SPIRITUAL DESPAIR       Rev. N. BRUCE ROGERS       1979


NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. XCIX          JANUARY, 1979          No. 1
     I am troubled; I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long. Psalm 38:6.

     In all of our lives we experience times of trouble and despair, states of depression when we feel that we cannot cope any longer with the tasks before us, that our efforts are without meaning or value, or that we ourselves are worthless and hopelessly unredeemable. Fortunately, for most of us, these states do not last forever, nor will they last without end for anyone in the spiritual world to come; but when we are in them, they can seem as if they will last forever, and they can be very severe. Life then seems hopeless; we seem hopeless.
     In this, we are all brothers and sisters in tribulation. There are no exceptions. No one escapes these periods of self-doubt and self-accusation; no one is immune to at least occasional states of belief that, taken in sum, all he has said and done has been pointless, and worse, harmful, a negative influence on the world into which he has been born, and that all he can expect is more of the same-to continue a burden on those whom he loves, useless to them, useless to the world, a failure forgotten by God, if there is a God, unable to love as others do, incapable of wisdom, painfully selfish and self-centered, materialistic, and above all, alone, really alone, inwardly battered and beaten.
     Everyone, at least as he enters into his adult years, feels such states of depression and despair from time to time, varying in intensity, varying in frequency and persistence, and varying also in quality, but nevertheless periodically occurring. Sometimes, moreover, there are obvious causes. Quarrels and fights with relatives, friends, or fellow-workers, rejection by those whose favor and affection is wanted, loss of a loved one, failure in some important endeavor, public disgrace, real or imagined, serious financial reverses, extreme fatigue, physical illness, and a host of other like causes, can all precipitate moods of hopelessness and despair. Emotional illness, too, can bring on such states, and often does, when life seems beyond coping with and uncontrollable emotions and feelings overwhelm both reason and freedom. Psychiatric and other counseling services address themselves to these states and their causes; and insofar as the causes lie within the natural arena of life, human arts and science can be of real benefit in restoring to equilibrium thoughts and feelings that have lost perspective, or lives whose straitened circumstances can only be helped by the aid of others.
     But there is also another cause of states of hopelessness and despair, a more interior one, and that is spiritual infestation and temptation. This cause is not so readily recognizable, because its origin is imperceptible;* it is, nonetheless, real. Furthermore, it operates in what would normally be called healthy minds, and especially in those which are on their way to becoming truly healthy, healthy spiritually, by regeneration. It can operate as well apparently apart from any external circumstance, so that the moods and states of mind it produces are seemingly without any cause at all.
     * See AC 1717:3, 4249:1, 4256c, 5036:1, 2; HD 187, 196; TCR 596:2
     To say that the cause is not readily recognizable or that the origin is imperceptible, however, is not to say that the effects are not perceptible. On the contrary, the effects of spiritual temptation call be just as real and painful as those of what may be called natural temptations or trials. One effect, indeed, is despair, a sense of hopelessness, and that is something we feel.* It also is a despair that grows and becomes more and more interior as we spiritually progress, as we become more aware of what we are and what we should be.** Grief, anguish, a sense of devastation and desolation, horror at ourselves and fear for what we shall become, all these are ingredients of the despair,*** and this sometimes seemingly without any cause outside of ourselves. In this state, our prayers go unanswered;**** we are ready to believe that God neither notices nor cares.***** To all perception we are alone.****** What is the matter with us, we ask; but there is no answer.
     * AC 1787, 1820:1, 1917, 2334, 6144, 6828, 7147e, 7166, 8164:1, 8171, 8351; HD 196
     ** AC 8567*** 1787, 1917, 2334, 6144, 6828, 8162, 8164: 2, 8171; HD 187, 188, 196
     **** AC 8179:3
     ***** AC 840, 2334, 1820:1
     ****** AC 2684
     And there is no answer because we have lost our sight of truth. This is another effect of spiritual temptation, and it, too, is something that we really feel.

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We grope for the truth, but cannot find it.* What light we have had flickers and grows dim.** We cannot remember what we have learned;*** or if we do remember, it no longer seems of any use.**** Indeed, how can it even be true?***** All that we know only seems to accuse and condemn us,****** to say to us, all is vanity, there is no God.******* What is true? We swim in our thoughts without direction, without advance, until it seems we can think no more.********
     * AC 2682: 2, 2684, 2694:2, 5279, 7147, 6828
     ** AC 1820:4
     *** AC 5279, 7147
     **** AC 6828, 8349:2
     ***** AC 653, 1820:3, 7147, 8159:3
     ****** AC 1917; AR 100          
     ******* AC 840
     ******** Cf. AC 7155
     Yet we continue to think, and what we think continues to accuse and condemn. Our past life rises up to confront us-every ill-chosen word, every ill-chosen deed-until it seems that we have favored in thought nothing but falsity, cherished in will nothing but evil.* Even those things that we have said and done in innocence, without malice, now seem shot with flaws and but a mask put on for the sake of some artificial and hypocritical role.** Insincere pretense! Must we not plead guilty?***
     * AC 751:1, 5036:2, 5, 5246, 6202, 8159:1; HD 196
     ** AC 751:2, 6202          
     *** AC 5036:4, 5
     So we feel guilty, at times almost unbearably guilty, another real sensation produced by spiritual temptation, and this can be a feeling of guilt not only for what we have been but for what we are now. For along with our loss of a sight of truth, if we progress far enough in the life of our reformation, there come sooner or later times also when we experience a loss of our feeling for good.* No matter what we have felt in the past, in this state we now feel incapable of loving anything good, of loving what lye are supposed to love, even of loving anything at all. In the extremity of the state, even our old natural delights no longer seem to give pleasure.** If we have any affection at all, it is apparently for evil;*** and we may begin to fear for our lives, that if we go on as we should, if we can go on as we should, we will never experience any real enjoyment of life again.****
     * AC 5279, 6828          
     ** AC 2272, 8413:2
     *** AC 751:3, 1820:3          
     **** AC 5662
     Thus torn between guilt and despair, in spiritual temptation we find ourselves in inward anguish and mental pain and torment that is just as real as any arising from natural causes,* even though for the most part we do not discern the reason. We may begin to doubt our sanity. One thing we do not doubt, and that is the possibility of our regeneration and salvation.** We are in hell, or that is how we feel,*** and in hell, it seems, we will be forever.

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"For temptations are continual despairings of salvation, in the beginning slight; but in course of time grievous, until at least there is doubt, almost denial, of the presence of the Divine and of His aid. In temptations the spiritual life is for the most part brought to this extremity. . . ."**** We are burdened with the thought that we are among the worst of all people, and we are oppressed in mind and heart by the idea that we are therefore unsalvable, without hope, left to ourselves to sink with none to help.
     * AC 1917; HD 187, 196; TCR 666:1
     ** AC 2334:112694:3, 4, 6828
     *** AE 730:33
     **** AC 8567
     Thus do we suffer, and these states can moreover be aggravated by our natural circumstances. Though it has been said that these states of temptation can come, and sometimes do come, apparently apart from any external cause, it is also true that they can as well be precipitated by natural trials of life. For spiritual temptations and natural temptations can take place conjointly,* and frequently do,** the natural serving as the occasion for the onset of the spiritual.*** The experience of spiritual temptations and the anguish and despair they produce is then made more grievous and painful. This is not to confuse merely natural trials with spiritual temptations, for in themselves the two are quite distinct;**** but it is to observe that the presence of the natural does not exclude the spiritual, and indeed, with good people, or those in their reformation, the natural more often than not invites the spiritual,***** so that in these cases the cause and nature of the despair and depression is not to be sought in the natural circumstances alone.
     * AC 8392
     ** AC 8164:2               
     *** HD 196 [Although this footnote is listed there is no indication of where it goes.]
     **** AC 762, 847:2, 3, 8164:1, 8392; HD 189
     ***** AC 8164:2
     Where else then is the cause to be sought? The origin of spiritual temptation is in the spiritual world, where evil spirits infuse themselves into a person's inner life and stir up his evils and false persuasions;* they may even induce new persuasions by which to carry on their attack, and commonly do.** Past deeds and thoughts are called to remembrance, and the evil spirits emphasize the evil and false ones, while those things which have been done well and wisely they misconstrue and misinterpret so as to make them appear evil and false too.*** This they do in order that through the memory and through persuasion they may eventually attack the will, and when they do, they put present motives into question as well, and so fire the affections with their own malice and foul appetites that all capacity for good seems to be gone.**** Their purpose is by these means to destroy what good loves a person may have, by calling their goodness into doubt, and by inducing despair over the possibility of the good ends to which they look ever being realized.*****
     * AC 4299:1, 5035, 5036, 6828, 7147, 8351:2; HD 187, 197; TCR 596:2
     ** AC 1917
     *** AC 751:1, 2, 5036:2, 4, 5, 6202, 8159:1; HD 196
     **** AC 751:3, 1820:3, 4
     ***** AC 1820:1, 2, 1787, 8164:2

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     All temptation is therefore described as an assault upon the love in which a person is, by bringing it into doubt and despair concerning its hopes and aspirations.* What is more, the degree and severity of the assault is consequently inwardly determined by and proportionate to the nature and intensity of the love. The greater the love, the more anguish there is when its objectives seem lost.** Herein lies also the distinction between spiritual temptations and merely natural ones; for in spiritual temptations it is some spiritual love that is brought into despair, while natural temptations arise from assaults on merely natural loves.*** It is a spiritual temptation when the depression and despair are over one's seeming inability to believe in the Lord, to trust Him and His Providence, to really love the neighbor and live a life of genuine faith and charity, when what is feared is the loss of one's spiritual salvation; and it is natural temptation only when only natural loves suffer. That is why only those who are in some genuine love of good undergo the experience of spiritual temptations, for only they have a spiritual love to be called into spiritual doubt and despair.**** Otherwise there would be no spiritual temptation, no spiritual trial; people without spiritual love would not care; at the approach of the hells they would simply yield and succumb.*****
     * AC 1690:3, 1787:1, 1820:1, 214274, 9937:6; HD 196
     ** AC 1690:3, 6, 1820: 1, 2, 5     
     *** AC 847:2, 8164; DP 141
     **** AC 4299:1; AE 247          
     ***** AC 4274e
     So spiritual temptation is only possible with the good, or those in whom good is struggling to reign; and the conflict is sustained because as evil spirits stir up evils and falsities, the Lord and His angels defend that good and oppose and resist the assaults of the hells.* It is this conflict of opposing forces in us that makes temptation what it is. Though we are seemingly overwhelmed with evils, it is precisely our love of good that causes us to feel anguish and despair an account of them. It is also our love of good which gives us a perception of them, for only good perceives evil as being evil.
     * AC 4274, 5036:3, 7147, 8159:3, 8351:2; HD 188; AR 100; TCR 596:2
     But this latter point deserves qualification, because what we see in spiritual temptation is not always the truth; indeed, in the midst of the struggle, our perception is blurred and the truth distorted. The reason is that though temptation is an assault upon love, the attack is carried on by an injection of false persuasion.* The hells cannot flow into our good loves directly. Only by lies can they try to persuade us, of ourselves, to abandon our good loves and yield to our evil ones.
     * AC 4341:2; TCR 596

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     Lies are what they therefore try to have us believe. Evil spirits stir up our proprial will, and then tell us that that is all we are. They confuse the truth, and then tell us it is not really true. They tell us that we cannot be saved, that there is no use trying. They tell us that God neither notices nor cares, when the whole Word testifies to His omniscience and omnipresence, and to His willingness and omnipotence to save. They exaggerate our selfish and worldly affections, and frighten us with our frailties. Good motives and intentions they cast doubt upon, and twist them so that they no longer appear good. Every fault they make into an insurmountable stumbling-block, and they slight every virtue. Such is the nature of the assault, which they carry on in order to break us of our good intentions, to persuade us in our despair to yield to their will, no longer to persevere in the path of light and uprightness.
     Of this, however, we are but little aware. The activity of evil spirit on the one hand, and the activity of the Lord and His angels on the other, is hidden from our view.* We only feel the effects that have been described, and these often only in a very general manner. The anguish and despair and desolation are real, and painful, but it is difficult for us to analyze why we are feeling that way, or to know how to proceed in the face of it.
     * AC 751:3, 4249, 4256e, 5036:2; HD 196; TCR 596:2
     One thing we can do is to learn more about the nature of spiritual temptation, because the struggles of temptation are inevitable if we are to become angelic men and women, that is, men and women who are truly loving and wise. There is no regeneration without the combats of spiritual temptation. Knowing what we are experiencing, and understanding these states, can help us both to accept them and to know how to deal with them.*
     * Cf. DP 320
     Another thing we can do is to learn to accept them. Accepting these states does not mean yielding in them. The false persuasions must be resisted, and the lies are not to be believed. But in resisting the falsities, we can at the same time learn not to resist the uses for which temptations are permitted. One use is to break us of our proprial thoughts and will, of our arrogance and impatience with others and of contemptuous pride in our false sense of self-sufficiency, of our love of the natural world and belief in its joys alone; to humble us in our own eyes that we may admit our need of the Lord and turn to Him for our redemption.* Arrogant or angry refusal to accept these things can only prolong the pain of spiritual conflict, and make repetition of the experience a more frequent necessity.

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Humble acceptance, on the other hand, brings with it a confirmation of good and truth,** and an eventual perception of happiness in new life*** thus cutting short the pain of spiritual temptation and reducing the need for its repetition.
     * AC 730:1, 1692:1, 1717:3, 2213; 2, 2334, 2694:2-4, 8567, 8966, 5129
     ** AC 1691:1, 1717:3, 2273, 2334, 5279, 5356, 8966
     *** AC 5356:2, 6144, cf. 5246:4, 5279e
     And finally what we can do in the grip of temptation is to turn to the Lord. We all know that this is what we should do, but we do not always know or remember how it is to be done. Prayer alone is not sufficient.* We must actively of ourselves fight against the persuasions of the hells,** by clinging doggedly to the truths of the Word,*** even if at the time we temporarily lose our perception of their truth; and we must remain in our active life,**** doing the things we know we should do, and shouldering the burdens we know we must shoulder. We cannot retreat into ourselves, nor can we look for escape. Spiritual temptations cannot be run away from; they have to be accepted and overcome, or else we yield in them. We overcome in the name of the Lord when we persevere in the duties He has laid upon us, and when we do so in an acknowledgment that only He has the power to save.***** For of ourselves we have not the power to save ourselves, we have not the power to overcome the hells; only the Lord has the power, and it is He who fights for man in temptation.****** His power becomes as it were our power, when we fight back as if of ourselves, by persisting in doing what we know He would have us do, and at the same time acknowledging that we do so from Him.******* Amen.
     * AC 8179:2, 3
     ** AC 8176, 8179:2, 8969; HD 200
     *** HD 191
     **** AC 8179:3
     ***** AC 8172, 8176, 8179:2, 8969; HD 195, 200
     ****** AC 1692:2, 8159:5, 8175; HD 195, 200
     ******* AC 8159:5, et al.
APPLICATIONS FOR ADMISSION TO THE ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH COLLEGE 1979

APPLICATIONS FOR ADMISSION TO THE ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH COLLEGE              1979

     Requests for application forms for admission to the Academy College for 1979-80 should be addressed to Dean Robert W. Gladish, The Academy of the New Church College, Box 278, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009. Completed application forms and accompanying transcripts and recommendations should be submitted by March 15, 1979.
     It should also be noted that the College operates an a three-term year and that applications for entrance to the Winter and Spring terms of the current academic year can be processed, provided that they are received by Dean Gladish at least three weeks prior to the beginning of the new term.

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GOD HAS NO GORANDCHILDREN 1979

GOD HAS NO GORANDCHILDREN       KATHY STOECKLIN CREHORE       1979

     (A speech delivered at the 4th Ohio District Assembly banquet, Sept. 30, 1978.)

     Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom.* It must also be briefly told what a full state is. Every one, whether damned or saved, has a certain measure which is capable of being filled. . . . In the other life this measure is filled with everyone; but some have a greater measure, some a less. . . . This measure is acquired in the world by means of the affections which are of the love. The more any one has loved evil and derivative falsity, the greater is the measure he has gained for himself; and the more any one has loved good and the derivative truth, the greater is his measure. . . . Hence, it is evident that this measure is the faculty gained in the world for receiving either evil and falsity, or good and truth.**
     * Luke 6:38
     ** AC 7984:3
     Some of you are probably wondering why I, an adult newcomer to the New Church, was asked to speak tonight. As I recall, it was at our annual North Ohio New Church picnic, held after our annual North Ohio New Church service in the park, that Charles Gyllenhaal asked if I would like to give one of the speeches at the Assembly, sort of from the perspective of a person who had not grown up in the New Church. Immediately, I had visions of giving a forty-five-minute monologue relating all those exciting, funny little experiences of the novice in the New Church. Not quite, said Charles. Instead, he wanted me to present a fifteen to twenty minute comprehensive examination of the Writings; later, he sent me a short, two page outline of various aspects I might want to "touch" on. I guess the only word to describe my state would be desperation, but here I am, returning to my old home.
     Seriously, the topic is the Writings, a survey of the contents and some comments on our responsibility to, for, and with the Writings. The distinctiveness of the New Church centers on the Writings. Think about this for a moment. Most churches "out there" are selling a social structure, a "name" church, an organized set of activities in the community, even the personal appeal and fund-raising ability of a certain minister.

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The person who comes to the New Church, and stays, must confront, understand, and accept the collection of Swedenborg's theological works known as the Writings, as being the Third Testament of the Word of God.
     What exactly are the Writings? How many works are there? What topics do they cover? What are we to understand from the reading and studying of these works?
     A listing of the works in the Writings is difficult! Each reference book has a seemingly different list. Perhaps the easiest way to outline the works is to use the method of Frank and Donald Rose in their 1970 pamphlet, "That All May Know." In order of date of actual publication, the works of the Writings are eighteen:

     1749-1756                    Arcana Coelestia

     1758                     Heaven and Hell
                              New Jerusalem and Its Heavenly Doctrine
                              Last Judgment
                              White Horse
                              Earths in the Universe

     1763-1764                    Doctrine of the Lord
                              Doctrine of the Sacred Scripture
                              Doctrine of Life
                              Doctrine of Faith
                              Continuation of the Last Judgment
                              Divine Love and Wisdom
                              Divine Providence

      1766-1771                    Apocalypse Revealed
                              Conjugial Love
                              Brief Exposition
                              Influx
                              True Christian Religion

     Then we would add to that list "a great many unpublished manuscripts, among them the following:. . ." These are known as the Posthumous Works.

     1747-1764                    Spiritual Diary

     1757-1759                    Apocalypse Explained

     1759-1763                    Athanasian Creed
                                   De Domino
                                   Prophets and Psalms

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                                   De Verbo
                                   Last Judgment (Posthumous)
                                   Divine Love
                                   Divine Wisdom

     1766                     Doctrine of Charity
                                   Five Memorable Relations
                                   On Marriage

     1769-1771                     Canons
                                   Ecclesiastical History of the New Church
                                   Coronis
                              Invitation to the New Church

     plus a few others.

     The Roses contend that the principal series of Writings should be the published series; the posthumous works, excepting for the Spiritual Diary and Apocalypse Explained, represent 10% of the total works; some of these small works (indeed some are really fragments) are seen to be first drafts of passages in the published works, while others are mere extracts from Swedenborg's letters.
     Keeping in mind these two distinct lists, the published and posthumous works, let us explore another attempt at classification of the Writings. We can group the Writings under three general categories:

     (A) The Expository Works - those devoted mainly or entirely to the systematic exposition of the internal sense of certain books of the Old and New Testament.

     Grouped here would be: Arcana Coelestia, Apocalypse Explained, Prophets and Psalms, Apocalypse Revealed.

     (B) The Philosophical Works* - This heading refers more to form and content of the material.
     * Ed. note: Mrs. Crehore, in using this familiar term, does not refer to Swedenborg's pre-theological philosophical writings, but to those theological works which are philosophical in content.

     Grouped here would be:      Apocalypse Explained (inserts), Divine Love, Divine Wisdom, Divine Love and Wisdom, Divine Providence, Conversations with Angels, Five Memorable Relations, Intercourse of the Soul and the Body.

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     (C) The Doctrinal Works - Subdivided further into the areas of Theological, Moral, and Historico-Doctrinal and Descriptive.

     Under Theological          Heaven and Hell, Heavenly Doctrine, White Horse, Athanasian Creed, Concerning the Lord, Word of the Lord from Experience, Precepts of the Decalogue, Doctrine of the Lord, Doctrine of the Sacred Scripture, Doctrine of Faith, Summary Exposition, Justification and Good Works, Sketch of the Doctrine of the New Church, Canons, Ecclesiastical History, True Christian Religion, Nine Questions, Coronis, Consummation of the Age, Invitation to the New Church.

     Under Moral          Doctrine of Life, Doctrine of Charity, On Marriage, Indices to a Work on Conjugial Love, Conjugial Love.

     Under Historico-Doctrinal and Descriptive          Spiritual Diary, Earths in the Universe, Last Judgment, Last Judgment (Posthumous), On the Spiritual World, Continuation concerning the Last Judgment, Memorabilia for the True Christian Religion.

Naturally, I will not be talking about each work, but I do feel this classification is a help in reviewing the Writings, so let us just look at some of the works in each category.
     The expository works are systematic expositions of the internal sense of the books of Genesis, Exodus, Revelation, and the Prophets and Psalms. Our eyes are opened to the real internal sense, elucidated from the historical perspective of churches, people, nations, events. Revealed are the basic doctrines to be repeated later in the theological works in much greater detail: regeneration, redemption, glorification, the consummation of the Old Christian Church and completion of the Last Judgment with the formation of the New Heaven and the New Church. Also there are the inserts in Arcana Coelestia which are later lifted out to form entire works such as New Jerusalem and Its Heavenly Doctrine, or Earths in the Universe. We must never lose sight of the great importance of knowing there is an internal sense to the Word.

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This importance is given especially in Heaven and Hell 310 and AC 3316: knowing and remembering that the internal sense exists, man should think from this knowledge as he reads the Word, so that he may come into interior wisdom and be still more conjoined with heaven, thereby entering into ideas like angelic ones.*
     * Cf. HH 31
     In contrast, the philosophical works provide a doctrinal insight into confines of science, philosophy and psychology. The treatise, Divine Love, reviews the nature of love, to derive and develop the doctrine of use; the companion treatise, Divine Wisdom, describes the interior organization of the human mind as the receptacle of love and wisdom from the Lord. Divine Love and Wisdom may be called the metaphysics of the Writings; it sheds the light of heaven on the nature of God, of man and of the world, and its degrees and uses. As a new comer to the New Church, I found a great deal of solace within that very difficult work, Divine Providence. Here is the work on the Lord's government in action-the laws, the order, the Divine providence, the Divine permission. For one year our North Ohio group (and particularly me) struggled, struggled, struggled through the chapters-and I must admit I despaired of making any sense in my mind. Then, as so often happens in our lives, the path to understanding was illuminated by tragedy. My husband and I were advised that his brother-in-law was severely injured in a senseless accident; if he lived (which he did), he would remain a paraplegic. That night I re-read those portions of Divine Providence dealing with the Divine will and Divine permission. Here are the answers for the questions man so often asks: the Lord permits evils to occur because of the necessary freedom we must have to choose between evil and good. Yet the Lord, in His Mercy, permits only those evils to occur which may prompt a man to make the necessary changes in his loves for his eternal salvation.
     Under the third classification of Doctrinal works, we will begin with a survey of the theological works. Heaven and Hell, the longest of these works, contains the organized doctrine of the spiritual world. While this was not the first book of the Writings I read, I can understand its great appeal as an "introductory" work, especially for one seeking a rational yet descriptive confirmation of the existence of an after-life. Two years ago I read a book by Ruth Peale (Norman V.P.'s wife), and her relation of a counseling session of Norman's for a recent widower made me wonder again if some of the prominent theologians since the time of Swedenborg don't purposely "lift" doctrine from the Writings to supplement what they cannot derive literally from the Old or New Testament.

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Most of the small works belong in this category; of greatest interest to the New Churchman should be the work entitled Brief or Summary Exposition. This work compares the doctrinal tenets of the Catholic and Protestant Churches with our doctrines; shows that the New Church is separate from the old in the spiritual world and therefore must be separate in the earth; and demonstrates that without the Second Coming of the Lord, no flesh could have been saved. Here are the statements we revere and believe-the New Church is new and is a church, with distinctive organization and life. By the command of the Lord, Swedenborg inscribed a copy of Brief Exposition, now in the British Museum, with the statement: "This Book is the Advent of the Lord."
     Of course the ultimate example of theological works is True Christian Religion. Here in a very readable form are the principal doctrines of the New Church: the Lord, the Word, faith, salvation, worship, the church, and the Divine Trinity. During the summer after my wedding I read this work, and for the newcomer who needs the rational explanations of doctrine, I found this work as a cup of cool water to a very thirsty person. The simple statement in TCR 172 that the Divine Trinity can be likened to the soul, body and operation of a man resolved years of puzzlement for me.

     Moving into the moral works, we need to understand that "Moral truths are those which the Word teaches concerning the life of man with the neighbor which is called charity."* The longest work here is Conjugial Love, the complete statement on marriage, its uses and spiritual meaning, and lastly perversions thereof. Oddly enough, this was the first book of the Writings I read cover to cover, in the summer preceding my actually meeting my husband. I can well remember the conversations I had that summer with Rev. David Holm-how, of course, this had to be truth, it was so logical, so clear and concise. But beyond the form was the content-that in all aspects of our life we are to look to the Lord first: with conjugial love through marriage, ordained by the Lord as a primary use for man. What a refreshing change from the other churches; after all, the letters of Paul view marriage at best as a lesser good, and even today the major theologians can only make a shabby defense of marriage from personal beliefs, as well as making the mistake of stating that marriage is a covenant between two people.
     * D. WIS. 6:5
     Under the descriptive category are many familiar works such as Spiritual Diary, depicting inhabitants, phenomena and life in the spiritual world; Earths in the Universe, derived from sections of A.C., an illuminating examination of other spirits from different physical worlds than ours.

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I think the most interesting descriptive mode is that of the Memorable Relations, which are found in various works. Lest we dismiss these spiritual revelations as mere analogies for the curiosity-seekers, we should remember that the Memorable Relations can provide the following specific uses:

     (1) They can make the spiritual world more real to us.
     (2) They call serve as a basis for thought about and understanding of the spiritual world.
     (3) They can show the relation of men to spirits and angels.
     (4) They can illustrate how it is possible to live in two worlds.
     (5) They can show the origins of thoughts and affections.
     (6) They can illustrate the protection of the Divine providence.
     (7) They can show in a striking manner where our loves and our thoughts may lead us.
     (8) They can give us an objective picture of the spiritual world; confirm and illustrate many truths of doctrine, and teach other truths without seeming to do so.
     (9) They can help us to understand many things in the letter of the Word that would otherwise be obscure.
     (10) They can serve as an introduction to the spiritual sense of the Word and thus to the Heavenly Doctrine itself.

     Heavenly Doctrine, that is what the Writings are all about. These works are the Third Testament, the Advent of the Lord, the Consummation of the Old Christian Church, the Word. So simple and yet so profound. But the mere knowledge of what these books contain is not my message tonight. Tonight, I would have you look at the Writings through the eyes of the novice.
     The Writings, as with all parts of the Word, have one use, to instruct us along the path of spiritual development, if we desire to make that choice. But there is a catch; in fact, there are several. First, the use is personal. By that I mean each one of us, once we have made that individual, soul-wrenching commitment to give up self and follow God, can receive the necessary instruction by personally going to the Word for prayer, for meditation, for illumination, for comfort. There is no other alternative-only adjuncts. Sermons, tracts, books about the Word serve their purpose as adjuncts, but not as substitutes for the Word.
     The second catch is that the depth and breadth, the quality and quantity of our measure is formed here and now. Worse yet, it requires that we implement at every opportunity in a rather insensitive world this spiritual knowledge we have wrested from the Lord through His Word. Instead of just being passive vessels ready for filling, we are shocked into learning that our function in life is really to become a transmitter.

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And, as in the physical world, the best transmitters are those enlarged by time and practice in the functions of receiving, accumulating, sorting, sifting, storing and then transferring to the correct receiver as often as possible.
     There is one last catch. Those in the New Church cannot become complacent. It is not enough to be part of a church organization that knows and reveres the Word, including the Writings. We have sufficient warnings to indicate that the New Church will be numerically small, that few will be drawn to the Writings in this life. Yet, isn't our final responsibility to review our commitments to the Lord, to our fellow man in all our modes of relationships, and to our church-and them say, believing and willing, "Yes, Lord, let it begin with me"?
     Even if a person is privileged to be born and raised in the New Church, no one can coast on past memories of sermons and lessons. There is no second-hand spiritual legacy handed down from parents to children. God has no grandchildren-only willing sons. Each generation, nay, each person of the church, must confront the reality of life for what it is-all life is of religion-and make a decision whether to pursue life through the Word. In conclusion, I lay this challenge to you. At some future opportunity pick up your Liturgy and review those services in which you yourself participated: Baptism, Confirmation, Betrothal, Marriage, Holy Supper. We all took vows and made solemn covenants.
     Then ask yourself: If this is the life I truly want to live, what am I doing to accomplish it today, here and now?
APPLICATIONS FOR ADMISSION TO THE ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH BOYS SCHOOL AND GIRLS SCHOOL 1979

APPLICATIONS FOR ADMISSION TO THE ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH BOYS SCHOOL AND GIRLS SCHOOL              1979

     "Requests for application forms for admission to the Academy Secondary Schools should be made for new students before February 15, 1979. Letters should be addressed to Miss Morna Hyatt, Principal of the Girls School, or Mr. Donald C. Fitzpatrick, Principal of the Boys School, at The Academy of the New Church, Box 278, Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania 19009. Letters should include the student's name, parents' address, the class the student will be entering, the name and address of the school he or she is now attending, and whether the student will be day or dormitory. Please see the Academy catalog for dormitory requirements.
     "Completed application forms and accompanying material should be received by the Academy by March 30, 1979."

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HUMAN MIND 1979

HUMAN MIND       Rev. PETER M. BUSS       1979

     Introductory Teachings

     (The first of a series of seven addresses on the natural mind, given at the Educational Council, August, 1978; the first of two addresses by Mr. Buss.)

Introduction

     Many fields of human study are concerned with the mind. Psychology, sociology, anthropology-in fact all the human sciences and the social studies-can contribute to an awareness of human thought and feeling. From empirical data, we may know how men have behaved and reacted through the ages; and reflection on people's behavior, in this or any other age, gives us some concepts of human motivation and character.
     In the New Word, we have something altogether different-the Lord, who made the mind, telling us all about it. "My substance was not hid from Thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being imperfect; and in Thy book all my members were written, when as yet there was none of them."* The infinite wisdom which formed the human mind, and covered it over with the wondrous organism of the body, knows every state into which His creation can fall. Those in heaven, and those in hell; those in the uttermost part of the sea, or the ones who try to hide in the darkness: He knows their down sittings and their uprisings, He understands their thoughts afar off.
     * Psalm 139:15, 16
     In His final, most complete revelation, He has told us about it. "What is man, that Thou considerest him, or the son of man that Thou visitest him?"* He has said what man was like at the beginning before he knew depravity; what he becomes when perversion touches him; what the angelic mind is when reborn from natural into spiritual life; and He has spoken about the mind with the vast horde of middle-of-the-road people, who are as yet neither fully good nor evil. The New Word is a Divine psychology, given as only the Lord could give it. It does not attempt to do what psychology as we know it does, any more than it reveals the truth which science studies. It bears on the field of natural, physical, purely earthly fears and interests; but it speaks of them from on high. Human understanding can then look into the realm of experience, and see confirmation of these principles in human behavior.
     * Psalm 8:4

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     But the essential principle of the human mind is that it is an eternal soul. It has everlasting loves and longings as well as social and natural desires and thoughts. The mind's spiritual contents are our field of interest.

     *****

Descriptions of the Mind

     The mind is the man himself. The body, and the brain which is physical in structure, are only the external of the mind, and clothe it while on earth.* The affections and thoughts which make up the mind are the real man, and are, if you will, spiritual substance, the reality of human life.**
     * DLW 369e
     ** DP 196; 299; cf. TCR 156; ISB 13
     The Writings present a simple view of the universe when they state that there are two totally different substances which make up creation-natural substance, and spiritual substance. The body is natural, but the mind is not. It is not a product of this world, nor is its essence of the material of this world. It is not the brain, nor the electrochemical vibrations by which we detect thought. The soul, our inmost receptacle of life, is made of "superior spiritual substance," and can receive influx directly from God. The mind is composed of "inferior spiritual substance," which can receive influx only mediately from God through the spiritual world. The body is of natural substance, and its influx from God comes through the natural world.*
     * ISB 8e
     The mind is made of the substance of the spiritual world, and is an inhabitant of that world. The laws of the mind are so completely the same as the laws of the spiritual world that we must say that the mind is a spiritual world in its least form, and to know or understand that world is to know man.* To think of the mind, therefore, only in terms of its reactions to this world is to miss its frame of reference! Such thought sees only the physical and external human forces working on it, not the unseen spiritual forces, which do more to shape its destiny. Take for example a man who has had a terrible upbringing, in the worst of conditions, and has been given apparently little of joy or love to cling to throughout his formative years. Yet he has been able to rise above his environment and all the pressures, both material and human, which seemed to be dragging him down; and has become a most worthwhile and upright person. This may seem surprising from an earthly viewpoint, but in reflecting on such a person, we must not omit a half of creation from our consideration.

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From birth he has been surrounded also with countless forces for good, and the paltry experiences of love and understanding he received on earth were able to be cherished and quickened by heavenly societies into a whole panorama of angelic thought and feeling. He seemed, as so many people seem in this frequently tragic world, to be alone, yet thousands were helping him, all the time. "They that be with us are more than they that be with them."**
     * DLW 387; DP 299, 300
     ** II Kings 6:16
     The fact that the laws of the spiritual world are identical to the laws of the mind opens up a whole new world of human experience, and challenges us to seek a unique area of New Church literature and art; for the symbolism of that world is the essence of many forms of art and communication. But this subject belongs to the address on imagination. A message just as important is that once we know this teaching, we must regard the mind as a dynamic spiritual entity, which follows immutable laws, many of which are now known, here on earth. We can see growth patterns. We may know, for example, that contact with evil will inevitably-not just possibly, or sometimes-produce certain effects. In our culture we are beset with simplistic literature which asks us to believe that a person may delight in adulterous or cruel practices, and as a result of one uplifting experience become a faithful husband or a gentle person. Spiritual change does not work that way. It is slow, and ordered, and the pattern of many years is eradicated over many years. The mind is like the body: there may be miracles which cure it, but the miracle is according to Divine wisdom and order.
     The laws of the spiritual world and those of the mind may be equated at times. Time and space mean nothing to the mind, if it wishes to transcend them. Spiritual distance may be felt keenly, when in the presence of one with whom we disagree. The Writings tell us that the evil constantly have their backs to the Sun of Heaven. In choosing evil, a man does the same in his mind. A man on earth who comes to delight in an evil will hear about the Lord, maybe talk of Him often, but his face is not towards Him. Over years He becomes as satisfactorily shut out from that man's conscious interest as a man behind his back is from physical sight. He forgets what the Lord looks like, ceases to understand Him, is no longer sure of His ways. Eventually he forgets Him. This is why people entering the spiritual world so quickly forget they are in eternity, or that there is a God, for their minds have been forgetting for years-obeying the unconscious spiritual laws according to which they were formed. And-more mercifully-this is why a person can enter that world, and go straight to heaven, even though days before he knew nothing of his future life.

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Yet his whole existence has been lived in the law of love, guided by the wisdom of the Word, so he feels perfectly at home with heavenly surroundings. His mind is spiritual, and must eventually come among the spiritual, through the process we call death.*
     * DLW 239; TCR 354; AC 318

Will and Understanding

     A well-known teaching is that the mind has two compartments-will and understanding.* In its most obvious form, this is almost self-evident. We think and we feel. Perhaps we ought to reflect, however, on the teaching that the will and the understanding are the "two lives" of a man,** for this causes us to see the true nature of the human understanding.
     * DLW 372, General Article
     ** ISB 8               
     The life of the will is a delight in goods, or evils, or pleasures or joys. The life of the understanding is also a delight-the delight in thinking about, reasoning about, meditating on, or talking of ideas and truths. In all cases it is affection which gives life, and no thought is possible without it.*
     * AC 3066
     In the beginning of creation, the will and the understanding were united in such a way that a man could not delight in thinking about anything except what his will loved. With the fall, these two lives were separated. It then became possible for a man to delight in thinking about and reflecting on things which his will did not love. If he were evil, therefore, he could still enjoy thinking about, and studying, religious subjects; and the life of the understanding could be so formed by the Lord that a new will could grow up-if only he would, in externals, reject those evils which his old will loved.
     Nevertheless, it is the constant effort of creation to make these two lives into one life.* Through our choices, the affection of thought becomes united to the affections of love; until, a short time after death, no one has a divided mind.**
     * AC 2231; Life 43; cf AC 4574
     ** HH 425; AC 8250

The Contents of the Mind

     The mind of man is composed and "organized inwardly of spiritual substances, and outwardly of natural substances, and lastly of material substances."* The material substances are those of the body, and most particularly the brain. Its organization is used several times in the Writings to illustrate the more interior organic which is the mind itself.**
     * TCR 38               
     ** TCR 38; Cf. TCR 351; DLW 257

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     The natural substances, (which are not the origin of thought and feeling) are the finest things of nature. They are said to "recede" after death, and form a skin-like covering of the spiritual body, called the limbus.*
     * DLW 257; TCR 103, et al.
     The genuine contents of the mind are spiritual substances, or goods and truths. It is from these that we can feel and think, and they are more real to us than the things of this world. We are often tempted to think in terms of visible, tangible, material things like desks and tables and mountains as being the most real, because our eyes and our senses bear witness to them. Yet the world of ideas has far more authority! Let each one of us take a city, and think of all we know of it. Our knowledge is far from complete, and does not contain one millionth part of the government and geography of the city, yet on what do we base our assessment of the place? Usually on our impressions, and the feelings they have aroused in us. A national leader may neglect a certain city, and overlook its undoubted needs, because he got a bad feeling about it on a visit. The impression of the city in the world of his mind had far greater impact than the material "reality."
     The Cullinan Diamond, the Star of India, may have great beauty, if viewed by an impartial observer, yet would a woman make a change for the small diamond on her finger that signals her husband's love? It is not mere sentiment, her own ring has a greater beauty in her mind.
     The human mind is an extended universe, just as this world is, and just as the other world is. The mind is a whole world, and things are distinct from each other, and have spiritual distance from one another.* A little child has a very small world, made up of just a few goods and truths, or spiritual substances-his love of his toys, his family, the angelic remains. But every time he learns something new, a new dimension is added to his mind. It acquires an area of thought and feeling it did not have before. Just as his body grows, so does his mind, and its extensions are real. When he goes to school, a new department opens up. When he can read, it is the same, and also when his rational mind begins to develop. Mental horizons, we call them at times, and that is what they are, for the feelings and thoughts in our minds are spiritual dimensions, and the milestones of our lives mark another field or valley, to be walked in and explored.
     * SD 3470; TCR 38, et al.
     Swedenborg once spoke to spirits, and argued that just as sight could not exist without an organ of sight, which had parts, so thought could not exist without a spiritual organ, the mind, which was composed of sections and had extension.* Here on earth the organic receptacle of thought is the brain;** but the spiritual organization is eternal, in the eternal world, and survives the brain.***
     * SD 3470
     ** TCR 224
     *** AC 4390; DLW 257; DLW 373; TCR 38

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     Educators and parents are particularly concerned with the proper implanting of those substances, and their right organization in the growing human mind. The general teaching of the Writings is that goods, or affections are organized in the mind through influx from the Lord.* He is the source of all things, and it is His substance, that is, love and wisdom from Him, which forms the angel (or, even, the devil). The human mind, the Writings tell us, "is nothing but a form of Divine good and Divine truth spiritually and naturally organized."**
     * ISB 8               
     ** TCR 224
     The Lord's operations, however, are essentially threefold, and the feelings in the mind are organized by three different forces.* The first is the Lord Himself, the second is the spiritual world, and the third the natural world-which includes the people of this world.*
     * ISB 8e
     ** Ibid
     The Lord inflows through the soul, and is immediately present with all men. His presence is the most perfect ordering force, and under its influence, the mind is moulded into the human form. In those who allow this presence to operate, more and more strongly, the loves and feelings which are harmonious are brought closer together, and those which are different separated, so that the whole mind is prepared to perform a use in the Gorand Man of heaven. In fact, it is the same Divine influx which creates the Gorand Man of heaven, and instills in all parts of heaven the human form, which is doing the same within every least human mind. All of us have this most perfect presence, through the soul, but to a greater or lesser degree, depending on our innocence, our willingness to be led.
     The mind receives its second influx according to specific loves, from the angels of heaven or the spirits and devils. The Lord alone can touch the inmost soul, which is "superior spiritual substance,"* but the inhabitants of the spiritual world can "inflow," or affect the mind,-which is a lower substance. Ideally their influence would be the same as the Lord's, except on a more limited scale-seeking to inspire affections which the Lord would then guide into their proper places in the mind. But in the spiritual world in general we find a different type of influence. First of all, these affections are conscious, or many of them are, whereas the Lord's influx is not. We feel the presence of angelic societies, as they touch our minds-and we may call that touch "affection."
     * ISB 8

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     Secondly, societies throughout the spiritual world try to inspire a delight in their goods and truths, and sometimes their order is quite different from that the Lord would instill. Sometimes it is contrary. As the person on earth allows spirits to touch his mind, so their effect is to gather together all those feelings in him, and organize them so that what they, the spirits, enjoy are in the center, and things less accordant are banished to the perimeters. Each person is in freedom to choose what affections he will allow to be jockeyed into the forefront, as it were, but only Divine wisdom could oversee the entire process, and produce a human form from the incredible variety of feelings which come to us during our lives. If the Lord is deliberately excluded, a monstrous and disorganized mind is the result.
     Lastly, there is this world, and its influence comes through the body, through the five senses. The experiences of this world, the sensual pleasures, and sc, on, and the teaching and influence of the people of this world, are on the same level. The organization which this world puts on the mind is quite different from that of the two prior ones, for it is frequently haphazard, and always poorly organized, as it first enters the mind. Circumstances, the fact that a variety of things happen at the same time, our poor comprehension of what we experience, and many other factors, influence the order.
     We know very well that a talk on a subject will be remembered far better if the subject is clearly presented, under definite headings. The mind that is receiving it is able to assimilate it in a fairly organized way. If it is jumbled, then the mind has difficulty sorting it all out, and some facts will inevitably slip into recesses of the mind, and not fit into the whole subject at all. We also know that people learn things about the same subject in various ways, at various times, and so quite conflicting emotions can exist in the mind about the same subject. A child may love to experiment with chemicals in his home, yet hate "science" at school because the teacher is unkind; and it may take some time before these two different reactions to the same thing sort themselves out. Our feelings are quite contradictory, depending on the circumstances in which they grow up. How many couples have a favorite song, which they treasure because it was popular when they met, or fell in love, and yet the words tell of unrequited love, or of a selfish one? The discrepancy between the sad tune and the words, and their happy memories does not impress them; for many years the song remains woven into their feelings for each other, even though it does not belong there.
     Our feelings, therefore, are organized by these three forces, each of them inducing a certain order, a particular relationship between the goods, or substances, in the mind.*

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How about our thoughts? They are also organized by those same forces, but it is the goods in the mind which draw ideas and thoughts and truths to themselves, and bind them together around them. Truths, the Writings say, are "bound into bundles" by goods, which draw coherent and connected ideas to themselves, and organize them to express those particular loves.**
     * DP 326:3
     ** TCR 38; 351; AC 7408
     This principle is a most important one, for without that kind of organization of thoughts there would be no analytical power in the mind.* Each affection we have has a natural affinity for its own type of thought, and the stronger the affection we have for something the better we will recall the ideas about it, and the more orderly will be our thinking about it.**
     * TCR 351
     ** AC 3066
     Teachers will easily recall examples of this principle. A child may have difficulty learning many subjects, but be amazingly able at collecting and storing and organizing knowledge about one particular area of learning. We have always accepted that teaching requires us to instill an affection for what is learned. In its absence, discipline or a sense of order or affirmativeness may cause a child to learn, but because the affection and the things learned are not in true harmony, the learning is soon lost.
     We can reflect, however, on the vagaries of human learning. While we are here on earth, we learn from many different sources, and often it takes a long time before a piece of knowledge is joined to its companions, around an appropriate good. We may learn a fact, and file it in our minds under a useful heading, using our own freedom and the efforts of our minds to order it. It may be years before we discover that it has a bearing on a more important, or more interesting area of thought.
     The whole educational process is to allow the mind to assume an ordered form-a process in which the Lord and His creatures, in both worlds, work together within the freedom of the individual here on earth. The wisdom of the educator is to see how best to present his material so that the forces of heaven can instill their affections, and the ordering power of their influx. This human wisdom is always limited, but where it is sincere, its success is out of all proportion to its own endeavors.

The Degrees of the Mind

     It is not possible to understand the wonderful organization of the human mind unless we realize that its goods and truths are not all of one quality, and they are not together in the mind.

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The mind is tiered, with levels of affection and thought, one "above" the other, in a discrete order.*
     * DLW 186; 203, et al.
     The teachings about discrete degrees are well known in the Church, and they form one of the unique corner-stones of our new Revelation. In this address, I will assume a general understanding of the concept, and make reference only to a few key teachings about the degrees of the mind.
     The essence of discrete degrees is that there is no ratio between them: they are different in quality, although they correspond to one another. In the realm of knowledges: the truth to the sensual mind is that the sun rises and sets; the truth to the rational mind is that the earth revolves around the sun. It is a completely different plane of and quality of thought which gives rise to these two "truths." Note that both are true, in their own frame of reference; but the higher one contains more of the essence of truth, and the lower more of the appearance.
     Loves are of discrete degrees also. Take conjugial love, and the love of the sex. Conjugial love is spiritual, and love of the sex is natural, and there is no true comparison or ratio between them; for the one has its material for delight from the things of the world, and the other from the things of heaven.* Conjugial love is not just a refined love of the sex, it is a love of a completely different nature, and comes into being from a different origin.** The substances of the two loves. therefore are different.
     * CL 38, 39, 44, 47, 98
     ** CL 99
     It is immediately evident, however, that once one has a knowledge or a love on a higher degree, that produces a perception of the lower degree; but the reverse is not the case.* Once we know that the earth revolves around the sun, we may speak of sunrise and sunset without denying the truth. But, as Galileo found to his cost, the men who believe the testimony of their eyes must deny the rational truth. Conjugial love imparts a greater awareness of the natural and bodily charms of the one person loved; but concentration on the love of the sex alone destroys the conjugial, and makes the very idea of delight in one partner only to be lifeless. And, of course, if we are in a higher love, then the lower one is purified and refined. It is made of the same degree as the higher, and then descends to its own degree, as it were, in this purified form.**
     * DLW 203
     ** CL 447; DLW 215
     The human mind is composed of discrete degrees. The entire human being is in three degrees of life-soul, mind, and body.* The soul has degrees also-sometimes two are mentioned;** sometimes three.***

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The mind is generally divided into three degrees-celestial, spiritual, and natural, corresponding to, and composed of the substances of the three heavens.****
     * ISB 8, et al.
     ** AC 7270; 8443          
     *** DLW 432
     **** DLW 186, 203, 236, 273; CL 270, 305; DLW 239, 241
     A further division, which is most pertinent to our present series is of the natural mind itself into three discrete, different degrees of love and wisdom.* They are generally called the sensuous, the natural, and the rational, although the middle degree has several other names. They are discrete in that the substances which compose them are quite different. The sensuous mind is formed only for life here on earth, and delights in the things that come from sense experience. The middle natural is delighted by images and by representatives of love and wisdom; and the rational mind by abstract, or genuine truths and goods. "In each region there is a marriage of good and truth."**
     * DLW 275, 273, 277, 254; AE 1056:2, 739:2; AC 3020
     ** CL 270
     How are these degrees of life infilled, and opened? The Writings say that a degree of the mind becomes used when it receives into itself terminations.* When it receives in itself things in which the soul can delight, then the thought and feeling of that degree begins. Consciousness is the soul recognizing in a degree the quality of the things being sensated, and this produces thought.
     * AC 5145

     Terminations, therefore, are the raw material of each degree of the mind-they are goods and truths. The dynamism known as affection and thought conies from the activity of the soul upon these things, and man's free choice of particular responses.
     In the natural mind, terminations are produced by education.* We teach children things, and those things are impressed upon their memories, and a delight in them enters the mind. At first a child can assimilate only sensuous things, and that mind is filled up, more and more, as he grows. When it has reached a certain degree of fulness, the mind is prepared to receive living, moving pictures, and the middle natural begins to develop. When we teach rational concepts, the awakening of the third degree is stirred by the soul.
     * DLW 237; CL 305
     The spiritual and celestial minds are opened by regeneration, not by external education. The principle is the same, but the process somewhat different. In the knowledges of the natural mind there are spiritual truths, hidden within. When a man allows the Lord to reform his mind, through repentance, then the Lord inspires a spiritual force, or love, which reaches down into the natural mind, and discovers there spiritual truths-truths covered over with correspondences.

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It elevates these truths into the spiritual, providing that mind with terminations; and heaven begins to be formed in him.* The point is that it is a spiritual force which accomplishes this. We cannot teach a spiritual truth. We can teach a natural truth which contains a spiritual one within, but only the Lord can inspire that power that reaches down and lifts it up into the light of life eternal.**
     * AC 5580; 3207
     ** DLW 237; AC 3185, 3207: 5580 et al

Conclusion

     What is man? For the first time in thousands of years, that knowledge is now available to us. He who alone is Man, and who wishes to make us into that image, has told us the structure, and the vital forces of the mind. As educators, we can benefit enormously by knowing how the mind should be. As people, we can know and love and serve the neighbor as never before since the fall. The Divinely revealed psychology has made this possible: a field of knowledge unsurpassed in the history of man.
PREADAMITES 1979

PREADAMITES       Rev. ALFRED ACTON       1979

     (The first of a series by the Rev. Alfred Acton II)

     Section I

     Before undertaking a survey of what is taught concerning the Preadamites it seems proper to consider why things concerning these people have been revealed. In the General Church it has often been pointed out that the essence of Divine truth is spiritual, and that God has no wish to reveal natural facts to men. This general theme has been supported by the teachings concerning human freedom. It has been argued that if God were to reveal scientific, provable, facts which men had no knowledge of at the time of their revelation, then He would have demonstrated that He was indeed God. He would be using means like unto miracles, which in the Divine Providence have been condemned in our age as things that either compel or spawn denial of open truth and so lead to profanity.* Should God reveal natural facts to men, then they would either be forced to accept His existence and so lose their freedom, or they would be forced to deny the evidence of their senses concerning spiritual things and so find their last state worse than their first.

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Divine revelation of natural facts is therefore untenable, since it thwarts the very ends of providence by destroying the freedom of man. Divine revelation cannot have as its primary concern the revelation of natural facts. Something which man in freedom can discover for himself cannot be the objective of revelation. We look not for God to reveal that which with the use of enlightenment we can freely find out for ourselves.
     * P 130; cf. TCR 201
     So runs the general argument concerning the revelation of natural facts. Revelation must not be a statement of science. Rather it must be an accommodation of spiritual truth to the states of men at the time of that revelation. For example, the seven days of creation, though probably universally accepted as revelation of natural facts by those who preserved the story from its incorporation in Genesis by Moses to the near present, still is not such a revelation. In the New Word where the internal sense is visible, we see that it is simply Divine truth described in terms of the science of the day which was accepted by the author of that book. There is, in fact, an as-of-self presence from the mind of the author which colors the accommodation of spiritual truth in natural language. Whether the facts incorporated in revelation are factually true or not is relatively unimportant when compared to the spiritual facts to which they correspond. So we have no problem disregarding the now demonstrable false facts of the earth-centered science described in Genesis, because we see the spirit within this framework.
     Some, of course, still cling to the theory, claiming that the series is only inaccurate in terms of particulars, but that in general it is correct. Although creation did not take place in seven days, still there were seven natural steps through which creation had to pass. The years are wrong, but the series is correct. Further, examination of the series clearly shows how wrong such attempts at justification of that which needs no justification is. How can light be the product of the first day when the sun, moon, and stars are the product of the fourth day? How can we accept a series of this sort? Clearly we can see that the Lord, in delivering this Divine revelation, gave only those facts which existed in the minds of those who wrote the words and in the minds of those who would be called upon to preserve them for posterity. Note well this fact: Unless revelation is seen to have some worth, it will be lost. It cannot appear as unbelievable or it will not be preserved. So the as-of-self presence of revelators in their revelation is a necessity.
     There are, however, some scientific facts incorporated in the pages of revelation which do not fit into such a category. The fact of the virgin birth and the resurrection immediately come to mind in this category. These are not facts of science based upon the theory or knowledge of the revelator.

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These are facts which are recorded as events. They are facts which fall within the general framework of history.
     It is quite true that without a revelation of the fact, no man would have known that the Lord was born of a virgin. God has revealed this truth to us so that we can know He is God. Our freedom is not destroyed by this revelation of natural fact. Rather it is protected, or restored. For without knowledge of the coming of the Lord, no man could be saved. Revelation of such natural facts is indeed the business of the Word. Perhaps we will say that man could never have discovered this fact for himself, and so it was a necessary part of revelation. But if this is our rationale for the revelation of such facts, we miss the point. The truth is that Divine revelation uses facts, or perhaps we might prefer the term, scientifics, as a basis of revealing spiritual principles. Scientifics, in their turn, need not always be true, but must be accepted as truth by the revelator. Regardless, the important thing is that we look beyond the letter to the spirit. The fact that the Lord was born in Bethlehem is relatively unimportant when compared with the fact that the Lord alone was born a spiritual-celestial Man.
     In the New Word there are perhaps two sets of facts revealed which cause much concern as to their credibility-the facts about life on other planets, and the facts about early life on this planet. Both these sets of facts must be seen as scientifics; and, I believe, as scientifics whose truth must be upheld as long as our senses, rightly interpreted, do not belie their credibility. But unless we see the spirit within these facts, we fail to give them their proper perspective. For example, unless we see the principle that life exists outside of a body which breathes oxygen or carries on the other functions of life as we know it-unless we see the power of infinite love to fill all the universe as opposed to our puny planet-all the teachings of The Earths in the Universe become valueless. The revelation of these facts helps us see God at work in His creation and so love Him.
     God in these teachings is not trying to give us a travelog for space exploration. Rather He is trying to help us better understand ourselves and Him. As this goal is accomplished, revelation becomes powerful.
     Because of this principle it will be our consideration, as we look at the scientifics about the Preadamites, to see how God in these facts is telling us something of spiritual value.
     But in order to accomplish this purpose we need to recognize one further important doctrine. This is the doctrine of the microcosm and the macrocosm. In essence it says things have a correspondence in greatest and leasts. For example, one man's life corresponds to the life of the whole human race, or one verse of scripture has within it the truths of all scripture.

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When applied to the Word the principle may become somewhat confusing. We know that each verse of scripture is the basis upon which the heavens rest. So Swedenborg says that upon reading the Word from Isaiah to Malachi he saw the whole angelic heavens presented before him.* But we also know that each society is in the form of a grand man, and that should Swedenborg have been permitted to do so he could equally have seen all the individuals of a particular angelic society presented to view in reading the same series. Further, another series from the Word-say the first eleven chapters of Genesis-could have served in a similar manner. Indeed, the Word is in the human form; that is, it reflects the Divine Human of the Lord, and so in each of its complete series it has the same reflection. To the extent that a heaven, a heavenly society, a particular angel, or all the heavens collectively reflect this same Divine Human to that extent, and in each of those particular series, the whole is seen. This principle applies to each series within the letter of the Word. So we can see in the story of Abraham both a full account of the glorification from beginning to end, and an accounts of the Lord's childhood. Many statements in the Writings become completely confusing unless we recognize this principle. It is important for us to recognize not only a complete series, but also to realize that things said about a particular series have application to different whole; just as we might see the human form in a person, a society, or heaven itself.
     * DeV. 45
     The series of the churches has similar parallels. The whole of a series can be seen as applying to one specific church, or it can be seen as applying to the five churches as a whole. So when relating the series of the churches to man's regeneration, another series, we must be careful not to confuse what we are comparing. Teachings about pre-adamites, for example, may be describing the entire upbuilding of man to the state in him which is equated with the golden age-that is his whole life on earth until he is regenerate-or in other places may refer only to that very early period in a man's life before he has come into association with the innocence and remains which constitute the parallel of the Most Ancient Church with him when the series of five churches is being treated. Both series will have equal merit; but we must be careful not to confuse the two.
     With this fact in mind, turn for a minute to the series of the seven days of creation. This series begins with the earth as a darkness and void. Usually we equate this period with the pre-Adamites, and rightly so, but the entire 6 day series also applies to the states which lead up to the Garden of Eden, and so can be applied to Preadamites.*

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In this context we can observe that all Preadamites were not alike. Those who answer to the states of the sixth day, for example, will be very unlike those who are of the first day. But before going into these differences, it is proper to pause for definition.
     * Cf. AC 286, 81-88
     Who are Preadamites? When did they live? Is the term strictly a New Church term, or would a New Church man be able to use it with others? Literally the term, Preadamite, means before Adam. A Preadamite then is a person who lived before Adam. Obviously we can see that the term would not be used by anyone who does not accept Adam. An atheist, for example, might well know what you meant by a Preadamite, but would in his own mind simply lump Adamites and Preadamites in the general term, early man. Swedenborg himself only used the word a few times in his Diary, but does give further details concerning them in other places without the term. Nor was the term unique to Swedenborg. Isaac le Peyrere as early as 1655 used the term to refer to people inhabiting the globe prior to Adam. Le Peyrere's usage was immediately questioned by the powerful Catholic Church in France, and le Peyrere found himself in prison for his heretical concept, until after recanting he was once again freed. Still, the term persisted so that Swedenborg in his day could say "It is believed by many that by Adam and Eve are not meant the first men created, and in proof these people have brought forward arguments about preadamites."* The Catholic Church, as evidence of early man increased, at last came to accept the concept of preadamites, pointing out that in Genesis Chapter One speaks of man being created as male and female-a first creation, while Genesis Chapter Two shows how Eve was created after Adam from his rib-a second creation. They noted that the first creation of male and female must be preadamitic, but to preserve their doctrine of original sin they postulated that this first creation was destroyed, in a cataclysm like unto the flood (but unrecorded in revelation) which necessitated the second creation. Such is the straining of logic necessary when one takes scientifics as truths!
     * SD 3390
     Now, of course, the New Church man does not accept a literal Adam. We know that Adam represents an entire church, a collective group of people. So the New Church man sees Preadamites as a group of people who existed before, and perhaps became, the men of the Most Ancient Church. As such Preadamites necessarily differ from Adamites, since we know that the Adamites changed at that point in time when they were able to regenerate to the celestial degree.* Apparently this change was genetic in nature, since we note that after the change and not before, the parents of the Most Ancient Church were able to pass on to their progeny the celestial genius.

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But note well that although some Preadamites may have become Adamites, it does not follow that all Preadamites did so. Noah, who was the last of the Adamites, was able to find people inhabiting the globe whom he could convert to the life of the Ancient Church. Who else could these people have been but Preadamites, since they were not Adamites, and since there were no other churches extant? Preadamites, then, were both extant before Adamites, and also contemporaries of them, as well as those who survived the flood and at length became the men of the Ancient Church. As I see it, they are all early men save for the comparative few in the general area of the Holy Land who were a part of the Most Ancient Church.
     * AC 310
     The dating of the Most Ancient Church is problematical, but the dating of the Ancient Church is far easier. The Ancient Church existed because of the Ancient Word, a word that was written. So the Ancient Church must exist at the dawn of human writing, which writing began in the Ancient Middle East, where the Ancient Church also began, about 4,000 B.C. So we can date Preadamites as all those who lived prior to the advent of writing, except those who were a part of the Most Ancient Church, which part seems to be the much smaller part. In other words, Preadamites are all early men except those who were of the Most Ancient Church. Early men today are recognized as existing at least 5,000,000 years ago. So, Preadamites would be most of those people who lived from first man to about 4,000 B.C.
     Because of this great variety as to when Preadamites existed, there is also a great variety as to types of Preadamites. But there are certain things which we can say about them as revealed in different places in the New Word. It is to these teachings which we shall turn in our next article, attempting to see what these people looked like, whether their body functioned in any way other than ours, which might be noted in a skeleton, what their spiritual life was like, and what can be said of their natural culture-that is, what kind of artifacts we might expect to find if we looked at their living sites. But in all this study we shall hope to develop the doctrine of man's regeneration-seeing why God has chosen to incorporate facts of this nature in His Word.
     We would close this section with a final question and a passage from the New Word: If Preadamites coexisted with Adamites, and if our definition of Preadamites is those people who have not been introduced into the church Adam, including those people who may have become spiritual but not celestial, is it possible that Preadamites still exist somewhere in the world today? In other words, are there in the world those who have never heard of a religion-meaning by religion the true religious worship of the Lord?

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And if such people exist today, are they to be called Preadamites? If so, will we be able to lean about early preadamites from a study of such men?
     Hear this passage from the Last Judgment published posthumously:

     "I was conducted to those who in the world had known nothing about God, but who nevertheless had led a moral life amongst each other; they were said to live on a certain island. They appeared to me not like men but like apes and yet with a human face. They so appeared because they knew nothing about God, and the Divine is in the likeness of a man. One of the Christians is set over them by the Lord, I have spoken with him, and he said that they obey him and love him; that they are modest and are engaged in employments, but that at first they could hardly comprehend the things of religion. But after some time, there was given them a nearer communication with the Christians, and they are beginning to receive something of religion, and he cherished the hope that they could be reformed, for the reason that they had lived a moral life, and are in obedience and are industrious. As to similar people elsewhere, see below.
     "There were likewise seen others, who had lived in an island in the West Indian seas, who had no thought at all about God, thus no religion, and who yet had lived together in a sincere and friendly way. It was told me, that at first they appear destitute of rationality, but that nevertheless, because they had contracted no false principles against religion, some of them suffer themselves to be instructed like infants, and they are perfected. It was shown that the delight of their life was to will to serve others under others. Some wealth was once given them, but they offered it to the angel who was instructing them, in order that he might receive them as his servants, that thus they might be instructed as to how they should live. It is an angelic delight to inform such spirits and to lead them to heaven."*
     * LJ Post. 130, 131 FREDERICK EMANUEL DOERING TRUST 1979

FREDERICK EMANUEL DOERING TRUST              1979

     Application for assistance from the above Fund to enable male Canadian students to attend The Academy of the New Church at Bryn Athyn, Pa., U.S.A., for the school year 1971-18 should be received by one of the pastors listed below as early as possible.
     Before filling their applications, students should first obtain their acceptance by the Academy immediately, as dormitory space is limited.
     Any of the pastors listed below will be happy to give any further information or help that may be necessary.          

The Rev. Geoffrey S. Childs               The Rev. Christopher R. J. Smith
2 Lorraine Gdns.                     16 Bannockburn Rd., R.R. 2
Islington, Ont. M9B 424                    Kitchener, Ont. N26 3W5

The Rev. William H. Clifford
1536 94th Ave.
Dawson Creek, B.C. V1G 1H1

33


IDLENESS 1979

IDLENESS       Rev. BRIAN W. KEITH       1979

     The doctrine of use is all-pervasive in the New Church. It is perhaps the most applicable teaching in the Writings, for it affects the daily life of everyone, be he janitor, executive, housewife, or professional. Simply defined, "Use is to perform one's office and to do one's work rightly, faithfully, sincerely, and justly."*
     * D. Wis. XI:4; C 158
     The purpose of work, or employment, is not primarily to earn money, but to be of service to our neighbors. Money is, of course, necessary, for we all have mediate states throughout our lives when, without some reward, we would not do anything. But through regeneration, the Lord gradually takes away the end of reward and replaces it with a delight in use for its own sake.* When we enter the spiritual world, we will discover whether we were gradually coming into a love of use, or were seeing ourselves in all things that we did. If we had loved the use which we were performing, then we will continue in that use, albeit in a different form; but if we worked exclusively for the money or fame involved, we will soon cease any useful work there, and will desire to live a life of ease.
     * AC 3089e
     Fortunately for us, work is such an ingrained part of our lives, that we could not give it up. Many people have died shortly after retiring, for they simply could not stand doing nothing with their lives. And we all know what it is like to be incapacitated for a long period of time with illness: we grow restless, bored, and desire to get out of the house as soon as possible. It is of providence that we have something to keep us busy, to occupy our minds.
     Use should be the source of all our delights in life. We ought to feel satisfaction in how well we do in our jobs, in how others are helped by the performance of our tasks. We should direct our efforts towards use in all aspects of our lives; it should be the basis for our decisions of how we are to spend our time. This does not mean that we ought never to relax or recreate. Recreations are also of use, for they refresh our minds so that we may enter with renewed vigor into our employments.* In so far as recreations perform this function, temporary idleness is important and necessary. Yet, recreations are abused if overextended, and then they became detrimental to our spiritual state.
     * HH 403; AE 1194:2

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     A LIFE OF EASE

     Idleness is the opposite of use. The Writings state that "by a life of idleness is meant a life made up of social intercourse, feastings, and entertainments."* Idleness is not such things in a modest, productive degree, but a continual life in them. Some people have this idea in regard to what heaven will be like. They imagine it as a type of perpetual vacation, where there will be no work, will have others waiting upon them.** Did not the Lord say, "Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls"?*** But the rest from work that the Lord promised, here, is a rest from the assaults of the hells. After death there will be a state of peace because of the salavation of the Lord, and so uses can be performed without interference from the hells.
     * AE 1226:6
     ** AC 454; Dm 4773          
     *** Matt. 11:28-30          
     If the life of heaven were merely a life of ease, it would soon grow dull. Many who have had false notions about the life after death, thinking it total relaxation, were allowed to see or experience what that would be like. After but a short time they became sick of their imagined heaven and were taught that heaven is a kingdom of uses.* They had confused their ideas of happiness and pleasure with the essence of heavenly life. They had put their happiness in the center, and neglected the happiness of others. It resulted in a sluggish or lethargic state, for all true delights comes from serving others. Most people, after entering the spiritual world, can remain only a few hours or days without doing anything before they grow dull, and all happiness leaves them.
     * See CL 3-9
     The reason this occurs, is that use is said to hold the mind together, "lest it melt away and, wandering about, absorb all the cupidities which flow in from the body and the world through the senses and their allurements, whereby the truths of religion and the truths of morality with their goods are scattered to all the winds."* Indeed, where there is idleness one's mind will tend to drift into what is lascivious and filthy, insincere and deceitful, and into wanton thoughts of various lusts (D. Love XV). The Writings employ an old Swedish saying at least three times in this regard: "Idleness is the devil's pillow."** Idleness produces boredom, which in turn fosters a willingness to enter into disorders, and so the Writings even state that it is the root of all wickedness.*** When a person's time is not occupied with some work or study, his thoughts "run to evil because of the evil inherent in him."**** The hells are constantly pressing in upon us, seeking any opportunity to pour in, like the waters against a dike.

35


When a person is idle, the flood gates are opened wide, inviting the influence of the hells upon his life. For the idle person, evils are collected in his spirit,***** and his mind is "like a sponge which draws to itself dirty water of various sorts."******
     * CL 16:3
     ** AE 831:5; D. Wis. XI: 4; D 6072
     *** SD 6088:4
     **** HH 361
     ***** SD 5839               
     ****** SD 6072
     Without any determination of the mind to some study or employment, the mind is open to the suggestion of any evil thought. Use is said to be life, and idleness is the absence of life. When there is nothing to do for an extended period of time, life seems to be draining away, and delight is sought. At such times the mind desires some life, and will gladly enter into hellish life in order to find amusement. Examples of this abound everywhere. One need only to pass through a city's ghetto, with its high unemployment, to sense the potential for trouble. In these situations, crime and violence are to be expected. This does not excuse such activities, but merely points out how dangerous it is to allow such situations to occur.

     ASCETICISM

     Besides a lack of activity and social gatherings, idleness includes separating one's self from the world. The Writings cite the example of those who had led what they believed to be pious lives on this earth, monks and nuns and other ascetics. Since they believed the world to be evil, they withdraw from it, praying and meditating over it. Swedenborg met with some of these in the spiritual world, and although they had appeared holy on earth, "they did not know, from doctrine, anything except that God remits their sins. They did not know what sins are; and this because they were ignorant of truth."* Because they had renounced the world and lived apart, they had little idea of what was right and wrong. Not being involved in some active use, they had not seen their own evils and shunned them as sins.
     * SD 5392
     Elsewhere there is recounted the lot of women who dwelt in convents. During the Last Judgment they were all brought out. Those who had lived according to their religious principles and had been useful in the convents were separated so that they might learn the truths of faith; but those who had been slothful "caring for nothing else than outward piety, were shared amongst the followers of their religion so that they might there act as attendants to them, and learn to work. . . ."* A further example of the importance of learning to work is given about some women who had no desire to learn any truth. "They were women who have lived in almshouses, and performing no use in the world except eating, sleeping, talking together, and going to their church and feigning outward sanctity."** Because of this life, they delighted in infesting others. By magical arts they sought to enter into the life of others, controlling their lives.
     * SD 5352
     ** SD 5309

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     A life of idleness is dangerous to our spiritual states, for it does not direct our thoughts to others. When idle, and experiencing the resultant boredom, we are primarily concerned with how we can be happy. We turn inward, to ourselves, and forget that all genuine happiness comes from being of use to others. It will gradually take away any productive urges we may feel, producing a listlessness for work and the learning of truth. If we remain in a life of idleness we will be even more inclined to enter into evils do that we might feel some delight in life. It is for these reasons that the Writings teach that anyone who is not in some use, and is not performing that use with a genuine affection for the neighbor, is not of sound mind.*
     * D. Love XV

     IDLENESS AND MARRIAGE

     If someone attempts to live a life of ease, he will eventually destroy himself; but because everyone has an influence upon those around themselves, others also will be hurt. Where there is idleness with one of the partners in a marriage, the marriage covenant is in danger and will suffer. An external cause of cold in marriage comes from a "lack of determination to any study or business, whence comes wandering lust."* This wandering lust arises because when two are not united by mutual uses, they will be drawn to others for affection. The Writings further explain that,
     * CL 249

By study and business is meant every application to uses; for: while a man is in some study and business, that is, in some use, his mind is limited and circumscribed as by a circle, within which it is successively coordinated into a form truly human. From this as from a house he sees the various lusts as outside himself and from sanity of reasons within, banishes them and consequently banishes also the beastly insanities of scortatory lust.*
     * Ibid.

When a person's mind is not circumscribed by some use, there is the tendency to lose sensitivity to the other person. Because there is an unhealthy focus upon self, we tend not to be concerned for the other persons, and grow unaware of their states. When this occurs the danger of attraction to someone other than the married partner is increased many fold. For these reasons, idleness can be seen as capable of destroying that most precious love from the Lord, conjugial love.

     IDLENESS IN SOCIETY

     In addition to this, idleness can result in the destruction of entire societies. In the spiritual world there are whole communities

that have no end or purpose of use, except to be among friends, male and female, and to have pleasures there, thus seeking their own gratification only, and making much of themselves exclusively, whether at home or publicly . . . Of such spirits there are at this day more societies than any one could believe.*
     * AC 4054

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These societies of friendship, which do not exist for any use but idleness, take away all delight from others, for their sole end is their own happiness. They are the leeches of society.* They never exert themselves for the good of any society, but they try to live off those who do support society. Their chief love is a life of ease. They desire to live luxuriously, having magnificent garments, and growing rich. They care only for themselves.
     * See SD 2500-2508
     They work their way into the confidence of those who rule in the nation. They praise and flatter those in power. Every government has faced this problem, of people who insulated the leaders from the people, until the leaders at last think that they are always correct, and can do whatever they please. Not only do they pervert the leadership in a society by flattery, but they also induce a listlessness upon the people who live there. They take away their desire to work, or to do any good or truth. This is because they despise those who are industrious; for they show the idle for what they are. They thus resort to adopting a superior sphere about themselves, looking down upon those who are working. They will tend to treat workmen like slaves, showing contempt for them as inferiors. This erodes the delight in work that people should feel. Indeed we are to serve others, but when we do, we are treated badly, so why should we bother to be of help or feel satisfaction in a job well done?
     The idle are not content merely to look down upon others who are working. They will also slander the workers to their supervisors. They love to criticize for any apparent mistake, both to the persons working, and to their employer; but then, when the job is finished, they will attempt to take credit for it, claiming that it was their counsel which made it possible.
     We can all imagine what it would be like to work under such circumstances. What soon happens is that the workers discover that they must also flatter their bosses if they want to continue working. It then becomes a game of popularity, with little or no actual work being accomplished. "In a word, they contrive every annoyance to the servants of the commonwealth, and take from them all that is pleasant in life, all comfort and hope, and so destroy citizens, consequently the state."* Such idle people are likened to loathesome, hurtful, insects; and this is why the Writings state: "In a well constituted commonwealth, therefore, provision is made that no one shall be useless; if any one is useless, he is driven to some work; even a beggar is, if he is healthy."** The ramifications of this teaching, and the disease of idleness, extend to every social group in which we are included.

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It has many political implications, and also it suggests that in our church societies everyone ought to be actively involved in supporting the uses there.
     * SD 2504
     ** Charity 128

     AFTER DEATH

     While the idle may live and even grow rich on earth, in the spiritual world they are seen for what they truly are. Those who have loved a life of ease, without any desire to perform a use, are cast into hell. In the spiritual world

no idler is tolerated, no lazy vagabond, no indolent boaster claiming credit for the zeal and vigor of others; but everyone must be active, skillful, attentive, and diligent in his office and business, and must put honor and reward not in the first place, but in the second or third.*
     * D. Love XII

Those who descend into hell

are compelled by judge to perform tasks; and if they refuse, no food is given them and no clothing, nor any bed but the ground, and they are scoffed at by their companions as slaves are by their masters. The judge permits them to be their bond servants, and if they entice others from their tasks, they are severely punished. Ah this is done until they yield. But those who cannot be made to yield are cast out into deserts, where a morsel of bread is given them daily, and water to drink, and they dwell by themselves in huts or in caves; and because they perform no uses, the land about them is so barren that a grassy sod is rarely seen upon it.*
     * AE 1226:3

This is the unhappy state of those whose only concern in this life had been for their own pleasure and had thus taken happiness from those around themselves.     
     But angelic life is just the reverse of this. It is a life filled with use I and from use, delight. Seeking pleasure, or delight as an end is rarely successful. Genuine happiness is elusive as long as we have it as our goal, for we are thinking of ourselves. It is only when we are able to forget about what we want, and begin to look to others, trying to make them happy by being of use to them, that the blessings of heavenly, happiness can be given to us. Idleness is a great enemy of the life of heaven, for it both closes us to the needs of others, and opens us to the influence of the bells. For those who would be of the New Jerusalem, use should be the determining factor in life. Through use, through acting rightly, faithfully, sincerely, and justly in all our duties we will come into the Lord's New Church and be numbered among the happy there.*
     * SD 5792e.

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PERHAPS A GOOD BEGINNING 1979

PERHAPS A GOOD BEGINNING       Editor       1979


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

Acting Editor                Rev. Ormond deCharms Odhner, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager                Mr. L. E. Gyllenhaal Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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

     TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$5.00 (U.S.) A year to any address, payable in advance. Single copy, 50 cents.
     Where the custom came from of making New Year's resolutions, I have no idea-the custom of making more or less firm resolves to do better or be better during this coming year that nowadays begins on the first of January. In the world at large there is no religious significance attached to it, nor do I personally feel that there should be special religious significance attached to it in the New Church, even though it does have some relationship to the Divinely commanded self-examination that all of us should make "once or twice a year,"* or "as often as one prepares himself for the communion of the holy supper."**
     * CL 529               
     ** TCR 530
     Usually, New Year's resolutions have to do with quite external things: Next year I won't drink so much, next year I won't swear, next year I'll study harder. Even if they go no further than that, however, they are, perhaps, a good beginning in bringing the truths of religion into our own personal lives-a good beginning, for it is truly said that repentance is the first of the church in man [my italics]: and "the examination of some sin in oneself begins repentance."*
     * TCR 525
     Self-examination, we know, is to include more than mere physical words and deeds. It must also include thoughts (particularly one's private thoughts when alone or removed from the sphere of others) and intentions. That discloses much concerning the real man; and if one would really discover all about himself, let him examine also what he, personally, accounts as sin and accounts as not a sin.*
     * Charity 5, note.

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     New Year's resolutions, however, also have their usefulness in this, that they come only once a year; and when man first begins to examine himself for sin, he cannot stand much more of the sight he sees at such times. Too frequent self-examination would likely result in an unhealthy sense of guilt, rather than in that admission of personal guilt that is both useful and vitally necessary in the life of religion.
     It is not my purpose here to deal at length with self-examination, however, but simply to bring to mind one of the more merciful teachings of our new revelation. It is this: "Every smallest moment of man's life involves a series of consequences extending to eternity, each moment being as a new beginning to those which follow."*
     * AC 3854:3
     Merciful? It is one of the most merciful teachings that I know of. "Each moment is a new beginning of life." No matter where you are or where you have been, spiritually and/or morally, it is not too late to pick up whatever pieces remain and start all over again. As long as you live on earth, you are held in perfect spiritual equilibrium between good and evil, between heaven and hell (except at those few moments when you are actively in the physical or mental enjoyment of some love, and even then, with a mere effort of thought, you can stop that enjoyment and restore yourself to equilibrium). And because of this equilibrium, each moment of your life is in absolute fact a new beginning of your life, and you can start all over again.
     The Lord never desires to condemn, but only to forgive, and there is no one, no one at all, who is beyond His power of forgiveness nor beyond extending to eternity." Each moment, then, we can start all over again, His desire to forgive.
     "Each moment is a new beginning of life, with a series of consequences and we can do so with the Divine assurance that no matter what have been the evils and sins of our past, they can be made things of the past forever, not even to be mentioned to us again, in the life after death, if they have truly been repented of here on earth.

     "BLESSING A PILE OF BRICKS"

     Once, on a pastoral tour of south-eastern United States, I officiated at a service of home dedication. A friend of the family [a friend of mine, too], a "hard-shell" Fundamentalist, attended the service. Totally misunderstanding its point, he could not hide his disgust and disappointment afterwards, and accused me of "blessing a pile of bricks and stones." On that particular point, his views were not far from my own: an inanimate object cannot be blessed, or rather, cannot receive a blessing.

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     Quite at the other end of the Christian spectrum is Roman Catholicism, with its holy water and its relies and its doctrine of transubstantiation. In today's well educated and somewhat skeptical world, Catholics (both priest and layman) defend their holy water with an argument somewhat like this. The blessed water has nothing of holiness actually in its substances, although it has been dedicated to a holy use; and its sprinkling on person, house, plough and car does not make them holy, either, "apart from the testification of the faith of the believer." It could, however, make the owner of these things more conscious of their importance, and therefore more careful of their use.
     That, however, is not the reason revealed in the Writings, for the Catholic doctrine of transubstantiation, that "enormous falsity"* which teaches that by the priest's words of blessing the bread and the wine of the Eucharist [the holy supper] are actually changed into the flesh and the blood of the Lord.** Catholicism invented that doctrine, we are told,* for the express purpose of putting holiness into man's bodily senses. After all, he who partakes of the mass (according to this doctrine) has seen, felt, tasted, and eaten the body and blood of the Lord! How could holiness ever be made more sensual than that?
     * AR 795.
     ** Basing on the intricate Aristotelian doctrine of essence and accident, Catholicism teaches that even after the bread and wine have been transformed into the Divine body and blood, the so-called accidents (the non-essential properties) of bread and wine remain. The wine still looks like wine smells like wine, tastes and acts like wine, etc. It is only as to their essence that they have become the body and blood of the Lord. . . . And this, of course, is one of the "mysteries" of faith, into which the finite mind is not to penetrate.
     *** AR 795
     The real point of all this, the passage teaches further, was to induce darkness as to all things spiritual into the minds of the Catholic laity-and I think it would be fair to add, "Catholicism's less educated priests," also. Then, with the laity's mind closed-nay, blinded-to genuine spiritual truths, the Church could rule over its people in the resultant darkness. It did so.

     "Blessing a pile of bricks and stone "Scorn! . . . The doctrine of transubstantiation whereby holiness is actually infused into man's bodily senses. . . .What is the truth about holiness and such natural, physical objects as the bread and wine of the holy supper, a printed copy of the Word, the wedding ring after its dedication in the marriage service?
     The Writings themselves say of the bread and wine of the Holy Supper, "There is not anything holy in them."* The same is true for any printed copy of the Word: it is a book, and as a book it is simply paper, ink, and binding.

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And as for the wedding ring-in itself it is "just a hunk of metal."
     * AR 224:13
     Such teachings support our custom in the Church of refraining from blessing any inanimate object. (Pay attention to the fine-print rubric in our holy supper service, and you will see that though the bread and the wine are "elevated"-as it were in dedication to their correspondential use-they are not blessed.)
     All genuine blessing originates in the Lord, of course; and for man today, we are told in The Apocalypse Explained, n. 22, there is only one blessing, and that is to be affected by truth simply because it is true, simply because it alone can lead to genuine good. This "state of being affected" is what the Writings call "the spiritual affection of truth." Surely it is obvious that only a man can receive such blessing; and from this, and also from the teaching that all holiness can be predicated only of truth, it follows that no inanimate object can be holy, nor have holiness actually implanted in it by any blessing. It is simply wrong, in fact, to bless anything less than man.
     To stop this editorial here, however, would be to give a lop-sided view of the teachings of the Writings, for so far I have stressed simply the idea that no thing can have holiness in it as an integral part of it. That is true; but taken by itself, it could lead to the hurtful falsity that external, physical things have no importance in the church at all. That is not true.
     The letter of the Word-its story-is a thing, in a perfectly good sense of that word. "Unimportant?" "Not holy?" What, then, of the teachings that not one word can be altered in the literal sense without doing violence to the internal sense?* What also of the teaching that it is only in its letter that the Word is in its fulness, its holiness, and its power?** Admittedly, the bread and the wine of the holy supper have nothing holy in them; but who could treat them with the irreverence that he might show to ordinary bread and wine? Admittedly a printed copy of the Word is a book; but it is not just an ordinary book, and it is right that we treat it with reverence. And as for the wedding ring being "just a hunk of metal"-well, don't even bother to say such a stupid bit of foolishness to any loving husband or wife.
     * AE 1085
     ** SS 47, et al.
     But concerning the holiness that is associated with external objects, sometimes through correspondences, sometimes through representations, and, yes, sometimes merely through vain imagination, I shall, DHM* write more in a further issue of LIFE.
     * Does any reader of LIFE know what these letters stand for? I do, but perhaps that is because I am a church historian. They were frequently interjected into early New Church collateral writings.

43


PERMISSIONS 1979

PERMISSIONS       MICHAEL D. GLADISH       1979

To the Editor:

     It has been a surprise to me that the article by Patricia Rose about permission (N.C.L., May, 1978, page 199) remains unchallenged all these months. For while I feel there was a valid and significant point in her writing it appears to me that there were also a number of misrepresentations in the treatment.
     This may be a small point but it seems to me she is off to a bad start in the second sentence of the article where she claims "The Writings never refer to a 'permission,' but (only to) things being of and from permission" (page 199: top). I am no Latin scholar, but there would appear to be ample justification for the translation in the common edition of the Divine Providence where we read, "The Divine Providence with the wicked is a continual permission of evil."* In any case, this reference may serve to show that readers of the Writings have not dreamed up this terminology, as was implied by the leading paragraph.
     * DP 296:7
     Further, as regards the idea that "killing" (or any other breach of the commandments) "is not in itself evil" (cf., article, page 200: e), I think the author is trapped in her own devising, according to the Arcana Coelestia in a reference quoted but not including the following statement: "Man cannot comprehend permission in any other manner than that he who permits is also willing."*" Of course killing is a permission! Of course adultery is a permission! Of course punishment is a permission, no matter what the Motive or intent, for such things are not from the Lord but from hell, directly or indirectly. Neither does the Lord "concur" with killing, even in the defense of one's country, but He permits it, knowing from foresight that it may be unavoidable on account of evils originating with man,** and He provides that according to the motive a person may be able to be led by Him in spite of the necessary outward evil.
     * AC 2768
     ** See Matt. 18:7
     Mrs. Rose maintains that nothing is to be regarded as "permitted" except according to the motive behind it. Perhaps she has missed the section in the Divine Love and Wisdom where evil uses are explained. There we read, "Noxious things are produced on earth through influx from hell by the same law of permission whereby evils themselves inflow from hell into men."*
     * DLW 340e

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     There are degrees throughout creation, and the thought of degrees ought to form a background in the minds of New Church men whenever considering difficult doctrines; they are in the background of most discussions in the Writings. So here: the reference to "Divine order" in AC 4839 (quoted in the article) concerns the soul or spirit, thus spiritual order, but it should not be used to suggest that there is no moral, civil or natural evil in an absolute sense! Given the fact that a man might act spiritually from permission or from leave or even from the Divine will in doing something that has painful or unpleasant consequences, still, evil itself, on whatever plane, can only be permitted, for the Lord never wills it.
     MICHAEL D. GLADISH, (Hurstville, Australia)
Church News 1979

Church News       Various       1979

     THE FOURTH OHIO DISTRICT ASSEMBLY

     September 29 and 30 and October 1, 1978

     The remark has been made that the Ohio District is assembly-prone. However, consideration should be given to the fact that the Ohio District has only been at this assembly business for four years and that has a lot to do.
     The South Ohio Circle is particularly fortunate in having the St. Edmund's facility located in the Village of Glendale near the Circle-owned Church building. Visitors to an Ohio District Assembly, as well as citizens of the area, can live at St. Edmund's during the Assembly and participate in the meetings which are held in the St. Edmund's complex.
     The theme of this Assembly was: "THE WRITINGS ARE THE WORD."
     Rev. Kurt Asplundh attended the Assembly as the Bishop's representative and was accompanied by his lovely wife, Martha. Kenneth Alden, a theological student, attended the Assembly as instructor for the children.
     On Friday evening, September 29, 1978, an informal social gathering at the home of Donald and Pat Latta and Duncan and Nancy Lee was enjoyed by all the folks who arrived by that time.
     The meetings began at 10:00 AM on Saturday with an address by Mr. Asplundh. Rev. Asplundh stressed the fact that man is born empty with nothing of civil or spiritual knowledge and, therefore, there is no limit to the acquisition of knowledge and that man has an instinct to learn and an ability to love. Natural knowledge can promote spiritual knowledge, but if there is no belief in the written Word, there is no way to believe in God. The Word is essential to a conjunction of man with God and for man to see the excellence of the Word is for man to see Revelation.     
     Following the address there was question and answer period and then the assembly was adjourned for the noon meal which was nicely prepared by the St. Edmund's staff.

     At 1:30 PM the Assembly Business Meeting was convened and Rev. Stephen Cole provided some basic figures on Ohio District financial status.

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The Treasurer of the South Ohio Circle, Patrick Mayer, reported on the financial status of the South Ohio Circle.
     The meeting then entered a long discussion period in which the principal subject was the interest by the South Ohio Circle in petitioning the Bishop for a minister to reside in the Cincinnati area and serve the South Ohio Circle exclusively. The consensus of the meeting was that the South Ohio Circle wants and needs a minister as soon as possible and that it feels it can support a minister within a few years by increased contributions and increased membership. It was pointed out that the South Ohio Circle owns their own Church building and that there are a number of young families in the Circle who are concerned about their children having more frequent contact with a minister than is possible at the present time.
     There was further discussion pointing out that the Cincinnati area has full employment and many good job opportunities so that young families interested in re-locating would have opportunities in this area providing we have the Church community ready to provide for them as they help provide for it.
     At 2:45 p.m. the business meeting concluded with an address by the Rev. Cole titled: "The Writings are The Word."
     Rev. Cole's address pointed out that the Writings reveal the spiritual sense of the Word and are the doctrine of the New Church. Since the fall of man, each age has been given a new, written authority and our authority, which is the final authority, are the Writings of Swedenborg. They are the final Revelation.
     After the address by Mr. Cole and a brief question and answer period, the meetings were adjourned for a few hours of social relaxation.
     On Saturday evening at 6:45 PM the group again assembled at St. Edmund's for the traditional banquet. Following an excellent meal, the toastmaster for the evening, Charles Gyllenhaal of the North Ohio Circle commented on the meetings and introduced Mr. Cole who also said a few words in review of the meetings.
     The speakers for the evening were Mr. Alan Childs of North Ohio and Mrs. Charles Crehore. Mr. Childs discussed the spread of the Writings today and compared it with Swedenborg's efforts. Mrs. Crehore titled her speech "God Has No Gorandchildren" and, toward the end of her excellent talk, elaborated on the title by stating ". . . only willing sons." Both Mr. Childs and Mrs. Crehore provided excellent, well written, well thought out and very thought provoking subjects.
     Rev. Asplundh summarized the Assembly and commented on the speeches. He said that he was delighted to have attended our Assembly and that he certainly hopes our Circles will grow but, he said, he is not worried that the New Church will die out. A fitting conclusion to the banquet was the enthusiastic singing of "Our Glorious Church."
     On Sunday morning a marvelous service was held in our church building in Glendale. The sermon, given by Rev. Asplundh, was on the subject of the prophet Elisha and the widow woman who led the vessels with oil. The analogy to the "widow" is our debt to world satisfaction while ignoring use and the improvement of spiritual values;-though we all have a portion of love to the Lord, we must improve it as our "debt" is repaid. To borrow the vessels from the neighbor is to receive truths from the Lord. If we make the genuine effort and actually shun evils as sins against the Lord, it becomes increasingly easier.
     The Holy Supper Service was administered after the regular service.
     After church services, a luncheon was served at St. Edmund's for all those who could stay.
     Although the Ohio District has had four Assemblys in as many years, the value of these meetings is great because the Ohio District is so spread out and there are few opportunities for the members of the District to get together. The North and South Ohio Circles have similar membership, similar problems, and similar opportunities. It is useful to share our thoughts and goals.
     CHARLES GYLLENHAAL

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ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS 1979

ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS              1979




     Announcements
     General Church of the New Jerusalem

     The Annual Meetings of the Council of the Clergy and of the Board of Directors of the General Church have been scheduled to take place in the week of March 5-10, 1979, at Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania.
ORDINATION 1979

ORDINATION              1979

     Clifford.-at Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, October 8, 1978, the Rev. William H. Clifford into the second degree of the priesthood, the Rt. Rev. Louis B. King officiating.
BRITISH ASSEMBLY 1979

BRITISH ASSEMBLY       LOUIS B. KING       1979

     The 59th British Assembly of the General Church of the New Jerusalem will be held in Colchester, England, from Friday July 6, to Sunday, July 8, 1979, the Reverend Peter M. Buss, Bishop's Assistant in the Midwestern and Central Western United States, presiding. All members and friends of the General Church are cordially invited to attend.
     LOUIS B. KING,
          BISHOP
APPLICATIONS FOR ADMISSION TO THE MIDWESTERN ACADEMY 1979

APPLICATIONS FOR ADMISSION TO THE MIDWESTERN ACADEMY              1979

     Application for admission to the Midwestern Academy of the New Church for the academic year 1979-1980 are being accepted between March 1 and June 1, 1979. Applications should be submitted to Dr. Charles Ebert, Principal, 73 Park Drive, Glenview, Illinois 60025. The Midwestern Academy prepares 9th and 10th grade students to transfer to the Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, PA. A limited number of boarding students from the Midwestern District can be accommodated in homes in the Immanuel Church Society. Catalogues are available on request. The Midwestern Academy does not discriminate against individuals by reason of race or ethnic background.

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WORSHIP IN ULTIMATES 1979

WORSHIP IN ULTIMATES       Rev. MICHAEL D. GLADISH       1979


NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. XCIX          FEBRUARY, 1979          No. 2
     And one of the Pharisees desired that He would eat with him. And having entered into the Pharisee's house, He reclined to eat. And, behold, a woman in the city, who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus was reclining in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, and stood at His feet behind Him, weeping; and began to wash His feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hair of her head, and kissed His feet, and anointed them with the ointment. Luke 7:36-38.

     Our lesson today concerns ultimates, ultimates of conviction, of worship and of life. As it teaches the power and necessity of ultimates, it also gives examples in a number of different easily comprehended ways to illustrate and to confirm the importance of the doctrine.
     That the story should be perfectly clear, we must understand from the outset what is meant by the term "ultimates." Grammatically it is an adjective made into a noun, thus "ultimate things." Perhaps most simply defined it could be rendered "last things," or "final things," indicating a plane of reality in which higher planes are terminated and contained. Though it is often used to refer to the physical matters of the earth upon which rest by correspondence all the higher planes of natural and spiritual existence, it can also be used to refer to man's actions in the world as being the fullest possible and final expressions of his internal states. And again, it can be used to indicate the grossest, most external thoughts or affections of the mind, compared with those which are more deeply internal. In general the term "ultimates" describes outmost things, those which stand at the conclusion or terminating boundary of any aspect of human experience. Our thoughts are ultimates of our intentions; our deeds are ultimates of our will and thoughts.

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     Our story begins at the 36th verse of the chapter in Luke and continues for only 15 verses, thus in a form characteristic of the Word condensing a tremendous volume of spiritual insight into one brief illustrative ultimate. And the lesson is focused in the words of our text concerning what the woman of the city did for Jesus.
     As the scene opens, we see the Lord having accepted an invitation by one of the pharisees to eat with him. This in itself might seem a remarkable incident, since the pharisee was clearly full of hypocrisy and ill will toward the Lord. As the Lord knew this, we might wonder why He should bother with such a man; indeed, if we knew this of our neighbors, we would undoubtedly take great pains to avoid them completely, even despise them. But not the Lord: He makes His Sun to shine on the evil and on the good, besides which, the Lord without exception looks only to what is good in man (the evil itself in man being the only obstruction to conjunction with Him); and so He accepted the pharisee's invitation at face value, for whatever external good might come out of it. And not only did He go into the pharisee's house, which signifies consociation with him as a man, but He also ate with him, which signifies conjunction through good, whatever good there was. Here, then, is our first instruction:-let us do as much as possible what the Lord did! Not that we may surely judge of another that he is a hypocrite, but we must allow for what good there is with every man and be neither fearful nor too aloof to associate on an ultimate plane for the sake of any use that goes beyond our personalities and problems. Remember, we all have our evils, and withal we have our obligations to the church, which inmostly considered is charity itself.
     "And having entered into the pharisee's house, He reclined to eat." The usual translation of the Word does not make it clear that the Lord reclined here. Nevertheless it is so in the original, and it must be mentioned so that we may have a clear idea of the woman's place in the picture. In these times when the incident occurred it was most common at meals for the guests to recline on cushions which were arranged in a pattern radiating outward from a central, low table. Thus all faced the table, but with feet stretched out behind them, away from the center. Accordingly, when the woman approached, she did not interfere in the midst of things, but remained humbly at the circumference of the circle, touching only that part of the Lord which was most ultimate and most external to the circle as well as to His Person. Here again there is instruction:-the woman was a sinner; being conscious and repentant of her sins she had come to the Lord for forgiveness. But she did not come ostentatiously, nor did she come with reasoning or promises or any great plans. She came to perform a use for the Lord. Reaching out to that most ultimate and external aspect of the Lord's presence there, His feet, she began to worship Him by serving His most external requirements.

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     The pharisee had failed to do this. Undoubtedly absorbed in the seemingly greater issues of the moment, he forgot or neglected to observe the fact that all higher laws of the spirit and of the mind rest and terminate in the simple, external ultimates of daily hospitality and use. And so, as the Lord pointed out, despite the appearance of his concern and respect, he proved by his own most ultimate actions that he really loved little. What a contrast to the woman, an acknowledged sinner, who loved much!
     "And (she) stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and began to wash His feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hair of her head, and kissed His feet, and anointed them with the ointment." Certainly this is a compelling scene, and especially moving as it was cast against the contrasting self-righteousness of the pharisee. And yet if we are to see the real power and, as the Writings say, the glory of the account, we must turn to the internal sense, the spiritual sense which comes to us through knowledge of the correspondences that are involved. There we learn, first of all, that the "woman of the city" who came to worship was not merely a particular individual, but a representative of anyone who is in the affection of truth (perhaps for this reason, she remains un-named anywhere in the Word, it being an unnecessary distraction from the meaning). By a process of further abstraction according to the correspondences we can see that she represents the affection of truth itself, as it is or can be in everyone. Thus it is with affection for the truth that we must approach the Lord who is Truth itself if we wish to be conjoined with Him in any way.
     The Writings say that weeping corresponds to internal grief on account of falsities of doctrine or religion (or a lack of truth, which results in the same thing). In terms of the story we may feel that the woman was grieved in regard to the falsity of the pharisee, and so particularly disturbed that he had neglected the duties of a host. But a second look will show that she must have been grieved on her own account, realizing how much in need of the Lord's presence she herself was. It is significant that the story mentions both weeping and the shedding of tears: again, like everything in the Word: even this little detail is important. For weeping comes more from the mouth: thus from the chest and abdomen, signifying grief of the heart over such falsities. But tears are a bitter watering of the eyes, coming from the thought and thus signifying grief of mind.
     We, too, may and should have grief of heart and mind on account of our lack of truth and our false persuasions. But we must not let this grief become self-pity, remorse and indulgence. We must not waste our tears. We must get busy, even as the woman did, serving the Lord in some ultimate way.

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Only so will the affection of truth which those tears represent be justified. Now the woman washed the Lord's feet with her tears, and then wiped them with the hair of her head. His feet are the natural Divine good, the ultimate of Divine order, which, in the church, is the external of the church, of worship, and of the Word. Her hair represents the external things of the natural, the ultimates of good and truth, such as are from the sense of the letter of the Word with us. When we begin from an affection of truth to recognize and acknowledge our sins, when we begin to see ourselves for what we are, all of us, interiorly: sinners, we may wonder what we can do to obtain the Lord's forgiveness and mercy. The answer is in our story: we must get busy and apply ourselves diligently, first of all to the responsibilities of the ultimate of Divine order, which, in the church, is the external of the church, of worship, and of the Word.* Not that we work for works' sake, or for merit, as it were to buy our way into heaven through a system of points and promises (really the old "indulgences"). But the Writings teach that there must be natural things in our lives into which spiritual things can operate and in which they can terminate.** Otherwise the spiritual things cannot remain with us, but drift away like airy thoughts, a house built upon the sand instead of the rock. Indeed we read, ". . . All preservation depends on the state of the ultimates, for all the interior things cease there, and form a plane there in which they may subsist. Ultimates are like the soles and the feet, on which the whole body stands. . . ."***
     * AE 69               
     ** AE 569:17
     *** AC 9836:2
     Again in the work on Divine Providence we read, "It is a law of the Divine Providence that man should as from himself remove evils as sins in the external man; and thus and not otherwise can the Lord remove evils in the internal man, and then at the same time in the external."* Of course the "external man" referred to here is the external of the spirit or the external of thought, not merely the body. But this is an ultimate in the most important sense that it is the lowest determination of the human spirit to which the Lord can appeal in His Word. The body itself does not respond to His teachings, but the man does in his body through thought. Thus the body is an extension of that ultimate and is called in the Writings "an obedience." When the thought is affected-if it really is affected-then the whole ultimate, including the body, will respond. And this must be the first response, for without a suitable vessel the Lord cannot flow in with interior good and truth and remain (and, it must be observed, we are quite incapable of changing our own interiors since we do not even have a clear perception what they are, except as manifested or corrected through the ultimates!)**
     * DP 100, hdg.
`     ** DP 119-120

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     Only after the woman had washed the Lord's feet, and dried them with her hair, did she kiss Him, and then again, only on the feet. The kiss represents unition, and conjunction from affection, thus further acknowledgment and reciprocation with the Lord. But that the woman kissed the Lord's feet emphasizes again that this first conjunction was in ultimates. Now what do we mean by the ultimates or externals of the church of worship, and the Word which are here referred to? Are they not the essential elements of each as they are contained in forms of expression through the external thought and the action of the body? The Writings say that he who loves the end loves also the means, and the first means of our regeneration is to get ourselves into external order according to the ultimate teachings of the Word in humility before the Lord. For example, what are the externals of the church? The essential of the church with every man is charity. Thus the externals of it are even as illustrated in the story, the performance of good works from an affection for the truth: not only pleasant "extra" things called in the Writings "benefactions," but also obligations toward the Church which become very obvious when we reflect upon its needs.
     There can be little doubt that when the woman of the city approached Jesus with her little box of precious ointment she had no other thought than that of using the ointment immediately, thus representing worship of the Lord from the good of love and an acknowledgment that the Lord's teaching-even in the ultimates-was derived from the Divine Good itself. Yet when she did approach she found a duty left undone, she found a need in the Lord's ultimate of order that had first to be satisfied. She found, like so many find in coming to the Church, that the oil of love is not enough: there is work to do, maybe even unpleasant work, if true worship is to be provided for. And everyone must do his part.
     The woman could have thrown up her hands in disappointment that the Lord's feet had not been prepared for her ointment. She could have quietly slipped back into the shadows of the pharisee's house saying she had nothing with which to wash and wipe the Lord's feet. But she did not. From the deep affection that was in her heart and mind there arose the means and the courage to go forward and perform that humble duty of preparation so that her worship could be received in purity and good faith.
     So she kissed His feet, and then anointed them with the ointment. In other stories about the Lord being anointed, complaint was made that the precious oil had been wasted and could have been more profitably used. Here, significantly, the concern was not with wasted oil but with what the Pharisee considered a waste of time with someone who was unworthy of the Lord's presence. And so we have another striking lesson: it is never a waste of time in the Lord's sight to have the ultimates of the church and of Divine Order attended to.

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Nor is anyone unworthy to co-operate in this. The woman was a sinner; so are we. And yet within us all there may be an affection for the truth, which is called in the Heavenly Doctrines "faith," which is sufficient to bring us humbly to our obligations and to worship the Lord so that we may be conjoined with Him and saved-gradually, first in ultimates and finally in internal peace. As the Lord said to the woman, "Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace." Amen.

     LESSONS: Genesis 18:1-14; Luke 7:36-50; Divine Providence 100,102.
IT IS A LAW OF THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE THAT MAN SHOULD AS FROM HIMSELF REMOVE EVILS AS SINS IN THE EXTERNAL MAN, AND THUS NOT OTHERWISE CAN THE LORD REMOVE EVILS IN THE INTERNAL MAN AND TREAT AT THE SAME TIME IN THE EXTERNAL 1979

IT IS A LAW OF THE DIVINE PROVIDENCE THAT MAN SHOULD AS FROM HIMSELF REMOVE EVILS AS SINS IN THE EXTERNAL MAN, AND THUS NOT OTHERWISE CAN THE LORD REMOVE EVILS IN THE INTERNAL MAN AND TREAT AT THE SAME TIME IN THE EXTERNAL              1979

     Everyone can see from reason alone that the Lord, who is good itself and truth itself cannot enter into man unless the evils and falsities in him are removed. For evil is the apposite of good, and falsity is the opposite of truth; and two opposites can in no wise mingle together, but when one approaches the other a combat takes place. In such opposition are heaven and hell, or the Lord and the devil. Can anyone from reason think that the Lord can enter where the devil reigns, or that heaven can be where hell is? Who does not see, from the rationality granted every sane man, that for the Lord to enter, the devil must be cast out, or that for heaven to enter, hell must be removed?
     This opposition is meant by Abraham's words from heaven to the rich man in hell: "Between us and you there is a great gulf fixed; so that they who would pass from hence to you cannot; neither can they pass to us who should come from thence." (Luke xvi:26) Evil itself is hell, and good itself is heaven; or what is the same, evil itself is the devil, and good itself is the Lord: and the man in whom evil reigns is a hell in the least form, and the man, in whom good reigns is a heaven in the least form. Since this is the case, how can heaven enter hell when between them there is such a great gulf fixed that there can be no crossing from one to the other? Hence it follows that hell must be completely removed that it may be possible for the Lord to enter with heaven. DP 100

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SENSUOUS AS IT RELATES TO THE OPENING OF THE RATIONAL 1979

SENSUOUS AS IT RELATES TO THE OPENING OF THE RATIONAL       Rev. FREDERICK L. SCHNARR       1979

     (The second in a series of addresses on the human mind, given at the Educational Council, August, 1978.)

