the Lord is a God of infinite love and mercy, and that He wills to save everyone. If some of His sayings seem hard, that is only because our understanding is faulty. We can be confident that everything the Lord teaches, rightly understood, is an expression of His Divine love.

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     The teaching of the Writings seems clear and explicit: Those who enter heaven, we are told, "are perfected to eternity," but those who are cast down into hell "endure evils continually more grievous, and this until they dare not do evil to anyone. After this they remain in hell to eternity, whence they cannot be taken out, because it cannot be given them to will good to anyone, but only, from fear of the penalty, not to do evil, the desire to do it always remaining" (AC 7541).
     Again: " . . . man must be led away from evil in order to be reformed . . . for he that is in evil in the world is in evil after he has left the world; consequently, if evil is not removed in the world it cannot be removed afterwards. Where the tree falls there it lies" (DP 277b). There is no contrary teaching that the tree will ever get up again.
     I believe that passages such as the one quoted in the January New Church Life refer not to hell proper but to punishments endured in the world of spirits. The section of the Spiritual Diary from which the quote is taken is describing "a very great multitude in the world of spirits" who delight in tormenting others (SD 2582). It might be noted also that this passage was written in 1748, before the Last Judgment of 1757, when the spiritual world was reordered. The situation then was not so clear as it became afterwards. Even now, people may experience temporary states of hell in the world of spirits, and for that matter in this world, but hell itself is eternal.
     Before saying that an eternal hell is contrary to human free will, we need to study and reflect deeply on what hell is, what "eternal" means, and on the nature of human freedom.
     The general truth to keep in mind is that hell is a provision of the Lord's mercy. It is not a place of perpetual punishment, as commonly thought, but simply a place provided by the Lord for those who choose to live evilly, The devils punish each other, but the Lord maintains strict limits on this.
     Far from being contrary to human free will, the possibility of an eternal hell is the inevitable consequence of free will.

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The Lord gives us a real choice, with real consequences. He respects the choice we freely make during our lives in this world. He doesn't turn around and say, "All right, you chose hell, but it was all just a game and I'm going to put you in heaven anyway."
     We must remember that hell, like heaven, is not a place so much as it is a condition of a person's heart and mind. A devil is not just in hell but is a hell. To remove someone from hell would really mean removing that person's will, which would amount to obliterating the person, because the will is the person.
     In this world we can be taken out of hell, out of ourselves, and given a new will, which is implanted in the understanding. But after death, one who has confirmed himself in evil has no more use for truth than he did in this world. Why would this change just because he's in the next world? Punishments? There ate painful and even fatal consequences to disorder here, but people continue to get into trouble just the same. Punishments can restrain the evil spirits' acts, but their wills are unchanged.
     For a person to be in hell to eternity is not the Lord's will but the person's will. We assume that any sane person, after a while in hell, would want to get out; but those in hell are not sane (see DP 83:3). They have lost the ability to think sanely during their lives in the world, and they do not wish to have it back.
     Freedom depends on reason, or the ability to see the difference between good and evil. To preserve that ability with those who have confirmed themselves in the love of evil would be a perpetual torment for them. Therefore, the Lord in His mercy permits them to be insane and enjoy their insane delights; they are not forced to see what they really look like, or the disgusting conditions in which they live. But one who (mercifully) can no longer distinguish between a flower garden and a dung-heap, or who prefers the dung-heap, is no longer in a position to reject the latter and seek the former.

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Eternal hell is therefore an unavoidable permission of Divine mercy. It would be unmerciful to perpetuate the only means whereby a person can be lifted out of hell-the sight of what is true and good.
     The state of a person's mind finally depends on the state of his will (see TCR 589). We are told, for example, about some "fiery devils" who were let into alternate states of wisdom and insanity, in order that they might see how insane they were. "But although from wisdom such see that they are insane, yet when the choice is given them, as is done with everyone, they admit themselves into the state of insanity and love it; and then they regard with hatred the state of wisdom" (DP 223).
     Again, note what is said in the little addition at the end of Divine Providence: some evil spirits told Swedenborg that "every spirit, whether good or evil, is in his own delight. . . ." Swedenborg asked them, "What is your delight?" They told him the filthy things that delighted them, and he said they were like "unclean beasts." They replied: "If we are we are; but such things are delicious to our nostrils."
     In another place we read of diabolical spirits who could understand the truths of heaven and the church perfectly well but "when told they might will them if only they would flee from evils as sins, they said that they could even do that, but did not wish to. From this it is evident that the wicked equally with the good have the capacity called freedom" (DLW 266).
     The point, then, is not that the spirits in hell cannot get out; it is that they do not wish to get out. They freely choose to be there; it is an insane kind of freedom, but it is the only freedom they want. Hell is the result of a choice made in this world, but it is also ongoing choice-choice which the spirits there continue to make every moment to eternity. They choose what is delightful to them.
     The Lord preserves equilibrium for us in this world, but after death "the tree lies as it falls." The positive side of this is that heaven also is eternal, and does not require a daily struggle to stay there.

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When the battle is lost, it is lost; but when it is won, it is won, and the reward is permanent and secure forever.
     To deny the eternity of hell weakens a message which we need to receive in its full strength: our eternal well-being depends upon the choices we make during our lives in this world. That is the purpose of life in this world: to choose between good and evil, between heaven and hell. And as good in its essence is eternal, so evil in its essence is an eternal rejection of the good.
     Some people today reject the whole idea of hell, and say that fear of hell never deterred anyone from evil. They are wrong. Without fear of judgment after death, without fear of eternal damnation, a great incentive to amend our lives is lost. The Lord tells us to fear the death of the soul! (see Matthew 10:28; cf. 5:29, 30; 7:13, 19). Our society would be better off if more people took hell seriously. And how serious is it, and what does damnation really mean if it is only temporary?
     It may seem harsh to say hell is eternal, but it is crueler by far to tell people it is not, and so weaken their resolve to undergo the combats of temptation whereby hell's grip is broken.
     In the beginning, everyone is oriented toward self and the world, toward hell and away from heaven. But the Lord, in His mercy, has provided us with the means whereby we can (as if of ourselves) turn ourselves around. "There is no mercy apart from means" (HH 521-527; cf. DP 338). The means are Divine truths, including the truth that hell is eternal. That truth is a provision of Divine mercy! It is a blessing from the Lord, and we should thank Him for it!
     "The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul . . . . The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether . . . . Moreover by them is thy servant warned . . . " (Psalm 19:7, 9, 11).

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WHY IS HELL ETERNAL? 1994

WHY IS HELL ETERNAL?       WARREN DAVID       1994

     Hell is actually a very nice place for those who choose to live there. Their companions understand them, sympathize with them and give them support. They are allowed to do pretty much whatever they want to do, provided they do their assigned work and do not violate the rules. They are provided with housing, food, clothing, companions, and work suitable for their talents-all that as well as a guarantee of eternal life. What better life could a God of infinite love and mercy provide for those of His children who choose freely to buck the system?
     Let go of that old idea that evil spirits are constantly burning in a fire of punishment inflicted by a vengeful God. Punishment? Who said punishment? Hell has not been provided by our all-loving Father for the sake of punishment. Quite the contrary. It has been provided as the best opportunity for happiness for all people who choose to fight the system.
     The Lord's heavenly kingdom is a kingdom of uses. Everyone who comes into that kingdom has been created to perform a particular use and is required to perform it. Those who have chosen to love the work the Lord gives them to do enter that kingdom in a state of mind that finds delight in doing the work. Those who have chosen not to love the work the Lord gives them to do have to do it unwillingly in order to earn their food, clothing and shelter.
     When thinking of hell we need to let go of the idea that hell is punishment for the evil deeds we have committed on earth. Conversely, we need to let go of the idea that heaven is a reward for our good deeds or compensation for the hardships we have endured. We also need to let go of the idea that those who live in hell have no freedom. The fact is that they choose freely to live there and choose not to live in heaven, and this choice is always open to them.

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The fact that they continually choose hell rather than heaven does not mean that they have no freedom.
     God has destined all people to live forever. God has given this gift and does not take it back. God has also given everyone work to do. Delight is a by-product of doing one's work, available to all who do it.
     Remember that the spirits in hell live in a fantasy land. Most of the time they enjoy their fantasies. It is only when the light of heaven shines into their lives that their true state is disclosed, and when that light is removed they quickly go back into their fantasies of wealth and grandeur. We tend to think they live in deserts and caves because that is the way Swedenborg saw them in heavenly light, but that is not the way evil spirits see themselves when in their own light.
     Heaven and hell are not just places where we can go; they are states of mind within us, They are, in fact, our ruling loves, our very lives. Would the Lord take away our lives? If the Lord could take away a life and replace it with a totally different life, what would happen to the person whose life had been taken away? Would the new person then be an angel who had never lived on earth? What would the old limbus be doing? There are many philosophical problems that arise when considering this possibility.
     It is interesting to speculate about what happens on the sabbath day in hell while the angels are celebrating the day in worship, thanking the Lord for giving them the opportunity to serve their neighbors. I can visualize those spirits in hell using their day off to get drunk, plot violence against their neighbors and actually try to harm them. For such actual deeds committed there, the Lord permits other evil spirits to hand out punishments to them. The Lord Himself is far too loving to stoop to punishing anyone Himself.
     The first time I read the Spiritual Diary, I read the translator's preface in each volume.

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I noticed that the translator started out thinking that hell could not be eternal, and step by step as he went through the volumes, changed' his mind completely by the time he reached the end of the Diary.
GENERAL CHURCH TREASURER'S REPORT 1994

GENERAL CHURCH TREASURER'S REPORT       Editor       1994

     Year Ending December 31, 1992

     The financial statements of the General Church of the New Jerusalem for the year ending December 31st, 1992, with the report of our independent auditors, Ernst and Young, were printed in the January, 1994, issue. They are intended to form a part of this report of the treasurer, as in past years.
     As usual, there is good news and bad news on the financial side. The bad news is in the area of contributions to the General Church, while the good news is in the areas of endowment income, society performance, and the sale of an asset.     
     The 1992 year ended with a current fund surplus of over $22,000, compared to the budgeted surplus of $4,000. However, the surplus resulted mainly from the gain on the sale of a manse we no longer need. In common with the Academy and some societies, the General Church saw a significant decrease in contributions. Unrestricted contributions totaled $435,400, compared to the budget of $516,500, and actual 1991 contributions of $491,900.
     This is the second year in which our contributions have not met our target by a considerable amount. Clearly, there has been a significant, and possibly permanent, shift in contribution patterns. The Development Office is working hard to stabilize the situation, but the fact is that the General Church needs increased support from all its members if it is to carry on existing uses and undertake new ones. Thankfully, the General Church added to its endowment principal in 1992 and is also adding to it this year, so income from endowment is increasing.

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In 1992, endowment income increased by 5.7%, or $95,000 over 1991, and came in at $21,000 over budget.
     Ministers' moving expenses cost $6,000 over the $30,000 budgeted, necessitating a transfer of $6,000 from the moving reserve, which now stands at $73,000.
     On the expenditure side, total direct support by the General Church toward pastoral and education services came in $7,000 under the budget, and was equal to the amount spent in 1991. This is really remarkable. Societies have kept up their support very well in difficult times. One must remember that the total bill that we as a church pay for direct support of pastoral and education services exceeds $3,269,000, and all but $340,000 is paid by local societies and congregations.
     Bryn Athyn Society accounts for over one million of this, but other societies still come up with approximately one and three-quarter million dollars annually to meet these costs. So support for ministers' and teachers' salaries at the society level held up at a total of almost three million dollars. This is vital to the health of the church and, indeed, is a sign of our overall strength.
     Operations at Cairncrest cost $6,000 over the budget of $184,000, but this was a reduction from the $193,000 spent in 1991. Increased depreciation, called for by our auditors, accounted for $3,200 of the variance to budget.
     Total administration expenses came in at $6,700 under the budget of $529,000. Employee benefits exceeded the budget of $790,500 by $9,200, and the costs increased by 10.2%, or $74,040 over actual costs for 1991.
     The planned transfer of $40,000 to the liturgy fund was effected, and the net result was a surplus in the current budget of $22,000.
     The costs of the liturgy revision project total $132,000 since it was commenced several years ago. We provided $40,000 from the 1992 budget to reduce the remaining outstanding balance of the new liturgy to about $19,000.

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All remaining costs have been provided for in previous budgets. Funding is in place to print the new liturgy as it has been developed by the Liturgy Committee. It is expected to become available in the near future.
     Overall, much took place during 1992, and the church was able to end the year with a surplus in its current funds. This is the eleventh year in a row that this has been possible.
     From a financial perspective, the uncertainties in the U.S. healthcare market are worrisome, but we are monitoring the situation as it progresses. We are most grateful to the dedicated staff of ministers, teachers, and others who are supporting us in our attempts to control these costs as basic healthcare expenses continue to rise.
     The notes to the financial statements which followed the audited statements were included for the first time in this report at the request of our auditors. They provide useful supplemental information on the report.
MAPLE LEAF ACADEMY '94 1994

MAPLE LEAF ACADEMY '94       Editor       1994

     Maple Leaf Academy will take place Thursday, June 23 through Thursday, June 30 at Caribou Lodge, Wood Lake, Muskoka, Ontario, Canada. Come join us for this unique New Church summer camp for teenagers. Maple is a blend of worship, recreation, instruction and conversation, focusing on the campers' relationships with themselves, their friends, their religion and the Lord. All are welcome to attend the camp who have completed any of the high school grades 9 through 13.
     The cost of the camp is $150 Canadian ($113 U.S.). The bus from Kitchener or Toronto to the camp and return is an additional $30 Canadian ($23 U.S.-$20/$15 one way). For further information or to apply, contact the Rev. Michael Cowley, 40 Chapel Hill Drive, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada N2G 3W5 (phone 519-748-5802).

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Editorial Pages 1994

Editorial Pages       Editor       1994

     PROUD'S MOMENT

     (True Story of a Mind Open to the Lord)

     There is a saying in the Writings about those who "search the Word for no other end than the truth." "If anyone tells them that they ought to stay in the doctrinal things of the church in which they were born, they reflect that if they had been born in Judaism, Socinianism, Quakerism, Christian gentilism, or even out of the church, the same would have been told them; and that it is everywhere said, Here is the church! Here is the church! Here are truths and nowhere else! And this being the case the Word should be searched with devout prayer to the Lord for enlightenment" (AC 5432:5).
     The story of Joseph Proud is such a good one. He is an example of a gifted orator and teacher who was not tenacious of his own opinions.
     Two young men, relatively new to the doctrines and not fully educated in them, decided to go from city to city in England, talking to any crowd they could find. They ran into indifference, ridicule, some success, and in some cases opposition. One of them eventually became one of the first two ministers ordained in America (Ralph Mather).
     "Whenever they observed an assemblage of people, they seized the opportunity of calling the attention of the multitude to subjects of religion and to the doctrines of the New Church, which at that time were almost entirely unknown in the country, and generally regarded, when heard, not merely as novelties, but as errors of the most dangerous tendency."*
     * The above story is told in the Intellectual Repository 1926 starting on page 349. The quotation above comes from Rise and Progress by Robert Hindmarsh, page 65. See also Annals of the New Church, p. 148 and New Church Life, 1896, pages 154, 168.

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     In 1789 when they got to the city of Norwich, they met with opposition from a very distinguished Baptist preacher, Joseph Proud. He wanted people to have nothing to do with this strange new doctrine. He had heard that one of his colleagues agreed to talk to the two young men. He went to the house, burst in and said, "Have nothing to do with these men or their doctrines!" and left. As he left he was struck with a feeling of anxiety. "Do I really know what I am talking about?" And he prayed to the Lord to show him the right thing to do. Then he opened the Bible. It happened that he opened to the first chapter of the book of Habbakuk. His eyes fell upon the fifth verse!

Behold among the heathen, and regard, and wonder marvelously; for I will work a work in your days, which ye will not believe though it be told you.

     "Which ye will not believe though it be told you"! Had he rejected the truth itself? He returned and asked in a receptive state of mind what these new doctrines were. This man went on to become a powerful preacher for the New Church. Indeed he came to be called "the Gorand New Jerusalem Preacher."
     Despite his name, here was a man not proud of his own intelligence. We have heard of others who, upon reading the Writings and sensing how important they are, have prayed to the Lord to be shown if they are true. A case in point is the late Mr. Basil Later of Australia. He describes in the pamphlet A Great Revelation his experience upon reading Heaven and Hell when he prayed for enlightenment. Now his very short autobiography has been printed in Australia. It is called Now It Can Be Told.
     There is a human tendency shared by many of us to sense that we are "right" in every discussion, and there are some who have plenty of words to "prove" that theirs is the right point of view. What a valuable thing to be able in humility to admit that one may be mistaken and to pray to the Lord for light.

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THERAPEUTIC APPROACH 1994

THERAPEUTIC APPROACH       Charis Cole       1994




     Communications
Dear Editor:
     In the February issue, page 73, there is a quote from Arcana 6737: "indeed when people who are perceptive have feelings of compassion they know that they are being alerted by the Lord to offer help." This can be applied to the organizations that have helped thousands.
     Mr. Barber, in his letter titled "Permissions," compares homosexuality to alcoholism. Let's follow this line of reasoning. Alcoholics Anonymous says this condition is genetic and they call it a sickness. The reason they do this is so that the family will realize that the alcoholic is in a lot of pain and needs compassion. He is probably in denial, refusing to admit he is doing anything wrong. Alcoholics Anonymous tells the family not to do anything to enable, encourage, condone, or hide this behavior. In fact, they advise the family not to make excuses for him (or her) to his friends and employer, and to leave evidence around to make sure he sees the harm he does. They want him to admit that he is causing a lot of harm and is in big trouble so that he will be willing to enter therapy.
     Society, although agreeing with Alcoholics Anonymous, does not condone alcoholism. It goes further. Drunk driving is punished, and if the driver causes a car accident which kills someone, the courts often punish him at least as severely as someone who purposely kills. Employers often give him a choice between going into therapy or being fired.
     We often read in the newspaper how this or that evil, even murder, is caused by genetics, and we know that we all inherit tendencies to evil. This doesn't mean we should condone the evil. Acts must be judged but not spiritual motives.
     Homosexuals can change and many have.

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But they, like those in Alcoholics Anonymous, must start with the acknowledgment that they can't do it without God's help or without the support and help of others. A number of homosexual therapy groups have been successful, and the Annenberg Society has videos showing many former homosexuals talking about how they were helped.
     Charis Cole,
          Bryn Athyn, PA
TO SAVE A SOUL FROM HELL 1994

TO SAVE A SOUL FROM HELL       Rev. Erik E. Sandstrom       1994

Dear Editor:
     I only want to draw attention to AC 2077: "To save a soul from hell, the angels would regard death as nothing;. . . they would undergo hell for that soul."
     So Mr. Cole's concern (NCL Jan. 1994) is worthy. We must watch our own emphasis on the eternity of hell, lest condemnation become contagious and we smite ourselves. The Lord Himself does not condemn: "I did not come to judge . . . . He who rejects Me . . . has that which judges him-the Word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day" (John 12:47, 48). "I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked" (Ezekiel 33:11).
     People judge themselves by the standards they have applied to themselves, from their knowledge of the Word-from whatever source. So there is no basis for an appeal of the sentence. Yet every angel stands ready to swap places with every devil. That makes the difference!
     Rev. Erik E. Sandstrom,
          Huntingdon Valley, PA

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ADVENTURES IN LEARNING 1994

ADVENTURES IN LEARNING       Editor       1994

     1994 Summer School
June 13-July 1
Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania

Graduate Courses (3 credits):
          Arcana Study II                    Walter E. Orthwein
          Counseling Psychology               Mark R. Carlson
          Multi-Grade Classroom Teaching      Carol C. Buss
Undergraduate Courses (3 credits):
     Religion and Marriage               Prescott A. Rogers
     Counseling Psychology               Mark R. Carlson
     Creative Writing                    Vera P. Glenn
     Life Science (Biology)                Reuben P. Bell
Mini-courses (non-credit, one week)
          We hope to offer several of these on special topics.
     Sponsored by:
                    The Academy College
                    The Academy Theological School
                    The General Church Office of Education
     For more information, call The General Church Office of Education, (215) 9474661, or write to Prof. Don Fitzpatrick, Box 743, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009.
FEBRUARY READER'S DIGEST 1994

FEBRUARY READER'S DIGEST       Editor       1994

     The bottom of p. 114 of last month's Reader's Digest has the following thought: "One of the surest signs that intelligent life exists in outer space is that none of it has tried to contact us." The contributor, Normandy, the daughter of Mark and Kay Alden, is a student in the Bryn Athyn Church School.

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APPLICATIONS FOR ADMISSION TO THE ACADEMY GIRLS SCHOOL AND BOYS SCHOOL 1994

APPLICATIONS FOR ADMISSION TO THE ACADEMY GIRLS SCHOOL AND BOYS SCHOOL       Editor       1994

     Requests for application forms for admission of new students to the Academy Secondary Schools should be made as soon as possible. Letters should be addressed to Mrs. Robert Gladish, Principal of the Girls School, or Mr. T. Dudley Davis, Principal of the Boys School, The Academy of the New Church, Box 707, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009. Please 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 a day or a dormitory student.
     Completed application forms should be forwarded to the Academy by May 1, 1994. All requests for financial aid should be submitted to the Business Manager, The Academy of the New Church, Box 711, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009 by June 1, 1994.
     Admission procedure is based on receipt of the following:     
     1.      Application      3.      Pastor's recommendation
     2.      Transcript           4.      Health forms
     The Academy will not discriminate against applicants and students on the basis of race, color, or national or ethnic origin.
MINISTERIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS 1994

MINISTERIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS       Editor       1994

     The Reverend Robert S. Junge has stepped down from his post as Bishop's Representative in several countries overseas in order to concentrate his efforts on the growing congregation in Ivyland, Pennsylvania, This thriving congregation of the General Church has developed to the point where it no longer makes sense for its pastor to be absent for several weeks at a time in distant lands. Regretfully, therefore, Mr. Junge has felt the need to relinquish one of his important duties.
     For several years he has been instrumental in the new beginnings of the General Church in Ghana and Korea.

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Before the Reverend Geoffrey Childs was assigned to South Africa Mr. Junge visited and supported development in that country. He has also supported the growing New Church in Japan, where some twenty-five people have joined the General Church (there are many more who have been baptized into the faith of the New Church); and he has been the Bishop's Representative to our society in Rio de Janeiro.
     On behalf of these areas, all of which will miss his visits sorely, and on behalf of the General Church, I want to express the warmest appreciation to Mr. Junge for the remarkable manner in which he has provided leadership to the developments in these countries. He has shown great sensitivity to the differences in the cultures of other lands, while promoting always the internal sense of harmony which a common belief and a mutual love for the New Church engenders. His strong doctrinal leadership has been invaluable, as has his ability to understand the new and often fascinating questions posed when people in a "new" country find the Writings. He has felt a genuine and deep respect for cultures and approaches different from those in the North American continent, so that those he has visited have called him friend almost right away, and have welcomed him into their midst.
     Some of these areas have developed now to a point where they have a greater measure of leadership from priests and lay people in their own lands. In addition, and for the present, in order to maintain cooperation between the General Church and our members in these countries, the growing congregations in them will communicate with the General Church through the Reverend Lou Synnestvedt, our Acting General Church Secretary.
     The Rev. Goran Appelgren has accepted a call from the Stockholm Society of the New Church to be its next pastor, effective July, 1994. Mr. Appelgren will remain as the visiting pastor to the Copenhagen Society of the General Church.
     The Rev. David Lindrooth has accepted a call to be the Assistant Pastor to the Tucson Society, effective July, 1994.

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He will become the first assistant in this growing society of the General Church.
     Both these moves herald exciting beginnings for two families. We thank them for their past service (David with his wife Aven in Stockholm, Sweden, and Goran with his wife Josephine in Surrey, England), and feel sure that the Lord will bless their ministries in the countries to which they are moving.
     Peter M. Buss,
          Executive Bishop
SUBSCRIBING TO SILA 1994

SUBSCRIBING TO SILA       Editor       1994




     Announcements






     There is a publication called Swedenborg Information of Los Angeles, which reaches hundreds of people outside the borders of California; indeed it is international. There is no set subscription fee; it manages on voluntary contributions of readers. If you want to see an issue, write to the editor, Candace Frazee. The address of SILA is P.O. Box 273, Pasadena, CA 91102.

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GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM PUBLIC WORSHIP AND DOCTRINAL CLASSES 1994

GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM PUBLIC WORSHIP AND DOCTRINAL CLASSES       Editor       1994

     UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

     Alabama:
     Birmingham               
Dr. R. Shepard, 4537 Dolly Ridge Road, Birmingham, AL 35243. Phone: (205) 967-3442.
     Huntsville
Mr. and Mrs. Winthrop B. Sullivan, 1107 Princeton Drive, Madison, AL 35758. Phone: (205) 772-0074.          
     Arizona:
     Phoenix
Rev. Fred Chapin, 5631 E. Shea Blvd., Scottsdale, AZ 85254 (church). Phone: home (602) 996-2919; office (602) 991-929-6455.
     Tucson
Rev. Frank S. Rose, 9233 B. Helen, Tucson, AZ 85715. Phone: (602) 721-1091.
     Arkansas:
     Little Rock
Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Holmes, 2695 Lane, Batesville, AR 72501. Phone: (501) 793-5135.
     California:
     Los Angeles               
Rev. John L. Odhner, 5022 Carolyn Way, La Crescenta, CA 91214. Phone: (818) 249-5031.
     Orange County
Rev. Cedric King, resident pastor, 21332 Forest Meadow, El Toro, CA 92630. Phone: home (714) 586-5142; office (714) (904) 228-2276.
     Sacramento               
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Ripley, 225 Woodlake Lane, Newcastle, CA 95658. Phone: (916) 663-2788.
     San Diego               
Rev. Stephen D. Cole, 941 Ontario St., Escondido, CA 92025. Phone: home (619) 432-8495; office (619) 571-8599.
     San Francisco     
Mr. and Mrs. Philip C. "Red" Pendleton, 2261 Waverley Street, Palo Alto, CA 94901.
     Colorado:
     Colorado Springs
Mr. and Mrs. William Rienstra, P.O. Box 95, Simla, CO 80835. Phone: (719) 541-2375.
     Denver
Mrs. Joseph Orrico (Cecy), 4741 W. 102nd Ave., Westminster, CO 80030. Phone: (303) 466-9347.
     Connecticut:
     Bridgeport, Hartland, Shelton
Mr. and Mrs. James Tucker, 45 Honey Bee Lane, Shelton, CT 06484. Phone: (203) 929-6455.
     Rev. Geoffrey Howard, visiting pastor. Phone: (508) 443-6531.
     Delaware:
     Wilmington
Mrs. Justin Hyatt, 2008 Eden Road, N. Graylyn, Wilmington DE 19810. Phone: (302) 475-3694.
     District of Columbia: see Mitchellville, Maryland.
     Florida:
     Boynton Beach
Rev. Daniel Heinrichs, 10687 B. Clair Ranch Road, Boynton Beach, FL 33437. Phone: (407) 736-9235.
     Jacksonville
Kristi Helow, 6338 Christopher Creek Road W., Jacksonville, FL 32217-2472.
     Lake Helen
Mr. and Mrs. Brent Morris, 264 Kicklighter Road, Lake Helen, FL 32744. Phone: (904) 228-2276.
     Pensacola
Mr. and Mrs. John Peacock, 5238 Soundside Drive, Gulf Breeze, FL 32561. Phone: (904) 934-3691.

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     Georgia:
     Americus
Mr. W. H. Eubanks, Rt. #2, S. Lee Street, Americus, GA 31709. Phone: (912) 924-9221.
     Atlanta
Rev. C. Mark Perry, 2119 Seaman Circle, Chamblee, GA 30341. Phone: office (404) 458-9673.
     Idaho:
Fruitland (Idaho-Oregon border)
Mr. Harold Rand, 1705 Whitley Drive, Fruitland, ID 83619. Phone: (208) 452-3181.
     Illinois:
     Chicago
Rev. Grant Schnarr, 74 Park Drive, Glenview, IL 60025. Phone: home (708) 729-0130; office (708) 729-9296.
     Decatur
Mr. John Aymer, 127 Cambridge, Decatur, IL 62562. Phone: (217) 875-3215.
     Glenview
Rev. Eric Carswell, 73 Park Drive, Glenview, IL 60025. Phone: (708) 724-0120.
     Indiana:
Rev. Patrick Rose, 785 Ashcroft Court, Cincinnati, OH 45240. Phone: (513) 825-7473.
     Kentucky:
Rev. Patrick Rose, 785 Ashcroft Court, Cincinnati, OH 45240. Phone: (513) 825-7473.
     Louisiana:
     Baton Rouge
Mr. Henry Bruser, Jr., 6050 Esplanade Ave., Baton Rouge, LA 70806. Phone: (504) 924-3098.
     Bath
Rev. Allison L Nicholson, HC 33 - Box 61N, Arrowsic, ME 04530. Phone: (207) 443-6410.
     Maryland:
     Baltimore
Rev. Willard L. D. Heinrichs, visiting minister, Box 717, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009. Phone: home (215) 947-5334; office (215) 938-2582.
     Mitchellville
Rev. James P. Cooper, 11910 Chantilly Lane, Mitchellville, MD 20721. Phone: (301) 805-9460; office (301) 464-5602.
     Massachusetts:
     Boston
Rev. Geoffrey Howard, 17 Cakebread Drive, Sudbury, MA 01776. Phone: (508) 443-6531.
     Michigan
     Detroit
Rev. Grant Odhner, 395 Olivewood Ct., Rochester, MI 48306. Phone: (313) 652-7332.
     East Lansing
Dr. Christopher Clark, 5853 Smithfield, East Lansing, MI 48823. Phone: (517) 351-2880.
     Minnesota:
     St. Paul
Karen Huseby, 4247 Centerville Rd., Vadnais Heights, MN 55127. Phone: (612) 429-5285.
     Missouri:
     Columbia
Mr. and Mrs. Paul Johnson, 1508 Glencairn Court, Columbia, MO 65203. Phone: (314) 442-3475.
     Kansas City
Mr. Glen Klippenstein, Glenkirk Farms, Rt. 2, Maysville, MO 64469. Phone: (816) 449-2167.
     New Jersey-New York:
     Ridgewood, NJ
Jay and Barbara Barry, 348 Marshall St., Ridgewood, NJ 07450. Phone: (201) 612-8146.
     New Mexico:
     Albuquerque
Mr. Howard Leach, 548 Mullen Rd. NW, Albuquerque, NM 87107. Phone: (505) 345-5297.
     North Carolina:
     Charlotte
Rev. Bill Burke, 6010 Paddington Court, Charlotte, NC 28277. Phone: (704) 846-6416.

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     Ohio:
     Cincinnati
Rev. Patrick Rose, 785 Ashcroft Court, Cincinnati, OH 45240. Phone: (513) 825-7473.
     Cleveland
Mr. Alan Childs, 19680 Beachcliff Blvd., Rocky River, OH 44116. Phone: (216) 333-4413.
     Oklahoma:
     Oklahoma City
Mr. Robert Campbell, 13929 Sterlington, Edmond, OK 73013: Phone: (404) 478-4729.
     Oregon:
     Portland
Mr. and Mrs. Jim P. Andrews, Box 99, 1010 NB 3601, Corbett, OR 97019. Phone: (503) 695-2534.
     Oregon-Idaho Border: see Idaho, Fruitland.
     Pennsylvania:
     Bryn Athyn
Rev. Kurt Asplundh, Box 277, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009. Phone: (215) 947-6225.
     Elizabethtown
Mr. Meade Bierly, 523 Snyder Ave., Elizabethtown, PA 17022. Phone: (77) 367-3964.
     Erie
Mrs. Paul Murray, 5648 Zuck Road, Erie, PA 16506. Phone: (814) 833-0962.
     Freeport
Rev. J. Clark Echols, c/o The Sowers Chapel, 100 Iron Bridge Road, Sarver, PA 16055. Phone: office (412) 353-2220.
     Hawley
Mr. Grant Genzlinger, 304 Maple Ave., Hawley, PA 18428. Phone: (717) 226-2993.
     Ivyland
The Ivyland New Church, 851 W. Bristol Road, Ivyland 18974. Pastor: Rev. Robert Junge. Phone: (215) 957-5965. Secretary: Mrs. K. Cronlund. (215) 598-3919.
     Kempton
Rev. Ragnar Boyesen, RD 2, Box 225-A, Kempton, PA 19529. Phone: home (215) 756-4462: office (215) 756-6140.
     Pittsburgh
Rev. Nathan D. Gladish, 299 Le Roi Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15208. Phone: church (412) 731-7421.
     South Carolina: see North Carolina.
     South Dakota:
Hot Springs
Linda Klippenstein, 604 S.W. River St. #A8, Hot Springs, SD 57747. Phone: (605) 745-6629.
     Texas:
     Austin
Mrs. Robert Grubb, 510 Academy Drive, Austin, TX 78704. Phone (512) 447-6811.
     Dallas-Fort Worth
Mr. Fred Dunlap, 3887 Antigua Circle, Dallas, TX 75244. Phone: (214)247-7775.
     Virginia:
     Richmond
Mr. Donald Johnson, 13161 Happy Hill Road, Chester, VA 23831. Phone: (804) 748-5757.
     Washington:
     Seattle
Rev. Erik J. Buss, 5409 154th Ave., Redmond, WA 98052. Phone: (206) 883-4327; office (206) 882-8500.
     West Virginia:
Mrs. Thelma Smith, Route 1, Box 447, Peterstown, WV 24963. Phone:(304) 753-9508.
     Wisconsin:
     Madison
Mrs. Max Howell, 3912 Plymouth Circle, Madison, WI 53705. Phone: (608) 233-0209.

     OTHER THAN U.S.A.

     AUSTRALIA
     Canberra
Mrs. Rex Ridgway, 7 Whalan Place, Kaleen, ACT, Australia 2617.
     Sydney, N.S.W.
Rev. Arthur W. Schnarr, 26 Dudley Street, Penshurst, N.S.W. 2222. Phone: 57-1589.
     Tamworth
See Rev. Arthur Schnarr under Sydney.

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     BRAZIL
     Rio de Janeiro
Rev. Cristovao Rabelo Nobre, Rua Lina Teixeira, 109 Apt. 201, Rocha, Rio de Janeiro R.J. 20970. Phone: 21-201-8455.
     CANADA
     Alberta
     Calgary
Mr. Thomas R. Fountain, 1115 Southglen Drive S.W., Calgary 13, Alberta T2W 0X2. Phone: 403-255-7283.
     Debolt
Ken and Lavina Scott, RR1, Crooked Creek, Alberta T0H 0Y0. Phone: 403-057-3625.
     Edmonton
Mrs. Wayne Anderson, 6703-9811 Street, Edmonton, Alberta T6E 3L9. Phone: 403-432-1499.
     British Columbia
     Dawson Creek
Rev. Glenn G. Alden, Dawson Creek Church, 9013 8th St., Dawson Creek, B.C., Canada V1G 3N3. Phone: home (604) 786-5297; office (604) 782-8035.
     Ontario
     Kitchener
Rev. Michael K. Cowley, 58 Chapel Hill Drive, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada N2G 3W5. Phone: office (519) 748-5802.
     Ottawa
Mr. and Mrs. Donald McMaster, 684 Fraser Ave., Ottawa, Ontario K2A 2R8. Phone: (613) 725-0394.
     Toronto
Rev. Michael Gladish, 279 Burnhamthorpe Rd., Islington, Ontario M9B 124. Phone: church (416) 239-3055.
     Quebec
     Montreal
Mr. Denis de Chazal, 17 Ballantyne Ave. So., Montreal West, Quebec H4X 2B1, phone: (514) 489-9861.
     DENMARK
     Copenhagen
Mr. Jorgen Hauptmann, Strandvejen 22, 4040 Jyllinge. Phone: 46 78 9968.
     ENGLAND
     Colchester
Rev. Christopher Bown, 2 Christ Church Court, Colchester, Essex C03 3AU. Phone: 011-44-206-575644.
     Letchworth
Mr. and Mrs. R. Evans, 24 Berkeley, Letchworth, Herts. SG6 WA. Phone: (0462) 684751.
     London
Rev. Frederick Elphick, 2111 Hayne Rd., Beckenham, Kent BR3 4JA. Phone: 011-44-1-658-6320.
     Manchester
Mrs. Neil Rowcliffe, "Woodside," 44 Camberley Drive, Bamford, Rochdale, Lancs. OL11 4AZ.
     Surrey
Mr. Nathan Morley, 27 Victoria Road, Southern View, Guildford, Surrey, GU1 4DJ.

     FRANCE
     Paris
Rev. Christopher D. Bown, visiting pastor, 2 Christ Church Court, Colchester, Essex C03 3AU. Phone: 011-44-206-575644.
     GHANA, WEST AFRICA
     Accra
Rev. William Ankra-Badu, Box 11305, Accra North.
     Asakraka, Nteso, Oframase
Rev. Martin K. Gyamfi, Box 10, Asakraka-Kwahu E/R.
     Medina, Tema
Rev. Simpson K. Darkwah, House No. AA3, Community 4, c/o Box 1483, Tema.
     HOLLAND
     The Hague
Mr. Ed Verschoor, V. Furstenburchstr, 6 3862 AW Nijkerk.
     JAPAN
For information about various church activities in Japan contact Mr. Tatsuya Nagashima, 30-2, Saijoh-Nishiotake, Yoshino-cho, Itano-gun, Tokoshima-ken, 771-14.

143



     KOREA
     Seoul
Rev. Dzin P. Kwak, #B01 Sanho-villa, 238 Shinsa-dong, Eunpyung-ku, Seoul, Korea 122-080. Phone: home 02-309-7305; church 02-555-1366.
     NEW ZEALAND
     Auckland
Mrs. H. Keal, 4 Derwent Cresc., Titirangi, Auckland 7, New Zealand.
     SOUTH AFRICA
     Cape
     Cape Town
Mrs. Sheila Brathwaite, 208B Silvermine Village, Private Bag #1, Noordhoek, 7985 R.S.A. Phone: 021-891424.
     Natal
Clermont and Enkumba
Rev. Ishborn Buthelezi, P. O. Box 150, Clernaville, Natal, 3602. Phone: 011-27-31-707-1526.
     Durban
Rev. Lawson M. Smith, 8 Winslow Road, Westville 3630, Natal, Republic of South Africa. Phone: 011-27-31-2628113.
     Empangeni and Impaphala
Rev. Chester Mcanyana, P. O. Box 770, Eshowe, Natal, 3815, Meerensse, Natal, 3901. Phone: 0351-32317.
     Westville (see Durban) Transvaal
     Alexandra Township
Rev. Albert Thabede, 140 Phase One, P. O. Bramley, Transvaal, 2090. Phone: 011-27-11-443-3852.
     Balfour
Rev. Reuben Tshabalala, 1428 Zondi, P. O. Kwaxuma 1868, Soweto, Transvaal, 9140. Phone: 011-27-11-932-3528.
     Buccleuch
Rev. Andrew Dibb, P.O. Box 816, Kelvin 2054, Republic of South Africa, Phone: (011l) 804-2567.
     Diepkloof
Rev. Jacob M. Maseko, 8482, Zone 5, Pineville, Transvaal, 1808. Phone: 011-27-11-938-8314.
     SWEDEN
     Jnk ping
Contact Rev. Bjrn A.H. Boyesen, Bruksater, Satersfors 10, S-56691, Habo, Sweden. Phone: 0392-20395.
     Stockholm
Rev. David H. Lindrooth, Aladdinsvagen 27, 161 38 Bromma, Sweden. Phone/Fax: 011 468 26 79 85.

     Note: Please send any corrections to the editor.
SWEDENBORG SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION ESSAY CONTEST 1994

SWEDENBORG SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION ESSAY CONTEST       Editor       1994

     The contest is open to all college and university students. Entries must be submitted by January 1, 1995. See the information in the February issue, p. 90, and note that other prizes have been added. Write to SSA Award Essay, c/o Rev. Erik E. Sandstrom, P. O. Box 717, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009, USA.

144


Love in Marriage 1994

Love in Marriage       Editor       1994

A Translation by
David F. Gladish
of
Emanuel Swedenborg's
Conjugial Love
Published by
Swedenborg Foundation
1992
     Softcover 514 pages U.S. $19.50 including postage
Box 743, Cairncrest                    
General Church Book Center               Hours: Mon-Fri 9-12 or by appointment
Bryn Athyn, PA 19009                    Phone: (215) 947-3920

145


Notes on This Issue 1994

Notes on This Issue       Editor       1994

Vol. CXIV           April, 1994               No. 4
New Church Life

146




     Notes on This Issue

     We face life problems "which do not seem black or white." An article in October talked of distinguishing "many levels of gray" as opposed to seeing everything in black and white terms (see p. 453 of that issue). The sermon this month explores this issue within the story of Jacob.
     Mr. Tatsuya Nagashima tells us in this issue of recent events in Japan.
     What should be the name of the College of the Academy of the New Church? See p. 170.
     There are announcements in this issue about ministerial changes (pp. 172 and 185). The note on El Toro with photographs will be followed next month by news of activities in this church group.
     Who will disagree with the saying that we should love the Lord and the neighbor? Rev. Martin Pryke invites us to think of how we may do this (p. 176).
     The letter on inclusive language (p. 178) brings to mind the change we are seeing in recent translations and in the forthcoming Liturgy. Note the announcement of a Women's Symposium coming up in the spring of 1995 (p. 186).
     In this issue Rev. Stephen Cole speaks of something that emerged in "Arcana class." It is interesting to note how many centers in the General Church have little groups that get together to read and discuss the Arcana Coelestia.
     Following the resurrection address in this issue there is an interesting note about something that appeared in a newspaper in the city of Erie, Pennsylvania (p. 162).
     Dr. Andrei Vashestov visited Bryn Athyn in March and told about a conference in Moscow. See p. 172.

147


BLACK AND WHITE 1994

BLACK AND WHITE       Rev. ANDREW J. HEILMAN       1994

     "Jacob said, You will not give me anything. If you will do this word for met I will return, and feed and keep your flock. I will pass through all your flock this day, removing from thence every small cattle that is speckled and spotted, and every black one among the lambs, and the spotted and speckled among the goats, and these shall be my reward" (Genesis 30:31, 32).

     We often find ourselves facing issues in our life which do not seem black or white. We are faced with choices and situations where it's hard to tell exactly what to do. We do not see unclear direction, or there is not agreement among all those involved. We tell ourselves the world is not heaven, and we cannot always attain the ideal, and we often settle for something which appears a lighter shade of gray. The story of how Jacob acquired his flock by working for Laban gives us an answer from the Lord as to what to do in such situations. Unfortunately, the answer is not as black and white as we might like, because the answer is just that: black and white and not simply white.
     Jacob did not choose the white of the flock, but the spotted and the speckled, and the black of the lambs. These were to be his wages. This of course does not mean that we should pick the blackest path of all. To the contrary, Jacob's choice was the best choice possible, for this choice led to the greatest increase in his flocks. We might say that Jacob recognized that within all the flocks of Laban there were the spotted and the speckled and the black. And although this did not appear in most of Laban's flocks at the time, this would come out in their offspring if he were to put the peeled rods of poplar, hazel and sycamore into their troughs at breeding time.
     Jacob's choice is often put before us, but in a spiritual way.

148


We need to recognize that we are not perfect, that we have mixed motives, and that we are ignorant of many spiritual truths and mistaken on many things. Our best choices are really limited to what is speckled and spotted, and in our more humble states we will even realize the blackness of what we are ourselves and our total dependence on the Lord. However, this does not mean that whatever we decide to do is neither right nor wrong, and that we should therefore accept every situation as it is and every solution as being as valid as the next. This would actually be excusing, indeed whitewashing, the situation, and avoiding the real recognition of the black and the white of where we are.
     But to better understand what is meant by the spotted and the speckled and the black of the lambs, we need first to understand the spiritual context-what is meant by Jacob's working for Laban-and then consider some of the examples given to us by the Lord in the Arcana Coelestia.
     We are taught that Laban represents a certain kind of good which is not genuine in itself but which can serve as a means to genuine good. This good is like the pride we feel in doing a good job, accompanied by the desire for at least some praise and honor; or the joy we feel when we really understand a new truth, accompanied by the wish to be the first to tell it to others; or the satisfaction we feel when we have extended ourselves to help our fellow man, with the hope that others will notice how compassionate and loving we have been. Who among us has not served Laban? And what is interesting is that the name Laban in Hebrew means "white," for in this stage of goodness we desire to be clean and white, and appear such to those around us. It is mediate good, a good in between selfishness and selflessness, between greed-envy-revenge and true compassion-love-charity-a good we need to pass through if we are to return to the land of Canaan, to receive heavenly love into our hearts from the Lord. And what gets us through this state of good in the middle and onward in life to more genuine good is the work which Jacob does for Laban.

149



     While Laban represents a stage in our life which we pass through, Jacob represents the Lord's presence with us in our conscious natural mind, before, during and after. In the beginning, when Jacob is born in Canaan and supplants his brother Esau, he represents the truths we learn from the Lord's Word. In the beginning this is where we consciously see the Lord. But when Jacob returns to Canaan, he represents the good of life, for as we regenerate we begin to see the Lord more in what we do and love to do than in what we know and say. But for this good to be genuine good we need to pass through a state in the middle, represented by working for Laban. During this stage in our life we are most consciously aware of the Lord in the hard work we do in bringing our life into compliance with what we have learned from the Lord. This is what the
Writings call the "good of truth," a stage which brings us from just learning and knowing what the Lord teaches to doing it from love. And it is primarily at this stage in our life that we begin to see our mixed motives, the lack of clarity in our thinking; situations and issues become increasingly difficult to resolve with the same sense of certainty and satisfaction we had in the past.
     But let us consider some examples so that we might better understand this. In the Arcana Coelestia we read that if a person has heard about the life after death but still doubts it, and even almost denies it, and yet lives in good and truth, this falsity in his mind can still coexist and mingle to a certain degree with the good and truth of his life. This is what is meant by the spotted among the flock. As long as the person is in doubt, especially a strong doubt, he is not aware of his ignorance of so many truths which depend upon a belief in the spiritual world, and this limits his life and his spiritual progress. Often such a person is worried about being sure, about not being taken in or being wrong, not realizing the greater error in his lack of belief. He would rather not be mistaken-he does not want the spotted among the flock, but chooses what he sees as white instead.

150


What he has learned earlier in his life about heaven and hell is put on the shelf. He concentrates on his life in this world, leading a moral and civil life and helping those around him because he knows this is right. We all pass through such times of doubt about certain truths we have learned earlier in our life. But as long as such questioning and doubting does not lead us to put aside a life according to His commandments, the Lord in His mercy can still flow in, even though our understanding is faulty.
     But can we ever get out of such a mixed-up state where things seem so blurred and gray rather than black and white, where we seem so unsure about spiritual things, and only believe in what we understand in our own limited way? To gain our spiritual freedom from such servitude to Laban, we need to continue in his service, but this time with the recognition that things really are black and white. Doubts will continue to come to us and obscure our thinking, but it is our understanding that is faulty, not what the Lord teaches. What the Lord teaches us is Divine truth. Rather than keep for ourselves what looks white by only believing what we can be sure of, we need to accept as our reward the spotted among the flock. We need to accept what the Lord teaches, realizing that our understanding of this truth will be spotty at best. But as our reading from the Arcana Coelestia indicated, if there is a good spirit within, a willingness to trust the Lord and do what He says, he can arrange our mistaken ideas around His truth, reflecting the light of heaven in beautiful patterns and colors as well.
     Another example, given to us by the Lord, of what is meant by being in the service of Laban is a person who loves himself above others, and from this love seeks to excel others in moral and civil life, and thus be promoted to honors and dignities, yet he acknowledges and worships God, performs kind services to his neighbor from the heart, and does what is just and fair from conscience.

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This person's motivation is clearly mixed; his good life is speckled throughout by his desire to be the center of attention. He does what is kind from the heart, and yet this goodness is tainted by a sense of merit and self-glory. He worships God but likes people to know this. And so when he reflects on what he does, he sees his own goodness, and chooses as it were the white among the flock for himself, and might be quick to excuse what faults he does see. In such a state it is easy to say to oneself, "Nobody is perfect after all, so why look for problems? Things aren't really that black and white, so I may as well look for what is good and promote it." Yet such a person does not really feel the freedom he would like to feel. There is always the nagging question of his motivation, and often such a person does not really feel as good as he makes himself out to be. As long as a person entertains and fosters the feeling of self-glory and self-importance in what he does, it takes away the real freedom of a life of use from heavenly love.
     Once again, to escape this bondage to mixed motivation, a person must face it, acknowledge it and work with it. We can't just say, "I won't think about myself any more; I'm going to do good only from genuine love, with no consideration for where I fit into the picture." This would be impossible. It would feel as if our very life were taken away, and would probably just be another way of seeking attention, this time for our humility and selflessness. Mixed motivation is even harder to sort out than a faulty understanding, and so we find that when evil motives coexist with good loves, they are said to be speckled, whereas false ideas obscuring genuine truth are said to be spotted. But whether considering speckled or spotted, we must always keep in mind that there is a real distinction between evil and good although we ourselves may not always see it.
     Now to keep us from being bogged down in this state where we question our motivation for each action, trying to act only from perfect motives, this story of Jacob's working for Laban shows us a way out of this dilemma.

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By choosing the speckled among the flock, Jacob was choosing what he could have. And we too must be willing to work with what we have, with mixed motivation. Instead of always questioning our full motivation in what we do, we should question instead what it is we are doing. For example: if we are doing our job well because we want prestige or money, we needn't stop doing our job, for the Lord wants us to do it, and He wants us to do it well. We can, in a way, put the question of motivation to the side, and continue working well, motivated, at least in part, by knowing that this is what the Lord wants us to do, regardless of whatever else might be motivating us. On the other hand, if we find that our desire for attention and praise is actually getting in the way of the work we do, or hurting those around us, our family and/or those we work with, then we need to change what we are doing, for this also is what the Lord wants us to do. Working from this kind of motivation takes self-compulsion at times, for we do not always feel as much delight in doing something because we see that the Lord wants us to do it, but eventually it will free us from the service to our own glory and honor. Now in both of these illustrations the Writings are quite clear that not all evil and falsity can coexist with good and truth. For example, if in our confusion about spiritual truths we are led to full denial of an afterlife and God, and from this principle put aside the laws of God and follow our own desires, this is not something the Lord can associate his truth with. The basic truths of His commandments speak against this, and any mixture of these falsities with His truth would be profanation
     Or take the case of a person who loves himself and despises and puts down others, favoring only those who favor him, and leads a moral and civil life merely for the sake of dominating over others. This kind of love of self is not one to which the Lord can adjoin His mercy and kindness. Any mixture of good with such an evil, the moral and civil good which is put on over this hellish love, is hypocrisy and spiritual adultery. There are evils and falsities which can be moderated and arranged by the Lord in such a way as to allow spiritual growth to take place while they gradually recede.

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But there are other evils and falsities that are deadly to man's spiritual life, which would love to masquerade as white or at least gray, and yet they are as black as black can be. Nor are we free from these evils, for we are born with tendencies to evils of every kind. Acknowledging the presence of these evils with us, fleeing from them whenever possible, and fighting them off whenever necessary is an essential part of working in Laban's flock. These are the evils which lie at the heart of our proprial will, which would deceive us little by little into the belief that we really are good, and that we really do have the ability to decide for ourselves what is true. These are the evils that seek to muddle our understanding, kindle our lusts, and lead us astray. They would like us to believe that there is a continuum between good and evil, but there are not even grays, although it may appear that way at a distance. Black and white are always kept quite distinct from one another. If these are not kept distinct, the wonderful pattern and arrangement that the Lord has worked in our lives to lead us away from evil will be undone. The compassion and usefulness with which we were gifted since childhood and youth, the knowledge and understanding which we delighted in since earlier years, the white that is present in the spotted and speckled flocks, all can come to nothing if we are not on guard for the evils that cannot be mixed, that cannot be tolerated, and that must be pulled out whenever they show their ugly heads. It was not enough for Jacob to choose the spotted and the speckled among the flock, the combination of black and white in varying degrees, but he also chose the black among the lambs.
     This does not mean that we are to choose the blackest of evils. Quite the opposite. It means we are to acknowledge their presence with us, and admit our utter dependency on the Lord. Our own will is not even speckled, and our own understanding is not even spotted; they are both all black.

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We can say that we have mixed motivation, and there is some truth in the way we think, but this is not our own doing. The Lord has made this possible, beginning in our infancy, childhood and youth. Left to our own devices we would be nothing but blackness. Acknowledging this fact, not just with the lips but with the heart; is the essence of innocence. Acknowledging this with the mouth is bothersome, but acknowledging it with the heart is painful, depressing and humiliating. Yet at the same time it brings an innocence and peace to our mind that is impossible in any other way.
     In the Spiritual Diary the blackness of hereditary evil is described when innocence is present, in this case the innocence of childhood. It is said to be " . . . like black, green and blue colors with light, so that there comes into existence a kind of rainbow, as it were. The love of self is said to be black, the love of the world, as it were, yellow, and the love of earthly things green. These colors induce beautiful appearances by being tempered, like little children in heaven" (SD 1210). In a very similar way, the blackness of man's own evil will and understanding, when tempered by the innocence of acknowledging it as such, was represented not by a wild beast but as a lamb, when Jacob chose it as part of his earnings.
     We need to ask ourselves what we would choose as our reward. What do we want when we find ourselves in difficult situations, trying to find the best solutions? What do we do when our motives are mixed, and what we know and believe seem at variance? Do we pick for ourselves the white among the flock, or do we make Jacob's choice and pick the spotted and speckled of the flock and the black among the lambs? To pick the white of the flock is to be enriched by Laban, to be enriched by our own effort and our own will, to take to ourselves what is rightfully the Lord's. But as Jacob said to Laban when Laban asked him what he wanted as earnings for his work, "You shall not give me anything." The flock that Jacob had was born from Laban's flock, but was given him by the Lord.

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If we acknowledge where we really are spiritually, the spotted and speckled of the flock, and what we are spiritually, acknowledging with lamb-like innocence that we of ourselves are nothing but black, then the Lord can also enrich our lives. And this will not come through our own mixed motives or faulty reasonings, but from new heavenly loves and spiritual enlightenment, given to us freely by the Lord. Amen.

Lessons: Gen. 30:25-43; 31:1-13, SD 5660-5664, AC 3993-4 GEM FROM ARCANA CLASS 1994

GEM FROM ARCANA CLASS       Rev. STEPHEN D. COLE       1994

     What is a vessel?

     One of the delights in conducting an Arcana class is how much I learn from it myself. A case in point arose lately when Margaret Nelson, the oldest member of our group in San Diego, drew attention to AC 5928 and what it says about vessels.
     I have generally pictured vessels as referring literally to cups, bowls, pitchers, or the like. Possibly I might call to mind boats or ships, or sea-going vessels of that kind. I might remember that the utensils used in the tabernacle, as well as the bowls, were called vessels,
     Spiritually speaking, knowledges are often called "vessels." A passage that speaks in such terms is AC 3068, which unfolds the words of Abraham's servant: "Let down now your pitcher." The explanation states: "A pitcher is a vessel that contains water, as a knowledge is a vessel that contains truth."

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     Ultimately, we ourselves are vessels that receive and contain life from the Lord. We can be turned toward and open to receive the influx of heaven, or closed and turned away so as to limit reception. For influx, as we are told, is according to the form of the receiving vessel.
     So what of AC 59281 This passage talks about the joining of good with truths: "When good flows into truths and joins them to itself, it does so by pouring good into them from itself . . . " Clearly, truths in this context are vessels into which good can be poured.
     Now comes the part which I find fascinating. Here these spiritual vessels are compared not to cups or bowls, but to blood vessels. In Latin as well as in English the term vessel can be used to refer to a pitcher, a ship, or an artery. Maybe the application of this to the spiritual meaning has been clear to many people for years, but it is new to me and I suspect it will be to others.
     True, we will have to continue to think of cups in some passages, but let's stretch our minds with the idea that, at least some of the time, vessels need to be thought of not as static containers but as channels.
     When AC 1495 speaks of education's being an opening of the way whereby vessels in lower levels are opened to receive influences from the higher levels, we can picture a flow as that of blood being released by dilating vessels.
     When we think of ourselves as vessels, let us have a dynamic picture in which we channel the gifts we receive from the Lord into service to others. With this in mind, we can have new insight not only into the teaching that influx is according to the form of the receiving vessel, but also as to the principle that influx is according to efflux.
     I have been going back and looking at many passages about vessels, seeing how they read if I think "blood vessel" instead of "cup." Perhaps others will find the exercise as eye-opening as it has been for me.

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RESURRECTION SERVICE FOR REV. LORENTZ R. SONESON 1994

RESURRECTION SERVICE FOR REV. LORENTZ R. SONESON       Rev. LOUIS B. KING       1994

     In his 69th year, and in the 31st year of his ministry as a priest of the New Church, the Reverend Lorentz Ray Soneson has been called by the Lord into the spiritual world. For several days now he has experienced the conscious joy and gladness of that beautiful land, where loved ones re-unite and the beauty of spiritual character manifests itself in the countenance of each person there.
     By this time Larry has re-acquainted himself with family, colleagues and friends with whom he now shares the reality of eternal values. Undoubtedly he has physically run with all the vigor and energy youth summons for exciting occasions, yet without a trace of exhaustion or shortness of breath. He can shout for joy and sing for hours, and read the Scriptures he loves with the strong, resonant voice the Lord has given him. Indeed, "they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint" (Isaiah 40:31). We are glad for Larry's release from the physical limitations which impeded his usefulness during his latter years on earth, and we are grateful for the services he rendered to the priesthood and the Lord's New Church as he labored on their behalf for the last 30 years of his life on earth.
     Larry Soneson loved the work of the ministry. In reflective moments he felt that he had been called to this work from early childhood. Larry was born in Erie, Pennsylvania, the last of his family and a good deal younger than his siblings. He sought friendship and support in neighborhood YMCA classes and camps. The remains implanted, the friendships enjoyed, and the charitable works accomplished during those associations with other Christian young people and their counselors deeply affected Larry's value system even as a boy, and inspired him to reach out to help others who might be lonely or suffering from a sense of inferiority.

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Those early years were also economic depression times, when a young man had to work and contribute to his own support and the welfare of the family. As a senior, Larry was sent to the Academy, where a whole new environment opened up to him with its friendships, its disciplines and challenges.
     Later, when the war drained off the youth from normal society living, Larry joined the Coast Guard, serving in far-off, stressful places until the end of the war, when he returned to the Academy College. Then with financial support from the Veterans Administration, he was able to complete his college at the University of Pennsylvania. He married Marjorie Rose and they worked together to put Larry through training in education at the graduate level. Frustrated with his first teaching assignment and its pitiful remuneration, the Sonesons moved to Detroit where Larry was employed by the Ford Motor Company. A whole new field of opportunity and success opened to them.
     Before many years had elapsed, the Sonesons settled in their new home with their young family. Marjorie and Larry were happy but there was something missing. Now in his early 30's, Larry longed for the opportunity to return to the Academy to study theology. They talked it over, Midge and Larry, and decided to give up the security and stability of their home and environment in Detroit and return to Bryn Athyn for a three-year course of study from 1960 to 1963. It was necessary for Midge to teach school and for Larry to do other jobs as well as focusing on his theological training. They did it together. By this time their children numbered four: Wendy, Sonia, Karl, and Loren.
     During his 30 years of service in the ministry, Larry faithfully responded to a number of assignments. He began his career as assistant to the dean of the Bryn Athyn Church and assistant to the principal of the Bryn Athyn Elementary School. Later he added the duty of visiting minister to the New York Circle.

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In 1966 he accepted a call to the Los Angeles Society, where he served as resident pastor and visiting pastor to San Francisco. While in California Larry completed a lifelong ambition to study counseling and acquire professional credentials in that field. Perhaps it was the support and idealism he received as a lad from Christian camps in Erie that sparked his interest in the whole field of human relationships. And undoubtedly the lonely, stressful days and nights spent at sea in the Aleutian Islands during the Second World War strengthened his realization of our human need for one another. Then there were the stressful human relationships he experienced in industry, not to mention the personality frictions which occasionally arose in the organized ministry and its Council of the Clergy. Affected by all these experiences, he felt an increasing call to teach the principles of Divine truth while reaching out with empathy to lend expertise in professional counseling, so that the Lord's love and mercy would always be the goal of doctrine and the truths comprising it.
     Unfortunately Larry was too impetuous in implementing his counseling skills. The church was not ready for it and Larry admits, looking back, that his enthusiasm caused him to err in judgment. His ministry was momentarily damaged by his precipitous pioneering efforts. Today, there is greater acceptance of the use counseling offers to the church, while ministers trained in this field have a backlog of experience, both successful and unsuccessful on which to base their therapy.
     In 1970 the family moved to Connecticut, where Larry served as pastor of New England, New York and Northern New Jersey. Seven years later the bishop asked Larry to serve as Chairman of the Visiting Ministers' Committee. This was in addition to his pastorate in New England. In 1978 he became Acting Secretary of the General Church, Director of General Church Religion Lessons and Editor of New Church Home.

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In 1982 his duties were expanded to include secretary of the Council of the Clergy and secretary of consistory. In 1989 Larry retired officially, but continued to serve as secretary of consistory and chairman of the General Church Publication Committee. In 1990, still retired, he accepted the chairmanship of the Liturgy Committee. Finally, in 1993 he let go of all other duties but retained chairmanship of the Worship and Ritual Committee and continued to serve as a member of Consistory.
     Among other things Larry Soneson will be remembered as a communicator. "Dear Family," he would write every week to the folks back in Erie when he was a student in the high school in Bryn Athyn. It is not surprising, then, that the last letter he wrote began with the phrase, "Dear Family." In college he continued to write regularly, sharing his empathy for others and his infectious desire to support them. So he became editor of several school magazines, an instrumentalist in the church orchestra, a singer in the church choir, a baseball player, photographer, a leading actor in several plays. Visible in all these activities was his penchant for communicating, sharing and supporting. It was a natural for him to become Secretary of the General Church and so communicate regularly with his friends and colleagues in the Council of the Clergy, Larry's warmth and open extending of friendship to all will keep him active in the memories and affections of both priests and laymen in a church he served so faithfully.
     Several weeks ago when we had lunch with Larry, he spoke with gratitude of his family, his opportunities to serve the church and his hope for the future use of the new liturgy, which he was still working on when he died. Touchingly he remarked on how long it takes a person to recognize what he really loves most in his work. "I love the ministry of counseling," he said, This was clarified at the end of his life, perhaps because his extreme emphysema and weakened heart made it necessary to have therapy every morning with a group of men and women more or less in the same condition.

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Some of them were Freemasons as Larry himself was, but the important thing is that Larry found an opportunity to counsel these new-found friends, so close to the other world and so keenly aware of it. He shared with them the heavenly doctrines concerning the reality of the spiritual world. He encouraged them to reach out to each other and see and promote what is good from the Lord in each other. He helped them see that love is indeed the life of man, and when that life or love reaches out to enrich, comfort and support the love of another, the peace and joy of heaven momentarily touches the heart, even when the lungs barely function.
     We will miss Larry as a colleague, a friend and promoter of friendship among the clergy. We rejoice, however, as he stands free of the bondage of time-and-space frailty, to serve his Lord and his church and his new friends with a heart and mind uniquely fashioned by the Lord for the interior use he is about to enter.
     Just prior to his death, anticipating his entrance into the spiritual world, he reminisced with gratitude for the church, his colleagues, his faithful friends in Freemasonry, and the family he loved. With a peaceful confidence, almost excitement, he spoke of the imminent joy of the next life when, in the vigor of youth, he would eventually be re-united with all those whom he loves in both worlds-his friends, his family, his faithful wife. Two teachings from the Word gave him special pleasure at the end: Conjugial Love 321, speaking of married partners "The spirit of the deceased dwells continuously with the spirit of the one not deceased, and this until the death of the latter, when they meet again and re-unite and love each other more tenderly than before; The Divine Providence 333-"The Operation of the Divine Providence for the salvation of each person is said to begin at birth and to continue right on to the end of life . . . .

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For the Lord sees what the nature of a person is, and foresees what he desires to be, and thus what he will be; and in order that he may be a person and therefore immortal, the freedom of his will cannot be taken away . . . the Lord therefore foresees a person's state after death and provides for it from his birth right on to the end of his life." Amen.

Delivered in the Bryn Athyn Cathedral on Sunday, September 26, 1993
IN THE ERIE DAILY TIMES 1994

IN THE ERIE DAILY TIMES       Editor       1994

     Seven weeks before his entrance into the spiritual world, Rev. Larry Soneson's reminiscences of his youth in his hometown of Erie, Pennsylvania, were published in the Times newspaper. The July 31, 1993 article included a picture of Larry, his brother Carl, and their parents, Gustaf and Hilda Soneson.
     Inspired by his pioneering efforts in the "city by the lake," his sister Mae S. Linguist wrote a 2500-word article for the same newspaper. It was published on November 27, 1993. She wrote about the great Bryn Athyn cathedral, Emanuel Swedenborg, and her personal meeting with Helen Keller. The Times printed Miss Keller's thoughts about Swedenborg: "His message has meant so much to me. It has given color and reality and unity to my thought of the life to come; it has exalted my ideas of love, truth and usefulness; it has been my strongest incitement to overcome my limitations."
     The editor encouraged Mae to write more for the "Flashback" section of the Times. On February 5, 1994 another article by her was published which concluded with: "'Thought from the eye closes the understanding but thought from the understanding opens the eye. So wrote the Swedish writer Emanuel Swedenborg in the eighteenth century. I believe that many of the regular readers of Flashback appreciate the wisdom of that thought." The Times has a circulation of 62,700 copies.

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SPIRITUAL COMMENTARY 1994

SPIRITUAL COMMENTARY       A Reader       1994

     Some Reasons Why I Read the Word

     The Writings were given by the Lord because a new Christian church had to be established on earth. It is said in them "that without the Lord's coming again no one can be saved" (TCR 3, 772; AR 9). We all know that "His second coming was not to be a coming in person, but in the Word, which is from Him and is Himself" (TCR 776).
     Why was it so necessary for a new Word to be given us? In Matthew 24:2 is written, "Assuredly, I say to you, not one stone shall be left upon another that shall not be thrown down." Then in TCR 784: "So far as this new heaven, which constitutes the internal of the church with man, increases, does the New Jerusalem, that is the New Church, descend from it; consequently this cannot take place in a moment, but it takes place to the extent that the falsities of the former church are set aside. For where falsities have been implanted, what is new cannot enter until the falsities have been rooted out." So those stones which represent the falsities of the former church are not going to tumble down just because the Word is on earth; it must be read, and the falsities must be seen and rooted out one by one before the New Church can be established on earth.
     If someone knows and believes these things, he will not only be interested and excited to learn more, but will realize that it is very necessary, in fact essential, to understand those falsities-not only what they are, but why they are so destructive to spiritual life. These are falsities that have been called truths for a long, long time by many sincere and God-fearing people. They are implanted in our minds-our heritage from the former church.
     If I know the faith of the New Church and can remember it word for word perfectly, are those stones automatically thrown down? Of course that can't be true.

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If those falsities have not been rooted out, they are still living and have their power. How can I root out falsities if I don't know they are there and can't understand that they are falsities? To root out something takes a lot of effort. I will surely know I have done something if I have rooted something out. Do I know I have done something? Have those wonderful truths of the New Church been able to change my mind, or are they just the right way to talk?
     Our hope lies in the fact that the Lord has made it possible for us "to enter with the understanding into the mysteries of faith." What does this mean to us? If we don't even try to understand why and how the Writings are true, can we call ourselves "New Church"? If we do not understand, are we sure we are following the Lord? Can we honestly call anything we do "New Church" if it has not had its origin in and descended from a new rational sight of what is true as seen and understood in the Writings? These are just a few of the "if's."
     The work of anyone who wants to become a genuine New Church person is set before him: to understand the Word and to do this in order to be able to live truly from the Lord.
     A New Church faith understands that truth is true and that it is therefore the Word of the Lord, which is from Him and is Himself, given by Him for the sake of the New Church which is to descend from heaven.
     A Reader
TOGETHER AS ONE 1994

TOGETHER AS ONE       Editor       1994

     This is the title of an attractive leaflet by Rev. Grant Schnarr. It is ideally suited for people who are attending a New Church wedding but who do not know New Church teachings. It could be on a convenient table for guests who are interested.
     If you would like some for your church, phone Rev. Grant Schnarr at (708) 729-9296, or write to the editor.

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BISHOP LOUIS AND FREYA KING VISIT JAPAN AGAIN 1994

BISHOP LOUIS AND FREYA KING VISIT JAPAN AGAIN       TATSUYA NAGASHIMA       1994

     In spite of the difficulties in trade issues between the U.S. and Japan, the visits to our country by the General Church ministers (Rev. Robert S. Junge in 1989, '91 and '92, and Bishop King in 1990 and '93) have annually placed a more solid foundation for growing mutual understandings across the Pacific Ocean.
     The last one was the ten days' sojourn which started on Nov. 19, 1993 in Tokushima, Shikoku Island. Shikoku is a little larger than Iceland, the smallest of the four major Japanese archipelagoes, 600 kilometers west of metropolitan Tokyo. Fourteen people came from different parts of Japan to my new home in Tokushima, where the Arcana Press is presently working. We had a three-day session on seven essential topics of New Church doctrine: God, the Word, creation, angelic wisdom, Divine Providence, charity, and the church. We also had a Sunday worship service and the Lord's supper. When the Bishop talked, I worked as an interpreter in the Kansai area, and in the Tokyo area Mr. Kentaro Murata was another interpreter.
     Yuriko Tadano, one of the fourteen attendants, who came far from a northern city in Honshu, gave a short comment after the sessions:

     I gave an earnest prayer to the Lord before coming to Tokushima so that I might know how He would lead us during the time of these sessions . . . . The Lord gave me an image of His transfiguration with Moses and Elijah on the mountain top where He talked about His coming crucifixion . . . .

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I then was convinced that the attendants of these sessions were chosen by the Lord for becoming the New Church pioneers preparing the way for the coming Lord into our nation's minds . . . . I was also convinced that the Lord really and eagerly loves us and He lives intimately within us . . . .

     Yuriko, a housewife, was one of the first group who were baptized by Rev. Robert Junge in 1989. She now voluntarily works as a co-editor for the monthly Vine Group Newsletter with her partner, Mariko Suzuki, another housewife. The above talk somehow reflects her past enthusiasm as a devout Bible-Christian: inspirational, experiential and practical. But these three characteristics, by and large, also reflect as it were a New Church spirituality grown in our ethnic mentality. One feels fully committed to what he/she is convinced are its spiritual values through inspirational experiences. In our New Church sessions, such tendencies are often strengthened by heartfelt compassion for one another.

     Dan Frost, my son-in-law, wrote me as follows as one of the participants. His first baby, Robert Tatsuya, was baptized by Rev. Robert Junge last year:


     It is really great to have a minister visit. Many times the people here ask me, "Are you Christian?" After I say yes, they tell me sadly that they wish they could believe also. "But Japan is a land of no religion," they say. The people who do make a commitment of faith are very brave, because it is hard to share that commitment with those around them, even their families. But a faith which grows in such a desert is very strong and committed.
     The New Church group in Japan is very small and somewhat isolated from each other. These visits pull the far-flung members together, often through great sacrifice. But they arrive enthusiastic and eager to understand their new faith more deeply. Bishop and Mrs. King responded to these people unreservedly and using their collective vast experiences. This kind of opportunity is magical for the people here. It made me appreciate the spiritual resources afforded by the General Church.

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Our church has a lot to give.

     Soon after those three days in Tokushima, we traveled to the second largest city in Japan by sea across the Osaka Bay. We stayed a night at one of the most expensive hotels in Osaka City: $350.00 for one room per night, which Mr. Haruo Kawahara paid for to show us his most heartwarming welcome, (Japanese traditional mentality does not permit a host to let his V.I.P. stay at a second-class business hotel or his private home.) Next day, at a small hall of the Public Labor Center, fifteen people were awaiting these V.I.P.'s. The attendants included housewives, company clerks, a nurse, a Christian minister, and even a well known spiritualist who runs a restaurant "Suedenborugu" in Osaka. But most attenders were Arcana Friends, i.e., the subscribers of the Arcana Press Newsletter, The topic was the encounter with Emanuel Swedenborg. And they spoke individually for a couple of minutes about encountering him in their lives. Bishop Louis and Freya talked too about their personal history, and the bishop gave a brief lecture on Swedenborg's personal history.
     After the Osaka session, we hurried to Mr. Matsushita's home in Kyoto for his daughter Yuka's baptism. Mr. Fujimoto, an English-speaking real estate man, was baptized that night. The bishop's visit with us could not have been so fruitful and successful were it not for Freya's affectional support and cooperation. I have often heard from participants that they were actually impressed by the ideal image of conjugial love in Louis and Freya, Yuka Matsushita in Kyoto, for example, wrote me: "I was much moved by Freya's cheerful and attractive personality and Bishop King's gentle and calm character. I was so delighted that I was baptized that night . . . . "
     Her parents also wrote me and said: "We were very much impressed by Bishop and Freya's honest and innocent talks and behavior, and we would like to be like them some day . . . . "
     Back in Tokushima, I was suddenly awakened in bed at 2 o'clock at night by the spiritualist who attended the Osaka meeting the day before.

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He tried to persuade me to believe that he received an ominous Divine oracle a few minutes before, and that he was obliged to tell me about what he had heard from his mediate spirit. He made an attempt to convince me of the existence of his own great spirit behind him, who is much mightier than Bishop King or Freya. Incidentally, he is opening a hotel with the name of "Swedenborgian School of Wisdom" in the Japanese Alps.
     Next morning, the Kings visited the elementary school where my wife Sumie and Dan Frost were teaching. They were delighted to see the children learning ABC and Kitaro's music in orchestra. Bishop King was introduced as an ex-president of the school where their English teacher Daniel-sensei graduated.
     The next day (Friday, Nov. 26) our V.I.P.'s flew to Tokyo Haneda airport where Yoshiaki and Chizuko Mine were waiting. The Kings were welcomed at the Mines' mountain villa that night. Their main' event, however, was focused on the Sunday service at a hotel lecture room downtown. Four people were baptized, including a baby, Aoi Suzuki, Mr. and Mrs. Yasuyuki Suzuki's third child. Mr. Takeuchi, who has been a facilitator of the Vine Group, was baptized. Mr. and Mrs. Masahiro Ishii were also baptized.
     We knew that the schedule was too tight and seemingly overburdened for the retired bishop and his wife. The journey and the meetings might have been overloaded, especially as their visit was scheduled soon after the bishop had worked for several days at the New Church College, Manchester, England. We could not help admiring, however, that both showed vigorously cheerful leadership and participation at each session and meeting in four different places in Japan in ten days: Tokushima, Osaka, Kyoto and Tokyo.
     Within their stay in Japan, six were baptized in all: two were in Kyoto and four in Tokyo. Now we can show the statistics of the figures since the first visit by Rev. Robert Junge in 1989.

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                          Minister           Baptized
First visit      Oct 1989      Mr. Junge           10
Second visit      Nov. 1990      Bishop King      38
Third visit      Sep. 1991      Mr. Junge           13
Fourth visit      Nov. 1992      Mr. Junge           4
Fifth visit      Nov. 1993      Bishop King      6
                         Total                71
Others who were baptized outside Japan:           7
                     Gorand Total           78

     Oftentimes our national characteristics are thought to be inscrutable by those who have the rationalistic background of the west. Our ethnic habits and cultures have been fermented through a long 2,000-year history, in its deeper level. However, much contact Japan could have had was kept untouched, because of our immunity to the Aristotelian rationalism. Our language itself contains an inscrutable variety of Chinese ideographs, and still preserves meticulous rules of discriminative hierarchy of honorific/modest expressions. Right or wrong, good or bad, and true or false become suddenly vague whenever some passages are conveyed in our Japanese language. This linguo-sociological restriction might be an obstacle for our people to be able to comprehend what is the right and wrong mentioned in the Writings. In such a rootless nature, a danger is always at hand for us Swedenborgians to fall into a pit of spiritualism, or else emotional eccentricity. This makes me firmly believe that as far as the New Church in Japan is concerned, these trans-ethical communications and cooperations are indispensable in order to keep ourselves rationalized and humanized. Otherwise, we are easily prone to lose the identity of genuine rationalism which opens the gate of the "Nunc Licet" temple.
     For the whole General Church, the New Church in Japan seems to be a bit challenging, because we have an increasing number of baptized people, but none among us wants to become a minister yet.

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However, our Japan New Church airplane is flying in the air. The pilot is our Lord, and seventy-eight passengers are on board. One of the passengers volunteers to be a temporary steward helped by some others. These helpers also have desires to be stewards or stewardesses but not pursers, because this requires a special calling from the Lord. The interim purser comes to help them on board for a couple of weeks a year, but not always. The purser's mission is to announce what idea their Pilot has and how He flies the plane until finally they arrive at the heavenly destination.
     Anyway, who knows where our budding New Church is going except to the heavens? It is, however, quite a matter-of-fact process of a newborn baby growing. A baby actually grows not only because a man feeds it, but also, or rather only, because the Lord feeds it from His infinite love and wisdom. Still thanks to Bishop King and Freya, and especially our visiting forerunner, Rev. Bob Junge, who paved the way for the ministers who will come in the future.
EVER-REACHING HILLS 1994

EVER-REACHING HILLS       Editor       1994

     New Church Ordeal and Triumph

     C. S. King

     A REMEMBRANCE. . .

     . . . Of five Chicago brothers, approaching manhood and afflicted with tuberculosis, sent west, into the Colorado mountains, in search of recovery. It was the only prescription offering hope-in those years.
     . . .Of the sustaining impact of their physician-father's uncompromising spiritual strength on their struggles with a disease more wide-spread at that time than AIDS today, and in the advanced stages, equally as devastating.
     Copyright: C. S. King
428 pp. Hardbound ISBN 01693396 091 $19.95
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NAMING THE COLLEGE 1994

NAMING THE COLLEGE       Rev. Daniel W. Goodenough       1994

     To all friends of the Academy of the New Church:
     A few months ago I appointed a committee to consider a name for the college. The principal reason is that there is a growing feeling that the college needs to establish a clearer identity, separate and distinct from the secondary schools.
     Having "Academy" as part of the college's name creates confusion with transcripts and transfers, because "Academy" connotes secondary education. It also gives some students the idea that the college is mainly an extension of our secondary schools.

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A distinctive name could help signal the growing uses and influence of the college. However, the committee feels strongly that any name such as "Jones College" should indicate our affiliation-that is, "Jones College" of the Academy of the New Church.
     So far, the response we have received to this idea has been overwhelmingly affirmative, and an investigation into some specific ramifications of a college name change did not produce negative effects. Accordingly, the committee has decided to go forward and search for an appropriate name. We hope to recommend a name that captures the essence of the college, and that will be viewed-and worn-with pride by the students, faculty and alumni, as well as appeal to potential students.
     Some of the names suggested so far are: Michael (strong correspondence with higher education), Kainon ("Behold I make all things new"), Omnia Nova ("all things new"), Arcana, Advent, Eden, Cathedral, Revelation, and New Christian College.
     The committee invites your comments on these names and your suggestions for other names, with supporting reasons. I invite you to communicate with Dr. Charles Ebert, the Academy of the New Church College, P.O. Box 717, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009; phone (215) 938-2502, fax (215) 938-2658, or with any member of the committee, by May 1, 1994.
     Rev. Daniel W. Goodenough, President

     Members of the committee are: Mr. E. Boyd Asplundh, Dr. Gregory L. Baker, Mr. Halfdan Bau-Madsen, Mr. Walter C. Childs III, Miss Melissa Eller, Mrs. Robert W. Gladish, Rev. Daniel W. Goodenough, Miss Martha Gyllenhaal, Rev. Willard L. D. Heinrichs, Mr. Bruce Henderson, Mrs. Hyland R. Johns, Dean Charles H. Lindsay, Mr. Laird P. Pendleton, Dean Brian L. Schnarr, and Dr. Charles H. Ebert, chair.