     The subject of how the sensuous degree of the mind relates to the opening of the rational mind, is so vast and complicated, as to require a considerable background as to the nature and quality of the sensuous. For this reason we believe it is useful to have before us a summary scan of the sensuous before concentrating on the main focus of our subject.
     The sensuous mind is, of course, the lowest part of the three degrees of the natural mind. Being the lowest, it is not only in close proximity to the life of the natural world, but actually is the first doorway of that life.
     The individual human is born and comes into eternal existence when for the first time what is spiritual meets, and interprets, and uses, what is from the natural world. Life from the Lord, descending through the soul, and continuing down through the celestial, spiritual, and rational planes of the mind, meets the first sensory motions of life from the things of the world. The miracle of a new human creation has been wrought; a new "as of self" reaching out in the awakening sensuous to receive life from all parts of the Lord's vast spiritual and natural kingdoms.
     While there are obvious adult responsibilities in protecting and caring for the physical body in preparing it to receive the first breath of life, this first use of the sensuous is hidden deeply in the secret chambers of the Lord's providence.
     And the same might be said of the second use of the sensuous, in which the Lord prepares a special means whereby man can receive the life of heaven. We are speaking of the implantation of man's first remains.
     In contrast to later states of mental growth, the sensuous mind in the beginning of life seems deceptively simple, containing only the impress of man's heredity. As yet there is no external memory, no desires and cravings from the senses, no organized knowledges, no imaginative thoughts and delights to be clothed in sensual things, no moral concepts or ideals to ultimate in sensuals, and no rational or spiritual thoughts and affections to find expression and life in the world of sensual uses. There is not yet even any activity from the perverted forms of man's heredity.

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     The Sensuous and Celestial Remains

     And yet, in this apparently empty form, a marvelous thing takes place; a miracle that for a time floods the sensuous with the spheres of the celestial heavens. Heaven and earth come together in a beautiful and powerful conjunction. The spheres of heaven meet the first simple sensations inflowing from the world and produce forms that are called "celestial," or "inmost" remains. These heavenly impressions form the basis of man's inmost memory, and will remain with him forever as the necessary means of his finding any perception of what is true and any delight in what is good.
     Without these first gifts from the Lord, man could never develop any truly human quality. He could have no freedom or rationality, because these capacities, and their quality, are dependent upon man being able to think what is true and to will what is good. And man cannot think what is true and will what is good unless there is within him something that can respond to the influx of life from the Divine. And so the Lord provides each person with celestial remains, formed in the first awakening life of the sensuous.*
     * AC 1050, 1450, 1548, 1906
     There are many things about: man's first remains which we cannot examine at this time. That they have a primary place in considering the relationship of the sensuous to the rational, seems evident in that before we consider the responsibility and effort of man, we need to consider and acknowledge the provisions and work of the Lord. The physical and spiritual form of man, and his various capacities, all begin their functions in the life of the sensuous, and yet all look from Divine purpose and desire to the opening and development of a truly rational man.
     We would note also, that from the very beginning there is a relationship between the inmost of the sensuous and the inmost of the natural rational. Once the first celestial remains have been formed in the sensuous, the Lord removes them out of the sensuous to the inmost of the natural rational, and there stores them away for man's future use. In the rational they are safe from the destructive inclinations and states of man's hereditary evils.
     Indeed, we are taught that if they were not so removed, they would be destroyed by hereditary evils which later flood the sensuous mind.*
     * AC 1906:3, 6156, 9014

     Uses of the Sensuous

     In reviewing the teachings concerning the sensuous degree of the mind, we have come upon five essential uses which take place there, all of which have a relationship to the opening and functioning of the rational mind.

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     In brief these uses are:

     1. Providing for the implanting of remains.
     2. Providing a plane of thought and life for the opening of the middle or imaginative degree of the natural mind.
     3. Providing a means of communication with others.
     4. Providing ultimates for clothing and applying things of civil, moral, and spiritual life.
     5. Providing that all things of life from whatever degree, not only be ultimated, but fixed in memory forms.

     In each of these areas there are responsibilities in the adult's relationship to the infant, child, or youth, which make these uses of special concern to parents and educators. What can we do in these areas to serve the Lord in helping to prepare the sensuous, that it in turn looks to the development of a truly rational man?
     All of us have given much reflection to this subject in one way or another. We are all aware of the great detail of material that can be considered. We would not presume at this time therefore to do more than touch upon certain important specifics, and to suggest some topics for further thought and discussion.
     To have a proper idea of the uses of the sensuous with children and young people, we must remember that we are focusing on a pre-rational state. Much of the doctrine concerning the preparation and elevation of the sensuous, or of sensual things, describes a rational state that is in the process of reformation and regeneration. The elevation of the sensuous to the place where it serves to ultimate, confirm, express, and fix man's spiritual life, can only take place when that spiritual life is in process of formation. So the Doctrines state, that "When the interiors are elevated, the sensuous is elevated . . . But none can be thus elevated, except those who have lived in the good of faith and charity."* Or, as it is stated elsewhere, "When a man is in good, and from good in truths, he is elevated."**
     * AC 6954:7
     ** AC 9407:15; cf. AC 6309, 6952, TCR 402:16, 18; AE 563
     Now, while it is true that a child has no formed state of spiritual good to cause an elevation of things from the sensuous, there is a way for elevation to take place at all ages. The child has an understanding, a new will in its beginnings from remains, and a hereditary will. There must be an action between the understanding and the will from remains that causes an elevation of the understanding out of its sensuous home, and into a higher plane. With fallen man, the Lord has formed the understanding separated from the will so that the understanding can be raised into the light of truth, and once raised, can lead the will to follow by shunning evil as sin.*

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When the will does not follow, the understanding sinks back again to its former state.
     * Life 15; AR 226; DLW 242
     That something of this process can and must take place with children and young people prior to the rule of rational states, and in spite of the fact that they cannot yet be in genuine states of spiritual good, is evident from the emphasis on the importance of knowledges with infants and children-especially knowledges from the Word.
     We believe other speakers will discuss the use of knowledges from the Word in considering preparation for the opening of the rational, so we will not dwell on this most important subject here, except to note two oft-repeated teachings. One is, that the knowledges of the Word, even the most sensual imagery, are ordered and organized by the Lord Himself, and when known by man, are the means of receiving light and life from heaven, because they are open to the Lord Himself.*
     * AC 3665:2, 3
     And the other teaching is that "Love cannot elevate itself unless it knows truths, and these it can learn only by means of an elevated and enlightened understanding; and then so far as it loves truths in the practice of them, so far it is elevated."*
     * DLW 422
     While we are taught that although children cannot elevate their judgment higher than the plane of sensuous truth, nevertheless the preparation for elevation depends upon the knowledge, order, and organization of sensuous truth both in the thought and the affection.* And of essential and primary importance in this knowledge of sensuous truth is the sensuous truth of the letter of the Word.
     * AC 1434
     One of the most explicit passages in explaining how truths from the sense of the letter of the Word are the means of the Divine being received, is the passage in the Arcana which explains why Jacob was not allowed to choose a wife from the daughters of the Canaanites, but was to go to the house of Bethuel in the land of Padan-aram Padan-aram represents the knowledges of the letter of the Word. We read concerning this story that the truths man

learns as an infant child are altogether external and corporeal, for as yet he is unable to apprehend interior truths. These truths are no other than knowledges of such things as contain, in their inmost, things Divine; for there are knowledges of things that do not contain anything Divine in their inmost; and there are knowledges that do contain it. The knowledges that do contain what is Divine are such that they can admit interior truths more and more, successively, and in order; whereas the knowledges which do not contain what is Divine are such that they do not admit, but reject these interior truths; for the knowledges of external and corporeal good and truth are like ground, which according to its quality admits seeds of one nature but not of another, bringing to maturity one kind of seed, and suffocating another.

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Knowledges which contain in their inmost what is Divine, admit into them spiritual and celestial truth and good, possessing this capacity from the Divine that is within, and which disposes; but the knowledges which do not contain in them what is Divine, admit only what is false and evil, such being their nature.*
     * AC 3665:2

     (These latter knowledges are the daughters of the Canaanites.)
     Notice the use of the word "disposes." Sensuous truths from the Word dispose the child's mind to be lifted up out of what is merely sensuous when the time is ripe. What makes such a disposition, or affirmation is not only that the Divine is in sensuous truths of the Word, but that the child from remains responds to them with an interior delight.* And it is this delight which reaches up as it were to the Lord. Something similar happens with each opening degree of the mind, in that the goods and truths of the Word dispose the mind to the Lord. Is not this the teaching of that beautiful passage which declares that "all instruction is only an opening of the may" to the Lord?**
     * AC 1422
     ** AC 1495:2

     Supporting Means

     If it is true that the life of the sensuous mind is opened to the natural or rational essentially through sensuous goods and truths of the Word, it is also evident that there must be supporting means for this process to take place. There are many such means, but we would consider here only those which seem most important:

     1. The use of apparent or mediate goods.
     2. The use of civil and moral habits.
     3. The use of a protective environment.
     4. The use of sensual scientifics from the world.
     5. The use of a focus upon use.

     The primary concern of parents and teachers is to provide that the knowledges of good and truth from the Word be with the child. But to have such knowledges received with delight, and to be disposed to higher forms of good and truth, and supremely to the Lord Himself, requires more than the mere presentation of the knowledges of the Word.
     Let us look briefly at the five things we have noted, which are means of receiving or focusing the knowledges from the Word.

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1. Apparent or Mediate Goods

     We would recall the familiar doctrine, that every person receives from heredity, forms or inclinations to good that are not genuine. Because they are not genuine they must in time be removed through the trials of reformation and regeneration. But before this happens, such natural goods perform very important functions, which because they serve as means to spiritual ends, are called mediate goods. The New Word lists many such goods: "the feeling that all love begins from self; that self is to be taken care of first and then others; that good is to be done to such as appear poor and distressed outwardly, no matter what may be their inward character . . . ." that good must be done to merit heaven.* Many and various are the examples of mediate good that are given, including such evident things as beauty of form, pleasant manners and disposition.**
     * AC 3701:3, 4
     ** AC 4145; cf. 3993:9-12, 5008:2, 5025, 5028
     Without pursuing the whole doctrine of apparent or mediate good, we would note the instruction that it is such good that causes delight in the gathering and acquiring of knowledges, including the knowledge of the Word.*
     * AC 3518
     That parents and teachers can and must appeal to such mediate, natural goods, in an effort to provision the mind of the child with the things of the Word seems clear. It also accords with the teachings that many of the sensual things of the Word were so provided that the young mind could receive the Word with delight.*
     * AC 6333:4, 3690:2, 3982:3

2. Civil and Moral Habits

     The Word informs us, and experience attests, that what we repeatedly do, with or without conscious thought, gradually becomes with us a habit. The habit in turn disposes us to what is of order or what is of disorder, depending on its form.*
     * AC 1050:2, 3843:2, 9394:4; SD 4614
     While we are cautioned as to how good habits can become mere thoughtless customs, and can give a veneer of heavenly order to cover a state of evil, still the use of orderly habits is a means of disposing the mind to what is of rational life, and finally of heavenly life. Habits relating to the keeping of the Ten Commandments, habits relating to the doctrine of charity, to the external forms of civil and moral behavior, manners, and appearance, are all means of disposing the mind to spiritual things. And of all habits, what could be more useful than the habit of daily reading from the Word, and the repetition of the Lord's prayer?*

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(In a description of those saying the Lord's prayer in simplicity, scarcely understanding the words, it is written that their state was soft, open and intelligible to the angels, a vessel receiving life from heaven.**)
     * Charity 173-174; AC 6476, 6619; SD 2435, 1826, 2039, 5668
     ** SD 1987a

3. A Protective Environment

     Through celestial remains the Lord gives to infants and children states of external innocence, sometimes called the innocence of ignorance. It is this innocence which not only gives the young mind the desire to be led, but also brings to parents the protecting desires of parental love-storge.*
     * AC 9296:2, 9301; HH 277; CL 395-396
     To prepare the sensual so that it is open to the rational, requires that those things from our environment that are physically and mentally harmful be withheld from our children. In our civilization of open and rapid communication, where so much of our cultural environment is polluted by disorderly, immoral, and amoral forms and sensations, the task of parents and teachers in protecting seems herculean. Dirty jokes, filthy language, callous and cruel attitudes and acts-perversions in an endless variety of forms assail the sensuous mind, and fix themselves as affections and images in the external memory.
     These are not the memory forms in which innocence can have a continuing life. They are the memories in which hell finds a new home and activity. The more there are, and the more frequent is their recall, the more is the sensuous moved to a loss of innocence. The life of truths and goods from the Word is confused and obscured.
     The innocent, affectional states of childhood, born from remains, cannot protect and defend themselves. Such states are protected and defended by truths and the understanding of truths.* Since children, and even youths, are only in the rudiments of truths and the functions of the understanding, their sensual states must be cared for and sheltered by parents and teachers, and hopefully the adult community. This is a work, often unpleasant, requiring much commitment of time and patience.
     * AE 1121

     4. Sensual Scientifics from the World

     Obviously, for the sensuous mind to be formed, and to perform its uses, there must be a multitude of sensual impressions and affections from the things of the world. Each organ of sensation receives a variety of different materials from the world which form a basis for sensual thought, affection, and pleasure. The Word tells us how the senses of sight and hearing especially serve the forming understanding, while taste and touch serve the will.*

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The sense of smell serves both.
     * AC 5077, 7038:2, CL 210
     What is there concerning such sensations from the world that would help parents and teachers to dispose the sensuous mind to rational and spiritual things? The mere feeding, multiplying, and repetition of sensual things does not in itself open the sensuous to higher things. We have previously noted that the knowledge of the sensuals of the Word is the essential that makes possible the opening of the sensuous degree. How worldly things serve the presence of the Word in the sensuous is a question that involves much of the theory and practice of New Church education. We cannot speak as to its complexities and ramifications here. We would however, summarize some of the functions of such worldly sensations and knowledges by noting the terms the Writings use in defining their use: confirm, mirror, illustrate, ultimate, and fix.*
     * AC 1900, 2992, 3000, 3310, 5874, 6004:4, 6077, 8628:3, 9300:3; HH 56, 104, 114, 365; AE 726:5, SS 56
     Knowledges from the Word, even sensual knowledges, are not seen in a vacuum. To be deeply impressed on the memory, they must be seen as reflected in many natural and worldly things.
     Even with infants and little children who are only in the life of the sensuous, the things of the Word must begin to be confirmed that they may be disposed for higher uses.

     5. A Focus Upon Use

     Of all the different things that serve to prepare the sensuous mind to be open to the rational, nothing is more important than the focus upon use.
     How often do the Writings declare, and emphasize by repetition, that

"Knowledges must have use as their end, and when they have use, they have life as their end, for all life belong to uses, because it belongs to ends, and therefore unless knowledges are learned for the sake of a life of uses, they are of no moment, because of no use."*
     * AC 1964

     Parents and teachers are aware that all knowledges should not have an equal place in the sensuous, because all uses are not of equal importance. (As there are higher and lower uses, so are there higher and lower knowledges. As there are permanent and temporary uses, so are there permanent and temporary knowledges. As there are good and evil uses, so are there good and evil knowledges. And the same is the case with truth and falsity.*
     * AC 997, 4984, 5214; HH 112, 361, 389, 517; DLW 46, 65, 66, 313, 316, 336

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     The kinds and degrees of love, help us to see the kinds and degrees of use, which in turn help us to see the kinds and degrees of knowledges. All are clothed, rest, and function in the sensuous. Recall, for example, the descending degrees of:

     Love of the Lord
     Love of the Lord's heavenly kingdom
     Love of the church
     Love of country
     Love of community
     Love of family
     Love of self*
          * AC 6073

     Each of these loves has ultimates of use and knowledge in the sensuous. The Writings tell us that "nothing is possible in man's thought even as to the deepest arcanum of faith, that is not attended with a natural and sensuous idea."* The kinds of knowledge, therefore, that impress the sensuous are important as suitable ultimates. But even of greater importance is the focus of use that pervades and attends their implantation.
     * AC 3310
     New Church parents and educators, in presenting materials to build the sensuous mind, certainly must inquire first as to the use that is to be served by the knowledges. For the nature of the use will surely determine the nature of the presentation, and the effort devoted to the implantation of any given data or experience.
     How much the focus of use deserves a primary place, is clearly expressed in an educational directive from the Word, which states:

Sensuous truth consists in seeing all earthly and worldly things as being created by God, and each and ever-thing for a purpose, and in all things whatsoever a certain image of God's kingdom.*
     * AC 1434

     The Writings speak of the sensuous mind as containing a chaos of myriads of sensual impressions, thoughts and affections. In this chaos there is a little of heaven and much of hell. This first garden of our mind is populated by many various things of differing qualities, all waiting to come forth into forms of use. It is a garden frequented by the serpent and his whispering seductions; it is a land filled with Pharoah's stubbornness and folly and with the plagues of Egypt. But for all this, it is also the seedbed of the angelic heavens, and the birthplace of the Lord's great purpose that from sensual man there shall arise spiritual rational man. It is to this Divine purpose that all of our educational efforts with our children conspire.

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PREADAMITES 1979

PREADAMITES       Rev. ALFRED ACTON       1979

     A SERIES OF CLASSES

     SECTION II*
          * General references: DP 275; SD 567

     In my last article on the Preadamites I defined the term as used by Swedenborg to mean those people who lived before and during the Church Adam, that is the Most Ancient Church. Since the Church Adam was the first of all true religions on the face of this earth, the Preadamites are those people who lived prior to its beginning. It was suggested that perhaps this definition could apply to any locality. For example, if no true religion had ever reached certain peoples, then they might be called Preadamites. So, also, those contemporaries of the Most Ancients who eventually survived the flood and became the men of the Ancient Church, are properly called Preadamites. If they knew not God, then they were preadamitic in nature. We should note here that there are perhaps some other factors which might determine whether a person was a Preadamite or not, but this first factor, knowledge of God, seems the most important. Other factors would include the hereditary nature of such people. If there was any evil in them, then they could not be Preadamites as such, but we will speak of this later. In general when we speak of Preadamites, we think of early men-the earliest-and are not so concerned with vestiges left in the backwaters of the planet.
     In this article and in subsequent installments, I shall turn my attention specifically to those teachings which help us learn of the life of these people. But as I pointed out, we should not be as concerned with the scientifics of revelation as with their application to our own understanding of ourselves. When we look at those things revealed, we should pay particular heed as to how they can help us see God more clearly, and so come to love Him more perfectly.

     Sight of God is from the internal sense of the Word. In its three basic series we find sets of teachings which better present Him to us. In the celestial sense, which applies directly to Him, we can see His love and wisdom both in act and description. In the spiritual sense we find Him showing man the path to heaven, explaining the life of regeneration as it now exists, filled with our necessity to shun evils as sins and to enter into the life of charity towards the neighbor.

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In the natural historical sense, which applies to the churches, we see the Lord caring for all His creation, manifesting Himself in His Word so that the church can survive, and establishing His powers through the wonderful leading of His providence. As we know, because the Lord is the center of each of these series, they make one, correspondentially. So the series of the churches mirrors the life of man, and the regeneration of man in its turn reflects the glorification of God.
     As me study Preadamites, this general truth should be clear, else the application to our life will be lost. The fact is that when we realize that God is the Creator and Savior of man, that the Preadamites are, in fact, in heaven, though they have scarcely anything spiritual in them;* when we realize that God's providence has from the beginning been lifting mankind into greater spiritual light, slowly through the free acts of men establishing a new order in the natural world, an order that reflects the spiritual realities known to angels rather than the merely natural order of self love and survival;** when we see these truths stated about Preadamites, then we begin to glimpse God Himself in His Word. Further, when we see that this series mirrors a series in our own life, when we see that the state of the Most Ancient Church can be an adult state, then we can see that the things of childhood are mirrored in what is said about these primitive people-states which when seen in this context may well be better filled and appealed to. Also, when we see that this series can apply simply to that first life state of man, prior to his attaining the full protection of celestial angels which is symbolized by baptism, then we again can learn something of what is happening to man as he is prepared to receive remains, and perhaps from this we can better reach those states of primitive life in an individual. Lastly, when we can see in the scientifics of this series the pattern of development which led to the Most Ancient Church, we may, by inference, be able to learn something of the Lord's childhood on earth, and the preparation He endured to ready Himself for glorification.
     * SD 3390
     ** AC 286
     So we study the Word not for science or history, but for insights into spiritual matters. Yet scientifics do exist in the Word and should be ordered by careful study, else the deeper pictures within them will be forever locked in our lack of organization.

     Who Were They?

     The New Word describes two general types of Preadamites. In the Arcana Coelestia we read: Men "first . . . lived like wild animals, but at length became spiritual men; then . . . became celestial and constituted the Most Ancient Church."*

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Since this teaching of the Arcana Coelestia is so important to our further consideration of the subject, let me quote it in full: "This (third chapter of Genesis) and the preceding chapters, down to the verses now under consideration here in chapter 3 treat of the most ancient people and of their regeneration: first, of those who lived like wild animals, but at length became spiritual men; then of those who became celestial men and constituted the Most Ancient Church; afterwards of those who fell away, and their descendants, in regular order through their first, second and third posterities and their successors, down to the flood.**
     * Ibid.
     By noting the words first, then, and afterwards in this teaching I make the following assumption. Chapter one of Genesis treats of what is called first, that is, of the period when man was natural or rather like a wild animal, and then when he became spiritual even to the creation of man himself on the sixth day. Chapter two speaks of the Most Ancient Church in its integrity. Chapter three treats the fail. From this observation we can see how the first chapter of Genesis with its six days of creation applies entirely to preadamitic states. There are other passages which show that this series also specifically applies to the regeneration of the man of the Most Ancient Church, but since we know that the life of a man mirrors the life of the race, it is not a contradiction to assume that such a man would have had to undergo a process like unto the establishment of humanity in the first place.
     From this assumption we can observe seven separate states of the pre-adamitic development beginning with the void and darkness and concluding with the creation on the sixth day of male and female. Note that Preadamites are not celestial. They have no celestial genius. They began natural and only became spiritual. It was with the first progeny of the Most Ancient Church that the celestial genius became a fact with men. So we read: "We will briefly observe that their first parents (meaning the parents of those who lived before the flood), who constituted the Most Ancient Church, were celestial men, and consequently had celestial seeds implanted in them; whence their descendants had seed in them from such an origin."* As an aside, note well that "Preadamites are ignored in this teaching. This teaching, which is speaking of people who lived before the flood, says those peoples' first parents were of the Most Ancient Church, and that these people had such a different genius from that of today that we cannot know it. But we know from the fact that some Preadamites are in heaven today, that at least some of them did not become most ancient men. So at least some Preadamiles would have been the first parents of all men.

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This fact is further confirmed by the direct teaching that Preadamites delight in the knowledge that they were the progenitors of the human race.
     ** AC 310
     An explanation of the reasons for ignoring Preadamites here comes three numbers later where we read: . . . "It is the Most Ancient Church that is here treated of under the name of 'man'; and when it is called 'Adam' it signifies that man was from the ground, or that from being non-man he became man by regeneration from the Lord."* In other words, man had to be regenerated to become true man. In preadamitic states he was "non-man" and so was not mentioned as a part of the men who lived before the flood.
     * AC 313
     We believe that this same principle is applied elsewhere in the New Word, and will refer to it later when discussing the diet of Preadamites, but here remember not to confuse the term "non-man" of the New Word with the term "near-man" of anthropologists. Preadamites went to heaven, they had eternal life, and so were human. They are much more like infants than animals. There is an important difference, however, between infants and Preadamites. Preadamites died as adults. They had validated many sense experiences here on earth. They had ultimated many of their natural loves. No love, once ultimated, can be erased from man unless he, in freedom, rejects it. Love made one's own will remain even to eternity. But, if man doesn't know any better, surely this cannot be the case? The fact is that it is. If man makes a love his own, that love limits his ability to receive certain other loves. He will be unwilling to hear the truth that will lead him to rejection of the ultimated love. Now, of course, natural loves are not evil, per se. They are good, but they still limit. So Preadamites are in heaven, but are limited as to the loves they have made their own. Though they've been there longer than anyone else, unlike children, at least some of them have not been able to be instructed in the full life of heaven. Swedenborg writes,

I was shown of what quality were the Pre-Adamites. A certain one spoke with me in such speech as characterizes their life; not a rapid and distinct speech, as is customary, but one whose words had in them a little of life, so that it can be heard. . . . I heard that he . . . was not evil, but had a little of life remaining, so that he was an external man, but still, internals were within his externals; there was (though) (but) a little of his internals (left); so that he has not become such an external man as those of our day, in whom externals are separated from internals. But, in this case, internals were within though (but) little.*
     * SD 3390

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     Their Spiritual Development

     We might well wonder whether all Preadamites remained in this state. There is no answer to our question in Revelation, yet we would suppose that if the loves confirmed by Preadamites did not keep them from learning, then they would have progressed out of that state into another. Such a possibility seems indicated by a passage cited at the end of our last article which talked of men living on islands. After pointing out how these men first looked like apes, because they had never known of God and how they became servants on account of this lack of knowledge, the number continued,

But after some time, there was given them a nearer communication with the Christians, and they are beginning to receive something of religion, and (the hope was cherished) that they could be reformed, for the reason that they had lived a moral life, and are in obedience and are industrious.*
     * LJP 130, 131

     Note from this teaching that reformation seems possible after death, at least for some. Perhaps this reformation is possible because such spirits after death have not confirmed loves which will block further progress. Such a principle is again and again confirmed by the tremendous variety of the heavens. Because men receive love from the Lord each in a unique way they are individuals. Love once confirmed makes the man, it cannot be erased. As the tree falls, so shall it lie. Man must develop spiritually in heaven within the framework of that love which he has ultimated.
     Preadamites, at least some of them, are still in a state of scarcely any spiritual life, while children who have died without ultimating such loves can be taught and so led to new states. Note some of the implications of this fact in raising children on earth. Loves ultimated by them will become a part of their spiritual make-up. They cannot be erased and are only made quiescent by later free choices which in the other world, as well as here, may be blocked by the very loves earlier confirmed. Those who feel children should be allowed to experience the loves of the world need to recognize this powerful principle of ultimation and seek instead to provide an environment wherein ultimation will not be as severe as it might otherwise be. So the need for chaperones and the like rests with the real spiritual harm that may happen in the ignorance of youth.*
     * Cf. CL 456; DP 78-79
     Of course, I am not speaking here of the salvation of an individual. All Preadamites presumably went to heaven. None are mentioned in hell. All children are saved, even as are all gentiles who have not confirmed the loves of self and the world. What I am speaking of is the quality of their life in paradise.

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If a man finds happiness only in natural loves, the quality of his spiritual happiness cannot be as great as that of a man who loves the Lord above all else. There is a center to heaven and there are outskirts. Even though all in the entire heavens enjoy the most happiness possible for them, in that they enjoy the perfect freedom to follow their loves, still some will be more blest than others. Of course, New Church education hopes to express the deepest of all loves so that those exposed to it will have the possibility of the richest quality of love.

     Their Appearance

     But to return to Preadamites, what did these people look like? Can we say with any assurance from revelation that they even looked like men? Were they perhaps more like the early men so popularized in science textbooks or in museums of natural history? Were they the ape-like men of past eons! We have no definitive answer to this question, but there are certain things about their appearance which we can infer from several teachings. First, note that these men, when seen in heaven, appeared as men. Swedenborg, for example, at first did not know that the Preadamite with whom he spoke was a Preadamite. It was not until he indexed his Diary that he clearly referred to the man as such. This would imply that he was very like a man of our age rather than some species of ape-like man. But if the men living on islands can appear as apes, and we would assume here that they are not apes since their faces were human, why couldn't the Preadamites, who in natural form might have been ape-like, look like men in heaven, as that was their quality?
     We can't even say with certainty whether these people stood up straight, or instead walked in the hopping fashion of the men of Jupiter. A teaching about these latter men, used by some to support the thesis that Pre-adamites did not walk erect, notes:

Moreover, they do not walk on all-fours as do terrestrial animals or quadrupeds, but they hop, as it were, and at the same time assist themselves with their hands in order to go more quickly. And from time to time they stand on both feet, but bent at the knee. That they proceed by hopping also flows from interior nature, because they are of the earth and at the same time have regard to heaven. But men and spirits of our earth scoff at this because they are evil, and malice is innate in them; and they also glory that they walk erect, which comes rather from their nature, that they are proud. It can be established that the erect position of the body is not natural, but artificial, and was learned and became habitual in course of time. Nature wills that men should rather walk (as do the Jovians), and if they had so walked it would have assumed a decorous appearance from use. . . .*
     * SD 567

     Another passage from the Divine Providence is also cited in support of this thesis. It reads:

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     If man were born into love to the neighbor he would not be born into the thick darkness of ignorance, as every man now is, but into a certain light of knowledge and intelligence therefrom; and into these he would quickly come. At first he would creep like a quadruped, but with an inherent endeavor to raise himself up upon his feet; for however much like a quadruped he seemed he would not turn his face downward to the earth but forward towards heaven, and would raise himself up as to be able also to look upwards.*
     * DP 275

     Did the Preadamites walk erect? Were they physically more like unto apes and so able to walk in the hopping manner of those on Jupiter? Remember there are at least six stages of Preadamites. Would me necessarily expect the same state or posture for each? Could we from a skeleton expect to learn something of the !manner in which they walked, and if we assumed they walked one way, would it be fair to assume we had found Preadamite skeletons if they fit our picture? Such questions are completely speculative. We don't have definitive answers in the pages of revelation. Rather we must study the facts of science where such answers may come to light. On the other hand, we need to be aware of the teachings in revelation which might imply a different manner of posture.
     For my own part I do not believe the Preadamites walked like those on Jupiter; although they may have begun their development in the animal-like body of the ape, still their need to look heavenward as a reflection of their humanity would have been necessary. Something artificial, such as standing up straight, is not necessarily evil. Indeed, for man to impose spiritual order upon natural, which is regeneration, is in a sense artificial. It must needs be learned. We must learn, for example, to confine love of the sex to one of the sex, but that artificial pattern is far superior to the former. Man can stand up straight because he must necessarily elevate his gaze to spiritual things. To crawl as a quadruped would be a violation of that principle. Nor do I see a problem with the issue of pride. As Preadamites were not in evil, they could not be proud as such. But to say that pride is the sole reason for standing up straight seems far-fetched on this planet, with the type of skeleton man now has. Remember neither of the passages used to support a hopping or crawling Preadamites have any real reference to the dawn of mankind when he was developing from being natural to being spiritual, that is, to Preadamites proper As a baby first crawls, but is soon taught to stand up, so I believe Preadamites in infancy crawled, but like infants today outgrew that posture and learned to travel in a manner like unto that of modern man. Remember, the men of the Most Ancient Church, who were the most perfect example of earthly humanity, stood up straight, at least as far as we know.

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     But, although I have my own opinion concerning this matter, it is most important that we realize revelation gives no clear answer to the question. We cannot say definitely what Preadamites looked like. They may have been ape-men, they may have been Neanderthal, they may have been modern in appearance, they may have been all these at different times. We just don't know. What we do know is that they were men, that they did go to heaven, and that they did not have evil with them as such.
     In my next article on this subject I shall continue this treatment with a discussion of the physiology of Preadamites as well as the spiritual and natural cultures of these people.
ERECT POSTURE 1979

ERECT POSTURE              1979

     They do not walk on all fours, as do terrestrial animals or quadrupeds, but they hop, as it were, and at the same time assist themselves with their hands, in order to go more quickly. And from time to time they stand on both feet, but bent at the knee. . . . That they proceed by hopping also flows from interior nature, because they are of the earth, and at the same time have regard to heaven. But the men and spirits of our earth scoff at this because they are evil, and malice is innate in them; and they also glory that they walk erect, which comes rather from their nature, that they are proud. It can be established that the erect position of the body is not natural, but artificial, and was learned and became habitual in course of time. Nature wills that men should rather walk [as do the Jovians], and if they had so walked, it would have assumed a decorous appearance from use, as is the case with nakedness in the warm regions of our earth. Spiritual Diary 576
     If man were born [into the] love of the neighbor, he would not be born into the darkness of ignorance, as every man now is, but into some faint light of knowledge and consequently of intelligence; and in these he would rapidly advance. He would indeed, at first, creep like a quadruped, but with an inherent endeavor within him to raise himself up upon his feet; for, however much like a quadruped, still he would not turn his face downward to the earth, but forward towards heaven, and would stand upright, so that he might also be able to look upwards. Divine Providence 275

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DISCIPLINE 1979

DISCIPLINE       Rev. GEOFFREY H. HOWARD       1979

     (Headmaster's address to the parent-teachers meeting, Kainon School, Durban.)

     This is the first opportunity I have had to meet with you, the parents of the students of Kainon School. Let me say at the outset, that I welcome this opportunity. I have not called a Parent-Teacher meeting until this time because I felt it would be most useful for me to speak to you after I had gained something of a feeling for the school and its operation. I have now served Kainon School for one full term as its headmaster, and I feel that it is now most appropriate for me to speak to you this evening.
     When I was called to assume the pastorate of the Durban Society, I knew that this position also included the Headmastership of the Kainon School. I want you to know that I was very happy to accept responsibility for both of these offices. The function of a Pastor is "to teach and lead people to the good of life and thus to the Lord." And the function of a Headmaster in a New Church school is really the same, except that the principles of such leadership have to be accommodated to developing or maturing states. While the principle is the same the application of it has different ramifications.
     As a new Headmaster I know full well that many of you have questions relating to any philosophy concerning this position. There is always a degree of apprehension, perhaps excitement, perhaps concern when there is a change in leadership. It is only natural that this should be. Confidence in a person to fulfill a certain role comes only gradually. It is simply a sense of trust and hope in the beginning. But let me now say that if you have such feelings I can understand. You have a deep concern for the welfare of your child's education at heart. If you didn't you would not be a very concerned parent.
     On the other hand, I also am a parent deeply concerned for the welfare of the education of my own children. I have that concern as a father.

     But quite apart from that, I have accepted the headmastership of this school, and I am concerned with the endeavour of serving it in a responsible manner. I have accepted the work of overseeing the educational well-being of your children. Although I believe that the responsibility for the education of children essentially belongs to parents, in our complex society we have delegated it to schools.

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We have done this because the advancement of learning has become so far-reaching and specialized that no parent is equal to the task in these modern times. We have therefore delegated something of this responsibility to our schools.
     A New Church school exists because of the conviction that we all feel as New Church parents. It is our conviction that the Writings of the New Church reveal unto us the true nature of the one and only God of the universe, who created it and who governs it. We therefore acknowledge that all learning, if it is to contain within it a true perspective, must be seen in relation to His immutable Divine order. That conviction is what gives reason for the existence of our New Church schools. Let me therefore say that I regard a New Church school as the extension of a New Church home. The responsibility of its headmaster is, therefore, to oversee its educational philosophy, to ensure that adequate academic standards and that a basic sphere of discipline and order are maintained. The teachers also assume, very directly, many of these same responsibilities, but the overall responsibility lies with the headmaster.
     I would at this point like to express to you how I have felt, having served as the headmaster for the last three months. My initial reaction to the school has been very favourable. I think this society has a very fine school, and I think its future looks bright. It is a good school for several reasons. Its present state reflects well on its former headmasters and teachers. In addition, there has obviously been a close cooperation between the parents and the school in supporting the objectives of the school. Parental initiative with regard to stimulating extra-curricular activities has also received great support.

     I am very confident that this same spirit will continue. If it is to do so, it requires that all of us, headmaster, teachers, students, and parents, suffer ourselves to be led and motivated by the vision of the Lord in the Writings, and Kainon School will continue to blossom and flourish.

     So much for my introductory remarks for this evening.

     *****

     I would like to devote the balance of my address to you this evening to a subject that I can sense is of concern to you. That subject is "Discipline and Order."
     I have deliberately chosen to speak of this because it is quite apparent that your particular culture in South Africa adheres to a closely disciplined structure of behaviour for its children. As you well know, this is no longer true in some other countries of our world. Many of you are probably wondering how I regard the subject of discipline, and how I view the implementation of its principles. I will therefore speak of this subject openly and freely, and I invite your discussion and questions later.

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     First of all, as New Churchmen, we must turn our attention to the Writings and seek the principles that the Lord would have us establish. In my mind there is a wealth of very clear teaching on the subject of "Discipline and Order." The very Divine truth of the Lord Himself is said to be "order itself." But it is very important to realise that order in the Lord is in the Divinely Human form. Divine order, therefore, is not just a stark form. It is Human form, that is to say, it is the form of truth, but truth most perfectly blended and conjoined with the Divine of love. Divine order is therefore that which defines and articulates the very love of the Divine. It is therefore a spectacle of beauty and strength.
     After the image of Divine order the whole of creation is formed. An order that is in harmony with the Divine order is implicit in the heavens, from the highest to the lowest. The love of obedience to that order constitutes the very boundary of the lowest heaven. All in the heavens have voluntarily chosen to enter into that order which constitutes the very structure of heaven.
     The willful defiance of Divine order is that which constitutes hell, and because the destruction of the Lord's order is really impossible to accomplish, to the utter dismay of evil spirits they find that, alas, in hell they are still bounded by a structure of restraint on their infernal delights and practises. The universal law stands. There is a universal structure of order outside of man. And that is true on the moral and spiritual planes of life just as surely as it is on the natural and scientific plane.
     In the light of so many clear teachings of the Writings it is quite incredible to me to witness the timidity with which some parents regard their children. The Writings most clearly state it is an act of charity for a father to restrain his child when his behaviour defies the limits of order.* Children and youths up to early manhood are, according to the Divine scheme of order, to be in a state of obedience to parents and teachers.** Parents and teachers are to be honoured by children.*** That is the commandment of the Lord. But what children are to honour is the superior wisdom, judgment, and moderation, which parents ought to possess.**** It is from this superiority of knowledge, experience and wisdom that parents should act in guiding their children. Children, regardless of what they express, are really looking for such leadership and guidance. Their whole emotional orientation, their self-confidence, depends largely on parents clearly defining the bounds of acceptable behaviour. Permissiveness simply breeds a bitter smouldering frustration, because apart from order there can be no love.

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As a consequence an unguided, and an undisciplined child feels unloved, and there is nothing more devastating to anyone than feeling unloved.
     * TCR 407
     ** TCR 106
     *** TCR 305
     **** AC 10797
     Those foregoing remarks represent my general sentiments with regard to the principles of order and discipline. These principles I believe are quite clearly given in the Writings. Beyond the seeing of these basics lies the highly individualized realm of application.
     To many people the application of principles of the Writings to life seems to be quite perplexing. Often it does call for considerable reflection. But one of the simplest rules to apply is the Golden Rule, to do unto others as you would have others do unto you. If only we will try to use the imagination, put ourselves in the place of the child with whom we are dealing, and ask ourselves what is the end I am trying to achieve? If I was in the shoes of this child, how would I feel, and what would I need to correct that state! Often we will come up with a fairly good answer.
     I mention the Golden Rule, because it defines the truth of spiritual love. The Lord Himself set it forth. Effective and just discipline must always look to an end or purpose which we are trying to help the child achieve through its means. That is a very vital part of this whole question. What is the purpose of discipline?
     According to the principles of the Writings there can be only one purpose to punishment and discipline. That purpose, or end, is that the mind may be disposed to receive love.* A disciplined person who has tasted the fruits of love is a truly happy person. For in his experience of life he has come to feel something of the true heavenly reward. It is into the blessedness of this experience that the church is trying to lead all who will heed, both young and old. To have in mind a focus to which we are trying to lead, I regard as a most vital principle. It is vital because without it discipline is subject to abuses and extremes.
     * AC 2417, 2447
     It was the Victorian era, perhaps, which stands out as having championed a style of discipline which was rigid, severe, and somewhat unreeling. "Children were to be seen and not heard." That style of discipline was set in a world which was then comparatively simplistic and secure. People all knew their stations in life, and an external propriety was observed by each class. A specified code of behaviour was accepted quite universally, and was also taught to children. Observance of it was strictly required of them. The ethics of several centuries culminated in the Victorian way of life.
     But then with the advent of the First World War the whole scene was dramatically changed.

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The security of many things that people had come to regard as permanent and stable was now threatened with possible ruination and destruction. The Western World came under an awful strain of severe disillusionment as to many basic institutions in its way of life. In the early twenties the properties of former centuries were unashamedly cast aside. Further disillusionment was spread with the dawning of the Great Depression in the late twenties and early thirties, only to be followed by a second World War even more grim and horrible than the first. By then many of the old traditions so dutifully followed by previous generations had been cast aside. Then with the Atomic Age and the rising threat of global destruction, the philosophy of relativism came into its popularity. It displaced the concept of absolute authority which characterized the ethics of former times. Everything was suspect. Science was looked to as the miraculous salve for the world's problems. But fulfill that role, it could not.
     I mention these historical trends, because the disintegration of the ethical values during these successive times could only have happened because of one very important, but unseen, cause. The Writings reveal that the Last Judgment had taken place in the spiritual world in the year 1757. This Judgment was a judgment on the spiritual falsities and evils that had invaded the Christian Church-falsities and evils which had rent that Church asunder until it could no longer serve its true purposes of proclaiming the one and only God of the universe, the Lord Jesus Christ. Although the Christian Church had been judged of its falsities and erroneous readings long before the dawning of this century, adherence to the firm traditions of former times delayed the appearing of its effects. Not until quite recently have we seen such utter turmoil invade the Western world and so severely challenge the sanctity of many of its basic principles. Truth is not seen to be absolute by very many people today. Rather it is seen to be relative-relative to the desires of each individual. As in the days of the Judges, every man must do that "which is right in his own eyes."
     Only through the Second Coming of the Lord and the establishment of a New Church can the rational vision of absolute truth be given to restore stability to the world. The effect of the Second Coming of the Lord is not to be measured in terms of the scattered few who comprise the organized New Church membership. The effect of the Second Coming is far reaching, causing there to be a perception of what is right in the traditions of past ages with many.* But the rational support for those perceptions of good that are with all who are sincere, can come only from the Writings of the New Church.
     * SS 103, 104

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     I have now come to work and to serve the cause of the New Church in this lovely land of yours, South Africa. I see within its way of life many of the traditions which I knew as a boy in England, which tragically now appear to have been largely abandoned. You teach your children manners that are highly commendable. You require of them an obedience to, and a respect for their elders. I believe that these are sound principles that are taught in the Word. But while this is true, I think there is also room for a note of caution. The caution of which I am going to speak is not a criticism; it is simply making certain that we are incorporating into our discipline of the young the principle of the end, the end that we are trying to promote and serve.
     Forms of discipline should only be imposed so that love may descend and reign. This is a vital principle to remember at all times. I would like to stress it because I believe that at this time in history we need it more than ever before. In times past there was a far greater call to social conformity than there is today. Even if one felt unloved, if one felt unjustly treated, the grief was often nurtured stoically within. Few people rose to stir the still waters. The vast masses of the people certainly did not.
     Today the mores of the past have been challenged in a large part of the Western World. Neither tradition, nor national sovereignty, can in themselves bind the loyalty of the majority in many Western lands. The Last Judgment which took place in the spiritual world over two hundred years ago has now clearly manifested its restless effect.
     I think that this Republic has not yet seen the confusion and ugliness that is bred of a society that is disillusioned because its vision of God has been dissipated, and the authority of His commandments banished, at least on the moral plane. The strong adherence to British and European tradition in this country, has delayed the appearing of such distress.     
     Far be it from me to become a prophet of gloom. I personally regard this particular time in history as most exciting and hopeful. Despite the breakdown of many things in western society, I know and believe that in the providence of the Lord, the world is going to continue. But I see the continuance of society proceeding according to the stated principles of the Writings. There is so much that is good and positive in Western Society. But the trouble with youthful reformers, strong in their idealism, is their impetuosity. How easy it is, when rooting out the tares to uproot the good wheat also. The Lord cautioned: "Let both grow together until the harvest."
     The youth and the young men and women of our modern society, do respond most affirmatively to an authority that is just and firm, that is merciful and loving.

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They respond to an authority that knows where it stands, an authority whose conviction is born from revealed principles seen in relation to the experiences of real life. The reason is that Divine law is immutable, and furthermore the human mind was created to see that law and to discover a sense of strength and well-being in an affirmative response to it. Unfortunately much of the world is in darkness as to the nature of spiritual law, and when restraints or disciplines become questioned or challenged, there is no convincing rational defense. But that rational defense is in the Writings of the New Church. But there again, even with the Writings their truth must not be imposed from the love of dominion, for the love of dominion, even though it be cloaked in what man appear to be righteous garments, will nevertheless obscure the vision of Divine law and also the perception of Divine love. The persuasive command of a religious zealot is unbecoming, and is an unsuitable response to a rational revelation of Divine Truth.
     I believe most deeply in the absolute authority of the Writings. But I see them as the vehicle which is Divinely intended to lead to the discovery of the most sublime values-the reception of the Lord's gift of love. I believe that discipline and order must lead to the experience of love-love from the Lord, and love between human beings.
     But let there be no mistake about the teachings which the Writings offer concerning the state into which man is born. He is born with a tarnished hereditary nature, which causes him to be susceptible to attack from evils of every kind. As we look through that lovely quality of innocence in little children, which the Lord instills to counterbalance the tendency towards evil, we can certainly see overt manifestations of selfishness appearing. Parental discipline must be imposed, even at a very early age, to help that child recognize the difference in spheres that are going to impinge upon his mind. He has got to learn to repress selfish expression ill all of its forms, and his parents and teachers are there to help him see and apply this important differentiation. And this leads to another very important point of distinction.
     A child who is made to change his wrongful ways does so in the beginning from a fear of punishment.* Now the Writings speak of two kinds of fear. Both are fear of the Lord, and yet they are both very different kinds of fear.** The understanding of this difference is vitally important in being an effective disciplinarian.
     * AC 10791
     ** AC 3718, 8925; DP 140
     The first kind of fear is a fear of punishment, and there can be no fear of punishment if the punishment is not administered according to clearly statements. Who would obey the law if the law was not enforced! It is useless to verbally require specified good behavior if we are not prepared to require it in fact.

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The Lord's love cannot inflow, even into the mind of a child, if that child does not first conform to an order appropriate to die responsibility of his age. Who can enjoy the presence of a spoiled and selfish child? Only firm but loving parental discipline can change that state. It is fear of punishment that can change it.
     Now from the perspective of the child when he is being corrected he would report, probably, that his parent was angry. That indeed may be the appearance to the child. But the rational parent, hopefully, does not really punish out of anger. Quite the opposite, his sternness comes from concern lest his child become deprived of that blessed experience of love, from the Lord through heaven. As the child cannot make the distinction between good and evil for himself he needs a firm parental hand to ensure that he grows up to know the difference between the feeling he receives when he does what is good in contrast to the feeling he receives when he does what is evil. When he turns his will to good, then the apparent anger of his chastising parent vanishes, and he savors the delights of approval and love.
     Simply reflect upon the Lord's own relationship, shown to us throughout the Old Testament, with the Children of Israel. He was seen by them as a vengeful, angry God. Yet in essence He was not.
     Childhood, youth, and even early manhood are said to be a period of obedience to parents and masters in the Writings.* As the obedience becomes more and more self imposed through habit and custom, we find that slowly we come to love the order of truth and eventually begin to follow it almost spontaneously. The delight of learning becomes longed for, because we have mastered the skills which make it come easily. Through the willing practice of charity we come to find a richness of love in our relationship with our fellow-man. We can come to feel genuine respect for the elders we revere, perhaps our parents and our teachers. But above all we begin to feel a reverence for the Lord and His Divine principles. We feel a sense of blessedness and peace because we have begun to find our rest in Him. The opportunity to do evil is just as surely there as it was in our former days when we actually did sin. Yet because we have cultivated good habits, we do not now want to sin. Why? Because we fear to lose that which is precious to us. We fear to lose the Lord's love and that of our fellow-man. This quality of fear the Writings call "holy fear."
     * TCR 106
     Ideally, if a child grows to have something of love and respect for his teachers and those in authority over him, then he wants to please them. He fears to lose their approval.

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That kind of relationship, I believe, is a tremendous deterrent to committing sin. I believe that it is healthy to have that kind of relationship between generations, between parents and children, between the school authorities and the students.** I have found it most effective in practice, for I feel it is leading to a meaningful relationship between people, regardless of the age differential. It is effective because it is ultimately based upon a common respect for the Divine authority of the Lord, the Lord who is ultimately to be feared from holy fear because He is the source of love.
     * AC 8925
     That is my general philosophy of discipline. I believe in students, therefore, developing a certain rapport with the school authorities. Underneath they should know full well that if their behaviour is unfavorable, they stand to lose that rapport, and the seemingly harsh face of judgment from truth will most certainly appear. I believe that stern measures are sometimes necessary to effect a change of state, but I personally favor reserving such measures for truly deserving circumstances only. Judgment in these matters is of course going to be highly individual. The encouragement of respect for the Divine order of the Lord is the only thing, I believe, that is going to save this world from itself. We can begin to effect this "healing of the nations" in small ways in those areas where we are permitted to shed our influence abroad.
INFORMATION WANTED 1979

INFORMATION WANTED              1979

     It has been suggested that a loving cup, rather elaborately decorated with wheat and grapes, which is now at the cathedral, would more appropriately be placed in the Academy Museum. But there is little point to this unless we can discover its history. If anybody knows anything about this item, would they please contact the Rev. Martin Pryke, Academy Museum, Box 278, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009.

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ULTIMATES AND HOLINESS 1979

ULTIMATES AND HOLINESS              1979


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

Acting Editor                Rev. Ormond deCharms Odhner, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager                Mr. L. E. Gyllenhaal Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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

     TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$5.00 (U.S.) A year to any address, payable in advance. Single copy, 50 cents.
     No inanimate thing can be blessed; no inanimate thing can receive any Divine blessing, for the essential of all Divine blessings is to be granted an affection of truth for the sake of truth, that is, a love of truth for the sake of the good to which it leads. From this it also follows that holiness cannot be predicated of inanimate things in themselves.
     The word, ultimate (used as a noun), means the last or final thing in any series. Thus a handshake is an ultimate of friendship-the feeling of friendliness in the heart and mind expresses itself in the ultimate, the ultimate act, of a handshake. Again, the ultimate in the series of creation is in the physical world, in its natural, dead, substances. And in the descending series of Divine truth into the Word, the ultimate is in the letter of the Word.
     Now, the letter of the Word is not of identical nature in its three testaments, the Old Testament, the New Testament, and the Writings. The letter of the Old Testament almost in its entirety deals with sensual things. Even its "abstract" (for us) teaching that Jehovah is one was meant to indicate that Jehovah was one single person, and "person" involves sensual imagery. And it is quite obvious that the huge majority of the Old Testament's stories deals with people, things, places, and worldly events-again, sensual things.
     The letter of the New Testament most often deals with sensual things, also; but there is much in the Sermon on the Mount, and there is almost the whole of the 17th Chapter of John (the Lord's "intercessory prayer") which rise above sensuals almost altogether.

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     The letter of the Writings for the most part is entirely above the sensual things of life, although they manifoldly appear in the memorable relations and in the innumerable sensual comparisons that are given at the ends of sections in True Christian Religion. Overwhelmingly, though, the letter of the Writings deals with abstract concepts and rational ideas.

     * * * * * *

     Which leads me to the next section of this editorial. Stop for a moment and form the most abstract concept of the infinite Divine love that your mind is capable of conceiving. Now stop again and consider where your ideas of love came from, what they are founded on. Was it not from sensual impressions that your ideas of love first were formed? And is it not on these same sensual things that those ideas still are ultimately founded? The tender, loving care that was given you as an infant-the mother's soft touch, the gentle feeding, the bathing, the sweet singing of lullabies-these were the things that first gave you an impression of the meaning of love; and these, ultimately (along with many other sensual impressions received since that time), are still the things on which your most abstract concepts of love still rest.
     And even as our own abstract ideas rest upon ultimate sense-impressions, so, in the association of angels and spirits with men, it is on the ultimate imagery in man's mind that angels and spirits rest. This truth is what is behind those apparently strange teachings about celestial angels being happy when Swedenborg ate butter (its fat content), spiritual angels being happy when he drank milk (its water content or its fluidity).
     There are many other such "strange" illustrations of the use of ultimates in the association of spirits and angels with men. Along the same line is the following from the Apocalypse Explained, in its explanation of the words, "For the time is near:"* "Because the Word in its letter is natural, and within is spiritual, it is said that `the time is near,' in order that in heaven the interior state might be perceived; for if the expression "the interior state (which is the spiritual sense) had here been used, it would not have been understood by the angels, for they perceive all things of the Word according to correspondences."**
     * Rev. 1:3
     ** AE 16

     * * * * *

     The Divine and the spiritual senses of the Word rest upon the sense of the letter, especially the ultimate sensual things therein. The Word is holy because of its inmost, Divine sense.

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The Word in its letter is holy because of this. Holiness is predicated of truth. The Word is the Divine Truth, even in its letter. And because of all this it is truly said that although the sense of the letter of the Word is not holy in itself and from itself, it nevertheless is so holy from its inmost Divine sense that nothing on earth can compare with it.
REVISED STANDARD VERSION 1979

REVISED STANDARD VERSION       DOUGLAS TAYLOR       1979

Dear Editor:
     The excellent article by the Rev. Stephen Cole on the Revised Standard Version of the Bible would seem to have very effectively killed it as far as use by New Churchmen is concerned. I would like to add something not mentioned by Mr. Cole, which adds another nail to its coffin.
     What makes it utterly impossible for the New Church to use, for example, in its schools, is the denial of the Lord's Divinity that was in the mind of the translators and was incorporated in their translation. This is manifest from a comparison of the Old Testament with the New Testament in the Revised Standard Version.

     The translators decided that, for the sake of easier reading, they would do away with the obsolete form of the second person singular (thee, thou, thine)-except where the Deity was being addressed. Thus the Lord addresses Moses as "you," but Moses addresses the Lord as "thee": "If they will not believe even these two signs or heed your voice, you shall take some water from the Nile and pour it upon the dry ground; and the water which you shall take from the Nile will become blood upon the dry ground. But Moses said to the Lord, Oh, My Lord, I am not eloquent, neither heretofore nor since thou hast spoken to thy servant" (Exodus 4:9, 10).
     But what do we find in the New Testament? We find that they adhere to their principle throughout. We find the Lord Jesus Christ addressing an individual person as "you." But when He is addressed by anyone (even the disciples), He also is called "you," instead of "thee." What else can this mean than that the translators supposed that the Deity was not being addressed!

     This denial of the Lord's Divinity occurs in every instance, but two examples will suffice:
     "(Jesus) said to them [the disciples], 'But who do you say that I am?' Simon Peter replied, 'You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.' And Jesus answered him, 'Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jona! For flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven'."*
     * Matt. 16:15-17

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     Even after the resurrection He is addressed by the disciples as "you": Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, do you love me more than these!" He said to him, "Yes, Lord: you know that I love you."*
     * John 21:15
     However good the Revised Standard Version may be in other respects, this incorporation by the translators of their Arian denial of the Divinity of the Lord renders it worse than useless for the New Church.
     DOUGLAS TAYLOR,
          Bryn Athyn, Pa.
"SWEDENBORG THE MYSTIC" 1979

"SWEDENBORG THE MYSTIC"       WILSON VAN DUSEN       1979

     (Ed. Note.-It had been my intention to bring to its close the discussion of "Swedenborg the Mystic" with the December issue. (See in that issue Bishop George deCharms' definitive article, "Is There an Esoteric Word?)") However, the above communication from Dr. Van Dusen has been received since that publication, and it is right that Dr. Van Dusen be given his say.)

To The Editor:

     My article "Swedenborg the Mystic" (NCL Aug. 1978, p. 376) has prompted three letters to the editor. Perhaps there is some use in responding. To begin with, it is a simple fact to me that Swedenborg was a mystic, a very great one. What needed correction was the tendency of the followers of the Writings to cling to a narrow, rejected meaning of mystic. In the accepted positive meaning of it, one who has experienced the Divine, it would be difficult to say Swedenborg was not a mystic. I also don't think it of any great moment in itself to debate who or what is a mystic, except in so far as this is part of a general failure to see how the Writings are meant to be a means to lead to God. Swedenborg knew God and gave us the means in his Writings to do the same. And this is of very great moment. In their complexities the Writings are an endless field for scholars to politely fight over neat distinctions. I am trying to avoid this misuse of them, to emphasize their highest use. So I will not address myself to all the details of the scholarly questions raised but rather emphasize this deeper aspect.
     The letter by Donald Barber (NCL Nov. 1978, p. 546) raised issues of the classification of Swedenborg's uses of mysticism. I've been a psychologist long enough to know it is difficult to get inter-judge reliability in such matters. But he finds AC 4923 weak support for my argument. Swedenborg says in this the Christians and Jews believed there was a mystical meaning in the Bible.

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The remarkable thing to me is that he goes on to refer to "this mystical meaning which is in heaven among the angels" and then says, "I cannot but open up those things of the Word that are called mystical, that is its interior things, which are the spiritual and celestial things of the Lord's kingdom." I believe if Swedenborg were asked what was his greatest contribution he would say it is the interior sense of the Bible. And he equates this with the mystical! Although he obviously is aware of the possible misuses of the word mystical, in this he gives it his highest compliment. But more than that, since he knows mysticism has to do with the experience of the Divine, he is saying the interior sense is a way of coming to the Lord. I don't believe we begin to understand the implications of this.
     The reply by Rev. E. E. Sandstrom (NCL Nov. 1978, p. 544) is thought-provoking. He is basically considering whether Swedenborg went beyond being a mystic to revelator. I detect in this a, wish to see the Writings as somehow different from and beyond the work. of other mystics. All those who have experienced God are revelators the moment they try to give something of this to others. Sandstrom and I represent two different spirits here. I am pleased to see Swedenborg in the company of other great spirits and minds, opening out on the plane of the universal. Finding him a mystic similar to other mystics does this. He joins hands in the company of all those who sought the universal. I can also understand the opposite spirit which would prefer to keep the Writings as something unique and special above all others. I do see them as unique and special, but among others.
     In part I think the claim of the mystic seems presumptuous and even bordering on heresy when a mystic says I have experienced God. Sandstrom even quotes DLW 130 "beware of falling into the execrable heresy that God has infused Himself into men." This paragraph is a lovely one in which the angels interior and exterior experience of God is referred to. The heresy it described is "that He is in them, and no longer in Himself." The heresy is not in experiencing God within or without, but in thinking thereby God is captured, bottled up, here rather than there, or worse yet, that an individual is God. The test whether one is God is so simple one wonders why more people haven't applied it-just say to a mountain to remove itself and watch how far it: goes! Recent tragic events with People's Temple, an organization formerly located in my home town, is a case in point.
     Let me be more precise on the experience of the mystic. It is not accurate to say I know God. Rather I find that God knows me. "I find" is my personal experience. But "God knows me" puts the Supreme and the relative into a proper perspective. Mysticism is not a single element or stage of experience but is in all degrees from the most ordinary experience to the Lord alone.

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Beyond the experience of God is only God Himself, so I am not in accord with trying to place Swedenborg beyond mysticism.
     I detect in Sandstrom an emphasis on the gulf between God and man. My spirit is different. My understanding of the Writings is that religion and the Writings are meant to lead us to what is forever present and indeed is Life itself. We easily experience ourselves as naked and alone, bereft of God. I would rather emphasize the other side, that the Lord is eminently and easily knowable, and indeed all there is. The misunderstanding of mysticism is a small matter that bothered me and is significant only in so far as it is part of a failure to use the Writings as they are meant to be used, to bring us to God. So I say again, this time leaving out the word mysticism, Swedenborg found he was known of God, and in the Writings we are given the means to find this too.
     WILSON VAN DUSEN,
          Ukiah, California
BRITISH ASSEMBLY 1979

BRITISH ASSEMBLY       LOUIS B. KING       1979

     The 59th British Assembly of the General Church of the New Jerusalem will be held in Colchester, England, from Friday July 6, to Sunday, July 8, 1979, the Reverend Peter M. Buss, Bishop's Assistant in the Midwestern and Central Western United States, presiding. All members and friends of the General Church are cordially invited to attend.
     LOUIS B. KING,
          BISHOP
APPLICATIONS FOR ADMISSION TO THE MIDWESTERN ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH 1979

APPLICATIONS FOR ADMISSION TO THE MIDWESTERN ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH              1979

     Application for admission to the Midwestern Academy of the New Church for the academe year 1979-1980 are being accepted between March 1 and June 1, 1979. Applications should be submitted to Dr. Charles Ebert, Principal, 73 Park Drive, Glenview, Illinois 60025. The Midwestern Academy prepares 9th and 10th grade students to transfer to the Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, PA. A limited number of boarding students from the Midwestern District can be accommodated in homes in the Immanuel Church Society. Catalogues are available on request. The Midwestern Academy does not discriminate against individuals by reason of race or ethnic background.

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Church News 1979

Church News       Various       1979

     THE FOURTH NATIONAL ASSEMBLY OF THE NEW CHURCH IN CANADA, OCTOBER, 1978

     CARYNDALE, ONTARIO

     Everyone involved in this, our fourth assembly, arrived early at the Carmel Church to register, meet with friends, or attend to last minute details before the doctrinal address at 10 a.m. The Assembly Hall was enlarged to accommodate people arriving from Dawson Creek, B.C., Gowansville, Quebec, Ottawa, Muskoka, and our nearest neighbors from Toronto, Ontario.
     Our speaker for this session, the Rev. Christopher Smith, was introduced by the Rev. Geoffrey Childs, who welcomed us all and urged us to come to the annual meeting in the afternoon. Mr. Smith's address to us was on The Function of Prayer and he opened his remarks with the reminder that "God is one, He is our Creator, our Father, our Savior, our Friend, our Comforter and our Counselor." We may be moved by these words or not. He is forever calling for our attention, as with Moses and the burning bush. As also in our own lives, we must humble ourselves and rise above earthly concerns, becoming aware of our spiritual life. This paves the way for our communication with the Lord. Communication with the Lord is called Prayer, and this act has tremendous use and power.
     The Lord's first act after His baptism was to pray. Heaven was opened and the Holy Spirit descended. So on through His life He constantly prayed and at the last, He prayed to the Father to forgive them. This is the pattern that we are to follow for our own regeneration.
     As the Writings state, prayer is talking with God, not to God or at God, but with God. In our discussion, we humbly acknowledge that of ourselves, we can do nothing. In such a state the Lord can flow in and be perceived. We may find this difficult to do in a manner other than the Lord's prayer. It is quite awkward to talk with the Lord while others are listening, but much easier to repeat already prepared and printed words of prayer. But why the difficulty when it should be as easy as talking to the neighbor? Does the Lord's prayer, when repeated so often, become somewhat of a vain repetition, in that our minds are somewhere else as our lips repeat the well known words?
     The bodily act of kneeling promotes humiliation of mind and resists the idea of a stiff neck. Humiliation of heart produces kneeling.
     How well do we of the New Church teach our children to pray? A child's prayers have an effect on those in heaven.
     There are prayers we should be offering daily as a sense of duty: at meals. in repentance, confession, while reading the Word for clearer understanding of it, for direction in life, for the health of the Church, for others, for help in distress, for the strength to show charity towards others. Prayer gives the Lord access to our minds so that He may enter and cleanse our thoughts and our loves.
     The Lord answers our prayers by giving us specific things such as truth, or helping to increase our understanding of matters that we are concerned about, thus leaving us with a feeling of hope, consolation, or even a certain inward joy.
     There were comments and questions from the floor following this thoughtful and well received paper and a determination that the use of prayer in our busy daily lives may be given a greater priority.

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     After this morning meeting, we wandered outside but not for long, as the wind had blown some rain clouds our way and the rest of the noon hour seemed to be spent dashing between showers. The luncheon was served at 12:30 and then it was into the assembly hall for the afternoon annual meeting.
     This was called to order by Bishop King. Mr. Childs, the vice-president, gave us an updated account of the activities of the New Church in Canada thanking all who had been involved in this successful venture. He also told of how his recent trip to the west had expanded his idea of the New Church in Canada. The entire meeting was a thoughtful, optimistic look at our future potential, and the feeling of confidence these leaders have was shared with all. (A more detailed account will be printed in the New Church Canadian next issue.)
     The meeting over, we made our way to the various homes for a short rest and relaxation, socializing or preparing for our evening supper at the church. This was a delicious Oktoberfest meal, complete with all but the "Oompah pah" band.
     The Bishop's address followed, and he spoke on the place of doctrine in the Church. He stated that the church is known by it's doctrine. The Lord stands at the door and knocks, the doctrine is the door, the Lord is the Divine door and after His advent, His glorified Divine Human became the door; the Word was made flesh, and therefore the door through which the human race could go in and out. After His second coming and the Divine Doctrine or the Spiritual sense of the Word, a new priesthood was ordained to lead us into the Crown of Churches which is according to the soundness of it's Doctrine. This priesthood is to teach man according to the doctrine of the church and through truths lead them to the good of life and to the Lord. Laymen should not disturb the church by addressing it formally in matters of doctrine, for this is the function and responsibility of ordained ministers: to preach this truth and lead to the good of life.
     Divine truth is in doctrine as a soul is in the body. It is a good and faithful shepherd who enters in through the door of divine doctrine in order to be inspired and instructed immediately from the Lord. He then imparts what he has seen in the Word. However, when man goes out through the door of Divine Doctrine and communicates verbally, the Divine that he sees in this act of going out is somewhat tainted by the human proprium and we have to discern the difference between what comes from the man himself and what is from the Divine through the man.
     The doctrine of the church is both divine and humanly derived. What is true is always true and Divine always Divine. The priest must teach an affection for truth for it's own sake and this can form a genuine good in man; also he must inspire an affection for truth for the sake of use. This is the form truth takes when applied. The good shepherd will work for the salvation of souls rather than the momentary happiness of his flock. His concern must be the eternal best interests of their regeneration.
     The Lord is the Good Shepherd. He is the door and it is by this door that man may go in and out and find pasture. "I am the Good Shepherd and The Good Shepherd giveth his life for his sheep."
     The comments and thoughts following this episcopal address demonstrated the very deep and meaningful message the bishop had left for us to ponder.
     Our evening did not end at the conclusion of this meeting, but much later at either the Walter Bellinger's or Fred Hasen's.
     Sunday morning dawned bright and brisk. Most hurried to the children's Thanksgiving service, balancing baskets of fruits and vegetables for the offering. It is always a joy to watch the wondering eyes of the very young at their very first Thanksgiving Service. At the eleven o'clock service, the Bishop ordained Rev. Wm. H. Clifford into the second degree, which was a lovely occasion to share at this assembly.
     The afternoon was enjoyed in the homes of Caryndale where we lunched and rested or even attended impromptu meetings. The Bishop held a scheduled get-together with the High School young people.

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All returned to the church for the six o'clock social hour before the Banquet. Mr. C. John Parker was our Toastmaster introducing our theme "Practical New Churchmanship." The Rev. Mark Carlson began with a toast to the Church, not necessarily as we know it today, but to the future when there will be many more people, each with his own way of applying the Doctrines of the New Church. This will serve to increase the variety which makes for perfection in the heavens. After our response in the singing of Our Glorious Church, we all rose with a toast to our newly ordained Priest, Bill Clifford, as we sang "Here's to Our Friend."
     Alethea S. Delyea was the first speaker of the evening, using the theme as it is applied "In Our Marriages." We must be aware of our own special gifts and of what sort of person we are in order that we may learn to use them here to understand what it could be like to be part of the Gorand Man of Heaven. We must also be aware of the unique qualities of each family member and show an appreciation for each of these differences, encouraging true communication. This is a two-part thing, conveying thoughts and ideas with true charity. Above all, we must remember that it is what our children see us do that affects them most and we must set the example and it does take a lot of giving!
     Mr. Parker next introduced our second speaker, Mr. Robert Groot, a newcomer to the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg. We have, he reminded us, a real responsibility as we possess the pass key to the opening of the Word and thus to all the doors leading to the Lord. It is imperative that we make our neighbors aware of the Writings of Swedenborg. We should also get more involved in public affairs of the world to exercise our influence in civic affairs. We of the New Church have been given so much, to give in return and to share of our love and charity could go a long away to affect the good in the neighbor deeply and lastingly.
     After the singing of the hymn, "Thine Advent Lord We Hail," Gordon Jorgensen spoke on the application of New Churchmanship in our use or occupation we have chosen. The instrument we use is the people with whom we have daily contact. Uses are found in human relationships and not apart from them. Work is vital to man's spiritual as well as his physical health as it provides for the necessities of life. The spiritual use in a career is the way in which one performs it, which is the all important part of his use. Ideally, we should be able to blend our talents and abilities with the requirements of society. Uses do not depend on man. He is but an instrument by means of which the Lord performs the use. The money one earns would also he as an instrument and not the principle thing. New Churchmen achieve responsible positions and because we trust in providence, we will not be filled with pride as we realize and acknowledge that without the Lord we could do none of these things.
     At the conclusion of this talk Mr. Parker thanked the speaker and also the Bishop for having presided over the Assembly. The Bishop then spoke of our theme and how each had centered their thoughts in the life of use. Mr. Carlson referred us to the importance of the life of religion which is the very essence of the life of use. Mrs. Delyea spoke of the uniqueness of the uses that are required to bring about happiness in the home, Mr. Groot of the key that has opened up the whole concept of use! Mr. Jorgensen of the Lord's love as it is revealed in human relationships. The life of use in the last analysis is the reception of the Lord's love and our co-operation with that love, allowing it to go forth through our understanding of what is true, producing the effect which is the life of use. We are challenged to qualify our New Churchmanship and to approach the Lord in His Word.
     We all rose following these closing remarks and sang Jerusalem the Golden. Bishop King ended with the Benediction and our Assembly of 1978 was over, but will be remembered by all as a time when we resolved to do our utmost to allow the Lord to enter our lives through the door of His Word, making our lives respond to His Divine Love.
     J. LERMITTE

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     TUCSON, ARIZONA

     We began the celebration of our 30th anniversary, on November 23rd, 1978. The Rev. Harold Cranch, our guest of honor conducted our worship service, which was an especially happy occasion due to the baptism by Mr. Cranch of Gregory Everdell Lee, born October 13, 1978, to Ken and Marty Lee. Gregory is the second child and first son born to Ken and Marty.
     The celebration continued Friday with members and friends gathering at our church building for a social. Visitors from Fl Paso, Fort Worth, Phoenix, Salt Lake City, San Diego, Los Angeles and elsewhere had begun to arrive to join with us on this happy occasion. The Rev. and Mrs. Cranch go a long way back with most of us, even though we may not have been in Tucson thirty years ago. Mr. Cranch gave an interesting, informative and challenging address on his missionary work, specifically in conjunction with the Epsilon Society and the radio station in Glenview.
     Saturday, we gathered at the Redwoods Gay 90's, our members continuing to increase by arrivals unable to get to Tucson     earlier, for the banquet. Short addresses by the toastmaster, Ken Lee, and the Reverend Messers. David Simons and Roy Franson left the remainder of the evening for "Harold" to show us some delightful slides, accompanied by nostalgic remembrances of our struggle to become a recognized Circle of the General Church.
     Our fourth and final day, Sunday, was chilly but clear. I shall mention only in passing, that it rained Thursday, Friday and Saturday-we don't complain about the rain, we get so little, and it certainly did not dampen our enthusiasm. Before our scheduled worship service, the Rev. David Simons baptized Daniel Norman, born November 20, 1978, to David and Edie Norman. These two baptisms made this an especially thankful Thanksgiving for all.
     Mr. Cranch delivered an inspiring sermon which gently admonished us all to practice the charity which is so important to our New Church philosophy.
     In closing, I should like to say that we enjoyed celebrating our anniversary with all who were able to come, and to issue an invitation for many more to come visit us, or, better yet, come join us.
     DAVID NORMAN
ANNUAL COUNCIL OF THE CLERGY MEETINGS 1979

ANNUAL COUNCIL OF THE CLERGY MEETINGS              1979



     Announcements





     March 5-10, 1979

Monday, March 5th
     10:00 a.m. Headmaster's Meeting (Pitcairn Hall)
     11:00 a.m. Heads of Academy Schools join Headmasters
     2:30 p.m. Worship Service (Nave of Cathedral)
     3:00 p.m. Opening Session, The Council of the Clergy
     8:00 p.m. Open House for ministers and their wives (Bishop and Mrs. Louis B. King)

Tuesday, March 6th
     8:30 a.m. General Church Translation Committee (Council Chamber)
     5:30 a.m. General Church Publication Committee (Cairncrest)
     10:00 a.m. Session II, The Council of the Clergy
     10:00 a.m. A Presentation of General Church Uses for minister's wives (Cairncrest)
     12:45 p.m. Small Group Luncheons
     3:00 p.m. Session III, The Council of the Clergy

Wednesday, March 7th
     8:30 a.m. General Church Sunday School Committee (Cairncrest)
     10:00 a.m. Session IV, The Council of the Clergy
     3:00 p.m. Session V, The Council of the Clergy
     6:45 p.m. Social Supper for ministers (The Rev. and Mrs. Kurt Asplundh)

Thursday, March 8th
     5:30 a.m. Pastor's Meeting (Pitcairn Hall)
     10:00 a.m. Session VI, the Council of the Clergy
     12:45 p.m. Small Group Luncheons
     12:45 p.m. General Church Extension Committee Luncheon (The Rev. and Mrs. Douglas Taylor)
     3:00 p.m. Holy Supper for ministers and their wives
     3:30 p.m. Theta Alpha Tea for ministers' wives (Mrs. Edward Asplundh)
     4:00 p.m. Headmasters Meeting (continuation) (Council Chamber)

Friday, March 9th
     8:30 a.m. Traveling Ministers Committee (Cairncrest)
     10:00 a.m. Session VII, The Council of the Clergy
     12:45 p.m. Luncheon-Glencairn (by individual invitation)
     2:30 p.m. Board of Directors of the General Church (Pitcairn Hall)
     5:15 p.m. General Church Corporation (Followed by organization meeting of the Board of Directors-Pendleton Hall)
     6:30 p.m. Social Gathering of the Bryn Athyn Society with ministers (Assembly Hall)
     7:00 p.m. Friday Supper
     7:45 p.m. General Church Evening

Saturday, March 10th
     10:00 a.m. Joint Council (Council Chamber)
     12:45 p.m. Luncheon-Glencairn (by individual invitation)

     NOTE: Coffee break each morning 11:00 a.m.

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IN THE MORNING, BEHOLD IT WAS LEAH 1979

IN THE MORNING, BEHOLD IT WAS LEAH       Rev. GLENN G. ALDEN       1979


NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. XCIX          MARCH, 1979           NO. 3
     And it came to pass that in the morning, behold, it was Leah; and he said to Laban, What is this thou hast done unto me? Did not I serve thee for Rachel? Wherefore then hast thou beguiled me Genesis 29:25

     The story of Jacob and his love for Rachel is about our great and noble aspirations. It is a story of a man, any man, who sees some ideal or goal in life, who loves that ideal, works for it, and then, when he thinks that he has achieved it, he discovers that he had been deceived. Deceived, not as to the ideal or goal itself, for that is real, but deceived in his own understanding of how that goal may be achieved. He is like a man who, desiring happiness, sets his heart on material possessions, only to discover when those possessions are his, that they do not bring happiness. He is like a man who wishes to be wise and so spends his life acquiring knowledges, only to discover that he has wedded himself to knowledges but not to wisdom.
     Jacob represents good loves in the natural of man, good loves which desire to be conjoined with interior, or spiritual truths. Such is the nature of all good loves, that they desire to be conjoined to spiritual truths, in order that they may bear fruit. Good loves need truths, and desire to be wedded to them. This love or desire that is inherent in good is represented by Jacob's love for Rachel, who represents interior truths.
     Rachel is the daughter of Laban, who, like Jacob, represents good loves in the natural man. However, whereas Jacob represents the good loves which the man acquires from the Lord, which are genuine good loves, Laban represents those natural good loves that a man has from birth, which are of use in preparing him for regeneration, but which are left behind when the man becomes spiritual.

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     Laban has another daughter, Leah, who is elder. Leah is described as tender-eyed, which means weak-eyed, probably nearsighted. This is very descriptive of the external truth that Leah represents, for man sees by means of truths, but whereas one sees clearly by means of interior or spiritual truths, he sees but little, and obscurely, by means of exterior truths.
     Jacob loves Rachel and contracts to work for Laban for seven years for her, which work signifies study in a holy state. Thus it is with the man who desires to acquire interior truths: he must study, going to the Word and learning what is good and true, and this study must be in a holy state, that is, acknowledging that all truth is from the Lord.
     When Jacob had fulfilled his contract, he asked for his woman to be given unto him. And Laban prepared a feast, and in the evening he took his daughter Leah and brought her to Jacob. This is done in the evening, which means a state of obscurity, and so just as Jacob does not realize that it is Leah and not Rachel, because of the darkness, so also we, because we are in an obscure or ignorant state of life, do not see the difference between internal and external truths, and so we conjoin ourselves to external truths, thinking that they are the spiritual truths that we love.
     However, when the morning comes, which signifies a state of light, Jacob realizes that he has been deceived, and we also realize that our efforts and study have not brought us interior truths, but only external or worldly truths. This seems like an unfair or cruel trick, but it cannot be otherwise. "It must not be so done, in our country, to give the younger before the firstborn," says Laban. The reason why it must not be so done, is that interior truths are not received and conjoined to man until he loves interior goods, and these interior goods cannot be received until the man has learned general or external truths, and has lived according to them, applying them in his life, and so acquired a love of them which love is an interior love. Then, and only then, can interior truths be received and conjoined to man. Thus it is that Leah is the firstborn, because external truths must come first in time with man, and afterwards, when man has acquired an internal love, internal truths can be given to him, internal truths meant by Rachel, the younger sister.
     What is especially interesting about this story is the fact that man learns what internal things are and desires them before he has enough faith to live according to internal truth. He sees and aspires for something that he is not ready or really willing to accept. Still that first sight and aspiration is vital, so that the man will look toward those internal things and strive for them. It is vital for him to strive for them and desire them, because he cannot have heavenly life without them.

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     A man, while in the world, learns many things of the doctrine or faith of his religion. These things become the covering of his external mind. They fill his memory, and he thinks and speaks from them. Still they are only external truths with him while he remains in the loves of self and the world. If he dies, then, when he comes into the spiritual world, as the things of his external life are removed from him, the things of religion or faith will also be removed, and he will be left with his selfish loves showing forth plainly. If on the other hand, while in the world, the man acquires a spiritual love of the things of religion, by shunning evils and doing goods, then the Lord implants interior truths in his exterior truths. Then, because his faith partakes of internal life, it remains with him after death.

     We must never be content with the external things of faith meant by Leah! In states of obscurity or darkness, our selfish natural love will deceive us into believing that we have acquired internal things, when we have not. And afterwards, when we come into some clarity of thought, and we realize that it is Leah, those same loves will urge us to be content with second best. But we must keep up our striving for Rachel.
     The need for us to continually strive for interior things, and not simply external things, is most clearly seen in application to our marriages.
     Conjugial love, or heavenly marriage love, is the highest and most fundamental love of all, and from this love all other loves with man proceed. This love has what is internal and what is external. The internal of conjugial love is the marriage of good and truth, from which marriage a man can love what is good and thence think what is true. When a man and woman are in the internal of conjugial love, then they think and will alike, the wife becoming her husband's will, and the husband becoming the wife's understanding. From this internal union of souls and minds, by means of which a husband and wife become as one angel in the sight of the Lord, come all of the externals of conjugial love, which include friendship, confidence and trust, as well as all of the delights of the love of the sex. All of these externals of marriage receive their quality and holiness from the internals of marriage, which are inmostly the conjunction of good and truth.
     The Writings speak of the love of the sex as the external or natural, in which conjugial love is implanted. The love of the sex, in itself, is something that we have in common with animals. But with man there can also be conjugial love, which is a spiritual love of conjunction. When conjugial love is received then the love of the sex is transformed from a merely natural love to a natural love which descends from a spiritual love. Thus the love of the sex becomes a chaste love of one of the sex, which love partakes not only of the delights of the body but also of the delights of the spirit, so that the man feels the delights of conjunction with his partner from inmosts to outmosts.

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But it must be made clear that love of the sex does not become conjugial love. Rather conjugial love is implanted in the love of the sex, for the origin of conjugial love is spiritual.
     When a person marries, he has a vision of love truly conjugial, for he desires conjunction with his partner on all levels of life. He seeks oneness of mind and purpose. He desires inmost friendship and conjunction more than he desires the things of the love of the sex. However, this does not mean that he is interiorly prepared for conjugial love. This does not mean that the loves of self and the world have been subdued or removed. And so it is almost universal that after the first warmth and excitement of the marriage has passed, instead of the interior conjunction and happiness that he had sought, he has only the externals of friendship and the love of the sex. Instead of Rachel he finds that he has married Leah.
     What is he to do? Dissolve the marriage because it is only external? To do so is forbidden, because he cannot judge the interiors of his marriage. Besides, the cause of the marriage's being external is in himself, because he is not willing to receive the interior things of marriage. Should he despair, or content himself with what is merely external, for the sake of society or the children? Certainly not! Because the ideal of marriage need not be lost forever. It can be attained. But how?
     First the man must realize that true marriage love is from the Lord alone. This means that man cannot acquire it through external means. Marital counseling and therapy have their place, but they do not bring love truly conjugial. Efforts made toward better communication and friendship have their place, but they do not bring love truly conjugial. Conjugial love is given by the Lord, as man adapts his externals to receive it. This means, above all else, that he shuns evils, and especially the love of adulteries. This means, on the part of the man, that he strives to become wise, remembering that wisdom is of life, thus that he seeks to be instructed from the Lord in how to live a good life. This means on the part of the wife that she shuns evils, and seeks to become a form of her husband's wisdom, adapting and directing that wisdom to uses in life. We should not confuse wisdom with intelligence! A man is wise, though he knows comparatively few truths, if he shuns evils, especially the evil of adultery, and a woman becomes beauty itself insofar as she loves that wisdom in her husband.
     The internal of conjugial love is possible. It can be achieved even though many years have passed since we first saw that ideal.

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We need not, should not, content ourselves with the externals alone. We must strive for the internal of marriage. It is the Lord's will that that priceless pearl of life should be given to us all. Amen.

     LESSONS: Gen. 29:16-35; Mart. 13:44-58; AC 10429 MENTAL HEALTH SYMPOSIUM 1979

MENTAL HEALTH SYMPOSIUM       Alfred Acton       1979

The Academy of the New Church is happy to announce a symposium on the subject of "The New Church and The Mental Health Professions" to be held over the Thanksgiving Weekend of this calendar year, 1979.

     The purpose of the seminar is:

     1. To stimulate reflection and productive thought from the part of New Church professionals in the Mental Health field, and to provide a forum for the presentation of their ideas.
     2. To provide an opportunity for people to share ideas with each other.
     3. To lead to an increased awareness in the Church of the needs and possibilities in the Mental Health field.
     4. To look toward better use of programs and agencies for Mental Health.
     5. To publish a Journal.

     The seminar will begin Friday evening, November 23rd, and continue through Sunday afternoon, November 25th.
     The Reverend Frank Rose has been appointed as Organizational Chairman for this symposium. Anyone interested in giving a paper, leading a discussion group or simply attending the symposium should contact either the Rev. Frank Rose or me.
     Costs for this symposium and the program will be announced as developed.
          Alfred Acton,
               President

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MIDDLE NATURAL 1979

MIDDLE NATURAL       Rev. PETER M. BUSS       1979

     (The third in a series of addresses to the Educational Council, August, 1978; the second of two addresses by Mr. Buss.)

     Introduction

     The Writings contain a wealth of teaching on the sensuous degree of the mind, and even more on the rational. By comparison, their treatment of the middle natural degree seems sparse: you have to hunt to find direct and detailed references. However, there are apparently good reasons for this omission, and compensations. The sensuous and the rational are clearly defined functions, which can easily be compared for the purpose of understanding both of them. The middle degree has elements of both, and therefore the distinctions seem blurred.
     Not that the Writings present us with insufficient information. Most of the teachings about the natural mind deal with aspects of this middle degree, and when we reflect that the middle natural takes the place of the sensuous in the other world, we find a whole new realm of teachings-the ultimates of the spiritual world-as a basis for understanding this degree.
     The middle degree of the natural mind is called by several names in the Writings. Very often it is merely called "the natural", to distinguish between it and the sensuous or the rational*-"the natural above the sensuous." The most common appellations are "the interior natural",** and "the interior sensuous."*** A name also applied to it, but referring only to one function of that degree is "the imagination", or "imaginative degree."**** Perhaps the term "middle natural", although not used to my knowledge, is useful as a general appellation, since it avoids any confusion as to which degree is being referred to; but all descriptions are sometimes used in different ways.*****
     * AC 4154, 4009; cf. AC 7422     
     ** AC 5497, 5141, 4570, et al
     *** AC 3020, 5580; AE 543:2; AC 978, 4330
     **** AC 6814; AE 355, 36; TCR 335e; AC 3337
     ***** Cf. AE 543:2; AC 5094, 4570; AE 548: 2, 1147; AC 10236; NJHD 48e, refs.

     Its General Functions in the Mind

     Before going on to a description of the imagination, which is one most interesting function of this degree, a few principles should be prefaced.

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     The sensuous mind is a reagent to the things which enter the body through the senses, and to a large degree the sensuous responds to those impressions in the form in which they come to it. The interior sensuous is said to be formed of the "inner things of sense," because it can change and vary and look for causes in the experiences which affect the sensuous.* It is formed from things of this world. Its materials for thought are earthly impressions and images, and its ideas are called "material ideas."** But it is able to draw conclusions from these things, and to modify them.*** Therefore it stands midway between mere reaction to this world and its impressions and learning, and the world of abstract ideas;**** and, what is important, it can receive the impression of either degree.***** The rational can impose its love of values upon the middle natural, or the sensuous can impel it to reflect on and delight only in the things of this world.
     *AC 5880; AE 543:2; AC 4154     
     ** AC 5497
     *** AC 4570, 4154               
     **** AC 4009
     ***** AC 5094
     Yet, the middle natural has a life, and an affection of its own. It is composed of its own substances, which are the delights of certain goods and certain truths; and when these truths are active in the mind, it may sense rational things to be undelightful.* Essentially, a truly rational man is going to be an inhabitant of the highest heaven after death, and a man who operates according to the principles of interior natural life will go to the spiritual heaven. The middle natural, therefore, corresponds to, and communicates with the spiritual heaven.** A person who allows the Lord to lead him is elevated above the sensuous to this quality of thought and feeling here on earth.***
     * AC 5141
     ** AC 978, 4330, 4570, 4286, 4292, 7442
     *** AC 7442

     The Imagination

     Imagination exists when the things of the memory are activated. "The imagination of man consists solely of forms and appearances of such things as have been received by the bodily vision wonderfully varied, and so to speak modified."* The sensuous mind deals with experience itself, and the things of its memory are records of what a man has actually seen. The imagination takes things from different parts of man's memory, and weaves them together, often into a picture, or a sequence which he has never seen himself. He takes the memory, and makes its substances come alive, reforming them into sequences which are more like how he would want them to be. Thus a child might picture his parents abjectly apologetic for some imagined wrong, and himself as the grieved victim-a vision which he will probably not experience.

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But he has woven his experience of his parents, himself, a wrong act, and apology, into a form which expresses the world as he would rather like it to be.
     * AC 3337
     It is interesting that the passage quoted above describes two sources of imagination. Normal imagination is from the things taken in through the bodily vision, varied and modified. A more interior imagination is from the things taken in through the "mind's vision", varied and modified.* It is possible for us to create sequences and images in the mind, not on the basis of mere experience, but from the creative force which produces pictures of its own. We cannot do this without some basis in experience, of course; but an inventor can imagine things not as yet seen, and he is using his mental powers-his rational sense of uses and needs, and the visual capacity of his mind-to fashion something new.
     * Ibid.
     How does imagination start? It begins, it seems, when a child first associates a word symbol with a mental picture, without having the picture before his mind.* When he can say "tree," without actually seeing a tree and know what he is talking about, he has created an image in his mind. Then there follows fancy, which in its beginnings is the ability to bring another idea into the conversation or situation. For example, a child may know that she may not touch her mother's hand mirror. One day she looks at the mirror, and experiences the desire to touch it, and there comes to mind the memory that mother sometimes uses the mirror, and with it the fancy that she needs to use it right now! Therefore she is justified in picking it up and taking it to her. Her fancy brings two different thoughts together in her mind, and weaves them into a form suited to her loves.**
     * See AC 6048
     ** AC 3020
     Imagination progresses to the ability to understand stories which are told, and then to the power to make up one's own stories and games-selecting the materials for mental thought from a variety of different experiences and memories. The imagination is "in the greatest vigor with children", we are told;* and in fact, their imaginary world is often a lot more attractive than the real one of home and school and chores. It is more malleable, and during childhood may dominate the child's life in many areas. This dominion is checked with the advent of rational thought; but we can reflect that a great deal of our leadership of children is through appealing to their imaginations, and their attraction to images.
     * Ibid.
     Like rationality, imagination is a faculty of the mind. It enables a person to activate the things of the memory, and create out of them forms which he has never seen in their re-formed relationships. That power comes from affections with a man, and those affections are inspired by the spirits and angels who are with us.

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It is the effect of particular societies of spirits or angels which cause us to imagine particular things.
     Note that our imaginations express what we love. Our loves are represented, symbolized, in the things we picture to ourselves. Our imaginations are truly an index to our loves; and an index too of the loves of those spirits who are with us. By sanctioning a certain set of images in our minds, we entertain the presence of certain spirits, and the delights which they inspire.
     The imagination, therefore, uses the things of this world, and by means of them it represents the true loves of the mind-or it may reflect passing loves or desires or wishes. The things in the memory may not represent what we love, for they may have entered the memory in a form that we regret. But we have the power to lift them out, and put them into a different series, which delights us more than the original one.
     There is similarity of imagination to dreams, for in each the spirits are using things of our memories, and weaving patterns with them. The difference is that in dreams the images are representative only of the spirits' thoughts and feelings, for our propriums are laid to sleep with our consciousness. In imagination, both we and the spirits we entertain join in the delight.
     Probably we ought to make an exception with children, for, although their imaginations are frequently selfish and oriented around pleasures which they would like to enjoy, their inability to judge from the level of rationality excuses the selfish emphasis. Nevertheless, we as parents and teachers bear a most solemn burden, in the knowledge that the images presented to children will attract spirits of a corresponding quality-unless rational thought can interpose itself and pronounce judgment. We must encourage imagination (and much of education strives to do this), for it is the creative force of the mind or, more correctly, its creative medium. But adult approval for sequences which begin and end in self, or which encourage feelings of violence or hatred or a sense of ill-usage, are far more dangerous than these same things expressed without our presence. In heaven the images the children have, and by which they learn, are all most gentle, and care is taken lest something improper enter.* In this world, negative images will have to appear, and we cannot shield our children forever. The essential principle then is that rational thought must speak from on high, and present the true character of what has been seen. Such rational speech can help to remove the sphere of evil spirits, for truth is hostile to their life.
     * AC 2299

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     The power of this part of the mind is clearly seen by the attraction which children have to visual portrayals. The sense of sight is the most important sense serving the understanding,* and in most visual portrayals the sense of hearing is joined to it. These images are assumed with affection, and so remain in the memory, and may be called forth many times in the future, and each time that same sphere from a society in the other world is present. We may interject our evaluations when the film, or show, takes place; but we cannot be present at all times when those ideas recur in the child's mind. Recent studies in the relationship between television violence and the violence of the children who watch such scenes are strong confirmations of the sphere of hell which can in this way invade a home and the minds of its children.
     * AC 5077; HH 462a
     On a more positive side, we seek to take advantage of this law all the time, in the stories we tell our children, in the sphere of worship surrounding our festivals, and especially in the stories of Christmas. The presence of heaven, perhaps especially with children, at Christmastime is another almost tangible illustration of the power of imagination. We as a church suffer through the fact that we do not yet have the literature, the poetry, and art and music which show forth the new dispensation. The power of such modes to touch the heart makes us long for the day when there is a New Church art, in all its forms, as rich as that of the Christian world.
     The phenomena of the spiritual world are those of the imagination, or interior sensuous, and they are created by the Lord through the middle natural degree. In this world we treasure in our imaginations whatever images are delightful to us. We surround our mental thoughts, as it were, with the world as we would like it to be. But we are bound also by a fixed world, with the inexorability of time and space and bodily limitations. We cannot do many things our spirits would love to do, and which we accomplish only in imagination. In the other world, the imagination of a man is extended, as it were, into his surroundings. The things about him represent his loves. A good man has a face and body which reflect the beauty of the spirit, and he lives in an environment which mirrors his loves. The smells, the woods and trees, his clothing and house speak his character. An evil man delights in dirty, and even strange things, which are representative of the foolish or perverted life he has chosen. We read of people who seem to enjoy building walls which fall down overnight, or find nothing strange in the fact that, although wealthy on earth, they live in a hovel in the spiritual world. These are images of their loves, and together with noxious smells, dirty clothing, and other poor surroundings are as delightful to them as anything can be.

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     In this way the imaginative takes the place of the sensuous in the spiritual world. The sensuous record of actual happenings and experiences must fade, or the person would not be free of this world and its limits of time and space.* In its place, the imagination presents him with a world that he loves. He is surrounded by his loves as well as infilled with them, and therefore he will experience only those things which accord with them!
     * AC 2475ff; HH 464
     This is a challenging thought-he will experience only that which he loves, for his loves surround him. That does not mean that he will never learn anything new. He comes into contact with other spirits and angels who are like him in character, and from them he learns and develops; for they are in harmony with his loves. So there is perpetual development in heaven, but an angel will not find it comfortable to be in the presence of angels altogether different from himself, and therefore does not often leave his own society, for it seems to him to be leaving his life.*
     * HH 49
     Nor does this teaching mean that nothing will happen to a spirit which is undelightful to him. An evil spirit will be punished, and it will seem that that punishment is quite foreign to his love, hardly a spiritual reflection of it. Yet that is precisely what it is, for the Divine law of order is that every act of good will returns upon the doer, and brings the delight which is his reward. When we pervert the law, and do evil, it continues to operate! The will of evil returns upon the doer, and becomes the evil of punishment-a true representative of the loves of our spirits.*
     * AC 9033; SD 4206; cf. AC 592, 8227
     Through the imaginative, therefore, the Lord inflows, and creates a man's eternal surroundings. It is for this reason, among others, that a man cannot change his loves in the other world, for he experiences only those things which belong to it and cannot be changed, as in this world, by experiences which come to him, perhaps initially without his wish, from without. The natural world is representative of Divine affections and perceptions, for it is created to impress upon man the Divine love and wisdom. The spiritual world is representative of the loves of its inhabitants, and is formed out of their settled affections.*
     * TCR 78

     The Evil Imagination

     "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."*

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When a man chooses evil, the imagination becomes a weapon and a retreat. He uses it to imagine ways in which he can accomplish his loves and circumvent the order of the Creator; and he hides in it to enjoy his loves, when the harsh outside world won't let him get away with his evils.
     * Gen. 6:5
     The imagination is a most powerful weapon. Out of Hitler's imagination came the holocaust in which 56 million people died. Think of the slave traffic, and the strange convolutions in the minds of those who turned human beings into worse than animals, to serve their greed. The imagination of an evil person works overtime, trying to mold the world into a shape better suited to his wishes. It may be in things small or great, but we have only to look into the imaginations of our own hearts when anger or pride or dislike are active, to see how quickly the world of our minds can be turned into an ugly place.
     And when evil cannot be done, a man can retreat into his interior sensuous, and picture the enjoyment of desires which he can know in no other way. He may fantasize about things that he is too afraid to do, or he may picture scenes which could not possibly happen in this world. Because it knows no bounds of reality, it is frequently a better world for evil people than the real world which the Lord made so perfect. The descriptions in the Writings of the spiritual abode of misers, where people spend eternity gloating over a few specks of gold, and building them up into a flood of wealth;* or of those of the devils, imbued with the fantasies that they are gods and emperors**-these illustrate the ultimate perversion of this realm of thought.
     * CL 268
     ** CL 263, 264

     The Merely Natural Imagination

     Of course, many of us do not go as far as that, and our imaginations are merely rather undisciplined. The natural function of this degree is often to picture delights, without a deep and evil intent, yet with something of selfish enjoyment within. Sometimes our enjoyments in moments of relaxation are uplifting, sometimes merely harmless-the difference between Beethoven, perhaps, and Dick van Dyke.
     At times a person will become fired up with a wish to perform a use, and embark upon it with determination, only to abandon it when it becomes a bit irksome. This is possibly because his imagination has been able to see the good of the project, or its value to self, but he does not see its use enough to love also the means. His imagination has skipped over the toil needed, to the enjoyment of the end result. Young people might approach marriage with similar visions of enjoyment, not as yet loving the use which gives to that state its blessedness.

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It is a part of youth to see the cherry on the top, and only that-the failure of an imagination not yet inspired by a rational sense of uses.*
     * AC 4570, 154, 4009

     The Deeper Use of the Middle Natural

     The imagination is not all there is to the middle natural degree of the mind. It is particularly active during a child's life in elementary school; but the deeper function of this degree is of far greater importance when we looked towards a child's entrance into teenage and adult life.
     The more interior use partakes of imagination, but it is more far-reaching, and its results are more important. Consider this quotation, probably the most significant passage on this degree of the mind:

There are two things in man which are most distinct from each other, namely, the rational and the natural. The rational constitutes the internal man, and the natural the external; and the natural, like the rational, has also its own external and internal. The external of the natural is from the senses of the body, and from what flows in from the world immediately through these senses. By these man has communication with worldly and bodily things. They who are exclusively in this natural are called sensuous men, for in thought they scarcely go beyond this. But the internal of the natural is constituted of conclusions drawn analytically and analogically from these things in the external; and yet it draws and deduces its conclusions from the senses. Thus the natural has communication through the senses with worldly and bodily things, and through things analogical and analytical with the rational, and thus with the things of the spiritual world. Such is the natural.*
     * AC 4570

     Here we have the function of the middle natural in spiritual matters. It is based on sense-experience, but it draws conclusions from that experience, by analysis and by analogy. Thus it is an intermediate between sensuous and rational things, communicating with the one by its raw material-material images-and with the other by analysis and analogy.
     Such thought is below rational thought. The rational can know things which it could never see. It knows of the atom, and its properties, for example. The middle natural has to use a lower type of thought. The word "analysis" implies a careful comparison of experiences, to see their true message; and "analogy," a set of circumstances on a lower plane, from which is extracted a truth for a higher plane. The language of parable is that of analogy.
     In general the Lord taught sensuous truths in the Old Testament, and rational truths in the Writings. The general appeal of the New Testament would appear to be to the middle natural degree of the mind, which corresponds to the life of the spiritual heaven.*

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Jacob, who was later re-named Israel, represents the loves of the spiritual heaven, and he also represents this degree of the mind, as to both his names.** And the New Testament was given to those who would be spiritual*** and taught interior truths.****
     * AC 978, 4330, 4570, 4286, 4292, 7442, et al
     ** AC 4286, 4292          
     *** AC 271512716, et al.
     **** AE 641e; see AC 7601
     There are two types of New Testament teaching which illustrate this thesis-parable and moral truth. The Lord always used the language of analogy when speaking to the multitudes-"without a parable spake He not unto them."* He told earthly stories in such a way that we are forced to look within for the heavenly meaning. Take the parable of the Good Samaritan. We are sorry for the victim, angry with the hypocritical priest and well-disposed to the member of a hated race who showed such kindness. "Which now, of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbor unto him that fell among thieves? And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise."**
     * Matt. 13:34
     ** Luke 10:36-37
     Two interior truths are taught: the neighbor is one who has mercy or love, regardless of nation or race; and the spirit of mercy is the essential of a good life. Those truths appear in great clarity in a section of The True Christian Religion: "Every man individually is the neighbor who is to be loved, but according to the quality of his good."* Yet there are many who would not understand the language of rational thought, and even if they did would not be moved by it. For when a man is in perception from "the interior natural . . . the rational indeed flows in, but not with any life of affection!"** Parables can stir us when the clearly taught truths of the New Word do not, because we are not yet celestial-or perhaps not yet anywhere near it. Of course, our understanding of this truth, about mercy and loving the neighbor, is more limited, if we learn it only from the parable; but there is probably a long time in our lives when this is all we can bear.***
     * TCR 406-general article
      ** AC 5141               
     *** John 16:12
     While on earth, the Lord was teaching the kind of truth which would lift us one degree above sensuous life, into the joy of charity. It was a work requiring Divine wisdom. When the Lord told Nicodemus that he was to be born again, Nicodemus asked, "Must I enter my mother's womb?"-a response that caused the Lord to say: "If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?"*
     * John 3:12
     The second kind of truth, frequently taught in the New Testament, is morality.

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Moral laws are the product of rational thought;* but they have reference to acts and circumstances in the world.** A man decides on customs and principles of behavior from "causes that exist in the world," although he is guided in this way by revelation.***
     * Life 12; DP 73:5
     ** D Wis XI; Wis and Faith 5; AC 4538:4; cf. TCR 143, AC 3690
     *** AC 5141
     The point is that morality arises out of an analysis of behavior, and the ability to see how certain things bring misery, and. others cause happiness. The analytical power of the rational looks down on experience, and orders it so that a moral code will emerge. Such teaching is found throughout the New Testament-perhaps especially in the Sermon on the Mount.*
     * D Wis XI; Wis and Faith 5
     Let us be clear about one thing: it is of the rational to see truth, and it is the rational which operates into the middle natural to produce a sense of the truth within parables, or within social situations. But the truth seen is on a level below the rational. It is tied to experience, and can rise only a little above it.
     The result is that this degree of the mind sees the generals of heavenly life. For example, the New Testament tells us of marriage that it is to be monogamous; that it represents the heavenly marriage; and that chastity is to forsake unclean desires. These are the truths a spiritual man sees about marriage.* The celestial man sees countless details within these teachings-the details that the Writings present.**
     * AC 865. See AC 2715, 3241, 3833, et al
     ** Ibid.
     In considering the middle natural as a step towards true rationality, therefore, we are concerned with its function as an image-forming degree, and we are more deeply interested in its power to perceive and be moved by the truth of spiritual life-a truth that is generally revealed in the New Testament. Imagination presents us with spiritual representatives-the ability to create images which mirror forth our loves and desires and interests. In this way we rise above mere experience, and learn how to weave experience to fit deeper needs. And through a sense of the language of parable, and of moral principle, we come to see the eternal nature of life, and the value of a set of guiding principles which transcend mere experience.
     We must not overlook the power of this degree of the mind. There is somewhat naturally a tendency to go from the letter of the Old Testament into the clear language of the Writings, and justify it with the thought that our young people seem perfectly able to understand rational ideas. Perhaps that is true.

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The deeper question is, are they moved by rational ideas? The rational may indeed inflow, but perhaps without life, without affection.*
     * AC 5141
     In general, I do not believe we overlook the New Testament to any degree in the church. We teach it from the pulpit, and in school worship, and we are constantly basing our instruction on it. The Gospels are very well known to our children-more so than any other part of revelation. It is simply good to know how deeply these teachings are touching our growing people's minds-and how important they are for all people not yet celestial-especially if they receive added power from the rational truths of the New Word.
     I would like to conclude with a quotation from Dr. Hugo Odhner on the use of the imagination in the mature mind, once rationality has been attained.

Without imagination-what power could man have-though he knew the inmost laws of the universe-to change the face of this sorry world? What progress could be made, what gratitude felt for those who have labored in the past? . . . even when youth has passed, imagination functions to lighten every task. It is not enough to retire within ourselves and there build a free world nearer to our heart's desire, beyond fear of criticism or the impact of stern outward conditions. Imagination must be channeled into the direction of actual needs. It must depict the heavens for which we strive here on earth. Its creative faculties must be invoked to find facile modes for doing the world's work, to invent and discover, to give beauty to science and ease the ponderous work of reason, to lend grace and brilliance and meaning to our social routines, and transform our many obligations and burdens into the gentle art of living.*
     * The Human Mind-Its Faculties and Degrees. Ten Lectures. Bryn Athyn, PA 1948
NOTICE 1979

NOTICE       Louis B. King       1979

     Effective January 1, 1979, the Reverend Andrew J. Heilman will be recognized as Minister and President of the Rio Society of the General Church of the New Jerusalem. The Reverend Jose L. de Figueiredo, retiring Minister and President, will accept appointment as Assistant Minister and Vice-President of the Society in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
     Louis B. King,
          Bishop, Jan. 15, 1979

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PREADAMITES 1979

PREADAMITES       Rev. ALFRED ACTON       1979

     A SERIES OF CLASSES

     Section III

     (General Reference: SD 2591.)

     In this section of our series on the Preadamites we shall consider the spiritual life of these people who walked our planet so long ago; but before turning to this subject let us briefly review what we have learned so far. First, and perhaps most important, we have seen that revelation is not specifically interested with scientific facts. Scientifics in revelation can be wrong. They can be a mere matter of accommodation to the mind of the revelator, incorporated in revelation due to the state of the world at the time of their giving. Such facts from Genesis as relate to a geocentric world are good examples of this principle. There are, however, scientifics which are the ultimates of spiritual truths which must necessarily be accepted. The fact of the virgin birth is a good illustration of this type of scientific. Both types of facts exist in all revelation, and in all forms of revelation there is a need for analytical study of the letter, coupled with enlightenment from the doctrine of genuine truth, for us to sort out which facts belong to which categories.

     Indisputable Facts

     In relation to Preadamites, this principle concerning the use of scientifics is most important. The world of science since the revolution in intellectual thought brought on by the Last Judgment has developed a great many scientifics concerning early men. Some of these "scientifics" are nothing more than educated guesses. They are easily refuted by later discoveries. But other facts developed by scientists are not so disputable. A bone or a carved rock is evidence that the New Church man must consider in trying to sort out the scientifics of revelation. In point of fact, there can be but one truth, one set of correct facts; and when we are talking about natural scientifics, the facts of revelation which come as part of accommodation are as suspect as are the facts developed by anthropologists and archaeologists.
     The most important fact of revelation concerning Preadamites, which seems indisputable, is the fact that these people existed.

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They are now in heaven, and no being can exist in the other world without having been born into this world. The Lord did create man, and the beginning of this process of spiritual creation was the formation of Preadamites. The date of the existence of Preadamites is disputable, but that they lived is unquestionable,
     A further fact of revelation, brought out in past articles, is the truth that Preadamites were not all of the same type. There were two great classes of Preadamites-natural men and spiritual men-who at least in part rose to the level of celestial men with whom the Most Ancient Church began. These classes of men seem to have lasted for some generations, in that some died and entered into heaven prior to the attainment of celestial life, else there would be no Preadamites in heaven.
     Still another fact about Preadamites which can and must be accepted is the truth that these people were not animals but men. No animal can dwell forever in heaven. However, as we pointed out, Preadamites are called non-men in the Word to indicate, or so I believe, that these men were becoming men, limited in their freedom to the type of loves which they confirmed in their life on earth-at first merely natural loves, and later when they attained spiritual qualities, loves for the neighbor. For this reason, I see no conflict in the statements of revelation which speak of things first happening to man after the flood, when in fact they may also have happened to him as he developed to the state of true man. When man was first natural, that is when he was a natural Preadamite, there was no evil in his naturalness; but when, after the flood, he embraced this animal nature in preference to his celestial life, he perverted order and so destroyed the image of God in himself. In the non-man state, Preadamites could do many things which appeared to celestial men as evil (that is a twisting of order), but were, in fact, not evil for those people. So, as we saw, Preadamites were not fully free spiritually. They were like children, with the exception that they remained in those loves which they confirmed by adult life on earth, whereas children can develop beyond such states, since they have not confirmed them by life on earth.

     Their Spiritual State

     But what can be said from revelation concerning the spiritual life of these people? First we note what has already been stressed, that this life was of no one type. It developed from the natural to the spiritual in a manner correspondentially described in the six days of creation. But there are certain things which were common to all these stages. For example, all Preadamites by definition had no knowledge of God.

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Since a church exists where God is known, and since these people lived prior to the existence of a church, it must be assumed that they knew not God. Following directly from this same train of thought is the fact that these people had no knowledge of conjugial love. Unlike today, with the spiritual men who once again dominate on earth, conjugial love was not even rare but simply did not exist. This statement is a conclusion drawn from the general teaching that the state of conjugial love with a man is according to the state of the church with him. Without a church on earth, without love to the Lord which necessitates knowledge of Him, conjugial love is impossible. Further, it can be said that these people were in dense ignorance. They were imbued by the fallacies of the senses. At first it would seem that the most subtle of these fallacies, namely, the appearance that man lived from himself instead of as if from himself, would have so clouded men's sight of humanity that they would have been nearly entirely natural. But in time, as some of these fallacies or appearances induced by sense impressions were dispelled, men could come into spiritual life and so into the second general phase of preadamitic development.
     Preadamites also lacked the perception which later marked the men of the Most Ancient Church. Perception is a quality of celestial life. Men today cannot know it, since they have fallen. Preadamites, for their part, could not have known it, since they had not risen. It was not until men became celestial that some very intrinsic genetic changes in their progeny made possible the celestial perception often associated with all early men by New Church men.* Nor could the Preadamites have had open communication with heaven, since once again such communication would necessarily have introduced them into knowledge of God, via the medium of knowledge of eternal life, and so into the church.
     * AC 310

     How Raised Up

     In other words, Preadamites were probably as unlike Adamites as men today are, and perhaps in their earlier states were even more so. But if this is the case, how did Preadamites ever become Adamites? First of all, note that spiritual men have many counterparts to the qualities of celestial men. In place of perception, for example, spiritual men have what is called dictate. The internal dictate into the hearts of men that God exists and is one, is not a celestial thing, but rather a human thing. So wherever there is a sense experience which can stimulate such a dictate, it thrives with human beings. The question then becomes one of how this dictate was stimulated so that man could be regenerated to the celestial degree and become truly human, knowing God and loving Him.

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Note that we have used the word regeneration in this context. Such is the term of revelation. But does not regeneration, rebirth, indicate a free embrace of good loves on the part of man? How can a man, who, we have said, is not free to reject God, and so not free to enter into evil or hell, ever be regenerated?
     Actually every child who dies and enters into heaven is regenerated. However, they do not necessarily repent. Repentance is the process whereby man, in freedom, rejects the path of life which he sees as hellish and enters into the life of heaven; while regeneration is simply the gift of new life. Regeneration happens when man enters into the life of good loves, not when he uses his freedom to reject God or good. Since with Preadamites order prevailed, their first entrance into the life of love was their regeneration. So the first Preadamite who exercised his natural loves entered into a kind of regeneration, but was extremely limited as to his internals-as the teaching of the Spiritual Diary, noted in my last article, indicates, he had very little of spiritual life. But note here that he was unlike children of today who die, in this very important respect: since the internal degrees of his mind had never been closed, as they are with infants due to hereditary evil, his internals were able to make one with his externals ill a manner different from that of men today. Such a man had freedom in terms of those loves, and in this respect was able to be regenerated and at length to open higher degrees within himself and his progeny, but because he knew not God he had not the freedom to reject or deny Him and so could not bring about that terrible state which we now know as evil and hell.
     Let us illustrate how man from being natural could become spiritual. Note here that we are speaking of man as to his life or love. Essentially natural life is chained to natural loves. The love of the sex, for example, which looks to the propagation of the race in the world, is a natural love. A spiritual love, however, looks to love to the neighbor. Man becomes spiritual in regard to marriage when he realizes that there is more to the union of man and woman than sex alone. Christians who know not of celestial love, that is conjugial love, still often enjoy this spiritual love-love which feels the warmth of mutual sharing.
     The first Preadamite, we are taught, lived like an animal. In this stage he probably mated like animals. Whether he was monogamous, as are some animals, or not, as are most animals, is debatable; but since man tends, when he becomes natural, to become more and more promiscuous, it would seem he mated with many in this first phase of his life on earth. His love at this time was natural.

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He looked to natural procreation and the protection of the race. Indeed, revelation testifies that Preadamites in heaven still find their chief delight in the knowledge that they were the progenitors of the human race. But because of internal dictate and because man had not yet closed any interior degrees which necessarily existed in him from his creation, in process of time he was able to lift himself from his natural state into a spiritual state wherein he began to know spiritual loves. So, when a man or a woman came to realize that there was more to sexual union than mere sex, he or she began to become spiritual. Equally, when he began to realize that there was more in having children than being natural progenitors, and so undertook their education, he entered into spiritual life. Of course, there would be accompanying cultural developments in man's natural life through this period of which we shall speak in detail in a subsequent article, but note here that when man began to live a more settled hunting life, he would have been able to enter into a more spiritual life than the natural life of primitive food gatherers.

     How Did He Become Celestial

     We have said that this process of spiritual development took place in six stages which are summed up in the six days of creation. But to trace each of these progressive states would be both tedious and difficult.
     So man from being natural became spiritual. How did he take the next step? How did he become celestial? We know that celestial life came on earth first by regeneration and then by a genetic change which insured the continuation of this attainment. But how was it possible for man to enter into this celestial state? The answer to this question is the same as the answer to the question: How did man first learn about God, since when he learned of God, he must have entered into a love for that new thing now opened within him. But how was it opened?
     In man's spiritual preadamitic state I cannot believe he knew nothing of the spirit. Yet in this phase his dictate of the fact of God's existence could not have taken positive form, since he as yet knew not God actually. It would seem that in this phase man would have felt a holy aura, a spiritual sphere, ill the world around him a feeling of awe in nature-but that he could not know God per se, since no church existed on earth. Only when man first spoke with angels could he know of God, since he would then know factually of eternal life. Perhaps this first appearance was the Lord Himself in the body of an angel, or perhaps this form of revelation came later with an awareness of heaven preceding, but either way with spiritual sight, revelation began, and God began to become known.

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Such a step would not come until the sixth stage of preadamitic development, which is described by the creation of man in the image of God, the first of the dawning celestial. The shock of seeing someone who had died probably would not have been great to preadamitic man. Of course he had been prepared to accept this fact, which preparation was the important work of preadamitic development. Man had to come into celestial life in accordance with the growing freedom that was with him, else he could never have become truly free. Just as a child gradually accepts more and more freedom, so did the Preadamites, until at last they were ready to accept freedom of speech with angels and the Lord, and celestial life could begin.
     It would seem, then, that the concept of God would have grown with man through his preadamitic stages so that he would gradually have been prepared to freely embrace celestial life. He would first have simply had a vague realization of the spirit within him, and would probably have felt this spirit in the things around him. Such a feeling of a holy aura in nature is well attested even today in primitive tribes. Although we must be careful not to use states of fallen man to confirm preadamitic states, still, that state described by the South Sea Island term "mana"-the vague force of life which pervades all nature-seems to be the proper beginning of knowledge of God with preadamitic man. His internal dictate responded to the sense impressions of nature leading him to feel the oneness of the power within and without. Further, as he developed to spiritual states, he would probably begin to personify this power, not because he then knew the one true God, but because the spiritual man, as described in revelation, always seeks to express spiritual order in natural imagery. The state described in the creation of fish and fowl on the fifth day seems equivalent to this beginning of "animistic" thought. Images of the personified power of nature, felt because of inner dictate, are the proper artifacts of this preadamitic state. But, of course, these images were not idols. God had not yet become known to man, let alone His image shattered in the false idols of fallen man. Also, since natural propagation was the Preadamite's first concern, his primary love being progenitor of the human race, fertility would probably have been a common theme in the varied images he would fashion.

     The Rise of "Religion"

     Another step in the development of Preadamites through this spiritual stage prior to the times of the Most Ancient Church would be the development of that which is akin to the magic which arose in perverted spiritual states. As man felt power in nature from his inner dictate that there is a God, it follows that he would seek oneness with this power, even as good men seek unity with their Maker.

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Oneness with this power could be attained by use of correspondences, albeit unawares, which is the source of magic. Man could well seek to use that power which he felt for the promotion of the love which was prominent in his life. Again, since that paramount love was the propagation of mankind, it follows that something akin to fertility rites-not the gross perversions of fallen man, but the simple rites of very primitive man-would be devised to give him expression of unity with the power felt. Still further, a knowledge of afterlife would begin in this state, but at first only a knowledge of the feeling of the spirit, rather than the knowledge of what that life actually was. It would be necessary to await the Most Ancient Church for man to understand fully the life of heaven, but in his spiritual preadamitic state it seems proper that he would feel spirit and so probably bury his dead with reverence and respect for the departed loved one. People who do not believe in afterlife today still bury their dead from a love to the neighbor.
How then did man come from this vague feeling of spiritual forces into the true celestial states of the Most Ancient Church? The answer for this, the first church on earth, must be the same as for every other church which has later risen to dominance, that is, that there had to be a revelation. With the Most Ancient Church this revelation came from angels who explained nature to men on earth and from the Lord who assumed the body of an angel to make His presence visible. It was a continual revelation brought about by continued open communication with the other world, but it had its beginning with the first such revelation. God had to reveal himself to man. Man could never discover God. So sometime in the distant past, even at the dawn of the age of agriculture, a Preadamite properly prepared, perhaps over the course of more than a million years in natural time, suddenly experienced open communication with angels-fellow Preadamites now living in heaven who had come to know God. His eyes were opened, and he saw an angel who appeared in this natural world to explain the things of nature to him. Revelation from God began the church. The age of Preadamites was formally closed, although, of course, many Preadamites still lived elsewhere in the habitable globe.
     It still remains for us to discuss the physiology and natural culture of these people, which shall be the subject of our next article.

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DIVINE PROVIDENCE 1979

DIVINE PROVIDENCE       Rev. ORMOND ODHNER       1979

     I: Eternal Purpose; Immutable Law

     Divine Providence is the government of the Lord's Divine love and Divine Wisdom, having as its end or purpose the establishment of a heaven from the human race. This definition, composed of several statements in the Writings, has suggested the topics for this series of three classes concerning Providence: The first, that Providence, in all that it does, looks to eternal ends or goals, and, being a government, achieves its goals through or by means of laws, infinite and eternal laws unchanging and unchangeable or immutable laws; second, that these laws are the laws of order by which man is saved; and third, that nothing could be more intimately personal than these laws, unchangeable in themselves, yet intimately adapting to the personal circumstances of each one of us countless individuals out of whom the Lord is building up His heavens.

     That Providence, in all that it does, is concerned with eternal purposes, and really with eternal purposes alone, is everywhere taught in the Writings. Perhaps, however, the essence of this doctrine is found in a certain section of Divine Providence* in its teachings concerning the infinite and eternal in itself and the infinite and eternal from itself in things finite. [Sounds terribly abstruse, doesn't it? Fortunately, it is really rather easy to understand, provided we take it slowly, step by step.]
     * DP 52-54
     "The infinite and eternal in itself"-this simply refers to God as He is in Himself. "The infinite and eternal from itself in things finite"-this refers to those things that are from the Lord in and with finite things, and, especially, to those things that men and angels consciously receive from the Lord and feel to be their own, which yet remain the Lord's in them, that is, their genuine loves of what is good, their genuine perceptions of truth. These are from the Lord in them; these, in fact, are the Lord in them and with them.
     And what does all this have to do with Divine Providence? Everything; for it is also taught that the infinite and eternal in itself cannot possibly look to, have regard for, any thing other than what is infinite and eternal from itself in things finite.

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Putting it in simpler terms, the Lord God, in His Providence, can look to, have regard for, only those things in us that are His in us.
     At first hearing this may seem to make God a very remote being from us, rather cold and uncaring, and perhaps even selfish-and all these are things that the whole Word cries out against. What it seems to be saying is that the only things in us that the Lord cares about is what is His in us, rather than caring about us. But think a minute. The Lord is infinite. Can the infinite ever concern itself with anything that is less than infinite?
     Let me illustrate. When you were very little, your whole life could center on getting a new toy. You grew out of such an infantile state. A few years later, your whole world could come crashing down about you because you did not get the date you wanted for the senior prom. You've now grown out of that, too; you're 'way above such ephemeral desires. But now, in a hotly contested election, you are running for the presidency of your country. Surely, that is a goal so great and so good that it has nothing in common with the new toy or the senior prom! Hasn't it? Every one of them is a finite goal; and a million years from now, especially if you lose the election, no one but a strange and esoteric specialist in antique Americology will be able to identify your name.
     Every one of those goals, and all things like them, is a finite, temporal goal. ("Temporal:" having to do with time.) And everyone of the Lord's goals is infinite and eternal. How could the infinite and eternal in itself be concerned with anything less? How could the infinite look to, regard, anything less than the infinite and eternal from itself in things finite? It cannot.
     By no means, however, does this make the Lord a being uncaring for us in His Providential government of our lives. Much less does it make Him selfish. It is not taught that He regards or is concerned with what is infinite and eternal in Himself, but it is taught that He is concerned with or regards what is from Him in us finite human beings; and He is concerned with what is His in us, not for His own sake, but for ours-for the sake of our happiness, our eternal happiness. After all, what else is going to lead you to heaven, or, rather, what else is going to establish heaven in you, except what you freely receive from the Lord into yourself in such a way that you feel it to be absolutely your own?
     It is for the sake of our eternal happiness, then, that the infinite and eternal in itself regards, cares for, only that which is infinite and eternal from itself in things finite. The whole end or purpose of the Divine Providence, remember, is the establishment of a heaven from the human race, and it is only by giving of itself to the finite that the Lord can establish that heaven-giving it, caring for it, nourishing it, protecting it, and establishing it in ever-increasing measure to eternity.

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     In everything that it does, then, the Divine Providence of the Lord regards the infinite and the eternal. Those words, in fact, are the title of a whole chapter of the work, Divine Providence. But a later chapter of the work elaborates this teaching along the lines that we have just been talking about, to the effect that the Lord regards what is His in us, not for His sake, but for the sake of our eternal happiness in heaven. This chapter is entitled, "The Divine Providence regards eternal things, and not temporal things except so far as they accord with eternal things."*
     * DP 214, heading
     "Not temporal things, except so far as they accord with eternal things." He does, then, regard temporal things with us; but always with regard to their eternal influence upon us. He regards them from an eternal viewpoint, and in the eyes of eternity, what do any temporal thing amount to?
     Riches and honors? What do they amount to, when it comes to eternity? By themselves, they don't make anyone happy, not even here on earth, and everyone here knows that to be literally true. Health, sickness?-what do they amount to, as things in themselves? Riches and honors and health? To an evil man, they are nothing but a curse, and Particularly so if he gains them by his own efforts, for all that such success does for him is to confirm him the more strongly in his infernal conceit. Rather did the Lord say, "Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." The blessing is not the attainment of the kingdom by means of being poor in spirit. The blessing, the kingdom of heaven, is being poor in spirit, that is, feeling the need of God.
     Providence does concern itself with finite, temporal things, then, for it is in this world of time and space that we fashion our eternal characters. (It would be an uncaring and really undesirable God, indeed, who was not at all concerned with our moments of bitter suffering, our moments of ecstatic joy.) But Divine Providence is never concerned with any external event or circumstance as a thing in itself. What it is concerned with is the eternal, spiritual influence that the external circumstance has upon us, the eternal, spiritual lesson it can lead us to draw from the external thing or event.
     Of course the Lord wants us to be happy on earth as well as happy in heaven after death. But if our momentary happiness down here is going to turn us away from spiritual happiness, then He is against that earthly happiness.

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How else do you account for the teaching in the Arcana to the effect that for the good, the Lord provides riches and honors if they are such that they will not be injured spiritually by riches and honors, and that He withholds riches and honors from those good men who would be spiritually injured by riches and honors?* And how else do you account for the teaching in Divine Providence that under no circumstance does the Divine Providence act together with the will's love in man, but constantly against it?** Providence does not act in accord with our wishes, that is, but rather it acts against them.
     * AC 8717
     ** DP 183
     But this still makes God a loving, infinitely wise heavenly Father, caring for our every need, even though it come by suffering and by pain. Our present wishes: Suppose that because of our present ignorance, those wishes were evil, even though at present we believed them good. Would we want our heavenly Father to grant us our evil wishes? Supposing our present desires would eventually lead us to evil, if granted. Would we really want Him to grant us those wishes? (And remember that He can see the eternal future ahead of us; we cannot.) But what about those moments in our lives, those very best moments, when we are sincerely trying to learn and to do the Lord's will and to set our goals accordingly? Does He still work against us? The answer to that question has just been given. He sees our eternal future; we cannot. Therefore, whether we are being regenerated, or whether we are still totally unrengenerate and evil, of this we can be absolutely sure: The eternal goal toward which Providence now is leading us is something better, far, far better, than anything that we could possibly dream of for ourselves right now. How can Providence, then, do anything except work against our present wishes!
     "Providence regards eternal things, and not temporal things, except so far as they accord with eternal things." Let us consider how this teaching concerns that very external, temporal thing that lies ahead of each and every one of us, that temporal thing called death. The death of a person we love is possibly the most misery-laden experience in human life. (Our own death will be easier to take.) Has Providence no regard for our death, except in so far as it accords with eternal purposes?
     There is no teaching that I know of that Providence is concerned with the manner in which we die. (Certainly, hardly anyone I know has died in a way that we would call desirable.) But there is this well known teaching concerning the time-in-life at which each man dies, and it illustrates exactly what Divine Providence says: That Providence regards temporal things only out of regard for what is eternal. The teaching reads: -

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     The life of every man is foreseen by the Lord, as to how long he will live, and in what manner; wherefore he is directed from earliest infancy with a regard to life to eternity. . . . The reasons why some die boys, some youths, some adults, some old men, are: 1st, on account of use in the world to men; 2nd, on account of use, while he is in the world, to spirits and angels;. . . 3rd, on account of use to himself in the world, either that he may be regenerated, or that he may be let into his evils, lest they lie dormant and afterwards break out, which would result in his eternal ruin; 4th, therefore, on account of use afterwards in the other life, after death, to eternity: for everyone who will be in heaven has his place in the Gorand Man, or, on the other hand, he has his place in hell: wherever forces fail they are balanced, and, of the Providence of the Lord, men are brought thither. Thus also the kingdom of the Lord is cared for, the welfare of which is universal Providence."*
     * SD 5002-5003

     This is the most comprehensive, general teaching that deals with the concern of Providence in regard to our individual deaths. From beginning to end it says that the reasons men die at different ages are all connected with the use of death at a particular time of life-the eternal use of that death for the general welfare of the kingdom of the Lord. Thus, even in regard to such an all-important temporal thing as death, Divine Providence regards in it, not the event itself, but rather the eternal effects and influences of the death.
     One of the reasons that we seem to have so much trouble in comprehending the over-ruling eternal concerns of Providence is that we want it to be like the government of a finite person just like we are (though an all-seeing, omnipresent, omnipotent person); and, perhaps, we secretly want it to be something of a government of whim and fancy, not even as wise as we are in our government of our children.
     We have, (that is, we certainly should have) definite rules or laws or principles according to which we govern the lives of those under our care. If we have any wisdom at all, our government of them stays within those rules or laws. It is not a government by whim and fancy. It does not suddenly suspend its laws and jump into their lives in some other way, simply because of their complaints or our fancies. We do our best to stick to our laws. But that does not make for an inflexible, uncaring government. We adapt those laws to our child's individual and momentary circumstances; but we do even this from a higher law of justice and mercy;
     Would we have Providence govern our laws in any less steady and constant a manner? Divine Providence is the government of the Lord's Divine love and Divine wisdom. And the very idea of government implies law. Hence we are taught that there are laws by which Divine Providence operates, and apart from which it does not and cannot operate.

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And it is said in regard to this teaching that Christians have always known and believed that there is a Divine Providence governing our lives, but that they have never known the true nature of Divine Providence because they have not known the laws by which it operates.* These laws are now revealed, it is said further, so that men may know what Divine Providence really is and thus may ascribe to the Lord what belongs to the Lord and may not ascribe what belongs to the Lord to man. Perhaps (though I am not sure of this) a corollary could be added to the effect that these laws are revealed for this additional purpose: that man may not ascribe to the Lord what does not come from the Lord at all.
     * DP 70
     In common speech we say many things that we do not really, truly mean. Day after day we speak of sunrise and sunset; we speak according to appearances, not according to what we really know. And time after time we say such things as, "My, wasn't it Providential that we had nice weather for that wonderful picnic!" Fine. It's always right to ascribe nice things to the Lord. Let's keep on talking that way, provided we remember that it would also have been Providential, just as Providential, if we had had a blizzard right in the middle of July!
     Providence is concerned with what is eternal, not with what is temporal. And it achieves its eternal goals, not by whim and fancy, but by law, the eternal, immutable laws of Providence, Recall the definition of Divine Providence just repeated: Divine Providence is the government of the Divine love and the Divine wisdom. Government implies law, yes; but Divine love and Divine wisdom imply eternal law; infinite law; and we have already seen that change cannot be predicated of the infinite. Only the finite can change. The laws of Divine Providence are eternal laws, infinite laws; they cannot change under any circumstances at all.     
     Take, for example the "first" law of Divine Providence, that man shall act from freedom according to reason, and the corollary from that, to the effect that only those things become a part of a person's character which he does in freedom according to his reason. That law governs every event of every human life, unchanging in its operations from the highest heaven to the lowest hell, unchanging from earliest infancy through old age and death and on into eternity. Nor is there any way out of it, any escape from it; for it is one of the laws of order by which the Lord governs the universe, and there is no way, no way at all, out of the universe.
     But look how intimately personal that law is in its every operation, ever adapting to the particular and even momentary circumstances of every event it governs.

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The tiny baby has no freedom; the little child has no reason of its own. If rational adults freely did some of the things done by little children, we would rightly be infuriated. The same things have no eternal effect at all upon the child. The free adult who intends good but perpetrates disaster because of a faulty understanding that is his through no fault of his own-the disaster does not become part of his eternal character; the good intention does. The rational and free adult who acts in freedom according to his reason-what he does most certainly becomes a part of his character to eternity, though here we should remember that only the Lord really knows just how free that person was at the moment that he did that thing.

     The purposes of Providence are all eternal, and are summed up in the teaching that the end of the Divine Providence is a heaven from the human race. Providence achieves its purposes through its laws, omnipresent and immutable or unchangeable laws; it is by means of its laws that the Lord establishes His heavens, and hence, in the Writings, the laws of Divine Providence are called, "The laws of order for man's salvation."
OFFICIAL DEPOSITORY 1979

OFFICIAL DEPOSITORY              1979

     The Academy Library has been recognized as the official Depository Library for the Academy of the New Church and for the General Church of the New Jerusalem All editors of New Church books and periodicals are asked to contribute copies to the Library, free of charge.
     A minimum of two copies of newsletters, periodicals, books, pamphlets, etc., should be deposited with the Library-one for a non-circulating collection to be preserved, and one circulating copy which can be used for research. Manuscript materials should be sent to the Academy Archives, housed in the lower floor of the Library. Louis B. King, Bishop, January 29, 1979

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REVIEWS 1979

REVIEWS       Various       1979

     Commentary on a Harmony of the Four Gospels. (George de Charms. The Academy of the New Church Press, Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, 1918. Cloth, pp. 802.)

     Bishop de Charms' long-awaited Commentary on a harmony of the Gospels is, indeed, the product of a life-long study which began nearly 60 years ago in the nineteen-twenties. It was during this early period of his career, in connection with the teaching of the New Testament to the upper grades of the Bryn Athyn Church Elementary School, that the Bishop developed his idea of a harmony of the four Gospels.
     Most New Churchmen are familiar with the Bishop's book for students on The Life of the Lord which was published as a result of his teaching work. The present Commentary is a much-expanded treatment of the harmony of the Gospels for adults. Is it the Bishop combines thorough Scriptural and historical scholarship with consummate skill in unfolding the spiritual meaning of the Gospel accounts of the Lord's life on earth. As a commentary it can be read and re-read, in whole or in part, with much benefit to the student of the New Testament. It is not only a guide to the understanding of the literal and historical sense of the Gospel stories, but provides innumerable applicable teachings from the Writings to unlock the spiritual sense. It gives a new spirit of life to our understanding of the Gospels.
     In addition, the Commentary contains capsule doctrinal treatments arising out of the letter of the Word on such subjects as marriage and divorce, prayer, Divine providence, the quality of spiritual life, and others. Over 40 pages are devoted to the exposition of the Sermon on the Mount.
     The book is set in three distinct type faces to help the reader easily distinguish material quoted from Scripture, teachings drawn from the Heavenly Doctrine, and the author's commentary. The work is organized into seven parts, each part treating of a period of the Lord's life. Charts showing the harmony of the four gospels for each of these periods clearly illustrate the relation between the Gospels, and a brief summary introducing each part is a helpful guide to the reader.
     Two appendices complete the work, one treating of the 400-year historical period between the Testaments; the other showing, in tabular form, an outline of the Bishop's theory of a harmony of the Word.

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This latter table includes page references to the 159 specific incidents in the Lord's life which are harmonized in the book. These references enable the reader to find the place where each incident is covered. This makes the Commentary a more accessible reference source than the Bishop's earlier work, The Life of the Lord.
     Because of its features as a commentary, some readers have suggested that the book has good potential as a missionary tool. However, the total length of the book and its cost would seem to limit its use in this field.
     It is important to know that the book is more than a commentary on the Gospels. Indeed, the Bishop states that its main purpose is to show that there is a harmony between the Old and New Testaments, that there is one Word and that its inmost subject is the one God.
     Again, this is a study which the Bishop has pursued throughout his career in the ministry. His earliest published expression of this interest is to be found in an address entitled: "The Structural Harmony of the Old and New Testaments," which the Bishop presented as an address to the Council of the Clergy in 1921.* The investigation of the inter-relation of the two Testaments has been, therefore, a long-standing project for the Bishop. He has attempted to demonstrate that the Testaments are connected, not only by the obvious fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies, but in their every least detail, spiritually understood
     * See NCL 1921:603-619
     The Bishop, with characteristic modesty, has put forth his theory in this work as "no more than a suggestion" of the way in which the harmony of the Testaments can be discovered, hopefully pointing the way toward a progressive discovery of the inmost sense of the Word by "untold generations of the future."
     There is an underlying conviction in the book. Bishop de Charms gives frequent expression to this in his book just as he has put it forward time and again throughout his long and distinguished career as a scholar in the New Church. The revealed Word is a "vast mine of spiritual and celestial truth which must be explored," he states.

Just as the kingdoms of nature contain innumerable wonders which can be discovered only by the slow and painful process of scientific exploration, so also the Word contains spiritual and celestial wonders that may be discovered only by intensive study of the Gospels under the guidance of the principles of exposition now made available to men by the Writings.*
     * Pages 230, 237

     Perhaps it is this conviction that has enabled Bishop de Charms to make such a significant contribution to the New Church in his lifelong studies.

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He has, throughout his ministry, envisioned the development in the Church of a kind of theological scholarship that parallels the quest for natural truth which has flourished since Swedenborg's day. This is an inspiring vision for the sincere New Churchman, and is perhaps the most significant message of the Bishop's book, just as it has been the most significant theme of his entire career.
     This message is summarized in the concluding paragraph of the book:

     One must know and acknowledge from the heart that there is a spiritual truth in the Word, that this truth can be discovered, and as it is discovered it will prove to be invaluable to mankind, serving to enrich his spiritual life, even as the discoveries of nature's hidden wonders have enriched the natural life of earthly society. Men never discover the final and absolute truth of nature. They are perpetually learning new things that greatly modify their former opinions, but which at the same time open avenues to unsuspected goals yet to be pursued. So it must be with the discovery of spiritual truth. This is why the most essential requirement of the New Church is that those who have been privileged to see the Lord as He is revealed in His glorified Human in the Heavenly Doctrine must pursue the search for the inner truth . . .and thus the inmost purpose of all things in the created universe. . . . To this quest all who belong to the New Church are called by the Lord. . . ."*
     * Page 776

     A Commentary on a Harmony of the Gospels by Bishop de Charms, is a prime example of the quest for spiritual truth which is the challenge of the New Church, and those who read and study this work will be spiritually enriched.
     KURT H. ASPLUNDH

     Out of this World (Arthur James Ltd., England, 176 pages, paper, $5.50 postpaid) by Brian Kingslake,

     This is the third major book of the Rev. Kingslake, and could be regarded as a sequel to the one preceding it: For Heaven's Sake! (Reviewed NCL 1975: p. 121.) For it continues the author's purpose: to contribute to the strengthening of the spiritual life of the reader.
     The 25 short chapters are in Mr. Kingslake's usual lively, refreshing and even entertaining style, while at the same time being unobtrusively instructive. He has the happy gift of writing like he talks, and this makes for very pleasant reading, indeed.
     Even his titles reflect this, such as "Hope and Despair," "A Free Offer," "Blame Nobody but Yourself," "Hold On," "Making Choices," and "Meeting God."
     MORLEY D. RICH

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FREE WILL: APPEARANCE OR REALITY 1979

FREE WILL: APPEARANCE OR REALITY       Editor       1979


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

Acting Editor                Rev. Ormond deCharms Odhner, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager                Mr. L. E. Gyllenhaal Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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

     TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$5.00 (U.S.) A year to any address, payable in advance. Single copy, 50 cents.
     Man has life in himself that is his own. That, most certainly, is the appearance, an appearance that no one can ever get away from. Yet it is an appearance that is exactly opposite to the truth, for the truth is that no man ever has life in himself, life that is really his own. The Lord alone lives, and all created things (including man) live from Him. Life is not creatable: the Lord does not create life in the things He creates; He vivifies them with His inflowing life. And life is not divisible: the Lord did not put "portions" of life into the things He created, thereafter to be their own. His life unceasingly flows into them now, just as it did when they were created, and were it ever to cease inflowing, they would simply cease to be. (They would not "die." They would cease to be, just as the light flowing forth from an electric light bulb ceases to be when electricity stops flowing into it.)
     It is the Lord's will, nevertheless-perhaps His deepest will-that men shall feel life to be their own. It is taught concerning all the things that the Lord gives us that He wills what is His to be ours in such a way that we shall feel it to be our own. Pre-eminently, this is true of life. Recall the teaching that God is love, and that love wishes to love objects outside itself, wills to be mutually conjoined with them by love freely and mutually returned, and wills to make them happy. (TCR 43) Another way that the Writings say this is that the end (or purpose) of Divine Providence is a heaven from the human race. (DP 27) It is only man who can fulfill these purposes of Providence, these goals of Divine love; and he can do so only because he possesses rationality and free will.

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These he could not have-and hence he would not be human-unless the Lord's life flowed into him in such a way that he felt it to be his own.
     (Animals also feel life as their own, I suppose; but, unlike man, they cannot reflect upon that appearance. What dog does not bark simply because he wants to? What mosquito does not sting simply because she gleefully desires to do so? Of course, we could argue endlessly as to whether animals have real freedom, real free will; but the Writings themselves speak of them as doing the things they do in freedom or in free will, TCR 478, though they add that animals are "impelled by their bodily senses, prompted by appetite and pleasure.")

     Freedom, I have said, is dependent upon the sensation that life is man's own. If we could feel life inflow, we would not seem to live of and from ourselves; therefore we would have no as-of-self, no life that seemed to be our own. We would feel ourselves to be nothing, and would either rebel against that feeling or would "hang down our hands and await influx," doing nothing even as if of ourselves. But to all possible appearance, life seems to be our own, and therefore we cannot do anything else than use it as if it really were our own. Even if we were to rebel against the truth that all life inflows, we would rebel in freedom, as of ourselves; even if we were to "hang down our hands," we would do that in freedom, too.
     As to why we feel life to be our own, and cannot sense anything else, there are two chief reasons for this, perhaps. Life first flows into our inmost souls, and the soul is always above consciousness. Therefore we are living beings before we are even conscious of being alive, and with the first dawn of consciousness we already feel life to be our own. Secondly, it is a general law that we do not sensate anything which is constantly present. Everyday, men (males) who live in cold climates put several pounds of clothing on their feet, but if their shoes fit, they are rarely conscious of that clothing during the day. People who live in the vicinity of Niagara Falls may not be able to hear each other speak, but they rarely hear the noise of the Falls, either. The influx of life is constant; even if it inflowed into a plane beneath our inmost souls, its constancy of influx would tend to make us unaware of that influx.

     Yet free will exists only because of the appearance that life is man's own. In other words, free will is founded upon a false appearance.

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Is free will, then, also nothing but an appearance, a false appearance? By no means. Free will is a fact, the basic fact that makes man human.
     That men have free will is a fact that simply cannot be sensibly denied by anyone who believes in God. The alternatives to free will are outlined, point by point, in the chapter on Free Will in The True Christian Religion. At the very least, denial of free will makes God responsible for evil and, even worse, makes God responsible for people, apart from any choices of their own, having to endure the eternal misery and unhappiness of hell. Insanity!

     FREEDOM OF THE PRESS

     As I understand the duties of an editor (in a free country) they include publishing views that are at variance with his own and even views that are contrary to his own. Furthermore, I do not see that it is the duly of an editor to label as such any view that is different from his own. (You probably know the familiar statement, "This [radio] station does not necessarily endorse the views of the previous speaker. . . .") Therefore, up to this moment, I have said nothing about my own opinion concerning Convention's statement about truth in the Writings, for example, and this moment, too, shall pass without any statement of my opinion.
     New Church Life, as "the official organ of the General Church," is to reflect "the doctrinal thought of the General Church." Therefore it is understood that its editor is to be a priest, since he bears a pastoral responsibility to the whole of the General Church. I agree. But there is no official orthodox opinion and thought in the General Church, even though it is generally agreed that every General Church man and woman starts out his doctrinal thinking from the position that the Theological Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg, being in themselves the second coming of the Lord, are of complete Divine authority in their every statement. I agree with that, too; but I still will publish, without condemnation, views contrary to my own, provided the writer seems to think his opinions are founded on the Writings.
     My own interpretation of the Writings has no Divine authority for anyone in the Church except me, nor does my ordination into the priesthood necessarily make my interpretation any more correct than the interpretation of a layman, (although it should have more thought behind it than the average layman's opinion).
     There are those in the General Church who believe that differences of doctrinal views among priests should not be aired before laymen.

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I cannot agree. There are also those who believe that certain doctrinal views are so "unorthodox" as to be "heretical" and therefore beneath publication. I cannot agree with that, either. Surely, only the free sharing of views, clerical as well as lay, will bring the church to a better, and ever more accurate, view of the infinite truth itself.
"WOMEN'S WORK" 1979

"WOMEN'S WORK"       KURT P. NEMITZ       1979

Editor, New Church Life
Dear Sir:

     "What is the role of woman in today's world?" many of your readers are asking. Is it, as some have concluded from Conjugial Love 91, exclusively "application to such works as are done with the hands, called netting, embroidery and the like, which are of service for ornament and the adornment of her person and enhancement of her beauty; and besides this to the various duties which are called domestic, and adjoin themselves to the duties of men, called forensic"! Or is it possible that there is more to woman's intended role in the Divine design!
     If we could only know what women do in heaven!
     Those of us who were fortunate to be at a 19th of June pageant last year did get such a glimpse of what women are prepared to do in heaven. In one of the many beautiful scenes from the new revelation acted out by the Bryn Athyn Elementary School children we saw how girls who have died and come to the spiritual world are educated. As recounted in the Spiritual Diary 5661, they were kept at their work, which is embroidery on white linen.
     Embroidery on white linen! What call that picture? I asked myself as I watched this gentle activity so artlessly portrayed by those innocent children on the cathedral lawn. For I recalled, as we all know, that everything seen in heaven is actually a representation of what is taking place in the minds of the angels and spirits there. "Doing embroidery" must picture, therefore, some mental activity special to the female sex.

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     Fortunately there was no need to speculate about what this mental activity might be; there is much said about the spiritual signification of embroidery in the Heavenly Doctrines: Turning to the Concordance I found the following teachings which seem to shed light on the activities especially proper to women:
     "Broidered work from Egypt" (Ezek. 27:7) signifies scientifics (or knowledge of a factual nature, as I understand the meaning of the Latin term in today's language), and thus rituals representative of spiritual things.*
     * AC 1156
     "Broidered work" signifies the scientific (or factual knowledge): when this is genuine it appears in the other life as broidered work or lace.* In many places in the Word "what is embroidered" and 'embroidery' are mentioned, and they everywhere signify what is scientific (or factual knowledge). The cause of this is from the representatives in the other life. There one sees garments embroidered in various ways, by which are signified scientific truths. (i.e., truths known simply as facts). Scientific truths differ from intellectual truths as external things from internal ones, or as the natural from the spiritual . . . for the intellectual (or understanding) is the organ of sight of the internal man, and scientifics are its objects in the external man.**
     * AC 5694:5
     ** AC 9688
     The Divine symbols and doctrine of the Word are so rich in meaning that it is scarcely possible-for me at least-to grasp woman's role as embroiderer of human life fully, but certainly it is clear from the above passages that woman's distinctive role does in part involve working with and arranging knowledge in special ways to beautify human existence.
     Not that women are to strain to be "intellectual" in the mechanical way men are (as society today is regrettably pressing women to do), for then they forsake their peculiar, higher mental gift. Women, our Doctrine teaches, are superior to being affected with mere knowledge; they have the ability to respond to "truths and goods themselves when they hear and perceive them with others."* "The essential feminine consists in perceiving from love"-not from knowledge, we read in Conjugial Love.** But from love's profound perception woman has, the Doctrine seems to imply, the wonderful ability to look down on knowledge, select what is suitable, and artfully fashion it to forms of use and beauty-delightful to the minds of men as well as to other women.
     * AC 8994:3
     ** CL 168
     What opportunities this concept of woman as "embroiderer" seems to invite for the capable, creative feminine mind!

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     One is stirred to think that the role of woman in the New Church is at present as but a tender, trembling bud-a bud which in the coming decades will expand and blossom into a bloom unimaginably beautiful and precious to mankind.
     Sincerely,
          KURT P. NEMITZ,
               Bath, Maine
"GOALS" 1979

"GOALS"       STEPHEN GLADISH       1979

To The Editor:

     My good friend and distant relative the Rev. Michael Gladish, in a letter to the editor (November, 1978, NCL) protested a statement I made in The Goals article (August, 1978, NCL). The statement: "To the extent that we love ourselves, we have the capacity to love our neighbor." I offer the following as one example of doctrinal support. [I realize that self-love is thought of mostly as an abuse, something apart from God. With God, I submit, love of self is acceptable, even required.]
     In Divine Providence* we can find one key to understanding both man's relationship with man, and God's relationship with man. We accept that all good, truth, love and wisdom in all created things are from the Lord. The Lord conjoins himself with man according to the degree of reception of love and wisdom in man. He conjoins the Divine in Himself with the Divine in man, called the Divine-from-Itself. The Divine can only look to the Divine. Truth of this is evident, Swedenborg says, from the teaching that
     * DP 53

one can look to another from what is his own in himself. He that loves another looks to him from his own love in himself; and he that is wise looks to another from his own wisdom in himself.

     To look at another from our own love is to recognize and be aware of our own love. We obviously can accept or reject our own loves, and our own wisdom. What we can love in another is determined by what we love in ourselves. What we dislike in ourselves, we dislike in others. The teaching goes on that

man may see that the other loves him or does not love him, and is wise or not wise, but this he sees from the love and wisdom in himself; and therefore he conjoins himself with the other so far as the other loves him as he loves the other, or so far as the other is wise as he is wise; for thus they make one.

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     Just as the Lord conjoins himself with man according to man's reception, we also conjoin ourselves one to another, according to the other's reception of our own. In our progressions toward living as spiritual men and women, we must first open ourselves to the Lord's inflowing love and wisdom. We can then expect a modest increment of something good in ourselves to love, and to celebrate. We then look for it in another, and love it there. We can conjoin that Lord-in-us to the Lord-in-others, but only to that amount and quality of the Lord-in-others that is similar to that Lord-in-us.
     By the same teaching, we can look to another and conjoin similar natural or evil loves, or similar natural or perverted wisdom. We can see the truth in the saying "A man's character can be seen in the friends he keeps." A man's character can also be seen by how much of the Lord is in his lifestyle and behavior. The Lord can have an abode with us and dwell with us, depending on how much we make our abode divine.
     We in turn can love others so far as they love us in the way we love them, and be conjoined so far as they are wise in the same way we are wise. In an affirmative state, having uses to perform, and actively doing what we believe is good, we will have feelings of self-worth, and to that extent love ourselves, which is connected with, and in part gives us, the capacity to love our neighbor. Thanks to Louise G. Coffin for that last correction, and thanks to Carmond Odhner for sending me Divine Providence #53, underlined and Nota-Bene'd!
     STEPHEN GLADISH,
          Urbana, Ohio
VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN, GLENVIEW, PITTSBURGH, AND TORONTO 1979

VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN, GLENVIEW, PITTSBURGH, AND TORONTO              1979

     Visitors to Bryn Athyn, Glenview, Pittsburgh, or Toronto who are in need of hospitality accommodations are cordially urged to contact in advance the appropriate Hospitality Committee head listed below:

Mrs. V. Carmond Odhner               Mrs. Philip Horigan
2806 Huntingdon Pike                50 Park Drive
Bryn Athyn, PA 19009               Glenview, Ill. 60025
Phone: (215) 947-8973               Phone: (312) 729-6544

Mrs. Paul M. Schoenberger               Mrs. Sydney Parker
7433 Pen Hur Street                30 Royaleigh Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15208                Weston, Ont. M9P 2J5
Phone: (412) 371-3056


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INFORMATION WANTED 1979

INFORMATION WANTED              1979




     Announcements






     It has been suggested that a loving cup, rather elaborately decorated with wheat and grapes, which is now at the cathedral, would more appropriately be placed in the Academy Museum. But there is little point to this unless we can discover its history. If anybody knows anything about this item, would they please contact the Rev. Martin Pryke, Academy Museum, Box 278, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009.

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ANNUAL COUNCIL OF THE CLERGY MEETINGS 1979

ANNUAL COUNCIL OF THE CLERGY MEETINGS              1979

     March 5-10, 1979

Monday, March 5th
     10:00 a.m. Headmaster's Meeting (Pitcairn Hall)
     11:00 a.m. Heads of Academy Schools join Headmasters
     2:30 p.m. Worship Service (Nave of Cathedral)
     3:00 p.m. Opening Session, The Council of the Clergy
     8:00 p.m. Open House for ministers and their wives (Bishop and Mrs. Louis B. King)

Tuesday, March 6th
     8:30 a.m. General Church Translation Committee (Council Chamber)
     5:30 a.m. General Church Publication Committee (Cairncrest)
     10:00 a.m. Session II, The Council of the Clergy
     10:00 a.m. A Presentation of General Church Uses for minister's wives (Cairncrest)
     12:45 p.m. Small Group Luncheons
     3:00 p.m. Session III, The Council of the Clergy

Wednesday, March 7th
     8:30 a.m. General Church Sunday School Committee (Cairncrest)
     10:00 a.m. Session IV, The Council of the Clergy
     3:00 p.m. Session V, The Council of the Clergy
     6:45 p.m. Social Supper for ministers (The Rev. and Mrs. Kurt Asplundh)

Thursday, March 8th
     5:30 a.m. Pastor's Meeting (Pitcairn Hall)
     10:00 a.m. Session VI, the Council of the Clergy
     12:45 p.m. Small Group Luncheons
     12:45 p.m. General Church Extension Committee Luncheon (The Rev. and Mrs. Douglas Taylor)
     3:00 p.m. Holy Supper for ministers and their wives
     3:30 p.m. Theta Alpha Tea for ministers' wives (Mrs. Edward Asplundh)
     4:00 p.m. Headmasters Meeting (continuation) (Council Chamber)

Friday, March 9th
     8:30 a.m. Traveling Ministers Committee (Cairncrest)
     10:00 a.m. Session VII, The Council of the Clergy
     12:45 p.m. Luncheon-Glencairn (by individual invitation)
     2:30 p.m. Board of Directors of the General Church (Pitcairn Hall)
     5:15 p.m. General Church Corporation (Followed by organization meeting of the Board of Directors-Pendleton Hall)
     6:30 p.m. Social Gathering of the Bryn Athyn Society with ministers (Assembly Hall)
     7:00 p.m. Friday Supper
     7:45 p.m. General Church Evening

Saturday, March 10th
     10:00 a.m. Joint Council (Council Chamber)
     12:45 p.m. Luncheon-Glencairn (by individual invitation)

     NOTE: Coffee break each morning 11:00 a.m.

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CALENDAR FOR SCHOOL YEAR 1979-1980 1979

CALENDAR FOR SCHOOL YEAR 1979-1980              1979

     ONE HUNDRED AND THIRD SCHOOL YEAR

     1979

Sept.     4 Tues.      College dormitory students arrive before 8:00 p.m.
               College Registration: local students
                    Secondary School dormitory students must arrive before 8:00 p.m.
               Secondary School Registration: local students
     5 Wed.      Faculty Meetings
               College Registration: dormitory students
                    Secondary Schools Registration: dormitory students
     6 Thurs.      College classes begin following opening exercises
               Secondary School classes begin following opening exercises
     8 Sat.      Morning: All student workers report to respective supervisors (see notice in dormitories and schools for assignments and locations)
                    Evening: College Program/Secondary School Program
Oct.      19 Fri.      Charter Day
               11:00 a.m. Charter Day Service (Cathedral)
               9:00 p.m. President's Reception (Field House)
     20 Sat.      2:30 p.m. Annual Meeting of ANC Corporation (Pitcairn Hall)
               7:00 p.m. Charter Day Banquet (Field House)
Nov.      21 Wed.      Fall term ends and Thanksgiving Recess begins after exams in all schools and after scheduled student work."
     25 Sun.      Secondary School dormitory students return by 8:00 p.m.
     26 Mon.      Secondary Schools resume classes-winter term begins

Dec.      3 Mon.      Winter term begins-College
     20 Thurs.      Secondary School Christmas Recess begins after morning classes
               Student workers remain for 4 hours student work
                    College Christmas Recess begins after completion of regularly scheduled classes and student work.*

          * See special information under Holiday Regulations, etc.

     1980

Jan.      6 Sun.      All dormitory students return by 8:00 p.m.
     7 Mon.      All schools resume classes
     15 Tues.      Deadline for 1980-1981 Secondary School Applications

Feb.      18 Mon.      Presidents' Birthday Holiday

Mar.      7 Fri.      Winter term ends in all schools after scheduled exams and spring recess begins after scheduled student work *
     16 Sun.      All dormitory students return by 8:00 pm.
     17 Mon.      Spring term begins in all schools

          * See special information under Holiday Regulations, etc.

Apr.      4 Fri.      Good Friday
     7 Mon.      Easter Monday Holiday

May      16 Fri.      Joint Meeting of Faculty and Corporation 7:45 p.m. (Assembly Hall)
     17 Sat.      Semi-Annual Meeting of Academy Corporation (Pitcairn Hall)
     26 Mon.      Memorial Day Holiday

June      5 Thurs.      Spring term ends
                    President's Reception      8:30 p.m. (Field House)
     6 Fri.      Commencement          9:30 a.m. (Field House)

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PROMISE OF EASTER 1979

PROMISE OF EASTER       Rev. KURT H. ASPLUNDH       1979


NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. XCIX          APRIL, 1979               NO. 4
     I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's Kingdom. Matthew 26:29.

     On Easter morning we gather to celebrate the miracle of resurrection. Spring blossoms often decorate our places of worship, promising the resurgence of new life in the forms of nature, but also serving to remind us that Easter brings the promise of new life to men.
     Usually, we think of the Easter miracle in relation to the Lord's resurrection. The Lord had been crucified and buried. Early in the dawning of the first day of the week, the women came, sadly, still stunned by the suddenness of Friday's events, bringing fragrant spices to anoint His body, mourning their great loss. When first the women and later the disciples saw the empty tomb they were shocked and troubled. Some thought His body had been stolen.
     It was not until the Lord actually appeared to them and reminded them that He had said He would rise from death that they realized what had happened. "He is not here: for He is risen, as He said."* Their fear and wonder gave way to joy and profound adoration.
     * Matt. 28:6
     It seems remarkable that the disciples failed to grasp what the Lord had told them time and again before His crucifixion. He had plainly said that He would be betrayed, killed, and would rise again the third day.* Yet, when it happened they did not remember what He had told them. Perhaps because it was beyond their comprehension, His words made no impression.

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Perhaps because it was beyond all belief, they dismissed His words. But now, when the prediction had been actually fulfilled, and they saw the risen Lord, they rejoiced.
     * Matt. 16:21; Mark 9:31
     The miracle of resurrection is a wonderful thing. It is only hinted at by spring blossoms, and yet we delight in their freshness, beauty, and fragrance. When we think of the miracle in relation to the resurrection of man how much more deeply do we delight in its clear promise? The Lord Himself made this promise when He said, "If I be lifted up from the earth . . . (I) will draw all men unto Me."*
     * John 12:32
     Death comes to every man, and all of us are touched by it sooner or later by the passing away of those whom we love. Yet the promise of the Easter resurrection can sustain us when death comes. This was recognized by the apostle Paul who wrote of the resurrection of man and concluded with the famous words: "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?"* "Death," he said, "is swallowed up in victory."**
     * I Cor. 15:55
     ** I Cor. 15:54
     The resurrection is, indeed, a wonderful miracle and a great blessing for anyone who dies, for it is the beginning of a new and better life in the spiritual world. And the Lord's own resurrection on the third day is our promise of life eternal.
     But the Easter resurrection bears another, a deeper and more important promise for man:-the promise of salvation. For, "except a man be born again, we cannot see the kingdom of God." "Ye must be born again."* The Lord's resurrection has made it possible for man to be born again and thus to find not only eternal life, but also eternal happiness. These two, eternal life and eternal happiness, should make a one, we learn, "for He that wills that every man should live to eternity, wills also that he should live in a happy state. What would eternal life be without it?" the Writings ask. "This state of man, indeed, is the end of creation."**
     * John 3:3, 7
     ** DP 324:6
     So the Lord, on earth, spoke not only of His resurrection, but also of His glorification: "Father, the hour is come; glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son also may glorify Thee."*
     * John 17:1, 5
     This is the hidden miracle of Easter, and the greater one. For while the Lord's resurrection after death reassures man of his own, man's resurrection to eternal life is not dependent upon it. Men had passed into the spiritual world after death from the beginning of creation; they had simply lost the sure knowledge of eternal life.

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     The Lord's resurrection was unique, however, in that He raised up not only His spirit (as is true of every man), but the Divine body, as well. And this was essential for that greater miracle of glorification.
     The glorification is the very means of salvation. Our eternal happiness is dependent upon that. While it is true that men had been saved, or regenerated, prior to the Advent, the time had now come when this was no longer possible. If the Lord had not glorified His Human and thus united His Human and Divine Essence, every man from that time onward would have perished in eternal death.
     How grateful we should be then for this arcane Easter miracle. The resurrection of the Divine body bears the hope of heavenly life and eternal happiness. And, just as the disciples' doubts on Easter day turned to joy and profound adoration as the meaning of the resurrection dawned upon them, so our minds should awaken to like joy and adoration as the meaning of the glorification dawns upon us. While on earth, the Lord had promised His glorification, just as He had promised His resurrection. But we can see and understand it only in the Revelation of His Second Advent. In the Writings the Lord appears to us even as He appeared to His disciples on the day of His resurrection and "expounded unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself."* So the Writings today expound unto us in all the Scriptures the things concerning the Lord. And should not our hearts burn within us with the thrill of this unfolding! Thus the Lord, in His glorified Human, touches our hearts and minds as never before with the Divine fire.
     * Luke 24:27
     This is the promise of the test we have chosen this Easter day. The Lord sat with His disciples at the Last Supper and gave them the bread and wine of the Holy Supper.

Take, eat; this is My body. And He took the cup, and gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, Drink ye all of it; for this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom.*
     * Matt. 26:26-29

     "Until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom." Perhaps the disciples understood this to be an announcement of the imminent coming of the Kingdom of God. Did they think that His kingdom would be established miraculously before they would again have opportunity to sit with the Lord and share with Him the fruit of the vine?

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     The fulfillment of the promise was imminent, yet the disciples had no true understanding of what the Lord meant by His words. The kingdom they imagined would never come. This was a spiritual, not a natural announcement. The Writings expound it. By saying that He would drink the wine with them again only when it was "made new" in His Father's kingdom, the Lord meant that time when "all Divine truth in heaven and the church would then be from His Divine Human."* In other words, "everything Divine, since the Lord has risen, proceeds from Him."**
     * AE 376:26
     ** Ibid.
     "Thus it is written, and thus it behooved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day," said the Lord as He opened the understanding of the two disciples on the way to Emmaus, that they might understand the Scriptures, "and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem."*
     * Luke 24:45-47
     This is what was new; a new means of salvation. Prior to the Advent the saving life of the Divine proceeded through the heavens to man. And from the time of the Advent until the resurrection, the saving life of the Divine proceeded through the Lord's Human on earth before it was glorified. Only after the resurrection was it made possible for this saving life to proceed directly to man, and this from the newly glorified Human, the Divine Human to whom all power was given both in heaven and on earth.
     This was a remarkable and most wonderful change, the force of which we call appreciate only dimly. Yet this change provides the essential means of man's salvation today. And man's salvation is the real promise of the Easter story.
     That which was fulfilled on Easter morning with the Lord's resurrection was foretold in ancient Scripture. This has been revealed to us by the Lord's own unfolding of the Word "beginning at Moses and all the prophets." The promise of the Lord's glorification is contained, and unfolded for us, in the account of Abram, the ancient patriarch. We read that when Abram was full ninety and nine years of age, the Lord made a binding covenant with him:

Behold, My covenant is with thee, and thou shalt be a father of many nations. Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have I made thee. And I will make thee exceeding fruitful, and I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee. And I will establish My covenant between Me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to thy seed after thee.*
     * Gen. 17: 4-7

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     This was a momentous event ill the life of Abram, and it signified a momentous change in the spiritual history of the human race. Can we not picture this tableau of Abram, in his hundredth year, but erect and alert, hearkening to the voice of God, hearing an incredible promise of fruitfulness! "I will make nations of thee, and kings shall come out of thee." This was a promise of eternal significance, for this powerful account of the covenant between God and Abram signifies, we are told, the union of the Human Essence with the Divine Essence of the Lord. It is a prophecy of the fulfillment of the Divine work of redemption which was accomplished when the Lord rose from the tomb with His whole body.
     Concerning this the Writings teach:

The verse now before us treats of the Lord's Human Essence that was to be united to the Divine Essence; and that all good and truth would thereby come to man from His Divine Essence through His Human Essence.

This arcane teaching of the Word is believed by few, we are told, for most

suppose that the Divine good is able to reach man without the Lord's Human united to the Divine; but . . . this cannot be done. Man has removed himself so far from the Supreme Divine . . . that there could not possibly be any influx of the Divine into the rational part of his mind except through the Human which the Lord united in Himself to the Divine. Through His Human, communication has been effected; for thereby the Supreme Divine has been able to come to man.*
     * AC 2016

     We are taught further that "when . . . the Human was made Divine . . . the result was an influx of the Infinite or Supreme Divine with man that otherwise could not possibly have existed. . . ."*
     * AC 2034
     Thus, for the New Church, has the Lord "expounded . . . in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself."*
     * Luke 24:27
     So it was when the Lord said to His disciples: "I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in My Father's kingdom."* He meant that from that time forth the regenerating power of God by which man is to be born anew or made spiritual, would be from His glorified Human.
     * Matt. 26:29

     "What is Divine is incomprehensible," the Writings teach, "but still this Divine, which in itself is incomprehensible, can flow in through the Lord's Divine Human into man's rational, and . . . it is there received according to the truths which are therein. . . . In so far therefore as the truths with a man are more genuine, so far the Divine which flows in is received more perfectly, and so far the man's understanding is enlightened."*

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"Hence it is plain," we read, "how important it is that interior truths be known and received."** "To those who are angelic as to doctrine and at the same time as to life . . . (the) . . . rational is enlightened therefrom to such a degree that their enlightenment is compared to the brightness of the stars and the sun."***
     * AC 2531               
     ** Ibid.
     *** Ibid.
     Such is the promise to those who will drink anew the fruit of the vine in the Lord's kingdom. "The fruit of the vine" which they are to drink new is, we are told, "no other than the truth of the New Church and of heaven."* By means of this truth from the Lord Himself, which speaks directly to the rational mind of man, we may be made spiritually intelligent and be reborn of God.
     * TCR 708
     The promise of Easter is the promise of this fruitfulness of new life from the Lord. Not only a resurrection, but a rebirth. For "the Lord's resurrection on the third day in the morning . . . involves . . . His rising again in the minds of the regenerate every day, and even every moment."* "He rises again with every one who is being regenerated."** And is not this the promise of the prophets, whose words have been from of old, from everlasting?
     * AC 2405e
     ** AC 2917


     Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and His glory shall be seen upon thee. And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising. The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee; but the Lord shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory.*
     * Is. 60:1-3, 19

     LESSONS: Luke 22:7, 8, 14-22; Luke 24:1-9, 13-35; AC 2531:2, 2016:2

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HUMAN MIND-IV 1979

HUMAN MIND-IV       Rev. MARK R. CARLSON       1979

     (The fourth in a series of addresses on the natural mind, given at the Educational Council, August, 1978.)

     THE CARE AND FEEDING OF GREAT WHALES

     THE SCIENTIFICS NECESSARY FOR THE OPENING OF THE RATIONAL

     I have chosen a correspondential title for this address in addition to its doctrinal title. I think you will agree that the doctrinal title sounded very stuffy. I changed the title for two reasons. First, I wanted to set a lighter tone for the paper, although I am not sure that changing the title will help me to change the stuffing. Second, I believe that the correspondences involved are worth considering.
     What I am about to present to you is in no way intended to be a definitive study. It is the result of my own study, observation, and reflection over a period of years. Little did Mr. Acton know that he was throwing me into the briar patch when he asked me to speak on the subject of "scientifics."
     But back to the title. What do "great whales" have to do with "scientifics?" Well, as I understand it, the "great whales" that swim in the seas, are the natural correspondence of the kind of knowledge the Writings call "scientific." This is the definition we are given in the Arcana number 42, in explanation of the "fishes" and "whales" created on the fifth day. "Fishes" are said to be "scientifics" now animated by faith from the Lord, and "whales" are said to be the general principles of "scientifics" infilled with particulars. In other words, "whales" correspond to those general knowledges which swim in the seas of memory, and rule over all the other knowledges there. Now since "whales" are not created until the fifth day of regeneration, that is, the generals of scientifics are not filled with particulars until that day, and since the fifth day seems to herald the full opening of the rational, it would seem that "scientifics" are well worth considering in their relationship to the opening of the rational mind.

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     Thus far we have established that "great whales" created on the fifth day of creation correspond to the general principles of scientifics infilled with particulars and animated by faith from the Lord.* Let us leave for a moment the consideration of just what are these general scientifics so necessary for the opening of the rational to look more closely at their correspondence, the "great whale."
     * AC 42
     We must be careful not to press too far just what the Ancient Hebrews meant by a "whale." The Hebrews could have known or heard about a number of large marine animals, any one of which could be referred to as a "great fish," a "sea monster," or a "whale." In their minds any one of these terms might designate without distinction what in our terminology we would call a shark, a dolphin, or a whale. Thus the correspondence seems to center on the idea of any large animal or fish swimming in the seas. However, it is tempting to speculate that the large mammal we call a "whale" actually is the intended correspondence. If so, it appears that we may have come across another correspondence which has worked itself out in the world. Whales have obvious significance for the opening of the rational, that is, bringing the mind into a state of spiritual light, and at one time whales provided the energy for most of the artificial light in the western world. No doubt many an early student of the Writings read by whale oil, and perhaps Swedenborg even wrote by it during his many sleepless nights. Today, however, whales are in danger of becoming extinct because of over-hunting, and we are told by "slaying the whales that are in the sea" is signified the ignorance of even the general principles of faith.* This seems to be a fair commentary on the state of civilization today.
     * Ibid.
     Let us return, then, to a consideration of just what the Writings mean when they tell us that "great whales" represent the general principles of faith, or general "scientifics" infilled with particulars. As I understand it, when the Writings speak of "general" truths, or "scientific" truths, and most especially when they speak of both together, they refer specifically to the type of knowledges of truth which are available from the literal sense of the Word in the Old and New Testaments. And when they speak of "particular" truths, they refer to the type of knowledges of truth which are available from the internal sense, that is, from the Writings themselves.
     But let us observe instances in which the Writings use these three terms in this way. First, two instances in which "scientific" truth obviously refers to the truth from the Old and New Testaments:

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By scientific truths are meant truths which are from the literal sense of the Word. General truths therefrom are such as are received among people generally, and consequently are in general discourse.*
     * AC 9025

     The scientific truth of the church is nothing else than the Word in the sense of the letter, and also every representation and significative of the church which was from the descendants of Jacob. In their external form they are called scientific truths, but in the internal form they are called spiritual truths.*
     * AC 6832; see also NJHD 51; AE 545; AC 6071

     We note that in AC 9025 the literal sense is referred to as "general" truth, and in the following numbers we find that the relationship of "generals" to "particulars" is precisely that between the literal sense and the internal sense of the Word:

The explications of the Word as to the internal sense are nothing but particulars that elucidate the general idea.*
     * AC 2395

     This is the reason why in the literal sense of the Word there are generals, but in the internal sense particular truths.*
     * AC 3919; cf. AC 9034, 245, 3701, 9023
     Before going further, allow me to clarify for you just how I observe the meaning of the term "scientifics" as it is used by the Writings. The term "scientific" as used in some translations of the Writings is actually a non-translation from the Latin word scientifica, from the verb scire, meaning to know. Thus "scientific" in its broadest sense means simply "things known," and usually in reference to knowledges held in the external memory alone. In the standard edition of the Swedenborg Foundation we find scientifica translated as "memory-knowledges," which is not really adequate since all knowledges are in one memory or another. While the term "scientific" is often used in this broad sense of simply "things known," I believe we should be on guard for the times when it is used in a specific and technical sense to refer to the knowledges from the literal sense of the Old and New Testaments.
     If the "great whales" created on the fifth day of creation do indeed signify that on this day of regeneration the general truths from the literal sense of the Word are infilled with particulars from the internal sense, it would seem that perhaps we should examine more closely the function of the Old and New Testaments in the life of the regenerating man, from his first education to his old age. If the general scientifics from the Old and New Testaments are most necessary for the creation of "great whales" to rule the seas of memory in our minds, do we adequately care for and feed these great whales in our young people? And particularly, I ask this question: when we teach the literal sense of the Word, do we teach the general doctrine from the literal sense that is accommodated to tender states, or do we use the literal sense as merely a spring-board for getting into particular truths of the internal sense?

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     Obviously I am speaking primarily to ministers now, but this does not mean that there is no application here for other teachers, for what goes on in the religion class should have an effect on the operation of the entire school. What I think is happening in many religion classes, and I know that it happens often in my own, is that the stories of the literal sense are learned fairly well, but all too often the doctrine that is drawn out of the stories is not general in nature at all, in fact, is often very particular and full of concepts that are far beyond the grasp of children.
     When the Writings tell us that the literal sense of the Word is full of general truths accommodated to the apprehension of the external man,* do we really take them seriously and allow the general truths to be the primary truths we teach at tender ages? When the Writings teach that the literal sense is written for the sake of the apprehension of those who are being initiated into interior truths, and who do not apprehend interior things,** do we really allow those who are not yet ready to comprehend to remain in basically un-New Church truths-be they truths of the Israelitish church or truths of the Christian church? In a paper before this Council several years ago, the Rev. Dandridge Pendleton expressed a fear that our educational system did not adequately allow our children to fully experience each of the stages of pre-New Church development, that we pushed them too quickly into an acknowledgment of the New Church. I have the same fear, and I feel that at least part of the reason for this is that somehow in our minds we have metamorphasized the Writings into the category of "general" and "scientific" truth; in other words, we regard them as an addition to the literal sense of the Word, and therefore in some sense accommodated to immature states.
     * AC 9034
     ** AC 9025
     However, the Writings are quite specific in the manner in which they refer to the literal sense, and without exception they define the literal sense as being the Old and New Testaments,* and in fact at times the Writings specifically exclude themselves from being termed the Word in the literal sense.** The type of knowledges which are available from the letter of the Writings are to be called "doctrinals," "spiritual truths" or "cognitions" even as the doctrine of genuine truth from the literal sense is properly to be called "cognitions."***
     * NJHD 1; HH 307; AC 3131, 3158, 3670, 10453, 2015, 3507, 3769, 6619; SS 96
     ** AE 1061
     *** AC 6832; NJHD 51, AE 545

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     What then are some of these "scientifics" or "generals" which are accommodated to young minds? First, they are said to be simply the historical ideas and images from the Word in the sense of the letter, all the representatives, and significatives there, including the rituals and ordinances of the Israelitish Church.* For example, just the idea of a "sojourner" is called a "scientific" truth.** These are some of the "scientifics" which are infilled with the particulars of the internal sense on the fifth day, and no doubt we do a fair job of instilling these "scientifics." But there are other "scientifics" which I fear we do not teach as well as we should-these are what the Writings call the "doctrinal things of scientifics," that is, the general doctrine that is openly taught among scientific truths of the literal sense. These doctrinal things from the literal sense of the Word "are especially serviceable to those who are being initiated for the first time into more interior truths of the church. . . ."*** It is these doctrinal things which are said to be "general truth accommodated to the apprehension of the external man who is in natural light."**** It is because of these general doctrinal things that the literal sense of the Word is said to be for the simple, for those who are being initiated into interior truth of faith, and for those who do not apprehend interior things.***** And it is because of these "doctrinal things of scientifics" that we are taught "the order of teaching and learning in the Word is from the most common or general; wherefore the sense of the letter abounds in such most common things."****** It is my fear that while we teach the "scientifics" themselves, often we do not at the same time teach the doctrinal things from these "scientifics," choosing instead to teach watered-down "cognitions" from the Writings.
     * AC 3665, 6832, 9025          
     ** AC 6004
     *** AC 5945; cf. AC 3310, 3919     
     **** AC 9034
     ***** AC 9025
     ****** AC 245
     These "doctrinal" things from the literal sense of the Word are represented by the "carts of Egypt" which pharaoh gave Joseph to help bring Jacob and his family into Egypt.* It seems that it is these general doctrines from the internal sense, or general principles of faith, which the "great whales" specifically represent, which connection seems to be confirmed by the fact that "Pharaoh" who gave the "carts" to Joseph, is at times himself referred to as a "great whale."** The Writings give us some specific examples of just what these doctrines are.
     * AC 5945
     ** Ezek. 23:3; 32:2
     First, the precepts of the Decalogue are said to be in this category. I think we would all agree that we give the Ten Commandments their just emphasis.

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But what about these others which are specifically mentioned together with the Ten Commandments? For instance, the doctrine of indiscriminate charity-how soon do we push children into the idea of the good in another as being the neighbor, or the church as more the neighbor than anything else? If children are not allowed to experience the grief of feeling badly about the poor, the hungry, and the destitute, and the joy of thinking that somehow they have helped by giving money or clothing to them, can they easily develop an interior feeling of charity without this general basis? How many of our church schools refuse to participate in such programs of indiscriminate charity as the Red Cross as a matter of principle? We are told that celestial and spiritual things actually terminate and rest upon such ideas as indiscriminate charity, that is, doctrinal things of scientifics.*
     * AC 5945, 3701, 6023
     But there are other such general doctrines which the Writings mention, and no doubt many more than I have found. For instance, the idea that all love begins from self, the idea that self is to be taken care of first and then others, the idea that one merits heaven by good deeds-again these are said to be the lowest goods and truths from which regeneration may commence.* And then there is the idea of Jehovah as a vengeful and angry God-how often do we feel compelled to excuse the Lord's apparent destructiveness in the Old Testament by telling children that really He is totally merciful and loving! The Writings tell us that the Old Testament idea of God is a general idea which can later be easily instructed, and, in fact, is necessary for children to be kept in the general idea that all things are under the Lord's eyes.** The problem seems to be that what is more accurate and appealing to the adult mind is actually less accurate and appealing to the infantile mind. What other idea can a child have of a totally loving God than a God who has lost control over the details of worldly life?
     * AC 3701
     ** AC 2395
     Now as to just what ages these concepts are appropriate I can only guess and I see many practical problems. In general, it would seem that the elementary school ages, in which we teach the Old Testament are well suited to the doctrine the Old Testament contains, and the ages to which we teach the New Testament, with perhaps the addition of a year or two, are also well suited to the doctrine of the New Testament. I hazard these guesses on admittedly too little experience and too little knowledge of the work of Jean Piaget. Piaget noted that from the age of seven to eleven most children exhibit a literal-mindedness which would appear to be well accommodated by the Old Testament, while in the adolescent years from eleven to sixteen he observed a capacity for understanding symbolic meanings, metaphors, and similes and thus apparently well accommodated by the New Testament.*
     * Educational Psychology, A Developmental Approach; Sprinthall and Sprinthall, 1974; pp. 113, 114.

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     But let us consider for a moment the doctrine from the New Testament which is especially suited to adolescence. First, we are told that the doctrine from the literal sense is actually one doctrine, namely, the doctrine of love to the Lord,* and in the New Testament it appears that we must add to this the doctrine of love toward the neighbor.** And we might add that in the New Testament the doctrine of charity is still very indiscriminate. While we know from the doctrines of the New Church that the Lord would never have healed anyone who would be spiritually harmed by it, still the appearance is that He did not discriminate, but healed all who came to Him regardless of their quality, so long as they believed in Him. And do we not see indiscriminate charity being practiced constantly by high school students toward their peers? Just as an example, in most cases they cannot see that the truly charitable thing might be to refuse to protect their wayward cohorts.
     * AC 3445, 9375
     ** Matt. 22:37-40
     But the doctrine of "scientifics" which is of supreme importance in the New Testament is the doctrine of the Lord, that is, the idea of the Lord that is presented there. My experience of the New Church, which certainly may be wrong, tells me that this is the general doctrine we fall most miserably in getting across. The reason for this, I believe, is the strong reaction most New Churchmen have against the excesses of the former Christian Church. But do we throw the baby out with the bath water? The "Jesus" emphasis of the former Christian Church is very much a worship of God as to person, which from interior doctrine we react against. But how else can an adolescent think of God and thus love God except from person, in a fashion perhaps not all that different from Christian youths throughout the world? Why do we seldom use the name "Jesus" except as a knee-jerk reaction against what appears to the adult as cheap and unworthy sentimentalism?
     The Writings tell us that the name "Jesus" is just as holy as another name of God,* and they tell us that even in heaven young people are allowed to experience a state in which they think of God only from His person, for they are not capable of doing otherwise.** Do we ever encourage our young people to think of Jesus as their God, simply as He presents Himself in the New Testament!

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And what harm may we be doing by depriving them of pictures of the Lord to help them think of God from person? Did you know that the Writings actually encourage such pictures? We read:
     * TCR 297
     ** AR 611
     
What wise man seeing (a picture of the Lord in three persons) would not say to himself, alas, what hallucination'! But he would say otherwise if he were to see a picture of one Divine Person with rays of heavenly light about His head and with the inscription over it. This is our God, at once Creator, Redeemer, and Regenerator, and therefore the Saviour. Would not that wise man kiss this picture, carry it home in his bosom, and by the sight of it gladden his own mind, and the minds of his wife and his children and servants?*
     * TCR 296

     If it is true that such general doctrines from "scientifics" as these, do not receive their fair share of attention in the church, it is thought-provoking and somewhat frightening to consider the apparent disaffection for the church which exists with many of our young people in relation to the following teaching:

If generals have not been first received, the particulars are not admitted, and even excite disgust; for there can be no affection for particulars, unless generals have previously entered with affection.*
     * AC 545; cf. AC 4269, 4383; AE 112:4, 931; HH 62

If we are in some sense neglecting the general principles of faith from the literal sense of the Word, that is, starving the "whales," are we in some sense guilty of breaking the spiritual injunction contained in these words from Exodus?

And when a man shall smite his manservant, or his maidservant, with a rod, and he die under his hand; in being avenged he shall be avenged.*
     * Ex. 28:21

Here by a "manservant" is meant the "truth of scientifics" (verum scientificum), which is specifically identified with the truth from the literal sense of the Word, and by a "maid" is meant the affection for that truth.* Thus the meaning of this statute in the internal sense is that no one within the church should ill-treat scientific truth from the literal sense, or its affection.**
     * AC 9034
     ** Ibid.
     This particular teaching has on several occasions caused me to experience twinges of guilt, particularly when teaching the ninth grade religion course here at the Academy. This is the year when students are formally introduced to the Writings for the first time and every year there were several students dismayed and deeply disturbed by the fact that the literal sense of the Word appeared to be untrustworthy, once the doctrine from the Writings became the emphasis.

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Perhaps it was just my blunt style of teaching, but I had the distinct impression that in some minds was ill-treating scientific truth from the literal sense.
     I don't pretend to have any answers as to how things might be done differently, but one idea that I have considered is that perhaps as students grow older, we should more and more emphasize the doctrine of genuine truth that is contained within the open teachings of the literal sense. This might prevent straight New Church doctrine from appearing to invalidate the literal sense, and save us from killing the servants. It might also result in the adults of the church having a solid working knowledge of the literal sense one day.
     The last point I wish to consider is the place of the literal sense in the adult life of the church. Since the "great whales" are not created until the fifth day of regeneration, obviously the most immediate application of their meaning has to do with an advanced state of adult regeneration. What we have been considering so far is really preparation for this state, that is, the care and feeding of what we might call the "baby whales." But the "great whales" themselves represent a kind of knowledge that is possible only in a mind which is in the fullest sense rational. They represent a state in which the mind is able to view the historical sequence, the representative imagery, and the general doctrines from the literal sense in the perspective of the particular doctrines from the internal sense.
     However, there seems to be something of a tendency within the Church to downplay the importance of the literal sense for adults. I doubt that there are very many in this room who feel even remotely competent in their knowledge of the literal sense. Perhaps this state of affairs has resulted from the teachings that the literal sense is especially accommodated to children; perhaps it is from our over eagerness to introduce the Writings at ever-earlier ages; perhaps it is the feeling that the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life; or perhaps it is from a misunderstanding of the teachings which tell us that the literal sense must vanish, or be obliterated, in order to understand the internal sense.* Whatever the case, the Writings most certainly do not intend for us to leave the literal sense behind; the only thing we are to leave behind is our infantile thought from the sensual ideas and appearances of the literal sense. But the literal sense itself does not die through the internal sense, rather it lives:
     * AC 1405, 1408, 1783, 3982

It appears as if the literal sense vanishes or dies through the internal sense; but on the contrary it does not vanish, still less dies; but through the internal sense it lives.* The literal sense is by no means annihilated by the internal sense, but is rather confirmed and strengthened thereby, for every word of the letter obtains weight and holiness from the internal sense which is within.

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Besides, the literal sense is the basis and the fulcrum by which the internal sense exerts its power, and with which it is so intimately conjoined.**
     * AC 8943
     ** AC 9349

Thus, the Writings give us a picture of a living relationship between the internal sense and the literal sense as they are both contained within the mind of the regenerating man. This seems to be what is meant by the "walls of Jasper" surrounding the New Jerusalem. They are said to signify

that every Divine truth from the sense of the letter of the Word with men of that church (New Jerusalem) is translucent from the Divine truth in the spiritual sense. . . .The Word also in the sense of the letter is of such a nature that the more a man is enlightened by the influx of the light of heaven, so much the more does he see truths in their connection and thence in their form; and the more interiorly is his rational mind opened.*
     * AR 911

     I believe that one of the unfortunate results of our common ignorance of the literal sense, clergy and laity alike, is the slow growth of the New Church. The Writings specifically tell us how those who are willing to be convinced of the New Church may be convinced. They tell us that this can be accomplished by means of truths from the literal sense of the Word, together with rational things from natural light. We have about half of that formula well learned, but remember that the Writings also teach that unless doctrine is confirmed from the literal sense of the Word, it appears as though only man's intelligence is in it.* Rational doctrine confirmed from the literal sense of the Word is the "rod of iron" the "man child" will use to rule all nations.** The "rod of iron" is powerful, but it is also heavy. Are we strong enough to pick it up?
     * SS 54
     ** AR 544

     It would seem to me that the only way we will become strong enough to use the "rod of iron" is for us to follow the advice contained within the internal meaning of Joseph bringing his father Jacob and entire family down to live in Egypt with him. Jacob coming to live in Egypt represents the initiation of doctrinal truths into the "scientifics" of the literal sense of the Word, or what is the same, the infilling of generals with particulars, or what is the same, the creation of a "great whale." Remember that Pharaoh who initiated this process is at times called a "great whale," and that Pharaoh gave Joseph the means for bringing his family into Egypt, namely the "carts of Egypt," which represent the doctrine from "scientifics."*
     * AC 5945

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     Thus we see that the proper means for insinuating truths into scientifics, or infilling generals with particulars, are the doctrines from the literal sense of the Word, learned well, and with affection in childhood. Listen carefully to the following example the Writings give us of what is meant by truths being brought into "scientifics," and see if in your own mind, this is not what the "walls of Jasper" surrounding the New Jerusalem signify:

Truths are said to be initiated into scientifics when they are brought into them, so as to be in them. This is effected for the reason that when a scientific comes into thought the truths which have been brought into it may come at the same time into remembrance; as for example, when a sojourner is presented to the thought, seeing that by him are signified those who are to be instructed, that there should instantly come into thought all the exercises of charity toward such, thus truths. In like manner in all other cases. When scientifics are thus infilled, then when anyone is thinking from them, the thought extends and diffuses itself far and wide, and indeed to many societies in the heavens at the same time.*
     * AC 6004, 9023

     This process of bringing the internal sense into the literal sense seems to be a description of how a New Church adult is to read the Word so as to effect a complete communication with the heavens.* But we must remember that the means whereby this may be accomplished are said to be the "carts of Egypt," which represent such doctrines from the literal sense of the Word as the Ten Commandments, indiscriminate charity, the idea that all love begins from self, the idea that self is to be taken care of first, and then others, the idea that one merits heaven by good deeds, the idea that God can be angry, and the idea that God is a person.
     * See DeV 47; AE 356:5, 816; AC 9410; TCR 272 LETTER COMMUNICATES WITH HEAVEN 1979

LETTER COMMUNICATES WITH HEAVEN              1979

     "The time is near signifies . . . an interior state. . . . Because the Word in the letter is natural and within is spiritual, it is said that 'the time is near,' in order that in heaven the interior state might be understood; for if the expression 'the interior state,' which is the spiritual sense, had have been used, it would not have been understood by the angels, for they perceive all things of the Word according to correspondence." Apocalypse Explained

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PREADAMITES 1979

PREADAMITES       Rev. ALFRED ACTON       1979

     Section IV*
     * AC 1002

     I shall conclude my series on the Preadamites with a discussion of the physiology and the natural culture one might expect to find when looking at remains of these primitive people. As we have said, Preadamites are essentially of two types who developed one after the other-a natural type who were in dense ignorance and who lived very much like wild animals, and a spiritual type who had risen above their natural progenitors by learning what it was to place love to the neighbor above love of self, that is by accepting a life of charity. Neither of these types, however, had any knowledge of God, the Creator of Heaven and Earth, since it is the clear teaching of revelation that knowledge of God constitutes the state of the church with man, and these men, by definition, existed prior to the organization of a church. Further, because they had no knowledge of God they had no idea of conjugial love, again because conjugial love rests on the state of the church with a man. Nor did they have that exquisite perception we have come to associate with the men of the Most Ancient Church. These people, living at the dawn of civilization, dwelt in dense ignorance, but gradually came to feel the awe of spiritual power within creation, which awe enabled them to be lifted up to higher and higher states until at last they were able to be regenerated to a celestial life, at which time the Most Ancient Church began.
     The period of development in which Preadamites inhabited the globe was apparently lengthy. Preadamites constitute an angelic society, which implies the death of many while still in this state. But note that their heaven was very severe. Preadamites are said to have scarcely any spiritual life. Unlike children today, they had no celestial remains upon which to draw, as they sought to elevate themselves above their animal natures. But what type of life did these people lead? How were they able to communicate with each other? What did they eat? Were their homes like those often postulated for primitive man? Or do we expect to find in the life of Preadamites something quite different from the things scientists tell us from their studies of ancient artifacts?

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Their Physiology

     It is these questions that me shall consider, beginning with preadamitic physiology. We know from the Arcana Coelestia* that when man became celestial at the beginning of the Most Ancient Church there was a change in the nature of his seed, apparently a genetic change, which enabled him to pass on this new attainment to his offspring. We also know that the celestial men of the Most Ancient Church were far different from men today. With them, for example, the will and understanding were united, which meant that they did not figure out what was right and then do it, but rather did what they loved and by doing knew that it was right. Also, the men of the Most Ancient Church enjoyed a type of internal respiration which enabled them to communicate with each other by a tacit speech-a speech far more perfect than the speech of words. Further, we know that at the fall man lost these unique celestial qualities, either by another genetic change or by the death of all celestial men and their replacement by the conversion into the Ancient Church of men who had been Preadamites, or by both means.
     * AC 310, 12
     It is probable that the Church Noah constituted a remnant of good men from the Most Ancient Church who had survived the flood by some genetic change which separated the will and understanding, and that his sons, Shem Ham and Japheth, constituted new races of men converted to the Ancient Church by men of the Church Noah. If this is so, then both the genetic change concept and the existence of contemporary Preadamites with those who fell from the celestial church are probable. Accepting this probability, should we expect Preadamites to be more like men of today than like the men of the Most Ancient Church, in that they are the real progenitors of our present racial stock, or not? It would seem to be more consistent to assume that Preadamites, whom we will recall were spiritual men, were physiologically more like their modern day spiritual descendants than the celestial men who evolved from them and who apparently underwent some genetic changes in this evolution. One small piece of evidence found in revelation to support such a contention is that in speaking of Preadamites Swedenborg was not sure that he had seen an actual Preadamite, because, as he says, "at this day there are very many of such a character (as Preadamites)."* In the same teaching Swedenborg also notes that a Preadamite spirit was able to speak, though his speech was "not a rapid and distinct speech, as is customary (today), but one whose words had in them a little of life, so that it can be heard."**

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Whether this means that Preadamites spoke on earth, as well as after death, is hard to say, but the implication seems to be that they did, and that their speech was probably more like that of modern man than the more perfect tacit speech of the Most Ancient Church, which needed internal respiration.
     * SD 3390
     ** Ibid.
     The fact is, however, that we cannot be certain what type of physiology a Preadamite might have had, and should probably expect to find a variety of forms of Preadamites in that they developed at least through two general stages. Certainly such must have been the case with the development of language through this period, for it is directly taught that "the words of language were not immediately infused into men, but had to be invented which could only be done in process of time."* I would expect a gradual perfection of language through its spiritual stage until, with the arrival of the Most Ancient Church, men were able to enter into the more correspondential tacit speech which we know they then enjoyed.** Language later would have become less complex with the fall.
     * EU 54
     ** AC 607 et al.

Their Natural Life

     But noting that we can draw no definitive conclusions concerning the physiology of Preadamites, can we draw any conclusion concerning their natural life? What can we say of their homes, their occupations, their food? It seems clear that at least at first these men lived like wild animals probably in the open or perhaps in caves. Further, since the Arcana Coelestia tells us that it is man's nature to eat meat, it would seem that at least in their natural state they were in part meat eaters.* We would expect Preadamites, then, to be food gatherers, hunters, rather than food producers, or farmers, since the same teaching from the Arcana Coelestia, which states that man's nature is to eat meat, also points out that Most Ancient man did not eat meat but instead ate things like bread and butter-the products of the farm rather than the hunt. It would, further, appear likely that the advent of farming is that single event which can be looked for as the turning point from man's spiritual existence to his celestial life on earth, that is, me might well expect to find the beginning of the Most Ancient Church at the beginning of primitive farming. (Biblical students today reach the same conclusion, noting that Adam lived in a garden and later had to till the ground.)
     * AC 1002
     While considering the fact that Preadamites were probably meat-eating men and not vegetarians, as were the men of the Most Ancient Church, we should note that the teaching from the Arcana Coelestia to which we have referred also says that man first ate meat at the fall, when he became fiercer than wild animals.

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Some have felt that this teaching rules out the possibility of meat-eating Preadamites, but I would observe that the context of this passage seems clearly to refer to men of the celestial nature which existed with the Most Ancient Church, not to Preadamites who are called non-men in this context;* and that the rest of the passage which speaks of man's nature being that of a meat eater, and also of meat-eating animals existing at the time of these celestial people, seems clearly to imply such a diet for Preadamites. In an earlier article we have already seen that to speak of "man" first doing something after the fall, more than once in the New Word must be taken in this context. Preadamites are men becoming celestial and need not be considered in terms of what happened to men when they fell from their celestial state.
     * AC 310
     Preadamites then, probably found their primary occupation in hunting, in collecting the necessary food they needed for survival. But although I think Preadamites ate meat, I do not think of them as the bloody cavemen described by scientists. These people were probably quite gentle and probably had little fear from attack by wild animals. Man even today has very few natural predators, and although carnivorous animals may well have lived side by side with preadamitic man, still man probably had a protective aura which kept him safe from harm. In other words, Preadamites were probably very unattractive to hungry animals and so had little fear of them.

     Their Occupations

     Education of their young in the ways of food gathering would also have been a necessary occupation for preadamitic man, as would care of the home and so forth. We know that by the time of the Most Ancient Church man had learned how to make tents and even wooden structures in which he lived, and so we can safely assume that Preadamites developed many tools such as needles with which to put together skins, and other scraping and hunting weapons, not to mention some primitive form of the plow which is so necessary in agrarian life. In other words, all of the artifacts found by scientists in that period of human development from the dawn of mankind even to the beginning of agriculture can well be ascribed to Preadamites as they are discussed in revelation.
     Further, as we noted in our last article, by the time Preadamites became spiritual they should have indulged in burying their dead, not from any sure idea of after life, but from a respect for them as individuals, and from their vague feeling of the spiritual in the natural.

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Also, they should have made handiwork which would appear as idols, but in reality would have been nothing more than an effort to place their pride in progeny, that is, their pride in fertility, in ultimate forms.* Still further, we should expect Preadamites to be artists, as it is a truly spiritual quality to seek to present what is felt spiritually in natural form.
     * Cf. SD 3990, 3991
     Ancient cave paintings, which seem to have some magical implications, can well be accounted for in the framework of preadamitic culture. Spiritual men, who felt the vague presence of power beyond the natural world of their senses, would well want to identify with that power, and could well have developed a primitive use of correspondences which would appear to the untrained observer as magic. Remember that the Preadamites were in the order of their lives even though that order was at first only natural and then spiritual. With this in mind, we conclude that much of the spiritual should have come into existence in this period.
     So we see that when we try to analyze from revelation what type of life the Preadamites actually had, we find that there is nothing said of the spiritual states of these people which in any way contradicts what is learned from a study of the artifacts of ancient man, at least when both are rightly understood. Of course, much of what is currently said about these people is totally untenable when considered in the light of revelation, such as speculation that they might have murdered their fellows, and the like; but that which is factual is not contradictory. We need to recognize that man's senses, though fallible, are a source of truth, given the light of revelation, and so, understood properly, should never be in conflict with that higher source of wisdom.

Conclusions

     Now, having surveyed the life of the Preadamites, what conclusions can we draw that will benefit us in our spiritual sight of God? Why has revelation incorporated teachings about these people in its pages? First of all, when we see how the Lord gently lifted man up from his human nature into his truly human nature-when we see what things belong to celestial and spiritual states as opposed to natural states-we can have a better idea of those same things in ourselves. All too often we think that because some affection is ours, it is human, when in reality there is much of the animal in us-much that we must combat and suppress, else the spiritual will not grow. Further, we learn that God has constantly cared for His creation, even for millions of years, ever seeking its perfection, ever lifting.

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The same Divine care is with each of us, though now we have the benefit of the heavens, with their celestial and spiritual remains. Still the same things that led Preadamites to feel the influx of spiritual life in them exist with us.
     Also, we have learned something of freedom. Preadamites did not have freedom in terms of celestial loves, any more than children do today. They had the freedom to follow the loves which they knew, and they were human, and so still enjoy the happiness of eternal life, but their freedom was restricted to those loves. Such is also the case today. Men who only delight in natural or spiritual loves, provided they are good and have never rejected higher loves, upon entrance into the other life will be limited by those delights which they have confirmed. There are spiritual and natural degrees of heaven. Knowledge of God, which implies love of Him, does, in fact, determine the place of an individual in the other world. This is why the Preadamites' heavens still exist as heavens apart, why these spirits are unable to enter into other heavens. It is also why Mohammedan, or pagan, heavens exist. It should well give us pause in terms of sharing the truth that is with us, with others, for although all good men will be saved, we cannot but believe that men will find greater happiness if they do not confirm lesser loves. We, by spreading the truth of the New Word, are not necessarily bringing salvation to men, but we are making their eternal existence potentially happier. It is for this reason also that we find New Church education a true act of charity; for in this endeavor we bring to our young an expression of God which can embody celestial happiness.
NORTHEAST DISTRICT ASSEMBLY 1979

NORTHEAST DISTRICT ASSEMBLY       LOUIS B. KING       1979

     The 4th Northeast District Assembly of the General Church of the New Jerusalem will be held at Shelton, Connecticut, from Friday, July 6, to Sunday, July 8, the Right Reverend Louis B. King, Bishop of the General Church presiding. Members and friends of the General Church are invited to attend. For information and registration forms please contact Mrs. James Tucker, 45 Honey Bee Lane, Huntington, Connecticut 06484. Telephone: (203) 929-6455.
     LOUIS B. KING,
          Bishop

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CONQUEST OF CANAAN 1979

CONQUEST OF CANAAN       Rev. GEORGE DECHARMS       1979

     The wars recorded in the Old Testament have raised serious doubts in the minds of many people as to the Divinity of the Word. It is undeniable that war is hell, and the cruelties associated with it are abominable. Such things are not of the Lord's will, yet, we are told, they are permitted because without them the destructive nature of evil would not be realized. This is because,

since the time of the Most Ancient people meant by Adam and his wife, the life's love of man has become such that it wills to rule over others, and finally over all; also to possess the wealth of the world, and finally all wealth. These two loves cannot be kept in bounds, for it is according to Divine Providence that every man be allowed to act from freedom according to reason. Furthermore, without permissions man cannot be led from evil by the Lord, and thus be reformed and saved, for unless evils were permitted to break out man would not see them, and therefore would not acknowledge them, and thus could not be led to resist them.*
     * DP 251

     This is the inner reason why wars are permitted. But why should such things be recorded in the Word? To all appearance the invasion of the land of Canaan by the armies of Israel was an act of aggression. The whole land was devastated. Cities were burned to the ground, and their inhabitants were either ruthlessly slain or were evicted from their homes and driven into exile. All this was done by the direct command of the Lord. How can we understand that a God of infinite love and mercy would give sanction to such inhuman cruelties? Why should such things be included in the Sacred Scripture?
     The answer is that the Lord Himself is a "Hero of war." He alone fights against the overpowering influence of the hells, and redeems mankind from bondage to them. The Word, in its inmost sense describes this work of redemption, which can be depicted in no other way than as a spiritual warfare. The Word is written to bring the true nature of this warfare vividly before the mind of every reader, together with all its horror, that men may be roused against the evil and falsity of their inborn nature, and inspired to fight against it. The cause of war is not in the Lord, but in the loves of self and the world in the hearts of men, against which the Lord fights.*
     * SS 103; AC 1665

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     In order to understand the conquest of Canaan it must be known that originally that land had belonged to the kingdom of the Lord on earth. There the Most Ancient Church had been established, and in later times it had been the center also of the Ancient Church, although this had been spread far and wide over the surface of the earth. For this reason Canaan was called the "holy land," where those dwelt who were in innocence and in the worship of Jehovah. But in course of time these ancient churches declined, forsaking the worship of the Lord, and falling into idolatry of many kinds. The land of their inheritance was taken over by people who were in evil, and who practised many abominable religious rites.
     Then it was that the Lord called Abram, promising to raise up from him a great nation empowered to reclaim the land of their forefathers. The conquest of Canaan was the fulfillment of this promise. But the history of the land was representative of what happens in the mind of every man. During infancy, which corresponds to the time of the Most Ancient Church, every one is in the innocence of ignorance, and is in willing obedience to parents, from a sense of love and confidence. During childhood, which corresponds to the Ancient Church, every one is in charity toward companions. Innocence still reigns, and although evil tendencies become increasingly apparent, they are largely excused because they are not deliberate. As the child grows, innocence declines, and hereditary evils become more and more dominant until they seem to take possession of the mind, causing a state of rebellion against parental leadership, and against the dictates of conscience. This is what is pictured in the Word by the land of Canaan when it was inhabited by idolatrous nations. Yet with young people, the innocence of earlier states is not forgotten. It is secretly treasured, and there is a longing to recapture the happiness, the peace of mind, the trust and confidence that had prevailed during infancy and childhood.
     Nevertheless, the Divine promise of redemption cannot be fulfilled until adult age is reached. Then first the selfish and worldly loves which have become dominant, must be resisted and overcome. The land of the mind must be conquered, and the evil inhabitants who have taken possession of it must be cast out. This is the warfare of the soul. It is a conflict of truths learned from the Word, which are signified by the sons of Israel, against the domination of selfishness, jealousy, revenge, and hatred, by which the hells seek to enslave mankind. The conquest of Canaan is a perfect picture of this spiritual warfare. Its purpose, as related in the Old Testament, is to bring the true nature of evil and falsity vividly before the mind of every one who reads.

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     It is extremely important to realize that this is a war against an implacable enemy. In the midst of the conflict there is no room for pity toward the foe. There can be no compromise with evil. The great need is for strength and endurance in the face of seemingly overwhelming forces. This war is to the death, and there is no substitute for victory. This is the meaning of the Biblical story, and the lesson it teaches is one of paramount importance to man's spiritual life. When so regarded, the narrative takes on an entirely different aspect.
     The most subtle enemy of man's regeneration is an attitude of indifference. This is the mark of a weakling who has not the force of character to prevail. It is the outstanding characteristic of every church at its end. At that time man's faith in the teaching of the Word becomes weak or non-existent. The vision of spiritual truth is blotted out. The goal of a life after death seems remote and unattainable. As compared with the valued rewards of this world, heaven is hardly worth striving for. For this reason the conflict against evil impulses lags, and the battle field is abandoned to the enemy.
     Speaking of charity in the commander of an army, the Writings clearly describe the attitude of constancy and valor which is required for victory in the warfare of regeneration:

[The commander] does not love war, but peace. Even in war he continually loves peace. He does not go to war except for the protection of his country, and thus is not an aggressor but a defender. But afterwards when war has begun, if so be that aggression is defense, he becomes an aggressor. In battle he is brave and valiant. After the battle he is mild and merciful. In battle he would fane be a lion, but after the battle a lamb. In his inner self he does not exult in the overthrow of his enemy, nor in the honor of victory, but in the deliverance of his country and his people from the invasion of the enemy.*
     * Charity 164

     So important is this lesson of steadfastness is the midst of battle that the Lord said to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans: "I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would that thou wert cold or hot. So then, because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew thee out of my mouth."* It is for this very reason that the account of the conquest of Canaan as given in the Word, must contain all the horrors of war, that the issue may be clearly seen, and the need emphasized for unrelenting resistance to the forces of evil in our own hearts.
     * Rev. 3:15, 16

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DIVINE PROVIDENCE 1979

DIVINE PROVIDENCE       Rev. ORMOND ODHNER       1979

     II: THE LAWS OF ORDER FOR MAN'S SALVATION

     "Divine Providence is the government of the Lord's Divine love and Divine wisdom, having as its end or purpose the establishment of a heaven from the human race." This definition of Providence, repeated from the last article, is in agreement with certain words in The Apocalypse Explained, namely, "The laws of order for man's reformation, regeneration, and consequent salvation, are called the laws of the Divine Providence."*
     * AE 1135:3
     Providence, then, is the Lord's government of the human race to establish a heaven through the ordered steps of reformation, regeneration, and salvation. Being a government, it operates according to laws, the Divine laws of order; and those laws of order by which the Lord saves men are what are called the Laws of the Divine Providence.
     In the work on Divine Providence they are listed to the number of five. Let me read them in condensed form; but as I read them, remember that each and all of them are the laws by which the Lord works to save us and lead us into heaven.

     I.      Man shall act from freedom according to reason.
     II.      Man, acting as if from himself, should remove evils as sins from his externals, and in this way and in no other can the Lord remove evils from his internals and at the same time from his externals.
     III.      Man should not be compelled by external means to an internal acceptance of religion, but should, nevertheless, sometimes compel himself to such acceptance.
     VI.      Man should be led and taught by the Lord by means of the Word alone, directly or indirectly, and this in such a way that he appears to be leading and teaching himself.
     V.      Man should not perceive and feel anything of the operations of Providence, but nevertheless, should know and acknowledge it.

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     Every one of these laws clearly has to do with man's eternal salvation; and it is said that it is a knowledge of its laws that reveals the nature of Divine Providence. It should be evident, then, that the Divine Providence is concerned with spiritual and eternal things; that its government is the Lord's government of our lives to save us; and that, as an end in itself, nothing less than our salvation ever could be the real end of Divine Providence.
     Unfortunately, however, our natural dispositions tend to make us think of Providence as being vitally concerned with the natural events of our lives-our births, our marriages, our success in acquiring fame or money, our bodily health, our deaths. What is more, there actually are teachings in the Writings that indicate a Divine concern with such things, even down to the shuffle of the cards and the shake of the dice. Thus it is said that these last two things are not the result of luck or fortune or chance, but are Divine Providence in ultimates.*
     * DP 212
     It is natural for us to want Providence to be intimately concerned with the natural things of our lives. Natural. But, as Bishop Benade was fond of saying, "Natural-and therefore wrong." Now, that may not be an infallible statement of truth, but it is not far wrong here, if our natural interests in Providence becloud our sight of the truth that Providence is interested in our spiritual welfare, and really in nothing else except as a means to that end. Winning a hand at poker-how could the infinite God be concerned with a miserable little thing like that? Or any other natural event in itself; and so it is taught that it is in the Lord's Divine Providence that sometimes the country that really has justice on its side loses a war, while victory is given to the enemy which is championing nothing but injustice.* Why? Because Providence governs the so-called fortunes of war, not according to natural causes, but according to spiritual and eternal causes, and the hidden connection of things spiritual with things natural.
     * DP 252
     Providence is concerned with saving us and leading us to heaven. The laws by which Providence operates are the laws of order for our salvation. And with this firmly in mind, let us return to those laws themselves. They are, remember, the laws by which we are saved. Outside of them or apart from them, no salvation is possible; and that is why a man can keep himself out of heaven, even though the omnipotent God wills his salvation equally as He wills the salvation of all other men.

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First Law

     "Man shall act from freedom according to reason." What has this first law to do with salvation? Everything. In DP 27 it is taught that the Lord wills to give men and angels the delights of heaven from Himself in them. "From Himself in them." Recall the teachings mentioned in our last article about "the infinite and eternal from itself in things finite," as well as my attempts at explaining that this means those things we have in us from the Lord that seem to be our own, but which really are the Lord's in us, that is, our genuine loves of what is good and our genuine understanding of what is true. (To the extent they are genuine, they are from the Lord in us.)
     Now, heaven and its delights are not like a present all done up in pretty ribbons and given to us by the Lord as a reward for being good. Heaven is not even the living of a dally schedule sent down to us from above. Heaven is simply what we have in us, from the Lord's Word, in the way of good loves and genuine truths, and the life that we build up in ourselves and about ourselves from those things. Even the heaven that is "up there" is simply that. It is the life that the angels, acting as if on their own, have figured out to be the kind of life they ought to lead-figured out from what they have in them from the Lord's Word. And the delights of heaven are simply the delights they have in such a life.
     That is why we must act in freedom according to reason in order to be saved. We have to build up heaven within ourselves and have heaven within ourselves, if, after death, we are going to enter the heaven of the spiritual world. Otherwise there is nothing within us, seemingly our own, in correspondence with the heaven that exists there, and we then could find no delight at all in that heaven.
     You are a human being. You are human because you have the two faculties of liberty and rationality, freedom and reason. Those two faculties in you are the human in you, and how you use them makes the you that you are. It follows that nothing can be made a part of you which you do not take to yourself with both these faculties.
     What your reason alone assents to-that does not become a part of you. Supposing you could recite from memory the whole of the Scriptures. Does that make you regenerate? (A mere sound-recorder!) Supposing you even understood what you recite, and intellectually agreed that it was true. You still have accepted the teachings of Scripture with only one part of the real you, and the less important part, at that. They are not yet part of your will, your love, your life.

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And what is in the understanding only, and not in the heart, perishes as a sound going in at the left ear and out at the right.

     But supposing you sincerely wanted to do good to the neighbor, but had not learned from the Word what genuine good to the neighbor really is? An uninformed, uneducated desire to do good can wreak disaster, instead. For all I know, Hitler, if he was insane, might really have believed that what he did to the Jews was for the good of the human race. That's what he claimed he believed.
     But you-you really want to do good to the neighbor, but do not yet know how to do him genuine good. The good intention you have is not yet a part of you. It is in your will, but it is not yet in your understanding; and you are the combination of your will and your understanding, your liberty and rationality, your freedom and your reason.
     There is, however, this much more to be said in favor of willing a thing, but not understanding how to do it, than there is for understanding hop to do it, but not willing to do it. if you really will a thing and keep on willing it, you will eventually make yourself learn how to do it, and then it will become a thing of both your will and your understanding, it will be accepted by both the faculties that constitute the human in you, and at last it will become an eternal part of your spiritual character.
     That is just as true of salvation as it is of anything else. That it may become a part of your life it must be accepted in your freedom according to your reason. Hence this first law of order for man's salvation.