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MARCH CONFERENCES IN RUSSIA 1994

MARCH CONFERENCES IN RUSSIA       Editor       1994

     Last month a conference was held in Moscow. One presentation was called "Swedenborg and Russia." The speaker, Dr. M. Roschin, is Pictured on page 179 of this magazine a year ago this month. Another topic was "The Cathedral of the Church of the New Jerusalem in Bryn Athyn: A Materialization of Swedenborg's Legacy."
     Another topic was "Swedenborgians of Today and the Interdenominational Dialogue." The speaker, M. Siverstsev, gave a speech last November at the Swedenborg Library.
REV. CEDRIC KING 1994

REV. CEDRIC KING       Peter M. Buss       1994

     The Rev. Cedric King has served the New Church in El Toro, California for the last seven years, by appointment of the bishop. This group has grown and has become a circle of the General Church. It has now taken the step of calling him to become its pastor.
     In July, Cedric will hold this position on a part-time basis. He has elected also to become a therapist in the Orange County area. Cedric believes the combination of these two uses will allow him to reach more people, especially those experiencing difficult times in their lives. With his remarkable ability to care for people, his deep love of the doctrines, and his communication skills, Cedric is ideally suited for such a task. Although we will miss Cedric as a full-time priest of the General Church, he will continue to serve an active circle of the General Church. We support him in his dream of using the special abilities which the Lord has given him to serve people in his unique way.
     Peter M. Buss,
          Executive Bishop

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     [Photos of El Toro Chapel and El Toro Church Group]

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Editorial Pages 1994

Editorial Pages       Editor       1994

     SHARE A MOMENT WITH THE WORLD

     Birds of a feather flock together. People in a heavenly society resemble each other. You have found your "home" when you find yourself among people like yourself. It is said of those who find such a home that "they are among their like, as among relatives and friends, whom, because they are in a similar affection, they love from the heart" (AR 611).
     There are occasions, however, for the coming together of different peoples. A striking example in the world of spirits brought together representatives of nine nations. They were to put forth effort, and a prize awaited the nation that did the best.
     They were invited to pursue the goal of expressing what the origin of conjugial love is. When the teams from each nation had completed their efforts they were to identify their contribution with a letter designating their country. The Swedes wrote "S," the French "F' and so forth. Perhaps the winners would take satisfaction in seeing their letter selected, much the same as the Olympic athlete does upon seeing his or her flag raised or upon hearing his anthem played.
     This story, told in CL 103-113, is about eight pages long. It has a striking ending. The participants were European nations, but a stranger from Africa asked if he could be heard, and yes, he won the prize.
     If you could be present at such a gathering, the diversity of the responses would be what would make it especially interesting. It would be a chance to tune in to the human race or share a moment with the world-with your neighbor. "The human race is the neighbor in the widest sense." And it is divided into empires, republics and kingdoms. (See Charity 87.)
     In February of this year, representatives from sixty-six nations met in Norway for the winter Olympics, and the parade of nations was witnessed by millions upon millions of people.

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It had a special emotional impact. Perhaps New Church people thought of the teaching that each nation is before the Lord as one person. "All the English appear before the Lord as one man; similarly all the Dutch, Germans, Swedes, and Danes, as well as the French, Spaniards, Poles, and Russians, but every nation according to its uses" (D. Love VI). Perhaps when one sees such a gathering one is touched by the affection in the words in the final chapter of Isaiah: "It shall be that I will gather all nations and tongues; and they shall come and see My glory."
NEW MAGAZINE 1994

NEW MAGAZINE       Editor       1994

     The title is Arcana. The subtitle is "Inner Dimensions of Spirituality." It will be published quarterly by the Swedenborg Association, 1725 Huntingdon Road, P.O. Box 533, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009. The cost is only $15 a year ($20 outside the United States). We say "only $15" because we are talking about a substantial publication of about 100 pages.
     The first issue has a review of Dr. Norman Berridge's book, The Natural Basis of Spiritual Reality. The reviewer, Martin Echols, calls the book "challenging, fascinating, and enjoyable to read . . . a definite requirement for anyone interested in the subject of correspondences and in increasing an awareness of his or her daily experience."
     There are substantial articles by Rev. Messrs. Olle Hjern, Leonard Fox, and Michael Stanley.
     An article by Anders Hallengren offers new and fascinating insights to those who have pondered the subject of the Ancient Word, and the saying that "it is still preserved among the people who dwell in Great Tartary" (TCR 279:3). Mr. Hallengren's study is called "The Secret of Great Tartary."
     Perhaps these few facts will be enough to encourage you to learn more about this publication.

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TO LOVE THE LORD AND THE NE 1994

TO LOVE THE LORD AND THE NE       Rev. Martin Pryke       1994




     Communications
IGHBORDear Editor:
     We are all familiar with the teaching that we should love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our mind . . . and our neighbor as ourselves (see Matt. 22:37, 38; cf. Deut. 6:5 and Lev. 10:27). We know that this is the objective of human life and the essence of heaven itself.
     The question on which I would comment is, How do we do this? How do we change our love from one that is directed to self and the world to a completely opposite love, to a love which places the will of God and the welfare of the neighbor above everything else?
     We cannot do this simply by an act of will, by a good and determined intention. We cannot say, "Tomorrow I will stop loving myself and the world and begin to love the Lord and my fellow man." Such a determination may produce (for a time) a sentimental glow, but it will not change our ruling love.
     The fact is that we cannot change our love; only the Lord can do this, and He does it in the process of regeneration, which is a new birth, a new life bringing a new love. However, the Lord cannot do this for us unless we make it possible, unless we prepare the way.
     The process by which we do this (with the Lord's support at every step) is clearly laid out for us in the True Christian Religion. These steps may be summarized as follows:

     1.      Learn the truths of revelation so that we may know what is evil and what is good, so that we may distinguish between the will of God and the will of man, so that we may build a genuine conscience.
     2.      Examine ourselves, not only as to our acts and words, but also the intention of our will-this so that we may know the evils within ourselves which have to be removed.

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     3.      Turn to the Lord in prayer, acknowledging that without His help nothing can be accomplished.
     4.      Actively begin a new life by shunning every evil in thought and deed because if is a sin against God. Note that we do not shun evils because of bad consequences which may result for us, affecting our reputation or our material welfare, but because they are contrary to the will of God and so destructive of the spiritual welfare of mankind.

     There will always be a danger of trying to take shortcuts: thinking, for example, that we can change our loves by an act of the will instead of by following the steps laid down in revelation. We cannot avoid the responsibility of learning the truths of the Word. For our age it is not enough to know the Ten Commandments. We must understand the rational presentation of truth found in the Writings so that we may be able to judge the complicated moral and spiritual issues of our time.
     Furthermore, we cannot avoid the step of shunning evils. We seem to hear less about this today, with the possible suggestion that we can avoid this critical and often difficult task. But the fact is that it cannot be avoided-this is the bottom line. This is a hard fact that requires rigor of us. It is a daily battle lasting throughout our lives.
     We come to love the Lord, then, by learning to obey His commandments, just as we come to love the neighbor by acting charitably toward him. How can we continue to dislike or resent a person for whom we perform uses? As we reach out in word or deed to one whom we may not like, the Lord performs a miracle within us and brings us to love him. So it is with our love of the Lord Himself. Will not our love for Him grow as we seek to do His will, and as we strive for the establishment of His new kingdom on earth?

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     Of course, none of what I have written is new to us. The reason I remind your readers of these essential and basic truths is that I think I see a danger of an emphasis on love which avoids the necessity of truth and the shunning of evils as sins. A doctrine of salvation by love alone is as dangerous as one by faith alone. Life is real and earnest, not an unrealistic sentimental conviction that we can immediately change our loves. Love, we repeat, can be granted only by the Lord through the application of truth in a life which shuns evils as sins against God.
     Rev. Martin Pryke,
          Bryn Athyn, PA
INCLUSIVE LANGUAGE 1994

INCLUSIVE LANGUAGE       Rachel Carlson       1994

Dear Editor:
     I am a 20-year-old woman who has no record of being particularly into women's rights. Of course I have always thought and have certainly maintained within me a knowledge that women are as intelligent as men, and in some cases more so. I have had strong reactions against the extreme women's movement when I feel that it is alienating or scaring men from a rational view of the legitimate concerns within this movement.
     These somewhat haphazard beliefs which I have previously held make it surprising for me to find myself with such strong feelings on a certain matter in our church.
     I heard a minister use the term "men" to refer to the whole congregation. In these times, this usage is simply not accurate because the term no longer applies to women. The quote from Conjugial Love, so familiar in the wedding service, says that this love is with "the angels of heaven and the men of the church." This was acceptable to the ear in the past, but it is not in the present, and it is so good to know that it has been changed in the new liturgy and in the forthcoming translation by Rev. Bruce Rogers.

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     I find that I and other women I know no longer feel a part of the category "men." Church leaders need to be particularly aware of the alienating effect it could have if some phrases are used inadvertently. I do not think that the use in the past of such phrases as "the men of the church" or "man lives after death" was the result of a deliberate decision to omit women. I think it was due to an unawareness of the significance of the changing times.
     It would be a great pity if something as easy to remedy as this were to drive people away. I do feel it shows respect to use inclusive terms such as "people," "person," etc. It is so encouraging to see signs of change. An example is the wording of the new translation of the Arcana. I see that attention is called to gender-inclusive language in the February editorial, and it was interesting to see (page 73) that you have begun to address this matter.
     It means a great deal to me when I hear ministers these days using inclusive language. In fact, it shows great sensitivity and awareness of feelings. Most of the extant translations use the term "man" in cases where the Latin could be correctly expressed otherwise. I applaud the effort, increasingly evident, to make the change when reading a passage in public.
     Rachel Carlson,
          Bryn Athyn, PA
SPIRITUAL GROWTH GROUPS 1994

SPIRITUAL GROWTH GROUPS       Jr. V. C. Odhner       1994

Dear Editor:
     This is a reply to Sarah Headsten's letter in the January issue. She mentions the development of spiritual growth groups (called hereafter "SGG") to the present time; however, she doesn't elaborate on the involvement of "at least a dozen General Church ministers," in the current format.

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In other words, just where does Gurdjieff, etc., fit into this ministerial program?
     The whole matter seems to involve the doctrine of the Word, the main object of besiegement throughout the church's history. Why do the SGG's give so much attention to ideas which are not from the Word? Does the Word for the New Church need such augmentation? In AC 8939:3e-"Let him also know and believe that the Word is the only doctrine which teaches how man must live in the world in order to be happy to eternity" (emphasis added). And in AC 8941:2-"The truths from which the Lord is to be worshiped are to be taken solely from the Word, for in every detail of the Word there is life from the Divine" (emphasis added); see also AC 10251e, 10290:2, 10707e; BE 102-3.
     Whether it be Gurdjieff or any other system adopted by SGG's, I wonder if distraction or confusion might be introduced into the church's thought. Isn't there a danger of people being led astray, now or in the future-especially newcomers filled with the delightful spirit of finding the new truth only to be told that there's Gurdjieff too? In AC 8971:1- "And they. . . also say to themselves when they read [the Word] that the writings of men are finer, because insofar as regards the literal sense they are composed in a finer style." See also SS 47, 100; DP 172:2-5.
     Once the SGG's have established their practice of following the various theories of finite minds, where will it eventually end? Regarding the fourth law of the Divine Providence, we read in DP 172:6-"From this it can be seen that man is led and taught by the Lord alone, and is led and taught immediately by Him when this is done from the Word. This is an arcanum of arcana of angelic wisdom" (emphasis added). Note the great emphasis Divine Providence places on the exclusive use of the Word. See also AR 813-14, 881, 889; CL 115:4; TCR 344, 347:2; SD 5933; AE 535:3, 594:3, 790:4, 937:5.

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     In AE 1079:2-"All this makes clear how the Word was inspired by the Divine, and that it was written from such an inspiration to which nothing else in the world can in any wise be compared" (emphasis added). And in AE 1089:3e"In brief, he who loves truth because it is truth can inquire of the Lord, as it were, in doubtful matters of faith, and can receive answers from Him, but nowhere except in the Word, for the reason that the Lord is the Word" (emphasis added). See AE 1177:2.
     As mentioned, it seems to me that the authority and understanding of the Word have been under attack in various ways from the church's inception. For example, contemplate Richard DeCharms, Sr.'s words in The Newchurchman-Extra, Vol. 1, p. 15 (Aug. 1843). He was under dire attack for maintaining the Divine authority of the Writings, attacking the Boston (or conjugial) heresy, and initiating the Central Convention, the forerunner to the General Church: ". . . but he [RD] does hold to the infallibility of the doctrine of truths as taught from the Lord by Emanuel Swedenborg. Thus he holds to the authority of the theological Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg in teaching infallibly what is the spiritual and true sense of the Word of God. He holds to such a peculiar Divine authority in those Writings that they contain 'truths continuous from the Lord,' and therefore he believes it can't be said, in respect to his theological Writings, Socrates, or Seneca, or Plato, or Bacon has taught truths just as Swedenborg has; or that we can find truth in the books of those authors just as we can in [the Writings]," it is this exclusive faith and love (not love alone) of the Divine authority of the Writings that we must renew each generation. Our constitution is the Writings.
     V. C. Odhner, Jr.,
          Perkasie, PA

     More letters on the following pages

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HELPING THOSE IN DISORDER 1994

HELPING THOSE IN DISORDER       Dewey Odhner       1994

Dear Editor:
     I wish to make two points.
     1.      In response to the letter on page 82 in the February issue: Yes, the Lord said to the woman caught in adultery, "Sin no more." To the rest of us He said, "Whoever is without sin cast the first stone." Who among us has completely eliminated all sin from our life? Should I expect my friends to give up everything I believe is less than ideal? I do not feel qualified to cast that stone. I think it is better to help them in their efforts to live a less harmful and more useful life according to those of their beliefs that are not opposed to mine.
     2.      Some have referred to the passage in the Spiritual Diary "Concerning (Certain) Most Wanton Maidens" (SD 3895-3900) as relating to lesbianism. The passage describes some of the worst women and implies that they are lesbians. There are also many passages that imply that the worst people are Christians. We would not conclude from them that we should pressure our friends to abandon Christianity. I do not believe we should conclude the same about lesbianism from this passage.
          Dewey Odhner,
               Horsham, PA
HAPPY IN HELL? 1994

HAPPY IN HELL?       Donald C. Schmucker       1994

Dear Editor:
     I read with great interest and no small comfort Rev. Prescott Rogers' comments concerning the eternity of the hells (Feb. 1994 issue), wherein he states, "The evil spirits are truly happy . . . " Fortunately or unfortunately as the case may be, I don't believe that.

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He speaks of these evil spirits' ability to fantasize their evils so skillfully that their ruling love is fulfilled. Try not eating for a couple of days and then fantasize about a nice steak dinner. Feel full?
     Mr. Rogers refers to hell as an institution for the criminally insane, yet he attributes rationality to its inhabitants by stating, "He [an evil spirit] chooses for himself not to do what is harmful and so avoid punishment rather than satisfy his evil lusts and be punished for it." However, I would refer you to HH 574:3-"After these attacks, they begin to vent their wrath on him by punishments which continue until he is reduced to slavery . . . . " And further in the same number: "Then the people who do not give in and obey the leader's whim are again tormented in different ways. This goes on and on" (emphasis added).
     I do not believe that hell is some country club prison for white-collar crime, but rather the ultimate exercise in frustration and futility that stretches to eternity. It is inhabited by those poor damned souls whose ruling loves have dictated their fate and who, in the Lord's mercy, are less miserable in hell than they would be anywhere else. But "truly happy" in no way describes their circumstances.
     Donald C. Schmucker,
          Winter Springs, Florida
ETERNITY OF HELL 1994

ETERNITY OF HELL       Editor       1994

     We have had voluminous communication on this subject, and wish to give extracts from two letters here, one from Australia and one from Florida.
     Mr. Chris Horner of Australia expresses surprise that a letter doubting the eternity of hell should appear in a magazine "devoted to the teachings revealed through Emanuel Swedenborg.

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     "The whole trend of the teachings in the Writings is to the effect that people choose their ruling love while in the ultimate degree of physical existence, and that they carry this with them into the spiritual world . . . .
     "'The angels declare that the life's ruling love is never changed in anyone even to eternity, since everyone is his own love; consequently to change that love with a spirit is to take away or extinguish life' (HH 480).
     "'A man's life cannot be changed after death. It remains then such as it had been; for a man's spirit is wholly according to the quality of his love; and an infernal love can never be transformed into a heavenly love because they are opposites . . . . From this it is evident that those who go to hell remain there to eternity, and those who go to heaven remain there to eternity' (NJHD 239).
     "Are we to consider these statements as authentic or are we to disregard them? Do they mean what they say? What is our attitude toward the Writings? Do we believe they are revealed Divine truths presented to the world by Emanuel Swedenborg, who subscribed himself on the title page of his magnum opus True Christian Religion as the servant of the Lord Jesus Christ; or do we feel that the Writings are a commentary on the Holy Scriptures by a learned man who, despite his learning, made some significant blunders?
     "Among passages in the Arcana which demonstrate the impossibility of evil spirits eventually being transferred from hell to heaven are numbers 967, 3701, 6977, and 7781. It is indeed of the Lord's ineffable mercy that an eternal hell should be provided, for those in the love of self could never continue to exist in a heavenly sphere as they would be in everlasting torment."
     Mr. Richard Gladish in Florida writes similarly to Mr. Horner and emphasizes Heaven and Hell 538. He quotes as follows from the book The Bible That Was Lost and Is Found by John Bigelow:

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"Whether in heaven or in hell, we have what in life we have prepared ourselves most to enjoy, and an abode in heaven would be as full of torture to one without heavenly affections as hell would be to one with such affections; and finally, that God's mercy or love which 'is over all His works' is manifested as unceasingly and just as bountifully toward those whose loves have attracted them to the one place as to those whose loves have attracted them to the other; that He is always in the effort to give to everyone, whether regenerate or unregenerate, all the happiness such a person is capable of receiving."

     The Editor

     "[Abraham said] And besides all this, between us and you there is a great gulf fixed, so that those who want to pass from here to you cannot, nor can those from there pass to us" (Luke 16:26).
MINISTERIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS 1994

MINISTERIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS       Editor       1994

     The Rev. Derek Elphick has accepted a call from the Boynton Beach Society to become its pastor, effective July 1, 1994. He will be replacing the Rev. Daniel Heinrichs, who will be retiring at that time, and who will continue to live in Boynton Beach.
     The Rev. David Roth will serve the Colorado New Church in the Denver/Boulder area, effective July 1, 1994.
     Pending completion of his Theological School course and ordination into the ministry, Candidate Yong Jin will become the assistant to the pastor in Ivyland, and General Church minister in outreach to Korean-speaking peoples in the United States, effective July 1, 1994. Twenty-five percent of his time will be devoted to serving in Ivyland, and seventy-five percent to his work in the broader General Church use.

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New Church Women's Symposium 1994

New Church Women's Symposium        Editor       1994

     The second New Church Women's Symposium will take place March 30-April 1, 1995, in Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania. The Academy Girls School and Theta Alpha International, along with the symposium committee, warmly invite you to attend.
     Our first symposium in 1991 attracted more than 285 women from all over the United States and Canada. Planning for this second gathering is going well, and we expect a rich menu of talks, workshops, panel discussions and entertainment. The topics again will reflect a broad variety of the affections and viewpoints in the New Church today.

     New Church Women's Symposium

     ". . .take root downward and bear fruit upward." Isaiah 37
     The goals of the symposium are:

     1.      To explore the uses, contributions and experience of women in the church and in western culture.
     2.      To nurture and support each other, to respect our differences, and to strengthen the community of women in the church.
     3.      To encourage women to assume responsibility for unfolding the complexities of the female spirit, and to strengthen their confidence in their ability to do this.
     4.      To examine, in the light of the Writings, the findings of recent secular research into female development.
     5.      To become more conscious of the ways that cultural stereotypes may have clouded our thinking from doctrine about femininity.

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     6.      To heighten awareness of the complementary natures of the masculine and feminine.
     7.      To laugh together, have some fun, and celebrate the joys of being women.

     If you would like to receive registration materials when they are sent out in the fall, please mail your name and address to:
          Chara Daum, co-registrar, Women's Symposium
          Box 707, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009.
     We hope you can join us at Symposium '95.
3RD FLORIDA DISTRICT ASSEMBLY AND REGIONAL CLERGY MEETINGS 1994

3RD FLORIDA DISTRICT ASSEMBLY AND REGIONAL CLERGY MEETINGS       Beryl Moorhead & Jane Birchman       1994

     The regional meeting of the southern clergy took place at the New Church in Boynton Beach, Florida, in February from Tuesday the 8th through Friday the 11th, 1994. Rt. Rev. Peter Buss presided over this esteemed gathering of gentlemen, who are as follows:

     Rev. Alfred Acton               Bryn Athyn, PA
     Rev. Bill Burke               Charlotte, NC
     Rev. Peter Buss, Jr.          Mitchellville, MD
     Rev. Dan Heinrichs               Boynton Beach, FL
     Rev. Willard Heinrichs          Bryn Athyn. PA
     Rev. Geoffrey Howard           Boston, MA
     Rev. Mark Ferry               Atlanta, GA
     Rev. Martin Pryke               Bryn Athyn, PA
     Rev. Fred Schnarr               Bryn Athyn, PA
     Rev. Ray Silverman               Atlanta, GA
     Mr. Harold Eubanks               Americus, GA

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     The continuous bright, sunny days did much to contribute to the enlightenment of the daily sessions. With reports of the northern winter being the worst in many decades, it was fun to see the heavy coats abandoned and shorts become de rigueur. A most useful and refreshing time was had by all.
     A few hours after the ministers' meetings ended, assembly guests began arriving. It was with great excitement that the members of the New Church at Boynton Beach gathered for an open house to welcome and register the assembly guests. They came from all over the state of Florida, and some "snow birds" from the north arrived with their motor homes. The church parking lot soon became a veritable campground.
     Saturday dawned sunny and bright. Our sessions began with a worship service conducted by our resident pastor, Rev. Dan Heinrichs.
     The morning sessions were conducted by the Rt. Rev. Peter Buss (who spoke of two kinds of truth-Rachel and Leah) and Rev. Dan Heinrichs (who spoke on "in the world, but not of the world"). Lively and entertaining discussions followed. The mid-morning break gave us an opportunity to flock outdoors to soak up the glorious sunshine.
     It was a challenge to accommodate the large numbers in our limited space. However, with good planning much was accomplished.
     A social time, which also included a delicious boxed lunch, gave guests a chance to renew old friendships and an opportunity to make new ones.
     A series of workshops was held in the afternoon. Topics included: Journey of Life-Rev. Alfred Acton; Retirement and Aging-Rev. Fred Schnarr; Business and Ethics-Rev. Geoffrey Howard. We all had the opportunity to attend those workshops that interested us.
     In the middle of the afternoon a program was presented by all of the children in attendance. The story of Joseph and his dreams, complete with costumes and props, was presented in the church garden under the direction of Freya Fitzpatrick, ably assisted by Rev. Ray Silverman.

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This was enjoyed by us all.
     The culmination of the day's events took place in the form of a banquet held at a local restaurant. Robert D. Heinrichs was the toastmaster. The theme for the evening was the future growth of the church in Florida. Speakers were: Jacquie Johns-Spreading the New Church through Volunteerism; Alan Lyles-An Individual Commitment to Applying the Doctrines to Daily Life; John Snoep-Steps to Achieve the Growth of the Church in Florida. Rt. Rev. Peter Buss responded.
     Next on the agenda, Bishop Buss asked those members of the clergy and laity who had given more than 25 years of employment to the church to come forward. He presented a service award-a gold pin depicting the open Word-to the following gentlemen: Rev. Alfred Acton, Rev. Dan Heinrichs, Rev. Willard Heinrichs, Rev. Geoffrey Howard, Rev. Martin Pryke, Rev. Fred Schnarr and Mr. Donald Fitzpatrick.
     Bishop Buss also took this opportunity to introduce Rev. Derek Elphick, who has been called to lead the Boynton Beach Society after Rev. Dan Heinrichs retires in the summer of 1994.
     On Sunday morning, Rev. Geoffrey Howard was the guest preacher. His sermon was entitled "David's Sin: Numbering the People." Holy Supper was administered during the service. Church attendance was 106 adults and children!
     After church the members of the Boynton Beach Society banded together and put on a buffet luncheon to fortify our guests on their return journeys to various destinations.
     It was indeed a happy occasion for the Boynton Beach Society to have hosted this assembly. We hope there will be many repeat performances in the future. Thank you, everyone who made this occasion such a success, and thank you to all the guests who made the effort to attend.
     Beryl Moorhead,
     Jane Birchman

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WE GO TO CHURCH 1994

WE GO TO CHURCH       Editor       1994




     Announcements






     BRITISH ASSEMBLY-The 66th British Assembly will be hosted by the Michael Church Society 1st-3rd July 1994 at the beautiful High Leigh Conference Centre, Hoddesdon, Herts. The cost, including all meals and a sumptuous banquet, is about $58! (and it's only two weeks before the British Academy Summer School). Book now with Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Elphick, 1 Ethelbert Road, St. Paul's Cray, Kent BR5 3JN England; telephone 011 44 689 897464.

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     Written by first-grade teachers for the beginning reader, this charming full-color book teaches about worshiping the Lord, about Thanksgiving and Christmas.
     The first children's book published in color by General Church Office of Education
     32 pages v.s. $4.95 + postage
               
General Church Book Center          Hours: Mon-Fri 9-12 or by appointment
Box 743, Cairncrest               Phone:(215)947-3920
Bryn Athyn, PA 19009

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Notes on This Issue 1994

Notes on This Issue       Editor       1994

Vol. CXIV     May, 1994     No. 5
NEW CHURCH LIFE

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     Notes on This Issue

     "He must examine himself, recognize and acknowledge his sins, pray to the Lord, and begin a new life" (TCR 530). This is one of the teachings Mr. Robert Merrell quotes in the article on Alcoholics Anonymous.
     ". . . . men who ignore their perceptions and don't listen to good women, and who are very much in love with their own intelligence, irritate and anger women and invite ridicule" (p. 210). Charis P. Cole encourages love and respect between the sexes.
     "One cannot visit another who keeps a leopard and a panther shut up in his chamber (living safely with them himself because he feeds them) until those wild beasts have been removed" (TCR 436). This passage came to mind upon reading the unusual article by Mr. David Ayers about "feeding the right dog."
     Way back in the middle of 1991 Rev. Jan Weiss wrote "Making the Writings Readable." He has patiently read many responses, and now he writes again on this subject, reminding us that "we should not publish a simplified version of a book of the Writings and then pretend it is Divine revelation in its completeness." A simplified version "should be viewed as a gateway to the real work and not as its replacement" A case in point is the short version of Heaven and Hell advertised in this issue.
     Note the ministerial announcements on p. 230, the coming assemblies on p. 207, and the August camp in Oregon, p. 234.
     As we go to print we learn that Mr. Chris Horner of Australia died. In his letter in the April issue, p. 184, he quoted passages from the Writings, and in his forthright manner asked: "Are we to consider these statements as authentic or are we to disregard them? Do they mean what they say?"
     A new book on the Lord's Prayer, a study of the teachings of the Writings on the subject, has been written by Rt. Rev. Philip N. Odhner. It is a book of fewer than 80 pages, giving one a wealth of information and insight on a wonderful subject.

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DOCTRINAL RELATIONSHIPS AMONG ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, THE OXFORD GROUP, AND THE NEW CHURCH 1994

DOCTRINAL RELATIONSHIPS AMONG ALCOHOLICS ANONYMOUS, THE OXFORD GROUP, AND THE NEW CHURCH       ROBERT D. MERRELL       1994

Origin of AA Principles

     The origin of the ideas behind Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) has interested people, both within the New Church and outside it, for many years. There are numerous principles which seem to be in common with the New Church, yet the AA program goes out of its way to assure newcomers that there are no requirements for membership concerning beliefs. All that is required is a desire to stop drinking alcoholic beverages. This paper looks at the origin of the principles on which AA is founded, and briefly contrasts them with some of the principles of the Oxford Group and some of those of the New Church.

The Oxford Group

     The Oxford Group, unlike its name, is definitely of American origin. The adoption of the name may have been influenced by the fact that the founder, Dr. Frank Buchman, spent some years at Oxford and held many of his meetings in England, sometimes with people from Oxford in attendance. The name was adopted by the group while they were spreading the work into Africa, where the local people referred to them as the "Oxford Group." They liked the name and took it for themselves until much later adopting the name "The Moral Re-Armament." Both names are still used in reference to them.
     Dr. Buchman, the founder of the Oxford Group, was raised in Pennsylvania farm country and educated at Muhlenberg College and the Philadelphia Seminary (Lutheran). After graduation he spent a year studying in England and Germany, and then accepted a pastorate in a very poor part of Philadelphia, partly to convince himself and maybe others that he was interested in reaching the poor as well as the rich and powerful.

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He had, even that early in his career, displayed a natural gravitation to the powerful as a means to leverage his efforts to the most people. Two years later he went to Pennsylvania State College with the YMCA. He was long associated with Pennsylvania State College in the role of head of the local YMCA, and really began his major thrust at converting young men. He then went to Hartford Seminary. While at these two schools, working mainly with young men, he developed much of his thought about how to use group activity to inspire repentance, especially through confession of sins.
     The primary objective of the Oxford Group is to lead the candidates to a "changed life," or what the New Church would call repentance and reformation. Their belief is in changing the person, whence the person would then do good deeds (instead of the group as a whole focusing on the social gospel, as was common in Protestant churches at that time). This concept is consistent with New Church thinking.
     The stages through which a changing person passes are referred to by the Oxford Groupers as the five C's. These are confidence, confession, conviction, conversion, and continuance. To the Oxford Grouper, "confidence" means coming to believe that there is good in the way the group leads. "Confession" is a cornerstone belief that all people have hidden sins which are disturbing their lives, and about which they are most likely in denial. The act of confession clears their consciences and enables them to enter into a new way of life. "Conviction" implies that they come to such a degree of confidence that they are prepared to sign up to the cause which begins with their own "conversion," the next step. "Continuance" is carrying the message to the rest of the world. The Oxford Group definitely saw themselves as world reformers. They also believed in daily prayer and meditation through which they received guidance from the Lord.

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They developed a practice of checking out this guidance with respected others before acting on it, to avoid acting on unsound ideas.
     The group strongly believed in what they called the "four absolutes." This was a conviction that all persons can strive for absolute attainment of honesty, purity, unselfishness, and love. The notion of seeking absolute honesty appears strongly and frequently in AA literature too, while the other three absolutes are hardly mentioned. They may, however, be implied in the mind of one of the co-founders of AA, Bill Wilson. (More on Bill W. later).
     The group used carefully designed meeting agendas to carry out their program, and some of these meetings got to be quite large. Over 10,000 people showed up at some meetings. Some of the elements that led to good results in Oxford Group meetings appear in AA meetings. In contrast, however, AA meetings seldom have more than 50 people. But it is fairly common for AA members to go to a meeting every day, Very many AA members go to three or four meetings a week. Many Oxford Group meetings (called "houseparties") were week-long or longer, and sound like a New Church summer camp in format and style.
     One principle of the Oxford Group was that they did not ask for money. They explained what they were trying to accomplish and left it to God to move people to contribute. This they refer to as "living on faith."
     The underlying assumptions of the Oxford Group can be summarized as follows:

     1.      People are sinners.
     2.      People can be changed.
     3.      Confession is a prerequisite to change.
     4.      The changed soul has direct access to God.
     5.      The age of miracles has returned (through changed lives, miraculous coincidences, etc.).
     6.      Those who have been changed must change others.

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The Twelve Steps

     AA was co-founded by Bill Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith in 1935. While the "principles" of AA emerged as they worked through learning how to sober up themselves (which included learning how to help other alcoholics sober up too), these principles surely came as much from their belief system as from their experience. There are some principles to which AA "members" almost religiously adhere. These are spelled out in an amazing book called Alcoholics Anonymous, sometimes referred to as the "big book." They are further elaborated in great detail in a very interesting little book entitled Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions (12 and 12). The traditions are almost as important to most AA members' sobriety as the steps, even though they are seldom studied or mentioned. The now famous and much emulated Twelve Steps are a lifeline for tens of millions of AA members.
     Bill Wilson first recorded the process of getting sober with only the following six steps:

     1.      Admitted, for good hopeless (sic)
     2.      Got honest with self
     3.      Got current with others
     4.      Made amends
     5.      Helped others without demand
     6.      Prayed to God as you understand Him.

The steps were then carefully elaborated to twelve, as follows:

     1.      We admitted we were powerless over alcohol-that our lives had become unmanageable.
     2.      Came to believe that a Power greater than ourselves could restore us to sanity.
     3.      Made a decision to turn our will and our lives over to the care of God as we understood Him.
     4.      Made a searching and fearless moral inventory of ourselves.

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     5.      Admitted to God, to ourselves, and to another human being the exact nature of our wrongs.
     6.      Were entirely ready to have God remove all these defects of character.
     7.      Humbly asked Him to remove our shortcomings.
     8.      Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.
     9.      Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.
     10.      Continued to take personal inventory, and when we were wrong, promptly admitted it.
     11.      Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for the knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.
     12. Having had a spiritual awakening as a result of these steps, we tried to carry this message to alcoholics, and to practice these principles in all our affairs.

New Church "Steps"

     To many New Church people these twelve steps have a ring of familiarity. The messages in the Writings about the processes of repentance, reformation and being regenerated by the Lord come to mind when thinking about the twelve steps. These ideas are spelled out in great detail in the Arcana when it reveals the spiritual sense of the creation story. The New Church "steps" are outlined briefly in TCR 528 ff. as follows:

     528.      That man ought by all means to repent, and that his salvation depends thereon, is evident from many passages and plain sayings of the Lord in the Word . . . .
     529.      . . . the mere lip-confession of being a sinner is not repentance, or the recounting of various particulars in regard to it. . . . For what is easier for a man when he is in trouble and agony than to utter sighs and groans from his lungs and lips, and also to beat his breast and make himself guilty of all sins, and still not be conscious of any sin in himself! . . .

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From this it is clear that such repentance is not what is meant in the Word, but repentance from evil works . . . .
     530.      The question therefore is, How ought man to repent? And the reply is, actually; that is to say, he must examine himself, recognize and acknowledge his sins, pray to the Lord, and begin a new life [emphasis added]. Without examination, repentance is not possible . . . . But of what use is examination except that one may recognize his sins? And why should he recognize his sins except that he may acknowledge that they are in him? And of what use are these three things except that man may confess his sins before the Lord, pray for help, and then begin a new life. . . ? This is actual repentance . . . . And unless evils are     removed by repentance, man cannot love his neighbor, still less God; yet on these two commandments hang the Law and the Prophets, that is, the Word, consequently salvation. If at recurring seasons there is actual repentance, as often, for instance, as a man prepares for the communion of the holy supper, and if he afterward abstains from one or another sin which he then discovers in himself, this is sufficient to initiate him into the actuality [of the repentance], and when he is in that he is on the way to heaven, for he then from being natural begins to be spiritual, and to be born anew from the Lord.

New Church Influence upon Bill Wilson and AA

     In an interesting little paper by Rev. Michael Cowley (printed at the end of this article) he makes note of some of the New Church influences on Bill Wilson. The most obvious connection is that Bill's wife was Lois Burnham, the granddaughter of Rev. N. C. Burnham. They were married in the Brooklyn New Church Society building. Later, after Bill had gone through the worst of his alcoholism and founded the AA movement, Lois founded the companion group called Al-Anon, for support to family and close friends of those afflicted with the disease of alcoholism.

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Her activities in founding Al-Anon are documented in a book she wrote, Lois Remembers, which includes reference to her valued New Church background.
     Bill spent much time in the home of Lois's parents, and had frequent contact with New Church ministers and other New Church people. It is reported that he delighted in their thoughts. He was undoubtedly influenced at least partially by New Church doctrine. But when asked about his own views of the origins of AA principles, Bill said something to the effect that "If anything is responsible for the steps of AA as they evolved, it was the good people from the Oxford movement."

The Oxford Connection

     One possible conclusion concerning this strange condition of seeing obvious connection to New Church thinking on one hand, and at the same time respecting Bill Wilson's own stated source as the Oxford group on the other hand, could be that the Oxford Group may somehow have had its origins in the New Church. Research into this possibility so far, however, has not proven fruitful, except for some vague references to William James, a known reader of the Writings, as part of the Oxford Group influence.

Conclusions

     There is no doubt in my mind that Bill Wilson was strongly influenced by New Church doctrine in forming the principles of AA. Not only was he influenced by his wife and her family (well known New Church people), but he was also very much influenced by Carl Jung, who was known to be a reader of the Writings. One might wonder why he would not credit the Writings for some or all of these ideas. Several thoughts come to mind.
     1.      He may not have really realized just how many New Church ideas were ingrained into his thinking.

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     2.      He was striving to keep "religion" out of AA so that the very many drunks who had a history of bad relationships with priests and ministers (often rooted in their excessive drinking) could embrace the AA program without having to deal with their problems with religions at the same time.
     In the preamble to Alcoholics Anonymous, it is stated that "AA is not allied with any sect, denomination, politics, organization, or institution; does not wish to engage in any controversy; neither endorses nor opposes any causes. Our primary purpose is to stay sober and help other alcoholics to achieve sobriety." This gem of wisdom may be responsible for most AA members' ability to stay with the program long enough to sober up and regain their rational faculties. If they had to deal with questions of which faith to believe, especially since most of them had been in a good deal of trouble with their families and their churches, they simply would not have stayed long enough to sober up. Many AA members tell of terrible conflict with the clergy and similar experiences. They were not about to subject themselves to the tyranny of the priesthood again. Incidentally, many members of AA, after a year or several of sobriety, return to their original religion and, of course, find something very different from what they remembered.
     I personally think that Bill tried to make the steps as nonsectarian as he could, while retaining the clear message that without God we cannot get sober and stay sober. This seems like a good example of where truth condemns and love saves. In early recovery we can only hope that God will do for us what we do not deserve and certainly cannot do for ourselves. The loving support of the AA group sustains us as we recover enough to begin to resume responsibility for ourselves. The twelve steps, however, do not let us off the hook. To stay sober we want to take a "fearless and searching moral inventory of ourselves." This, with the following steps, turns out to be a life of repentance and reformation.

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I believe that Bill Wilson knew this, and designed the program to lovingly support alcoholics when they are down and out (powerless) and yet lead them to total self-examination (step four) when they are up to it, and finally to a life of reformation (steps five through nine, especially nine-making amends). Steps 10 through 12 are designed to keep us honest and in continual reformation.
     It is interesting to think that if AA is truly founded on the principles given us by the Lord in His second coming, then there are tens of millions of people today trying to live by the Lord's Word in His new revelation.

     BIBLIOGRAPHY

     1.      Clark, Walter H., The Oxford Group, Its History and Significance, Bookman Associates, New York
     2.      Cowley, Michael, Twelve Steps to Spiritual Growth, private communication
     3.      Swedenborg, Emanuel, True Christian Religion. Swedenborg Society, London
     4.      Alcoholics Anonymous, AA World Services, New York City
     5.      Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions, AA World Services, New York City
TWELVE STEPS TO SPIRITUAL GROWTH 1994

TWELVE STEPS TO SPIRITUAL GROWTH       Rev. Michael K. Cowley       1994

     "Imagine wisdom as a magnificent and finely decorated palace. One climbs up to enter this palace by twelve steps. One can arrive at the first step only by means of the Lord's power. As a person climbs these steps, he perceives that no one is wise from himself but from the Lord . . . . The twelve steps into the palace of wisdom signify love in union with faith, and faith in union with love" (Divine Providence 36 by Emanuel Swedenborg, emphasis added).

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     Most people have heard of the twelve-step program used in Alcoholics Anonymous, Al-Anon, Over-Eaters Anonymous, and a variety of other "anonymous" recovery and self-help groups, but not many know of the relationship between the principles behind these twelve steps and the Writings of Swedenborg used in the New Church. Yet the Writings of Swedenborg and the faith of the New Church were major influences in the formation of the twelve-step program.
     Bill Wilson was one of the co-founders of AA, and the author of the Twelve Steps as they originally appeared in the book Alcoholics Anonymous. He was a man of fierce ambition, keen insight, and an undying spiritual thirst for close personal contact with the Lord.
     Bill first came into contact with Swedenborg's Writings during the summer of 1915 while falling in love with Lois Burnham, the oldest daughter in a strong New Church family. The spirituality of their Swedenborgian faith and the sphere of their home fascinated and delighted him. He found out that Lois was the granddaughter of Rev. N. C. Burnham, a Swedenborgian scholar and one of the founders of the Swedenborgian Academy of the New Church. The family was very active in the Brooklyn Swedenborgian church, and Lois was quite involved in the church's "Young People's League.
     In her autobiography, Lois Remembers, she recounts fond memories of her New Church home life, including her delight in Sunday dinner discussions with the visiting minister and her other friends from the church. She tells of the strength and guidance she received from Swedenborg's teachings, especially as a young woman dealing with the pressures of dating and courtship. In January of 1918 Bill and Lois were married in the Swedenborgian church in Brooklyn, New York.
     As with most, the story of Bill's alcoholism is a sad one. A brilliant man when it came to the stock market, he nonetheless deteriorated to the point of being committed several times to hospitals as a result of his disease.

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He continuously received strong support and love from his wife and her family, but fifteen years after marrying Lois, his life was in ruins and his faith was gone. No one really understood his disease. No one could really help him. He hit rock bottom.
     In his helplessness and desperation, Bill cried out, "I'll do anything, anything at all!" He reached a point of total, utter deflation, a state of complete, absolute surrender. With neither faith nor hope he cried, "If there be a God, let Him show Himself!"
     That state of surrender was the opportunity his God had been waiting for. What followed was a spiritual experience akin to those reported by people with near-death experiences. "Suddenly, my room blazed with an indescribably white light. I was seized with an ecstasy beyond description. Every joy I had known was pale by comparison. Seen in the mind's eye there was a mountain. I stood upon its summit, where a great wind blew-a wind not of air but of spirit. In great, clean strength, it blew right through me. Then came the blazing thought, 'You are a free man.' A great peace stole over me, and this was accompanied by a sensation difficult to describe. I became acutely conscious of a Presence which seemed like a veritable sea of living spirit. I lay on the shores of a new world. 'This,' I thought, 'must be the great reality, the God of the preachers.'"
     Bill, the alcoholic, as anyone might guess, began to wonder and to doubt the reality of his spiritual experience-his "hot flash," as he often called it later. Was it a hallucination? Was he going insane?
     Here we see the hand of Providence at work, and again the influence of Swedenborg's Writings in Bill Wilson's life. Bill was assured by his doctor that he was quite sane, and this was confirmed through the pages of William James' book, The Varieties of Religious Experience. From James he learned that his religious experience, his spiritual conversion, had validity and value.

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     William James, similar to Lois Burnham, was from a Swedenborgian family. His father, Henry James, was a famous Swedenborgian theologian, and the author of several books and articles on Swedenborg. His work on Swedenborg and Swedenborgian teachings influenced many of the great literary minds of that time, both in and out of the New Church.
     Though Bill did not find Swedenborg directly quoted in his reading of The Varieties of Religious Experiences, what he did clearly observe were the principles of religious conversion and spiritual growth so well explained in Swedenborg's Writings. He found the same spiritual principles, so well accepted in his wife's family, now clearly presented by this son of a Swedenborgian scholar. Here they were, explained in terms directly related to his own spiritual experience and disease.
     Bill Wilson began his recovery from alcoholism as a result of his religious experience. He would later say that William James had been a founder of Alcoholics Anonymous-the insights in James' book were that vital in Bill's thinking about the spiritual, emotional and physical disease of alcoholism. James, through his research and Swedenborgian background, helped Bill Wilson clearly see the alcoholic's need for the kind of spiritual help delivered in the Twelve Steps.
     When we look at Bill Wilson's Twelve Steps and Swedenborg's teachings on spiritual development and growth, we see complete harmony. There is no suggestion that Bill sat down with Swedenborg's Writings and rose up with the Twelve Steps. What we do clearly see are the Swedenborgian principles and the Swedenborgian spiritual lifestyle (being major influences in Bill's intellectual and emotional life) reflected in every one of the twelve steps.
     With such strong Swedenborgian influences as his wife, Lois Burnham, and his mentor, William James, it is clear why there is such a unity between Bill Wilson's Twelve Steps and Swedenborgian spirituality.

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The Higher Power, revealing Himself in Swedenborg's Writings and showing us the steps to rational spiritual life, is the same Power operating in Bill's Twelve Steps to save a "twelve stepper" from his disorder and disease.
     Note: The passage on "twelve steps" (Divine Providence 26) was chosen in a "Favorite Passage" series in 1988, from which the above is largely quoted.
FROM DIFFERENT COUNTRIES 1994

FROM DIFFERENT COUNTRIES       Editor       1994

     On April 3rd a special service was held in the Czech Republic; attended by members of the General Conference in Great Britain. We hope to tell more about this later.

     Heart and Lungs in Canada

     This month (May 27-29) the Canadian National Assembly takes place in Kitchener, Ontario. The theme is "The New Church: Heart and Lungs in Canada."

     Assembly in England

     In July the 66th British Assembly takes place at a conference center in Hoddesdon, Hertfordshire. It takes place from July 1st to 3rd. That is two weeks before the British Academy Summer School. (See April issue, p. 191.)

     "Herald of the New Church" in Spain

     There is excellent new scholarship relating to Swedenborg going on in Spain. We have learned to our surprise that there was a magazine called Heraldo de la Nueva Iglesia. Published between 1915 and 1936, it serialized books of the Writings in Spanish.

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LET THE SEXES LOVE AND RESPECT ONE ANOTHER 1994

LET THE SEXES LOVE AND RESPECT ONE ANOTHER       CHARIS P. COLE       1994

     Let's think about how to find happiness. We can't find it by chasing it. And how do we avoid misery? Are we going about it the right way?
     The Writings say that, after loving God, conjugial love and serving others are the two main sources of happiness. The two inevitably go together. Let's first talk about conjugial love. How do we bring it into our lives? Can we promote it between one man and one woman unless men and women validate, recognize, and appreciate the masculine or feminine quality of the other sex?
     What are women's special qualities? Women receive conjugial love and love of the opposite sex immediately from the Lord, but men can receive these only from the Lord through women (see CL 161). A woman's gift is to turn man's search for truth into use. A woman loves truth not so much for its own sake but as a means to serving those she loves. She understands how to keep relationships mended and bring people together. A wife's main use is her family, but there are many careers and jobs that need these gifts, and consequently women excel in these. Women have wisdom, but it is not identical with the masculine wisdom of judgment and justice. In CL 208:2 an angel wife says to Swedenborg, "You men glory over us on account of your wisdom, but we do not glory over you on account of ours, and yet ours excels yours because it enters into your inclinations and affections and sees, perceives, and feels them." But the Writings nowhere say anything about a man loving his wife's wisdom. He should honor it, but he doesn't really understand it. And a woman's looking mainly to other women's wisdom smacks of lesbianism. Men will find more respect from women when they encourage and praise their devotion to family and feminine uses rather than masculine accomplishments.

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     On the other hand, men come from understanding. "Therefore, the church and its truth are first implanted in man and through him in his wife. The reverse is not according to order" (CL 125). Wise men structure their vision around God. We sometimes feel that putting this vision first is abstract and not that essential to living a good life. But since God made us, only through knowing Him can we know how He wants us to live. Men also tend to be better at putting more inclusive and long-range good above short-range rights and compassion (and sometimes compassion can be misguided and do more harm than good).
     Women may think the Writings praise masculine qualities more than feminine ones and make women less than men. But actually the apparent put-downs to men are just as great. They talk of man's pride, and CL 218 says that men are harsh and fond of license. CL 208:3 says that a male's freedom is moderated by the Lord from within and by means of his wife from without. And CL 166 says that wives moderate their husbands' affections. Some men don't like this idea. In talking about the affection of girls for infants, CL 393 says, "Boys have no such affection."
     Can this be true? Men and boys love children. Men love their wives. But here we are talking about men apart from the sphere of women and apart from the love of women. We see this in little boys when they destroy dolls and make fun of little girls. We see it in the way men jokingly belittle their wives. Pride, in order to reinforce itself, has to put down others. Although this pride diminishes as men grow wiser, even angel husbands seem to retain a little of it. See CL 208 quoted above: "You men glory over us . . . .
     It is a strange phenomenon that, despite this, men crave not only sex, love and esteem from women but also the feminine qualities they don't possess and which they don't fully understand.

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They even hold these qualities in awe.
     In the same way that men fall short without women, women are not complete without men. Women need to look to masculine wisdom to structure their loves and affections. Without this their thinking tends to be amorphous and illogical. But some women who seek counsel from and respect masculine wisdom can be even more just and logical than some men.
     Of course, men who ignore their perceptions and don't listen to good women, and who are very much in love with their own intelligence, irritate and anger women and invite ridicule. Men who deny God and have no humility are stupid, wicked and cruel.
     If we relate women's coming from affection and men's from understanding to good and truth, I think we can see that men are the ones who should be out front in public life-the ones who take the brunt of conflict in both physical and argumentative situations, just as truth is the sword. Truth and form are all we can see of something. We cannot talk about or even contemplate affection except by means of words and thoughts which belong to the understanding.
     This doesn't mean that affection is not important. CL 196 says that "understanding regarded in itself. . . [is] merely the minister and servant of the will." No one wants women to play doormats to men. On the contrary, they should be strong and insist that men live up to their best selves. They should not be enablers to men's conceits and insensitivities. I sense that many men are crying out for women's help in this (although decidedly not for their wives or any women to control them) as well as for women's love and esteem. And, of course, a man should not be weak and cave in to his women folk when they are misguided or being domineering or selfish.
     Unfortunately, in this age a lot of women are diligently working to make people sensitive to all the faults and misdeeds of men, past and present, and they want to blame them for all their own problems and inabilities to succeed.

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     There are a number of reasons some women want to discredit men. They resent it that men, who tend to be in the love of their own intelligence, often do not show appreciation for feminine qualities and contributions, but discount or ignore them. Since they see that masculine characteristics receive most of the praise, women try to excel in these. Then they want to have part of the glory and power they see men have. They feel that men are relegating them to second-class citizenship.
     Another reason is that all of us instinctively want to feel intelligent and important. No one wants to feel he or she is at fault. So if something we are involved in goes wrong, we immediately look for someone or something else to blame.
     The other road to happiness, which is actually one with the first, is to serve others. Why do you suppose Conjugial Love starts out with memorable relations about newcomers to the other world who were granted to experience the life they thought would make for heavenly joy and eternal happiness? After a few days of this life, they could hardly wait to get away from their imagined idea of happiness and back to their uses and employments-serving others.
     Happiness does not come from looking for reputation, honor, or glory. Happiness comes when we want to help others and make them happy-because we feel their happiness in ourselves. Should women feel that this is less important than doing some masculine job? Should they resent helping their husbands, children and others in this way? A man needs his wife to help him understand and show affection for herself, their family and friends. This often doesn't come easily for him no matter how much he loves his family.
     The Lord tells us in the New Testament that we should be humble and not want to be greater than others. Matthew 23:11, 12 says: "But he who is greatest among you shall be your servant. And whoever exalts himself will be abased, who humbles himself will be exalted."
     Luke 22:27 says: "For who is greater, he who sits at the table, or he who serves?

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Yet I am among you as One who serves." (Also see Matt. 13:12-16; Mark 9:35 and Jeremiah 9:23, 24.)
     Are women primarily interested in serving or in power and glory when they insist on taking jobs that men can do better, like being firemen, or police chasing criminals, or in combat in fighter planes and on submarines and battleships? Has power ever made anyone better? Goodness and virtue do this, and this is what women should be promoting.
     Are feminists right in telling mothers that home-making is degrading, and in encouraging mothers of small children to put careers ahead of caring for their children? Have feminist demands for sexual freedom, and for doing away with customs based on morality to protect women, helped or hurt society?
     Men and women should not act like jealous children who, when they receive gifts, tend to make sure their gift is as valuable as the gifts of the others, and who complain if they think it is not. They should not, like children, cry out, "How about me?" when one praises someone else for something well done.
     We should be grown-up enough to take pleasure in the opposite sex's abilities and successes. We should be able to concede that the other sex may have abilities that we haven't, and that they are better able to handle some jobs. In short, we should celebrate our differences.
     C. S. Lewis understood this. In A Grief Observed, talking of his sorrow in losing his wife, he says: "The reality [his wife alive] is no longer there to check me, to pull me up short, as the real Joy so often did so unexpectedly, by being so thoroughly herself and not me." And also: "The most precious gift that marriage gave me was this constant impact of something very close and intimate yet all the time unmistakably other, resistant-in a word real." He talks of husbands and wives not having identical but complementary, correlative, even opposite, feelings about one another.

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FEEDING THE RIGHT DOG: THE KEY TO SPIRITUAL LIFE 1994

FEEDING THE RIGHT DOG: THE KEY TO SPIRITUAL LIFE       DAVID AYERS       1994

     A man who was curious about Christianity once approached a Native American man, a recent convert to the religion, and asked him what it was like to be a Christian. The Native American thought for a moment, and answered: "It is difficult, and feels as if two dogs live within my soul. They often fight with each other for control over me, and at times I fear they will tear me apart." With intense interest, the curious man then asked, "Which dog is victorious?" "It depends," the Native American replied, "on which dog I feed."
     As New Christians of the Lord's New Church, we may be surprised by this story with its strange ring of truth. After some thought, most who are versed in the highly rational doctrines of the New Church could recognize the spiritual analogy in the story, and go on to demonstrate a similar principle using the language of the Writings. Yet our knowledge of these amazing and complex doctrines may lead us to overlook basic foundational spiritual principles with the complacency that sometimes comes from intellectual familiarity. We may ignore the simple truths while we search for more sophisticated answers to life's questions.
     As a change of pace, it is extremely valuable to hear familiar things said in a different way. This can, as noted Christian writer C. S. Lewis puts it, "throw light from a new angle on the life of man," and so guide us into new dimensions of understanding (Preface to the Screwtape Letters, 1961). If we follow this suggestion, careful consideration of the Native American's struggle in light of New Church doctrines may provide us with the key to our spiritual lives.
     In his answer to the curious man, the Native American clearly expressed the secret to spiritual life in interesting and unusual terms.

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Using concise and compelling symbolism, he spoke of the conflict between his newfound Christianity and his prior ways of thinking and living.
     In New Church terms we can see that the two dogs living within the Native American represent man's higher and lower natures. The first dog represents man's natural life, his proprium, or that which is man's own. The second dog represents the new heavenly proprium which the Lord grants to a regenerating man. The two dogs' fighting for control represent the states of temptation which follow a man on his spiritual journey, where, in a state of freedom, he must choose either to follow his own natural thoughts and tendencies or the Lord's truths.
     Recognition of the dynamic spiritual tension present in every regenerating man is important. The secret to the Native American's success or failure, however, is especially significant. Which dog wins and gains control over us is dependent on which one we feed.
     But this is a strange-sounding solution to spiritual success. What does it mean to feed a dog? Why is it important? How exactly do we, as New Churchmen, do this?
     The first thing we must do is to acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ as the one God of heaven and earth. Then we must read and meditate on His threefold Word-the Old Testament, the New Testament and the Writings-because it is there that the Lord reveals Himself to us. Through reading and listening to preaching from the Word, we learn who the Lord is and how He wants us to live. If we want to feed the right dog, we must start there. As the Writings teach, "Man, like the earth, can produce nothing of good unless the knowledges of faith are first sown in him whereby he may know what is to be believed and done" (AC 44). We must submit ourselves to the Lord's tutelage so gently offered when He said, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you, and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls" (Matthew 11:28, 29).

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     Reading and meditating on the Word of God each day does more than provide us with a blueprint for the heavenly life. The Writings reveal that there are deep and wondrous things at work when we turn to the Word, because we exist concurrently in both the natural and spiritual worlds. We dwell bodily in the natural world, but our souls live in the spiritual world. The Arcana Coelestia states that we are "governed of the Lord through angels and spirits, and that with everyone, there are at least two spirits and two angels. By spirits man has communication with the world of spirits, and by angels with heaven. Without communication with the world of spirits, and by means of angels with heaven, and thus through heaven with the Lord, man could not live at all; his life entirely depends on this conjunction, so that if the spirits and angels were to withdraw, he would instantly perish" (AC 50). The True Christian Religion explains further that this connection is so intimate and mutually co-dependent that "angels and spirits could not continue to exist if men were taken away from under them" (TCR 118).
     The Writings disclose that "spirits are associated with a man in accordance with his loves" (AC 6196). Our decision to acknowledge the Lord and read His Word is critical, and is also played out on the spiritual plane. By reading we not only learn the Lord's truths and receive instruction in how we should live, but we are also actually associating with the angels of heaven and thus with the Lord. The Word has been given by the Lord to man and also to the angels in order that by it they may be with Him; for the Word is the medium that unites earth with heaven, and through heaven with the Lord. Its literal sense is that which unites man with the first heaven; and as within the literal sense there is an internal sense which treats of the Lord' s kingdom, and within this a supreme sense which treats of the Lord" (AC 3476). When we read the Word, angels are present and read along with us. We understand the literal sense of the Word while the angels understand the spiritual significations of the internal senses.

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     The Word enables us to feed the right dog by teaching us how to live, and by connecting us to heaven and the Lord. Conversely, feeding the wrong dog occurs whenever we think or act in ways the Word teaches us are wrong, when we submit ourselves to the tutelage of self and the world, and eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, deciding for ourselves what is right and good.
     Although angels are present with us when we read the Word, we form very different spiritual associations when we feed the dog of our own selfish desires. The Arcana Coelestia unveils a graphic picture of those "who in the life of the body have from within thought and have taken interest in nothing else than what relates to self and the world . . . [for they] have closed to themselves every way or every influx from heaven, because the love of self and the world is opposite to heavenly love. Those of them who have lived at the same time in pleasures, or in a luxurious life conjoined with interior cunning, are under the sole of the right foot, but at a great depth there, thus beneath the earth of lower things, where is the hell of such spirits. In their dwellings is nothing but filth; they also seem to themselves to carry filth, for it corresponds to such a life" (AC 4948). When we feed the wrong dog, we draw these kinds of spirits to ourselves. These evil spirits in turn feed off the evil loves we are engendering in ourselves, and incite us to commit more selfishness.
     On a very basic level, therefore, the Native American's account illustrates a foundational spiritual concept. Modern computer jargon maintains a similar principle with the catch-phrase "garbage in, garbage out." Health experts and nutritionists tell us that "we are what we eat," Yet we may labor under the misconception that we can eat our fill of garbage and still be spiritually healthy. We convince ourselves that it is fine to become immersed in the things of self and the world to indulge in the violence and gratuitous sex which pervade many modern forms of entertainment, to plan our lives around the attainment of social and professional position, to worship the false god of materialism, to harbor negative thoughts and destructive fantasies-all to the exclusion of consideration for the Lord and His kingdom.

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These are all examples of feeding the wrong dog, of delusional thinking which springs from the natural man.
     To be spiritually healthy we must feed the right dog with good food from the Word, However, while reading the Word is the necessary first step, applying it to life is primary (see TCR 336). We must learn to shun falsities and evil in our lives. When we learn what the Lord wants from us, we must try to do it. That conjoining of good with truth in our lives is critical. The Writings teach that, while "it is the office of the understanding to hear the Word, . . . [it is] of the will to do it. To hear the Word and not to do it is like saying that we believe when we do not live according to our belief, in which case we separate hearing and doing, and thus have a divided mind, and become of those whom the Lord calls 'foolish' in the following passage: 'Whosoever heareth My words and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man who built his house upon a rock; . . . but everyone that heareth My words and doeth them not, I liken to a foolish man, who built his house upon the sand'" (AC 44).
     When we try to live according to the Lord's Word, we will experience what the Native American described as two dogs fighting for control. We will experience temptations: struggles between the natural man, which governed our old way of life, and the new conscience and will which the Lord grants to those who are regenerating.
     The Writings reveal that when we receive instruction in spiritual truths from the Lord's Word, it prepares us for the temptations which are integral to regeneration. "Unless a man is prepared, that is, furnished with truths and goods, he can by no means be regenerated, still less undergo temptations" (AC 711).

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We must go through these trials, for, the Arcana states, "without temptation no one is regenerated, and that many temptations follow on, one after another. The reason is that regeneration takes place to the end that the life of the old man may die, and the new heavenly life be insinuated, which shows that there must needs be a fight, for the life of the old man resists and is not willing to be extinguished, and the life of the new man cannot enter except where the life of the old man has been extinguished" (AC 8403).
     The internal strife described by the Native American is a powerful struggle felt to the core of our being. The battlefield combatants are spiritual. "Temptations are nothing else than combats of evil spirits with the angels who are with a man. Evil spirits call up all the wrong things that from his infancy a man has either done or even thought, thus both his evils and his falsities, and condemn him, and there is nothing that gives them greater delight than to do this, for the very delight of their life consists therein. But through angels the Lord guards the man and restrains the evil spirits and genii from ranging beyond bounds and inundating the man beyond what he is able to bear" (AC 741).
     To become regenerate Christians, we must each experience the Native American's struggle for ourselves, and we must do so freely. The Writings are very clear on this point. "Man cannot be reformed unless he has freedom, for the reason that he is born into evils of every kind; and these must be removed in order that he may be saved; and they cannot be removed unless he sees them in himself and acknowledges them, and afterwards ceases to will them, and finally holds them in aversion" (HH 598).
     The Lord provides that each of us has that free will to follow Him. We live in a state of spiritual equilibrium, supported through consociation with the spiritual world, where our minds are kept by the Lord "in a middle state between heaven and hell" (TCR 475).

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We have the freedom to follow the Lord, to feed the right dog, by learning the Lord's truths and applying them to our lives. The Lord actually reforms us, but we must freely compel ourselves to think what is true and do what is right. "This freedom is of the Lord, who insinuates it into man's conscience, and thereby causes him to conquer the evil as if by his own [power]" (AC 1937).
     The teachings of the New Church provide us with the ultimate road map for spiritual success and happiness. However, all who walk the spiritual road know that it is not an easy one. Regeneration is much more than a momentary decision to follow the Lord. We must not buy into traditional Christianity's heretical belief that the Lord will save and change us in an instant. As the Lord instructs, each of us must work with Him, take up our cross and follow Him.
     The spiritual walk requires us to make choices between positive and negative, truth and falsity, good and evil, the Lord and ourselves. We must examine our lives thoroughly, and attempt to make right choices, for there are no isolated thoughts or actions which exist in a void without consequence. As the Lord said, "there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known" (Matthew 10:26).
     In our spiritual lives we will not always have success. At some point we will all fail in temptation. Even when we follow the Lord's way we will experience difficulties. In these times we can remember the Native American's struggle and his answer. Then let us choose to feed the right dog.
CIVIL GOOD INSUFFICIENT 1994

CIVIL GOOD INSUFFICIENT       Editor       1994

     If within this good there is not moral good, and within this, spiritual good, it is none other than the animal good which beasts have, when kept shut up or chained, toward those who give them food.
     Doctrine of Charity 58

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MAKING THE WRITINGS READABLE II 1994

MAKING THE WRITINGS READABLE II       Rev. JAN H. WEISS       1994

     MAKING THE WRITINGS READABLE II

     Second Generation Writings

     (See the June 1991 issue, p. 263, for Mr. Weiss' first article on this.)

Accepting the Divinity of the Writings

     When we accept the theological Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg as the Lord in his Second Coming, we are not accepting the Writings in the original Latin. We are accepting the Writings only in a certain English translation.
     We are not able to encompass the whole of the Latin edition, and we cannot see how capable certain translators are. So when we say that we accept the English translation of the Writings, there is a good deal of uncertainty in that statement.
     Every time we have a "better" translation this same question emerges. How can we choose one above the other? How do we know which one is better? Should we choose the one that is more readable? Which one is Divine and which one is not? A degree of uncertainty will always remain. This uncertainty should be in the forefront of our thinking when we discuss the subject of simplification of the Writings.

Better Translations

     Some people feel that we should work on better translations made by large committees. Translation in the New Church is approached with these four questions: Who is capable, who is available, who has the time, and who is willing? After these questions have been answered, it is not easy to form a large "committee" who can productively work together. So it is very doubtful that a committee will bring distinctly better translations.

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Retention of Series in the Writings

     Of course there are series in the Writings, both in the literal sense in a horizontal way and in the internal sense in a vertical way. These series are totally intact in the Latin that Swedenborg penned. But as soon as we begin to translate into another language, we begin to disturb that series. The constructions of Latin and English and German are quite different. A translator has to change or rearrange a sequence of words. Does such rearrangement do violence to the series of the Latin version? Would then the Lord demand that all of us read the Writings in Latin?
     An easy example occurs in the Lord's prayer in the New Testament. In English we say "Our Father." In Greek we say "Father of us." The first one of the series is Father, or the Lord. Then follows man. The true series is in the Greek but is partly lost in the translation. However, in German the sequence is Vater unser (Father of us). In this case translation does not violate the series.
     But will the truth of the Lord's prayer be less effective with those who pray to Him in English? If we read the Writings and we come to a difficult passage and we skip over it, will this affect our regeneration? In the natural world we find series too. But living happily in this natural world does not require that we know all these series.
     We need regenerative truth which we accept from the Lord. Then we need to apply that auth in every situation of life. By acknowledging that it is from the Lord, we acknowledge the series this truth is in. Even when we do not know all interior truths, by regeneration we come into these truths, and we will become aware of them when we come into the spiritual world. Acquiring truth from a simplified version of the Writings or from selected readings does not thwart the process of regeneration.
     The word "series" occurs in over 400 passages in the Writings. These passages refer to series in the Word, in nature, in the human body, in the mind of an angel, and in the mind of a devil.

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But nowhere in these passages is there any statement that even cautions us against simplification.

Changing the Writings

     "Changing" the Writings does not necessarily mean changing God's Word. The Lord's Word cannot be changed, for it stands forever. But a translation can be changed. A new translation is such a change.
     In the past, people have done all kinds of things with the Writings. They have extracted passages and composed digests, compendiums, concordances, and other things. This work required many judgments and decisions as to what to include and leave out. No one mistakes these for the Writings. No one is accused of treading on holy ground. Many use them with gratitude.
     There is really nothing wrong with simplifying the Writings as long as we do two things. First, we should not publish a simplified version of a book of the Writings, and then pretend it is Divine revelation in its completeness. So we should clearly indicate that it is an abridgment or edition done by a certain editor. Then we should always refer back to the full and original version. We can make it very clear to every reader that a simplified version should be viewed as a gateway to the real work and not as its replacement.
     With these provisions, the importance of editorship decreases enormously. Some have asked: "Who is going to do this simplification?" If we equate the simplification with translation, this question is paramount. But when we make it clear that the reader is dealing with an edited version, the question is much less important.

The Nature and Construction of the Writings

     In the purely theological sections of the Writings we find favorite phrases with much repetition. We find argumentation phrases over and over again. Long sentences are joined with "et" (and) or "quod" (that).

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There is frequent use of passive verbs.
     When the Writings make a statement, that statement is often proven either from passages in the Bible or from passages in the Writings, or from facts observed in the spiritual world. These "support statements" cause "reach-out" procedures that refer forward, backward, above and below, to previous and following chapters, etc.
     Another constructional aspect of the Writings is the "what w, are going to discuss" procedure, or just references to other verses, passages or numbers. As a result, the Writings are linked in many places to parts of the Bible or to parts of the Writings. In the first version of the Gorandman Search Program there are some 100,000 such links. In the new version we expect many more.

The Principles of Simplification

     Simplification needs these principles that tell us how to treat the original text in an intelligent and consistent manner. The development of these principles will be an ongoing activity. We will summarize the ones we have formulated at this point.

     1.      The most fundamental principle is that simplification will be different for different works of the Writings.
     2.      The principles of simplification will be different for the theological and non-theological portions of the writings.
     3.      Passive verbs should be changed to active verbs.
     4.      We should avoid the reasoning style of the Writings and just state the facts.
     5.      We should deal with the linking that is observed in the Writings by deleting statements like: it is clear that, it may seem that, see below, see above, as in many other places, in previous . . ., in subsequent . . ., and many others like these.
     6.      We have to deal in a satisfactory way with the many supporting passages from the Bible.

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While they are useful, the normal reader does not need so many.
     7.      We have to deal with the fact that the Writings mix subjects, which is confusing and distracting. For example, in the Arcana all kinds of subjects are interspersed between the internal sense of Genesis and Exodus. It would seem better to separate subjects and put them together.

The Motive behind Simplification

     Simplification is prompted by a desire to bring the Writings to others, and show them that same "well of truth" that gives us so much satisfaction. It is the same motivation that moves certain angels when they ease the entrance of newly arrived spirits into the other world. These angels do not want to change heaven, and they do not want to change the Divine Human. They just want to help. The spirit of the simplification movement is not the desire to add converts to the New Church but to add the Lord's truth to another person's life.

Additional Benefits

     The work of simplification will also benefit the translation of the Writings into other languages. The translation of a simplified version is an intermediate step toward the translation of the whole of the Writings. In the beginning we need a version that attracts many readers and can be understood by many. Once there are enough New Church people in a language area, then the whole of the Writings can be translated and spread.
     The need for simplification has been recognized by many in all parts of the church. One book has already been simplified, and it is expected that others will follow. Let us all pray that simplification will bring the Lord's truth to many and lead them into regeneration and heaven.

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OBITUARY FOR LLOYD BARTLE 1994

OBITUARY FOR LLOYD BARTLE       Rev. DOUGLAS TAYLOR       1994

     Very few readers of New Church Life living outside New Zealand or Australia knew Lloyd Bartle of Auckland, New Zealand. Yet he played a large part in the formation of the Auckland Group and its maintenance as the Auckland Circle of the General Church.
     For those of us who knew him, the news of his death on September 20 at the age of 76 brought a flood of very pleasant memories: for example, the many stimulating discussions we enjoyed (I knew there would always be at least one such each visit); his eager participation in doctrinal classes, which would always go well with Lloyd present; his astounding biblical knowledge and studies; his ability to read the Word in the original languages, which he taught himself; his quick brain and his fund of stimulating speculations and theories; his great interest in Bible chronology.
     But all this has to do only with his very considerable intellect. However, the will is the person, and the qualities that marked Lloyd's will endeared him to all who knew him. Although so brilliant, he was always unassuming, ready to marvel at another's abilities and achievements when his own really surpassed them. He would rather congratulate than condemn. His personality was (is) a very warm and friendly one, which made him a perfect peace-maker. Several examples of his whimsical sense of humor come to mind. But above all, there was an almost childlike innocence that pervaded his sphere.
     From this came his great devotion to the New Church. For many years he served the Auckland Society, an independent society that later affiliated with the British Conference. But since 1955 he has been a loyal member of the General Church. In fact, if it had not been for Lloyd Bartle, there might never have been a General Church group in Auckland.
     A voracious reader of New Church periodicals, Lloyd inevitably discovered New Church Life, and was thrilled with the literature advertised in it.

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He drew this to the attention of the leader of the society at the time, Mr. Malcolm Fleming. They both soon saw the Writings as being as much the Word of the Lord as the Old and New Testaments. This led them to invite the Rt. Rev. Willard Pendleton to visit Auckland on his way to the Hurstville Society in Sydney in 1955. That visit made a great impression on Lloyd and Malcolm Fleming, who were among the first to join the General Church and form the group.
     Among Lloyd's biblical studies are a careful harmony of the Gospels, using his own translations, and a painstaking chronology of events in the life of the Lord on earth, even giving the times of day that they occurred. It is very much to be hoped that these works will find their way into the Academy archives. Lloyd would never have had the time to accomplish them without the help of his beloved computer, at which he became a real expert in a very short time.
     In addition to all this, there was Lloyd's organ-playing. This went back many years, even to his youth. He was always willing to help with the music. I even remember with affection his playing the hymns on a piano-accordion when the group was worshiping in the homes and had no organ.
     The General Church has indeed lost a good, faithful servant and champion, and so has the New Church movement as a whole. While we will surely miss Lloyd, let us remember that we will all meet again where thought brings presence.
THOSE WHO HAVE LOVED THE WORD 1994

THOSE WHO HAVE LOVED THE WORD       Editor       1994

     Those who have loved Divine truths and the Word from an interior affection dwell in the other life in light.
     Heaven and Hell 489

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HEREDITIES 1994

HEREDITIES       Howard F. Roth       1994

      (Retold by Howard F. Roth from one of the works of J. J. G. Wilkinson, The Place and Service of the Jewish Church Among the Aeons of Revelation, London, 1894)

     The inheritance of character and disposition from parents to children has been studied with some diligence in this scientific age, but from the natural and not from the spiritual side. I am not aware of any writer save Swedenborg who has traced the important bearing of the subject on religious beliefs or states. It is the groundwork of the history of man as a personal agent.
     The human family at no time and in no place has been a mass of merely aggregated individuals, but from the beginning has existed in churches and in the outlying remainders of churches commonly called heathenisms.
     These religious bodies or churches, Divinely instituted and organized, have been subject to the inevitable conditions of inheritance from fathers to sons. We have already seen in frequent detail what the succession of churches was. Each of them declined from its first Word, its first communicated revelation and its first innocence, as it were, from infancy to old age and death, by the development of hereditary seeds of evil and falsity. As Swedenborg observes: "The church decreases and degenerates by departure from its primeval integrity, and this chiefly in consequence of hereditary evil, every succeeding parent adding some new evil to what he himself inherited. Every evil actually committed by parents induces a new aspect on their nature, and when often repeated, becomes natural, is added to what was hereditary, is planted over into their children, and through them into their posterity, and gives birth to an immense increase of evil in the course of generations. This must appear plainly to those who attend to the evil dispositions of children, and trace their resemblance to their parents and forefathers.

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It is a great error to suppose that there is no hereditary evil but what was implanted by Adam, when in fact each individual by his own actual sin produces hereditary evil, making addition to what he received from his parents, and accumulating new sin in all his posterity, which is in no degree moderated save in those alone who are regenerated by the Lord. This is the primary cause of the degeneration of the church . . . " (AC 494).
     Further: "The good into which a man is born is derived to him from his parents, either father or mother; for whatever parents have contracted by frequent use and habit, or are tinctured with by actual life so as to render it familiar to them until it has the appearance of being natural, is carried down to their children and becomes hereditary. Where parents have lived in the virtue of the love of good, and in so living have perceived their proper delight and blessedness, supposing them to conceive children in such a state of life, the children then receive an inclination to similar good. Where parents have lived in the virtue of the love of truth and in so living have perceived their proper delight, if they conceive children in such a state of life, the children then receive an inclination to similar virtue" (AC 3469).
     These are the desirable goods of nature or birth, but not of the will or understanding; in one sense they may be called, with an extension of the common meaning, good nature. Again, Swedenborg remarks, "Natural good is such that of itself it is not willing to obey and serve rational good as a servant serves a master, but it is desirous to have command. It requires to be reduced to compliance and service" (AC 3470).
     These considerations, if pondered, lift the subject of heredity from family proclivities into the sphere of the highest and lowest history of mankind, and confirm on psychological grounds the doctrine of the church that man now, considered in himself, is nothing but evil and its ever convenient falsity. There is no escape from this conclusion, and the better a religious man is, the more he must be conscious of it as a rational experience.

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Also, his unceasing knowledge and consciousness of it are the conditions of his advancement into the regenerate life.
     The religions of the world and their decline are therefore the grounds of all the studies we have attempted in tracing the process from above downward, from revelations to mythologies, from Divine churches to fetish worship on the one side, and to atheism on the other. They involve not civil and moral states, but the direct relations of man to God.
     And the passage traversed hitherto reaches from Jehovah to graven and molten images, and from the inspired Word to the human philosophy which denies and supplants it. The outward destinies of nations, unconsciously to themselves, depend, now even rapidly, on the "downrush" of their heredities; their characters grow heavier from being more charged with evil; and they tend, unless they alter, to the doom which has already befallen the corresponding nations of the past. Every fresh outward power they possess and call their own hastens the end, just as enormity of wealth and genius in wicked hands inwardly, and at length outwardly, consign the person to a sure place in the estimation of even a corrupt society.
     For evil is at last the accuser and doom of evil. Therefore, decaying churches enact themselves ultimately as social, political and national history; and inheritance of spiritual evil acted out into sin from generation to generation is still at the root,
     Observe, however, that inherited evil is not sin unless you love it and make in into deeds, and that inherited good is not good for you unless you enter its formless gift with mature principles of wisdom, and lift and detail it from natural toward spiritual good.
     The inheritance of the past, including the love of power and the love of money, has therefore been the essential disendowment and disestablishment of all the churches to the present day.

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     The capacity of standing as open doors for the Divine light to enter has been withdrawn from the priesthoods, which are in serried opposition to its instructions; and as in the past, the remote laity remains for the New Revelation and the New City. The Christians and the more outgoing heathen will be summoned to receive the endowment and to constitute the establishment. Of course we are now speaking of Divine and not national or parliamentary churches, which latter especially have the advantage of being for the most part benignly secular, and of being unconsciously in the influx and current of the New Church and its new ages.
     By disendowment we understand the loss of the goods and truths of heaven from the Word, and by disestablishment, the consummation of a church and its supercession by a new dispensation.
MINISTERIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS 1994

MINISTERIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS       Peter M. Buss       1994

     The Reverend Mark D. Pendleton has accepted a call to be assistant pastor of the Oak Arbor Society effective July 1st, 1994. He will also serve as the visiting minister to the Mid-Michigan Group. For the last three years Mark has been the minister of the General Church in Canada, serving many smaller groups and individuals in Canada, and performing a number of administrative functions, such as coordinating outreach efforts through Information Swedenborg, Inc.
     Nicholas Anochi has been recognized as a candidate for the priesthood of the New Church as of April 1st, 1994.
     Peter M. Buss,
          Executive Bishop

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Editorial Pages 1994

Editorial Pages       Editor       1994

     THE MENTAL TORMENT OF ENVY

     We pray daily to the Lord to deliver us from evil. The evil of envy is such an inner pain that deliverance from it is a most blessed relief.
     The Writings talk about a frame of mind in which people are "never contented." If they see others more blessed than themselves they are "sad and complaining" (AC 6393). Saul, the first of the kings of Israel, is the epitome of a person tortured by envy. A song in his honor brought him not one whit of satisfaction. It was agony for him to hear them sing that he, Saul, had slain his thousands and David his ten thousands (see 1 Samuel 18:7).
     Hearing that song with anger and envy, he "eyed David from that day forward." Swedenborg observed some people who were caught up in envy over something relatively small. "The envy was of such a nature as to cause in them not merely the utmost annoyance, but also a feeling of anguish and interior pain" (AC 1974). He says, "I spoke with them about the envy. Saul's son Jonathan also tried to reason with him about his envy (see 1 Samuel 19:4).
     But envy keeps coming back. How that song would linger in the ears of Saul! The people Swedenborg reasoned with experienced "varieties of envy until they were in pain in the region of the heart." It got so bad "that they could not afterward bear the least recollection of the matter without being affected with pain. The states and progressions of the envy, together with its degrees, aggravations, and varied and mingled distresses of mind and heart, cannot be described" (AC 1974).
     A pain hard to describe is brought home to us in the dramatic story of Saul's burning envy of David, even as David played the harp to ease that troubled mind.
     Consider this poem by Janna King:

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                    Saul on David
     Like you I was fair and never thought to rule.
     There were no kings in Israel then.
     God fashioned me a head taller
     Than all men and cast his lot for mine
     While you still grew on hillsides
     Like the wild blue grape.

     They say you kill giants by small means,
     And sing sights truer than the green earth.
     I've known you to hold madness off
     Subdue an inward horde with just
     Your fingers and the taut gut strings.

     Grown shrunken with brooding,
     I know at times you are to reign.
     All women want you,
     The great God wants
     And I Saul of Israel want
     Would some obedient spirit guide my arm
     You pinioned to the wall.

     Poet's Note: Within the individual, the natural mind, despite its potential for good, regards the spiritual mind with a deep ambiguity.

     To shun evils (such as envy) as sins against God is said to be the Christian religion itself. And in that religion is a blessed deliverance from inner pain.