Second Law

     The second law of Divine Providence teaches that man, acting as if from himself, must put away evils as sins from his external man, for in this way and in no other can the Lord remove evils from his internals and at the same time from his externals. There is a tremendous amount of doctrine here-almost too much for one sitting-so this must be drastically condensed.
     The great doctrine of the New Church concerning the as-of-self: "Man, acting as if from himself. . . ." Only the Lord has life in Himself; we live from Him. Power is a predicate of life; we have no power in ourselves, but only from Him. Only the Lord is good in Himself and from Himself; we cannot do good or be good from ourselves, but only from Him: "As the branch cannot bear fruit, except it abide in the vine, no more can ye, except ye abide in Me. I am the vine, ye are the branches."
     But if the branch could think, it would think that it was bearing fruit of itself, and if it gave any credit to the vine at all, it would be merely in admitting that the vine gave it support.

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We have no spiritual power in ourselves; from ourselves we cannot do anything good, cannot even shun our evils as sins against the Lord. But we differ from the branch of the vine in this: We have freedom to do what we wish with the life and power that flow into us from the Lord. We cannot act from ourselves (only the Lord can do that); but we must act just as if we are acting from ourselves. As the Writings frequently phrase it, we cannot hang down our hands and await influx. The Lord will not take our evils out of us without our cooperation. He will not destroy in us His Divinely given gifts of freedom and rationality. We must shun our evils as sins, just as though we are doing this from ourselves, though acknowledging in heart that we are doing so from the Lord.
     "Remove our evils as sins. . . ." Evils, sins,-what are they and what is the difference between them? Evil is anything disorderly; sin is that which separates us from the Lord. Not every act that can be called an evil is necessarily a sin. It is disorderly to hurt someone physically. It is evil to hurt someone else. The good dentist does not commit a sin while he does his beneficial work. A sin, however, need not even be an evil act. It is a good act to go to church. It is a sin to go to church in order to appear righteous unto men, when, inside ourselves, we laugh at righteousness.
     "Remove our evils as sins. . . ." We learn from childhood training, and, later, directly from revelation what things are evil. Self-examination shows us our own particular evils. We are to shun them, turn away from them, flee from them, remove them from ourselves because they are sins, because they separate us from the will of the Lord and drive a wedge between us and the Lord, not because, one way or another, they will earn us the displeasure of the world.
     Man is to remove evils as sins from his external man, so that the Lord can remove them from his internal man and from his external man also. The external man: by that phrase the Writings hardly mean the body at all; they mean the external, conscious part of our minds. (The body is mere obedience to the mind.) The external, conscious part of our minds: our thoughts, our conscious thoughts, and especially our conscious Private thoughts, the thoughts that we have when alone or removed from the sphere of others. Our private thoughts and those very private and personal delights of our imaginations. These constitute the external man, and the whole of the external man is under our own personal control, nor will the Lord change its nature without our cooperation. It is from our conscious thoughts, from the delights of our imaginations, that we are to remove evils because they separate us from the will of God.

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     And yet the roots of our evils go much deeper than our conscious thoughts and imagined delights, and it is the roots of our evils that must be taken out if evil is to be permanently removed from us. What are those roots? -our loves and our perceptions, our instantaneous perceptions of what we think will satisfy our loves. Why, when we see a certain thing, do we immediately want to reach out and take it to ourselves? The desire has not even framed itself into a conscious thought; it is just an instantaneous perception that this is what we want.
     But we cannot change our loves themselves; they don't go away just by telling them to. No more can we change our perceptions of what we believe will satisfy our loves. Only the Lord can do those things. But we can hold ourselves into a form of mind that does not allow these loves to come forth into conscious thoughts and imagined delights. We can turn away from evils in our external man. And if we do this, again and again and again, throughout a lifetime of temptation, then the Lord will at last, very gradually, take away our loves of evil, and, with them, the perceptions of what will satisfy evil loves. With those things gone, the evils will never again be welcomed into the things of our external man.
     This, then, is the meaning of this second law of Divine Providence, to the effect that we must remove evils as sins from our external man, and must do this as if from ourselves, in order that the Lord may take them out of our internal man and thus out of the external man also.

Third Law

     The third of the laws of order for man's salvation is that man is not to be compelled by external means to an internal acceptance of the things of religion, but should, nevertheless, sometimes compel himself to such, an acceptance.
     Remember that only those things become an eternal part of man's character which he does in freedom according to reason. External compulsion, compulsion by another, is obviously diametrically opposed to freedom. That which is done under compulsion remains in a man no longer than the will of him who compels, for it is not his own will, but the will of another, which motivates the man who acts under compulsion.
     What, then, are those "external" things that can compel, even if they can compel only for a while? Basically, they have to do with anything which takes away freedom-fear, mental sickness, drunkenness, threats, miracles, visions, all things like that.
     It should be noted, however, that in the chapter of Divine Providence which treats of this law, it is reiterated that man cannot be reformed in states that do not spring from freedom. It is not said, however, that if his regeneration has already begun, he cannot be further regenerated in such states.

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Thus, although it was said in World War II that there was no atheist in a foxhole, and though cynics added to this that nevertheless many atheists crawled out of their foxholes after all danger was passed; still, he who believed in God before he scratched out his foxhole, and who even prayed unusually hard while in it, came out of his foxhole believing in God even more strongly than before.
     But can anyone be compelled to a truly internal acceptance of anything? Perhaps not; but there are indications in the Writings that too much restriction on such freedoms, as freedom of speech and freedom of the press, will eventually cause man to lose his internal freedom of thinking, probably because he will finally conclude that it does nothing but cause him pain to think that which he is not allowed to say.
     Self-compulsion, on the other hand, is eminently a free state. No one else is compelling you when you compel yourself; you can stop compelling yourself any time you want to. But no: acting in freedom according to your own reason, you have decided to compel yourself to do that which the Lord wishes you to do. Nothing could be freer than that.

     Fourth Law

     The fourth law of Divine Providence is to the effect that man is to be led and taught by the Lord, from the Word (and the Word alone, when it comes to things of religion), for in this way he appears to be led and taught by himself.
     It is axiomatic that only the Lord knows what goals in life are spiritually good, that only He knows the paths we must take to reach them. But if He suddenly appeared before our eyes and told us how to live, our spiritual freedom would instantly die. We would have no life left that seemed to be our own, and therefore no life in which we could find any happiness.
     Quite to the contrary, when He teaches us through His Word. It contains His teachings and nothing but His teachings, adapted to the states of those whom He would teach. But we have to go to it for ourselves; we have to read it; we are the ones who have to think about it until we understand it; we-it seems ridiculous-have to decide for ourselves that what the Lord says in His Word is true; and then, finally, we have to struggle to obey the teachings we have learned. We do everything. Or so it seems, and so the Lord wants it to seem, for this increases in us the appearance that life is our own, and only in the appearance that we are living our own lives the way we ourselves want to live them can we ever find lasting happiness.
     And how much superior a written Word is to any revelation that might come to us through spirits and angels!

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The preservation of such a revelation would depend upon the very faulty human memory, and not even the best of human memories is perfect. A written Word does not change the way memories do; and this is especially true of a Word that is written in such "dead" languages (languages no longer in living usage) as Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. And in line with this truth we have the teaching that it was in the Divine Providence of the Lord that writing and printing were invented: for the sake of the Word, so that the Word could be written, and, once written, could be preserved and spread throughout the world.
     And, though I have no time here to elaborate this, it is through the Word alone that man can learn any spiritual truths, either by reading it and thinking about it or by preaching and teaching from it and conversations about it. Scientific truths, civil truths, even moral truths-these can be learned from experience and from the world, but these do not save man and lead him into heaven; they simply teach him how to live on earth. Spiritual truths can be learned only from and through the Word.

Fifth Law

     The fifth and final law of order for man's salvation is that man shall not be permitted to perceive and feel anything of the operations of the Divine Providence, but still should know it and acknowledge it.
     Why would it be hurtful to our salvation to be able to see and feel the operations of the Divine Providence? Partly because it would take away from us the appearance that life is our own, that we gain heavenly life by our own efforts; but mostly because of this: If we could see where Providence is leading us, and how it is leading us there, we would either rebel against Providence or would deny it and try to put ourselves into its place.
     Of this we can be sure. Whether we are good or evil, whether we are going to end up in heaven or be successful in our fight to keep the Lord from saving us-in either case, the Lord is now leading us to a better place than we would now desire, and some of the lessons that we will have to learn to be led to that place in freedom are lessons that we are not going to enjoy at all.
     Hence it is said that Divine Providence never works in agreement with the life's love of a man, but always against it. Providence is never working for the success of our present plans, as we now understand those plans; it is always working for something better than anything that we can now envision as ideal. Who would not rebel against such a government, if he could see it in operation? But gradually, very gradually, Providence is bending our wills to something better than they now are; and no matter what the paths through which it will lead us, it will lead us to the very highest place in the spiritual world in which we can find happiness in freedom.

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     Never can we see Providence in the present happenings of our lives; and even in past events we can see its workings only when in spiritual states, that is, when thinking spiritually, and seeking for spiritual ends. Even then, however, we must be cautious in making final judgments, if we make any judgments at all, except that always permissible judgment-If this is really what it appears to be, then. . . .

     * * * * * *

     These, then, are the laws of the Divine Providence, the laws of Divine order for man's salvation. Singly and together, they reveal the nature of Providence; and singly and together, they show it to be the Lord's spiritual government of our lives to lead us to eternal salvation.
     In my next article I hope to show that the Writings teach that all the Divine laws of order by which the Lord rules the universe are Divine love taking form in Divine wisdom, the one truly human-humane-thing in all creation, intimately adapting themselves to the most personal interests of every single individual whom the Lord creates.
CONCERNING BOOKS, PLAYS, AND MOVIES THAT HUMANIZE THE LORD 1979

CONCERNING BOOKS, PLAYS, AND MOVIES THAT HUMANIZE THE LORD              1979

     The Lord called the disciples "men of little faith" when they were unable to do miracles in His name, and He was unable to do miracles in His own country because of their unbelief, for the reason that while the disciples believed the Lord to be the Messiah or Christ, also the Son of God, and the prophet of whom it was written in the Word, yet they did not believe that He was God Almighty, and that Jehovah the Father was in Him; and yet so far as they believed Him to be a man, and not at the same time God, His Divine to which omnipotence belongs could not be present with the disciples by faith. For faith presents the Lord as present, as has been said above; but faith in Him as a man only does not present His Divine omnipotence as present. For the same reason those in the world at the present day who look to His Human alone and not at the same time to His Divine, as the Socinians and Arians do, cannot be saved. And for a like reason the Lord could not do miracles in His own country, for there they had seen Him from infancy like another man; and therefore they were unable to add to that idea the idea of His Divinity; and when that idea is not present while the Lord is present, He is not present in man with Divine omnipotence; for faith presents the Lord as present in man according to the quality of the perception of Him. Apocalypse Explained 815.

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GLADYS BLACKMAN 1979

GLADYS BLACKMAN              1979

     1893-1978

     Gladys Blackman was born in 1893, and lived her whole life in the Park in Glenview. She lived in the same home, except for the years that she attended the Academy.
     She taught in the Immanuel Church School from 1913 to 1964, and served for many of those years as Principal. Her control of the school was quiet yet firm-children just didn't think of disobeying her, because she did not expect it.
     Her whole life was woven around our school, and the children, perhaps especially the boys. She did travel, but she also turned down a request to teach in Bryn Athyn, because she had made the Immanuel Church school her life. Until her death she could remember which children were in which class, and kept in touch with them, and the majority of them with her. She kept exceptional book reports and other projects, and they are still present, neatly catalogued, in her home.
     Miss Gladys Blackman had three siblings, including a sister and a brother who were killed in childhood. Her remaining brother, Geoffrey married, and he and his wife Emily had five children.
     During its hundredth anniversary, the Immanuel Church published a number of questions and answers concerning the early days of the Park drawn from Miss Gladys's storehouse of memories. She knew who owned the first car in the Park, who built which house, and many other fascinating links with the past of our society.

     I here quote several paragraphs from the address delivered by the Rev. Peter Buss, pastor of the Immanuel Church, at "Miss Gladys's" resurrection service.

     From the moment a man is born, he must go on living to all eternity. Nobody's life can come to an end, for we are created into the image of the eternal God, and that image cannot die. Death is a stage of life, not the end of it; it merely marks the great change which we all must make, from the realm of time and space into that of values and loves.
     Our life on earth forms the first few chapters in a story which stretches into eternity-a story of increasing benefits, and of expanding uses, which make each day of eternity worth living.

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It is only in the first few chapters that we can know sorrow, and sickness, and pain, and the difficulties of old age; only here in the less perfect realm is unhappiness done by man to man. In the second phase of life, all that passes away, and the Lord's blessings may be received unsullied, and enjoyed without interruption.
     Gladys Blackman knew these truths, and lived her life with the comfort of an eternal goal in mind. She had no cause to fear death, and many reasons to look forward with joy to the continuing life that lay beyond it. She knew that the wonder of eternal life far surpasses life on this earth, and that those of her loved ones who had gone before her would be there to welcome her into the Lord's kingdom. And most of all, she knew, and she knows now as she awakens in that world, that the active spirit that has always flourished within her would find unbounded opportunities for a life of usefulness in heaven. Heaven is not a place of idleness and mere rest. The spirit that dies in the Lord will have rest from the labors of temptations, but his works shall follow him.

     * * * * *

     Gladys Blackman loved children, and spent her whole life here, fostering the growth of New Church Education. The church was her first love, and she served it without question, and through fifty years of service provided the basis for a knowledge of and belief in the Word for hundreds of children in our school. That is a use which goes into the other world. Little children who die are raised in heaven. There are angel mothers who take care of them while they are infants, and love them even more tenderly than parents on earth can. When the girls grow, they leave their foster homes, and live in groups in the center of towns and cities, protected by the sphere of the homes around, and there angels are assigned to them, to teach and guide them towards womanhood. Boys also are taught by masters, and perhaps in some things by women also, as they grow in heaven.
     The opportunities for instruction in the other world are so much better than here, for the teaching is directed to the whole person, and develops both the loves and the thoughts at the same time, in harmony. Also, heaven is able to guard that the proprial and selfish reactions of children are moderated and controlled, so that they learn in a sphere of love, not-as often in this world-of anger and human sin. There are punishments in heaven, but they are mild, and soon removed, when they have done the good they were meant to do. Miss Gladys, with her gentle notions of discipline (although she was firm) will certainly love that aspect of the guidance of the young.

     * * * * *

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     These are some of the uses of heaven. Thousands more exist, and which one a particular friend will have depends upon the Lord, and the wondrous leading which began the day she was born, and has continued without interruption, from that time forth, and will forevermore. We may think of some of Gladys Blackman's qualities, and imagine her suited for certain uses. Her love of education; her scrupulous fairness in all dealings with children which caused her students to respect her, one and all; her ability to bring out a sense of order and respect in children, and to communicate knowledge to them; might make us think that education is her use in heaven. But she also had a maturity of mind which found delight in the arts, and in the deeper learning of the church; in political affairs, and in the needs of the country in times of war. Such qualities may enable the Lord to lead her into other uses.

     * * * * *

     We look back on her long life of service and devotion to our church, and her family and friends; we think of all those whom she has helped, and how much she has meant to our society over many decades; we think of the qualities of devotion, justice, and uprightness, which she has always inspired by her own conduct. We remember these things with affection and gratitude, and we know that they will live on in her, and be increased without measure, in the heavenly home, and the angelic use to which our Lord has called her. For this purpose was she born.

     I quote also two short paragraphs from a tribute to Miss Gladys published in the Immanuel Church's "Park News" for January 5th, 1979:
     Miss Gladys Blackman, perhaps more than any individual, shaped the way we viewed ourselves, our school, and our community. In fifty years of teaching she established standards for all to emulate.
     Miss Gladys was a gentlewoman whose influence has been and will continue to be felt and appreciated.

     And finally, my own few words of tribute to Miss Gladys. (I had the real privilege of being a fellow-teacher of hers in the Immanuel Church School for thirteen years.)
     Miss Gladys obviously loved children of all ages, but it was only slightly less obvious that she had a special fondness for the boys she taught in the upper years of grade school-boys in that rough and tough age when they first enter into the "horrors" of early adolescence. Without fail, she gave them the two things they need the most at that age, the two things they would "rather die" than admit that they needed. Without fail, she gave them a lot of love and a firm hand in discipline.

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FREEDOM: NATURAL, RATIONAL, SPIRITUAL 1979

FREEDOM: NATURAL, RATIONAL, SPIRITUAL       Editor       1979


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

Acting Editor                Rev. Ormond deCharms Odhner, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager                Mr. L. E. Gyllenhaal Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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

     TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$5.00 (U.S.) A year to any address, payable in advance. Single copy, 50 cents.
     In Divine Providence, n. 73, we read, "All freedom is of love. To act from the delight of love is to act from freedom. . . . [Hence] since there are many kinds of loves, . . . it follows that there are likewise many kinds of freedom; but in general there are three: natural, rational, and spiritual."
     Natural freedom. Just as man is born of his parents into natural life and not into spiritual life, so also is he born into natural freedom and not into spiritual freedom. By definition natural freedom is the freedom to act from the delight of the loves into which we are born-evil loves, for man today is born into evils of every kind. Natural freedom, then, is the freedom to be evil, the freedom to think and will evil, and, as well, the freedom to speak and do evil, in so far as the laws of state and society do not prevent this.
     (I would note here that the Lord never intends man to have unlimited freedom to speak and do evil, any more than a country can give its citizens unlimited freedom to break its laws. It is of the Lord's will that the laws of country and society shall inhibit the speaking and doing of evil; and, as f hope to point out in an editorial next month, it is this very inhibition of natural freedom which gives man the ability to be something higher than an animal, gives him the ability to reform and be regenerated.)
     Rational freedom. The Writings here use the term, rational, in an unusual way, for certainly it is not true or genuine rationality which causes man to be a hypocrite, and it is especially the freedom to be a hypocrite which the Writings here call "rational freedom."

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We read, "Rational freedom is from the love of reputation for the sake of honor and gain. The delight of this love is to appear externally as a moral man."*
     * DP 73:5
     That, by itself, does not define hypocrisy, of course; for it is not necessarily hypocritical nor even evil to desire reputation and gain. What man of sound mind does not desire a good reputation?-it is practically impossible to live in human society without it. And what business man of sound mind does not desire gain or profit?-in today's economy that is practically synonymous with earning a living. But if a person leads a moral life, shunning evils merely as things that might injure his own reputation or gain; and if he has no love of others higher than his love of himself; then he does not love morality, except in external form. He is a hypocrite, and his so-called rational freedom is really nothing more than an interior type of natural freedom-the freedom to be evil but to appear good in order to achieve his evil desires. Yet even this "rational" freedom is something that "by the Divine Providence of the Lord remains with every man."* It too, therefore, is still simply "the freedom of evil."
     * Ibid.
     Spiritual Freedom. The third type of freedom here spoken of is spiritual freedom, which is said to be "from a love of eternal life," and "into this freedom no one comes except the man who thinks that evils are sins, and consequently does not will them, and at the same time looks to the Lord."* Clearly, this is the freedom to be good, the freedom to think and speak truth, the freedom to act against one's innate loves and desires and to will and to do good. It is "the freedom of good."
     * Ibid.
     Further concerning this freedom we read, "At first this freedom does not appear to be freedom, and yet it is; and later it does so appear, when the man acts from freedom itself according to reason itself, in thinking, willing, speaking and doing what is good and true. This freedom increases as natural freedom decreases and becomes subservient; and it conjoins itself with rational freedom, which it purifies. Everyone may come into this freedom, provided he is willing to think that there is an eternal life, and that the temporary delight and bliss of a life in time are but as a fleeting shadow, compared with the never-ending delight and bliss of a life in eternity. This a man can think if he wishes, because he has rationality and liberty, and because the Lord, from whom these two faculties are derived, continually gives him the ability to do so."*
     * DP 73

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     "At first spiritual freedom does not appear to be freedom at all." Of course it doesn't. To begin with, man has to compel himself to act against his inborn desires; only gradually-does he get used to acting against them; and only even more gradually does he actually find happiness in acting against them, for at last his old desires hold no more attraction for him at all.
     Self-compulsion never feels like a state of freedom, but it obviously is. You are compelling yourself. (That's what self-compulsion means.) No one else is making you do it. You can stop doing it any time you want to. What could be more free than that! But, admittedly, it does not feel like freedom, at first.
     Eventually, though, it does come to feel like freedom. Self-compulsion works, and probably everyone has had at least some success in it, at least in such things as forcing himself to eat a certain food that he does not like to begin with; and then, wonder of wonders, he acquires a taste for it and at last comes to relish something he formerly despised. . . .So it is with changing one's way of life from evil to good.
     The Opposition of Natural and Spiritual Freedom. An earlier passage in Divine Providence 5 terms these two types of freedom "Infernal freedom" and "heavenly freedom." There we read, "It is from infernal freedom to think and to will evil, and so far as civil and moral laws do not hinder, to speak and to do it. On the other hand, it is from heavenly freedom to think and to will good, and so far as opportunity is granted, to speak and to do it." The passage later continues, "It cannot be denied by anyone that one or the other of these is freedom, for there cannot be two kinds of freedom, in themselves opposite, and in themselves freedom. Moreover, it cannot be denied that to be led by good is freedom, and to be led by evil is slavery; for to be led by good is to be led by the Lord, and to be led by evil is to be led by the devil."
     To be led by the Lord is freedom; to be led by the devil (or by hell, or by self) is slavery. Oh, how true, how obviously true! In all that He does, the Lord guards man's freedom as a man guards the pupil of his eye. In all that it does to man, hell has no respect for man's freedom at all; it delights in destroying it.
     It is freedom to be led by the Lord. Ask the Lord to lead you, and He does. Cease asking the Lord to lead you, and He stops His leading. What could be freer than that? But get into the grip of a bad habit-get yourself used to being led by hell, that is-and then try to break that habit. It's all but impossible. Why? Because hell does not care about your freedom, except as an object of its hate.

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Hell drives you, drives you against your own better judgment, your own better desires, to do its will, not your own. That's slavery indeed.
     Natural or infernal freedom; the freedom of evil. "Rational" freedom; the freedom to be a hypocrite, the freedom to put on a mere pretense of morality while inwardly you have no use for it; that, remember, is simply another kind of natural freedom, in itself evil. And spiritual freedom, opposite to both of these, the freedom to be led by the Lord, away from evil and hell, into good and heaven. Only one of them can be real freedom. The other is just what the Writings call it-slavery.
ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH ADMISSIONS 1979

ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH ADMISSIONS              1979

1. The Academy of the New Church is a religious institution dedicated to the establishment of the New Church by means of religious and secular instruction based upon principles drawn from the Theological Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg.

     Since we believe that the most fruitful field of endeavor is with children of New Church parents, all students who have been baptized into the faith of the New Church are eligible for consideration. The reason for this is that we accept baptism as a sign of faith on the part of the parents, and therefore of their willingness to cooperate with the Academy in the instruction that is given in the Academy Schools.

     We fully recognize, however, that there are others who, because of special circumstances of background and interest, are also deserving of consideration. In such cases the following requirements apply:

     a. The parents or guardians must give satisfactory reasons why they wish to have their child enrolled in the Academy. If the applicant is eighteen years of age he may speak for himself.
     b. The applicant must be recommended by a minister of the General Church of the New Jerusalem.
     c. The applicant must be approved by the President of the Academy.

     The reason for these requirements is not to exclude anyone who seriously desires a New Church education, but to preserve the unique uses of the Academy and to protect the applicant from any misapprehension concerning the purposes of the institution.

     These requirements are in no way intended to be racially discriminatory, and the Academy will not discriminate against applicants and students on the basis of race.

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NEW PUBLICATION 1979

NEW PUBLICATION       ALAIN NICOLIER       1979

     "NOUVELLE TERRE"

     Candidate Alain Nicolier, now serving New Church people in France, under the auspices of the General Church, has begun the publication of a new "church newsletter," Nouvelle Terre (New Earth: a name taken from the familiar words in the Apocalypse "I saw a new heaven and a new earth. . . ." (Apoc. 21: 1) I am indebted to Jeremy Simons, a first-year student in the Academy's Theological School, for the following digest of the two issues received so far.

NOVEMBER

     1. Statement of purpose of the newsletter, being to bring together all those interested in the Writings. It is to contain thoughts, doctrinal studies, news of the church association, and any information about the spiritual state of the present day found to be interesting.
     2. Announcements of worship services and doctrinal classes to be held weekly, alternately in Paris and in Bourgignon.
     3. The agenda of the first general assembly of the New Church of France which took place the weekend of October 7-8, 1978. It included worship services, election of a board of directors, and discussions of rules and regulations, the liturgy, and activities.
     4. Alain Nicolier's introductory remarks to the assembly, calling on them to organize to do the work of the Lord's Church, to exercise charity and look to the Word, and not to forget that it is the Lord alone who builds His Church.

DECEMBER

     1. A sermon by Alain Nicolier on John the Baptist.
     2. A schedule of worship services, doctrinal classes and activities for December.
     3. A report on the progress of the Sunday school program and on New Church publications for children.
     4. Preparatory remarks to a series of classes and discussions on the subject, "The Importance of the Conjugial in Daily Life."

Those interested in receiving this newsletter, printed in French, may write to
ALAIN NICOLIER,
Bourgignon-Meursanges,
21200 Beaune, FRANCE

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Church News 1979

Church News       Various       1979

     HURSTVILLE, AUSTRALIA

     It has been a busy, sometimes exciting, second half year (1978) in the Hurstville Society. An interesting change has been made in the Sunday services. The children now stay after Sunday school for the first part of the service in which there is always a Children's Talk. This may help to form a bridge between Sunday School and church attendance.
     Three talks by the Rev. M. Gladish, were broadcast by a Sydney Radio Station on the program begun by the Rev. Douglas Taylor and continued by the Rev. Ian Arnold of the Sydney Conference Society. There is a growing and pleasing sphere of co-operation between the Hurstville Society and the Sydney Society. Hurstville young people, over twelve, have been welcomed to classes and social life with their own age group from the other Society. There is planned a Summer School in 1979/80 in Canberra which will be conducted by the Revs. Ian Arnold, M. Gladish and B. Willmott. This will lead on to the important event of the Convocation of New Church people in the Southern State, Victoria, in 1981 to celebrate 100 years of the New Church in Australia.
     A planning Committee has been nominated in Hurstville to try to assess growth trends and needs for the future, in regard to land, buildings, and hopefully a larger congregation and Sunday School.
     On 19th October, the Society had a Stall at a large Shopping Centre. A number of other churches had stalls and the sponsor was the P. and O. Shipping Company, which offered a prize of $50 for the best decorated stall. Guess who won? The Hurstville Society, thanks to an enthusiastic team led by John and Lenore Sandow, whose art work was largely responsible for the win. Sales also totaled about $300.00-a very successful day. On sale at the stall were some of our Christmas Nativity sets, which were well received.
     As part of the celebration of Christmas, tableaux were beautifully presented with accompanying music. The pastor introduced each scene with a reading from the Word, followed by Christmas hymns. A number of visitors were present, including some from overseas, Altogether there were over seventy people present on this occasion.
     Our overseas visitors have added greatly to the life of the Society in recent months. Cheryl and Peter Bailey from Toronto were with us for almost a year and joined in as if they were members. Before leaving us this young couple presented the Society with a very beautiful Communion set for the Pastor's use when travelling. We enjoyed meeting Sally Smith and Pearl Lineweaver from Bryn Athyn. "Sydney, the most beautiful city we have seen" (quote, Roslyn Taylor), came to stay a while and renew friendships; and Mrs. Kay Lockhart to visit again Mike and Kerry, and grandchildren. From Cincinnati came Mr. and Mrs. Donald Gladish, parents of the Pastor and of Lori Heldon, with daughter Marcine (and tennis racquets). They left on New Year's Day, having had a "great time". Also with us for six weeks was Elizabeth Bartle, from New Zealand to stay with her sister Jenny Keal. Raymond and Mary Smuts had a visit from his parents who came from South Africa.
     Well, there's always something doing at the Hurstville church, even if it's only a wrong number on the music board.
     NORMAN HELDON

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     COLCHESTER, ENGLAND

     One of the milestones in the history of a New Church society is the change of ministers to lead the congregation. In 1978 this event occurred in Colchester. After ten years of devoted service Rev. Bjorn Boyesen and his wife Lois left Colchester to live and work in Sweden. It was with gladness and sadness we bid them farewell. We were glad and grateful for all their love and use during these years, and sad they could not stay longer. However, the need for new translations of the Writings into the Scandinavian tongues is very urgent, and Mr. Boyesen accepted the call to this work and Lois was keen to support her husband and find new uses. The society gave them a farewell tea party in July in a church decorated with pink and white flowers, and our affection was shown by presentations of gifts.
     A few days later our new minister Rev. Patrick Rose arrived with his wife and two children. The two pastors had time to confer and hand over duties until Mr. and Mrs. Boyesen left England at the end of August.
     On 1st September at a cheese and wine reception we officially welcomed Patrick and Dinah amongst us. Dinah was presented with a lovely bouquet and Patrick made a pleasant glad-to-be-home speech.
     Since then the life of the society has progressed in an orderly way under Mr. Rose's guidance.
     On 3rd November a bumper Sale of Work was held with attractive stalls, a French style cafe, games and a raffle.
     Near Christmas Norman and Maude Motum celebrated 60 years of married life. The church marked the day by presenting them with a radio at gathering at their home. Mr. Rose also presented to Norman a book containing letters from ministers who have been robed by him during his many years as vestry deacon of the Colchester society. Norman and Maude received many congratulations and cards from near and far, including a greetings telegram from Her Majesty the Queen.
     At a special Diamond anniversary lunch given by their son John and his wife Jill at Silver End, Braintree, they were able to greet church friends and Motum relatives.
     1978 has seen the passing into the spiritual world of four of our older stalwart members: Miss Olive Cooper, Mr. John Cooper, Mr. Gordon Colebrook and Mr. Leonard Lewin. We miss their presence amongst us but are grateful for useful lives that have helped the church to grow.
     The Colchester school has depleted numerically but we hope to keep it going until four new pupils commence in 1979, all from New Church homes. On July 13th at the school's open day the graduating class presented their teachers with gifts and themselves received a copy of 'The Pomegranate with Seeds of Gold' by Amena Pendleton Haines as a reminder of their New Church school years.
     RUTH M. GREENWALD

     GLENVIEW, ILLINOIS

     This year has seen many changes for our society, some of which seem to add to our uses, and some to compete with them. On the plus side, The Immanuel Church School is active, though numbers of pupils are fewer. The Midwestern Academy, as a two year high school, has the challenge of the Radio Station WMWA as a learning tool. There are new faces in the society and in the schools. This in an area where living costs are up. On the minus side, we will miss the teachers and principal who are resigning, and must needs feel that replacements will be provided. We miss the families who have moved away, and also several members who have recently died. Among the latter is Miss Gladys Blackman, whose work and lifetime interest was with our schools. The taking down of the old Gyllenhaal home, to be recycled into a new home, gives a feeling both of farewell and of newness.
     In a limited view, one could wish to see how these different things fit together as part of the whole, and the need to trust that things are as they should be, and even better than average.

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     Sunday, the 14th of January, 1979, turned out to be the day WMWA went on the air with a Church service, and such a day it was!
     SNOW, "the most ever" as the newspapers claimed, had swept over us, leaving deep drifts. The phoning committee advised that no parking lot would be clear for cars, but the roads would be passable. Mr. Buss, the Pastor, would be at the church ready for whoever should come.
     "Sit toward the front of the church", the usher told those who arrived. "We're recording this service, to be on the air this afternoon." Half the pews were filled in the comfortably warm church building.
     The sermon on "Conscience" showed how the Lord looks on all from loving kindness, and judges justly on the basis of what each one has received.
     The broadcast came thru as scheduled, accompanied by the Beethoven music from which our hymn "Bread of Heaven" is taken. It was a memorable day to hear the radio station giving out that afternoon with its intended use.
     SUSAN S. HOLM (Mrs. Edgar V. Holm)
CORRECTION 1979

CORRECTION       B. DAVID HOLM       1979




     Announcements





     The statistical table of the Sacraments and Rites of the Church, as published on page 589 of the December 1978 issue, has an error in it. The figures for 1972-73 are incorrect. A corrected table appears below.

     STATISTICS

     The statistics of the Sacraments and Rites of the Church administered during the year, compiled from reports of all priests as of September 1, 1978, together with comparative figures for the twelve months periods five and ten years ago, are shown below:

                              1977-78      1972-73      1968
Baptisms
     Children                     146           116           77
     Adults                         46           34           16
          Total                    192           150           93
Holy Supper Administrations
     Public                         236           163           74
     Private                         49           71           15
          Communicants          5,670      5,353      2,743
Confessions of Faith                46           37           18
Betrothals                     47           39           23
Marriages                          71           68           26
     Blessings                     3           0           0
Ordinations                     8           5           0
Dedications
     Churches                     1           1           0
     Homes                         10           8           10
     Others                         0           1           1
Funerals or Memorial Services          46           51           31

     B. DAVID HOLM,
          Secretary of the Council of the Clergy

185


REGENERATION 1979

REGENERATION       Rev. ERIK E. SANDSTROM       1979


NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. XCIX          MAY, 1979               NO. 5
     We review today the entire doctrine of regeneration.

     Regeneration is the term used to describe the means whereby every individual, of whatever background or occupation,* from every dogma** or religious structure,*** can be saved. The means of salvation for one and all is regeneration;**** which means rebirth. It was this rebirth or regeneration which the Lord referred to in His words to Nicodemus: "Except a man be born again . . . of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God."***** To be born of water is to be baptized into the Church, or to enter it through other initiatory rituals; but to be born of the spirit is the same for everyone: namely to be regenerated by the Lord.
     * TCR 580               
     ** AC 1043
     *** AE 1180
     **** TCR 576
     ***** John 3:35
     To be regenerated and thus saved, is to be conjoined with the Lord.* This cannot be done in a moment, since every individual, without exception, has tendencies or inclinations to evils of various kinds. These tendencies are with him hereditarily from birth, and are not only the accumulated unconquered evils from all ancestors, but in particular those from parents and grandparents. Man's regeneration therefore involves first of all a recognition that he has evils, and an actual attempt to refrain from them, at least to some extent.** Obviously, no one can repent of the entire back-log of his evil ancestral tendencies. The Lord said as much, in the Law, "No child shall die for his father's sin, nor any father for the children's sins."*** And in the Prophets, that every individual is judged by himself, by his own life. "Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions, so iniquity shall not be your sin . . . Make a new heart and a new spirit."****
     * DP 92
     ** TCR 520
     *** Deut. 24:16
     **** Ezek. 18:30-31

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     Once an individual has examined himself in the light of truth shining from the Word or from revelation, and attempts have been made to overcome to some extent the evils that he discovers, then from being a pagan, man becomes a Christian.* Therefore all people who are being regenerated, whatever their background or religious affiliation on earth, are essentially Christian in heart.
     * TCR 525
     Once the path of regeneration has been entered and the birth of the spirit begun, each individual enters upon seven successive stages of rebirth. Those stages are referred to as days of creation in the first chapter of Genesis; and are also meant by letting every field lie fallow in the seventh year, after six continuous years of harvest.*
     * Ex. 23:11
     Now, the Lord alone can regenerate and save man, but only with man's cooperation.* Man has to compel himself in freedom, to resist the evils of his own inclinations, and turn from his transgressions. This freedom to compel oneself comes from the Lord.** It comes by way of remains,*** which are God-given loves of goodness, charity and innocence.**** These loves are in each man from the moment he breathes on his own after birth. These remains play a profound role in man's regeneration, for without them, no one would be human,***** would live****** or could be saved.******* For only by giving to man heavenly loves, can the Lord lead man in freedom. Man himself knows not whence these loves come, but as he acts and speaks from them, he is led by the Lord from external material interests, to spiritual and heavenly ones.******** Thus the Lord can lift man up from natural to spiritual things-which is an uplifting from the first day to the sixth day of creation-and He can also lift him up to the celestial state, which is the heaven of heavens, meant by the seventh day of creation.********* Throughout this progress, every single moment exists in a state of freedom.**********
     * TCR 73               
     ** AC 1947
     *** AC 1050               
     **** AC 2981, 3994
     ***** AC 530
     ****** AC 560
     ******* AC 6156
     ******** AC 1083
     ********* TCR 603
     ********** AC 3158
     So far we have seen that every individual can be regenerated, and as he is, and compels himself to refrain from self-confessed sins, he becomes essentially a Christian, and has heavenly loves as his own, in a state of total freedom. Thus he moves up the ladder of the days of creation.
     Now, in overcoming evil inclinations, evils have a habit of fighting back. Seldom is one battle sufficient to lay a personal fault to final rest. Therefore, after a person has confessed his sin, and prayed to the God of his salvation for strength to resist it, the combats of temptations arise. There can be no regeneration without combats of temptation.*

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Only when man has been completely regenerated, and reached the seventh day, either on earth or after death, do combats finally cease.** This is what is meant by the words ending each message to the seven Churches in Asia:
"And to him that overcometh. . . ."
     * AC 59, 4311, 8403          
     ** AE 1164
     Temptations are no more than inner anxieties which arise. Conscience is involved, although the anguish during temptations never comes from conscience but from the hells which strive to dominate man through the inclinations of his evil loves. Against hell stand the angels of heaven arranged in battle-order. When man allows himself to be regenerated by the Lord, by obedience to His Word, then the angels have dominance over the infernal crew.* The Lord can then be present and dispose man's internal, or his spirit, into an order and arrangement which is known to Himself alone.** This new order gives to man a new will and a new understanding,*** and thus a whole new life.**** As a consequence of this gift, man thinks much about doctrine and life.***** His thoughts and affections, being heavenly, are then actually inserted into heavenly societies of angels, and are extended far and wide there.****** In this manner do angels and people who are being regenerated live in close proximity to each other, so that they constantly influence each other.
     * AC 50
     ** AC 1554
     *** AC 917
     **** TCR 528
     ***** AC 2682
     ****** AC 6610
     It is amazing, therefore, that people who are being regenerated know nothing about it.* In fact, the more a person has been regenerated, the less does he reflect upon, or think about, his own regenerate state.** Therefore, to question how far along one has come, springs from evil inclinations which still remain untouched, and which resist man's progress to heaven every step along the way. Evidently, to stop and check up on one's own state of progress is one very clever way the hells have to distract a person from pursuing the rest of the road to heaven, and to cause him to give up before a safe haven is reached.
     * AC 3153
     ** AC 933
     Suffice it for the inquisitive mind to know that never can anyone reach a state of mind of which he can say, "Now I am perfect,"* for there are indefinite states of evil and falsity to overcome on earth.**
     * AC 894
     ** Ibid.
     But some consolation is given us. Whenever a person notices that he has proposed something which favors the Lord or the neighbor, and which does not favour oneself or one's own worldly welfare, then it is a sign that he is being regenerated by the Lord.*

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Another indication is that he takes care of himself and his physical health for the sake of higher ends.**
     * AC 3570
     ** AC 5159
     In review, therefore, we have seen that combats of temptations are the only means of regeneration, and that these are felt as anxieties of conscience. The Lord arranges the mind by these means, in order to replace the corrupt and fanatical will and understanding received from birth with a new will and understanding. As these are strengthened by regeneration, the contents of a person's thoughts and affections are present in heaven, and angels and men dwell together, although man is unaware of any of this. He may only see signs of progress in his willingness to put himself last, to serve higher ends.
     Now, as this progress in regeneration reaches a certain level of accomplishment, the things of the body, or the physical delights and needs, are subordinated to spiritual delights and uses. The Lord knows that this is a difficult step, and therefore allows man his physical pleasures all through life. He knows we have need of these things. So instead of requiring man to give up physical or material well-being as a token of beginning a new life, the Lord has so created man that he is regenerated "from the top down," and not "from below and up."* Thus it is the rational degree of the mind-which is closest to the soul, and thus to the Lord, which contains those precious remains or heavenly loves which no one knows whence they are-that is regenerated first. This is relatively easily done, and is largely an intellectual process, thinking out what is right, and loving it to be so because the Lord has so said. This is the stage of regeneration called reformation.** Man has only to start his reformation on earth and persist in it, and he is saved.*** He has, however, to come also into the stage called regeneration, after death if not before. The difference between them is as between the sixth and the seventh days of creation.
* Cf. AC 3469, 3493
     ** TCR 587
     *** TCR 571
     There are numerous changes involved between these two days, or between reformation and regeneration. In a sixth-day state of reformation, a man is willing to obey the truth of doctrine.* From having faith in the understanding,** he can see that he should also do what is good.*** But after he comes into the seventh-day state of regeneration, which does not happen without temptations, he then comes into the good of heavenly loves.**** His faith is then also in his will, and comes into a state of good from good itself.*****
     * AC 6396, 7857, 8013
     ** AC 8042
     *** AC 3295
     **** AC 6396, 7857, 8013
     ***** AC 3205

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     Since man starts his regeneration with the highest level of his mind, it follows that the seventh day, or last state of regeneration, ends with the lowest degree. This is the sensuous, the five senses through which the body contacts the world around it.* It is, however, so rare that anyone reaches this stage while on earth, that it is next to impossible to explain what it entails. Nevertheless, this last step in regeneration is represented by the Lord washing His disciples' feet.**
     * AC 9726
     ** John 13
     Everyone goes through this last state in the spiritual world, before entering heaven. Then, finally, do angels will to belong to the Lord so completely that when they feel that they belong to themselves, they as a result feel grief and anxiety; whereas when they feel that they are the Lord's, they feel heavenly bliss.*
     * AC 6138
     In fine, regeneration is to compel oneself in freedom to refrain from the evils which one discovers from reading the Word, and to ask the Lord's help in overcoming them. Through temptations, which are anxieties, the Lord gives man a new will and understanding, using man's remains to strengthen his thoughts and affections. The Lord orders man's mind, and of this the man is totally unaware. Only scattered moments of heavenly bliss and calm give him indications that he is bound for heaven. As man loves to belong to the Lord more and more, and not to himself at all, he more and more enters into the uses of life. Without protest or proclamation, he accomplishes such uses from the good loves of heaven resident in his conscience. Gradually he realizes that his physical and material interests play subservient roles to his love of the Lord and good will to society.
     "So is everyone that is born of the spirit." Amen.

     LESSONS: Exodus 23:4-13; Ezekiel 18:24-32; John 3:1-8.
MINISTERIAL CHANGE 1979

MINISTERIAL CHANGE       Louis B. King       1979

     The Reverend Mark R. Carlson has been called by the Carmel Church Society to serve as its Assistant Pastor, effective April 1979.
     Louis B. King, Bishop

190


RATIONAL DEGREE OF THE MIND 1979

RATIONAL DEGREE OF THE MIND       Rev. ALFRED ACTON       1979

     (The fifth in a series of addresses on the human mind, given at the Educational Council, August, 1978; the first of two addresses by Mr. Acton.)

     This evening we continue our discussion of the natural mind by turning our attention to the rational. It has been our hope in organizing this series that we might see a continuity which leads to the proper opening of the rational. We have hoped that teachers reflecting on their work at different levels of education will be able to see a relationship between what they are doing and what happens later as the rational opens, when a person by entering into use fulfills the purpose of his creation, entering the heaven from the human race.
     It is important that we recognize the necessity of education in the process of regeneration. In aiding the Lord while He prepares individuals for heaven, parents and teachers enter into a primary use of charity.* At the same time we need to put our efforts into perspective. The human is not put on from without. We cannot make a person into an angel. The Lord alone, working from within, forms the spirit. Just as the physical body is formed both in the womb and after birth to maturity from its own soul and in its own unique fashion, so is the spirit formed. This analogy is complete.
     * cf. D. Wis. XI:5, et al
     Nevertheless, although two seeds conceived at the same time in the womb may produce a boy and a girl with the mother providing for the two what appears to be identical materials, although the Lord forms those two unique beings from within, still the mother must provide the materials. Although the soul will effect its own formation, still it can be starved and warped through conscious or unconscious abuse on the part of the mother. After birth, parents continue in working to perfect the physical frame of the child. They continue to seek a balanced diet which in their best judgment will contribute to optimum growth as well as happiness. Teachers are privileged to join with parents in a corresponding mental growth pattern. Recognizing that the Lord forms the essential human of their charges, they nevertheless seek to prepare spiritual food, good and truth from without, in such a manner that it will be suitable to the state of growth, pleasing to the spiritual palate, and nourishing for the spiritual body.

191



     Note in this analogy that much of the food taken into the body is not used for growth. Much of what we do at different levels of education does not contribute to the growth of the spiritual body; instead it is used for the necessary energy needed to sustain life at that time. For example, many of the truths we use at the primary level to feed and foster the active states of innocence with children will be put off as they mature spiritually. Relatively few will become part of the body and of service to later life. This balance is important. We do not always, indeed we probably seldom, look ahead in our developing process. The daily life is where we are conscious, while our own growth is so gradual that we seldom observe it. This does not mean that as teachers and parents we seek to ignore growth. We need to give the balanced diet which will make such growth possible; but we need not feel discouraged when long range goals are not as visible as day to day concerns. There are many knowledges which will be learned, only to be forgotten as their use has been served. Hear this passage from Revelation:

     When man becomes use, that is, when he thinks all things from the end of use, and does all things for the end of use-if not by manifest reflection, still by tacit reflection from a nature acquired by so doing-then the scientifics which have served the first use-that the man may become rational-being no longer of service, are destroyed; and so on.*
     * AC 1487

     And again,

     Unless the knowledges which in childhood have performed the use of making the man rational, are destroyed, so that they are as nothing, truth can never be conjoined with what is celestial. These first scientifics are for the most part earthly, corporeal, and worldly. However Divine may be the precepts that a child learns, he still has no other idea concerning them than that which is obtainable from such knowledges and therefore, so long as those lowest knowledges cling to him, from which are his ideas, his mind cannot be elevated.*
     * AC 1489

     We have been discussing the growth of the natural mind in relation to the growth of the physical body. Several years ago I presented a detailed study of this analogy to this Council, looking at that time to the application of the analogy as regards fetal development which I equated with mental growth in the framework of the natural ages-birth to approximately twenty years.*
     * cf. New Philosophy, Vol. LXXIX, Jan.-Mar., 1975, pp. 339-375

Physical Growth an Analog of Mental Growth

     I would like to discuss certain aspects of this analogy further at this time and to make some points of analogy as related to the later development of the body from birth to physical maturity.

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First, note that when we speak of the development of the body we are talking about its form. The form of the mind is understanding, so our analogy essentially pertains to the developing understanding. This development is on a continuum.* Just as the physical body from first conception to full maturity at about age twenty (?) is a continual gradual development on the same level of growth, so the understanding is continuous and develops from increment to increment. We should not be surprised if we cannot distinguish discrete jumps in the understanding's development. True, when we die we will come into an understanding which is ineffable by comparison to that which we have on earth, but here we must recognize our continuum. Also, because the understanding is continuous and because the form of the understanding is the memory, internal and external, we can expect, as we readily observe, that it is possible to fill the memory with a great variety of knowledges at almost any age. We can fill the head of a child with knowledges of spiritual truth, as well as with a knowledge of the equations of calculus, as well as with knowledges drawn from the senses, that is with intellectual, rational and scientific things. However, the understanding is the form of the will which is discrete. Three levels of will, natural (now depraved), spiritual and celestial at varying stages of regeneration play on the understanding and give its form a new set of uses. In use we see love made active by wisdom, or what is the same substance and form are visible in operation
     * cf. DLW 256-259
     If we look at the use of the physical body, or of the spiritual body (the mind), from use we should see distinctions as to the loves active at a particular time. Such is in fact the case. Looking at the physical formation of the body we see four general divisions in regard to use-two prior to birth, and two following it. First we find the period of formation, the period of the embryo, where the body is formative but as yet inactive. The organs and limbs are as yet unable to move of themselves. Second we find the quickening of life in the womb. Organs are active but not yet free to leave the controlled environment of the womb. Third comes the period of childhood where the body is growing but capable of sustaining life as of itself with help of parents, etc., and fourth comes the state following puberty when the body is able to reproduce itself-to enter into the fullness of its form.
     The understanding has four similar phases. The first is the phase which we call formative, approximately from physical birth to age ten.* In this period the mind takes in scientifics of all kinds, intellectual scientifics which are the primitives of doctrinals, and so drawn from the Word, for example, the knowledge that the Lord is the Creator, our Heavenly Father, and the like; rational scientifics which are knowledges arrived at by the use of reason-specifically the reason of parents; teachers and past thinkers, and scientifics proper which are knowledges drawn from the senses.
     * Cf. AC 2280

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     In the Arcana Coelestia, treating of the formative rational, this stage is described from the call of Abram to his leaving his father's house. At age ten, as the innocence of infancy retires, these scientifics take on a new use. Thought from one's own understanding begins-thought which as it were limbers up the spiritual muscles of the child so that when spiritual birth takes place at about age twenty it will be ready to survive in its new world. This period of thought from one's own understanding is specifically linked to the cause of puberty. In Conjugial Love we read:

     The love of the sex . . . has its beginning when a youth begins to think and act from his own understanding, and the voice of his speech begins to become masculine. This is adduced to the end that the rise of the love of sex . . . may be known, that it is when the understanding begins of itself to become rational, or begins of its own reason to look and provide such things as are of emolument and of use, whereto what is in the memory, from parents and masters, then serves as a plane.*
     * CL 446

     In the detailed description of the formation of the rational given in the Arcana Coelestia it seems clear that this period of thought from one's own understanding which leads to man becoming rational is describe by the wars of Chedorlaomer and by the union of Hagar and Abraham which led to the conception of Ishmael. Ishmael's later birth and life, which is a description of the first rational, seems to relate to the next great change in the physical frame, namely, the birth of the body. The rational man is human. He is responsible for his own spiritual destiny. He can reflect upon things good and true from loves experienced rather than thoughts learned. By analogy the muscles developed in the womb at birth function as of self in their own new world. This first rational described by the birth of Ishmael and then by the story of Abraham, Sarah and Abimelech is, as I understand it, analogous to the birth and growth of the body up to the age of puberty when the final phase of physical growth begins-the phase that leads to physical productivity and full maturity. In terms of the understanding, this last formative period is described as the Isaac rational or the genuine rational. Its age begins with regeneration, hopefully somewhere between thirty and forty (?) but with some not at all.* This second rational, which is the highest degree of the natural mind, is the final phase of the continuous development of the understanding.
     * cf. AC 2657
     To summarize: the understanding has four phases through which it passes-the formative or scientific phase, the thought from one's own understanding phase, the first rational phase, and the second rational phase.

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Each of the periods is distinct as to the affections ruling in them but continuous as to the form and progression of the understanding. We can see the dominant affection in the use.

Affections and the Formation of the Rational

     But what are the affections which form the understanding? How will they relate to the formation of the full rational? If we can answer these questions we can cooperate with the formation of the understanding from within and so feed its proper development with more patience and skill. These affections are described in two different series-one illustrating the affections that join the understanding and the will; and the other dealing with loves dominant in the will itself. The first series dealing with the affections that join will and understanding is described in the Divine Love and Wisdom. We read:

The first state of man's life is one of pure ignorance [this state is not a part of the conjunctive series of man's life] because there is no thought from the understanding, and only an obscure affection from the love or will. [I see this state analogous to the first union of the seed and ovum and the first sets of cell division.] This state is initiatory to the [conjunction of will and understanding that is their] nuptials. In the second state of life [what I have called the formative period] which belongs to man in childhood, there is, as we know, an affection for knowing, by means of which the infant child learns to speak and to read, and afterwards gradually learns such things as belong to the understanding. That it is love, belonging to the will, what effects this, cannot be doubted; for unless it were affected by love or the will it would not be done.
     That every man has, after birth an affection for knowing and through that acquires the knowledge by which his understanding is gradually formed, enlarged, and perfected, is acknowledged by every one who thoughtfully takes counsel of experience. It is also evident that from this come affection of truth; for when man, from affection for knowing, has become intelligent, he is led not so much by affection for knowing as by affection for reasoning [the second phase of formation beginning with puberty] and forming conclusions on subjects which he loves, whether economical [that is pertaining to his home], or civil or moral. When this affection is raised to spiritual things [the beginning of the third phase or the opening of the first rational], it becomes affection for spiritual truth.
     That its first or initiatory state was affection for knowing, may be seen from the face that affection for truth is an exalted affection for knowing; for to be affected by truths is the same as to wish from affection to know them, and when found to drink them in from the joy of affection. . . . The second conjunction is through affection for understanding, from which springs perception of truth. . . . From rational insight it is clear that affection for truth and perception of truth are two powers of the understanding which in some persons harmonize as one and in others do not. [As I see it, Ishmael and Isaac.] They harmonize as one in those who wish to perceive truths with the understanding, but do not in those who only wish to know truths.*
     * DLW 404

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     Such are the affections which rule as the understanding is formed, but there is yet a final conjunction of affection and understanding to follow-a third conjunction which is called thought; the effective use of the now-formed understanding for the perfection of life. These affections in the detailed description of the formative rational given in the Arcana Coelestia from the call of Abraham to the birth of Isaac are depicted in different stages by Sarai, Hagar and Sarah, but the internal itself to which the affections are joined is Abram and Abraham. Affections are joined to love-indeed are a form of love on a lower plane.
     What are the loves that are dominant in the formation of the rational-that is, what are Abram and Abraham in this series? The internal man in itself is of course difficult to describe, but we know of certain specific loves which rule as an internal at different stages of growth. In the first period of development two loves are mentioned-innocence and charity. The teacher or parent working with the child between infancy and age ten will do well to appeal to these positive internal loves. The innocence is, of course, couched in ignorance, but by it the most perfect celestial remains, which will become the inmost of the new will, are formed. Appeal to innocence in learning takes the form of preserving what is holy with children as well as teaching from spiritual reality.* For example, the teacher will say, "The Lord created the world. . . . The Lord loves all men. . . . The Lord gives us happiness in heaven" . . . and the like.
     * cf. AC 2144:3
     The love of charity seems secondary in this period, and should probably become dominant in the next; nevertheless, classrooms offer important opportunities to teach and practice the love of charity. Indeed, aren't we spending much time in kindergarten teaching children social relationships one with another? Charity, as we have said, becomes dominant in the second phase. As innocence wanes, which revelation dictates it must if people are to be regenerated, we need to appeal to the love of truth in relation to the life of charity.* This destruction of innocence is the sad lot of people today because they must necessarily see the inherited evil hidden behind that innocence. It occurs as truth is learned. Knowing truth dispels ignorance and so its innocence. All of us have an innate love of innocence and a natural fear of destroying it. But doctrine teaches that there is only one way to regeneration-the path of learned truth. Children must leave the state of innocence from ignorance if they are to have eternal life. Knowledge of this fact can give those who work with children certain comfort. Morality and reasoning, that is, the use of the faculty of rationality (which we shall see is not the same thing as the use of the rational) dominate in this second phase. The next period, the period of the first rational, finds as its internal the love of good from truth.

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By imposing rational order on the mind the young person sees what good is and so can practice it. In the final period the dominant love is a celestial love-love for truth from good. The lived good which a man enjoys gives him a perception of what is truth, which he then accepts and lives.
     * cf. AC 1902
     We have seen how the rational is formed, and the affections which can lead in its formation. Two more points remain which we shall consider jointly: what is the rational itself, and what is its use when formed? The rational in general is the inmost of the natural mind-that part of the mind which serves as a nexus between the spiritual and the natural.* Correspondentially while it is forming it is likened to the world of spirits midway between heaven and hell,** and when formed and in its use to the celestial heaven which serves as a nexus between the Lord and the human race.***
     * cf. AC 1944; DLW 236-241     
     ** cf. HH 430:2
     *** Cf. AC 5145: 2, 6240; DLW 258
     From creation the rational has the capability of seeing in the light of heaven, and it is this ability to bring the light of heaven upon the objects of the natural world as they appear in the mind of a man which makes the man human. The rational can see and appreciate that which is beyond time and space. In this it is uniquely different from the animal or animus which is chained to sensual loves. Human beings differ from animals in that they can experience and embrace relationships which are not limited by time and space. The human word "tomorrow" illustrates this principle. We can picture the future. Things do not just happen to us. We do not simply have a memory of past happiness and frustration. We do not simply use our ability to visualize for the attainment of natural loves, all of which are the life of an animal. Rather we escape the framework of time and space and plan ahead-hopefully in conjunction with Divine Revelation-for the attainment of eternal good.

Rational Humanity

     Scientists have defined the human species as a tool-making animal. The New Churchman knows better. He knows man is a man from his love which is his very life. But in another sense he can agree with the definition. He can see that the ability to make a tool is an ability that looks ahead. It demonstrates the faculty of rationality which sheds the light of heaven upon the objects of sense. Making tools demonstrates the ability to plan for future circumstances, albeit on the most primitive level of human existence. As noted, the truly human or truly rational is not simply a demonstration of non-temporal and non-spacial thought.

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It is the demonstration of the recognition of truth as truth and of good as good. Such recognition demands reflection: the ability to hold the appearances of truth, acquired by the rational from the senses, up to the mirror of spiritual reality in the light of heaven. It involves the ability to disagree with those appearances, the ability to dissent.*
     * cf. AC 483, 2219, 1999
     So the true rational necessarily orders the spiritual above the natural. Indeed, the New Word states clearly that any use of rationality which perverts order-which dissents from the spiritual instead of the natural; which places the order of nature above the order of heaven-is irrational and insane. Nowhere to my knowledge is the rational as a term used to describe an inverted order. To be rational, the proper relationship of the spiritual and the natural must be recognized. Irrationality, however, does not destroy the faculty of rationality. Ratiocination, or mere reasoning, is an abuse of the faculty of rationality permitted by the Lord for the sake of human freedom which, as the faculty of liberty, is conjoined to rationality and makes man to be a man. The Lord cannot destroy humanity once created. He cannot take away the faculties of rationality and liberty. But when abused, order demands that irrationality and insanity follow. Nevertheless, in the plane of the natural, irrationality cannot be distinguished from rationality save by "common sense", and so spiritually insane people on earth may excel in cleverness and reasonings, appearing most learned of all. It is for this reason we are not to trust the rational or draw doctrine by it. The rational, although capable of exposing appearances in the light of heaven, of itself relishes in the appearances which lead to denial of the Divine.

The Two Rationals

     Such is the general nature of the rational, but as noted the rational has two basic forms-one described by Ishmael and the other described by Isaac. These are contrasted as follows:

With every man who is being regenerated there are two rationals, one before regeneration, the other after regeneration. The first, which is before regeneration, is procured through the experience of the senses, by reflections upon things of civic life and of moral life, and by means of the sciences and the reasonings derived from them and by means of them, also by means of the knowledges of spiritual things from the doctrine of faith or from the Word. But these go no further at that time than a little above the ideas of the corporeal memory, which comparatively are quite material. Whatever, therefore, it then thinks is from such things, or in order that what it thinks may be comprehended at the same time by interior or intellectual sight, the semblances of such things are presented by comparison, or analogically. Of this kind is the first rational, or that which is before regeneration.

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But the rational after regeneration is formed by the Lord through the affections of spiritual truth and good, which affections are implanted by the Lord in a wonderful manner in the truths of the former rational; and those things in it which are in agreement and which favor are thus vivified, but the rest are separated from it as of no use; until at length spiritual goods and truths are collected together as it were into bundles, the incongruous things which cannot be vivified being rejected to the circumference, and this by successive steps, as spiritual goods and truths grow, together with the life of the affections of them. From this it appears what the second rational is.*
     * AC 2657

     This second rational once formed can receive love from the Lord as it exists in the celestial degree and so becomes celestial as to its essence which is good.
     Tomorrow night we shall turn our attention specifically to the first rational-and rational truths as they exist with the young person at about age twenty, with specific application to principles which govern the presentation of the doctrine of faith to this state, which in fact is the distinctive role of our college.
ACADEMY ANNOUNCEMENT 1979

ACADEMY ANNOUNCEMENT       ALFRED ACTON       1979

     It is with mixed emotions that I accept the resignation of Mr. Donald C. Fitzpatrick as Principal of the Boys School effective June 30, 1980.

     Mr. Fitzpatrick has spent the past three years working with me very closely in his position as Principal, and I have come to know him well and to appreciate his compassion, patience, and clear-sightedness. The Boys School will indeed sorely miss his leadership and his calm, steady hand.

     The reason for my mixed emotions is that Mr. Fitzpatrick has accepted new challenges as Head of the Academy College Education Division upon the retirement of Professor Richard Gladish in 1980. The challenging work in the Education Division is also extremely important to the Academy and to the General Church.

     I personally wish Mr. Fitzpatrick very much happiness in his new position which I am sure will provide ample opportunity for full expression of his considerable talent.
     ALFRED ACTON,
          President

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SEED OF MAN 1979

SEED OF MAN       Rev. FREDERICK L. SCHNARR       1979

     The Writings instruct us that all loves, whether they be good or evil, seek to find form, expression, and activity in and through the ultimate or external things of natural life. Love seeks such natural things because through them it finds the means of its delight, pleasure, and use. And it is of Divine order that love should so operate, for it is only by doing so that the Lord can provide the communication and association of loves and uses necessary for the formation and preservation of all human and angelic society. That internal love is in its fullness and its use when it enters into and conjoins itself with its orderly external forms, is one of the meanings of that familiar teaching that "in ultimates there is all power."*
     * AE 726:5; AC 9836:2; CL 44:8
     "All preservation depends on the state of ultimates, for all the interior things cease there, and form a plane there in which they may subsist."* But what of the ultimates, particularly the sense of touch, which relate to conjugial love? What is their importance? The Writings say: "It is a universal law, that primes exist, subsist, and persist from ultimates. So is it also with conjugial love."**
     * AC 9836
     ** CL 44

     There are three things of which every man consists, and which follow in order with him, the soul, the mind, and the body. All that flows into man from the Lord flows into his inmost which is the soul; and descends thence into his intermediate, which is the mind; and through this into his last, which is the body. In this way the marriage of good and truth flows into man from the Lord, immediately into his soul, and thence it goes on to the things that follow and through these to the extremes; and thus conjoined they make conjugial love.*
     * CL 101

     The Writings make it clear how the sense of touch is the primary sense and ultimate of conjugial love. It is the universal of the five senses; all of the others rest in the sense of touch. By means of the sense of touch, loved ones, especially husband and wife, communicate the sphere and power of their inmost loves to each other, and receive the highest delights and pleasures therefrom. The Writings say that "the sense of touch is appropriated to conjugial love and is its own sense," and that "this is plain from its very sport, and from the exaltation of its subtleties to the supremest exquisiteness. But to pursue this further is left to lovers."*
     * CL 210

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     What Swedenborg heard was from certain angels who were instructing newcomers concerning marriage in heaven. The newcomers asked, "Whether there is a similar love between married partners in heaven as on earth?" And the two angelic spirits answered: "It is quite similar." And perceiving that they wished to know whether there are similar ultimate delights there, they said:

     They are altogether similar, but far more blessed, because the perception and sensation of the angels is far more exquisite than human perception and sensation. And what life has that love unless from a vein of potency? If this fails does not that love diminish and grow cold? And is not that vigor the very measure, the very degree, and the very basis of that love? Is it not the beginning, the foundation, and the complement of it? It is a universal law that first things exist, subsist, and endure from the last. And so it is also with this love. If then there were no ultimate delights, there would be no delights of conjugial love.*
     * CL 44

     For man and woman to enter into the orderly delights of the ultimates of conjugial love, even as that love is in its beginnings, there must be a conjunction of minds that precedes the conjunction in ultimates. Ultimates do not create states by themselves; nor do they have a quality in themselves. They are the means of bringing interior states of love and affection into conscious perception and delight. Therefore, the Writings state, that "when the Lord operates, He operates not from first things through mediates into ultimates, but from first things through ultimates and thus into mediates."* It is the nature and quality of the love of the husband and wife that flows into the ultimates, especially through the sense of touch, that then makes possible the existence of new spiritual delights and states of peace. This is why the husband and wife must turn to the Lord for instruction as to how their minds are to be formed that there may be a heavenly order formed with them in spiritual things.
     * AE 1086:5

Masculine and Feminine Essentials

     The Lord created the masculine and the feminine as two distinct and different forms, even as to their very interiors. He made both to be forms of love, but with different qualities, so that one would desire to be conjoined to the other. The male is described as being inmostly a form of love with a clothing of wisdom, while the female is described as being inmostly the wisdom of the male, and its clothing the love therefrom.* In another passage it is said that the masculine is "the truth of good or truth from good . . . and that the good of truth therefrom or the good from that truth is the feminine."** The male is such that his understanding can be elevated into the light of wisdom, while the female is such that her love can be elevated to cherish the good of that wisdom, and so be conjoined with it.***

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The masculine is said to be essentially a form of understanding or wisdom, and the feminine essentially a form of will or love. The Lord's love and wisdom as distinctly imaged and received by the masculine and feminine constantly seek to be united; so too therefore do the forms that receive them. When man and woman turn their attention to the use that is to be made of the qualities of the Lord's love and wisdom, they find that their forms, internal and external, soul, mind, and body, incline to each other to conjunction just as love and wisdom come together in use.**** It is from this spiritual origin that the conjugial delights descend from the soul,

and by virtue of the wonderful communication of the inmost bosom with the genital region, these delights become there delights of conjugial love, which are exalted above all delights that are in heaven and in the world, for the reason that the use of conjugial love is the most excellent of all uses.*****
     * CL 32               
     ** CL 90
     *** CL 188, 75:7
     **** CL 183
     ***** Ibid.

     The female, because she is created a form of love, receives an influx from the Lord that the male does not. He only receives it mediately through the female. This influx is called the conjugial influx. It is the desire of love to be conjoined with wisdom. "This is inspired into the man by the wife according to her love, and is received by the man according to his wisdom."* Even the love of the sex is so inspired into man from the wife.
     * CL 161
     When the minds of husband and wife are conjoined, and the quality and state of this conjunction enters into the act of physical union, marvelous changes take place in both husband and wife. The spiritual enters into the natural, and through this effects many changes, changes that are eternal.* What miracle takes place in the passing of the husband's seed to the wife, that makes a young man into a husband and a young woman into a wife?
     * CL 480
     The Writings state that a virgin becomes a wife from the moment of the first union, and that after this "the flame of love burns for the husband alone."*
     * CL 502
     That a virgin becomes or is made a wife is because in a wife are things taken from the husband and thus acquired, which were not in her before as a virgin. That a young man becomes or is made a husband is because in a husband are things taken from the wife which were not in him before as a young man, and in him these exalt his ability of receiving love and wisdom.*
     * CL 199

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     To understand the change that is effected in both husband and wife from their ultimate conjunction, one must examine the nature of that which is the final ultimate of that conjunction, the seed of man.
     We have already noted that the interior masculine is a form of understanding, a form of "truth from good."* And so we are taught, that "Man's seed is conceived interiorly in the understanding, and is given form in the will; is transferred therefrom to the testicle where it clothes itself with a natural covering, and is thus conducted into the womb and enters the world."** The seed is not only born from the understanding and given form in the will, but it is the first receptacle of the father's life, "for it is in the form of his love, and the love of everyone is like itself in the greatests and in the leasts, and there is in it a conatus into the human form."*** The seed is the form of the ruling love of the father, with the proximate derivations of the love, which are the inmost affections of that love.****
     * CL 90; DLW 3:2          
     ** CL 584
     *** DLW 269
     **** DP 277:3; TCR 92

Man's Initial Inmost Form

     The Writings describe the seed as a receptacle. Indeed they say that in each seed there are two receptacles-one for the things of the will, and one for the things of the understanding. These receptacles are arranged in three degrees, the potential three degrees of the human mind. We read:

     Some one might possibly form a fallacious idea of the beginnings of the human form, which pertain to the seed of the man, because they are called receptacles. From the term receptacle one may easily fall into the idea of a vessel or a little tube. I desire, therefore, to define and describe that initial form, as it was seen by me and made clear to me in the heavens, as adequately as the expressions of natural language will permit.
     These receptacles are not tubular, or hollowed out like little vessels, but they are like the brain, of which they are an exceedingly minute and invisible type, with a delineation resembling a face in front, with no visible appendage. This primitive brain in the upper convex part was a structure of contiguous globules or little spheres, each little sphere being a conglomeration of like spheres still more minute, and each of these again of the very least. In front, in the flattened region of the nose, a kind of outline appeared for a face; but in the recess between the convex part and this flattened part there was no fiber; the convex part was covered round about with a very thin membrane, which was transparent. Thus was seen by me and shown to me the primitive of man, the first or lowest degree of which was the structure first described, the second or middle degree was the structure secondly described, and the third or highest degree was the structure thirdly described, thus one was within the other.
     I was told that in each little sphere there were indescribable interlacings, more and more wonderful according to the degrees, also that in each particular the right part is the couch or receptacle of love, and the left part is the couch or receptacle of wisdom, and that by wonderful connections these are like partners and comrades, the same as the two hemispheres of the brain.

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It was further shown in the light that fell brightly on it, that the structure of the two interior degrees was, in its position and flow, in the order and form of heaven, while the structure of the lowest degree in its position and flow, was in the form of hell. This is why it is said that the receptacles are distinguished into three degrees with man, one within another, and the two higher are dwelling places of the Lord, but not the lowest. The lowest degree is such because man, from a hereditary taint, is born opposed to the order and form of heaven, and thus into evils of every kind; and this taint is in the natural, which is the lowest of man's life, and it is not wiped away unless the interior degree that has been formed for the reception of love and wisdom from the Lord is opened in him.*
     * DWis. III:1, 2; cf. DLW 432

     From this teaching we can see something of the wonderful organization of natural and spiritual things that all connect in ordered form inside the little seed of man. On these substances are impressed part of man's physical heredity-the other part to be added from the ovum of the woman. Upon these substances are impressed the deepest natural and spiritual hereditary inclinations, all of which incline man to the things of hell, though they are not all in themselves evil. (Self preservation, storge, etc.) Again these deepest hereditary inclinations are added to and clothed by similar inclinations impressed from the woman's mind and inmost form of love, upon the egg, and conjoined to the seed at conception. And even much more than this is impressed upon the seed, for as we have seen, the two inmost degrees of the seed, the potential home of spiritual and celestial loves, the Lord's dwelling place, even these receive impressions from the highest heavens which will make possible the reception of remains, celestial and spiritual delights.
     While man's image and life is in his seed, the soul of the seed, and its inmost life, is not from man, but from the Lord. So we read,

the conception of a man from his father is not a conception of life, but only a conception of the first and purest form capable of receiving life; and to this, as to a nucleus or starting point in the womb, are successively added substances and matters in forms adapted to the reception of life, in their order and degree.*
     * DLW 6

"The Lord alone is the Father in respect to life . . . and the earthly father is the father only in respect to the life's covering, which is the body."* This is what is referred to in the New Testament when it says, "Call no man your father upon the earth, for One is your Father, Who is in the heavens."**
     * DP 330
          ** Matt. 23:9

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The Seed Is Holy

     When we see how the Lord is present in the seed of man, and that His presence is not just there as stored up energy of life, but that it is continuous from moment to moment, and inmostly contains His qualities as finited through the states of angelic reception, we may begin to realize why Divine revelation, from ancient times, has spoken of man's seed as being sacred, precious, and holy to the Lord. It is the final, ultimate form, wherefrom new human life is conceived, and the Lord's purpose of forming heaven from mankind has the means of fulfillment.

The Uses of Insemination in True Marriage

     Because the seed is such a precious instrument of the Lord's life, to which is marvelously adjoined the state of human life, it serves as the primary means to join together into one the life of husband and wife. On the one hand the Lord has a special presence with the masculine in his seed, while on the other hand the Lord has a special presence with the feminine through the influx of conjugial love. In the very ultimates of conjunction therefore we find love through the feminine form and wisdom through the masculine form seeking each other in a finite image and likeness of the Lord's love and wisdom. Swedenborg was told from heaven that where husband and wife are in mutual love and look to the conjugial, the prolific gifts imparted by husbands are received by wives in a universal manner and add themselves to their lives; and that thus wives lead a life unanimous, and gradually more unanimous with their husbands; and that thereby is effectively wrought a union of souls and a conjunction of minds. They said [the angels] that the reason is this, that in the prolific gift of the husband is his soul, and his mind also as to its interiors which are conjoined to the soul. They added that this was provided from creation in order that the wisdom of the man which constitutes his soul may be appropriated to the wife, and that thus they may become, according to the Lord's Word, one flesh.*
     * CL 172; see CL 173
     Interior spheres of thought and love between husband and wife communicate and develop without the ultimates of conjunction. But it is clear beyond question that they are not confirmed and brought into a new life and new states of delight, happiness, and peace, without the medium of ultimates. And this is true in heaven, as on earth.
     What the Lord has revealed concerning the nature and life of conjugial love; together with what He has taught concerning the order, use, and importance of ultimates; and the presence of the Divine life therein, requires the man and woman of the New Church to form a new and distinct idea of the nature of man's seed, and of his conception thereby.

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Whatever may be the disorders and confusions of our unregenerate states, and however false and ugly much of the attitude from the world of our environment, we need to keep before our eyes that picture of the Lord's order concerning the uses of the seed of man wherein is an image and likeness of the Lord Himself. This is a picture of great power, and one that contains all of the purity, the beauty, the spirit and the blessing of heaven itself. Now, as never before, the prophetic words of Isaiah can be understood, believed, and loved. "I will pour My spirit upon thy seed, and My blessing upon thy offspring."* Now it can be seen that the Lord does pour forth His spirit on the seed of man, and that in the effort of that seed to fulfill the Divine purpose in creation and form new life is the Lord's potential blessing upon all things of human and angelic life.
     * Isaiah 44:3 REFLECTIONS ON TRANSLATION 1979

REFLECTIONS ON TRANSLATION       Rev. MARK R. CARLSON       1979

     Recent articles in New Church Life have taken up the subject of modern translations of the Word land whether they should be used in the New Church. In this article I wish to explore in a little more depth the background concerning new translations both within the New Church and in the former Christian Church in order to give us more perspective on this issue. The problems posed by translations of the Word are complex and by no means easy to look at dispassionately. The literal sense of the Word is so intimately associated with childhood affections and one's religious beliefs in general, that often just the idea of a new translation of Scripture seems to threaten the very foundations of faith.

Reaction to First English Translation

     Perhaps it is enlightening to realize that these feelings are not unique to those of the New Church, nor are they unique to those who have grown accustomed to the King James Version of the Bible. The very first translations of the Bible into the English language were met with great opposition.

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It was not the Sacred Scriptures in their original tongue which people then objected to leaving behind; rather it was a translation they were reluctant to part with-the Latin Vulgate. John Wycliffe was the first man to translate the complete Bible into English from the Vulgate. His complete text was received joyfully by the laity, for it meant that at long last they could understand what was going on in church; but church officials did not share the enthusiasm. In fact, the church fathers became so enraged by Wycliff's offering that they had his body exhumed and burned forty-six years after his death. The authorities at last ruled that anyone who read the Scriptures in the mother tongue, "should forfeit land, catel, life and goods from their heyres for ever. . . ."
     The words of C. S. Lewis give us an interesting perspective on the matter; he writes:

Dozens of sincerely pious people in the sixteenth century shuddered at the idea of turning the time-honored Vulgate into our common and (as they thought) "barbarous" English. A sacred truth seemed to them to have lost its sanctity when it was stripped of the polysyllabic Latin, long heard at Mass and at Hours, and put into "language such as men do use"-language steeped in all the common-place associations of the nursery, the inn, the stable, and the street. The answer then was the same as the answer now. The only kind of sanctity which Scripture can lose by being modernized is an accidental kind which it never had for its writers or its earliest readers.*
     * Readings from C. S. Lewis, "Modern Translations of the Bible," p. 121

     It is important for us to realize that the Scriptures in their original language had no particular dignity of style. The New Testament, in its original language, is notably lacking in eloquence of style. It was written in Koine Greek, the Greek of the common man, a Greek which had become an international language and therefore a language stripped of much of its beauty and subtlety. There is also nothing special about the Hebrew of the Old Testament; some of its writers rose to greater heights of literary excellence than others, Isaiah, for instance, but none were writing in a style notably different from that spoken by the common man of the time.
     The doctrines of the New Church also tell us that the Word in the letter appears "like a common writing in a strange style, not so sublime or so lucid as appears in the writings of the present age."* Thus much of what we may be afraid to give up in the King James Version, is just what was never there in the first place. Swedenborg's own comment on translation was as follows:
     * AE 1065:3; TCR 189

The very words of the original tongue must be inspected, nor must attention be devoted to the elegance of the Latin or other tongue; for then an entirely different end is regarded than the instruction of the world in things spiritual and celestial. (WE 2431)

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     The King James Version itself did not escape the vituperation often heaped upon new translations of holy writ. As soon as it appeared, it was sharply attacked and had to fight for its position for forty years. Charges of pandering after King James' preoccupation with superstition and witchcraft, as well as contributing to the growth of Deism, were leveled at the new translation. The Long Parliament of 1653 passed a bill calling for its revision, and formed a committee to carry out its desires, but the action was stopped by the dissolution of Parliament.
     By the time Swedenborg began work on the Writings the King James Version was already a hundred years old, and was written in a style which had reached the height of its usage a hundred years before that. Swedenborg would probably have had little interest in the KJV, though certainly he would have been aware of it from his many trips to London. Perhaps he had it in mind when he warned of regarding the "elegance of the Latin or other tongue," for no other non-latin translation had ever received so much adulation for beauty of style than the KJV by that time. Personally, Swedenborg used a Latin version by Sebastian Schmidt.*
     * Ed. Note: However, Schmidt himself frequently consulted the KJV, in making his Latin Translation.

Reaction to the KJV in the Early Academy Movement

     In the early days of the Academy movement the KJV was viewed with serious distrust. In fact, Christian translations of Scripture were so highly suspect that it became an ideal, though somewhat impractical, to translate directly from the Hebrew or Greek while preaching from the pulpit. In the preface to the 1876 Liturgy for the New Church, we find rather harsh words:

The translators under King James give us a version remarkable for the beauty and perfection of its style, but often unfair and unfaithful in its renderings of the original. They often tamper with the sacred text, removing into the margin the truer renderings, instead of literal translations; and often adding in italics words and phrases that mar the sense and pervert the truth. And indeed, had this version been faultless when published in 1613, from modifications of our language, it would, by this time need mendment and renewal.

Remember that this was written of the KJV over a hundred years ago and signed by such men and W. H. Benade and J. P. Stuart.
     It helps us to understand just why these men were so hard on the KJV when we place them in their historical context. By the 1870's the push for a more modern English translation than the KJV was well underway within the Christian clergy, but strong opposition had continuously defeated serious consideration of the project for many years.

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Then on February 10, 1870, the Anglican Church took the initiative; a resolution calling for a committee to investigate the desirability of a revision of the Authorized Version of the New Testament was put before the Convocation of Canterbury. An amendment to include the Old Testament was proposed, and the action was adopted. Work was begun almost immediately, and invitations to other scholars regardless of religious affiliation or nationality were extended and accepted. The English Revised Version (ERV) was the result. The New Testament was published in 1881, the Old Testament four years later. As work progressed, so did the arguments against it, and we can be sure that the founding fathers of the Academy movement were listening carefully to the debate.

Some General Church Ministers Prefer the RSV

     In 1901 a revision of the ERV was published in the United States, and called the American Standard Version (ASV). It was the thought among scholars then that this new revised translation would be sufficient updating for the whole of the twentieth century. But they had not counted on the fantastic discoveries of archaeology, ancient manuscript finds, papyri discoveries, and developments in textual criticism. Thus within ten years translation fever began again. At last, in 1929, the Council of Religious Education took steps to begin the revision of the ASV. However, the depression caused many delays and so it was not until 1937 that serious work was begun. The results were long in coming. The New Testament was completed in 1943, but remained unpublished until 1946 due to the war. The Old Testament was published in 1952 to complete the RSV. In 1953 we find the following by the Rev. Cairns Henderson in New Church Life:

The question posed by this new version is not whether it is a genuine rendering of the Word into English; for there will surely be no dispute among us that such a translation can be made; only by one who is familiar with the internal sense and has a knowledge of correspondences, and who, above all else, believes unequivocally in the sole Divinity of the Lord and the full Divine inspiration of the Word. . . . The question before us is rather: How far does the Revised Standard Version succeed better than the Authorized and Revised Versions in conveying the same ideas as those conveyed by the original? How far can genuine doctrine be drawn from, and confirmed by it; and to what extent may there be consociation with heaven through it?*
     * NCL 1953, p. 137

     These are indeed the questions, for we know that every translation accomplished by men ignorant of the Heavenly Doctrines will be error-laden. Twenty-five years later, after long and serious consideration, several General Church ministers, myself included, have come to the conclusion that the RSV does indeed succeed better than the Authorized Version in the questions posed by Mr. Henderson above.

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It is our feeling that Benade and others were right in 1876, that the KJV was then in need of "mendment and renewal," and that today, one hundred and three years later, the KJV is in desperate need of renewal.
     It is not without reservations that we have reached this conclusion, for there are indeed serious flaws in the RSV, many of which were so clearly pointed out by the Rev. Stephen Cole in his recent article in New Church Life.* It is the opinion of that writer that for the "purposes of the New Church the RSV should not be preferred to the KJV."** It must be said that on the basis of the evidence he put before us that would be the logical conclusion. And most certainly we would agree that what is really needed is our own New Church translation. But as for what we should do while we are waiting for such a version to materialize (perhaps another hundred years), the arguments are not so clearly in favor of maintaining allegiance to the KJV.
     * NCL, Nov. 1978, p. 511, "The Revised Standard Version"
          ** Ibid., P. 516

No Translation Should Be Considered Sacrosanct

     The King James Version is most certainly a beautiful translation, one which in some respects is more literal than the RSV. There are times when I still use the KJV, particularly for reading well-known stories and text in worship, but its very beauty can be one of its liabilities. C. S. Lewis states the case concisely:

Beauty exalts, but beauty also lulls. Early associations endear, but they also confuse. Through that beautiful solemnity the transporting or horrifying realities of which the Book tells may come to us blunted and disarmed, and we only sigh with tranquil veneration when we ought to be burning with shame, or struck dumb with terror, or carried out of ourselves by ravishing hopes and adorations.*
     * Readings from C. S. Lewis, p. 123

     This brings us to the issue of whether it is healthy for the church to maintain one translation as its authorized version. Certainly we need a New Church translation for worship, study, and private reading, but what we really need is several such translations. I believe that it would be a mistake for us to enshrine any translation as the one, authorized New Church version. Since any translation, New Church or otherwise, is at best only an error-laden approximation of the original tongue, a pursuit of failure, it is far more realistic to maintain and cultivate a variety of translations, allowing none to creep into the category of sacrosanct. For private reading, a parallel Bible with four or more different translations often gives a much clearer idea of the original meaning.
     Immediately the argument will come to mind that such variety may bring confusion to children and the simple.

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But upon reflection we may note that we already have such a variety with no disturbance. The KJV is not followed word for word in the Liturgy, Hymnal, or Psalmody, and the Heavenly Doctrines also are oblivious to the KJV. And if we are worried that children may be confused by different renderings of the same story, we need only observe that the Lord was not the least concerned with this when he gave us four versions of the story of His life on earth.
     I would not wish to advocate, therefore, that the KJV be removed from our minds completely; how could it be, for those of us who have memorized so much of it? But what we must consider is whether or not the KJV is still the best basis for the instruction of children, for all private reading, and for unfamiliar lessons in worship.

A Question of Relative Disadvantage

     When weighing one Old Church translation against another, it is a matter of weighing relative disadvantages rather than advantages, which is always a difficult thing to do. If only we could put both translations on a balance scale so that the one weighted down with the greatest error might show itself. One of the problems is that there are many individual disadvantages to the RSV, and one primary disadvantage to the KJV. That disadvantage is its readability-difficult. Mr. Cole seems to discount readability-as being a factor in choosing a translation. And yet, if the New Church is indeed a "reading church" as some say, what could be more important than readability? Most certainly it is possible to sacrifice accuracy for readability, and in many cases the RSV translators perhaps have done just that, but surely readability and accuracy are not necessarily opposed to each other.
     While the KJV may have been a more accurate translation for its day, than the RSV is for today (a point which may be argued), still by virtue of its need for "mendment and revision" after 365 years of language development, it is no longer accurate for today. We must keep in mind that no matter how accurate a translation may have been to those who knew and used its vocabulary and archaisms daily, it remains unintelligible, or worse, misunderstood, by those who don't. It is the meaning that comes through to the reader today that is important, and not what the translator intended as the meaning centuries ago. In this respect the RSV is miles ahead of the KJV. Often the errors of the RSV can be isolated and changed, (as for-instance the personal pronoun, you, in reference to Christ);* while the error of the KJV is imbedded in its very fiber-its vocabulary, its archaisms, and its sentence structure.
     * NCL Feb. 1979, p. 83

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The Readability of the RSV

     The RSV has one advantage for the New Church over other modern translations in that it is indeed a revision of the KJV. So far as possible it attempts to maintain the style and flavor of Elizabethan English while removing the stumbling blocks to modern comprehension. In the process of making Scripture more readable, the RSV introduces several devices which contribute greatly to this end. For instance, it uses sense paragraphs rather than verse paragraphs. How nice it is to know when a certain verse is a change of subject, or continuation of preceding ones, especially in the prophets. It also uses quotation marks to indicate direct speech. How nice it is to know who is talking, to whom, and when. The new paragraphing also makes clear the distinction between prose land poetry, a subtlety often completely obscured in the elegance of the KJV. It is unfortunate that the RSV does away with the policy of putting words added for the sake of meaning in italics, but it does provide two types of footnotes: first, to cite variant readings, meanings, or other explanations; and second, to list parallel passages. These devices alone make for a much more readable, and therefore, enjoyable translation.
     If you don't believe me, buy or borrow a copy of the RSV and turn to any part of the Word that is unfamiliar to you; read a chapter first in the KJV and then in the RSV (don't cheat and do it the other way around) and just see if you don't find the RSV easier to follow. If you are not in the habit of reading the Word regularly, is it possible that you have been discouraged by the archaic language of the RJV? If there are even a few who have been so discouraged, what a price the church is paying for maintaining an antiquated translation!
     This brings us to the problem with the KJV when teaching children stories from the Word. The archaic language of this translation is a real stumbling-block for most children. To see why, we need only ask ourselves this question: Would we ask 3rd and 4th graders to read Shakespeare? We would not, because the language is too difficult, as well as the ideas. Much of the difficulty of reading Shakespeare is shared by the KJV which was translated during that author's lifetime and somewhat in imitation of his style. From personal experience, I can testify to the fact that when using the KJV to teach elementary school children stories from the Word, much of the class must be spent translating the KJV for them. What a waste of time!
     But there are doctrinal issues to consider in this matter of translation as well, issues which might have a greater effect upon the church than we first might think. The Heavenly Doctrines tell us that the sense of the letter of the Word is the Word in its fullness, holiness and power, because it is the Word in its most ultimate form, written in correspondences and representatives from the three kingdoms of nature.

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The correspondential style of the literal sense brings about a communication with the heavens when it is read in a holy state by men. But this communication takes place according to the sense or meaning of the letter as it is perceived by the reader, not as it was intended by a translator. Mr. Henderson asks us to judge between the RSV and the KJV partially on this basis, which translation is more likely to consociate man with heaven-one he understands or one he doesn't. Of course, this is a question we cannot really answer, but it seems worth considering whether or not a translation clouded by archaisms might not interfere with the communication with the heavens.

The Problems of the KJV

     But let us now speak in more specific terms regarding the archaisms which tend to cloud the meaning of the KJV. Perhaps the most urgent reason for considering more modern translations in the church is the fact that the KJV contains well over a thousand terms and expressions which are obsolete, that is, they are either no longer used in common speech, or have in some way changed meaning over the years.* Here is a list of words from the KJV which are simply no longer used, and therefore are meaningless to the majority of people today, old and young alike: afore, agone, albeit, all to brake, astonied, chapiter, dure, to ear, emerods, folden, to fray, goodman, gorget, graff, habergeon, hoise, knop, leasing, to list, magnifical, marish, to mete, meesing, ouches, ravin, scrip, sith, taches, trow, wist, wet.
     * Information in this section from The Interpreter's Bible Dictionary, Abington Press, Vol. 3, p. 552
     Words such as these are simply stumbling blocks to comprehension, placing the burden of further translation from middle English to modern English upon the reader. But they are not particularly dangerous in themselves because most of us know that we don't know what they mean. The real danger comes from those terms which are still used today but used now with a different meaning. The problem here is that we think we understand them, and therefore their Divine message, while in reality we may be far off. These words were once accurate translations of the Hebrew and Greek Scriptures, but they have so changed in meaning, or have acquired such additional meanings, that they have become ambiguous or misleading. They no longer say what the translator intended them to say.
     Let us observe three classes of terms used by the KJV which have changed meaning over the past 365 years.

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First there are those words which have changed meaning completely, at times to a new meaning totally opposed to the old one. Here are a few examples of such terms and their meanings in 1613:

Prevent                =      go ahead of or precede
Let                    =      hinder or prevent
Suffer                =      let, allow, permit (60 times)
Suffer                =      undergo or endure (69 times)
Conversation           =      behavior, manner of life
Convenient                =      what is proper
Communication           =      share
Communed                =      discussed
Condescend                =      associate

The following are examples of terms which have acquired worse or more violent meanings since 1613:

Base                    =      humble
vile                    =      lowly
riot                    =      loose living or revelry
feebleminded           =      faint
covet                =      earnest desire for higher things in life as well as passion for material comforts
tempt                =      try or test

There are also words which have acquired less evil meanings or connotations since 1613:

Debate                =      a characteristic of a reprobate mind
Delicacies          =      licentiousness
highminded                =      proud, haughty
naughtiness           =      downright wickedness
anon                =      immediately
by and by                =      immediately
presently                =      immediately
out of hand           =      immediately
discover                =      strip or lay bare
offend                =      cause to sin
occupy               =      to use or trade with
outlandish                =      foreign
peculiar                =      one's own

     There are two other words frequently used by the KJV that deserve some attention, those are, "manner" and "even". The word manner is used 234 times in the KJV and in more than one third of the cases is unnecessary. There is, in these cases, no corresponding Hebrew or Greek word to call for its use, and the meaning of the text can be more easily conveyed without it, e.g., "No manner of work shall be done." becomes "No work shall be done." "No manner of fat," simply, "no fat."

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     The adverb "even" is used 1,032 times in the KJV OT, and in 928 of these cases there is no corresponding word in the Hebrew text. Partly this is due to the disposition of translators in 1611 to write "even so" for "so", "even as" for "as," and "even unto" where we would say "to". But it is also and more predominately because of their use of "even" to introduce an additional word or words intended to explain more clearly or fully some preceding word or words, the word "even" was for them a sign of equivalence or identity. Thus, "the men of the city, even the men of Sodom," means "the men of the city, the men of Sodom" the same persons are meant by the two phrases.
     These are not major problems in and of themselves for the KJV, but when they are all put together, we find that we have a translation which is rather foreign to our way of speaking, somewhat unintelligible, and certainly not doing for us what the original languages did for the people they were first written for, that is, bringing the Word of God to them in simple, direct, vernacular speech. If it is our preference, and it may well be, to continue to keep the Word in special-sounding translations, let us not convince ourselves that this is how the Lord intended it to be; it is simply our preference.
TWENTY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1979

TWENTY-EIGHTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY       LOUIS B. KING       1979

     The Twenty-eighth General Assembly of the General Church of the New Jerusalem will be held at Guelph University, Guelph, Ontario, Canada, from Thursday, June 12, to Sunday, June 15, 1980.
     At this Assembly the membership present will be called upon to elect a Secretary of the General Church and confirm the appointment of the Editor of New Church Life.
     The program and other information will be given in later issues of New Church Life.
          LOUIS B. KING,
               Bishop

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DIVINE PROVIDENCE-III 1979

DIVINE PROVIDENCE-III       Rev. ORMOND ODHNER       1979

     God As Heavenly Father

     The concept of God as Divine Man is the cornerstone of all true religion. The truths of religion can neither cohere nor make rational sense without it. We are men, because God is Man: "So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him, male and female created He them." No other figure or shape is proper to have in mind when we think of God or pray to Him, for the human figure alone is an ultimate representation corresponding to the qualities in God that make Him the Divine Human God of heaven and earth, God-Man, Divine Man, our Lord and our Savior, Jesus Christ.
     Constantly to impress upon us the idea of God as Divine Man, the Lard taught us to begin our prayers to Him with the words, "Our Father, who art in the heavens." Our Father in the heavens, our heavenly Father-what a beautiful, loving, caring, wise, and powerful God those words depict. Our heavenly Father-a personal God, a God interested in us and caring for us, knowing our every need and providing for it even before we ask Him. Omnipresent: "If I ascend up into heaven, Thou art there. If I make my bed in hell, behold, Thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall Thy hand lead me, and Thy right hand shall hold me." Omniscient: "There is not a word in my tongue, but lo, O Lord, Thou knowest it altogether." Omnipotent: "All power is given unto Me, in heaven and on earth." Our heavenly Father-what a perfect picture of God, Divine Man.
     But what kind of Man is this Divine Man who is our heavenly Father? Stop and think a minute. . . . That, for example, is something that God-Man cannot do-stop and think. Were He to stop and think of me, what would become of you? He must think of both of us at once. Did not Isaiah write, "My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts"? Obviously, God-Man is not a man like you and me, not a mortal, finite man. Yes, we are created into the image and likeness of God; but the image of reality is not the reality itself.

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     Our heavenly Father is Divine, of course; and that means infinite. He is infinite Man, Man in infinite degree; and we at best are but finite likenesses of Him. He is Man in an infinitely higher degree than we are. And though the whole of infinity is a, thing beyond finite comprehension, still, the concept of God as Man is not beyond our grasp. Thus it is said, "What the Lord teaches, He gives man the ability to perceive rationally, and this in two ways: in one, man sees in himself that a thing is so, as soon as he hears it; in the other, he understands it by means of reasons."*
     * DP 150
     What the Lord teaches in revelation, He gives man the ability to perceive rationally; and the fundamental truth that He teaches in His Word is the truth that He, our heavenly Father, is Divine Human. Let us, then, see what we can perceive concerning our Divine heavenly Father; and let no one say that it is beyond his ability (an ability the Lord gives to all) to comprehend how the Lord Jesus Christ, the Divine Human God of heaven and earth, is in truth our heavenly Father.

     * * * * * *

     We can learn much of what our heavenly Father is from seeing what He is not; and lest any should demur at applying the negative to God, let me point out that revelation itself frequently does this. Thus, in the Old Testament, "God is not a man, that He should lie, nor the son of man that He should repent." And, in the Writings, "The Lord cannot act contrary to the laws of the Divine Providence, because to act contrary to them would be to act contrary to His Divine love and His Divine wisdom, thus contrary to Himself."*
     * DP 331
     God "is not," then, and God "cannot." Thus, God cannot do evil, for God is good, infinite good, and for Him to will to do evil or for Him to do evil would be utterly impossible, or, if it were not impossible, it would be for Him to destroy that which He is, infinite good. Nor is it enough to say that He would never want to do evil; for that implies that sometime He might want to do evil; and the truth is that He cannot. After all, omnipotence is not the power to do absolutely anything that might cross your mind or mine; it is the power to do everything that is good and orderly and true. And the case is the same with every other Divine Human quality in God-mercy, justice, love: in Him, all those qualities are infinite. Infinite justice cannot be unjust; infinite mercy can never be unmerciful; infinite love cannot act from hatred.
     And further concerning the Divine Human qualities in God, because they are infinite in Him, they are also all one and the same thing in Him. We can talk about His mercy as though it were something different from His justice. But in Him, justice and mercy are exactly the same thing, and this is true also of His justice and His mercy as they proceed from Him to us.

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There is no justice in Him which is not infinitely merciful; there is no mercy in Him which is not infinitely just. Or, to put it into the words of the Writings: "In God-Man infinite things are distinctly one."* "Distinctly one:" clearly, they are one. Being infinite, they must all be one and the same, for there cannot be parts to the infinite. "Distinctly one:" we can also distinguish between them; and, indeed, we must distinguish between them, or we cannot talk about them at all.
     * DLW 17
     Nor is the infinite susceptible to change. God never changes, cannot change; what He was in the beginning, He is and always will be. Even a change in state is something beneath the infinite. Finite minds can change as to state; the infinite God-Man cannot, for change is a predicate of the finite. God cannot be, nor can He ever become, that which He was not from eternity.
     And, of course, the infinite God-Man cannot be limited by space and by time. He created them both; He is above them both; and though He is in and with the things of space and time, He is not limited, finited by these two predicates of the finite.

     * * * * *

     But what do the Writings themselves say directly about our heavenly Father? How do they explain the meaning of that term? Rather strangely, perhaps, they do not give much explanation of it, except to say that by our heavenly Father is meant the Lord Jesus Christ, or the Lord as to the Divine Human; but there is, nevertheless, this basic and important teaching in the Arcana:

     Frequent mention is made (in the Word) of the Father who is in the heavens, and there is then meant the Divine in heaven, thus the Good from which heaven is. Regarded in itself the Divine is above the heavens; but the Divine in the heavens is the Good that is in the Truth that proceeds from the Divine. This is meant by "the Father in the heavens," as in Matthew: . . . "Our Father who are in the heavens, hallowed be Thy name . . . [and] He that doeth the will of the Father who is in the heavens." . . . The Divine that is in the heavens is the Good which is in the Divine Truth that proceeds from the Lord; but the Divine above the heavens is the Divine Good Itself. . . . How the case is with the Divine Truth that proceeds from the Lord, that it is in heaven good, may be illustrated by comparison with the sun, and with the light that is from the sun. In the sun is fire, but from the sun proceeds light, which light has within itself heat, from which gardens sprout forth and become like paradises. The very fire of the sun does not pass to the earth (for it would burn up and consume all things), but the light wherein is heat from the fire of the sun. In the spiritual sense, this light is the Divine Truth; the heat is the good in the Truth from the Divine Good; and the resultant paradise is heaven."*
     * AC 8329

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     Note here the teaching that our Heavenly Father is the Good that is in the Divine Truth that proceeds from the Lord, and that this is the good (this good that is in the Divine truths proceeding from the Lord) which makes heaven. Remember also that almost everywhere in the Writings the terms good and love are synonymous and interchangeable, and that the same is the case with the terms truth and wisdom. Our heavenly Father is the good that is in the truths that proceed from the Lord; our heavenly Father is the love that is in the truths that proceed from the Lord.

     * * * * * *

     Let me now turn to what will seem at first to be an entirely different phase of the subject, namely, the laws of order.
     Order . . . law: They seem so terribly cold, so terribly impersonal. But are they, really? Even the little laws of traffic, which really of course, are nothing more than man-made means of preserving order, are laws that operate for your personal welfare. They are anything but cold and impersonal. They are laws of love, established for your personal well-being. Or take another man-made law, the subject of much thought every year, the law of the graduated income tax. That is a blanket law, indiscriminately covering every person in the country. But is it impersonal? Sometimes we wish it were not quite so very, very personal as it is.
     But these are man-made laws. The laws of order by which the Lord created the universe and by which He now "runs" the universe are infinitely higher than these.
     The close relationship between the Lord and order is stressed in the Arcana as follows:-"The Lord is order itself; and therefore where He is present, there is order; and where there is order, He is present.* Again, "Truths Divine . . . are nothing but the laws of order from the Divine Human of the Lord, for all order is from Him, thus all the laws of order. The whole heaven, consequently also the universe (exists) according to these laws. The laws of order, or the truths which proceed from the Lord, in accordance with which is the whole heaven and the universe, are what are called 'the Word by which all things were made.'"** And from the True Christian Religion, "The Divine omnipotence . . .acts continually and to eternity according to the laws of its order; and it cannot act against then, nor change them as to one iota; because order with all its laws is (the Lord) Himself."***
     * AC 5703               
     ** AC 1206
     *** TCR 13
     God created the universe, the universe that includes both the spiritual world and the natural, according to the laws of His order; and He continually creates it according to those same laws. (Creation, after all, is not a thing that God once made, which thereafter exists on its own.

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Creation is perpetual in that the Lord continually creates each thing He made, and were He to stop creating it, it would utterly cease to be.) The universe, then, was created according to the laws of order, and it is continually sustained according to those same laws.
     But is order impersonal? Are the laws of order cold, uncaring things, not knowing or caring for the difference between man and woman, between you and me? Far from it! We read, "The Divine good and truth which are from (the Lord) constitute order, insomuch that they are order; Divine good is its essential, and Divine truth is its formal."* Remember, here, that the terms, good and love, are usually interchangeable; thus: Divine love is the essential of order; Divine truth is its form. The laws of order are not cold and impersonal. They are the laws of love by which the Lord governs the universe He created, to achieve His eternal purpose of establishing a heaven from the human race.
     * AC 4829
     And that these Divine laws of order adapt themselves to our individual, personal circumstances is also clearly taught, as follows: "This order is various with men, according to the nature and genius of each."* It is not that the law of order itself changes; but that the state of each individual upon whom it operates determines how it operates. "Influx is according to the form of the recipient vessel" means not that what flows forth from the Lord to the recipient vessel ever changes; but that each individual, according to his state or spiritual form, determines what he will receive out of the Divine influx which flows forth to all men alike.
     * AC 1554

     * * * * * * *

     We have already seen in this series of classes that the laws of order-at least those laws of order that are called the laws of the Divine Providence-are the laws of salvation, the laws by which man is saved. Let this concept, however, be strengthened by the three following quotations.

     The Divine love wills to save all; but it cannot save them except by means of the Divine wisdom; all the laws through which salvation is effected are of the Divine wisdom; and love cannot transcend these laws, because the Divine love and the Divine wisdom are one, and act in union.*
     * DLW 37
     As for things contrary to order, . . . God is omnipresent in them by a continual struggle with them, and by a continual endeavor to bring them back into order; so that in proportion as a man suffers himself to be brought back into order, God is omnipresent in him.*
     * TCR 70
     It is from a law of Divine order, that all things shall return from ultimates to the prime from which they are.*
     * D. Wis. viii:5

     To me, this last quotation means that God's love, coming down from Himself to create, and doing so according to the laws of His order, by those same laws of order seeks to draw all created things back upward into conjunction with Himself-though it succeeds in that effort, of course, only with those men who freely suffer themselves to be led into such conjunction by Him.

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     * * * * * *

     There is, however, one more philosophical aspect of this subject that must be considered, namely, the teaching that influx from the Lord into creation can do nothing else but raise up some image of the Human form.
     God, remember, is Man, Very Man (that is, He is Man Itself). What goes forth from Him bears an image of Him within itself and an effort to raise up His image in everything it creates. Thus we read,

All things which proceed from the sun of the spiritual world . . . have relation to man; and therefore whatever things come forth in that world conspire towards the human form, and exhibit that form in their inmosts; thus all objects there that are presented to the sight are representative of man.* Again, Everything of heaven conspires to the human form.** And yet again, Everything of man's life from the Lord conspires to the human form, the least and the greatest of it. Everything of good and truth . . .endeavors after the human form; because the Lord is a Man; and heaven in the complex is a man . . .Whatever is from the Divine,. . .is human in form.***
     * TCR 66               
     ** AC 5110
     *** AC 5556

     * * * * * *

     The laws of order, then, are laws of love taking form in truths. They pervade the universe, being the laws according to which the universe was created originally, and according to which it is now sustained. They go forth to all men alike, though each man's individual and momentary state determines how they operate upon him. Always and without ceasing they work for each man's salvation, and apart from them there is no salvation. They work, that is, to build up and establish a perfect image and likeness of God-Man; and that perfect image and likeness (as perfect as anything finite can be perfect) that are to be found, not just in one individual angel, not just in one angelic married couple, but in the Gorand Man of heaven itself, that Gorand Man of heaven which is forever increasing in numbers toward infinity and increasing in perfection into eternity. This is the image of God toward which every Divine law of order works in its intimate government of the lives of each of us.
     Our heavenly Father is a real and basic concept of genuine religion. But while God is, indeed, our heavenly Father, He is also, at one and the same time, the infinite God. He is not a limited, finite father, such as a mortal person can be. He is infinitely more wise, more loving, more caring than any person-father can ever aspire to be.

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And about that word person we are told this, the very word, person, when applied to God, tends to limit God to something finite like ourselves.* God is Man, yes; God is Human, yes, though Divine Human; but God is not a limited person. He is much, much more, infinitely more, than that.
     * BE 33
     Even in regard to the spiritual sense of the Word we are told that though the letter of the Word is ever concerned with things of time and space and person, the internal or spiritual sense of the Word is ever above all such things, since these in themselves tend to limit the truths of the Word. How much more so is this the case when we approach the inmost or celestial sense of the Word, which treats of the Lord alone?

     * * * * * *

     In this series of classes it has been my attempt to show that the Divine Providence, the Lord's government of the human race to establish an eternal heaven in human form, is in every case a spiritual government, concerned with nothing less than the spiritual as a thing in itself. The laws of Providence are the laws of Divine order for man's salvation, governing the universe as though it were a single unit (which it is, in the Lord's eyes), but intimately adapting themselves to the state of each and every individual as it seeks to lead him upward to that place in the spiritual world wherein he can find his greatest degree of happiness. And, finally, that it is the love that is within these laws, the Divine love that is their very life, which is in truth our heavenly Father, whose will we, His children, seek to bring down into our lives that we may thereby enter into conjunction with Him.
     It is quite natural, as we seek to enlarge our understanding of a truth, that all, for a while, seems confusion. This, even the Writings themselves note, but observe that this teaching ends with a note of hope and Divine assurance. We read, "Before anything is reduced into order, it is very common for things to be reduced into a confused mass, as it were a chaos; thus the things which cohere badly are dissociated, and then the Lord disposes them into order."*
     * AC 842 NEW CIRCLE 1979

NEW CIRCLE       LOUIS B. KING       1979

     The Church of the Open Door located in Americus, Georgia, and under the leadership of the Rev. Bill Burke, has been received as a Circle of the General Church of the New Jerusalem. The Bishop of the General Church will serve as Pastor of this Circle until a Visiting Pastor is selected.
     LOUIS B. KING,
          Bishop

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HOW DEAD, HOW SAD, HOW LAMENTABLE 1979

HOW DEAD, HOW SAD, HOW LAMENTABLE       Rev. DONALD L. ROSE       1979

     Does religion seem gloomy? Some say that anything that is really fun is against religion. They think of religion, then, as something that will limit their enjoyment of life or even eliminate it. The call of religion seems to them a call away from the delight of life and an invitation to a sad existence of boring virtue.
     The truth is precisely the opposite. The loves of self and the world, which are alleged to be what make life enjoyable, are in themselves sad, dead and unfulfilling. Hence the title of this article. As we find out what life really is, we may perceive "how dead, how sad, and how lamentable is the life of those who are in the evils of the love of self and of the world."*
     * AC 2363:2
     Which has the more joy within it, the relationship between a husband and wife who deeply love each other, or the relationship between two people who are having a passionate affair which they know will not last since they have no real inner concern for each other? In our age (and we will be referring to "the insanity of our age") marriage can be depicted as pretty boring, and illicit love as pretty exciting. This is nothing new. A Memorable Relation depicts those in a decadent age saying, "What is life with one woman alone but captivity and imprisonment? . . . Who can be angry with a captive if he sets himself free when he can?" The reply to this was, "You talk as if you were without religion."*
     * CL 79:5
     We also read of some beautiful singing of the utmost sweetness. The subject of this sweet singing was the clean or chaste love of the sex. When some heard that this was the subject, they regarded the song as "inharmonious and sad." Some said that cleanness or chastity in love of the sex "deprives it of its sweetness."* The things said about the joys of conjugial love were regarded by them as "empty nothings." Such were men who "looked upon women with loathing."**
     * CL 55
     ** CL 55
     Within unclean love of the sex is coldness, loathing and an underlying sadness. One thinks of the words in Revelation: "Thou knowest not that thou art wretched and miserable. . . ."* One thinks of the invitation of the work Conjugial Love as an invitation to all joys and all delights and an exposure of the lamentable sadness and deadness of "the pleasures of insanity."
     * Rev. 4:17

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     The Insanity of Our Age

     The Writings use the phrase "the insanity of our age" to describe the notion that life in this world is real and life in the other world dull and unreal.* One passage describes the "interior gladness and beauty" of regenerate life. And the passage ends with a description of those who look upon these real joys as "joyless and undelightful." They reject them as "trivial or of no value." The final sentence of the passage reads: "From this comes the insanity of the present age, which is believed to be wisdom."**
     * AC 3646:3, 3726:4
     ** AC 5116
     Yet another passage ends with the words, "Hence comes the insanity of our age." This passage describes the way some people think of the life of spirits and angels. "They suppose them to be in an obscure state, which cannot but be most sad, as if it were in vacuity and emptiness; when yet they are in . . . the enjoyment of all good things as to all the senses, and this with an inmost perception of them."*
     AC 1630

     When Life Begins

     Life begins at. . . . The paradox is remarkable. The real enjoyment of life begins just at the point where the natural man thinks all joy ceases. The Writings tell us of the inverted thinking of the natural man when it is left to itself.* It sees the path of life which the Lord intends for us as a path away from delight; it fears the loss of that preoccupation with honor and gain in which it is oriented. Thus it fears the loss of "life's delights."**
     * AC 5647
     ** Ibid.
     Some believe "that if they are deprived of the joy arising from the glory of honors and of wealth all joy ceases to be possible; when yet heavenly joy, which infinitely transcends every other joy, then first begins."* Some would be "amazed" if told about interior joys, for "they believe that nothing of joy and life would remain if they were deprived of the delights of (their loves) when yet heavenly joy then begins."**
     * AC 8037, Italics added.
     ** AC 8462, Italics added.
     It is true that "all affections have their delights," and before regeneration selfish delights appear to be "the only ones; so much so that men believe-that no other delights exist, and consequently that if they were deprived of these they would utterly perish." But gradually the Lord grants true delights, and then men "gradually see and perceive the nature of the delights of their former life, which they had believed to be the only delights-that they are relatively vile."

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Eventually they come to see that those former delights are really sad and dead, and they hold them in aversion.*
     * See AC 3938
     All this is dramatized in Swedenborg's actually telling some in the other life that they were really not living until they lost their delights! "I have sometimes spoken with those in the other life who had been in the delights of evil and falsity; and I have been permitted to tell them that they have no life until they are deprived of their delights. But they said (as say such persons in the world) that if they should be deprived of them, nothing of life would be left them. But I was permitted to reply that life then first begins, together with such happiness as there is in heaven, which in comparison with that of their former delights is unutterable."*
     * AC 3938:5

     How Sad, How Dead

     The truth about real enjoyment is "profoundly unknown"* to those in evil delight. The news comes to them as a bombshell. It is unbelievable, and it really sounds gloomy to them. This joy they hear about appears to them "as something non-existent, or as something that is sad." (Remember the men who regarded the sayings about conjugial love as "empty nothings"?)
     * AC 2363
     The evil believe that if evil delight were taken away, "nothing of life could remain to them; and when they are shown that true life . . . then begins, they feel a kind of sadness." But the truth is that real joy affects those who receive it from the inmosts, "because it flows in through the inmosts from the Lord." Then it is as if a flame has been kindled and angelic life or the heavenly state is known. "Those who are in this state perceive how dead, how sad, and how lamentable is the life of those who are in the evils of the love of self and of the world."*
     * AC 2363:2
     The Lord is saying to us, "These things have I spoken unto you that My joy might remain in you, and that your joy might be full."* He says, "Ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full."** In true religion He Himself comes with a living invitation, saying, "I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."***
     * John 15:11               
     ** John 16:24
     *** John 10:10

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FREEDOM THROUGH INHIBITION 1979

FREEDOM THROUGH INHIBITION       Editor       1979


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

Acting Editor                Rev. Ormond deCharms Odhner, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager                Mr. L. E. Gyllenhaal Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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

     TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$5.00 (U.S.) A year to any address, payable in advance. Single copy, 50 cents.
     Freedom is acting from the delight of love. That, perhaps, is the most general definition of freedom found in the Writings, and that is a freedom that is common to both animals and men.
     Animals do what they do because their innate loves find delight in doing it. Even a trained, domesticated animal, such as a dog, simply has had his inborn love trained in certain directions (his loves of reward, praise, friendship), and then finds delight for those loves in acting according to his training. In that sense, animals are free.
     In another sense, all men always act from freedom, doing whatever they do from the delight of some love, even if it be nothing more than the love of self-preservation, for that (how horrible!) is the final, all-controlling love of every devil in hell: the love of self-preservation. At first, in hell, an evil man openly commits every evil he can get away with. But punishments inevitably follow upon every evil he commits, if it hurts someone else. And the punishments of hell are so increasingly excruciating that the devil inevitably decides that his only hope of survival lies in obeying the fierce laws of his society. He makes that decision from the delight [if you can call it delight] of his love of survival, and so he acts in freedom; and thereafter he is given the external pleasures on which every evil fool sets his heart.

     Two paragraphs back, I spoke of the freedom enjoyed by animals, the freedom of acting from the delight of their inborn loves and desires.

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Many men, unfortunately, never know any other freedom than that. "Animals," like animals, they mature, live, and die, doing practically nothing but acting from the delights of their connate lusts and pleasures-in so far as they can get away with it.
     And there's the rub-the wonderful, Divinely provided rub that gives man the opportunity to start acting as a man, cease acting like an animal. A myriad things inhibit them, preventing evil, animal-like men from "getting away with" many of the evil, animal-like things they desire to do. Civil laws inhibit them. Moral law (the law of polite society) inhibits them. The fear of revenge (the law of hell) inhibits them. Bodily limitations, and, later, bodily katabolism inhibit them.
     The result? Externally at least, they are forced into a state of equilibrium. [The active enjoyment of any love, good or evil, temporarily upsets equilibrium.] In a state of equilibrium they can, if they so desire, reflect upon the course of their lives, and thus can change their courses-once again, if they so desire.
     All of us start our lives in animal freedom, doing whatever we want to do. In Providence we very quickly learn that we have to restrain many of our native desires, and as our years add up, we find more and more restraints inhibiting us. We can rebel against them; but eventually, in hell, if not on earth, the restraints will succeed in curbing the open expression of our animal, inhuman, nay, anti-human lusts and passions. Or, from religion we can regard those restraints as things existing in the Lord's Divine Providence to provide us with the possibility of genuine spiritual freedom. Then, choosing wisely from among the many external things that inhibit us, we can turn the chosen restraints into genuine inhibitions-self-restraints that keep us from acting against the Lord's will.

     With such thoughts in mind, study the implications of the following quotation from The True Christian Religion-its implications that the external restraints that limit our freedom of action are the very things that enable us to enter into genuine, heavenly freedom.

     There is a freedom . . . belonging to beasts, birds, fishes and insects; but these are impelled by their bodily senses, prompted by appetite and pleasure. Man would not be unlike these if his freedom to do were equal to his freedom to think. He, too, would then be impelled by his bodily senses, prompted by lust and pleasure. It is otherwise with one who heartily accepts the spiritual things of the church, and by means of them restrains his freedom of choice. Such a man is led by the Lord away from lusts and evil pleasures and his connate avidity for them, and acquires an affection for what is good, and turns away from evil, . . . and is introduced into heavenly freedom, which is freedom indeed. (TCR 418:3)

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     ON "FINDING A CONJUGIAL PARTNER"

     This editorial has absolutely nothing to do with the question of whether or not conjugial pairs are "born for each other." (I have my own doctrinal views on that matter; probably the majority of people in the General Church hold views opposite to mine.) What I am speaking about here are certain phrases, in almost universal use among young people, but unfortunately used by older people, too: "Will I find my conjugial partner? . . . I found my conjugial partner. . . ."
     I seriously doubt if, since the days of Adam and Eve, one person out of a billion on earth, has ever "found" his conjugial partner, for whether or not you believe that "conjugial pairs are born," it is still true that conjugial partners are made, not born. Conjugial partners are made when a husband and wife attain conjugial love together. And that takes a lot of work!
     Surely, a person cannot have a conjugial partner unless he has conjugial love with that partner. Conjugial love and the church go hand in hand. Conjugial love and regeneration go together step by step. A person cannot have conjugial love until he is regenerated. And husband and wife cannot have conjugial love between them until both of them have been regenerated together by the Lord-regenerated together, as well as regenerated individually-regenerated together as they live together in their marriage, seeking to do the Lord's will together.
     It is, of course, quite possible for a person to "find" another person with whom a marriage of conjugial love is possible. That in fact is the ideal. But no one yet has "found his conjugial partner" until he and his spouse together have been delivered from the loves of self and the world, and have been established in mutual love to each other and, supremely, in love to the Lord. That's the work of a lifetime of regeneration.
COUNCIL OF THE CLERGY, 1980 1979

COUNCIL OF THE CLERGY, 1980       LOUIS B. KING       1979

     The Carmel Church Society has invited the Council of the Clergy of the General Church to hold its 1980 Annual Meetings in Caryndale from Sunday, June 8th through Wednesday, June 11, 1980.
     LOUIS B. KING,
     Bishop

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WHICH TRANSLATION! 1979

WHICH TRANSLATION!       CHRISTOPHER R. J. SMITH       1979

To the Editor:
     For the past three years the students of the Carmel Church School have been learning Scripture recitations from the Revised Standard Version. I found the general reaction of the children to be highly favorable. The repeated comment was that they could better understand what they were leading and reciting, besides finding it easier to pronounce the text, compared with the King James Version.
     I am convinced that the KJV is an unnecessary stumbling block at the feet of our children. Many of its words are still in common use today, but with a completely changed meaning than when used 400 years ago. Its "foreign" sentence structure, vocabulary and verb endings are familiar and may be loved by the adult generation, but provide real hurdles to the young.
     Such obstacles were not intended in the original Hebrew or Greek. Therefore I cannot accept the argument that it is a good thing to have the Sacred Scriptures associated with peculiar English. The KJV is not the Word! It was not commissioned by the Lord!
     I would not like to see the KJV defended to the point of creating idolatry in the New Church! We are talking about nothing more than a translation-what is an acceptable translation-and any translation will be less than perfect. There is no ultimate translation.
     The RSV, to my mind, by no means qualifies as the answer to providing an adequate translation for use in the New Church. It has serious flaws, such as leaving out whole verses! Unfortunately it uses Thou when Jehovah is addressed and you when Jesus is addressed. But this has some doctrinal validity, considering that the Glorification was not completed until after the Resurrection. I don't think, however, that these different pronouns are really noticed. In any case, an unacceptable word could be changed in the same way that we change Holy Ghost. Thee and Thou should be dropped, as no such special pronoun is intended in the original language.
     No doubt the hells would love to see us get into a squabble as to which translation we should be using, detracting our attention from the urgent need to come up with a completely new translation. What an added bonus it would be if they could split the church at the same time!
     Hopefully this debate will spur us on to make it possible for one or two men to begin full time work on translating the Sacred Scriptures. Our goal could be to have a complete, new text by the time for the next revision of the Liturgy.

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If we wanted, in less than two years we could have our own translation of the New Testament.
     Until we do have a translation by New Church scholars, it is clear to me that the RSV is a smaller stumbling block to our children than the KJV, making it easier for all, including adults, to understand the Word.
     Sincerely,
          CHRISTOPHER R. J. SMITH,
               Kitchener, Ontario
LIBERAL OR CONSERVATIVE? 1979

LIBERAL OR CONSERVATIVE?       EUNICE HOWARD       1979

To the Editor:
     In the first issue for which you "assume full responsibility for the editing of New Church Life" (Nov. 1978 p. 540), you write in your Editorial Note, that whereas, "Mr. Rich's editorial policy was quite liberal, . . . my own editorial policy will be a bit more conservative."
     If the New Church Life is to be a vital and important arm of the General Church, it would seem that it should include both liberal and conservative views. Though the spiritual truths of the Writings do not change, the understanding of them, and the application to life, of these truths, cannot be completely encompassed by any one person or group. Only by seeing a variety of viewpoints do we arrive at a better understanding.
     Water corresponds to truths, spiritual, rational, and scientific. Yet to provide us with water, hydrogen and oxygen must be compounded. To provide us with "Living Water" of truth, contained in Revelation, we need more than one view. We need many views, which have to be reconciled. A blending of opposites, which only appear to contradict each other.
     For example, constant references to the falsities in the first Christian Churches can give us an inaccurate view of these teachings, unless it is understood that these falsities represent hereditary evils which the whole human race is heir to, such as love of dominion, or love of power, and faith alone, or belief without charity.
     EUNICE HOWARD,
          Troy, Michigan

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Church News 1979

Church News       Various       1979

     WASHINGTON, D.C.

     The Washington Society, housed in Mitchellville, Md., resumed its many activities in September, after a relatively quiet summer. Our Sunday School, after an informal summer program of stories and slides, began the season under the new leadership of Deena Odhner. It has three groups, of which the Primary and Advanced are taught by some 15 men and women, and the Nursery by about 20 ladies and young people, taking turns.
     The day school has 25 students this year, from 1st to 10th grade. The faculty meets for monthly study sessions with the Pastor and Principal, Rev. Dan Heinrichs, as well as for shorter, weekly meetings, to try to meet the many doctrinal and practical challenges involved in education. The high-school paper, Pools Wisdom, was revived this year, and is published hi-weekly as a part of a composition course, by the sophomore class of 2 students and one "fresh-person." It is interspersed with some attempts at wisdom, and a good deal of humor, and is considered competition by Mr. Phil Zuber, editor of our "other paper," the Echo, official society publication.
     Other activities resumed, or continued, through the fall and winter include after-church-coffee and autumn Sunday afternoon soccer games. As a special treat our newly expanded social committee organized a Fall Festival in October, complete with treasure hunt, picnic, bonfire and beautiful weather. And of course our annual Thanksgiving Dinner-Dance, this year beautifully decorated in the theme of "over the rainbow", and the celebration of Christmas, with its special power to stir the affections, provided highlights for this half-year.
     A very active group of young couples is bringing new vitality to the society. Not only are they taking on many society uses, but they are also doing their part to increase our numbers. Five babies were born in the past year, and seven more are expected this year! A Parents Discussion group is one of the new activities undertaken this year, to aid these new parents in the responsibilities of child-rearing.
     The growth of the society is also very much in evidence in the increased use of our building. We are "bursting at the seams," and must utilize every corner of the building for school and other uses, sometimes at some inconvenience (the pastor's office is in the former coat closet) Accordingly, our Planning Committee is looking into possibilities for an addition, which we hope to be able to implement in the not too distant future.
     Developments of our community, Acton Park, have been at a standstill for several years, due to zoning and sewer obstacles, but two more lots have finally been approved, on which the Jim Coopers and the Stewart Smiths hope to be residents soon.
     Some further new or expanded activities that have been added to our society life recently include a Women's Discussion group; efforts to provide social life for our young teenagers; regular singing practice, a choir, led by Mr. Craig McCardell, and an active music committee, working to find ways to enhance our use of church music. The library committee has been expanded, is very active, and its efforts are evident in a well organized and well stocked library. Efforts are being made to enter more fully into the uses of extension work, and many useful pointers in this direction were given us by the Rev. Douglas Taylor during a visit to our society last fall.
     We had the privilege recently of visits from Bishop King, in January, and from Rev. Alfred Acton, in February. Such contact with the heads of our church and our Academy is most useful and appreciated.
     While we still experience occasional growing pains, we take heart in the fact that those pains indicate that we are still growing, and with a happy mixture of younger and older, we go forward.
     MARY S. COOPER

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ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH 1979

ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH              1979




     Announcements
     The Annual Joint Meeting of the Faculty and Corporation of the Academy will be held at 1:45 p.m., on Friday, May 18th, 1979, in the Assembly Hall, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     The program for the evening will consist of administrative reports from the Chancellor, the President, and the heads of the four schools.

     All friends of the Academy are cordially invited to attend.
IMPORTANT CORRECTION 1979

IMPORTANT CORRECTION              1979



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     The Rev. William Clifford's telephone number in Dawson Creek, B.C. has been listed incorrectly in previous issues of LIFE. The correct number is (1) 601-782-8035 (office); (1) 604-782-3997 (home).
From our Contemporaries 1979

From our Contemporaries              1979

     NEW PRESIDENT FOR URBANA COLLEGE

     The Urbana College Board of Trustees is pleased to announce that Dr. Lawson A. Pendleton, Menlo Park, California, has been selected as the next President of Urbana College. Pendleton will assume his new position approximately July 1, 1979.
     Lawson Pendleton obtained his B.A. degree from the Academy of the New Church in Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, and his doctorate in history from the University of North Carolina. Re has served as Chairman of the Department of History at Westminster College in New Wilmington, Pa., on the faculty of Stanford University from 1970-73, and as President of the Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science from 1973-77. Since 1977 he has been self-employed as an independent management consultant. Pendleton, 53, is married, with three children.
     Convention Messenger, April

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NEWNESS OF THE NEW CHURCH 1979

NEWNESS OF THE NEW CHURCH       Rev. DOUGLAS TAYLOR       1979


NEW CHURCH LIFE
Vol. XCIX          JUNE, 1979               NO. 6
     A NEW CHURCH DAY SERMON

     And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold I make all things new. Rev. 21:5.

     It is fatally easy for us to lose sight of this newness of the New Church that is meant in the Book of Revelation by the New Jerusalem. In our minds the vital freshness and newness of the new age initiated by the Lord in revealing the holy city of heavenly doctrine and causing it to come down from Him out of heaven can easily be obscured. We may know from instruction that it is supposed to be new and to make all things new; but unless we see just in what ways it is new, we shall certainly not feel its newness. The New Church will not seem to us to be important at all, still less supremely important. It will just be "our Church," the one we have always attended, the one our family has always belonged to. We may perhaps appreciate some of its teachings and explanations as being more reasonable and sensible than those of other church bodies; but this will be a far cry from the Lord making all things new. We will not feel its newness as a vitally important matter, because we will, perhaps unconsciously, think of the teachings as being those of the priest, or those of the church. We will not explicitly think of them as coming from the Lord Himself-Divine teachings meant for the setting up of a completely New Church, not simply a new sect or cult.
     But the more deeply we examine the Heavenly Doctrine, the more firmly will we be convinced that it is in fact new, refreshingly new. Conversely, the less deeply we examine the Heavenly Doctrine the harder it will be for us to see the distinctiveness, the newness, of the Heavenly Doctrine and of the church that is based upon it.

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     For example, we learn that the New Church worships One God; but on talking to our friends in other churches, we find that they, too, say that they believe in one God and not in three gods. In fact, they indignantly deny that they believe in three gods. We find that some of them also believe that the Bible is Divine; that we should obey the commandments; that there is a heaven and a hell; that those who live well go to heaven and those who do not go to hell; that there is a Divine providence over all things; that marriages ought to be entered into with the idea of lasting for life; that it is wise to marry someone of a like religion. These things the New Church believes in, also. Where then is the difference? Why all the insistence that the Heavenly Doctrine of the New Jerusalem is so new?
     There is only one way to meet this objection, and that is to go more deeply into the teaching, to go beyond the shallows of a superficial understanding of what the Lord teaches us. As this is done, as we get down to particulars, we come more and more to appreciate the otherwise startling statement in The Brief Exposition of the Doctrine of the New Church that "the faith of the present church must be opened and rejected before the truths of the dogmas of the New Church can be revealed and received . . . because they do not agree together, no, not in one single point or particular."*
     * BE 96
     Before going on to illustrate this teaching, this Divine teaching given by the Lord through Swedenborg, let us pause a moment to consider the implications of another statement in the Heavenly Doctrine, namely, that the words in the Book of Revelation "A NEW HEAVEN AND A NEW EARTH; and afterwards, BEHOLD I MAKE ALL THINGS NEW . . . mean nothing else than that in the Church now to be set up anew by the Lord THE DOCTRINE WILL BE NEW."*
     * Lord 65
     "The Doctrine will be new!" Nothing else is meant.
     But let us be clear in our minds as to what is meant by doctrine. It means simply "teaching"-what the Lord teaches us, what He tells us to believe, what He tells us to do-and not to do. This is the Divine Doctrine, the Divine teaching, the Lord speaking to us. Let us rid our minds, therefore, of all prejudice against the word "doctrine," all feelings of repugnance against what the Lord tells us and teaches us, the feeling that doctrine is something abstract and remote from life, mere intellectual theorizing intended only for the intelligentsia. Let us cast such merely natural feelings back into the hell from which they come, because they are antagonistic to the establishment of the real New Church, in which, we are taught, "the doctrine will be new."

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     It is this newness of doctrine that makes all things new; it is the newness of what the Lord has to tell the world that makes ALL things new.
     When we come, then, to examine the teachings of the New and the Old in more detail, we find more and more differences. In the New Church we believe in and worship one God; but it is One God in One Person, that is, the Lord Jesus Christ, not three Divine Persons, because this is tantamount to saying three gods. Although those who profess to believe in one God in Three Persons, each of whom is believed to be God, are unaware of the fact, they are actually trying to believe in three distinct Divinities. They say that these Three are One, but how three Persons can be one is a mystery. The Heavenly Doctrine teaches in no uncertain terms that this teaching in the Christian Church is what has given the twist of falsity to each and every one of the doctrines that are derived from it; this can be seen when they are interiorly examined and reflected upon. The idea of a Trinity of Divine Beings enters into every teaching, for the simple reason that the idea of God reigns supreme, and conditions our every thought, though we are not always aware of the fact.
     In the Heavenly Doctrine the Lord stands forth revealed not only as to His Person but as to His Divine essence as well. He is seen as the Divine Human, the source of love and wisdom itself. He is seen as the One of whom the Word treats in its inmost or supreme meaning; He is seen as the One whose commandments we are to obey; He is seen as the One who makes heaven and rules hell, as the One whose truth judges us, as the One whose Divine love and wisdom in operation are called the Divine providence. He is seen as the One in whom true marriage originates, the One from whom the sphere of Conjugial Love goes forth. He is seen as the One who makes ALL things new. "Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God."*
     * Rev. 21:3
     Every teaching of theology and religion is made new by this new idea of God, this idea of God in His Human form made Divine. We see that the Lord's internal and external are alike Divine. We see that the Word, which describes the Lord and contains Him in its bosom, also has a Divine soul and body. The teaching that the Word has an internal, spiritual meaning within its external, worldly stories and statements, breathes new life into it; for "it is the spirit that quickeneth." And with regard to living the life of religion by following the Lord's commandments, we also see that in this, too, the inner motive must agree with the outward action. The internal and the external must make one; the action is no better than the motive from which it proceeds.

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     We find something similar with the teaching about the spiritual world; again, there must be an agreement and conjunction of the internals with the externals, both in general and also in each individual. And with regard to the Divine providence, once more internal things must be conjoined with externals-temporal, worldly things are used as means to eternal ends. And in the doctrine concerning marriage the emphasis is always on the necessity of something internal or heavenly dwelling within the externals, so that it is a marriage of love truly conjugial. In revealing the teaching about Himself as He really is, the Lord has indeed made all things of the Church new. He has provided the basis and foundation for a New Church in heaven and upon the earth, for a Church is founded upon the idea of God that is revealed to it.
     But the new teaching, although it comes from the Lord Himself, the source of all newness and freshness and vitality, does not make all things new simply by being revealed. It has to be received. Hence we are taught that "the revelation and reception of the tenets of the faith of the New Church is meant by these words in the Apocalypse: He that sat upon the throne said, Behold I make all things new; and He said unto me, Write, for these words are true and faithful."*
     * BE 95
     The Lord cannot make anything new in us if we neglect His teachings. The extent to which our understanding is renovated and enlightened depends first of all upon our diligence in studying the new teachings given by the Lord. Young people raised in the Church and also newcomers coming upon the new doctrine in adult life alike testify to the fact that even with their first general understanding of the teachings it seems as if the whole world is new. Their latent idealism is stirred; they See new goals-in their studies, their training, their occupations; the ideal of being of use without the desire for praise or reward makes everything new and exciting, transforming the goals in all their human relationships, including the most intimate of all.
     Yet this does not really make ALL things new. It renovates the understanding, certainly; but the will is the man himself. As we learn what the Lord tells us with a view to the amendment of our lives, as we study to see just where and how the new doctrine applies to us individually, and as we force ourselves (as if of ourselves) to make that application and persist in our efforts till the end, so are we born anew of the Lord-regenerated. We gradually become a new person, step-by-step forsaking the old natural man. As this is done, it can be truly said of us that the Lord has made all things of our life new; He has given us heavenly motives in place of the old selfish and worldly drives and ambitions.

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He has given us a new nature. So the Heavenly Doctrine speaks of the "baptism of regeneration" as one of the "new things" that the Lord gives.*
     * TCR 687
     As more and more people on earth receive this newness from the Lord, newness not only of the understanding but also of the will and consequently of the life, so will the influence of the New Church spread, and so will all things of life in this world, in the Lord's good time, be renovated and given a different, internal quality.
     The Lord's new teachings, received and applied, will do this. They completely renovate the doctrine of the Church in all particulars, and if used, produce a new kind of life. It is not always apparent from the external acts, because it is essentially a change in MOTIVATION that the Lord brings about. However, many an adult, on coming into contact with people who earnestly study and apply the new teachings, has felt (rather than observed) something new and different. Moreover, they have mentioned it explicitly. They have declared that they became aware of something new in a New Church home, or in New Church social life, or in a truly New Church acquaintance, something that they wanted for themselves, something that they recognized must be a result of the doctrines. This is in fact the case, and for that reason the credit and the honor and glory belong to the Lord alone, who, in every case, makes all things of life and religion new.
     To the extent that the influence of the New Church does increase in this way, a new civilization will develop around it. This has already begun; for we have the first instruments for the making of this new civilization. We have our New Church schools and university college. We have our New Church communities, in which there is an even greater effort than usual to apply the teachings to the matter of social life. The Christian Church produced a Christian culture and civilization. Similarly, the New Church will be the soul of a new culture and civilization-the arts and sciences and political life will all be made new. This we know because the Lord has revealed the guiding principles that will bring this about. And a beginning has already been made.
     But it all depends upon the reception of the new teachings-first in our understanding, and then in our life. It depends first and foremost upon the principal teaching, the headstone of the corner, the teaching "that the Lord God Jesus Christ doth reign whose kingdom shall be for ages of ages."* This is the primary part of the new evangel, the transforming evangel proclaimed throughout the whole spiritual world on the 19th of June in the year 1770, and resulting in the formation of the New Heaven, and destined also to establish a New Church on the earth, and a new age.
     * TCR 791

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     Let us always remember that this New Church is to be new and renewed every moment. The prophecy concerning it, which we have been considering, was spoken by "Him that sat upon the Throne of Judgment" after the judgment upon the former church, after the former things were passed away. We cannot see that the New is really new until we see for ourselves that the Old is really old. We cannot see that the New is really new until we see that it comes from the Lord, who alone renews. And we cannot see these things unless and until we go into the particulars of the teachings and receive them deeply in our minds and hearts and lives. Only then do we find the Lord making all things new. Amen.

     LESSONS: Isaiah 65:17-25; Rev. 21:1-7; Lord 65.
DOLE NOTES' REPRINTED 1979

DOLE NOTES' REPRINTED              1979

     All six volumes of the Dole Bible Study Notes are now in print in hardcover library binding. Complete sets or single volumes may be ordered from: The Swedenborg Library, 79 Newbury Street, Boston, Mass. 02116
OHIO DISTRICT ASSEMBLY 1979

OHIO DISTRICT ASSEMBLY              1979

     The Fifth Ohio District Assembly of the General Church of the New Jerusalem will be held Friday, September 16, 1979, in the Cleveland area, the Right Reverend Louis B. King, Bishop, presiding. All members and friends of the General Church are cordially invited to attend. For information please contact Mr. William B. Alden, 4142 Brecksville Road, Richfield, Ohio 44286.

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PRE-MATURITY 1979

PRE-MATURITY       Rev. ROBERT S. JUNGE       1979

     (The sixth in a series of addresses on the natural mind given at the Educational Council, August, 1978.)

     The doctrines concerning the states of human development are beautifully and harmoniously presented in the Writings, with unprecedented internal or rational coherence. But we look to the various descriptions to blend and harmonize like the notes of a marvelous symphony. We must not look for absolutely consistent use of terms and definitions which would but play into a scholastic study of doctrine. Our education is founded upon a rational revelation which can guide our thought to see ever new relationships of truth to life, to all eternity. We must not try to impose the restrictions of our merely material thought upon what is essentially spiritual. We simply cannot allow ourselves to treat the truths of the new revelation as if they were formulas in a spiritual cook book, or as if our task were once and for all to discover a final recipe that will somehow produce the same successful heavenly dessert every time. "To see what is posterior or exterior (in the Word) without seeing what is anterior or interior is to see nothing of the Divine."*
     * AC 3416

     It is not the attempt here, therefore, to look up all the passages on scientifics and all the passages on cognitions, and compare them to all that is said about the science of cognitions, and then add a few spicy quotations and stir. We hope rather to sharpen the picture by focusing more and more tightly on the plain, yet widely various descriptions of the state immediately prior to maturity. To uncover this uniquely blending picture we begin by working in from both ends, from birth on the one hand and maturity on the other.

     Slide 1

birth maturity

     It is pretty clear that during the period from infancy to childhood the mind is in knowledges (scientiae),* first truths of sense,** or sensuous truths.*** This exterior natural is formed through the senses into the memory and thence into the imagination.****

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It is the first plane for celestial things,***** governed by a state of external innocence: or the innocence,****** of ignorance. This first state, so described in general terms yet consistently, is from birth to the fifth year.******* The first five years of life therefore can be eliminated from our further consideration.
     * TCR 42
     ** AC 3310
     *** AC 3309
     **** AC 5126
     ***** AC 1555:2-3
     ****** Life 69, AC 5126
     ******* AC 10225

     Slide 2


5 20

     There is a second state from the fifth to the twentieth year,

a state of instruction and of scientifics not as yet a state of intelligence because the child or youth does not form any conclusions from himself, neither does he from himself discriminate between truths and truths, nor even between truths and falsities, but from others: he merely thinks and speaks things of memory, thus from mere scientifics; nor does he see and perceive whether a thing is so, except on the authority of his teacher, consequently because another has said so.*
     * AC 10225; cf. 2280:3

     The shift to thinking from himself occurs in general about the twentieth year. We therefore make twenty our cut-off point as to maturity, though of course we recognize all the exceptions and the variety which people usually like to stress in response to a paper such as this.

     Slide 3

5 maturity

     But in order really to see the cut-off point in relation to those passages which do not mention any specific age, we must describe the state after twenty as clearly as possible. The familiar AC 10225 continues:

     But the third (state) is called a state of intelligence, because the man then thinks from himself, and discriminates and forms conclusions; and that which he then concludes is his own, and not another's. At this time faith begins, for faith is not the faith of the man himself until he has confirmed what he believes by the ideas of his own thought . . . From this it can be seen that the state of intelligence commences with man when he no longer thinks from a teacher but from himself; which is not the case until the interiors are opened toward heaven. . . .*
     * AC 10225

     This description provides at once a cut-off place for many descriptions of developing states, and together with the cutting off of infancy enables us to produce four descriptive charts concerning roughly the fifth to the twentieth years. Note: a great many passages divide this period into two general states.

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     Slide 4

5 childhood to youth youth to early manhood 20 (TCR 42)

     puberty?
     (CL 446, cp 150)

     These two states are reflected in the charts, but again we narrow our attention to the later period, assigning it in broad terms to Secondary School and Junior College.

     Chart I

     SCIENTIFICS AND COGNITIONS

Childhood to Youth                Youth to early manhood (cf TCR 42)
thought from knowledges     (ex           perceptions of moral and spiritual truths
          (TCR 42)
scientiis)

first scientifics                    then cognitions (AC 3518:2)

scientifics of ext. man           cognitions of int. man (AC 24:1)

scientifics imbibed hearing,           scientifics from Word, or from doctrine of
          Church,
seeing, reading, stored in ext.      which are cognitions of truth and good serve for memory. Serve internal
sight                          implanting in internal man spiritual
          intelligence and wisdom (AC 9723)
of understanding as a plane of      
objects.
                                   cognitions of celestial good and truth are
          vessels belonging to memory of natural man.
          (AC 9544)

truth of scientifics                doctrinal truths founded upon truths of
          scientifics in turn founded upon truths of
          senses (AC 3310; cp 5774:2, 5402:2)
          
                                   truth in knowledge (scientia) before truth
          in faith (as adults) (AC 9755:2)

knowledges (Scientias)                understanding perfected by knowledges
          (scientiis) (DLW 67)
          
truth in form of scientifics           truth still more interior, doctrinal truths
(AC 3309) (cp. TCR 344, adolescent faith)

scientifics and cognitions           intellectual instructed in scientifics and
          cognitions, especially cognitions of good
and truth (AC 1555:2-3)

                                   "cognitions make a general and obscure idea
          distinct; and the more distinct the idea is
made by means of cognitions the more can the worldly things be separated" (AC 1557)

generals                          particulars of those generals (AC 4345;
          cp 3131:3)

     This first chart then, leads us to the contrast between scientifics and cognitions. Cognitions are on a higher or more interior plane of the natural mind, making a general idea more distinct.

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As vessels they are so drawn up out of the memory and interpreted as to serve for implanting spiritual intelligence and wisdom. They are not isolated vessels, nor undigested vessels, but rather organized so as to teach and lead the mind doctrinally away from worldly things.

     The rational as to truth is formed by influx into scientifics and cognitions. . . . It is not born from scientifics and cognitions, but from an affection of them. . . . By cognitions the external man is conjoined with the internal . . . when cognitions are being implanted in heavenly things. . . .*
     * AC 3030

     We are familiar with the fact that Egypt, mostly a low delta country, represents scientifics stored in the memory. Perhaps not so familiar, Syria or Aram, meaning high land, represents cognitions of good and truth.* Note the contrast, Egypt, a low land, Syria a high land. Cognitions are higher and more interior than scientifics.
     * AC 3676, 4112, et al.
     Like the flow of reasoned thought from knowledges, the Euphrates has its source in the high country of Syria. Cognitions are basic foundation vessels for rational thought. Mt. Hermon, representing Divine truth makes as it were a water shed between Syria and Canaan. Divine truth must as it were oversee the whole disposition of cognitions if they are gradually to bring spiritual thought out of obscurity, making general ideas distinct in the light of particulars. In a sense cognitions can be the source of the general truths of doctrine, represented by the Jordan, or they can be the source of interior reasoning, represented by the Euphrates.* In either case we are talking of a state elevated by affection above the mere memory, an interior state from which thought can flow. Cognitions are indeed the source upon which spiritual intelligence draws. Nevertheless, interpretation and clear digestion is important and even critical to an understanding of what is really meant by cognitions and their use. This leads us to a second chart.
     * Cf. AR 444

     Chart II

     MEDITATION, REFLECTION, RUMINATION

Childhood to Youth                Youth to early manhood
affection of knowing                affection of understanding (CL 90, 114-5,
          163)
things carried in the memory           meditating-reasoning upon and obeying them,
          love leading disposing the memory into a new
          order (CL 446)

affection of truth from worldly      reflect from own thought pleased if it adds
          to own thought (AC 3603:3) yet no
love, applied to others           conclusions from himself. (AC 10225)

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                                   first reputation, later honor and gain
          (AE 863; AC 3518:2; 5280:3)

affirmative to parents and           corroborates affirmative even to affection
          and confirms
masters (cp TCR 106)                it by scientifics and cognitions (AC 2689:3)

                                   Some years before regen. prep. of ground to
          receive good and truth which are many states
          of innocence and charity also knowledges of
          good and truth and thoughts derived
          therefrom (AC 2636:2)

learns with avidity, believes      takes up again, ruminates; confirms, doubts
          or denies in simplicity (AC 5135:2-3)                         
                                   Ext. man in light of world, no intelligence
          or even life. Int. man thinks in ext. as it
          corresponds or not (AC 3679:4) (cf. HH 466)

                                   natural affections, doctrinal things, even
          scientifics, all things of exterior or
          natural memory, a plane in which interiors
          terminate, and determine mode of influx from
          interiors (AC 3539:2)

                                   Commotion means new disposition and setting
          in order of truths in nat. arranged in man's
memory, unknown to man. Known to angels. Cohere in little bundles, and bundles cohere, "according to the connection of things which the man has conceived." Arranged solely from man's loves. (AC 5881)

a knowing faculty (scientificum)
a kind of imagination from sight
and hearing (AE 355: 36)



A plane of ideas for termina-
tion arranged first generals then
particulars, then particulars of
particulars, in corp. mem. where
are also added knowledges of
faith, everything in a connected
chain (SD 4037) ultimates of
nat. mind, memory of objects,
material ideas or outmost ves-
sels. (SD2751-5)
                                   Things in natural mind are all scientifics
          thus all cognitions of every kind, thus all
          that belongs to corporeal memory. Internal
          mind flows in and excites things there, and
          "views them with a kind of sight, and in
          this manner judges and forms conclusions."
          (AC 3020)

     The process described is rumination, elevating or bringing up things from the memory, chewing them over again, and meditating upon them, preparing them for digestion and subsequent application and use.

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In this way is formed a plane of ideas, cohering in bundles according to man's affections, judging and forming conclusions as the internal mind flows in and excites and orders the cognitions it finds there.
     We would recall that Egypt stood for centuries relatively aloof from the rest of the ancient world, uninfluenced by the impact of other cultures. Scientifics as raw experiences build the memory. Though never totally without interpretive reference to affections, they are relatively stable and secure. In all the conquests of man for understanding, the bed-rock of experience upon which his as-of-self rests, remains like Egypt unconquered with unmatched durability. Many is the time as we seek to understand life, that we must go down again into Egypt to look once more on what experience itself testifies, and miraculously it always seems to be there with all its worldly reality. But we must also be called out of Egypt. Experience must be raised up and interpreted and the potential interpretations are anything but stable.
     Syria too had great wealth. Straddling the N-S, E-W trade routes of the fertile crescent (map again), she was always desired for her merchandise, and she changed hands again and again, so that there is no real defining of her boundaries or her culture. So too, the wealth of cognitions can change almost overnight, like the new interpretations and panaceas to which young idealistic minds can leap. Standing devotedly for one cause after another is a young mind's way-even as it was Syria's character. Freedom itself rests on the ability to change-to see things in a new light and to order our experience as if of ourselves-to meditate, reflect, ruminate in such a way that we feel the wealth of life, no matter how we understand it, as if it were our own. The general concept of trading and exchanging ideas is brought out clearly in relation particularly to Damascus of Syria.

     Damascus which was a city in Syria signifies the concordant knowing faculty (scientific) and the tradings referred to in this chapter signify the acquisition and communication and also the use of these. Because Damascus signifies the concordant knowing faculty (scientific) it is called a trader in the multitude of all works and riches, works by which uses are effected, signifying cognitions of good and riches, cognitions of truth, and as the cognitions of truth and good are in the natural man, for therein is everything pertaining to cognition and knowing (scientificum et cognitionum) that is perceptible, therefore it is said in the wine of Heshbon. . . .*
     * AE 376:19

     There is then an underlying interpretation in the light of use, an orientation to good or love, a turning of the mind to the spiritual east, which holds the key to spiritual maturity. This gradual shift is brought out in the descriptions on our Third Chart.

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     Chart III

     THOUGHT LOOKING TO USE

Childhood to youth                Youth to early manhood
scientifics serve for use to give      To be of use by means of thought (manifest
          or tacit reflection) (AC 1487; cf. 3982:2)
ability to think, succeed scien-      
tifics for no other end than
knowing                          Scientifics without life of use, wild ass,
          morose, pugnacious (AC 1964:1-2)

                                   science of cognitions with end to serve
          spiritual and celestial things as vessels.
          (AC 1472)

discriminates different delights      begins to see them spiritually;
          discriminates useful
(infancy)                          and non-useful, insight into what is true;
          "that which is useful to him is to him true,
          and that which is useless is not true." (AC
          9103:3)


                                   under nurse and masters, must have goods of
          use as end, even if don't perform them (Char
          129)

external charity and friendship      thought from own understanding (Life 69)

                                   civil and moral good before spiritual (Char
          23, 57)

interior natural, what is           truths and goods of civil and moral life,
          especially
becoming civil law, honorable,      truths and goods of spiritual life from
          hearing and
by studies by parents, and           reading Word. (AC 5126)
by teachers
                              spiritual rational and moral versus merely
          natural rational and moral. (TCR 564)

                                   Good of innocence inflows. From this has
          faculty of knowing, perceiving, reflecting
          upon and understanding moral and civil
          truths and goods in accordance with delight
          of use. Afterward Lord flows in through this
          good into truths of doctrine of church and
          calls from memory things of service to use
          of life. (AC 9296:3)

     Mental merchandising can lead either to spiritual avarice or to use. Too much of today's work with the young makes rumination the end rather than the means. Yet the acquisition of merely natural mental wealth leads to the perverted representation of Syria as an enemy of Israel, looking downward and outward, with the rational acting as a mere confirmer of what the sensual man in falsity and evil desires.*
     * Cf. AE 559:8
     But affirmation and use are the key to the development of genuine wealth from the mental market-place of youth. To do this there must be deep ties to the spirit of confidence and trust that were sown in earlier states. The following passage summarizes much of the representation:

246




     That by Syria in general are signified the cognitions of good was shown above*; but specifically, by Aram Naharaim (that is Syria of the rivers) are signified the cognitions of truth.** In this case, however, it is not said that he went to Aram or Syria, but to the land of the sons of the east, in order to signify what is treated of in this chapter (Jacob's flight) throughout, namely, an ascent to the truths of love. Those truths are called the truths of love which have been elsewhere termed celestial truths, for they are cognitions that relate to charity toward the neighbor and love to the Lord; in the supreme sense in which the Lord is treated of, they are the truths of Divine love.
     * AC 1232, 1234
     ** AC 3051, 3664
     (2) These truths, that relate to charity toward the neighbor and love to the Lord, must be learned before it is possible for a man to be regenerated; and must also be acknowledged and believed; and in so far they are at the same time implanted in the man's natural in which they are as in their own ground. They are first implanted therein through instruction by parents and teachers; next from the Word of the Lord; and afterwards through the man's own reflection about them; but by these means they are merely stored up in the memory of the natural man, being classed among the cognitions therein, but still not acknowledged, believed and ingrafted, unless the life is in accordance with them; for in this case the man comes into affection, and in so far as he comes into affection from life, so far these truths are implanted in his natural as in their ground. The truths which are not thus implanted are indeed with man, but merely in the memory as a matter of mere knowledge (cognitivum) or history, which serves no other purpose than to be talked about and made the means of getting a reputation which is to serve for the acquisition of riches and honors. But in this case these truths are not implanted.
     (3) That by the land of the sons of the east are signified the truths of love, thus the cognitions which tend to good, may be seen from the signification of sons as being truths.* Their land is the ground in which they are. That the sons of the east are those who are in the cognitions of good and truth, and consequently, in the truths of love, may be seen also from other passages in the Word. As in the first book of Kings: The wisdom of Solomon was multiplied more than the wisdom of all the sons of the east, and than all the wisdom of the Egyptians**; where by the wisdom of the sons of the east are signified interior cognitions of truth and good, thus those who are in them; but by the wisdom of the Egyptians is signified the memory knowledge (scientia) of the same, which is in a lower degree.***
     * AC 489, 491, 533, 1147, 2623     
     ** I Kings iv:30
     *** AC 3672:1-3

     Now Syria had profound associations with the Ancient Church. And among the many cognitions a youth ponders, like stars in wonderful patterns upon the night sky, he must be ready to discern a special star which betokens the Advent of the Lord in his life. The sons of the east from Syria represent a pervading sphere of anticipation of spiritual purpose and use, which must provide an underlying stability of hope and promise, no matter how the cognitions of the lower mind change hands. And we must remember that the stars of the heavens must ultimately be seen in their ordered courses or the special star will not be recognized and stand out.

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In time the cognitions of the mind must be so ordered that spiritual truth can find a resting place within the vessels of the natural mind.
     The challenge to moderate the growth of this state through one mental conquest after another, and yet hold alive through a sense of order the confidence in potential use as the wisdom of the Sons of the East, is a beautiful image for those who work with adolescents. Often when the night seems blackest and the signs of hope obscure, spiritual independence is in its natal state. Each one committed to our care is capable of offering precious gifts of love, if they can find their way to the "young child" who is to become their Lord and their God.
     This leads us to our fourth chart which considers the special processes in the state of pre-maturity-analogy and analysis.

     Chart IV

     ANALOGY AND ANALYSIS

Childhood to youth                Youth to early manhood
exterior natural is that which      interior natural is that which communicates with rat.
communicates with senses and           and into which rat. flows. (AC 5118)
through them with world and
thus into which world flows.           Objects from world enter nat. memory
                              through sensuous on one hand, through rat.
                              on other. Separate in memory. Hence the nat.
                              becomes interior and exterior. (AC 5094)

                                    When initiated and appropriated, vanishes
                              from ext. man, passes into rat., puts on
                              human. (AC 3108)

                                   The intellectual grows and increases from
                              infancy to maturity, views things from what
                              belongs to experience and to scientiae; and
                              also views causes from effects; and views
                              consequences in connection with their
                              causes. The comprehension of civic and moral
                              life. Given through light of heaven, to
                              provide freedom. Intellectual itself not                                   till adult. (AC 6125)

exterior natural, composes           conclusions as to causes, thought from
                              interior natural rising above senses but
ideas from things of sense           still in nature. Later reasons from things
                              of interior natural, thus intellectual or
                              immaterial ideas. Previous material ideas of
                              both naturals partake of world from senses.
                              (AC 5497)

                                   in person, not thing itself (AC 10225)
                              person to essence, therefore material.
                              (AR 611)

perception from sensuous           in exterior thought from causes which exist
                              in world, perception then is from interior
                              nat. Rat. flows in but not with any life of
                              affection. (AC 5141)

                                   Spir. Church are interior nat.; only
                              acknowledge as truth what received from
                              parents and masters and afterward confirmed
                              in themselves. True because confirmed in
                              themselves. (AC 6240)

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                              confirmation of what is taught, easy only
                              requires ingenuity. (AC 5432:2)
                              (cf. AC 6500)

                              In things purely rat., moral, and spir.,
                              truths are seen from light of truth itself,
                              provided man from a right education somewhat
                              rational, moral, and spiritual. Spiritual
                              light in its essence is Divine truth of
                              Lord's Divine wisdom. From this it is that
                              man can think analytically, can form
                              conclusions about what is just and right in
                              judicial affairs, can see what is honorable
                              in moral life and good in spiritual life,
                              and many other truths, which are sunk in
                              darkness only by confirmed falsities.
                              (DLW 317)

                              internal of nat. constituted of conclusions
                              drawn analytically and analogically from
                              things in ext. yet drawn and deduced from
                              senses. Through things analogical and
                              analytical communicates with rat. (AC 4570)

                              Those who from interior insight consult
                              scientifics see confirmations "if in no
                              other way still by correspondence." (AC
                              4760) First rat. Through experience of
                              senses reflection upon civic and moral life
                              by means of sciences and reasonings.
                              Comparatively material in corporeal memory
                              yet cognitions of spir. Things from doctrine
                              of faith or from the Word. For interior
                              intellectual sight, "semblance of such
                              things presented by comparison or
                              analogically." (AC 2657:2)

     Before taking up analysis and analogy in a little more detail, let's look back at scientifics and cognitions; meditation, reflection, and rumination; and looking to use. Cognitions, being higher than scientifics, have a quality of reaching upwards to a higher level for interpretation or understanding. They are ordered in such a way as to form a plane of reception. This plane is open to influx from spiritual things because it corresponds. We want to home in on these three qualities. (slide 5)

     (a) reach upwards (degrees)
     (b) an ordered plane (order)
     (c) open to influx (correspondence)

     These qualities are intrinsic to functions we have already looked at. For example, cognitions in relation to scientifics involve degrees. Meditation and reflection involve a similar reaching upwards, and rumination involves a lifting up, an ordering and disposition for reception of thought and affection.

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Meditation, reflection and rumination also involve an openness to influx of higher or more interior things.
     We note too that looking to spiritual uses involves a reaching upwards. It includes civil and moral life's being ordered and disposed to receive what is spiritual so that use can inflow and call all lower things to its service and life. This can only be accomplished where lower things correspond or are open to the influx as effects are open to their causes.

     How does analogical thought reach up, form an ordered plane, and open the mind to influx?
     The ability of the mind to see distinct objects in a parallel relationship (analogically) is critical to reaching upwards, to seeing series and steps in any thought-process. In such an ordered relationship the lower plane takes on meaning and the upper takes on reality. The higher is seen as the inflowing cause of the other. The degrees of the natural mind itself can be seen through such analogical thought.
     The analogical thought process can indeed be dead-ended and merely serve the desires of the natural man. But it was not ordained that it be so. We read:

     The human rational-that namely which has its birth (natura, read by the translator as natum) from worldly things through impressions of sense, and afterwards from analogies of worldly things by means of scientifics and cognitions-is ready to laugh and mock if told that it does not live of itself, but only appears to live so; and that one lives the more, that is, the more wisely and intelligently, and the more blissfully and happily, the less he believes that he lives of himself; and that this is the life of angels, especially of those who are celestial, and inmost, or nearest to the Lord; for they know that no one lives of himself except Jehovah alone, that is, the Lord.*
     * AC 2564:3

     If then, the mind reaches up and is open, through comparisons and analogies, it is trained to see and look for fundamental relationships which imply use and purpose. First it ponders natural harmonies. But then, as it ruminates upon their order, and as it opens affirmatively to the Word, it is more and more confronted with that greatest of all parallels within the human grasp, the correspondence of the spiritual to the natural.
     In this way, step-by-step, the mind is led from the concrete to the abstract. Finally a bridge is so built that the corresponding spiritual plane becomes real and clear because of its relationship to the concreteness of natural experience. This sight inspires a living response. Thus with the consent of the will man feels a sense of harmony and belonging which is the very balm of the soul, and is so much a part of the quest of the college years.

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Reaching out to one area of experience after another, the mind can then discover use and purpose, because cause is seen on high in a clear and ordered relationship to experience itself.
     Thus analogical thought hones the mind for spiritual thought from cause, which does not rest until it can give purpose and meaning to each man's own human life.
     And how does analysis reach up, form an ordered plane, and open the mind to influx? Useless analytics, called metaphysics and logic, are clear contrasts to the genuine analysis which the Writings describe.* Scientifics reaching upwards to cognitions and thence to truths, stand in sharp contradiction to mere argument from terms, because they presuppose order and cause. Thought from the eye, looking for prior causes only in the time sequence or as a spacial relationship, never really rising above the world of effects, closes the mind. But reason is a good and faithful servant if we call on it to form a plane of thought analytically so that experience is ordered into a plane that reflects and responds to eternal and revealed purposes. Like the two great rivers, Euphrates and Jordan, the great thought processes of the human mind flow from the heights to application, not the reverse. Yet Syria as it were attains its strength and influence, through acquisition, through far-ranging trade-"mental merchandising."
     * Cf. AC 3348, et al
     In this connection consider the following four brief quotations and particularly their impact on human thought.
     "All things of human thought and thence of human speech are analytical, the laws of which are from the spiritual world."*
     * AC 4658
     "Man's spiritual light is the light of his understanding and the objects of that light are truths, which he arranges analytically into groups, forms into reasons, and from them draws conclusions in series."*
     * HH 130
     "There is no end to wisdom, as its source is no other than Divine truths analytically distributed into forms by means of light flowing in from the Lord."*
     * TCR 350
     (After explaining that things spiritual and natural in the mind are arranged into bundles to confirm Divine truths) "unless there were such an arrangement of substances in the human mind, man would possess no ability to reason analytically, which everyone has according to this arrangement, thus according to his supply of truths cohering as it were in a bundle; and the arrangement is in accord with his use of reason from freedom."*
     * TCR 351e
     This is the mind that must be trained level-by-level, apparently from without, yet according to the influx of the heavens from within.

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     Inquiry and discipline! Reaching upward and ordered! Always open to that spiritual light so uniquely uncovered from things heard and seen! Reaching upwards that it may flow downwards.
     Our disciplines whatever they are can never be an end in themselves, any more than analytical thought can. The purpose is a correspondential relationship between the spiritual and the natural. This is the relationship which mirrors the union of the Divine and the Human in the Lord, and makes our God visible to finite man. This is the genuine spirit behind human inquiry-the key to openness and freedom.
     Let us then order, train, and discipline the minds in our charge. But in doing so reflect upon the following:

     It is indeed good and truth that bring into order each and all things in the natural mind; for they flow in from within and thus arrange them. One who does not know how the case is with man's intellectual faculty, and how man can mentally view things, perceive them, think analytically, draw conclusions thence, and at last pass them over to the will, and through the will into act, sees nothing to wonder at in these things; he supposes that all things flow naturally in this way, being quite unaware that they are one and all from influx through heaven from the Lord, and that without this influx a man could not think at all, and that when the influx ceases so does everything of thought. So neither does he know that the good flowing in through heaven from the Lord brings all things into order, and in so far as the man allows, forms them after the image of heaven, and that from this the thought flows agreeably to the heavenly form. The heavenly form is that form into which the heavenly societies are brought into order, and they are brought into order in accordance with the form that is induced by the good and truth that proceed from the Lord.*
     * AC 5288 EDUCATIONAL COUNCIL 1979

EDUCATIONAL COUNCIL       Louis B. King       1979

     The General Church Educational Council will hold its 1979 meetings at the Immanuel Church in Glenview, Illinois from August 20-23. This is the first time in our history that these meetings will be held outside of Bryn Athyn. In addition to members of the Educational Council, all New Churchmen active in the work of education are encouraged to attend. For housing or additional information, please communicate with Mrs. Philip Horigan, 50 Park Drive, Glenview, Illinois 60025.
     Louis B. King,
     Bishop

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TOWARD GENUINE LANGUAGE 1979

TOWARD GENUINE LANGUAGE       J. DURBAN ODHNER       1979

     This contribution began as a response to the Rev. Douglas Taylor's reaction (Feb. 1979) to the Rev. Stephen Cole's article (Nov. 1978) on the Revised Standard Version, but has grown into a review of some aspects of the problem of language in the church. The problem centers around the question, What is genuine language?
     The opposite of genuine is artificial, contrived, false. The word is derived from the same origin as natuval (from the Latin gigno, "to beget, cause to be born"). Doctrine of genuine truth is said to be that truth which is naked in the sense of the letter of the Word,* i.e. apparent without unfolding or interpretation, through which man can be enlightened, led and regenerated directly by the Lord. It is truth immediately evident to one reading the Word with reverence.
     * Cf. SS 55, DeV 10:7, AE 778:6
     In relation to language, the term "genuine" also concerns what is immediately evident. Language that requires interpretation for the recipient is not genuine. So to use genuine language is to use language that is not strange to the recipient. The imposition of characteristics foreign to the recipient is called in linguistics "interference;" and when this interference regards imported words or structures, it is called an "-ism," such as "Germanism," or such as "archaicism" or "Latinism": two interferences that will be discussed here.

Archaicism

     While agreeing with many things in Mr. Cole's article analyzing the relative merits of the RSV and KJV Bible translations, I wonder whether its author would go all the way with Mr. Taylor's thoughts. In the first place, although it may give a sense of security to hold to the old translation (there being no real alternative other than RSV in the absence of a New Church translation), it should be recognized that attempts to re-translate the Bible are not necessarily draconic, but may represent new thrusts of the Divine Providence for the enlightenment of mankind, and embody lifetimes of study and labor.
     Secondly, Mr. Taylor's objections about the use of the second person pronouns appears to me exaggerated.

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While the manner in which the archaic and modern forms are used in RSV may have proceeded from obscurity in the mind of the translators regarding the Lord's Divinity, there is in fact no important semantic distinction between those two forms. And in view of the very obscurity on this question inherent in the letter of the New Testament itself, this minor incongruity can hardly qualify as a "nail in the coffin" of RSV.
     It is intended that Divine worship should be conducted in genuine language, that of the people. In the early times of the Christian Church that language was Latin in many areas; but in the course of time, as the common language changed, the clergy failed to adapt to that change and continued to say masses in a "language apart."*
     * See SD 5030, 5218
     Two or three centuries ago, the now archaic forms of the second person, as well as numerous other words now obsolete, were genuine, natural or everyday English language and formed no barrier for the understanding of the common man. But since then, another "language apart" has been developing in the church. And even many "more intelligent" people are persuaded that greater sanctity is contained in the archaic forms such as those used to address the Lord,* than in the contemporary forms; whereas the truth is that because the Lord wills to be approached directly and in naturalness (as opposed to artificialness), greater sanctity is expressed when the Lord is addressed as "You," because it brings Him closer, in the mind of the English-speaking supplicant, than "Thou."
     * "Thou," "thee," etc. in English are not comparable to the formal pronouns in some European languages, such as French vous, German Sie; moreover, these languages use the familiar form in addressing the Deity.
     The imagined sanctity of archaic language is the kind of "tradition of men" the Lord Himself condemned* and that they seem so loath to abandon in favor of simple truth. Falsity has power because it persuades, so that it is felt to be truth and can therefore join ranks with truths in the mind, like hypocrites that sometimes insinuate themselves into heavenly societies.** There are many under the persuasion of the falsity that archaic language contains more holiness than contemporary, as there are many persuaded by the falsity that the use of bigger and more sophisticated words bespeaks greater intelligence.
     * Mark 7:7-8
     ** See HH 48
     If archaicisms are indeed an artificial impediment to the flow of truth, there must be no limit on the speed with which they are to be abandoned in the church. The tendency to delay, to perpetuate non-genuine language-even to add to it in new ritual and prayer written in the same archaic style-can only be explained as a result of obscurity regarding this fundamental truth: that the Lord spoke genuine language to fishermen, shepherds, the multitudes, and even the learned; and intends to speak it to us, and for us to speak it to Him, as well as to each other.

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     A categoric rejection of this RSV translation should be sensed as equally dangerous as a categoric acceptance of it-in a way, even more dangerous. Serious thinking on the subject can only lead us to feel more keenly the need for a new translation,* the achievement of which will only be possible on the basis of a profound appreciation for whatever scholarly productions Providence has seen fit to provide to the world.
     * A worthy groundwork in this direction is the new translation of the Pentateuch (Five Books of Moses), published by the General Conference of the New Church, London, 1970. (See a review of this in New Church Life, Nov., 1912, by the Rev. N. Bruce Rogers.)
     Swedenborg, while he preferred the Schmidt Latin translation to that of Castalio (Castellio), nevertheless made use of both, and ultimately abandoned both. In the New Church likewise, both these English versions are useful; and if a minister does his homework before stepping up to the lectern, he should be able to read the lessons in accurate, living and genuine language, even if he does not know Hebrew, Greek or Latin.

Latinism

     Translations of the New Word, and consequently clerical languages in general, are beset with Latinisms-a natural result of the fact that it was written in Latin. But for the same reason, many words remain essentially untranslated, i.e., not transformed to take on the substantive qualities of the English language.
     The same kind of traditionalism just referred to makes it almost impossible to convey to the understanding of the "more intelligent" the wrongness of much of this language or, in a word, what translation really is. A quite unconscious, partly inherited, intellectual sophistry, causes people to feel an upliftedness from the use of words that are less natural to our own language: "gratitude" for "thankfulness," "virile" for "manly," "infernal" for "hellish," "diabolical" for "devilish," "celestial" for "heavenly," "corporeal" for "bodily," etc., etc.
     The Rev. George Dole, from an impelling sense of the need, has produced a translation of Heaven and Hell* which could be characterized as so innovative that it could easily be "killed" by any New Church doctrinarian. One could even "add another nail to the coffin" by quoting his rendering of peregrina as "tourist" or qui in bone as "those involved in good," or a number of other innovative items such as "community" instead of "society;" but my attitude toward Dr. Dole's work is, that believe Providence has embarked him on a course along which he, but a pioneer, is seeking to translate, or put a post-classical Latin text into contemporary language, the language of the recipient.
     * Swedenborg Foundation, 1976.

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     * * * * *

     An important aspect of the problem of a "language apart" developed from archaicisms and Latinisms is the effects of such language on the uninitiated, especially on children. Part of it is illustrated in natural children's interpretations of archaic or unnatural church-lingo that goes over their heads. A gentlemen in England once wrote to the editor of his newspaper:

"Sir,
     Paul Jennings in his Christmas competition suggested that his typewriter has invented the word 'smake.' This word is, however, already in existence, being 'Sunday-schoolese' for some article of diet (the child said it might be 'a kind of little steak'). It occurs, according to the child, in the hymn:

     The Lord, ye know, is God indeed;
     Without our aid, He did a smake.*
     We are His flock, He doth us feed,
     And for His sheep He did a steak."**
          * "us make"     
          ** "us take"

     While humorous, such interpretations are not uncommon or unreal. As a child, I had a most vivid picture of a kind of little bear the Lord held to His bosom, well recorded in a hymn with the line, ". . . His little lambs His bosom bears."* To punctuate the need to review and renew the language of hymns, consider the possible interpretations of this one:
     * In First Songs for Little Children, published by the General Church in 1957, this line was altered.

     Little lamb, who made thee,
     Lost [dust?] thou know who made thee?
     Gave thee life and bade [bad?] thee feed
     By the stream and o'er [and/or?] the mead [?];
     Gave thee clothing of delight [uvdy + light?],*
     Softest clothing woolly bright,
     Gave thee such aa tender [!] voice,
     Making all the vales [veils?] rejoice . . .
          * Our almost six-year-old daughter explained, "lovely light."

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for which a contemporary English translation, or rather, revision might go something like:

     Little lamb, who* made you?
     Do you know who made you?
     Gave you life and let you eat
     Food of greens and water sweet;
     Gave you clothing snowy white,
     Softest clothing, woolly bright,
     Gave you such a gentle voice,
     Making hills and fields rejoice . . .
          * To assure the interpretation of "who" as interrogative rather than relative, the note on which it is sung should be raised from G to B or C (preferably C, which, because of its correspondence with natural intonation, would make the clause definitely a question).

     This morning in Church I noticed one line of a Psalm to which a child would no doubt give an interesting interpretation:

     ". . . but they that seek the Lord shall not want any good [thing]." (Psalm 34:10)

     Sunday-school teachers should apply themselves to an intensive study of children's language; in fact, in-depth linguistics courses ought to be developed on this subject for the theological school. Child-language has a natural, not a rational quality; yet the clergy seem habitually to ignore this verity, leaning strongly toward abstract conceptions that do not belong to the state of a child's thought, and terminologies that do not belong to a child's vocabulary (or should not); such as "represents" (stands for), "signifies" (means), "rationality" (thinking power), "remains" (there is absolutely no child-language equivalent),* "doctrine" (teaching), etc., etc.
     * To speak about "remains" to a child is like asking someone to remember something he is just now in the process of experiencing for the first time, or to do something he is now already in the process of doing, or like telling little children they should be like little children.
     In conclusion: rather than speaking of killing and burying, where valuable new interpretations of meanings are involved-and refusing burial to words that are long dead, or have never lived-we need to recognize the burning need for a Doctrine of Genuine Language, and thence for all the constructive renewal and adaptation we can possibly bring into practice-starting now.

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GENERAL CHURCH ANNUAL REPORTS CORPORATION MEMBERSHIP 1979

GENERAL CHURCH ANNUAL REPORTS CORPORATION MEMBERSHIP       Various       1979

     During the year 1978 the number of persons comprising the membership of the Corporation increased to 457. The changes in membership consisted of:

21 New Members:

Alden, Glenn Graham               Frazier, Robert M.
Asplundh, Edward Boyd, Jr.               Gruber, Spence W.
Barnett, Wendel R.                Keith, Brian W.
Bown, Christopher D.               Lynch, Christopher W.
Brown, Warren P.                Odhner, Jeremy
Childs, Walter                    Pitcairn, Cameron C.
Cole, Stephen D.                    Smith, Larkin W.
Conaron, David Robert               Stewart, Warren
Echols, John Clark, Jr.               Stroud, Robert C.
Fornander, Gustav                Svensson, Stig
Fornander, Rune

2 Deaths of Members:

Cooper, John F.                         Soderberg, Arthol E.

1 Member Resigned:

Norman, Michael

     DIRECTORS

     The By-Laws of the Corporation provide for election of thirty Directors, ten of whom are elected each year for terms of three years. The Board presently consists of thirty Directors. At the 1978 Annual Meeting ten Directors were elected for terms expiring in 1981. The present Directors, with the dates their terms expire, are as follows:

1981 Asplundh, E. Boyd                     1979 Elder, Bruce E.
1980 Asplundh, Edward K.                     1981 Fuller, Kent B.
1981 Bellinger, Walter H.                     1979 Gyllenhaal, Leonard E.
1979 Brickman, Theodore W., Jr.               1980 Hill, Stanley D.
1980 Bruser, Henry B., Jr.                     1979 Hyatt, Wynne S.
1981 Buick, William W.                     1980 Junge, James F.
1981 Campbell, David H.                     1980 King, Louis B.
1979 Childs, Alan D.                         1979 Lindsay, Alexander H.
1981 Cooper, Geoffrey                         1981 Mayer, Paul C. P.
1981 Cooper, George M.                     1979 Morley, H. Keith

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1980 Parker, Richard                         1981 Smith, Gordon B.
1979 Pitcairn, Garth                         1980 Smith, Robert A.
1919 Rose, John W.                              1979 Walter, Robert E.
1980 Sellner, Jerome V.                         1980 Williamson, Walter L.
1981 Simons, S. Brian                         1980 Zecher, Robert F.

     Lifetime honorary members of the Board:

DeCharms, George
Pendleton, Willard D.                    

     OFFICERS

     The Corporation has five Officers, each of whom is elected yearly for a term of one year. Those elected at the Board meeting of March 10, 1978 were:

President                         King, Louis B.
Vice President                    Pendleton, Willard D.
Secretary                         Pitcairn, Stephen
Treasurer                         Gyllenhaal, Leonard E.
Controller                         Fuller, Bruce A.

     CORPORATION MEETINGS

     The 1978 Annual Corporation meeting was held at Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, on March 10, this being the only Corporation meeting held during the year. The President, Bishop King, presided, and there were 73 members in attendance. Reports were received from the Nominating Committee, the Treasurer, the Secretary, and the election for Directors was held.
     Bishop King stated that in recognition of Bishop Willard D. Pendleton's leadership and faithful service to the General Church of the New Jerusalem, he recommended that the members of the Corporation elect the Right Reverend Willard D. Pendleton, Bishop Emeritus of the General Church, an Honorary Life Member of the Board of Directors. The Corporation unanimously approved the recommendation.
     The Reverend Harold Cranch gave an informative and interesting talk on Church Extension work in the Midwestern District. He reviewed the work done in the past and evaluated the response to this early missionary work. He outlined his approach to extension work and the various tools used, such as radio, television interviews, newspaper ads and mailings. He concluded his remarks by explaining how new responses were handled and outlined the goals his Extension Committee hoped to achieve.

     BOARD MEETINGS

     The Board of Directors held four meetings during 1978, the President presiding at all of them. The average attendance of Directors was 24 with a maximum of 27 and a minimum of 21.
     The regular Board of Directors meeting and the Organization meeting of the Board was held in March, followed later in the year by Board meetings in May and October.
     Mr. Gyllenhaal reported on studies that had been made during the past year on the business and financial operations of the General Church. Continuing studies are being made with the cooperation of the Academy with the view of possibly combining certain operations if it proved to be feasible and more economical.

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In addition, these earlier studies did take into consideration the physical space needs of the Treasurer's office and the business operations of the General Church. One of the major results of these earlier studies was the determination that Cairncrest should be the headquarters office of the General Church for the foreseeable future. The Board of Directors subsequently approved alterations that would fireproof the two stair wells, making use of the second floor of Cairncrest possible by conforming with the requirements of the Department of Labor and Industry and the Fire Code. A Committee has been appointed to study allocation of space and assignment of rooms to various uses. A second Committee is responsible for the redecoration of the interior of the building.
     In March, Mr. Gyllenhaal reported on his and Bishop King's trip to South Africa and talks with officials of the South African Mission and the South African Government. A five-year plan presented by Mr. Gyllenhaal, whereby the Mission would be converted into an independent African Church under the supervision of the Bishop's office, was approved by the Board. At a later Board meeting in October, Mr. Gyllenhaal stated that the new five-year plan was working extremely well. The Reverend Norman Riley has been warmly accepted by the natives and the Church is pleased with the overall program.
     Bishop King reported at the May meeting that Theodore Brickman had been appointed to Chair a Special Committee to consider the Academy's proposition to employ a development officer. He said that one of the principal duties of the development officer would be fund raising for the Academy and as this could cause difficulties with fund raising by the other Church organizations, the Committee suggested that fund raising activities of the General Church and its Societies and Circles, as defined by the General Church Board, be added to the development officer's responsibilities. The development officer would report to the Bishop through the Joint Financial Committee in respect to all fund raising functions for any body of the General Church or Academy. The Board approved in principle the concept of a development officer and asked the Bishop to see that the General Church was represented on a Committee formed to search for a development officer for the Academy. Mr. Robert Walter, Chairman of a Special Nominating Committee, reported in May that the Committee had nominated Paul C. P. Mayer of Durban, South Africa, to fill the unexpired term of Robert D. Merrell on the Board of Directors. Mr. Merrell resigned from the Board earlier in the year due to his recent move to Detroit, which was adequately represented on the Board. Mr. Mayer was unanimously elected. Bishop King reported the Board is continuing to study the communications, printing, and publishing needs of the General Church. The Committee will study the application of data processing to these and other uses of the General Church. Bishop King further reported on his planned visit to Scandinavia in the summer of 1979. The Treasurer will accompany him on the visit.
     During several of the Board meetings, the Directors heard reports from various members of the Finance Committee. The Committee is presently involved with planning in Kitchener, Detroit and Glenview. They are also considering affirmatively an application from Atlanta for the establishment of a Church center in that area. Early in the year, Bishop King reported that he had appointed a Budget Committee from the Board of Directors, which would involve short and long range planning and an annual budget with revisions during the year.

     Regular reports were received from the Pension Committee, Salary Committee, Investment Committee, Orphanage Committee, Mortgage Committee, etc.
     Respectively submitted,
          STEPHEN PITCAIRN,
               SECRETARY

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     TREASURER'S REPORT

     A review of the accompanying financial statements for 1978 highlights an exceptionally active year for the General Church Corporation.

     As can be seen, General Fund revenues increased by $63,000, 7.8 %, to a record $872,917. This was due largely to a $43,000 increase in unrestricted contributions. Again last year a great deal of effort went into promoting the expansion of Church uses and the financial needs of the Corporation. For the second year in a row the response has been substantial-this time $21,000 above our goal. The following analysis, however, shows that 78% of total contributions came from only 7% of the donors, and it remains a matter of concern that so many do not recognize the importance of the General Church or financially support its uses.

                         1978                    1977
Category               No.     Amount          No.     Amount
$1-$99               511     $11,739          486     $9,132
$100-$499               171     29,209          151     25,163
$500-$999               24     16,361          23     16,422
Total                    706     57,309          660     50,717
$1,000-$4,999          37     79,264          37     83,916
$5,000-over               16     121,597          8     79,890
Gorand Total               759     $258,170          705     $214,523
                    7% gave 78%               6% gave 76%

     Although we are still dependent on a small number of large contributors to carry the load, we are grateful to all of the 759 contributors who made the program a success.
     Operating expenditures last year increased by an unprecedented $130,000, or 18%, above the previous year to an all-time high of $846,000. This, however, was not unexpected and did include over $47,000 in pastoral and travel expenses that were covered by special funds for the purpose. As part of the four-year program of expanded uses we anticipated expenditures of this magnitude, although the budget was exceeded by nearly $20,000. Increases occurred in almost every category of the budget. Support of pastoral and educational salaries was much higher due to new members of the clergy; expanded translation and Church extension work was more expensive; and particularly, escalating employee benefits' costs rose by $46,000, or 37%, over the previous year. The cost of medical insurance continues to soar uncontrolled and alone accounted for nearly 6% of the budget.
     Nevertheless, as planned, the final result was a surplus sufficient to transfer $60,000 to the Development Fund and $7,480 to a reserve for new data processing equipment and other equipment replacement, leaving a balance of $540.
     Once again the Corporation received substantial gifts and bequests to capital in 1978, totaling over half of a million dollars. These came from the following:

     Glencairn Foundation                    $180,058
     Cairncrest Foundation                     65,000
     Harder Foundation                     150,000
     Pitcairn Families                         113,377

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     Estate of Albert Anderson               10,822
     Estate of Phyllis Cooper               28,962
     Estate of Nathan Pitcairn               9,616
          Total                          $557,835

     These gifts and bequests which have been received in increasing amounts each year are important to the future growth of the Church. Last year they provided some of the funds that enabled the Finance Committee to make development grants and loans to societies exceeding $556,000.
     Our biggest single source of income, of course, comes from the New Church Investment Fund (N.C.I.F.). Last year the fund performed well, earning more income than was paid out and yielding over $671,200 to all the funds of the Corporation.
     With a rapidly expanding budget and the growing complexities of disbursing funds, it has become necessary to develop improved budgeting procedures and controls. Last year a new Budget Committee of the Board was appointed to administer this aspect of the Corporation's financial operations and considerable time was devoted to preparing a manual, outlining budgeting procedures.
     These are perilous financial times in which we operate; and, to preserve our resources to meet commitments in the unknown future, we must plan very carefully as new uses are initiated and expanded, and operate within a financial plan.
     Respectfully submitted,
          L. E. GYLLENHAAL,
               TREASURER

     STATEMENT OF GENERAL FUND REVENUES, EXPENDITURES, AND OTHER CHANGES

     Years ended December 31, 1978 and 1977

                                   1978                    1977
REVENUES

Gifts and Grants
Regular                    $258,170               $214,523
Special                    24,062     $282,232     32,080     $246,603
Investment Income                         520,426               508,033
Printing and Publishing                    28,358               26,945
Other Income                         41,901               27,843
TOTAL REVENUES                         $872,917               $809,424

EXPENDITURES

Pastoral and Educational Services
Salary Support               $169,263               $136,836
Travel and Office               38,058               41,242
South African Mission          48,378     $255,699     42,808     $220,886
Facilities                              42,424               39,727
Services and Information          
New Church Life               29,918               28,790
Printing and Publishing          49,970               50,524

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Moving                    39,847               16,114
Travel to Meetings          7,693                    8,129
Translation                    32,229               19,726
Miscellaneous               24,986     184,643     16,799     140,082

Administration
Episcopal Office               51,430               50,950
Secretary's Office          11,966               18,295
Financial and Corporate Affairs 62,029     125,425     62,933     132,178

Employee Benefits
Pension Plan               47,334               34,941
Health Plan                    48,455               32,569
Investment Savings          38,694               34,167
Social Security               19,814               15,921
Deferred Compensation          14,245               4,488
Workmen's Compensation          2,415          170,957     2,443          124,529
Church Extension                         35,425               22,671
Other Expenditures                    31,864               36,084
Total Expenditures                    $846,437               $716,157
Transfer (to) Development Fund          (60,000)               (60,000)
Transfer (from) Clergy Travel Fund          7,693                    8,129
Transfer (to) from Reserve for Moving     33,847               (30,000)
Transfer (to) Other Funds               (7,480)               -
Net Increase from Operations               $540                    $11,396

     Balance Sheets

     December 31, 1978 and 1977

     GENERAL FUND
                                   1978                    1977
Assets
Cash                                   $23,802               $3,678
Investments                              733,154               696,842
Accounts Receivable                    108,992               165,390
Inventory, at lower of cost or market     56,515               49,661
Prepaid Expense                         20,151               32,195
Due from Other Funds                    2,563                    2,563
Buildings and Grounds                    85,214               85,214
Equipment                              40,016               -
Loans to Employees                    52,655               63,037
Total Assets                         $1,123,062               $1,098,580

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Liabilities and Fund Balances
Accounts Payable                         $14,624               $29,611
Agency Accounts                         83,935               37,617
Fund Balances
Restricted                              98,732               122,296
Unrestricted                         925,771               909,056
Total General Funds                    $1,123,062               $1,098,580

     ENDOWMENT AND SIMILAR FUNDS

Assets
Cash                                   $80,825               $(45,255)
Investments - NCIF                    6,019,672               6,115,297

     Other Securities                    1,159,825               $815,176
Total Assets                         $7,260,322               $6,885,218

Liabilities and Fund Balances
Fund Balances
True endowment - unrestricted               $1,495,062               $1,405,052
True endowment - restricted               402,907               382,765
Term endowment                         270,590               262,672
Quasi endowment - unrestricted          4,677,662               4,467,723
Quasi endowment - restricted               414,101               367,006
Total Endowment and Similar Funds          $7,260,322               $6,885,218

     OTHER FUNDS
Assets
Cash                                   $222,526               $347,483
Investments - NCIF                    2,414,203               $2,155,128
     Other                              155,058               195,026
Loans to Societies                    415,839               354,636
Total Assets                         $3,207,626               $3,052,273

Liabilities and Fund Balances
Fund Balances
Development Fund                         $1,200,677               $1,330,928
Pension Fund                         1,276,696               1,103,601
Investment Savings Fund                    408,617               352,367

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Council Meetings Travel Fund               123,515               110,086
Miscellaneous Funds                    198,121               155,291
Total Other Funds                         $3,207,626               $3,052,273
TOTAL ALL FUNDS                         $11,591,010               $11,036,071

     NEW CHURCH LIFE

     For the fourth time since the death of the Rev. W. Cairns Henderson in 1974, the editorship of New Church Life changed hands in 1978. The Rev. Morley D. Rich continued to serve as editor through the month of August, 1978. Beginning in July, he began to coach me in my new editorial duties, and though I officially assumed the post of acting editor in September, several subsequent issues of Life were still mostly the work of Mr. Rich.
     As part-time (supposedly one-third time; actually, much more) acting editor, my duties since September have included those of:

a. proof reader (reading for spelling and punctuation mistakes, etc.)
b. copy reader (a very different job: reading for sense)
c. paginator (measuring galley proofs for page layouts, finding appropriate fillers, etc.)
d. browbeater of possible contributors (ministerial and lay)
e. collector of official notices
f. secretary (in addition to help, when available, from Mrs. Don Fitzpatrick, part-time Theological School secretary)
g. miserable typist
h. confusor of minor financial matters
i. errand boy, running to and from Bethayres Post Office.

     It is my sincere hope that during the coming year, as I become more familiar with the chores involved in these jobs, I will also be able to undertake some actual editorial work.
     My sincere thanks to Mrs. Don Merrell for her efficient volunteer work as proofreader, and to Miss Beryl Briscoe, official "indexer" for Life (for which she receives a small honorarium). Without thorough indices, both annual and cumulative, Life would be almost worthless to present and future students in the Church.
     ORMOND ODHNER,
          ACTING EDITOR.

     EXTENSION COMMITTEE

     This is the first report of a full-time Chairman of the Extension Committee. As such it represents a landmark in the history of the General Church. At last the long cherished dream of having a priest devoting his full time to this us commanded by the Lord has become a reality-as from September 1, 1978.
     In the past year we have continued developing existing activities and initiating several new ones. The Bookstore Program is continuing to expand slowly.

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The effort to donate copies of the Writings to libraries was not only continued but in the Bryn Athyn Epsilon Society it was considerably increased. Its sub-committee on library distribution has now donated books to all the libraries in Bucks County and Montgomery County. A great deal of expertise has been developed by means of this effort.
     The Chairman has continued to make visits to various societies of the Church bringing news of the Extension Committee and receiving in return news of local activities. Societies visited included Los Angeles, the San Diego Circle, Caryndale, Toronto and Washington, D.C.
     We have continued to give what help we can to receivers of the Writings in Ghana, West Africa. There are some very sincere receivers of the Writings in Ghana, but also some charlatans with no interest in the Writings who would sell any books or tapes we sent them.
     As far as The White Horse Societies on college campuses are concerned, we can report only individual activities. We have supplied materials to a New Church student at West Chester State College and to another one at Oberlin College. The Academy White Horse Society has only recently been revived.
     In addition to the ongoing activities there are several new ones to report. For example, the Committee found it necessary to resort to Project Groups in order to accomplish needed research. Mr. Hugh Gyllenhaal of Bryn Athyn, a business consultant, organized these groups over a six-month period. Their final reports covered such subjects as Finding Seekers, Interesting the Neighborhood, Our Introductory Literature, The Media, Talking to People about the Church, and A Layman's Manual of Evangelization. These reports are available from the Committee. In setting its priorities the Committee decided to focus on the matter of training people to talk interestingly about the Church. Accordingly, a new Project Group was formed in October focusing on this activity.
     We also see the need to follow up on the work of the group that examined our literature. It is imperative that we have available a variety of material for enquirers. A standing-committee is in process of being formed to work on this project. The development of the first New Church radio station in the world in the Glenview Society is of considerable interest to the Committee. We have helped when requested, but expect to learn a great deal in return from this new enterprise. In Glenview also the Rev. Harold Cranch is devoting half his time to evangelization. His Epsilon Society has combed through a list of some thirteen hundred names dating back to the 50's, all of them people who have at some time requested literature. By offering to send them a monthly sermon he culled one hundred and four affirmative responses. To this list he has added over twenty new names from the recent monthly newspaper advertising campaign. News of this inspired the Bryn Athyn Epsilon Society to do the same, with the result that so far forty-nine people are on the mailing list. The Extension Committee has undertaken to print suitable sermons for any Epsilon Society wishing to participate. The result has been encouraging.
     Another new venture is the Speakers' Bureau, a sub-committee headed by Mr. Robert Heinrichs. Its aim is first, to co-ordinate and publicize the efforts of speakers who for some time have been speaking to various outside groups; and second, to expand our efforts by training new speakers.
     Mr. Leon Rhodes has spearheaded and chaired a sub-committee devoted to making our literature available to the blind and handicapped by means of tapes. We now have twenty-seven receivers of this material.

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     There has been a steady increase in free publicity. We took advantage of the auctioning of Swedenborg's skull to publicize the Church by submitting material to national magazines and newspapers. But to an increasing degree pastors are realizing how easy it is to make the Church better known by means of news releases, letters to the Editor, interviews, reports of speaking engagements-even a book review of the Dole translation of Heaven and Hell.
     News of these and other activities are reported in our quarterly publication, the Missionary Memo. This also contains suggestions for priests and laymen in the field of evangelization.
     The New Church Theatre Project has come under the wing of the Extension Committee. Under the able and enthusiastic leadership of Mrs. Martin Echols a very successful New Church Film Festival was organized at the Cathedral as part of the New Church Day celebration. One of the most valuable results was the gathering together of New Church films from several sources. These now constitute the Film Library, administered by the New Church Theatre Project.
     A plea was made during the year for questions considered difficult to answer. The response was good from the clergy but surprisingly meager from the laity.
     The Chairman presented a course on Evangelization to the theological school, and has begun a similar though adapted non-credit course to a small group of college students.
     At Bishop King's request the Chairman, in consultation with the Committee, produced a comprehensive report of the hopes and plans of the Extension Committee After reviewing our present activities and organizational structure, the report projects these things into the future. It is now being distributed to all members of the Joint Council.
     A very significant suggestion coming from a member of the Committee has led to a change in our organizational structure; the Chairman has become Director of Evangelization and ex-officio Chairman of the Extension Committee. The purpose of this is to free the Committee from some of the detailed work, to enable the Director to develop a Department of Evangelization, the Committee serving as a consultative and policy-making body.
     Respectively submitted,
          REV. DOUGLAS TAYLOR,
               Chairman

     RELIGION LESSONS

     Having assumed Directorship of General Church Religion Lessons on September 1st, this report necessarily covers only the last third of 1978. However, during this short period, I have come fully to appreciate the importance of this General Church use for our isolated children around the world. It is somewhat difficult to evaluate the success of this use. The lessons are sent out by teachers to their assigned students and the answers returned for correction. The only incentive for younger students to complete their assignments comes from parents and encouraging letters from teachers. So there are many on our enrollment who are slow in responding. But overall, this correspondence school advances students from grade to grade as the year's assignments are completed, and our graduates arrive at the Academy reasonably well-prepared to continue their religious training.

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     The total enrollment in 1978-79 reaches nearly 550 students, including our preschool program and those enrolled as high-school pupils and adults. The Director has assumed the role of teacher for all those students above eighth grade. The following are the statistics of families and individual children enrolled this year:

Pre-School                         (2-year-olds)               51
Pre-School                         (3-year-olds)               42
Pre-School                         (4-year-olds)               45
Kindergarten                    (scattered stories)          31
First Grade                         (scattered stories)          36
Second Grade                    (Genesis)                    34
Third Grade                         (Exodus)                    35
Fourth Grade                    (Joshua and Judges)               31
Fifth Grade                         (I Samuel)                    31
Sixth Grade                         (II Samuel and Kings)          26
Seventh Grade                    (Life of Lord I)               30
Eighth Grade                    (Life of Lord II)               17
Ninth Grade                         (City of God)               11
Tenth Grade                         (New Jerusalem and Its
                              Heavenly Doctrine)          5
Eleventh and Twelfth Grade          (Heaven and Hell)               2
     TOTAL                                                  427

In addition, there are 122 students taking the Religion Lessons under pastors in the field. There is a total of 198 families in the Religion Lessons program.

     Cassette tapes for little children. Under the leadership of Mrs. Douglas Taylor, Chairman of the General Church Music Committee, tapes have been provided for little children that can be distributed through Religion Lessons before they reach the status of the formal Religion Lessons program. Christine Taylor has been most active in the past year collecting the necessary electronic equipment, talented readers and singers for preparing these tapes, and the encouragement from parents so far has been incentive enough for this committee to continue its endeavors.

     Revision work. The previous director, the Rev. B. David Holm, completed revision of the Third Grade lessons before moving on to his new assignment. These are currently being typed and distributed for this age group. However, there is much work yet to be done, and even though slow, it is high on the priority list.

     NEW CHURCH HOME. The new format and thrust for this important monthly publication of the Church established by the previous editor, continues to receive warm and encouraging response from our readers throughout the world. Although its circulation is modest and its scope limited, it still fills the necessary gap in other church publications and warrants its continuation. This use, along with the Religion Lessons, is addressed primarily to our isolated families, the children who do not have benefits from our larger societies. It provides them with a sense of belonging to the total General Church, especially when their contributions of art, poetry and articles are encouraged for publication. The present editor hopes that the standards for this magazine are measuring up to those set by the previous editor.

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     Visual Education. This function, absorbed into the Religion Lessons program, continues to service the needs of pastors in the field, especially at festival occasions, with its growing inventory of slides. The following statistics speak for its usage during the calendar year of 1978:

                         1976               1977               1978
Slide Sets                    37               37               62
Total of slides               881               1,230               1,412
Number of borrowers          23               34               24

     Sunday School Committee. This committee of the Council of the Clergy continues to grow in function and importance. Thanks to many willing laymen and women, it provides many suggestions for isolated families as well as Sunday School programs around the Church under the auspices of a pastor. Monthly newsletters, with new material, are provided by Mrs. Boyd Asplundh; and there is a constant search for new materials from religious supply stores which are suitable for our needs. As chairman of this committee, it is my recommendation that membership be expanded to include the already active laymen and women participating in this important use. Similar to the Extension Committee, the Sunday School program, with a committee appointed by the Bishop, could function more easily on a day-to-day basis here at Cairncrest if its members were officially recognized.

     Conclusion. Firsthand exposure and active participation in the various uses here being reported to the Joint Council have given me both encouragement and inspiration seeing so much work being performed so well. The handful of part-time employees, plus a host of many willing volunteers, are performing a variety of functions that truly serve the Church throughout the world. I know I speak for my colleague priests in the field, and also for the many parents in isolation in offering grateful thanks.
     Respectfully submitted,
          LORENTZ R. SONESON,
               Director

     PUBLICATION COMMITTEE

     Although the undersigned did not officially take over chairmanship of the Committee until September 1st, 1978, careful minutes taken by the Secretary, Mrs. Clyde K. Smith, report the following activities during the calendar year 1978:
     The Publication Committee considered the inventory taken by the Book Center and decided to reprint Johnny Appleseed (500 copies), tabled a discussion on the reprinting of George de Charms' Life of the Lord, and proceeded to have copies of the Word bound in limp Morocco (393), hardback (79) and in cloth (228).
     The Committee also approved the reprinting of 500 copies of Songs for New Church Gatherings and 100 of them were put in binders for sale at the Book Center. A potential pamphlet on Baptism by the Rev. Douglas M. Taylor was considered in manuscript form but has not yet been given final approval for publication.
     Because the pamphlet, Summary of General Doctrines, has not been selling well it was decided to make these available to ministers or anyone else interested free of charge.

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     The Committee also approved the reprinting of Our Funeral Customs (1,050). Also, during the current year, 1978, the Committee saw through the press two new pamphlets, Marriage Covenant and Marital Separation written by the Rev N. Bruce Rogers.
     The book, City of God, by Karl R. Alden is currently being reprinted (1,000 copies). The Committee also discussed the future of the Reader's Guide which was completely revised and up-dated in 1973 and has been up-dated every year for the last five years. It has not sold well despite advertising -only 300 of the original 1,000 copies. It does seem a shame that this useful publication introducing New Church readers to the hundreds of collateral works available has not found its anticipated wide appeal.
     The Publication Committee also re-examined their policy in relationship to the Academy Publication Committee. Though clarification of these areas of responsibilities were examined in 1968 and printed in NEW CHURCH LIFE in 1969, the Committee felt it useful to re-examine their specific responsibilities.
     Finally, the re-organized and rapidly expanding General Church Extension Committee under the directorship of the Rev. Douglas M. Taylor (who is also a member of the Publication Committee) is examining ways in which they can present their publications to the public. They plan, in the interim, to use the General Church Publication Committee as a means for printing and publishing their pamphlets.
     Respectfully submitted,
          LORENTZ R. SONESON,
               Chairman

     TRANSLATION COMMITTEE

     In the past year the work of the Translation Committee has progressed slowly but steadily. We are on the threshold of offering several works for publication. Of necessity our work so far has focused on the original Latin, as translations depend first on the preparation of adequate Latin texts. Now, however, enough of the initial preparation has been accomplished that we are ready to begin looking toward English translations as well.
     During the year 1978, Miss Lisa Hyatt continued to concentrate her efforts on completing a detailed comparison and alignment of the Latin text of The Earths in the Universe with similar material published in Arcana Coelestia and their forerunner in the Spiritual Diary. This project has taken longer to finish than originally expected due to policy adjustments and the necessity of editing the Diary text. Final typing, however, is well under way, and copies of the work will be ready for circulation to language students of sister organizations of the Church before spring of 1979. The purpose of circulating the work prior to publication is to make possible incorporation of corrections and other useful suggestions before committing it irrevocably to the public. We expect to be able to offer it for publication by the end of 1979.
     During 1978, Dr. J. Durban Odhner also continued his work in preparing a new Latin edition of the Spiritual Diary. What he would propose as the first volume (up to no. 1789) has been largely completed, with only a few details left to be decided and worked out, and he has embarked on volume two. He anticipates that the work on subsequent volumes will progress at a faster rate than on the first volume, since many of the policy decisions have now been made, and in 1979 he will be employed almost full time to prosecute the work.

270


It is our hope that preliminary copies of the first volume will be ready for circulation and review before the end of 1979.
     In addition to their major undertakings, Dr. Odhner and Miss Hyatt have also served as consultants to each other throughout each step of their work.
     In the summer of 1978, the Rev. N. Bruce Rogers began work on a new Latin edition of De Verbo, completing about three quarters of the text. Miss Hyatt is also consultant for this work. This new edition, with full critical apparatus, will be completed in 1979 and readied for preliminary circulation and review.
     Also in the summer of 1978, Mr. Prescott A. Rogers and Mr. John L. Odhner continued their work on a new Latin edition of De Ultimo Judicio Post auctorem mortuum editum (Last Judgment post.), and they, too, are about three quarters of the way through the text. It is hoped that this new edition, with full critical apparatus, can as well be completed in 1979 or brought to near completion.
     In the summer, Mr. B. Erikson Odhner embarked on a preliminary study of the Latin texts of Coronis and Invitation to the New Church, looking to a new edition of these works. This is a difficult undertaking, as there are no manuscripts in Swedenborg's own hand of these posthumously published works. We have only copies in the hands of others, not made very carefully or accurately, as it appears. There are also parts missing and other unusual problems that have to be faced in preparing an edition. Work on this project will continue in 1979.
     In addition to the above, the preliminary work on the Spiritual Diary of examining the text and collating the notes of Dr. J. F. I. Tafel and Dr. Alfred Acton was completed by Mr. Timothy Rose and Miss Cathy Cole in the summer months. The purpose of this preparatory study is to facilitate the work of Dr. Odhner in preparing a new edition. A number of Academy College students have been engaged in this work since the summer of 1976, and it is with pleasure that we can report its completion.
     Work on finding parallel passages to Diary numbers continued as well in the summer months. This year the Misses Marcia Smith, Linda Simonetti and Roxanne McQueen were employed for this purpose, and the search so far has progressed to about one third of the way through the work. The Rev. Norbert H. Rogers is now reviewing the work of these College students and their predecessors for accuracy. Eventually we expect to have this list of parallels typed and published. How soon will depend on Mr. Rogers' report.
     New projects face us in the coming years, and we invite suggestions as to what may be most needed. We intend to continue work on Latin texts, until between our efforts and the efforts of others the Writings and related works can be made entirely available to the Church in reliable form lust as importantly, however, we need to turn our attention to new English translations. With the spirit of a new beginning, we look forward to prosecuting the works in progress, to making them available in English as well as in Latin, and to undertaking further projects that may serve to help make the Lord and His kingdom known among men.
     Respectfully submitted,
          N. BRUCE ROGERS,
               Chairman

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     SOUND RECORDING COMMITTEE

     This was the year of the new catalog-a complete replacement for the one issued in 1975. It was produced by our capable office secretary, Mrs. Joseph McDonough, who is helped in the smooth-running of our office and studio by Mrs. Cedric Lee on a part-time basis. Mrs. Anne Finkeldey continues to volunteer a great deal of her time and talent to the technical work-especially to archiving tapes of men now retired. Many other volunteer helpers throughout the Church cheerfully devote a considerable amount of time, energy, and valuable expertise to keep the work of the Committee going. Without their help we simply could not make the contribution to the Church that we have been doing for the past thirty years.
     At our Annual Meeting in November, the election of officers turned out once again to be a re-election of our incumbent officers-Mr. Cedric Lee as Vice-Chairman, Mr. E. Boyd Asplundh as Secretary, and Miss Elizabeth Hayes as Treasurer. We are very much indebted to them for their willingness to continue their valued work.
     Our treasurer reported that at September 30, 1978, our net worth had increased by $4,342.56 to $19,834.11. As usual our expenses increased, this time by $791.10, but there was a pleasing $4,686.69 growth in special contributions, though user contributions were down by $255.15. We are completely dependent on the financial contributions of users and special contributors, since we make no charge for borrowing tapes.
     We had to purchase four new reel-to-reel tape recorders at over $800 each. This high price is due to the cut-back in the production of reel recorders for the popular market because of the ever-growing popularity of cassettes. Manufacturers now make reel recorders almost exclusively for professionals at very professional prices. The medium price range has practically disappeared.

     The new equipment brought us into the much-needed renovation of the recording facilities in the studio. The expenses for this will appear in next year's accounts.
     What we are most interested in, however, is the extent to which our tapes are being used. From time to time we are surprised at how little is known about our operation-especially that we have a catalog of our offerings available. This year we can report that there seems to be an increase in group borrowings and in sharing tapes with friends, so that more people are actually hearing the tapes-which is what we are aiming at.
     Our hope is that if you are a satisfied user of these tapes, you will please tell your friends and acquaintances about them and the work of the Committee.
     Respectfully submitted,
          DOUGLAS M. TAYLOR,      
               Chairman
CORRECTION 1979

CORRECTION       B. David Holm       1979

     In the December 1978 issue of New Church Life pages 591 and 593 both the Rev. Roy Franson and the Rev. David R. Simons were listed as visiting Pastors of the San Diego Circle. This is not correct. The Rev. Roy Franson is the Visiting Pastor. The Rev. David Simons visits once a month by invitation. This error is regretted.
     B. David Holm,
     Secretary of the Council of the Clergy

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FREEDOM, FREE CHOICE, AND MOMENTS OF DECISION 1979

FREEDOM, FREE CHOICE, AND MOMENTS OF DECISION       Editor       1979


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

Acting Editor                Rev. Ormond deCharms Odhner, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager                Mr. L. E. Gyllenhaal Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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

     TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$5.00 (U.S.) A year to any address, payable in advance. Single copy, 50 cents.
     To act from the delight of love is to act from freedom. You do something because it delights you, pleases you, to do it. You do something because you love to do it, want to do it; you act from freedom. All of us do that, most of the time.
     The same is usually true of free choice. For the most part, we do things because we freely choose to do them; and usually there is no big deal involved in making such choices. We just go along in life, doing what we choose to do because our loves find pleasure and delight in doing them. Only rarely do we even hesitate for long in making our choices, and even more rarely do we hesitate because we realize that there's a choice between good and evil involved in our decisions.
     It's quite probable, furthermore, that in most of our daily decisions there is no choice between good and evil at all. What time to go to bed, what to eat, what to wear, what to do for relaxation, what to say in serious or idle conversation, and even how to do our daily work-oh, of course there could be a choice between good and evil involved in any one of these things, but usually there isn't. We just choose what we want because, for one reason or another, it pleases us to do so. We are acting from the delight of our loves; we are acting in freedom.

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     * * * * *

     When they find themselves still alive after death, the majority of people are quite anxious to know whether they will go to heaven, and most of them believe that they will go there, it is said. (HH 495.) Sadly, however, many of these do not go to heaven, and are quite surprised to find themselves heading toward hell. Why? they ask; they never knowingly turned their backs on the Lord, did they?
     The answer seems to be involved in the Lord's parable about the king saying to the "goats" on his left hand, "Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, . . . For I was an hungered, and ye gave me no meat; I was thirsty, and yet gave me no drink. . . . [And the goats answered], Lord, when saw we thee an hungered, or athirst, and did not minister unto thee? [And the king replied], Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these [my brethren], ye did it not unto me." (Matt. 25:31-46.)
     Moments of decision-moments of decision between heaven and hell, between good and evil. How often do they occur in the average lifetime? Not very often, unfortunately, and certainly not as often as they should. Never, anymore, do we see the Lord standing before us in person, asking for help. (Of course we would help Him-or so we say.) Usually our moments of decision, what few there are, are anything but earth-shaking, so slight as to pass almost unnoticed: Shall I have my own way, even when I know my own way is wrong? And after all, in this little thing, it really doesn't matter very much, does it? Or shall I buckle under, even in this little thing, and do what is right?
     The True Christian Religion speaks of "an easier kind of repentance" than that which the Writings usually advocate so strongly for New Church men (TCR 535), which is, simply, "that when anyone is giving thought to any evil, and intending it, he shall say to himself, 'Although I am thinking about this and intending it, I will not do it because it is a sin.'" This is enough to initiate a man into the way to heaven.
     [To borrow a phrase from Catholicism, this could be called "incomplete repentance," whereas "complete repentance"-that which the Writings so strongly advocate-consists of examining one's words and deeds, thoughts and intentions, in the light of the teachings of the Word; discovering, during this self-examination, one's own evils and sins; confessing to the Lord that one loves them; choosing one or two of the evils then seen as special points for reformation; asking the Lord for help in shunning, fleeing away from, these specified evils; and then leading a new life by shunning these evils as sins, as things that separate a person from the will of God.]
     But if there is an "easier kind of repentance" which is sufficient to initiate a person into the path toward heaven, there is also an easy way to put oneself on the path that leads toward hell. This is simply to decide to have one's own way, in the thousand tiny, little things that make up everyday living.

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This is enough to build up one's loves, even one's ruling love-and this is what can never be changed after death, even to eternity.
     Some people may be surprised then, to find out after death, that they are not headed toward heaven. Some may even ask if it is really fair, if they ever were faced with any real choice between good and evil. The answer is that they were faced with such choices, day after day. They just did not stop to think that their little choices were important. And, "inasmuch as ye did it not unto one of the least of these. . . ."
ON SCRIPTURE TRANSLATIONS 1979

ON SCRIPTURE TRANSLATIONS       JOHN O. BOOTH       1979

Dear Mr. Odhner,
     I was very pleased to read the article by the Rev. Stephen Cole on the Revised Standard Version in the November 1978 issue of New Church Life. I was disappointed that he did not commend our fine translation of the Pentateuch, and I would have liked him to have made some constructive suggestions which would spur us on to do something about producing a complete translation of the Word for the New Church in acceptable English. The KJV has had its day, and in spite of its short comings as regards translation, the English of the RSV is infinitely better.
     In my conduct of worship I use the Pentateuch or the RSV, after checking the latter with the KJV and the Writings, or the original where necessary. My copy of the RSV has many of my own marginal notes and corrections, and I keep adding to them as the opportunity arises. If we cannot have a complete translation, surely our scholars could produce an erratum for the RSV.
     My personal preference in the English used, would be to drop all archaisms, including the thees and thous in those portions where the Lord is addressed.
     Yours sincerely,
          JOHN O. BOOTH,
          (Birmingham, England)

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MINISTERIAL CHANGE 1979

MINISTERIAL CHANGE              1979




     Announcements





     The Rev. Ottar T. Larsen will serve as Visiting Pastor to the isolated members of the General Church in Great Britain, as of September 1, 1979.
MINISTERIAL ASSIGNMENTS 1979

MINISTERIAL ASSIGNMENTS              1979

     Mark E. Alden-Assistant to the Pastor of the Immanuel Church, as of September 1, 1979.