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ADDRESSING ISSUES 1994

ADDRESSING ISSUES       Rebecca Cooper       1994




     Communications
Dear Editor:
     The current discussion on the eternity of hell in NCL has been going on only for a few months, not a year. I stand corrected by a few of my women friends. My observation incorrect as it may have been) was not intended as a criticism of your hard work as an editor, but as an exasperation I feel about our church in general. On the one hand we have New Church Life, a publication which seems to focus on the intellect or thought; on the other hand we have the Theta Alpha Journal, which concerns itself primarily with the affections, or thoughts from love. I am interested in a publication that would embrace both, with some form of action as a result.
     I fear that our church has somehow deluded itself with the belief that the only, or primary, acts of charity are filling the understanding with truths in the form of education. If education . . . any level does not affect the will, it seems to me to be a wasted effort.
     Am I suggesting that articles on the eternity of hell aren't valuable? No, except that after several well written articles promoting the same idea, I am disappointed that we are not benefiting from some wisdom that could be applied to some of the many social challenges facing our church communities.
     We are facing some real problems here! We would have a more significant problem with teenage pregnancy, for example, except that many unwed mothers obtain abortions, so that we never know the extent of this situation in our church. The ramifications of this procedure on these girls, and later women, can be devastating. But at the time of their predicament, reputation seems to be everything, whereas in hindsight it is nothing. Since the love of procreation is inherent in conjugial love (see CL 403), how does abortion affect women spiritually?

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     The following suggestions might be useful in addressing this dilemma:
     First, give messages to kids that affect their wills, not only their understandings.
     Second, I would humbly request the clergy to exercise their enlightened understanding to address this and other social issues that occur in our church community.
     Third, but perhaps most important, I would remind all of us to be less judgmental and more supportive of young women in this predicament. If we are truly interested in saving souls, I suggest we establish a New Church co-op home for unwed mothers.
     Rebecca Cooper,
          Huntingdon Valley, PA
CAMP WINDING WATERS 1994 1994

CAMP WINDING WATERS 1994       Editor       1994

     CAMP WINDING WATERS 1994

     It's Happening!!! August 8-12

     Camp plans are nearing completion. Thank you for input received so far (more is welcome). Camp activities will surely appeal to all age groups.
     Bishop Louis King (operating at large) will be working with Rev. Erik Buss to ensure the camp's success. An assistant pastor has not yet been engaged.
     This year's Camp Winding Waters is about helping us weed our spiritual garden. A good gardener knows that you weed differently in different places and with different weeds. Some weeds are thorny and you need gloves. You have to use a trowel on some. Some weeds you just yank on; others you have to trace carefully down to their source and coax out gently.

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     The emotions that crowd out our awareness of the Lord's presence work the same way: you need to treat each one differently. You wouldn't try to overcome anger or anxiety or depression the same way. Swedenborg's Writings give us insight into what these emotions are like and what we can do about them. To the extent that we can pull the weeds out of our spiritual gardens, the Lord can grow healthy fruits, vegetables and flowers,
     Bring your questions to camp. There will be opportunity to ask all the questions you've had about the New Church.
     Raffle items include a warm and beautiful Pacific Trails jacket, a "Quillow" (combination quilt and pillow), miscellaneous books from the Swedenborg Foundation, and a Pendleton blanket. Raffle tickets are $1.00 each or 6 for $5.00.
     The silent auction is lots of fun. Bring your donations. Enticing, expendable doo-dads will sweeten up the camp fund.
     Remember, if you are not planning on lodging at camp: accommodations in the wilderness can be hard to find as the "two-leggeds" search for comfort. It is a busy season for the Wallowa Valley, but you may be able to find a spot in one of the following if you act promptly: Chandler's Bed Bread Trail Inn (503) 432-9765; Eagle Cap Chalet (503) 432-4704; Flying Arrow Cabins (503) 432-2951; Wallowa Lake Lodge (503) 432-9821; The Matterhorn (503) 432-4071; R.V. Park at the river (503) 432-8800; and Wallowa Lake State Park (503) 432-4185.
     If you're staying in camp, bring your own sleeping bag and towels.
     Standing by to help you wagon train your way to camp, and taking suggestions, are wagon-ladies:
     Dorothy Fine Spracklin           Loraine Noakes
     4805 Cushman Road NE, #22      3216 Upper Fords Creek Rd.
     Olympia, WA 98506           Orofine, ID 83544
     (206) 282-7691                (208) 476-5998

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Church News 1994

Church News       Janelle Y. Cranch       1994

     THE EL TORO CIRCLE

     For those of you who are unaware of just exactly where El Toro is, let me inform you. We are situated equidistant between the Los Angeles and San Diego Societies. Either way you cut it, one would have to drive more than an hour from our area to get to church. Therefore you can see just how happy we are that our pastor, Cedric King, has decided to remain in our area.
     As you may have read last month in this publication, Cedric will continue to be our part-time pastor, while at the same time pursuing his dream of combining pastoral work with his other love, which is marriage and family counseling.
     From the inception of our group, the main focus has been to reach out to the community, and we have been rewarded with a growing membership. The El Toro Circle has an affiliation of active and involved people, some of whom choose to drive great distances to attend our worship services and classes. We meet every Sunday for church, which is held in the bright and pleasant community room of a local bank. In addition to the weekly Sunday service, we offer a spiritual growth class, an Arcana class, a college-age class, a young people's class, and a class that changes its focus of study from topic to topic as dictated by the interests of the participants. We arrange monthly social events, and these are planned to incorporate all age groups. At these get-togethers we endeavor to touch the interests of each age level, co-mingling our membership into a cohesive unit.
     Our monthly newsletter is called The EI Toro Bull. This is intended to be a play on words; to the uninitiated, "El Toro" means The Bull in Spanish. We have fun in our newsletter, which is filled with religious items, social events and chatter. It keeps us informed.
     Our council takes a positive role in steering and leading the direction of our circle, while being most attentive to the needs, wishes and concerns of the members. We feel that the primary function of the council is to do just that-counsel, advise and on occasion thump our pastor into line! (If we did not love him the way we do, I could never have said that.)
     We most cordially invite all visitors to our area to drop in and say hello. You will enjoy our warm hospitality, gorgeous weather and loving services. You can always reach the pastor's office at (714) 951-5750.
     Janelle Y. Cranch

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Shorter Heaven and Hell 1994

Shorter Heaven and Hell       Editor       1994




     Announcements







     The Shorter
Heaven and Hell
an abridgment by
Julian Duckworth and Trevor Moffat

     Heaven and Hell, by Emanuel Swedenborg, has been translated into numerous languages, and has impressed countless people, but it has frightened others with its length and detail. In this edition, Duckworth and Moffat, both committed and well-read students of Swedenborg, have selected about one-sixth of the complete work. Although they have omitted many Bible quotations, most of the memorable relations, and Swedenborg's paragraph numbering, they have produced a short, readable book which retains the essential ideas of the original.
     Published by Swedenborg House
London, 1993
     Softcover 158 pages
U.S. $8.50 plus postage U.S. $1.05
     Box 743, Cairncrest                    
General Church Book Center               Hours: Mon-Fri 9-12 or by appointment
Bryn Athyn, PA 19009                    Phone: (215) 947-3920

241


Notes on This Issue 1994

Notes on This Issue       Editor       1994

Vol. CXIV     June, 1994     No. 6
NEW CHURCH LIFE

242




     Notes on This Issue

     This is the month of the birthday of the New Church. How many times in this issue do those words "New Church" appear? Seven times on the opposite page and many more after that.
     Does the New Church really exist in the world? Is it not so small as to be negligible? In some countries the New Church is hardly as a drop in the ocean. But we find those in the world to whom the New Church is very real and dear. Just read about the new beginning in the Czech republic and get a sense of the feeling for this cause.
     We are pleased to begin in this issue a study about entrance into the New Church, a consideration of its "twelve gates."
     In a quest for better understanding the teen years, you are invited first to go back and remember. Do not read page 254 too quickly. Stop and reminisce, and then see what you learn from the internal meaning of "Ishmael."
     Does it seem strange to you that birds, animals and plants in the other world may disappear "as soon as the angel or spirit departs or his affection ceases? After reading the article by Leon Rhodes you may have a different appreciation of this phenomenon.
     Bruce Glenn's book on the arts is an outstanding contribution to New Church literature. The reviewer calls it "so new and startling in its implications. . . . " "Glenn's work clears away some of our ambivalence about art." The editor of Lifeline in England calls the book "a must for any New Church lover of poetry and a good buy for those interested in art generally" (Lifeline, May 1994).
     It is good to notice that a number of people have a rekindled interest in the work Conjugial Love as a result of reading in the translation by Dr. David Gladish. (See page 272.)
     Of the interesting letters that have been coming to this office six appear in this issue. These three ladies and three gentlemen are responding to things they have read in New Church Life. Something they say is very likely to awaken a response in you.

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TWELVE GATES OF THE NEW JERUSALEM 1994

TWELVE GATES OF THE NEW JERUSALEM       Rev. ERIK E. SANDSTROM       1994

Introduction

     All nations in the universal church can combine the Writings with the truth of their native religions. The Writings legitimize the genuine truths remaining in those religions, enhancing genuine practices while at the same time extracting the false dogmas which have already been judged (judgments occurring in 1757, at the time of the crucifixion, and at the "flood"). New converts to the New Church can then become the translators of the Writings into their native tongue. The New Church may then spread to all the world. The New Jerusalem's gates stand open.


     ******


     What route do people take to the New Church; what do they find appealing; what obstacles stand in the way; what is best or worst to say; which methods work best? Our aim is to find and expand on a common basis of charity, so that "all dissensions [can] vanish . . . all hatreds . . . be dissipated in a moment, and the Lord's kingdom come upon the earth" (AC 1799). However, the Last Judgment has also taken place. New Church doctrines do not mix with false dogmas (see BE 96, 102).
     Welcoming New Members. The New Church will grow more easily if present members meet new members' unique contribution:

Every society of heaven increases in number daily, and as it increases it becomes more perfect. . . . Angels desire nothing so much as to have new angel guests come to them (HH 71).


     As in heaven so upon the earth. The New Church needs new members for perfection. How should we welcome them?

[Newcomers are] conducted by angels to the gates of the New Jerusalem or the New Church, and are introduced therein with joy and shouting (BE 108, emphasis added).

     Can we also welcome our new members with joy and shouting?

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Can we give the "recently joined" a one-time ovation at an appropriate occasion? Some new members say they still feel like newcomers even after twenty years! Can we center the New Church more around newcomers? Perfection increases with new members. Can we bend to meet new situations? Not that we then disrespect tradition, but can we both change a little and keep the values of the past? Doctrinal integrity would safeguard such a combination.
     Suggestions by new members, in their own words: Don't talk family and relations or try to connect us by marriage or background. How to be greeted? Be friendly, welcoming, accept us as we are, say your name and "I am so glad you could come." Leave your number and also the time and place of services. Ask how you can help. Answer doctrinal questions only when asked, simply, briefly, just one point. Use Scripture. Don't "know it all," but grow with the visitor. Be of service, don't crowd, leave a satisfied customer (= don't be smug). Let us leave.
     Lend, hoping for nothing again. In addition to ads and radio programs and local efforts, does the New Church need to become more service-oriented? "Lend, hoping for nothing again (Luke 6:35). "Freely you have received, freely give" (Matthew 10:8). Can we give away helpful truths, no strings attached? Can we dispense them to others in need? Can we give the very truths that have already helped us? It would take some thought, requiring at least two tools:


     1.      Talking comfortably in our own words about the truths that helped us most.
     2.      Two or so Scripture quotes to back us up. These hold the power of hell in check, so anyone using them feels safe.

     There is no doubt that the world can be helped by the knowledge of truth as revealed in the Writings. Yet the same truth has always been revealed.

     A Spiritual Map: Twelve Gates for the World. No knowledge of God ever came from man, but always through the Word revealed to mankind.

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Thus all native religions around the world can be traced to the Ancient Word, centered in Canaan (see AC 8944), The spiritual qualities meant by the nations of ancient Canaan (Ammon, Moab, etc.) were in Providence transferred to the "kingdoms of Christendom" (DP 251), i.e. England, France, etc. The ancient representations have been preserved. Europe is thus a modern spiritual map! Both ancient and modern wars have been punishments of the church for its evils (ibid.). This seems incredible, but is true. Then colonization by European trading empires spread the reading of the Word through the world. This too seems like fiction, but was of Providence (see DP 256). We live in a spiritual map!
     Thus European nations have disseminated their spiritual heritage around the globe. Each nation encapsulates the history of revelations from Eden down to the just-commencing New Jerusalem. Native and ancient religions stem from the Most Ancient or Ancient Churches. The Israelitish, Islamic and Christian Churches have their nations. England and Australia, Holland and the East Indies, Spain and Mexico-colonizer-colonized-are in some spiritual symbiosis, forming the Lord's church on earth. Thus all people of any background may enter that gate of the New Jerusalem which appeals to their own special kind of revelation-contact. All roads now lead to the New Jerusalem! Which of these can we talk to? Who are entering the New Church?
     The Catholics.1 They enter the New Church more easily because of their confessional and their belief that charity saves. The faith of justification by the imputation of the merit of Christ is obliterated with them (see BE 108). After The Second Vatican Council 1962-1965, the "One True Church" doctrine was abandoned. The "impulse to convert the whole world" was diminished, and a dialogue began with other religions.

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This council "did not condemn anybody or anything"!
     1 Some of the information from: D. W. Ferm, Contemporary American Theologies, NY 1981; A.I.C. Heron, "A Century of Protestant Theology," Phila PA 1980, Journal of Christian Leadership, Spring 1992
     The net effect: Catholics no longer fear excommunication. Those dissatisfied with their catechism and dogma look for new explanations, especially of the trinity. Catholics seem to join the New Church almost as fast as they meet members with answers: The Father is in the Lord as soul is in body, and the Holy Spirit is from the Lord as the Word of His mouth. The trinity is in the Lord-a good topic for Catholic visitors.
     The Orthodox. They split with the Catholics from circa 700 to 1200 A.D. The issues: who sends the Holy Spirit, liturgics, territorial disputes, and a massacre or two. They reject the Catholic dogmas of the immaculate conception (Mary born without sin) and purgatory, and agree only with the first Seven Church Councils (to ca. 700 A.D.). They receive both elements in the Holy Supper.
     The Orthodox strike you as still being like the Apostolic or First Christian Church, prior to the Council of Nicea, 325 A.D. They pray directly to Jesus, termed "Hesychasm," "to stand in communion with the Lord through the Holy Spirit." One Orthodox member said that the Writings explained for the first time how to be orthodox, so he joined the New Church! When talking to the Orthodox, clarify what they believe.2
     2 Swedenborg wrote a commentary on the Orthodox: 'They hold the Holy Spirit is sent forth from the Father, not the Son. They do not acknowledge justification [etc.] by faith alone."
     The Reformation (Luther et al.). This historical event occurred because "the Word was almost rejected by the Roman Catholic Church" (SS 110). Papal dominion would have "scraped together the wealth of all . . . Europe, and [they would have] become sole lords and the rest slaves" (AR 759). In Providence, "some churches separated themselves from Babylon . . . lest the Christian Church in Europe would utterly fall" (AE 1069).
     France. One such church was in France, founded by Charlemagne.

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This is foretold in Revelation 17:12-" . . . ten kings who have received no kingdom as yet" means ". . . the kingdom of France [is] not so much under the yoke of Papal dominion" (AR 740).3
     3 The Catholic dominion was offset in Providence: 1) Islam by a revelation to Muhammad separated the Arabs from Christians, 622 a.d.; 2) the Orthodox Church separated from the Catholic 700 on; and 3) France be name independent of the Catholic Church from 800 a.d. Finally 4) The Reformation restored the Word to the people, ready for the Second Advent.     
     Protestant Champions. Other nations also were in Providence raised against the papacy, as in the Thirty Years War (1618-1648):


The Lord raised up Sweden, Denmark, Holland and England that they might receive; and lest the Word be blotted out in Germany through the Pope, He raised up Gustavus II Adolphus, who stood for the Reformation, and rose up against the Pope (Invitation 24).


     This war ended with the Peace of Westphalia, 1648, just a century before the Second Coming (1749-1771) effected through Swedenborg, a Lutheran Swede born forty years after that peace (1688, d. 1772).
     The Reformed: From Ideal Dualism to Practical Monism.4 The Reformed began as dualists: God in heaven looks down on people on earth, depraved by Adam's original sin. We are incapable of any good, and only faith alone in Christ can save us, "when and where God wills." There is no cooperation. Salvation is to leave this world of sin behind and live in heaven with God! Dualism: two worlds.
     4 See footnote 1 for sources.
     However, over the last 400 years, the learned of the church have argued the Christian cause down to monism: one world. Karl Barth (d. 1968) impressively re-established God's right to reveal Himself as He is. "Only God can reconnect us." This is right: We should see God on His own terms, not ours. However, Dietrich Bonhoffer (d. 1945) "shifted the focus from the world beyond to this world" by identifying Jesus with God.

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This sounds good. But he meant, "Speak of God in a modern-world setting! Let Him solve our problems" here on earth! This blow against heaven and metaphysics ushered Christianity toward monism: only this world is real. Ironically, this expectation of an earthly problem-solving Messiah let Nazism identify Hitler as The One! His 1000-year Reich was "heaven on earth," the millennium! An extreme monistic weltanschauung.5
          5Heron, p. 86
     Add post World War II industrialization and secularism to monism, and any metaphysical connection with God is gone. The "Death of God" movement arrived, desacralizing religion (1960s): "We live in the world before [the face of] God." He does not touch our lives: "God died" in transfer to Christ. Thus "God is dead," while Christ is alive in us as we share in His qualities here on earth. Life is for here and now, and life after death just does not exist (Altizer, Hamilton).
     However, the Death-of-God movement itself then died with Einstein and the modern telescope and microscope: the universe is just too grand and inexplicable to do without God! But by now God was no longer seen as the only source of truth. Paul Tillich (d. 1965): "No truth is arbitrary." So now we have religious pluralism and variety of sacraments. The church has lost sole authority, while secular theology is on the rise.
     Activism, Process Theology. Today pluralistic secular theology has brought us Activism. A Divine light shines across all religious traditions, leading to unbounded confidence in our own ability to solve our own problems, and Process Theology-reality is a dynamic process of change, uncertainty, relativity and growth. God is not a static but a creative force, leading to a continual fulfillment, in which we solve our own problems. This is secular Christianity. The spiritual world and revelation are unnecessary. This world is all there is.
     Science Victorious. Science has provided more answers and solutions to human problems and pain than religion has ever done.

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Thus secularism means a mistrust of religion: "Christianity-bashing" has become fashionable in 1990s. Only an estimated 5% of the world population visibly "practice Christianity," validating Ghandi's advice: "Christianity is not for preaching, but is best propagated by living and applying it." "Let your light so shine . . . . " Only 5% of the world does!
     But to most Americans, to be "American" is to be Christian. Nationality and religion have blurred. This too is part of the secular trend to a "religionless Christianity" (Bonhoffer).
     Today's Christian Scene. So Christianity today is Monist-there is only this world for sure; the next-spiritual-world is not provable. The advice: build "heaven" here while you can. Even the "last trumpet and end of the world" are expected here on earth. The Charismatics say: the Last Judgment is here; there is bodily resurrection; the Holy Spirit moves in the congregation here; Christ is immanently here within us, and the church grows here with active involvement in spreading His Word. "Heaven on earth" becomes the ad hoc substitute for an unprovable salvation and afterlife, acceptable only "on faith." Not that anyone questions your right to have faith, but it ends up as faith alone. Naturalism mocks Christianity off center stage.
     "Modernizing" the Holy City? What is the impact of this type of Christianity on the New Church? The clear teachings on life after death are a welcome antidote. But do the twelve gates of the New Jerusalem need to update the visa and immigration departments? How well do we know where new members are coming from? or how to deal differently with Catholic, Protestant (countless shades), Orthodox, Jewish and Muslim visitors? Will Hindus and Buddhists also come? Pagans? Is there just one way, one method for all?
     We will address these questions next month.

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OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND 1994

OUT OF SIGHT, OUT OF MIND       LEON S. RHODES       1994

     We are taught in the Writings that birds and animals and plants of every kind exist in the spiritual world. "But there is this difference, that in the spiritual world they spring evidently from the affections of angels and spirits, so that they are affections made apparent, and consequently they disappear as soon as the angel or spirit departs or his affection ceases" (AE 1199:2).
     The following is from DLW 322:


That the universe of that world represents man in an image can be clearly seen from this, that all things just mentioned (n. 321) appear to the life, and take form about the angel, and about the angelic societies, as if they were produced or created by them; they are about them permanently, and do not pass away. That they are as if they were produced or created by them is seen by their no longer appearing when the angel goes away, or when the society passes to another place; also when other angels come in place of these the appearance of all things about them is changed-in the paradises the trees and fruits are changed, in the flower gardens the flowers and seeds, in the fields the herbs and grasses, also the kinds of animals and birds are changed. Such things take form and are changed in this manner, because all these things take form according to the affections and consequent thoughts of the angels, for they are correspondences.


     There is an understandable uneasiness in the minds of many New Church people who read that in the spiritual world things come and go in a different way than in our physical world. We are told that lovely flowers and gardens magically appear to signify our pleasant thoughts, and that they then vanish if our thoughts become less appropriate,
     Taken too literally, these teachings in the Writings about the coming and going, not only of things like flowers but also of angels and devils and our entire surroundings, can be more disturbing than is really necessary.

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It may be helpful to consider more carefully just what such teachings do mean.
     Although undeniably it would be shocking if physical objects around us appeared and disappeared, the teaching in the Writings is not in the least bizarre, for it happens all the time-not merely to our sight but also to our hearing, touch, smell and taste, and once we recognize this we will become aware of how wonderful these descriptions of our future spiritual existence are.
     There is some logic in starting with the situation in which you are at this moment-you are reading the ink markings on a piece of paper, but hopefully that is not what you are "seeing"! Think of your experiences in reading a good book in which the author has created an elaborate setting-a castle in Spain, life on an ancient clipper ship, the ghostly mansion in which the sinister butler is entering the library, or the beautiful young princess has just heard the noise as the prince is climbing up to her window-and the phone rings! We have had such experiences thousands of times, but after a few minutes explaining to the plumber why you telephoned him, you can return to the shattered setting.
     But you may well protest that my example is not valid, that this involved only a fantasy world, so let's consider less nebulous settings which actually come and go. The truth is that it happens many times each day in fascinating ways. I remember when we were visiting the Gorand Canyon and looking out over this incredibly awesome scene, and someone said, "Look at that!" The person was referring to a hawk that had landed on a gnarled tree partway down the mile-high cliff. Instantly the indescribably complex canyon became invisible, and a handsome bird looking for something to eat came into my "sight." And this very simple process could go on a hundred times-and be entirely natural.
     The lovely gardens and flowers of the spiritual world come into our view and vanish in comparable ways as our thoughts and affections change.

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Once you become aware of this it is amazing how many thousands of examples are quite normal in our lives. We are reading the morning newspaper and open to a spread with nothing that interests us, and then suddenly something catches our attention-just the birthday gift we were trying to find for little Suzie, but perhaps we then notice the price, and immediately our attention shifts and we turn the page.
     There are in our everyday lives hundreds of images, shifting and changing if we turn our heads or as we walk along, yet how seldom we "see" anything among all the familiar things that are all around us, until something catches our attention, or our eyes fall on something that delights us-one of our plants has come into bloom, or a friend has left a note on our desk. Something that we care about or find of interest comes to our attention-at which point we first "see" it.
     Our other senses, though less noticeable, go through the same process. Until I call your attention to it, what are you "hearing"? Did you notice the conversation going on nearby, the slight noise of the refrigerator, or that the radio is on? Were you conscious of the traffic noises or the sounds of the wind in the bushes outside the window? How often we find ourselves in situations literally filled with sounds-"noise" such as the crowd around us, or the sounds of the motor as we drive through traffic with the radio giving us the news of the day-and then suddenly something that means something to us will catch our ears.
     Obviously, our sense of touch is aware of all the clothes that are touching our body at this moment, as well as the pressure of the floor under our feet or the chair under our seat, and though we hadn't noticed it, there is a draft from that open window.
     The coupled senses of taste and smell are less obviously a part of our conscious experience, yet how quickly we react to the aroma of baking bread as we enter the kitchen, or how soon we notice that our favorite food has a different taste since the cook used apricots instead of apples!

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     In sum, our senses, which convey the entire complex pattern of our surroundings, are astonishingly insensitive most of the time. It is not what we see, hear, feel, taste and smell that presents the miraculous world about us but our "attention" or awareness which discriminates and chooses from uncountable sensations.
     We can come to know that the "real" world we are experiencing is not merely a physical phenomenon, but a wonderful world of great beauty and ideas. That world can be ugly and disturbing if that is the way we look at life, or we can be conscious of the Lord's marvelous beauty and goodness. In this sense we do make our own world-in this life and then to eternity.
NEO mail 1994

NEO mail       Michael David       1994

     If you have an E-Mail address and would like to be on a New Church mailing list, please send a message to:
               [email protected]
     In the message, please describe your areas of interest, such as: the New Church, Swedenborg research, Neo-Latin. etc. I will mail you a copy of the list within a month of your subscription, and updates at intervals (to be determined) after that.
     I will also accept FAX numbers, or postal addresses of interested parties. Send to Box 493, Bryn Athyn PA 19009, USA.
     Michael David

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ISHMAEL: AN APOLOGY FOR TEENAGERS 1994

ISHMAEL: AN APOLOGY FOR TEENAGERS       Rev. TERRY SCHNARR       1994

     We can learn a lot about the nature of teenage minds by studying the internal sense of the stories about Ishmael. The stories in the Word about Ishmael are stories describing the Lord's first rational mind, as well as the first rational mind of people (which is opened about the advent of puberty).
     Before reading this article further, take a few minutes to think about your answers to the following questions about yourself when you were about the ages of 13-17. Answering them will help you to understand this article and relate to today's teenagers. Where were you living and what was your favorite room in the house? Who were the people at your dinner table and what was the conversation at mealtime? How did you keep your bedroom? What were your best and worst subjects in school? What chore did you hate doing? What was your church like, and your youth group? Were you ever turned down or stood up for a date? Where did you first hold hands? What did you save your money for? Did you ever sneak out of the house?

Can You Relate Your Teenage Years to Ishmael?

     When Ishmael was conceived, Hagar, Sarai's handmaid, taunted Sarai because she was pregnant and Sarai was not. Sarai dealt harshly with her and afflicted her. Hagar fled to the wilderness. Jehovah saw her affliction, sent her back to submit to Sarai, and told her to call her son "Ishmael," which means "Jehovah heard her affliction." So Ishmael was born of affliction, of strife, of tension and stress-words which characterize the first rational mind, which is that of teenagers.
     Jehovah spoke to Hagar and told her what to expect of Ishmael: "He shall be a wild-ass among men, his hand against every man, and the hand of every man against him; and he shall dwell in the faces of all his brothers" (Gen. 16:12)

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     Even literally this is a description of many teens. They are literally like wild asses-that is, wild donkeys or mules. They are stubborn, moody and unpredictable-at times quiet and docile, and at other times like erupting volcanoes. They love to fight and argue and bicker, as do donkeys in the wild which will butt their heads against trees and rocks if there are no other mules around.
     Their social relationships change as often as the weather. Except perhaps for one or two trusted friends, they are basically loners, thinking everyone is out to get them. So they are out to get everyone else first. (Can you remember your teenage years? Do you remember grumbling against adults?)
     "You know you are getting old," I read somewhere, "when you stop criticizing the older generation and start criticizing the younger generation!"
     Boys, especially, have their own physical strength and fighting ability on their mind a lot, at least in fantasy if not in actual conflicts. Teens in general are against all authorities: the cops, parents, teachers, principals, the store manager-all adults in general. And they believe all these are out to get them, punish them, stop them from having fun, stand in their way, and hinder their advance into life. Life for a teen is a fight against the world and everyone and everything in it.
     They like to get in everyone's face, taunting authority, flaunting their independence, pushing rules to the limits and beyond, challenging everyone to stop them. They like to be in the way, making a stir, causing a scene, making life as difficult for everyone else, as they perceive everyone else to be making life difficult for them.
     Just the literal description of Ishmael conjures up an image of most teenagers. (Can you think of some examples?) One person counseled me on how to raise teens by saying we need to treat them as if they are drunk. At times they do the stupidest things simply because they forget to think.

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The Internal Sense

     The reason teens think and act the way they do is that their first rational mind is opened at about puberty. This rational mind is described by Ishmael, but is only half of the complete rational mind. The Ishmael rational consists only of truth, without Good, which comes later with the opening of the spiritual rational, which is represented by the birth of Isaac (interestingly, born in the Bible story 13 years later).
     The Heavenly Doctrines explain that knowledges come to us from outside through our senses and instruction, but good loves come to us from within, from the Lord's dwelling in our spiritual mind. The first rational is developed from external things (like instruction) which form the vessels to receive the good loves that come from within. When the good loves come in, the second, or real, rational mind is born and developed. There is a time lag between these two events, and during this time adolescence occurs.
     This stage of life is described as the wild ass or "onager," which is a mule of the wilderness. Study its behavior and you will see adolescents. The Heavenly Doctrines describe a person who has only this part of his rational mind opened as "a morose person, who will bear nothing, is against all, regards everybody as being in falsity." (Try to keep your minds on teenagers now, and not think of adults who fit this description!) He or she "is always ready and quick to rebuke others, to chastise them, and to punish them" for perceived wrongs. They "have no pity for others, and do not apply or adapt themselves to others, nor consider how to bend their minds. For they look at everything from truth, and at nothing from good" (see AC 1949).
     Other passages in the Word describe these wild asses. In Jeremiah " . . . the wild asses stood upon the hills and snuffed up the wind like whales, their eyes perished." "Snuffing up the wind" means they seize on empty things instead of real things (Can you think of examples of teens making arguments out of nothing?)

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That "their eyes perished" means that there is no apprehension of what truth is-that there are times when they won't be reasonable at all. (I'm sure you can think of some examples.)
     That Ishmael's hand would be against all means that this rational "will wage war upon whatever is not true, and . . . 'the hand of all against him' signifies that falsities will fight back" (AC 1950). Just consider the furious indignation of a self-righteous teenager who is accused of doing something when innocent, or who feigns innocence, or who is extremely upset about something that is not fair! It's WAR!
     Consider the contrast with someone in whom the second rational mind is opened, one that is infilled with goodness from the Lord. We read: "Rational good never fights, however it is assailed, because it is mild and gentle, patient and yielding; for its character is that of love and mercy. Yet although it does not fight, it conquers all, nor does it ever think about combat, or
glory on account of victory; and this because it is Divine, and is safe of itself. For no evil can attack good; it cannot even continue to exist in the sphere where good is, for when this merely approaches, evil withdraws and falls back of itself" (AC 1950:2).
     The wild-ass rational of a teenager is altogether different. "In fact," we read, "it thinks of and breathes scarcely anything but combats. Its general delight, or ruling affection, is to conquer. And when it conquers, it glories in the victory." So, we read further, "it is described as an 'onager,' or mule of the wilderness, the wild-ass, which cannot be with others" (AC 1950:3, emphasis added).

Why a "Teens Only" Camp?

     What better support could we want for holding a separate camp for teens? They are in a state of mind, the first rational, "which cannot be with others."
     When Ishmael is described as "dwelling in the faces of all his brothers," the meaning is that in this state of mind there will be "continual contentions about matters of faith" (AC 1948).

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Teenagers need the freedom to be able to argue, debate, and challenge everything from the ridiculous to the sublime. In fact, they need to be encouraged to do so for the full development of their minds.
     How does one deal with someone in this state? How do we handle teens? In the Heavenly Doctrines the truth of this first rational is said to be represented in the spiritual world "in various ways, and always as what is strong, powerful, and hard, insomuch that it cannot be resisted at all" (AC 1951).
     As with many forms of martial arts, often the best way to respond is not to fight back and resist, but to roll with the punches. We need to deflect the power and force of the attack, give with it, and flip it all the way around so it does no harm.
     I tell the staff members of a teen camp that our job is like trying to ride on a bucking bronco. Our job is to try to stay on, not to try to break the bronco and tame it. Another piece of advice I have found useful is to use humor to deal with teens.
     This isn't easy to do, because they are getting in your face all the time. In fact, it can be quite frightening and threatening to stand face-to-face with one of these wild-ass teenage minds. "When spirits merely think of such truth [of the kind possessed by the first rational mind]" we read, "something of terror comes over them, because it is its nature not to yield, and thus not to recede; from which also we may see what is meant by 'dwelling against the faces of all his brothers'" (AC 1951).
     When I first stand in front of a room full of 30, 40 or 50 teens for whom I am going to have responsibility for the next ten days, I am filled with absolute terror! "What have I gotten myself into? They are going to eat me alive!" That is the moment I fully and completely turn the running of the camp over to the Lord and put it in His hands. And I tell them that, because despite their external show of toughness, inside they are terrified too.

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     As most parents know, underneath it all, their teenagers are still full of tenderness, innocence and vulnerability. They still cry like little children. They still want to be "mothered" and "fathered." At a teens-only camp we take them away from their natural mothers and fathers and put them into the hands of their spiritual mother and father, the church and the Lord.

How a "Teens Only" Camp Works

     We show them how to provide gentle, loving care for each other-in other words, how to be the spiritual mother for each other, how to be a church. We show them how to let the Lord be their spiritual father, how to use His Word as a guide to their life in camp, how following the Lord's teachings brings security and happiness and peace into their lives.
     If they are not separated from their parents, they will keep "running home to Mum" and will not switch from depending on their parents to depending on the Lord and the church (each other). It is in this way that a religious camp for teens leads them from the first rational to the second rational, from a childhood relationship to the adults' church to an adult relationship with each other, which will become their church when they are adults.
     They begin to see the relevance of the church to their own lives, and to see their friendships and relationships with each other as something they want and need to preserve. This leads them to want to keep getting together with each other in the sphere of the church, and therefore leads to their active involvement and participation in the life of the church.
     Another reason for separating teens from their parents is to give them freedom to be children again. When their parents are around, they fight hard to be recognized as adults, as grown up. They work hard at distancing themselves from "little brats" or their own childishness, especially in front of their parents. At times of great stress or emotion they might let their guard down, but for the most part they put up a "grown up" front.

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This makes it difficult for them to let out their childhood remains of goodness and innocence.
     By separating from their parents they don't have to maintain the facade of being adults. Isolated from parental observation, they are free to think, talk, and act like little kids. Just observe the behavior of a group of teens at the mall, at the beach, or in the park when their parents are not around. They play games, act silly and stupid, and carry on almost the same way as primary students on the school playground.
     The value of this is that when they are separated from their parents, their childhood remains can be stirred up and brought into words and deeds. The good loves in them for each other and their innocent care and concern for others is given freedom to be expressed, without seeming to be childish because their parents aren't around to be impressed.
     At a teens-only camp we create an atmosphere where their innocent childhood goodness is free to come out. As one camper wrote: "Maple [the teen camp in Canada] is the only place a teenager can go where it's cool to be good!"
     We stir up these remains by playing childish games, creating stupid skits, doing cleanup jobs together, having ten sleep-overs in a row, staying up late, making lots and lots of noise, singing church songs, having Sunday School lessons, eating together, taking turns in the showers, and holding the flashlight after lights out. All these things allow them to celebrate their childhood, to feel good about being kids.
     Their remains, which are stored up in the interiors of their minds, come flooding down into their budding rational mind. From this influx they see that their first rational mind is not good, that it is only a lot of "hot air," a lot of truth and knowledge without any direction or guidance. They see that they can't trust their first rational, that in fact they are just using it to play games with each other and adults.
     This growth and development happens anyway (hopefully!) with most of us. We come to see that our first rational is devoid of life because it is devoid of love.

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A teens-only camp supports and encourages this development. This development is described in the Word by Hagar's speaking to the Lord about seeing her in the wilderness. The meaning is that as the first rational develops, there is a recognition from a higher place in our minds that this first rational is not good and not to be trusted. The Lord's telling Hagar to return and submit herself to Sarai is the recognition that our first rational needs to submit to a higher authority.
     At a teens-only camp, teens are helped to see that their first rational is really only folly, and they begin to recognize the value of the Lord's teachings for their lives. From the childhood innocence and remains which have been stirred up, they grow more comfortable in humbly submitting themselves to His teachings, and experience the delights of doing so with each other.

Application to Use

     While one step of the development of the first rational into the second rational is to see that it can't be trusted without good to temper it, a second step in its development into a full rational is bringing it to bear on a life of use-seeing how it can be useful to others instead of simply being used to fight.
     We read in the Heavenly Doctrines what this first rational is like without a life of use. It is characterized as "resembling a wild ass: morose, pugnacious, and characterized by a parched and dry life, from a kind of love of truth that is defiled with the love of self. But," we read further, "when these knowledges have use as their end, they receive life from uses" (AC 1964).
     What we do at a teens-only camp is make the teens responsible for the camp. They are responsible for making it a good time, a fun camp, a great experience. It is their camp. The staff does not put on a camp for them. We show them what the Lord teaches, and help them to see that by obeying those teachings the camp becomes a wonderful experience.

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We merely show them the relevance of the Lord's teachings to everything we do in camp: eating, sleeping, playing, talking, working out their relationships, communicating, sharing, being considerate and thoughtful, forgiving, praying, worshiping, singing, and so on.
     They are given the opportunity to use their minds to be useful to themselves and each other to make the camp the good experience they want it to be. In the process they learn how to use their rational minds for something that is good and useful. They learn through this experience what their minds are for, namely, for creating good for others. They experience who they are, what good they can do, and what uses they can perform for others.

Worship and Instruction

     One final thing we learn from the Heavenly Doctrines about this state is that those who are in it are in "the externals of doctrine and worship" (AC 2468:14), "as to life in simple good and therefore as to doctrine in natural truth" (AC 3263:3). We involve them fully in the discussion of doctrine so that the lessons are kept on their level of externals. We involve them heavily in the externals of worship, so that the worship services are focused on the natural, physical, external state in which they are. It is up to them to make the sessions and classes something which they will participate in and delight in.
     They are not ready for the more interior doctrinal discussion and worship services of adults. They need arguments and debate in classes. They need physical movement and experiences in worship services. With their input, we try to involve all their senses, both in classes and worship. For example, we once walked barefoot on rocks during a worship service in which we were focusing on the pain the Lord experienced at the hands of the Romans.
     When camp is completed, they are delighted not only that they have had a good time, but that they all contributed to each other's good time. They feel good about themselves because it was their camp and it was a smashing success.

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They glory in the victory they have achieved, which is appropriate to the state they are in.
     Here are some sample anonymous evaluations from previous teens-only camps: "I think I have learned a lot and grown closer to God." "I loved the lectures that made you think for yourself about controversial issues. I especially liked the lectures on the relationship between the sexes, and co-dependency." "The worships were great." "The people here helped to put my life into perspective. Maple has changed me as a person." "I've never been to a place like this. The people are great, the activities are cool, the friendships and love incredible!"
MINISTERIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS 1994

MINISTERIAL ANNOUNCEMENTS       Rev. Peter M. Buss       1994

     Pending completion of his degree program and ordination, Candidate Barry Halterman has been appointed as General Church minister in Canada under the leadership of the Executive Vice President of the General Church in Canada. Mr. Halterman will also be doing some work in the Olivet Church and therefore will be living in the Toronto area.
     The Reverend Andrew Heilman has accepted a call from the Kempton Society to be its Assistant Pastor, effective April 21, 1994. For the last 3-1/2 years Mr. Heilman has been acting as an Assistant to the Pastor of the Kempton Society. (An assistant to the pastor is appointed by the bishop, with the consent of the society, whereas an assistant pastor is nominated by the bishop and formally called by a society vote.)
     Rt. Rev. Peter M. Buss

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WASHINGTON TIMES PUBLISHES LETTER ABOUT "ADULT ENTERTAINMENT" 1994

WASHINGTON TIMES PUBLISHES LETTER ABOUT "ADULT ENTERTAINMENT"       Janet Heilman Doering       1994

     One of the uses performed by New Church people is to speak out from the perspective of our beliefs. Janet Heilman Doering of the Washington Society received grateful phone calls from readers when a letter from her appeared in the Washington Times a few months ago. Here in part is what the letter said:
     Whenever I see the word "mature" or "adult" as the requirement for watching violence and the explicit and often perverted sex that today passes for romance and love, I cringe.
     What can be the connotations for our children if they think such filth is for the truly adult mind?
     When we hope that our children will grow up and become responsible and worthwhile citizens, looking forward to the day when they will show some maturity and signs of adulthood, do we really mean that we want them to become degenerate, reveling in the violence and sexual depravity of certain "entertainment"? "Mature" should connote a growth of wisdom in the human mind that recognizes the laws of our Creator as the fundamental laws of civilization.
     Without our Creator's authority for what is good and what is evil, our only authority, in the final analysis, is the passion of the unregenerate mind, which more and more seems to dictate the content of much of what is being presented. To prevent the chaos of a totally godless nation, the only alternative to Divine law in the human heart and mind is the police state.
     Pray let us remove the misnamed "Mature" and "Adult" rating for games, movies and videos, and start labeling them for what they are: "V" for violent, "P" for pornographic, prurient or perverted, "U" for uncivilized and "E" for outright evil. Perhaps in some small measure this will take away the insane connotation of what it means to be mature and adult as implied in the present labels.

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Arts: An Affectional Ordering of Experience 1994

Arts: An Affectional Ordering of Experience       Wilson Van Dusen       1994

     The Arts: An Affectional Ordering of Experience by E. Bruce Glenn, 287 pages; Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, PA, $17.95

     For a long while I have been aware of a strange gulf existing between art and the spiritual. Perhaps I am particularly aware of this because my life strongly involves both areas. My wife is a fiber artist; I live with art and artists. To try to bridge this gulf I made a major study of religious icons. So when I saw a New Church book on art I sent for it.
     I never met Bruce Glenn, but it is apparent to me that he was an aesthetician. He simply loved the beautiful in all its forms. He was thoroughly aware of the classic literature on the nature of art. Even his writing is beautiful. And when he studies a poem we have the sense of a man really in his life's love. He instructed in literature and aesthetics in the Academy. He died shortly after completing this his magnum opus. That he was a natural aesthetician is to me beyond question.
     This book is a major contribution in that it works out the foundation of the relationship of art to the spiritual. Curiously, he did it with major reference to classical literature and all the other arts but without once referring to religious art per se. He found, in Swedenborg and the collateral literature, very fitting quotes that elaborate the connection of art to the spiritual. It is as though it was always there in Swedenborg but we needed a real aesthetician to bring it out.
     The relationship of art to the spiritual is based in the doctrine that the internal of a person is oriented toward both the material world and the spiritual. Fine art is created out of this matrix. It presents its imaginative creations in sensuous forms as painting, music, literature, etc. But the beauty of its form is from the spiritual, and in subtle ways it speaks of it and shows it to those sensitive enough to love and feel it.

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Glenn is in the long tradition of aestheticians who thoroughly believe that art appreciation can be enhanced by training. The training furthers appreciation, which is the experiencing of the spiritual source that really is the beauty of art. The book's subtitle, An Affectional Ordering of Experience, is one of his central themes. By appreciating we are entering into the affectional ordering inherent in art. Art both orders our affections and reveals to us an order intrinsic to our higher selves. The affectional, the loves of a person, underlies all his experience and is literally his life. Art is the artist's calling down an experience from the spiritual to the sensual. When we appreciate this art, we experience this process and discover something of the same in ourselves. I have a Greek image of a god reaching up and grabbing a lightning bolt to bring it down that we may appreciate its wonder, and to aid us to recognize our own lightning.
     The aesthetic aspect of the book will be easily recognized and enjoyed. But Glenn's elaboration of the aesthetic-spiritual connection is so new and startling in its implications that many will want to pause and ponder this aspect. Glenn even deals with the dark side of the human. We study with him Browning's My Last Duchess. In beautiful language we gradually discover that the Duke probably murdered his last duchess and was now about to take another more suited to his vanity. Glenn asks what is the role of such a dark matter in art? It illustrates the deeply human and what is possible to any one of us. Basically the spiritual aspect of art opens up to our view and to our experience the depths of the human. It illustrates ourselves in what we are and what we could be. It is in opening up our understanding of the connection of art to the spiritual depths of the human that this book makes a unique and major contribution. This book is now the work on aesthetics for the New Church.
     I can't help but also ask: Can we now envision a New Church spiritual practice based in aesthetics? The answer is yes. Clearly the leader in such an approach should be someone who loves his art.

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Also, clearly the opening phases would be all of the presently known ways of teaching art appreciation. Until art is appreciated, its spiritual cannot be adequately sensed. But then the spiritual practice would come into full flower when the students begin to explore their own depths through their experience of the art. In effect Glenn was at the entrance to this when he got students to reflect on their experience of poetry. It would be a way to the spiritual studded with delights. And people would grow in sensitivity to art, to themselves, and to others.
     Years ago I worked daily with seriously mentally ill persons. I had a test of art judgment-the person was to pick the prettiest of pairs of designs. I theorized that the ability to sense the better design would be directly correlated to the prognosis for recovery. It was. That is, sensitivity to beauty was sensitivity to internal order.
     Glenn's work clears away some of our ambivalence about art. Otherwise we remain suspicious because it is so much pleasure. He presents hundreds of clues as to this process, many from Swedenborg; but for some reason one stuck with me. Art is a direct way to the depths of the human by bypassing ego or proprium and our normal worldly concerns. No matter how tangled our experience, the art is simply there to be enjoyed, and in its gentle way it puts our affections in order. Based on Glenn's seminal work I now see a possibility of using art as a spiritual practice.
     This is the product of Bruce Glenn's deep love, and it is most impressive. Art is a fine way to the higher aspects of love itself.

     Wilson Van Dusen
NOTHING ON EARTH OR IN THE SKY: 1994

NOTHING ON EARTH OR IN THE SKY:       Editor       1994

     "There is nothing beautiful and delightful in the skies or on the earth which is not in some way representative of the Lord's kingdom" (AC 1807).

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Editorial Pages 1994

Editorial Pages       Editor       1994

     ORDINATION SERVICE IN THE CZECH REPUBLIC

     On April 3, 1994 a significant service was held at Vysoke Myto in the Czech Republic. Martin David Krejza, trained in England by the British Conference, was ordained into the New Church ministry by Rev. C. V. Hasler.
     Rev. Jan Samuel Marik, who has served the New Church through many difficult years, gave an address which included the following words:


     So that all people in the whole world may benefit from the truth in a practical way, that is, that they may not remain in darkness, the Lord raised a Church-His kingdom on earth. The Church's duty is to announce Divine truths from the Word, which means to teach the truths according to the doctrines which are drawn from the Word.
     Today's service truly has a deep significance for the small handful of us who call ourselves the Lord's New Church. But we also believe that God's influence can reach others through His servants and followers. We well understand that the desired effects can't be expected in a day, and that we must remain patient and faithful in perseverance.
     Brother Martin David Krejza well understands the history of our community. He knows the hard trials which the Lord's New Church experienced in its early years, when Rev. Janecek struggled for recognition for the Lord's New Church in the Czech land. This was at the beginning of the 20th century. The imperial Austro-Hungarian authorities did not look kindly on the believers in a new spiritual movement which claimed a right to exist. Nevertheless, as early as 1911 the magazine The New Jerusalem started to be published. But legal New Church worship could only commence in the year 1919. This was not just a great spiritual victory for Rev. Janecek and his friends, but it was also a spiritual victory for our Lord Jesus Christ and His New Heaven.

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     But spiritual activities of less than twenty Years were too short a time for the Lord's New Church to affect the Czech Christian public consciousness more deeply The Nazi occupation followed and with it the end of religious freedom Admittedly, the Rev. Janecek and his friends did not cease to labor for the Lord, but they had to do it illegally, with all the risks this entails.
     But the heaviest trials for the New Church were yet to come. In the land of Jan Huss, Jan Amos Comenius, Tomas Garyk Masaryk, "scientific atheismus" came to rule. Today we all know what that meant . . . . In 1950 came an unqualified Prohibition Of all the activities of the Lord's New Church. All religious activities were forced into such a mold that "the party and government" could survey the very thinking of its citizens.
     This gross darkness lasted forty-two years. Janecek did not live long after the destruction of his whole life's endeavors. In 1953 he entered a finer, spiritual world. As time went on, other believers of the New Christianity followed him one by one. But the Lord's mercy provided that a remnant should be preserved. As if by stealth our souls were fed by the Divine manna on the truths of God's Word.
     "I have come as a light into the world, that whosoever believes in me should not abide in darkness" (John 12:46). That is what the Lord promised, and that is also what He fulfilled. In the dark days of the communist rule, the Divine light was not extinguished. This was possibly the darkest period for our nation's history. Yet during this time, my wife and I were permitted, While we were spiritually hungry and thirsty for the Lord's truths, to find a spiritual home in Podkroknosi (a hill district in north-east of Bohemia), where a group of New Christians lived near sister Kubatova. This handmaid of the Lord initiated me into the marvelous secrets of the Divine Word, understood according to the doctrines of the Lord's New Church, and she later invited me to assume the priestly use.
     Those were difficult times-but in a strange way, they were also beautiful. That new light, those newly understood truths, made it so, and even when the State Security started to investigate me, they could not change my life's direction.

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     Today I stand here-free, among my free friends, so that I might make this confession: I believe in the One God, the Lord Jesus Christ.
     He did not leave me in darkness, but entrusted me with this mission, to carry His light to others.
     Without the help and friendship of our British brothers and sisters this service would not have been held. The General Conference enabled David to study at the New Church College where he graduated with success.
     It is only right to mention these things today. Brothers Kristof Hasler and Ian Arnold, I thank you from the depth of my heart for all the care which you gave David. We thank the General Conference and the New Church College for fulfilling so lovingly the goodness of our Lord.
     We fully intend, with all our powers, to ensure that the Light, which came into the world in the form of the Lord's Divine Human, should never cease to show the way to those who wish to follow it. That is why we are preparing certain publications which should help the spiritual orientation of our nation. In the first place we are concentrating on the doctrinal teachings of the New Church, which by the Lord's command were written by Emanuel Swedenborg. In these theological books of this servant of the Lord we have found the key to the comprehension of the inner sense of the Divine Word, and so have discovered immeasurable treasure and heavenly secrets. It is our duty to share those Divine gifts with everyone who truly, that is, inwardly, longs for them.
     This is the commission of the Lord's New Church in the whole world, and equally in the Czech Republic. With the Lord's help, we too shall fulfill these purposes, because: "Love desires to give what is its own to another" (DLW 47).
NEWS FROM THE CZECH REPUBLIC 1994

NEWS FROM THE CZECH REPUBLIC       Editor       1994

     Rev. Christopher Hasler reports that David Krejza has translated and published Sig Synnestvedt's short biography of Swedenborg. Samuel Marik publishes a magazine, The New Jerusalem, every two months.

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He has completed a work of many years, a dictionary of the Bible and its deeper meaning. It will be called Insights into the Mysteries of the Bible. A printer has been engaged, and the intention is to publish 1,500. Mr. Hasler says, "The Czechs are avid readers, and there are book shops in every street." The hope is to publish True Christian Religion in 1995 and Divine Providence in 1996.
EARLY DREAMS OF THE NEW CHURCH IN RUSSIA 1994

EARLY DREAMS OF THE NEW CHURCH IN RUSSIA       Editor       1994

     A Princess Speaks Her Mind

     In 1863 the Intellectual Repository in England published a letter from a reader in Russia. It expressed gratitude in seeing that "the Swedenborg Society labors for the propagation of the truths of the New Jerusalem through all countries of the globe." It expressed dismay that the Russian government prevents similar work there. The government "impedes the diffusion of the truth." It concludes that "the time is not yet come for our nation to be removed from under the yoke of error and ignorance."
     What is striking is that with so few prospects there was confidence that some day in Russia "the divine and beneficent truths of the New Dispensation" could be promulgated. To prepare for that day they decided that translation of the Writings should begin. They had the idea of publishing a Russian journal outside of Russia. "The propagation of this publication could easily b, made through all Europe, especially when, in summer, people of all nations travel so much, and because every forbidden book finds an entrance everywhere, notwithstanding every hindrance possible."
     A good number of translations were done, most by V. A. Klenovsky. Some were anonymous. After well over a hundred years they are finding their way into print
     In 1872 Princess Cleopatra Shakhvoskaya wrote a letter to the Swedenborg Society. She had known of New Church teachings for at least nine years and had been receiving the Intellectual Repository for three years.

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She saw a hope of the new truths' bringing people of different nations together. "We are not so strange one to another, nor so far one from another, as it seems to be. East and West, though of course quite different parts of the world, may be conjoined by the light and the heat of the spiritual dispensation." She had an excellent knowledge of the Writings, and she saw them to be compatible with things she treasured in the Eastern Orthodox Church.
     Thanks to Mr. Anders Hallengren, we were able to publish a picture of this princess in the October issue of 1992 (p. 474).
     The information above comes from the Intellectual Repository, 1863, p. 437, and 1872, p. 267.

     KNOWING ABOUT LOVE IN MARRIAGE

     Some Quotations

     "So far, no one on earth knows what real married love is, as far as its origin and essence go. But it does make a difference to know this!
     "For most people today the vision, and with it the knowledge, of this married love is so annihilated that they do not know what it is like and hardly that it exists.     
     "So people obviously do not know what the real love in marriage is like, and they hardly even know it exists.
     "Genuine married love does exist. It has thousands of delights, and the world still knows hardly any of them. But it will know them.
     "In view of its origin and correspondence, this love is heavenly, spiritual, holy, pure, and clean beyond every other love that angels of heaven or people on earth have from the Lord.
     "The attributes of this love are innocence, peace, tranquility, deep friendship, full confidence, and a desire in heart and soul to do everything good for each other.

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     "Something you need to know is that the joy of married love rises to the highest heaven, and both there and on the way there it joins together with the joy of all heavenly loves, and so they enter a happiness that lasts forever,
     "You must also know that the pleasure of a love for fornication sinks to the lowest hell, and both there and on the way there they join together with the pleasures of all hellish loves, and so they enter an unhappiness consisting of never having any heartfelt joys."
     The above statements are taken from the translation of Conjugial Love by Dr. David Gladish called Love in Marriage. The paragraph numbers are 42, 59, 293, 64, 180, 294.
HOW TO LOVE 1994

HOW TO LOVE       Allen Bedford       1994




     Communications
     Dear Editor:
     The Rev. Martin Pryke poses the useful question of how we should love the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our mind and our neighbor as ourselves (NCL, April 1994). He then suggests that love cannot do this alone, and he reminds us of the regeneration process outlined in True Christian Religion. Mr. Pryke's comments are useful to me because they focused my mind on what I should be doing. However, I feel that some of his concerns about spiritual shortcuts and "salvation by love alone" are not necessary.
     One Biblical passage that addresses the relationship between faith and charity is the story of Cain and Abel (Genesis 4:1-16). The Arcana's exposition of the story is remarkable (AC 324-398). One verse particularly applies:

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If you [Cain] do well, is there not an uplifting? And if you do not do well, sin is lying at the door. And to you is his [Abel's] desire, and you have dominion over him (Genesis 4:7).

     AC 361 briefly explains the verse:

If your desires are good, charity resides with you. If your desires are not good, charity does not exist, but evil. "To you is his desire, and you have dominion over him" means that charity wishes to reside with you, but cannot because of your wish to have dominion over it.

     This last phrase is explained more fully in AC 365:

Charity wishes to reside with faith but cannot because faith wishes to have dominion over it, which is contrary to order. As long as faith wishes to have dominion, it is not faith. But once charity has dominion it is faith, for the chief thing of faith is charity . . . . Charity may be compared to a flame of fire, without which heat and light do not exist since it is the source of heat and light. Separated faith may be compared to light which, when devoid of the heat of the dame, is certainly light, but winter light when everything becomes inactive and dies off. One crucial point here is that charity wants conjunction with faith. There really is no such thing as "love alone." AC 328, 337, 361, and 365 make this clear.

     Returning to Mr. Pryke's question of how we come to love the Lord and the neighbor, let me propose a prior question: Why would we want to love the Lord and the neighbor? We must want to love before we worry about how to love. Once we have made the commitment to regenerate, Mr. Pryke's commentary is valid. But what about those of us who are not committed to doing this yet? It seems to me that a first step is to taste the glory and splendor of charity-even if it is a facsimile. Once we have whetted our appetite, we may become more willing to sustain a rigorous daily battle to move ourselves into the brilliance of God's way.
     I believe that Mr. Pryke is concerned about an "emphasis on love which avoids the necessity of truth and the shunning of evils as sins" because he long ago made the personal commitment to love the Lord and the neighbor and is now getting on with the work.

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From where I stand on that road I need more; consistent enticement to start the journey in the first place. I am instructed as to what is right and wrong (thanks in part to Mr. Pryke's religion classes), and I have come to know some of my evils (thanks in part to Sarah Headsten's spiritual growth group). My sticking point now is whether to go on with the next two steps of praying to the Lord for help, and shunning evils as sins. I am not looking for a shortcut (because I do not think one exists). I am looking for the encouragement within myself to go on.
     Both Cain and Abel are within me. When Abel makes his gift of charity and love toward the neighbor, will Cain relinquish the lead or will he slay his brother? I am finding that my greatest encouragement to improve comes when my Abel makes his offering to the Lord. "Jehovah had respect for Abel and his gift." God's acceptance of our gift "feels" good. This is where I want to work for a while, making acceptable gifts to the Lord in hopes that God will strengthen and inspire me for the journey of regeneration. Hence the current "emphasis on love" is useful to me.
     Valerie Rogers is gratefully acknowledged for directing me to the cited Arcana passages.
     Allen Bedford,
          Bryn Athyn, PA
TO LOVE THE LORD AND THE NEIGHBOR 1994

TO LOVE THE LORD AND THE NEIGHBOR       Ruth Cranch Wyland       1994

Dear Editor:
     In commenting on Rev. Martin Pryke's communication (NCL April 1994), I would like first to focus on the fact that there are many different kinds of love. We would not want to foster love which is sentimental and which would encourage our weaknesses. The love which we need to foster is the kind which supports our strengths.

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     The communication pointed out that the process of regeneration has various steps (as outlined from the True Christian Religion). However, as was noted, it is not in our power to change our loves. We can learn truths, examine ourselves, and pray to the Lord to help us shun our evils, I do not believe that we can change by attempting to force our weak wills to change. Ultimately change comes when we believe that the Lord loves us, knowing He will help us facilitate change so that we can become more worthy of His love.
     In his letter, Mr. Pryke says that he thinks there is a danger of an emphasis on love which avoids the necessity of truth and the shunning of evils as sins. I believe there is just as great a danger that we will be so caught up in trying to follow doctrine that we will forget the kind of love the Lord is talking about. The Lord said: Love one another as I have loved you. Of this kind of love we can never have too much.
     Ruth Cranch Wyland,
          Huntingdon Valley, PA
TO BE CALLED HIS MOTHER 1994

TO BE CALLED HIS MOTHER       Rev. Ian Johnson       1994

Dear Editor:
     While I agree with almost everything Rev. Douglas Taylor wrote in his sermon for your March issue, I read it uneasily, due to the title-"The Rejection of Mary." Afterwards I am still wondering: does this allow sufficiently for Swedenborg's remark in Canons 22, page 191 Posthumous Theological Works, numbers IX-8:

But because His mother afterwards represented the church, she is in that respect to be given the name "His mother."

     I wonder how many Christians through the centuries, in appearing to venerate Mary the person, were really venerating mother church, as we are commanded to do.

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And isn't such a title as this understandably offensive to them?
     Rev. Ian Johnson,
          Croydon, England
RIGHT TO BELIEVE DIFFERENTLY 1994

RIGHT TO BELIEVE DIFFERENTLY       Rev. Grant R. Schnarr       1994

Dear Editor:
     Lately I have become increasingly concerned about the nature of some of the letters appearing in New Church publications. I am glad that real issues are being raised which might have been taboo in the past. I believe this is healthy. However, some of what I have read seems to wander far beyond the parameters of what I would call "New Church dialogue." To me, some of the letters border on questioning or even refuting the doctrines themselves. One reason this may be happening is because of boundary issues relating to the church.
     Do people feel free not to belong if they don't believe? I don't mean this in a nasty or uncharitable way, but it seems to me that the doors of our church should be open for people either to enter or to leave, in freedom according to their own reason. If people do not agree with the basic doctrines of the church, they shouldn't feel they are trapped into belonging to a church which does not support their ideas, and they shouldn't feel bad about leaving.
     I wonder if people feel free to leave when they are in fundamental disagreement with the Writings. Sometimes it seems that people feel that in order to become comfortable with their changing beliefs they must somehow change the doctrines of the church or explain them away. I am not talking about challenging tradition or even traditional assumptions about doctrines, but challenging the doctrines themselves. I am not talking about debating women's roles, translations, the worth of spiritual growth groups, or even our attitude toward those in disorder-though sometimes a challenge to the doctrines arises out of these issues.

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But I am talking about questioning fundamental doctrines, and whether that is appropriate in New Church publications. For instance, people have the right to believe that there is no hell, or that God is not Jesus Christ, or that the Writings are not Divine revelation from God. But it seems to me that these beliefs, and more like them, are opposed to the very beliefs that make the New Church the New Church.
     Rev. Grant R. Schnarr,
          Glenview, Illinois
UNDERSTANDING IS NOT ENOUGH 1994

UNDERSTANDING IS NOT ENOUGH       Beryl Simonetti       1994

Dear Editor:
     I have followed with interest the communications concerning spiritual growth groups and their connection with Gurdjieff and his associates. I would like to comment from my personal experience.
     The process of repentance is described in detail in the True Christian Religion. One teaching that seems particularly important to me is this: "True repentance is examining, not only the actions of one's life, but also the intentions of one's will" (TCR 532). The number continues with instructions for doing this by examining our thoughts. When I first read this many years ago, I thought that careful study would give me all I needed to put it into practice. I assumed that I could force myself to be truthful with myself by means of intellectual effort.
     Fifteen years ago, I began reading Psychological Commentaries on the Teaching of G. I. Gurdjieff and P. D. Ouspensky by Maurice Nicoll. (Nicoll read and valued the works of Swedenborg.) The practice of non-judgmental self-observation, as Nicoll described it, was an awakening for me concerning self-examination. I got my first glimpse of what was really going on in my will. Before that I had unconsciously managed to avoid, deny, or justify many evils that I needed to see.

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The thing that had led me astray was a misplaced trust in the intellectual process as being sufficient in itself. I thought I was following the instructions in the Writings. Nicoll showed me that I had not grasped what was necessary. I have discovered that, for myself, knowledge of the steps of repentance does not confer the ability to follow through and do what is required. Understanding is not enough.
     Please note that non-judgmental self-observation is not uncritical acceptance of our proprial loves. It is a way of finding things that eventually do need to be judged as evils and shunned as sins against God, What I have described is not a shortcut, but only the beginning of a long, slow process. But it is a beginning. "Evils cannot be removed unless they appear" (DP 278a:2).
     There are those who believe that the study of the three-fold Word is all we ever need for our spiritual life. This may be true for many people, especially those who have not grown up with and accepted others' interpretations of the Writings, and who are not burdened with my particular false assumptions.
     On the other hand, there are those who find that other disciplines and systems of thought enable them to clear away unexamined residual historical faith and old false assumptions and who are grateful to the Lord for leading them to what they individually need for spiritual life and awakening. I am one of them.
     Beryl Simonetti,
          Bryn Athyn, PA
GURDJIEFF 1994

GURDJIEFF       Donnalee Crockett       1994

Dear Editor:
     I have been reading the letters about Gurdjieff and finally felt I had to write.
     I belonged to a Gurdjieff group in the 1970s, one that was part of a larger group headed by L. G. Bennet himself.

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I was in the group for about two years. We did many of the exercises recommended by Ouspensky.
     One time I went to Boston and witnessed a dance by the more advanced members. They whirled in mathematical precision until Bennet yelled "Stop!" Everyone stopped on the instant. It was quite incredible. Later I met Mr. Bennet and participated in a weekend retreat given by him.
     The people in these groups struck me as sincere searchers after truth and spirituality. Nevertheless, there is more real, life-changing truth in one page of the Writings than in one whole book of Gurdjieff or Ouspensky. Take for example this quote from Divine Providence 157:
     There is one sole essence, one sole substance from which are all the essences, substances and forms that have been created. This one sole essence, substance and form, is the Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom.
     If we could take this truth and believe it in our hearts it would banish all fear and hatred. There would be no reason for either of these emotions.
     There are so many life-changing truths in the Word and in the Writings. Just the words "Our Father" from the Lord's prayer contain an arcana that goes on and on if you think deeply about it. How could hate exist between races? How could one person steal from another, lie about another or hurt another living being if we really believed the words, "Our Father"?
     What about the phrases, "Judge not, that you be not judged" or "With what measure you mete it will be measured to you again"? Any of these teachings if taken to heart and really practiced would take as much work and effort and would produce a much deeper and more profound spiritual change than a whole book of Gurdjieff's exercises.
     Donnalee Crockett,
          Little Ferry, New Jersey

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BOOK ABOUT ANGELS 1994

BOOK ABOUT ANGELS       Editor       1994

     There is a beautiful little hardback of only fifty pages called A Host of Angels, Gramercy Books. It is a collection of quotations edited by Gall Harvey. The illustrations and page decorations are lovely.
     Two of the pages are from Swedenborg. One is a short quotation from the chapter in Heaven and Hell about the power of angels. The other from AC 68 reads as follows:

I am well aware that many will say that no one can possibly speak with spirits and angels so long as he is living in the body; many say it is all fancy, others that I recount such things to win credence, while others will make other kinds of objection. But I am deterred by none of these: for I have seen, I have heard, I have felt.
GENERAL CHURCH EVANGELIZATION SEMINAR 1994

GENERAL CHURCH EVANGELIZATION SEMINAR       Editor       1994

     The General Church Evangelization Committee is extremely pleased to be sponsoring a seminar at the Ivyland New Church this coming fall (Friday, September 30 and Saturday, October 1). In order to have this seminar go forward and still allow Grant Schnarr to give needed focus to the Chicago New Church, I, together with a number of lay people, will be organizing it.
     We have had a maximum enrollment of about ninety people suggested for the Ivyland New Church facilities where the seminar will be held. Teams of people from congregations will be given some priority in registration. The cost of the seminar will be $40 per person. If you are interested in attending this seminar, talk to your local pastor or contact me for registration materials: Theresa McQueen, c/o Glenview New Church, 74 Park Drive, Glenview, IL 60025; phone (708) 988-9018. More details next month.

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ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH THEOLOGICAL SCHOOL, COLLEGE AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS CALENDAR 1994-1995 1994

ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH THEOLOGICAL SCHOOL, COLLEGE AND SECONDARY SCHOOLS CALENDAR 1994-1995       Editor       1994

     1994

Sept      1 Thu 9:30 a.m.      College Faculty Opening Worship and Meeting
                    New College resident students arrive on campus by 8:00 p.m.
          2 Fri           New College students' registration and classes begin
          3-5 Sat-Mon      New College student orientation continues
          5 Mon           Labor Day-College resident students arrive; college welcome party at 9:00 p.m.
          6 Tue           Secondary Schools resident students arrive on campus
                    8:15 a.m. Academy faculty meeting: President's Address (Pendleton Hall)
                    9:30-12:30 Registration of returning College students          
                         10:00 a.m. Secondary Schools faculties' meetings
                    10:05 a.m. Theological School classes begin
                    1:00 p.m. Local Secondary Schools student registration
                    8:30 p.m. Secondary Schools Parent-Teacher Forum meeting
          7 Wed           8:00-12:00 Orientation and registration for all new Secondary Schools dormitory students (Benade Hall Auditorium)
                    8:05 a.m. Returning College students' classes begin
                    11:05-11:50 College chapel and opening convocation
                    1:30-4:00 Testing for all new Secondary Schools students
                    7:30 p.m. Cathedral worship service for students, faculty, parents
          8 Thu           8:00 a.m. Orientation and testing in Secondary Schools
          9 Fri           7:55 a.m. Classes begin in Secondary Schools
Oct      14 Fri 8:00 a.m.      Charter Day: Annual Meeting of ANC Corporation (Pitcairn Hall)
                         10:30 a.m. Charter Day Service (Cathedral)
                    9:00 p.m. Charter Day Dance (Society Pudding)
          15 Sat           7:00 p.m. Charter Day Banquet (Society Building)
Nov      7-11 Mon-Fri      College registration week for winter term
          15 Tue           College classes end
          16 Wed p.m.      College examinations begin
          19 Sat           Fall term ends for College and Theological School after exams, scheduled student work
     21, 22 Mon, Tue      Secondary schools' mini trips
          22 Tue           8:30 p.m. Secondary schools fall term ends and Thanksgiving Recess begins
          27 Sun           Resident students return (Secondary Schools by 8:00 p.m.)
          28 Mon           Winter term begins in all schools
Dec      16 Fri           Christmas recess begins for Secondary Schools at 12:15, College at 12:20 p.m.

     1995

Jan      2 Mon           Resident students return (Secondary Schools by 8:00 p.m.)
          3 Tue           Classes resume in all schools
          16 Mon           Martin Luther King Jr. Day
Feb      20 Mon           Presidents' Birthday
     20-24 Mon-Fri      College registration week for spring term
          27 Mon           College examinations begin
Mar      2 Thu           College and Theological School winter term ends
          3      Fri           Secondary Schools winter term ends
          12 Sun           Resident students return (Secondary Schools by 8:00 p.m.)
          13 Mon           Spring term begins in all schools
Apr      14 Fri           Good Friday holiday for all schools
May      5 Fri           3:30 p.m. Semiannual meeting of Academy Corporation (Pitcairn Hall)
                    7:45 p.m. Academy Evening
     15-19 Mon-Fri      College registration for fall term
          25 Thu           College classes end
          27 Sat           College examinations begin
          29 Mon           Memorial Day Holiday
June      3 Sat           9:30 a.m. Graduation (Field House)

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VARIOUS CELESTIAL BODIES IN THE UNIVERSE 1994

VARIOUS CELESTIAL BODIES IN THE UNIVERSE       Kentaro Murata       1994

     A Brief Review

     This new translation by Mr. Nagashima in 1994 is from the Latin. I have compared a few paragraphs with Rev. Yoshii Yanase's translation of Earths in the Universe, translated from an English version in 1954. The comparison is similar to contrasting different Bible translations, such as the King James and the New American Standard. Both are very good. One is more authoritative and the other uses more contemporary language.
     Mr. Nagashima sent a copy of this to me as a gift, as he did to all his members in Japan. We are very grateful both to Mr. Yanase and to Mr. Nagashima. Because of his age, Mr. Yanase is no longer able to translate, and so all Japanese New Church people now look to Mr. Nagashima for good translating work to be continued in Japan.
     Kentaro Murata
COMING BOOKS 1994

COMING BOOKS       Editor       1994

     Dr. Ray Silverman has revised and edited Helen Keller's book My Religion. The author had regretted that it was published in such an unfinished form, and now at last it will appear in a form more to her liking. The title will be Light in My Darkness.
     The Swedenborg Foundation hopes to have this book ready in September, and the following month they hope to come out with a book about angels by Dr Robert Kirven. The title will be Angels in Action: A Swedenborgian Perspective.
     We have heard in other circles that a translation into English of D. Suzuki's little book about Swedenborg may be undertaken this year. This great writer has such a following appearance of this book would be good news indeed. (See the May 1993 and the March 1991 issues for information on Suzuki.)

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Arcana 1994

Arcana       Editor       1994

     INNER DIMENSIONS OF SPIRITUALITY

     Arcana is a new journal for New Church people, as well as for those outside the New Church who may be receptive to the Heavenly Doctrines. If you are interested in a variety of perspectives on the truths revealed in the Writings, or if you have friends to whom you have wanted to introduce the teachings of the Church in a context they can understand from their own religious background or from interests they may have in other religious traditions, subscribe to Arcana.
     Each issue of Arcana contain s about 100 pages of original articles, reprints of rare New Church books, selections from the Writings on various subjects, and book reviews. A single issue costs $5.00; a subscription (4 issues) costs $15.00 ($20.00 outside the US).

     Reprint of J. S. Bogg's Glossary Available from the Swedenborg Association
Almost eighty years after its publication, Bogg's Glossary of Terms and Phrases Used by Swedenborg remains the best and most comprehensive work of its kind. Long out of print and in great demand among many readers of the Writings, the Glossary is an indispensable reference for anyone who wants to understand the precise meaning of a particular term or phrase encountered in the standard English translations or in the Latin originals. All the definitions are drawn directly from the Writings.
     The new cloth-bound edition contains 190 pages and costs $17.50, plus $2.00 postage ($4.00 to addresses outside the US). New subscribers to Arcana (and those who have already subscribed) may purchase Bogg's Glossary at a special discounted price of $12.50, plus postage. To subscribe to Arcana and/or to order Bogg's Glossary, please send a check or money order to:
          The Swedenborg Association
           1725 Huntingdon Road - Box 533
               Bryn Athyn, PA 19009 USA

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Church News 1994

Church News       Ruth K. Greenwold       1994

     COLCHESTER, ENGLAND

     To help local charities in the community, the Colchester Society has put on two variety concerts.
     Concert number two, in March 1993, as in aid of the "Save the Children" fund and St. John Ambulance Brigade. Singing, dancing, conjuring, juggling, music and poetry events filled the church stage for a two-hour fun evening which was well supported. In April that year, while our pastor, Rev. Chris Bown, went on a holiday in South Africa. Bishop King and his wife Freya came to live in Colchester. We much appreciated how they entered into the life and work of the society. The Bishop held classes and discussion groups, took Easter services, and together with his wife visited members.
     Someone else who enjoyed Colchestrian hospitality was Kay Alden of Bryn Athyn, president of Theta Alpha International. We enjoyed having her address the Colchester chapter's 200th meeting, prior to a celebratory tea party and games.
     Our latest visitors were 15 ministers (both General Church and General Conference) for the regional clergy meetings, with Colchester chosen as one of the centres. Meetings were held each morning and some afternoons from 31 January to 4 February. Four ministers' wives and their children were able to sightsee, visit and shop in between preparing meals for the whole group.
Several Colchester families played host, and Chris organized the whole event.
     At a reception for all the society, the ministers and wives spoke about lives, hobbies and hopes for the future. We supped on wines and cheeses of different countries, and enjoyed a happy time with them all.
     Ruth K. Greenwold
EARTHS IN THE UNIVERSE IN JAPANESE 1994

EARTHS IN THE UNIVERSE IN JAPANESE       Editor       1994

     We have received a copy of this new production from Arcana Press. Inside the book is a list of other works of the Writings translated by Tatsuya Nagashima. There are seven of them as well as a Guidebook of the New Church and three books of sermons. The work of Arcana Press is an inspiration to New Church people around the world. See page 283.

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In His Light 1994

In His Light       Editor       1994




     Announcements







     In His Light
by
David R. Simons
     Edited, Revised and Illustrated by
Linda Simonetti Odhner
Based on Mr. Simons' notes as teacher of the college course, Principles and Practices of New Church Education, this book presents teachings from the Word and their application to education. "What is true of our spiritual development, as revealed in the Word, is true, on a lower plane, of our rational development, which is the goal of education." In His Light presents some "general concepts about what New Church education can become if teachers and parents use the principles provided by the Lord in His threefold Word."
     Hardcover 163 pages U.S. $20.00
     General Church Book Center           Hours: Mon-Fri 9-12 or by appointment
Box 743, Cairncrest                              Phone: (215) 947-3920
Bryn Athyn, PA 19009

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Notes on This Issue 1994

Notes on This Issue       Editor       1994

Vol. CXIV           July, 1994               No. 7
New Church Life

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     Notes on This Issue

     In his article entitled "Understanding" Richard Linquist mentions that he often invites Jehovah's Witnesses to come in for conversation. He has asked them whether husband and wife are equal partners. They respond in the negative, saying that the husband is the head of the wife. The Writings observe that this "head of the wife" phrase is a common saying in Christendom. But the truth is that the Lord is the head of the church, the church being the husband and wife together (see CL 125).
     There is further talk of wives "subjecting themselves to their husbands." The Writings note that in the world, superiority is insisted upon by men "because they are men, and women are held to be inferior because they are women" (CL 291).
     There is agreement in the New Church that women are not inferior, but there are issues widely discussed about the proper roles of men and women. The question of women in the priesthood has been in our pages before. There were two notable articles on the subject in 1975: "Women Priests?" (p. 98) and "The Work of Women in the Church" (p. 356). In this issue we have one woman's frank point of view in the letter entitled "Some Open Questions."
     In this issue we conclude the results of an extensive study by Rev. Erik E. Sandstrom on the different gates of the New Jerusalem. His research has provided a useful resource for other scholars.
     Mr. Warren David was reading a science magazine and was amazed. Do we ever fall into a kind of thinking similar to what he encountered? See his letter on page 319.
     We hope next month to print again the information on General Church places of worship.

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BEAUTY OF THE CHURCH 1994

BEAUTY OF THE CHURCH       Rev. FRANK S. ROSE       1994

     The last book of the Bible is Revelation. It is full of images and symbolism, and the last and supreme image is that of the Holy City New Jerusalem coming down from God out of heaven. It is a city resplendent with gold and precious stones, full of light and beauty. In a wonderful way the city is described as a bride dressed up on her wedding day, adorned for her husband. This is talking about the beauty of the Lord's church. Psalm 45:11 describes it this way: "The king will greatly desire your beauty because He is your Lord. Worship Him."
     But some of the most vile things in human history have been associated with what is called "the church." Some of the worst things human beings have done they have done in the name of the church. So what is meant by "the church"? In the Greek New Testament the word for church is ekklesia, and ekklesia comes from the word meaning to "haul" or "draw out." The ekklesia was the gathering of the people who were called out of their homes to a general meeting place; it's sometimes translated "the assembly." So originally the idea of the church was those people who had gathered together for common worship, to support each other in the life of charity, and to learn from the Word of God. It was the gathering of the believers. That was the church.
     Our English word "church" has a long history going back to other languages where we have words like kirche and kerk. They all seem to be derived from the Greek word for "Lord," which is kurios. If our English word "church" comes from kurios, it would convey the meaning of "the Lord's people."     
     It was only later that the word church" came to mean a building, or an organization with its rules and regulations. But the original idea was that of the people and their relationship with the Lord. This is described in the Word as something of exquisite beauty.

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In the book of Ezekiel the Lord describes raising up a church the way a loving father would raise up a daughter, nourishing her, clothing her, decking her with beautiful jewels (see Ezekiel 16). At first the church is like a young lady growing in beauty and favor. And then the Lord, through Ezekiel, complains because the church has used that beauty in a corrupt way, going after the worship of other gods. So that which was beautiful has become ugly.
     That seems to describe the way in which any church, any religion, can eventually get corrupted by selfishness and worldliness. People may use the church for selfish reasons, and instead of talking the doctrines of the church as a basis for their own spiritual life, may use them to criticize others. They may make harsh judgments on other people and attack those who disagree with them. All of this can be done in the name of protecting the purity of the church, but the brutality and ugliness tell another story.
     There is a simple rule that can be applied here: If it is not beautiful, it is not the church. It is not really the church when people use doctrine as a weapon, or when people try to impose their wills or their beliefs on others. The hallmark of the church is its beauty! And when ugliness comes in, you can say that that is not really the church. Whatever people might think, that is not what the church is all about.
     The Lord desires the church for its beauty. And what is it that makes the church beautiful? What is the source of that beauty? Some of the beauty of the church comes from its teachings, which are like crystals or precious gems. A person who has no religious beliefs might attend a funeral service in the church and be deeply moved by what he hears. After the service he might say: "Those particular teachings are so beautiful I wish I could believe them." Many people do not have the benefit of the teachings of our church. They have very little idea of what happens after death, but when they hear of them, they delight in teachings of the church such as: that each person's life continues after the death of the body; that the spiritual world is very real; that after death we grow young instead of old; that the life of heaven is a life of usefulness and charity, and so on.

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They find them beautiful and very attractive.
     There are many other teachings of the church that sparkle with beauty: the teachings about the sacredness of marriage love, and the possibility of marriage love continuing forever; the teaching that Scripture, all Scripture, even those parts that appear to be harsh or cruel, contains within it beautiful concepts from the Lord. This is the beauty of the internal sense of the Word. The teachings of the Word are beautiful.
     Another aspect of beauty in the church is the quality of love. Love is really the source of all beauty. When you see people actually caring for each other, working to gain understanding of other people's problems, supporting one another when they go through pain, then you see the church in its tenderness and compassion. And it can be something indescribably beautiful. You watch people ministering to each other, caring about each other in the name of the Lord. And when you see that, it is like seeing a woman of exquisite beauty.
     The third aspect of beauty is the relationship that the church has with its Lord and Maker. Why does a bride become beautiful on her wedding day? Part of it is that she wants to please her husband, to be beautiful for her husband as a means of strengthening that relationship which is so important to her. So she dresses in a way that communicates her love and commitment to the bond that is being celebrated.
     There is a similar bond between people and their Maker. That is why the Holy City New Jerusalem is said to be a bride dressed up or adorned for her husband-and the husband clearly is the Lord.
     So what is it that makes the church beautiful? It is the fact that the people in the church have a relationship-a loving, trusting, powerful relationship-with their Maker.

Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness (Psalm 29:2, 96:9).
How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of him who brings good tidings, who publishes salvation (Isaiah 52:7).

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     One of the most stunning and remarkable parts of life is that we can actually have a loving relationship with our Maker, our Creator. And if you think of having a meeting with your Maker, wouldn't you want to be beautiful in order to enhance the quality of that relationship? And that is why the church is said to clothe itself with beauty. We clothe ourselves with beauty when we remind ourselves of the beauty of love and charity, when we are clear in the fact that we are here to be in a relationship with our heavenly Father. So a bride is beautiful on her wedding day because of the relationship with the man who is to be her husband, just as the church wants to have a relationship with its God.
     The church is also compared to a woman who is about to give birth to a child. Years ago I lived in England, where the hospitals had large maternity wards. I remember visiting one of the members of the church who had just given birth to a baby. There may have been twenty women in the ward, all with their babies, and they were all radiantly beautiful. There was a duality of love and tenderness and caring in their expressions that brought beauty even to the most ordinary face-the beauty of caring about another human being, the innocence and love of the mother and child. Those too are the beauty of the church. The church is a collection of people called out from living an ordinary life to live a life of service and devotion-devotion to their Maker, devotion to each other.
     Awake, awake! Put on your strength, O Zion;
     Put on your beautiful garments,
     O Jerusalem, the Holy City! (Isaiah 52:1)

     So the King will greatly desire
     Your beauty, because He is your
     Lord; worship Him (Psalm 45:11).
     Amen.

Lessons: Psalm 45:6-15; Revelation 21:1-11; AR 881

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SWEDENBORG SOCIETY REPORT 1994

SWEDENBORG SOCIETY REPORT       Editor       1994

     The society's report for 1993 is interesting and encouraging. The membership now stands at 872. Here are some excerpts from the published report circulated to members of the Swedenborg Society.
     "Works of particular interest now in progress include the completely new translation of Conjugial Love undertaken by Dr. John Chadwick, the first draft of which is completed. The Rev. Norman Ryder is working diligently on the very time-consuming and often complicated task of producing an up-to-date version of Hyde's Bibliography, and the Rev. John Elliott continues to work full-time on the new English translation of Arcana Coelestia."

     Library

     "Two different Russian editions of Heaven and Hell have been received. A new Japanese translation of The New Jerusalem and Its Heavenly Doctrine made from the original Latin by Mr. Tatsuya Nagashima was gratefully received, as was a Dutch translation of The Last Judgment, revised by Mr. Guus Janssens. Mr. Bosko Vasic donated his admirable new translation into the Croatian language of the first chapter of Apocalypse Explained, and miscellaneous monographs about Swedenborg in Spanish, Polish, German, Dutch and Swedish were also donated, as well as two complete sets of cassette tapes on which Mr. Stefan Leitermann can be heard reading the whole of Heaven and Hell in Hungarian. Following requests, photocopies of some of the Russian manuscript translations held in the society's archives were sent to interested publishers.
     The Swedenborg Society was established in 1810. It has for 180 years been looked to from countries around the world. (For an example see our June issue p. 271.)

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WE HAVE MUCH TO LEARN 1994

WE HAVE MUCH TO LEARN       Rev. CHRISTOPHER D. BOWN       1994

     (Epilogue to the Swedenborg Symposium in Holland)

     "Every person I meet is in some way my superior; it's that I try to learn from him or her." This quotation aptly describes how we have felt today. We have come here to try to learn from other people. The speakers have given us many details and insights about Emanuel Swedenborg. They have also told us about notable men who have been stimulated by reading Swedenborg at one point or another in the past 200 years. And the displays we have seen clearly demonstrate that Swedenborg's ideas continue to this day to awaken and stimulate creativity in art and technology.
     With a common thread for us all, we have come to learn more about Emanuel Swedenborg, certainly one of the world's most remarkable men. To describe him so echoes the sentiment of Ralph Waldo Emerson. My opening quotation, about being affirmative to learning from others, is words of Emerson as well. It is fitting, for Emerson, himself a creative genius and deep thinker, approached Swedenborg as someone from whom he could learn and find inspiration. It is appropriate for us as well.
     As this symposium comes to a close, let me offer some reflections on what kind of man Swedenborg was, to pull together what we have learned today.
     Shortly after Swedenborg reached being fifty years old, he made his first trip to Italy. While he was in Venice he was in profound thought about the human brain and the human mind. It was there that he intuitively realized that the right side of the brain controls the left side of the body and that the left side of the brain controls the right side of the body. Another idea that dawned on him was that the various functions of the mind are "localized" in the brain in various places.
     What I find intriguing about Swedenborg's stay in Venice, as well as his work on the brain, are some entries in his travel journal.

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Swedenborg remarks that he watched, even participated in, cheerful religious festivals of Venice. In addition he notes that the people wore masks; they continued to do so for about two weeks.
     Swedenborg was a man who liked people. Even while his study and writing took him to deep, uncharted territory again and again, he enjoyed the social company of people and going to parties. At times he was gregarious! During his life he met thousands of people from almost all corners of Europe. He fit in and enjoyed the social conventions of his day. Yet given his intuitive, progressive humanitarian spirit, he came to feel that something was wrong. Something was deeply wrong
     The masks of the Venetian festival offer us a way to understand this. Swedenborg enjoyed the masks-the people and the social conventions of his day. Yet he also realized that behind a mask is a person who might be quite different from the mask. He sensed that behind the social and religious niceties of Enlightenment Europe were troubling human problems, problems that were being ignored, problems that were not being resolved in positive and healthy ways.
     At first, while Swedenborg was in his 40s and early 50s, he saw and felt this underlying disturbance in European society in intellectual and philosophical ways. In time, at the age of 56, Swedenborg found it inside himself, in a very personal way. He wrestled with troubling conflicts and unhealthy feelings and drives within himself-ambition, pride, conceit, lust, anger, resentment. Many of these were issues that he had faced at earlier points in his life, but now they came to him in upsetting dreams.
     The critical turning point in his life was virtually 250 years ago today, here in the Netherlands, as he spent Easter Monday in Delft. It was facing himself with profound humility and honesty then, with the presence and grace of God, that opened up a new level in the direction of his life.

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He opened up so that he could begin to understand the inner problems of change and growth that we all face in life on earth as we prepare for life in eternity.
     In his unique spiritual experiences, which continued almost daily for 28 years until his death in 1772, he met thousands upon thousands of people. He met men and women and children from all corners of this globe, people from different races and countries, from different religions and churches. Some had recently died. A number were people Swedenborg knew personally. Some were famous people of his day or from the past. Others were ordinary folks like you and me. In watching their lives unfold after death, in traveling and talking with people in all corners of the spiritual world, in meditating and reflecting on the life of Jesus Christ in the Gospels (and in the Hebrew Scriptures), Swedenborg came to understand the process (or processes) of personal change and growth.
     He came to realize, in addition, that the wisdom of the angels is primarily about this process, so simple and so infinitely complex. How our personality and spirit change and grow is no longer hidden, secret or unknown. In page after page of Swedenborg's spiritual writings, this process is openly and clearly explained (especially in clear, vigorous modern translations).
     It is explained so that we can benefit by using it-so that we can be an active participant in our destiny in eternity-so that mankind can have a fresh start, with new hope and courage, with new creativity and inspiration.
     We have learned much today. We have much still to learn.
     Swedenborg was able to link up to the most basic quality of life itself-the ever-present and active passionate love for humanity that is the most basic nature of God. He could do so because of his own native humanitarian impulse, He liked people.

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He felt a need to find practical spiritual values that he knew were vital for the spiritual health and growth of men, women and children here on earth. He felt a need to communicate and share with others all of his experiences, insights, and perceptions. And he did so dispassionately, that is, without his own ego or self being at the fore.
     Keep in mind the words of the French novelist Honor de Balzac: "Swedenborg undoubtedly epitomized all the religions or rather the one religion-of humanity." Then read Swedenborg for yourself!
     I would very much like to conclude the symposium with our extreme gratitude for all our speakers, for all those who have displayed their creative work for us to see, and most of all for Guus and Aline Janssens and Ed Verschoor. Ed made the arrangements for us to be here at EurOase. Guus and Aline have worked diligentry for months to arrange the speakers, the displays and the publicity that brought us all here today. Thank you all, especially Guus and Aline and Ed!
     Hartelijk dank!
SWEDENBORG SYMPOSIUM 1994 1994

SWEDENBORG SYMPOSIUM 1994       Editor       1994

     The symposium to which the above address was the epilogue was the inspiration of Guus Janssens, who deserves the thanks accorded to him. He produces a very handsome publication in Dutch called Swedenborgiana. The June issue gives the text of four of the six symposium lectures. The next issue will include the address by Rev. Jan H. Weiss entitled "A Light in the Darkness.
     March 1994 will be remembered as the first such event to occur in Holland. Its success indicates that it will by no means be the last!
SWEDENBORG PUBLISHERS INTERNATIONAL 1994

SWEDENBORG PUBLISHERS INTERNATIONAL       Editor       1994

     This small organization has done co-ordinating work between publishers and has helped to foster publishing effort in different countries. You may become a member by sending $15 to Kirsten Gyllenhaal, Box 757, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009. Members receive the SPI newsletter, edited by Mr. Leon S. Rhodes.

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TWELVE GATES OF THE NEW JERUSALEM 1994

TWELVE GATES OF THE NEW JERUSALEM       Rev. ERIK E. SANDSTROM       1994

     (Part II)

     One City, Twelve Gates. Yes, one city for all, the New Jerusalem descending from the New Heaven, but with twelve gates: all goods and truths. Also, the seven churches of Asia refer to types of Christians invited to the New Church, from theoretical Ephesians to practical Pergamosians. The Laodiceans are the scientifically minded. We may greet them all!
     Every greeting may begin the same way, but knowing a visitor's background changes some of what we say and do next. There are different avenues opening as visitors tell us about themselves. Can we match them turn for turn? Can we usher them to the proper gate?
     Two Kinds of Visitors. I suggest we think that there are only two kinds of newcomers: 1) those who see God as a Transcendent (Invisible Creator/Father), and 2) those who see Him as the Immanent (visible Christ or manifest Holy Spirit). The New Church includes both:

This New Church is the crown of all the churches that have hitherto existed on the earth, because it is to worship one visible God in whom is the invisible, like the soul in the body (TCR 787, emphasis added).

     Both God and Man, Father and Son, are the Divine Human. The invisible God is made visible, the transcendent is made immanent. The Lord is God-Man! Some new members will stress the invisible transcendent God.1 Others will stress the visible immanent Lord.2 Greet both the same: "Welcome to the New Church!"
     1 The Divine Itself, the Creator, Jehovah, Allah, the Father, or the Hindu Brahman
     2 The Divine Human, the Christ, God-with-Us, Immanuel, the Son, the Holy Spirit in us, the Hindu "Atman" or inmost in each person

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     Aim for Balance. Whichever the preference, first agree, then balance: Soul in Body, Divine Human. If God is transcendent, first agree: "Yes, God is the Divine Itself." Then lead to the Human: "God and Man, the Father and Son are one Christ (Athanasian Creed). For in Christ dwells the fullness of the Godhead bodily (Col. 2:9)."
     And if God is immanent, the Holy Spirit manifest, first agree! Later, using the same creed3: "The Father was the soul in Christ's body who said 'This is My beloved Son.'" It means, "This is My Divine Human." The Lord's body was glorified and is the one God of heaven and earth. His Word is the Holy Spirit, openly leading our lives.
     3 See Doctrine of the Lord 58 for "corrected" version.
     In New Church Life there are many offerings on the subject of Catholics, Orthodox and Prorestants. Here is a sampling.4
     4 For more on evangelization, see New Church Life indices, including: Rev. H. Cranch Rev. D. Taylor, Rev. R. Junge; also Extension/Evangelization Committee reports. There is a useful role-play course, "Answering Questions on the New Church" prepared by Rev. D. Taylor
     
Bishop Alfred Acton (1903, p. 428) talks of popes who still want to be worshipped after death, but good Catholics are told "The Lord is Pope." Clement XII (1730-40) believed this, and rules in heaven. Sextus Quintus (1585-90) even issued a "bull" in the spiritual world to that effect.

Rev. E. E. Iungerich (1915, p. 528) says religions take time to die. In Providence the Catholics separate the bread and wine in the mass to prevent profanation. But Protestants don't live by their faith, so cannot profane. Thus Catholics are in danger of profanation if the New Church were to mix with it. They are more easily admitted into heaven than Protestants. Can, then, the Lord as "Omega" still reach Catholics?

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An editorial (1918, p. 477) comments on the view that the New Church is already dying out but will survive as an "interior growth within the Catholic Church." Editor: "The scarlet woman cannot be bedizened into the bride of the Lamb." The General Church seeks to fulfill the heart-and-lungs use, which is separate.


Bishop de Charms (1920, p. 232) comments on someone's idea that the Christian Church came to an end at Swedenborg's day, but it still has a "career as a church." It may revive! Also de Charms: the New Church cannot be revived out of the former one, incapable of resurrection. Instead, "perceptive receivers will come out . . . and associate [with those] devoted to the study and life of heavenly truths."


M. E. Deltenre (1924, p. 498) warns that early Christian heresies may recur in the New Church: e.g., Arianism-Christ is not Divine. Some early fathers-Callistus, Noetus and Hippolytus-came close to a true view of the trinity. They were declared heretics! Christianity's being "rent asunder by heresies" (Cor. xxxiii) must not be repeated in a New Church Arianism; e.g., by seeking "the Lord not in the Writings, but in what is happening in the present, by a new understanding of the Bible. What could be more insane stuff?"


An editorial (1929, p. 147) explains papal miracles; e.g., Anthony of Padua, Paris and the Three Wise Men of Cologne (cf. SDm 4565-4568). Anthony was infested and cast into hell. Francois de Paris did such severe penance he died from it. "He . . . did not know anything of the truth, and is in hell." The three wise men (named) brought fake bodies to be adored as relies.


An editorial (1929, p. 516). Popes in hell tried to rule the world through the world of spirits prior to 1757. This is "Lucifer." But Clement XII and Sixtus V rule in heaven.

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Benedictus XIV who had said "the Lord had no power" and the saints have more power is in hell. King Louis XIV, seeing the truth from the spiritual world, warned his grandson Louis XV against confirming Bull Unigenitus (1713, a trinity heresy).


An editorial (1943, p. 222). A Catholic says that a Protestant chaplain who gave mass to Catholic students is "utterly impotent as administrator of Catholic rites." There was no "apostolic succession" from Peter-"I will give you the keys of the Kingdom of heaven." Editor: but the Lord never did! He Himself is the Key: "I am He that lives and was dead . . . and have the keys of hell and death" (Rev. 1:18). Still, ignorant worshipers may receive the new heaven through sincere but dead rites.


Dr. H. Lj. Odhner (1957, p. 225), the Catholics and Last Judgment. On earth, clever arguments drove research underground, becoming alchemy and sorcery. The Latin mass was "unintelligible" and "against the law of the spiritual world" (LJ 56). The Last Judgment dispersed this and set a "new order" using "converted monks" who taught enough spirits the real truth to "serve the needs of Catholics on earth" (AE 1029). Whenever 2000+ Catholics gather after death, they "collapse" at the presence of good spirits. Those instructed are raised to heaven, since being Catholic is not their fault! Those who still worship saints come among pagans-the very ones they claimed to have converted on earth!


Letter to Editor (1987, p. 43). Objection: the descriptions of Catholics and Protestants cannot be valid today! "I have been met with love and respect from such people." While we do not always agree, that does not mean we have no common ground. So "listen to the perspective of others. Don't bundle them up in names, using 200-year-old information. That is bearing false witness.

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It is essential not to think I know what they believe before they tell me." We must not "take aim and fire at those very people who are trying to make a place in their minds, hearts and lives for the Lord."


"The Orthodox" (a study, Rev. D. L. Rose, 1963, p. 260). "The Godless" (Bezbozhnik) in 1922 formed a publishing house to ridicule Christian claims. Communist religious suppression is subtle enough not to offend foreign observers. Since belief in a Supreme Being is just "one step away from naturalism" (see AC 4733), we see the vital need over there for the "Lord's new revelation of Himself in His Divine Human." The Writings stand as a silent sentinel against the gates of hell and the threat of atheism. This threat appeals to the sensual, which is the opposite "end" to the rational. Russians should easily tell the difference!5
     5 See recent NCL indices on new interest in Swedenborg in former USSR!

"The Reformed" (editorials 1952, pp. 494 and 496). Speak the truth about the Old Church with gentleness and affection; make clear the meaning; do not condemn the people who believe in false ideas-Luther's Reformation was in Providence, to restore the Word which Catholicism almost had removed from the people, and thus it prepared for the freedom of receiving the New Heaven and the New Church. We see some consequences in the church/state separation also.


Rev. S. Buthelezi (1952, p. 467). Faith alone destroys the faith of the New Church, as the woman flees from the dragon. But the doctrines are for all who believe in one God and live in charity in their own religion.


Dr. H. Lj. Odhner (1957, p. 268, 315, 363). Babylon, Islam, the Gentiles and the Reformed were all judged from January through April, 1757 in the world of spirits. Each nation and religious group was explored and evaluated prior to the judgment, and the Word was restored on earth.

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The Protestant dragon tempted simple good spirits while angels held them in the truth. Finally, rushing on them, the evil judged themselves, and were seen as the Revelation dragon drawing the stars with its tail. The effect was a new awakening on earth, so that all can choose the truth and come into it if they wish. A new age of enlightenment arose on earth, with many modern phenomena traceable to the Last Judgment.


Rev. K. O. Stroh (1959, p. 263). The vision of the New Jerusalem invites all to see the Lord in His Second coming, in the Heavenly Doctrines. This "New Word" has its gates open for all, never shut. To pass through, people first learn, then love and obey the teachings of the Word.


Rev. W. C. Henderson (1960, p. 423). The New Church is neither Catholic nor Protestant. We do protest, both against faith alone and against the Vatican. The New Church must fly its own true colors: not just the Bible, but the Writings and the Second Coming.


Rev. R. S. Junge (1968, p. 276). The fundamentalism of the Protestants against the Catholics must not become the approach also of the New Church. Whom do we believe? The true relationship between the soul and body, internal sense and external sense, have to serve as a gauge of authority in the New Church. That is the major task for us, hardly begun.


Rev. N. Bruce Rogers (1972, p. 70). The New Church is "heaven on earth," and the descent of the New Jerusalem takes place according to our hard efforts. Uses bring the internals and externals together, and so specific programs should further this descent of heaven on earth, in both education and evangelization.


Rev. D. Pendleton (1977, p. 35). Do we know; can we tell the criteria?

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The trends in modern Christianity often match our beliefs through mistaken argumentation, moving closer without realizing it. The "new morality" makes each person the criterion of truth, but also dismantles old Christianity. Good. And "no life after death" makes life here be "good for all." Heaven is now not up there, but "self-giving," which is also right. New Church people have to know which old Christian dogmas not to favor, and which to approach.


Rev. Erik Sandstrom, Sr. (1980, p. 237). Although the gates of the New Jerusalem stand open, not all enter. Only doctrine understood and freely lived provides passage. That is full heavenly freedom, promised for this little group-and to all who wish!


"Assimilation of New Members" (1981, p. 509). If baptism in the New Church is "stage seven" (Rev. Junge , NCL 1965, p. 455), then we had better prepare our "welcoming act." We need to know the needs of newcomers, continue what we do right, and learn to do what is needed but currently omitted. Assimilation should be as when you marry into the church: friendship, care, new contacts, discussing the Writings.


Robert Kirk (1989, p. 374). We live in a new age, and the New Church should become aware of the states of reception in the world. People are looking for new experiences, and Swedenborg might be a herald for a "within" type of discovery. Also, many religions can be nurtured by the New Church.


Rev. Ragnar Boyesen, "Dogmatism and Tolerance in the New Church" (1990, p. 387). Does the New Church take truth as dogma? Are we fundamentalists? Christians need our help too much for us to withhold it. There are many Christian states we can agree with. With a spirit of tolerance, there is much general ground for cooperation.

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We should demonstrate our love to the Lord, defend values wherever seen, preserve the holiness of marriage, defend the sanctity of life, and teach the relationships among spiritual, moral and civil life. All these form common ground with Christians.


Rev. M. Pryke (1990, p. 483). The New Church as the church specific lies within the church universal. We need to know how to serve the use of heart and lungs, both overtly and covertly. Our love and truth are open, while our influence on restoring order is more subtle. After 200 years of changes, we need to know how moral values have replaced theological abstractions. To remove the evils of society, we need one-on-one personal contacts. The Christian Church was rent by heresies, and has given up the use of church specific, but they still have many good states with which we make one. With proper caution, we can serve that use.


Rev. P. A. Rose (1991, p. 261). We in the New Church have to learn to live by what we know, then learn more and live that too, so that the wonderful beginning of a new and glorious age may spread to all peoples of this earth.


Rev. Don Rose (1991, p. 312). Statistics from Reader's Digest show between 70 and 90% belief in God, heaven, life after death, miracles and prayer. All over the world such beliefs exist, preserved in "Divine Providence."


Mr. Tatsuya Nagashirna (1992, p. 32). Since all good is from the Lord, and He provides everything so that His "kingdom come," therefore we must evangelize all through the world. Many don't know the Lord, and evils afflict society. All ages of New Church people across all spectra can start evangelization.


Mr. John Kane (1993, p. 69). Most primitives and Christians believe both worlds are here together-in art, inventions, technology. Both science and art have spiritual origins.

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Pointless battles can be defused.


"True Christianity," Rev. Erik E. Sandstrom (1993, p. 243). This sermon deals with how the Ancient Church has left many current religious trends around the world, states which can be turned to the Lord within the context of the truth and life of their own religion.

     We need to understand why religions differ. Avoid false dogmas but recognize the common truths, and thus contribute New Church solutions to crying current needs. Talk commonsense language. If New Church members love to talk about those truths which they have found helped them, they will then help others with the same truths! "Freely you have received; freely give" (Matthew 10:8).
     Can we put our convictions into our own words? Terms of speech flow in from the spiritual world, "from a perception of such things as exist in the other life, in which [we] are as to [our] spirits, and that have been received in conversation because they are interiorly acknowledged" (AC 3693). We receive inspiration about the truths we have "interiorly acknowledged'' just by talking about them! Talk sense in common speech.
     Then learn some Scripture quotes as backup for doctrine. This is a "do-it-yourself missionary crash course." You will equip yourself to offer informed friendship to visitors. Opportunities for growth will multiply only if we get ready to do the work. For "it was the Lord . . . who prepared for reception those whom the disciples converted to the church" (AE 911:16). The Lord gets people ready for us to convert-if we get ourselves ready first. Our efforts will be rewarded.

Recommendations.

     I would like to submit twelve recommendations, one for each gate: 1) All are welcome: we can't be friendly just to some. Greet all and be willing to give them your home phone number. 2) No condemnation: "I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked" (Ezek. 33:11).

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Keep control over our teachings on condemnation of former churches. 3) Call people "out of her" (Rev. 18:4). We can convert people from other churches and convince them to something better if they want to be convinced (see AR 544). 4) Silence is consent. If people listen, stop talking. Only go on when there's some response. 5) Include one or two others of similar background when talking to newcomers. Don't crowd them though. 6) Perfection increases with new growth (see HH 71). Center the church to feed ever new states. 7) Let newcomers discover their own view of the truth. Don't correct at once. 8) Mature together; grow with new members. Don't know it all, but progress as well. 9) Show or invite practical aspect to every doctrine. 10) Be adept at God Above/God Within syndromes, and approach via TCR 787: invisible Creator-God is soul of visible Redeemer-Lord as body. Bring the two together: Divine Human, 11) Welcome new members with Joy and shouting" (BE 108). Make a one-time fuss at larger church occasions. 12) Learn to speak in common speech the doctrines you love (see AC 3693, 4406). Your own fluent conviction is more important in short run, accurate quotes in long run.

The Final Word

     Question: What attracted you to the New Church?
     To serve better as guides to the twelve gates of the New Jerusalem, we can perhaps select one area from the answer below, and practice serving others with our own words.
     New members' answers: The doctrines, reading the Writings, clearing up theological problems, explaining the testaments, the trinity, doctrine aiming for daily uses, contacts with members, clear answers fitting with experience, freedom to choose, wonderful ministers, marriage into the church, reconciliation of science and religion, reverence of worship yet can be casual, the second coming, discussing the truth, finding the missing link for a place in the world.

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UNDERSTANDING 1994

UNDERSTANDING       RICHARD LINQUIST       1994

     During the decade and a half in which I had the honor of serving the use of our cathedral curator, I came into contact with many thousands of people. Our guests, members of various religions, often would ask about our beliefs. In response, when talking about marriage I would say something like, "In our wedding ceremony we do not say 'until death do us part.' We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ can unite the souls of husband and wife into a union of equal partners which can endure to eternity in heaven.
     Thus presenting the ideals of the New Church to inquirers, I believe, is good and useful. However, if we talked in this manner to Jehovah's Witnesses, they would think that we are doing Satan's work, that husband and wife are not equal, that an eternal marriage in heaven for most of us is a myth, and that from Himself, Jesus Christ probably has no such power to unite souls.
     Let me explain these thoughts by quoting from their book You Can Live Forever in Paradise on Earth. More than sixty million copies of this book have been printed, and it has been translated into 109 languages. It is being distributed worldwide by an army of 4,800,000 witnesses.
     We should know that they believe that "Satan the Devil is a real person. He is not merely the evil in all mankind, as some persons may believe" (p. 18). When we talk of the eternity of heaven, it must sound to them as if we are doing Satan's work. "That the soul lives after death is a lie started by the Devil (p. 89). Since hell, in their view, does not exist, men either will perish or, if righteous, will be resurrected from death and eventually enter into paradise on this earth. (If we were to quote the Lord's words to the criminal who was crucified with Him, "Verily I say to thee, Today shalt thou be with Me in paradise," a Jehovah's Witness would quote back, "Truly I tell you today, You will be with me in Paradise" (p. 170).

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     One exception to the idea of living to eternity on earth is seen in this quote: "For over 1,900 years there was a gathering together of the 'little flock' of 144,000 Christians who will rule with Christ. Only a few of these are left on earth; most are already ruling with Christ in heaven" (pp. 163,164). They will live there to eternity.
     Does Jesus Christ from Himself have the power to create an eternal union of minds of married partners? I suspect that the witnesses would say, "No." When the witnesses pray to Jesus, they are quick to point out that it is through Jesus that their prayers are ascending to Jehovah. I sense that in their zeal to praise Jehovah they try to demote His Son. On page 58 we read, "So before being born on earth as a man Jesus had been in heaven as a mighty spirit person." On page 63 there is a picture of a scale or weighing instrument with Jesus standing on one side and Adam standing on the other. Between them are the words, "Jesus was equal with the perfect man Adam."
     Would Jehovah's Witnesses agree with our statement that husband and wife are equal partners? Again the answer is "No." Their hierarchy in descending order is God, husband, wife. On page 239 they quote from Ephesians 5:23, "A husband is head of his wife as the Christ also is head of the congregation." They also quote from 1 Corinthians 11:3: "The head of every man is the Christ; in turn the head of a woman is the man . . . " (p. 240). The husband is the leader and his wife is the follower. But she should not complain because, "For example, she can prepare nutritious meals, keep the home clean and neat and share in instructing the children" (p. 242). The witnesses believe that "The Bible urges married women 'to love their husbands . . ., subjecting themselves to their own husbands'" (p. 242).
     So when a New Church evangelist presents our view of marriage, he might be quite proud of himself for expressing such beautiful ideas.

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But if he does not understand how his listeners may interpret his thoughts, he is an evangelist in name only. To be an effective communicator he would be wise to study the religions of those to whom he is speaking. Like a good teacher he would be as much concerned with subject matter as with the intellectual and emotional states of his audiences.
     Once or twice a month for the past seven months Jehovah's Witnesses have visited with me in my home. Their method of selling their product consists of a soft and hard image. Well-groomed and well-mannered, they often bring a child or other adult to give approval to what the witness is saying. The harder part consists of a barrage of Scriptural quotations and an ignoring or a contempt for any ideas which oppose their own. I find that their zeal is persuasive, and in matters of religion, that is not good. It's better to use rational explanations.
     Anyway, as with all persons whom I meet, I will try to transfer my love and understanding to them. I think that New Churchmen will be distinguished from all other people on this earth by their ability to bring the Lord's New Word, with its light and heat, to the dark corners of human minds, which are curtained off with a fabric of Biblical quotations cleverly stitched together with threads of heresies.
DOVE 1994

DOVE       Editor       1994

     This is a lovely little book for beginning readers. The beautiful story of Conjugial Love n. 293 is re-told for children by Shanon Junge Smith. It is available from the General Church Office of Education (phone 215 947-4661) and from the General Church Book Center (the address of which appears regularly on our back page).

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GENERAL CHURCH EVANGELIZATION SEMINAR 1994

GENERAL CHURCH EVANGELIZATION SEMINAR       Rev. ERIC H. CARSWELL       1994

     Fall 1994

     "Becoming a More Welcoming Church"

     The General Church Evangelization Committee is extremely pleased to be sponsoring a seminar at the Ivyland New Church this coming fall (Friday, Sept. 30 and Saturday, Oct. 1). In order to have this seminar go forward and still allow Grant Schnarr to give needed focus to the Chicago New Church, I, together with a number of lay people, will be organizing it.
     This seminar is the first of its kind in our church. Its primary focus will be on equipping and inspiring teams of ministers and lay people from different congregations. Individuals will also be welcome.     
     There are two fundamental assumptions guiding the structure of this seminar:
     1.      One of the best ways we can help the Lord build His church is by bringing people into the worship, instruction and life of an established organization.
     2.      Our congregations will not be very effective in helping the Lord build His church in the hearts, minds and lives of new people if this goal is pursued as a peripheral program by a few people.
     The theme for the seminar is "welcoming." Each congregation will benefit from considering:

     how welcoming their image is in the community
     how welcoming their members can be in their relationships outside the congregation.
     how welcoming their signs, grounds and building(s) appear to new people.
     how welcoming their service of worship appears to a first-time attender. Is a new person likely to think, "There is a sphere/doctrine/life in this church' that I want"?

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     how welcoming the adult education and classes are to people with only a beginning knowledge of the New Church.
     how welcoming the people in the congregation appear in informal social events, such as after church or other gatherings.
     how welcoming the people in the congregation are to bringing new people into continuing and growing friendship.
     how welcoming the people in the congregation are to new people contributing their insights and talents to the work of the church.

     There should be a balance of practical and leadership issues presented and discussed during the sessions. There will be both plenary sessions and smaller workshops led by both ministers and lay people. There will also be some great church music, time for informal conversation, and just maybe even some fun. Congregations have to work together as a whole to accomplish these ends. At the very least, individuals have to be willing to "move over" to make room for new people in the thought and life of that church. The pastor/pastoral staff have a significant role in this work, but without substantial leadership, initiative, and help from members of the congregation, the church will not be very effective at welcoming and assimilating new people into the life and blessings of the New Church. We have had a maximum enrollment of about 90 people suggested for the Ivyland New Church facilities where the seminar will be held. Teams of people from congregations will be given some priority in registration. The cost of the seminar will be $40 per person. If you are interested in attending this seminar, talk to your local pastor or contact Theresa McQueen for registration materials do Glenview New Church, 74 Park Drive, Glenview, IL 60025; phone (708) 988-9018.

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Editorial Pages 1994

Editorial Pages       Editor       1994

     NEVER BEFORE IN THESE TWO LANGUAGES

     "Any one who understands the Latin language may know . . . ." This interesting phrase was written back when the Writings were first appearing in print. We will quote it in full below. The news is that something of the Writings will appear this year in Romanian and Bulgarian. We understand that no such translation has been done into these languages before.
     Translation into languages other than Latin began very early. Versions appeared in English, German, French, Dutch, and Swedish. In 1897 there was a translation of Heaven and Hell into Arabic. The phenomenon has been seen over and over again. Someone discovers the Writings and reads them in Latin or English or French and then determines that they must be in his native tongue.
     It is a pleasure to note that Divine Providence is likely to be published in Romanian this year, and that an anthology from various works is to be published in Bulgarian.
     Back in 1759, the year after Heaven and Hell and four other works were published in Latin, Swedenborg wrote a manuscript of a few pages, which began as follows:

A revelation has been given by the Lord concerning heaven and hell, concerning the Last Judgment as having been accomplished, and concerning the spiritual sense of the Word; thus the way to salvation has been revealed, and concerning man's state after death. And this has been done full and plainly so that everyone who understands the Latin language may know about these matters. It is now a year since this was done, and copies have been distributed. But still the church pays no heed to it. It is very greatly wondered at in heaven that the church is in such a state that those things which are its very essentials are not even considered . . . (De Domino).

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     THE ONGOING MOVE INTO INCLUSIVE LANGUAGE

     There has been considerable movement into "inclusive language" in the last couple of years. We are finding that we are saying things differently than we did not so long ago. Some of us ministers are old enough to remember conducting memorial services in which the deceased was a woman, and reading passage after passage about "man." We did so confident that all present would think of the term "man" as applying to the woman being remembered.
     In the memorial service in the Liturgy there are thirteen beautiful passages suitable for the occasion. All but the last one refer to "man." "Man is so created . . . . " "Man lives as a man after death . . . . " "Man is said to die . . . . " "With every man there is an inmost . . . . " "That the mind of man cannot die. . ." The final passage is HH 414, which talks of an old woman coming "more and more into the flower of youth and early womanhood."
     In the April issue a 20-year-old woman points out that women no longer feel that the term "man" includes them. She says she does not think that the usage of the past "was the result of a deliberate decision to omit women." That is good to hear, because we older ministers did not make decisions on this in the past. We simply read from the book of the Writings or from the Liturgy.
     This has changed a lot. In preparing to read a passage in a class or church service these days, one of the steps is to change it into inclusive language consistent with the Latin. This is sometimes a real task. There are some things I have thought we would not change, but now I am beginning to wonder. AE 1145:8 repeatedly contrasts "angel-men" with "devil-men." At the moment this does not bother my ear. But will the time come when it is more fitting to say "angel-people" and "devil-people"? Perhaps so, and perhaps soon.

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     In this issue we quote a passage (p. 331, "The Measure of a Human Being") that was quoted in New Church Life several years ago. As quoted in the past it contained the word "man" no fewer than eighteen times.
     I confess there are times when I yearn for the days when people were content with the word "man." I get that yearning when I face familiar Scriptural phrases. "What is man that you are mindful of Him?" (Psalm 8). Yes, this may be changed, but some of us are not quite ready for it yet.
     This is a good subject for conversation in the church. If we talk more about it, we will make legitimate changes and get used to them, while avoiding changes that do not reflect the meaning of the original language. Below is one example of a passage that would be a challenge to change into inclusive language.
ANGEL-MEN AND DEVIL-MEN 1994

ANGEL-MEN AND DEVIL-MEN       Editor       1994

     In the world there are angel-men and devil-men; heaven is constituted of angel-men, and hell of devil-men. With an angel-man all the degrees of his life are open to the Lord; but with a devil-man only the lowest degree is open, and the higher degrees are closed. An angel-man is led by the Lord both from within and from without; but a devil-man is led by himself from within, and by the Lord from without. An angel-man is led by the Lord according to order, from within from order, and from without to order; but a devil-man is led by the Lord to order from without, but by himself against order from within. An angel-man is continually led away from evil by the Lord and led to good; a devil-man also is continually led away from evil by the Lord, but from a more to a less grievous evil, for he cannot be led to good. An angel-man is continually led away from hell by the Lord, and is led into heaven more and more interiorly; a devil-man is also continually led away from hell, but from a more grievous to a milder hell, for he cannot be led into heaven.

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     Because an angel-man is led by the Lord he is led by civil law, by moral law, and by spiritual law, for the sake of the Divine in them; a devil-man is led by the same laws, but for the sake of himself (suum) in them. An angel-man from the Lord loves the goods of the church, which are the goods of heaven, because they are goods, also its truths because they are truths; but he loves from self the goods of the body and of the world because they are for use and because they are for pleasure, likewise the truths that belong to the sciences; but although he loves all these in appearance from self, in reality he loves them from the Lord. A devil-man also loves from self the goods of the body and of the world, because they are for use and because they are for pleasure, likewise the truths that belong to the sciences; but although he loves all these in appearance from self, in reality he loves them from hell. An angel-man is in freedom and in the delight of his heart when he is doing good from good, and when he is not doing evil; but a devil-man is in freedom and in the delight of his heart when he is doing good from evil, and when he is doing evil. An angel-man and a devil-man in externals appear alike, but in internals they are wholly unlike; therefore when external things are laid aside by death they are manifestly unlike. The one is taken up into heaven, and the other is taken down into hell.
     Apocalypse Explained 1145:10, 11 NEW BOOK BY GEORGE DOLE 1994

NEW BOOK BY GEORGE DOLE       Editor       1994

     The title is Sorting Things Out. It is published by J. Appleseed and Co., 3200 Washington Street, San Francisco, CA 94115. Some chapter headings are: "How Silently?," "Quality Time," "Sell All You Have," "Facing Violence," "Modern Motherhood," and "Loyalty."

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NOT KNOWN WHAT IT IS AND SCARCELY THAT IT IS 1994

NOT KNOWN WHAT IT IS AND SCARCELY THAT IT IS       Warren E David       1994




     Communications
Dear Editor:
     Recently I read an article in American Scientist called "Human Mating Strategies." It surveyed these strategies as evidences in many different cultures around the world, looking for commonalities. When I got to the end, I realized that the whole article considered the subject from the point of view that humans are simply highly developed animals.
     No wonder that modern young people get the idea that mating is strictly biological and has nothing to do with religion.     
     What is it that sets humans apart from animals? What is "human"? Is it anything?
     We in the New Church know from revelation that being human is being in the image and likeness of God. Being human is having eternal life. Being human is having the capability of loving God and finding our place in heaven. Being human means having a spiritual degree in our life that is the essential cause of our natural life. In the article I read there was nothing at all said about anything spiritual.
     If we think about human sexual intercourse from the light of truth, we can see that it is more than a biological urge or a social recreation. For real humans it is a manifestation in externals of an internal love called marriage love, and that is why intercourse is proper only between married partners. That is the only way that it can truly be a representation in externals of a truly human internal love.
     Warren E David,
          Bryn Athyn, PA

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MAY ISSUE 1994

MAY ISSUE       Wendy Hoo       1994

Dear Editor:
     The May issue of New Church Life contained many interesting concepts. This effort to include diverse discussions and a variety of writers illustrates an understanding of your readership.
     The issue of the balance between intuitive and rational knowledge touched several pieces. Addressed in Mrs. Cole's article, Ms. King's poem, and Mrs. Cooper's letter, this question could also be extracted from Mr. Ayer's piece. I saw the two dogs as a struggle between our perception and our logic, because my studies of Native Americans have led me to believe that their spirituality is descended from Most Ancient correspondential views of the natural world (perception). I experience my dog struggle as the pull between what I feel is true from my perception and the harder facts of a spiritual problem. Encouraging my intuition through meditation and paying attention to subtle signs of my environment could be feeding the perception dog, while reading and acquiring information could be feeding the logic dog. Victory of one dog seems not the goal to me, but an eventual harmony or marriage. In Swedenborg's Journal of Dreams, dogs play a fascinating role in his personal spiritual life. At the Sunrise Camp in 1992 Rev. Mark Carlson gave a brilliant presentation: the three-dog analogy of self-concept, another dog story.
     Mrs. Cole argues for respect of women's traditional uses and their intuitive knowledges. I would take this one step further and advocate these knowledges' taking a prominent role in all areas of private and public life. I doubt feminine understanding (or intuitive and loving influences) would design our ineffective penal system, which does nothing to improve society.

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Loving concern for human life may be the missing ingredient in the power conferences that determine war. As Mrs. Cooper suggests, educational systems that reach wills as well as memories are the only effective ones. In an exciting new movement based on Bishop George de Charms' Growth of the Mind, teachers Gray Schoenberger Glenn and Angela Rose demonstrate the basis for New Church education based on love and understanding. Much work (de Charms points out) needs to be done in this area, and women experimenting in the field are leading the way.
     Poetry hovers between the verbal and the ethereal, or our rational and holistic thinking centers. In Ms. King's poem, we feel Saul's dilemma as our own struggle between natural and spiritual good. Through art, vision and emotions enter a timeless area of our soul. Further inclusion of, and respect for, this approach to spiritual sharing and instruction will help anchor our intellectual church into the actual lives of our members. Memorable relations, personal stories, music, dance, and visual arts animate and humanize truth.
     With this two-fold approach in mind, I suggest caution in considering Rev. Jan Weiss's seventh suggestion for "The Writings' simplification." The seventh suggestion was to group subjects together rather than leaving them inserted between chapters-see p. 224. An artist's advice is needed in seemingly confusing problems such as these. Only holistic thinking can take divergent ideas and translate them into understandable concepts.
     Thank you for the thoughtful issue. I look forward to lively discussions as these relevant and personalized subjects affect your readers' understanding of doctrinal points.
     Wendy Hoo,
          Brookline, Massachusetts

     Please turn the page for more letters.

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IS WANTING TO GO TO HEAVEN SELFISH? 1994

IS WANTING TO GO TO HEAVEN SELFISH?       Dr. Leon James       1994

Dear Editor:
     I enjoyed reading your sermon entitled "Great Reward" distributed by the General Church sermon mailing program.* You say at one point that "if the reason the good deed is being done is to bring happiness to oneself, then it is a selfish deed" (p. 4). This reminded me of my daughter Joy's objection expressed several years ago: "But Daddy, if you want me to be good so that I may go to heaven, am I not being selfish?" Such a notion was also expressed in my classes by some college students at the University of Hawaii.
     * This mailing program is under the auspices of the Secretary of the General Church, Box 743, Bryn Athyn. Those who participate in this program receive a packet of four sermons each month.
     My answer is that the motive to go to heaven is not a selfish one. The validity of this statement hinges on whether one thinks of heaven externally, as a place of paradise where sensuous pleasures are to be had (this is being a "hireling," as you point out), or whether one thinks of heaven as a state of mind maintained by a regenerating ("good") character. Wanting to go to heaven, seen as the developmental process of coming into the thoughts and affections of a good character, is thus the same as wanting a good character, and that is not selfish.
     As you affirm: "The life that leads to heaven is not a matter of doing a whole lot of good things and deserving heaven as a result of them. It is first a shunning of evil in the name of the Lord" (p. 5). Heaven is indeed a "great reward," namely, that of having the Lord's joy abiding in us as of self-"that My joy may remain in you" (John 15:11, quoted by you on page 5). Those who do not suffer themselves to be regenerated by the Lord desire the external rewards of "fame, honors and wealth" (CL 266).

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These are not heavenly states of mind; hence they are outside heaven. But shunning one's evils as sins against the Lord is to desire an internal great reward, that of "blessedness from communication with others through uses" (ibid.) Thank you for reminding us of this practical truth of life.
     Dr. Leon James,
          Kailua, Hawaii
ADDRESSING MEN ONLY? 1994

ADDRESSING MEN ONLY?       Sarah Headsten       1994

Dear Editor,
     In reading The Doctrine of Charity for the New Jerusalem I have noticed over and over again that Swedenborg appears to be addressing men rather than women, and I have wondered why. Of course Swedenborg is a man, but is that reason enough?     
     The following passages illustrate what I am saying:

If you observe ten maidens, among whom five are harlots and five are chaste, and would choose one for a wife, do you not choose one of the chaste, according to her good, which accords with your good? (n. 49)

Moral good, which is actual human good (for it is the rational good according to which man lives with man, as a brother and associate), is neighbor so far as it is derived from spiritual good . . . (n. 57).

Infants and boys, so long as they are under nurses and masters, do not indeed perform goods of use . . . (n. 129).

In least things and in greatest the heavenly form is a man. Therefore the universal heaven is a man; every society is a man, and each individual angel is a man. The reason is that the Lord from whom heaven exists is a man (n. 148).

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The subject now to be treated is of charity in the priest, in the magistrate and the officials under him, in the judge, in the commander of an army and the officers under him, and in the common soldier, in the merchant, in the workman, in the husbandman, in the master of a vessel and mariners, and in servants (n. 159; see numbers 160 through 172 for more details).

The obligations of charity are: taxes which are imposed upon subjects and citizens . . . , customs duties . . . , the expenses and outlay for the various needs and uses of a household, which concern one's self, wife, children . . . (n. 187).

Such men are careful, prudent, industrious, especially such who are merchants or workmen. If in official position, they are vigilant in the duties which pertain to their offices, and they sell uses; if judges, they sell justice; if priests, they sell salvation . . . (n. 195).

But to those who perform the duties of their calling only for the sake of food and the necessaries of life, and those who perform them only for a name that they may be celebrated, and those who perform them only for the sake of the salary, to the end that they may grow rich or may live generously, the above-mentioned diversions are the only uses. They are corporeal and sensual men . . . (n. 196).

     The last section in Conjugial Love, "The Pleasures of Insanity Pertaining to Scortatory Love," is also addressed to men rather than women, and I am supposing that there are other statements in other books of the Writings that are clearly addressed the same way. What I am wondering is: What is the spiritual reason for this approach?
     Sarah Headsten,
          Huntingdon Valley, PA

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SOME OPEN QUESTIONS TO READERS OF NEW CHURCH LIFE 1994

SOME OPEN QUESTIONS TO READERS OF NEW CHURCH LIFE       Mary Alden       1994

Dear Editor,
     I am submitting this letter to you for consideration for publication in New Church Life. It is my intention to get right to the meat of some very difficult issues that are being talked about in whispers around the edges of this church. I have carefully tried to word things in ways that will not provoke or inflame but will strive toward honest inquiry, I also intend to dignify the questions by bringing them into the mainstream from out on the fringes. I believe these questions deserve the dignity of consideration in the church. You, as the editor, may not believe so and I will respect your decision. I think I am prepared for the outcry and controversy that may result if you choose to print this. I think I am even prepared for the obvious-to be used as an example of why women can't be trusted because their thinking is so faulty or emotional or easily led astray.
     If you feel willing to put this into print, I would appreciate any suggestions to help clarify what I am saying or how to say it in a more useful way that would lead to honest dialogue. I accept that the very nature of these questions will lead some readers to feel offended or bewildered.
     I was once told by a previous editor of another publication that he was reluctant to print what I wrote, but was finally willing to print it anonymously. I believe that this took away some of my power and I am no longer willing to be published anonymously. I am not a person with no stake in this, taking cheap shots at the church. I care passionately about her and pray that my life reflects this.
     See the next page for the questions I am raising.

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     SOME OPEN QUESTIONS

     What happens when a woman member of the General Church of the New Jerusalem feels a love of saving souls?-a love that she identifies not in the idealistic vision of youth but one nurtured by the experience of reaching out to the Lord and finding comfort, mercy and salvation when she has touched bottom and all previous vision seems lost. What happens when this experience points her to a genuine love to minister to people, to help them experience the Lord in this saving way in their own lives? What happens if her life seems meaningless when she is not relating to people on the level of the spirit, speaking with them from the heart about matters of their spirit and their relationship with the Creator? What happens when all her work that she has been taught to do seems flat in comparison with what she seems to be led from within to be doing? What happens if she has been taught all her life that it isn't proper for women to be doing this work? She is afraid even to divulge that she feels this longing. She feels shame and embarrassment at even having the thoughts because she is afraid they will be labeled as unwomanly or "above her." What happens if she divulges them and then is told: "You can do these things; you can talk to anyone at any time about spiritual things; no one is stopping you"? The unspoken that also goes along with it is: "Don't expect to be accepted in this church into a school that will teach you. Don't expect to have your 'call' respected in the same way a man's 'call' would be. Don't expect to be taken as seriously as a man would. Don't expect to be ordained, called by a society, or to be able to confer meaningful blessing from the Lord on those you wish to minister to. Don't expect to be employed to do this; do it in your spare time. Don't expect to be admitted to the council set up for the Lord to enlighten the church through the government of the clergy."

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     Why shouldn't she be able to expect these things? Let me be truthful: the long accepted, easily given reasons appear to me today to be based more on tradition than on a truly open inquiry of what the Lord is telling us. I would begin this inquiry by examining such issues as how the Lord implants loves in people for the sake of uses being served, and what the particular strengths are that women have that can be used to embody some of the qualities we desire in our church. My concept of the Lord is of One who would never will the frustration of loves and desires for usefulness He has implanted in people, and who does not desire to limit any of His created human beings in an arbitrary way. Why has no one studied and looked for what the clergy (and the church) may in fact be lacking by not having women among their numbers? Wow come
it is not easy to admit that the tradition of men's being the ones in authority is a chronic hardness of the heart in the world and in our church?
     What happens when a woman, because of the trials and disappointments of life, reaches out to God in desperation to feel life? What happens when she tries to feel the life of God flow into her, prays for guidance for getting in touch with what is from the Lord in her, but finds her Divine Human image of the Lord is all in the masculine gender-He, Him, and Father? What happens when she feels creative energy, the joys of goodness, relationship, use, mothering, and the love of marriage in her, and searches for what is from God in them? What if the imagery of God is all male and she has been taught that this is the only proper way to think about God? What if she has a growing feeling that the way of her life is to respect, affirm, and love that which feels surgingly, overwhelmingly female within her as a gift from God, but she has been taught in subtle ways to distrust what is female? "Women cannot represent the Lord." This is a direct quote from a New Church publication sent out last year, stated by a General Church minister, that went unchallenged as far as I know. Why not? Why can't women represent the Lord?

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Why cannot the female aspects of my Creator's gender be expressed? If He is supposed to represent no gender or be above gender, why are men the only gender proper to represent Him? What did the Lord ask us to strive for if not to become images and likenesses of their Creator? Are women of lesser substance or form than men? Is it sacrilege to speak of a Divine Feminine? What gender represents the creative force in the world? What gender gestates, brings forth, and nourishes life? Are we not allowed female Divine imagery? I personally feel a need for an image and likeness to strive for that does not feel foreign to my gender, and believe strongly that our Creator did not intend for men only to have this.
     Then what happens if some feel it would be good for our church to have this represented visibly and plainly by women in the ordained clergy-those set aside who are called to teach, lead, confer blessing, and represent the Lord's love, mercy, and creative force in the world? I am serious about questioning this. I have been told that the Writings say it is not proper. I suggest that some who would give this answer have accepted that it is proper for women to be judges and enter into other occupations where learning, judgment and reason are required. I have also heard it said that this would be the downfall of the church, that we would then just be following the ways of the world. One of the things that is happening in the "ways of the world" is that women are gradually being acknowledged as having value and being deserving of equality. Awareness is being raised that their oppression is pervasive and harmful not only for women, but also for all of humankind. This awareness of the fact of oppression and the need for respect and equal opportunity for all people is, I believe, one of the effects of the Last Judgment. By means of influx through the spiritual world, a living spirit of Christianity is growing in the world, regardless of whether or not people have read the Writings of Swedenborg. There are also other "ways of the world" that are directly opposite.

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For example, reaction, backlash, fear of loss of influence, wealth and access to power, if a living Christian vision were to be carried out. I have also heard the "cautionary tale" about Lillian Beekman. She has been used as an example of how the church is disturbed when women are allowed to study and teach in the theological school. Please don't use this as an answer to my question until you have read Aubrey Odhner's historical account regarding the "Beekman incident" printed in the publication Connections, the journal of the Women's Symposium.
     My next question is: What would happen if women were given equal access to power and authority in this church? They would actually sit on councils where the vision and mission of the church is decided, and not be represented by men on them. They would be among those through whom our Creator governs the church by means of enlightenment. They would participate equally in decisions of how the vision of this church will be carried out, and who will get paid to do it-whose visions will be funded by the contributions that we all give, and whose won't. I have heard that the men would leave or go into the background because women would try to take over. Men have been in the position of power and authority in this church since its beginning. They have not had to "take over." Women have stayed in this church and taught Sunday school, played for services, raised money, supported uses, organized retreats, kept a spirit of community going-in short, they have done much of the unpaid work to nurture the life of the church, while many men have been paid to be able to devote much of their time to doctrinal studies.
     My last question is: What is your vision for women in the life of this church? Is it happy being limited, happy with women excluded forever from vision, influence, authority, and representing the Lord? Are you content that the church will have "done the right thing" by choosing to continue the use of gender-exclusive language and Divine imagery, by not even questioning openly the assumption that the Lord sanctions an all-male clergy and governing council, when some women who are alive, vital and growing, who challenge some of the accepted doctrines, decide they must leave this organization?

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Or is your vision one where women are respected and listened to, their reality respected equally along with men's, and their challenge of asking for a church where true equality is practiced is taken up with a prayerful spirit, asking our loving and lovely Creator, "Lord, show us how"?
     I admit that these questions are mine. I do not pretend to represent or speak for all women in the church, but I know that I speak for some. I ask these questions because I must, not only for myself but also for the sake of my sisters and brothers in this church who are honestly grappling with these issues. I know that some who feel as I do have left the church, but the Lord has led me to make a commitment to remain in this church in a real and living way. This is my church too, and I have given much of my life energy to it. I ask only that my questions be treated with respect.
     Mary Alden,
          Dawson Creek, B.C., Canada
WEDDING GARMENT 1994

WEDDING GARMENT       Editor       1994

     This book by Louis Pendleton was published just one hundred years ago. It is still popular and still available.
     In 1993 the Swedenborg Verlag in Zurich, Switzerland published a version in German. More recently a Dutch version has been published in Holland.

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MEASURE OF A HUMAN BEING 1994

MEASURE OF A HUMAN BEING       Editor       1994

     . . . A human being is a human being by virtue of his mind, it being the actual mind itself that constitutes a person, and the kind of mind he has that determines what kind of a person he is. By the mind is meant a person's understanding and will, consequently his essential life. People who are stupid imagine that a human being is a human being by virtue of his outward appearance, that is to say, because he possesses a human face. Others who are a little less stupid say that the human being is a human being because he has the ability to speak, while others again who are less stupid still say that the human being is a human being because he has the ability to think. But a human being is not a human being for any of these reasons but because he has the capacity to think what is true and will what is good; and when he thinks what is true and wills what is good he has the capacity to behold what is Divine and, perceiving what it is, to accept it.
     This is what distinguishes a human being from animals. Not merely his human appearance, or his ability to speak, or his ability to think make him a human being; for if he thinks what is false and wills what is evil, that makes him not only like but worse than an animal. For he then uses those abilities to destroy what is human within himself and to make a wild animal of himself . . . .     Arcana Coelestia 5302

     The above quotation appeared many years ago in this magazine using the word "man" more than dozen times.
     Consider the way Divine Love and Wisdom begins. Under the heading: "Love Is the Life of Man" we read, "Man knows that there is such a thing as love, but he does not know what love is."

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CHARTER DAY 1994 1994

       Editor       1994




     Announcements






     Start making your plans now to attend Charter Day in Bryn Athyn. The dates of this year's celebration are October 14-16, 1994.

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RETIREMENT LIVING OPPORTUNITY 1994

RETIREMENT LIVING OPPORTUNITY       Editor       1994

     Cairnwood Village, a retirement community sponsored by the General Church of the New Jerusalem for members of the church who are over 65, is planning an expansion. This provides a special opportunity for New Church people who are eligible, to move into a very supportive environment and enjoy the sphere of New Church activities, literally at your doorstep. Most units becoming available are two-bedroom size, but a few single-bedroom units will become available in the next few years. Now is the time to make your plans to take advantage of this expansion, which will probably be completed by late 1995 or early 1996. It is easier to afford these units than you might think. Please look into this opportunity carefully. You may have family or friends that could benefit from inquiry into this Cairnwood Village opening, and could put us into contact with them. Our planned expansion will not happen if too few people show interest. We are looking for about twenty-five commitments over the next two years. For information give us a call, or write to: Cairnwood Village Admissions, P.O. Box 550, Bryn Athyn, PA, 19009; phone (215) 947-7705.
     Cairnwood Village-come live with us!
A NEW BOOK IN ITALIAN 1994

A NEW BOOK IN ITALIAN       Editor       1994

     Paola Giovetti has just published a 250-page book about "the life and works of the masters of the inner path." The title (translated from Italian) is Great Initiates of Our Time. Among a dozen people treated of in the book are Carl Sung and Rudolf Steiner, but at the top of the list is Emanuel Swedenborg.

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HEAVENLY CITY 1994

HEAVENLY CITY       Editor       1994

A Spiritual Guidebook
by
Lee Woofenden
     A Translation of New Jerusalem and Its Heavenly Doctrine
by Emanuel Swedenborg
     Published by Swedenborg Foundation
1993
     Softcover including postage U.S. $11.00
     General Church Book Center               Hours: Mon-Fri 9-12 or by
Box 743, Cairncrest                         appointment
Bryn Athyn, PA 19009                    Phone: (215) 947-3920

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Notes on This Issue 1994

Notes on This Issue       Editor       1994

Vol. CXIV           August, 1994               No. 8
New Church Life

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     Notes on This Issue

     "How beautiful are the invitations of the Lord to draw us to the light and the love of true religion." Rev. Peter Nkabinde of South Africa quotes this in his "Invitation" on page 345.
     "Prayer allows us to detach ourselves from our troubles, so that we are able to look at them more objectively." The sermon by Fred Chapin applies the story of Elijah to our lives.
     From Hawaii we have received eloquent evidence that New Church Life is being read there with     discernment. Dr. Leon James notes that there are two quite different perspectives on the Writings, and he reviews some of the things that have been in our pages in recent months. He also includes items that have appeared in New Philosophy, notably the study by Rev. Alfred Acton entitled "Paradigms of Revelation." Readers, take note that the cost of a subscription to New Philosophy (a quarterly) is $10.00 a year. (Write to Box 757, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009.)
     David Deaton's review on page 365 does more than handsomely treat the excellent book by Rev. David Simons. The review itself has a stirring quality that will be appreciated by those who love the cause of New Church education.
     On page 369 is a photograph of two men ordained in June. As these two take up their assignments, others are changing to new locations. We have made the effort in this issue to incorporate new addresses in the information on General Church places of worship. We are always grateful when readers send in corrections.
     Note that there are five ordinations reported in this issue. A statistical note of interest is that in the first six months of 1994 we reported 114 baptisms of which 31 were adult baptisms. These reports came from eight nations.

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WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE? 1994

WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE?       Rev. FREDERICK M. CHAPIN       1994

     "So when Elijah heard it, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. And suddenly a voice came to him and said, 'What are you doing here, Elijah?'" (I Kings 19:13).
     Every person faces some type of addiction. Some dependencies are obvious; others are more discreet. The Writings explain that when we confirm an evil intention, we are under the control of that desire. There are basically two ways in which we confirm evil desires. The first is by justifying corrupt intentions. Rationally, we may recognize that we should not indulge in a wrongful deed, but we tend to minimize or give an explanation that makes the indulgence allowable, Secondly, we may admit to ourselves that the desire is wrong and should not be catered to, but the pleasure it gives is so gratifying that we just have to engage in it. In some form, every person must face selfish desires that will not be easy to put away.
     There may come a time that we recognize that we need to make a fundamental change. Yet change seems so elusive. We still find great pleasure in the practice or the fantasy, even though we know it is against the Lord's teachings. The pleasure we feel is like a powerful magnet that pulls us toward the sensual enjoyment. The attraction is so powerful that any attempt to withdraw from it is extremely strenuous.
     Is there a way in which we can make the necessary changes even though the attraction toward what is harmful is so alluring? We can develop a perception of what is good even while we may have strong tendencies toward what is opposed to the Lord's Word.
     This is particularly shown in the story of Elijah and his escape from Jezebel.

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This story can illustrate how the Word can lead us to a perception of how we should conduct ourselves, even when powerful desires are trying to coerce us into a life of selfish pleasures.
     Elijah had just defeated the prophets of Baal. In this great victory, Baal was now regarded as a false god. Baal was no longer worshiped. This is the first step we take in making the necessary changes in our lives. We recognize that the things we have been doing and allowing to control us are false. We now recognize that the Lord's ways are the only means to living a life of order and satisfaction.
     However, Jezebel was still very much alive and in a powerful position. She depicts the attraction of the pleasures that affect only our physical senses. Jezebel made a vow that she would kill Elijah. The physical delights we enjoy are so powerful and alluring that they seem to destroy any attempts to change our ways. The delights in evil seem to intensify the more we try not to indulge in them.
     Elijah ran to Beer-sheba when he heard about Jezebel's vow to kill him. In the Hebrew, Beer-sheba means "well of oath." Beer-sheba has the representation of what the Word does for us. The Word gives us Divine teachings that are accommodated to our understanding. It reveals the well of water that nourishes our understanding of truth. We must run to Beer-sheba to break free from evil pleasures. The more we develop the discipline of reading and reflecting upon what the Word teaches, the more we can be receptive of the Lord's guidance.
     As important as it is to read and study the Word, that is not enough to fully break free from our compulsions. We must also have private moments with God. This is pictured by Elijah's leaving his servant and going alone into the wilderness. We must take time to reflect upon ourselves. We must put aside all our natural cares and responsibilities and analyze our tendencies from a spiritual perspective. If we are able to have a regular practice of meditation along with a constant study and reflection of the Word, we are developing the means to eventually break any craving that seeks to enslave us.

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Knowing what the Word teaches is vital, but so is having times of meditation when we are alone with the Lord. It was absolutely necessary for Elijah to be alone in the wilderness so that he would not be destroyed by Jezebel.
     While Elijah was in the wilderness, he slept under a broom tree. There he prayed that he would die. It seemed hopeless that he could institute the worship of Jehovah in Israel. The forces of evil were just too great and powerful. He felt like giving up. This does not describe a pleasant setting, but there is a great deal of healing within it. Here Eliljah is pouring out his troubles before the Lord. Likewise, when we are having secluded times with the Lord, we have the opportunity to pour out our soul before Him. We can lay before Him all that is troubling us and causing us great pain. There is a great value in placing all our distresses before the Lord. We can have the utmost confidence that the Lord will listen and will deliver us.
     The Lord's response and deliverance is seen in the angel who came to Elijah and gave him nourishment for his journey. When we are able to sincerely open ourselves before the Lord, the steps of deliverance will emerge. One of the benefits of laying our troubles before the Lord is a better perspective and understanding of that which is controlling us. The avenues that we can take will become manifest as we have a clearer definition of our problems and see them in a more rational light. Prayer allows us to detach ourselves from our troubles, so that we are able to look at them more objectively. The more we are able to separate ourselves from our addictions, the less hopeless they will appear to be.
     However, Elijah's troubles did not end just when he ate the cakes and drank the water. He still had to make a very difficult journey to Mt. Horeb that would last forty days and nights. In fact, he had to eat and drink twice; once was not enough. The angel's coming the first time with food and water represents knowing what we need to do to live according to Divine order.

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The second time he came represents actually making a commitment to it. The journey illustrates the temptations we must endure while we seek to replace our obsessions with orderly delights and habits. When we actually start applying the corrective measures that are necessary to live a new life, temptations will come. Just knowing what to do will not sustain us. We must also have a genuine commitment to do whatever it takes to accomplish this transformation. When we have the dedication to make a real change and the knowledge of the steps that we must take, the Lord will provide us with the nourishment and the strength to make the journey. In the New Testament, we read of the young man who came before the Lord and asked Him what he must do to have eternal life. The Lord told him to keep the commandments. The young man said he had always kept them, yet something was still missing. The Lord told him to give all he had to the poor. The man went away sorrowful. He knew the commandments but he did not have them as a part of his convictions. Therefore, when the Lord told him to do something which required a great personal sacrifice, he could not do it. It takes both a knowledge of what we must do and a firm dedication to actually do it to make a successful journey that eventually leads to freedom.
     When Elijah ended his journey, he was at Mt. Horeb, the same place where Moses saw the burning bush and where the Lord gave the Ten Commandments. After we have gone through the struggles of taking the steps to no longer be under the control of our yearnings, the Lord will make Himself known. When the Lord becomes known, we are, like Elijah, at the mountain of God.
     Still, Elijah's troubles were not over. He was still in great fear and confusion because of Jezebel. This fear is represented by Elijah's spending the night in a cave. This pictures the obscurity that we face when our temptations are nearing the end. We would think that when we reach our destination, the enticements to do evil would subside.

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But temptations are the most difficult when they are reaching their conclusion. It is during this time that we are in our greatest fear and confusion.     
     Nevertheless, while Elijah was on the mountain, the word of the Lord came to him. When we endure the struggles of temptations and the pain and sacrifice they cause, the Word becomes more personal. It seems to speak directly to our lives. It then seems to ask the same question as the one to Elijah, What are you doing here? What is your state of life? Like Elijah, we will answer with whatever is causing us great fear. The delights of self-life are seeking to overcome us and destroy us. We see the hurt and the harm they can cause to ourselves and to our loved ones, yet they are so powerful that they seem almost invincible. We recognize that we are powerless to remove them. When the Word speaks to us personally, it seems to bring out our fears and despairs.
     But eventually Elijah heard the voice of the Lord as a still, small voice. Elijah, after all the difficulties he had to endure, was finally able to hear the Lord's voice. His journey prepared him to be able to hear the Lord's quiet voice. This is perception from within. When Elijah heard the Lord's voice, it asked him the same question that was asked earlier by the word of the Lord. And the response was exactly the same as was given before. On the surface, this may seem to be redundant. Yet there is something deeper that is very important. Now Elijah was asked to respond from conviction. Even though the same words were given in reply, now they were spoken from Elijah's very soul. When we have a clear dictate from within that speaks from a genuine commitment to follow the Lord, it will ask what our state of life is. It will introduce us into fear of those delights that can hinder us from doing our part for the Lord's kingdom.
     Elijah was told to anoint Hazael king of Syria, Jehu as king of Israel, and Elisha as a prophet. Elijah was also told that whatever Hazael could not destroy, Jehu would, and whoever Jehu could not destroy, Elisha would.

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These three men picture the three degrees of life that we are to anoint, or put into compliance with the Lord's teachings. Hazael is our civil manner of life. This is the attitude we have in complying with the laws and responsibilities of our country. Jehu is our sense of morality, the attempt to live a life that respects and honors others' rights and freedoms. And Elisha is the spiritual degree of our lives. This is where our true motives and attitudes dwell. When these three degrees are committed to be ordered by the Lord according to the Word, they will collectively be able to prevent our attractions from having complete control over our lives.
     We all have the capacity to have complete victory over our addictions. They will be difficult to overcome. We can have a voice from within that can guide us to live orderly and productive lives. This perception can exist even though we may have a strong tendency toward what is wrong. Jezebel was still alive while Elijah heard the Lord's still, small voice. But Elijah had the means that gave him the assurance that he was protected. This perception is what the written Word guides us to. This perception may not completely put away our attraction toward an evil pleasure. We may have to fight it every day for the rest of our natural lives. Some attractions may go away; most will not. But we are promised that if we are faithful in trying as best we can to follow the Lord's teaching, we will eventually regard our former attractions as disgusting and despicable. We will no longer have any attraction to them. When we reach this state, we are like Elijah in a whirlwind carried into heaven, where Jezebel had no influence over him. We can reach that point either in this life or when we enter our place in heaven. And we will rejoice in this promise, "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible" (Matt. 19:26). Amen.

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INVITATION TO THE WATERS 1994

INVITATION TO THE WATERS       Rev. PETER P. NKABINDE       1994

     "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 rake the water of life freely" (Rev. 22:17).

     Water is similar to truth in every reference. Water is pleasant to the eyes. It is like liquid silver, and when thrown into the sunbeams by a fountain, it shines like diamonds. And what is more gratifying to the eye than truth?
     When the inner meaning of any passage is taken for consideration or a chapter from the Divine Word is seen, it is beautiful like silver to the eye. And when its relation to the Lord is also seen, it shines like the richest gems.
     Without water there is no growth in vegetation; likewise, without truth there is no growth in spiritual life, for the mind is then in darkness and is not productive.
     Without water the proper works of the body would cease, for there would be no digestion. So it is with the operations of the soul. When the soul is without truths, it feels feeble. When the soul is without truths, it is blind and lacks direction; it is lifeless.
     The wicked easily lead astray those who are in ignorance and are unable to see through deceit. The blind lead the blind, and they both fall into a narrow trench in the ground.
     How plain it is from the urgent advice of the Word to come to the light-to search the Scriptures, to reason with God, to understand the Word. And how plain it is also from the noble reasoning with which the Creator has furnished mankind, that it is most important for him to be well instructed in the truth.
     Without truth, a person is in danger from every falsity. Without the truth he is the victim of a faith founded on fear and error, and so he fears when he ought instead to trust and love.

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Without the truth, he cannot enjoy the glorious world he dwells in. Without the truth the splendid things of the future world are hidden from his hopes and his faith. Without the truth the work of regeneration cannot proceed for lack of force: he knows but little of the purities which he should aim to attain. He knows little of the means of defense against cunning evils, and he does not realize that Divine Providence will not permit him to be tried by dangers under which he would sink.
     Without the truth the Word is a completely sealed book: a feast of fat things, a river of delights of which the soul is unable to partake. Without the truth, the Lord, our best friend, is looked upon with great fear and not as He really is-our Father, our ever-present Helper, our ever-faithful Savior.
     In fact, truth is the soul's daily food. Man lives not by bread alone, but by every word which proceeds out of the mouth of God. Hence, to exclude the soul from learning and understanding the truth is to exclude it from becoming human. At best it keeps it in weak and sickly childhood, and often in states little above the beasts, which perish.
     Being in the love of truth is to be in the way of regeneration, but not being in the love of truth is to be in the way of condemnation. "Come now and let us reason together, saith the Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool" (Isaiah 1:18). The Lord requests us to reason with Him. He gave us this godlike reasoning that we may use it, and by using it, become continually more like Himself.
     It is the person who does not reason who remains united to his lusts of the senses. One who reasons from the love of truth is in spiritual light, and grows in a heavenly life of ever-increasing brightness into a complete harmony. Truths not understood are no defense and no blessing.
     Those who do not understand and do not thirst to understand are those who are described by the Lord as receiving the seed by the wayside.

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"When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and understands it not, then comes the wicked one and snatches away that which was sown in his heart" (Matt 13:19). Only that which is understood and loved remains.
     To deprive the inquiring spirit is to darken the soul and rob it of its highest enjoyment. On the other hand, to rouse the thirsting for intelligence-this love for the truth-is to rouse mankind's higher faculties. He only is a man who seeks the truth and exercises judgment (see Jeremiah 5:1).
     The mind that is content with the doctrine of another-with the suggestion of a person, a belief or book which he cannot understand-is far from the splendid state of mankind. God has infinite blessings in store for that person, even though he never asks for them. He walks on in darkness when he might enjoy the light. He is not like the merchantman, seeking goodly pearls, and so he never finds them.
     How beautiful are the invitations of the Lord to draw us to the light and the love of true religion. "O taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man that trusts in Him" (Psalm 34:8). "He satisfies the thirsty soul, and fills his hungry soul with goodness" (Psalm 107:9). "Blessed are they who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled" (Matt. 5:6). Nothing else can fill the soul but truth and goodness. Earthly wealth gives but a short satisfaction, earthly praise still a shorter one. Earthly power and dignity result in more trouble than pleasure. But the blessings of love and wisdom last forever, and forever go on with increasing pleasure.
     So let every man be athirst for Divine instruction, and let him who is athirst come to the river of the water of life revealed in the New Jerusalem. "In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying: 'If any one thirsts, let him come unto Me and drink'" (John 7:37).

Note: As we go to print we have learned that the Rev. Peter Nkabinde, of South Africa, passed into the spiritual world on July 5th.

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TWO PERSPECTIVES ON SWEDENBORG'S WRITINGS: Secular and Religious 1994

TWO PERSPECTIVES ON SWEDENBORG'S WRITINGS: Secular and Religious       Dr. LEON JAMES1       1994

(Part I)

     Professor of Psychology, University of Hawaii

     Wilson Van Dusen's latest communication in New Church Life2 left me with a sense of puzzlement, even oddity. My reaction to prior communications by Van Dusen was similar.3 I wanted very much to understand what I found so incongruent in Dr. Van Dusen's perspective on the New Church, especially since I recommend his books to undergraduate majors who take my History of Psychology course.4 After some reflection, I came to the conclusion that Swedenborgian concepts are taken in either a secular or a religious vein. I was able to confirm this from an analysis of recent articles and communications in New Church Life and the New Philosophy. I would like to share this analysis with readers of these two publications. My purpose in this article is to show that there are two perspectives among Swedenborgians, secular and religious. I argue that only the religious view can produce a scientific revolution that would allow science to deal with natural facts that we know from revelation rather than from observation. I believe that it is important to distinguish clearly between secular and religious Swedenborgianism. I will show that those who take the secularized perspective on Swedenborg's theological Writings see an affinity between Swedenborg and other writers and systems of spirituality and psychology such as Gurdjieff, Erikson, Buddhism, Yoga, etc. However, those who have a religious perspective on Swedenborg's Writings see them as the only authority on spiritual ideas or matters.

The Essentials of the Religious Perspective

     Swedenborg's own perspective, as described in his Writings, is that he was called upon by the Lord to be the intellectual architect of the Second Advent, which is seen as an intellectual rather than a physical event.

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He explains that his role as revelator required Divine inspiration for every word that he wrote in his theological works. Thus to some people his Writings are the Latin Word, the third and final installment of the completed threefold Word. In the General Church and the Nova Hierosolyma Church, it is common to refer to the Writings as the Word and as the Lord Himself in His Divine Natural or Human. From this religious perspective there cannot be a meaningful comparison between Swedenborg's Writings and any other books on spirituality. Books on Zen Buddhism, Hinduism, theosophy, esoteric Christianity, psychotherapy, etc., can in no way be compared to the Word, since the Word contains infinite things and, according to Swedenborg, there is no ratio between the finite and infinite.
     The perspective on Swedenborg expressed by Wilson Van Dusen appears at times secular, not religious. This is because he does not treat the Writings conceptually as the Word. Within such a lesser view, there naturally arise questions of comparison between Swedenborg's Writings or "system" and other books and schools of thought. One might even find some weakness or shortcoming: "At times I have faulted [Swedenborg] for not telling us more about how to get there [spiritual enlightenment].5 Or one might find Swedenborg as merely "the largest, most comprehensive and dearest spiritual map in existence" (p. 114), The distinctiveness of the New Church is thus seen as stemming from the fact that it possesses in the Writings "the finest map of the spiritual realm" (p. 114). In a previous article,6 Dr. Van Dusen expresses the view that New
Church people are insufficiently aware of and alert to the methodology involving daily spiritual practice. He speculates that this may be because "the Writings themselves barely touch on how to regenerate, how to make it of the life, how to practice" (p. 315).

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The Issue of Collateral Readings

     The secular view on Swedenborg sees his writings as inspired but limited to his experiences of the spiritual world. Hence his writings need to be supplemented by books and ideas written by others unrelated to Swedenborg. This is a lesser view than the religious, which sees the Writings as the Lord Himself in His infinite Word. The religious view does not prohibit collateral readings or even comparisons between the views found in them and those of Swedenborg. But these comparisons are to be distinguished from the comparisons made by the secular view. The intent here is a desire to gain a better understanding of the Writings by examining these other books and concepts while retaining the view that the Writings are perfect in themselves, and it is our understanding of them that needs to be improved through whatever external rational means are available. In the secular view, the Writings are insufficient in and of themselves, and need to be supplemented in order to cover the subject adequately.7
     I think it is important to gain a clear understanding of the rational incompatibility between secular and religious Swedenborgianism. As a professor of psychology and a researcher in human behavior, I am a keen supporter of the general intellectual effort to import Swedenborgian concepts into science and education.8 I shall discuss some of these attempts which have appeared in New Church Life and the New Philosophy, all of which have maintained the religious perspective. We are faced here with the same issue Swedenborg himself had to face as a scientist in his so-called pre-theological works. Unlike Descartes, Leibniz, Wolff, Newton, Kant, and later Einstein and others, all of whom acknowledged God while leaving Him out of their scientific theories, Swedenborg labored to integrate God and Divine Providence into the mechanisms of his scientific proposals. God was not merely a background confession; He appeared officially and explicitly as part of the scientific model, and the central concept at that. In Swedenborg we find the notion that there is no secular spirituality.

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     If, in the future, the science of psychology is going to import Swedenborgian concepts about mental life and the afterlife, will it take the secular or the religious perspective on spirituality? According to Swedenborg, psychology and science must be theistic. Mental development and mental health are inseparable from regeneration, hence from religion. It is the peculiar power of Swedenborg's Writings that religion is described in universal psychobiological terms rather than sectarian and denominational terms. In Swedenborg there ought not to be a clash between religion and science, such as we have witnessed recently in the case of creationism and evolution theory. The attempt to treat the first eleven chapters of Genesis as literal history is responsible for the ideological and bitter opposition. Another clash between literalist Christians and scientists is due to sectarianism, whereby God is known only by the members of some denomination, and thus all others are unsaved. In contrast, the religious concepts in Swedenborg recognize and detail God's relationship to every individual as a racial or psychobiological process having nothing to do with denominations and sects. In textbooks on the history of psychology, religion and science are generally depicted in historical terms as opposed to one another, but I teach that this opposition stems from cultural and political sectarianism, not from religion per se. I expect that future developments in science will show that the religion described and defined by Swedenborg carries no such opposition to science.
     My feeling is that science, and psychology in particular, needs the infusion of religious Swedenborgian concepts such as regeneration, revelation, heaven and hell. I frequently challenge my students with this notion: If God, the afterlife, and spiritual temptations are real processes and phenomena, then they are automatically objects of study for scientists, inasmuch as scientific theories are always about reality. No aspect of reality is excluded from scientific theory.

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The objection that you can't study God and the afterlife in a scientific way is not valid. Only a method has been lacking, and in Swedenborg we find such a method. I will review some recent attempts in history, biology, and psychology which have appeared in the pages of New Church Life and the New Philosophy.

Importing Religious Swedenborgian Concepts into Modern Scientific Fields

     At the core of these scholarly and scientific methods compatible with Swedenborg is the following principle enunciated by Erland Brock in his article on New Church epistemology: "A statement is true if, and only if, it can be shown to be in harmony with written revelation," which he specifies to be "the threefold Word," the Old and New Testaments and the Writings.9 According to this view, "the truth-content . . . of any knowledge depends not on the intellectual determination of its 'truth" by some logical or empirical means, but on how well it stands the scrutiny of light shed upon it from heaven, that is, from the Word . . . . This could be said of any literature of a political, psychological, or sociological nature-unless it is examined from the concepts of truth and good revealed in the Word-its intrinsic value (if indeed it has any) cannot be assessed, and views concerning it can only be classed as opinions" (p. 685). Lastly, "human logical analysis and empirical inquiry cannot lead us to truth, and good thereby, The Word alone can do this" (p. 686).
     The first illustration is the view on history enunciated by David Simons, which foresees the development of a "spiritual archaeology" arising from importing revelation into science: "Religion and science together provide the whole truth. Science alone is barren of content and purpose, and religion alone gives only unconfirmed doctrine. But together, the truths of nature and the truths of the Word make possible an enlightenment of the human mind unattainable by any other means."10 According to Simons, Swedenborg's Writings were provided at this time to save the mind from being completely dominated by science and thus becoming "totally materialistic" (p. 74).