     Eric H. Carswell-Assistant to the Pastor of the Pittsburgh Society, also providing assistance on one weekend a month to the Pastor of North and South Ohio Circles, effective September 1, 1979.

     Kent Junge-Minister to the Northwestern District of the United States, resident in Seattle, as of July 1, 1979.

     Cedric King-Assistant to the Rev. Roy Franson, as Resident Minister to the San Diego Circle, as of July 1, 1979.

     Lawson M. Smith-Assistant to the Pastor of the Washington Society and Visiting Pastor to the Baltimore Convention Society, as of July 1, 1979.
Sunday School Committee 1979

Sunday School Committee       Louis B. King       1979


     The Sunday School Committee of the Council of the Clergy has been recognized as an official committee of the General Church of the New Jerusalem, the Rev. Lorentz R. Soneson having accepted appointment as Chairman of that committee.
     Louis B. King,
     Bishop

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BEAUTY OF WOMEN 1979

BEAUTY OF WOMEN       Rev. WALTER E. ORTHWEIN       1979


NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. XCIX          JULY, 1979               NO. 7
     Women were created by the Lord, affections of the wisdom of men, and the affection of wisdom is beauty itself. Conjugial Love 56.3.

     These words were spoken by an angel in Swedenborg's presence in the spiritual world and are recorded in a, memorable relation in the work, Conjugial Love. The conversation was on the cause of the beauty of the female sex. And the cause, of course, was seen to be spiritual. This is where genuine feminine beauty originates, the beauty of the natural body being merely the effect or outer representation of spiritual beauty.
     In the speaking of the beauty of women, therefore, we are not thinking primarily of that physical beauty which is a fleeting thing in this world, but of the inner beauty which is, in fact, the very life of women. The Writings note that women have a twofold beauty, one natural, which is that of face and body, and the other spiritual, which is that of love and manners. These two kinds of beauty are often separated in the natural world, but are always united in the spiritual world. A woman who was not beautiful in this world, if she has lived a. good life, grows more and more beautiful in the spiritual world, into a loveliness which is beyond any natural idea of beauty.*
     * CL 330, AC 553
     The question of the relationship of men and women has always been a central topic of interest, as it is today. In recent years the discussion has centered about the place of women in society, the role of women, the rights of women. Divine revelation does not deal directly with social issues, which are external and transitory things, but with the spiritual matters which underlie all such concerns, and which give us a true perspective on them.

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     Spiritually, the question is not so much the role of women in society, but the essential nature of woman. Not, what women should do, but what the life of women is. This is not to say that spiritual considerations do not come into social questions, but simply that spiritual truth is primary and must be known before it can come into social matters. How can there be any genuine discussion of women's role in society without an understanding of the essential nature of woman, as well as the essential or spiritual nature of man? What good will it do for women to make apparent social or legal gains if both men and women lose sight of what it is that constitutes the actual life of a woman, her spiritual being?
     Many would deny that there is any essential or spiritual difference between the masculine and feminine natures. They would say that the only differences are cultural ones, imposed by societal conditioning from without; that they are acquired, not innate. Or, if they admit a difference beyond the physical ones, they would feel a great uncertainty about what the difference is. And this is the tragic thing about the way the whole subject has often been approached-the blurring of the distinction between the sexes.
     The Writings direct our thoughts to the spiritual life which is embodied in each sex, to the distinctive ways in which men and women respond to the Lord's Divine influx of good and truth. The differences between the sexes, it is shown, are primarily spiritual. They begin on the level of the soul. There is a distinctively feminine nature which is universal in every woman, and a distinctively masculine nature which reigns throughout every man. The Lord created them male and female, each with their own way of thinking and acting.
     What this distinction between the masculine and the feminine is, is stated as follows in Conjugial Love:

     The male is born intellectual and the female voluntary; or, what is the same thing, the male is born into the affection of knowing, understanding, and being wise, and the female into the love of conjoining herself with that affection in the male. And because the interiors form exteriors after their own likeness, and the masculine form is the form of the understanding, and the feminine form is the form of the love of that understanding, it follows that the male has a face, voice and body different from the female; that is, a harder face, a harsher voice, a stronger body, and . . . a bearded chin-in general, a form less beautiful than the female. They differ also in their attitudes and ways. In a word, nothing whatever in them is alike; and yet, in their single parts, there is what is conjunctive; yea, in the male, the masculine is masculine in every part of his body, even the most minute, and also in every idea of his thought, and in every grain of his affection; and so likewise the feminine in the female. And since the one cannot be changed into the other, it follows that after death the male is a male and the female a female.*
     * CL 33; Cf. CL 218

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     As we read these things, thoughts of the disorders which occur on the natural plane of life may come into our minds. But the soul is above such disorders. By creation men and women are perfectly formed for a delightful and fruitful complementing of one another in all areas of life. To be truly masculine and truly feminine, and to conjoin these two in the oneness which they are intended to make, is the ideal we seek. This earth is not heaven; spiritual ideals are imperfectly realized, spiritual reality is often hard to see, but it is good for us to know the higher reality and to love the ideal.
     "Women were created, by the Lord, affections of the wisdom of men, and the affection of wisdom is beauty itself." The phrase, "affection of wisdom," has several shades of meaning. It means a love of wisdom; it means the love or affection within wisdom, which is the life of wisdom; it means to be affected by wisdom. Thus one who is in the affection of wisdom is one who longs for wisdom, and who is affected by it when it is seen. All forms of this affection are in the soul of woman. This affection is not just something women have, but is what women are, spiritually.
     "The affection of wisdom is beauty itself." In other words, this inmost love of woman, the love of the wisdom of men, is what shines forth as beauty. The form of woman is the form of that which she is born to love, that is, wisdom,-wisdom clothed with love. And the effect this form has upon man, who is in the love of understanding and being wise, is what he calls beauty. This is the essence of the beauty which women have for men.
     When a man who is the love of understanding and growing wise is affected by the beauty of a woman, the thing affecting him spiritually is the love of wisdom which is imaged in her. This love is her very life, and this is what he sees in her as beautiful. At first it is her natural beauty which attracts him, but in time a husband no longer sees this, but sees her spiritual beauty, and this transforms even her natural beauty so that he sees it in a new way.*
     * Cf. CL 330:3, also AC 4145: beauty is a mediate good of conjugial love
     In woman, man sees the potential life which is within truth as in a seed, and this inspires him. The perception that feminine beauty is the affection of wisdom led the Greeks to portray the various branches of knowledge as beautiful maidens, the Muses, who inspired men to create and become wise.
     Swedenborg asked the angel, "What has a wise man or wisdom to do with woman?" In one sense it is a foolish question, a foolish masculine question, which provoked indignation and laughter from the wise spirits who were his hosts. But it is a good question, and one worth pondering.

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Only in perceiving the answer to this question can we come to see the true nature of wisdom, the true nature of man and of woman.
     The angelic spirit answered: "What is a wise man or wisdom without woman, that is, without love? The wife is the love of a wise man's wisdom." Then followed the discourse on the cause of the beauty of the female sex. Clearly this topic was chosen because this beauty is the love of a wise man's wisdom.
     A man who is growing spiritually is seeking wisdom and understanding from the Lord, while the woman sees and loves this love of wisdom in him. By wisdom is meant moral and spiritual wisdom, his love of understanding and doing what is good and true. The woman recognizes this wisdom in the things he says and does. She sees in it strength and support for the good she loves.
     The wisdom she receives from the Lord through her husband becomes her inmost life, which she clothes with her affection. This is the origin of that beauty which appears to the man. He sees in her the life of his wisdom, in a living human form. He sees in her the love, the warmth, which wisdom must have to be alive. And he does not love it as his wisdom now, which is self-love, but as the life and beauty of his wife. The "rib" which was close to his heart-the dry, hard, lifeless rationality so dear to his pride-is made living in woman, and in her he sees his own life, flesh of his flesh, to which he must cleave if he is to live.
     This takes place most fully and perfectly with a husband and wife who are in conjugial love, which is still a rare thing in this life but which is promised in heaven for those who love the Lord and cherish the conjugial principle. But there is also a masculine sphere in the world generally with which the sphere of woman can be conjoined, to which all men can contribute and of which all women can partake. This is the broader effect of the conjugial sphere proceeding from the Lord which affects all men and women.
     We tend to make a neat package, with the man being wisdom or understanding and the woman love. But the relationship is much more complex and living than that, for there is no wisdom apart from love. As the angel said, "What is a wise man or wisdom without woman, that is, without love?" Man seeks wisdom from the Lord and genuinely has it only when the love of woman is conjoined with it. If he is cold toward that love, his wisdom has no life in it.
     Women are advised against preaching and teaching doctrine not because they lack wisdom, but because their wisdom is not a wisdom of words. It is a deeper kind of wisdom, a wisdom of feeling, of love, of life. A kind of wisdom that is not really communicable by words, and may be damaged in the attempt.

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It is a wisdom of perception.
     The beauty and the life of woman is this perception, which enables her to apply the wisdom received from the Lord through man to use. In general it can be said that men supply the words, women provide the meaning . . . that is, the application to use. It is in use that wisdom, received from the Lord by men, is ultimated and made living by being conjoined with love, received from the Lord especially by women. Conjugial love, it is revealed, is received by women, and inspired into men by them. It is their love of the wisdom of men which seeks the conjunction of good and truth in use. Men have no conjugial love of their own, strange as it may seem, and without woman's inspiration their understanding would never be conjoined with love.
     From her feminine love, woman takes man's understanding and gives it life in use. Thus the first woman, Eve, was called by her husband, "the mother of all living."
     In woman, man sees the image of wisdom from the Lord brought to life. It is her perception of this life in wisdom, which her love gives her, and which in many ways is so deep and living compared to man's understanding, that affects him as beautiful.
     A man imagines that with his learning he has achieved some degree of wisdom. But in truth he is only wise to the extent that he is affected by the beauty of woman, that is, by her love of the wisdom he seeks. Amen.

     LESSONS: Genesis 1:26-28; 2:18-25; CL 56:2 to end.
CONCERNING CONJUGIAL LOVE 1979

CONCERNING CONJUGIAL LOVE              1979

     (Ed. Note: These sentences are quoted from the first seriatim treatment of conjugial love to be found in the Writings, AC 2727-2759.)

     AC 2721: What genuine conjugial love is, and whence its origin, few at this day know, for the reason that few are in it. Almost all believe that it is inborn, and so flows from a kind of natural instinct, as they say, and this the more, because something of marriage exists also among animals; whereas the difference between conjugial love among human beings and what is of marriage among animals is such as is that between the state of a human being, and the state of a brute animal.
     AC 2728: And because . . . few at this day know what genuine conjugial love is, it shall be described from what has been disclosed to me. Conjugial love takes its origin from the Divine marriage of good and truth, and thus from the Lord Himself. . . .
     AC 2729: No one can be in [genuine conjugial love] unless he is in the good of truth and the truth of good from the Lord;. . . heavenly blessedness and happiness is in that love, and they who are in it all come into heaven, or into the heavenly marriage. . . .

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HUMAN MIND-VII 1979

HUMAN MIND-VII       Rev. ALFRED ACTON       1979

     THE OPENING RATIONAL IN RELATION TO THE ACADEMY COLLEGE

     (The seventh and last in a series of addresses on the natural mind, given at the Educational Council, August, 1978; the second address by Mr. Acton.)

     Last night I endeavored to discuss the entire formation of the natural mind noting what I believe to be the approximate ages where different states of that mind become more or less dominant. In that treatment I stated that it was my opinion that the age of twenty was the approximate age when rationality began as a vital force, that is, when the first rational represented by Ishmael was alive and active. Rationality is dependent upon reflection which is an adult quality. An adult has the ability to appropriate good or evil to himself by reflection. Such appropriation of life, with its attendant responsibility for what is appropriated, is clearly an adult function. No child is going to hell for the evils of life which he commits because he is not in the exercise of reflection and rationality. Exactly when the age of spiritual responsibility is in any particular individual is impossible to state with any certainty. Each spiritual state is developed with each particular individual in a unique manner. Spiritual growth is the process of filling states, which is measured by spiritual time, not the motion of the earth around the sun. Nevertheless, the New Word does equate the end of childhood with age twenty. We read concerning the words,     

"from a son of twenty years and upward"-that this signifies the state of intelligence of truth and good is evident from the signification of twenty, when said of a man's age, as being a state of intelligence of truth and good.
     That "twenty" denotes a state of the intelligence of truth and good, is because when a man attains the age of twenty years he begins to think from himself; for from earliest infancy to extreme old age a man passes through a number of states in respect to his interiors that belong to intelligence and wisdom. The first state is from birth to his fifth year; this is a state of ignorance and of innocence in ignorance and is called infancy. The second state is from the fifth year to the twentieth; this is a state of instruction and of scientifics and is called childhood and youth. The third state is from the twentieth year to the sixtieth, which is a state of intelligence, and is called adolescence, young manhood, and manhood. . . .

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The third state is called a state of intelligence, because the man then thinks from himself, and discriminates and forms conclusions; and that which he then concludes is his own, and not another's. At this time faith begins, for faith is not the faith of the man himself until he has confirmed what he believes by the ideas of his own thought. Previous to this, faith was, not his, but another's in him, for his belief was in the person, not in the thing. From this it can be seen that the state of intelligence commences with the man when he no longer thinks from a teacher, but from himself; which is not the case until the interiors are opened toward heaven . . . . But with those who are in a state of infancy and childhood, thus who are under twenty years of age, truths and goods have not been so set in order as to enable them to go forth into warfare, because, as before said, they do not as yet from themselves discriminate and form any conclusions; consequently, they cannot as yet by means of the rational dispel anything of falsity or evil; and they who are not able to do this are not let into combats. For this reason a man is not admitted into temptations, which are spiritual combats against falsities and evils, until he is in a state of intelligence, that is until he comes to his own judgment.*
     * AC 10225

     As I understand the term "rational," it cannot come forth until it is used, which commences with judgment. So I equate age twenty with the first rational when thought from self begins. This does not contradict the development traced last night where it was noted in CL 446 that a new state begins with puberty which is thought from one's own understanding. Such thought is not thought from self which implies a healthy, kicking self life, or appropriated love, in addition to a functioning ability to reason. As we noted last night, thought from one's own understanding is represented by Abram and Hagar's union and the conception of Ishmael. Although not yet born, with thought from understanding at puberty, the rational begins to be put on, and so in the Apocalypse Explained we read:

In the first age of man falsities from evils do not enter, and thus do not obstruct. But they enter in his second and third age, when he no longer thinks from the memory alone or from a master, but from his own understanding. For the rational in which is the understanding, is opened gradually, as man matures.*
     * AE 996

     That twenty is the normal term which Swedenborg used to describe the age of rationality is also attested in a passage from The Economy of the Animal Kingdom which does not have the imprimatur of Revelation but nevertheless defines terms later incorporated in Revelation with no apparent change in definition. The passage reads:

Thus as the mind is instructed, or the way opened, so it is enabled to communicate with its soul, which has determined and provided that the way leading to it should be opened in this order. . . . We are born in a state of darkness and insensibility; our organs are opened by degrees; they receive at first only obscure images and notions; and if we may be allowed the expression, the whole universe is represented to the eye as a single indistinct entity or chaos; yet in process of time all things become more distinct, and at length are laid open before the reasoning tribunal of the mind; thus it is late before we are rendered rational. . . .

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In order that from dense ignorance we may mount back to wisdom, or from the floor of the earth to heaven, all possible means are provided. Our period of maturing is prolonged, for we are twenty years and more in passing from childhood to man's estate; a period as long as the entire life of many animals, and three or four times longer than that of some.*
     * EAK 298

     It seems clear that the function or use of the rational is not active until about age twenty, although in the preceding age many analogues of it exist, beginning at puberty which in the Arcana Coelestia series referred to earlier is probably represented by Abram's leaving the house of his father with Lot and Sarai, with entrance into Egypt, and particularly with the war of Chedorlaomer where it is said, "In the thirteenth year they rebelled."*
     * Gen. 14:4
     But our particular concern tonight is the state of this first rational and how it is developed. This rational is put on by an external way. Things from the sensuous and middle natural degrees enter into the rational and give it form. These things are chiefly things scientific, which upon entering the rational can be seen in a new light and put to new uses. These things are chiefly things of what are called the sciences (a much broader term as used by Swedenborg than it is today). Science can contribute to the formation of the rational, but in a passage from the Spiritual Diary we find they also can be worthless or even destructive. As this passage concerns most of the Liberal Arts courses found in our college curriculum I wish to quote it at length. The healing of this passage reads, "How worthless are the modern sciences, by virtue of which men pass for wise." It continues,

     I spake with spirits concerning the modern sciences whereby men seem wise. In general, sciences are nothing else than means of becoming wise, or of forming one's rational mind, just as languages are means of developing thought. [Note the distinction-languages develop thought, sciences rationality.] They who are in truths, are able, by means of sciences, to acquire many confirmations, and so to fill up their ideas. They who are in falses are also able, by means of the same sciences to have confirmations, and so to fill up their ideas with falses.

     Note here that rationality can use these sciences for good or ill because it can confirm from whatever principle it begins with: that is, if it says a thing is true it can demonstrate it, and if false it can demonstrate that also. We are reminded of the relation where spirits prove the raven white.* To continue with the Diary passage:
     * CL 233:4

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The useful sciences are physics, optics, chemistry, pharmacy, anatomy, mathematics, astronomy, architecture, botany, metallurgy, history, the governments of kingdoms and the like, by all of which as means, every one is able to become rational.

Note that these sciences are good because they can lead to rationality-a state which should see good as good and truth as truth. It would seem that these useful sciences through their own special disciplines can present a pattern of order which will enable the first rational to take life and form.
     The teaching continues,

There are some (sciences) which utterly destroy the faculty of thinking, and annihilate the rational.

     Who are these villains? Shall we expel them from our College and Secondary Schools? They are scholastics, philosophy, logic, and perhaps geometry and algebra.
     Hear the rest of the passage:

     Sciences which destroy the rational are, for instance, scholastics, namely, when they describe one plain matter, intelligible to almost any one, by means of many scholastic terms, until no one understands it. Philosophy, when a judgment is formed by means of a train of inferences-definitions of terms, and conclusions thence, which, when they are linked together, set forth such things as can be understood by no one, nor what is their connection. They take away all reason; when, nevertheless they comprise nothing else than may be so simply explained that it may be understood by any one who pleases. Logic, which analyzes verities, and assigns them a place amongst things doubtful; and still more when, by means of many propositions a single matter is to be unfolded, which is then involved. The conclusion, on many occasions, is such that it is intelligible without any syllogism.
     These are also circumstanced like geometry and algebra, when simple verities are demonstrated by these; and then the thing, thus mixed up, is expressed by angular, circular and curved figures, and explained according to them, so that it is intelligible to no one. Such sciences, and the applications of such sciences, bring it about, that man loses common sense and becomes insane. At this day men versed in such sciences pass for wise, when, yet they are more stupid than the most simple. Such is the wisdom of the present day. Ancient wisdom was never of such a description: this taught naked truths; when, at the present day, (he can know) scarcely any.*

     * SD Min. 4578-4579

     Although there may be some in this audience who will happily cheer if our college and secondary schools expunge philosophy, logic, geometry, and algebra from our course offerings, as a clear villain, I am sure there is a better way to bring them from the ranks of the lost into the camp of the useful. Indeed, we find elsewhere in the New Word praise of the proper use of these very subjects. Philosophy, for example, is extolled as the handmaid of religion-a discipline well worth cultivating if we are to enter with the intellect into the mysteries of faith, or if we are to comprehend intellectual truths in the proper light of heaven.*
     * Cf. AC 2568:5, 2588:7; ISB 20; SD 650, 1602

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     What the passage quoted does tell us is the danger of the abuse of certain types of instruction-namely, instruction which passes in the world for learned but in fact destroys the proper use of the rational faculty. A New Church curriculum need not vary much from the curriculum of other institutions of higher learning in its choice of disciplines, but it must beware that the purposes of its curriculum do not look to the destruction of what is rational and intellectual. We can and will put the study of philosophy into the curriculum, but it will be a new philosophy structured in such a way that the proper use of that discipline will cultivate the intellectual faculty of the student.
     How will we make such a structure? How will we teach rational truths to the awakening rational without leading into the state depicted by Ishmael separated from Abraham, the state of the morose wild-ass, signifying the separation of rational truth from spiritual good?
     The answer to these questions is found in the Word in the treatment of Abraham and Sarah's visit to Abimelech. In that story Sarah is said to represent the opposite of Ishmael separated, that is, rational truth conjoined with good. For this reason she calls herself Abraham's sister. Such truth is a vital force in the life of the young person entering into adult preparation for uses in the world. Indeed, it is this vision of use, both in the world and in heaven which can bring the necessary focus that will insure the conjunction of rational truths and the love which rightly should infill it, for it is use that unites love and wisdom. So a student looking to use in his acquisition of rational truth need not separate truth from life, need not become as Ishmael separated, but instead can be as Sarah when described as sister.
     Abimelech in the story is said to represent the doctrinal truth of faith-truth drawn from the Word, as the doctrine of the church, and doctrinal truth itself as found in the pages of revelation. The relationship between this doctrinal truth of faith which comes to the student from without-through the teacher as Abimelech-and his own rational truth, forged through the work of disciplined study under a concerned teacher who recognizes the limits of the now born yet infant rational, is the relationship described in this story. It has special concern to the Academy College-not only in the area of formal doctrinal instruction but also in the prevailing attitude which stimulates instruction in all disciplines.
     Remember the story: Abraham coming to Gerah said to Sarah, "Tell Abirnelech you are my sister lest he kill me." Sarah complies and Abimelech takes Sarah. Yet he touches not the woman, being warned by the Lord. Later he rebukes Abraham for deceiving him and gives him riches which earns for Abimelech Abraham's prayerful thanks.

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     The essential point of the story is that Abimelech does not touch Sarah. In discussing this fact we are taught that the Lord in His work of glorification faced a bitter temptation through this medium-the temptation of using rational truth as the source of doctrine, rather than letting rational truth serve its proper roll of confirmation. Doctrine cannot descend into the appearances of truth, represented by Sarah, that is, into truths developed from the senses, which is what rational truths are. It must ever abide above appearance if its light is to lead and guide.
     We can never be convinced of what is doctrinal from the rational, but when properly ordered below the doctrinal, rational truth can infill and confirm. Hear this passage from revelation:

     In regard to doctrine the case is this: In so far as there is what is human (that is, what is of sense, of scientifics, and of the rational) as the ground of belief, so far the doctrine is null and void. But in so far as what is of sense, scientifics, and of the rational is removed, that is, in so far as doctrine is believed without these things, so far doctrine lives: for so far the Divine flows in. It is that which is proper to the human that hinders the influx and the reception. But it is one thing to believe from what is of the rational, of scientifics, and of sense (that is, to consult such things in order to believe) and quite another thing to confirm and corroborate by means of things rational, of scientifics, and of sense, that which is believed.*
     * AC 2538

     In other words, in a study of doctrine it is most proper for us to train our faculties of rationality so that we can turn: to the Word, drawing from it passages which will confirm doctrine, but we can never assume that our confirmations or analytical studies will make doctrine true. We stand in humility before the one source of truth. We do not use the rational as though it were a source of truth. This distinction has a profound effect on all instruction. The body of doctrine drawn from and confirmed by the Word stands in the roll of intellectual truths which are above the rational. Its necessity is manifest from the following:

     When man is being instructed, there is a progression from scientifics to rational truths; further, to intellectual truths; and finally, to celestial truths, which are here signified by Sarah being called wife. If the progression is made from scientifics and rational truths to celestial truths without intellectual truths as media [without doctrine], the celestial suffers violence, because there can be no connection of rational truths, which are obtained by means of scientifics with celestial truths, except by means of intellectual truths, which are the media. That it may be known how these things stand, something shall be said respecting order. The order is for the celestial to inflow into the spiritual and adapt it to itself; for the spiritual thus to inflow into the rational and adapt it to itself; and for the rational thus to inflow into the scientific and adapt it to itself. (In all education) celestial and spiritual things are continually presenting themselves and are also preparing and forming for themselves vessels which are being opened which may also be seen from the fact that in themselves scientifics and rational things are dead, and that it is from inflowing interior life that they seem to be alive.*
     * AC 1495

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     In other words, if a person is to become celestial, he must recognize that there is a body of spiritual truth above the things of his reason which dictates to that reason. When this fact is recognized, the spiritual and celestial, the good of conscience which is spiritual and the good of perception which is celestial, may flow in and order truth in their own image-purifying the rational in the process.* I know of no institution of higher learning outside of the Academy that so relates the rational to the doctrinal.
     * Cf. AC 2632
     It is a real temptation for a teacher to ignore this series. Working with the rational and knowing the doctrine, he is tempted to force doctrine by means of the rational rather than to respect the true relationship between Abraham, the celestial, and Sarah, the wife. Abimelech must retire-he must return Sarah, no longer rational truth, to Abraham. Hear these words:

It is evident that to 'restore the man's wife' is to render up the spiritual truth of doctrine without taint. That it means without taint from the rational, is because Abimelech, who was to restore her, signifies doctrine that has regard to rational things, or what is the same, the rational things of doctrine.*
     * AC 2533

The teacher's rational understanding of doctrine must recognize that there are other competent understandings with other rational approaches to confirmation of the Divine. He must come to respect the student as a human with equal powers of humanity as his own, even as he seeks to perfect that human in the true image of God-by instruction in his particular discipline. When this happens, Abimelech, the doctrine as rationally understood by the teacher, can truly enrich the celestial of the student which is signified by Abimelech giving flock and herd and menservants and maidservants to Abraham. These are the spiritual gifts a teacher offers to a student.*
     * Cf. AC 2564-2569
     The process of making these gifts is the process of approaching truth from the affirmative principle. Once truth is recognized as truth in itself, doubts can be ordered under belief in the Word. So we read:

Those who are in the affirmative, that is, who believe that things are true because the Lord has said so, are continually being confirmed, and their ideas enlightened and strengthened, by what is of reason and scientifics, and such is the way with every one. With these the doctrine thus "living lives"; and of them it is said, that they "are healed," and "bring forth."*
     * AC 2588:2; cf. 2568

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     It is in this spirit of affirmation that the rational can best be formed for true subordination to what is of the Lord. It was in this spirit that Abimelech was told by the Lord that when Sarah had been restored to her proper husband, when the rational things with a student had been elevated out of the rational by means of doctrinals presented to the students in a spirit of affirmation, that Abraham, the internal good affection of the student, would pray for him. Indeed, it is in the spirit of humility expressed by prayer that all teachers privileged to work in New Church Schools seek to perform their uses.
DIVINE REVELATION OR THE WORD IN THE OLD TESTAMENT 1979

DIVINE REVELATION OR THE WORD IN THE OLD TESTAMENT       Rev. FRANK F. COULSON       1979

     The New Church doctrine about Divine Revelation, which is with us, the Word of the Lord, is given most succinctly in two places in the works Swedenborg published for the New Church. The first is in the last part of the Arcana Coelestia,* and the second in the work Concerning the New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine,** published two years later in 1758. The essential message is that the Lord's Word is accommodated both to angels and men, and that it is given as a means of maintaining, and when necessary restoring, a connection or covenant between the Lord and heaven and earth. It is also clearly shown that the Lord Himself is this Divine Truth.
     * AC 10318-10325
     ** HD 249-266
     Both of these statements conclude with a paragraph in almost identical terms specifying which books, first in the Old Testament and then in the New Testament, contain an internal sense capable of effecting this connection. What is said in the former work is repeated almost verbatim in the latter, but in this case there is also the addition of a copious summary of the doctrine of "the Word," extracted from the Arcana Coelestia with reference numbers given. Here the concluding paragraph* is as follows:
     * HD 266

Which are the Books of the Word. The books of the Word are all those that have an internal sense; but those books which have no internal sense are not the Word. The books in the Old Testament are: the five books of Moses, the book of Joshua, the book of Judges, the two books of Samuel, the two books of the Kings, the Psalms of David, the Prophets, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea, Joel, Amos, Obadiah, Jonah, Micah, Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, Malachi: and in the New Testament, the four Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, and the Apocalypse.

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The rest have no internal sense, no. 10325.

     This list of books selected from the generally accepted scriptures may seem somewhat arbitrary unless something is first known of how the books contained in the various Bibles came to be written and collected together. The purpose of this essay, which is concerned with the Old Testament only, is to try to supply a brief outline of such knowledge without going into too much detail about the views and conclusions of scholars about the writers or compilers of each book and the dates of writing. It is hoped that it may be of use, both to those who may be drawn to Swedenborg and the New Church from other backgrounds and to those who already in some measure are receivers of the "heavenly doctrine." In conclusion it will be shown how the references to the Old Testament by the Lord Jesus Christ as recorded in the Gospels agree with the list of books as given to the New Church.
     Before going on to examine the Hebrew Bible, which must be our main concern, a start can be made with a few observations about the more familiar English Bible. In this the Old Testament is found to consist of thirty-nine books which have been arranged in an order that can be classified thus:

     I.      LAW. Genesis to Deuteronomy               5 books
     II.      HISTORY. Joshua to Esther                    12 books
     III.      POETRY. Job to Song of Solomon           5 books
     IV.      PROPHECY. Isaiah to Malachi                17 books

     All these books were written in Hebrew except for some portions in a few of the later books that were written in Aramaic. This was a dialect still being spoken in Palestine in the time of the Lord Jesus Christ and His disciples.
     This arrangement of the books, though logical in some respects, is not the same as that of the Hebrew Bible known to the Jews and carefully preserved by their scribes. Yet the Hebrew Bible was "the scriptures" as used in the temple and the synagogues and referred to by the Lord on earth. At that time the scriptures were preserved in the form of parchment scrolls, most carefully copied as necessary from time to time. Similar scrolls are still used in the ceremonial worship of synagogues. With each book, so that errors in copying might be checked and eliminated, the number of words and letters was counted, and notes were made of the middle word and the middle letter, and also of any peculiarities such as an abnormal spelling or a letter written extra large or upside down.

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These notes and some other details still found in the printed Hebrew Bible were passed on by one generation of scribes to the next as a firm tradition. The Hebrew word for tradition is "Masorah," from which the scribes called Masorites or Masoretes were named. Swedenborg saw clearly that their work was providential and he referred to it several times.*
     * SS 13, LJ 41, DP 260
     It is well known that the books of the Old Testament were written by different persons at different times. Just what a long period of time elapsed while they were being written, copied, and gradually collected is perhaps not so generally known. Disregarding the portions and quotations which came from earlier times, this may be as much as 1300 years or more from the time of the Exodus (c. 1400 BC) up to the writing of the book of Daniel after 170 BC or even later. As we know from the general history of the Israelites, great changes and developments took place during this period. The quite primitive people of Hebrew stock descended from Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and delivered from slavery in Egypt, became a people tutored by the Word of the Lord and tested as well as influenced by the nations around them. Inevitably their language and customs were modified over the years up to the time of the Lord's Advent; but we know that the very obstinacy and stiff-necked quality of which they were accused by Moses and the prophets and the Lord Himself, ensured that the principal precepts especially entrusted to them in the Law of Moses were tenaciously maintained and preserved. As already noted, this happened of the Divine Providence, although there were intervals when nearly all the people fell away from any faith or obedience.
     The Hebrew Bible with its three great divisions of the Law, the Prophets and the Writings, as printed today in conformity with Jewish tradition, consists of the same 39 books. They were, however, counted by the Jews as 24 and referred to as the "four-and-twenty," and arranged thus:

I.      THE LAW (Torah), i.e. the five books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy                                    5
II.      THE PROPHETS (Neviim) in two sections
          1) Former Prophets: (a) Joshua, (b) Judges, (c) Samuel, (d) Kings     4
          2) Latter Prophets: (a) Isaiah, (b) Jeremiah, (c) Ezekiel, (d) "the twelve" (minor prophets)           4
III.      THE WRITINGS (Kethuvim) in three sections.
          1) Three books: (a) Psalms, (b) Proverbs, (c) Job           3

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          2) Five rolls: (a) Song of Songs, (b) Ruth, (c) Lamentations, (d) Ecclesiastes, (e) Esther                                    5
          3) (a) Daniel, (b) Ezra and Nehemiah, (c) the Chronicles           3

     The titles found in English Bibles are derived for the most part from a Greek version of the Old Testament known as the Septuagint. Compiled in Alexandria, this was in use among the Jews of the Roman Empire. The Septuagint had a considerable influence on an early Latin version of the Scriptures produced in Africa in the second century AD. At that time Greek was still the language commonly in use among Christians even in Rome. This Latin version, known as the Old Vulgate, included some additional books written originally in Greek. It was only after Jerome had made, during the period AD 391 to 404, a new Latin translation of the Old Testament from the original Hebrew that Christians in the western churches began to know which books were in the Hebrew Bible of the Jews. They were then able to distinguish these from the books written originally in Greek, and from various additions and interpolations made to Hebrew books by Greek writers. We now call these the Apocrypha. The widely used Vulgate, the common version of the Latin Churches, was largely based on Jerome's work. During the Middle Ages and up to and even after the Reformation, there have been considerable variations in the Canon of the Scriptures accepted by the different branches and sects of the Christian Church. These, however, need not concern us as we turn to a further consideration of the Hebrew Bible.

The Law

     The Law (often called the Pentateuch from a word of Greek origin meaning the five-fold book) was ascribed by tradition to Moses and referred to as "the law of Moses." Clearly he did not write the account of his death at the end of Deuteronomy, but Moses seems to have been mainly responsible for the rest.* The first part to be written down was "the book of the covenant"** including the Decalogue. This was followed by the rest of Exodus and the other books. Genesis contains both true history (chaps. 12 to 50) and also (chaps. 1 to 11) made-up history, taken from part of an older Word written for the Ancient Church. We do not know precisely how Moses received this, but he is said to have copied the early chapters from it.***

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Possibly he had access to a copy obtained from Egypt. With the Israelites the several books had no official titles. They were simply known by their opening words, or at least by the first distinctive phrase. Thus Genesis was known as "Bareshith" or "In the beginning." Exodus was known as "There are the names," and Numbers as "In the wilderness." In much later times Hebrew titles were given to some of them, such as "Book of Creation," "Book of Damages," etc., to denote their contents.
     * Deut. 31:9-13               
     ** Ex. 20-23; Cf. EX. 24:3-8
     *** TCR 279; AC 1403
     The five books of "the Law" were in effect the first Bible of the Israelites. They have always been regarded by the Jews as holier than any other books, In the eighteenth year of King Josiah* there was found in the temple a law book which was at once recognized by king, priests and people as authoritative and ancient. There is no good reason to doubt that this book, found by Hilkiah the high priest, was substantially the Pentateuch that we have. Moreover, the Samaritans, who had no dealings with the Jews when the latter were collecting their books called "the Prophets," had a Bible consisting only of the books of Moses. Copies of this Samaritan Pentateuch are still in existence. They were written in an earlier and more rounded form of script than that of the square letters adopted by the Jews sometime after their captivity. This book was preserved and used by the Samaritans in their worship on mount Gerizim. It furnishes a strong argument against the theories of some Biblical critics who suppose that even the earliest books were pieced together from different texts and sources by later editors. In this way attempts have been made on purely natural grounds to account for such seemingly unnecessary repetitions as two creation stories and two versions of the Decalogue, etc. There is general agreement, however, that the first great division of the Hebrew Bible was accepted by all Jews as the most holy part of their scriptures at or before the beginning of the 4th century BC.
     * See II Kings 22, 23

The Prophets

     Although the four books of the "former prophets" consist of history, the Jews classed them as prophetical. They believed them to have been written by men of God who were prophets in the true sense of the term, i.e., specially inspired teachers. These books describe the whole course of the history of the Children of Israel from their entry into Canaan up to the Babylonian captivity. This is covered in four periods with which the four books in their series broadly correspond: (a) the invasion of Canaan under Joshua, (b) the struggle for control under the Judges, (c) the rise of the monarchy under Samuel, and (d) in the Kings the history of the two kingdoms up to their respective ends, when Israel surrendered to Assyria, and Judah, the lone survivor, was taken away captive to Babylon.

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The fall of Samaria in the ninth year of Hoshea* occurred about 722 BC, and the fall of Jerusalem 134 years later in 588 BC. Thus the four books record the history of roughly 920 years subsequent to the death of Moses.
     * II Kings 17:6
     The "latter prophets" (Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and the twelve minor prophets) have been the subject of much discussion and speculation among scholars in regard to their dates and writers. They prophesied at different times and places, but there is general agreement that Amos was one of the earliest, and that Haggai and Zechariah belong to the period of the return from the captivity when the temple was rebuilt, whereas Malachi was active later when the temple service was in operation. The book of Jonah differs from the rest of the twelve in that it consists entirely of narrative. It records the story of Jonah-ben-Ammittai of Gath-hepher in Galilee, who lived in the reign of Jeroboam II about 780 BC,* thus earlier than Amos. It does not, however, record in the customary manner the actual words that he spoke in the name of the Lord. Because it speaks of Nineveh in a way that implies that it had ceased to be a great city,** it would seem that it must have been written after 606 BC when that city fell. Its language and style, with many Aramaic words and phrases, point to a date about 400 BC or later. The book of Joel was written late, possibly in the first half of the 4th century BC, after the reforms of Ezra and Nehemiah.
     * II Kings 14:25
     ** Jonah 3:3
     The three great books, Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel stand in the chronological order of the men whose names they bear, and their prophecies relate to periods within the wider span covered by "the Twelve." Because of their outstanding quality and greatness their eventual inclusion with "the Prophets" was never in doubt. The whole collection probably took place gradually after the return of the Jews from exile. Most scholars are agreed that these books, however variously arranged in order, were accepted as the second great division of the Hebrew Bible by 200 BC, and perhaps as early as 250 BC, and that it was then considered as a closed collection. It is suggested by Jewish writers that "the Twelve" were put together and regarded as one book because each of them was comparatively small. As separate rolls they could have been lost. Jonah, so different from the rest, may have been included to make the round number 12 and because he is described as a prophet in II Kings 14:25. The largest roll, Zechariah, probably originally consisted only of chapters 1 to 9. At later dates the rest of the chapters may have been joined on to leave the number of "the Twelve" undisturbed.

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There is evidence in chapters 10 to 14 pointing to something of the sort.

The Writings

     No precise date can be determined for the completion of the third division of the Hebrew Bible. In view of the wide variety of its contents, some of very early date and some quite late, we can only suppose that all the books of this collection were known by the time of the Lord's Advent. It is possible that one or two of them may not have been accepted as canonical by the Jews until a little later. The Hebrew title is simply "Writings," although a Greek title Haggiographa or "sacred writings" is now frequently used.
     The three books which come first in this division (Psalms, Proverbs, Job), besides being the largest (except for Chronicles), have probably been classed together by reason of their poetical form. The 150 Psalms, collected over quite a long period, were given the Hebrew title Tehillim meaning "Praises." The word for a single psalm is mizmor, for which there is no plural. It means "to play the lyre," as does the Greek word psalmos. From the time of David onwards these sacred songs have been used by the Jews for singing or chanting to a musical accompaniment in their worship. This distinguishes them from all the other books of their "scriptures," and is probably the only reason for their relegation to this division of the Hebrew Bible. David is by universal tradition regarded as the founder of this sacred psalmody, but many of the compositions are of much later date. It would seem that the collection may have been arranged and re-arranged several times before reaching its present form.
     The book of Proverbs, consisting of a loose collection of wise sayings, belongs to what has been called the "wisdom literature" of the Hebrews. It is set out in poetic parallelisms not unlike the Psalms. Various statements therein indicate that it came from different sources, some ancient and others less so, and two sections are ascribed to Solomon. The book of Job also belongs to "wisdom literature," but scholars have held widely differing views as to its date. It has been assigned to almost every period from the time of Moses or even earlier up to the return from exile. As a complete poem its theme and general balance set it apart in a class by itself as something like an epic. Swedenborg states that it is a book of the Ancient Church, but without an internal sense treating solely of the Lord, thus "not of the books called the Law and the Prophets."*
     * AC 3540
     The "Five Rolls" which form the second section of this collection have been grouped together simply for convenience because they were read after the Law in the public service of the synagogue on five specified festivals or solemn days.

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The Song of Songs was read on the eighth day of the Feast of the Passover. This was on account of an allegorical interpretation of the book with a reference to the history of the Exodus. Ruth was read on the second day of the Feast of Weeks or Pentecost, the feast of harvest. Lamentations was read on the ninth day of the month Ab, the traditional date of the destruction of both temples. Ecclesiastes, because it recommends the thankful enjoyment of life's pleasures, was read on the third day of the feast of Tabernacles, the most joyful of Jewish feasts. The book of Esther was read at the festival of Purim (i.e. "lots"). It describes the origin of this, and it was associated with the dedication of the second temple.
     The contents of these books have nothing in common. The Song of Songs, the original Hebrew title, is a superlative like "heaven of heavens" given to a love poem with male and female speakers distinguished in the Hebrew by the gender of the words. The book has always been interpreted allegorically, although widely different views have been held as to the date of its composition and the nature of the allegory. Peculiarities in the language are usually regarded as post-Exilian. Ruth traces the genealogy of David to the Moabitess whose name it bears. It tells of events about a hundred years before David. Most scholars consider it to be of early date with probably some additions made after the exile. It does not seem to have been considered as fit for inclusion with "the former prophets." Lamentations in the Hebrew has as its title the first word, "How." It consists of five lamentations or elegies each occupying one chapter. Prefixed to these in the Septuagint version is the statement, "And it came to pass after Israel was led into captivity, and Jerusalem laid waste, that Jeremiah sat weeping, and lamented with this lamentation over Jerusalem, and said. . . ." It seems to have had an unquestioned acceptance as a special part of the prophecy of Jeremiah. Its separation from Jeremiah can only have been for convenience of use in reading as one of the "Five Rolls."
     Ecclesiastes is so named from a Greek rendering of its Hebrew title "Koheleth." This has been taken as an ascription to Wisdom, calling together and speaking to an assembly or congregation. Its language dates it as quite late in the 4th century BC. Although it is ascribed to Solomon as son of David and King of Jerusalem, renowned for his wisdom, it has nothing to say of the follies of his life. The book of Esther belongs to about the same period of the Persian ascendency, perhaps a little earlier. Written to account for the feast of Purim, it makes no mention of God and in this is unique in Hebrew literature. Its right to a place in the canon of scripture has been disputed by both Jews and Christians, although it became highly regarded in later Judaism when for patriotic reasons it was considered as the chief of the "Five Rolls."

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     We now come to the three books which the Jews placed last in their Bible. Of these the book of Daniel contains the personal history of the prophet Daniel covering the period from about 606 to 535 BC. Parts of it were written in Hebrew and parts in Aramaic, long after the events recorded. In this respect it resembles the book of Jonah, but its highly symbolic style and apocalyptic prophecies resemble parts of Zechariah. It was written very late, probably after 170 BC, about the time of Antiochus Epiphanes at the beginning of the Maccabean period, according to most scholars. This would account for its exclusion from "the Prophets," which was then a completed collection. The books of Ezra and Nehemiah were originally one book relating events associated with the activity of those two men who played a very prominent part in the consolidation of Judaism after the exile. They take up the recording of events just where the books of the Chronicles leaves off. Chronicles, or "journals" or "annals" as they were named by the Jews, were first referred to as "a chronicle of the whole of sacred history" by Jerome. The Septuagint title was Paraleipomena or "things passed over," but this is quite inappropriate because they have a clear literary plan which in its own way covers the whole history from the creation to the Babylonian captivity. Because it traces David's descendants to the sixth generation after Zerubbabel,* the composition of this work must be at least as late as the close of the Persian and the beginning of the Greek period.
     * I Chron. 3:19 ff.
     Turning now as promised to the Gospels for a record of the Lord's own references to "the scriptures," we find the most explicit statements in the 24th chapter of Luke. After His resurrection the Lord spoke with two disciples on the road to Emmaus, and they told Him of their bewilderment at the recent events in Jerusalem. When He had heard them, "Then He said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken: ought not Christ (i.e. the Messiah) to have suffered these things, and to enter into His glory! And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning Himself.* Later when these two disciples had returned to Jerusalem and joined the eleven apostles, Jesus again appeared to them, and after He had given evidence of His reality, that He was not just a ghost, He said: "These are the words which I spake unto you while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and the prophets, and the Psalms, concerning Me."** Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures.
     * Luke 24:25-27
     ** Luke 24:44

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     Here we find the Lord referring in the first statement to the two great divisions of the Hebrew Bible, the Law and the Prophets, as being, when expounded or opened, concerned with Himself. In the second statement He is even more specific and refers in similar terms to the Law of Moses, the Prophets, and the Psalms. The addition of the Psalms to the Law and the Prophets is usually taken by Christian commentators as a reference (by the title of its first book) to the whole of the Haggiographa or third division of the Hebrew Bible. There is not a shred of evidence that the Jews ever used the term "Psalms" in this way. To them "the Psalms" have always been the Psalms and nothing more.
     If, then, we take this statement of the Lord as a starting point and compare it with the New Church list of books of "the Word," we find that the only difference is the addition of Lamentations and Daniel. The list published by Swedenborg includes these two books, the Psalms, and the whole of the Later and the Prophets of the Hebrew Bible. As we have already noted Lamentations originally belonged with Jeremiah. It may reasonably be inferred that the Lord was aware of its inner content and prophetic quality as having regard to Himself. In His consciousness in the world He would have thought of it as one of the Divinely inspired scrolls wherein He might instruct His Human and have communion with His Divine Soul which He called Father. The Lord's view of Daniel in both Matthew* and Mark,** when He warned of "the abomination of desolation spoken of by Daniel the prophet," shows that He included Daniel as one of the Divinely inspired prophets through whom He gave His Word. As the Psalm says, "The Lord gave the Word, great is the army of those that published it."***
     * Matt. 24:15               
     ** Mark 13:14
     *** Ps. 68:11 PRESERVATION OF THE WORD 1979

PRESERVATION OF THE WORD              1979

Earths in the Universe 113: There are many reasons, concerning which I had information from heaven, why it pleased the Lord to be born and to assume the human on our earth, and not on another. The PRINCIPAL REASON was because bf the Word, in that it might be written on our earth; and when written be afterwards published throughout the whole world; and when once published be preserved to all posterity; and that thus it might be made manifest, even to all in the other life, that God became Man.

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ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS COUNCIL OF THE CLERGY 1979

ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS COUNCIL OF THE CLERGY       B. DAVID HOLM       1979

     The 81st annual meetings of the Council of the Clergy of the General Church were held March 5-9, 1979 in the Council Chamber of the Bryn Athyn Cathedral. The opening service, conducted by the Rt. Rev. Louis B. King, was held in the nave of the cathedral.
     Present at these meetings were three members of the episcopal degree, forty-five of the pastoral degree, five of the ministerial degree, and ten guests. This was a total of 63 men and was the largest attendance in the history of the General Church. These men were:

     Bishop Louis B. King, Bishop George de Charms, Bishop Willard D. Pendleton; the Rev. Messrs. Alfred Acton, Glenn G. Alden, Kurt H. Asplundh, Arne J. Bau-Madsen, Bjorn A. H. Boyesen, Ragnar Boyesen, Peter M. Buss, Mark R. Carlson, Geoffrey S. Childs, William H. Clifford, Robert H. P. Cole, Stephen D. Cole, Harold C. Cranch, Roy Franson, Michael D. Gladish, Victor J. Gladish, Daniel W. Goodenough, Daniel W. Heinrichs, Willard L. D. Heinrichs, B. David Holm, Geoffrey H. Howard, Robert S. Junge, Brian W. Keith, Thomas L. Kline, Ottar T. Larson, Kurt P. Nemitz, Ormond deC. Odhner, Walter E. Orthwein, III, Dandridge Pendleton, Martin Pryke, Norman H. Reuter, Morley D. Rich, Norman E. Riley, Norbert H. Rogers, Donald L. Rose, Frank S. Rose, Patrick A. Rose, Erik Sandstrom, Erik E. Sandstrom, Frederick L. Schnarr, David R. Simons, Christopher R. J. Smith, Lorentz R. Soneson, Kenneth O. Stroh, Douglas M. Taylor, Christopher Bown, J. Clark Echols, Andrew J. Heilman, Robert D. McMaster, N. Bruce Rogers; by invitation Candidates Mark E. Alden, Eric Carswell, Kent Junge, Cedric King, Alain Nicolier, Allison Nicholson, Arthur Schnarr, Lawson Smith; and in addition two guests, the Rev. George McCurdy and the Rev. Bill Burke.

     Bishop King opened the First Session by greeting the members and welcoming the candidates and special guests. He spoke of our priestly uses and the variety of enlightenment we bring to these meetings and expressed the deep hope that understanding be a right understanding. After the minutes were adopted as published in New Church Life, June, 1978, pp. 277-288, certain announcements were made and the Rev. Norman E. Riley gave the Council the greetings of the South African Mission. The Bishop then gave his report.

     He spoke of both growth in membership and in the number of doctrinal classes offered our membership. He also spoke of the numerical growth in our clergy which may herald a new threshold of development in the Church.

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This makes necessary long-range planning of both a budgetary and developmental nature. He then spoke of our relationship with the New Church Conference Church in Australia and also of our relations with Convention.
     He expressed appreciation to those priests throughout the Church who had given special assistance to the Episcopal office during the year. He also announced that the 1980 General Assembly would be held in Guelph, Ontario. The Olivet and Carmel Churches would be our hosts.
     He next spoke of the recognition of priests from other bodies of the New Church and their training. Recent developments had made decisions in this matter necessary.
     He reported on several committees of the General Church. The Worship and Ritual Committee continues its work, but a new liturgy is far off. He said that the Sunday School Committee should be taken out of the Council of the Clergy and formed into a General Church Committee with lay members. He also spoke of the need to form a committee to consider a New Church translation of the Word. He concluded his report by thanking the assembled priests for their communications and support.
     The next item of business was the report of the Committee appointed last year to consider the various aspects of membership in the Council of the Clergy. This report led to a lengthy discussion with many men participating. The discussion ended when it was decided to table the matter for a year.
     The rest of the first session was spent on considering the letter of reply to Convention's Council of Ministers. The Rev. Douglas Taylor was asked to open the discussion by giving a report on the meeting of a committee of our Council with a committee of Convention's Council. Our letter of reply was then read and accepted in its revised form.
     On Tuesday, March 6th, at 10:00 a.m., after worship, the Second Session was called to order. After announcements and several items of business, the secretary announced the Council's preferences as to the papers and topics on the docket, voted on at the first session.
     Mr. Donald Rose's paper on Thought Concerning the Divine was the first paper called for. In this stimulating paper, Mr. Rose stressed the teaching that the Divine Human is an object of thought. We are to think of the Divine Human of the Lord, for the Divine itself cannot be comprehended in thought. The teaching that we are to be "continually mindful of the Lord," was considered in some detail. What universally reigns infills the whole mind. Even when a good man is unconscious of the Divine Human and is meditating on or doing other things, still thought of the Lord remains in his mind unconsciously and directs him.

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Still we are to have directed thoughts of the Lord and are to think of Him frequently. Even the simple can have an idea of the Divine Human when they think of the Lord's life on earth and especially of His passion on the cross. Only those in charity can have real thought about the Divine Human, for the evil cannot perceive the Divine Human. Thoughts about the Lord's temptation while on earth were also taken up, with the intriguing question of whether or not the angels think of the Lord's temptations when He was on earth. The indication from the Writings are that they do, but in a joyful way in that these temptations were means of the Lord's glorification and salvation of the human race. Also the subject of the Lord's thoughts while He was in the human on earth was brought up. Mr. Rose concluded with a treatment of the great need for us to have a specific focus of thought upon the Lord in His Human.
     A lively discussion followed this paper. In this discussion, the need for New Churchmen to have a satisfying idea of the Lord as the Divine Human, was stressed, for we are to worship a visible God. This includes a concept of a visible God in One Person. The question was raised as to whether various sects of the Christian Church see the Lord in the Divine Human. Some present felt that they do. In the New Church the presence of the Lord can be perceived and therefore there can be conjunction with Him. The idea that the angels think of the Lord's temptation was also discussed. When the angels think of good and truth they see the Lord as outside of them, but when they think from good and truth they sense the Lord as present with them. Many present expressed their appreciation for this thought-provoking paper.
     The next item called for was the report by Mr. Alfred Acton, President of the Academy. He gave a rather detailed report on the Academy which was appreciated. He spoke of the new adult extended education plan. The lower enrollment we will experience in the near future means that our teachers will have to do new things. He spoke of the development in guidance help offered in academics, career, and personal areas. He also mentioned the need of health education from Kindergarten through College as to alcohol, drugs and sex. He also stated the hope that more progress will be made in demonstrating the doctrines in science courses. He reported that currently four major studies are being made by Academy teachers. These studies include one on esthetics, one on the cultural background of Swedenborg's century, one on time and creation, and one on unusual terms and phrases used in the Writings. He also announced that there would be three summer courses (primarily for New Church teachers) on Genesis, the History of Israel and Mythology. He spoke of curriculum development and several new courses in college with good results in the interdisciplinary major.

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He also spoke of the new post of Development Officer and explained what he hoped of it.
     This report was received with appreciation. There were also appreciative comments on the letters from the President of the Academy to the pastors in the field. One man pointed out the need of priestly input in the development of the curriculum of the Girls' School.
     The final item of the second session was a motion that the Sunday School Committee be released from the Council in order that it might become a Committee of the General Church. The motion carried.
     The Third Session opened at 3:00 p.m. on Tuesday afternoon, March 6th. After some announcements, Mr. Robert Junge was called on to introduce his paper on The Relationship of the New Testament to the Old. This thoughtful paper had been circulated prior to the meetings and therefore Mr. Junge merely introduced the subject. He began by saying that the affections and thoughts concerning the Lord on earth, as revealed in the New Testament, are very different than those apparent in the Old Testament, for when the Lord came on earth He became closer to man. Mr. Junge traced the human emotion of hatred as it is spoken of in the Old Testament, New Testament and Writings, as an example of how one Revelation builds on another. The Old Testament cannot be understood without the New, nor can the New Testament be understood without the Writings. We need all three Revelations. Mr. Junge warned of the dangers of mistaking interior natural thought and motivation for spiritual thought and affection. This is done in many movements and cults today. Often the human feelings expressed in the New Testament are used to confirm these false notions. The New Testament must be seen in the light of the Writings if the genuine spiritual is to rule.
     A stimulating discussion of this paper then followed. The question of when to teach the New Testament to our children was raised. Is seventh and eighth grade too early, when we consider that the New Testament contains the most interior doctrine of the Church-the Divine Human? Should children be allowed to think of God from Person? The need for more doctrinal studies of the New Testament was mentioned, for we need a thorough grounding in this if we are to be familiar with the Trine as revealed in the New Testament. There is a need to see the Lord in the New Testament before we can truly see Him in the Writings, for the New Testament reveals the external of the Divine Human whereas the Writings reveal the internal of the Divine Human.
     Mr. Junge was called upon to "sum up." He stressed the adult's need of the New Testament, for the Word is an organic whole.
     The next item called for was Bishop de Charm's paper on How Many Last Judgments Have There Been.

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In this brief paper, he pointed out the apparent paradox in the Writings where in one place they speak of three last judgments and in another place speak of four.* (1. Most Ancient Church, 2. Israelitish Church, and 3. Christian Church: and 1. Most Ancient Church, 2. Ancient Church, 3. Israelitish Church, and 4. Christian Church.) He felt that AC 3353 held the clue to this apparent contradiction. Here it is taught that a Last Judgment is the end of the church with a nation. The speaker stressed the teaching that there was the first or original Ancient Church, then the Church "Eber" or the second Ancient Church, and finally the Jewish Church or "Third Ancient Church." When the Lord was on earth, He judged all since the time of the Flood, which of course includes the first Ancient Church. His conclusion was that the judgment on the Ancient Church, spoken of in AC 931 was only a partial judgment. The final judgment upon the Ancient Church was accomplished by the Lord after His Advent on earth.
     * See AC 931 and 2118
     In the discussion of this paper, it was said that the three judgments make a one, for there has been a three-step build up of the Church. It was also pointed out that the three judgments took place in the spiritual world and were universal judgments. There have been other judgments in this world. Also many little judgments lead up to a final judgment.
     Mr. B. David Holm was next asked to raise the topic he had placed on the docket-A Service In Lieu of Betrothal. In introducing this subject, Mr. Holm explained that he had difficulty seeing how a couple in sexual disorder could properly be betrothed and take on the spiritual representation of the bridegroom representing the Lord and the bride the Church. Yet he also had difficulty seeing how a marriage of the spirits (which is the purpose of betrothal) could be denied anyone who desires it. He therefore proposed a service in lieu of betrothal in which betrothal is not mentioned, but in which repentance is mentioned and the marriage of the spirits is stressed.
     This led to a lengthy discussion. Some felt that where there was disorder, there should not be a betrothal, for the proper state could not be recaptured. Others felt that a service in lieu of betrothal would be setting up another rite of the Church and should be avoided. Still others felt that where there is disorder a regular betrothal service is still useful if the couple brings themselves into order. The question of whether we can withhold the rites of the Church from our people was also discussed.
     The Third Session adjourned shortly after 5:00 p.m.
     The Fourth Session began with worship led by Bishop Pendleton at 10:00 a.m., Wednesday, March 7th. It had been agreed to hear from the Program Committee during this session.

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After some announcements, Mr. Michael D. Gladish read his paper on Order and Providence. In this thought-provoking paper, Mr. Gladish stressed that he had written his paper for the Council only in order to share some thoughts on Providence and Order. His main thesis was that nothing can be outside of the framework of Providence and therefore all things are of order as well. This is of course the widest concept of order, for it includes evil and falsities as well. All is under the government of the Lord. Thus the Lord is never frustrated, disappointed or confounded, for He regards things from ends, and in this sense there is no disorder-nothing that is outside of Divine law. Yet the Writings speak of "lapses from order" and the falsification and even destruction of the Church. But there is always the restoration of order and the remnant of the fallen Church. These are apparent contradictions, yet there are often two ways to look at things, and this is true even of the Lord's order. The Lord can and does use evil and falsity to bring about His eternal purposes. The speaker illustrated this from the letter of the Word. The Lord foresees evil and whatever is foreseen is foreseen because it is provided, for the Lord foresees from eternity. Numerous passages from the Writings were referred to. The Lord's purposes are irrefutable and, in a sense, inevitable, whether they are actually brought about by good or evil means. Foresight and Providence are two sides of one coin. Human freedom depends on this. Foresight and Providence unite in use, and use is the one irrefutable condition of all existence. Even the free turning away from God is within the general structure of order. Order is an inevitable function of freedom. The Lord's will, will be done, and He wills us to be free. We must realize that there is a Divine point of view and a merely human point of view. "Man can never be led better than he is (by the Lord)."* The last part of Mr. Gladish's paper dealt with accident, sickness and disease as a result of spiritual causes.
     * SD 3114
     Mr. Alfred Acton next gave an introduction to his paper on Pastoral Government, which had been distributed previously. He spoke of the General Church's principles of council, assembly, and unanimity, as applied to a local society's government. "The Lord must build the house. . . ." We are but watchmen and workers in the Lord's Kingdom. But we can hope that our organization will cooperate with the Lord in upbuilding that Kingdom. The model of society government is the government of the human form. Even as a human being has soul, mind and body, so the Lord is the soul of any church body. The pastor together with the laity (Council) form the mind, while the organization, that is, the congregation, together with the pastor and Board of Directors, form the body. The Pastor, as governor, must be worthy.

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As pastors we should pray for enlightenment and skill in studying the Word. The pastor is to set an example. One of the main purposes in pastoral government is the encouragement of the good of life. The whole organization is to look to use in order that there may be order and unity. The whole concept of Assembly is that there may be a spirit of unanimity. The lay council which together with the pastor forms the mind, must know the body. It is not so much to represent the body as to be reflective of the body. If it was to represent only, the majority would rule and this could destroy unanimity. We must have a variety of concepts if we are to have an organic whole and if the pastor is to govern wisely. The pastor in his government is to propose, while the congregation and the lay board are to dispose. Thus in pastoral government there should be a climate of freedom in which the good desires of the people may be ultimated.
     Mr. Frank Rose was next called upon to introduce his paper, Innocence In Government, which also had been circulated in advance of the meetings. He began by saying that first we should ask the question of why we do something the way we do-some tradition of the Church in specific. We then defend the tradition and we may find that the defense is not satisfactory. We then must research the Writings to examine the tradition. In our research we may find that the Writings tell us little or nothing about the tradition. We then should study the history of the past to see why we developed the tradition. And then we should consider the needs of the present. He spoke of our name "The General Church of the New Jerusalem" and traced its adoption in the early days after the break with Bishop Benade. Its adoption was far from unanimous and it was accepted almost by default. He described how in studying for his paper on the development of government in the New Church he went to New Church Life, old minute books, and the archives. In doing this he was first fascinated, but later became distressed, for whole movements in the Church had been disrupted by certain people insisting they were right. He said he was led to question how we can best examine ourselves as a Church and our government so that we can be a better and renewed tool of the Lord. No one person can save the Church, but each of us can save it from ourselves. And also we can change our garments without destroying the Church. Traditions, blindly followed, can inhibit the growth of the Church.
     After a few announcements the Fourth Session closed at 12:30 p.m.
     The Fifth Session began at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday afternoon. By pre-arrangement the session began an hour earlier than usual in order that there might be small-group discussion of Mr. Michael Gladish's paper on Order.

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There were eight such discussions held simultaneously in various parts of the Cathedral. At 3:00 p.m. the men assembled in the Council Chamber and it was decided to discuss Mr. Acton's and Mr. Rose's paper given at the morning session.
     The discussion of Mr. Acton's paper brought up the following points. Can a council merely reflect a society's feelings without also representing those people? The members of a council should feel that their counsel is taken seriously. We should have open agenda at Pastor's Council meetings. We should not already have made up our minds when we go to a meeting of a Pastor's Council, yet we are to unite our people to promote the uses of the Church. Some concern was expressed about the amount of administrative duties of pastors. There should be time for serious studies also. The criticism a pastor receives was discussed. If it is just, we should accept it in an open and appreciative manner. The priest as "an example" was also discussed.
     In the discussion of Mr. Rose's paper, appreciation of its survey of our history was expressed. There was general agreement that the mere following of tradition is not good. Our traditions should be examined with each generation. The question of whether the Ordination of a priest is from the Lord was brought up. Some felt this was implicit in the establishment of the priesthood in the Israelitish Church and also in the ordination of the twelve apostles by the Lord. Further thought on the subject was also urged. As to the government of the Church, the following points were brought up. The government of the Church should be according to the government of the Human Form, for this is how the Lord governs by influx. Freedom is the essence of all government. This is the government of the Lord's love and wisdom. In the New Church we are to have no external without an internal. There are varieties of government in heaven. There were a number of comments on the three degrees of the priesthood and the episcopal form of government as developed in the General Church.
     The next item from the docket called for was the report of the Dean of the Theological School. Mr. Robert Junge reported that there would be three new students next year, while six will be ordained. The student's academic load is of real concern with many. No more than five courses per term are now required, but that is a heavy load for graduate students. Re-scheduling does not look too promising. Added to their academic load is their preaching in other centers of the Church. In his judgment their lives are too harried, without enough time for family or social life. He suggested that we examine the priestly load throughout the Church. We all need time for reflection. Yet members of the Council keep suggesting additions to the curriculum, but at present this cannot be done. He also spoke of the type and quality of the sermons produced by the students. It may seem as if the instructors and students are in "ivory towers," but he did not think this to be the case.

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He asked, should the Theological School train men primarily in the basics for inauguration into the first degree and then have them further trained under experienced pastors before they are ordained into the second degree? He closed by asking for the support, enlightenment and counsel of the priesthood as a whole.
     There were several comments on this report. A number of men expressed their confidence and support and spoke of the good training of the Candidates. It was pointed out that all first degree priests cannot serve under pastors as things now stand. Several suggestions were made. Students should learn to adapt terms and training in extemporaneous speaking. There needs to be thorough pastoral instruction. They need to learn how to work with children. They also need to be able to contact the outside world. Two young ministers spoke in favor of the "ivory tower" concept, for there has to be training in doctrine before we can accommodate it.
     The Fifth Session adjourned at 5:00 p.m.
     The Sixth Session opened at 10:00 a.m., Thursday, March 8th. After worship and the usual procedural matters, Mr. Erik Sandstrom, Sr. was asked to give his paper on Simultaneous Order. He began his paper by reviewing the teachings about discrete and continuous degrees and about successive and simultaneous order. He stated that simultaneous order must not be confused with continuous degrees. We should keep the teachings about continuous degrees separate from the teachings about successive and simultaneous order. "Every operation is first successive and afterwards simultaneous. Successive operation is influx and simultaneous operation is harmony."* In successive order we have highest, middle and lowest, but in simultaneous order we have innermost, middle, and outermost. We should try to remove thought of any time sequence in this. Nor should we think specially as of one degree being "higher" and another "lower" or "inner" or "outer." For, while these terms are used, they take on the limitations of language. "In every outmost there are discrete degrees in simultaneous order for they are successive compositions."** The same is true of every effect. These teachings tell us that prior things that compose lower things, down to ultimates, are all without change present and active within their derivatives, and thus within all ultimates. It is from this that the teaching comes that power resides in ultimates.
     * Influx 1e
     ** DLW 207
     Mr. Sandstrom then went on to apply this thesis to the human mind, to the spiritual world, to the Word, and to the Lord. Concerning the mind, Mr. Sandstrom stated that the mind is formed by successive compositions of organic substances, and spiritual qualities are stamped on these substances which are also of successive compositions.

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These rest upon an outmost or ultimate where they are in simultaneous order. He identified this outmost containment with the limbus. Concerning the spiritual world he concluded that all things of creation in the spiritual world (from the radiant belts on down) are together on earth, for all spiritual things and natural things were created by successive formation and at last come to rest in ultimates in simultaneous order on earth. Thus the spiritual world is within the natural world, for "the ultimate degree is the complex, the containant and the basis of the prior degrees."* From this we can see why "the uses of all created things ascend by degrees from ultimates to man, and through man to God the Creator, from whom they are."** Concerning the Word, in its essence it is the Lord and by successive descent it became celestial, spiritual and natural. Thus the letter of the Word is from the prior degrees or senses. Yet this letter "is the basis, the containant, and support of the inner senses."*** For in the literal sense all the inner senses are in simultaneous order-thus in their power. Concerning the Lord, Mr. Sandstrom pointed out that we are taught that before the Lord assumed the Human or Divine Natural in the world, He had the two prior degrees (celestial and spiritual) actually and the third degree (natural) potentially. But after He assumed the Human in the world He put on this third degree over the two prior degrees. These are the three successive degrees of the Lord, but the whole of the Divine is simultaneously present in the Divine Natural, for "in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily."**** Because this is true, the whole human mind, from inmosts to outmosts, can be enlightened, led and blessed by the Divine that proceeds from the Divine Human-the Divine Natural.
     * DLW 209               
     ** DLW 65
     *** SS 21
     **** Col. 2:9
     A number of men commented on this thoughtful paper. One man wondered if successive order did not pertain to the ordering of discrete degrees, and simultaneous order to the ordering of continuous degrees. Did the Lord reduce His Natural into simultaneous order? There are both discrete and continuous degrees in the natural world. Another man felt that the spiritual and natural suns were created simultaneously. The spiritual was not prior to the natural. The three heavens are both in successive and simultaneous order. It was said that spiritual things enter into the natural by composition just as energy enters into matter by composition. The spiritual is not just a finer natural. As to the Word, it was stated that the sense of the letter holds -the spiritual sense in its order, form and connection. And it was said that the internal sense was before the literal sense.

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     The next paper decided upon was the paper by Mr. Douglas Taylor on Receptive States In the Christian World. Mr. Taylor gave a resume of this paper, which also had been distributed before the meetings. He had chosen as his theme the messages to the seven churches in Asia.* Each of these messages is intended for some state in the Christian Church which is receptive of the New Church. Thus there are seven groups of people in the Christian World to whom the message of the New Church is to be given.
     * Rev. 2 and 3
     By those in the Church of Ephesus are meant those who primarily regard the truths of doctrine and not the goods of life. They see the Lord as the source of truth and study the Word, but they do not sufficiently apply the truths to their own lives. We should feed their desire for truth, but also present to them our doctrine of charity. The Church in Smyrna are those who are in the good of life, but in falsities as to doctrine, for while they do not deny the Lord's Divine Human, they do not acknowledge it either. They would seem to believe in an invisible God. Therefore, their good is spurious or meritorious. We should appeal to their desire to live a good life. Our doctrines of charity and life would appeal and would teach them that no one can lead a genuinely good life without acknowledging the Lord in His Human. The Church in Pergamos represents those who place the whole of religion in good works. They are in ignorance as to doctrine. They have to be led to see that before repentance good works are not good. Those in the Church of Thyatira seem to be those who are in the Evangelical denominations. Some of these are in faith alone, but others conjoin faith and charity. In our approach to these we should show the great falsity and evil that stem from the doctrine of faith separate from charity. We should show this from the letter of the Word. Those of the Church of Sardis are those who are in dead worship-that is, external worship without the internal of charity and faith. These are the pious. At least they are aware of religious things. From their love of worship we are to lead them to see that real worship is living the truths of the Word. Those in Philadelphia are almost ready-made New Churchmen, for they are in truths from good from the Lord, thus their faith is spiritual and their charity genuine. To such we need merely present the truths of the New Church which they eagerly accept. Very different are those meant by Laodicea, for these are in danger of profanation-of sometimes believing the truths of the Word and sometimes denying them. They are lukewarm. These people need to be treated with patience for they oscillate and also need affirmative friends and firm teaching. Mr. Taylor concluded by saying that there are many more teachings in the Writings about receptive states in the Christian world.

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     In the discussion that followed the opinion was expressed that often it is most fruitful to work with the clergy of the Christian Church. A recent such contact was described. It was also said we should seek for what is of order in those outside the Church, for these are gateways. Where there is disorder, we should try to turn back to order. We should not give up on the Thyatira state-those in faith alone. There is hope for them as well.
     The next item of business called for was Mr. Donald Rose's report on the "NIC File." (Passages not in the Swedenborg Concordance). He told the Council that a "Super NIC" was now finished-249 typed pages. He thanked all who had contributed to this work. There were expressions of appreciation for this valuable addition to New Church research tools. Hope was expressed that it would be widely circulated.
     The last item of business of this session was a presentation, by Mr. B. David Holm, of a proposed expansion of the Annual Report sent in by the Clergy. Sample copies were distributed and their was a good deal of discussion pro and con. Since there was not general unanimity as to the value of the expanded form, it was decided to table the matter.
     The sixth session ended at 5:00 p.m.
     The Seventh and Last Session opened with worship at 10:00 a.m., Friday, March 9th. After several announcements, and procedural matters, Mr. George McCurdy and Mr. Bill Burke expressed appreciation for having been invited to these meetings. Bishop King then announced that next year's program committee would be composed of Messrs. Daniel Heinrichs (chairman), Christopher Bown and Douglas Taylor. Their subject would be Conjugial Love In and By the New Church.
     Mr. Frank Rose was then called upon to give the report on the Agenda Committee, which had been formed last year. He explained that the purpose of this committee was to take action, not discussion. It is to stimulate new projects (such as pamphlets, etc.) among the clergy. Be distributed an agenda schedule of things that should be done. A number of men volunteered to do specific things. After this there was a full and generally affirmative discussion.
     After the coffee break there were a number of procedural matters taken care of. Mr. L. Soneson was then asked to speak to the item of business concerning the revision and printing of the Word. He explained that the present supply is getting rather low and we need to begin to plan to reprint. The question of a special children's copy of the Word should also be looked into. This led to a long discussion which included what type of Word would be best for our children's use in our schools, and also what translation to use when we reprint the Word. Pleas were made to form a committee to improve the King James version with translation corrections. This also was discussed and various opinions were expressed.

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Bishop King said he would form a committee to consider the various proposals.
     Mr. Stephen Cole was then asked to introduce his paper on Abrogation of Representatives, which had been previously circulated. His thesis was that not all representatives of the previous churches were abrogated or revoked at the time of the Lord's coming. Prior to His Advent, the Lord approached and instructed men only through representative forms. After the Advent the Lord could approach men immediately in the Divine Human and therefore representatives became less important. Mr. Cole traced the history of representatives from the time of the Most Ancient Church to its fall. In the Most Ancient Church the representatives and correspondences were "pure" for they were involved in the Lord's original order for man. But after the fall and the formation of the Ancient Church, the representations and correspondences that were added (such as animal sacrifices) were "impure," for they were according to man's fallen spiritual state and were involved in the Lord's provision to bring mankind back into a state of order, and to represent the Lord who was to come. In the Israelitish Church there were more changes in the representations of the Lord who was to come (such as the law of the firstborn). The Israelitish Church was merely representative, and this was the "low point" in the use of representations. But still they kept open the link between heaven and earth. These representatives could not last, for they were another provision until the Lord Himself could come on earth. When the Lord came into the world and glorified even His sensual, many representatives were abrogated, but Mr. Cole felt that these fall into the category of "impure" correspondences. Yet after the Advent the Lord did not turn "impure" correspondences back into pure correspondences, but rather instituted a new order of representatives (Baptism and the Holy Supper). Still many representatives were not abrogated and these are those which the Lord instituted at the time of the fall which correspond to the permanent order of the spiritual man as opposed to the celestial. As to representatives in the New Church, which ones should be used? Our externals should reflect the Lord's eternal order and the permanent order of the spiritual man. We have great freedom as to use of representatives, but we are to see that there is no external without a corresponding internal.
     In the discussion following, several men thanked the speaker for a well researched paper. One man felt that we can understand this subject from the Word. There is only one Word where the Lord is present. In the Old Testament He was present in representatives, but in the New Testament nothing represented the Lord except Baptism and the Holy Supper.

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In the New Testament He left symbols of Himself such as in the names-"Father, Son and Holy Spirit." But in the Writings the Lord is present correspondentially in the correspondences of ideas to words. As we study representatives more we will see the three revelations as one Word-one presentation of the Lord. Another man felt that the Writings teach that the Lord on earth represented Himself in the Human. He also felt that, as the Church fell into worse evil, representatives lost their efficacy and at last the connection between heaven and the human race was through significatives. Another commented on the teaching that in the Most Ancient Church generals of truths were revealed and particulars were perceived. We have to be very careful when we say that to the Most Ancients nature was a theater representative of the Lord. There has never been a natural theology. It has always been revealed. The view was expressed that some of our externals in the General Church no longer have internals because we don't understand them any more. The danger of over-manufacturing representatives was noted. Finally it was pointed out that the Writings do not say much about the fall of mankind, but do speak often of the flood. Perhaps we should speak of representatives instituted at the time of the flood rather than at the fall.
     The last item taken from the docket was that of the Daily Reading Calendar published by the General Church. Mr. Patrick Rose spoke to this. He expressed the opinion that this calendar was both costly and not really very effective. He questioned how many people followed it. He felt that an alternative could be developed that would better serve the church. This led to a lengthy discussion. Some felt a sufficient number of people used it to warrant its continuance. It was suggested that St be printed in the January issue of New Church Life. This would save on the cost. The value of "choir reading" was discussed and placed as an item on the agenda. It was suggested that Mr. Rose develop an alternate reading plan. He agreed to do so.
     The seventh and last session was closed at 12:30 p.m. with the Bishop giving the Benediction.
     In addition to the regular sessions, there were a number of social events. A social hour was held late Monday afternoon. On Monday evening an open house was held for ministers and their wives. On Wednesday evening there was a dinner for the members and guests of the Council. There were also small group luncheons on Tuesday and Thursday, a reception by the Bryn Athyn Society before Friday Supper and an open house at the Civic and Social Club after the General Church evening on Friday. In addition there were refreshments kindly served to the Council each morning by the Bryn Athyn Women's Guild.

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     The General Church evening was held following Friday Supper. Bishop King introduced the three speakers, who were Mr. Alain Nicolier, Mr. Ragnar Boyesen and Mr. Bjorn Boyesen. Mr. Nicolier spoke encouragingly of his work in France, centered in Burgundy and Paris. He traced something of the history of the French New Church and how it has been plagued by spiritism. Yet there are new beginnings of a far sounder kind. He mentioned the start of a newsletter, "The New Earth," and his visits to the people in Paris and elsewhere. He also spoke of the hopes of the people in France to begin a center in Burgundy which will help unify the Church in France.
     Mr. Ragnar Boyesen reported on the formation of the Scandinavian Swedenborg Society. All three branches of the New Church in Sweden are cooperating in this. The Society has been chartered and was officially recognized at a celebration held in connection with the Swedish government. The Scandinavian Swedenborg Society is patterned after the Swedenborg Society in London, which has advised and cooperated in the formation of this new organization. Its purpose is to translate, publish, and disseminate the Writings in Scandinavia.
     Mr. Bjorn Boyesen spoke of the great need of the translations of the Writings in the Scandinavian languages. Not only are some books out of print, but stocks of others are very low. Yet it is not a matter of merely reprinting, for the Scandinavian languages, especially the Swedish, have changed a great deal since the time the Writings were originally translated. The present translations are not acceptable or even readable. New traditions are greatest single need in Scandinavia. Work has now begun on this important use. Mr. Bjorn Boyesen, now living in Sweden, is giving most of his time to this translation work. Divine Providence (on which Mr. Kurt Nemitz has also worked) is now almost completed.
     B. DAVID HOLM,
          Secretary
JOINT COUNCIL 1979

JOINT COUNCIL       LORENTZ R. SONESON       1979

     1. The eighty-fifth regular meeting of the Council of the Clergy and the Directors of the Corporation of the General Church of the New Jerusalem, held in the Council Hall of the Bryn Athyn Cathedral on March 10th, 1979, was opened by the Rt. Rev. Louis B. King with the Lord's Prayer and reading from Psalm 119.

     2. Attendance:

     Of the Clergy: Rt. Rev. Louis B. King presiding, Rt. Rev. George de Charms; Rev. Messrs. A. Acton, G. G. Alden, K. H. Asplundh, A. J. Bau-Madsen, C. Bown, B. A. H. Boyesen,

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R. Boyesen, P. M. Buss, M. R. Carlson, G. S. Childs, W. H. Clifford, R. H. P. Cole, S. D. Cole, H. C. Cranch, J. C. Echols, R. Franson, M. D. Gladish, V. J. Gladish, A. J. Heilman, D. W. Heinrichs, W. L. D. Heinrichs, B. D. Holm, G. H. Howard, R. S. Junge, B. W. Keith, T. L. Kline, R. D. McMaster, K. P. Nemitz, O. deC. Odhner, W. E. Orthwein, M. Pryke, N. H. Reuter, N. E. Riley, N. B. Rogers, N. H. Rogers, D. L. Rose, F. S. Rose, P. A. Rose, E. Sandstrom, E. E. Sandstrom, F. L. Schnarr, D1 R. Simons, C. R. J. Smith, L. R. Soneson, K. O. Stroh, D. M. Taylor. (48)

     Of the Laity: Messrs. E. B. Asplundh, R. Asplundh, H. B. Bruser, W. W. Buick, D. H. Campbell, G. M. Cooper, B. A. Fuller, L. E. Gyllenhaal, S. D. Hill, W. S. Hyatt, J. F. Junge, A. H. Lindsay, H. K. Morley, R. M. Parker, G. Pitcairn, S. Pitcairn, J. W. Rose, J. V. Sellner, S. B. Simons, G. B. Smith, R. E. Walter, W. L. Williamson, J. Wyncoll, R. F. Zecher. (24)

     Guests: The Rev. Bill Burke; Candidates M. E. Alden, K. Junge, C. King, A. Nicholson, A. Nicolier, L. M. Smith. (7)

     3. The Minutes of the 84th Annual Meeting were accepted as published in NEW CHURCH LIFE, June, 1978, pp. 288-292.
     4. The Rev. Lorentz R. Soneson stated that the annual report of the Secretary of the General Church had been published in NEW CHURCH LIFE, November, 1978, pp. 532-537.
     5. The Rev. Geoffrey S. Childs, Chairman of the 28th General Assembly Committee reported to the Joint Council plans to date.
     He announced that Mr. Ivan Scott was Public Relations Committee head and after considerable research in the area between Kitchener and Toronto was satisfied that the Guelph University Campus was more than adequate for the scene of our next General Assembly. Mr. Childs announced that as far as the program for this Assembly is concerned, in addition to doctrinal papers to be presented, he was recommending to the Bishop and his Consistory that workshops be included on the program. Available on the campus are eight to ten large rooms accommodating as many as eighty people, where a variety of subjects could be presented to small groups. He said that art displays and musical programs, as well as tours, would be planned for all those attending. He also mentioned that no theme would be recommended, allowing speakers the freedom to pick their own subjects.
     Mr. Childs then introduced Mr. Keith Morley, another one of his committee heads, who reported that he had made a thorough investigation of past files of General Assemblies. He described how the Executive Committee, in making plans for this Assembly, had divided the responsibilities up into twelve functions. He outlined to the Joint Council how adequate publicity would be forthcoming through announcements in NEW CHURCH LIFE and several mailings throughout the whole church. Mr. Morley also made a plea to the pastors that a representative be selected in each Society with whom their committees could communicate directly.

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     Mr. Morley then introduced Mr. John Parker who gave to the Joint Council the specifics of Guelph University. He said the 1,000 acres provided buildings and facilities for 10,000 students. He then described the five or six buildings that would be rented by our General Assembly for sleeping quarters, meeting sessions, the cafeteria, rooms for seminars, and a large banquet hall-all within easy walking distance. He further explained that even though the Assembly will be in one of the warmer months, he felt that the stone building structures would maintain comfortable temperatures. The exact figures for cost of individuals had not yet been determined nor were they sure whether young people would have a reduced rate. Mr. Childs also explained that they are planning exciting young people's programs under the supervision of the Rev. Peter M. Buss. He also mentioned two nearby parks that would be more than adequate for those who chose to camp rather than reside in the dormitories. Even though past Assemblies have not provided baby watching services for parents with young children, they hoped that something could be worked out to encourage as large an attendance as possible. Bishop King thanked the committee for their careful preparation so far in advance of the Assembly.
     6. The Treasurer's Report was given to the Joint Board by Mr. Leonard Gyllenhaal. He said that detailed financial reports for 1978, including the 1979 budget had been presented to the Board and to the Corporation the preceding day. He reported that the 1978 actual expenditures were more than anticipated, but that the income was greater than planned. His conclusion was that it was a successful year although somewhat over budget. In reviewing some of the figures of the 1979 budget he pointed out that 22% ($192,000.00) is allocated for employee benefits. Mr. Gyllenhaal also reminded the group that the church is deeply indebted to the Pitcairn families for their contributions, and that there are now 53 contributing Pitcairn units. He said also that the planned increase for salaries is currently set at 60%, subject however to consideration at the Treasurers' Meeting this spring. He further stated that the health plan expenses are continually on the rise.
     Mr. Gyllenhaal, in response to a question by Mr. Robert Zecher asking how societies handled their own local billing of expenses, said that they all submit their budgets to the General Church Treasurer's Office for analysis and review. The Rev. Erik Sandstrom asked, as a traveling minister, whether he should promote contributions in his district. Are there ways in which he could instruct his laity? Can he obtain the facts concerning expenditures for his people? Mr. Gyllenhaal answered that all pertinent financial information is sent to treasurers from his office. In addition a Treasurer's Manual is being developed for distribution to each area.

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He explained that it is difficult to keep up to date with the changing personnel in our church locations. For example, there were four new treasurers introduced this past year. The Rev. Geoffrey Howard asked whether budgets were computed locally or whether they were developed at the General Church Treasurer's Office. Mr. Gyllenhaal replied that they were anxious for each locale to develop its own budget and submit this information to the Treasurer's Office, prior to the time of budgets being presented to the Board of Directors. Also, there is opportunity for revising the budget throughout the year when the need arises. The Rev. Erik Sandstrom also asked the Treasurer whether a new plan was being proposed for underwriting the cost of ministers attending the Assembly. Mr. Gyllenhaal said no, but that it would be reviewed at the May meeting of the Board of Directors.
     7. Mr. Bruce Fuller, Controller of the General Church, distributed a budget manual and reviewed some of the main points. He told the group that it followed pretty much along the lines that have been used in the past, but that now it was solidified into a written form. He thought that this would be useful but that any time practice is put into a written, solidified form, it loses something of the element of freedom. He said that the budget manual has not yet been fully approved but hoped for this in the near future. Mr. Fuller requested that each financial center throughout the church provide the home office with the information earlier than usual. Budget requests should be sent in in October and sent back with their review by the month of November of each year. The Rev. Glenn Alden asked the question whether Florida was operating as a Society or as a District. Mr. Fuller replied that this could be done either way, depending on their recommendation. The Rev. Geoffrey Childs pointed out that it is difficult to make projections, especially if there are tentative plans for a new minister coming into the area but not yet confirmed at the time the budget is made out. Mr. Gyllenhaal was sympathetic with the problem and said that he works closely with the Bishop in this regard. The Rev. Stephen Cole asked how budgets can be planned in advance, such as this coming year, with the potential of six new ministers to be placed. Assignments are not yet determined. The Treasurer answered that the six men had been planned for in the overall budget even though their locations have not yet been determined. Mr. Frederick Schnarr noted that contributions to the General Church are still lower than what they should be. He wondered if more publicity could be made of this fact, perhaps emphasizing some of the uses of the General Church in a publication like NEW CHURCH LIFE. He wondered further if the dollar figures presented in the financial reports could be reworded in simpler terms so that anyone could understand them.

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Mr. Stanley Hill emphasized the point stating that if the uses of the General Church were more clearly explained, dollars would be forthcoming. Bishop King thought that these uses were presented in a recent communication to the whole church from the Episcopal Office and the Treasurer's Office. Mr. Ragnar Boyesen stated he planned to present a survey of uses and expenses to those in Scandinavia in the near future. The Treasurer, Mr. Gyllenhaal, told the body that a professional fund raiser presented new ideas at a Treasurers' Meeting this past year. He also reiterated his plea that local treasurers and pastors provide his office with as much information as is possible each year. Bishop King pointed out that the new Development Officer for the Academy will be gathering such data as part of his assignment.
     8. There was no report from the Salary Committee by Mr. T. W. Brickman.
     9. The report of the Development Fund and Finance Committee was made by Mr. Leonard Gyllenhaal. He distributed a financial statement from that Committee that was self-explanatory. The Rev. Geoffrey Childs asked a question about the limitations of this Development Fund. Mr. Gyllenhaal answered that the limitation is set at $60,000.00 a year plus additional contributions. He added that the basic concept was not just for land development, but that these funds were available for other developments that would lead to church growth. The Rev. Peter Buss asked a question regarding the traveling fund of ministers to the Council Meetings. He wondered what the state of that fund was. Mr. Gyllenhaal reported that this is a privately endowed fund but that he encouraged ministers to choose the cheapest rates of travel whenever possible. Bishop King pointed out how useful this fund has been, as evidenced by the large attendance of ministers that so much enhanced the quality and usefulness of the Council of the Clergy Meetings. The Controller, Mr. Bruce Fuller, mentioned that Mr. Gosta Baeckstrom, a travel agent, reviewed all requests for travel submitted to the Treasurer's Office. The Rev. Bjorn Boyesen expressed his thanks for this travel fund and what it meant to him. He mentioned that he had gone a stretch of fourteen years between Council Meetings. He further expressed his thanks to the Treasurer's Office for the competent work they are doing in the church. This was followed by applause by all those in attendance.
     10. The Rev. Douglas Taylor, Chairman of the Extension Committee, spoke to his report that had been distributed to the Joint Council. He stated that his forty-one page report had been requested by the Bishop and that a lot of thought had been put into it. He hoped that all had read it and, after a brief review of its categories, asked for discussion and response from the Council.

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The Rev. Bjorn Boyesen pointed out that the work of Extension Committee projects will take some time in Scandinavia. He said that there was a great need for more pamphlets on many subjects that he hoped could be provided through the Extension Committee program. The Rev. Harold Cranch expressed his opinion that the Extension Committee was doing excellent work and leading the church in this important use. He felt that the Committee was gaining more and more support from the pastors and that many of the techniques for spreading the church were available right now, though others are still in the development stage. Mr. Cranch reported that he had just completed a trip around the world, expounding to some of our church centers about the extension work being developed in Glenview. He added that they had received over eighty responses to an ad in the local paper on the book Divine Providence and that they had received over 140 responses to the book Heaven and Hell. The Rev. Kurt Nemitz added his support to the Extension Committee and expressed his hope that we could expand this useful work by having our own printing operation. A suggestion was made that we be conscious of the words we use in our pamphlets. There are many New Church terms used that need explanation. Mr. Taylor thanked the Joint Council for their encouragement.
     11. The Bishop called for old or new business, and with no response, the meeting was adjourned.
          LORENTZ R. SONESON,
               Acting Secretary
ECCLESIASTICAL AND CIVIL GOVERNMENT 1979

ECCLESIASTICAL AND CIVIL GOVERNMENT              1979

NJHD 311: There are two things which ought to be in order with men, namely, the things which are of heaven and the things which are of the world. The things which are of heaven are called ecclesiastical, and those which are of the world are called civil.
     312: Order cannot be maintained in the world without governors, who are to observe all things which are done according to order, and which are done contrary to order; and who are to reward those who live according to order, and punish those who live contrary to order. If this be not done, the human race will perish. . . .

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"CONJUGIAL" 1979

"CONJUGIAL"              1979


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

Acting Editor                Rev. Ormond deCharms Odhner, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager                Mr. L. E. Gyllenhaal Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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

     TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$5.00 (U.S.) A year to any address, payable in advance. Single copy, 50 cents.
     Have we in the New Church, especially in the General Church, created something mysterious where nothing mysterious was intended, by our continued use of the terms, "conjugial, conjugial love," as translations of the Writings Latin, conjugial, amor conjugialis? This editorial will argue on both sides of that issue; but I hope it will stir further thought on the questions raised in the following provocative "letter to the editor" from the Rev. Frank S. Rose.

14 May, 1979
Bryn Athyn, Pa.
The Editor of New Church Life:

CONJUGIAL PARTNERS

Dear Sir,

     Your Editorial in the May "Life" talks about "finding a conjugial partner," and in it you say that "a person cannot have conjugial love until he is regenerated." (p. 227)

     I could agree with the statement if you would add the word "truly." Love truly conjugial and regeneration go hand in hand. It seems to me that our usage of the term "conjugial" in the Church is not consistent with its use in the Writings. The Latin word conjugialis is a poetic spelling of a very ordinary word describing a very well known love, the love that married partners have for each other.

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For years I have gone on the assumption that whenever "conjugial" is used in the Writings, it refers to love truly conjugial, but evidently this is not the case. Consider these instances: CL 78: 8 talks about conjugial love in the golden, silver, copper and iron ages, saying that it was celestial, spiritual, natural and sensuous respectively. CL 224e speaks of false and frigid "conjugial love." CL 368e talks of natural, spiritual and celestial conjugial love. Other passages indicate that virtually all married couples experience conjugial love, especially in the first states of marriage.     
     People sometimes wonder who their "conjugial partner" is. (The term "conjugial partner" is not used in the Writings). The answer is really quite simple. It is the person to whom they are married! The next time someone asks how you can tell who your conjugial partner is, tell them to look at their marriage certificate. This point would be very clear if we spoke instead of our "married partner," which is what the word "conjugial" implies.
     FRANK S. ROSE

     To such a great extent do I agree with Mr. Rose that I add this further fuel to his fire. (The passages here quoted and referred to were gathered for me by the Rev. N. Bruce Rogers, who some years ago made quite a study of this, and arrived at conclusions similar to those held by Mr. Rose.)
     It is well known that Swedenborg, almost from the first, used the rare Latin word, conjugial, rather than the ordinary Latin word, conjugal (our New Church "conjugial," rather than the world's "conjugal"). But the questions Mr. Rose raises still remain: Did he use that word to mean something more, something other, than its plain, ordinary English equivalent, "marital"?
     Apparently not. In the Economy of the Animal Kingdom, written in 1747, in Vol. I, n. 649,* he is teaching that to [almost] anything on a lower plane of life, something on a higher plane is related by correspondences. Then, at section VIII of this passage, he says, (my underlining):
     * In Clissold's English translation of The Economy, the last part of the first volume is bound in with the second. Why? It made for two volumes of more or less equal size. Anyway, this reference, EAK I, n. 649, is at the beginning of the second volume.

     To sexual intercourse corresponds love considered as an enticement and as an animal desire; to this, a purer love which wants a proper name, conjoined with the representation of another person in one's self, and of one's self in another, or of a certain most intimate connection; and to this, in the supreme degree, the representation of one's self in the preservation of one's own kind for the sake of more universal ends.

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     Remember that at this time in his life Swedenborg was already using the word, conjugial, and being an educated man, he most certainly must have known the more common Latin word for "marital," viz., conjugal. Yet here he is searching for a term for a higher love, more spiritual, than ordinary "marital love." There was no such term; so he says that this love "wants [lacks] a proper name."
     It is my belief that he finally coined his own term for this higher kind of love that can exist between married partners, that term with which we are now so familiar, "love truly conjugial."
     In 1742 Swedenborg wrote the Rational Psychology. In it, n. 207 contains a rather lengthy treatment of conjugial love (amor conjugialis). There, after having dealt with the conjunction of minds through conjugial or marital love, he says, "Hence arises a union still more intimate, which surpasses any union of the rational minds, and becomes such that it cannot be expressed in terms. . . ." (Once again, Italics mine.) Here again, in a passage titled "conjugial love," he is apparently still at a loss for a term to describe our "love truly conjugial."
     And one last bit of fuel for Mr. Rose's fire. The next passage in Rational Psychology, n. 208, treats of "conjugial hatred," odium conjugiale. Toward the end of this passage he says of conjugial hatred, "This is hell on earth." Surely, it's obvious that at least in this instance the word "conjugial" has in it nothing of the meaning we usually attach to the word in teaching our doctrines of conjugial love.

     Now, I cannot agree with some in the Church who believe that the Latin word, conjugial, should always be translated as "marital" or as "marriage" [used as an adjective in "marriage love"], and never as "conjugial," and that amor conjugialis should always be translated simply as "marital love" or "marriage love." My main reason for this is that to me it seems quite clear that sometimes by "conjugial love" Swedenborg meant what he usually calls "love truly conjugial." To translate that as marital love would be misleading, I think, since in the world around us "marital love" has almost exclusively sexual connotations. And I find it simply awkward English to speak of "love truly marital."
     There is also another reason I would hesitate to drop our translation, "conjugial love." It is a very old reason, and I have not heard it mentioned much in recent years. I believe I first heard it from the late Rt. Rev. Elmo C. Acton. It is to the effect that a new theology (such as has been given to the New Church) simply requires a new vocabulary, even as every new science requires its own new vocabulary. This argument bears a lot of thought before it is cast out.

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Think of some of our distinctively New Church terms: correspondences, proprium, celestial, Divine Human, conjugial. Would any ordinary English words fill their requirements? [The English word, own, for example is an exact equivalent for the Latin proprium; but who could make sense out of such phrases as "an intellectual own, a voluntary own"?] Shouldn't these phrases be retained, the argument runs, even if it means that newcomers to the Church will have to learn new words or new meanings for old words?
     On the other hand (and this again favors Mr. Rose), let us not confuse "Swedenborg's meaning" for certain terms (for example, "correspondence"), with "Swedenborgians' meanings." The former are meanings that Swedenborg himself employed, clearly and obviously; the latter are meanings that we "Swedenborgians" have read into his terms. The former, I think, must he retained; not so, the latter.

     There are those favoring the retention of old terms and old practices and old ways of thought, who say that it was "in Providence" that these things developed. For several reasons, I cannot accept that as a rational argument.
     First, in my own view of things, there is nothing that ever has happened or that ever can happen which is not "in Providence." Providence is the Lord's government of the human race to establish the kingdom of heaven. There's no getting away from that government. Everything that ever happens is governed by the infinite love and wisdom of the Lord. So why even bother to say that such and such is "in Providence"! Of course it is.
     Was it in Providence, then, that Swedenborg was "led" to use the word "conjugial" rather than "conjugal"? Of course it was. Was it "in Providence" that we have retained that Latin word, turning it into English? Of course it was. But is it right for us to do that? That is another question entirely.
     But a second and I think more important reason for objecting to "It's in Providence" as a rational argument is the simple fact that many people, when they say that, really mean, "I like this particular thing and therefore I can see all sorts of reasons why it is the will of the Lord."
     Certainly, that is not a rational argument, but what is worse, it makes it so that no one can argue against it without appearing to argue against the Lord. That's unfair. It would be perfectly rational, perfectly fair, however, to say, "I believe that this particular thing is according to the will of the Lord."

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     * * * * *

     So we get back to the original question, Should we continue to translate amor conjugialis as "conjugial love," or should we, frequently at least, change it to "marital love"?
     For over twenty years, now, I have spent most of my time dealing with the young people of the Church who are in the Academy's secondary schools and college. They talk about conjugial love a tremendous amount, and maybe that's a good thing, even though a lot of their talk shows that they misunderstand the subject pretty badly. But maybe they would talk less about it if we spoke about it as "marital love," and maybe they'd talk less about "finding a marriage partner," "a married partner," "a marital partner," than they now talk about 'finding a conjugial partner." Would that be a good thing, or not?
COMMUNICATION 1979

COMMUNICATION       STEPHEN D. COLE       1979

     "PREADAMITES"

To the Editor:

     Several assertions in the series of articles on the Preadamites (New Church Life, January 26-32, February 64-71, March 109-115, April 154-159) by the Rev. Alfred Acton, II, impel me to offer the following comments.
     1) I do not believe that the suggestion that love of procreation is only a natural love squares with the teachings of the Writings. The propagation of the human race and thence of the angelic heaven (and there is no other way to propagate the angelic heaven) is said in the Writings to be the highest of all uses.* Mr. Acton's specific words are: "The love of the sex, for example, which looks to the propagation of the race in the world, is a natural love."** In fact, however, the truth is quite the reverse of what is here suggested. The love of the sex becomes merely natural when the love of procreating is removed from it.***
     * CL 68; AE 991:3          
     ** P. 112
     *** SD 1202-1203
     2) A most remarkable claim, which is made repeatedly in this series, is that the scientifics in revelation can be wrong. As far as I could see no passages of the Writings were cited as teaching this concept. Nevertheless, Mr. Acton argues that the misconceptions and limitations in the mind of a revelator can find their way into the Word itself. The only specific example of this that he offers is the story of the seven days of creation. Since, he holds, creation did not actually take place in seven days, therefore the story is factually incorrect.*

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In fact no one actually knows how creation took place, although scientists now speak of light (as photons) as a fundamental constituent of all matter, rather than as something given off only by luminary bodies. But more to the point, it is perfectly clear from the Writings that those who composed the first stories of Genesis consciously formulated them through correspondences in full recognition of the spiritual sense that was being enfolded in them.** In what sense, then, can it be claimed that the literal sense reflects their misconceptions of the actual physical history of creation? Other apparent factual errors in revelation can also be explained. But the real crux of the matter is not whether we can find answers for all such problems, but whether there is any foundation in the Writings for believing that such errors exist.
     * P. 27
     ** AC 66
     Mr. Acton himself admits that certain natural facts, which come as necessary consequences of the doctrines, cannot be questioned. An example he mentions is the Virgin birth. However, there are some statements in revelation, particularly in the Writings, which at first appear to reflect only the theories of the revelator, but which on closer inspection are found to be essential parts of the doctrine. Take the example of the teaching about spontaneous generation in Divine Love and Wisdom* as an instance. At first it appears that it reflects merely the scientific misconceptions of Swedenborg's day, while a thorough examination shows that it is an inseparable part of the doctrine of uses there given. Elsewhere I have argued that the Writings endorse the literal accuracy of the historical parts of the Word.** Likewise I feel that we must hold to the factual correctness of all revelation. Otherwise we head down the path that makes human understanding rather than Divine revelation the final authority of truth.
     * DLW 341-342
     ** "True Historicals," New Church Life, 1976:480
     3) Is it correct to say that those who die as infants do not necessarily repent?* We are specifically taught that it is necessary for those who have gone to heaven as children to be let into states after they have become adults in which proprial evil becomes active. This is in order that they may recognize that of themselves they are nothing but evil and thus reject the appearance that they have good from themselves.** Is this not a form of repentance?
     * P. 112
     ** HH 342
     4) It is difficult to see how the Preadamites, if they were men, did not have full spiritual freedom,* when the Writings teach that without free will in spiritual things man would not be a man** and that it is by virtue of free will that man is man and not a beast.***

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Mr. Acton seems to be saying that the Preadamites were something between man and beast. But does not this whole doctrine of the Preadamite semi-man arise from making too much of a mere handful of passages in the Writings which refer to the Preadamites?
     * P. 110               
     ** Coronis 28
     *** TCR 469
     Two passages in the Writings* mention the term "Preadamite" without telling us anything about these Preadamites. The only other passage that uses the term** speaks merely of Swedenborg seeing in the spiritual world one who was like the Preadamites. Swedenborg never says that he actually saw a Preadamite. Further, the reference is to the Preadamites "who were regenerated by the Lord and called Adam." Does this imply that only those Preadamites who were regenerated and thus became the first men of the Most Ancient Church were true men with eternal life? Or does it imply that the very term "Preadamites" refers only to those who in whose life- times the Most Ancient Church was begun? At any rate, there is no clear teaching in the Writings that there was an actual race of men (or semi-men) existing before the Most Ancient Church.
     * SD 3455; TCR 466 (the later number should be the reference on p. 30, note 4, rather than SD 3390)
     ** SD 3390 and also the SD Index reference to this passage at "Ecclesia."
     In this connection it should be noted that the term "Most Ancient Church" is of varying latitude. Sometimes it refers to the whole history of the church which existed before the flood, as we see in Genesis V, where the Most Ancient Church is described by Adam (Man) and the eight generations that follow him.* Elsewhere only the first three of these generations (Man, Seth, and Enosh) are said to constitute the Most Ancient Church** because after them, perception which had been distinct became only general.*** In the most specialized sense the Most Ancient Church was only the generation called "Adam" (Man), the church in its ideal celestial state.**** In one sense, then, those of later posterities were after "the Most Ancient Church itself" and could be called "postadamites," while yet they were still part of the Most Ancient Church in the widest sense. Could it not be similar with the Preadamites? We are told of the most ancient people that there were "first those who lived like wild animals, but at length became spiritual men; then those who became celestial men, and constituted the Most Ancient Church."***** Could not these early most ancient people, although they were "preadamites" in the sense of coming before the ideal celestial state of the church, still be considered part of the Most Ancient Church in the wider sense?
     * AC 460               
     ** AC 502
     *** AC 507               
     **** AC 461, 4771 418
     ***** AC 286

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     The question of whether the Preadamites were actually part of the Lord's first church on earth, is like the question of their spiritual freedom. For the Writings teach clearly that men cannot exist on earth without a church but would instantly perish.* How then could one speak of men before the first church?
     * AC 637, 468
     The idea of a race of preadamites, half man, half beast, who had a culture of their own, significantly different from that of the Most Ancient Church, is not to be found in the Writings. It is built up by supposition and inference. We know only that Swedenborg once saw one who was like the Preadamites, "who were regenerated by the Lord and called Adam."* I myself am inclined to regard the scanty teachings about the Preadamites as references to the rudiments of the Most Ancient Church before it rose to its full celestial state. It is important to recognize the absolute distinction between beast and man, with no intermediate steps; Even when the Lord first created man he had full spiritual freedom and a uniquely human endowment.
     * AC 3390
     STEPHEN D. COLE,
          Lakewood, Ohio
ON QUESTIONING 1979

ON QUESTIONING              1979

CL 183: The angels said, Let the discourse of our speech be by questions and answers; for when a subject is taken in solely from hearing, the perception of that subject does indeed flow in, but unless the hearer thinks of it from himself and asks questions, it does not remain.
28TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1979

28TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY              1979

     GUELPH, ONTARIO, CANADA

     JUNE 11-15, 1980

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Church News 1979

Church News       Various       1979

     KITCHENER, ONTARIO

     It has been some time since the Kitchener Society has reported here. We are now under the care of two new pastors. Rev. Christopher Smith has built a home in Caryndale, and his assistant, Rev. Mark Carlson occupies the manse. Our society activities continue much as usual but we shall attempt a rundown of the calendar of events for new readers as well as possibly refreshing the memories of past readers.
     With two pastors we are well fed with spiritual food. In the Fall we were asked to participate in the reading of Heaven and Hell with periodic summarizing and discussion at a Friday Class. There are smaller groups who meet for Arcana study, Scripture study, and a Young Married's Group, a Beginners' Class, as well as a Young People's class. There are 3 Sunday School Classes for children up to 6th Grade, as well as a nursery. With a day school of forty-six children, there is considerable involvement of parents in these many activities.
     The Summer of 1978 saw the marriages of five of our young people, one in Bryn Athyn, one in Toronto and three in Kitchener. These happy occasions are preceded by showers for the couples and many lovely gifts are bestowed by the members and friends of the society. The establishment of new New Church homes is encouraging to us all for the future carrying on of New Church uses.
     Our Society year begins after Labor Day with the opening of school. It is a pleasure for those attending the opening service, mainly parents and retired relatives, to see the eager face of our children about to begin another year. At this same time our young people leave to attend the Academy Schools in Bryn Athyn, nine students this year.
     The Women's Guild meets on the first Wednesday of the month, usually in the homes. An innovation this year is to have business meetings every other month to allow more time for appreciation and discussion of serious presentations given by a minister, layman or possibly a tape recording. In February a tape by Rev. Tom Kline "Heaven Now" was greatly enjoyed. A successful rummage sale was held in the Fall and a joint Christmas party with Theta Alpha was enjoyed in the home of Kris Carlson.
     This year Theta Alpha members are meeting once a month for discussion of Rev. Erik Sandstrom's "New Church Education in the Home." A business meeting precedes when required. A successful bake sale was held in December-the goodies disappearing with the usual speed. Fun Night, held early in March, has been an annual fund-raising project. This year the 7th and 8th grades undertook this event, their goal the purchase of a film projector. The evening began with a potluck supper for close to two hundred children and adults. A program of games, contests and slides followed. Under the enthusiastic direction of their teacher, Karl Parker, and with the assistance of a few ladies, a fun-filled evening was provided for all.
     The Sons of the Academy meet regularly on a monthly basis, the meeting preceded by a supper. In March they were joined by the Toronto men to view a movie called "What You Are Now Is What You Were When." Many of us are hoping there will be a future presentation to a larger audience.
     The Advent Season began with a preparatory Friday Class, and some carol singing at singing practice. On December 17th we were treated to a concert by our school children who had been ably prepared by their teacher, Mrs. Joey Kuhl.