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The principles of correspondences revealed in Swedenborg's Writings were given by the Lord as a scientific tool or method of investigation, a teaching explicitly enunciated in DLW 394 and 413. This is the meaning, according to Simons, of nunc licet, that "now mankind can 'enter intellectually [with understanding] into' not only the mysteries of the Word, but the mysteries of nature as well (TCR 508)" (p. 74).
     The second illustration is given by Linda Simonetti Odhner, who feels "an impulse to reassure people that a New Church point of view can stand a thorough dunking in the waters of science without getting waterlogged,11 To confirm this, she quotes from Swedenborg: "One is not by any means forbidden to develop the rational by means of factual knowledge, but one is not allowed to use it to harden oneself against the truths of faith which belong to the Word" (AC 2588:9). It is worth mentioning here that the rational that, is based on "factual knowledge" is the external rational, while the internal rational is opened solely by means of "truths from the Word." The expression "factual knowledge" normally refers in science to empirical facts obtained through the senses, but I think that truths from the Word are also factual, though based on the internal senses rather than the external. Swedenborg's experiences in the spiritual world are reported as facts, that is, events that occurred to him and which impinged upon his awareness through his spiritual senses. The sub-title of Arcana Coelestia is, after all, "Together with Wonderful Things Seen in the World of Spirits and in the Heaven of Angels." Spiritual knowledge is factual just as natural knowledge is factual, with the only difference that one is based on the internal senses, the other on the external.
     Odhner takes the position that "science works best as science when we confine it to the limited domain of nature alone" (p. 118). Also this: "Man's unique relationship with the Lord, no matter how important, is outside the domain of biology" or, "Surely in the area of science it is legitimate to leave aside the question of final cause and inquire into the instrumental cause of life" (p. 119).

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However, I think that if science in the future is going to become less materialistic, and therefore more valid and real, it will be necessary to import into science factual knowledge about the spiritual world. In my view, true science is not limited to the domain of nature alone, but includes the domain of the rational and the spiritual (or celestial). As scientists today we must do what Swedenborg has attempted in his pre-theological works, and I believe that, as science changes over time, every generation will have to accomplish this with the new science of its day. Eventually, scientific theories will become increasingly suffused with the spiritual dimension of natural phenomena, incorporating such facts as reawakening after death through the midwifery of angels and spirits, and regeneration through spiritual temptations.
     It may be the case that "Swedenborg abandoned his scientific search for the soul,"12 but this occurred prior to, or in connection with, his introduction into the spiritual world. In other words, he exchanged one empirical methodology (natural science) for another empirical methodology (spiritual experiences, observations, and explanations). The situation is different before and after the Second Advent. Now people have been given the means to delve into the mysteries, which means that a new empirical methodology and intellectual theory are available to scientists. The relationship of the Lord to every individual is indeed a biological, or psychobiological, fact. I predict that this will be recognized in the science that is now evolving in preparation for the promised sane future which was ushered in by the Second Advent. After having engaged in the activities called "normal science"13 for more than thirty years, I can benefit from a view from within the halls and byways of empiricism, experimentalism, behaviorism, positivism, and statistical methodology, including the history and philosophy of science.

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This inside view sees no essential opposition between normal science, as it is practiced by each succeeding generation of scientists, and the reality of creation and regeneration as described in Swedenborg's Writings. To me it makes sense to think that the Second Advent could not have occurred until science had reached the modern stage, that is, the nineteenth century. Modern science is based on the rational idea that reality is discoverable through empirical theorizing. In the community of research scientists, anyone whosoever can point to a new fact or present a new theory, and everyone else must heed it. Facts and theories are usable by all; they cannot be ignored as long as the facts and theories are produced according to the accepted scientific procedures. This feature of modern science makes it suitable for containing the evolution of history into the new age of the Second Advent. Rather than accept the currently fashionable view that science is for natural things and Swedenborg is for spiritual things, I think it is legitimate to insist that one cannot properly be studied, researched, and understood without the other. Odhner is, of course, fully aware that science and the Word are together in this way within the individual, referring to AC 3627 and 3628:2, which reveal that every created thing is held together in its form, both from within and from without.
     Mark Carlson's article on evolution theory and the limbus gives us the third illustration of the incorporation of religious concepts from Swedenborg into modern science.14 First he cautions that atheistic evolution theory can be a "real danger" to "the simple-minded" because of its "sophisticated arguments against God" (p. 259). To assume that a "random process can 'create' life" is "inherently unreasonable and illogical" (p. 259). The "neo-Darwinian" views of sociobiologists (he mentions Richard Dawkins) are mere "foolishness," such as the theory that our genes "manipulate us and our world by remote control for the sake of their own survival" (p. 260). I may point out here that traditional evolution theory, as developed in the nineteenth century in the works of Darwin, Galton, Spencer, and James, was not atheistic, but took for granted that God was the controlling force at the root of it.

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     Carlson (p. 261) mentions several concepts from Swedenborg which appear to assume or imply that some sort of animal and plant evolution took place over long time periods under the proximate hand of the Lard. He suggests that a "deeper understanding of both" science and doctrine is possible by allowing Swedenborgian and Darwinian concepts to reflect upon one another in our minds (p. 272). One example is the doctrine that the Lord controls chance or probability distributions (see AC 5508:2). I am aware that the notion of chance variations in genetics is essential to modern biology, as contained in concepts of population theory, genetics, natural selection, survival by adaptation, etc. Carlson refers to the Swedenborgian concept of freedom: the Lord "always works behind an impenetrable veil which maintains human free will" (p. 272). In other words, the Lord of probabilities uses random chance to direct the details of our scientific investigations and theories! As Carlson puts it, "try as we might we will never penetrate the veil and catch the Lord at work through scientific inquiry" (p. 272). Divine Providence "nudges the direction of the probabilities in chance mutation" and "He controls which chromosomes are lost as a result of genetic drift" (p. 272).

Scientific Revolutions Change Things

     Other contemporary scientists and scholars have recognized that Swedenborgian concepts are admissible into science but are kept out due to un-scientific (or political) prejudice.15 William Woofenden bemoans the "unfortunate loss to the world of academe" since "the scholarly world, both in the physical sciences and the humanities, has remained largely ignorant of the vast creditable and historically significant corpus produced by Swedenborg."16 A particularly significant analysis of this issue is presented by Rev. Alfred Acton in his discussion of a widely read and discussed book among my generation of scientists, namely Thomas Kuhn's influential book The Structure of Scientific Revolutions.17

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Many of us still assign this book to our graduate students. Mr. Acton reviews Kuhn's main concept called "paradigm shift," which designates a period of momentous change in an area of science. Most people today are aware that Einstein's theories introduced a paradigm shift in physics, from the mechanics of Newton to relativity, and later, to quantum theory.18 Kuhn's analysis shows that paradigm shifts regularly occur in all fields of science. They occur when numerous facts (called "anomalies") are discovered which existing theories cannot adequately explain. The situation is then politically ripe for a "scientific revolution" which occurs when a brilliant individual suddenly publishes an adequate explanation of all or most of the anomalies. To accomplish this feat, the new hero had to invent an entirely new perspective and methodology which was contrary to the existing one. Power in science lies in those who do the best theorizing, and thus the intellectual revolution creates a shift that defines what is the new politically correct method or school of thought.
     My colleagues and I, in the specialty field known as psycholinguistics, experienced such a paradigm shift in the 1960s, when the legendary Noam Chomsky of M.I.T. redefined linguistics as a branch of cognitive science, and produced intense shock waves across the social and behavioral sciences.19 Since I am arguing here that religious Swedenborgian concepts can be imported into science, it may be worthwhile to consider Mr. Acton's answer to the related question of whether the meaning of Divine revelation can undergo paradigm shifts such as those familiar to scientists. He identifies three New Church paradigms, each of which was a reaction to factual "anomalies" that arose between the march of science and the literal text of the Word. Among these are Swedenborg's assertion that interplanetary space is made of: ether, his description of the character of moon inhabitants, his prediction that black fathers always have black children, and his reference to spontaneous generation of life under certain conditions (e.g., insects issuing from filth).

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Mr. Acton names three reactions to the awareness of these anomalies within the New Church.     
     The liberal paradigm settles down to admitting mistakes or outdated facts in Swedenborg. "The Writings are inspired but so are other works . . . . Shakespeare, Swedenborg, and the Bible are not discretely different . . . . Life on the moon is impossible, so the Writings are wrong in this respect."20 The fundamentalist paradigm affirms the infallibility of the Writings as the Word, and denies that "Divine science" can factually be in error. Thus, ether does constitute the fabric of space; insects or microbes can spontaneously germinate in appropriate biological spheres; the moon is indeed inhabited21; (and perhaps I may add on my own: white infants of racially mixed parents are in some sense still black, though in what sense is still to be discovered). The internal sense paradigm22 sees anomalies in the Latin Word as similar to those found in the Hebrew and Greek Word. In other words, the literal sense is not considered when reading the Word, but instead, the internal sense, which alone contains the infallible series of spiritual truths. Mr. Acton then presents a fourth paradigm, the one he favors. Though it is not named by its author, we may call it the fallacies paradigm.
     According to Acton, each of the three revelations elevates things "to its own level of fallacies" (p. 501). These are necessary for the sake of acceptance of a belief system which must be worded in meanings and images proper to the age at the time the revelation is given. Subsequent generations must disentangle whatever fallacies they note in the literal sense of the Word from the invariant spiritual truths also contained therein. Fallacies that are not conjoined with evil motives do no harm. However, when fallacies in the Word are used to justify selfish and personal goals, they become falsities. The Word thus contains fallacies, but never any falsities.

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Concepts in Swedenborg that I find similar to Acton's definition include appearances of truth, mediate truths, natural vs. heavenly light, and accommodations. One problem that I think needs to be addressed in this paradigm is the difficulty in identifying fallacies in Swedenborg I have noted in many years of teaching that a characteristic of modern science which is particularly difficult to my statistics students is the impossibility of proving that something does not exist somewhere. For instance, science cannot prove that there are no inhabitants on the moon, or that there is no spontaneous generation of insects. It can only present evidence which makes it unlikely that something is present somewhere.
     This scientific reality is at the heart of the difficulty in identifying fallacies in Swedenborg. I would further point out that no factual or natural fallacies have ever been proven, or even identified, in the Old or New Testaments, with the exception of the first eleven chapters of Genesis. This latter issue is dealt with by Swedenborg, who shows that they are not meant to be historical as the other parts of the testaments are. Certainly one cannot point to miracles as natural fallacies, since that would be begging the issue. Defining an historical event as a miracle does not prove it didn't happen. I am unaware of a single natural fact in the threefold Word which has been proven to be a fallacy. An example of the appearances of truth that Swedenborg discusses in relation to the Old Testament is the oft-repeated description of God as angry or repentant, when God is never angry and never sorry for what He does. This, however, is not a fallacy of natural fact, as required in the fallacies paradigm. As Swedenborg explains, when we are in a state of evil and falsity, the Lord appears as angry and frightening and rejecting. This is a spiritual fact. God does indeed phenomenally appear that way, even though He is neither angry nor rejecting. I conclude that the existence of natural fallacies in Swedenborg is a hypothesis that has never been proven.23 Mr. Acton relates the paradigms to specific New Church denominations.

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However, I believe that a paradigm is a type of thinking rather than a church membership, and even though there might be a correlation between them, this may change over time and membership. Thinking in terms of paradigms is certainly useful to keep track of the various states we may go through on our journey of regeneration. Each new paradigm uncovers different relationships that we have with the Word, thus the Lord.
     A reaction to Alfred Acton's proposal of a fallacies paradigm in New Church thinking is worth considering.24 Lawson Smith praises the paradigm theory as "sparkling with potential insights into theology as a human science," yet sees no difference between the liberal paradigm and the fallacies paradigm. He himself favors the fundamentalist paradigm, especially since "some things that now present difficulties [in the Writings] will become clearer [in the future]" (p. 639).25 In other words, as science progresses, the things from Swedenborg that now appear anomalous may "O longer appear so in the future. According to Smith, "one should set aside an anomaly but not reject it outright as a fallacy" for the sake of the integrity of revelation and the future of a science that is bound to become less one-sided and materialistic, more authentic, less insane. I would agree with this position. A final point made by Smith presents an inescapable logic: "Finally, I have to ask Mr. Acton what alternative he has for the virgin birth. Maybe his point is just that we need not reject the whole doctrine of the glorification simply because we have no way of reconciling doctrinal statements with current genetic science. In that I could agree with him wholeheartedly" (p. 641). In other words, biology and genetics will have to find explanations for the virgin birth, and this requirement will guide science into the Swedenborgian direction.
     I may add to this challenge the resurrection of the Lord's physical body and its being transformed into a non-material body, as can be seen from this passage: "As the Lord's Human was glorified, that is, made Divine, He rose again after death on the third day with His whole body, which does not take place with any man; for a man rises again solely as to the spirit, and not as to the body . . . .

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As His body was no longer material but Divine substantial, He came in to His disciples when the doors were shut (John 20:29, 26)" (D. Lord, 35:9 and 10). Future theorists in biology will find here a lot to explain and account for. Note that at this day in biology and psychology, the virgin birth and the physical resurrection are declared impossible events. From the perspective of Swedenborgian concepts, these two events are natural facts which were given in revelation in the Word. A virgin birth and a physical resurrection are facts about natural reality involving history, biology, genetics, and psychology. From this perspective, the inability of contemporary biology to deal with these natural facts of religion and history constitutes overt evidence that biologists and psychologists today are hanging onto a weak scientific paradigm, one that is unable to deal with important facts about human life and development. As these facts are brought forward more and more, a scientific revolution with a new paradigm is predictable for the near future.

     (To be continued)

     1 Formerly Leon A. Jakobovits. Home address: 1116 Lunaanela Street, Kailua, Hawaii 96734; tel. (808) 261-2382. E-mail address: [email protected].
     2 Wilson Van Dusen, "The Distinctiveness of the Church of the New Jerusalem," New Church Life March 1994, pp. 112-114
     3 See for example the July 1993 issue of New Church Life.
     4 Wilson Van Dusen, The Natural Depth in Man and The Presence of Other Worlds, both published by die Swedenborg Foundation
     5 Van Dusen, The Distinctiveness of the Church, p. 114
     6 Wilson Van Dusen, "Spiritual Practice That Makes Religion of the Life: Open Letter to the General Church," New Church Life, July 1993, pp. 314-319
     7 For example, "There are certainly other maps of the same territory," and "I compliment Buddhism as having the only other spiritual map of comparable scope"; The Distinctiveness of the Church, p. 114.
     8 See for example, Leon James, "Swedenborg's Religious Psychology: The Marriage of Good and Truth as Mental Health" in Studia Swedenborgiana, December 1993, Vo1.8, No. 3, pp. 13-42.

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     9 Erland J. Brock, "New Church Epistemology Part VIII," New Philosophy October-December 1988, Vol, XCI, No. 4, pp. 683-695
     10 David R. Simons. "Philosophy of History: From a New Church Perspective," New Philosophy April-June 1989, Vol. XCII No. 2, pp. 67-74
     11 Linda Simonetti Odhner, 'The Bread of Life with Honey from the Rock: A Chaste Union of Religion and Science," New Church Life March 1989, pp. 117-122
     12 Op. cit. p. 119
     13 Thomas S. Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolution, Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1962. See the discussion on Kuhn in what follows.
     14 Mark Carlson, "Evolution, the Limbus, and Hereditary Evil (Part 2)," New Church Life, June 1990, pp. 259-275
     15 See, for example, two recent volumes widely available in academic libraries: Robin Larsen (ed.), Emanuel Swedenborg: A Continuing Vision (New York: Swedenborg Foundation, 1988); Erland J. Brock et. al. (eds.), Swedenborg and His Influence (Bryn Athyn, PA: The Academy of the New Church, 1988).
     16 William Ross Woofenden, "Swedenborg's Philosophy of Causality," New Philosophy, July-September 1990, p. 357
     17 Alfred Acton II, "Paradigms of Revelation," New Philosophy, January-June 1991, pp. 489-506; Thomas S. Kuhn, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, 1962
     18 A useful review may be found in Gregory L. Baker, Religion and Science: From Swedenborg to Chaotic Dynamics (New York: The Solomon Press, 1992, with a foreword by Robert W. Gladish); a humorous and instructive view may be found in the current bestseller, Alan Lightman, Einstein's Dreams: A Novel (New York: Pantheon Books, 1993).
     19 Details relating specifically to my field are documented in: Jakobovits, L. A., The Psycholinguists: Whither Now?; a review of G. A. Miller's 'The Psychology of Communication," Contemporary Psychology, 1969, 14, 156-57; Steinberg, Danny, and Jakobovits, L. A, (Eds.), Semantics: An Inter-disciplinary Reader in Linguistics, Philosophy, and Psychology, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1971 (reprinted paperback editions in 1972 and again in 1974); Jakobovits, L. A. and Miron, M. S. (eds.), Readings in the Psychology of Language, Englewood Cliffs, NJ, 1967.
     20 Alfred Acton II, Paradigms of Revelation, p. 497
     21 Op Cit., p. 497
     22 Mr. Acton uses the expression "the Catholic paradigm," an expression I hesitate to use just in case it might be objectionable to those holding this perspective.
     23 As well, the scientists may be wrong. Erik E. Sandstrom cites the example of British Nobel Prize laureate Stephen Hawking, who puts God back into Big Bang cosmology in his recent book, A Brief History of Time; see Erik E. Sandstr m, "Do's and Don'ts in the New Church," New Church Life, July 1992, pp. 305-313.
     24 Lawson Smith, Letters to the Editor, "Paradigms of Revelation," New Philosophy, July-December 1991, pp. 639-641. See also Acton's reply, pp. 641-643.
     25 This point is also made by Erik E. Sandstrom, "Do's and Don'ts for the New Church," p. 18.

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GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM 1994

GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM       E. Boyd Asplundh       1994

     (A Pennsylvania Corporation)

     Secretary's Report for 1993-1994

     Membership

     As of March 19, 1994, the date of the annual meeting of the corporation, total membership was 882. Three new members had resigned since the last annual meeting, and seven members had passed into the spiritual world.

     Meetings

     At the organizational meeting of the board held immediately after last year's annual meeting on March 5, 1993, the incumbent officers were re-elected:
     Vice President                Louis B. King
     Secretary                    E. Boyd Asplundh
     Treasurer                    Neil M. Buss
     Assistant Treasurer           Bruce A. Fuller
     Controller                    Ian K. Henderson
     (The Executive Bishop of the General Church is ex-officio President.)
     Standard resolutions appointing Investment Committee members and granting authority to transfer securities and to execute and deliver proxies were also adapted.
     Regular meetings of the Board of Directors were held on May 15, 1993, October 9, 1993, February 5, 1994, and March 19, 1994. At each meeting reports were heard from officers and committee heads, and necessary action was taken.
     The May 1993 meeting featured a repot by the Reverend Alfred Acton on activities of the Translation Committee.
     At the October meeting there was a report by Bishop Buss on his concept of regional pastorates. This was followed by considerable discussion during which the Bishop answered a number of questions about the plan.

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     The special report for the February 1994 meeting was on the subject of education. The Reverend Fred Schnarr and his team presented an interesting and informative overview of this important work. At this meeting the reorganization of the treasurer's office was also discussed, as was the concept of "part-time" ministers.
     At the March meeting the Bishop advised that the Reverend Robert Junge had asked to be relieved of his duties as Bishop's Representative for overseas development. The Acting Secretary, Reverend Louis D. Synnestvedt, will assume some of those duties. At this meeting a proposal for reorganization of the treasurer's office was approved.
     The annual meeting of the corporation was also held on March 19, 1994, with 53 members and guests in attendance. This low number was due in part to the fact that the meeting was not held in conjunction with Joint Council meetings as is usually the case.
     Following memorial resolutions, including a specific resolution in memory of the Reverend Lorentz Soneson, the directors listed below were elected:
     Barbara Tryn G. Clark           Cameron C. Pitcaim
          B. Reade Genzlinger           Lincoln F. Schoenberger
          Glenn H. Heilman               Roger W. Schnarr
          Michael G. Lockhart           Warren Stewart
          Kim U. Maxwell               Wendy K. Walter
     Reports of officers were presented, and then Bishop Buss made a presentation on the General Church worldwide, in which he stressed the efforts of individuals in many widely scattered places who have helped to forward the work of the General Church.
     E. Boyd Asplundh,
          Secretary

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In His Light 1994

In His Light       David Deaton       1994

     In His Light, by Rev. David R. Simons. Edited, revised, and illustrated by Linda Simonetti Odhner, 1993, 163 pp.

     Good things are sometimes a long time in coming, and so it is with Rev. David Simons' recently published book, In His Light. This is a sequel of sorts to his highly regarded Unity in the Universe, which appeared way back in 1962. His latest has proved worth the wait.
     In this slim volume, Mr. Simons packs a lifetime's wisdom gleaned from his experience as a New Church teacher and a minister. In His Light is specifically concerned with the philosophy of education that is unique to our church, and how best to practice it. This has been a well-trodden field since the days of Bishop Benade, but a surer guidebook is not likely to be found. Mr. Simons provides a succinct and lucid treatment of New Church education, with a contemporary audience clearly in mind. The dexterous illustrations and disciplined editorial help of Linda Simonetti Odhner make the book invitingly readable. A thorough index and detailed table of contents also make it a handy reference work.
     But don't let its relative brevity make you think it can be polished off in a weekend. In His Light is a thought-filled, thought-provoking text of which every chapter demands to be savored and digested. One can hardly do less, given the question that is posed at the outset:

How can we communicate to our children our confidence and conviction that the Heavenly Doctrines are the Lord speaking rationally to all of us? How can we pass His precious heritage to others, and prepare the next generation to accept the authority of the Word?

     How indeed? In a word, the author's book-length answer is education. In His Light is organized for the most part according to academic areas in primary and secondary school.

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Simons shows that such mundane subjects as history, science, and mathematics can be so much more gripping than they are usually thought to be-even by those who teach them-if only they would be seen in His light. All areas of study are but further reflections of the Almighty and His ceaseless working in our world. The importance of religion, especially that of the New Church, can hardly be over-emphasized: "In a world whose spiritual and moral sickness reveals the rejection of the Source of all that is good, true, and just, there is urgent need for the strong medicine of rational truth which can provide for 'the healing of the nations.'"
     These words have been trumpeted before, but never quite so plangently-at least not in the staid pages of ANC education journals. David Simons has a gift for memorable expression, and his delight in exercising it quickly becomes the reader's. One can quote from him endlessly: "When the mind is fed only man-made conclusions, the pablum of humanism, spiritual growth is severely inhibited." "Giving children a good feeling about reading and writing is more important than making sure they spell and punctuate perfectly. If we limit them to vocabulary-controlled readers, we risk boring and insulting them." "Unresponsive children are children who have not experienced delight." "If we judged ourselves more, we might judge the neighbor less."
     And yet we are grateful to the author for some surprising and sharp-eyed judgments of his own. It is a thrilling admission to hear from someone steeped in the stacks of New Church collateral literature that "We have yet to achieve anything matching the potency of stories by such Christian writers as George MacDonald or C. S. Lewis." Too true! We experience a similar frisson when we hear it conceded that "a former generation, from the Writings, did place too much emphasis on casual touch between the sexes."
     This last reflection is from a chapter entitled "The Conjugial Ideal: Girls and Boys," perhaps the most fascinating and needful of all.

367


At a time when divorce rates among members of the New Church differ little from those outside it, frank words are necessary. Simons does not shy from using them:

If we expect the goal of happy marriage to be real enough and important enough to our young people to actually influence their behavior, we must do more than instruct them in religious principles and true values, important as these are. We also need to model strong committed marriages, to show in word and deed that we are serious about shunning adultery, and to give them living examples of what conjugial love can be.

     No review is complete without quibbles, so let these be noted. In this day of homosexual "marriages" and nuclear weapons "programs," I think we need a more meaningful definition of the familiar New Church terms "orderly" and "disorderly." That, or we should simply retire them. So trenchant a writer as David Simons shouldn't have to resort to antiquated euphemisms. There are also a few places when the admirable concision of In His Light abridges discussion of philosophical questions better left undisturbed. For example: "A society which indulges itself in unrestrained negative criticism of those in power destroys itself." No doubt. But a society which ignores the grievous failings of its leaders is no less imperilled-especially when the folly of one may mean the destruction of all. Moreover, as demonstrated by police-states around the world, any criticism of those in power is typically perceived as unrestrainedly negative. These countries would love to have us think that all of their prisoners of conscience are merely nattering nihilists. Mr. Simons would surely be the first to cry "Nay!" to this misimpression.
     All in all, In His Light is a fine piece of writing and a fine piece of thinking. Working from the Heavenly Doctrines helps, of course. There is hardly a doctrine that isn't at least touched on, and always in such a way as to make it refreshingly new. In His Light is not simply a primer for pedagogues, and would that it reached a wider audience than those in the New Church!

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There is a direct correspondence, as Simons skillfully demonstrates, between natural education and spiritual regeneration. All of us should be concerned with the latter subject, and, if we are destined to be learning and growing forever, we can stand to absorb something about the former.
     In His Light will have no unresponsive readers. Let's hope we don't have to wait as long for its sequel.
     David Deaton
DECLARATIONS OF FAITH AND PURPOSE 1994

DECLARATIONS OF FAITH AND PURPOSE       Various       1994

     June 5, 1994

     I believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, the one God of heaven and earth. I believe the Lord is a God of love-a God who wants to share His love with all people and make them happy to eternity.
     I believe that from His love the Lord was born on earth, allowed Himself to be attacked by hell, and defeated hell. Through this act of redemption the Lord restored spiritual freedom to all people, and revealed again that God is a Human Being.
     I believe the Lord is a God of wisdom-a God who reveals Himself and who teaches people how to love Him and how to love each other. I believe the Lord reveals Himself in the true teachings of all religions, and that the threefold Word is the only revelation that is pure, complete and perfect, because it alone is from the Lord in both essence and manifestation.
     I believe the Lord teaches people to love Him and to love each other by searching His Word for what is true, examining their motivations, thoughts and actions in the light of His truth, shunning the evils they uncover as sins against Him, praying to Him, and beginning a new life of charity based on His Word.

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     I believe the Lord is a God of use-a God who is actively working in all people who live in charity according to their religion, leading them to heaven.
     I believe this trinity of love, wisdom and use makes one in the Lord-from His love He creates, from His wisdom He redeems, and from the operation of these two he enlightens and regenerates all who strive to will, think and act as He leads.     
     My purpose in presenting myself for the priesthood of the New Church is to teach the Word and to lead people by it to the vision of God as a Divine, loving, caring, present, and all-powerful Human Being, to aid people in living the life that this vision inspires, and to help people experience the peace and joy that come from being united with the Lord in a life of useful service to Him and to each other.
     Barry C. Halterman

     [Photo of Barry Halterman and John Jin]

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     *******

     I believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is the one only God of heaven and earth, as He declared in the Gospel, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth." He is one in person and in essence, in whom is the Divine Trinity, that is, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
     I believe that the Lord from eternity, who is Jehovah, came into the world and assumed the Human. He endured temptations, even to the passion of the cross. He overcame the hells, and so delivered man. He glorified His humanity, uniting it with the Divinity of which it was begotten. Thus He became the Redeemer and Savior of the world.
     I believe that without Him no mortal could have been saved, and that they are saved who believe in Him and keep the Commandments of His Word. This is His Commandment: that we love the Lord our God with all our heart, with all our soul, with all our strength, and with all our mind, and that we love our neighbor as ourselves (see Matt. 22:37f; Mark 12:29f; Deut. 6:5).
     I believe that these things must be done by a person as if from himself, but it must be believed that they are from the Lord with the person, and by means of Him (see TCR 2, 3).
     I believe that the Lord is present in our inmost mind and in His Word which consists of the Old Testament, New Testament, and the Writings. As we learn the truths and live according to them, He is fully present with us. His Word is the fountain of wisdom, the source of life, and the way to heaven.
     I believe in the Lord's Second Coming as an historical fact and as the fulfillment of the prophecy through the Writings. The Writings have revealed the spiritual sense of the Word, the doctrine of genuine truth, and heavenly secrets of the spiritual world and life after death. Through this the Lord formed a New Heaven and a New Church, which is the New Jerusalem.
     In presenting myself for inauguration and ordination into the priesthood of the New Church, I believe that the Lord has called me to work in His vineyard as a servant and a laborer.

371


I humbly ask for the strength to continually improve that I may perform the duties of the priestly office justly, honestly, and faithfully.
     I ask for enlightenment in the instruction of truth, for love in the salvation of souls, and for wisdom in leading people to the good of life.
     I believe that the Lord only grants me humility and encourages me as He says, "I am the vine, you are the branches; He who abides in Me and I in him bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire and it shall be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples" (John 15:5, 7, 8).
     Yong (John) Jin
IN OUR CONTEMPORARIES 1994

IN OUR CONTEMPORARIES       Editor       1994

     The latest (May 1994) issue of Studia Swedenborgiana begins with a presentation by Dr. Michael Stanley entitled "The Problem of the Origin of Evil-A Swedenborgian Solution."
     Dr. Stanley, author of the little book Eve, The Bone of Contention, begins by stating the problem: "If evil exists, then either God is not wholly good or he is not wholly powerful. He cannot be both, or he would not allow evil to exist; but God is both good and all-powerful and evil exists."
     Dr. Stanley outlines the attempt by Augustine to solve this dilemma, and finally presents the solution that is given in the Writings.

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Editorial Pages 1994

Editorial Pages       Editor       1994

     WHEN SOMEONE DOES SOMETHING WRONG

     We often have mixed feelings when someone does something wrong. The perpetrator may be someone for whom we have respect or personal fondness. Do we think of him as guilty or not?
     A teaching of the Writings shows that there is not a contradiction in thinking of someone as both guilty and not guilty. There are three distinct levels in this situation. One is the matter of legal guilt or innocence. The next is one of moral guilt or whether we personally blame the person for his action. The third is whether inwardly he is spiritually guilty.
     A person may be guilty according to the law, and so should bear the legal consequences. And yet one may regard the person differently on the moral plane. The spiritual plane is known to the Lord. In n. 485 of Conjugial Love it is said that such things are regarded "in one way by a person on the basis of his rational sight, in another way by a judge on the basis of the law, and in another way by the Lord on the basis of the state of the person's mind."
     Here is the conclusion of the passage. (The translation, due to be published this year, is by Rev. N. Bruce Rogers.)

These three judgments are very different in nature, as can be seen without explanation. For a person may, from a rational evaluation in accordance with the circumstances and contingent factors, exonerate one whom a judge while sitting in judgment cannot, on the basis of the law, exonerate; and a judge, too, may exonerate one who after death is condemned. The reason for the latter is that a judge determines his verdict in accordance with a person's deeds, whereas everyone is judged after death in accordance with the intentions of his will and consequent intellect, and in accordance with the persuasions of his intellect and consequent will. Neither of these does a judge see.

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Yet each judgment is nevertheless just, the one looking to the good of civil society, the other to the good of heavenly society.

     THEN I WAS CARRYING YOU

     In the last few years the story of footprints in the sand, author unknown, has become known to virtually everyone. Two sets of footprints show that the Lord was walking with you. But there is only one set of footprints in the most difficult parts of the journey. You ask the Lord why He was absent just at the times when He was needed. The answer, so well known, is: "That is when I was carrying you."
     This truth has appealed to so many people. You can buy the little story in gift shops, both religious and secular. It is inscribed on wood and leather and glass.
     Is it really true that the Lord is especially close when He seems to have been absent? Yes, the Writings teach this in a number of places. "So long as temptation continues, the person supposes the Lord to be absent, because he is troubled by evil genii so severely that sometimes he is reduced to despair, and can scarcely believe there is any God. Yet the Lord is then more closely present than he can ever believe. But when the temptation ceases, the person receives consolation, and then first believes the Lord to be present" (AC 840; see also AC 6574, 7195).
     AC 1947 says, "Though the contrary seems to be the case, there is more freedom in times of temptation than there is outside of them. Indeed at such times freedom increases as assaults are made by evils and falsities, and it is consolidated by the Lord in order that a heavenly proprium may be given to the person. For that reason also the Lord is closer in time of temptation."
     Note especially TCR 126: "In temptations apparently one is left to himself alone, although he is not; for God is then most nearly present in one's inmosts and supports him."

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PRINTING LETTERS 1994

PRINTING LETTERS       Dewey Odhner       1994




     Communications
Dear Editor:
     Rev. Grant Schnarr asked whether people who question the doctrines feel obligated to stay in the church. Speaking for myself, the answer is no. I would feel perfectly free to leave the church if I did not belong-but I do! Although I may be afflicted with fallacies, I yearn for true understanding. I have no other church to turn to to satisfy my needs. Please continue to accept me as a member, and continue to publish letters questioning the doctrines. I believe you serve several vital uses by publishing such letters. (1) You allow people to feel that they are heard, taken seriously, and welcomed in the church, even if they have problems with some of the doctrines. (2) You allow misunderstandings to be corrected by editorial rebuttals and reader responses. If you close your eyes to these problems, they will not go away. (3) By responding to these letters, and by observing those who respond effectively, you learn better ways to explain the doctrines-ways that address real concerns people have. (4) If you really try to understand why we think the way we do, you might even find there is some truth to our "heresies."
     I understand that many people feel uncomfortable when their beliefs are challenged. Do not be afraid; the truth will prevail! (Doesn't the church teach that?)
     Dewey Odhner,
          Horsham, PA
REFERRING TO "THE LORD" 1994

REFERRING TO "THE LORD"       Erin C. Martz       1994

     Dear Editor:
     Listening to Christian radio stations, I frequently hear the term "the Lord" (as well as "Jesus" and "Christ"). Christians talk of how "the Lord" has helped them through something.

375


When I hear this, T think of how many members of the General Church use the term "the Lord" also. I wonder what the difference is in the conceptualizations of God behind the term "the Lord" for New Church people and for other Christians.
     Personally, I feel that the term "the Lord" denotes only one level or aspect of God, and that the Divine Human and the First Coming are not acknowledged by the term "the Lord." It is understandable that Christians use the term because of their lack of understanding of the function of the Divine Human and the integrality of the trinity.
     But with the explanations Swedenborg gave about the multiple levels of the universe, one would think that the term "the Lord Jesus Christ" would be more appropriate for the New Church, for this term reflects the fullness and integral oneness of God, as well as the importance of the First Coming. "The Lord" to me denotes only one level or aspect of God: God before the First Coming of the Divine Human.
     Christians believe that Jesus/Jesus Christ has always existed side by side with the Father, which is why they use "the Lord" interchangeably in their conversation. But in order to acknowledge the incorporation of the Divine Human into the aspect of God that was previously called "Jehovah," "the Most High," or "the Lord," the name "the Lord Jesus Christ" to my perception represents the multi-leveled fullness of God, as well as the unity of the representative "love" and "wisdom" paradigm. Maybe those who use the term "the Lord" should consider the above in order to be conscious of their correspondential choice of terms for God.
     Erin C. Martz,
          Adelanto, California

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ORDINATIONS 1994

ORDINATIONS       Editor       1994




     Announcements
     de Padua-At Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, June 12, 1994, Mauro Santos de Padua into the second degree of the priesthood, Rt. Rev. Peter M. Buss officiating.

     Elphick-At Oak Arbor, Michigan, May 22, 1994, Derek Peter Elphick into the second degree of the priesthood, Rt. Rev. Peter M. Buss officiating.

     Halterman-At Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, June 5, 1994, Barry Childs Halterman into the first degree of the priesthood, Rt. Rev. Peter M. Buss officiating.

     Jin-At Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, June 5, 1994, Yong (John) Jin Jin into the first degree of the priesthood, Rt. Rev. Peter M. Buss officiating.

     Pendleton-At Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, May 29, 1994, Mark Dandridge Pendleton into the second degree of the priesthood, Rt. Rev. Peter M. Buss officiating.
GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM PUBLIC WORSHIP AND DOCTRINAL CLASSES 1994

GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM PUBLIC WORSHIP AND DOCTRINAL CLASSES       Editor       1994

     (Please send any corrections to the editor.)

     UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

     Alabama:
     Birmingham               
Dr. R. Shepard, 4537 Dolly Ridge Road, Birmingham, AL 35243. Phone: (205) 967-3442.
     Huntsville
Mrs. Anthony L. Sills, 1000 Hood Ave., Scottsboro, AL 35768. Phone: (205) 574-1617.
     Arizona:
     Phoenix
Rev. Fred Chapin, 5631 E. Shea Blvd., Scottsdale, AZ 85254 (church). Phone: home (602) 996-2919; office (602) 991- 929-6455.
     Tucson
Rev. Frank S. Rose, 9233 B. Helen, Tucson, AZ 85715. Phone: (602) 721-1091.
     Arkansas:
     Little Rock
Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Holmes, 2695 Lane, Batesville, AR 72501. Phone: (501) 793-5135.
     California:
     Los Angeles               
Rev. John L. Odhner, 5022 Carolyn Way, La Crescenta, CA 91214. Phone: (818) 249-5031.     
      Orange County
Rev. Cedric King, resident pastor, 21332 Forest Meadow, El Toro, CA 92630. Phone: home (714) 586-5142; office (714) (904) 228-2276.
     Sacramento               
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Ripley, 225 Woodlake Lane, Newcastle, CA 95658. Phone: (916) 663-2788.
     San Diego               
Rev. Stephen D. Cole, 941 Ontario St., Escondido, CA 92025. Phone: home (619) 432-8495; office (619) 571-8599.
     San Francisco     
Mr. and Mrs. Philip C. "Red" Pendleton, 2261 Waverley Street, Palo Alto, CA 94901.

381



     Colorado:
     Boulder
Rev. David C. Roth, 4215 N. Broadway, Boulder, CO 80304. Phone: (303) 404-6121.
     Colorado Springs
Mr. and Mrs. William Rienstra, P.O. Box 95, Simla, CO 80835. Phone: (719) 541-2375.
     Denver
Mrs. Joseph Orrico (Cecy), 4741 W. 102nd Ave., Westminster, CO 80030. Phone: (303) 466-9347.
     Connecticut:
     Bridgeport, Hartland, Shelton
Mr. and Mrs. James Tucker, 45 Honey Bee Lane, Shelton, CT 06484. Phone: (203) 929-6455.
     Rev. Geoffrey Howard, visiting pastor. Phone: (508) 443-6531.
     Delaware:
     Wilmington
Mrs. Justin Hyatt, 2008 Eden Road, N. Graylyn, Wilmington DE 19810. Phone: (302) 475-3694.
     District of Columbia: see Mitchellville, Maryland.
     Florida:
     Boynton Beach
Rev. Derek Elphick, 10621 El Clair Ranch Road, Boynton Beach, FL 33437. Phone: (407) 736-9866.
     Jacksonville
Kristi Helow, 6338 Christopher Creek Road W., Jacksonville, FL 32217-2472.
     Lake Helen
Mr. and Mrs. Brent Morris, 264 Kicklighter Road, Lake Helen, FL 32744. Phone: (904) 228-2276.
     Pensacola
Mr. and Mrs. John Peacock, 5238 Soundside Drive, Gulf Breeze, FL 32561. Phone: (904) 934-3691.
     Georgia:
     Americus
Mr. W. H. Eubanks, Rt. #2, S. Lee Street, Americus, GA 31709. Phone: (912) 924-9221.
     Atlanta
Rev. C. Mark Perry, 2119 Seaman Circle, Chamblee, GA 30341. Phone: office (404) 458-9673.
     Idaho:
     Fruitland (Idaho-Oregon border)
Mr. Harold Rand, 1705 Whitley Drive, Fruitland, ID 83619. Phone: (208) 452-3181.
     Illinois:
     Chicago
Rev. Grant Schnarr, 74 Park Drive, Glenview, IL 60025. Phone: home (708) 729-0130; office (708) 729-9296.
     Decatur
Mr. John Aymer, 127 Cambridge, Decatur, IL 62562. Phone: (217) 875-3215.
     Glenview
Rev. Eric Carswell, 73 Park Drive, Glenview, IL 60025. Phone: (708) 724-0120.
     Indiana:
Rev. Patrick Rose, 785 Ashcroft Court, Cincinnati, OH 45240. Phone: (513) 825-7473.
     Kentucky:
Rev. Patrick Rose, 785 Ashcroft Court, Cincinnati, OH 45240. Phone: (513) 825-7473.
     Louisiana:
     Baton Rouge
Mr. Henry Bruser, Jr., 6050 Esplanade Ave., Baton Rouge, LA 70806. Phone: (504) 924-3098.
     Bath
Rev. Allison L Nicholson, HC 33 - Box 61N, Arrowsic, MH 04530. Phone: (207) 443-6410.
     Maryland:
     Baltimore
Rev. Willard L. D. Heinrichs, visiting minister, Box 717, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009. Phone: home (215) 947-5334; office (215) 938-2582.
     Mitchellville
Rev. James P. Cooper, 11910 Chantilly Lane, Mitchellville, MD 20721. Phone: (301) 805-9460; office (301) 464-5602.
     Massachusetts:
     Boston
Rev. Geoffrey Howard, 17 Cakebread Drive, Sudbury, MA 01776. Phone: (508) 443-6531.
     Michigan
     Detroit
Rev. Grant Odhner, 395 Olivewood Ct., Rochester, MI 48306. Phone: (313) 652-7332.

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     East Lansing
Lyle and Brenda Birchman, 14777 Cutler Rd., Portland, MI 48875.
     Minnesota:
     St. Paul
Karen Huseby, 4247 Centerville Rd., Vadnais Heights, MN 55127. Phone: (612) 429-5285.
     Missouri:
     Columbia
Mr. and Mrs. Paul Johnson, 1508 Glencairn Court, Columbia, MO 65203. Phone: (314) 442-3475.
     Kansas City
Mr. Glen Klippenstein, Glenkirk Farms, Rt. 2, Maysville, MO 64469. Phone: (816) 449-2167.
     New Jersey-New York:
     Ridgewood, NJ
Jay and Barbara Barry, 348 Marshall St., Ridgewood, NJ 07450. Phone: (201) 612-8146.
     New Mexico:
     Albuquerque
Mr. Howard Leach, 548 Mullen Rd. NW, Albuquerque, NM 87107. Phone: (505) 345-5297.
     North Carolina:
     Charlotte
Rev. Bill Burke, 6010 Paddington Court, Charlotte, NC 28277. Phone: (704) 846-6416.
     Ohio:
     Cincinnati
Rev. Patrick Rose, 785 Ashcroft Court, Cincinnati, OH 45240. Phone: (513) 825-7473.
     Cleveland
Mr. Alan Childs, 19680 Beachcliff Blvd., Rocky River, OH 44116. Phone: (216) 333-4413.
     Oklahoma:
     Oklahoma City
Mr. Robert Campbell, 13929 Sterlington, Edmond, OK 73013: Phone: (404) 478-4729.
     Oregon:
     Portland
Mr. and Mrs. Jim P. Andrews, Box 99, 1010 NB 3601, Corbett, OR 97019. Phone: (503) 695-2534.
     Oregon-Idaho Border: see Idaho, Fruitland.
     Pennsylvania:
     Bryn Athyn
Rev. Kurt Asplundh, Box 277, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009. Phone: (215) 947-6225.
     Elizabethtown
Mr. Meade Bierly, 523 Snyder Ave., Elizabethtown, PA 17022. Phone: (77) 367-3964.
     Erie
Mrs. Paul Murray, 5648 Zuck Road, Erie, PA 16506. Phone: (814) 833-0962.
     Freeport
Rev. J. Clark Echols, c/o The Sowers Chapel, 100 Iron Bridge Road, Sarver, PA 16055. Phone: office (412) 353-2220.
     Hawley
Mr. Grant Genzlinger, 304 Maple Ave., Hawley, PA 18428. Phone: (717) 226-2993.
     Ivyland
The Ivyland New Church, 851 W. Bristol Road, Ivyland 18974. Pastor: Rev. Robert Junge. Phone: (215) 957-5965. Secretary: Mrs. K. Cronlund. (215) 598-3919.
     Kempton
Rev. Ragnar Boyesen, RD 2, Box 225-A, Kempton, PA 19529. Phone: home (215) 756-4462: office (215) 756-6140.
     Pittsburgh
Rev. Nathan D. Gladish, 299 Le Roi Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15208. Phone: church (412) 731-7421.
     South Carolina: see North Carolina.
     South Dakota:
     Hot Springs
Linda Klippenstein, 604 S.W. River St. #A8, Hot Springs, SD 57747. Phone: (605) 745-6629.
     Texas:
     Austin
Denise Grubb, 510 Academy Drive, Austin, TX 78704. Phone (512) 447-6811.
     Virginia:
     Richmond
Mr. Donald Johnson, 13161 Happy Hill Road, Chester, VA 23831. Phone: (804) 748-5757.

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     Washington:
     Seattle
Rev. Erik J. Buss, 5409 154th Ave., Redmond, WA 98052. Phone: (206) 883-4327; office (206) 882-8500.
     West Virginia:
Mrs. Thelma Smith, Route 1, Box 447, Peterstown, WV 24963. Phone: (304) 753-9508.
     Wisconsin:
     Madison
Mrs. Max Howell, 3912 Plymouth Circle, Madison, WI 53705. Phone: (608) 233-0209.

     OTHER THAN U.S.A.

     AUSTRALIA
     Canberra
Mrs. Rex Ridgway, 7 Whalan Place, Kaleen, ACT, Australia 2617.
     Sydney, N.S.W.
Rev. Arthur W. Schnarr, 26 Dudley Street, Penshurst, N.S.W. 2222. Phone: 57-1589.
     Tamworth
See Rev. Arthur Schnarr under Sydney.
     BRAZIL
     Rio de Janeiro
Rev. Cristovao Rabelo Nobre, Rua Lina Teixeira, 109 Apt. 201, Rocha, Rio de Janeiro R.J. 20970. Phone: 21-201-8455.
     CANADA
     Alberta
     Calgary
Mr. Thomas R. Fountain, 1115 Southglen Drive S.W., Calgary 13, Alberta T2W 0X2. Phone: 403-255-7283.
     Debolt
Ken and Lavina Scott, RR1, Crooked Creek, Alberta T0H 0Y0. Phone: 403-057-3625.
     Edmonton
Mrs. Wayne Anderson, 6703-9811 Street, Edmonton, Alberta T6E 3L9. Phone: 403-432-1499.
     British Columbia
     Dawson Creek
Rev. Glenn G. Alden, Dawson Creek Church, 9013 8th St., Dawson Creek, B.C., Canada V1G 3N3. Phone: home (604) 786-5297; office (604) 782-8035.
     Ontario
     Kitchener
Rev. Michael K. Cowley, 58 Chapel Hill Drive, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada N2G 3W5. Phone: office (519) 748-5802.
     Ottawa
Mr. and Mrs. Donald McMaster, 684 Fraser Ave., Ottawa, Ontario K2A 2R8. Phone: (613) 725-0394.
     Toronto
Rev. Michael Gladish, 279 Burnhamthorpe Rd., Islington, Ontario M9B 124. Phone: church (416) 239-3055.
     Quebec
     Montreal
Mr. Denis de Chazal, 17 Ballantyne Ave. So., Montreal West, Quebec H4X 2B1, phone: (514) 489-9861.
     DENMARK
     Copenhagen
Mr. Jorgen Hauptmann, Strandvejen 22, 4040 Jyllinge. Phone: 46 78 9968.
     ENGLAND
     Colchester
Rev. Christopher Bown, 2 Christ Church Court, Colchester, Essex C03 3AU. Phone: 011-44-206-575644.
     Letchworth
Mr. and Mrs. R. Evans, 24 Berkeley, Letchworth, Herts. SG6 WA. Phone: (0462) 684751.
     London
Rev. Frederick Elphick, 2111 Hayne Rd., Beckenham, Kent BR3 4JA. Phone: 011-44-1-658-6320.
     Manchester
Mrs. Neil Rowcliffe, "Woodside," 44 Camberley Drive, Bamford, Rochdale, Lancs. OL11 4AZ.
     Surrey
Mr. Nathan Morley, 27 Victoria Road, Southern View, Guildford, Surrey, GU1 4DJ.
     GHANA, WEST AFRICA
     Accra
Rev. William Ankra-Badu, Box 11305, Accra North.
     Asakraka, Nteso, Oframase
Rev. Martin K. Gyamfi, Box 10, Asakraka-Kwahu E/R.
     Medina, Tema
Rev. Simpson K. Darkwah, House No. AA3, Community 4, c/o Box 1483, Tema.

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     HOLLAND
     The Hague
Mr. Ed Verschoor, V. Furstenburchstr, 6 3862 AW Nijkerk.
     JAPAN
For information about various church activities in Japan contact Mr. Tatsuya Nagashima, 30-2, Saijoh-Nishiotake, Yoshino-cho, Itano-gun, Tokoshima-ken, 771-14.
     KOREA
     Seoul
Rev. Dzin P. Kwak, #B01 Sanho-villa, 238 Shinsa-dong, Eunpyung-ku, Seoul, Korea 122-080. Phone: home 02-309-7305; church 02-555-1366.
     NEW ZEALAND
     Auckland
Mrs. H. Keal, 4 Derwent Cresc., Titirangi, Auckland 7, New Zealand.
     SOUTH AFRICA
     Cape Province
     Cape Town
Mrs. Sheila Brathwaite, 208B Silvermine Village, Private Bag #1, Noordhoek, 7985 R.S.A. Phone: 021-891424.
     Natal
Clermont and Enkumba
Rev. Ishborn Buthelezi, P. O. Box 150, Clernaville, Natal, 3602. Phone: 011-27-31-707-1526.
     Durban (Westville)
Rev. Lawson M. Smith, 8 Winslow Road, Westville 3630, Natal, Republic of South Africa. Phone: 011-27-31-2628113.
     Rev. Geoffrey S. Childs, 7 Sydney Drive, Westville, Natal, 3630. Phone: 27-31-262-8113.
     Empangeni and Impaphala
Rev. Chester Mcanyana, P. O. Box 770, Eshowe, Natal, 3815, Meerensse, Natal, 3901. Phone: 0351-32317.
     Eshowe/Richards Bay/Empangeni
Mrs. Marten Hiemstra, P. O. Box 10745, Meerensee, Natal, 3901. Phone: 0351-32317.
     Hambrook, Kwa Mashu and Umlazi
Rev. B. Alfred Mbatha, P. . O. Box 27011, Kwa Mashu, Natal, 4360. Phone: 27-31-503-2356.
     Westville (see Durban)
     Alexandra Township
Rev. Albert Thabede, 140 Phase One, P. O. Bramley, Transvaal, 2090. Phone: 011-27-11-443-3852.
     Balfour
Rev. Reuben Tshabalala, 1428 Zondi, P. O. Kwaxuma 1868, Soweto, Transvaal, 9140. Phone: 011-27-11-932-3528.
     Buccleuch
Rev. Andrew Dibb, P.O. Box 816, Kelvin 2054, Republic of South Africa, Phone: (011l) 804-2567.
     Diepkloof
Rev. Jacob M. Maseko, 8482, Zone 5, Pineville, Transvaal, 1808. Phone: 011-27-11-938-8314.
     SWEDEN
     Jnk ping
Contact Rev. Bjrn A.H. Boyesen, Bruksater, Satersfors 10, S-56691, Habo, Sweden. Phone: 0392-20395.
     Stockholm
Rev. David H. Lindrooth, Aladdinsvagen 27, 161 38 Bromma, Sweden. Phone/Fax: 011 468 26 79 85.
     Note: Please send any corrections to the editor.

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Notes on This Issue 1994

Notes on This Issue       Editor       1994

Vol. CXIV     September, 1994     No. 9
NEW CHURCH LIFE

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     Notes on This Issue

     What is the best month to print the annual Charter Day address? In some years the editor has managed to get that mid-October address into the December issue. But the December issue gets crowded. Indeed most issues are overcrowded in these days of abundant copy. What's the best month? September is a time when another Charter Day is just around the corner (Oct. 14th-see page 427). Whether you were among the hundreds who heard Grant Odhner last October or are seeing his address for the first time, please note the suggestion that you read the lesson on page 393 before you read the address. Ideally you should read the final seven verses of Isaiah 28 too:
"Does the plowman keep plowing all day to sow? Does he keep turning his soil?"
     Do you remember all those letters about Gurdjieff in 1993? Well, Dr. Leon James of the University of Hawaii read them all, and he offers a resulting perspective. But note especially his invitation to consider a paradigm switch; look at science in a different way. He says, "I invite all readers of Swedenborg to participate in this exciting paradigm switch in science and society."
     Do you remember in the June issue a man who reported on events in the Czech Republic and officiated at an ordination service there this year? That was Christopher Hasler, who resides in England. Parts of his article relating to the differences of men and women are published in this issue.
     Each year we list the way the pages of New Church Life are used. How many pages will be devoted to letters from readers this year? We will make the count in December.
     Of the 41 baptisms reported in this issue, 21 are adult baptisms, reported from six countries.

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SOME REFLECTIONS ON GROWING 1994

SOME REFLECTIONS ON GROWING       Rev. Grant H. ODHNER       1994

     Charter Day Address

     October 22, 1993

     I don't come to Bryn Athyn that often-about once a year, sometimes twice. And when you don't see a place very often, you notice changes. You especially notice changes in things that interest you.
     One of the small things I valued as a student here twenty years ago was the natural beauty of Bryn Athyn. I spent many hours in the woods-walking down Quarry Road, through the cemetery, along the tracks, down Creek Road (where there were few houses and no lyme ticks). I loved the changing seasons, the colors, the smells. I relished the way a line of trees met a field or the way a meadow looked from different angles. I loved getting to know the varied personalities of living, growing things (seeds, fruits, leaves, etc.).
     In the town itself there were many beautiful homes and buildings. But what I loved more than the buildings were the plantings. Of course, there was the Cathedral, the grounds so trim and orderly. Just sitting in one of its sacred corners brought a kind of order and peace to the mind. I loved the contrast between the carefully kept hill and the less-kept fields and woods beyond. Then there were Glencairn and Cairnwood. They were fenced in and off-limits back then (as much as anything is off-limits to a high school boy). This only made the moments of stealing through those richly planted grounds more special. I liked the campus too-the stone buildings covered with vines, the pockets of lush rhododendrons, the broad playing fields, the open, gently rolling fields around the college. Perhaps my favorite place, though, was Cairncrest. It was delightfully overgrown (at that time), but many of the vines, ground covers, shrubs, and trees that made its former glory still survived.

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     What struck me most, and grew on me through my years in Bryn Athyn, was the quality and variety of plantings. People with an eye for beauty had carefully selected and planted and nurtured along an enormous number of species-especially trees. If you look around you will notice many kinds of oaks and maples and evergreens. There are varieties of elms, hickories, ashes, cherries, locusts. There are sycamores, buckeyes, horse chestnuts, cedars of Lebanon, gingkos, royal paulownias, bald-cypresses. (I could go on and on.) (Does anyone know where the persimmon tree on campus is?)
     Some of these trees may have sprung up on their own, but most were planted by people-some, eighty or a hundred years before I was a student, some while I was here, and some have been planted since. And today many are treasures!-towering and handsome, healthy and strong.
     So when I come back to Bryn Athyn, I especially notice the trees. The largest ones look about the same to me as they did as a student (they probably looked the same to my parents). Others have changed a lot, taking on a grace and maturity that is wonderful to see. Some that were as small as bushes are now forces to be reckoned with, casting a shadow of influence around them, creating a space in which their own special aura of quiet constancy holds sway.
     Things grow and change. And to my mind there is an unmistakable trend for the better. Beauty adds to beauty. Efforts multiply. What a marvelous process growing is!
     Today we mark the 116th anniversary of the granting of the Academy's charter. And we think of growth. The Academy has grown in more ways than in its trees! It's been exciting for me to see new people becoming involved since I was a student-new teachers, new board members, new administrators, new parents, new students. It's been great to hear new needs and desires expressed and responded to. And the Academy has not just responded, but has also looked ahead and anticipated coming challenges, and asked itself where it wants to go.

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No one who has been watching for even a few years can fail to notice the exciting spirit of growth here-though perhaps, as with noticing trees change, a little "distance" helps one appreciate these things.
     Now I'm not suggesting that things have changed and grown only in recent years. This town and this campus were planted many years ago, and the Academy itself was planted before that. Its founders were visionaries. They "prepared the sell for this institution, and they planted lots of fine things here (drawing seeds not just from "the near and familiar" of educational thought, but from "the far and little known" ideas found in the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg). They planted these ideas and dreams carefully, giving each room to grow, with hope and confidence that their beauty and fruitfulness would increase with time. So the change has been gradual and organic-new ideas branching forth from existing trunks, blossoming in their season, when all things have conspired to that moment.
     We all live mostly in the "here and now," so it is easy to forget our debt to those who have gone before. It is easy to see ourselves as the source of present achievements or present good (or bad) conditions. It's easy to blame those who went before for not doing what we have done or not seeing what we have seen. But the truth is, we could not have done what we have done or seen what we have seen apart from those who went before. Our thoughts and efforts have grown from theirs, either by extension or by adjustment.
     Not long ago I moved to Rochester, Michigan to become the pastor of the Oak Arbor Society. We moved into the house that the former pastor had lived in. My wife and I, like the pastor and his wife before us, love gardening. There was a lot of work to do on the grounds. The house and the lot were quite new, and time and finances had permitted only so much planting. But many small beginnings had been made.
     Well, it occurred to us soon after moving in that we would like to put the vegetable garden in a different place.

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But it took little time for us to realize what a difficult job it would be to plant somewhere else. The native soil was solid clay. Better top soil had, in fact, been brought in for every garden bed on the property, and the soil had been built up over the years. We began to appreciate all the preparation that had been done for us. It has become a source of great joy to us to work from there, gradually, as we are able. And we've seen a parallel with the church society: there was a lot to be done, but a lot had been done before us by many, many people, past and present; our joy would be in seeing ourselves as a part of the congregation's ongoing growth.
     Change and growth are so much bigger than we are! We tend to see ourselves as masters of our destiny, and so the Lord would have it. Like farmers, we do have a lot to do. A planting can fail for lack of effort and planning. There must be proper preparation of seed and soil; timing and execution must be right. And yet for all their work, farmers know how little really lies in their hands. They come to respect the elements that they cannot control, the basic make-up of their soil, the weather, the timing of germination and ripening. (I worked on a farm for a few summers in college, and I'll never forget seeing an old farmer as he watched large fields of mown hay being ruined by rain. His pleasant, wrinkled face remained calm, serene, good-humored. I had the feeling that he knew who was in charge. He had seen enough harvests in his day to trust in the process.)
     As the Writings point out, there are so many factors in our spiritual growth as individuals-countless contingencies each instant! And much of what changes is beyond our control. So it is with the growth of churches and organizations like the Academy. Did we choose our heritage, our forefathers and foremothers? Did we choose to be dealing with the issues we are dealing with now? Yet when you labor in a special cause like ours, you have limited choice of where you can be, a limited choice of the people with whom you learn or teach or work.
     The truth is, the Lord has called us and brought us together to labor in this good field, a promising and fruitful field.

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It's a field and a labor much larger than ourselves-in fact, eternal in its extent. We need to have trust in the process and not in ourselves. We need to value each other (faculty, students, alumni) as fellow laborers in it. We need to listen to each other and believe that we are all here in Providence to be a part of this ongoing, wonderful work.
     The Lord is the grand architect, who sees the beginning and the end of His work. He is the gardener, the farmer. In our lesson from Isaiah (chap. 28) this was the main message. The spiritual farmer's wisdom in participating in the grand process is from the Lord. He teaches him to stop "plowing" and begin "sowing." He teaches him to plant different kinds of "seed" in different ways and to plant this kind of "seed" here and that kind there, that they may all thrive.


     Does the plowman keep plowing all day to sow?
     Does he keep opening and harrowing his ground?
     When he has leveled its face,
     Does he not strew the black cumin,
     And scatter the cumin,
     And plant the wheat in rows,
     The barley in the appointed place,
     And the spelt in its place?
     For [God] instructs him in right judgment,
     His God teaches him. (verses 24-26)


     Isaiah extends his parable further: the Lord is the source of the wisdom that teaches the spiritual farmer to "thresh" different plants in different ways to get the most "seed" out of them. Some "plants" require much more careful treatment.


     The black cumin is not threshed with a threshing sledge,
     Nor is a cartwheel rolled over the cumin;
     But the black cumin is beaten out with a stick,
     And the cumin with a rod. (verse 27)

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     The Lord also teaches us to stop "threshing" once the "grain" is out, and to begin making "bread."


     Bread flour must be ground;
     Therefore [the spiritual farmer] does not thresh it forever,
     Break it with his cartwheel,
     Or crush it with his horsemen. (verse 28)


     I'm not going to try to explain all the symbolism here, because our time is up. But you get the main message: there is a lot of wisdom involved in being a part of a growing system, a system that involves teaching and learning. In our short-sightedness we can easily get caught up and bogged down at any one point in the process-in mental plowing or sowing or harvesting. But if we turn to the Lord and trust that growth is His process, and that He can lead us through it, then we will discover the wisdom to move forward toward increasing fruitfulness; for as Isaiah's parable concludes:


     This [wisdom] comes from the Lord of hosts,
     Who is wonderful in counsel, and excellent in guidance. (verse 29)


     As you leave here and walk back through the campus, look around at some of the larger trees. They proclaim a growth that took place before any of us were here, and (the Lord willing) they will stand to proclaim future growth long after we are gone. Love the Gardener! Love the process! Love your place in it!
     Lessons: Isaiah 28:23-29; Luke 13:6-9; AE 1154:2, 3

     Note: The lesson from Apocalypse Explained is printed on the next page.

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Apocalypse Explained 1154:2, 3

     The operation of the Divine Providence, which takes place without a human being's awareness, may be illustrated by two comparisons.
     It is like a gardener collecting the seeds of shrubs, fruit trees, and flowers of all kinds, and providing himself with spades, rakes, and other tools for working the land, and then fertilizing his garden, digging it, dividing it into beds, putting in the seeds, and smoothing the surface. All these things a person must do as though from himself. But it is the Lord who causes the seeds to take root, to spring forth out of the earth, to shoot forth into leaves, and then into blossoms, and finally to yield new seeds for the benefit of the gardener.
     Again, it is like a person about to build a house, who provides himself with the necessary materials, as timber, rafters, stones, mortar, and other things. But afterwards the Lord builds the house from foundation to roof exactly adapted to the person, though the person does not know it.
     From this it follows that unless a person provides the necessary things for a garden or a house, he will have no garden with the benefit of its fruits, and no house and so no place to live.
     So it is with reformation. The things that a human being must provide himself with are knowledges of truth and good from the Word, from the doctrine of the church, from the world, and by his own labor. The Lord does everything else while the person is ignorant of it.
     But it is to be known that all things necessary to planting a garden or building a house, which, as has been said, are knowledges of truth and good, are nothing but the materials, and have no life in them until a person does them or lives according to them as though from himself. When that is done, the Lord enters and brings to life and builds, that is, He reforms.

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TWO PERSPECTIVES ON SWEDENBORG'S WRITINGS: Secular and Religious 1994

TWO PERSPECTIVES ON SWEDENBORG'S WRITINGS: Secular and Religious       Dr. LEON JAMES       1994

     (Part II)

     Professor of Psychology, University of Hawaii

     What About Gurdjieff and Spiritual Growth Groups?

     I recently had the opportunity to listen to a taped lecture by Peter Rhodes given almost twenty years ago to a Bryn Athyn audience.26 Mr. Rhodes recommends psychotherapeutic exercises taken from Gurdjieff's system of so-called "esoteric Christianity." One example is the activity of "sensing," which consists of sitting quietly and listening to the surroundings. The purpose of this exercise is to increase awareness of one's sensory environment as a means of focusing on the present and flushing out the myriad of thoughts and impressions that lurk in the mind's background all day long. It purportedly helps us to break away from our ceaseless interior dialog which our conscious mind carries on endlessly. Another exercise is to try to disengage from one's continuous stream of negative emotions (anger, dissatisfaction, jealousy, conflict, anxiety, etc.). This distancing activity appears to break its hold over us, freeing us to focus on and recognize good emotions. These in turn occasion wiser and more creative or original modes of thinking.
     It seemed to me that Rhodes repeatedly reinterpreted or translated Gurdjieff's principles into Swedenborgian concepts. For instance, Gurdjieff's "negative emotions" became "evil spirits" entering our thoughts through the will of "our natural man." Gurdjieff's analogy of the mind as a house with a basement and upper floor was related to Swedenborg's correspondences of a house with three stories, representing the natural, the rational, and the celestial in our minds. A comparison was also made between Swedenborg's and Gurdjieff's attitudes toward the Lord, namely, Gurdjieff's admonition that his system of mental development would not work at all if the practitioners are motivated by self-aggrandizement or belief in their own powers.

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Only one motivation would avail and bring success: to do it for the sake of our love for the Father, the Lord Jesus Christ.
     After some reflection on Rhodes' lecture, and in conjunction with my own limited knowledge of Gurdjieff from my teaching a course on theories of personality that is popular among undergraduates, it is my contention that despite these apparent similarities and compatibilities between Gurdjieff and Swedenborg, there is no real affinity between them. This is because they are essentially and fundamentally different. Gurdjieff's work, despite its label as "esoteric Christianity," is by itself secular, while Swedenborg's Writings are thoroughly religious. The Christianity in Gurdjieff is not a "true Christian religion" that conforms to the principles outlined in Swedenborg's last published theological work (1771). Despite its designation, it is neither esoteric nor truly Christian; it is entirely external and only symbolically Christian. In fact, the textbook descriptions of Gurdjieff fail to mention the Christian context, and many practitioners are unaware that Christianity has anything to do with it. At any rate, it is clear from Rhodes' reinterpretation and translation of Gurdjieff that the exercises and explanations do not require a religious consciousness and motivation, only a psychological one at the purely natural or materialistic level.
     Gurdjieff's approach, when taken by itself for what it is, is nothing but secular psychotherapy. On the other hand, spiritual psychotherapy in Swedenborg is always religious, through and through. Every mental step, from emotional slavery to regenerated freedom, is taken by the individual with the Lord's hand and face clearly in view. In Swedenborgian therapy it is not sufficient to have a cloak of allegiance by confessing the Christian faith. Every daily round of exercise must be suffused with the Lord's presence and leading in one's thoughts, perceptions, and inclinations.

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I don't think it is the case that the New Church needs to borrow from other systems of mental development because Swedenborg was unable to specify life exercises in sufficient detail, or had a lack of time in his busy publications schedule, as implied by Wilson Van Dusen.27 Perhaps such borrowing may seem helpful to some at some point in their development, and I would not like to suggest that such borrowing should not be done. But in relation to doctrinal analysis, my conclusion is that the Writings are more than amply sufficient in and of themselves to provide the necessary guidance and practical techniques needed for mental and spiritual development and health (regeneration).
     Still, I feel that we ought not to belittle the experiences of those individuals who claim some benefits from practicing the types of exercises advocated by Gurdjieff through Rhodes and some New Church spiritual growth groups, as may be gleaned from several letters to the editor in New Church Life.28 One person responds in great detail to an article by Rev. Leonard Fox in which he expresses opposition to Gurdjieff the man, hence the system29: "I find it difficult to understand what there is to be afraid of from collateral reading and experience . . . . I feel I have a new understanding of what the Writings mean when I read them."30 Another was strengthened in her spiritual life: "I benefit from participating in a spiritual growth class,"31 and another person defends Peter Rhodes' book Aim: "Aim does not proselytize Gurdjieffian thinking; it gives credit to Gurdjieff for an effective approach to self-examination . . . . Aim gives help by mapping the strategies of the hells Aim has nothing to do with following Gurdjieff. It has everything to do with a sincere effort to follow the Lord through His Word."32 On the same page, a letter poses the opposite view: " . . . it is difficult to understand why New Church people should be attracted to Gurdjieff."33 Several others voice strong opposition, for example: "His aims seem 100% personal and material . . . . [it is] blasphemy-the mixing of good and evil.

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Those who give any credence to his guidance are in grave risk of blasphemy too . . . ."34 How can we reconcile the clear, translucent and inspired works of Swedenborg with teachings such as: 'Everything in the universe is material'?" "It is not God that is omnipotent but the universal will . . . . I am thankful to Mr. Fox for exposing Gurdjieff's disorderly conceptions that are absolutely contrary to what we are taught in the Writings."35 It is clear from the reply by Mr. Fox36 that his opposition is to Gurdjieff, not to collateral readings in general, and indeed he presents a list of books that he considers worthwhile "for those in the New Church who feel the need to look outside the Writings for means of enriching their spiritual lives."37 Yet another contributor38 cites 25 passages which have one clear message, namely, that "the Word is the only doctrine which teaches how man must live in the world in order to be happy to eternity" (AC 8939:3e). Mr. Odhner warns against the dangers of "following the various theories of finite minds" and urges that "the Divine authority of the Writings" is an affirmation that "we must renew each generation," inasmuch as "our constitution is the Writings" (p. 181).
     Despite differences expressed in the heat of zeal for good and truth, I note in this polemic a general agreement on two issues which are central to my paradigm argument in this article. One is that Swedenborg's Writings are the Word, hence the ultimate authority on the ways and means of regeneration. The second is that spiritual growth groups and daily rounds of exercises can be viewed as secular collateral studies and styles, which are doctrinally permissible according to the Writings. In other words, religious Swedenborgianism allows the study of other books and practices as long as these are seen as secular, and therefore have no authority whatsoever on spiritual truths and goods. The title "spiritual growth groups" and the method of "esoteric Christianity" are neither spiritual nor esoteric (that is, belonging to the internal man). Perhaps if they had been called "psychological growth groups" there might have been more general tolerance or acceptance of them.

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"Psychological" differs from "spiritual" in exactly the same way that secular differs from religious. In Swedenborgian terms, the natural level of the mind is, in and of itself, purely material, non-spiritual, secular. On the other hand, the rational level of the mind pertains to both the natural (or external, downward-facing Ishmael), and the spiritual/celestial (or internal, upwardfacing Isaac). Thus the natural mind is secular, while the rational mind can be either secular or spiritual. The course of regeneration as described in the Writings consists in opening the internal rational and allowing it to receive spiritual ideas and affections from the Word alone. By this method, the spiritual mind inflows into the natural mind with the right motives and thoughts, hence acts. Prior to this opening, the motives and thoughts in the natural mind are not really good or really true. After the process of regeneration has begun, a renewal occurs and life is gradually and noticeably transformed, day by day. New motives, new thoughts, and new acts now translate into renewed life, psychological growth, mental health, personal strength, individual ability and happiness.

The Affirmative Principle in Science

     I have argued that the current paradigms in biology and psychology are incapable of explaining natural facts that we know from revelation rather than physical observation. I believe that the time is ripe for a scientific revolution that will create a new paradigm which contains a method and theory capable of dealing with such facts. In the Writings of Swedenborg, scientists will find a wealth of revealed facts about biology, psychology, history, astronomy, political science, anthropology, and others. The mining of this scientific source requires a shift away from the current negative bias toward revealed facts. This bias against revealed facts, according to Swedenborg, leads to "all folly and insanity," and consists in saying "in the heart that we cannot believe them until we are convinced by what we can apprehend, or perceive by the senses" (AC 2568:4).

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In contrast, the positive principle is to "affirm the things which are of doctrine from the Word, or to think and believe within ourselves that they are true because the Lord has said them; this is the principle that leads to all intelligence and wisdom, and is to be called the affirmative principle" (AC 2568:4).
     The new paradigm in biology will thus say: Assuming that the virgin birth has occurred, what theories do we need to build to be able to account for it? Or, in psychology the new paradigm will say: Assuming that our thoughts and feelings are shared with spirits, how can we encourage healthy spiritual company? And further, Since the affective (will) and the cognitive (understanding) functionally interact in exactly the same way as the circulatory system interacts with the respiratory, what models of mind can we build based on this homologous correspondence? I invite all readers of Swedenborg to participate in this exciting paradigm switch in science and society.
     Let us remember that modern science as it is known today is still in its diapers.

     26 Peter Rhodes, "Gurdjieff and Swedenborg," General Church Sound Recording Library, Bryn Athyn, 1976
     27 Van Dusen, The Distinctiveness of the Church, p. 112
     28 See for instance the August and October issues of 1993.
     29 See Leonard Fox, "Gurdjieff: Guide to Heaven or Hell?," New Church Life, June 1993; see also his reply in the October 1993 issue.
     30 Ruth Zuber, New Church Life, August 1993, p. 372
     31 Donnette Alfelt, ibid., p. 373
     32 Gray Glenn, ibid., pp. 374, 375
     33 Paul Hammond, ibid., p. 375
     34 John Kane, New Church Life, October 1993, p. 466
     35 Tiny Francis, New Church Life, October 1993, p. 467
     36 Leonard Fox, New Church Life, October 1993, pp. 469-472
     37 Leonard Fox, op cit., p. 471
     38 V. C. Odhner, Jr., Letter to the Editor, New Church Life, April 1994, pp. 179-181

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WOMEN ARE DIFFERENT FROM MEN 1994

WOMEN ARE DIFFERENT FROM MEN       Rev. C. V. A. Hasler       1994

Excerpts from an address

     I feel that the subject of the work of women and men in the church is fundamental. Every effort should be made to be guided by revealed truths rather than follow the fashions of the day-which in any case are going to change in the years ahead.

     There Is No Such Thing as Equality

     I think this is the first definite statement which the doctrines make when they begin to discuss the functions and uses of the sexes. The sexes are not equal, and to try to make them equal is to fly in the face of biological facts. Every cell in the body is either masculine or feminine, and if a person is not happy with his/her sex, then there is no help for him/her (except in the few cases of genetic disorders, which must be considered separately).
     If a woman grieves about her periods, and regards herself as ill-designed, and an example of the unfairness of nature or God, this surely is a very unhappy road to take. We must come to terms with our own sex first of all, and find out its privileges and responsibilities.
     In all our thinking about this question in the following pages, let us then never forget this one single fact which is beyond all dispute: if the contact between the sexes is to be fruitful, then the man must produce and implant the seed, and the woman must be willing to receive it and nurture it. There is no equality here. The sexes are distinct in their uses and essential to each other.

     No Place for Rivalry

     The question of the relation between the sexes has always been bedeviled by a supposed rivalry.

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This no doubt arose because men in their arrogance had regarded the women as inferior, less intelligent, etc. Women reacted and attempted to get their own back by their own means. If we are to consider New Church doctrine on this, we must clear our own minds of any thought of rivalry, but always look to the need to cooperate and yearn for the true conjunction. We should need no reminding of that great truth of the Divine Word which teaches us that man, who was created in the image of God, is not an individual, but a pair: "So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them." What we are trying to do is apply that truth to the affairs of daily life, so that the contribution of each sex may be fully realized-and both need to be aware of what this use is.

     The Physical Has Spiritual Origins

     One hears too often these days that the sexual organs are something rather external to the person within, and that psychologically we are all the same inside, unless molded by rigid environment into playing masculine or feminine roles. Hence we have "unisex"-and what a contradiction that is! Incidentally, this idea also finds acceptance among reincarnationists, who believe that we shall have to experience all conditions of both sexes before we become "perfected." This idea is gaining ground among the younger generation.
     The doctrines teach that the physical differences are only a pale reflection of the vastly different spiritual make-up. The mind of the male is entirely different from that of the female, so much so that there is nothing alike in them, and essentially they are both part of one whole. We shall briefly look at these differences in a moment.

     Factual Education Does Not Make Equality

     In Swedenborg's day, few girls (and not so many boys either) received any education, so that looking around, one might have concluded that women were less intelligent, because they did not know so much.

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Swedenborg, who moved among queens and princesses, surely never assumed such a foolish thing. He knew educated women, as well as uneducated men.
     Modern education is now universal in many countries, and although there are differences in the trends of learning between boys and girls at different stages, on the whole they have the same abilities to absorb knowledge and sciences. But to conclude from that that this makes them equal is like saying that because a hare and a horse eat grass, they are equal, and we should expect the same offspring from them. Surely allowance must be made for the assimilation of knowledge. A mere scientific fact ceases to be just that when it is absorbed by a mind. It becomes one thing in the male mind, and another thing in the female mind. It becomes a factor, a power, an aspiration to some personal end. If a boy and a girl attain a 98% in their O-level geography, it does not prove that their minds are the same any more than if they both eat a large ice cream. It is the assimilation which is important, not the basic diet.

     Man's Basic Make-up

     Man was created a form of understanding. Hence his form is harsher, more apt to break out into dispute or even battle. But this is the external of man. Internally he was created with the love of growing wise, and he has a thirst for knowledge and know-how. He must know, not because he is simply curious, but because his very masculinity is challenged. He feels he is not a man if he does not know or understand-say, why his car has developed a clicking noise in the engine. Essentially, man should have the desire for spiritual truth, although few men are so motivated and are far more interested in the things of the world-such as their car engines, etc.
     Yet men do not reveal their love openly; they present a confident air of knowing and of research-which is played almost as a game. But this game of finding out is deadly serious to the man.

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It is his nature to find out, and in his search he can get completely absorbed, detached from all other responsibilities or family considerations. He is indeed the producer of the seed-which represents knowledge or truth; he produces millions of them-but only few will ever become fertile.

     Woman's Basic Make-up

     If a man is internally love (of acquiring knowledge) and externally all intellect and understanding, the woman is just the reverse. It is, I feel, easy enough to accept the fact that woman has warmth and love and an affectionate nature. Therefore the statement that woman was created to be love does not usually offend anyone, unless it is understood to imply that therefore women have no intelligence or understanding-that they are all emotions and no brain.
     This is such a perversion of the teachings of the New Church that it is a wonder that anyone has taken it seriously. Swedenborg talks often enough about woman's wisdom, and teaches that internally the woman is wisdom-or the truth.
     However, the revelation qualifies this wisdom by this: that it is something which the woman draws from the man-ideally from her husband, but also from father, brothers, teachers. This of course is expressed in the Divine Word by the story of the creation of woman (Eve) out of man's rib.
     This certainly makes it sound as if the woman were dependent on the man, and awaited his good pleasure in dispensing his self-acquired knowledges to the poor, dumb female. I believe that we have had difficulty in presenting this truth of the Divine Revelation because it can be misrepresented very easily in such a way. Let's try again.
     The woman is far from being the dumb and helpless creature. She knows, however, that she must choose a mate if she is to be fulfilled as a female-physically as a mother, and spiritually as a wife. Have you ever seen a female blackbird inspecting Mr. Blackbird's nest? There is no free love in nature!

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She makes sure that he is a good builder and provider before she consents to move in.
     What the doctrines say is that a woman chooses a man who is worthy of her respect. He must have some character; he must stand for something. He must have some goodness-or good potential which she has the power to nurture and bring to life.
     She is far too practical to want knowledges simply for their own sake. She is not like the man in this-in pursuit of impersonal knowledge, often detached from practical life. Man's peculiar ability to do this is not an entirely happy characteristic. He often gets absorbed with trivialities, or grows proud and arrogant because of his knowledge. To the woman, all knowledge is a personalized thing. It is deeply hidden within her mind, and was received for some personal reason. To her this wisdom is part of her feelings and life. It becomes a thing of loyalty-to be supported through thick and thin. In her loyalty she tends to be much more stationary and less likely to explore new horizons. She will prefer to love a person rather than a mere idea. But she understands those ideas, in a way, far more perceptively than the man, because they are deeply in her heart, and she feels more deeply about them.

     Spinsters

     Spinsters-something of an emotive word! Spinsters were, and at times are, regarded as the rejects of masculine preference-except for the fact that one keeps meeting so many very charming and attractive unmarried women that one wonders why the men did not notice. When New Church doctrine is considered, we get an entirely different explanation. It is the woman who chooses the man, and although he should do the wooing, she must decide in her heart, "This is the man whose image I want to propagate." Obviously this is a more serious choice for the woman than for the man, because she makes alive within herself his mental ideas as well as his natural seed.
     The unmarried woman may very well be the one who has not found a man worthy of her-one who could value the tremendous gifts she can bestow, and which she cannot bring herself to waste on someone who cannot appreciate them.

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Her state is far more a reflection on the unattached males she met than on herself.
     Let us see the unmarried woman as a person of character and often of deep convictions. I know those who feel that marriage to a man whom they could not respect for his moral wisdom would be a travesty, and they are therefore content to wait for their true partners in heaven. Their conjugial ideal burns strong within them, and we should respect such convictions and be grateful for the contribution which they make to society by their own influence and the choice of their work.

     Woman's Disadvantages

     I said that the man who presents to the world his storehouse of knowledge is really presenting his external part. When a woman begins to present her ideas and ideals, she is exposing her internals. She becomes more vulnerable than the man because she feels more deeply about these principles -they are her life rather than a mere interest.
     The above excerpts are taken from an address by Rev. C. V. A. Hasler, first published in New-Church Magazine. We hope to publish more later.
FIFTY YEARS AGO THIS MONTH 1994

FIFTY YEARS AGO THIS MONTH       Editor       1994

     The September 1944 issue began with an article by Rev. A. Wynne Acton called "Man and Woman." He wrote, "On the fundamental nature of man and woman, the teaching is very definite, but, as is always the case, the application is left to out careful thought and reflection."