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Choral and recorder numbers delighted us all. We are indeed fortunate to have our children under Joey's musical direction. Occasionally our Sunday Service is enhanced by the children's choral singing. This spring a number of the children will be competing in the local Kiwanis Music Festival.
     The Christmas tableaux were beautifully presented by a talented and dedicated committee and a very large number of participants. This year a small choir, again under Joey Kuhl's direction, and a vocal solo, the Magnificat, by Mary, particularly contributed to our enjoyment.
     The New Year's Eve Dance held in the church social hall attracted a capacity crowd and was a jubilant conclusion to the festive season.
     Early in January we were reminded of the approaching Academy College weekend. We were asked to open our homes for the accommodation of more than one hundred visitors. On February 16th two busloads of students and faculty arrived in time for Friday supper, followed by an appropriate class on Friendship, given by our pastor. The following day was fully programmed with two hockey games, ladies' ringette, broom ball and family skating. Team Caryndale triumphed at hockey, entitling them to hold the Bishop's Bowl once more. An evening of dancing was held at a local lodge where special trophies were presented. On Sunday there was an overflowing attendance at church. In the afternoon winter sports or sightseeing were available for any who would brave our record-breaking below zero F. weather. On Sunday evening the society was entertained with considerable hilarity by our visitors, followed by open houses in three Caryndale homes. Very early Monday morning our guests departed. With the aid of many hard-working committees and the high spirits of our visitors, the society was raised from the winter doldrums to a very heartwarming degree.
     At time of writing we are looking forward to the approach of spring. The Women's Guild will have a bake sale at the local Farmer's Market the day before Easter, a repeat of a most successful event of last year. Our Easter service is always a delight with the chancel decorated with beautiful floral offerings.
     With the arrival of spring many of us in Caryndale look forward to the growing season when we can be out of doors after our long northern winter. The prospect of two or three new homes being constructed this summer is always of interest. These will bring the number of houses in Caryndale to fifty-three, with several more families living in apartments within homes. As you must have gathered, we are a society of many activities. With a community to serve as well as the church, and since we are, jointly with our neighbor, the Toronto Society, the center of the General Church in Canada, all available heads and hands are needed.
     PHYLLIS SCHNARR

     FRANCE

     (An address by Candidate Alain Nicolier, delivered at the "General Church Evening," March 9th, 1979, at the end of the meetings of the Council of the Clergy.)

Bishop King, Ladies and gentlemen:

     It is a pleasure to have been given the opportunity to share with you the growth of the New Church in France. It has already been nine months that we have been away from Bryn Athyn, and many things have happened since then. However, before I start talking about the French New Church called la Nouvelle Eglise de France, I will go back nineteen years in the past and so give you a feeling and a better understanding about the church situation then. Different steps in the church were reached so as to become what it is now.
     First, in 1961* a Conference minister, the Rev. Maurice De Chazal, baptized twenty-one people into the New Church. Among those twenty-one were my whole family and the Rev. Claude L. Bruley who was then a Protestant minister.

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Mr. De Chazal, being advanced in years, retired with his wife to South Africa in 1969 for he was originally from the island of Mauritius, leaving France thus temporarily without a French minister. Fortunately Rev. Frank Rose and Rev. Donald L. Rose, serving the New Church people in England at that time, came occasionally to give classes and worship services in Paris. The same year the Protestant minister, Claude Bruley, went to study for nine months at the Swedenborg School of Religion in Newton, Mass. Coming back as a full time New Church minister he continued Maurice De Chazal's work during a few years. He increased the church membership to about twenty persons while being in Paris. Later on, that is, in 1975, Mr. Bruley, whose wife had been in open contact with spirits for nearly fifteen years, slowly went away from the Writings as his primary authority and began to develop his own theology. A split then occurred in the New Church between the people who wanted to stick to the threefold Word and those who were feeling more attracted to Claude Bruley's theology. Let us note that he is now a believer in reincarnation, spirit-contact and personal Divine Revelation. Claude Bruley and his wife now have a property in the center of France where they hold seminars once a month and spiritistic s?ances. Mrs. Bruley believes she is having direct communication with angels and with God Himself. Moreover, she heals people and practices spirit dictation, from which various concepts have arisen and mixed themselves with the Writings. One of the doctrines most cherished by Mr. Bruley is that man was created to be androgyne or hermaphrodite and that marriage love came with the Fall.
     * M. Nicolier's account does not treat of the history of the New Church in France prior to this date. There have been New Churchmen in France since 1790.

     On the other hand, the other half of the church group who were very attached to the threefold Word continued to meet together irregularly to listen to some previous worship tapes from the Rev. Maurice de Chazal. A few months later this small group of about fifteen people organized themselves and met once a month for worship services with Mr. Paul Sevin as a lay preacher. Paul Sevin whose father and grandfather were ministers in the Convention New Church is very attached to the Writings, and being retired he took the responsibility to give sermons once a month that he would write himself.
     So this was the situation of the church in France when my family and I arrived. Rev. Maurice De Chazal was in South Africa; Rev. Claude Bruley and his family were in a property in central France, and he was teaching his own theology; and Mr. Paul Sevin was leading lay services in Paris. Moreover, three small New Church groups scattered in the south of France were visited once a year by Rev. Bruley.
     The first thing to be done was to get in contact with the Paris group and see what their hopes and desires were concerning the New Church in France, and also how they were willing to contribute in order for those desires to be realized. A common decision was then taken: We had to have a general assembly in order to gather all the people in France who were interested in the Writings and willing to worship the Lord in His Second Coming. This assembly took place on the 7th of October in our home in Burgundy. Twenty people came, which enabled us to elect a board with a president, vice-president, secretary, treasurer and to set up a schedule of activities. We founded also the church association, "La Nouvelle Eglise de France," stressing our pledge to the threefold Word as being the only source of universal truth. From that time on I preached and gave classes in Paris twice a month and every other time in Burgundy.
     Then I followed the wise counsel of my Theological School teachers, which was the publishing of a newsletter in order to keep all members of the Church and other interested persons in touch with our activities and programs. Actually this did not turn out to be a newsletter but more of a journal with a class or a sermon, some news, a program for the next two months, an editorial, and letters from friends. This publication called "Nouvelle Terre" which means New Earth from Apocalypse 21, has been sent for the first three months to 370 people susceptible to be interested.

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With the 3rd issue we put in a subscription form with three choices: a subscription for six months, one for one year, and a supportive subscription. We have received about 60 subscriptions so far with half of them supporting the church. This publication is very useful indeed, for it allows all the people to be in touch with the activities of the church and allows the isolated families to take part from their homes to live the life of the Church. At present the Nouvelle Eglise de France has twenty-six members of whom eight are also General Church people and six children. A Sunday School is now operating twice a month in Paris and I'd like to take this opportunity to thank the General Church for all the material and information that we have received, which helps us greatly in beginning a Sunday School.
     As I see the situation in France actually, three immediate needs are to be met. First the people have to be instructed concerning spiritism, for as r said earlier the New Church in France has suffered a lot from abuse of communication with spirits. People really need to know what goes on in open communication with the spiritual world and need to understand the mechanism of the mind in such intercourse. To this end we are going to publish a small work on the subject explaining the phenomena and cautioning the people of its dangers. It is not uncommon for someone in the Church to ask the help of spirit doctors for such and such illness without realizing the dangers involved.
     The second need is the setting up of a Conjugial Love class and discussion group on dissimilitudes in marriage, for it was noticed that most people of the church are very anxious to know more about the subject and its importance and bearing on our daily life. Three couples who are not in the church have been very interested by this project and we will start it after Easter.
     The third need is a regular place of worship in Paris, for now we are meeting in people's homes and this formula is not suitable for growth. Nevertheless, even if we are unsuccessful in finding a worship place in Paris, we plan to transform the barn on our property into a chapel. If everything goes fine the work on it should start by July, but before I go on with this I would like to tell you more about our place in Burgundy. My grandfather who died five years ago had a farm house with a few acres in Burgundy next to the town of Dijon and Beaune. My father not wanting to use this property offered it to us to use for church purposes and for our own living space. Needless to say, this place is very old and needs a tremendous amount of work; however, there are many possibilities. First, we can transform the barn into a chapel and the hayloft into a dormitory with six bedrooms. There is also a huge stone pigpen that can be transformed into a library and Sunday school quarters and a stable to be remodeled into a social gathering space. It is a 250 year old house with one and a half foot wide stone walls.
     Everyone in the church in France believes this house and land to be a gift of the Divine Providence, for this whole space will enable us to set up various weekend programs where people can stay overnight, seminars, conferences, classes, social gatherings and the like. Of course, a lot of money is needed for this project and a sort of fund has been made for its completion. Switzerland is only two hours away and requests have been made for services there.
     What is encouraging is people's letters and contributions to the Church where you feel a sincere desire to see the Church grow and the Writings spread, and a willingness to learn how to live those truths in everyday life. There are very strong New Church people in France without whom nothing could have been started, and who really believe in the threefold Word and try to live according to it. For the power of the Second Advent is ultimated in the good of life, in the actual living of those truths revealed to us. I believe this is the basis of the New Church, that is, the good of life and its principal message to give to the world. What follows is the ability to communicate those truths to others while respecting their freedom, that is, to have them be led by the Lord while feeling at the same time that they lead themselves.

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I suppose this is what every New Church person is striving for, and this is very important to emphasize in every desire for church growth. It is one thing to live the Word and to appropriate its goods and its truths, and it is another thing to share this appropriation with others so as to enable them to be led by the Lord.
     Therefore the direction of the Nouvelle Eglise de France is focused primarily on one's own ability to communicate what is the Lord's to others and this is possible only through true charity and the love of the neighbor. True communication with others is essential in church growth and also to one's own regeneration, be it in marriage, or with children, our friends, and even strangers. In any case it is the Lord's church and we are only instruments in His Divine hands. He builds the church, not man, and this is very, very comforting to know.
     I thank you all for your attention and am happy to have been able to share with you the building of the church in France and I hope that the relationship between the New Church in America and the New Church in France will ever grow closer and stronger in the worship of the Lord in His Divine Human. I thank you.
     ALAIN NICOLIER

     [Map of France showing scattered families visited once or twice a year and projected chapel and library.]

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ADDRESSES UNKNOWN 1979

ADDRESSES UNKNOWN              1979




     Announcements






     Anyone who can supply information as to the whereabouts of the following persons is asked to communicate with the Office of the Secretary, General Church of the New Jerusalem, Bryn Athyn, PA, 19009. Last known addresses are shown.

     PRINTED FOR THE FIRST TIME

     United States

Mr. Malcolm C. Eck
1 Stafford Ave.
Dayton, OH 45405

Mrs. Marguerite J. Ferrigno
8206 Halstead St.
Phila., PA 19111

Mr. John A. Beals
Lake George, NY 12845

Mr. and Mrs. Bernt Von Grabe
2013 Royal Fern Court
Reston, VA 22091

Mrs. Joseph M. Merle
10250 S. Wood St.
Chicago, IL 60643

Mr. Paul D. Irwin
P.O. Box 1800
Stuart, FL 33494

Mr. John R. Norris
2201 19th St.
Cuyahoga Falls, OH 44223

Mr. Pierre L. Mitchell
c/o Spider Web Studio Ltd.
112 W. First St.
Mt. Vernon, NY 10550

Mrs. David Scott, Jr.
1419 Green Oaks
Arcadia, CA 91006

Mrs. Robert Bradstock Smith
460-6H Old Town Rd.
Port Jefferson
Long Island, NY 11777

     Overseas

Mme. Joseph Klookart-Deltenre
119 Rue de Villegas
de Cherchamps
Strombeek, Belgium 1820

Mme. Henrietta P. de Schrijver
35 Rule de Valais
Paris Ler, France

Mr. Edvin A. W. Svensson
Svartbacksgatan 87 B
Uppsala 4, Sweden

     PRINTED FOR THE SECOND TIME

Mrs. Georginne de Maine
P.O. Box 102
Medford, NJ 08055

Mr. Erwin E. Behlert
311 Cathedral St.
Baltimore, Md. 21201

Mr. Arthur H. Dunham
c/o Steve Dunham
135 W. Portal Ave. No. 7
San Francisco, CA 94127

Mrs. Jonnie Jean Franson
Rt. 3, Indian Lake
Moultrie, GA 31768

Mrs. Stephen F. Goldsmith
1288 McClean Blvd.
Baltimore, MD 21234

Mr. and Mrs. William Leezer
943 Colfax Drive
Nashville, TN 31214

     Overseas

Sra. Natalina Correa de Padua
Rua Hidrolandia, 60
Jardim Pedregoso
Campo Gorande
Rio de Janeiro, RJ Brazil

Sr. and Sra. Sergio Menezes
Rua Hidrolandia, 60
Jardim Pedregoso
Campo Gorande
Rio de Janeiro, RJ Brazil

Sr. Sergio L. Hamann
Avenida Atlantica 3700
Apt. 1001, Copacabana,
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Sr. Hugo D. Hamann
Avenida Atlantica 3700
Apt. 1001, Copacabana,
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

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1980 NEW CHURCH CONGRESS 1979

1980 NEW CHURCH CONGRESS       David Haseler       1979

     The General Conference of the New Church warmly invites you to come and join with us at a World Congress to be held at Nottingham University, England, from Saturday, August 2nd to Thursday, August 7th 1980. The Congress follows 10 years after the successful 1970 World Assembly and we hope that it will build on the achievement of that gathering in enabling people from different parts of the New Church World to meet each other and exchange ideas.
     The Congress is being held on the pleasant wooded campus of Nottingham University, which is in the English Midlands and about 2 hours' journey time from London. Everyone will be accommodated in residential halls on the campus to provide plenty of opportunity to meet people informally and to eliminate the need for daily traveling. The Congress will be a gathering of New Church people and we ask you to come as individual members of the New Church rather than as representatives of your particular branch so that we approach each other with open minds to discover the many things that we have in common rather than meet each other with preconceived ideas.
     Speakers from all branches of the New Church will be talking on subjects of which they have special knowledge or experience and it is intended to provide a wide range of topics to cater to all interests. During these working periods, 5 sessions will be held in parallel, each of these covering a different subject and subsequently being repeated once. You will be able to choose which sessions you attend subject to the limitations of accommodation in the meeting rooms.
     There will be no working sessions on the Sunday. In the morning, a joint service of worship for the whole Congress will be held while in the evening there will be a variety of smaller services including ones according to the forms of worship of the different organizations in the New Church.
     Each day there will be free time to enable you to carry on discussions arising from the working sessions, to relax or to join excursions to local places of interest. Some social events will be held on the campus and it is hoped to arrange a visit to the Shakespeare Theatre at Stratford-upon-Avon.
     A firm program and a booking form will be advertised in a few months' time. However, accommodation is limited to 500 people so if you would like to establish a priority booking, please return the form below but do NOT enclose any money. This will not be acknowledged but you will be sent a booking form in due course to confirm your reservation. The total cost of the Congress, excluding excursions, will be approximately L65 (140 US Dollars).

     We look forward to seeing you in 1980.
          David Haseler, Co-ordinator

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PRIORITY RESERVATION FORM (A booking form will be sent later) 1979

PRIORITY RESERVATION FORM (A booking form will be sent later)              1979

     To:      1980 New Church Congress          Date                                                            
          Oaklands New Church Centre
          Winleigh Road               Organization                                             
          Birmingham B20 2HN
     England                    Signature                                                  

     Please reserve               place(s) at the 1980 New Church Congress.

     CAPITALS PLEASE                Name                                                       

                                         Address                                                       
                                                                                          
                                                                                          

                                         Country                              

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DIVIDED CHILD 1979

DIVIDED CHILD       Rev. BJORN BOYESEN       1979


NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. XCIX          AUGUST, 1979           NO. 8
     And the King said, "Fetch me a sword!" And they brought a sword before the king. And the King said: "Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other." I Kings 3:24-25

     The Writings make clear that King David represented the Lord Who was as yet to come into the world. But King Solomon represented the Lord after His Coming.* This means that David symbolized the Divine Truth and Wisdom as they existed with the angels of heaven before the Advent, and which, because they were a matter of human reception, finally failed to meet adequately the growing evils and falsities of mankind and hell. But Solomon symbolized the Divine good and truth, or the Divine love and wisdom, so completely united in the Lord's own
Human, or so fully glorified, that before Him no evils and falsities could prevail; for the Lord had "all power in heaven and on earth." Therefore Solomon succeeded where David had failed.
     * See DP 245
     While David never could rid himself completely of his enemies and secure his kingdom, Solomon could. While David was not able to build a temple for the Lord's complete indwelling, Solomon was able to do so. Therefore Solomon represents the Divine Human of the Lord, that glorified Human of Divine origin, which came into the world and overcame all evil and falsity by His own power, and who in doing so, effected a judgment on the Jewish Church and the hells derived from it, and then established the Christian Church and heaven. It is this judgment which is depicted in the story of the child, which was about to be divided with a sword.
     The two women who came before Solomon are described as two harlots, and represent in the most immediate sense the state of the church with the Jews and with the Gentiles at the time of the Lord's Coming.

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But in a wider sense they depict, of course, the state of the church at any time in the course of history, when it stands just before its final judgment. But that is not all. The two women portray also the condition in the world of spirits immediately before such a judgment, when the obviously evil and the apparently evil spirits there are about to be separated or divided from each other. Yet again, they are a picture of a similar state in the individual human mind, just before salvable and non-salvable affections are distinguished. And finally, in the inmost sense, the two women represent also two quite opposing states in the Lord's own Human before His glorification. For the Lord also, like every man, was heir through His mother, to all the weaknesses and failures, all the evils and falsities of mankind and the church. Otherwise He could never have judged between them.
     It is worth noting that these states of the church-when near its consummation-are in general of two kinds, and both are likened to a state of a harlot. And yet there is a great difference between them.
     With some people the state of the church is at this time such that both the external and the internal affections are totally corrupt. These people may indeed know the teachings of the Word, and yet, because they do not really wish to live as the Lord commands, they choose deliberately to misunderstand or misinterpret the Word. They scorn and reject all the moral and spiritual principles of the church, which have been generally accepted since ancient times. In full freedom they conjoin instead their internal affections with a variety of false reasonings and corrupt ideals, whence the whole mind becomes perverted. Such people are like a woman of ill repute, being conjoined with a variety of men. They break asunder the marriage between good and truth in the Word, and when this happens, not only are the internal will and understanding adulterated, but the actual external will and understanding are equally perverted. The whole life then becomes a deliberate self-justification, and there is produced-seemingly out of the Word, but in reality out of the evil imagination of man's own heart-a false doctrine. And this is the kind of doctrine and corrupt faith, which is represented by the boy or the child that died.
     Let us realize that a doctrine which arises out of man's own selfish and worldly desires cannot possibly possess any true life. Being simply a final confirmation of man's sensual and corporeal egotism, it can only be spiritually dead. And, if it is not altogether dead to start with, it is soon suffocated by self-indulgence and self-justification. The child dies in the night, because the harlot of confirmed evil affections overlays it.

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     But there are also other people, near the end of a church, whose state is not quite so desperate. They belong either to the simple good remnant, which always remains at the end of a church, or else to the Gentiles who have been more or less influenced by the remaining simple goodness of earlier churches. They belong in other words to that universal church of the Lord's, which either does not have the Word any longer, and therefore cannot truly know the Lord's Commandments; or, if they know some things from the Word, are nevertheless, without their own fault, so confused in their minds by false interpretations, that they have practically no genuine understanding. And yet, they are interiorly willing, and may even be anxious and eager to learn what the Lord's Word really means. Still they may not be clearly aware of this inner longing. In their ignorance and on account of their inborn affections, they may easily be led astray. Their external feelings may be far from pure, and in their conscious thought and life they may even be strongly attached to a great number of false concepts. All these constitute a burden of inherited and acquired evils, wherefore also this group of people may well be likened to a harlot; nor is her son a truly genuine doctrine. And yet, heredity and ignorance are an excuse; and provided there is below the impure surface a genuine desire for good and an honest longing after truth, the Lord in His infinite mercy knows how to lead these people on the way from hell to heaven, and gives them gradually a new and living faith.
     Nevertheless, as long as the spiritual darkness of a fallen church hangs over mankind, the two different kinds of affection and their more or less false doctrines can hardly be distinguished. So outwardly similar are the two doctrines, the living and the dead, and so similar also are the affections which give them birth, that it seems that either doctrine may just as well belong to the one affection as the other. No one sees any real difference between the two harlots, nor between the two boys. Nor is it perhaps very surprising that the evil mother in this confused and desperate state lays claim to the living child.
     At the end of every church there is thus an almost indissoluble commingling of salvable and non-salvable affections, and also of more or less false doctrines. The two women live in the same house, and the two boys are born in the same place. And that house and place is the church. And yet there is, despite the appearance of similarity, a very real difference between the one woman and her son, and the other woman and her son. One of the women is evil from the internal beginnings of her mind to her ultimate sensuals, and her offspring is a thoroughly corrupt and dead faith.

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But the other woman, though equally corrupt in external appearance, is nevertheless as regards her interior desires essentially chaste and clean, and can therefore be purified.
     Similarly, her son, although he seems in every external appearance to be as corrupt and mistaken a faith as the other boy, is nevertheless interiorly vivified by a longing for truth and a desire for good. He has the seed of celestial love and spiritual charity and truth within, and is therefore capable of having his external errors rectified. In fact, though he seems to be an illegitimate child because he has been brought forth by at least partially evil affections, still he has something within, which can lead him to the genuine worship of the Lord. For the Lord does not quench a smoking flax, nor break a bruised reed, because He knows that we are all in some degree the product of illegitimate affections. But provided there is, within all the errors and mistakes of the church, some genuine longing for truth and desire for good, the Lord accepts even our errors and mistakes, and cleanses and forgives us. He protects the woman and adopts the boy, and establishes through them eventually a new church.
     The purification required to this end, however, can never be accomplished either suddenly or without means. It can never take place through incomprehensible miracles, but only through trials and temptations, which invariably arise in essentially the same manner. They are never caused by the Lord, although it may so appear to those who suffer the temptations-even as it seemed to the women that it was Solomon who held the sword of death over the child's body. But in reality the temptations arise from the fact that they who are confirmed in evil and falsity always claim for themselves the pure love and the living faith. The love of self-indulgence and self-justification is ever eager to present its own desires and doctrine in the best possible light. It denies the deadly corruption of its own interior motives, while it accuses the simple good in the church and among the Gentiles of evil purposes and dead faith. And there seems to be no other answer to the dispute, than to argue it out and let the temptation be fought to the point of despair.
     So it happens that the serious question as to whose is a living faith, can never be solved except through temptation. A sword must pierce through the church's soul, that the thoughts of men's hearts may be revealed. The fact is that neither they who are confirmed in evil, nor they who can be regenerated, but are not yet regenerated, can ever see the truth or falsity of a problem, until it is so to speak put to the point of a sword. Only then do they realize that they must make a choice of some kind, if they are not to lose all faith. And then they may also realize that this choice between a genuine and impure love, and between a living and dead faith, is not only a matter of sharp intellectual judgment.

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     The intellect must indeed be consulted, especially in the acutely difficult situations of life, but still it is not sharp dispute, nor pointed arguments, nor even a keen judgment that is decisive. For an argument which does not arise from the love and affection of the truth, solves nothing. A judgment which does not have its origin in a love of use, is without discrimination. Nor can a discussion or a dispute, which is not governed by genuine love toward the neighbor, lead to anything good. A merely intellectual judgment is a sword that kills. It divides a man's faith in two or in many parts, until no living faith remains. It becomes an instrument of injured pride and bitter suspicion and leads to enmity and hatred. That is why the intellect-like a sword-must never be an end in itself. Just as there stands a human being behind every sword, there must be a love or an affection behind every intellect. And the only real use of the intellect, or of man's reason, is to reveal his love. This is what Solomon knew, when he asked for a sword.
     It was for the same reason the Lord came on earth, "not to send peace on the earth, but a sword." For it does no good to "cry peace, peace!," when the emotions are all aroused and confused, "and there is no peace." In such circumstances there is in reality contention and strife, under the seemingly tranquil surface. The conflict continues below, and is actually worse, because it is hidden; and then it is dangerous to pretend a peace which does not exist. It becomes necessary to examine and reveal the conflicting emotions, which boil underneath, and this is the use of the intellect. Like the sword, its purpose is to differentiate between the affections. It is to reveal what is evil and what is good, what is false and what is true, and to judge between the different kinds of love. And if this is done honestly, it becomes evident that if a man uses his intellect only to drive through his own desires and will without regard for others, he does not really care for the genuine truth which agrees with love to the Lord and the neighbor. But behind his intellect stands a selfish and cruel love, and such love can never be mother to true doctrine or a living faith. It falsifies the truth, and kills all faith in it. It is the mother of the dead child.
     On the other hand, if a man or a church uses the intellect, not in order to drive through their own selfish desires, but in order to explore the needs and serve the uses of others, such a man or such a church does care for the genuine truth which comes from love to the Lord and fellow-men. They never employ doctrine only for their own selfish use or prestige.

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They know that genuine truth can never be monopolized for self alone, and they never use it harshly and cruelly, but with gentleness and consideration, with mercy, forgiveness, and grace. They are even willing to renounce all claim of ownership to it, because they know that it is a gift from the Lord alone, and is to be transmitted and given without stint to all men-and, if possible, even to their enemies. For only in this way can the truth, and man's doctrine and faith, be kept whole and living. Or, it is even as when the woman, whose the living child was, spake unto the king about the other woman, and said: "Oh, my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it!"-"for her heart yearned upon her son." She loved him! And she knew that this child held the key also to the salvation of a fallen church.
     It was very similar when the Lord Himself lived on earth. A sword must pass through his mother's soul also, that the thoughts of many hearts might be revealed.* Even His own body and side were pierced with a spear. His maternal heredity-like the whole world-was tempted to accept and confess a dead Savior-a falsified truth without love and life. And even today many worship only the dead body of faith alone, which hung on the cross and was dissipated in the tomb.
     * Luke 2:35
     But the Lord overcame this temptation to worship a dead faith, and out of His victory on the cross arose the living truth of Divine love. And once more, at the Lord's Second Coming, it was almost the same again. A great red dragon stood ready to devour the man-child, which was to be born of the woman clothed with the sun. And Swedenborg relates how they who were meant by the dragon stood around him and endeavored with all their fury to destroy the Heavenly Doctrine of Love, as soon as he wrote it. If they had succeeded, there would have been no truth of love in the world today. But this doctrine cannot be destroyed. The woman, who was clothed with the sun, fled into the wilderness, where her love was protected far from the fury of the dragon; and the Man-Child was taken up to God and His throne, whence He is to rule all nations with the power of love. There the Heavenly Doctrine awaits the time when mankind is willing to accept in freedom its gentle government. And the world is waiting for the time when the church shall be in every human heart, and have a place prepared for the Doctrine of Divine Love. Then the New Church will be glorious on earth-like a woman clothed with the sun. For God hath said: "Give her the living Child." Amen.

     Readings: I Kings 3:5-end; II Rev. 12:1-6; III AR 543 or AE 724:1-2.

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SAD EPITAPH 1979

SAD EPITAPH       Rev. CLAYTON PRIESTNAL       1979

     (Mr. Priestnal, an occasional contributor to LIFE, is pastor of Convention's New York City Society.)

     There is a mournful epitaph which comes to us from the French which reads, "Here lies he who, born a man, died a grocer." The tragic import of this inscription is lost unless one pauses to reflect upon it. In this brief sentence is recorded a life unfulfilled, a life during which potentials were unrealized. Born with an innate capacity to think rationally and to love unselfishly, this man succumbed to the lure of materialism; he lost his manhood in the pursuit of commercial success. In short, he missed becoming a real human being.
     How suitable this memorial would be to vast numbers of men and women who daily pass over the boundaries of this mortal life to their eternal home. Indeed, perhaps in the not too distant future it could serve as the epitaph of modern society. The inscription could be modified to read, "Here lies a civilization that lost its vestige of humanity." Let us not dwell unduly on the sad state of society and its continuing drift towards licentiousness, irresponsibility, violence and secularism. It is only too obvious that the major interests of the great masses of people are not centered upon spiritual growth but rather focused on the pleasures and treasures of the here and now. A large part of what we read in newspapers bespeaks a growing neglect of individual responsibility, indifference to the sanctity of marriage, the rights of others, the protection of the consumer and the preservation of public property. In making this general condemnation, we do not presume to play the role of a gloomy prophet foretelling the downfall of a nation or the death of all mankind. Rather we prefer to be a concerned citizen who sees in many modern trends a loss, or a waste, of man's potential for angelhood. We pray there will be no sad epitaph for the human race.
     To give proper emphasis to the gravity of the disintegration of man's personality and angelic potential, let us be specific. Some present-day movements and philosophies are striving to break down the distinctions between man and woman. We do not have in mind dress, coiffure, or mannerisms, although these might be external manifestations of an inner desire to destroy the unique qualities of masculinity and femininity. We fully realize this is an extremely sensitive subject in this day and age.

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One can be accused of being a reactionary, an obstructionist to progress, who is trying to force a new generation to conform to outmoded traditional standards. Be assured we are only concerned with the future welfare and happiness of mankind. One does not need to possess more than the usual amount of insight to recognize the insidiousness of this endeavor to destroy or ignore the inherent distinctive characteristics which differentiate the male and female. If these differences are lost, then indeed the peoples of the world will write for themselves a sad epitaph.
     At the very beginning of divine revelation, in the first chapter of Genesis, it is written, "So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created him; male and female created he them." Thus it is clear that man and woman, endowed with disparate characteristics, did not acquire these respective qualities from transformations brought about by some evolutionary process of nature, but they were intentionally bestowed upon them by the Great Creator. In all things there can be found by the discerning eye both masculine and feminine traits. In man and woman, the highest and most perfect creation of the Divine, these elements are most pronounced. The innate dignity of a human being rests in the fact that he most nearly reflects, at least potentially, the essential nature of God, namely Divine Love and Wisdom. Members of mankind cannot fracture this image and likeness of God implanted in their nature without losing the very essence of humanity. The power to love altruistically, the ability to think rationally, and to act wisely, are impaired, or even lost, when the distinctive uses of masculine and feminine qualities are confused or ignored. Why is this true?
     The scheme of creation is unity and perfection in diversity. Each part of the vast universe, from the smallest particles to the largest objects in the mineral, vegetable and animal kingdoms, are interrelated. Each serves the other in some unique way. Among the members of the human race, for whom the universe was created, this mutual assistance reaches its apex. Man needs to receive from woman the essence of her distinctive qualities to soften the inherent hardness and rigidity of his nature. Man by himself is inclined to execute justice without mercy. A woman requires the stabilizing influence of man's predominantly rational processes to modify and guide her emotional response to life. Woman is inclined to extend mercy without justice. This relationship, this basic interdependence, let us repeat, did not come about by education or cultural environment; from the beginning it was so planned by One who is perfect in His Love and Wisdom. There is an awesome truth in these words of Scripture, "What God hath joined together, let not man put asunder."

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     Surely from the common sense which springs forth from the every-day observations of the eye, one can see the damage being done in society by the wilful destruction of the distinctive uses of the masculine and feminine qualities in human beings. God did not create in woman a nature characterized by deep affection, intuitive perceptions, and a compassionate spirit, for no particular reason; nor did He by pure whimsy place in man a peculiar power of rationalization, a special ability to be governed by the mind rather than by the emotions. In the exceedingly complex relationships between human beings these individual characteristics help to maintain a balance in society: reason gives guidance to emotion and emotion modifies the singularly harsh qualities of pure intellect. Although in the marriage relationship this cooperative interplay reaches its highest and most perfect form, it is necessary in less intimate relationships between individuals and in society collectively. We have all experienced the different chemistry of a group which is composed of both men and women from one which contains either all women or all men. The contrast is so marked that cartoonists find much humorous material in it.
     There is a tragic futility in current efforts to prove that the difference between man and woman are artificial, brought about, many say, by the male animal's long-established practice of keeping those of the opposite sex in a secondary status. We would not try to justify man's lack of appreciation of the vital role a woman plays in the life of the world, nor do we deny that man's colossal ego has kept him from receiving the full benefits which womankind can bestow. Let all these prevailing foolish fancies and wearying arguments come to an end. As one poet expressed it:

     "For woman is not undeveloped man,
     But diverse . . ."

There should be no rivalry between the sexes. Each was intended to complement the other, and therefore they should not be competitors. If people understood more thoroughly what is behind the Divine plan in making man and woman, not alike but different, what constructive changes would take place in society!
     These words of the Psalmist come to us with implications which arouse and trouble the conscience. "For thou hast made him a little lower than the angels, and hast crowned him with glory and honor. Thou hast made him to have dominion over the works of thy hands; thou hast put all things under his feet." It is only the ideal human being, the regenerated individual, that is worthy of such a glowing description; it is man when he is at his best; it speaks of man when he has mastered his materialism, self-centeredness and worldliness.

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It is exceedingly sad and depressing to see how the precious gifts of God have been degraded and even destroyed. Man and woman in a struggle for supremacy have lost sight of the riches of the personality with which their Heavenly Father has endowed them. Virility is sought after by set many women and an unbecoming femininity is desired by great numbers of men. As a consequence something essential is dying in society. A sad epitaph is being enscrolled on the monument this generation will leave behind as its memorial.
     The image of the ideal man and the image of the ideal woman need to be placed prominently before all people so that they will know what to strive for. Man needs to develop more fully the strength of masculinity-we do not mean brute power but virility of the spirit. He needs to seek truth and use it as the instrument of rational judgment; he needs to develop the wisdom which woman can find appealing and cherish. The power of his intelligence should be directed towards the preservation of an orderly, law-abiding society. Woman needs just as urgently to increase her qualities of tenderness, graciousness and purity of spirit. She should know that she can best serve the human race, not by endeavoring to imitate man in his processes of thought and action, but by nurturing and utilizing her own unique qualities of compassion, goodness, and love.
     Each individual can become perfect to the degree in which he seeks to promote the latent powers the Lord has given to hi-m. It is just as injurious, spiritually, to be envious of the distinctive qualities of the opposite sex as it is to covet another's possessions, no doubt more so. To stifle or supplant those unique characteristics with which our particular nature is endowed is to thwart the purposes of the Lord and thereby lose the priceless heritage of manhood and womanhood. Then, indeed, instead of being a little lower than the angels, mankind will be far lower than the beasts.
ESSENTIAL MASCULINE AND FEMININE 1979

ESSENTIAL MASCULINE AND FEMININE              1979

     "Because it is not known in what the masculine essentially consists, and in what the feminine, it shall here be told. . . . The distinction essentially consists in the fact that in the male, the inmost is love and its clothing wisdom, or, what is the same thing, he is love veiled over with wisdom; and that in the female, the inmost as that wisdom of the male, and its clothing, the love therefrom." CL 32

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DECLARATIONS OF FAITH AND PURPOSE 1979

DECLARATIONS OF FAITH AND PURPOSE       Various       1979

     I believe that the Lord Jesus Christ who is Jehovah, is the one God of the spiritual and natural universe. In Him the trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is not a trinity of persons but of essence as the soul, the mind, and the body are in man.
     I believe that the Lord's end in creation is a heaven from the human race, and that all men are saved who shun evils as sins against the Lord.
     I believe that the Lord God created man in His own image, and that in the process of time man desired proprium and fell away from being an image and likeness of his Creator.
     I believe that the Lord God Jesus Christ came into the world to save mankind from destroying itself in showing the way back to heaven. This was done in the union of His Divine and His Human.
     I believe that the union of the Divine and the Human in God is the origin of conjugial love and that therefore conjugial love is the love of loves and one with love to the Lord.
     I believe that the Lord came again as He promised His disciples, showing Himself in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, and that this was done in the giving of the Heavenly Doctrines, and that now the Lord is present in His Divine Human immediately in His Word. The Word of the Lord was given through inspired men chosen by Him, as were Moses, the prophets, the evangelists, and Swedenborg.
     I believe that the Word is holy in general and in every particular of It for It is Truth Itself.
     I believe in the fall of Babylon and in the New Jerusalem.
     In presenting myself for inauguration into the priesthood of the New Church which is the Lord's alone, I pray Him to keep me from profaning His Word.
     I also pray to the Lord that He grant me true humility and the love of use so that I may be inspired by Him to lead people to the good life.
     I confess that from myself alone I am nothing but evil and I ask the Lord to keep me on the right path in the love of Him and in the performance and the teaching of His Divine Will alone, now and forever.
     ALAIN NICOLIER

348





     I believe that "the Lord from eternity, who is Jehovah, came into the world to subdue the hells and to glorify His Human; and without this no mortal could have been saved; and those are saved who believe in Him, . . . and live well."
     God is one in essence and in person, and the Lord Jesus Christ is He. In Him is the trinity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. He is Love itself, and Wisdom itself-the source of all things living.
     When the Lord was on earth, He made visible His Divine in Human form. He thus drew near to the human race as never before possible, and remains forever present in the Word. By this, He took to Himself the power to save all who turn to Him and obey His precepts.
     At that time, the Lord promised that He would come again in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. He has now come, making His Advent in the Heavenly Doctrines revealed by Him through His servant Emanuel Swedenborg, opening up the hidden treasures of the Word and the mysteries of the spiritual world. It is in the Word of the Second Advent that we now can see clearly the Lord in His own Divine Human.
     Following the Last Judgment in the spiritual world, the Lord formed a New Heaven and a New Church, wherein none are accepted except those who worship the Lord Jesus Christ. To so worship Him is to look to the Lord in His Word, in heart, and in life, acknowledging Him as Divine; to shun evils as sins against God; and to do what is good because it is from God. These things should be done by man as of himself, but he should acknowledge and believe that the Lord alone does them in him and through him. Such a life will lead to salvation, which is conjunction with the Lord in His eternal kingdom.
     I believe that from the Divine marriage, which is that of the Human and the Divine of the Lord, descends the heavenly marriage, which is that of the Lord with His Church. From these two descends conjugial love, a pearl of great price for the New Church. Love truly conjugial is the fundamental love of all spiritual and celestial loves, and the seminary of the human race. The Lord has restored this love among men with the establishment of the New Church on earth.
     My purpose is to answer the call from the Lord to serve Him as a minister and priest of His Church. My allegiance is to the truth and good of the Word-to the Sacred Scriptures, and the Heavenly Doctrines, wherein the Lord alone speaks to man. I dedicate myself to serve the church as a servant and laborer in the vineyard, and a shepherd of the flock.
     MARK E. ALDEN

349





     I believe in one infinite and eternal God who is the Lord. He is the Creator of heaven and earth, and we are formed in His image.
     I believe that the Divine end in creation is a heaven from the human race. This end is fulfilled when man is led in freedom to receive the blessings of heaven through conjunction with the Lord. This end is preeminent in all things of the Lord's providence, and all things are to be considered in the light of it.
     I believe as a universal of faith that "the Lord from eternity, who is Jehovah, came into the world to subjugate the hells and to glorify His Human; and without this no mortal could have been saved; and those are saved who believe in Him."
     I believe that the Lord in His glorified Human has come again in the Heavenly Doctrines of the New Jerusalem. These doctrines are the prophesied Spirit of Truth which shall lead the New Church into all truth. By His second coming, the Lord can now be present with us and teach us in the fullness of His Word, that is, in the Old Testament, the New Testament, and the Writings.
     I believe that the man who desires to be of the New Church will seek the Lord and His kingdom as they are revealed in His Word. In his life, the man of the church will look to the Lord in His Divine Human and will live according to what the Lord teaches him from the Word. The life of religion from the Word is the life of charity. The first of charity is to put away evils, and the second is to do good works that are of use to the neighbor.
     In presenting myself before the Lord and in the presence of this congregation for inauguration into the priesthood of the New Church, I set forth my desire to teach the truths of the Lord's Word and to lead thereby to the good of life. I humbly ask for the strength of purpose to perform the duties of the priestly office justly, honestly, and faithfully. It is my prayer that the limitations of my will may be set aside in order that the Lord, through His office about to be adjoined to me, may lead and bless His people.
     ERIC CARSWELL


     I believe that "There are three essentials of the New Church: an acknowledgment of the Divinity of the Lord, an acknowledgment of the holiness of the Word and the life that is called charity" (DP 259: 3).
     I believe that "the Lord from eternity who is Yehowah assumed the Human to save men;" that by successive steps He made His Human Divine from the Divine in Himself; and that the Lord in His Divine Human is now to be approached; for He said: "And I, if I be lifted up from the earth will draw all men unto me" (Lord 30, 32, 35; Jo. 12:32).

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     I believe that the Lord has revealed Himself to us in His Threefold Word-the Old Testament, the New Testament and the Heavenly Doctrines. The doctrine of genuine truth must be drawn from the Word that it may become "a lamp unto our feet and a light unto our path" (cf SS 53, 55; Ps. 119:105).
     I believe that this doctrine must be brought into our lives that it may become the Lord's with us. This cannot be done unless the evils prohibited by the decalogue are shunned as sins against the Lord. When these are shunned, the Lord can enter in and lead us in a life of active charity towards our neighbor: "He hath showed thee O man, what is good: and what doth the Lord require of thee but to do justly, and to love mercy and to walk humbly with thy God?" (AE cf 979:2; Micah 6:8).

     In presenting myself for ordination, I pray that I may participate in the work of leading men to the Word that by its doctrine received in life they may be conjoined with the Lord their God. "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in thy sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer" (Ps. 19: 14).
     KENT JUNGE


     I believe that, "God is One, in Whom is a Divine Trinity, and that the Lord God the Savior Jesus Christ is that One." (TCR 2)
     I believe that, "The Lord from eternity, who is Jehovah, came into the world to subjugate the hells and to glorify His Human; and without this no mortal could have been saved; and those are saved who believe in Him. (TCR 3:2)
     I believe that the only possible approach to the Lord is by means of His Word, the Divine truth, which is from Him and is Himself. This Divine truth the Lord became in ultimates even as He had been the Divine truth in firsts. "For he who thinks and speaks nothing but truth becomes that truth; and he who wills and does only what is good becomes that good; and as the Lord fulfilled all the Divine truth and good contained in the Word, both in its natural sense and in its spiritual sense, he became good itself and truth itself, that is, the Word." (TCR 263) In this way the Lord put Himself into the position of being able to enlighten all men to eternity, showing them that, "universal holy Scripture has been written about Him alone." (L 7)
     I believe that the Lord has opened the spiritual sense of the Word at this day in the Writings of the New Church; and that "this revelation surpasses all the revelations that have hitherto been made since the creation of the world." (Inv. 44)

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The Writings reveal the divinity of the Lord, which divinity is the one only source of the holiness of the Word. It is with the giving of the Writings, moreover, that the end of the Lord's first coming may now be fully realized, namely, a crowning church which will worship the visible Lord in whom is all of divinity, as the soul is in the body. Now may all men approach the Infinite God through the Lord's Human made Divine as revealed in the Writings of the New Church. "Lo, this is our God; we have waited for Him, and He will save us: This is Jehovah; we have waited for Him, we will be glad and rejoice in His salvation." (Is. 25:9)
     I believe that the Lord has established the office of the priesthood to cooperate with Him in His work of salvation. Priests fulfill the duties of their office when they teach the truths of the Word and lead thereby to the Lord Who is the source of every good. May the Lord uphold my hands in this His work, and I pray that my proprium may be withheld from tainting the high uses of the Lord's priestly office about to be adjoined to me.
     CEDRIC KING


     I believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is the one God of heaven and earth, Creator, Redeemer and Savior, whose Human is Divine and whose Divine is Human. (AR 490, TCR 137:5)
     "The Lord from eternity, who is Jehovah, came into the world to subjugate the hells and to glorify His Human; and without this no mortal could have been saved; and they are saved who believe in Him." (TCR 2)
     I believe that the Lord has now come again to save the human race, at the consummation of the age. The Lord has taught the doctrines of the New Church and unfolded the spiritual sense of the Word, in which He Himself is continually present. (TCR 3, 779, 780).
     I believe that the Word is the means of being conjoined with the Lord, for the Lord is the Word. The Church is from the Word, and its quality is according to its understanding of the Word. So the New Church is the crown of all the churches, because it has the threefold Word, in which it is to worship the one visible God in whom is the invisible, as the soul is in the body. (TCR 234 ff., 243 ff.; 786-7)
     I believe that a man must humbly look to the Lord in His Divine Human, and follow Him in a life according to the commandments of the Decalogue, for the Lord is our Father and the True Shepherd of the Church. (AR 490, Psalm 23)
     I believe that the Lord must lead the Church through the Word.

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A priest is to teach the truths of the Word and in this way to lead men to heaven. He does this when he leads men to the Lord, for he can help bring the Word to their understanding, but the Lord alone can bring the Word to their hearts. When the church is led by free consent to the Word, then it is led by the Lord, and not by the person of men. (HD 315-18, Charity 160, DP 172)
     In presenting myself for inauguration into the priesthood of the New Church, I pray to the Lord to keep things of person from ruling in me, so that through my work the Lord may lead His people through the Door into the sheepfold. (Matt. 20:26-8; John 10; AE 1187)
     LAWSON M. SMITH
PRIESTHOOD 1979

PRIESTHOOD              1979

     With respect to the priests, they ought to teach men the way to heaven, and also to lead them; they ought to teach them according to the doctrine of their church from the Word, and to lead them to live according to it. Priests who teach truths, and thereby lead to the good of life, and so to the Lord, are good shepherds of the sheep; but they who teach and do not lead to the good of life, and so to the Lord, are evil shepherds.
     Priests ought not to claim to themselves any power over the souls of men, because they do not know in what state the interiors of a man are; still less ought they to claim the power of opening and shutting heaven, since that power belongs to the Lord alone.
     Dignity and honor ought to be paid to priests on account of the holy things which they administer; but they who are wise give the honor to the Lord, from whom the holy things are, and not to themselves, but they who are not wise attribute the honor to themselves; these take it away from the Lord. They who attribute honor to themselves, on account of the holy things which they administer, prefer honor and gain to the salvation of souls, which they ought to provide for; but they who give the honor to the Lord, and not to themselves, prefer the salvation of souls to honor and gain. The honor of an employment is not in the person, but is adjoined to him according to the dignity of the thing which he administers; and what is adjoined does not belong to the person himself, and is also separated from him with the employment. All personal honor is the honor of wisdom and the fear of the Lord.
     Priests ought to teach the people, and to lead them by truths to the good of life, but still they ought to compel no one, since no one can be compelled to believe contrary to what he thinks from his heart to be true. The New Jerusalem and Its Heavenly Doctrine 315-318

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"GIFTED CHILD" 1979

"GIFTED CHILD"       Rev. GEOFFREY CHILDS       1979

     (Part One)

     The end of the Lord is a heaven from the human race. The end or inmost purpose of New Church education is the same. And in the singular, the end of New Church education is the salvation of each child. This love of salvation is the Lord's love, but it is a love we can share from Him. The means are the gifts the Lord gives to each child.
     The title does not mean the exceptionally intelligent or talented child; rather every child's gifts from the Lord: "Remains are all the states of love and charity . . . of innocence and peace, with which a man is gifted. These states are given to man from his infancy, but less by degrees as the man advances into adult age."* And, too, the title refers to Divine endowment each infant is given at conception-his or her place, or intended use, in the Gorand Man of heaven.** Thus, there is a love and genius for a specific use. First states are a key to all that follow.*** They contain a universal that enters into all following states, and qualifies those states.**** So it is with the earliest states of infancy-those states of the "suckling" and "babe" that contain a universal in all states to follow-and that qualify all such states. Within this earliest state are not only the inmost qualities of human life; but also within the soul of the baby is his or her unique talent, a special gift looking to future angel-hood in the Gorand Man.
     * AC 1738
     ** Cf. DP 67; AC 7270:2-4, 8443; HH 39, 120, 435; Ath 190
     *** TCR 326; AC 3939, 4717, 9656, 5122
     **** See AR 350, 360, 363, Science of Exposition, W. F. Pendleton, ch. 3
     In the beginning times of life on this earth, the times of the Most Ancient Church before the fall, each infant was born without hereditary evil. Regeneration then took place in a different way-a celestial path, from love to love-without the terrible harassment and undermining of hereditary evil. A child through growth became "heaven-made" much more easily-without the temptations that came with the fall of the human race. Now regeneration takes place by means of truth-the application of truth to life through self-compulsion.*
     * AC 1937

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     In the Divine Providence, the Lord did not only wish to make regeneration possible after the fall. He wished to make it possible with some deep delights. He gave to the spiritual man special gifts, to enable rebirth to take place through a series of delights-as well as through temptation and trial.* "Every age has its delights."** The Lord separated the understanding from the fallen will, and in that separated understanding placed special gifts. The inmost of these gifts, and delights, are the first remains of infancy. The thesis of this paper is that the Divine endowment and first remains have a power and function that are surprising; that their power and function are easily underestimated, especially since these first remains are withdrawn into the interior, hidden in their power from the adult mind. Even the memories of infancy are mostly forgotten, perhaps a special protection in the Divine Providence.
     * See AC 4063:1-5
     ** AC 4063:4

The Lord's Infancy

     Hercules is called the strongest man who ever lived on earth. His mother was Princess Alcmena, his father Zeus. Hera the goddess was jealous of and hated Alcmena, and therefore Hera determined to kill Hercules in his infancy. She sent two spotted serpents into his cradle, but little Hercules simply grasped them in his powerful hands and squeezed them to death.* This was a prophecy of the Lord born on earth, of His infancy. His state of infancy is most arcane (A. 1414); He alone had a Divine Soul, and alone was born a spiritual celestial man. His infancy brought Him into the presence of the celestial, as so beautifully unfolded in the Arcana's explanation of Genesis 12 and 13. When these first and inmost states were fully established, the Lord "in His earliest childhood"** came into temptation.
     * Cf. D'Aulaire's Book of Greek Myths, p. 132.
     ** AC 1661:5
     The Lord fought, in early childhood, the Rephaim, the Zuzim, and Emin-of a similar kind with the Nephilim. These wicked tribes of the lowest hell, the serpents of Hercules, attacked the Lord when they felt He might be helpless. But they did not know the power of His infant states. And they were conquered by the Lord. It is said that "unless the Lord had conquered them . . . not a man would have been left at this day upon the earth."*
     * AC 1673:2
     Hercules of Greek myth prophesied the Lord. The Lord on earth was unique. He alone had a Divine soul, and was born spiritual celestial. Yet as repeatedly said in the Writings, His life is an image for our own. He wished to follow the same path as other men. He wished to show the way. He did this in His infancy-as well as throughout His life on earth.

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No finite man is attacked by the hells in infancy or early childhood. But nevertheless, there is a key to human life in the myth of Hercules in His infancy, and in the Lord's states in infancy and early childhood. That is, in earliest years of life-in first states-affections are implanted in man that can protect him throughout his life. States that are celestial-that protect even from the lowest hell-and enable man in later states to win victory in temptation, from the Lord's power; that enable him to be reborn.

The Golden Thread

     In earliest states, and from them, the Lord creates a golden thread which giants cannot break. "Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings hast Thou ordained strength, because of thine enemies, that Thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger."* ". . . And a little child shall lead them."** The thrust of these literal passages is touched upon by Bishop N. D. Pendleton in a sermon "The Wells of Abraham" (truths of infancy!):
     * Psalm 8:12
     ** Is. 11:6

Life's treasures ever come out of the past, and the deeper the past, the greater the treasure. An especial sanctity pertains to the early store of life's impressions, and also a high degree of power. Childhood memories are man's holy of holies. . . . They embody man's hopes of eternal life.*
     * The Glorification, N. D. Pendleton, p. 7

     The beginning is conception-and that "place" or use to which the Lord looks for man in heaven.* There is a use written upon the soul of man-and here would we say man "homo"-a conjugial unity in use: a future husband and wife united in one use in response to the Lord. This soul has its place in the heaven of human internals, above the celestial heaven, directly under the warmth of the spiritual sun. From the Lord, this soul fashions the individual fetus and embryo:
     * Psalm 8:12

     I am fearfully and wonderfully made. . . . My substance was not hid from Thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth. Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in Thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.*
     * Psalm 139:14-16

     The Lord conjoins Himself to man in the womb of the mother from his first conception, and forms man. While man is in the womb he is in a state of innocence; therefore his first state after birth is a state of innocence; and the Lord dwells in man only in his innocence. . . . Likewise, man is then in a state of peace.*
     * D. Wis. III:1

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     This treatment of embryo life in the book Divine Wisdom indicates that the embryo has no life of its own; but rather its life is the Lord's life within.* This life is in the kingdom of the heart of the Gorand Man, and special celestial angels are then present who are in "heavenly joy more than others."** Once birth takes place, and the lungs are opened, then the human understanding has its initiament, and conscious life begins.*** The state that had been without-from the Lord and the inmost celestial angels-now comes within to touch the child. This state is innocence, and peace.
     * D. Wis. III:5-6          
     ** AC 5052:3, 5054
      *** SD. Wis. III:5a          
     In common experience today, this carry over of peace and innocence from the womb is seldom seen at birth and immediately after. However, the book Birth Without Violence by Frederick Leboyer, and his experience and others in thousands of cases, shows a way in which birth can carry a tremendous sense of exhilaration and innocence. And through an intelligent, compassionate use of gentle touch, bring the infant into peace at birth. I don't know enough to judge the validity of Leboyer's thesis-but it is a touching and beautiful book to read. And the Writings do state that peace and innocence should comprise the very first states.
     Celestial remains, and their influence through life, are the theme of this paper. Particular teachings in the Writings reveal that these first remains are trinal-of three successive degrees.

     When first born, man is introduced into a state of innocence, in order that this may be a plane for all the succeeding states, and be the inmost of them; which state is signified in the Word by 'suckling.' Next, he is introduced into a state of the affection of celestial good, that is, of love towards his parents, which with such infants is in the place of love to the Lord; and this state is signified by an 'infant.' Afterwards, he is introduced into a state of mutual love, that is, of charity towards his playmates, which state is signified by 'boys.' (also little children).*
     * AC 3183:1

     Later in this number it is said that "babes" denote celestial love, and "sucklings" innocence. "Innocence is immediately from the very Divine, and thus is the very essential in them all."*
     * AC 3183:3; Cf. AC 430, 5232, and especially 5608
     No one who has read in the Writings needs to be told of the power and place of innocence. Innocence is the inmost in every other love, including conjugial love and love of the Lord. It is that from which man is a man. Therefore, it is the first gift of the Lord to man-in the earliest nursery of infancy, long since forgotten by our conscious minds.

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"The Lord dwells in man only in his innocence."* It is here, perhaps unexpectedly to our adult minds, that the Lord has come nearest to us in our lives. In the Arcana: 1100 it is said "the Lord is . . . much more present with little children than with adults." This can be qualified by the fact that inmost remains are re-awakened in extreme crises or temptations, and therefore the Lord is again present. And also, with those who reach the celestial degree of regeneration-who come into the innocence of wisdom-the Lord is most present with them. But these too are children, wise children, in whom the innocence of infancy has led by the magic thread to the innocence of wisdom, and the two have been conjoined by the Lord.**
     * D. Wis. III:1          
     ** HH 341
     The place of innocence is taught in many different ways in the Word. Innocence takes no authority, but it is the strongest force in creation. It is the Lord as the Lamb, which Lamb has all power. Thus in the very beginning of the Lord's ministry, when John the Baptist saw Jesus and said to his own two closest followers: "Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world."* It is from innocence that all evil is fought. This is unfolded in the Arcana explanation of Exodus 29: vs. 38-41, which treats of the offering of two lambs every day, one in the morning, one in the evening. This speaks in the spiritual sense of "the good of innocence in every state,"** both in the morning (states of enlightenment) and the evening (states of shade). It directly teaches that "the removal of evils, and the implantation of good and truth . . . are effected through the good of innocence by the Lord."***
     * John 1:29               
     ** AC 10132
     *** AC 10134:2
     The power of innocence-and supreme symbol of its importance, is the birth of the baby Lord in Bethlehem of Judea: "And she brought forth her first born Son, and wrapped Him in swaddling clothes, and laid Him in a manger"* . . . . "Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you, Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger."-"How He smiled on us when He was born!"-every infant-also illustrates.
     * Luke 2:7

Hereditary Evil in Infancy

     It is falsely sentimental to exclude all but innocence from the years of infancy. With the spiritual man, this is simply not the case. For unlike the celestial man of the golden age, the spiritual man has hereditary evil. This too operates in infancy, as symbolized by the two spotted snakes that attacked Hercules in his crib.

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The hells are not allowed to attack or tempt in infancy or childhood, but they are present through hereditary evil. In a startling number* the Writings speak of hereditary evil nourishing man from his infancy. There are three evils secretly present hereditarily: deceit, domination, and adultery.** Hereditary evil is nearby infants in every thing they do, but it is held subservient by the power of the Lord.*** Since infants have no life that is yet their own, the "innocence of infancy is without"**** have not yet made it their own. Nevertheless, that innocence of infancy is a gift of the Lord: it is the "first plane" of the Divine life with man.
     * AC 4563               
     ** SD 6051
     *** AC 1661, 1670, et al.
     **** AC 4563:2e

     Man's life after death is according to his will, not according to his intellect. The will is being formed in man by the Lord from infancy to childhood, which is effected by means of the innocence that is insinuated, and by means of charity towards parents, nurses, and little children of a like age; and by many other things that man knows nothing of, and which are celestial. Unless these celestial things were then first insinuated into man while an infant and child, he could by no means become a man. Thus is formed the first plane.*
     * AC 1555:2

     It may be said that some in the New Church have stressed strongly the power of hereditary evil. And many, many passages in the Writings would confirm this power. Thus for instance, the teaching that "what is man's own, regarded in itself," nothing but evil."* "Every man is born of his parents into the evils of the love of self and of the world."**
     * HH 555
     ** AC 8550; cf. 9278; HH 269, 424; N 79e, Life 68, et al
     "Man is not in the order of heaven, for he is born into evils which are of hell, thus into the complete opposite of Divine order." If you are feeling in a falsely euphoric mood, just read in the Concordance under "love of self," and "hell"-and a change of state can be almost guaranteed! But then compare: "Any one who thinks from any enlightened reason can see that no man is born for hell, for the Lord is love itself, and His love is to will the salvation of all."* And even more directly: "Every one who thinks from reason can be sure that all are born for heaven and no one for hell, and if man comes into hell he himself is culpable; but little children cannot be held culpable."** To be "born for heaven" would call for qualities, gifts from the Lord, that would make this goal quite possible. Aside from the Divine endowment written upon the soul, first remains of innocence are such a gift: a powerful uplifter to all subsequent states. "The Lord imputes good to every man, but hell imputes evil to every man."***
     * HH 318               
     ** HH 329e
     *** TCR 650, title

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Celestial Remains

     The innocence and peace of first celestial remains are impossible to define in any facile way. They have within them an inmost trust: an utter looking to the Lord as the sunshine of life-and a powerful willingness to be led by Him. This inmost trust is the soul of the following state of celestial remains, which is defined as "the affection of celestial good, that is, of love towards parents, which with such infants is in the place of the Lord; and this state is signified by an 'infant'" (in contrast to the 'suckling' of innocence or the first state).* What this affection of celestial good is, is unforgettably unfolded in Gen. 12 of the Arcana series, treating of the call of Abram out of Haran, of his going forth into the land of Canaan; "and into the land of Canaan they came."**
     * Cf. AC 3183:1
     ** Gen. 12:5
     The very first state after birth is externally obscure-a corporeal or bodily state. This is the almost helpless, dependent infant of the first days and weeks. Externally, it is animal-like, according to one series of definitions from the Writings.* His state is very general. But within, on the highest or celestial level-this is perhaps the inmost state of life. Bishop W. D. Pendleton suggests in one sermon that nothing in creation can harm this first state.** This would be consistent with the operations of Divine Providence elsewhere in first states-in discovery of the conjugial, in first times of resurrection after death. And if there is truth to a prevalent psychiatric theory that the origins of many psychiatric illnesses are in infancy, this protection of first states brings an inmost balm and sureness.
     * DLW 270, TCR 417
     ** See Pendleton, op. Cit., p. 7; and AE 314:3
     This first trust, then, is inviolable. The origin of it is both from the soul and the celestial heaven. In the cosmology of the Writings, the soul is on the plane of the radiant belts which immediately surround the spiritual sun, and are said to be the first and second degrees of the Divine proceeding. The celestial heaven, beneath these belts, is on the third level of the Divine proceeding.* The spiritual heaven is on the 4th level, the natural heaven is on the 5th, and we on earth on the 6th level of the Divine proceeding.**
     * Cf. AC 8443, 7270:2-4
     ** Ibid.
     Imagine then the power of the influx in infancy! It inflows from three discrete levels above earthly life. Each level is discretely superior to the one below it-as it were a thousand times more powerful than the one below it (to use inadequate terms).* Leboyer in his book (Birtte Without Violence) guesses that children, infants, "feel a thousand times more intensely than we do."**

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And the Arcana in a later series speaks of a regenerate state when the sensuous is properly ordered, and that then "a happy and blessed feeling flows from the interior man into the delights of these (sensuous) things, and increases them a thousandfold."*** So also the tenderness of states in first infancy, hidden away secretly within the sense-life of a tiny infant. Sometimes the smile of infancy tells you this!
     * AC 8443, 7270
     ** Leboyer, op. Cit., Part I:1
     *** AC 5125e
     In the second state of the trinal series of celestial remains, man comes into the affection of celestial good. What this means is unfolded in AC 1438, in explanation of the verse, "and into the land of Canaan they (Abram and his family) came."* The Lord as an infant, and each infant also, came into "the celestial things of love. . . . The celestial things of love are the very essentials; the rest come from them. With these He was first of all imbued; for from these as from their seed were all things afterwards made fruitful."
     * Gen 12:5
     Abram then came to Schechem, even unto the oak-grove Moreh. There Jehovah was seen of Abram. And then Ire removed from thence into the mountain on the east of Bethel. The states indicated here are spiritually some of the most profound and wonderful in the Word. What a journey this would make naturally for a New Churchman today, following the same route, knowing the correspondences, reviewing the topography and correspondential imagery. If only the Arabs and Jews and finances would let us!
     "The order was that the Lord should first of all be imbued from in- fancy with the celestial things of love. The celestial things of love are love from Jehovah and love to the neighbour, and innocence itself in these. From these, as the veriest fountains of life, flow all other things both in general and particular, for all other things are merely derivations. These celestial things are insinuated into man chiefly in his state of infancy up to childhood, and in fact without knowledges; for they flow in from the Lord, and affect him, before the man knows what love is and what affection is; as may be seen from the state of infants, and afterwards from the state of early childhood."* This special state of celestial good is signified by Abram camping on the mountain on the east of Bethel, on the sweeping height of the northern Judean mount. In human terms, what is celestial? In its origin, it is the love of others more than one's self, and this is the key to its nature as felt by infants and small children. It is ideal that children feel that their mother and father love them with this fulness of love! In emergencies, more than themselves!

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It is in this feeling and perception that small infants know what heaven is;** although celestial in origin, it comes down with infants to a personal love-full love of that tiny person more than self (although with parents only as much as a self!).***
     * AC 1450
     ** HH 408e
     *** AC 2715:2, 3701:2

The Use of Touch

     The affection of celestial good, or celestial love, has its ultimate in the love of parents.* Since an infant is in a sensuous state externally,** the inflowing celestial love is received by the senses, especially the sense of touch. It is through touch that an infant feels love, even first states of innocence, and then celestial good. Touch, loving touch, is the means: the means through which the Lord instills highest celestial remains! (3rd Level Divine Proceeding). Correspondentially, this is imaged in the Lord's reception of little children. "And they brought young children to Him, that He should touch them: and His disciples rebuked those that brought them. But when Jesus saw it, He was much displeased and said unto them, Suffer little children to come unto Me, and forbid them not: for of such is the kingdom of God. . . .And He took them up in His arms, put His hands upon them, and blessed them."***
     * AC 3181:1               
     ** DP 276
     *** Mark 10:13-16          
     Parents are in place of the Lord in infancy. Their hands upon the infant are an external living image of what the Lord did: "He took them up in His arms, put His hands upon them, and blessed them." Actually, what parents do for an infant is done truly for the Lord; and in the other world the Lord becomes the parent, originally symbolized by the finite parent on earth.
     Touch, when in order, is the ultimate of celestial love. Not only of conjugial love, but of love of the Lord, and spiritual storge as well.* In this, the mother is the first symbol of the Lord: more than a symbol-she takes His place in ultimates, in the giving of love, protection, and nourishment. This place of the mother in the beginning is clearly taught in CL 393. That the sense of touch is vital in this role, with both parents, is beautifully unfolded in CL 396:
     * AC 2039:1; CL 391

     "The sphere of innocence flows in also into the souls of parents, and conjoins itself with the same sphere (of innocence) with the infants, and that it is insinuated especially by the touch. . . . That the communication and thence the conjunction of innocence takes place especially through the touch is manifestly perceived from the pleasantness of carrying them in the arms, from embracing and kissing them, above all with mothers who are delighted with their pressing the mouth and face against their bosoms, and then at the same time the touch of their palms there . . . and also from stroking their body. . . .

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That communications of love and its delights between married partners are made through the sense of touch has been shown several times above. Communications of the mind are also thereby effected, because the hands are the ultimates of man and his firsts are together in the ultimates. By this sense, moreover, all things of the body and all things of the mind that are intermediate are held together in unbroken connection. Hence it is that Jesus touched infants.

     A mother holding an infant with love is a sweet, sentimental picture-a nice thing, but removed apparently from the truly important things in life. So it may appear. The opposite though is true. Through gentle, steadfast conveying of love to the infant by the mother and father, through holding and touch, the most profound celestial remains are implanted. Genuine religion has its origin here with each human being! Sentimental? Not really, for do not the Writings-that is, the Lord-teach this? It is interesting too that the sense of touch is correspondential in its use: and therefore should be used gently, surroundingly, steadfastly-but not demandingly or obsessively. Leboyer has much to say about this in his book.* In defining natural or selfish storge, the Writings describe a wrong sense of touch:
     * Birth without Violence, p. 74, et al

     "With natural fathers and mothers, the love of infants is indeed also from innocence, but this, received by them, is wrapped about with their own love, and hence they love infants from this and at the same time from that, kissing, embracing, carrying, taking them to their bosom, and fondling them beyond all measure. "56
     * CL 405

Touch and Love

     The expression of love through the sense of touch is vital. Certain schools of psychiatry say that lack of such loving expression is the origin of certain neuroses. In connection with this, it is interesting to reflect upon what the Writings say about the necessity of love:

     "The Divine in heaven which makes heaven is love, because love is spiritual conjunction. . . . Love is the esse of every one's life. . . . Everyone who reflects can know that the inmost vitality of man is from love, since he grows warm from the presence of love and cold from its absence, and when deprived of it he dies."*
     * HH 14; cf. AC 4906, 5071, 6032, 6314

With infants, this is celestial love, which in origin loves others more than self! The sense of touch and the love it conveys, are essentials to the genuine parental use. But they are important in a deeper, even an eternal way. For through them the Lord instills the first two types or degrees of celestial remains: innocence and celestial love.

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Without the touch of love, evidence indicates psychiatric blockades, defenses are raised up, that cut man off from emotional health. The third type of celestial remains, and the last instilled, are represented by the term "boy," or "little child."* This third type is the lowest level, the ultimate, of the celestial degree, and is mutual love, such as a small child has for his close playmates.** As the ultimate in a successive series, it has the prior two degrees or types within it. This lowest level of the celestial is said to be "guiltlessness"-the same state represented by Joseph as a Hebrew boy.***
     * Cf. AE 314:3; AC 430, 5236, 3183
     ** AC 3183
     *** AC 5236
     All three degrees of the celestial have innocence within them,* and are summarized by the word "guiltlessness." This has powerful application in the adult attitude towards a child-that viewed from his gift of remains and endowment, he is guiltless. That is, his interior good state, a gift state. And essentially, that is how we are to view him. This is supported so strongly by Shem and Japheth's treatment of Noah their father, even after Noah's transgression. It was Ham, faith without charity, that condemned.** But see especially TCR 650-652 where it teaches that the Lord imputes good not evil and that there is a current that draws all to heaven.
     * Ibid.
     ** AC 1079
     This does not imply blindness to the reality of hereditary evil, that this is present, and is also a nurse. But it is held in subjection, especially in infancy so that the Lord may strongly implant these guiltless states. Nor does this imply lack of true order with an infant, who will tear the house apart without some discipline, and wear the mother down to the ground. But the type of discipline is defined in the additions to TCR, PTW I, III:

     Love introduces order immediately into the understanding. . . . Man is successively introduced into order from his infancy . . . the laws of order are Divine truths. . . . In proportion as man receives love, in the same proportion he makes order for himself. . . . Man can get himself into a state of order in proportion as he gets himself into a state of love. . . . True order is connected with decorum, beauty, elegance, perfection." The origin of that genuine love which introduces real order, and complete order, is the celestial level.

Activities of the Celestial

     The celestial, as the first over-all state in human life, is the key to all states that follow. Its trinal quality is innocence, love of the Lord, and mutual love. It is a love of others more than self, in its origin. Its innocence does not mean it is passive.

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Rather, it is revealed that "the celestial itself cannot possibly exist without activity."* Its first activity is worship! By its origin from the Lord, worship is spontaneous with the celestial. If the celestial is to guide all succeeding states with the spiritual man, then worship as the first or highest activity of education is putting the kingdom of God first.
     * AC 1561
     But the activity of love is not expressed only in worship. It is especially ultimated in uses, expressions of the originating love, through forming truths. Therefore New Church education would encourage, deeply, the use-oriented creative child-a child whose love and endowment from infancy can find avenues of expression throughout the educational process.
     This is more than "as of self" learning. It is perceiving within the "as of self" those remains of infancy that are one origin of genuine use and creativity. It is meeting their needs "head on" by open knowledges, and then allowing these inmost qualities ultimate expression through the descending levels of progress. Too many words? It means we believe a child has an imagination and creativity, descending from the inmost levels. And true education allows these to grow and flourish, in that sphere of true order as defined in TCR additions, III, and elsewhere in the Writings. An interesting possible confirmation of this, in the years of infancy, is the implication of the Harvard Pre-School Project, under the direction of Burton L. White, started in 1965, and reported in a special report of Life magazine under the over-all title of "Launching Healthy Children." Briefly, this study was intensive, and involved a fair number of case reports, though perhaps not enough to have established validity. It found that children tended to have one of two basic attitudes-exploratory and restricted. The children who were exploratory had mothers who gave at critical times their full attention, listened to questions in a genuinely caring way, and helped the children find answers as far as possible through exploration. The so called "A" type mothers treated children as human beings, with creative potential, and surrounded them with an environment that encouraged that creativity. This was not mayhem or permissiveness-but rather an ordered opening up to creativity and exploration. The "C" type mothers did not encourage creativity, but stressed order without inward interest or buoyancy. The critical ages for establishing life patterns of attitude were found to be from 10 months to 1-1/2, years old, with the suspicion that the real start might be earlier. The researchers were astonished. If nothing else, this tends to support the doctrine of the great power of early remains, as ultimated in response to learning.

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PUBLICATION COMMITTEES 1979

PUBLICATION COMMITTEES       Rev. L. R. SONESON       1979

     It would seem useful to report that the General Church Publication Committee and the Academy Publication Committee had a joint meeting to clarify their particular categories of responsibilities. Below is the mutually agreed upon types of publications within their jurisdictions. It was also suggested by Bishop L. B. King, who presided at the meeting, that a new publication committee be considered, that of the Extension Committee, This Committee, to be chaired by the Director of the Extension Committee, would be responsible for books, tracts, pamphlets, etc, addressed primarily to those outside the church.
     It is useful to bring the activities of these committees before the attention of the whole church from time to time. There is an ongoing need for New Church authors, both priests and laymen, to submit manuscripts to these committees for possible publication. Of particular interest to the General Church Publication Committee is literature, both for children and adults. Professional and amateur writers are encouraged to submit their literary efforts to the appropriate committees below.
     THE REV. L. R. SONESON,
          CHAIRMAN, GENERAL CHURCH PUBLICATION COMMITTEE

     The following suggested categories are a guide to three publication committees: the General Church, Academy and the Extension Committee, in their work of publication. It is assumed these committees will continue by means of shared membership to be informed of all proposed publications. When questions arise a joint meeting of the committees involved may he necessary.

     Categories to be covered by:

     THE GENERAL CHURCH PUBLICATION COMMITTEE

     1.      All editions of the Writings and the Old and New Testaments.
     2.      All books of worship, including worship in schools and homes, i.e., liturgy, hymnal, etc.
     3.      All books developed in the sphere of general pastoral instruction including those arising out of society doctrinal classes.

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     4.      All texts designed for use in the General Church elementary schools (in consultation with the Educational Council).
     5.      All children's literature.
     6.      All New Church literary efforts (novels, etc.).
     7.      Reprints of all those works published by the General Church Publication Committee.

     THE ACADEMY PUBLICATION COMMITTEE

     1.      All pre-Arcana works and studies (except those within the scope of the Swedenborg Scientific Association).
     2.      Indices and Concordances (except those particularly accommodated to the general public).
     3.      Biographies of Swedenborg (excluding those more appropriately printed by the Extension Committee).
     4.      All works developed in the sphere of academic research to include:
          a. Doctrinal works developed by the Academy Schools or addressed to Academy uses.
          b. Tracts, texts, etc. developed out of Academy courses.
          c. Research, including curricular, philosophic, secular, and religious studies.
     5.      Reprints of all those works published by the Academy Publication Committee.

     THE EXTENSION PUBLICATION COMMITTEE

     1.      All books, tracts, pamphlets, etc. designed and approved by the General Church Extension Committee, primarily addressed to those outside the church.
     2.      Reprints of past publications, tracts and pamphlets primarily addressed to those being introduced to the church for the first time.
ON PRINTING AND PUBLISHING 1979

ON PRINTING AND PUBLISHING              1979

     That the Word could be written on our earth is because the art of writing has existed here from the most ancient times, 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 Caelestia 9353

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"A DIVINE ENDOWMENT" 1979

"A DIVINE ENDOWMENT"       Editor       1979


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

Acting Editor                Rev. Ormond deCharms Odhner, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager                Mr. L. E. Gyllenhaal Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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

     TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$5.00 (U.S.) A year to any address, payable in advance. Single copy, 50 cents.
     There is a belief, very wide-spread in the General Church, that every person is born with "a Divine endowment" peculiarly fitting him to fulfill a specific use in the Gorand Man of heaven. This belief again makes its appearance in this issue of Life in Mr. Childs' study, "The Gifted Child."
     The chief doctrinal basis for this tenet is in Divine Providence, nos. 64 to 69, in the closing section of the chapter entitled, "The Divine Providence of the Lord, in everything that it does, regards the infinite and eternal." This final section of the chapter is headed, "The inmost of the Divine Providence is to regard what is infinite and eternal in forming the angelic heaven, in order that it may be before the Lord as one man, the image of Himself." Probably the pertinent parts of this section are those which read:
     65. Since the universal heaven is in the sight of the Lord as one man, therefore heaven is divided into as many general societies as there are organs, viscera, and members in a man. . . .
     66. Every affection of good and at the same time of truth is in its form a man. . . .
     67. Since heaven consists of as many affections as there are angels, and each affection in its form is a man, it follows that it is the continual design of the Divine Providence that man may become a heaven in form, and consequently an image of the Lord, and since this is effected by means of the affection of good and truth, that he may become such an affection.

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Although this is the continual design of the Divine Providence, its inmost is that a man may be in this or that place in heaven, or in this or that place in the Divine Heavenly Man, for thus is he in the Lord. This happens, however, only with those whom the Lord can lead to heaven; and as the Lord foresees this, He also provides continually that man may become like this; for in this way, everyone who suffers himself to be led to heaven is prepared for his own place in heaven.
     68. It follows that the man who suffers himself to be led to heaven is continually prepared by the Lord for his own place; and this is done by means of such an affection of good and truth as corresponds with it. Moreover, to this place every angel man is assigned after his departure from the world. This is the inmost of the Divine Providence in regard to heaven.
     69. The man, however, who does not suffer himself to be led to heaven and assigned there is prepared for his own place in hell, and he who cannot be withheld is prepared for a certain place there, to which also he is assigned immediately after his departure from the world. This place is exactly opposite to one in heaven, for hell is the opposite of heaven. Therefore as the man who is now an angel has his place allotted to him in heaven according to his affection of good and truth, so the man who is a devil has his place allotted to him in hell according to his affection of evil and falsity. . . . This is the inmost of the Divine Providence in regard to hell.

     There is, furthermore, an argument from logic that supports a belief in a Divine endowment, giving every man an innate disposition, a basic affection or ruling love, that fits him to perform a specific use in the Gorand Man of heaven. The Gorand man, after all, is an absolutely tremendous human society. Millions, nay, billions of individuals compose it. In that Gorand Man there are spiritual uses corresponding to the natural, bodily uses of each and every part of the human body-brains, eyes, kidneys, etc. (It's easy to see what-or rather, who-the brains of the Gorand Man would be. The eyes, also rather obviously, would be those people with exceptionally great ability to see truths; the kidneys, those who separate good ideas from bad, doing this from a real love of picking apart other people's ideas. And if that last doesn't sound like a very heavenly love, well, isn't it a good thing that the Lord, not you or I, decides who's going to heaven? He takes anyone into heaven who will be happy performing a needed use there.)

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     And so, the argument goes, if the Gorand Man must have all things in it corresponding to the various parts of the human body, its overall and its singular composition cannot be left to chance and human choice, but must be under the inmost direction of the Lord Himself. Does it not follow that the Lord must endow each one of us, not just with the faculties of rationality and freedom, but also with a ruling love that will lead us to find happiness in one certain use of the Gorand Man. After all, the Gorand Man needs spiritual kidneys; but who could be happy spending eternity picking apart other people's ideas (a very necessary use in any human society) if his ruling love did not lead him to find joy in that use more than in any other?

     In my early years in the ministry I accepted the idea of a Divine endowment whole-heartedly. Not only did it seem to be taught in the passages just quoted from Divine Providence, but it also seemed to be a logical thing to believe, indeed, the only logical thing to believe, and even beyond that, a most comforting thing to believe. Each one of us is created for a particular use in the Gorand Man of heaven. No one, not even me, can have no point in existence. Each of us means something real in the Divine economy of the universe.
     So thoroughly did I believe in this Divine endowment, in fact, that in 1945, at the "Open Meeting of the Council of the Clergy," I delivered an address entitled "Providential Leading through Ultimates," in which I labored long and hard to show how the Lord provides each person with a specific Divine endowment fitting him to find joy in the performance of a specific use in the Gorand Man, (Labored long, indeed! In NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1945, pp. 256 ff, the article runs through thirteen pages!)

     Many objections were raised against my thesis, however, and on my own I knew of still other apparently perfectly valid objections; and in the years immediately following I did a lot more studying on the subject. And so, in 1951, at the annual meetings of the Council of the Clergy, I delivered another address on this subject, "Creation for Specific Heavenly Uses," in which I completely rejected the idea of any other Divine endowment than the human faculties of liberty and rationality. (This article was also published in LIFE, 1951, pp. 249 ff.)
     My views in the second article (and they are still my views today) can best be summed up by quoting a short paragraph from it: "I now believe that the Lord foresees what needed use in the Gorand Man each willing man, in absolute freedom, but at Divine inspiration, can be led to choose. He foresees this, and foreseeing it, He provides it."

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     I would note here that chief among the passages on which I base my present views are those same passages from Divine Providence quoted at the beginning of this editorial, viz, DP 64-69. And so I would challenge my readers to make this test. Read those passages carefully, either as I have quoted them, or, better yet, in full in the text. Read them twice. Read them the first time, "believing" that they teach a Divine endowment fitting every man for a particular heavenly use. Then read them the second time, "believing" that they teach no such thing at all. Then make your own choice: Do these passages actually teach a Divine endowment, or do they not?

     It is quite true that everyone has a native genius distinctively his own. It fits him to perform certain particular natural and spiritual uses, not others. But is this a "Divine endowment"? Is it the Divine will that he be this or that kind of person? Is it not rather the result of the myriad free choices of all his ancestors? The good in anyone's native genius is of course from the Lord, a good freely chosen; the less than good is not.
     Yet this still leaves both the general and the particular composition of the Gorand Man in the hands of Divine Providence, for no human choice is possible that is not "in Providence." No one can ever go beyond the universe, and the whole universe is so governed by the Lord that no matter what a man's free choice may be, it is still a thing that fits into the Divine economy of the universe.

     To me, any belief in a Divine endowment (other than the human faculties of liberty and rationality) seems not only unnecessary, totally unnecessary; it also seems to raise a host of problems which are completely insurmountable for any real student of the Writings.
     For example, I cannot see that the rejection of this idea does any harm at all to any essential point in Mr. Childs's current study, nor even to the basic philosophy put forward in Bishop George deCharms's Growth of the Mind.
     What is more, a belief in a Divine endowment must call for a differentiation in human souls in the realm of the "radiant belts" of which Mr. Childs speaks, or in the realm of "the heaven of human internals." Indeed, it must call for such differentiation on that plane before the descending human soul passes through the heavens into the mind of a man (vir), and thence on down into his body. But I do not know of any teaching at all that speaks of human souls being created prior to their embodiment in human seeds, nor (and even more important) do I know of any passages at all that speak of different "streams of Divine influx," other than the revealed universal law that "influx is according to the form of the recipient vessel."

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     Yet again, this theory would involve the belief that every human conception that is brought to living birth is a thing of Divine will. Yet even in some parts of the United States (e.g., Washington, D.C.) illegitimate births now actually outnumber the legitimate. Are these births, too, of Divine will? (I of course know that they are as much "in Providence" as are legitimate births; but there is nothing in the whole universe, good or evil, that is not "in Providence." That's not what I'm talking about. Are they of Divine will?)
     A concomitant to a belief in a Divine endowment is a belief that "conjugial pairs are born for each other." A sweet idea, and one that is almost taught in the Writings. But there is such a thing as human free will, you know, and if there is, then it would be quite possible for one "born partner" to choose to go to heaven and the other to choose to go to hell.
     And to carry that still further, if human freedom really does exist, would it not be possible that many (even all) those created to be the "brains" of the Gorand Man, might choose hell in preference to heaven? I know that proponents of the Divine endowment argue that a man will perform his predestined eternal use, no matter whether he chooses to do it in heaven or in hell. But surely it would be a sorry Gorand Man indeed, if its brains were all in hell!
MENTAL HEALTH SYMPOSIUM 1979

MENTAL HEALTH SYMPOSIUM       Frank S. Rose       1979

To the Editor of New Church Life:
     This is to inform your readers that plans for the proposed Symposium on the New Church and the mental health professions (March, 1979, New Church Life, p. 97) are developing well. The Symposium will begin Friday evening, November 23rd, with speeches focusing on the general subject of the Church and mental health, with additional speeches Saturday morning, followed by a number of elective workshops on a variety of topics such as grief, mental health and the family, "remains" as a basis for mental health, memory healing, and others. The Symposium as a whole will be open to all who are interested. Some of the workshops will be limited to professionals. Those who are interested in attending can write to me for a brochure setting the program out in detail.
     Thank you,
     Frank S. Rose, Chairman,
     Box 278, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009

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Church News 1979

Church News       Various       1979

     GLENVIEW

     Before the semi-annual business meeting, our Pastor, Rev. Peter Buss, sent out an agenda to let us prepare thoughtful response to the proposals. We are to have five active priests living in Glenview next year, but they will be needed to serve the districts which stretch over fourteen states, to promote the extension work here, and to care for the church work in this locality. The Rev. Brian Keith was nominated to the post of Assistant Pastor, Rev. Harold Cranch is the Associate Pastor, and Candidate Mark Alden, pending his ordination, will be joining the Rev. Clark Echols as Assistant to the Pastor.
     Rev. Harold Cranch, in his post here, has shown the way toward a new and vital interest in carrying the teachings of the New Word to others, and he has given a course in the basic doctrines for newcomers. His interest in the radio station led him to watch over getting the construction permit, the completed work, getting the license, and going on the air. A major factor in the success is having Mr. and Mrs. Tom Aye manage the station. There is a taped interview with Dr. Kubler Ross, which will no doubt be interesting and valuable in making a point of common interest with those who might tune in the radio station.
     The adult education classes introduced last fall, were prepared to meet the interests of seven different groups-parents of school-aged children, newcomers, members of the Philosophy and the Arcana classes, and young people of high school age. A large gathering of adults was attracted to the study of the human mind, and a course was offered for the training of those adults interested in furthering our radio work. Later in the year new discussion groups were formed to consider moral issues, subjects of contemporary concern, and an appreciation of photography. At one of the retreats we talked about the progressive states through adult life and old age.
     The opening of the Radio Station, WMWA, was held April 27th and 28th, 1979, in Glenview. Pendleton Hall and the studio created in the space under its stage, were the scene of the celebration. On the hundred foot tower glowing red light beams, (to warn airplanes of danger) but also to remind us that WMWA isn't just a dream. The purposes of the radio station are its use as a learning tool for students of the Midwestern Academy, and to spread the distinctive teachings of our Church and school. Over the week end we heard from Bishop King, and Rev. Alfred Acton, who was accompanied by Mrs. Acton. The two former pastors had helped the radio station toward its arrival, and for its opening addressed various meetings on the program. Other visiting dignitaries were church members with special interest in the success of the radio station, and at the dedication, to which the public was invited. Mr. Tom Smith, President of Glenview Village, spoke. Trained by Dan Woodard, the MANC students had become quite professional-sounding announcers, but could not hide their joy at using such a remarkable "learning tool." Now that fifty hours a week on the air is required, some adult volunteers are called for to help with the needed work. Church services are on the air twice on Sundays, and can bring the sphere of worship to shut-ins.

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     Funds for school and church uses were raised in a number of entertaining ways. A carnival, with sports, a Punch and Judy Show, and a ducking stool, was put on by the School Committee. The rummage sale displayed a choice lot of valuables at take-away prices. The Girls' Club sold handicraft and bakery goods after a Friday Supper. The high school held a pancake breakfast one Sunday to help with their trip to Almont, Michigan, and the New Church Camp there.
     The Immanuel Church School had several fine entertainments to their credit. The leadership of the band, held for three years by Miss Libby Brewer, passed on to Mrs. John Donnelly (Connie Scalbom). The band with its eleven members had a concert that was fun both for the band, and the audience. A play, "The Man in the Moon," was directed by Mrs. Ralph Synnestvedt, Jr., who said the kids put on a hard, long play, and worked well off stage as well as on. All the Kindergarten and their teachers, invited the childrens' families to see the Indian dances and pictures they had made. "And more as they say on WMWA. Besides the Pledgethon and the science fair, there will be a pageant for New Church Day. A great deal of work is being done by the Park Dwellings Board in the development of the Starkey property. The increase in the cost of housing concerns us all, especially the young people who hope to live near the school. Park Dwellings, the Real Estate Committee, and the Board of Trustees are putting their minds to ways of easing the problem to help assure the future growth of the society.
     The Educational Council is to meet here this summer. There is to be an evening service and a social time Sunday, before the meetings start. The general subject, "The uses of literature in reference to the degrees and functions of the natural mind," will cover the uses of lyric poetry, mythological literature, fiction and drama. We do appreciate the extra work involved for the Education Council in coming here, and we are looking forward to seeing them.
     We have been very fortunate in having a number of visitors this year and especially do we welcome the new comers from nearby and their families who have added their presence to our society and school, some even offering help in preparing a banquet.
     The Theta Alpha banquet speaker was Rev. Bill Burke, of Americus, Georgia. "Mr. Burke was a Pentecostal preacher who found the Writings through reading Moody's book, Life after Life. He then read extensively in them, and finally found our church in Atlanta. Recently he and a small congregation in Americus were baptized into the Church. He has joined the General Church and is looking to some training in the Theological School. His account of his entry into the Church should be an inspiration to us all." (Quotes from the Park News and the Pastor's Report.)
     SUSAN HOLM.

     THE ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH

     Joint Meeting

     Minutes of the Annual Joint Meeting of the Faculty and Corporation of the Academy of the New Church, held in the Assembly Hall, Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, May 18, 1919.
     Attendance: 264
     Chancellor Louis B. King opened the meeting at 1:40 p.m.
     The minutes of the last Annual Joint Meeting, held May 19, 1978, were accepted as published in the Annual Number of The Academy Journal for 1977-78.
     Report of the Chancellor: Chancellor Louis B. King began his report by noting the passing into the spiritual world of Miss Jean Horigan, Mrs. Harold Carswell, and Miss Petty Childs. In memoriam, those assembled arose to observe a moment of silence in acknowledgment of their past services to the Academy.
     Chancellor King then reviewed the duties of the Chancellor, and the Charter purposes of the Academy. These purposes make the Academy a unique institution in the world.

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Chancellor King then briefly sketched the beginnings of the Academy as a school, and its relationship to the Church. It recognized that children have a twofold environment-one natural, the other spiritual. At the secondary school level, the rational begins to open, and there begins the possibility of a true conscience. In college, the true rational begins to open. Here New Church teachers are prepared; and in the Theological School, the priests of the Church. Because of the relationship between the Academy and the General Church, therefore the Bishop of the Church serves ex officio as the Academy's Chancellor. There is but one essential: the Lord Himself. All else is instrumental. Because one who loves the end, loves the means, so we love our schools, and the other uses of the Academy. Yet the primary focus must remain on the essential use: the upbuilding of the Church. The Academy also has a business side, without which the Academy could not continue. Chancellor King in this connection paid tribute to the Vice President and Treasurer of the Academy, Mr. Leonard E. Gyllenhaal, who has devoted most of his adult life to this use. Chancellor King announced that the Glencairn Foundation has named Mr. Gyllenhaal a recipient of a Glencairn Award in appreciation of his devoted service.
     Report of the President: President Alfred Acton recalled how much the Academy his changed since his entrance into the Academy as a student in 1949. Many faces have changed. But Dr. Andrew A. Doering has served throughout these years as school physician. On the eve of his retirement from this post, Mr. Acton paid tribute to his devoted service. Mr. Acton then announced further staff changes for the coming year.
     Mr. Acton then turned to the subject of research, which affects all the schools of the Academy. He described it as a necessary part of love's effort to express itself. Research grants have therefore been made over the years to support research. Mr. Acton described four research projects that are being so supported this coming summer. He also reported a number of other research projects that are being undertaken, including several supported by the Paul Carpenter Fellowship Fund. Taken together, these projects form a varied and exciting program. Mr. Acton mentioned, too, other programs symposia, colloquia, and the like-that are planned in the coming months.
     Mr. Acton concluded his report by thanking Chancellor King for his continued confidence in him, and the privilege of serving as President for another three years.
     Report of the Dean of the Theological School: Dean Robert S. Junge spoke of the variety of students, with a variety of backgrounds, who will be students in the Theological School next year. He spoke also of the variety of uses to which the Theological School graduates are being called. But the Heavenly Doctrines are accommodated for all these varieties.
     Priests are to leach truths, according to the doctrine of the Church. Therefore they must be learned. But they cannot be properly learned without humility, for it is the Lord alone who teaches, whom they represent and serve. Priests must also have a sufficient integrity of life to preserve the dignity of the office. Their discourse and sermons must be formed from the Word. There is no substitute for integrity, and for integrity of life. Mr. Junge then spoke of zeal, and what priestly zeal is and should be. He concluded by returning to the Word as the source, which must be searched and made the basis of the Church.
     Report of the Dean of the College: Dean Robert W. Gladish began, after a witty introduction, with a review of the College's fluctuating enrollments. He expressed optimism for the future of the College. He described courses that have been recently added to the offerings, and also other programs that are being initiated. Dean Gladish spoke with especial appreciation of the new College Social Center. In his office, he has enjoyed steady support from students, faculty, and administration.

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Dean Gladish also spoke with pleasure of recent educational accomplishments by several members of the faculty. He has been struck by the thought that education without moral and spiritual values is not really education. Ideal education calls for excellence, and part of this excellence is academic, intellectual excellence. However, in this there is no room for smugness and arrogance. And excellence includes other virtues as well, of character, of dedication, and many others-to serve what is good. It is his hope that recent developments in the College have moved in the direction of this wider excellence.
     Report of the principal of the Girls School: Miss Morna Hyatt reported that this past year has been a good one, with some statistics on the enrollment. She spoke of a trip she and the housemother, Mrs. Thomas Redmile had taken. She then described changes that will take place next year in staffing. Of these there will be a number. She paid tribute to teachers who will be leaving, and looks forward to working with those who will be joining in the work. Miss
Hyatt reported on the work of a committee appointed to study various aspects of New Church education with special application to girls. She concluded by saying that together the members of the faculty of the Girls School must and can carry forward the important work of the school.
     Report of the Principal of the Boys School: Mr. Donald C. Fitzpatrick, Jr., reported that the response of the student body in the past year has been in the main an affirmative one. Coming years will see dropping enrollments, if the projections are correct. This will present a challenge. A second challenge will be to meet the needs of students with special learning problems. Mr. Fitzpatrick outlined efforts that have been made in this area to date; the challenge will be to maintain these efforts. Another challenge will grow out of economic pressures. These challenges cannot be avoided; we will have to decide our priorities with care. More and more is being demanded of education. The experience of other schools teaches that little can be accomplished without a consensus as to purposes and goals. We will need to have a consensus as to what New Church education is and should be. We used to hear asked, "What use will be served?" It seems we are now hearing more and more frequently, "What harm will it do?" We need to return to the first question, and focus on uses. Without commonly recognized uses, without a commonly recognized truth, we will not have that consensus. How will we meet the challenges? Mr. Fitzpatrick believes that the Boys School faculty will be able to meet the challenges, but it will need the support of the Church, particularly of the men of the Church.
     (All these reports will be found published in the Annual Number of The Academy Journal for 1978-1919.)
     The meeting was adjourned at 9:05 p.m.
          Respectfully submitted,
               N. BRUCE ROGERS,
                    Secretary

     Commencement, 1979

     AWARDS

     The following were the diplomas, honors, and awards granted at this gear's commencement exercises:

     THEOLOGICAL SCHOOL

Bachelor of Theology: Mark Edward Alden, Eric Hugh Carswell, Kent Junge, Cedric King, Lawson Merrell Smith

     COLLEGE

Bachelor of Arts: Michael Keith Cowley, Loren Cay Soneson

Bachelor of Science: Christine Alan, Sarah Ann Bruell (cum laude), Nathan Donald Gladish, Miriam Alden Gruber, Marian Myrle Homber, Fay Synnestvedt Lindrooth (cum laude), Kim Truax

Associate in Arts: Sharlene Anne Anderson, David William Cooper, Andrew Malcolm Thomas Dibb, Gail Genzlinger,

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Michael Bruce Holmes, Aileen Horigan, Eden Horigan, David Baler Hotson, Keith Edward Hyatt, Andrew Pendleton Kunkle, Willard Brian Merrell, Mary Kathlyn Odhner, Gwenda Jean Parker, Barbara Childs Pendleton (with distinction), Charie Pendleton (with distinction), Stuart Collier Pendleton, Anthony Rose, Shirley Candace Rose, Paul Edward Schorran, Linda Dawn Simonetti (with distinction), Marcia Gwyn Smith (with distinction), Roberta Jay Stein, Wendy Aileen Stroh, G. Philip Tyler, Kimberley Hough York.

     GIRLS SCHOOL

Diploma with Honors: Joy Asplundh, Heather Diene Cooper, Nina Cooper, Anna Evelyn Hotson, Jessica Pendleton, Cara Fay Simonetti, Jacqueline Lee Umberger, Sharon Marie Wyland.

Diploma or Certificate: Katherine Lynn Allen, Kelly Bochneak, Mara Bostock, Susan Birgit Coffin, Mary Jane Cudmore Cole, Charis Crockett, Bethel Jean David, Lynley Michelle Doering, Leslie Diane Furry, Dara Christine Grubb, Kris Kynett Heilman, Ingrid Margareta Holm, Kerin Lee Horigan, Janice Marie Jostock, Erin Junge, Sherry Lynne Klippenstein, Leesa Violet Kloc, Deborah Elaine Krause, Sharon Madeline Lee, Kathy Michelle Lowry, Susan Ann Maciaczyk, Leigh Goodwin Martz, Linda Ann Molidor, Susan Needle, Kim Anna Nelson, Sharon Parker, Shirley Pitcairn, Kimberley Ann Poole, Julie Ray Rienstra, Melanie Jean Schnarr, Rachelle Scott, Amy Joan Smith, Tracey Thomas.

Theta Alpha Award: Jessica Pendleton

Valedictorian: Sherry Lynne Klippenstein

     BOYS SCHOOL

Diploma with Honors: Philip Andrew Cooper, Richard Leonard Goerwitz III, Stanley Ward Heinrichs, Duane Daryl Hyatt, Nicholas Todd Rose, Hilary Alfred Simons, Huard Gordon Smith, Matthew Blake Smith, Jonathan Douglas Taylor, Conrad Behrend Zecher.

Diploma or Certificate: Malcolm David Acton, Steven Gareth Asplundh, Glenn Harris Bostock, Andrew Hugh Bown, Thomas Stephen Brecht, Lincoln Wade Brewer, Benjamin Alexander Brock, William Craig Doering, Gregory Nelson Glebe, Charles Edward Gyllenhaal, Leland Edward Hale, Keith Acton Halterman, Norman Wade Horigan, Steven David Huntzinger, James Karl Needer, Bruce Gardner Nelson, Michael James Niall, William Acton Roscoe, Stephen Frederick Roth, Darrell Ellsworth Swank, Matthew Whitney Synnestvedt, Ward Bradford Welch.

Sons of The Academy Silver Medals: Matthew Blake Smith and Conrad Behrend Zecher

     BRYN ATHYN

     News from Bryn Athyn frequently relates to others than the tiny bit of geography in Eastern Pennsylvania. In its active, busy and varied program, this is typified by events such as the Academy commencement exercises and the June 10th service in the Cathedral at which five new priests of the New Church were inaugurated into the first degree. These ordinations of Mark Alden, Eric Carswell, Kent Junge, Cedric King and Lawson Smith were preparatory to their entrance into uses in various Church circles. The graduation ceremonies June 9th attracted, as usual, not only most of the community but also a great many visitors to enjoy a memorable One Hundred and Second Commencement with 112 graduates-of which 57 were from distant centers.
     Bishop King opened the ceremony with a service of worship at which the President of the Academy, the Rev. Alfred Acton, read the parable of the talents from Matthew 25 and from CL 16, setting the theme of dedication to usefulness. To this theme was added that of "Courage" derived from the Class of '79 banner, and well expressed in the Commencement Address by Mr. Garthowen Pitcairn, and the several valedictories for Boys School, Girls School, Junior and Senior College and the Theological School.

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Added to the treasured diplomas were academic honors for each group, and the Theta Alpha and Sons of the Academy awards to Jessie Pendleton, Matthew Smith, Candice Rose, David Hotson, and Sarah Bruell.
     In the few days before school closing students, parents and friends had gathered for evenings of recognition for the fine group of students, an Achievements Award program and the two evenings of sports awards. Not only the prizes and honors but the feeling of all expressed the delight in a successful and happy school year. Not the least in the array of notable accomplishments in Academy life was the rousingly, successful production of the Gilbert and Sullivan traditional favorite, the Mikado-and even those who remembered through rose colored glasses their own school operettas, admitted that this was truly outstanding, with Natalie Rose as Yum Yum, Matthew Smith as Nanki Poo and Jonathan Taylor as Ko Ko backed up by a marvelous team in featured roles and chorus, with striking staging and a fantastically talented orchestra.
     Though of a contrasting mood, the Academy College's production of the great tragedy, "Romeo and Juliet" by Shakespeare was done with skill and talents far beyond the familiar school theatricals. This, together with other accomplishments on the College campus evidenced the high level to which the College, once in the shadow of the Secondary Schools, has progressed. College life at the Academy was notable, too, because of extensive sports programs, and the establishment of its own recreation center, "The Carriage House" and its new ice skating rink.
     The community of Bryn Athyn is, of course, also the setting for many local activities, including the delightful graduation exercises in the All Purpose Building June 7th at which Dr. Robert Gladish gave a reminiscent address contrasting today's school with his own "Little House on the Prairie" education-noting that it is not the physical advantages or elaborate programs which are the foundation for true education.
     Numerous nuggets of news tempt this reporter, but it is not practical to try to list the happenings in what, as all agree, is a busy and active Church Society. Some of our loved ones have been called by the Lord, but He has sent us a delightful crop of tiny but promising replacements. We continue to enjoy weddings, society meetings, classes and services too numerous to itemize, and, as a season suitably closes with the celebration of New Church Day with special services and a festive picnic, the people of this little Borough will welcome a Summer of quiet and relaxed inactivity.
     LEON RHODES
28TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1979

28TH GENERAL ASSEMBLY              1979

     GUELPH, ONTARIO, CANADA

     JUNE 11-15, 1980

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ORDINATIONS 1979

ORDINATIONS              1979



     Announcements
     Nicolier.-At Dijon, France, May 31, 1979, the Rev. Alain Nicolier, into the first degree of the priesthood, the Rt. Rev. Louis B. King officiating.

     Alden.-At Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, June 10, 1979, the Rev. Mark E. Alden into the first degree of the priesthood, the Rt. Rev. Louis B. King officiating.

     Carswell.-At Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, June 10, 1979, the Rev. Eric H. Carswell into the first degree of the priesthood, the Rt. Rev. Louis B. King officiating.

     Junge.-At Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, June 10, 1979, the Rev. Kent Junge into the first degree of the priesthood, the Rt. Rev. Louis B. King officiating.

     King.-At Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, June 10, 1979, the Rev. Cedric King into the first degree of the priesthood, the Rt. Rev. Louis B. King officiating.