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Editorial Pages 1994

Editorial Pages       Editor       1994

     POWER IN THE MINISTRY

     People long familiar with the workings of the General Church have asked that something be said about "power" and the ministry, lest others less familiar get an unrealistic impression of our organization. Although this is occasioned by some phrases in a letter in July about women in the ministry, this is not about gender but about the use of the ministry itself. The ministry is not a way of access to "power and authority."     
     Pastors who read this know it from their daily experience, and those who know them are aware of it too. This month new students will enter theological school, and they will be advised that this is no step toward power. If they are successful they will find a place to serve. When they teach, their responsibility will be to put aside their own opinions. The ministry is not a platform for one's own agenda or one's own views. The main effort is to teach faithfully from the Word, because when one teaches from the Word, one teaches from the Lord (see Charity 160).
     The Writings speak of preachers who were deprived of their priestly office mainly because they did not base their sermons on the Word but upon their own feeble light (see TCR 810). That says so much about what it is involved in sincere preparation for the ministry.
     The reality of an office can often be the antithesis of what a young person might imagine it to be. The priesthood "only serves" (TCR 415). There might be people who dream of "controlling uses," which is not the same thing at all as "being controlled by uses" (see DP 217:6).
     Suppose you are invited to become pastor of a church society. Does that mean that now you have become the commander of others in that society? Do you command men to do the work of ushers at a church service? If you imagine so, you will soon learn your lesson.

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     Some people imagine that in heaven there are archangels, but the Writings say there are no archangels who exercise arbitrary authority (see AE 735:2). It is interesting that in the first chapter of Heaven and Hell we are told of those who thought that heaven would be to be in glory exercising authority. When they were told that heaven does not consist in such things, "they were indignant and wished to have a heaven where they could lord it over others and be eminent in a glory like that in the world" (HH 6).
     Can we apply this to uses in the church? We hope to continue this subject later.

     ALLOWED TO ATTEND IMPORTANT MEETINGS

     In October of 1984 we had a little item on this subject which began as follows: "Some people have to attend a lot of meetings, and sometimes the meetings seem dreary-necessary, yes, but by no means the most fulfilling parts of their lives. Perhaps the most attractive meetings are those to which we are not invited. Perhaps we sense that important decisions are being made somewhere, and we wish we were part of them."
     Later the article said, "Some have longed to sit on a board or council but have found when they finally got the chance that it was more like work than they had imagined." Instead of the experience of controlling others, they found a need for self-control. Allusion was made to Heaven and Hell 563 about some people who said they deserved to be more highly esteemed than others. "As they were very eager and importunate to be set over others, they were allowed to associate with those who were consulting about matters of great importance." They did not get the esteem they were seeking, but it was a learning experience!
     We hope to publish more on how decisions are made currently in the church.

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     GOING OVERBOARD IN INCLUSIVE LANGUAGE

     It has become fashionable to render Scripture into inclusive language. Our July editorial spoke of avoiding "changes that do not reflect the meaning of the original language." Well, this month The Inclusive Language Bible is being released, and it has unfortunate renderings.
     It would be one thing if this version simply stated that it was changing the word "father" into "parent." The reader would know that some activists wanted to say things their way without regard to the original language. But this version is advertised as the product of "scholars, linguists, theologians and devoted Christians." It claims to be produced "with due reverence to the Word of God and with utmost faithfulness to its original meaning."
     An example of a rendering is Matthew 23:9, where it is said not to call anyone "Father" on earth, for one is your Father in heaven. This is changed to say not to call anyone your "parent," "for you have one Parent and that Parent is in heaven."
     The reader assumes that there has been "utmost faithfulness" to the original language. There could be an argument for these renderings, but they would be arguments mounted by people with a cause they wish to impose on Scripture.
     Extremists would say that at last we have a rendering free from the paternalism of former scholars. They would say that now we have what the Word really says. I submit that it is the other way around. There is a good Greek word for "parents," goneus. To render the word pater everywhere as "parent" rather than "father" does not come from due reverence to the Word but from a reverence to another cause.

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RELIGIOUS VIEW OF THE WRITINGS 1994

RELIGIOUS VIEW OF THE WRITINGS       Wilson Van Dusen       1994




     Communications
Dear Editor:
     I am surprised and puzzled to find myself suddenly classified by Leon James as a secular, i.e., a non-religious, writer on Swedenborg. How did this come about? He describes the Writings as the Word which contains infinite things, and is hence quite beyond comparison with all other religions. To me Swedenborg's theological Writings are the Word in the same sense that the Bible is the Word. In both cases men set them down, but both are so inspired as to be full of God, hence the Word. Where we differ is that I find other writings also inspired and full of God. If one really looks for good, hopefully it may be found anywhere. But perhaps Mr. James finds others' good as far less. I do not mind his defining his experience, but I would ask him to let me be religious in my own way.
     I am presently at work on a book that attempts to describe the experience of God. I believe that we now know enough to at least outline this process. To do this I have to draw on various great mystics from many traditions, to work with the underlying unity in their experiences. Swedenborg will appear here as a giant among the world's mystics. I believe it serves the Writings more to do this than to try to put down all others. Putting down all others makes a gulf between the Writings and the other religions of the world, leaving the Church of the New Jerusalem as a small, isolated phenomenon. For me Swedenborg's inspired Word contains so much that is illuminating that it can appear on the world stage as a major advancement in our understanding. But it cannot do so in the context of putting down all others. I see mankind's highest understanding (which is what religion is) as essentially a cooperative enterprise, just as heaven is.

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I could muster some fine quotes from the Writings to support this.
     Wilson Van Dusen, PhD,
          Ukiah, California
REJECTION OF MARY 1994

REJECTION OF MARY       Rev. Douglas Taylor       1994

Dear Editor:
     My thanks to the Rev. Ian Johnson of England for not only reading my sermon, "The Rejection of Mary" (March issue), but also commenting on it (June issue). It is good to know that he agreed with "almost everything" in it (shades of King Agrippa: "Almost you persuade me"-Acts 26:28).
     After giving due consideration to Mr. Johnson's caveat about the title, I conclude that his discomfort, while it is to be regretted, is not warranted. There can be no doubt that in the process of glorification the Lord had to cast out everything He received from Mary. This is taught clearly in many passages, the most explicit of which were quoted in the sermon. For example: "It is true that He was the son of Mary, but not true that He still is" (TCR 102).
     "Rejection" is surely not too strong a word in view of the literal story, and considering that the Heavenly Doctrine uses expressions such as "extirpated" (AC 5134e), "put off" (TCR 102:3), "blotted out" (AC 5134e, 6872e), or "banished" (AC 2658). After all, "what is merely human cannot be together with what is Divine" (AC 2657e). No wonder Mary testifies that she worships Him as her God, and wishes no one to acknowledge Him as her son (see TCR 102:3).
     With regard to the quotation from Canons 22, that aspect of Mary's indispensable role was treated of at length in the sermon (pages 104-106). It is only with regard to the glorification process that the Lord "banished" or rejected Mary the person. In the inauguration of the Christian Church, what Mary represented was essential.

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     So far I have not heard from any Christian offended by the title. One reason, no doubt, is that very few of them are readers of New Church Life! But are there really any "Christians through the centuries, in appearing to venerate Mary the person, [who] were really venerating mother church, as we are commanded to do"? I have never met any (despite having attended a Catholic high school), and Mr. Johnson offers no case histories. He is merely "wondering."
     His fear of offending Christians needs to be examined critically. Any time we present the teachings of the New Revelation, we offend some Christians. The Lord Himself offended the leaders of Judaism; works such as Brief Exposition, True Christian Religion, and Apocalypse Revealed go strongly on the offensive against traditional Christianity.
     If we suppress the New Revelation for fear of being offensive to Christians, that will be the end of the New Church.
     Rev. Douglas Taylor,
          Huntingdon Valley, PA
MRS. ALDEN'S QUESTIONS 1994

MRS. ALDEN'S QUESTIONS       Rev. Erik E. Sandstrom       1994

Dear Editor:
     I welcome Mary Alden's "Some Open Questions" (July p. 325), bringing the subject of women in the priesthood into the open in such an eloquent fashion. "Now it is permitted to enter with understanding . . . . " No mysteries.
     The power of benediction is reserved for ordained priests. With it go all the uses of the Sabbath day-the third commandment. Thus "dignity and honor are due to priests on account of the holy things they administer" (NJHD 317).
     "The church is from the Word" (SS 76). How the church operates has to come from the Word and be objective.

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This males can do: "The male can go above the body, beyond the world" (CL 168), and "disconnect his affection from his thoughts" (CL 169), and "ascend into a light in which women are not" (CL 165). Women "do not go beyond what love feels" (CL 168), nor "disconnect affection from thought" (CL 169), except by "conjunction with the understanding of the man (vir) established by creation" (CL 168). Do experience and history bear this out?
     Objectivity is essential in order to see doctrinal things in their own order: "Doctrinal things have a connection and mutual respect to each other," and so "must be collected into a one." The human rational "sees a defect" and wants to "supply what is missing." But even a male rational is "blind and illusory in spiritual and Divine things." To prevent tampering by blind rational minds, the "Word has been given to the church containing all doctrinal things of good and truth" (AC 3786).
     The Heavenly Doctrines are the Word, have nothing missing, and are free from doctrinal defects. But it is not doctrine that establishes the church but "the soundness and purity of doctrine" (TCR 245). This call happen only when rational things follow the revealed doctrine of faith, i.e., when we start from doctrine, and then confirm it by rational and other means. This is "to regard rational things from the doctrine of faith," the "affirmative principle which leads to all intelligence and wisdom" (see AC 2568, 2588). In other words, we start by researching actual quotes.
     By contrast, starting from rational things, especially those still connected to natural affections, is the negative principle leading to all "folly and insanity." Thus objectivity is the only way to ensure that the "church is from the Word." it would be wonderful to have the "Word be from the church," but that would make the church charismatic.
     Mrs. Alden also asks, "Why can't women represent the Lord?" Can't the female aspects of my Creator's gender be expressed? Why can't women "represent [the Lord's image and likeness] visibly and plainly" in the ordained clergy? (p. 328).

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CL 32 answers: "The male is inmostly love veiled by wisdom" and the female is "inmostly wisdom veiled by love." The Lord is love proceeding in terms of wisdom-male. He is not inmostly wisdom veiled by love-female. That is the church. A husband and wife together before the Lord "make the church" (CL 125). Hence our marriage vows state: "In the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Bridegroom and Husband of the church." Many wonderful secrets are hidden here, including women's "ministering" in the uses of the church. I don't think that is the same as ordination.
     Another arcanum is that "truth of a higher degree is received by the good of a lower degree" (AC 3952). The inmost or higher Divine Love proceeds as Divine Truth. CL 32 identifies this relationship of inner love and outer wisdom as "male," and so the Lord proceeding appears male. This truth is received by celestial good as a seed in the soil. But truth surrounded by the receptacle of good, CL 32 identifies as "female." From it next proceeds a celestial truth, received in the next lower heaven by spiritual good; from it proceeds again spiritual truth, received by the lowest heaven in natural good. From this good the literal truth of the Old and New Testaments is dictated on earth (cf. AC 7270, 3579, 6077; HH 254; AR 36), or more recently, the "doctrine revealed by the Lord out of heaven" (NJHD 7). Revealed natural truth is finally received by the good of remains in the reader.
     Since males can disconnect their understanding, they see "truth of a higher degree" than the good that receives it! For with the male "the understanding predominates" (HH 369) and so he is objectively oriented, while the female receives this truth in the "good of a lower degree," conjoining herself both from within and openly with it (CL 163). She is subjectively oriented, her "will predominating" (HH 369). She is also thereby a more complete human being than a male-I think.
     Thus male and female are unequal complementary halves, yet each equally a "spiritual man (homo)."

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But the male is closest-in form and function-to the Lord's configuration: love veiled by wisdom. So the Lord can appear only as male. Occasional female Biblical imagery of the Lord is a rare "literal appearance" projecting an internal core reality: the Lord is only and always male. Only a male can be ordained to represent Him.
     Such male-female distinctions-e.g. conjugial love transferred from the female to the male who has none of it (see CL 223)-would be buried by gender-free language aiming only at equality. And men and women are equally "spiritual men" (CL 32), yet their distinctions make husband and wife to be as "bride and wife" to the Lord, who is "Bridegroom and Husband" (CL 125). So the accidentally ambiguous "man" in English, which in Swedish becomes "she" instead, is not because Swedenborg's age was male-oriented, but for specific objective clarity. We can extrapolate modern equivalents for females, but with sensitivity to the distinctions.
     To sum up: In order 1) to keep representation of the Lord correct, 2) to make the church be from the Word, and 3) to ensure an objectivity that will set up heavenly order and keep it pointed to intelligence and wisdom, the clergy will voluntarily continue to be all male-as long as the Writings are our direct source of instruction on the subject. But there must be many other passages.
     Rev. Erik E. Sandstrom,
          Huntingdon Valley, PA
MRS. ALDEN'S QUESTIONS 1994

MRS. ALDEN'S QUESTIONS       Mandy Rogers-Petro       1994

Dear Editor:
     I want to thank Mary Alden for her wonderful letter to this publication in the July issue. I am quite certain her letter will prompt many responses-some supportive, some challenging I am touched by Mary's honesty and courage in opening the public dialogue on issues which have been whispered about in the church for many years.

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I believe that this dialogue can be beneficial to the church only as long as it is carried on in a spirit of charity and respect.
     I would like to point out that women are already very involved in the ministry in this church. They are caring for each other, sharing their love for the doctrines of the church and their love for the Savior Jesus Christ. They are evangelizing, healing, and teaching, and they are doing so from a love that the Lord has given them for these uses, although there is no official recognition of this.
     As far as I can tell, the banishment of women from the priesthood arises from very old and, in my opinion, mistaken cultural values. To my knowledge the Writings do not say that women should not be ministers. There is one passage in the Spiritual Diary that reads: "Women who think in the way that men do on religious subjects, and talk much about them, and still more if they preach in meetings, do away with the feminine nature, which is also affectional, owing to which they must be with married men; they also become material, so that affection perishes and their interiors are closed. They also begin to develop a tendency, as regards the thoughts, to take up with crazes, which takes place because the affection, being then destroyed, causes the intellectual to be crazy . . . . Woman belongs to the home, and she is of a different nature where [she engages in] preaching" (SD 5936).
     This is one paragraph in all the thousands of pages written by Swedenborg, and it is the only number I have found that speaks directly to the issue of women in the ministry. It is, of course, from Swedenborg's Spiritual Diary, a private journal not intended for publication. Since it is a record of his experiences in the spiritual world and his thoughts about spiritual matters, it contains a tremendous amount of wisdom. But it is his personal journal and, I think, likely to be colored by his private (non-revealed) thoughts and feelings.
     Still, I do not think it would be wise to disregard its message. I believe that we are given written revelation because in our unregenerate states we need guidance from outside ourselves about how to do the Lord's will.

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I believe we must sometimes bend, or even give up, our own desires, to do what the Word teaches.
     What does this number say? It warns against women thinking "like men" about religious things, and then talking and preaching from these thoughts. I think a woman who is being led to regeneration through the truths in the Word and the love of the Lord Jesus is unlikely to think about things "like men." Her experience will be feminine because her nature is feminine. I suppose if a woman was motivated from love of self or the world, and wanted the power at present available only to men in our church, she might fall into the problem of thinking like men. But the Writings give many, many warnings about the dangers priests face in these areas which have nothing to do with gender (faith alone, caring nothing for the Word, lust for power, thinking of themselves as gods), except that the warnings are to men because at that time in the Christian
Church, only men were allowed to be priests!
     If there is any reason to fear women thinking "like men," it may be due to the fact that almost every official, church-sanctioned example we have of thinking about religion is an example from a man. Our priests are all male; our religion teachers are all male. In my own life, I have felt ministered to by many wonderful women who are very devoted to the Lord and to His New Church. Part of the delight I felt in learning from them is their feminine approach-affectional, experiential. I do not believe priesthood and ministry are synonymous with masculine ways of thinking.
     Priests and the priesthood have many correspondences in the Word, including the good of the church and the celestial kingdom. The church is represented as a mother, bride, wife, virgin, and the woman clothed with the sun. Divine truth is represented by Sarah, affection for interior truth by Rachel. In the supreme sense, "Mother" represents the Lord as to Divine truth.

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Women are said to be forms of affection, without which the truth is dry, hard, and unattractive. When I look at the beautiful truths in the three-fold Word, I truly see that the Lord honors the masculine and the feminine principles; indeed, He contains and is these principles, manifested in two different ways-in the Divine Human and through the church (in the broadest sense-through all creation).
     I hope the church will soon embrace the idea of women in the ministry with joy and relief. I hope some day all congregations will have the benefit of both a male and a female pastor (financial issues aside). I especially hope women who are interested in the ministry will be trusted. I hope their motives will be assumed to be from love, and that they will be treated as adults capable of making free choices. I hope that this issue, which I know will bring up strong emotions for everyone, will be approached with love and humility, and a genuine openness to the various different opinions expressed. Please let us trust each other, and honor each other, and remember that where charity reigns, doctrinal differences do not divide.
     Mandy Rogers-Petro,
          Huntingdon Valley, PA
MRS. ALDEN'S QUESTIONS 1994

MRS. ALDEN'S QUESTIONS       Charis P. Cole       1994

Dear Editor:
     Mary Alden's letter (July, p. 326) seems to me to be an example of why women should not be ministers. She does not give any doctrinal reasons-in fact (to my mind) any reasons at all-why women ministers would promote the uses of the church. She does not give examples of how women as ministers could better serve than they do already. Her argument is based on how she, and presumably some other women, feel. They are unhappy and feel inferior because men and not women can stand up on the chancel wearing d robe. They are unhappy because they feel they do not have equal access to power and authority. Are these women more interested in serving or in recognition, power and authority?

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Besides "access to power and authority" the letter mentions dignity, "some of my power," participation in decisions, "being the ones in authority" and need for respect.
     Actually, does not affection have more power than understanding? "Convince someone against his will; he's of the same opinion still." Are more people brought into the church through friendship or through sermons?
     Both Sarah Headsten (in the same issue) and Mrs. Alden are singling out Swedenborg and the New Church as talking to men (not women), and using masculine nouns and pronouns for both sexes. Mrs. Alden complains about God's being spoken of as masculine. Well, friends, this is not just Swedenborg or the New Church. It is all religious writings and the English language and most other languages. This is because the truth is on the outside and affection on the inside. Is this a put-down to women? Is truth more important than love, or is understanding more important than affection? If we think so, we are putting ourselves down.
     Mrs. Alden is upset that man, not woman, is said to be created in the image of God. Actually it is man and woman together that are in the image of God, Genesis 1:27 says, "And God created man in His own image; in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them." And Genesis 2:24 says, "Therefore shall a man leave his father and his mother, and shall cleave unto his wife; and they shall be one flesh." And the Writings tell us that in marriage the husband does not represent the Lord but husband and wife together represent the church.
     It is not only women who perform supporting roles. Most of us do. The important thing is that we love and serve one another, not the honor and glory. The angels don't think of themselves as greatest but as least.
     Charis P. Cole,
          Bryn Athyn, PA

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OF WORDS AND POETRY 1994

OF WORDS AND POETRY       Joseph Rogers-Petro       1994

Dear Editor:
     I come from the outside. I have been in the church universal for most of my life; I am only months old in the New Church. I have an affection for truth that grows from my heart, planted there by God. The garden which is being nurtured there is one of devotion, silence, and peace. Whenever I grapple with a religious issue or question, it usually stems from my yearning to love and serve, and this in turn fires the intellect. Any intellectual truths I have as a result are blossoming in reaction to the heat of God's love for me.
     I am writing in response to Mary Alden's letter. In it her affections fearlessly and wonderfully express the rational points that illustrate the need for women ministers. Anyone can argue with the intellect (see many memorable relations), but who can argue with love?
     Listening closely to the conversations of many New Church people in my early months as a member, I find some people seem to be saying, "The church is in a difficult stage of its growth. The youth are no longer as interested in the church. What is the role of evangelization in a church struggling to gain converts?" I also sometimes hear the New Church referred to as the "intellectual church."
     "'To be fruitful' in the Word is predicated of things of love" (AC 43). To be fruitful we must love. Am I saying that we do not love, or that ministers in our church do not love? No, of course not. But I am saying that women have an affinity for things of the will, and things proper to the will are love, charity, and affection. The lungs are busy pumping out the air as the heart grows weary from lack of exercise. (Isn't it an interesting coincidence that in most western cultures heart disease is a leading cause of death?)

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How can our church prosper if some members, mostly women, feel that their nature and its fruits are not fully represented in the ministry? Our truth is taught by men, delivered and presented by men. Our language stresses the masculine. Our mode of sharing is geared to pluck the strings of the intellect, not to strum the chords of the heart. Wouldn't it be exciting to hear someone refer to us as the "love church"?
     There is a cosmic marriage taking place. I keep hearing about it-the marriage of the Lord and the church. I hear that the church is a bride. Sometimes I feel as if the bride is preparing for her wedding, clothing herself in truth, but still unsure as to how to express her affections.
     The church is both female and male, good and truth, love and wisdom. But can we see how some people in our church may feel isolated, unrepresented, unvalued, and even repressed if the truth, the wisdom, the masculine are highlighted but the love and good skimmed over? Love and good inspire feelings-outpourings of emotion that are neither predictable nor explainable. Devotion to God passes all understanding, and causes us to sacrifice ourselves that we might live for another.
     This is scary, isn't it? If it is, we need only look to our culture at large to see why. Our culture teaches that to express our feelings is a relinquishing of power and reason, especially-but not exclusively-for men. Our doctrines do not teach us to fear our emotions. They admonish us to maintain a balance, integrating both love and wisdom in our lives.
     Both men and women have love and wisdom within them. I do not mean to segregate them so much. It would seem, though, that the way in which we use the doctrines has separated the sexes. Swedenborg, the radical, said we need both love and wisdom, good and truth, men and women, to enjoy the bliss of union. So I am writing this in support of Mary Alden's letter. She wrote from a place of love, and we needn't fear this. I am reminded of a poem I once read:

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     The way of love is not a subtle argument.
          The door there is devastation.
     Birds make great sky-circles of their freedom.
          How do they learn it?
     They fall, and falling, they are given wings.

     Swedenborg says the phrase "her priests have fallen by the sword" signifies that the good of the church, which is the good of works of charity and of life, has been destroyed by falsities. The quote calls the church feminine. "Her priests"-what does this suggest? I feel that the destructive falsities may arise from traditions reinforced by fearful use of the doctrines.
     The devastation in the poem is the dying to self-something we must all do if we are to regenerate. This church has plenty of love in it, plenty of affection. It merely needs for it to be encouraged and nurtured and not to be feared. One way this can happen is for the women who are already "ministering" to be acknowledged in an "official" way, and for those women who feel the love of saving souls to be honored with an "official" title and opportunity for doing so-to teach the love they know from an "official" position of leadership.
     Issues like women in the priesthood will not be the downfall of the church. Neither will issues about spiritual growth groups or evangelization. But perhaps the fears surrounding such things will trouble the church. If we feel we are falling, as the poem suggests needs to happen, can we trust the Lord when He says, "Lo, I am with you always"? Is not all fear born when we forget this promise?
     I want to share one final poem.

     Love is the way messengers from the mystery tell us things.
          Love is the mother; we are her children.
     She shines inside us, visible-invisible, as we trust or lose trust,
          or feel it start to grow again. (Poems by Jelulladin Rumi)

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     In growing we become more fruitful. And becoming more fruitful, we are given wings to fly toward union with a God who contains the masculine and the feminine perfectly united.
     Joseph Rogers-Petro,
          Huntingdon Valley, PA
ADDRESSING MEN ONLY? 1994

ADDRESSING MEN ONLY?       Michael David       1994

Dear Editor:
     Letters from Sarah Headsten and Mary Alden bring up important issues for readers of the Writings. In the passages Sarah cites, I see two different problems: the easier one, a matter of translation, and the harder one, a question of meaning.
     Doctrine of Charity 148 echoes many other passages which say that heaven, societies of heaven, individuals, and even parts of individuals share a common human form because God is Human. Many passages make it clear that this human form includes the structures and functions of both female and male. The problem in that passage is simple: the Latin homo means "human being," "person," or (my personal favorite) "we." In current English, "man" means a male, and so using "man" to translate home is not just old-fashioned, but it says something false.
     Back in 1987, I circulated a paper (available on request) about feminine images and aspects of God as they are expressed in the Bible and in the Writings. I think the Writings teach that God is Human and the source of all human qualities. Some people have told me that the Writings say God is a man, meaning that God is male. I think our old-fashioned language causes this kind of misunderstanding.
     Yet even when we translate into gender-inclusive English, it still seems to me that the Writings address men or husbands more often than they directly address women.

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Charity 187 is a good example, referring to "self, wife and children." When the "self" is a woman (or single), what does this phrase mean?
     In applying the Word to my life, I find a key principle in Arcana Coelestia 5095: ". . . where in the historical meaning many persons are mentioned,. . . in the internal meaning they indeed symbolize various things, but in one individual"; and 5225: " . . . the idea of a person is changed . . . the idea of a man, a husband, a woman, a wife, a son, a daughter, a boy or a girl into an idea of truth or good . . . . " I apply this to what I read in the Writings, and take what I read about wives, husbands, boys or girls as applying to different things within me.
     The Writings and the Bible seem to be addressing men and presenting God as male Lord and Teacher. What in me is this speaking to? My answer comes by reflecting on how the written Word works. It comes to me in an external way. I read, trying to understand and follow what I read. It's "masculine" to approach God by learning and understanding, and this is what the written Word is about. It is the husband, not the whole marriage (look at Marriage Love 125).
     What balances this? Where is its feminine counterpart? I think that lies in my personal experience and intuitive knowledge of spiritual things, based not on learning but on inner experience in relation to other people. I recall a time when my death seemed likely and imminent. For a long moment, God, my nurturer, held me and filled me with a powerful certainty that all of life and death is safe in that embrace. I felt that the God who held me was made out of people I knew-some of them still here, others who had passed on. There was no difference between this Mother-God and the sphere of others' love that I call "the church." No amount of reading could have given me that experience-nor did that experience answer doctrinal questions.
     Learning and intuitive reality are together in everything, distinct, yet married, and constantly working on each other.

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When I see God only as Lord, Father and Lawgiver, and expect to find God only through textual study done by men or my own study and introspection, I unbalance the marriage. When I seek out and honor the Divine heart of my connections with others, and when I open myself to the experience, wisdom and ministry of women, I move toward the balance that I need. Mary Alden's courageous writing gives me hope that my church can embrace and give form to this balance.
     Michael David,
          Huntingdon Valley, PA
VICE VERSA IS NOT ORDERLY 1994

VICE VERSA IS NOT ORDERLY       Patricia Rose       1994

Dear Editor:
     It seems fair to assume that anyone who believes the Writings are Divinely inspired believes them to be true to eternity. Yet some people seem to hold that some of the things the Lord told us through Swedenborg are out-of-date because of the limitations of Swedenborg's understanding due to the mores of his time. This outlook denies the Lord's foresight, contending that He couldn't see that a different situation in the future might make past revelation void.
     Since to the Lord there is no future but everything is present, there is no doctrinal basis for believing that His truth is changeable with the state of mankind.
     The subject of women priests is a case in point. Although there are people in the church who are urging that women be permitted to become ministers, so far none of them seems to be able to support this feeling from doctrine. I believe it is insupportable.
     As AC 10794 tells us, priests must teach people the way to heaven according to the doctrine of their own church, and must lead them to live according to it.

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So the question is, Does the Lord tell us who is to teach doctrine?
     When this subject is brought up, along with it comes the idea that we could just as easily refer to the Lord as "She" or "Her." Why would anyone feel free to do that since the threefold Word (given to us by the Lord) never uses feminine pronouns in reference to the Lord? In Latin (the original language of the Writings) the names of God (Deus, Dominus, Jesus Christus) are masculine, and masculine pronouns (ille, ipse) are used to refer to Him. Is it thought that the Lord wasn't prescient enough to tell us He could be referred to in the feminine gender?
     When the idea of a feminine/masculine God comes up, I think of the marriage of the Lord and the church. The Lord created mankind male and female, in His image and likeness. That could happen only if He has those qualities in Himself. So I think of the Lord as having both female and male characteristics, as we all do. He also teaches us that the church is composed of male and female, which is obvious. Yet He always refers to Himself in the masculine gender and the church in the feminine. Why?
     I think it's because of the marriage between the Lord and the church. Marriage can take place only between the masculine and the feminine-they were created complementary, with a longing for conjunction into a complete one.
     In Conjugial Love the Lord tells us that with a husband and wife "the church is first implanted in the man and through him in the wife, because the man with his understanding receives the truth of the church, and the wife from the man . . . " (CL 125).
     Lest we women rise up in righteous indignation at this, we should recall that the Lord also says, " . . . nothing of conjugial love, or even of the love of the sex, is with men, but only with wives and females" (CL 161), and the men receive it through women.

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     What a good arrangement! Men and women each have a special quality from the Lord to offer to the other. (It's good to note quickly that men and women have both a will and an understanding, but with men the understanding predominates, and with women, the will-see HH 369).
     Let's go back to the marriage of the Lord and the church. Just as with a man and a woman, the masculine Lord (through the Word and through male priests who represent the Lord) teaches doctrine to the feminine church, and the church turns it to good by living according to it. It is the understanding that teaches and receives doctrine. It is the will that loves that doctrine and applies it to life.
     But can a woman implant the truth of the church? Yes, it's possible, but as CL 125 further tells us: if this happens, that is, " . . . if it be vice versa, it is not according to order . . . [because] then it is with men who either do not love wisdom, and consequently are not of the church, or are in a servile dependence on the will of their wives."
     To relate this to the church as a whole, it's possible for a woman to perform the use of a minister, but it is not orderly, and it occurs when the church members do not love wisdom or give in to the feelings of others that are not doctrinally based.
     We should all love to study doctrine in order to learn how to live, but let's do it in an orderly way. I believe women can share doctrine with others (as participants in small doctrinal classes do), but not in the capacity of representing the Lord authoritatively as an ordained priest. Only the masculine should do that; otherwise it is disorderly.
     Patricia Rose,
          Bryn Athyn, PA
Lars Berquist to Address Swedenborg Society 1994

Lars Berquist to Address Swedenborg Society       Editor       1994

Lars Berquist to Address Swedenborg Society-Mr. Berquist, former Swedish Ambassador to China, will address the Swedenborg Society in London in December. He will spend a week in Bryn Athyn in September doing research at the Swedenborg Library.

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1994 CHARTER DAY 1994

       Editor       1994

     All alumni and friends of the Academy of the New Church, and members and friends of the General Church, are invited to attend the 78th Charter Day exercises to be held in Bryn Athyn,
Pennsylvania, Friday and Saturday, October 14th and 15th. Highlights of the weekend are:
     Friday the 14th           Cathedral Service      10:30 a.m.
                              Charter Day Dance      9:00 p.m.
     Saturday the 15th      Charter Day Banquet      7:00 p.m.
     Banquet ticket prices are: adults $9.00, students $4.00. Tickets can be purchased by contacting Mrs. David Roscoe at the Academy switchboard: Academy of the New Church, P.O. Box 707, Benade Hall, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009; phone (215) 947-4200. Tickets can be mailed to you (please send a self-addressed, stamped envelope), held at the switchboard for pick-up by 10:00 a.m. on Friday the 14th, or picked up at the door Saturday night. In Bryn Athyn, tickets can also be purchased at the Development Office in Pitcairn Hall or at the college office in Pendleton Hall. Tickets will also be on sale in the Society Building before and after Friday Suppers. Checks should be made payable to the Academy of the New Church.
SPI NEWSLETTER 1994

SPI NEWSLETTER       Editor       1994

     The newsletter of Swedenborg Publishers International describes a conference to be held in Moscow this November. Among those planning to attend are Rev. Messrs. Alfred Acton and Erik E. Sandstrom. Mr. Tatsuya Nagashima of Japan will be giving an address relating to the Zen concept of nothingness and what the Writings say about a vacuum (see DLW 82).

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GLOSSARY of SPECIFIC TERMS AND PHRASES USED BY SWEDENBORG in the THEOLOGICAL WRITINGS 1994

GLOSSARY of SPECIFIC TERMS AND PHRASES USED BY SWEDENBORG in the THEOLOGICAL WRITINGS       Editor       1994




     Announcements






     A GLOSSARY
of
SPECIFIC TERMS AND PHRASES
USED BY SWEDENBORG
in the
THEOLOGICAL WRITINGS
     Compiled by John Stuart Bogg
     "In his introduction, John Stuart Bogg says that 'this glossary can be regarded only as a beginning. Much better work will doubtless be done by other compilers in time to come.' Almost eighty years after these words were written, Bogg's Glossary remains the best and most comprehensive work of its kind. Long out of print and in great demand among many readers of Emanuel Swedenborg's theological writings, the Glossary is an indispensable reference for anyone who wishes to understand the precise meaning of a particular term or phrase encountered in the standard English translations or in the Latin originals."
     Originally published by the Swedenborg Society in 1915
Reprinted 1994 by
The Swedenborg Association
     Hardcover, Postage Paid U.S. $19.00
     General Church Book Center          Hours: Mon-Fri 9-12 or by
Box 743, Cairncrest                appointment
Bryn Athyn, PA 19009          Phone: (215) 947-3920

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Notes on This Issue 1994

Notes on This Issue       Editor       1994

Vol. CXIV                October, 1994          No. 10
New Church Life

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     Notes on This Issue

     Can you think of nine benefits of having family worship? They are discussed one by one in this full presentation by Joe David. Add to this seventeen practical suggestions, such as "Start small" and "Keep it short."
     With eight letters last month and seven this month, one wonders what proportion of our pages is devoted to letters. In 1993 we had 77 pages of letters. See the count on p. 457. There is a written report of New Church Life filed each year. We will not try to publish the full report for 1993, but will gladly sent it to anyone interested.
     Please note the coming New Church Women's Symposium (p. 479), and note also that there is a new catalog from the General Church Office of Education (see p. 476).
     Next month we will publish the directory of General Church schools and the enrollment figures for these and the Academy schools. It appears that we will see a small increase over last year.
     Apocalypse Explained volume 5-This volume was out of print but is now available from the Swedenborg Foundation and the General Church Book Center.
SWEDENBORG SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION ANNUAL ESSAY CONTEST 1994

SWEDENBORG SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION ANNUAL ESSAY CONTEST       Editor       1994

     Entries must be submitted by January 1, 1995. The contest is open to all college and university students. The essay is to be between 2000 and 4000 words, exploring some aspect of Swedenborg's work as found in any of his scientific, philosophical or theological writings, and relating it to modern science or philosophy. The deadline is January 1, 1995, so you have only a couple of months.
     The details of this contest were printed in February (p. 90). For an updated copy or to submit an entry, write to SS Award Essay, c/o E. E. Sandstrom, P.O. Box 717, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009, USA.

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COME. LET US REASON TOGETHER 1994

COME. LET US REASON TOGETHER       Rev. ERIK SANDSTROM       1994

     "Come now and let us reason together saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool" (Isaiah 1:18).

     The Lord reasons with His people through His Word. He has done this ever since the fall of the first church on this earth. After that fall it was necessary for Him to introduce a new approach to His children, and the new approach was through a written Word.
     In that early church, before its people fell, His appeal had been directly to their love, or will, and there was then only a "yea, yea" or "nay, nay" in their response (see Matt. 5:37). They lived in close contact with the spiritual world and with heaven, and enjoyed a simple, primitive perception. In the midst of that perception there was the "tree of life," and in it, but at a distance, there was room also for the "tree of the knowledge of good and evil." Both trees were beautiful to the sight, but one had life in its fruit, the other death. One was "yea," the other, "nay." You lived from God, or you lived from self. The choice was clear, and life was uncomplicated. Perception told them; and in their perception was the wisdom of heaven itself.
     After the fall, however-perhaps after thousands of generations of peaceful and harmonious living together-it was no longer possible to appeal to the will. It was the will that had fallen. There was no longer any "yea" in it. It had sunk into the delights of the flesh, and it presumed to know that these delights alone were good. Thus it claimed for itself the right to define "good," and it was deaf to the inquiring Divine voice that said, "Where art thou? Hast thou eaten of the tree whereof I commanded thee that thou shouldest not eat?"

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Their God was dethroned; self-life, flesh-life, ruled.
     But this was the end of paradise. Was salvation still possible? Yes, but the way had to be arduous. So the Lord God spoke to the beguiling serpent, and to the woman, and to the man. To the serpent He said: "I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her seed; He shall trample upon your head, and you shall bruise His heel." And to the woman: "I will greatly multiply your sorrow and your conception" And then to Adam: "Cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life" (Gen. 3:15-17).
     Those prophetic words, with focus on those to the serpent, changed the order of salvation! They signaled the virgin birth, the seed of a woman, and laid the basis for the later prophecy of the Messiah-a Divine Being who would come down to the earth and save His people.
     Angels would perceive the inner meaning of all this; wise men on earth would ponder it. So angels and men were in expectation. This was of Providence. Heaven and earth were being prepared for the descent of God into the world.
     This is what changed the order of salvation. True, the direct vision of the new order had to await the actual coming of the Messiah, but the essential element of that order was already contained in the prophecy concerning it. To angels, fulfillment is present in prophecy. And what was that essential element? It was that God would become visible on earth-would make Himself visible. Messiah in the world was God visible in the world.
     This changed everything; it changed the mental orientation of angels and men. People in the world would be instructed through their physical senses, first from the very mouth of the Messiah-the Christ, the Immanuel, God-with-us-and then through the chronicle of what He said. And so the basis for the heavens changed as well. What was new was the appeal through the understanding. The visibility of God involved this.

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And the understanding, after the fail, was empowered to see without consulting the native will.
     This change was miraculous. It affected even the organic substructure of the mind. And it was at the time of the fall from the Eden state that the Creator moved to alter His approach to His children. And He announced in the text of the Ancient Word what He was doing: "The seed of the woman shall trample upon the head of the serpent" (Genesis 3:15).
     In consequence of this, the understanding has replaced the will as the gateway of salvation ever since Adam and Eve were driven out of the garden. That does not make the will any less important. Quite the opposite. The will, with every man and every woman, is still the essential person. But we are not now speaking of the native will, as we would if referring to the most ancients and the tree of life in their midst. Instead, the will in the new order is one that is built into the understanding. The native will, with us, cannot change; it must be exchanged, replaced.
     This is why the Lord reasons with His people. He says, in effect: I have made it possible for you to see the way of life, even though you are reluctant to walk in it, yes, it is narrow and steep, but since you can see that it is the way of life, therefore compel yourselves and walk.
     But we ask ourselves, How is this possible? If the will is the essential thing in us, and if the will is corrupt, how can we will against our will? Ah, but there is also that other will, not yet our own, present with us! The Lord through heaven implanted heavenly things in us from earliest childhood, and then throughout our years even to our present age, whatever it is, whenever we experienced something that had innocence or order or beauty in it. These things, called remains, fill with affection the true things and the good things we learn from the Word or from elsewhere in the general light of the Word. The things learned, too, remain with us; and our knowledges, so far as we understand them, joining with the affections from our remains, form with us what is called conscience Heaven and the Word, in the hands of the Lord, conspire to build that conscience in us.

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It is built into our understanding There is no credit for us in it. It is a gift. And it is that other will present in us.
     By that will we can force our native will-the will of the proprium-to turn aside, to Yield. This is what is called self-compulsion. We are doing what originally we did not want to do, of walking where originally we did not want to walk.
     But the marvel is that as we compel ourselves, so we begin to discover pleasure in what we are doing. The reason is obvious: the delight of heaven is inherent in the remains, and these remains become active in us when we use them to subdue impulses of the proprium or to change selfish habits. Conscience, the soul of which the remains are, is gradually perceived as friend, not enemy. The Lord spoke of our conscience when He said: "Agree with thine adversary quickly, while thou art in the way with him" (Matt. 5:25). So our conscience, having been a will with us, is gradually becoming our will-our new will. Herein is the teaching of the: Writings true: "Act precedes; man's willing follows" (AC 4353:3).
     But the remains constitute the Lord's secret presence with us. He gave them to us without our knowing when it happened or that it happened. Very different is His presence through His Word. In His Word He speaks to us from without, by means of hearing and sight. Our spiritual freedom comes from the Word. The Divine invitation is: "Come now and let us reason together." We are free to respond or not respond, to listen or not listen, to raise our questions and search for His answers or to continue in a fantasy world of our own making. The truth gives us the choice. "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32). Through the Word there is reciprocation between God and man.
     We now have three forms of the Word. They all appeal to the understanding. In all of them the Lord reasons with His people. He can do that because when the need was there, He freed the understanding from the corrupt will, and so made reluctant sight possible.

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     We can see, and we can draw on our conscience. Despite reluctance we can make ourselves read the Word? reflect on it, obey whatever we understand of it. That is why the Divine invitation begins with a "Come now." It is like saying, "Will you now pay attention?" "Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord.
     But His reasoning is adapted according to the capacity of His children to understand. The Old Testament addresses a lower degree of the mind; the New Testament, a higher degree; the Writings, the highest. In fact, these respective degrees are opened in turn by the three forms of the Word. They are opened because when the Word is lifted up into the mind, then the light of heaven has somewhere to go-has something to shine on.
     One might think that the Old Testament does not really speak to the understanding. But what is the sum of the Old Testament? Is it not that there is a God who created us, that He has a will, that His will is spelled out in ten commandments, that it is well with man if he obeys and not well if he does not? Indeed, is there not even a promise of His advent? The Jews could understand all of this on their own level. They could understand too that He was present in their history, rebuking or rewarding. Theirs was not an elevated understanding, but an understanding of basics does not require analysis. On the other hand, without an understanding of the above elementary truths, there would have been no incentive to obey. And our text itself is in the Old Testament. The Lord reasons with His people even there.
     In the New Testament He speaks in a different way. He says, "Ye have heard that it was said to them of old time . . . but I say unto you . . ." (Matt. 5:21 et al. ). He speaks in parables, and asks: "Have ye understood all these things?" (Matt. 13:51) And He warns, "When anyone heareth the Word of the kingdom and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked one and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart" (Matt. 13:19).

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     Our text, however, reaches its highest level of fulfillment in the Writings. Through them it is possible to enter intellectually into the secrets themselves of faith (see TCR 508). The rational mind itself is addressed. The Lord takes the person of His church into His full confidence. He says in effect, "I created the universe, and My kingdom, and you from My infinite Esse,1 and this is how I did it.2 This, further, is My order of life, in which there is peace.3 And My purpose is that you who understand, and because you understand can choose in freedom, should live with Me in usefulness and happiness in My kingdom forever.4 Will you accept? Will you enter in?"
     In every case the corrupt will is confronted; in every case the separate understanding is addressed. The purpose is salvation from that corrupt will, and its replacement with one that is built into that separate understanding. And here is the law: "As evil and good are two opposites it follows that if man shuns an evil as sin, he comes into the good that is opposite to the evil" (Life 70). He comes into the good that was waiting for him in his remains.
     Evil is of three degrees, as good is of three degrees. Never, therefore, was the remainder of our text more meaningful than now: "Though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."
     Amen.

     Lessons: Isaiah 1:18-27; Matt. 13:10-23; SS 76, 77

     1 See TCR chapter 1.
     2 See the work Divine Love and Wisdom.
     3 See the work Divine Providence.
     4 See the work Heaven and Hell.

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FAMILY WORSHIP 1994

FAMILY WORSHIP       JOSEPH S. DAVID       1994

     This article is specifically about family worship when there are children, and it envisions a home with two New Church parents. Of course worship will take place in homes where there are no children, but that is outside the scope of this article. There are also issues in single-parent homes or in homes where one or both parents are not in the church. These kinds of issues are not addressed here.
     One of the beliefs held by the founders of the General Church was that the children of church members composed a group of readily accessible gentiles who should be taught the doctrines of the church. This belief is the basis for the many local schools in our church and for the Academy. I think these schools do an excellent job, and are vital to the growth and strength of the church. However, much of education takes place outside schools or prior to school age; much of the best education is done by the parents in the home.
     The strength of a home, and thus of the church, comes from the effort to keep the Lord's law and His leading in mind. In the 11th chapter of Deuteronomy, the Lord says, "You shall teach [these words of Mine] to your children, speaking of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up." Putting this precept into practice in a general sense involves all our actions and words, but my thought is to concentrate on the literal idea of "these words of Mine" as being the stories of the Old and New Testaments. I know of no better way to follow this precept than by having regular family worship.
     In thinking about worship as a family activity, I came up with many benefits that it brings. I then arranged these into nine major headings:

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     1.      It teaches the stories from the Word.
     2.      It unites the family and strengthens the marriage.
          3.      It forms a little heaven.
     4.      It passes on the deepest values of the parents.
          5.      It focuses on the Word as a source of truth.
          6.      It serves as a forum for discussion.
          7.      It encourages the parents to evaluate themselves.
          8.      It helps parents increase their own understanding of doctrine.
     9.      If the father leads worship, it provides him with a distinct part in child-rearing and strengthens his marriage.

It teaches the stories from the Word.

     The stories from the Old and New Testaments are essential to our understanding of doctrine; indeed, they are called the foundations of the palace and the foundations and walls of the Holy City. While we shouldn't remain in the sense of the letter alone, the Doctrine of the Sacred Scripture tells us how important this ultimate sense is. The sixth chapter is headed, "By means of the sense of the letter of the Word there is conjunction with the Lord and association with angels." In Arcana Coelestia 9035 we find, "For the truths of the literal sense stored up in man's natural memory form there as it were a field for the mental view of the internal man."
     There is a wealth of story material in the Word, particularly from Genesis through Kings. Ideally we should all know about the people involved, the events that took place, when and where they took place, and have a general knowledge of the chronology and geography of all the sweep of history from Abram to the Isle of Patmos. All these events take place spiritually within our minds, and the basis for understanding these spiritual changes lies in these stories. What better way to teach them than by doing it on a daily basis with children who absorb these stories like sponges?

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We are told that the literal sense is especially meaningful for children.

It unites the family and strengthens the marriage.

     The act of having worship as a family is uniting in itself, but there can be a more deliberate uniting by directly referring to the shared beliefs of the parents. Our children need to understand what we believe and why. They need to realize that the Lord leads us all, even Mother and Father, and that the parents are acting as agents to help their children follow the Lord. Parents can illustrate this by telling how they don't steal or take the Lord's name in vain. We need to show our children that we are all trying to follow what the Lord says. Parents are not trying to establish a dictatorship where their word is law and children have to obey. They are trying to understand and help the children understand what the Lord's way is. This is the way of a family united under the Lord's governance.

It forms a little heaven.

     Worship involving children should begin as soon as they can participate. The angels that are associated with children will undoubtedly delight in their attempts to learn the Lord's prayer and simple songs. Later on, as stories are read to them or told to them, angels will be present as the children listen.
     When children become old enough to read, they can sometimes be asked to do so aloud, particularly if it is a story with which they are familiar. In the Writings it is said that angels are especially delighted when a little child reads the Word reverently. And, of course, worship invites the Lord to be present. He tells us that " . . . where two or three are gathered together, there am I in the midst of them."

It passes on the deepest values of the parents.

     Most parents want to give their children good things, and most parents want their children to be happy.

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We know that the best way to make them happy is to lead them to love the Lord and his Word. This will make them happy to eternity.
     If we have accepted the Lord's Word for ourselves, we will be trying to make it our most valued possession. When our children are small, our own struggle to place such value on the Word may just be beginning, but if it is not valued yet in our will, it can still be valued in our understanding. This is the "pearl of great price" that we want our children to value, and we need to tell them so. We could say to them, "Your mother and I love the Lord, and we love the Word because it tells us about Him and about how we can live the way He wants us to." We don't want our children to be ignorant of what we value and why we value it.

It focuses on the Word as a source of truth.

     Worship focuses our attention on the Word. If we value it and want our children to value it, should we let it sit on a shelf and gather dust? Do our children know that the big book way up on the chancel at church, used in such a solemn fashion, is the same book we have at home? If we read from it daily and talk about it, it becomes not just an object to be venerated, but something more-a source of stories, and later on, ideas, and someday, truths.
     The Word should have a special place for the worship service. It should be opened and closed reverently to mark the beginning and ending of the service. Children should be taught to treat it carefully. But at the same time, it is to be used, read from, and referred to.

It serves as a forum for discussion.

     Worship services can be flexible to fill needs. Generally stories can be used more or less in order from the Word. It there is a family problem that needs to be talked about, stories from the Word can be used to lead up to a discussion. In such a case, a very general text such as the golden rule, the Ten Commandments, or, with older children, the expansion of the Ten Commandments in True Christian Religion, can be a good place to start.

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Such talks can be about problems ranging from hitting or lying to gossip and envy, to behavior at high school patties, and premarital sex. It seems to me that these talks should be used only for problems that are general. If any one child has a specific problem, it should probably be handled one-on-one rather than with the whole family present.
     If a worship service leads to a general discussion without being planned, let it go on and thank the Lord for the opportunity.

It encourages parents to evaluate themselves.

     Having worship with children and talking to them about obeying the Lord may bring us up short when we realize that we haven't done so well in our own actions. We mustn't let this stop us from continuing to teach. This is not hypocrisy. If we want to learn truths and apply them to our lives, the Lord will always be showing us new ways to do so by making our evils apparent. If we accept what He shows and try to heed it, then we ourselves are doing what we want our children to do.
     The very effort of organizing and having regular worship is a choice of values. When we make the effort and take the time, we are putting the value of the worship service and the goals it serves in a higher place than any alternative activities.

It helps parents increase their own understanding of doctrine.

     Having regular worship, particularly as our children get older, pushes us into a greater understanding of doctrine. We learn the stories; we come to appreciate the entire sweep of the history of Israel. Because we know there is an internal sense, we begin to look for the connections. As we are asked questions by our older children, we have to study. There is no shame in having to say, "I don't know. I'll have to look it up."

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In fact, doing so is good because it emphasizes the Word as the source of truth, and emphasizes that the parents are being led by the Lord too.
     A distinct problem faced by families that are far from societies and ministerial contact and who have older children is teaching about the internal sense. A very valuable tool to use is Potts' Concordance because the key words in any story can be looked up, and by fitting together the internal meanings of key words, one can often see what the overall internal sense of the story is.
     Real care must be taken to keep these interpretations open to later corrections. Few parents are trained New Church theologians, and we do not want to mislead our children. Two general safeguards are (1) to read all of the references in the Concordance so that we have an overall picture of how the word or phrase is used, and (2) to read in full some of the passages listed.

If the father leads worship, it provides him with a distinct part in child-rearing and strengthens his marriage.

     This last item is not a benefit of having worship in itself, but rather for the one who conducts it. If at all possible, I think it is best for the father to lead worship. I am not going to try to argue this point, but observation tells me that fathers simply have more effect in this area. It may be because the stories are an ultimate form of truth and that men, being forms of truth, bring the delivery and the material into harmony. Furthermore, primary care-givers are usually women. Children hear their mother's voice or another female voice all day long. Simply because of its rarity, the father's voice and his attention to his children are fixed on avidly by them. Their world is enlarged and given a wider scope and sense of order when both parents are involved. The father, by leading the family in worship, works not in competition with the mother but in conceit. This is of very great use, particularly for boys, who seem prone to accept their father's values more than those of their mother.

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     Obviously, in order for the father to be effective in giving worship, the worship interlude must not be the only contact he has with his children. If he is already a loved and trusted figure in their lives, then worship becomes an easy extension of his relationship to them, and the children are more apt to listen attentively.
     This dual leadership, some from the feminine side and some from the masculine, also helps to shape children's minds to appreciate the differences between the sexes and make them comfortable with themselves as girls or boys. It must be recognized that it is not always possible to have a father conduct worship. In such cases, worship should not be neglected but should be done by the mother.
     The work Conjugial Love tells us that the wife loves her husband's moral wisdom. I think that part of moral wisdom is how he takes doctrine and relates it to his life. If he conducts worship, teaches his children the stories of the Word and about the Lord, then I believe he is exhibiting some part of moral wisdom. In so doing he is presenting to his wife something for her to love. What better gift can he give to her?

Some suggestions for family worship:

     a)      Start small. With little children, just open the Word, say the prayer, sing a song, and close the Word. Let each child put out a candle.
     b)      Two- and three-year-olds love stories. Read the story to yourself first, and then in worship read only a few key sentences and tell the rest of the story. This gets easier with practice.
     c)      Keep it short, especially with little children.
     d)      Be pragmatic about disturbances. With one child you can just stop, explain that you want him or her to behave, and resume the next night. With more than one child, remove the disturber. If things get out of hand, just stop and close the Word. Don't get angry or worry too much.

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Children do behave better as they get older.
     e)      With a wide age range of children, tell the story briefly to the youngest, then give that one a quiet toy and review the story in more detail with the older ones.
     f)      For little children, use only the "best" stories from the Word, There are good stories in the prophets, but a lot of abstract ones as well. As children get older, repeat the familiar stories but add more obscure and more complex ones as well.
     g)      Don't be afraid to edit. David and Goliath is a wonderful story, but it's a whole chapter, and has to be shortened-more for little children, less for older ones. Go over it and mark what you want to read.
     h) Leave out, for little children, scary and bloody stories.
     i)      Don't be afraid to repeat favorite stories over and over.
     j)      As children get older, read stories from the historical parts of the Word in chronological order.
     k)      End the stories (when applicable) with a moral lesson, e.g., "Adam and Eve shouldn't have eaten the fruit of the tree, should they?" or "When Samuel heard the Lord call, he answered, didn't he?"
     l)      A long but interesting story can be carried over for two or three nights with five- and six-year-olds.
     m)      As children get older, occasionally give a wide-ranging overview of a segment of Israelitish history so that individual stories fit into place. Remember that this is a chronology that happens spiritually to each one of us.
     n)      Also with older children, have some worship talks about the Lord's prayer, the Ten Commandments, or why we use the worship ritual that we do.
     o)      In the days before Christmas, read all the prophecies about the Lord's birth.
     p)      Have worship every evening except Sunday, but do so without rigidity. Sometimes it just has to be omitted.

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Find the most convenient time, take the phone off the hook, and put a sign on the door saying something to the effect that the children ate busy now.
     q)      Don't procrastinate. Start now.

Summary

     Remember what you are trying to accomplish: (1) that your children know the stories from the Word; (2) that they know that the doctrines of the church are from the Word; and (3) that they know that you consider the Word and its teachings the most important things in your life.
     I believe that having regular family worship is the most important thing we can do in raising a family. Even in groups and societies, even when there are church schools, it remains the most important family activity. Perhaps if there is a perceived overload of religious instruction, then the schools could cut back so that parents can handle this task. There are so many advantages to having worship in the home as a family.
BISHOP'S COUNCIL 1994

BISHOP'S COUNCIL       Rev. Peter M. Buss       1994

     The Bishop's Council is formed of lay people who provide advice to the bishop on his leadership of the church, and meet to discuss the uses and affairs of the church. It is also to allow the bishop to bring to the council subjects for discussion, and uses for their deliberation.
     All members and friends of the General Church are warmly invited to suggest to members of the Bishop's Council subjects for discussion.

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     The members of the council for 1994 are: Mr. and Mrs. John H. Alden, Mrs. Lennart Alfelt, Mrs. Arne Bau-Madsen, Miss Rebekah L. Brock, Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth T. Brown, Mr. and Mrs. Alf E. Bryntesson, Mr. and Mrs. William W. Buick, Mr. David E. Childs, Mrs. Gordon D. Cockerell, Mrs. Janelle Cranch, Mr. and Mrs. Lawson K. Cronlund, Dr. and Mrs. John M. Davidson, Mr. Michael K. Dei, Dr. and Mrs. James B. de Maine, Dr. and Mrs. Charles H. Ebert, Mr. and Mrs. Stephen C. Elphick, Mr. Gustav I. Fornander, Mr. and Mrs. John A. Frost, Mrs. E. Bruce Glenn, Mr. and Mrs. Robert L. Glenn, Geraldo C. and Scarrain P. Gomes, Mr. and Mrs. David M. Griffiths, Miss Martha Gyllenhaal, Mr. Jorgen Hauptmann, Mr. Wade R. Heinrichs, Mr. and Mrs. Murray F. Heldon, Mr. and Mrs. D. Lee Horigan, Jr., Mr. and Mrs. Garry Hyatt, Mrs. Wynne T. Hyatt, Miss Valerie Jorgenson, Mr. and Mrs. David M. Kloc, Mr. and Mrs. Denis M. Kuhl, Miss Virginia D. M. Lanyon, Mr. Lawrence G. Mazibuko, Mr. and Mrs. Brent K. McCurdy, Mrs. Eleanore S. Naill, Mrs. Buyisile Nkosi, Mr. and Mrs. C. John Parker, Mr. and Mrs. Keith R. Parker, Mr. and Mrs. Garthowen Pitcairn, Mr. and Mrs. Denis Pryke, Dr. and Mrs. William B. Radcliffe, Mr. and Mrs. Bruce Reuter, Mr. and Mrs. James F. Rodman, Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas T. Rose, Miss Karen J. Schnarr, Mr. and Mrs. Radford V. Sellner, Mr. and Mrs. Robert A. Smith, Mr. and Mrs. John A. Snoep, Mr. Jeremy K. Synnestvedt, Mrs. Fred E. Waelchli, Mr. and Mrs. Roy J. Warwick, and Mrs. H. H. T. Woker.
     Rt. Rev. Peter M. Buss
REVIEWS 1994

REVIEWS       Various       1994

The Ever-Reaching Hills by Cedric S. King, M.D.; 1993, 428 pages, Braun-Brumfield.

     This is an easy-reading, well illustrated, heart-rending narrative of a young boy growing up thoughtfully amid privation and hardship, beneath the majesty of Pike's Peak, but managing to get into his share of mischief along the way, keeping on top of many enjoyable experiences.

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Two interesting aspects of the book center around: #1) the daily life and adventures of family members, with their names and the names of church centers changed "to promote objectivity and avoid emotional distortion"; #2) the incredibly intriguing historical accounts of events that shaped the future of Illinois, Colorado and other western states, in which this extraordinary story takes place. There are even references to on-going, world-shaking history, including the Bolsheviks' activities in Russia. All of this is encased in subtly-titled chapter headings, one quickly leading to another, sometimes faster than one would want the matter settled.
     Swept swiftly along, the reader is glued, with pleasant, sympathetic excitement, to the easy-going, almost homespun tale about a church-oriented family in the west, flowing from the author's incredibly clear memory of day-to-day details. The Ever-Reaching Hills is a book mainly about growing up in hard times, primarily due to the health of the father, George Blair. The author leaves no doubt as to the quality of a sound, wholesome upbringing by loving. sincere parents, who, although also fun-loving, believed in the "Good Book," Arcana Coelestia, church attendance, good education, good food, the razor strap, and soap-to-mouth punishment (favored by the mother, Dolly Pennington).
     This reviewer, who readily absorbed the fast-moving book in six days, had also lived two years in the Denver-Colorado Springs area, frequenting Divide and Manitou and visiting church families. Like the "Blairs," we skated on Palmer Lake, shared the awe-inspiring mountain ranch scenes of The Ever-Reaching Hills, and were lulled to sleep by the sound of D and RG train whistles.
     Dr. King weaves skillfully into the narrative, spiced with barnyard humor and language, the genuine steady development of the entire west during a critical period.

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He hints in the pages of the book that this family, whether fictional or real (as it actually is), was an important link in the scheme of things (the unseen current or stream of Divine Providence), both in the economics and the "stick-to-it" spirit of early twentieth-century Americans with strong roots in Philadelphia, New York, and Chicago. Leadville, Cripple Creek and Florissant were actually important mining and ranch towns. One wonders if the rather lengthy sections on day-to-day mining, ranching and trucking are to demonstrate in detail the author's deep love for the highly laudable, ever-challenging occupations to be growing up among, or perhaps to gently soften the effect of difficult medical events that could have shattered the courage of any brave family as they faced yet another death, crushing setback, or other misfortune. Their deep "New Christian" faith was put forward by a great revelator, whose "united advocates" were congregated mainly in Philadelphia and Farview. Their indomitable will caused them to go on and prosper honorably. We believe that both the occupational emphasis and the continuous medical stress were purposefully blended and neatly woven together along with Cedric King's admitted lapses into doubt regarding the apparent unfairness of life as Bunker struggled within himself to appreciate the workings of the Lord in His Divine Providence.
     In summary, The Ever-Reaching Hills' flavor centers around the ever-loving feistiness of Dolly Pennington, her Farview letters, cooking, t?te-?-t?tes, and clear definitions: of right and wrong; the firm hand and philosophizing of his enterprising, productive but ailing father, George Blair; Dr. Blair-"Gorandpa," his deep, abiding faith in the Lord, belief in eternal life and planned time for each person to enter it, and his heroic advancement of the practice of medicine during very difficult times. One of his quotations from the revelator he had come to revere reads: "Marriage love and the procreation of our kind is the highest function of earth and the happiness of heaven."
     Finally, Dr. Blair's grandson, our author of this book, describes the making of a doctor!

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We note the development of his tender affections, caring attitudes, professional skill-all necessary in the best kind of physician and surgeon. His family values, down-to-earth everyday observations, "fun times," ability to relate to others, making friends of all ages, sharing many and varied interests, were all part of the prescription. Other relatives, situations and friends figured in, like Gerhart Mammei and Bess Phillips, cattle rancher and teacher who married and "lived happily ever after," outside vistas and external opportunities, his New Church education, the eventual medical degree (like his grandfather's from a great Philadelphia hospital), his understanding of human nature, writing style, and, for the most part, choice of descriptive words. With these things he has been gifted by the Lord, whose New Christian Church could well be advanced in fame, growth, and understanding by thoughtfully written books such as The Ever-Reaching Hills.
     We would look forward with interest to further narrating of the (true) "Bunker Blair" saga. In the spirit of George Blair, we conclude with an excerpt from his favorite poem, from The Culture of Courage.


     Out of the night that covers me,
     Dark as a pit from pole to pole,
     I thank whatever gods there be
     For my unconquerable soul.
          Rev. Robert H. P. Cole

     *     *     *     *     *


Sorting Things Out by George F. Dole, J. Appleseed and Co., San Francisco, CA, $8.95

     Most readers of New Church literature are already familiar with articles and translations by Dr. George Dole, leading scholar and teacher at the Swedenborg School of Religion, and they will find his new work, Sorting Things Out, exciting and challenging.

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This attractive little paperback, 260 pages, could well be one of the most powerful and eloquent presentations of the teachings in the Writings as applied to life that a newcomer is likely to find. In deceptively easy-to-read and eloquent language Dr. Dole has shown that what he calls "Swedenborgian theology" is far more profound and rational than any modern expert theories.
     Most readers of this periodical will regret the absence of any idea of "doctrine" or Divinely inspired teaching and, like this reviewer, be uncomfortable with his acceptance of the lower case in pronouns such as: "The Lord moved in the same way to make his natural human divine. This is why he prayed to the Father and why he did his will" (page 95). " . . . and he said on the cross, 'My God, why have you abandoned me?'" This may be "correct" but it is not right.
     This is not to charge Dr. Dole with any irreverence, since few can present the ideas of divinity as effectively as he does. His quotations from Scripture are striking, and abundant direct numbers from the Writings are among the most effective we have read. As a recognized scholar and translator, Dr. Dole seems to have presented direct quotations in clear and familiar language.
     The book is comprised of some thirty-two articles, lectures, and sermons on subjects such as: "Spiritual Chaology," "The Spirit of Repentance," "The Son of God," "Practical Living," and "Modern Motherhood." They seem to be arranged in logical progression and organization that supports the title, Sorting Things Out.
     Most striking to this reviewer is the eloquent language presented simply, such as in the following sentences gathered from scattered places:


Repentance is not trying to erase a black mark; it is trying to do something about the consequences of our wrongs.

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The most distinctive thing about the Lords prayer is that it asks only for what is already the Lords will.

If our prayer is not answered, it is we who need to change.

Everyone is born for heaven, and they are accepted into heaven who accept heaven into themselves in this world.

The death of the body simply opens the door so that we begin living consciously the lives we are leading inwardly now.

We all label "good" whatever we feel as pleasant, from the love of our intentionality, and we label "true" whatever we perceive as delightful.

We should not take our depression out on others by treating them harshly or by neglecting our responsibilities to them.

There is significant difference between believing that something is true because Swedenborg said so and believing that Swedenborg said something because it was true.


     Sorting Things Out adds to the impressive list of fine books published by J. Appleseed and Co., and should soon be available in many New Church bookstores.
     Leon S. Rhodes
ADDENDUM ON WOMEN'S LIBERATION 1994

ADDENDUM ON WOMEN'S LIBERATION       Rev. C. V. A. Hasler       1994

     (The conclusion of an article by Rev. C. V. A. Hasler, quoted in part in the September issue)


     I believe that if men truly sought spiritual wisdom from the Lord, they would have genuine respect from their wives and other women, who would not wish to say, "I can do as well, or better. . . . "

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Rather, they would know that they have an equally important function to do, which is to translate the truth into a living form, as Adam's rib was clothed with flesh and made into the living ideal. And every man would acknowledge that while his work was the first in time, hers was the first in essence.

Small Addendum on Women's Liberation

     This looks very much like the feminine uprising against male domination-but is this really the case? Isn't there another male interest hidden there?
     So often in the past, the selfish male, especially the younger one, took the line that the woman is very much like himself in her attitude to sex. She is just another sort of man-but with a skirt and sexual organs of the female. "She is just as interested in sex, needs it just as much as I do, and can benefit by getting as much of it as she can. She can be as casual about it as I am." This is a fairly common attitude of the libertine.
     Our doctrine, however, tells us that the woman by nature is not like that at all, but is far more inclined to love one of the opposite sex. Again, we see the domestic as against the wandering, out-of-doors attitude. She wants to unite herself to one man, and not by preference to many. And in the end she unites herself with his philosophy and attitudes, for this is her nature.
     Women's Lib may look very much like the feminine point of view, but is it not really a woman's acceptance of herself as the man sees her? Haven't women been persuaded that they are the same as men? They no longer have to be wooed, but they can throw themselves into the sexual, permissive maelstrom for free, and pretend that they are enjoying it.
     The Liberationists may claim that women now have a greater right to refuse than ever before, which sounds fine on the surface, but is it so in practice? How many girls or young women are strong enough to resist the pressure from their own and the opposite sex to make the sexual contact as casual as possible?

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Here surely is an exploitation far more pernicious than ever before, because the woman has been liberated from nothing else than the safeguards which gave her the personal and moral right to refuse. Today, she feels wrong when she does. Her own deeper inclinations are seen as shameful and are subject to ridicule. Therefore, the man has finally convinced her that she is just as amoral as he is.
     Biologically, she cannot be liberated from childbirth, from abortion, or from taking the pill, and psychologically she is left with all the responsibility and decisions. This is a pressure beyond all reason, and it is time that men woke up to the fact that they are in greater need of true love than cheap sex. In this the Women's Lib is at least right. It is man's fault. They have not offered to the woman a worthy ideal which she can love and respect. The man must have spiritual and moral wisdom before true conjunction can begin.
HOW NEW CHURCH LIFE PAGES WERE USED IN 1993 1994

HOW NEW CHURCH LIFE PAGES WERE USED IN 1993       Editor       1994

Articles                          217
Sermons                         77
Reports                          22
Communications                     77
Announcements                     49
Church News                     35
Reviews                          13
Directories                     24
Miscellaneous                     62
     Total pages                    576


     Number of Contributors
Priests                          30
Laity:      Men                32
          Women           11     43
     Total Contributors           73

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Editorial Pages 1994

Editorial Pages       Editor       1994

     GETTING CLOSE TO ANGELS

     Angels can seem so far away. A way has been provided to get close to them, and that is the reverent reading of the Word. You can think of the Word as something to teach you something you did not know. You can think of it as something to bring you encouragement and comfort. You can think of it as something to show you the good path and keep you on it. Here we invite you to think of it as something designed to get people and angels close together.
     Truths in the Word are said to have a special "efficacy." This is because they are given by the Lord and "inscribed on the whole angelic heaven; consequently when someone learns truths from the Word, he comes into communion and consociation with angels beyond what he knows" (TCR 347).
     Let us see this tremendous teaching in another translation. The truths are "imprinted upon the whole heaven of the angels. When therefore a person goes on to learn truths from the Word, he comes into communion and association with angels, without being aware of it." Another translation says, "closer than he realizes."
     Sometimes there is little or no realization of being brought closer to angels while reading. And when there is some sense of this, there is more going on than we realize. When we are in a certain affection when reading, we feel something living in the Word. "There is something intimately affecting the heart and spirit, which flows with light into the understanding and bears witness" (AR 200).
     Although it is not apparent to the individual, there is conjunction with the Lord by means of the sense of the letter of the Word (see TCR 234). The affiliation with angels is not something we can see or hear, but it was granted to Swedenborg both to see and to hear, and he testifies that by "living experience" he came to know that the sense of the letter of the Word brings affiliation with the angels (TCR 235).

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     Yes, we go to church and we read the Word to learn. And another purpose is to get closer to the angels.

     DECISIONS IN THE GENERAL CHURCH

     After a pastorate of several years, a General Church minister was asked to talk about decisions he made as a society pastor. He stated at the outset that making decisions was a rare thing in his work. He recalled the time the color of a church carpet had to be decided. Yes, he had played a part in the decision, but a part very different from what some might imagine. He used the phrase "step-aside government," which someone defined as "getting out of the way so that the Lord rules" (compare NCL, 1992, p. 249).
     The actual color choice was not the pastor's choice. Well, what choices or decisions did he make? A decision that does arise in pastoral work is the time for a memorial service when someone dies. Yes, someone has to make that decision. It affects a number of people. How does he go about it? Imagine his saying, "I am the pastor, and I pronounce the decision, and you folks will just have to live with that decision. The service will be Thursday afternoon at 4:00 p.m. I have spoken."
     No, the pastor has work to do with sensitivity and concern for people at this time. There may be people who have to come from a distance. Those closest to the deceased, of course, need to be considered especially. Of the various factors, where would the pastor put his own personal convenience? Should it not be the very least of his concerns? Consider the following teaching about governors in heaven. "They do not domineer or dictate, but minister and serve, for to do good to others from the love of good is to serve, and to provide for its being done is to minister. For they put the good of society and of the neighbor in the first place, and their own good last, and whatever is put in the first place is held to be grater, and what is put last, to be less" (HH 218).

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     Angels are not infallible in their efforts to serve, and pastors are certainly not infallible! May be Wednesday would have been better than Thursday. And even if it was the best choice for the majority, there could be people for whom it was inconvenient.
     So that is the response of one minister about his own experience of decisions in the church. But what about the wider church? What about decisions that affect several congregations? We will speak of that another time. Let us note here the matter of how decisions are made in determining what minister shall serve a certain church society. Are there momentous meetings going on behind closed doors with people making powerful decisions?
     It is quite possible for there to be honest ignorance on this important question. But the answers are available for those who really want to know and understand how the church functions. Last year an excellent outline was made available in our pages. Distinct steps were listed and explained. At the outset "the congregation elects a committee, usually of about seven to twelve people, and elects a chairperson.
     This is quoted from last November, p. 492. The other steps take more space. You are invited to go back and read this, and if you don't have a copy, let us know if we can help you get one.
     Picture the following example of a decision, anything but theoretical, that arose in one church society. The pastor had to have an appendix operation. It went so well that the surgeon told him he could conduct the church service on Sunday. He felt fine and was pleased to do it. A member of the congregation advised him not to do it. The surgeon actually showed up in church that Sunday to observe his patient. Did the pastor conduct the service? Should he have done it? Why? (Answer next month.)

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WOMEN AND THE CHURCH 1994

WOMEN AND THE CHURCH       Eva Sandstrom Lexie       1994




     Communications
Dear Editor:
     Several things in the July issue of New Church Life highlight the fact that women today are struggling to find their proper role in the church. From the topic of gender-exclusive language to the questions of women in the priesthood and the masculinity of the Divine, there is a sense of groping for identity and seeking equal status.
     I know many people are very disturbed by all this discussion. Personally, I feel it is important to raise the questions rather than let them fester unanswered. I hope the discussion can proceed without hostility. I trust that if we disagree with the women who raise these issues, they will not (in Mary Alden's words) "be used as an example of why women can't be trusted" or accused of "taking cheap shots at the church."
     I would like to express several thoughts in response, without even pretending to answer every question.
     First, I think women would be far less uneasy and have far fewer concerns if they had a sense that their value to the church in general and to men in particular was widely recognized and affirmed. Men in the New Church know the doctrines about the unique contributions and abilities of women. But they are sometimes guilty of absorbing the widely held attitude that intellect is superior to all else. They are sometimes guilty of joking too much about the inability of women to think rationally. They are sometimes guilty of failing to acknowledge that they are as incomplete without women as women are without men. I once quipped to a male friend: "If you're going to make fun of me for thinking like a woman, don't expect me to 'take it like a man'!" Think about it.
     At the same time, we women too are often guilty of accepting the wrong standards for judging ourselves and gauging our equality to men.

462


In today's environment, it can take a lot of time and deep thought to come to terms with what the Writings tell us about the feminine mind. Finding the right way to use that feminine mind to help the church is a part of that struggle.
     One teaching that seems pertinent to several of the issues raised is found in Conjugial Love 125. It begins by telling us that "the husband does not represent the Lord, and the wife the church, because both together . . . make the church." Later in the same paragraph we read that "the church is first implanted in the man and through the man in his wife; for the man receives its truth in his understanding, and the wife receives it from the man. If the reverse is the case, it is not according to order."
     This seems to be very relevant to Sarah Headsten's question about why the Writings often appear to speak primarily to men. It also seems relevant to the ability of women to serve in the New Church priesthood.
     It is interesting to note that many Christian churches have accepted the ordination of women. These churches value the ability of their women ministers to reach out to the needs of their congregation and to offer a different perspective. However, these churches do not expect of their ministers what we expect of ours: the systematic study of the threefold Word to understand doctrine and to teach it, so that people may be led by it to live a good life.
     It is very difficult for us women to accept that we don't have the same independent objectivity that men are capable of (especially since they don't all exercise it). Perhaps this is because we are being subjective! If only we could realize that their kind of objectivity doesn't make men superior. Their reception of the truth has to come first, but it isn't more important or better than what women do with it.
     Could a distinction be made among the many different functions of New Church priests?

463


It seems to me that some functions involving reaching out to people in distress, counseling from sympathy and experience, decision-making and administering society business could legitimately be performed by women who have a love and talent for these tasks. Ordination is not necessary. Other functions involving doctrinal study and preaching clearly belong in the male domain because the male mind is made to do the job.
     Mary Alden also raised the issue of masculine imagery of the Divine, and the ability of women to represent the Lord. In this regard I think it is important to separate these two questions. It is not that men in general can represent the Lord, but that the office of the priesthood represents the Lord, Whoever is truly called to become a priest, and has that office adjoined to himself, represents the Lord because of it.
     The masculine imagery of the Divine isn't something made up by church tradition, but comes directly from the Word. At the same time, the imagery regarding the church is feminine. This should not make women feel inferior. The church doesn't mean a bunch of argumentative, fallible human beings. It means the understanding of the Word which we have from the Lord. We understand the Word when its truths are brought to life and become fruitful in us.
     The different functions of the male and female bodies in procreation mirror this imagery of the marriage of the Lord and the church. I don't think these physical differences are merely symbolic. They are the lowest level of a difference between the sexes that begins at the level of the soul. Surely we are also meant to function differently in the procreation of the Lord's church on earth, and to complement each other without doing things the same way. On this level as on the physical level, it should be possible to achieve a marriage between the functions of both sexes, and the union should bring with it mutual trust and great delight.
     Eva Sandstrom Lexie,
          Huntingdon Valley, PA

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MRS. ALDEN'S QUESTIONS 1994

MRS. ALDEN'S QUESTIONS       Cathy Schnarr       1994

Dear Editor:
     I was very grateful to see Mary Alden's letter last month. One of the foundations of our church is the freedom to ask questions and discuss our views of the Writings, and for each person to find an appropriate path to follow according to his or her best insight into what is true and good. Mary's letter conveyed a sincere approach, and she was bold in her direct questions. I loved her openness. The reason that I am so grateful to see her letter and her questions in print is that she is not alone in her thoughts. Many of the women I talk to in the church have similar concerns. And if these concerns were not to be shared in a public forum I think it would weaken the church. Why are so many of us asking these questions? Are we seeking to gain power or control? Have we been deluded by the values and biases of a decadent culture? I don't think so. The families in our church have spent a lot of love and attention raising thoughtful, caring women, and I think we have grown up to have thoughtful, caring concerns.
     Concepts of who God is, and ideas of how the church should minister to its people are very near and dear to all of our hearts. These can be very sensitive issues. Questioning traditional pictures of God may be very threatening to same people. But hopefully, when these questions are raised it can be done in a considerate way, and hopefully when these questions are responded to it can be in a considerate way, taking into account the struggle and even pain that most likely brought out the question.
     Is God a man? If the Writings taught that God in essence is male, I would feel invalidated as a woman. But that's not what they teach. In essence, God is neither male nor female. The Writings give an overall picture of equality (not sameness) to the inherent value of maleness and femaleness.

465


Maleness is not more God-like than femaleness. So where does my sense of inequality in the concept of God and even goodness come from?

     1) Our language

     Notice how I phrased the question: "Is God a man?" Our language and its gender ambiguity make it hard to create a sense of equality. For example, for most of my life when I heard the Gorand Man referred to, I thought of a male, when "man" most definitely means "human" in this instance.

     2) Our culture

     Many people believe that what are generally thought of as male characteristics of aggressiveness, competitiveness, and even analytical thinking have been strongly over-emphasized and revered in our culture. The feminine characteristics of tenderness, nurturing, and intuition have been at the same time too often undervalued. These cultural values affect us in very deep ways every day of our life. I find that it's hard to keep the reality of equality present in my thoughts and feelings.

     3) God came to us in the form of a male: Jesus Christ.

     From my youth I have heard the teachings about the masculine being the proceeding from God and the teachings about the Lord affecting us in a masculine way while the church affects us in a feminine way. I believe and honor these teachings. But they raise a lot of questions for me.

           a)      If Jesus made every part of His male human body Divine, doesn't that mean that the Divine has more maleness than femaleness?
          b)      Why didn't Jesus, the male proceeding, come from a Divine Mother as the essence and not the Divine Father?

     These are unsettling questions for me. The only way that I feel they are somewhat resolved is to concede that God in His infinite wisdom saw how vital it was for us to view Him as human. It's so vital that He put aside our sense of equality in the sexes as secondary so that we could get close to Him as a Human.

466


Even God has to make hard choices sometimes.
     I need to emphasize that these are still unsettling questions for me. But I think that it is essential that adults be free to have unsettling (I don't mean totally disruptive) questions about the church they belong to and still be completely committed to its uses.
     Female ministry? I believe the Writings teach that it isn't useful for women to preach. In some ways I am very grateful for this teaching, because I think it acknowledges the unique ability of men to rise above situations and see human challenges from a different perspective, and then be bold enough to share this perspective with others. In some ways, though, I feel that the completely masculine ministry has created an unfortunate imbalance in the General Church.
     More and more of our preachers are making efforts to bring a balance of love and truth into their messages, unlike some preaching in the past. But I believe we have a long way to go before we become a truly nurturing and comforting organization as imaged by "Mother Church." I think that if women were in church-appointed positions, they would have the ability to provide a different kind of care-giving, parenting image.
     Some of us women love to work for the church, and not just part-time. We would love to spend twenty-four hours a day connecting with spiritually needy people. Teaching provides the opportunity to reach the spirits of children, but some of us feel that nurturing adults is our ruling love. Is there possibly an answer in the distinction between minister and preacher? I hope
     Who makes the decisions? I know from experience that wives have influence on their husbands' opinions. But I also know that we are human, and that when it comes down to it, it is the masculine minds that are making most of the decisions in the General Church.
     Throughout the Writings there is an acknowledgment of the invaluable quality of feminine wisdom.

467


More than once the memorable relations tell of times when the men would talk and discuss and rationalize about different issues and then the truly wise ones (the women) would come in and "tell it like it is." Women not only tend to be very grounded in day-to-day reality and to have important insights in dealing with external problems, but they also can get right to the heart of the matter; they can have intuition about people's feelings, where the true reality exists.
     This invaluable resource has barely been tapped in the church. Things like the Theta Alpha Journal and the Women's Symposium provide a wonderful forum, and the wisdom that comes out of them is uplifting and real. The Bishop's recently appointed Joint Committee has a few women on it. But overall, mostly men are still making the decisions. I would love to see a model from the memorable relations taken seriously and brought into church government. I would love to see women's wisdom honored and revered as it is in those passages.
     I hope we can respect and really use what the Writings say in our discussions and our search to find a better way, because we, unlike other churches, have been blessed with these teachings. If we don't take them seriously, I don't know if anyone else will. I also hope that we take the time to see what the Writings really do say, and not just what we've become comfortable thinking they say, because at this point we need some real answers, not just a cold rehashing of old concepts.
     I really did not intend to write this long a letter. But I have very strong opinions about these concerns, and I wanted to present them with some clarity. After reading what I wrote, I wouldn't call my approach gentle. I do hope it comes across as considerate.
     Cathy Schnarr,
          Glenview, IL

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MRS. ALDEN'S QUESTIONS 1994

MRS. ALDEN'S QUESTIONS       Ruth Cranch Wyland       1994

Dear Editor:
     First and foremost I would like to applaud Mary Alden's courage in posing her questions concerning women in the priesthood in such an eloquent and heartwarming fashion. Mary wants the consideration of her questions to "lead to honest dialogue," and here, I believe, is the crux of all she puts forth. There needs to be an open forum where men and women can contribute freely and truthfully how they feel about the issues Mary has raised, and be able to look toward a solution.
     Mary Alden speaks of "the vision and the mission" of the church. I believe this includes the long-term goals, the consideration of alternate ways for evangelization, the decisions as to where money is to be spent, and many other organizational decisions that are at present overwhelmingly decided by men, with little chance for women to influence them.
     There is an inherent and ingrained habit of treating men and women differently within the church. The habitual inequality of the treatment of those within the membership according to gender is difficult to even see, because for so long it has been accepted as a teaching of doctrine. Mary Alden has posed questions which can allow us to meet in an open forum where men and women can be permitted equal weight in what they contribute to the discussion. It is my fervent hope that a way will be found to have this open forum to explore the possibility that in the future women can be recognized and respected as being permitted to truly minister, either within or in conjunction with the priesthood.
     Ruth Cranch Wyland,
          Huntingdon Valley, PA
MRS. ALDEN'S QUESTIONS 1994

MRS. ALDEN'S QUESTIONS       Rey Cooper       1994

Dear Editor:
     This is a response to Mary Alden's letter. I'm glad she wrote it, because it provides an opportunity to answer an important question.

469



     Let me start with a direct quotation. We read in SD 5936 a few interesting words, under the heading "Women Who Preach." "Women who think in the way men do on religious subjects, and talk much about them, and still more if they preach in meetings, do away with the feminine nature, which is affectional, owing to which they must be with married men; they also become material, so that affection perishes and their interiors are closed. They also begin to develop a tendency, as regards the thoughts, to take up with crazes, which takes place because the affection, being then destroyed, causes the intellectual to be crazy. In outward form, indeed, they are still able to appear like other women. In a word, they become sensual in the last degree. Woman belongs to the home, and she becomes of a different nature where she engages in preaching."
     There are some who question the authority of the Diary on the grounds that Swedenborg did not himself have it published. There might be little argument with that. However, those people would perhaps agree that when the same thing is taught there and in uncontested parts of the Writings, there can be no very strong argument with what is said. That, I believe, is what occurs here. In any case, Swedenborg has stated the case much more clearly than others could have, and has seen far deeper.
     No New Church man, or woman, could possibly believe that he (or she) is superior, in light of the clear teaching that "cold" in marriage is caused by the one who tries to claim dominance. It is true that in some areas men are indeed supposed to be leaders, but then in other areas, women are. The case is according to the way in which people were created, and has no relation to how an individual may think. It is true that women in some things are more talented.
     Rev. Grant Schnarr and others have emphasized that the New Church is a religion that "makes sense." I agree with this. "Making sense is another way of saying "rational." Every doctrine must be explained carefully and exactly as it is without reliance merely on feeling.

470



     Among teachings we could apply to the subject at hand is CL 175, which states that in matters of judgment, women are constrained to consult men. This clear teaching should not be interpreted to mean that men are superior, but only that they are different. It is obvious to any who study enough, if they are genuinely interested in finding the truth, that men and women were created totally different. The Writings are the Word of God-not the inventions of a mere man. They are telling us something here about judgment. I incline to think that the work of the ministry involves masculine judgment.
     The fact that one man together with one woman make one angel to me says that they must be complementary and cannot possibly do the same things. Thus, by creation one does what the other cannot. Although I am convinced that women are not best suited to be ministers, there are so many ways to serve mankind.
     Rather than say more, it would be useful to commend to your attention two other passages that struck me in approaching this subject. They are CL 168 and 218.
     Rey Cooper,
          Bryn Athyn, PA
AWARENESS OF CHANGE 1994

AWARENESS OF CHANGE       Stephen Gyllenhaal       1994

Dear Editor:
     When I was a child, my mother mentioned to me that my great grandfather had told her that a minister didn't choose his calling. He didn't think about or ponder becoming a minister. He simply couldn't do anything else. I think she was hoping to see if that calling would descend on me. It didn't at that point, but it did later-not in the form of ministering, but in the form of filmmaking: a vocation I simply had to pursue. There was nothing else I could do. And so the words of my great grandfather have always resonated for me.

471



     And then last month I stumbled across Mary Alden's letter. I was irritated by its introduction. It seemed clumsy, messy. Who cared about her fears? But like the birth of a child, which also seems clumsy, messy, painful, it delivered something miraculous. I've never read anything like it-a cry from the heart and the mind-emotional, but considered. Like great art, it went beyond the words. It felt exactly like what my great grandfather (one of the founders of the church) had been talking about.
     And suddenly my mind went to two places. First, to the Writings-where exactly does it say women can't minister? Mary Alden has raised important questions that hopefully can be approached by the ministry in as considered a way as she has presented them. Secondly, my mind went to the founding fathers of the church, with which both sides of my family were inextricably involved. One of the Gyllenhaals was even deeply involved with Swedenborg himself. I'm reminded of a story my mother told me about her father-that he felt no woman needed to go to college. She didn't condemn him for that; she went for two years anyway. I don't condemn him for it either-nor my great grandfather, who I'm sure held similar views. But things have changed. And both of those men would probably have changed with them if they had lived in our times. To me one of the joys of life is to experience those changes-my children growing, my work maturing, my participation in regeneration (to whatever degree I'm involved in that) expanding.
     One of the foremost theories that has emerged since the theory of relativity and quantum physics has been Chaos Theory (the theory of complexity), which is still in its infancy. One of its primary tenets is that the entire universe interacts with itself in such an infinite way that it is by definition changing, and changing radically. I wonder if one of the reasons old churches die isn't partially because they simply can't keep up with this infinite amount of change.

472


Has our church become old already?
     No church's doctrine raises the issue of the equality of the feminine remotely in the way that the New Church does. Its concept of marriage-is revolutionary. And as I've moved back toward the church, it has helped me in the challenges of my own marriage to a brilliantly intellectual woman, and in the raising of a daughter who is fast following in her mother's footsteps.
     The idea that my daughter could be less of a minister than my son flies wildly in the face of my experience of the two of them. That one of my sisters couldn't have been "called" doesn't compute either. Luckily for my sisters, they had a father; who believed strongly that they should go to college and beyond, and they have done just that. The times had changed by then.
     And to my deepest delight they are changing again. Mary Alden's letter is a clarion call. God works in mysterious and exciting ways. Certainly He did when He called Swedenborg and when He calls every minister since. But has He started to call women now? Is that possible? If we are to be a living church, we had better make every effort to keep up with Him. And is He exactly a "He"? Have we been unable to see the other parts of God because only men have been guiding us? Were the generations before us not ready to see that part? Ale our eyes being opened anew? Do we need to go back and reevaluate our interpretations of the Writings?
     Like Mary Alden, I await answers from the ministry and others. And I look forward to hearing more from her. Nothing I have read in your publication or anywhere else has made me want to pick up the Writings and search for answers more than Mary Alden's letter. If that isn't an important aspect of ministry, I don't know what is. Thank you.
     Stephen Gyllenhaal,
          Los Angeles, CA

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LIFE DEALING WITH LIFE 1994

LIFE DEALING WITH LIFE       Amanda Orr Steen       1994

Dear Editor:
     I want to express my appreciation of your insight in publishing interesting, applicable and doctrinally based studies, sermons, and letters to the editor.
     In particular, Rev. Terry Schnarr's article on teenagers was what I would call the "Word in action"-using the Word to understand and cope with life. David Ayers' article "Feeding the Right Dog" showed another angle of the idea of proprium and acknowledgment of the Lord, and the fact that choice is ours, whether we want to grow closer to Him or turn away from Him. Also, your reports of growth in the New Church around the world: i.e., Andy Dibb's report on his travels in South Africa, and the growth of the New Church in Japan and Czechoslovakia, are marvelously inspiring and useful for me to read in order to keep in perspective the newness and joy that the doctrines can bring to people's lives.
     I have read with interest, too, the ongoing commentary on gender-related language and the efforts being made by the clergy to use more inclusive language.
     And finally a big hurrah for having the wisdom to publish Mary Alden's well thought-out questions regarding the role of women in the clergy and government of the church.
     These are very important questions that need to be carefully considered, and, with patience and tolerance, discussed openly in a manner that allows for free expression and respect. I feel that roles for men and women are being discussed in the world in general, so it is natural that this discussion extend to our church also. Roles of men and women in the church and at home and "feminism a la New Church" are issues that need to be discussed in an open format, not just in a women's magazine, i.e., Theta Alpha Journal.

474


I find that many men and women are simply not aware of each other's feelings or thoughts on these issues, and that they truly want to broaden their understanding and perspective. By publishing Mary Alden's article you have opened the door to this discussion, and I thank you.
     My thanks to all the respective authors of these articles and sermons; may they continue to search for ways to apply the Lord's Word to their lives and share their insights with others.
     My thanks to the editor and his staff for making New Church Life a magazine that deals with life from a New Church perspective.
     Amanda Orr Steen,
          Rochester Hills, Michigan
HOW TO LOVE 1994

HOW TO LOVE       William A. Hall       1994

Dear Editor:
     To me the answer to the question "How to love?"* is given by Dr. Hugo Lj. Odhner in his book The Ten Commandments, where he writes: "In heaven all love one another with a tender love. And when an angel loves, he also honors (AC 8897)" (p. 37).
     * See Allen Bedford's letter June, p. 273.
     To love tenderly is to be concerned about others' physical and spiritual happiness, to wish for them only what will bring out the best in their characters, and to lead them to live from truths from the Word.
     To love tenderly means to inspire others to look to the Lord and to live as the Lord would have them live.
     William A. Hall,
          Queensland, Australia

475


CHRYSALIS BOOKS COMING THIS FALL 1994

CHRYSALIS BOOKS COMING THIS FALL       Editor       1994


     The Swedenborg Foundation
announces its new imprint
CHRYSALIS
BOOKS
COMING THIS FALL
Light in My Darkness
Helen Keller
Edited by Ray Silverman
Preface by Norman Vincent Peale
     "Swedenborg's message has been my strongest incitement to overcome limitations. "-Helen Keller
     Blind, deaf, and dumb since childhood, Keller drew on a special spiritual resource she called
"the light in my darkness, the voice in my silence." A powerful and insightful look into the world of ideas that shaped her faith.
     ISBN 0-87785-146-8
paperback, photographs
5 x 8 , 160 pages, $9.95
     Angels in Action
What Swedenborg Saw and Heard
Robert H. Kirven
Angels in Action offers a wealth of information about who angels are and how they interact with humans. The book draws from both personal experience and the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg, who wrote extensively of angels and spiritual realms.
     ISBN 0-87785-147-6, paperback, illustrations
5 1/2x81/2, 128 pages, $8.95
     For further information or to place an order, contact:
Swedenborg Foundation
P.O. Box 519, West Chester, PA 19381, or call (800) 355-3222

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NEW CATALOG 1994

NEW CATALOG       Editor       1994

          he 1994-1995 catalog of materials available from the General Church Office of Education has recently been mailed to families with children ages birth to 18 years.
Because it also lists materials of interest to adults of all ages, those who would like a copy should write or telephone the Office of Education at the address or number shown below.
     General Church Office of Education
Cairncrest - Box 743
Bryn Athyn, PA 19009
     (Phone: 215-947-4661; Fax: 215-947-3078)
NEW CHURCH MARRIAGE SYMPOSIUM 1994

NEW CHURCH MARRIAGE SYMPOSIUM       Editor       1994

     This symposium is being held Thanksgiving weekend, November 25th and 26th. See the inside front cover of the July issue. For information write to Rev. Thomas Kline, Box 277, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009.
"SPIRITISM" 50 YEARS AGO 1994

"SPIRITISM" 50 YEARS AGO       Editor       1994

     The October issue of 1944 has an article by Rev. Arthur Clapham from England. He said that contacting spirits should not be called "spiritualism" but rather "spiritism." "Spiritism is concerned with spirits, not with anything necessarily spiritual; and the more it seeks manifestations and materializations of spirits, the less spiritual, the more natural and materialistic does it become.

477


NEW CHURCH LIFE ARTICLE IN MAINE NEWSPAPER 1994

NEW CHURCH LIFE ARTICLE IN MAINE NEWSPAPER       Editor       1994




     Announcements






     On August 19th the Portland Press Herald published an article that appeared in our pages in March. It was Warren David's piece called "Why Is Hell Eternal?" Rev. Kurt Nemitz, who submitted the article, says that it received favorable comments.
NEW CHURCH WOMEN'S SYMPOSIUM 1994

NEW CHURCH WOMEN'S SYMPOSIUM       Editor       1994

     The symposium will be in Bryn Athyn, March 30-April 1, 1995. (See our April issue, p. 186.) A mailing will be going out in the near future. If you wish to be on the mailing list, contact Chara Daum, Box 707, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009.

480


LORD'S PRAYER 1994

LORD'S PRAYER       Editor       1994

     A Study of the Teachings of the Third Testament Concerning
     THE LORD'S PRAYER
by
Philip Nathaniel Odhner
     Selected numbers treating of the Lord's Prayer in general; selected numbers treating of specific phrases and sentences in the prayer; and sermons based on these references.
     Published by
The Lord's New Church
which is Nova Hierosolyma
1994
     Hardcover, Postage Paid U.S. $14.00
     General Church Book Center          Hours: Mon-Fri 9-12 or by appointment
Box 743, Cairncrest                    Phone: (215) 947-3920
Bryn Athyn, PA 19009

481


Notes on This Issue 1994

Notes on This Issue       Editor       1994

Vol. CXIV     November, 1994     No. 11
NEW CHURCH LIFE

482




     Notes on This Issue

     Bishop King returned in October from a trip to Africa. Notice at the beginning of the announcements on page 525 the ordinations of ministers, first in Ghana and then in South Africa.
     We are proud to have in this issue what has to be the most extensive panorama of translations of a saying from the Writings that has been attempted. Just looking at the languages can take us out of our usual relatively narrow view of the written word upon this earth. Some of the languages are simply beautiful to the eye, and one may marvel that people are able to derive meaning from them. The "art of writing" has existed on our earth from ancient times (see AC 9353). I invite readers to imagine what it would be like to come from somewhere in the universe where there is not writing and then to see people who derive meaning from those marks on a printed sheet.
Ponder this as you look at some of these languages. Swedenborg encountered such people who first were inclined to ridicule the whole concept of markings on paper conveying meanings. But they were eventually able to consider seriously that "on our earth there are such papers, and books made of them" (AC 6930).
     Looking at these languages and thinking of the intent of Divine revelation, one may call to mind a verse in Daniel, chapter six: "To all peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied to you."
     On page 506 we have the enrollment of the Academy Schools and all General Church local schools. The November issue of 1944 shows enrollments of fifty years ago. At that time there were 149 in the Bryn Athyn elementary school. Now there are 361. There were 27 in the college, and now there are 111.
     With the Women's Symposium now a few months away (March 31-April 1), it is particularly interesting to have the review by Linda S. Odhner of the offerings from the last such symposium.

483


THANKSGIVING 1994

THANKSGIVING       Rev. RAGNAR BOYESEN       1994

     "Dear your honor," wrote an eight-year-old boy to Judge Archie Gringold of St. Paul, Minnesota, "I thank you so much for letting my mom and dad adopt me. I'll be nine soon and I'm in the Cub Scouts . . . . Here is a picture of me. I'm also giving you four cents, because you deserve it."
     Judge Gringold put the four pennies into a children's fund. "It makes it all worthwhile," he told the Chicago Daily News.
     Thankfulness rises above what we have or own. True thankfulness reaches out to the one or ones who have made it possible for us to be here to enjoy the blessings of our sustaining family and friends.
     Few have been as eloquent in their expression of thanksgiving for the reality of the Lord's gifts through the Heavenly Doctrines as Helen Keller:

I took more and more to the New Church doctrines as my religion. No one encouraged me in this choice, and I cannot explain it any more than anyone else. I can only say that the Word of God freed from the blots and stains of barbarous creeds has been at once the joy and good of my life, wonderfully linked with my growing appreciation of my teacher's work and my own responsibilities of service, hours of struggle and solitude, hours of deepest joy, harsh truths faced squarely, and high dreams held dearer than the pleasant baits of ease and complaisance. Those truths have been to my faculties what light, color, and music are to the eye and ear. They have lifted my wistful longing for a fuller sense-life into a vivid consciousness of the complete being within me. Each day comes to me with both hands full of possibilities, and in its brief course I discern all varieties and realities of my existence, the bliss of growth, the glory of action, the spirit of beauty" (My Religion, pp. 37, 38; 1974 printing).

484





     ". . . thanksgiving comes from the heart out of good" (AE 466). When anyone expresses the sense of being blessed, this comes from the Lord through the heavens by means of our sensitivity to truth. When also there is a deep sense of thanksgiving for what the Lord has done, is doing, and will do for us, this comes "from the heart out of good."
     Since good can come from the Lord alone, and be experienced by us as if it belonged to us in our human condition, the Lord is pleased to receive our thanksgiving, not for Himself but for the pleasure He feels in seeing that we have received His good. Thanksgiving, then, is man's assurance that the Lord has been received and loved in return.
INSPIRATION AT IVYLAND 1994

INSPIRATION AT IVYLAND       Editor       1994

     The General Church Evangelization Seminar (announced in the July issue) was more than a success. It was an inspiration. In the June issue we noted that we would hold it to ninety people. Easier said than done! When we met at the Ivyland church on September 30th, there were 111 of us.
     There should be a write-up of this outstanding event. We had representatives from almost every General Church society in North America, and all returned with many good ideas and much encouragement for the growth of the church.
MANY LANGUAGES 1994

MANY LANGUAGES       Editor       1994

     The feature beginning on the following page includes many languages. They are not in alphabetical order. The effort has been to group them according to linguistic relationship, or in the case of some African and East Asian languages, their geographic location. In some cases not only will the language itself look mysterious, but the name of the language may be mysterious too. See page 524.

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LIFE IN MANY LANGUAGES 1994

LIFE IN MANY LANGUAGES       Rev. LEONARD FOX       1994

     In the Transactions of the International Swedenborg Congress held in London in 1910 to celebrate the Swedenborg Society's centenary, there are not only many interesting articles, but other materials as well. I recently went to this volume in order to find a photograph of the great Zen master Daisetz Teitaro Suzuki, the first translator of the Writings into Japanese (and a participant in the Congress) to include in a translation of Suzuki's work on Swedenborg. After locating the photo, I happened to notice, almost at the end of the book, a page on which was printed the first sentence from the Doctrine of Life: "All religion has relation to life, and the life of religion is to do good." This sentence is given in fifteen languages, to illustrate the variety of those in which the Writings had been translated-at least in part-at that time.
     That page provided the impetus to see whether it might be possible to have the same sentence translated into a much wider range of languages, in order to construct a display for the international visitors who come to see the Bryn Athyn Cathedral.
     A letter was sent to over one hundred missions to the United Nations, asking for translations of the sentence into the native language or languages of each country. Responses gradually began to arrive-some quite surprising.
     The Japanese mission, for example, sent a long letter explaining that its employees are forbidden to do translations for outside individuals, and included several pages listing the names of commercial Japanese translators. The Georgian mission sent a translation that was actually incorrect, but fortunately a Georgian visitor to Bryn Athyn, Dr. Rezo Zaridze, was able to provide an accurate rendering.
     Probably the most interesting aspect of this project was the fact that, in terms of numbers, the greatest response to our request came from U.N. missions representing traditionally non-Christian countries in Africa and Asia, while-aside from Malta, Spain, and Brazil-the missions of the predominantly Christian countries of Europe and the Americas did not send us any translations at all.

486


The notable exceptions involved the nations of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, which, after suffering under the yoke of communist and atheist ideology for so many years, can almost be considered gentile lands.
     Is there a message in this that relates to potential reception of the teachings of the New Church, and therefore to evangelization efforts that need to be made in the future? I think there is. Although we should obviously continue to do everything we can to make the Writings available to readers everywhere in the world, it is reasonable to devote whatever special resources we can-both human and financial-to bringing the Heavenly Doctrines to environments in which there is the greatest receptivity to them.
     Can the results of this translation project really be construed as an indication of the geographical areas in which reception of the Writings will be greatest? Again, I believe that it can-at least in broad terms. If we consider that the individuals most likely to work in the foreign service of their countries are representative of those who are both highly educated and also rooted in the traditional spiritual values of their societies, it is this sector of the native population that would tend to respond most readily and with the greatest comprehension to the theology of the Latin Word, and would consequently be best able to bring it in an appropriately accommodated form to their less well-educated countrymen.
     Practical experience is also tending to bear out the results of this sampling, if we think of recent evangelization activities in Ghana, for example, and large-scale publication, distribution, and sales of works of the Writings, in the former Soviet Union, Hungary, Poland, and Czechoslovakia. In Japan and Korea there is a steady demand for translations, and surely China, Central Asia (the site of "Great Tartary," mentioned in the Writings), and Southeast Asia should be eventual objectives to those interested in bringing the Word of the Divine Human to all the peoples of the earth.

487



     I find it particularly significant that responses to our request were received from the missions of three Islamic countries-Iran, Afghanistan, and Azerbaijan. For Muslims, the message from the Doctrine of Life could almost be viewed as a single-sentence expression of their view of the purpose of religion. Henry Corbin, the great French scholar of Islam and life-long student of the Writings, wrote that he had often discussed the teachings of the Latin Word with Shi'ite Muslim theologians in Iran, and that they had been very affirmative to them.
     I was personally very pleased to receive a translation from the mission of Madagascar. Having spent time in that country, I developed not only a profound respect and affection for the Malagasy people, but I also acquired an appreciative understanding of their spiritual outlook, which involves a belief in one God and the all-pervading presence of the spiritual world in the natural one. Here again, the passage from the Doctrine of Life conveys the essence of the traditional Malagasy view of the interconnection between spirituality and the meaning of human existence.
     On the most fundamental level, the results of our project show that among individuals from a variety of primarily gentile cultures and geographical areas there is a responsiveness to a passage from the Writings that summarizes the relationship of human life to religious belief. On that basis, there is surely an opening to dialogue with other spiritual traditions, and perhaps the eventual development of an environment in which the teachings of the New Church will take root and flourish.


     A number of people very kindly cooperated in this project by either giving us new translations or revising old ones: Nicholas Anochi (Twi); Rev. Arne Bau-Madsen (Danish); Adri Braam (Dutch); Rev. John Jin (Korean); Ernest Keketsi (Sesotho); Kintaro Murata (Japanese); Rev. Erik Sandstram, Sr. (Swedish); Anush Simonian (Armenian); Liviu Vn?u (Romanian); Yu Hong (Chinese). I would also like to thank Rev. Donald L. Rose for his encouragement and for coordinating local translation talent.

488




     LATIN
Omnis religio est vita, et vita ejus est facere bonum.


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


     FRENCH
Toute religion consiste dans la vie, et la vie de la religion consiste a faire le bien.


     SPANISH
Toda la religi n se refiere a la vida, y la vida de la religin consiste en hacer el bien.


     CATALAN
Qualsevol religi s vida, i la vida de la religi s fer el b .


     ITALIAN
Ogni religione si riferisce alla vita, e la vita della religione du fare il bene.


     ROMANIAN
Toat? religia e nrudit? cu via?a, iar via?a religie nseamn? a face bine.


     PORTUGESE
Toda religi o tem rela o com a vida, e a vida da religio consiste em fazer o bem.


     GERMAN
Alle Religion ist eine Sache des Lebens, und das Leben derselben besteht im Gutes tun.

489





     SWEDISH
All religion avser liv, och religionens livbest r av att gra det goda.


     DANISH
Al religion har hensyn til livet, og dette liv bestar i at g re det gode.


     NORWEGIAN
All religion er fra livet, og livets religion er g ra det gode.


     ICELANDIC
Oll tr er fyrir l fid, og lf hennar er ad gj ra gott.

     DUTCH
Alle godsdienst heeft betrekking op het leven, en her leven var den godsdienst is goed doen.


     RUSSIA N
[Russian characters.]


     UKRAINIAN
[Ukranian characters.]


     BELARUSIAN
[Belarusian characters.]

     SERBIAN
[Serbian characters.]

490




     CROATIAN
Cjelokupna je religija od zivota, i njezin zivot je ciniti dobro.


     CZECH
Veker n bozenstvo m vztah k zivotu, a zivotem n bozenstv je konat dobro.


     SLOVAK
Kazde n bozenstvo m vzt'ah k zivotu, a podstatou nbozenstva je konat' dobro.


     POLISH
Kavda religja ma stosunek do zycia, gl wna i jedyna tres religji-dobre uczynki.


     LATVIAN
Kavisa religija ir dzives lieta, un ka tas dzive ir darit labo.


     ALBANIAN
Gjith besimi fetar lidhet me jetn, dhe jeta e besimit fetar sht t bj mir.


     WELSH
Yr oll o grefydd a berthyn i fywyd, a bywy crefydd yw gwnlyd daioni.


     ESPERANTO
La tuta religio rilatas al la vivo, kaj la vivo de la religio estas bonfarado.


     HUNGARIAN
Valamennyi vall s az letol fakad, s a vall s let nek 1nyege pedig a j cselekedet.

491




     ESTONIAN
Iga usk on seotud eluga ja usk elab heades tegudes.

     AZERI
Hrr bir din hayatla birbasa elagededir, ve her bir dinin me'nasi xeyirxahlig etmekdir.

     GEORGIAN
[Georgian characters.]

     HEBREW
[Hebrew characters.]

     MALTESE
Ir-religjion kollha hi hajja, u l-hajja tar-religjion hi li taghmel it-tajjeb.

     MALAGASY
Mifandray aminny fiainana ny finoana, ary ny finoana natao hanasoa rahateo.

     PILIPINO
Lahat ng relihiyon ay may kaugnayan sa buhay, at ang buhay ng relighiyon ay gumawa ng kabutihan.

     PAPUA NEW GUINEA PIDGIN
Olgeta lotu i save bung wantaim laif, na dispala laif long lotu emi bilong wokim gutpela pasin.

     Zulu
Ukuthi yonke inkolo ingeyempilo, nokuthi impilo yenkolo ingukwenza ukulunga.

492




     SESOTHO
Borapeli bohle ke ba bophelo, me bophelo ba borapeli ke ho etsa ho molemo.

     SWAHILI
Dini zote zina uhusiano na maisha na msingi wa dini ni kutenda mema.

     WOLOF
Dena bo gis amna baken, te lill dundal bakene dena moi de def lu baah.

     MANDINGO
Deno dena yea neo surteleh bare deno neo mu meng te, ku bara kende kewulet.

     Twi
Nyamesom nyina fa abrabc ho, na abrabc a eye nyamesom ne papay?.

     PERSIAN
[Persian characters.]

     PASHTO
[Pashto characters.]

     ARMENIAN
[Armenian characters.]

493




     NEPAL
[Nepalize characters.]

     TIBETAN (BHUTANESE DIALECT)
[Tibetan characters.]

     LAO
[Lao characters.]

     THAI
[Thai characters.]

     TAMIL
[Tamil characters.]

     JAPANESE
[Japanese characters.]

     CHINESE
[scanner unable to do symbols]

     KOREAN
[scanner unable to do symbols]

494


REPORT OF THE BISHOP TO THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM 1994

REPORT OF THE BISHOP TO THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM       Peter M. Buss       1994

     1993/94

     Last year I reported to you on many pastoral moves which took place in 1993. This year there were a number also. The net effect of the last two years of moves should be a reasonably stable pastorate in most areas of the church.

Ministerial Moves

     Effective as of July 1, 1994:

     1.      The Reverend Goran Appelgren has accepted a call to be Pastor of the Stockholm Society. He remains as Visiting Pastor of the Copenhagen Circle. Mr. Appelgren was ordained into the second degree on July 3 in England at the British Assembly.
     2.      The Reverend Kurt Hyland Asplundh has accepted a call to serve as Assistant to the Pastor of the Chicago Society.
     3.      The Reverend Mauro de Padua has accepted appointment as Assistant to the Pastor of the Rio de Janeiro Society in Brazil. Mr. de Padua was ordained into the second degree in Pittsburgh on June 12.
     4.      The Reverend Derek Elphick has accepted a call to be Pastor of the Boynton Beach Society. Mr. Elphick was ordained into the second degree in Oak Arbor on May 22.
     5.      The Reverend David Lindrooth has accepted a call to become Assistant Pastor of the Tucson Society.
     6.      The Reverend Mark Pendleton has accepted a call to become Assistant Pastor of the Oak Arbor Society. Mr. Pendleton was ordained into the second degree on May 29 at the Canadian National Assembly.
     7.      The Reverend David C. Roth has been appointed as Pastor to the Colorado area.
     8.      The Reverend John Jin has been appointed as Assistant to the Pastor of the Ivyland New Church (25% of his time) and New Church minister serving in outreach to Korean-speaking peoples. He was inaugurated into the priesthood on June 5 in Bryn Athyn.

495



     9.      The Reverend Barry Halterman has been appointed as minister to the General Church in Canada, serving under the Executive Vice President of the General Church in Canada. Mr. Halterman will also be doing some work in the Olivet Church in Toronto and will be resident in the Toronto area. He was inaugurated into the priesthood on June 5 in Bryn Athyn.
     10.      The Reverend Andrew Heilman has accepted a call to be Assistant Pastor to the Kempton Society, effective April 21, 1994.
     11.      The Reverend Daniel Heinrichs retired as an active full-time pastor of the General Church on June 30. During his 37 years of service, he served in Durban, South Africa; Bryn Athyn; Ohio; Washington; and Florida. In his varied ministry, he supervised the construction of two New Church complexes. Dan and Mim are known and loved by the people in all the areas which they have served. His straight-forward and honest approach to the doctrines, his love of the people whom he served, and the charity with which he dealt with them are deeply admired and appreciated. Mim has been a wonderful pastor's wife, performing untold uses for each congregation in which she has lived. I know you join me in expressing warm gratitude to these two fine people as they enter a well-deserved retirement.
     12.      The Reverend George D. McCurdy has become Visiting Pastor to the Connecticut Circle effective October 1, 1994. For the past 15 years Mr. McCurdy has served as the liaison between the General Church and the Armed Services chaplain program while serving as a chaplain in the Air Force. This fall Col. McCurdy retired from his position at the Massachusetts Air National Guard. He has served as a chaplain for 32 years. Lisa and I were privileged to be present at the evening given to honor him, and to see first-hand the respect and appreciation that was felt for him in this honorable calling.

496



     13.      At its annual meeting the General Church in Canada affirmed the bishop's nomination of the Reverend Michael D. Gladish as its Executive Vice President. Mr. Gladish remains pastor of the Olivet Church.
     14.      At the Canadian National Assembly, warm gratitude was expressed to the Reverend Louis D. Synnestvedt for his seven years of service as Executive Vice President of the General Church in Canada. A gift was given to Lou and Aileen in appreciation of their many years of service to the church in Canada.
     The Reverend Cedric King has elected to serve the church part-time as pastor of the El Toro Circle where he is presently resident, and to pursue work as a therapist in the Orange County, California area. Cedric has been a pastor of the General Church for 14 years, and has been deeply appreciated in the congregations he has served in San Diego and El Toro as resident pastor, and visiting pastor to Phoenix, the Bay Area Circle in San Jos, and Seattle. We will miss his full-time service, but Cedric's considerable talents, both as a minister and as a caring therapist, will enable him to be of special use to individuals and to groups whom he serves.
     The Reverend Glenn Alden has been a full-time minister of the General Church for 20 years. During this time he has had pastorates which required him to do a lot of travel-in Florida and Connecticut in the U.S.A., and in British Columbia, Canada. He has now asked to be moved to part-time status. He will continue to serve the congregations in Dawson Creek and Crooked Creek. In addition he hopes to develop the farm on which he and his family live.
     I support Glenn in his wish to concentrate his work in an area close to his home, and to pursue interests which in his judgment allow him the family life which is important to him.

497


He is a valued minister who has served the church well for these twenty years.
     Some people have wondered about the fact that these two last-mentioned ministers have elected to undertake part-time work for the church. I should state that such arrangements fall well within the order of our priesthood. The Council of the Clergy is a body of ministers, each of whom has accepted the leadership of the bishop of the church, and who come together in the sphere of mutual allegiance to the Lord's threefold Word to counsel the bishop on his government of the church. Whether they are part-time or full-time will depend, especially as time goes on, on specific circumstances.
     Mr. Alden wrote to the people he served and said, "I believe that as the church grows in the future there will be an increasing need to find new and flexible arrangements to serve that church. Small congregations in small communities may never be in a position to require or afford the full-time service of a pastor. They may never have the work available to satisfy the needs that a full-time pastor would have for real job satisfaction. Perhaps in the future, individuals like myself who have a variety of interests and loves, and have the ability to find part of their employment in the pursuit of those interests, will be able to provide the services that small churches in small communities need and can afford."
     I agree with him. As our church grows in different places, in different lands, we will need to find creative ways to serve people. These two dedicated men gave many years to the full-time service of the priesthood, and we express to them our deep appreciation for it, and wish the Lord's blessings upon their new endeavors.

Regional Pastorate System

     In the 1970s Bishop Pendleton initiated in a small way a concept of "Bishop's Representative," and Bishop King developed it during his tenure.

498


A Bishop's Representative was a senior pastor in a region of the church who represented the bishop, visiting congregations and acting as a mentor or consultant to the ministers. He would also do the development reviews of the pastors in an area.
     I have felt that this valuable concept should be carried further in order to provide better service to the ministers and congregations of the church from the center, and in order to free the bishop to do his essential tasks of spiritual leadership and overall administration. This year, therefore, we have introduced a modest program called the "Regional Pastorate System." It is similar to the old Bishop's Representative system, but is an extension of it. A regional pastor is nominated by the bishop and affirmed by the pastors and those societies in a region where there is a resident pastor. Because he is affirmed, he has an accepted leadership role.
     The regional pastor is responsible to the bishop for providing leadership in a region. He visits much more regularly than the bishop could, does the development reviews for the pastors (not the assistant pastors) in the region, and will in time provide for regional uses, such as local assemblies.
     We are a small church, so we do not need a complex structure. The regional pastorate system is a modest delegation of some of the bishop's duties. The program was developed by my Joint Committee of the General Church Board and Clergy. It was presented to the clergy for counsel and to the board for affirmation and for approval of the necessary financing. Following approval it has been introduced on a trial basis in the midwestern, southeastern, and northeastern United States. In effect, the Reverend Geoffrey Childs has already been acting as the regional pastor of South Africa as well, since the congregations there gave consent to his leadership in 1991/2. I have visited most of the congregations in the above areas of the United States, asked their approval for this program, and nominated a regional pastor for them. One or two preferred to take a "wait and see" attitude to the program, especially if they had a senior pastor who they did not think needed much support from an experienced colleague.

499


In general, however, the program has received warm support and approval.
     The Reverend Alfred Acton will be the regional pastor of the southeastern United States, an area stretching from Baltimore to Florida. The Reverend Eric Carswell will be the regional pastor of the midwestern states. The Reverend Brian Keith will be the regional pastor of congregations in Pennsylvania (excluding the area around and in Bryn Athyn) and the lower northeastern states.
     Please note that all these men are employed in other work for the church. They will be spending 15% of their time on regional-pastor work, and the rest on their present assignments.     
     I believe this program will provide much improved service to the church. The bishop can visit any one area only on an infrequent basis. A regional pastor, who is designated to visit up to four congregations and a couple of smaller circles, can have a stronger presence in an area. He can provide good support for the local pastors, and provide useful resources to congregations.
     After a trial period the program will be re-examined, and if it proves as useful as I anticipate, it will be extended to other areas of the church. It is important to understand, however, that the consent of the congregations in a region is asked for the program, and for the specific regional pastor who is nominated.

Our Relationship with Other Bodies of the Church

     This is an excerpt from a report which I gave the General Church Corporation on this subject on March 19th: "The General Church maintains friendly relationships with other branches of the New Church. We regularly send greetings of friendship to the General Convention's annual meeting. This year Bishop King was invited to teach in the British Conference Theological School, and several ministers of the Conference attended the regional clergy meetings in Colchester in February.

500


We have very friendly relations with the Australian Association of the New Church, and the ministers in the two bodies in Australia are good friends. The Academy Theological School is training ministers for the Nova Hierosolyma Church. The Reverend Andrew Dibb (and two years ago, Bishop King) has been invited to teach in the New Church College of the New Church in South Africa, the largest branch of the New Church in the world. We respect the separate identities of all these organizations, but wish to work in friendship with them wherever the uses suggest it."
     Bishop King worked hard to ensure good relationships with the other bodies of the church, and continues to help in this in his retirement. I have felt a growing warmth between the General Church and most of its sister organizations, and am delighted to foster it. The spirit of cooperation in uses that are mutually beneficial will strengthen our bodies and promote the use of the Lord's own church upon the earth.

Ordinations

     In the list of ministerial moves, I mentioned six ordinations, including the inauguration of two ministers into the priesthood itself. In addition, there have been five other ordinations in which the minister remained in his present position. They are the Reverend Messrs. Jacob Maseko, Chester Mcanyana, Reuben Tshabalala, Kwasi Darkwah, and Martin Gyamfi.
     Each of these men has been working in an area where he has effectively served as a pastor. By virtue of being elevated to the second degree of the priesthood, they are more formally designated as pastors of the church. May the Lord's blessings be upon their work as they labor, often in pioneer congregations, to preach the gospel of the Lord's Second Advent.

Education and Evangelization

     In the field of education there have been some new and exciting programs. For the second year, there was a cooperative effort between the General Church Office of Education and the Academy College and Theological School to offer undergraduate and graduate courses of study in the summer.

501


The Office of Education has embarked upon a program for the development of children's literature-a most exciting project involving the creation of story books for children, using the Word as their basis. This same office has worked with our new regional pastor in the southeast, the Reverend Alfred Acton, to develop our first "Eldergarten" course of adult study for those 65 and older. It will be held in Boynton Beach, Florida, in February, 1995, and is already fully subscribed. In addition, the service which the Office of Education gives to our schools supports our ongoing precious use of New Church education throughout the church.
     In the last two years, the use of evangelization has seen the modest but important growth of three new projects. The first is the placement of a man in the northwest United States, resident in the Puget Sound area, serving a circle which is committed to the principle of outreach and growth. The second is the placement of a man in Boulder, Colorado, also working toward an outreach congregation and supported in this effort by many of our members in Colorado. The third is the placement of the Reverend John Jin in Ivyland to assist the Reverend Robert Junge in this growing congregation, and hopefully to reach out to a different ethnic group, welcoming them into a bi-cultural congregation of the New Church.
     Each of these efforts is an experiment. It is supported by the resources of the General Church and by the organization of the General Church. The Board Evangelization Committee will be monitoring these efforts, as will the Director of Evangelization, seeking to provide the support that will give them a good chance of success. At the same time, we are aware that this is a new frontier in the work of the church, and we're going to be patient and supportive. We know that the Lord expects us to reach out to people beyond the present boundaries of the General Church.

502


It would be ungenerous of us, given the wonderful blessings of the Writings for the New Church, not to wish to share them with those who can benefit by them as much as we have. Yet we are aware that we have much to learn in our outreach efforts, and if they are not crowned with rapid success, we will not be discouraged but will seek to improve the effort and learn from our experiences.

Conclusion

     Our church is small in numbers, but it seems to have a big heart and amazing strength. I am often awestruck when I consider the many different uses being performed throughout the world. We operate on six continents, in seven different languages. We support formal education from kindergarten through our small graduate school, and we are beginning a better program of adult education. We are striving to serve the spiritual needs of the adults and children in 50 church centers and many smaller groups around the world. In addition, we have a well planned outreach program in Ghana, in Korea, in Rio de Janeiro, in the areas mentioned above, and elsewhere. We have embarked upon a program of translation and publication of the Word for the New Church. Our mail-order religion lessons are seeking to serve people of several different cultures and languages.
     And wherever I look in the church, new efforts seem to be springing up, born of the love which people feel for the church, and their longing to serve it in special ways. How do we do it? I don't know, but we seem to be an organization whose people are alive with purpose. Is it because they are so grateful for what the Lord has given them in His final revelation, and wish to give some of it to whoever can benefit by it?

     < Note: A statistical report appears on the next page. >

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     STATISTICAL ACTIVITIES

As Bishop of the General Church:
Episcopal visits to societies, circles - 31
Consistory meetings - 8
Joint Committee meetings - 8
Board and Corporation meetings - 5
Inaugurations into the priesthood - 3
Ordinations into the priesthood - 4
Advisory Council meetings -12
Bishop's Council meetings - 2
South African National Assembly

Regional Clergy meetings:
Midwestern in Glenview
Southern in Florida
Eastern in Ivyland
Western in Phoenix
Evangelization Seminar-Tucson

General Church in Canada:
Episcopal visits-3
Annual GCIC meeting
Regional Clergy Meetings in Kitchener
Canadian National Assembly

As Chancellor of the Academy:
Board and Corporation meetings - 6
College Chapel - 3
Secondary Schools Chapel - 2
Teaching assignment:
          Theolgy 325: Conversations on Marriage
          Pastoral Theology 741: Doctrine of the Priesthood and Principles of Church Government
Theological School Faculty meetings -7

Ministrations in Bryn Athyn:
Total services conducted (festival, public and private) - 23
     Peter M. Buss, Bishop

504


LOCAL SCHOOLS DIRECTORY 1994-95 1994

LOCAL SCHOOLS DIRECTORY 1994-95       Editor       1994

Office of Education: Cairncrest, Bryn Athyn      General Church Schools Support System
Rev. Frederick L. Schnarr          Director
Carol Buss                          Assistant Director
*Barbara Doering                    Senior Teacher
*Donald Fitzpatrick                College Advisor and Publication Chairman
Bryn Athyn: Karl Parker               Principal
*Barbara Doering                     Assistant Principal
Thomas H. Rose                     School Pastor
Kathy Orthwein                     Kindergarten
Kit Rogers                          Kindergarten
Beth Bochneak                    Grade 1
Robin Morey                         Grade 1
Candy Quintero                     Grade 1
Claire Bostock                    Grade 2
Linda Kees                          Grade 2
Lois McCurdy                     Grade 2
Heather Klein                     Grade 3
Gael Lester                         Grade 3
Judy Soneson                     Grade 3
Melinda Friesen                     Grade 4
Vanessa Heinrichs                Grade 4
Sheila Daum                         Grade 5
Jill Rogers                     Grade 5
Rosemary Wyncoll                    Grade 5 Assistant
Brita Conroy                    Grade 6
Heather McCurdy                    Grade 6
Melodie Greer                     Grade 7-Girls
Steven Irwin                     Grade 7-Boys
Gail Simons                     Grade 8-Girls
Eyvind C. Boyesen                    Grade 8-Boys
Reed Asplundh                    Computers
Robert Eidse                      Physical Education
Noel Klippenstein                Physical Education
Christopher Simons                Music-Director
Dianna Synnestvedt               Art
Judith Smith                     Librarian
*Marion Gyllenhaal               Reading and Support Uses
*Fay Lindrooth                    Reading and Support Uses
*Gretchen Glover                     Kindergarten Assistant
*Amy Jones                          Kindergarten Assistant
*Kris Ritthaler                    Primary Tutor
*Margit Irwin                     Music Primary
*Tryn Smith                         Grade 1 Assistant
*Elizabeth Childs                    Grade 5 Assistant
*Rachel Martin                     Tutor
*Eileen Rogers                     Tutor
*Robin Trautmann                    Tutor
     * Major Part-time

505




Durban: (1994 school year-January 1-December 31, 1995)
Rev. Lawson M. Smith                Headmaster, Religion
Sarah Berto                     Grades 1-2
Jane Edmunds                     Grades 3-7
*Elizabeth Andrew                Grades 3-7 Science, Math, Art
*Oonagh Chaning-Pearce               Afrikaans, Zulu

Glenview: Rev. Jeremy F. Simons      Principal
Laura Barger                     Kindergarten, Music
Marie Odhner                     Grades 1-2
Rebekah Brock                     Grade 3-4
Trudy Wright                    Grades 5
*Yvonne Alan                    Grade 6
Jeryl Fuller                    Grades 7-8
Gordon McClarren                    Math, Science, Physical Education
*Jennifer Overeem                Art
*Cathy Schnarr                    Primary Physical Education
*Connie Smith                    Resource Center

Kempton: Rev. Ragnar Boyesen      Principal, Religion
Tavis Junge                         Grade 1
Anthea Pike                     Grades 2-3
Charis Schultz                    Grades 4-5


Curtis McQueen                    Grade 6
Gillian Leeper                    Grades 7-8
Mark Wyncoll                     Grades 9-10
Eric Smith                          Grade 10
*Claire Biermann                    Kindergarten
*Rev. Andrew Heilman               Religion, Science
*Kate Pitcairn                    Science, Human Body, Latin

Kitchener: Rev. Kenneth J. Alden      Principal, Religion
Mary Jane Hill                     Grades 1-3
Josephine Kuhl                     Grades 4-6
Lynn Watts                     Grades 7-8
*Nina Riepert                     Pre-kindergarten and Kindergarten

Oak Arbor: Rev. Grant H. Odhner      Principal
Nadine Zecher                     Grades 1-3
Nathaniel Brock                     Grades 4-6
*Nancy Genzlinger                Grades 3-4 Language Arts
*Rev. Mark Pendleton               Religion

Pittsburgh: Rev. Nathan D. Gladish      Pastor/Principal, Religion
*Judi Gese                     Part-time Administrator
Alix Smith                          Grades 1-2
Wade Heinrichs                    Grade 4-6
*Miriam Gruber                     Pre-kindergarten and Kindergarten

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Toronto: Rev. Michael D. Gladish      Principal, Grades 6-8 Religion
Natalie Baker                     Grades 1
Steve Krause                     Head Teacher, Grades 2-4
James Bellinger                    Grades 6-8
*Rev. Wendel R. Barnett           Grades 3-4 Religion
*Rachelle Nater                     Music
*Gillian Parker                     Jr. and Sr. Kindergarten
*Suzanne Pineau                     Grades 4-8 French

Washington: Rev. James P. Cooper      Principal, Religion, History
Erin Junge                          Grades 1-2; Art, Music
Jean Allen                          Grades 3-4
*Jana Sprinkle                     Grades 5-6
Kathy Johns                         Grades 7-8
Carole Waelchli                     Grades 9-10
*Karen Hyatt                     Kindergarten
*Rev. Peter M. Buss, Jr.           Worship, Latin, Religion
     
Midwestern Rev. Jeremy E Simons      Principal
Academy (MANC): Rev. Robin Childs      Chaplain, Religion
*Yvonne Allen                     Grades 9-10
     *Major Part-time

     SCHOOL ENROLLMENTS 1994-1995

     The Academy

Theological School(Full-time)          10
College (Full-time)                111
Girls School                     105
Boys School                     110
     Total Academy                         336

     

     Midwestern Academy                    7

     Local Schools
Bryn Athyn                          361
Durban                          33
Glenview                          68
Kempton                          74
Kitchener                          44
Oak Arbor                         19
Pittsburgh                          25
Toronto                          23
Washington                          43
Total Local Schools                          690
Total Reported Enrollment in All Schools           1033

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REVIEW 1994

REVIEW       Linda Simonetti Odhner       1994

Connections: Offerings from the New Church Women's Symposium, Co-edited by Sarah J. Headsten and Kara Johns Tennis

     So many different kinds of connections arise from reading this little volume that the title fits it perfectly. It makes possible a connection with the event that originated it, the Women's Symposium, even for those who did not attend. It brings out the strong connection among women which characterized the symposium. It connects us with our past: the history of women and the heritage of thought and synthesis our foremothers have given us. Reflecting on the different presentations summarized or expanded here inspires us to make connections between the ideas discussed and connections with our own ideas and experience. The book is a bridge to our future as well, for it contains seeds of thought which are yet to "take root downward and bear fruit upward," as the cover phrase from Isaiah says. (Kara Tennis mentions several more kinds of connections in her introduction.) Looking at each of these different connections in turn reveals something of the book's contents.
     One aspect of Connections that evokes the Women's Symposium itself is the recording of responses and discussion which followed some of the presentations. As an indicator of how the participants reacted and interacted, these glimpses balance the "left-brain" emphasis arising from the fact that the more intellectually-oriented workshops tend to be represented by longer articles. The discussion stimulated by Mandy Rogers' "Women and Words" is fascinating, and one of the most telling exchanges followed Bishop Peter Buss' speech entitled "The Distinctive Feminine." "Question: 'If I work on my tenderness, will it help me to be perceptive of my husband?' The reply came from another speaker: 'Don't ask him. How would he know?' PMB agreed" (p. 33). This puts in a nice nutshell the ambivalence felt by a number of women there, not so much about anything Bishop Buss said (I liked many of his points), but about the idea that a learned talk by a minister was necessary to make the symposium a legitimate New Church function.

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     The strong connections among women that made the symposium happen in the first place, as described by Gloria Wetzel in her preface, and the new connecting threads between women generated by the event itself, form a major theme of the book. Reading it, we can empathize with the struggles and pains of those women who shared their personal experiences so generously. I particularly think of those on the panel, "Going It Alone": Nina Cooper on being unmarried, Debra Morey on divorce, and Nina van Zyverden on widowhood. And Lori Odhner's "Finding the Keys to the Storage Bin During the Seven Years of Famine" overflows with personal anecdotes and living experience about spiritual nourishment.
     Our connection with our past-the history of women themselves and the ways they have been seen and treated-is strengthened in Rae Friesen's piece, "The Woman Clothed with the Sun," which includes some revealing bits of Plato and Aristotle. It is amazingly opened up in Aubrey Odhner's article, "Women of Influence in Western Culture," which contains more treasures of fact and insight than I can describe. Her summary of the history of women from a young girl's point of view is funny and pathetic, and makes it doubly delightful to see her refuting her own skeptical attitude at the beginning of her research: "They're just making up history to make the women feel better" (p. 96). Of all her brief sketches of western women, I find the 12th-century Hildegarde of Bingen most captivating. Where can we find out more about her? Aubrey Odhner also touches on Jesus' attitude toward women, and the progressively lower regard for them in the Christian Church, and she later delves into the Lillian Beekman saga (or should I say soap opera?), quoting generously from letters written by New Church men of the time.
     Reflecting on the different workshops presented here leads us to make connections between the various ideas discussed. New and unexpected points of contact emerge.

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Isn't it amazing to realize that the seven feminine archetypes based on Greek goddesses in Aubrey Odhner's piece are completely different from the archetypes Penny Reiss introduces in hers? The variety and richness of elements we can draw on to shape ourselves and our lives is staggering. Even more exciting to me is combining insights from the goddess-archetypes with the challenge to integration in Leah Rose's "Becoming a Whole Person." (See the accompanying article, "Archetypes and Stereotypes.")
     In this volume we can also find connections with our own ideas and experience. It may be a sentence or paragraph that jumps out because it fits so closely with something we have discovered I found Kay Alden's article, "Loving a Husband's Wisdom," to be quite an ambitious study. The two main points that I came away with are the ideas that "Wisdom is not big truth," but rather bringing truth into life, and the realization that being the love of her husband's wisdom isn't so much something a wife does, but simply what she is. The statement is "descriptive rather than prescriptive" (p. 64). It's like being a woman-when we shun evils as sins and love our neighbors, we become more and more feminine, and when wives do it, they become more and more the love of their husbands' wisdom. They don't have to pretend to agree with their husbands in the name of loving their wisdom. Kays work may come across as one of the more intellectual offerings in Connections, but a recent re-reading of it aroused a strong emotional response in me. She says, ". . . there must be some universal qualities that make up a 'good husband' . . . . He must (1) know that truth comes from the Lord, and (2) be willing to be Led by that truth. These qualities are also known as humility and innocence. Interestingly, they are the same qualities that everyone needs if they want to go to heaven" (p. 69). Humility and innocence! I came upon this passage fresh from an insight I had gained from watching Disney's Beauty and the Beast (Okay, I admit I'm crazy about that movie), that humility and innocence were the very qualities the Beast learned from taking an animal form. This really got to me. The next thing I read was, "What gets in the way of loving wisdom?

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One answer is love of self. The beast that holds this name can have many different shapes and sizes . . . " (pp. 69, 70). I had to laugh-it was just too perfect!
     Some of the ideas presented here indicate new directions of thought which the authors and others may wish to develop further in the years to come, and this gives us a connection with our future. The seeds of these potential insights are scattered generously through the book, and only time will tell which of them are destined to sprout and grow. I used some of the articles in leading a session of the Ivyland Women's Breakfast Group, and some of the concepts sparked a lively discussion.
     I've touched on only about half of the pieces here; some of the other subjects dealt with are conscious mothering, single parenting, aging, empty nests, women and poetry, co-dependency, women in business, and eating disorders. The variety of offerings makes it likely that anyone can find something of value here.
     In "The Woman Clothed with the Sun," Rae Friesen discusses the "epic journey" metaphor for spiritual growth, then says: "I believe that dance is a more appropriate image for a woman's spiritual development. For in dance there is movement, but with grace and beauty, with point and counterpoint, rhythms, bendings, turnings, spirals, returnings, responses. All the movements are connected by feel, known by the angle of the body, by the union with the music. This seems to better describe the connections in relation to others that punctuate the progress of women in their spiritual growth; they dance alone, with another, or in community" (p. 3).
     Connections as a whole has this nonlinear, graceful quality. It hangs together without benefit of logical progression, for it is an expression of community. It is a dance in celebration of our womanhood.
     Linda Simonetti Odhner

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BRITISH ACADEMY SUMMER SCHOOL 1994 1994

BRITISH ACADEMY SUMMER SCHOOL 1994       SUE KAHL       1994

     I had the fortunate experience of attending and teaching in the British Academy Summer School at the Purley Chase New Church Centre in England this summer. As many others of you, I had heard what a wonderful experience the school was, but I did not know specifically what to expect. My experience of New Church education was limited to attending and teaching at the Academy of the New Church, a large institution that is necessarily run like a business and has a large administration. What I experienced at BASS was grass-roots New Church education; it was a very different and refreshing time.
     There were students attending the summer school from around the globe. Most of the students this year came from England, Scotland, Australia, Denmark, France, Brazil, and Sweden. There were quite a few American students as well, many of them there due to the kindness of Professor Charles Cole. The Americans were given an opportunity to meet New Church young people from around the world and the variety of thought they brought with them. The other students were exposed to young people who had each experienced over a decade of New Church instruction. The international mix of the student body and staff was, in my opinion, one of the best parts of the school. We all learned from each other.
     The school is a total experience. The students and staff live together for two weeks at Purley Chase, an estate owned by the English Conference Church. This is quite demanding on the staff, who seem to be incredibly devoted to making sure the young people have a positive time academically, socially, and emotionally. As I have many times realized at ANC, the social aspects of the school are often the part of the experience the students value the most at the time. For many of these young people it is the only time they interact with friends with similar beliefs.

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     Rev. Chris Bown, this year's headmaster, had developed for the school a theme of "spiritual orienteering," or finding your way to heaven by following the leadership and guidance of the Lord. We were taught about orienting ourselves toward the east, where the Lord is seen in heaven as the Spiritual Sun. All the staff members were sent a powerful list of quotes about being led by the Lord. We were encouraged to try to create a religious and spiritual community for the students for the two weeks of school.
     Each morning began with Chris' giving an affectional worship service covering the spiritual meanings of the twelve tribes of Israel. Then the students attended classes for the remainder of the morning. From a teacher's point of view, it was challenging to meet the academic and interest levels of all the students, whose ages ranged from fourteen to twenty-one and beyond. But for those young people who were not easily able to grasp the concepts because of language barriers, there was plenty for them to experience on an emotional level.
     The teaching staff was filled with dynamic and loving ministers. The young people were privileged to be taught by the Rev. Messrs. Mauro de Padua, David Roth, Fred Elphick, and even Bishop Peter Buss. The Bishop's presence was a powerful recognition of how important the school is for these otherwise frequently cut-off young men and women. David's wife Susan, Fred's wife Jane, and Peter's wife Lisa were the perfect women to have there as examples of vitality and love. Professor Charlie Cole, Alan Laidlaw, and James Horigan were there with science tricks and brain teasers as well as a compelling display of computer equipment with the latest available New Church software. The potential for world-wide networking among scattered readers of Swedenborg was demonstrated to this integrated crowd.
     All the students and staff ate together and played hard together. We learned ballroom dancing, played capture the flag by the hour, and had a great time with our own international Olympics: no national teams and no losers-just fun! The Brazilians did the rhythmic Brazilian dance, the Lambada, while the rest of us watched in awe or attempted to join in.

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There were also several trips to local places of interest, including a visit to the impressive Kenilworth Castle and to Cadbury World, a chocolate lover's dream. Many of us also did some natural-world orienteering on a course set up at Cannock Chase, a wildlife preserve created by William the Conqueror. Orienteering is a sport many European students had already participated in, but the idea was new to the Americans. I did the course with two young gentlemen from England and thoroughly enjoyed the challenge and the visit with them. (Andrew and James: so what if we didn't win!)
     Each evening included another worship service, which was given by one of the ministers on staff. The service on the last evening began with a candlelight procession followed by several readings from the Word which were picked and read by the students. Then we gathered and sang songs in a side yard. The stars were overhead, reminding us of the nearness of the heavens, and that the light of heaven will guide us and orient us if we allow it.
     The British Academy Summer School was a profound and wonderful experience for me, and I am quite sure it was for the students as well. We had a lot of good times and plenty of powerful spiritually moving moments too. BASS is a remarkable place for young people from England and the continent, as well as from the rest of the world. They come to learn and to grow in the light of the Second Coming. I hope the church continues to support this effort in every way it possibly can.
SWEDENBORG ON EUROPEAN TRANSLATIONS 1994

SWEDENBORG ON EUROPEAN TRANSLATIONS       Editor       1994

     Swedenborg probably encouraged Thomas Hartley to translate the work Influx into English. In October of 1769 he wrote in a letter that it " . . . is now probably translated into English." Two months later he wrote to Dr. Beyer, "I am glad that you are translating it into Swedish."

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Editorial Pages 1994

Editorial Pages       Editor       1994

     SPANKING CHILDREN

     The Writings say that a parent can chastise a child and do it from love (see AC 4730). We are living at a time when we are rightly conscious of the problem of child abuse. And some of the mistreatment of children begins under the guise of just punishment.
     It is a sensitive subject. May a teacher spank a child? May even a parent in today's setting spank a child?
     The purpose of this editorial is to commend to you a masterly treatment of this subject in just two pages. In the September issue of Theta Alpha Journal, Gray Schoenberger Glenn deals with the subject of "spanking." Her opening sentence is: "Today many people have made the decision never to spank their children out of the belief that 'under all circumstances it is wrong to hit a child.'"
     Speaking from the wisdom of experience, she deals with this so well. There are choice phrases and valuable thoughts to ponder. One presumes that all readers of New Church Life have access to that journal. If not, write to us for the article.
     We would add here a thought with which some may not agree. Readers of the Writings have long been aware of a saying about mothers cruelly "combing" their children (AC 2125). Some have assumed that this is excessive grooming in which there is inadvertent harm. There is reason to consider, however, that this is actually severe punishment in which harm is intended, and that this passage serves as a warning against excessive punishment.

     PASTORS MAKING DECISIONS

     In the October issue one pastor spoke of making the decision as to when a memorial service is held. Another pastor has commented that it is not his function to make such decisions. He might facilitate the decision for the relatives and provide information to help them, he says, but they make the decision.

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     Should the pastor who recovered quickly from an appendix operation conduct the Sunday service? We concluded last month's editorial with this question and promised an answer. It is a true story (see p. 460).
     The surgeon was confident that the pastor could conduct the service without pain or difficulty. The pastor himself was eager to do so, and lurking in his mind was the thought that this was faintly heroic so soon after surgery. But a member of the congregation said it was too risky to the pastor's health.
     If the congregation had not been aware of the surgery, the pastor could have done it, and perhaps could have bragged to his grandchildren about the achievement. But because many people in that church society were aware of it, the decision became clear. There would be too much attention to the person of the pastor. A church service is a special time when the attention is to be focused on worship, on the Word. It should provide a chance for people to be uplifted and reflect on the way the truth applies to the amendment of life.
     That was a good time to be "controlled by uses" rather than to try to control them.
RESPONSE TO DR. JAMES' REQUEST FOR A PARADIGM SHIFT 1994

RESPONSE TO DR. JAMES' REQUEST FOR A PARADIGM SHIFT       Allen Bedford       1994




     Communications
Dear Editor:
     In an article published in the August and September issues of NCL, Dr. Leon James states that workers in the fields of "biology and genetics will have to find explanations for the virgin birth, and this requirement will guide science into the Swedenborgian direction."1 And further:

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The inability of contemporary biology to deal with these natural facts of religion and history [the virgin birth and glorification of Jesus Christ] constitutes overt evidence that biologists and psychologists today are hanging onto a weak scientific paradigm, one that is unable to deal with important facts about human life and development. As these facts are brought forward more and more, a scientific revolution with a new paradigm is predictable for the near future.2

     These statements intrigue me because on the one hand I agree that modern science does not deal with some important facts about human life and development, but on the other hand I do not agree that this inability requires a paradigm shift in science.
     At present I am in the midst of my dissertation research in biochemistry at Temple University. I possess a desire to investigate the world both metaphysically and naturally, and it seems to me that much of the work taking place in the field of biochemistry today is done superficially. The frontier of deeper meaning is left unexplored. It is this area I hope to investigate when I can. I am seriously considering devoting a significant amount of time to investigating how my understanding of religion can be beneficially integrated into my understanding of science. But the direction that I want to go in combining natural and spiritual truths is somewhat different from the direction Dr. James advises. I write this response to point out some areas that present difficulties for me.
     The idea that science is required to explain supernatural things bothers me. I believe that any attempt on my part to explain the virgin birth or the glorification process scientifically not only would lead to great confusion and frustration, but it would also miss the point. Informing man of the physical, testable mechanisms of the universe is not, I believe, among the purposes of Divine revelation. God leaves such things up to us. If we were relying on Divine revelation alone to lead us to the next big paradigm in science, we would be misusing revelation.

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I see the purpose of Divine revelation as leading us to know God and know what God wants from us-and I believe that this information is not available to us by purely natural means. How can our understanding of the molecular events that took place in Mary's womb lead us to either of these goals? Wouldn't we face a serious problem if we did know how it happened? Wouldn't we attempt to reproduce the event to prove our hypothesis correct? We learn a more humbling lesson when we admit that we do not know what happened. This ignorance serves to remind me that my thoughts are far below His thoughts.
     Dr. James implies that science is flawed since it cannot explain the virgin birth. I do not agree. Perhaps the root of my disagreement stems from my assumption that spiritual things are not subject to systematic natural study. Dr. James apparently believes that they are. He states that "the objection that you can't study God and the afterlife in a scientific way is not valid."3 I would benefit from an explanation of why this objection is invalid. Not all real things are subject to scientific study. God is real, yet science cannot "prove" that He exists. Science cannot investigate every real phenomenon. Science is limited to those things that are controllable, reproducible, and observable. Spiritual things do not seem to lend themselves to that kind of behavior. God does seem to hide behind an opaque veil, and I doubt if He will ever allow a scientist to peer through. Not even Swedenborg could make anything out, though he tried for most of his life. Only when he left the scientific method behind did he see God.
     Should we criticize science because it cannot do everything? Why do we use the scientific method? Do we hope to gain insight into life beyond the realms of space and time in this universe? Levels of existence outside or above ours are impermeable to our scientific gaze. If our world were in a heart cell, could we see the heart as a whole organ? Could we have any information about the form of the body the cell is in? We use the scientific method to investigate existence at our level.

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The information we gain can be used to help us interact more fully with our environment, and this is part of our evolution. Adaptation at our level is not so much our changing to suit the environment as it is changing the environment to suit us. Therefore, science is a tool that helps us survive in the natural world, and I think that this role is enough. When we want to know why we exist, or why existence exists, we must turn to other avenues of learning-we must turn to God.
     Much of the difficulty many people have with science and religion is because of the misconceived idea that science proves things. We cannot "prove" that there is no life on the moon. All we can say is, "Given the methods we have for detecting life, we do not find any there." We cannot "prove" that Swedenborg was incorrect about spontaneous generation. (After all, what is evolution if not spontaneous generation?) All we know about Swedenborg's version of spontaneous evolution is that we have never observed bugs appearing out of pure dirt. Science is not about proving things! Science is about observing the universe and trying to make sense out of the observations. In trying to make sense out of things, we can find some philosophical satisfaction when we see parallels between our natural and spiritual understandings. This is the synthesis I hope to achieve during my career.
     Science and religion can live together productively in one mind if the purposes of each way of thinking are kept in view. Conflicts are apparent just because we are not infinite beings. Both our spiritual and natural understandings are flawed. Each can be used to suggest images in the other, but neither should be used to deny a fact in the other. Clearly, the insight gained from Divine revelation is of higher authority than our natural knowledges, but let us not forget that any finite idea of God is flawed. Think of all the gnashing of teeth that the fundamentalists endure because of their insistence that creation actually occurred in seven days, and that the earth is only a few thousand years old. We pity them now because we know that their thrashing around is unfounded.

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Just this week at Temple University I was passed a pamphlet by a man wearing a bright red shirt with large white letters that read, "CREATOR OR LIAR?" What a horrible way to picture God. The poor soul really thinks that God must do something apt and testable before we take Him to be our God!
     I think we should tread lightly when we seek connections between natural and spiritual reality. Let's acknowledge our limitations in both fields and move along as best we can. I will not call my Creator a liar, and I will not discredit science because it can't see everything.
     We will have serious problems if we charge science with the responsibility of explaining something that cannot be observed, reproduced, and controlled in the laboratory. The "fact" that the virgin birth occurred once is not enough for true scientific investigation. The virgin birth clearly does not require a paradigm shift in science. Paradigm shifts occur when reproducible events are observed that cannot be explained using the current theories. We cannot change our concepts of what is going on today because of a single anomaly reported two thousand years ago. If we did, we would be abandoning the basic, well established, and well founded methods used successfully by science over the last several hundred years.
     Where would we begin an investigation into the molecular biology of Jesus Christ's conception? We in the church do not know what happened. Did conception start with Mary's ovum reproducing its own set of chromosomes and then splitting, or did another set of independent chromosomes arise from the mass of chemical precursors already present? We do not even know if Jesus Christ's cells were haploid or diploid.4 We do not know if He could reproduce with another person or not. And since His body is no longer made of natural material, there is no hope of finding forensic evidence. The New Testament gives no information about the cellular biology of Jesus Christ, and the Writings do not provide any either. By Dr. James' own admission, the Word stands alone in revelation. If the information is not there, then where else can we go?

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Even to seek it elsewhere would contradict Dr. James' religious perspective of the Writings. And that leads me to my final point of disagreement with Dr. James.
     Dr. James would probably place me in his secular camp, as he has Dr. Wilson Van Dusen. Like Van Dusen,5 I am uncomfortable with that classification. I do have faith in God and His revelations, although I do not understand either completely. To overcome my lack of understanding, I have devised a coping mechanism that works for me. When J come across a passage that does not fit my scientific understanding of the universe (people on the moon, for example) I ask myself, "What does this passage tell me about God or what He wants me to do?" If the answer is "I don't know," I leave it and go on. This is a method I developed after reading the Rev. Paul Vickers' excellent book God Talk-Man Talk.6 I wonder, does my reluctance to force science into compliance with the notion that there are men on the moon merit my removal from the "religious perspective"? My less strident personal perspective allows me to see Swedenborg's "mistakes" as possible errors in fact, but allegories to truths. After all, Swedenborg did not write down the revelation of the Second Coming to teach us chemistry, biology, or physics. He delivered God's revelation so that we can become more like children of God, Can I be placed in one of James' camps now?
     My intention in writing this response is not to discourage the movement that Dr. James encourages; I simply want to share another perspective on the issue. As indicated above, I share
Dr. James' desire to see science and religion converge in our minds. As I see it, the paradigm shift that will soon occur is on a more sociological level. Soon scientists and non-scientists alike will see the limitations of the scientific method and look for greater enlightenment elsewhere. Perhaps this movement will be guided in the Swedenborgian direction. Science will not be abandoned entirely, of course, but it will be abandoned as the only source of knowledge on this earth.
     Allen Bedford,
          Bryn Athyn, PA

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     1 Leon James, "Two Perspectives on Swedenborg's Writings: Secular and Religious." New Church Life, August, p. 360
     2 Ibid., p. 361
     3 Ibid., pp. 351, 352
     4 A haploid cell contains just half the normal number of chromosomes found in somatic cells (normal cells). Germ cells (reproductive cells) are haploid so that two germ cells can combine in conception, forming a somatic (diploid) cell that contains the normal number of chromosomes. A diploid cell contains pairs of chromosomes of each pair, one is from the father and the other from the mother. In the case of Jesus Christ (who had no natural father) one might wonder where the second set of chromosomes came from, or if they were present at all.
     5 Wilson Van Dusen, "Religious View of the Writings," New Church Life, Sept. 409.
     6 Paul Vickers, God Talk-Man Talk, London: The General Conference of the New Church, 1970
ANOTHER REPLY TO LEON JAMES 1994

ANOTHER REPLY TO LEON JAMES       Wilson Van Dusen       1994

Dear Editor:
     Perhaps we should be cheered to have an expert in our midst who will let us know who is spiritual and who is not, and what practices are acceptable. (See the August and September issues.) But I for one, having been diagnosed as non-spiritual, find such an approach presumptuous I assume whether one is spiritual is a judgment for God to make.
     Leon James professes not to understand me (p. 348). Then why not correspond with me directly rather than rushing into print so our differences have to be sorted out in public?
     I can help him to understand me by looking at his use of the term "spiritual." It appears clear that to him only those who take the theological writings of Swedenborg as the Word are spiritual. He presumes I don't, and in this he is mistaken. When it comes to an issue like who is spiritual, I turn to the Writings themselves.

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"The spiritual with man is, in essence, the very affection of good and truth for the sake of good and truth, and not for the sake of self . . . " (AC 5639).
     Let us then look at the effect of his pronouncement. Under Leon James' definition, a few thousand people on earth are spiritual and the vast majority, over five billion people, are not. On the other hand, if we look at what the Writings say, it is very different. All those in the affection for good and truth for the sake of good and truth are spiritual. The definition of the Writings opens out to a vast multitude of people, of many different cultures and creeds. The Writings are speaking of the universal which is everywhere. Similarly, when the Writings say all who act by the good they know will be saved, they are speaking of a multitude. Now I don't mind in the least that Professor James takes a stand far narrower than the Writings, but I object when he then erroneously uses it to categorize me.     
     So our difference is that he would take a definition which to me departs from the Writings, to elevate himself and a few thousand to the status of the only truly spiritual beings on earth. I, in contrast, see over and over in the Writings that they are clearly referring to the universal. Because of my personal love for the universal I am inclined to seek it everywhere, while Leon James feels bound to the Writings as the only truth (p. 348). I do not mind that he sees truth only here. That is his affair. But I ask that he allow me to seek the universal in all its forms. Even trees and rocks speak to me of the universal.
     Also, I would point out that this spirit that departs from the Writings to put down most people on earth makes the General Church seem small and odd. In contrast I find the Writings illuminating what is universally true. A definition of the sacred is that it is true for everyone. That is what makes it sacred. Because of this I see the Writings as the Word. The church I belong to is gigantic, no matter how small it may seem to others.
     Wilson Van Dusen, Ph.D.

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ARGUE WITH LOVE? 1994

ARGUE WITH LOVE?       Raymond B. David       1994

Dear Editor:
     Joseph Rogers-Petro remarks (Sept. '94, p. 419): "Anyone can argue with the intellect, but who can argue with love?"
     We are taught that there are three universal loves: the love of heaven, the love of the world, and the love of self. If the loves of self and the world are subordinated to the love of heaven, then all is in order and the person becomes perfect (see TCR 394ff).
     TCR 533 mentions the love of dominating and the love of possessions, which relate to the love of self and the love of the world unsubordinated to the love of heaven. Each of these, given its head, leads a person to claim God-like powers.
     We need to examine our loves to discover their origin, and we need to resist those with an origin in hell. I submit we all must "argue with love" if we are to be regenerated. Our innate loves are selfish and deadly, and we must do battle with them as of ourselves in order to be set free from them. And we must admit that it is the Lord who gives us the weapons and urges us to the battle, for all power is His.
     "Love" is a wonderful word, a wonderful concept, a wonderful state. But the meanings can be manifold. Let's be careful how we use the term.
     Raymond B. David,
          La Crescenta, CA
ART OF WRITING 1994

ART OF WRITING       Editor       1994

     That the Word could be written on our earth is because the art of writing has existed here from the most ancient time, first on wooden tablets, later on parchment, afterward on paper, and finally it could be published in print. This has been provided by the Lord for the sake of the Word.
     Arcana Coelestia 9353

524


ARCANA MAGAZINE NO. 2 1994

ARCANA MAGAZINE NO. 2       Editor       1994

     In the April issue we spoke of the first issue of the quarterly magazine Arcana. As we go to print we anticipate an interesting second issue.
     The issue begins with something from the Islamic tradition. This is followed by something from the Christian tradition, then the Taoist tradition, the New Church tradition, and the musical tradition.
     One of the articles is by Rev. Alfred Acton. It is about Swedenborg's concept of creation and the human mind. There is another on music by Anders Hallengren. The high quality of the first issue seems to have been maintained.
     A single issue costs $5 and an annual subscription is only $15 in the USA ($20 to addresses outside the US). It will be available from the Swedenborg Association, Box 533, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009. Letters to the editor are received at the same address.
NOTE ON "LIFE IN MANY LANGUAGES" 1994

NOTE ON "LIFE IN MANY LANGUAGES"       Editor       1994

     (See p. 485ff.)

     Many of our readers know that Twi is one of the languages of Ghana, Swahili a language spoken widely on the African continent, and Pilipino a tongue of some in the Philippines. Less known are such languages as Wolof and Mandingo (spoken in Gambia and Sierra Leone).
     At present there are students in the Academy College who speak Sesotho, Armenian, Ukrainian, and also the Georgian tongue which is completely unrelated to any other language.
     Notice the similarities and differences in the Scandinavian languages and those in the former Soviet Union, such as Azeri spoken in Azerbaijan. Tamil is a language of India into which portions of the Writings have been translated.

525


ORDINATIONS 1994

ORDINATIONS       Editor       1994




     Announcements
     Darkwah-At Accra, Ghana, August 28, 1994, Simpson Kwasi Darkwah into the second degree of the priesthood, Rt. Rev. Louis B. King officiating.

     Gyamfi-At Accra, Ghana, August 28, 1994, Martin Kofi Gyamfi into the second degree of the priesthood, Rt. Rev. Louis B. King officiating.

     Maseko-At Diepkloof, Transvaal, South Africa, September 18, 1994, Jacob Mokaka Maseko into the second degree of the priesthood, Rt. Rev. Louis B. King officiating.

     Mcanyana-At Impaphala, South Africa, September 25, 1994, Nhlanhleni Chester Mcanyana into the second degree of the priesthood, Rt. Rev. Louis B. King officiating.

     Tshabalala-At Diepkloof, Transvaal, South Africa, September 18, 1994, Njanyana Reuben Tshabalala into the second degree of the priesthood, Rt. Rev. Louis B. King officiating.
SWEDENBORGIANS COMPARED IN FUN TO CATS 1994

SWEDENBORGIANS COMPARED IN FUN TO CATS       Editor       1994

     The October issue of Life Magazine has a whimsical article in which cats are extolled in contrast to dogs. Cats are even compared to "Swedenborgians," a distinction to which dogs could hardly aspire.

528


SORTING THINGS OUT 1994

SORTING THINGS OUT       Editor       1994

     George F. Dole
     This book is a collection of thirty-two lectures, sermons and discussion presentations by George Dole. Together they are designed to help us live with spiritual integrity in today's complicated world.
     published 1994 by J. Appleseed and Co.
     Softcover 267 pages U.S. Postage paid $9.00
     General Church Book Center                Hours: Mon-Fri 9-12 or by
Box 743, Cairncrest                              appointment
Bryn Athyn, PA 19009                         Phone: (215) 947-3920

529


Notes on This Issue 1994

Notes on This Issue       Editor       1994

Vol. CXIV     December, 1994     No. 12
NEW CHURCH LIFE

530




     Notes on This Issue

     A General Assembly is coming in June of 1996 (see page 542).

The late Karl R. Alden used to speak of the feminine aspects of the gospel of Luke as compared to the gospel of Matthew. His book The City of God has been popular with newcomers to the New Church for many years. In it he says that the Christmas story in Luke depicts "the birth of the Lord in our hearts," and in Matthew His "coming to our understanding." In this issue Rev. James Cooper makes this the theme of a Christmas sermon. The lesson from Conjugial Love follows the sermon, but you may wish to read it first.
     In this issue the Secretary of the General Church reports a membership of over 4,500. Ten years ago we reported a membership of 3,862.
     Also in this issue is the directory which gives the addresses of all the ministers of the church. There are more than sixty circles and societies of the church listed here. This besides the index makes the December issue especially valuable.
     The letters keep coming in. This month we publish letters from Australia, New Zealand, England and Holland.
     In the October issue we mentioned two books about to be published, Angels in Action by R. Kirven and Light in My Darkness by Helen Keller. As we go to print, those books are reaching more and more people.
     A conference in Moscow last month brought together New Church people from different parts of the world. We hope to report in the new year about developments in the former Soviet Union.

531


MASCULINE AND FEMININE RESPONSES TO THE DIVINE 1994

MASCULINE AND FEMININE RESPONSES TO THE DIVINE       Rev. James P. Cooper       1994

     "Where is He who has been born King of the Jews? For we have seen His star in the East and have come to worship Him" (Matt. 2:2).

     The story of the Lord's birth is perhaps the best known and loved of all the stories of the Word. In it we not only hear the facts surrounding the Lord's birth on earth, which in itself is amazing and a thing full of wonder, but we also hear how different people responded to the news as they heard it. In particular, the good news of the Lord's birth on earth was revealed to two groups of people-the wise men and the shepherds. By studying their responses to the news we can learn many things about the different ways the will and understanding respond to the Lord when He shows Himself to them through the Word, and by analogy, something about the masculine and feminine responses to the Divine.
     The story of the wise men is found only in the gospel of Matthew. Matthew was a Jew who, it is believed, was writing primarily for a Jewish audience. This is the reason Matthew frequently quotes passages from the Old Testament to support and illustrate what he describes. It also served to show how Jesus was the Messiah because He fulfilled the many prophecies of the Old Testament. Matthew was trying to appeal to people through the presentation of the truths relating to the Lord. He was presenting a variety of facts, and inviting his audience to examine them and draw their own conclusions.
     The Writings tell us that the "wise men" were a group of scholars who had the Science of Correspondences from the remnant of the Ancient Church. Because they are identified with the search for and study of truth, and in the Word the masculine represents truth, the wise men may be seen to be a symbol of the masculine response to the Lord's coming.

532



     The Writings further tell us that there were "wise men" in many of the Near Eastern countries at that time. However, the wise men who actually traveled to see the Lord came from Babylon. They knew the prophecies of the coming Messiah. Their studies told them what to look for and where to look, and eventually their work was rewarded. They saw the star and followed it over deserts and mountains into a distant country. The fact that the star led them on a curving route, and the fact that no one else was able to see it, tell us that the star was actually an angelic society. The wise men's spiritual eyes had to be opened in order for them to see the sign, but even so, it appeared small and distant to them, like a star.
     The trip that the wise men undertook was long and difficult, full of turns and hills and difficulties. They had to make camp or find lodging every night, and their animals had to be cared for. They had to deal with Herod, the lying, murderous king in Jerusalem. But they were determined, and they overcame the difficulties and finally arrived at the house where the young Child was, and gave to Him gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Then, after having made such a long and difficult journey, they went home secretly and told no one else about what they had seen and done.
     Luke was a friend of Mary's, and there are many places in his gospel where it is clear that he was writing his gospel from her point of view and from a personal knowledge of her actions and thoughts. In its natural, external form this gospel appears to be written from the woman's point of view. It is therefore appropriate that the shepherds' experience is recorded only in Luke. The shepherds' experience was totally different from that of the wise men. Shepherds are, obviously, keepers of sheep. Sheep, like little children, represent innocence, so shepherds can be seen to be a symbol for the feminine use of the protection and care of little children. When the angels presented themselves to the shepherds it can be seen to be a symbol for the feminine response to the Lord's coming.

533



     Unlike the wise men, the shepherds were very nearby when the birth took place. They were not scholars or students of the Ancient Word but people in "simple good." While they were watching their sheep the angel appeared to them, not as a star like that seen by the wise men, but as an angel. As soon as they saw it and heard the message, their reception of it was so clear and immediate that the angels were able to draw even nearer, so that the shepherds perceived that it was not just one angel but a whole heavenly society. So inspired and moved by the experience, the shepherds went immediately and directly to the stable to see the newborn Babe and His mother. After they had seen the Infant they went out and spread the news widely.
     The Heavenly Doctrines tell us that a husband's wisdom is rational, while the wisdom of the wife is perceptive. It should be immediately apparent that there is a pattern here-that the wise men represent the masculine response to the Lord, while the shepherds represent the feminine response.
     It is very difficult to talk calmly about this subject these days. It has become a highly emotional issue because it deals with the self-esteem of men and women, and especially with the way we measure self-worth. Our present form of social structure is centered around wealth. We measure ourselves and each other by how much money we have. Historically, men have been inclined to direct themselves toward activities that create wealth. Women's traditional roles have focused on creating and nurturing things other than wealth-and in many ways things far more important! But because society at large has come to measure the value of our contribution by natural wealth, women have begun to move away from their traditional areas into wealth-creating fields so they can use the amount of money they earn to measure their self-worth by the same standards that men are measured by. Perhaps a better solution might have been to use a different system for measuring self-worth.

534



     Every human being, male and female, has been created in the image and likeness of God because every human mind is able to both will and understand. The will and understanding parts of the mind correspond to the Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom in God. If we wish to understand how these two faculties relate to each other, all we need to do is fully comprehend the relationship of the heart and lungs in our own bodies. The lungs represent the understanding; the heart represents the will. The heart and lungs complement each other because they are totally different in every aspect of their physiology and function. There are a lot of things we can say about the heart and lungs and their differences, but the one thing we cannot say is which one of them is "better" than the other. If you had to choose, which one would you do without? To be without either is instant death.
     This sermon is intended to direct our attention to certain spiritual truths that underlie these issues, truths that are from the Lord through the Word, and which were given so that in the relationships between men and women (and in the marriage relationship in particular) we might become true partners like the heart and lungs, not the same but complementary to eternity. The husband who is in rational wisdom, like the wise men, takes the long, round-about route. He studies, he meditates, and he makes lists. He collects and studies facts so that he will know how to feel. But once the journey is made, he is ready to take the decision and stand by it, fortified by many strong reasons.
     The wife's wisdom is perceptive and has a very different nature because it is led by love and jumps directly to the "heart" of the question. But although we tend to see things in terms of competition, the attainment of wisdom is not a race. The wife depends on her husband's plodding rationality to provide the details that flesh out the structure of what she has already seen clearly.
     The wise men and the shepherds each responded differently to the announcement from heaven that the Lord was born on earth.

535


Men and women respond differently to the Lord's presence with us through His Word. The wise men were "in the East" when they saw the star because to be in the East represents to be in a state of the affection of truth from the Word. Their studies enabled them to see a small glimmer of the truth which they then pursued over a long and difficult journey. The shepherds, representing perceptive wisdom, received the announcement of the Lord's birth and instantly perceived its importance, represented by the single angel suddenly appearing as a whole society of heaven. Inspired by love, the shepherds rushed into action; they gave Him the gifts of their worship and the proclamation of His birth. Some time after-in the literal sense perhaps a year or more-the wise men finally arrived with their own gifts.
     Can you imagine what the Christmas story would be like without either the shepherds or the wise men? Can you imagine what life would be like without a heart or lungs? Can you imagine a human mind that is totally intellectual without anything of affection, or a human mind that has only an affectional response without any thought? Can you imagine a true church that does not balance doctrine with life? Of course not, because these are all human things created in the image and likeness of God, with the affectional and the intellectual working together to create a balanced whole.
     If we can accept that the star appeared to the wise men and the shepherds at the same time, we see a description of how the Lord enters our lives. Our first response to the Lord's Word is affectional, like that of the shepherds. We feel excited and enthused and full of happiness because we are learning about how the Lord loves us. Then when the excitement wears off we begin to think about the implications of what we have heard, the difficulties that will have to be identified and faced, the temptations and trials as we discover and remove the evils in ourselves. This is represented by the journey of the wise men.

536


But as long as the affectional response still burns within, the difficulties are overcome, understanding becomes full, and the Lord gives us the gift of new loves. That we feel these new loves as our own, and that we recognize our need to thank the Lord for His gifts to us, is represented by the wise men at the end of their long journey, giving the young Child their gifts. The gifts of the wise men represent natural, spiritual, and celestial good that come into our lives from the deliberate application of truth.
     Our lives travel full circle-from the first affection for truth that leads us to read the Word in the first place, to the long years of struggle to understand how these truths are to find their place in our lives, to the eventual birth of the Lord in our hearts through the process of regeneration, and the delights that we feel as a result. Our spiritual lives are a mirror of the Christmas story.
     The true relationship between men and women as intended by the Lord from creation can also be seen. Each has its own part to play. Each has its own unique qualities to contribute, and each has much to gain from the other, and as they work together the Lord's presence with them grows from infancy to maturity. We work together to give to the Lord gifts of charity toward others, and He responds with the gift of conjugial love.
     And He answered and said to them, "Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning 'made them male and female,' and said, 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh'? So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate (Matt. 19:4-6). Amen.

Lessons: Luke 2:8-20; Matt. 2:1-11; CL 156 (portions)

537


Conjugial Love 156 (portions)

     It is apparent from these verses [Gen. 2:22-24 and Matt. 19:4, 5] that man and woman have both an inclination and a capacity for reuniting themselves into one . . . .
     1.      Each sex has implanted in it from creation a capacity and inclination that gives them the ability and the will to be joined together as though into one.
     2.      Conjugial love joins two souls and thus two minds into one.
     3.      A wife's will unites itself with her husband's understanding, and the husband's understanding in consequence unites itself with his wife's will . . . .
     8.      In order that this union may be achieved, a wife is given a perception of her husband's affections, and also the highest prudence in knowing how to moderate them . . . .
     10.      This perception is a wisdom that the wife has. A man is not capable of it, neither is a wife capable of her husband's intellectual wisdom . . . .
     17.      These duties also join the two into one, and at the same time make a single household, depending on the assistance they render each other.
     18.      According as the aforementioned conjunctions are formed, married partners become more and more one person.
     19.      Partners who are in a state of truly conjugial love feel themselves to be a united person and as though one flesh.
CONFERENCE AT THE VATICAN 1994

CONFERENCE AT THE VATICAN       Editor       1994

     Something truly remarkable happened in 1994 that should be noted. There was a conference relating to Swedenborg at the Vatican in Rome. Rev. Olle Hjern will tell about this in our next issue.
     Also coming next year is a report on Bishop King's visit to Africa.

538


ANNUAL REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM 1994

ANNUAL REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM       Louis D. Synnestvedt       1994

     Between July 1, 1993, and June 30, 1994, one hundred sixteen new members joined the General Church.
     Six members resigned during the year, and an additional six members were dropped from the roll.
     During the year the Secretary's office received notice of the deaths of sixty-two members.


Membership July 1, 1993                     4488
New members (Certificates 8327, 829-8443)      116
Deceased                                    -62
Resigned                                   -6
Dropped from Roll                          -6
Membership June 30, 1993                     4530


     AUSTRALIA
New South Wales
Buck, David John
Buck, Vera (Summerford)
Ward, Margaret (Jackson)


     CANADA
Ontario
MacLean, Jane Elizabeth (Brueckman)
MacLean, Robert Alexander


     GHANA
Adarkwah, Nelson Nana
Asenso-Boadi, Francis
Atsu, Seth Mliwomor
Boadi, Ebenezer Dwamena
Boadiwaa, Emma Yaa (Jeni)
Borketey, Jacob Borteye
Ebitey, Cephas Agbozo
Koranteng, Jonas Kwaku
Norvor, Enoch Kudjoson
Tenkoranmaa, Rosina Afua (Danso)
Thompson, George Ofoe


     JAPAN
Blair, Yumiko (Katsuhara)
Funakubo, Atsushi


     NEW ZEALAND
Keyworth, Gillian Esther (Tayler)
Keyworth, Richard John

539





     REPUBLIC OF SOUTH AFRICA
Natal
Andrew, Elizabeth (Burlock)
Chamane, Promise (Ngubo)
Cowley, Margaret (Naylor)
Deal, Desmond Fuller
Hadebe, Nobuhle Priscilla
Nkosi, Elizabeth Z.
Nzimande, Mecrina Cupheni (Mnguabe)
Phahla, Delani Armstrong
Smith, Susan (Roux)
Tarin, Tersja (van Staden)

Transvaal
Mngwevu, Annah (Modise)
Mngwevu, Samuel
Nkosi, Petros
Sibeko, Brian Siphiwo
Thabede, Ndaizane Albert
Zwane, Thembane Linah

     UNITED STATES

Arizona
Mauch, Grant Eugene
Thurnell, Bertil Edward
Thurnell, Elenora (Brown)
Van Hine, Liberty Robertson

Connecticut
Frost, David Alan

Florida
Farrington, Daniel Lee
Farrington, Dorothy (Smith)
Farrington, Tammy (Seaman)
van Loosbroek, Antonius Franciscus
van Loosbroek, Heidi (Heinrichs)

Illinois
Chen, Aixa (Donado)
Chen, Edward Chuan
Heilman, Patrick Bruce
Lee, Jack Halver
Monhollen, Sandra (Cole)
Whittemore, Jeffery David

Minnesota
Grout, Kathryn (Needle)

Ohio

Moore, Sarah Anne
Pyle, John Raymond
Riffie, Gloria (Sudnick)
Smith, Sheila Earleen

Pennsylvania
Adams, Andrew Scott
Adams, Gary Turner
Adams, Lisa (Parker)
Anochi, Victoria (Dansoh)
Asplundh, Eric Parker
Asplundh, Ian Lester
Asplundh, Kelly (Doering)
Bau-Madsen, Halfdan
Bau-Madsen, Nicole (Kahl)
Bierly, Pamela Lynn
Biermann, Sasha Kariin
Boatman, John Stuart
Boericke, Peter Brent
Brock, Kimberly (Friesen)
Brock, Timothy Daniel
Cole, Anna (Friesen)
Cole, James Sebastian
Connelly, Holly (Goerwitz)
Connelly, Sean Patrick
Conroy, Stephen Daniel
Cooper, Glen Conway
Cooper, Sarah Ann (Kees)
Cranch, Rachel Anne (Schnarr)
Damm, Louise (van Zyverden)
Damm, Rudolph Andrew III
Daum, Richard Ellison

540



Gladish, Keith Douglas
Glenn, Robert Amos
Gunther, Hayley Ann (Synnestvedt)
Heinrichs, Nine (Zaridze)
Hill, Leann (Perry)
Joseph, Charlesworth C. L.
Joseph, Linda Sue (Crampton)
Klippenstein, Noel
Leeper, Gillian Rachel
Lemole, Gerald Michael, Jr.
Lieberman, Stephanie (Nicholson)
Magee, Clyde Andrew
Magee, Sylvia Lee (Webster)
Marcune, Rachel Joy
McCurdy, Brent Kristofer
McCurdy, Linda Kay (Farrington)
McQueen, Kathryn (Boericke)
Messman, Paul Alan
Odhner, Danielle (de Chazal)
Petro, Joseph Anthony
Pike, Anthea Anne
Pitcairn, Brant
Pitcairn, Pegene Kimberly (Delaney)
Rogers, Amanda Leigh
Smith, Tryn Rose (Clark)
Synnestvedt, Aileen (Horigan)
Synnestvedt, Shawn Owen
Uber, Robert Eric
van Zyverden, Joram Giles
Walker, Margaret Merrifield
Zaridze, Larisa Revazovra

Texas
Kaiser, Drake Hunter McMorland

Washington
Schweikart, Herschel Cline

     DEATHS

Acton, Richard Odhner, August 13, 1993, Glenview, IL. 58.
Anderson, Helen Virginia, April 10, 1494, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. 76.
Bartle, Lloyd Thomas, September 20, 1993, Auckland, New Zealand. 76.
Beebe, Jane Kintner, May 27, 1994, Bryn Athyn, PA. 75.
Birchman, Janet, May 31, 1994, Huntingdon Valley, PA. 37.
Black, Ruth V. Cole, November 15, 1993, Meadowbrook, PA 76.
Boericke, John James, October 29, 1993, Bryn Athyn, PA. 78.
Bond, Ruth Evangeline, September 20, 1993, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. 85.
Bradin, Freda Cook, April 28, 1994, Rochester, MI. 78.
Bundsen, Norma Fulsome, June 14, 1993, California. 72.
Clarke, Dora Margaret Innes, March 4, 1994, Baldock, England. 80.
Clifford, William Harrison, February 6, 1994, Augusta, ME. 83 less one day.
Croft, Jean Pendleton, May 11, 1994, Hatboro, PA 90.
Dahl, Sidney George Louis, May 23, 1994, Jonkoping, Sweden, 82.
*de Chazal, Julien Anthony Richard, date and place unknown. (*Unconfirmed; information sought) [Alive see New Church Life 1995, page 89.]
Doering, Reynold Frederick, June 25, 1994, Del Ray Beach, FL, 95.
Doering, Richard Lowell, June 21, 1994, Erie, PA. 64.
Dudlik, Mary Jane Wallace, August 9, 1993, Richboro, PA. 65.
Elliott, Lillian Lucille Heimgartner, October 17, 1993, Bryn Athyn, PA. 79.
Elmont, Marian Glenn, May 21, 1994, Huntingdon Valley, PA. 78.
Field, George Albert, February 2, 1994, Pontiac, MI. 75.
Gunther, Ariel Carl, December 29, 1993, Bryn Athyn, PA. 90.

541



Gushea, Clara Heinrichs, February 12, 1994, Winter Garden, FL. 87.
Hawley, Alberta L. W. Doering, May, 1993, Seaside, OR. 90. (Delayed report)
Hayes, Mary Torpin, March 30, 1994, Meadowbrook, PA. 93.
Helm, Susan Margaret Scalbom, June 16, 1994, Glenview, IL. 89.
Horigan, Walter Lee, Jr., October 9, 1993, Sarver, PA. 68.
Horner, Christopher Olaf, April 13, 1994, Tamworth, NSW, Australia. 78.
Howard, Eunice Nelson, March 5, 1993, San Rafael, CA. 78.
Hyatt, Sonia Elizabeth, July 7, 1993, Pottstown, PA. 73.
Klein, Ruth Powell, May 5, 1994, Berlin, NJ. 89.
Klippenstein, Wilfrid Bernard, June 13, 1994, Rosthern, Sask., Canada. 83.
Kuhl, Joan Nanette, March 21, 1994, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. 73.
Long, Florence Alleen Schwindt, January 2, 1994, Levittown, PA. 98.
Mackey, Oscar Lucian, February 19, 1989, Gorande Prairie, Alberta, Canada. 82. (Delayed report)
McClarren, Ralph Herbert, April 1, 1994, Hatboro, PA. 87.
McClow, Harold Oliver, June 11, 1994, Tijuana, Mexico. 68.
Montgomery, Horace Binney, date and place unknown.
Montgomery, Maria Tamborrel, November 16, 1993, Newtown, PA. 67.
Morris, Kathleen Adele Schnarr, November 26, 1993, Lake Helen, FL. 72.
Motum, Norman Honywill, March 29, 1994, Colchester, Essex, England, 103.
*Mumford, Ivy Lilian, date and place unknown. (*Unconfirmed; information sought)
Near, Agnes, October 6, 1990, Colchester, Essex, England. 88. (Delayed report)
Rankin, Sylvia Ruth Oatley, November 9, 1993, Burbank, CA. 95.
Richter, Jean Paul, Jr., February 14, 1994, Pompano Beach, FL. 88.
Rinaldo, Mary Anne Doering, May 17, 1994, Fairfax, VA. 64.
Rogers, Donald Kenneth, Sr., August 7, 1993, Marietta, GA. 63.
Roschman, Marie Louise Odhner, September 11, 1993, Bryn Athyn, PA. 70.
Sharp, Albert Lewis, April 12, 1994, Jensen Beach, FL. 93.
*Silcox, Stephan Norman, date and place unknown. (*Unconfirmed; information sought)
Smith, Eunice Price, October 3, 1993, Meadowbrook, PA. 90.
Soneson, Lorentz Ray, September 19, 1993, Tucson, AZ. 68.
Sonier, Helen Dorothy Jones, October 16, 1993, Rockport, ME. 93.
Stroh, Leon Frederick, February 15, 1994, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, 71.
Synnestvedt, Doris Fiske, December 15, 1993, Bryn Athyn, PA. 64.
Synnestvedt, Robert Ernest, November 4, 1993, Sarver, PA. 92.
Timmins, Dorothy G. Becker, November 20, 1993, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. 93.
Umberger, Grant, June 27, 1994, Gainesville, GA. 71.
Waddell, Emmet Pratt, October 28, 1992, Tucson, AZ. 78. (Delayed report)
Waddell, Irma Dillard Cooper, April 17, 1994, Sierra Vista, AZ. 100.
Walter, William Henry Saunders, March 14, 1994, Havertown, PA. 79.
Zick, Barbara Walser, January 10, 1994, St, Paul, MN. 96.

542




     RESIGNATIONS

Butterfield, Clare E., November 23, 1993, Park Ridge, IL.
Butterfield, Evan M., November 23, 1993, Park Ridge, IL.
Clover, David, October 13, 1993, Colchester, Essex, England.
Hamilton, Luelle Starkey, June 23, 1993, Lancaster, PA.
Myers, Geoffrey B., February 9, 1994, Longmeadow, MA.
Odhner, J. Durban, June 14, 1994, Huntingdon Valley, PA.


     DROPPED FROM THE ROLL
Dalis, Arthur Edward, August 4, 1993, Arizona.
Dalis, Arvella Marie (Williams), August 4, 1993, Arizona.
Gurney, Jefferson, August 4, 1993, Arizona.
McCauley, Charles Robert, August 4, 1993, Arkansas.
McCauley, Floye Dean (Brownlee) Covey, August 4, 1993, Arkansas.
Petras, Michael Joseph, August 4, 1993, Arizona.
     Respectfully submitted,
          Louis D. Synnestvedt,
               Acting Secretary
1996 ASSEMBLY 1994

1996 ASSEMBLY       Peter M. Buss       1994

     The Bryn Athyn Society will host the next assembly of the General Church from Wednesday, June 5 to Sunday, June 9, 1996. People from all over the world will again join together for worship, instruction, fellowship and discussion of evangelization, education and other church uses.
     Work is now beginning, and Mr. Hyland Johns, assisted by Mr. Steven Asplundh, will head the committee making the arrangements for this special event. Many people have already volunteered, and others will be needed as preparations move ahead in the coming year. More information will be forthcoming.
     Peter M. Buss,
          Executive Bishop

543


DIRECTORY -- GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM 1994

DIRECTORY -- GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM       Editor       1994

     1994-1995

     Officials
Bishop:           Rt. Rev. Peter M. Buss
Bishops Emeriti:      Rt. Rev. Louis B. King
                         Rt. Rev. Willard D. Pendleton
Acting Secretary:      Rev. Louis D. Synnestvedt


     Consistory
Rt. Rev. Peter M. Buss
Rt. Rev. Louis B. King; Rev. Messrs. Alfred Acton, Kurt Ho. Asplundh, Christopher D. Bown, Eric H. Carswell, Geoffrey S. Childs, Michael D. Gladish, Daniel W. Goodenough, Daniel W. Heinrichs, Geoffrey H. Howard, Robert S. Junge, Brian W. Keith Thomas L. Kline, Donald L. Rose, Frank S. Rose, Frederick L. Schnarr, Grant R. Schnarr, and Louis D. Synnestvedt

     "GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM"

     (A Corporation of Pennsylvania)

     Officers of the Corporation
President:                Rt. Rev. Peter M. Buss
Vice President:           Rt. Rev. Louis B. King
Secretary:                Mr. E. Boyd Asplundh
Treasurer:                Mr. Neil M. Buss
Assistant Treasurer:      Mr. Bruce A. Fuller
Controller:           Mr. Ian K. Henderson

     BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CORPORATION

Edward F. Allen, Jr., Michael A. Brown, Rosemary B. Campbell, Barbara Tryn G. Clark, Patricia deM. David, Nancy S. Dawson, Sonia S. Doering, Theodore C. Farrington, B. Reade Genzlinger, Robert L. Glenn, Glenn H. Heilman Thelma P. Henderson, Hugh D. Hyatt, Michael C. Kloc, Michael G. Lockhart, Kim U. Maxwell, Roger S. Murdoch, Wayne Parker, Cameron C. Pitcairn, Duncan B. Pitcairn, William B. Radcliffe, Bruce A. Reuter. Roger W. Schnarr, Lincoln F. Schoenberger, Beryl C. Simonetti, Warren Stewart, James G. Uber, Wendy K. Walter, Gerald G. Waters, Kenneth L. York
     Ex-officio Members:      Rt. Rev. Peter M. Buss
                              Rt. Rev. Louis B. King
                              Mr. Neil M. Buss
Honorary Life Member:      Rt. Rev. Willard D. Pendleton

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     BISHOPS

Buss, Peter Martin. Ordained June 19, 1964; 2nd degree, May 16, 1965; 3rd degree, June 1, 1986. Continues to serve as Executive Bishop of the General Church, General Pastor of the General Church, Chancellor of the Academy of the New Church, President of the General Church in Canada, and President of the General Church International, Incorporated. Address: P.O. Box 711, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009.

King, Louis Blair. Ordained June 19, 1951; 2nd degree, April 19, 1953; 3rd degree, November 5, 1972. Retired. Bishop Emeritus of the General Church, Chancellor Emeritus of the Academy of the New Church. Address: P.O. Box 743, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009.

Pendleton, Willard Dandridge. Ordained June 18, 1933; 2nd degree, September 12, 1934; 3rd degree, June 19, 1946. Retired. Bishop Emeritus of the General Church. Address: P.O. Box 338, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009.

     PASTORS

Acton, Alfred. Ordained June 19, 1964; 2nd degree, October 30, 1966. Continues to serve as an instructor in the Academy of the New Church College and Theological School, Church College Chaplain, and Regional Pastor. Address: P.O. Box 717, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009.

Alden, Glenn Graham. Ordained June 19, 1974; 2nd degree, June 6, 1976. Continues to serve as part-time Pastor of Dawson Creek and Visiting Pastor to Crooked Creek, Canada. Address: 9013 801 Street Dawson Creek, B.C., Canada V1G 3N3.

Alden, Kenneth James. Ordained June 6, 1980; 2nd degree, May 16, 1982. Continues to serve as Assistant to the Pastor of the Carmel Church Society (Kitchener) and Principal of the Carmel Church School. Address: 107 Evenstone Road, RR 2, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada N2G 3W5.

Alden, Mark Edward. Ordained June 10, 1979; 2nd degree, May 17, 1981. Resigned. Assistant Professor Radiation Oncology, Thomas Jefferson University Hospital. Address: P. O. Box 204, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009.

Ankra-Badu, William Ofei. Ordained June 15, 1986; 2nd degree, March 1, 1992. Continues to serve as a Pastor of the Accra Group, Ghana, West Africa. Address: P.O. Box 11305, Accra, West Africa, Ghana.

Appelgren, Goran Reinhold. Ordained June 7, 1992; 2nd degree, July 3, 1994. As of July 1, 1994 became Pastor of the Stockholm Society and continues to serve as Visiting Pastor of the Copenhagen Circle, Denmark. Address: Aladdinsvagen 27, S-161 38 Bromma, Sweden.

Asplundh, Kurt Horigan. Ordained June 19, 1960; 2nd degree, June 19, 1962. Continues to serve as Pastor of the Bryn Athyn Church. Address: P.O. Box 277, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009.

Barnett, Wendel Ryan. Ordained June 7, 1981; 2nd degree, June 20, 1982. Continues to serve as Assistant Pastor of the Olivet Church (Toronto). Address: 134 Smithwood, Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada M9B 4S4.

Bau-Madsen, Arne. Ordained June 6, 1976; 2nd degree, June 11, 1978. Continues to serve as Associate Pastor to Kempton, Visiting Pastor to Wilmington, Delaware and Wallenpaupack, Pennsylvania. Address: Box 527, RD 2, Lenhartsville, PA 19534.

545




Bown, Christopher Duncan. Ordained June 18, 1978; 2nd degree. December 23, 1979. Continues to serve as Pastor of the Colchester Society, Visiting Pastor of the Hague Circle, and Bishop's Representative for Great Britain and Europe. Address: 2 Christ Church Ct., Colchester, Essex, England C03 3AU.

Boyesen, Bjorn Adolph Hildemar. Ordained June 19, 1939; 2nd degree, March 30, 1941. Retired; translator of the Writings from Latin to modern Swedish, and as Pastor of the Jonkoping Circle. Address: 1 Bruksater, Saterfors 10, S-566 91, Habo, Sweden.

Boyesen, Ragnar. Ordained June 19, 1972; 2nd degree, June 17, 1973. Continues to serve as Pastor of the Kempton Society and principal of the Kempton New Church School. Address: R.D. 2, Box 225A, Kempton, PA 19529.

Burke, William Hanson. Ordained June 7, 1981; 2nd degree, August 13, 1983. Continues to serve as Pastor of the Charlotte Circle and Visiting Pastor to the Southeast District. Address: 6010 Paddington Court, Charlotte, NC 28277.

Buss, Erik James. Ordained June 10, 1990; 2nd degree, September 13, 1992. Continues to serve as Pastor of the Cascade New Church, Seattle, Washington and Visiting Pastor of the Northwest District. Address: 5409 - 154th Ave. NE, Redmond, WA 98052.

Buthelezi, Ishborn. Ordained August 18, 1985; second degree, August 23, 1987. Recognized as a General Church minister, November 19, 1989. Continues to serve as Pastor of the Clermont Society, Enkumba Society and also Hambrook Society at times. Address: P.O. Box 150, Clernaville 3602, Rep. of South Africa.

Carlson, Mark Robert. Ordained June 10, 1973; 2nd degree, March 6, 1977. Continues to serve as Housemaster of Stuart Hall and teacher of religion in the Academy Secondary Schools. Address: P.O. Box 707, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009.

Carswell, Eric Hugh. Ordained June 10, 1979; 2nd degree, February 22, 1981. Continues to serve as Pastor of the Glenview Society, President of the Midwestern Academy, and Regional Pastor. Address: 73 Park Drive, Glenview, IL 60025.

Chapin, Frederick Merle. Ordained June 15, 1986; 2nd degree, October 23, 1988. Continues to serve as Pastor of the Phoenix Society and Visiting Pastor to the Albuquerque Circle. Address: 3837 E. Poinsettia Drive, Phoenix, AZ 85028.

Childs, Geoffrey Stafford. Ordained June 19, 1952; 2nd degree, June 19, 1954. Retired. Continues to serve as Bishop's Representative in South Africa. Address: 7 Sydney Drive, Westville, 3630, Rep. of South Africa.

Childs, Robin Waelchli. Ordained June 6, 1984; 2nd degree. June 8, 1986. Continues to serve as Assistant to the Pastor of the Glenview Society and pastor of the Midwest District. Address: 2700 Park Lane, Glenview, IL 60025.

Clifford, William Harrison. Ordained June 6, 1976; 2nd degree, October 8, 1978. Resigned.

546


Address: 3932 Courtyard Pl., Gorand Rapids, MI 49546-7631.

Cole, Robert Hudson Pendleton. Ordained June 16, 1963; 2nd degree, October 30, 1966. Retired. Address: P.O. Box 356, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009.

Cole, Stephen Dandridge. Ordained June 19, 1977; 2nd degree, October 15, 1978. Continues to serve as Pastor of the San Diego Society. Address: 941 Ontario Street, Escondido, CA 92025.

Cooper, James Pendleton. Ordained June 13, 1982; 2nd degree, March 4, 1984. Continues to serve as Pastor of the Washington Society and Principal of the Washington New Church School. Address: 11910 Chantilly Lane, Mitchellville, MD 20721.

Cowley, Michael Keith. Ordained June 13, 1982; 2nd degree, May 13, 1984. Pastor of the Carmel Church Society, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada. Address: 58 Chapel Hill Drive, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada N2G 3W5.

Cranch, Harold Covert. Ordained June 19, 1941: 2nd degree. October 15, 1942. Retired. Acting Pastor of the Sacramento Circle, assisting local pastors as needed. Address: 501 Porter Street, Glendale, CA 91205.

Darkwah, Simpson Kwabeng. Ordained June 7, 1992; 2nd degree, June 12, 1994. Continues to serve as Pastor of the Tema, Ghana Circle and Visiting Pastor of the Madina Circle. Address: House #AA3 Community 4, c/o P. O. Box 1483, Tema, Ghana, West Africa.

de Padua, Mauro Santos. Ordained June 7, 1992; 2nd degree June 12, 1994. As of July 1, 1994 became Assistant to the Pastor of the Rio de Janeiro Society. Address: Rua Felicio, 28 Cascadura, Rio de Janeiro, RJ CEP 21318, Brazil.

Dibb, Andrew Malcolm Thomas. Ordained June 6, 1984; 2nd degree, May 18, 1986. Continues to serve as Pastor of the New Church Buccleuch, Pastor to Cape Town, Dean of the South African Theological School. Address: P.O. Box 816, Kelvin 2054, Rep. of South Africa.

Echols, John Clark, Jr Ordained August 26, 1978; 2nd degree, March 30, 1980. Continues to serve as Pastor of the Sowers Chapel, PA. Address: 980 Sarver Road, Sarver, PA 16055.

Elphick, Derek Peter. Ordained June 6, 1993; 2nd degree, May 22, 1994. As of July 1, 1994 became Pastor of the Boynton Beach Society. Address: 10621 El Clair Ranch Road, Boynton Beach, FL 33437.

Elphick, Frederick Charles. Ordained June 6, 1984; 2nd degree September 23, 1984. Continues to serve as Pastor of the Michael Church London, England, Visiting Pastor to the Surrey Circle. Address: 21B Hayne Road, Beckenham, Kent, BR3 4JA, England.

Gladish, Michael David. Ordained June 10, 1973; 2nd degree, June 30, 1974. Continues to serve as Pastor of the Olivet Church (Toronto Society), Principal of the Olivet Day School, and Executive Vice President of the General Church in Canada. Address: 2 Lorraine Gardens, Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada M9B 424.

Gladish, Nathan Donald. Ordained June 13, 1982; 2nd degree, November 6, 1983.

547


Continues to serve as Pastor of the Pittsburgh Society and Principal of the New Church School. Address: 299 Le Roi Road, Pittsburgh, PA 15208.

Goodenough, Daniel Webster. Ordained June 19, 1965; 2nd degree, December 10, 1967. Continues to serve as President of the Academy of the New Church. Address: P.O. Box 711, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009.

Gyamfi, Martin Kofi. Ordained June 9, 1991; 2nd degree, August 28, 1994. Continues to serve as Resident pastor for Asakraka-Kwahu Group, and Visiting Pastor to the Nteso and Oframase Groups (in the Eastern Region of Ghana). Address: The New Church, P. O. Box 10, Asakraka-Kwahu, E/R, Ghana, West Africa.

Heilman, Andrew James. Ordained June 18, 1978; 2nd degree, March 8, 1981. Continues to serve as Assistant to the Pastor of the Kempton Society. Address: R.D. 2, Box 172, Kempton, PA 19529.

Heinrichs, Daniel Winthrop. Ordained June 19, 1957; 2nd degree, April 6, 1958. Retired. Address: 9115 Chrysanthemum Drive, Boynton Beach, FL 33437-1236.

Heinrichs, Willard Lewis Davenport. Ordained June 19, 1965; 2nd degree, January 26, 1969. Continues to serve as an instructor in the Academy of the New Church Theological School and College, and Visiting Pastor to the Baltimore Society. Address: P.O. Box 717, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009.

Howard, Geoffrey Horace. Ordained June 19, 1961; 2nd degree. June 2, 1963. Continues to serve as Pastor of the Boston Society. Address: 17 Cakebread Drive, Sudbury, MA 01776.

Junge, Kent. Ordained June 10, 1979; 2nd degree, June 24, 1981. Resigned. Address: 14812 N. E. 75th Street. Redmond, WA 98052.

Junge, Robert Schill. Ordained June 19, 1955; 2nd degree, August 11, 1957. Continues to serve as Pastor of the Ivyland Circle. Address: 851 W. Bristol Road, Ivyland, PA 18974.

Keith, Brian Walter. Ordained June 6, 1976; 2nd degree. June 4, 1978. Continues to serve as Dean of the Academy of the New Church Theological School and Regional Pastor. Address: P.O. Box 717, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009.

King, Cedric. Ordained June 10, 1979; 2nd degree, November 27, 1980. Continues to serve as part-time Pastor of the El Toro Circle and therapist in the Orange County area. Address: 21332 Forest Meadow, Fl Toro, CA 92630.

Kline, Thomas Leroy. Ordained June 10, 1973; 2nd degree, June 15, 1975. Continues to serve as Assistant Pastor of the Bryn Athyn Society. Address: P.O. Box 277, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009.

Kwak, Dzin Pyung. Ordained June 12, 1988; 2nd degree, November 11, 1990. Continues to serve as a pastor of the General Church in Korea (on special assignment). Address: #B01 Sanho-Villa, 238 Shinsa-Dong, Eunpung-Ku, Seoul, Korea 122-080.

Larsen, Ottar Trosvik. Ordained June 19, 1974; 2nd degree. February 16, 1977. Resigned. Address: 1505 Grove Avenue, Jenkintown, PA 19046.

548




Lindrooth, David Hutchinson. Ordained June 10, 1990; 2nd degree, April 19, 1992. As of July 1, 1994 became Assistant Pastor of the Tucson Society. Address: 561 N. Gollob Road, Tucson, AZ 85710.

Maseko, Jacob. Ordained November 29, 1993; 2nd degree, September 18, 1994. Pastor of the Diepkloof Society. Address: 8482 Zone 5, Pimville, Soweto 1808, Rep. of South Africa.

Mbatha, Bhekuyise Alfred. Ordained June 27, 1971; 2nd degree, June 23, 1974. Recognized as a General Church minister November 26, 1989. Pastor of the Kwa Mashu Society and Visiting Pastor to the Hambrook Society and Dondotha and Umlazi Groups. Address: P.O. Box 27011, Kwa Mashu, Natal 4360, Rep. of South Africa.

Mcanyana, Chester. Ordained November 12, 1989; 2nd degree, September 25, 1994. Continues to serve as Pastor of the Impaphala Society and Visiting Pastor of the Empangeni Group. Address: P. O. Box 770, Eshowe, 3815, Rep. of South Africa.

McCurdy, George Daniel. Ordained June 25, 1967; Recognized as a priest of the New Church in the second degree July 5, 1979; received into the priesthood of the General Church June 9, 1980. Continues to serve as instructor of religion in the Academy of the New Church Secondary Schools and Visiting Pastor to the Connecticut Circle. Address: P.O. Box 707, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009.

Nemitz, Kurt Paul. Ordained June 16, 1963; 2nd degree, March 27, 1966. Unassigned; translator. Address: 887 Middle Street, Bath, ME 04530.

Nicholson, Allison La Marr. Ordained September 9, 1979; 2nd degree, February 15, 1981. Retired; continues to serve as Pastor of the Bath Society. Address: HC33-Box 61N. Arrowsic, ME 04530.

Nobre, Cristv o Rabelo. Ordained June 6, 1984; 2nd degree. August 25, 1985. Continues to serve as Pastor of the Rio de Janeiro Society and Visiting Minister in Brazil. Address: Rua Lino Teixeira, 109 Apt, 201, Rocha, Rio de Janeiro, 20970, Brazil.

Odhner, Grant Hugo. Ordained June 7, 1981; 2nd degree, May 9, 1982. Continues to serve as Pastor of the Oak Arbor Society and Principal of the Oak Arbor Church School. Address: 395 Olivewood Court, Rochester, MI 48306.

Odhner, John Llewellyn. Ordained June 6, 1980; 2nd degree, November 22, 1981. Continues to serve as Pastor of the La Crescenta Society, and Visiting Pastor to San Jose and Apple Valley. Address: 5022 Carolyn Way, La Crescents, CA 91214.

Orthwein, Welter Edward, III. Ordained July 22, 1973; 2nd degree, June 12, 1977. Recognized as a priest of the General Church June 12, 1977. Continues to serve as Assistant Professor of religion, Academy of the New Church Theological School and College and Visiting Pastor of the Central Pennsylvania Group. Address: P.O. Box 717, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009.

Pendleton, Dandridge. Ordained June 19, 1952; 2nd degree, June 19, 1954. Retired. Address: P.O. Box 278, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009.

Pendleton, Mark Dandridge. Ordained June 9, 1991; 2nd degree, May 29, 1994. As of July 1, 1994 became Assistant Pastor of the Oak Arbor Church and Visiting Pastor to the mid-Michigan Group. Address: 4535 Oak Arbor Drive, Rochester, MI 48306.

549




Perry, Charles Mark. Ordained June 9, 1991; 2nd degree, June 19, 1993. Continues to serve as Pastor of the Atlanta Society. Address: 2119 Seaman Circle, Chamblee, GA 30345.

Pryke, Martin. Ordained June 19, 1940; 2nd degree, March 1, 1942. Retired. Address: P.O. Box 707, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009.

Riley, Norman Edward. Ordained June 14, 1950; 2nd degree June 20, 1951. Recognized as a priest of the General Church January, 1978. Retired. Address: 69 Harewood Road, Norden, Rochdale, OL11 5TH, England.

Rogers, Donald Kenneth. Ordained June 6, 1984; 2nd degree, May 25, 1986. Resigned. Address: 51 Valley View Court Cartersville, GA 30120.

Rogers, Prescott Andrew. Ordained January 26, 1986; 2nd degree, April 24, 1988. Continues to serve as an Assistant Professor of religion and history in the Academy of the New Church College. Address: P.O. Box 717, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009.

Rose, Donald Leslie. Ordained June 16, 1957; 2nd degree, June 23, 1963. Continues to serve as Editor of New Church Life and Assistant to the Pastor of the Bryn Athyn Society. Address: P.O. Box 277, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009.

Rose, Frank Shirley. Ordained June 19, 1952; 2nd degree, August 2, 1953. Continues to serve as Pastor of the Sunrise Chapel (Tucson) and Bishop's Representative for Western United States. Address: 9233 E. Helen Street, Tucson, AZ 85715.

Rose, Patrick Alan. Ordained June 19, 1975; 2nd degree, September 25, 1977. Continues to serve as Pastor of the Cincinnati Society, Visiting Pastor to the North Ohio Circle, and District Traveling in Southern Indiana, Southern Ohio and Kentucky. Address: 785 Ashcroft Ct., Cincinnati, OH 45240.

Rose, Thomas Hartley. Ordained June 12, 1988; 2nd degree May 21, 1989. Continues to serve as Bryn Athyn Church School Pastor. Address: P. O, Box 277, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009.

Roth, David Christopher. Ordained June 9, 1991; 2nd degree October 17, 1993. As of July 1, 1994 became Pastor of the New Church in Colorado. Address: 4215 N. Broadway, Boulder, CO 80304.

Sandstrom, Erik. Ordained June 10, 1934; 2nd degree, August 4, 1935. Retired. Member of Worship and Ritual Committee, and General Church Publication Committee. Address: 3566 Post Road, Huntingdon Valley, PA 19006.

     Sandstrom, Erik Emanuel. Ordained May 23, 1971; 2nd degree, May 21, 1972. Continues to serve as an instructor in religion and theology in the Academy Theological School and College, Head of the Religion and Sacred Languages Division, and Visiting Pastor to the North New Jersey/New York Circle. Address: P.O. Box 717, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009.

Schnarr, Arthur Willard, Jr. Ordained June 7, 1981; 2nd degree, June 19, 1983. Continues to serve as Pastor of the Hurstville Society, and Visiting Pastor in Australia and New Zealand. Address: 26 Dudley Street, Penshurst, 2222 NSW Australia.

550




Schnarr, Frederick Laurier. Ordained June 19, 1955; 2nd degree, May 12, 1957. Continues to serve as Bishop's Representative for Education; Director of the General Church Office of Education; Chairman of the Education Council. Address: Box 743, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009.

Schnarr, Grant Ronald. Ordained June 12, 1983; 2nd degree, October 7, 1984. Continues to serve as Director of Evangelization, Pastor of the Chicago Circle and Bishop's Representative for Evangelization. Address: 73A Park Drive, Glenview, IL 60025.

Silverman, Raymond Joel. Ordained June 6, 1984; 2nd degree, June 19, 1985. Resigned. Address: 3245 Masons Mill Road, Huntingdon Valley, PA 19006.

Simons, David Restyn. Ordained June 19, 1948; 2nd degree, June 19, 1950. Retired. Address: 561 Woodward Drive, Huntingdon Valley, PA 19006.

Simons, Jeremy Frederick. Ordained June 13, 1982; 2nd degree, July 31, 1983. Continues to serve as Assistant Pastor of the Glenview Society and Principal of the Immanuel Church School and MANC. Address: 156 Park Drive, Glenview, IL 60025.

Smith, Christopher Ronald Jack. Ordained June 19, 1969; 2nd degree, May 9, 1971. Continues to serve as religion teacher in the Academy of the New Church Secondary Schools. Address: P.O. Box 707, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009.

Smith, Lawson Merrell. Ordained June 10, 1979; 2nd degree, February 1, 1981. Continues to serve as Pastor of the Durban Society. Address: 8 Winslow Road Westville, 3630, Natal, Rep. of South Africa.

Stroh, Kenneth Oliver. Ordained June 19, 1948; 2nd degree, June 19, 1950. Retired. Address: P.O. Box 629, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009.

Synnestvedt, Louis Daniel. Ordained June 6, 1980; 2nd degree, November 8, 1981. Continues to serve as Acting Secretary of the General Church. Address: P. O. Box 743, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009.

Taylor, Douglas McLeod. Ordained June 19, 1960; 2nd degree, June 19, 1962. Retired. Address: 2704 Huntingdon Pike, Huntingdon Valley, PA 19006.

Tshahalala, Reuben Njanyana. Ordained November 29, 1993; 2nd degree, September 18, 1994. Pastor of the Balfour Society. Address: 1428 Rayi Street, Zondi, P.O. Kwaxuma, Soweto, Transvaal, Rep. of South Africa.

Weiss, Jan Hugo. Ordained June 19, 1955; 2nd degree, May 12, 1957. Resigned; President New Church Outreach. Address: 2650 Del Vista Drive, Hacienda Heights, CA 91745.

Zungu, Aaron. Ordained August 21, 1938; 2nd degree, October 3, 1948. Recognized as a General Church minister November 25, 1989. Retired; still works on translation of the Writings into Zulu. Address: Box 408, Ntumeni 3830, Rep. of South Africa.

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     MINISTERS

Asplundh, Kurt Hyland. Ordained June 6, 1993. As of July 1, 1994 became Assistant to the Pastor of the Chicago Society. Address: 2906 N. Racine Ave., 3rd Floor, Chicago, IL 60657.

Barry, Eugene. Ordained June 15, 1986. Resigned. Address: 2874 Lindsay Ln., Sequel, CA 95073.

Buss, Peter Martin, Jr. Ordained June 6, 1993. Continues to serve as Assistant to the Pastor of the Washington Society and Visiting Pastor to the Norfolk, Virginia Group. Address: 3805 Enterprise Road, Mitchellville, MD 20721.

de Figueiredo, Jose Lopes. Ordained October 24, 1965. Retired. Continues to serve as Assistant to the Pastor of the Rio de Janeiro Society, and editor of A Nova Igreja. Address: Rua Desembargador Isidro 155, Apt. 202 Tijuca, Rio de Janeiro 20521 RJ, Brazil.

Fitzpatrick, Daniel. Ordained June 6, 1984. Resigned. Address: 5845 Aurora Court, Lake Worth, FL 33643.

Halterman, Barry Childs. Ordained June 5, 1994. Assistant to the Pastor of the Olivet Church and Assistant Minister to the Executive Vice President of the General Church in Canada. Address: 22 Clissold Road, Etobicoke, Ontario, Canada M8Z 4T5.

Jin, Yong Jin. Ordained June 5, 1994. Assistant to the Pastor of the Ivyland New Church, General Church Minister in outreach to Korean-speaking peoples in the United States. Address: P. O. Box 743, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009.

Rogers, N. Bruce. Ordained January 12, 1969. Continues to serve as General Church Translator, Associate Professor of religion and Latin in the Academy of the New Church College. Address: P.O. Box 717, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009.

Rose, Jonathan Searle. Ordained May 31, 1987. Continues to serve as a translator, instructor of Greek and religion at the Academy of the New Church College, and Curator of Swedenborgiana. Address: P.O. Box 740, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009.

Schorran, Paul Edward. Ordained June 12, 1983. Unassigned. Address: RD 2, Box 14, Kempton, PA 19529.

Thabede, Ndaizane Albert. Ordained August 29, 1993. Continues to serve as Minister to the Alexandra Township Society. Address: 140 Phase One, Alexandra Township, P. O. Bramley, Rep. of South Africa.

     AUTHORIZED CANDIDATES

Anochi, Nicholas Wiredu. Address: P. O. Box 717, Bryn Athyn, Pa 19009.

     ASSOCIATE MINISTER

Nicolier, Alain. Ordained May 31, 1979; 2nd degree, September 16, 1984. Address: Bourguignon-Meursanges, 21200 Beaune, France.

552




Sheppard, Leslie Lawrence. Ordained June 7, 1992. Invited by the Brisbane New Church to take up a pastorate in the Association of the New Church in Australia, for which he is working. This assignment was taken up with the full support of the Bishop of the General Church. Address: 3 Shadowood Street, Kenmore Hills, Queensland 4069, Australia.

     EVANGELIST

Eubanks, W. Harold. Address: 516 US 280, Americus, GA 31709.

     SOCIETIES AND CIRCLES

Society                                   Pastor or Minister

Alexandra Township, R.S.A.      Rev. N. Albert Thabede
Atlanta, Georgia               Rev. C. Mark Perry
Balfour, R.S.A.               Rev. N. Reuben Tshabalala
Baltimore, Maryland           Rev. Willard L. D. Heinrichs
Bath, Maine                Rev. Allison L. Nicholson
Boston, Massachusetts           Rev. Geoffrey H. Howard
Boynton Bench, Florida           Rev. Derek P. Elphick
Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania      Rev. Kurt Ho. Asplundh
                         Rev. Thomas L. Kline, Assistant Pastor
                         Rev. Kurt Hy. Asplundh, Assistant to Pastor
                         Rev. Donald L. Rose, Assistant to Pastor
                         Rev. Thomas H. Rose, School Pastor
Buccleuch, Rep. S. Africa      Rev. Andrew M. T. Dibb
Chicago, Illinois               Rev. Grant R. Schnarr
                          Rev. Kurt Hyland Asplundh, Assistant to Pastor
Cincinnati, Ohio               Rev. Patrick A. Rose
Clermont, Rep. of S. Africa      Rev. Ishborn M. Buthelezi
Colchester, England           Rev. Christopher D. Bown
Detroit, Michigan               Rev. Grant H. Odhner
(Oak Arbor Church)           Rev. Mark D. Pendleton, Assistant Pastor
Diepkloof, Rep. S. Africa      Rev. Jacob Maseko
Durban, Rep. S. Africa           Rev. Lawson M. Smith
Enkumba, Rep. S. Africa      Rev. Ishborn M. Buthelezi
Freeport, Pennsylvania           Rev. J. Clark Echols, Jr.
Glenview, Illinois               Rev. Eric H. Carswell
                          Rev. Robin W. Childs, Assistant to Pastor
                          Rev. Jeremy F. Simons, Assistant Pastor
Hambrook, Rep. S. Africa      Rev. B. Alfred Mbatha
Hurstville, Australia           Rev. Arthur W. Schnarr. Jr.
Impaphala, Rep. S. Africa      Rev. N. Chester Mcanyana
Kempton, Pennsylvania           Rev. Ragnar Boyesen
                         Rev. Andrew J. Heilman, Assistant Pastor
                          Rev. Arne Bau-Madsen, Associate Pastor
Kitchener, Ontario, Canada      Rev. Michael K. Cowley
(Carmel Church)               Rev. Kenneth J. Alden, Assistant to Pastor
Kwa Mashu, Rep. S. Africa      Rev. B. Alfred Mbatha
La Crescenta, California      Rev. John L. Odhner

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London, England
(Michael Church)           Rev. Frederick C. Elphick
Phoenix, Arizona               Rev. Frederick M. Chapin
Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania      Rev. Nathan D. Gladish
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil           Rev. Cristovao R. Nobre
                         Rev. Mauro S. de Padua, Assistant to Pastor
                         Rev. Jose L. de Figueiredo, retired; Assistant Minister
San Diego, California           Rev. Stephen D. Cole
Stockholm, Sweden           Rev. Goran R. Appelgren
Toronto, Ontario, Canada      Rev. Michael D. Gladish
(Olivet Church)               Rev. Wendel R. Barnett, Assistant Pastor
                         Rev. Barry C. Halterman, Assistant to Pastor
Tucson, Arizona               Rev. Frank S. Rose
                         Rev. David H. Lindrooth, Assistant Pastor
Washington, D. C.               Rev. James P. Cooper
                          Rev. Peter M. Buss, Jr., Assistant to Pastor

     Circle                                   Visiting Pastor or Minister

Albuquerque, New Mexico      Rev. Frederick M. Chapin
Americus, Georgia               Rev. C. Mark Perry
                          W. Harold Eubanks, Evangelist
Auckland, New Zealand           Rev. Arthur W. Schnarr, Jr.
Charlotte, North Carolina      Rev. William H. Burke
Connecticut                Rev. George D. McCurdy
Copenhagen, Denmark           Rev. Goran R. Appelgren
Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas
Dawson Creek, B. C., Canada      Rev. Glenn G. Alden
Denver, Colorado               Rev. David C. Roth
El Toro, California           Rev. Cedric King
Erie, Pennsylvania               Rev. Kenneth J. Alden
The Hague, Holland           Rev. Christopher D. Bown
Ivyland, Pennsylvania           Rev. Robert S. Junge
                         Rev. Yong J. Jin, Assistant to Pastor
J nkping, Sweden           Rev. Bj rn A. H. Boyesen
Lake Helen, Florida           Rev. Derek P. Elphick
Letchworth, England           Rev. Christopher D. Bown
Manchester, England           Rev. Christopher D. Bown
Montreal, Quebec, Canada
North New Jersey/New York      Rev. Erik E. Sandstrom
North Ohio                     Rev. Patrick A. Rose
Puget Sound, Washington      Rev. Erik J. Buss
(Cascade New Church)
Sacramento, California           Rev. Harold C. Cranch
St. Paul/Minneapolis, Minnesota
San Francisco, California      Rev. John L. Odhner
South Ohio                     Rev. Patrick A. Rose
Surrey, England               Rev. Fred C. Elphick
Tamworth, Australia           Rev. Arthur W. Schnarr, Jr.
Wallenpaupack, Pennsylvania      Rev. Arne Bau-Madsen

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     Note: Besides the General Church societies and circles there are groups in various geographical areas that receive occasional visits from a minister. This information is published in New Church Life periodically in "Information on General Church Places of Worship" (see August 1994 issue).
NEW ASSIGNMENTS FOR MINISTERS 1994

NEW ASSIGNMENTS FOR MINISTERS       Editor       1994

     1994-1995

     Nicholas W. Anochi has been recognized as a candidate for the priesthood of the New Church as of April 1st, 1994.
     The Reverend Andrew Heilman has accepted a call from the Kempton Society to be its Assistant Pastor, effective April 21, 1994.
     The following appointments/assignments were effective July 1, 1994:
     The Reverend Glenn G. Alden will be serving the General Church as Pastor of the Dawson Creek Circle on a part-time basis.
     The Reverend Goran R. Appelgren has accepted a call to serve as Pastor of the Stockholm Society.
     The Reverend Kurt Hyland Asplundh has accepted a call to be Assistant to the Pastor of the Chicago Society.
     The Reverend Mauro de Padua has been appointed as Assistant to the Pastor of the Rio de Janeiro Society.
     The Reverend Derek P. Elphick has accepted a call to serve as Pastor of the Boynton Beach Society.
     The Reverend Barry C. Halterman has been appointed as General Church minister in Canada under the leadership of the Executive Vice President of the General Church in Canada. Mr. Halterman will also be doing some work in the Olivet Church.
     The Reverend Cedric King will be serving the General Church as Pastor of the El Toro Circle on a part-time basis while also serving as a therapist in the Orange County area. The Reverend David H. Lindrooth has accepted a call to serve as Assistant Pastor to the Tucson Society.
     The Reverend Mark D. Pendleton has accepted a call to be Assistant Pastor of the Oak Arbor Society and Visiting Pastor to the mid-Michigan Group.
     The Reverend David C. Roth has been appointed Pastor to the Colorado area.
     The Reverend Yong (John) J. Jin has accepted appointment as Assistant to the Pastor in Ivyland, and General Church Minister in outreach to Korean-speaking peoples in the United States.
POSITION AVAILABLE 1994

POSITION AVAILABLE       Editor       1994

     The Academy Boys School will accept resumes from those interested in the position of Head Housemaster of Stuart Hall. This full-time position, with benefits, will commence August 1, 1995. Interested parties should submit a resume to: T. Dudley Davis, Boys School Principal, Academy of the New Church, P.O. Box 707, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009.

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NAME FOR THE COLLEGE 1994

NAME FOR THE COLLEGE       Dr. Charles H. Ebert       1994

     Committee Progress Report

     Almost a year ago a committee was appointed to look into the question of renaming the College of the Academy of the New Church. After some preliminary meetings it was decided to open the issue for discussion throughout the church with initial emphasis on college alumni.
     Initial response has been very encouraging, both for the idea of a new name and for the obvious love for the college that people express through their interest in the issue. Similarly, a college town meeting of students and faculty, in which several names were suggested for discussion, demonstrated the concern and loyalty of students for the college and the principles for which it stands.
     However, this initial stage of enthusiasm is, as expected, giving way to sober consideration of many factors as the committee members and others ask challenging questions. The purpose of this report is to address some of these questions and to seek response, especially in writing, from those who have not yet given counsel to the committee.

Some questions:

     1)      Do we need a different name for the present "College of the Academy of the New Church"?
     2)      Do a majority of church members-which includes students, faculty, alumni, patrons-want a new name?
     3)      How do we determine the answers to questions 1 and 2?
     4)      If the answers to questions 1 and 2 are affirmative, then by what process do we change the name?

Some answers:

     For the sake of discussion let us consider questions 1 and 2 as the understanding and will parts of the general question: Should we give the college its own name?
     First, consider the understanding part: Does the college need a new name? Another way of approaching this is to ask ourselves what name we would give our college if it came into existence now.

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We would want a name that would distinguish it as a college-not an "academy," a term typically associated with secondary education. Students and alumni of the college would want the name to clarify the collegiate aspect. (Even practical matters such as transfer to other colleges sometimes have been subject to confusion when transcripts arrive from both the Academy College and the Academy Secondary School.) Our present college has a faculty and, for the most part, facilities that are distinct from those of the secondary schools. Hence the college's name should reflect these distinctions. In essence the college should have a name that reflects its status as an outstanding, fully accredited liberal arts college.
     Now we come to the will question: Do we (or a sufficient number of us) want a new name for the college? Perhaps the question should be: Will a new name further promote the college with our young people and others, or will a change just be a cause for hard feeling and diminishment of support for the college? The only way to get a sense of these feelings is to start the naming process and look at the response. Support for a name change has been around for a long time, but the only way we can determine the strength of that support is to ask for response.
     Last spring we wrote to all Academy alumni indicating the motives for considering a change and asking for response. More than 100 letters were received. All but a few of the respondents favored a new name. There was no strong consensus on a name, but the top contenders were: Bryn Athyn College (of the New Church), Michael College, New Christian College, and College of the New Church. In a meeting of all current college students the following names were favored: Omnia Nova, New Church College, Emmanuel College and New Christian College. Even though the written and phone replies favor change, the committee has heard that there is strong opposition in some quarters.

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At our meeting this summer the committee decided to adopt a "go slowly" policy so as to allow for full discussion. We really would like to hear from more of our patrons. The more written response from alumni, students, and other supporters that the committee receives, the more accurate will be the assessment of church-wide feelings and thoughts.
     In upcoming months the committee will continue to discuss the college name issue in New Church Life and other church publications. As it receives response it will formulate a proposal for the Academy Board of Directors. The final decision will be made by the board.
     We encourage you to send ideas, comments, etc., to the chair, Dr. Charles H. Ebert, Box 717, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009, or send letters to the editor of this publication.
PAMPHLET ABOUT THE ACADEMY COLLEGE 1994

PAMPHLET ABOUT THE ACADEMY COLLEGE       Editor       1994

     We have received for review a particularly valuable pamphlet. It is part of the series "What Is New Church Education?" by Beth Johns. In 30 pages it gives an excellent overview of the College of the Academy of the New Church.
Swedenborg on the Internet 1994

Swedenborg on the Internet       Michael V. David       1994

     Anyone interested in Swedenborg or the New Church, with access to Internet mail, can be listed in an e-mail directory. Send your listing to: [email protected]
There is also a discussion group, running through a mailing list server. You can join that by sending a message that just says "ADD" to: [email protected]. As of October 25, there are 96 e-mail directory listings and 55 people in the discussion group, producing about 75kb of messages a week.
     Michael V. David,
     [email protected]

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Editorial Pages 1994

Editorial Pages       Editor       1994

     APPLYING TRUTH TO THE LIVES OF OTHERS

     Consider the skill of making valid application of the truth to the lives of other people. The passage in the Arcana about this is not labeling some as forever incapable of seeing how truth applies to their own lives. It is more positive than that. It is talking about progressive stages of life.
     At a certain stage of life one believes one is good when one knows many things from the Word "and is able to apply some of them not to his own life but to the lives of others" (AC 3603:3). That is a significant step. The things from the Word become more than abstractions. They apply to life-somebody's life-those other people's lives. There is real living connection with human experience.
     We should not belittle this step, although it might sometimes be amusing. Seeing how truth applies to the lives of others can be a kind of dress rehearsal for a later step. People who suffer from forms of addiction are sometimes said to be in "denial." And the denial is not that they see their situation but try to prove that it isn't so. They really don't see it yet. Rather than denial, it can be a kind of honest blindness.     
     This blindness can seem strange. "It is strange that anyone can find fault with another for his evil intentions, and say, 'Do not do that because it is a sin.'" This is from TCR 535, which goes on to say, "but he finds it very difficult to say that to himself." The difficulty is real. "Saying it to oneself involves the will, but saying it to someone else merely comes from a level of thought not far removed from the hearing."
     The Writings picture someone sitting in church while the preacher's words go in one ear and out the other. But in times of "break-through," the person really sees the connection in his own life, and then the truth goes into both ears. In fact it goes to the heart, and that person "becomes a Christian" (TCR 525).

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NEOPOST 1994

NEOPOST              1994




     Communications
To the editor and readers of New Church Life:

     I am writing to share with all of you the wonderful computer bulletin board that I have recently discovered. It's called Neo-Post, and it gives people from all over the world who read the Writings, and think about what they mean and what that says about their lives, a way to share those ideas, opinions, and feelings with the rest of the people on the system. The conversations cover just about any topic you can imagine: camps and the priesthood, Gorandman computer program, God's commands versus expediency, masculine and feminine aspects of personality, gender issues and rhetoric, ordination (or not) of women, evil and hell, the Bible in Klingon* (!), the various organizations founded on the Writings, and on and on. It's like an enormously expanded "Letters to the Editor" section in this publication or in the Theta Alpha Journal. Each week there's a digest of that week's communications, and of course there are the daily updates to the mail. I have been downloading the digest files and sharing them with a discussion group in Bryn Athyn whose members do not have computer-modem setups. We have the stimulus of new ideas and the extra interest provided by the fact that some of the ideas come from people we have not seen since high school, or maybe someone we've never met. Neo-Post has other offerings, such as the availability of text files of various works of the Writings (in English and Latin), and articles related to Swedenborgiana, the Internet, information about NewNet, and so on.
     *A language of extra-terrestrials found in the Star Trek television series

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     One of the nicest things for me about this bulletin board system is that even people who disagree strongly express themselves with charity and openmindedness, being careful to distinguish between their response to the Word and the Word itself.
     If you have access to a computer and a modem, I encourage you to try this wonderful new way of joining a community of active seekers of truths. To get you started, here is a useful address: Help/info: [email protected].
     Lori Nelson Kufs,
          137 Summit Avenue, Willow Grove, PA 19090,
           [email protected]
WOMEN AS PRIESTS 1994

WOMEN AS PRIESTS       Mrs. Beryl D. (Mrs. E. J.) Laidley       1994

Dear Editor:
     I disagree strongly with the opinions put forward by Mary Alden (NCL July 1994), who feels she has a vocation to serve the New Church as a priestess.
     I am sure that through a more specific New Church education Mary has a wider knowledge than I have of New Church teachings. However, I can still see the propriety of having an all-male priesthood. The priesthood is representative of that aspect of the Lord God which brings wisdom and truth to the people of the church. These aspects are the power base of the church and must be presented to us first, rather than affections and use.
     Women are not barred from serving the Lord, but they do serve differently from the priesthood, as lay men also do.
     Compared to the Lord's earlier churches (Jewish/Roman Catholic), our church is hardly even a weanling. Those churches haven't got the role of women in perspective either. I feel sure that gradually and steadily a wider understanding of the necessary balance of men and women in our church government will evolve.

561



     On a personal note, I must say that the thought of the Holy Supper being served by a woman is quite repugnant to me.
     Mary wrote of female Divine imagery. To me the imagery of God is not the imagery of maleness nor of femaleness, but the imagery of Godliness.
     Beryl D. (Mrs. E. J.) Laidley,
          Coffs Harbour, NSW, Australia
WOMEN AS PRIESTS 1994

WOMEN AS PRIESTS       Rev. Richard Keyworth       1994

Dear Editor:
     In the debate concerning women as priests there are three issues that stand out: representation, a feminine principle in God (or otherwise), and the role or roles of ministry. Regardless of which stand one takes, our effort should be to understand from what the Lord has revealed.
     Concerning representation, the effort to validate a male priesthood on this ground is fallacious. It has been said that priests represent the Lord, the Lord is male, therefore only males can represent the Lord. Priests do not represent the Lord! It is the priesthood that represents the Lord. The priesthood is representative of the Lord as to the work of salvation (see AC 9989, 9809). The representation is not in the person but in the office or use. The office is adjoined to the person. "All priests, no matter who they are or what they are like, do so [represent the Lord] through their priestly office . . . . The priestly office is sacred no matter who serves in it" (AC 3670:2).
     It has been asserted as a reason for a male-only priesthood that there is no feminine side to God. However, my reading of Scripture and the Heavenly Doctrine leads me to understand that there is, and I know others have concluded this. If there were no feminine principle in God, then the female could not exist as imaging something of the Creator. "God created man [Adam] in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them" (Genesis 1:27). "The understanding in the spiritual person is called male, and the will female.

562


Love which resides in the will is called the image of God" (AC 54). "Man was created to be a grasp of the truth, that is, the image of truth. Woman was created to be a desire for good, that is, an image of good" (CL 100).
     This does not mean that God is female, but that the female is an image of the feminine principle in God. In the Infinite, the masculine and feminine principles are united and flow out as such, but are manifested and received separately at the finite level.
     The point that has to be grasped for a proper understanding of these things is why God appears or is revealed as masculine. This is surely what the New Church is all about-entering with the understanding into the mysteries of faith. It is no good one side saying that it is a male sexist thing or the other just saying, "That is what is written!" That would leave us open to accusations of New Church fundamentalism.
     This is a profound matter, but in the briefest of terms, we come to know about genuine love and good by means of the understanding or the masculine principle in us. Though God's love and wisdom flow out united, they are received separately in us, because our will and understanding are separate. The influx from the Lord's will is not retained at first, as the basket of our mind is full of holes. There are as yet no vessels to retain it. The vessels are received via the understanding, beginning with knowledge from revelation. In short, God is revealed in the male form because He reveals Himself via the understanding or the masculine principle. We can come to know God in no other way!
     The reason that God is not or cannot be said to be our Mother would seem to have to do with the fact that we cannot know the Divine as it is in the Infinite. However, an image of the will of God, or the feminine principle, is given to us in the church. The church comes from God, for God can be wedded to or conjoin Himself to us only by means of the things that are His own in us. The bride describes the relationship of the church to the Lord, and the mother, the relationship of the church to people.

563



     We become a church or a mother generally and individually when we become nurturers of the spiritual life in one another, i.e., the salvation of souls. This points to the importance of evangelization to the existence of the church. To put it another way, we can come to truly know (not just know about) the mothering nature of God only through experience, by living the truth or the practice of charity. This happens when there is a marriage of the male and female principles, or the will and the understanding, within ourselves. Only then can the feminine principle of God exist with us. "As one whom his mother comforts, so will I comfort you. You shall be comforted in Jerusalem" (Isaiah 66:13).
     Women as members of the church must have a role in its task of the salvation of souls. There is no reason why they should not be on the front line rather than be forever assigned to the support role. There may be reasons why women are not suited to certain functions, just as men are not. I don't wish to examine the differences in judgment, etc. here, as it has revolved around women's filling men's role. It would seem that the greater problem is our limited view of the ministry. This limited view has been just as detrimental to men as it has to women. Ministry has generally been seen in the traditional pastoral, pulpit-filling aspect. If someone wanted to be a counselor or an evangelist, for example, it had to be within the strictures of a traditional pastoral setting. That leads to failures in traditional pastoral ministry and a lot of frustration within ministers. It would be a tragedy for women to be caught in the same trap.
     From my observations and discussions with women, and from my understanding of doctrine, there are roles for women in ministry or in a broader concept of the priestly uses, especially of a counseling nature where their perceptive capacity can come to the fore. Let us explore these things and not try placing square pegs in round holes as we have with men.

564


Can we learn something from the jobs allocated to the Levites, and from the ministrations of women in the Word? If our aim is to evangelize, to reach out and minister to the Lord in others, then He will enlighten us, and the church will be the richer for it. Our hunger and thirst for the salvation of souls will be satisfied.
     Rev. Richard Keyworth,
          Auckland, New Zealand
MALE-FEMALE 1994

MALE-FEMALE       Rev. Norman E. Riley       1994

Dear Editor:
     I have read with interest the comments in your communications section on the subjects of male and female, the priesthood, and whether one can reject certain teachings in the Writings and still be New Church.
     I believe that basic to a true understanding of any subject is a true understanding of the nature and being of God. The Lord alone is Life itself, Love and Wisdom in itself, the only Good and True itself, the Infinite and Eternal, from whom alone all things are and have their being.
     Male and female are created finite forms receptive of life, not life itself. As such they are terms which cannot be applied to the Infinite. The Lord alone is the perfect One in one Person, while the male and female become one only when united; this is the meaning and purpose of marriage.
     The will and understanding of the male are a masculine will and understanding, and the will and understanding of the female are a feminine will and understanding. By the very nature of their creation there cannot be anything that is masculine in the feminine nor vice versa, since this would rob them of the complementary use to each other and thereby deprive them of becoming one.

565



     The priestly office is adjoined to the person and is not the person himself. Its representative function, however, requires that it can be adjoined only to the one whose very nature is in agreement with that representation. Because the priestly function is to preach the truth which leads to the good of life, it can only be with those whose very nature from the Lord is the truth from good; this is the masculine form.
     All revelations from the Lord, which are the proclamation of the truth from good, have been given through the instrumentality of male beings. Likewise, when the Lord chose His disciples, and later commissioned them to go out and preach the Gospel, first in the natural world and then in the spiritual, they were all male beings. Further, it is of supreme significance to note that when the Lord came as "the Word made flesh," He presented Himself in the male form. This was not because He is male in Himself, as explained above, but because of the representation to us. We are to be led by the truth from good to the good of life itself: "No one comes to the Father except by Me."
     We cannot choose what we like and reject what we do not like in a revelation from the Lord. The seeming hard statements in revelation are not from itself; they are such from the proprium. As such they are most likely to be the ones to benefit our advancement towards a fulfilled life, which is our regeneration. To choose what is pleasing only to self is not an acceptance of the truth, since it is by means of the truth that we can be led to shun the evils of self as sins against the Lord.
     Rev. Norman E. Riley,
          Rochdale, England

     Letters continued on next page-

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GENDER AND THE WORD 1994

GENDER AND THE WORD       Robert L. Heinrichs       1994

Dear Editor:
     What a pleasure it is to receive New Church Life each month, full of thoughtful and lively discussion. My appreciation of this has certainly heightened now that Karen and I are among the "isolated."
     I have been following with interest the ongoing discussion concerning the gender-neutral terminology. Here are some of my thoughts.
     First, I asked myself, Why is this an issue now? Why wasn't this an issue fifty years ago? Didn't both women and men read the Writings then?
     Second, I went to the Old Testament and tried to convert important stories to gender-neutral stories.
     Third, I went to the New Testament and tried to convert the text to gender-neutral. Somehow, referring to Jesus as "that Person" just doesn't cut it.
     Finally, my thoughts went to the Lord's prayer. He instructed us to pray, Our Father who art in the heavens, not our Mother or our Great Heavenly Spirit who art in the heavens.
     Since this issue has arisen, I have found it distracting to my concentration and ability to get to the real meaning in my reading in the Writings. Therefore, I see this as a negative. I think we in the New Church should accept the threefold Word as it was written. Improving translation should be ongoing, but changing text to suit the human need for "gender equality" would be, in my opinion, profanation.
     Robert L. Heinrichs,
          Montrose, Colorado

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FURTHER CONCERNING MARY 1994

FURTHER CONCERNING MARY       Rev. Ian Johnson       1994

Dear Editor:
     It was perhaps rash of me to mention my wonderings about Douglas Taylor's sermon, "The Rejection of Mary." I touched on a vast and subtle subject which is probably better discussed in face-to-face groups than in a well spaced exchange of letters. But since Douglas was kind enough to respond to my letter, I'll have one more brief try at explaining my concern in your columns.
     So many people in the Christian world, by which phrase I mean to include New Church members, have a beautiful and revered idea of Mary-and so we should have! It originates basically from Luke's gospel, chapters 1 and 2, where Mary in one sense represents the affection for truth, the only characteristic through which God's truth can gain a foothold in our minds. She is simple, innocent, humble, trusting, gentle, caring, and willing to serve, in all of which she provides a fine role model for the church in us.
     How, then, could the Lord possibly reject her? "Reject" is a strong word, meaning in origin to throw back or throw away. Do the Writings ever speak of the Lord's rejecting anyone? I think not. And in the Bible, I believe, the Lord only appears to reject people, for it is we human beings who reject Him.
     The Lord certainly does reject evil and falsity, and in His earthly life He had to reject that bundle of weakly human tendencies to evil which He inherited through Mary. But that was not rejecting Mary herself, nor the beautiful affection she represents. He had also gently but firmly to insist that in His full character He was not her son. He rejected the fallacy but did not in doing so reject her. And clearly her unwillingness to be treated as anyone exceptional helped to bring her into heaven (see TCR 102:3). So I find talk of Mary's being rejected by Jesus disturbing, and I guess I'm not alone in this, even in the New Church.

568



     In the wider Christian world many people's estimation of Mary has been heightened by popular tradition, by Roman Catholic theology, or by revivers of old "goddess traditions." When Douglas says we mustn't be afraid to offend people, I agree, for Jesus told us that He came to bring division, but surely only where really necessary-where people are emotionally attached to a fallacy because it suits their own interests, or where their belief is so distorted that it contradicts essential truths. There are times when in the Lord's service we need to challenge fallacies head-on, but we know that He prefers to bend our misunderstandings rather than break them (see AC 2053). I do not doubt that the Lord can bend many distorted ideas about Mary into something nearer the truth, and indeed that He is doing so with many millions of people right now. I believe we can help Him if we try to imitate that approach.
     So I'm grateful for Douglas' sermon, from which I gained a lot at each reading. But I still don't agree that Jesus "rejected Mary," and I very much doubt that it helps anyone to talk in such terms.
     Rev. Ian Johnson,
          Croyden, England
LETTER FROM HOLLAND 1994

LETTER FROM HOLLAND       Guus Janssens       1994

Dear Editor:
     One of the exciting side effects of having a Swedenborgiana newsletter post office box is unexpected new communications. I want to write you about one of these which is related to the man who translated all the theological titles by Swedenborg into Dutch, the late Mr. Anton Zelling.

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     His heirs recently presented Swedenborgiana with his manuscripts, memoirs and books. Zelling not only accomplished a magnificent work as a translator of the complete Writings from Latin; during this process he also developed fine insights. Some pearls of wisdom were found in the "sermonettes" among his manuscripts. I feel that the following English interpretation of one of these may sound as fine fresh news to share.

     New Titles of the Writings Discovered

     (Original title: Rereading of the Word from Experience by Anton Zelling 1965)

     Imagine that apart from the Writings that we are familiar with, suddenly another totally new manuscript would be discovered. Would not all Swedenborgians all over the world get very excited, and not rest until they had obtained a printed copy in order to devour its words?
     Well, a rereading of any existing title of the Word may actually cause you the same excitement. Again and again it appears as new, and with every later reading this miracle repeats, more intensely, state after state. One can become embarrassed because of all the new wisdom not seen before.
     The human soul is formed in such a way that we are capable of feeling heavenly experiences in all real things of life. For instance, when you after many years see a favorite painting again in a museum, it feels as if the admiration has grown, has become more interior. Play or hear a beautiful melody again, and its sound descends more deeply into your affection. All old feelings can be renewed, and every new affection can be purified over the years, like good wine. This applies to Swedenborg's Writings in the highest degree, and this characterizes the essence of the New Church, because the Lord said: "See, I make all things new."
     In every (wo)man all fibers renew physically, in regenerating (wo)man all affections spiritually. Rereading brings us new revelation, like new seeds or eggs for following states of love, life and wisdom.

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The contents of the book of the Latin Word have not been given to be stored away in our memory at a certain moment-no! The Writings are powerful Divine influence, generating life and love, ultimately leading toward and into the highest heaven.
     When reading can already cause enlightenment, what then may a second reading accomplish? In every new state the Word occurs as new, and for the angels the Word with its inner sense is paradise, in which they enjoy dwelling forever.     
     Truly, one will not to eternity have finished reading the Word.
          Guus Janssens,

               Breda, the Netherlands
LOVE OF SAVING SOULS 1994

LOVE OF SAVING SOULS       Rev. Martin Pryke       1994

Dear Editor:
     In recent issues of New Church Life (pp. 326 and 421) reference is made to a man (or woman) being "in the love of saving souls." I suggest that this is an unfortunate expression. I cannot find it in my editions of the Writings except in n. 72 of the Doctrine of Life:

A priest who is in [the good of love toward the neighbor] as often as he teaches and leads, does a good work, because he acts from the love of saving souls (ex amore salvandi animas). One scholar who knows much more Latin than I do tells me that this could be an acceptable translation, but that a very accurate one would be "from the love of souls being saved."

     In any event it is clear that no man can save a soul; this the Lord alone can do. And so we read:

Priests must not claim for themselves any power over the souls of men, because they do not know in what state are a man's interiors; and still less must they claim for themselves the power of opening and closing heaven, because this power belongs to the Lord alone(AC 10795; cf. NJHD 316, AR 854e).

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     Other places speak clearly of the love of the salvation of souls (Life 39; Char. 160; TCR 422; D. Love XIII, 2). Should we not all (priest and layman, man and woman) be in this love? Is this not what spiritual charity (love of the neighbor) really is-a deep concern for the spiritual welfare of the neighbor? The difference with a priest is that he has chosen this as his life's work; he has studied and prepared himself; he has set himself the task of teaching the truth of the Word and thereby leading people to the good of life or to salvation. I hope that all people, in turn, support the work of the priesthood in a concern that all may find the path to heaven. I am sure that there are special ways in which women can (and should) take a part in this support of the priestly use.
     May I make a brief comment on another subject. In your August issue (p. 174) Miss Erin Martz raises the question of our frequent use of the term "Lord." I am sure that there are many personal reactions to our use of names for the Creator.
     I am confident that our use of the name "Lord" springs from no. 14 of the Arcana Coelestia, where Swedenborg declares his intention of using this name and gives his reasons:
     In all that follows, the name The Lord is used exclusively to mean the Savior of the world, Jesus Christ, and He is called the Lord without the addition of the rest of His names. Throughout heaven He is acknowledged and worshiped as Lord, since He has all power in heaven and on earth. This He also commanded when He said, "You call me Lord and you are right for so I am" (John 13:13). Furthermore, after the resurrection the disciples called Him Lord.
     Rev. Martin Pryke,
          Bryn Athyn, PA

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JOURNEY OF A HAPPY VIKING 1994

JOURNEY OF A HAPPY VIKING       Editor       1994




     Announcements





     This is a 200-page book written and published by Gosta M. Baeckstrom. It tells the story of his life and the people and places in it. Although it is intended for a wider readership than the New Church, it contains several references to the church. Here are some excerpts:

     Our father was the pastor in the Stockholm Society of the "New Church," which is headquartered in Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania. This church is based on the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg. Our father, who started this pastorate, was a very dedicated and successful minister . . . . He visited on a regular basis New Church circles in Oslo, Norway; Jonkoping, Sweden; and Copenhagen, Denmark.
     When my father first told me about the offer to attend the Academy Schools in Bryn Athyn, I was not very enthusiastic . . . . However, I was anxious to go to Bryn Athyn as I had heard so much about the center of our church. I had also met many wonderful people from there . . . . Bryn Athyn was everything I could have hoped for and much more.
     Many of the students come from other New Church societies in the United States and from countries all around the world. I was once such a student. On the campus is also a large new library, the Swedenborg Library, which was inaugurated by Queen Silvia of Sweden in 1988.
     The hospitality of the people in Bryn Athyn is well known to all members of the New Church and their guests. I can remember as a college student how many families welcomed students into their homes.

     Among the excellent photographs in this book are shots of the author and his wife in the company of such people as the King of Sweden, the Mayor of Philadelphia, cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin, and various ambassadors and officials. There is also an especially fine photograph of the Bryn Athyn cathedral.

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Revisit your memories of Christmas past! 1994

Revisit your memories of Christmas past!       Editor       1994

     Keep the "spirit of Christmas" year 'round and enjoy a General Church video for "Christmas present" and for those yet to come!
     For further information, or to place an order, call the General Church Book Center at (215) 947-3920

     HOLIDAY VIDEO SELECTIONS (Ask about our other video selections.)

FILE NO.           SERVICE                                   COST

GCV92-5          1992 Bryn Athyn Church
               Christmas Tableaux (less narration)          $12.00
                    Rev. W. Barnett
GCV92-6          1992 Bryn Athyn Church
               Christmas Tableaux (long version)
                    Rev. W. Barnett                          $12.00
                    "Facing the Lord: Turning
                    Your Back on the Devil"
                    Rt. Rev. P. Buss
GCV92-8          "Invitation to the New Church Teachings
                    -Bryn Athyn Cathedral"                $8.00
                    Rev. G. Schnarr
     copyright 1994 Renaissance Business Strategies for The General Church Video Committee