     Smith.-At Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, June 10, 1979, the Rev. Lawson M. Smith into the first degree of the priesthood, the Rt. Rev. Louis B. King officiating.
ADDRESS CHANCES, USA 1979

ADDRESS CHANCES, USA       E. S. Echols       1979

     Do you receive New Church Life, New Philosophy, New Church Home, Festival Lessons, Bryn Athyn Post, etc. A simple address change card, obtainable at the Post Office, sent to ADDRESSOGRAPH OFFICE, Cairncrest, Bryn Athyn, PA. 19009 will automatically change your address for all publications. The Post Office will not forward second and third class mail, and sometimes will not forward first class mail. It costs the Church four times as much as the original postage to have it sent back to us. Sometimes we get two or three mailings back before we discover that you have moved.
     So, please, LET'S START GIVING THE CHURCH SOME MONEY!
          E. S. Echols,
          Addressograph Office

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VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN, GLENVIEW, PITTSBURGH, TORONTO, AND KITCHENER 1979

VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN, GLENVIEW, PITTSBURGH, TORONTO, AND KITCHENER              1979

     Visitors to Bryn Athyn, Glenview, Pittsburgh, Toronto, or Kitchener who are in need of hospitality accommodations are cordially urged to contact in advance the appropriate Hospitality Committee head listed below:

Mrs. V. Carmond Odhner               Mrs. Philip Horigan
2806 Huntingdon Pike               50 Park Drive
Bryn Athyn, PA 19009               Glenview, IL 60025
Phone: (215) 947-8973               Phone: (312) 729-6544

Mrs. Paul M. Schoenberger               Mrs. Sydney Parker
7433 Pen Hur Street               30 Royaleigh Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15208               Weston, Ont. M9P 2J5
Phone: (412) 371-3056

Mrs. Mark Carlson
58 Chapel Hill Drive
R.R. 2
Kitchener, Ontario N2G 3W5
ON TAKING A VACATION 1979

ON TAKING A VACATION              1979

     There is an affection in every employment, and it strains the mind, and keeps it intent upon its work or study. This, if it be not relaxed, becomes dull, and its desire flags, or salt that has lost its server, so that it has no pungency or relish; or as a bended bow, which, unless it be unbent, loses the power that it derives from its elasticity. Just so the mind, kept from day to day in the same ideas, without variety. So the eyes, when they look only al one object, or continually upon one color. For, to look continually at a thing which is block, or continually at red or at white, destroys the sight. Thus, if one looks continually at the snow the sight is destroyed; but it is enlivened if he looks in succession or at the some time upon many colors. Every form delights by its varieties, as a garland of roses of different colors arranged in beautiful order. Hence it is that the rainbow is more charming than the light itself.
     When the mind has been continually upon the stretch, at its work, it aspires to rest; and when it rests it descends into the body, and seeks there its pleasures, correspondent to its mental operations. . .
     But because the ministries, functions, officer, and labors of every one keep the mind upon the stretch, and this is what is to be relaxed, revived, and restored by diversions, it may be seen that diversions vary according to the interior affection within them; and that they are one thing if the affection of charity is in them, another if there is in them an affection for Ironer only, another if there is on affection only for gain, another if they perform their dirties only for the sake of support, and the necessaries of life, another if only for a name, that they may be celebrated, or if only for the sake of salary, that they may grow rich, or that they may live generously, and so on.
     If the affection of charity is in them, then all the [above-mentioned] diversions are for its recreation,-spectacles and plays, musical harmonies and songs, and all the beauties of fields and gardens, and social intercourse in general. The affection of use remains interiorly within them, which, while it is thus vesting, is gradually renewed. A longing for one's work breaks or ends them. The Doctrine of Charity 190-193

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EASY YOKE 1979

EASY YOKE       Rev. ARNE BAU-MADSEN       1979


NEW CHURCH LIFE
Vol. XCIX          SEPTEMBER, 1979           No. 9
     My yoke is easy, and My burden is light. Matthew 11:30.

     When the Lord spoke these words to the multitudes He was indeed speaking to a people who were actually laboring under a restraining yoke, and who were weighed down with heavy burdens. They were laboring under the constant fear of an angry and vengeful God, and they were weighed down by the burden of an elaborate set of external rituals, rules and regulations, which were to be meticulously observed, lest they arouse the anger of their God. Virtually every aspect of their lives, and every moment of their waking hours were rigidly regulated by some law or ordinance, as is evident from the books of the Old Testament.
     And by the time the Lord came on earth this burden had been greatly augmented by an even larger body of man-made interpretations and traditions, formulated and taught by the priests, the scribes, the lawyers, and the Pharisees-a set of rules so detailed and confining that they made life almost unbearably difficult and complicated, and made trespassing practically inevitable. This is why the Lord rebuked the lawyers with these words: "Woe unto you also, ye lawyers, for ye lade men with burdens grievous to be borne."
     It was to such a nation-laboring under this restraining yoke and stumbling beneath such a crushing burden-that the Lord came with His new gospel, the gospel of love, mercy, and eternal life; teaching them that the essence of keeping the law and worshiping God was to obey the two great commandments: To love the Lord with all one's heart, and soul, and mind; and to love the neighbor as oneself; and assuring them that the sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath.

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     To those of the Jews who listened to the Lord, and who understood and received His doctrine, His yoke was easy indeed and His burden light. For it set them free from the confining cage of dead tradition and strict ritualism; and it revived them, giving them new hope, a new meaning in life. From the wilderness of a dead and vastated church their minds were elevated to catch a glimpse of the glory and peace of the Lord's eternal kingdom.
     And as Christianity subsequently spread from its cradle in Jerusalem, not only the Jewish followers of the Lord, but also the surrounding pagan nations were liberated by the gospel. They were set free from the yoke and burden of ancient superstitions which haunted their lives and crippled their minds, and from the abject fear of false and cruel gods who had to be constantly appeased by sacrifices.
     Indeed, it seemed as if a new age of freedom and rationality was dawning. But if was not to be. Instead of the human spirit soaring to new and greater heights of insight and joy, a new yoke descended upon the men of the church, a new burden was put upon their shoulders.
     The Lord's teachings-at first but obscurely understood-were misinterpreted, then deliberately falsified by the leaders of the church, and finally rejected in favor of man-made creeds, decrees and traditions, which masqueraded as Divine revelation, while serving the diabolical loves of self and the world.
     Marriage was rejected as inferior to the state of celibacy, which was enthroned as the true Christian ideal-marriage only being retained as a lesser evil than fornication. This allowed the man of the church only two possible choices, both of which could not but become chafing yokes. He could choose to live up to this ideal, but only at the cost of having to struggle against his natural and inevitable longing for conjunction, and becoming an emotional and spiritual cripple in the process. Or he could give in to this longing, and enter into marriage, but only with a recurring and nagging sense of guilt over his weakness and lowly carnal nature, if his religious beliefs were sincere at all.
     The world was a vale of tears and sorrow, the domain of the prince of darkness. Worldly pleasures were condemned as sinful, and only those who renounced them in favor of a life of poverty, contemplation and affliction were true followers of the Lord. The natural curiosity of the human mind-the innate desire to understand, which is the matrix or womb out of which the rational is born-was condemned and suppressed as vanity and a rebellious questioning of Divine authority. Faith without any mental view-a blind acceptance of dogma despite or even because of their paradoxes-was established as a fundamental religious principle.

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The life of religion became a sad and dreary state of bondage, and the way to heaven appeared almost impossibly strait.
     Only in the New Church has this yoke of spiritual oppression and the burden of falsity been completely removed.
     We can enter into even the most external pleasures of the conjugial relationship, not only without any sense of guilt and imperfection, but even with the sure knowledge that this state is holy, pure, and eternal, and that it is the Lord's will that the two become one flesh even in the most literal sense of that expression.
     We can partake freely of worldly delights with no fear of worshiping the devil, for we know that all these things were created by the Lord for our use and joy, and that they are good when they are not made ends in themselves.
     And we can enter with our understanding into all the mysteries of faith without any fear of displeasing or questioning the Lord, knowing that He not only permits it, but even wills and expects us to reflect upon His truth and receive it with understanding.
     The Heavenly Doctrine has indeed removed both these and many other yokes and burdens of the past and opened the gates wide to a new age of spiritual and mental freedom.
     And yet the fact is that even the man in the New Church goes through times or states when the Lord's yoke and burden seem to weigh heavily upon him, and sometimes even overwhelmingly so.

     The road to heaven, the process of regeneration, is one of temptation and combat, as we were taught in the lesson from the Writings; and when we are in such states of temptation heaven does indeed seem a distant and virtually unattainable goal. We may feel that the literal sense more accurately describes the life of religion in these words: "Strait is the gate and narrow the way that leadeth unto life."
     Yes, we may find the way to life not only narrow, but also steep, thorny, and full of stumbling-blocks. And yet the Writings confirm that the Lord's yoke is easy indeed, when they teach:

     That it is not so difficult to live the life of heaven as some believe, is now clear from this, that when anything presents itself to a man that he knows to be dishonest and unjust, but to which his mind is borne, it is simply necessary for him to think that it ought not to be done because it is opposed to the Divine precepts. If a man accustoms himself so to think, and from so doing establishes a habit of so thinking he is gradually conjoined to heaven.*
     * HH 533

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     Now, it may seem that we are faced here with a clear contradiction. We are taught, on one hand, that the Lord's yoke is easy, and that the life of heaven involves nothing more difficult than just dismissing evil thoughts and intentions when they present themselves to our minds; and then, on the other hand, we are told that the gate and the way to life are strait and narrow, and that regeneration involves not just one, but a long series of temptations and combats, and fierce combats indeed.
     But there is no contradiction. Both sets of teachings are equally true, as is evident when they are viewed in their proper perspective.
     We often tend to think of the Lord's yoke as that of self-compelled obedience to the truth; as the striving to shun and subdue our evils in act and intention, with all the states of combat, anxiety, and even despair that this inevitably entails. But this is a mistake.
     The Lord's yoke, properly speaking, is the state of conjunction with heaven and with the Lord. This is why it is also taught in the passage from Heaven and Hell that we quoted before: That when man has made a beginning, "the Lord performs all the good deeds with him, and causes him not only to see the evils to be evils, but also to refrain from willing them, and finally to turn away from them. This is what is meant by the Lord's words, My yoke is easy, and My burden is light."*
     * Ibid.
     In other words, the Lord's yoke is the state of being led by the Lord, of no longer willing evil and even rejecting the very thought with inmost horror. It is the regenerate or angelic state, and it is truly an easy and delightful one-a state of peace and complete trust in the Lord, unburdened by cares and anxieties, and with everyone freely giving and receiving from mutual love and trust.
     But to enjoy this easy yoke, we must put it on. And we must cast off the yoke of evil through combats and temptations. The removal of this yoke is a difficult and painful process indeed, and this is the strait gate and the narrow way by which man becomes a living soul, by means of which he reaches the final goal, the heavenly kingdom which is the end of all creation.
     So we have no contradiction at all. The two sets of teachings are equally true and in perfect harmony, describing two consecutive states of man's regeneration, namely, the process of submitting and then the state of submission or of having submitted. It is the submitting that is hard, but the state of submission is an easy and joyous one indeed.
     It is important that we are aware of this distinction, not only because it reconciles an apparent contradiction in the Word, but also in order to prevent discouragement from gaining dominion in our lives.
     When we hear, or are reminded of, these teachings, that the Lord's yoke is easy, that the life of heaven really is not difficult, and that the forces of evil can be defeated so quickly and painlessly, then we may start wondering why we ourselves go through such states of heartrending doubt, combat, and anxiety.

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And we may see these teachings confirmed by looking at others from external appearances, noting how cheerfully and effortlessly they seem to bear the yoke; and doubts begin to arise in our minds: Is it so difficult for us because we are so much worse than anybody else? Is it a sign that we are beyond salvation? Is it really any us to go on trying!
     When such questions come to mind, the evil spirits draw near, and try to insinuate the answers they desire, answers such as: Yes, you are indeed worse than anybody else; or: No, you may as well give up, it is only too evident that all your efforts have been in vain.
     But if we know and understand the truth, we can resist and frustrate these attempts, and retain our hope of salvation, despite all appearances to the contrary. The walls of doctrine, the mighty walls of the New Jerusalem, cannot be breached or scaled even by the concerted efforts of all the forces of hell. If we seek their protection, trusting and obeying the Lord, we shall indeed dwell secure.
     And yet, being mindful of this distinction between successive states of regeneration, we must also realize that in a wider sense-including all the states that man goes through-the Lord's yoke is easy indeed.
     The Lord is not a stern judge, who stands back to await the outcome of the struggle and pronounce His verdict. On the contrary, He fights with us and for us in all our temptations, and the final victory is His alone.
     He is not a hard taskmaster, He does not require perfection; He accepts men with all their weaknesses and errors, if only He sees in their hearts a sincere longing and striving for His kingdom.
     Even into hell, to those who hate Him and reject Him, does His mercy extend, easing the yoke and lightening the burden of evil as far as possible.
     The yoke of the Lord is not one that weighs us down and bends our backs; on the contrary, it is one that lifts us up towards ever greater uses, joys and delights, into an eternal conjunction with our Lord and Savior, the Source of all life, light and strength. Amen.

     LESSONS: Matthew 7:1-14. Matthew 1:16-20. Arcana Coelestia 8403:2, 3.

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"GIFTED CHILD" 1979

"GIFTED CHILD"       Rev. GEOFFREY CHILDS       1979

     (Part Two)

     The real theme of this paper is not educational guessing, or the conundrum about which comes first, creative love or spiritual order. It is rather Focusing on the question of universal doctrine. This is the place and function of celestial remains throughout all of a lifetime, including childhood, youth, adult age until old age. We are, since the fail, of the spiritual genius. But in the beginnings of life, in infancy, the Lord established a celestial level in our spiritual genius. This may be called the celestial of the spiritual in childhood; or the celestial as we now can know it, until the final states of regeneration. What is the place and use of this celestial from childhood!
     Here I believe some quotations from the letter of the Word have special application: "The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them."* The Lord leads through celestial remains, in each stale of regeneration.** "Jesus said, Whosoever receiveth not the kingdom of God as a child, shall not enter therein."*** "At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven! Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven."**** In reference to the meaning of these, see AC 5236, which also gives and unfolds other literal quotations. And this key quotation: "Judah is a lion's whelp. . . . The sceptre shall not depart from Judah, nor a lawgiver from between his feet, until Shiloh come."*****
     * Isaiah 11:16               
     ** AE 313:3
     *** Luke 18:17               
     **** Matt. 18:13
     ***** Genesis 49:9-10
     The concept of this paper is that Judah shall reign until Shiloh come. And that by Judah is meant now, in the spiritual series, the celestial remains of infancy. That these shall reign-especially the innocence within them-until Shiloh comes. And by Shiloh is meant here the Lord being received in His Divine Human by the adult New Church man and the tranquility this brings. In the internal historical series, Judah represents the ancient celestial, or rather the most ancient celestial, before the fall of mankind.

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With the fall, this celestial good in the uncorrupt will was lost. That heaven, as a most ancient heaven, is closed to modern man but the celestial in the spiritual series, with today's genius, is still with us, and first of all in the remains of infancy. It is this celestial that is to reign in our whole education-process until Shiloh comes. That Judah in application to the spiritual man represents the celestial, and celestial love, see AR 350. Judah is said there to signify celestial love "with all who will be of the Lord's New heaven and New Church.
     The same principle is expressed correspondentially, I believe, in the literal statement that "a little child shall lead them;"* and that when questioned as to the greatest authority, Jesus set a little child "in the midst of them."** The celestial, from remains of infancy, is to be "in the midst" of the entire educational process, as the authority.
     * Isaiah 11:6
     ** Matt. 18:2

     Children are led from the external innocence in which they are at the beginning and which is called the innocence of childhood, to internal innocence, which is the innocence of wisdom. This innocence is the end that directs all their instruction and progress; and therefore when they have attained to the innocence of wisdom, the innocence of childhood, which in the meanwhile has served them as a plane, is joined to them.*
     * HH 341, from chapter, Children in Heaven

The Golden Thread

     Innocence from the Lord is the golden thread. The Lord is the Shepherd of innocence. The New Church is to be celestial.* But what a frightening challenge to the spiritual man, who is so limited and fragile, and so constantly threatened by love of self and hereditary evil. How can it be possible? Not from self, which is fallen, but from the gift state of celestial remains, which are to be within as the directing center in all following states.** Before listing a few suggestions as to what this may mean, I would like to say a few things it does not mean. It does not mean we regenerate in the New Church in a celestial manner. This was true only of the most ancient church, which did not have hereditary evil. It does not mean that there is a magic short-cut for eradicating hereditary evil. A supporting quote to this is the following: "It is an error of the age to believe that the state of man's life can be changed instantly, and thus from evil man can become good, and in consequence can be led out of hell and transferred into heaven, and this by the Lord's mercy apart from means.***
     * Cf. AE 707, 708; AR 350, 533
     ** Cf. AC 5608
     *** DP 279

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     Man must face hereditary evil tendencies, and this increasingly in childhood after leaving infancy behind, and also in the long stretches of adult self-compulsion to obey truth. "If ye continue in My Word, then are ye My disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."* To "continue" in the Word means states of self-compulsion to obey it, as AC 1937 so unforgettably describes. Any simplistic suggestion that childhood is without frightening attacks by hereditary evil, or that adult regeneration is easy, is refuted by a poem by Elsa Synnestvedt:
     * John 8:31-32

     They lie who say with pious mien, it's easy to be good,
     To shun the fruit forbidden, and to stomach what we should
     To shatter Satan's armature with blade of cumbrous wood. . . .*
          * NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1952, p. 246

     Joseph, above all others, even Judah, represents the celestial of the spiritual in the New Church. As a Hebrew boy, he signifies celestial remains in their entirety.* His beautiful dreams are as a prophecy of the future, how the celestial of the spiritual will come to rulership in distant future states, with the sun, moon and stars bowing down. But note that Joseph was put in a pit, and sold in Egypt. His coat was dipped in the blood of a kid and this was taken to Israel to prove Joseph was dead. Israel or Jacob believed this: that Joseph was dead. So in time did the brothers who had sold Joseph. Think what this means correspondentially! Israel, the good of truth, an advanced spiritual state, thought the celestial of infancy to be dead! No wonder it is difficult to conceive of the place of celestial remains in education and regeneration. Most of the operations of these inmost remains are secret, far above consciousness. Celestial remains are withdrawn into the interiors after their implantation is completed. Even the memories of infancy, the external memories, are mostly forgotten.
     * See AC 5236

The A Priori Approach

     All this is of the Lord's providence, to protect inmost things from profanation. But nevertheless, the celestial of infancy works within, a priori, in every subsequent state. At times the celestial re-inflows, and touches life with special magic. And secretly it is the thread, the golden thread that leads from the innocence of infancy to the possible beauty of the innocence of wisdom from the Lord. New Church education is to be a priori in approach: from prior things. This is the first key to its distinctive nature, and makes New Church education unique as this is applied in particulars. What is meant by a priori-from prior things?

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     If you take away that which is interior, the exterior falls; for the exterior comes into existence and subsists from its interiors in order. So it is with innocence. This makes one with love to the Lord.* something shall be said respecting order. The order is for the celestial to inflow into the spiritual and adapt it to itself; for the spiritual thus to inflow into the rational and adapt it to itself; and for the rational thus to inflow into the memory knowledge and adapt it to itself. But when a man is being instructed in his earliest childhood, the order is indeed the same, but it appears otherwise, namely, (it appears) that he advances from memory-knowledge to rational things, from these to spiritual things, and so at last to celestial things. The reason it so appears is that a way must be opened to celestial things, which are inmost. All instruction is simply an opening of the way (to celestial things).**
     * AC 5608
     ** AC 1495:2
     Most of the quotations in the Concordance under "prior" unfold this principle of going from prior or higher things to lower. The famous Arcana number on the two principles, the affirmative and negative, has direct application to true order,* and AC 6047 helps unfold this affirmative or a priori approach. In familiar definition, it means that in the General Church we believe that the Writings are the Word. What the Lord reveals in the Writings takes priority over our derived thinking. And within the Writings we see the Lord.
     * AC 2568
     How do celestial remains effect subsequent states, then, aside from being inmostly within them? When do these first remains surface, as it were, to help the child and adult in later states? After Abram's initial sojourn in the land of Canaan, and his encampment near Bethel, he journeyed on toward the south. "And there was a famine in the land. And Abram went down into Egypt to sojourn there."* This going into Egypt represents the end of infancy per se, and entrance into the first states of childhood-and of formal instruction. The Lord when a Child "did not will to imbue Himself with any other knowledges than those of the Word." The Word was open to Him from His Divine soul.** He learned applications and unfoldings of Divine truth far beyond the literal Old Testament. Nature became alive to Him as a theatre representative of the creative forces of the Father, His soul.
     * Genesis 12:9-10
     ** AC 1461

Opening the Way to the Celestial

     So also, when children start formal New Church education, the origin of that education is from the Word, the trinal Word. The knowledges then taught should be "open" knowledges.* Open to what?

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Open to celestial things. When a child is being instructed, the apparent order is memory knowledges to rational things to spiritual things to celestial things. We are told: "The reason it so appears is that a way must be opened to celestial things, which are inmost. All instruction is simply an opening of the way."** Two things prevent celestial things: empty memory-knowledges and cupidities.*** In the time of instilling spiritual remains by the Lord through outward means, the influx is from the fourth level of the Divine proceeding.**** But knowledges may be taught looking downward from this plane only to the earth. Or they may be taught to open a way upwards. If "open" knowledges are taught, then the celestial is not quiet, or quiescent, but is stirred to life itself-and deeply moves the young listener. The celestial in origin is a love of others more than self! This love has the effect of the sun on a traveler in Aesop's Fable of North Wind and Suit! The "sun" corresponds to celestial love, in origin love of others more than self. Listen to a good primary teacher conduct worship and tell a story from the Word, perhaps of one of the patriarchs. The Lord is there; the celestial is active, even though the primary state is spiritual. It is the celestial being active that maintains innocence, and the knowledge and acknowledgment of the Lord. Using correspondences, Joseph's coat of many colors then clothes him. Nature is seen as a beautiful garment of the Lord. The coat is not dipped in the blood of a kid-falsities from conceit do not turn knowledges downward to self.
     * Ibid.
     ** AC 1495
     *** AC 1452
     **** AC 8443
     After the terrible wars of Chedorlaomer, and Abram's rescue and saying of Lot, Abram returned back home. "And Melchizedek, king of Salem brought forth bread and wine; and he was priest to God Most High." I believe that this fourteenth chapter of Genesis speaks, in the educational series, of the interior turmoil of the 7th grade negative state; strong indications confirm this. After those struggles, there is a release from arrogance, a beautiful drawing back away from too much merit (Chedorlaomer conquered by Abram). Then an interior peace descends into the heart and thought of the 8th grade state-"Melchizedek king of Salem brings forth bread and wine; and he is priest to God Most High." Melchizedek represents celestial things.* I, this peace after the turmoil of negative states, then the 8th grade state, when order is there, is given a blessing from celestial remains. They inflow, through the present state and into it-with deep peace. This is felt in open discussions with 8th graders in their best states, in religion classes and elsewhere.
     * AC 1725, 1726, 1727-9, 1730, et al
     So too the next chapter of the Arcana, which unfolds Genesis 15, speaks of the celestial, operating actively into the lower plane.

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In this case, I would believe that high school states are beginning. There is the first deep yearning for understanding of creation on a reasoning level, the first hint of the hope for a true rational.* This is the beginning of the instilling of moral remains (celestial-natural and spiritual-natural), and the influx from the 5th degree of the Divine proceeding.** Being a first state, the Lord blesses it with interior vision. There is a promise then that the celestial will come and be the heir.*** And this is unfolded and confirmed in that beautiful vision given to Abram: "Jehovah led Abram forth abroad, and said, Look now toward heaven, and number the stars, if thou be able to number them; and Jehovah said, unto him, So shall thy seed be."****
     * Genesis 15:2-4; explained, AC 1790-1804
     ** AC 8443               
     *** AC 1802-3
     **** Genesis 15:5

A Celestial Ordering of the Natural

     This unfolds a new (to modern man) and an interior way of seeing creation: that "man may see internal things from external; that is, that he may, from the objects in the world, reflect continually upon those which are in the other life; for this is the life for the sake of which he lives in the world. Such was the sight in the Most Ancient Church; such is the sight of the angels who are with man; and such was the Lord's sight."* This vision of heavenly things from earthly things can only come a priori-only if the celestial is inflowing strongly into the present lower state. For all true perception comes from the celestial, which is evident in the promise, birth and growth of Isaac, and especially in the Arcana unfolding of Genesis chapter 26.
     * AC 1806AC 1577 explains how the celestial remains of infancy can be present and motivating in lower states:

     In the external man all is natural; for the external man is the same as the natural man. The internal man is said to be united to the external when the celestial-spiritual of the internal man flows into the natural of the external, and makes them act as one. As a consequence of this, the natural also becomes celestial and spiritual, but a lower celestial and spiritual; or what is the same, the external man becomes celestial and spiritual, but a more external celestial and spiritual.*
     * AC 1577:3

"The natural also becomes celestial and spiritual, but a lower celestial and spiritual."* This is what is meant by the celestial surfacing in later states of childhood and youth, and even in adult age. It is the golden thread that giants cannot break, that leads to life or one's place in the Gorand Man of heaven.
     * Ibid.

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     Perhaps the most potent example of this is in Chapter 17 of the Arcana, when Abram's name is changed to Abraham,* and circumcision is commanded by Jehovah. Circumcision is said here to "signify the removal and wiping away of those things that were impeding and defiling celestial love."** I believe this is in the mid and later high school states-at that time when what is negative to the conjugial is so overwhelmingly tempting, when one does not always win in the fight against lust. But when a young man or woman prays to the Lord far strength, and tries with all his heart to shun what opposes the conjugial, then spiritual circumcision-circumcision of the heart-takes place. And then the hope of conjugial love inflows piercingly. In this same chapter and number,*** what the celestial means at this time is defined. "There are loves of three kinds that constitute the celestial things of love, namely, conjugial love, love for infants, and . . . mutual love. Conjugial love is the principal love of all." In so far as the evils of cupidities, and the falsities derived from them, are removed, in so far the man is purified; and in so far celestial love can appear.**** Opposites must be shunned: obscenity, the lie, self love.*****
     * Genesis 17:5               
     ** AC 2039
     *** Ibid.
     **** Ibid.
     ***** SD 6051               
     This stirring of conjugial hope is caused by influx from the celestial plane inflowing into the present state of the young man or woman, making that external state celestial-natural. Example: in open, frank, quiet discussions on sense of touch, the purpose of sex in relation to genuine love, etc. with high school students. Above all, conjugial love-its hope and promise-is the celestial present with man in youth, manhood, and throughout the rest of life. Falling in love and betrothal confirm this truth. So also the teaching that conjugial love is "celestial, spiritual, holy, pure and clean above every love from the Lord which exists with the angels of heaven and with the men of the church."* The origin of conjugial love is in the soul, in the heaven of human internals. But this origin must flow through the celestial remains of infancy, and bring their innocence to make piercing the promise of the conjugial. Without these celestial remains there would be no conjugial hope; but the conjugial itself is a distinct and unique step forward.**
     * CL 64
     ** NCL, 1978, p. 67, ff.; "Above Every Love," G. Childs.
     
The New Church Celestial?

     In the establishment of rational faith, celestial love has a vital role to play. In this time when Isaac and Ishmael are both upon the scene in the Word, the question of the origin of faith arises.

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Is it from reasoning, from the rational itself, or is the origin higher? Chapter 20 of the Arcana teaches concerning this, and in summarizing the contents, it is said: "The subject that is especially treated of here is the doctrine of charity and faith in respect to its origin; namely, that it is spiritual from a celestial origin, but is not from the rational."* The human begins in the inmost of the rational. And the inmost of the rational is the celestial! This becomes especially clear in Chapter 26 of the Arcana, where it is seen that rational truth (the Writings) cannot be perceived as Divine, except from celestial love. The spiritual man, it is there said, cannot believe rational truth to be Divine. The perception must come from celestial remains. When Bishop Benade taught that the New Church is celestial, Bishop N. D. Pendleton felt that there is a truth in this-as to the origin of belief in the Writings as the Word. It must come from celestial love, from celestial remains!**
     * AC 2496     
     ** Selected Papers and Addresses, N. D. Pendleton, p. 49; cf. "The Authority of the Writings," G. Childs, NCL, 1964, p. 54ff.
     This same theme of the celestial active in growth and regeneration can be continued throughout the process of rebirth. Not only is the celestial the origin of rational faith, but in the next step of regeneration, the regeneration of the natural, the celestial is interiorly present. In the initial series of sons born to Jacob and his wives and handmaids, the order is Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah. Judah here is the celestial, but operative in a general way in the natural. Here it comes as a first state, to help pave the way for the difficult temptations of rebirth (Naphtali, etc.) that are to follow. And finally, after Jacob spends twenty years or so in Padanaram, Joseph is born!-Joseph, the celestial of the spiritual! The promise of first remains-of celestial remains-is beginning to be met. As soon as Joseph is born, Jacob sees he must separate from Laban. Jacob's state advances, and he becomes in time, Israel. The story of Joseph in the Arcana is the story of the fulfillment of life's highest promise. It is the dreams of infant remains, now come true-the gradual coming of the innocence of wisdom, when man becomes a true child, a wise infant.

Conclusion

     With the spiritual man, truths are the means, but truths directed by and from (if possible) celestial love. A true state, the Writings reveal, "especially consists in man's regarding the things of memory and of the understanding as being of little moment in comparison with celestial things; that is, the things of the understanding in comparison with the things of life."*

394


The spiritual man has a hard enough time-self-compulsion to obey truth is so vitally necessary to regeneration** that to have the full help of the Lord is vital. This help may perhaps be found best in discovering how the celestial of infancy can help throughout life-and of course, the Lord to whom these celestial remains turn.
     * AC 1557
     ** AC 1937
     That the celestial is vital to the entire process of adult reformation and regeneration is taught plainly: in AC 1616:

     The celestial things that are of love are insinuated from the earliest infancy up to childhood, and also to youth, when being a man he is then and afterwards imbued with knowledges (scientiae and cognitiones). If the man is such that he can be regenerated, these knowledges are then filled with the celestial things that are of love and charity, and are thus implanted in the celestial things with which he has been gifted from infancy up to childhood and youth; and thus his external man is conjoined with his internal man. These first knowledges are first implanted in the celestial things with which he was gifted in youth, next in those with which he was gifted in childhood, and finally in those with which he was gifted in infancy; and then he is a "little child", of whom the Lord said that 'of such is the kingdom of God'. This implantation is effected by the Lord alone; and for this reason nothing celestial is possible with man, nor can be, that is not from the Lord, and that is not the Lord's.*
     * AC 1616:4

     Doctrinally, AC 1616 states the whole theme of this paper. In the literal Word, the life of Joseph makes the same beautiful statement. He comes on the scene as the focal figure at the age of seventeen, though called a Hebrew boy. The number 17, composed of 10 and 7, summarizes the hopes of New Church education-a state of remains (10), and one that is full, holy (7). Joseph's Divine endowment was revealed so early-the dreams of the sheaves and sun, moon and stars bowing down. He is the celestial of the spiritual, first as fully instilled throughout childhood and youth (as in AC 1616). Joseph has terrible trials, (so Israel thought he was dead!) even as does the spiritual man. He experiences cruelty, deceit, imprisonment, rejection-and yet he keeps a sense of trust in the Lord. And his step-by-step release from imprisonment in one of the most beautiful stories in the Word. Finally, his brothers, and his father come to him. This gathering to Joseph is the fruition of regeneration, its wonderful completion. The celestial is implanted completely on each plane. A wonderful, warm love of others is implanted in the entire mind: and man is fully, deeply alive.
     Who performs and promises this wonderful miracle? The Lord in His mercy, of whom it is said: "He imputes good to every man and not evil."* It is the Lord who leads us to rebirth, through the power of Divine love in His glorified Human.

395


It is His Love, in the Glorified Divine body, that touches man in infancy, and then leads him throughout life to a place and use in the Gorand Man of heaven.**
     * TCR 650
     ** AC 6135:5

What is the Divine Love?

     When the angels become present, love so pours out of them that you would believe them to be nothing but love, and this from their whole body. . . . This being the character of the angels in heaven, what must not the Lord Himself be, from whom the angels have everything of love) . . .From this it is evident what is meant by the Lord's `body', namely, the Divine Love . . . Moreover, the Lord's very body when glorified, that is, made Divine, is nothing else.*
     * Ibid.

It is the Lord, in His glorified Divine Human, His glorified Divine body, that touches man in each state of his life. Especially is this true in infancy, in the suckling and babe states. Remains are implanted that are to lead the way to heaven. The golden thread is started. Then as the child grows up, the Lord again and again draws near and touches the child, restirring the celestial on each descending plane. The golden thread continues.
     In adult life, free choice is laid before man. It is remains that counter-balance hereditary evil, and make an open, free choice possible. If man then shuns evil, and prays to the Lord, his remains again inflow-first the remains from youth, giving the perception that truth is true. Then the remains of childhood, enabling the natural to be reborn. And finally the remains of infancy, bringing celestial life to the sensual. On each plane, knowledges from the Word are implanted in the secret celestial loves present from youth, childhood, and infancy: the golden thread continues.*
     * AC 1616:4
     Finally, man becomes again a little child, but a wise child-wise from the Lord alone.

     At the same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven? And Jesus called a little child unto Him, and set him in the midst of them, and said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven. Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.*
     * Matt. 18:1-4

396


MEN AS HUSBANDS AND FATHERS 1979

MEN AS HUSBANDS AND FATHERS       Rev. WILLARD L. D. HEINRICHS       1979

     A wise man once observed that if you would gain some idea of the spiritual quality and health of a Church, examine how the men of that Church treat their women. Such passages as the following would seem to confirm the above observation regarding the relationship between marriage and the state of the Church:

     The human conjugial and religion go together in even pace. Every step and every move made from religion and into religion is also a step and a move made from the conjugial which is peculiar and proper to the Christian, and into the conjugial.*
     * CL 80

     We know from the Heavenly Doctrine that during the first few centuries after the Lord's first coming, the spiritual state of the Christian Church was basically healthy and promising. It is interesting to note that what historical records exist would seem to confirm that women in the early Church enjoyed considerable respect, and, as members of the Christian Church and community, they generally were valued equally with men, despite the Pauline attitude toward women which accorded them a secondary position in regard to men.
     As the Christian Church declined spiritually, the male estimation respecting the worth of women would seem to have declined with it. This decline proceeded, as we know, to the point two hundred years ago, when no true religion or conjugial love existed in the Christian world. Although not as severe, a similar situation also existed generally throughout all cultures and religions outside of the Christian world.
     At this day the basic spiritual situation seems very little different from that of Swedenborg's day. There is a difference, however, in that today in a growing number of societies throughout the world women are beginning to rebel against the treatment that they have received at the hands of men. More and more women are seeking to abandon the traditional feminine domestic role, and are voluntarily leaving the home to compete with men in what were formerly considered to be masculine uses.

397


Marriages have frequently been further weakened by this women's liberation movement, and children and young people growing up in the home have suffered from deprivation of maternal love and care.
     What has caused this women's rebellion? Various external causes can be named, but they do not provide the full answer.

     (1)      Work patterns established during the world wars, at least in western societies, called many women out of the home through necessity.
     (2)      Educational programs have tended to treat men and women too much the same.
     (3)      Modern social and psychological views tend to ignore fundamental inward distinctions between the sexes.

     I believe, however, that a study of Divine revelation regarding the proper relationship of the sexes, and reflection on the state of today's world, would reveal that perhaps the greatest cause of the breakdown of religion and marriage, and the development of so-called women's liberation, lies with men.
     Probably every pastor in the church has heard complaints from New Church women regarding the involvement of their husbands in the Church and in the home. They have felt that their husbands, and men generally, were not providing leadership in the formation of doctrine and its practical application. They were concerned that their husbands were not giving sufficient attention to the rearing and discipline of their children, especially the boys. They were unhappy that in many decisions significantly affecting the whole family, the husband failed to take counsel with the wife, and acted autocratically, or made no decisions at all and left everything to her. They were disturbed that their husbands failed to communicate either fully or regularly with them, even failed to cultivate their friendship. Instead, they gave excessive attention to cultivating communication and friendship with their male friends.
     We cannot judge with any accuracy the validity of their personal complaints; but what of their perception of the male's proper role in the Church and in the home? The following passages from the Writings might lay something of a foundation for a discussion of this question. (Particular attention is called to the portions of passages that we have italicized.)

The Husband's Responsibilities for the Church

     First: What is the responsibility of the husband to the wife in respect to the Church and its doctrine, and in regard to rational things generally!

     That this perception is the wife's wisdom, and that it is not possible with the man; nor is the man's rational wisdom possible with the wife.

398


This follows from the difference between the masculine and the feminine. It is masculine to perceive from the understanding, and feminine to perceive from love; and the understanding perceives things which are above the body and beyond the world, it being to these that rational and spiritual sight extends; while love does not go beyond what it feels. When it does go beyond, it does this by drawing on that conjunction with the male understanding which was established from creation; for understanding pertains to light, and love to heat, and that which pertains to light is seen, while that which pertains to heat is felt.
From this it is manifest, that because of the universal difference which exists between the masculine and the feminine, the wife's wisdom is not possible with the man, nor the man's rational wisdom with the wife; nor is man's moral wisdom possible with women so far as it partakes of his rational wisdom.*
     * CL 168

     As to how the Church, and thereby conjugial love, is formed by the Lord, with two married partners, this shall be illustrated in the chapter above referred to. Suffice it to say here that the Church is formed by the Lord with the man and through the man with the wife; and that when it is formed with both, it is a full Church for there is then a full conjunction of good and truth, and the conjunction of good and truth is the Church, That the conjunctive inclination, which is conjugial love, is present in the same degree as the conjunction of good and truth, which is the Church, will be confirmed by demonstrative arguments in what follows in this series.*
     * CL 63
     That the husband does not represent the Lord, and the wife the Church, because both together, the husband and his wife, make the Church. It is a common saving in the Church that, as the Lord is the head of the Church, so the husband is the head of the wife; from which it would follow that the husband represents the Lord and the wife the Church. But the Lord is the head of the Church, and man, man and woman, and still more husband and wife together, are the Church. With these, the Church is first implanted in the man and through the man in his wife; for the man receives truth in his understanding, and the wife receives it from the man. If the reverse is the case, it is not according to order. Sometimes, however, it is the case, but with men who age not lovers of wisdom and therefore are not of the Church; also with those who defend as slaves on the bidding of their wives. But of this matter, something may be seen in the Preliminaries, No. 21.*
     * CL 125
     After these words, one of the wives went into her bed-chamber, and on returning said, "My dove still flutters its wings, which is a sign that we may disclose more." They (the angel wives), then added: "We have observed various changes in the inclinations and affections of men; as, for instance, that husbands grow cold to their wives when they think vain thoughts against the Lord and the Church; that they are cold when in the pride of their own intelligence; that they are cold when they look upon other women from concupiscence; that they are fold when urged by their wives in respect to love, besides on many other occasions; also that they are cold with varying coldness. We observe this from the withdrawal of sensation from their eyes, ears, and body at the presence of our senses. From these few examples you can see that we know better than the men whether it is well with them or ill. If they are cold towards their wives, it is ill with them, and if they are warm towards their wives it is well with them.

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Therefore, in their minds wives are continually reflecting on the means whereby their men shall be warm towards them and not cold; and they reflect on them with a penetration inscrutable to men."*
     * CL 208:4
     That in the marriage of one man with one wife between whom there is love truly conjugial, the wife becomes more and more a wife, and the husband more and more a husband. That lore truly conjugial conjoins two more and more into one may be seen above (nos. 178, l79); and because the wife becomes a wife from conjunction with her husband and according to it, likewise the husband from conjunction with his wife; and because love truly conjugial endures to eternity, it follows that the wife becomes more and more a wife, and the husband more and more a husband. The reason is that in a marriage of love truly conjugial, each becomes an ever more interior man; for that love opens the interiors of their minds, and as these are opened man becomes more and more a man. To become more a man is, on the part of the wife, to become more a wife, and on the part of the husband, to become more a husband. I have heard from angels, that n wife becomes more and move a wife as her husband becomes more and more a husband, but not the reverse, for rarely if ever is it lacking that a chaste wife loves her husband. What is lacking is love in return on the part of the husband; and this is lacking on account of there being no elevation of wisdom, which alone receives a wife's love. Respecting this wisdom, see nos. 130, 163-65. This, however, is said of marriage on earth.*
     * CL 200

Doctrinal Knowledge Is Not Wisdom

     Let us note, however, that wisdom is not to be confused with mere doctrinal knowledge or skill in reasoning about it.

     That married partners become that form as the interiors of their mind are opened, is because the mind is opened successively from infancy to extreme old age. Man is born corporeal, and, as the mind next above the body is opened, he becomes rational. As this rational is purified and, as it were, decanted from the fallacies flowing in from the bodily senses and the concupiscences flowing in from the allurements of the flesh, it is opened, this being done solely by means of wisdom; and when the interiors of the rational mind are opened, then the man becomes a form of wisdom-a form which is the receptacle of love truly conjugial. The wisdom which makes this form and receives this love is rational and at the same time moral. Rational wisdom regards the truths and goods which appeal interiorly in man, not as his own but as flowing in from the Lord; and moral wisdom shuns evils and falsities as leprosies, shunning especially things lascivious which contaminate its conjugial love.*
     * CL 102
     Since wisdom pertains to life and thence to reason, as said above, the question arises, What is wisdom of life? In a comprehensive summary it is this: To shun evils because they are hurtful to the soul, hurtful to the commonwealth, and hurtful to the body; and to do goods because they are beneficial to the soul, the commonwealth and the body. This is the wisdom that is meant by the wisdom with which conjugial love binds itself; for it binds itself by shunning the evil of adultery as the rest of the soul, the commonwealth, and the body.

400


And since this wisdom springs from the spiritual things which pertain to the Church, it follows that conjugial love is according to the state of the Church with man because according to the slate of wisdom. By this, the same thing is meant as that which has been frequently said in the preceding pages, namely, that so far as man becomes spiritual, so far he is in love truly conjugial, it being by means of the spiritual things of the Church that man becomes spiritual. More respecting the wisdom with which conjugial love conjoins itself may be seen in nos. 163-5 below.*
     * CL 130:4

The Husband's Responsibilities towards Children

     Second: What is the responsibility of the husband in the home as regards his children, and how important are his duties there for the spiritual health of the marriage?

     That there are offices proper to the man, and offices proper to the wife; and that the wife cannot enter into the offices proper to the man, nor the man into the offices proper to the wife, and rightly perform them. That there are offices proper to the man, and offices proper to the wife, has no need of being illustrated by a recountal of those offices; for they are many and various, and every one knows how to classify them according to their genera and species if only he exert his mind to the distinguishing of them. The offices above all others by which women conjoin themselves to their husbands are the education of the little children of both sexes, and of girls up to the age when they are given in marriage.*
     * CL 174
     That the wife cannot enter into the offices proper to the man, nor, on the other hand, the man into the offices proper to the wife, is because they differ as do wisdom and the love thereof, or thought and its affection, or the intellect and its will. In the offices proper to men, understanding, thought, and wisdom play the leading part, but in the offices proper to wives, the leading part is played by will, affection, and love; and the wife performs her offices from the latter, and the man performs his from the former. Therefore, by their very nature their offices are divergent, yet in their successive series they are conjunctive.*
     * CL 175
     That according as there is mutual aid, these offices also conjoin the two into a one, and at the same time make one home. That in some affairs the offices of the husband conjoin themselves to the offices of the wife, and the offices of the wife adjoin themselves to the offices of the husband; also that these conjunctions and adjunctions are a mutual aid and are affected according to that aid-this is among things well known in the world. But the main office which confederates and consociates the souls and lives of two partners, and gathers them into a one, is their common concern in the education of their children. In this the offices of the husband and those of the wife are distinct, and at the same time conjoint. They are distinct because the charge of suckling and educating the infants of both sexes, and also the instruction of girls up to the age when they may be addressed by men and associate with them, is an office proper to the wife, while the charge of the instruction of boys from childhood to puberty and from then until they become their own masters, is an office proper to the husband. But these offices become conjoint by consultations and mutual support and by much else which is of mutual assistance.

401


That these offices, both the joint and the distinct, or those that are common to both partners and those that are individual, bind the animi of the partners together into a one, and that the love called storge also has this effect is well known. It is also well known that these offices, regarded in their separation and in their conjunction, make one home.*

     * CL 176

     What does the following brief statement tell us about a father as religious instructor in the home?

     For what has once been implanted from infancy as holy, especially if by fathers, and thus inrooted, the Lord never breaks, but bends, unless it is contrary to order itself.*
     * AC 2180:5

The Husband's Leadership in the Home

     Third: What kind of leadership should a husband provide in his home? Who should make the decisions?

     And unto the woman He said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth sons, and thine obedience shall be to thy man (vir), and he shall rule over thee.*
     * AC 261
     As every law and precept comes forth from what is celestial and spiritual, as from its true beginning, it follows that this law of marriage does so, which requires that the wife, who acts from desire, which is of what is her own, rather than from reason, like the man, should be subject to his prudence.*
     * AC 266
     In what manner a female is born an innocence, and in what way a male. How the female becomes the affection of good, and the male the understanding of truth. In what way the female becomes the affection of truth, which occurs when she desires to marry; also in what way the male becomes the understanding of truth, which also then happens, when he wishes to love the female sex.

     How this next increases, with each, till marriage takes place, and how the understanding of truth then controls the affection of truth, and they are united.

     What the feminine is, and what the masculine, interiorly. The feminine interiorly, is to love the husband tenderly-but they desire the husband to be ignorant of this; thus, he governs, and those who are not in the ability of doing so, become impotent. The wives of the angels said that I must not disclose this; but I said I would reveal it. This was because they suppose that this was their weakness; but it is the very good of truth and truth of good.*
     * SD 6110

     Let us note that Jehovah spoke to the woman in Genesis, and note also the relationship between "prudence" and "the understanding of truth."*
     * SD 6110
     Note also what is said of the proper origin of the prudence that is encouraged in the Heavenly Doctrine.

402




     Prudence has no other source than intelligence and wisdom and these two have no other source than the understanding and the thought therefrom about truth and good. Those who acknowledge the Divine providence, accept and believe this that has just been said, but not those who acknowledge human prudence alone.*
     * DP 191

The Deadly Love of Dominion

     Note also the deadly effect upon marriage of the striving for dominion between partners.

     That of the external causes of cold, the third is rivalry for supremacy between the partners. The reason is that among its principal objects, conjugial love looks to union of wills and thus to liberty of agreement. Rivalry for supremacy of rule, ejects these unto objects from the marriage; for it divides and sunders the wills into sides, and turns the liberty of agreement into servitude. So long as this rivalry continues, the spirit of the one meditates violence against the other. Were their minds then opened and observed by spiritual sight, they would appear as antagonists fighting with daggers, and it would be seen that they regarded each other with alternate hatred and favor,-with hatred when in the ardor of rivalry, and with favor when in the hope of dominion and when in lust. After the victory of the one over the other, the antagonism withdraws from the externals of the mind and betakes itself to the internals, and there with its disquiet it remains concealed. Hence comes cold both to the subjugated or servant and to the victor or master. Cold comes to the latter also because there is no longer conjugial love, and the deprivation of this love is cold (no. 235). Instead of conjugial love comes heat from supremacy; but this heat, though utterly discordant with conjugial heat, yet, by the mediation of lust, may be outwardly concordant. After tacit agreement between them, it appears as if conjugial love had become friendship; but the difference between conjugial friendship in marriages and servile friendship is as the difference between light and shade, between living fire and fatuous fire, yea, as between a man in full flesh and a man consisting only of skin and bone.*
     * CL 248
     That there are various kinds of apparent love and friendship between married partners, of whom the one is subjugated and hence is subject to the other. It is among things known in the world at this day that after the first period of marriage, rivalries spring up between the partners in respect to right and authority-in respect to right, because according to the conditions of the contacted covenant there is equality, and dignity belongs to each of the partners in the duties of his function; and in respect to authority, because it is insisted on by men, that authority in all awaits of the house belongs to them because they are men, and that inferiority belongs to women because they are women. Such rivalries, familiar at this day, flow from no other source than the absence of any knowledge concerning love truly conjugial, and the absence of any perception of sensation in respect to the blessings of that love. Owing to the absence of this knowledge and perception, instead of that love is a lust which counterfeits the love. With genuine love removed, then from this lust, there issues an ambition for power.

403


With some men, this ambition is within them from the delight of domineering; with some it has been implanted before the wedding by artful women; and to some it is unknown. Men who have this ambition, and after alternations of rivalry obtain the dominion, reduce their wives to being their possession by right, or to abject obedience to their will, or to bondage, each according to the degree of his ambition and to the qualified nature of the state inseated and latent within him. If wives have this ambition, and after alternations of rivalry obtain the dominion, they reduce their husbands either to equality or right with themselves or to obedience to their decisions, or to bondage. But since, after obtaining from them the badge of dominion, the lust which remains with wives counterfeits conjugial love, because restrained by reason of the law and from fear of legal separation should they stretch their power beyond what is lawful to what is unlawful, therefore they lead a life in consociation with their husbands.*
     * CL 291

True Conjugial Friendship

     Finally: Let us note what place the Heavenly Doctrines give for friendship between husband and wife.

     That the states of the love are innocence, peace, tranquility, inmost friendship, full confidence, and a mutual desire of ANIMUS and heart to do to the other every good; and from the eternal fruition of these, heavenly felicity. The reason why all these are within conjugial love and thus come from it, is that its origin is the marriage of good and truth, and this marriage is from the Lord.*
     * CL 180
     That from the first days of marriage this conjunction is effected successively, and with those who are in love truly conjugial, more and more deeply to eternity. The first heat of marriage does not conjoin, for it partakes of love of the sex which is a love belonging to the body and thence to the spirit, and what is in the spirit from the body does not stay long, while love which is in the body from the spirit does. Love which belongs to the spirit and from the spirit to the body is insinuated into the souls and minds of married partners together with friendship and confidence. When these two conjoin themselves with the first love of marriage, that love becomes conjugial; and this opens the breasts and breathes into them the sweets of love, doing this more and more deeply as friendship and confidence adjoin themselves to the primitive love, and the latter enters into them and they into it.*
     * CL 162
      That with those who are in love truly conjugial, conjunction of minds and therewith friendship increases, but with those who are not in conjugial love, the latter together with the former decreases. That conjunction of minds increases with those who are in love truly conjugial has been shown in the chapter treating of the conjunction of souls and minds by marriage, which is meant by the Lord's words, They are no more two but one flesh; and that this conjunction increases as friendship conjoins itself to love, is because friendship is as the face of that love and also as its garment; for it not only adjoins itself to the love as a garment but it also conjoins itself with it as a face. The love preceding friendship is similar to love of the sex, and after the vows, this love grows feeble; but when conjoined with friendship, the love remains after the vows and is also made stable.

404


Moreover, it enters more deeply into the bosom. Friendship introduces it and makes it truly conjugial; and then the love makes this its friendship also conjugial, and such friendship, being complete, differs greatly from the friendship of every other love. That the contrary is the case with those who are not in conjugial love is well known. With these, the first friendship, which is insinuated at the time of betrothal and then during the first days after the nuptials; recedes more and more from the interiors of the mind, and gradually departing therefrom, goes finally to the cuticles. Then, with those who think of separation, it passes away altogether, but with those who do not thing of separation, the love remains in externals but is cold in internals.*
     * CL 214

     Note the importance and beneficial effect of cultivating friendship with the married partner even when conjugial love does not exist.

     That when the partners grow old, if favor does not cease with the wife when ability ceases with the man, there may arise a friendship emulous of conjugial friendship. The primary cause of the separation of minds between married partners is the lack of favor with the wife when ability and hence love ceases with the man; for in like manner as heat communicates with heat, so cold communicates with cold. That from defect of love with both partners friendship ceases, and if the destruction of private life in the home is not feared, also favor, is evident from reason and from experience. If then the man tacitly imputes the cause to himself, and the wife still perseveres in chaste favor towards him, there may result thence a friendship which, being between married partners, seems like love emulating conjugial love. That between aged partners, on the ground of their dwelling together, their dealings, and the comradeship, there is a friendship as though of conjugial love, tranquil, secure, lovely, and full of courtesy, is attested by experience.*
     * CL 290 On the Term, "The Love of Infants" 1979

On the Term, "The Love of Infants"       Editor       1979

     As far as I have been able to discover, the term, "the love of infants," whenever and wherever it is used in the Writings, always means the love of infants or children who have been born (or who are in the process of gestation). Never does it mean the love of having, bearing, or propagating children [that love is simply part of conjugial love itself], but rather it means that love which we affectionately speak of as storge, that apparently spontaneous love of one's own children or offspring, that is common to animals as well as to mankind. (See CL 385:1, 386, and 387 especially.)-Editor

405


CAN'T MAKE DECISIONS OR TAKE ACTION? 1979

CAN'T MAKE DECISIONS OR TAKE ACTION?       Rev. DONALD L. ROSE       1979

     Some thoughts on the effect of spheres

     We find in the dictionary the word "abulia" (sometimes spelled "aboulia") defined as "the loss or impairment of the ability to decide or act independently." The condition is common enough to have a name to identify it. People often experience a vexing kind of inability to take action: "There are so many things to do; I don't know where to begin. . . . I should be doing that, but I just can't get myself going." The student should be working on a paper, but for reasons he can't quite explain, he is not doing so. The housewife finds herself evading tasks which she can do and knows she ought to do. Examples abound.
     In considering this phenomenon the word we would focus on is not "abulia," but the Greek word nzerimnao and its root connotation of a dividing. For the purpose of this article is to suggest that the phenomenon described is caused by a kind of dividing and that the dividing is brought about by the activity of certain spheres. Before looking at this word, let us note a passage from the Writings which describes a condition comparable to our experience when we can't make decisions or take action.

Spiritual Spheres

     The passage is from the section in the Arcana Coelestia on spiritual spheres, and it speaks of a certain type of spirit.

     The effect of their sphere was to take from me the power of close application, and to make it so irksome for me to act and to think in serious matters, true and good, that at last I scarcely knew what to do. When such as these come among spirits, they induce on them a similar torpor.*
     * AC 1509

     One wonders about the mental or spiritual counterpart to certain physical infirmities mentioned in the New Testament. We read of "the halt" who were unable to walk. We read of "impotent folk"* and in particular of the impotent man who was unable to respond to the stirring of the water.** We read of "those that had the palsy" or paralysis*** and in particular of the paralyzed or palsied man to whom the Lord said, "Arise, take up thy bed and go unto thine house."****

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We read of a woman who had a "spirit of infirmity" who was bowed together, unable to lift herself up, of whom the Lord said, "Ought not this woman . . . whom Satan hath bound, lo, these eighteen years, be loosed from this bond. . . ."*****
     * John 5:3
     ** John 5:7               
     *** Matt. 4:24
     **** Matt. 9:6
     ***** Luke 13:16

The Word Merimnao

     Mental afflictions (and physical afflictions, for that matter) are far more complex than they seem. We only observe their symptomatic effects. Most would agree that the most common mental affliction known to man is "worry" of some kind. And this brings us to the famous New Testament word merimnao. Every reader of the Bible is familiar with the admonition not to "take thought" for the merrow or to "take thought" for food and clothing. Virtually everyone knows that the admonition is against worry or anxiousness and that the phrase "take thought" is a poor rendition. Many know something about the verb merinznao and the noun merimna, which is translated "care." "Cares" choke the Word in us so that it becomes unfruitful or unproductive.*
     * Mark 4:19
     It is not well known that the word for this mental affliction is rooted in the word "to divide." This is the word merizo, the word used in the saying, "If a house be divided against itself, that house cannot stand."*
     * Mark 3:25; see Matthew 12:25; Luke 11:17
     A house signifies the natural mind.* "He who divides his mind destroys it." The Writings mention an ancient maxim, which says, "Divide and rule."** Evil spirits gain power over the house of our mind when they divide our minds by setting blocks between the will and the understanding. How we suffer sometimes when we feel we just cannot "get it together!" We know what is right, and in a way we want to do it, but that knowing and wanting just don't seem to join in productive results. We find that sometimes faith and charity are so divided in us that our knowledge of the truth does not avail in our actual life. Oh, for the spark and fire when truth is joined to good!
     * AC 6690, 7353
     ** AC 5718; SD 1793; TCR 133e

Extinguishing the Marriage Torches

     Can the cause of this be the spheres which the Writings say "invade the mind and control it"?* We are warned in particular of one very powerful sphere which threatens us today:
     * TCR 619:6

407




     It is like a pestilence that infects every one on whom it breathes, and tears asunder every tie between those two means of salvation, established as such from the creation of the world, and restored anew by the Lord. This sphere invades even the men in the natural world, and extinguishes the marriage torches between truths and goods. I have felt this sphere, and at such times, when I thought of the conjunction of faith and charity, it interposed itself between them and violently endeavored to separate them.*
     * TCR 619:4

     Remember that sphere that caused a kind of torpor? The character of those who bring this sphere is revealed.

During their life in this world they had cared nothing for the good of society, but only for themselves, being useless members of the commonwealth, who had no end but to live sumptuously. . . . They looked down with contempt upon all who were earnestly employed. . . . The effect of their sphere was to take from me the power of close application, and to make it so irksome for me to act and to think in serious matters, true and good, that at last I scarcely knew what to do.*
     * AC 1509

     Why is idleness called the devil's pillow?* Is it not because idleness allows the mind to be divided? "In idleness the mind is spread out to various evils and falsities; but, in work, it is held to one thing."** Is there not a wholesome and secure sphere in good hard work! Isn't is a relief when we stop putting things off and get down to our task?
     * Charity 168
     ** SD 6088:4

     What happens when men give themselves up to "sloth and idleness"? "Their mind is unrestrained and unbounded, and the man then admits into the whole of his mind all manner of vain and frivolous things. . . . The mind is then rendered stupid and the body torpid."* That house is divided and cannot stand. The contrary is the case with those who are in "application to uses."
     * CL 249

For while a man is in some study and business, that is, in some use, his mind is limited, and circumscribed as by a circle, within which it is successively coordinated into a form truly human. From this as from a house he sees the various concupiscences as outside himself, and from sanity of reason within, banishes them.*
     * Ibid.

     From these teachings we may gain gratitude for the security of honest work. We may take more seriously that predicament when we find it hard to apply ourselves. And the knowledge of those divisive spheres may spur us with added incentive to take action in what is useful and good.

408


DIRECTORY 1979

DIRECTORY              1979

     GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM

     Officials and Councils
Bishop:                Right Rev. Louis B. King
Bishops Emeriti:           Right Rev. George de Charms
                         Right Rev. Willard D. Pendleton
Acting Secretary:      Rev. Lorentz R. Soneson

     CONSISTORY

     Bishop Louis B. King

Rt. Rev. George de Charms; Rt. Rev. Willard D. Pendleton; the Rev. Messrs. Alfred Acton, Kurt H. Asplundh, Peter M. Buss, Geoffrey S. Childs, Daniel W. Goodenough, B. David Holm, Geoffrey Howard, Robert S. Junge, Ormond Odhner, Dandridge Pendleton, Donald L. Rose, Erik Sandstrom, Frederick L. Schnarr.

     "General Church of the New Jerusalem"

     (A Corporation of Pennsylvania)

     OFFICERS OF THE CORPORATION

     Right Rev. Louis B. King, President


     Right Rev. Willard D. Pendleton, Vice President
     Mr. Stephen Pitcairn, Secretary
     Mr. Leonard E. Gyllenhaal, Treasurer
     Mr. Bruce Fuller, Controller

     BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE CORPORATION

Rt. Rev. Louis B. King; Rt. Rev. Willard D. Pendleton; Mr. E. Boyd Asplundh; Mr. Edward K. Asplundh; Mr. Robert H. Asplundh; Mr. Walter H. Bellinger; Mr. Robert W. Bradin; Mr. Henry B. Bruser, Jr.; Mr. William W. Buick; Mr. David H. Campbell; Mr. Alan D. Childs; Mr. Geoffrey Cooper; Mr. George M. Cooper; Mr. Kent B. Fuller; Mr. Leonard E. Gyllenhaal; Mr. Stanley D. Hill; Mr. Wynne S. Hyatt; Mr. James F. Junge; Mr. Paul C. P. Mayer; Mr. Richard M. Parker; Mr. Garth Pitcairn; Mr. John W. Rose; Mr. Ivan R. Scott; Mr. Jerome V. Sellner; Mr. S. Brian Simons; Mr. Gordon B. Smith; Mr. Robert A. Smith; Mr. Ralph Synnestvedt; Mr. Robert E. Walter; Mr. Walter L. Williamson; Mr. Robert F. Zecher. Honorary Life Member: The Rt. Rev. George de Charms.

409




     Council of the Clergy

     Bishops

     KING, LOUIS BLAIR. Ordained June 19, 1951; 2nd Degree, April 19, 1953; 3rd Degree, November 5, 1912. Pastor of the Bryn Athyn Church. Bishop of the General Church. Chancellor of the Academy of the New Church. Address: Box 278, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009.

     DE CHARMS, GEORGE. Ordained June 28, 1913; 2nd Degree, June 19, 1916; 3rd Degree, March 11, 1928. Bishop Emeritus of the General Church. President Emeritus of the Academy of the New Church. Address: Box 241, Bryn Athyn, Pa 19009.

     PENDLETON, WILLARD DANDRIDGE. Ordained June 18, 1933; 2nd Degree, September 12, 1934; 3rd Degree, June 19, 1946. Bishop Emeritus of the General Church. Chancellor Emeritus of the Academy of the New Church. Address: Box 338, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009.

     Pastors

     ACTON, ALFRED. Ordained June 19, 1964; 2nd Degree, October 30, 1966. President of the Academy of the New Church. Address: Box 278, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009.

     ALDEN, GLENN GRAHAM. Ordained June 19, 1974; 2nd Degree, June 6, 1976. Pastor to Florida District, resident in Miami, Florida. Address: 15101 N.W. 5th Avenue, Miami, Fl. 33169.

     ASPLUNDH, KURT HORIGAN. Ordained June 19, 1960; 2nd Degree, June 19, 1962. Dean of the Bryn Athyn Church. Address: Box 277, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009.

     BAU-MADSEN, ARNE. Ordained June 6, 1976; 2nd Degree, June 11, 1978. Pastor to the Kempton, Pennsylvania Circle and Visiting Pastor to the Wilmington, Delaware Group. Secretary of the Extension Committee and Translator of the Writings into Danish. Address: Kempton, Pa. 19529.

     BOYESEN, BJORN ADOLPH HILDEMAR. Ordained June 19, 1939; 2nd Degree, March 30, 1941. Resident Assistant to the Pastor Jonkoping, Sweden engaged in translation work for the General Church. Address: Brahegatan 54, 5-552 63 Jonkoping, Sweden.

     BOYESEN, RAGNAR. Ordained June 19, 1972; 2nd Degree, June 17, 1973. Pastor of the Stockholm Society. Visiting Pastor of the Copenhagen and Oslo Circles. Editor of Nova Ecclesia. Address: Aladdinsvagen 27, 16138 Bromma, Sweden.

     BUSS, PETER MARTIN. Ordained June 19, 1964; 2nd Degree, May 16, 1965. Pastor of the Immanuel Church, Glenview, Illinois. Bishop's Representative in the Midwestern and Central Western Districts. Address: 73 Park Drive, Glenview, Ill. 60025.

     CARLSON, MARK ROBERT. Ordained June 10, 1973; 2nd Degree, March 6, 1977. Assistant Pastor of the Carmel Church. Address: 58 Chapel Hill Drive, R. R. 2, Kitchener, Ontario, N2G 3W5, Canada.

     CHILDS, GEOFFREY STAFFORD. Ordained June 19, 1952; 2nd Degree, June 19, 1954. Pastor of the Olivet Church. Bishop's Representative in Canada. Address: 2 Lorraine Gardens, Islington, Ontario, Canada M9B 424.

     CLIFFORD, WILLIAM HARRISON. Ordained June 6, 1976; 2nd Degree, October 8, 1978. Visiting Pastor to Central and Western Canada, resident in Dawson Creek, British Columbia, Canada. Address: 1536 94th Avenue, Dawson Creek, B. C., Canada V1G 1H1.

     COLE, ROBERT HUDSON PENDLETON. Ordained June 16, 1963; 2nd Degree, October 30, 1966. Unassigned. Address: Box 345, Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania 19009.

410




     COLE, STEPHEN DANDRIDGE. Ordained June 19, 1977; 2nd Degree, October 15, 1978. Pastor of the Ohio District, resident in Cincinnati. Address: 6431 Mayflower Avenue, Golf Manor, Ohio 45237.

     CRANCH, HAROLD COVERT. Ordained June 19, 1941; 2nd Degree, October 25, 1942. Associate Pastor of the Immanuel Church and Missionary Pastor to the Midwestern District. Pastor in Charge of Sharon Church Circle, Chicago, II. Address: 2100 Park Lane, Glenview, Il. 60025.

     FRANSON, ROY. Ordained June 19, 1953; 2nd Degree, January 29, 1956. Pastor of South West District, resident in Tucson, Az. Address: 8416 East Kenyon Dr., Tucson, Az, 85710. Ph. 1-602-296-1070.

     GLADISH, MICHAEL DAVID. Ordained June 10, 1973; 2nd Degree, June 30, 1974. Pastor of the Hurstville Society. Visiting Pastor to Auckland, New Zealand Circle. Address: 22 Dudley Street, Penshurst, New South Wales, Australia 2222.

     GLADISH, VICTOR JEREXIIAH. Ordained June 17, 1928; 2nd Degree, August 5, 1928. Address: 1015 Gladish Lane, Glenview, Il. 60025.

     GOODENOUGH, DANIEL WEBSTER. Ordained June 19, 1965; 2nd Degree, December 10, 1967. Associate Professor of Religion and History, Academy of the New Church. Address: Box 278, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009.

     HEINRICHS, DANIEL WINTHROP. Ordained June 19, 1957; 2nd Degree, April 6, 1958. Pastor of the Washington, D.C. Society. Visiting Pastor to circles in Virginia. Address: 3809 Enterprise Road, Mitchellville, Md. 20716.

     HEINRICHS, HENRY. Ordained June 24, 1923; 2nd Degree, February 8, 1925. Address: 63 Chapel Hill Drive R.R. 2, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada N2G 3W5.

     HEINRICHS, WILLARD LEWIS DAVENPORT. Ordained June 19, 1965; 2nd Degree, January 26, 1969. Instructor in Religion, Academy of the New Church. Address: Box 278, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009.

     HOLM, BERNHARD DAVID. Ordained June 19, 1952; 2nd Degree, January 27, 1957. Assistant Dean of the Bryn Athyn Church. Instructor in Religion in the Bryn Athyn Church Elementary School. Secretary of the Council of the Clergy. Address: Box 277, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009.

     HOWARD, GEOFFREY HORACE. Ordained June 18, 1961; 2nd Degree, June 2, 1963. Pastor of the Durban Society. Bishop's Representative in South Africa. Address: 30 Perth Road, Westville, 3630 Natal, Rep. of South Africa.

     JUNGE, ROBERT SCHILL. Ordained June 19, 1955; 2nd Degree, August 11, 1957. Dean of the Theological School, Academy of the New Church. Address: Box 278, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009.

     KEITH, BRIAN WALTER. Ordained June 6, 1976; 2nd Degree, June 4, 1978. Assistant Pastor of the Immanuel Church, and Principal of Midwestern Academy. Address: 810 Glenshire, Glenview, Il. 60025.

     KLINE, THOMAS LEROY. Ordained June 10, 1973; 2nd Degree, June 15, 1975. Visiting Pastor to the Southeastern District, resident in Atlanta, Georgia. Address: 3795 Montford Drive, Chamblee, Ga. 30341.

     LARSEN, OTTAR TROSVIK. Ordained June 19, 1974; 2nd Degree, February 2, 1971. Visiting Pastor to the isolated in Great Britain, occasional visits to Denmark. Resident in London.

     NEMITZ, KURT PAUL. Ordained June 16, 1963; 2nd Degree, March 27, 1966. Pastor of the Bath Society of the New Jerusalem Church, Bath, Maine. Address: 881 Middle Street, Bath, Me. 04530. Visiting Pastor to Ottawa and Montreal.

     ODHNER, ORMOND DE CHARMS. Ordained June 19, 1940; 2nd Degree, October 11, 1942. Professor of Church History and Instructor in Religion, Academy of the New Church. Acting Editor, New Church Life. Address: Box 278, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009.

411




     ORTHWEIN, WALTER EDWARD III. Ordained July 22, 1973; 2nd Degree, June 12, 1977. Pastor of the Detroit Society. Visiting Pastor to the Gorand Rapids Circle, Mich. Address: 132 Kirk Lane, Troy, Mi. 48084.

     PENDLETON, DANDRIDGE. Ordained June 19, 1952; 2nd Degree, June 19, 1954. Associate Professor of Religion, Academy of the New Church. Address: Box 278, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009.

     PRYKE, MARTIN. Ordained June 19, 1940; 2nd Degree, March 1, 1942. Instructor in Religion, Academy of the New Church. Director of Academy Museum. Chaplin to Academy Secondary Schools. Address: Box 278, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009.

     REUTER, NORMAN HAROLD. Ordained June 17, 1928; 2nd Degree, October 13, 1930. Address: 566 Anne Street, Huntingdon Valley, Pa. 19006.

     RICH, MORLEY DYCKMAN. Ordained June 19, 1938; 2nd Degree, October 13, 1940. Address: 2919 Cherry Lane, Huntington Valley, Pa. 19006.

     RILEY, NORMAN EDWARD. Recognized as Priest of the General Church, January, 1978. Superintendent of the General Church of the New Jerusalem Mission in South Africa and assistant to the pastor of the Durban Society. Address: 42 Pitlochry Road, Westville 3630, Natal, Rep. of South Africa.

     ROGERS, NORBERT HENRY. Ordained June 19, 1938; 2nd Degree, October 13, 1940. Address: 3375 Baldwin Road, Huntingdon Valley, Pa. 19006.

     ROSE, DONALD LESLIE. Ordained June 16, 1957; 2nd Degree, June 19, 1963. Pastor of the Pittsburgh Society. Address 7420 Ben Hur Street, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15208.

     ROSE, FRANK SHIRLEY. Ordained June 19, 1952; 2nd Degree, August 2, 1953. Assistant Professor of Religion in the Academy of the New Church. Address: Box 278, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009.

     ROSE, PATRICK ALAN. Ordained June 19, 1975; 2nd Degree, September 5, 1977. Pastor of the Colchester Society in Colchester, England. Address: 43 Athelstan Rd., Colchester CO3 3TW, England.

     SANDSTROM, ERIK. Ordained June 10, 1934; 2nd Degree, August 4, 1925. Retired. Part-time Pastor of the Hot Springs Group, South Dakota, and visiting Pastor of the Denver Circle, Colorado. Address: RR I, Box 101 M, Hot Springs, S.D. 51747.

     SANDSTROM, ERIK EMANUEL, Ordained May 23, 1971; 2nd Degree, May 21, 19'7. Pastor of Michael Church, London, England. Visiting Pastor to the Circle in The Hague. Address: 135 Mantilla Road, Tooting, London, S.W. 17, 8DX, England.

     SCHNARR, FREDERICK LAURIER. Ordained June 19, 1955; 2nd Degree, May 12, 1957. Principal, Bryn Athyn Church Elementary School. Address: Box 277, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009.

     SIMONS, DAVID RESTYN. Ordained June 19, 1948; 2nd Degree, June 19, 1950. Pastor of the Los Angeles Society and a Visiting Pastor to San Francisco and San Diego. Address: 4615 Briggs Ave., La Crescenta, Ca. 91214.

     SMITH, CHRISTOPHER RONALD JACK. Ordained June 19, 1969; 2nd Degree, May 9, 1971. Pastor of the Carmel Church. Address: 16 Bannockburn Road, R.R. 2, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada N2G 3W5.

     SONESON, LORENTZ RAY. Ordained June 16, 1963; 2nd Degree, May 16, 1965. Acting Secretary of the General Church, Director of the General Church Religion Lessons, Editor of New Church Home, Chairman of the Sunday School Committee. Address: Box 278, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009.

412




     STROH, KENNETH OLIVER. Ordained June 19, 1948; 2nd Degree. June 19, 1950. Director of Music, Bryn Athyn Church. Address: Box 278, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009.

     TAYLOR, DOUGLAS MCLEOD. Ordained June 19, 1960; 2nd Degree, June 19, 1962. Chairman of the General Church Extension Committee. Address: Bag C, Cairncrest, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009.

     Ministers

     ALDEN, MARK EDWARD. Ordained June 10, 1979. Assistant to the Pastor of the Glenview Society. Address: 32 Park Drive, Glenview, Il. 60025.

     BOWN, CHRISTOPHER DUNCAN. Ordained June 18, 1978. Visiting Minister to North Jersey-New York Circle, resident Minister to Connecticut Group. Address:145 Shadyside Lane, Milford, Conn. 06460.

     CARSWELL, ERIC HUGH. Ordained June 10, 1979. Assistant to the Pastor of the Pittsburgh Society. Address: 510 Lloyd Street, Pittsburgh, Pa. 15208.

     ECHOLS, JOHN CLARK, JR. Ordained August 27, 1978. Assistant to Pastor in Glenview. Address: 73A Park Drive, Glenview, 11. 60025.

     FIGUEIREDO, JOSE LOPES DE. Ordained October 24. 1965. Assistant Minister to the Rio de Janeiro Society, Brazil. Address: Rua Desemhargador Izidro 155, Apt. 202, Tijuca, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil.

     HEILMAN, ANDREW JAMES. Ordained June 18, 1978. Minister of the Rio de Janeiro Society, Brazil. Address: Rua Ferreira de Sampaio 58, Apt. 101, Abolicao, Rio de Janeiro, 20.000 R.J., Brazil.

     JUNGE, KENT. Ordained June 10, 1979. Minister to the Northwestern District of the United States, resident in Seattle. Address: 14323C 123rd St., N.E., Kirklands, WA, 98033.

     KING, CEDRIC. Ordained June 10, 1979. Assistant to the Pastor of the Southwest District, resident minister to San Diego Circle. Address. 7911 Canary Way, San Diego, Ca. 92123.

     MCMASTER, ROBERT DAVID. Ordained June 18, 1978. Assistant to the Pastor of the Olivet Church. Address: 56-1370 Silver Spear, Mississauga, Ontario, Canada L4Y 2X2.

     NICHOLSON, ALLISON LA MARR, Ordained Sept. 9, 1979. Assistant to the Pastor of the Olivet Church. Resident in Toronto. Address: 170 Martin Grove Rd., Islington, Ontario, M9B 4L1, Canada.

     ROGERS, NORBERT BRUCE. Ordained January 12, 1969. Associate Professor of Religion, Latin and Hebrew, Academy of the New Church. Head of the Division of Religion and Sacred Languages in the College. Chairman of the General Church Translation Committee, Address: Box 278, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009.

     SMITH, LAWSON MERRELL. Ordained June 10, 1979. Assistant to the Pastor of the Washington Society and Visiting Pastor to the Baltimore Convention Society. Resident in Washington, D.C. Address: 11721 Whittler Read, Mitchellville, Md. 20716.

     Associate Member

     WEISS, JAN HUGO. Ordained June 19, 1955; 2nd Degree, May 12, 1957. Address: 2650 Del Vista Drive, Hacienda Heights, Ca. 91745.

413




     Authorized Candidates

ALDEN, KENNETH JAMES. BOX 278, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009.

ODHNER, JOHN LLEWELLYN. BOX 278, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009.

SYNNESTYEDT, LOUIS DONALD. BOX 278, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009.

     Associate Ministers

     Not yet received as Priests of the General Church

     NICOLIER, ALAIN. Ordained May 31, 1979 into the first degree of the New Church. Minister of the New Church in France. Address: Bourguignon-Meursanges, 21200 Beaune, France.

     MCCURDY, GEORGE D. Ordained June 25, 1967. Recognized as a pastor in the 2nd Degree of the priesthood of the New Church. Address: Box 278, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009.

     South African Mission

     Pastors

     MBEDZI, PAULUS. Ordained March 23, 1958; 2nd Degree, March 14, 1965. Resident Pastor of the Hambrook Society, Visiting Pastor of the Balfour Society, the Greylingstad Society and the Rietfontain Group. Address: Hambrook Bantu School, P. B. 9912, Ladysmith, Natal 3370.

     MBATHA, BHEKUYISE ALFRED. Ordained June 27, 1971; 2nd Degree, June 23, 1974.     Resident Pastor of the Kwa Mashu Society, Visiting Pastor of the Impaphala Society and the Dondotha Group. Address: P.O. Box 11, Kwa Mashu, Natal 4360.

     NKABINDE, PETER PIET. Ordained June 23, 1974; 2nd Degree, November 13, 1977. Resident Pastor of the Alexandra Society. Visiting Pastor of the Mofolo Society, the Quthing Society, and the Tembisa Group. Address: 159-11th Avenue, Alexandra Township, Johannesburg, Transvaal, 2001.

     NZIMANDE, BENJAMIN ISHMAEL. Ordained August 21, 1938; 2nd Degree, October 3, 1948. Assistant Superintendent, Resident Pastor of the Clermont Society, Visiting Pastor of the Enkumba Society. Pastor in charge of the Alexandra Society, the Mofolo Society and the Tembisa. Group. Address: 1701-31st Avenue, Clermont Township, P.O. Clernaville, Natal 3602.

     ZUNGU, AARON. Ordained August 21, 1938; 2nd Degree, October 3, 1948. Mission Translator. Visiting Pastor of the Umlazi Group. Address: 2102 Main Avenue, Clermont Township, P.O. Clernaville, Natal.

     Authorized Candidates

     BUTELEZ, ISHBORN: Address: 36 Perth Road, Westville, Natal, R.S.A. 3630

     MASEKO, MICHAEL: Address: 36 Perth Road, Westville, Natal, R.S.A. 3630



     Societies and Circles

     Societies          
                                   Pastor
BRYN ATHYN CHURCH                     Rt. Rev. Louis B. King
                                        Rev. Kurt H. Asplundh (Dean)
                                    Rev. B. David Holm (Asst. Dean)
CARMEL CHURCH, KITCHENER, ONTARIO           Rev. Christopher R. J. Smith
                                        Rev. Mark R. Carlson,
                                        Assistant Pastor

414



COLCHESTER SOCIETY, ENGLAND               Rev. Patrick A. Rose
DETROIT SOCIETY, MICHIGAN               Rev. Walter E. Orthwein, III
DURBAN SOCIETY, NATAL, SOUTH AFRICA          Rev. Geoffrey H. Howard
                                   Rev. Norman E. Riley,
                                        Assistant to the Pastor
HURSTVILLE SOCIETY, N.S.W., AUSTRALIA     Rev. Michael D. Gladish
IMMANUEL CHURCH, GLENVIEW, ILLINOIS          Rev. Peter M. Buss
                                   Rev. Harold C. Cranch,
                                        Associate Pastor
                                   Rev. Brian W. Keith, Assistant Pastor
                                   Rev. Messrs. Mark E. Alden and
                                   J. Clark Echols,
                                        Assistants to the Pastor
LOS ANGELES SOCIETY, CALIFORNIA          Rev. David R. Simons
MICHAEL CHURCH, LONDON, ENGLAND          Rev. Erik E. Sandstrom
OLIVET CHURCH, TORONTO, ONTARIO          Rev. Geoffrey S. Childs
PITTSBURGH SOCIETY                    Rev. Donald L. Rose
                                   Rev. Eric H. Carswell,
                                        Assistant to the Pastor
RIO DE JANEIRO SOCIETY, BRAZIL          Rev. Andrew J. Heilman, Minister
                                   Rev. Jose Lopes de Figueiredo,
                                        Assistant to the Minister
STOCKHOLM SOCIETY, SWEDEN               Rev. Ragnar Boyesen
WASHINGTON SOCIETY, D.C.               Rev. Daniel W. Heinrichs
                                   Rev. Lawson M. Smith,
                                        Assistant to the Pastor

     Circles

AMERICUS, GEORGIA                         Rev. Thomas L. Kline
ATLANTA, GEORGIA                         Rev. Thomas L. Kline (Resident)
AUCKLAND, NEW ZEALAND                    Rev. Michael D. Gladish
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS                    Rev. George D. McCurdy
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS (SHARON CHURCH)          Rev. Harold C. Cranch
COPENHAGEN, DENMARK                    Rev. Ragnar Boyesen
DAWSON CREEK, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA     Rev. William H. Clifford (Resident)
DENVER, COLORADO                         Rev. Erik Sandstrom
ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA                    Rev. Stephen D. Cole
FORT WORTH, TEXAS                         Rev. Peter M. Buss, Supervisor
GORAND RAIDS, MICHIGAN                    Rev. Walter E. Orthwein
THE HAGUE, HOLLAND                    Rev. Erik E. Sandstrom
JONKOPING, SWEDEN                         Rev. Bjorn A. M. Boyesen (Resident)
KEMPTON, PENNSYLVANIA                    Rev. Arne Bau-Madsen (Resident)
LETCHWORTH, ENGLAND                    Rev. Patrick A. Rose
MADISON, WISCONSIN                    Rev. J. Clark Echols
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND                    Rev. Patrick A. Rose
MIAMI, FLORIDA                         Rev. Glenn G. Alden (Resident)
MONTREAL, CANADA                         Rev. Ottar T. Larsen

415



NORTH JERSEY-NEW YORK                    Rev. Christopher D. Bown
NORTH OHIO                              Rev. Stephen D. Cole
OSLO, NORWAY                         Rev. Ragnar Boyesen
ST. PAUL-MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA          Rev. Brian W. Keith
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA                    Rev. Cedric King
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA               Rev. David R. Simons
SEATTLE, WASHINGTON                    Rev. Kent Junge
SOUTH OHIO                              Rev. Stephen D. Cole
TRANSVAAL, REP. OF SOUTH AFRICA           Rev. Norman E. Riley
TUCSON, ARIZONA                         Rev. Roy Franson (Resident)

     In order to avoid confusion, it seems well to observe, in the official records and the official journal of the General Church, the recognized distinctions between a "Society," a "Circle" and a "Group."
     A "Group" consists of all interested receivers of the Heavenly Doctrine in any locality who meet together for worship and instruction under the general supervision of pastors who visit them from time to time.
     A "Circle" consists of members of the General Church in any locality, who are under the leadership of a regular visiting pastor appointed by the Bishop, and who are organized by their pastor to take responsibility for their local uses in the interim between his visits. A Group may become a Circle when, on the recommendation of the visiting pastor, it is formally recognized as such by the Bishop.
     A "Society" or local "Church" consists of the members of the General Church in any locality who have been organized under the leadership of a resident pastor to maintain the uses of regular worship, instruction and social life. A Circle may become a Society by application to the Bishop and formal recognition by him.
     LOUIS B. KING,
          Bishop

     Committees of the General Church
                                             Chairman
General Church Extension Committee                Rev. Douglas M. Taylor
General Church Publication Committee           Rev. Lorentz R. Soneson
General Church Religion Lessons Committee      Rev. Lorentz R. Soneson
General Church Schools Committee                Rev. Frederick L. Schnarr
Orphanage Committee                          Mr. Robert F. Zecher
Pension Committee                              Mr. Garthowen Pitcairn
Finance and Development Fund Committee           Mr. Leonard E. Gyllenhaal
Salary Committee                              Mr. Theodore W. Brickman, Jr.
Sound Recording Committee                    Rev. Douglas M. Taylor
Sunday School Committee                         Rev. Lorentz R. Soneson
Translation Committee                         Rev. N. Bruce Rogers

     Address all committees, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009 except the following:

Mr. Theodore W. Brickman, Jr.     1211 Gladish Lane, Glenview, Ill. 60025
Mr. Garthowen Pitcairn          600 Woodward Drive, Huntingdon Valley, Pa. 19006

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EQUILIBRIUM 1979

EQUILIBRIUM       Editor       1979


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

Acting Editor                Rev. Ormond deCharms Odhner, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager                Mr. L. E. Gyllenhaal Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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

     TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$5.00 (U.S.) A year to any address, payable in advance. Single copy, 50 cents.
     I: ESSENTIAL TO ALL CREATION

     Equilibrium-"a state of balance between opposing forces or actions" [Webster]-is essential to the creation of everything: the natural universe, the physical body, the continued life of any species, the spiritual world, the human mind, the formation of character and that human free choice of good which brings created man into eternal conjunction with his Creator. Nothing can have permanent existence without it. The Writings therefore contain many teachings to the effect that in the greatest and least things of creation there are and must be both action and reaction, that from these comes their equilibrium, and that in this equilibrium is their permanence.
     "In the greatest and least things of the universe, both living and dead, there is action and reaction; hence is the equilibrium of all things." (W 263) "The equilibrium of all things is from simultaneous action and reaction; and everything must be in equilibrium." (W 68) "Each and all things in the universe endure by means of equilibrium." (HH 592) "There is no substance in the created universe which does not tend to equilibrium." (TCR 296) "The order itself which is formed by the Lord and preserved to eternity consists in such a disposition to equilibrium." (SD 2444)

     Now, Webster speaks of equilibrium as the result of opposing forces or actions. The Writings don't say exactly that, but speak, instead, of action and reaction.

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Why? Because in reality there is only one force or power-the Lord's. Force, power, action-all are predicates of life, and the Lord alone has life in Himself. Apart from His power or force, it follows, there is no power or force at all.
     The Lord, however, created the universe; and it was not until the creation-process had brought into being dead and inert substances, utterly devoid of life and power, that permanent forms could begin to develop, for in these dead and inert substances there is an as-it-were "power" of reacting to the Lord's action. [A dead substance has a tendency, as it were, to stay put, to remain in its own form. And here I would ask if this tendency to stay put is not an image of the immutability, the unchangeableness, of God?] And from the beginning it has been between the action of the Lord and the reaction of dead substance that equilibrium has resulted.
     The ability to react to action is prerequisite to the permanent existence of anything. Use the power that is in your hands to form a chair out of a substance that is not strong enough to give real reaction to your action-liquid water, for example. Put your shoulder up against the air, and push. Push what? Bring into society a needed reform that is not strong enough to react to change, and your reform will last only until the next new idea comes along. Nothing can have permanent existence except in the equilibrium that results from action and reaction.
     What keeps our air from flying off into space or from being pressed down flat against the earth? Why doesn't a hurricane, once it gets going, go on forever? Why is there, everywhere, a rather predictable average temperature? Why do all parts of the earth, every year, get equal amounts of sunlight and darkness! What keeps the lungs from exploding with each inhalation, collapsing with each exhalation?
     Action and reaction, equilibrium. Yet, not even in nature does reaction have to be negative or opposed to action. It can be reaction with, rather than reaction against. Stir up a bucket of paint with a paddle. Particles of paint follow the paddle. Provided the stirring is slow enough, that is, and quite a practical lesson in daily living can be learned from that simple phenomenon: Stir up the paint too violently, so violently that the paint cannot react properly with the stirring, and soon you have nothing left to paint with, nothing left even to stir.

     But it is not only in the dead things of nature that we see action and reaction producing equilibrium. On the 13th of June, 1748, Swedenborg wrote in his Spiritual Diary: "In the world of spirits . . . sometimes it is granted [evil spirits], and the bonds are loosened,. . . and the rein is relaxed upon their cupidities. . . .

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Then they suppose that their sphere extends afar, and indeed through the universal heaven, and disturbs not only the world of spirits, but also the heavens [themselves]. But [this] is a fallacy of the senses. The sphere of their activity does not extend to a distance; it immediately ceases at a narrow circumference,. . . for such is the equilibrium . . . that it is established immediately, should there appear even a very great disturbance. This must be plain enough from the human race, in that the greatest disturbance among many does not widely extend itself." (D 2323)
     How true this is! Not even World War II, violent and widespread as it was, ever succeeded in throwing the whole human race into turmoil and even it finally came to an end and something of stability returned.
     And we here, living in our own little limited circles? One of us gets a bright new idea and gets all excited about it. It's going to revolutionize everything. All his friends get excited about it, too. The whole place is in a ferment. . . . Walk a mile away, and few will even have heard about it. . . . It is not that they don't care about us. It is just that to them other matters are of more importance. Our own turmoil simmers down, and maybe a little bit that is really worthwhile comes out of the whole great storm.

     Action and reaction, equilibrium. Admittedly it can be frustrating. In its worst aspects, it results in the ultra-conservatism of some men, with minds tight shut against any new idea. In its worst aspects it results in the downright inertia of most men to take part in any activity, especially in any new activity, such as being regenerated. But it nevertheless is of use to give permanent existence and subsistence to new good ideas, to wipe out bad new ideas, and to separate the bad from the good.
ON TRANSLATING THE TESTAMENTS 1979

ON TRANSLATING THE TESTAMENTS       NORBERT H. ROGERS       1979

     The Rev. Ormond deC Odhner, Editor

New Church Life

DEAR EDITOR:

     Your publication in recent issues of New Church Life of differing views pro and con translations of the Old and New Testaments has been most welcome. Though your contributors, with the exception of the Rev. John Booth of the General Conference, have limited themselves to writing in favor of either the Authorized Version, that is, the translation into English authorized by King James generally referred to as the AV or KJV, and the newer Revised Standard Version, and referred to as the RSV, instead of discussing the relative merits of these and of the many other English translations extant, the discussion does give two hopes.

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     The first and most important is an increased interest in the New Church in translations of the Word which may lead in time to reviving the dedication of the early New Church to produce and make available a New Church translation of the Testaments, to which only the General Conference has been faithful in present times. It will be a tremendous task. For it will require producing both the scholars capable of doing the translation and the finances to enable them to give adequate time to do that work and to publish it when finished.
     The second hope is that the discussion will enable the New Church in general to realize that no translation is, or can be, perfect, so that none can properly say that this or that one is the very Word of God, idolizing it. This applies even to New Church translations, as the General Conference's Pentateuch shows for all its pluses. What a New Church translation can be is one that is more in accord with the spiritual sense and New Church doctrine than all others can possibly be for all their worth otherwise.
     One thing distresses me about the discussion. That is that it seems almost entirely directed to the human intellect, to our better understanding, and scarcely anything to the even more important factor of affection for the Word. Else why do the Writings tell us that angels derive greater delight and enlightenment when little children read the Word than when adults do so! Isn't it because little children do not intrude false understanding of the truths contained in what they read? Certainly they make many mistakes as to the words and their meanings as Dr. J. D. Odhner points out, but what does it matter if they continue to regard the Word as holy and have affection for it? Huntingdon Valley, Pa.
     NORBERT H. ROGERS

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Church News 1979

Church News       Various       1979

     PITTSBURGH

     June 19, 1919, marked the 50th anniversary of the laying- of the cornerstone of the Le Roi Road Church. As we contemplate the next fifty years, we look bad; with gratitude for the wisdom of our forebears and ahead with hope for the continued development of the Pittsburgh Society.
     Since our last report, several events have occurred that point encouragingly to new growth in western Pennsylvania: families with young children have recently settled here; five infant baptisms have taken place; Ed and Chris Walko, a young couple with one small child, and a young man, Jim Spetsios, have recently been baptized; and, for the first time since Bishop King was Pastor, we are anticipating the arrival of an Assistant to the Pastor, the Rev. Eric Carswell. It is exciting to think about the future.
     But the past, too, has its own interest. Our Pastor, Donald L. Rose, has devoted much time, not only to the regular schedule of small classes, doctrinal classes, school responsibilities, pastoral matters, and church services, but also to missionary efforts. Close to seventy people attended a talk by him in Freeport, while forty heard a lecture on Swedenborg at a meeting in the university area. Several loyal Pittsburghers got up in the wee hours to watch Mr. Rose give two different sermonettes on television. In November friends from the neighborhood gathered with many church members in the auditorium to view a film on Swedenborg with Eddie Albert and Lillian Gish. The Rev. Douglas Taylor spoke to us on effective missionary methods, and our book store representative, Babs Schoenberger, reports good sales at the University of Pittsburgh Book Center.
     Mr. Rose continues to provide leadership in classes, which have included a Bible Study group and a reading group, and now consist of the Afternoon Doctrinal Class (which has read much of the Arcana and is now reading Bishop De Charms' Commentary on the Four Gospels in its bi-weekly meetings) and a Potluck Supper group that gathers monthly for a delicious dinner and discussion of various articles from New Church publications.
     Six graduates have departed the Pittsburgh New Church School since our last report. As we look forward to the coming year, we anticipate a school bus loaded to capacity and a teaching staff full of new faces. Miriam Gruber and Heather Uber will be sharing responsibilities in the primary and intermediate grades, replacing our beloved Marion Kendig and Karen Luce, who both retired this spring. Polly Schoenberger and Curtis McQueen, full-time teachers, will be joined by our two ministers to complete the staff. It promises to be a different and interesting year.
     Highlights of this past school year include several "Presentation Days," at which students recited poems, performed on the piano and recorder, and gave small dramatic offerings; the Science Fair; a Poetry Contest, sponsored by the ninth grade English class; a visit and slide show by a writer from the Pittsburgh Press; and the visit of eight Toronto students and their three chaperones. We also thoroughly enjoyed a visit the year before from Jim Cooper of the Washington school, and this year from the Rev. Fred Schnarr, Yorvar Synnestvedt, and Nancy Woodard. While our upper grades teacher, Curtis McQueen, was recovering from major surgery this spring, we enjoyed getting to know Nathan Gladish, who so ably substituted for him.
     Besides our regular school, a Bible School is held each summer for a week in the Freeport area.

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Last summer approximately three dozen children attended, of whom one third were not from church families. This appears to be a promising missionary effort. Our bi-weekly Sunday School continues to help teach the stories of the Word to our children.     
     The Women's Guild, under the leadership of Judy Griffiths, remains faithful to its uses, quietly providing delicious Friday Suppers, making unique June 19th gifts, and keeping things orderly around the school and kitchen. This year it put on another successful Rummage Sale, open to the general public, to raise funds for an ever-needy Society treasury. The Theta Alpha, with Babs Schoenberger as president, has held some interesting meetings on various topics (family worship, missionary work, and women's place in the church organization), besides performing its regular, education-related functions (sponsoring the summer shower for Academy-bound girls, giving a Swedenborg's Birthday banquet for the school, and making and painting cr?che figures). The visits of Bill Thomas, who spoke to the Society on his work in vocational education, and Dr. Charles Ebert, who filled us in on the first New Church radio station, were both sponsored by the Theta Alpha. The Sons, under the lively leadership of Dr. Dan Heilman, has had one of its most active years in recent history. Work days at the school, meetings with topics ranging from coronary problems to computers, and even a father-son canoe trip have brought this organization new energy. The Sons-sponsored Labor Day picnic, at which boys departing for the Academy receive gifts, is always a much-anticipated summer event.
     Some recent high points of society life in Pittsburgh have included the Welcome Weekend of April 1978, at which many guests joined us in round robin dinners, open houses, entertainment (including a hilarious "Name That Tune" segment), and a church service; the beautiful wedding last summer of Sue Olson and Greg Odhner; the special music in the church on Palm Sunday provided by Maret Taylor and Curtis McQueen in preparation for the Easter season; the 50th wedding anniversary of Pittsburgh stalwarts Gilbert and Venita Smith, at which many family members and friends gathered to recall fond memories and toast the couple; the Christmas program in the church with special music by Polly Schoenberger and Curtis McQueen, followed by a most effective nativity outdoors, using live animals provided by Bill and Carol Kronen; and the visits of Ariel Gunther and Bishop King.
     The Society continues its Memorial Day tradition of camping at Laurel State Park, and although this year's camp was drenched by repeated downpours, it was still a great success. Each summer, the Sons under the leadership of Jack and Don Rose, sponsor the Laurel Leaf Academy, which last year boasted attendance figures of close to 150. This year there will be two camps, one with provision for children and one without. How this venture has grown since its inception! Also, Gilbert Smith faithfully continues to arrange two trips each year to the Asplundh Lodge in Tionesta, for which the school children are ever grateful.
     Last summer saw art classes being given in the school by Dale Luce, regular volleyball games for young and old on the parking lot, and the visit here by Terry Schnarr and his wife Gretchen and daughter Anne. The Society enjoys so much getting to know these men in their candidate summer, and we look forward this year to welcoming John Odhner here.
     1979 saw the passing of Anne P. Blair and Joseph A. Thomas to the other world. Both faithful members of the Pittsburgh Society, they will be missed.
     In our last report, our newly ringing bell was mentioned with delight and pride. Perhaps the old adage about pride going before a fall is true, for shortly thereafter, our church tower was struck by lightning, causing extensive damage to the building. Not only was our bell out of commission, but we were forced to hold a few church services in the school auditorium. Mentioning that the bell has been faithfully ringing for a year now seems a bit risky, but perhaps the other saying about lightning never striking twice is also true. We hope so.
     While always welcoming visitors, we are really delighted when newcomers arrive to join us in our many uses.
     POLLY M. SCHOENBERGER

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     TORONTO

     New Church Day celebrations and Olivet Day School graduation .exercises mark the climax of another active year in the Olivet Society.
     Reverend Robert McMaster, Mrs. Barbara Synnestvedt and Miss Debbie Sjostedt have been most welcome additions to our staff, while Robert's Brenda and the Braam family from Holland, Meike, Adri and three dear children (soon to be four) have made a wonderful addition to our society life.
     It seems that the end of summer so often brings farewells and this time it is Rev. and Mrs. Ottar Larsen who will be leaving us. It is with a real sense of loss that we will part with these two good friends who have been with us for five years. At the Olivet Day School graduation exercises Ottar and Alison were presented with gifts which carried with them great affection from the members and friends of the society. In receiving the presentation Ottar made a very moving speech of thanks in which he said that he had found a home in the New Church and also a home in the Olivet Society. He said that he regarded the people of the society as his "family," and we also feel that we are losing two members of our family but were privileged to have the Larsens with us for so long and do sincerely wish them happiness and success in England.
     Another leave-taking has been occasioned by the resignation of Carole Easton, our very good friend and expert secretary. Carole has been with us over eight years and feels that she must move on to wider fields. We shall miss her cheery presence. Linda Holmes has bravely undertaken to fill Carole's shoes.
     When Mrs. Alec Sargeant (Aunt Clara to so many) passed away on January 9th, the church lost, in this world at least, a staunch member. We will think of her often as we sing the many hymns which she contributed to our Liturgy.
     This has been a year of weddings for us with five weddings taking place since we last reported. First was the wedding of Terry Frazee to Philip Schnarr, next Anne Bradfield to Dalton Garbutt. These two weddings were in August and September; the winter must be intimidating, because it was April 14th before we had the pleasure of attending the marriage of Amanda Orr to Kirk Steen and on May 12th Ceri Bellinger became the bride of Robert Muise, and Claire Bradfield and Hewart Homber made their vows on June 9th. This was a special occasion because it gave us an opportunity to visit with the Erik E. Sandstrom family, Reverend Erik E. having come from England to perform the ceremony. Our Pastor and his wife also had two weddings in their family when their son Justin was married last August to Grace Nelson at Mitchellville while David Childs and Jenny Cook were the first couple to be married at the new Detroit property on June 2nd.
     We are sorry when we realize that of all these weddings none of the couples are making their home in Toronto. But we have hopes that the future may bring some of them back to us. In any case, wherever they are, the establishment of seven new New Church families is a reason for rejoicing.
     It is evidently not the end of Toronto weddings yet. Three engagements have recently been announced, Martha Anderson to Don Posey, Jim Swalm to Rena Sheridan, and Rachelle Scott to Pat Hogan.
     A year and a half ago our Long Range Planning Committee brought before the Society the suggestion that possibilities be explored for the engaging of a third minister in Toronto to undertake exclusively the task of spreading the doctrines of the New Church in our area. Since that lime much thought and planning has been done, culminating, on May 16th at a meeting with Bishop King, in a request to him to appoint Candidate Allison NICHOLSON as Assistant to the Pastor of the Olivet Society with the special use of Evangelization. This is an exciting new venture for the church in Canada and the Olivet Society in particular.
     We feel privileged to have been chosen as hosts for the Twenty-Eighth General Assembly to be held in June, 1980. Committees have been formed and plans are being made which will, we hope, ensure that everyone who comes will have a memorable assembly. Make your own plans and be sure to be with us!
     GWEN CRAIGIE

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CHARTER DAY 1979

              1979




     Announcements
     All ex-students, members of the General Church, and friends of the Academy are invited to attend the 63rd Charter Day exercises, to be held in Bryn Athyn, Pa., Friday and Saturday, October 19th and 20th, 1979. The Program: Friday, 11 a.m.-Cathedral Service with an address by the Rev. Daniel W. Goodenough. Friday evening-dance. Saturday, 7 p.m.-Banquet, Toastmaster: The Rev. Alfred Acton.
CHARTER DAY BANQUET TICKETS 1979

              1979

     In order to avoid confusion and embarrassment, those who will be guests in Bryn Athyn homes for the Charter Day Weekend, should order their banquet tickets in advance, by mail, unless they have made other specific arrangements with their hostesses.
     The date for the banquet is Oct. 20th. The regular price is $6.00-the same as last year. For all students, including those not presently attending the Academy, the price is only $3.00-also the same as last year. Checks should be made payable to the Academy of the New Church.
     Orders should be sent to the attention of Mrs. R. Walelchli, The Academy of the New Church, P. O. Box 278, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009, before Oct. 4th. Please mark clearly on envelopes, "Banquet Tickets." Tickets will be carefully held at the switchboard in Benade Hall for pick-up either by you or your hosts. No tickets can be sold at the door because of the need for advance arrangements with the caterer.
VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN, GLENVIEW, PITTSBURGH, TORONTO, AND KITCHENER 1979

VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN, GLENVIEW, PITTSBURGH, TORONTO, AND KITCHENER              1979

     Visitors to Bryn Athyn, Glenview, Pittsburgh, Toronto, or Kitchener who are in need of hospitality accommodations are cordially urged to contact in advance the appropriate Hospitality Committee head listed below:

Mrs. V. Carmond Odhner               Mrs. Philip Horigan
2806 Huntingdon Pike               50 Park Drive
Bryn Athyn, PA 19009               Glenview, IL 60025
Phone: (215) 947-8973               Phone: (312) 729-6544

Mrs. Paul M. Schoenberger               Mrs. Sydney Parker
7433 Pen Hur Street               30 Royaleigh Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15208               Weston, Ont. M9P 2J5
Phone: (412) 371-3056

Mrs. Mark Carlson
58 Chapel Hill Drive
R.R. 2
Kitchener, Ontario N2G 3W5

425


READING THE WORD 1979

READING THE WORD       Rev. B. DAVID HOLM       1979


NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. XCIX          OCTOBER, 1979           No. 10
     And Moses commanded them saying: At the end of every seven years, in the solemnity of the year of release, in the feast of tabernacles, when all Israel is come to appear before the Lord thy God in the place which He shall choose, thou shalt read this law before all Israel in their hearing. Gather the people together, men, and women, and children, and the stranger that is within thy gates, that they may hear, and that they may learn, and fear the Lord thy God, and observe to do all the words of this law: And that their children, which have not known anything, may hear and learn to fear the Lord your God, as long as ye live in the land whither ye go over Jordan to possess it. Deut. 31:10-13.

     Moses, at the end of his life on earth, gave this command to the priests of Israel in order to make sure that the teachings of the Word would be perpetuated. Every seven years the law of the Lord was to be read to the whole congregation of Israel, and in this way a knowledge of it would be passed on from one generation to the next.
     In the sense of the letter this command is concerned only with reading the Law of Moses-the first five books of the Old Testament. But in the spiritual sense the whole of revelation is included, for, no matter to what age it is given, revelation from the Lord contains the whole of Divine truth and is therefore God's Word. In reality, then, these words of Moses contain a command to read the entire Word, be it the Word of the Old Testament, or of the New, or of the Writings of the Lord's Second Advent.
     Yet important as the actual reading of revealed truth is, still in the internal sense of this command there is contained far more than the mere injunction to read. For here the whole purpose of reading the Word is explained and the fruits of reading it from a sincere heart are disclosed.

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     Both the purpose and the fruit of reading the Word is our regeneration, or our resurrection from death unto life. It was for this reason that it was commanded by Moses that the Word be read every seventh year, in the year of release, when all debts, grievances, and bond-servants must be released; for by this is signified the full state of regeneration, when we are released from all evil and falsity, released from all our spiritual debts and servitude.
     When we at last arrive at such a state of regeneration, we worship the Lord from a grateful heart, acknowledging that we alone has brought about our deliverance from evil, and this by implanting the good of life in us by means of the truths of His Word. And so it was that the Word was to be read at the feast of tabernacles in the year of release, for by this feast is meant the reciprocal conjunction between man and the Lord.* This conjunction is the fruit of regeneration, and it is to this conjunction that this command to read the Word books.
     * AC 9296
     This can be seen from the test, for the reason that the congregation of Israel was to hear the Word was "that they may learn, and fear the Lord . . . and observe to do all the words of this law,. . . as long as (they) live in the land." If the Israelites were to be worthy of living in the land of Canaan they were to hearken to the Word, and by this come into a fear of the Lord and a life according to His commandments. By the land of Canaan is meant the heavenly state of regeneration. To come into this state we must hearken to the Word, learn to fear the Lord, and observe to do all the words of His Law. That is, we must strive to understand the truths of doctrine, and from this come into an internal worship of the Lord from truth. Only in this way can we learn to live the truths of doctrine and thus come into a spiritual worship of the Lord from the good of life.* Only then can we enter into the "Promised Land'' of the regenerate state.
     * See AE 695
     But the text does not merely tell us of these generalities-of the importance in regeneration of a correct understanding of the Word and a life according to it. It tells us in detail how to attain a correct understanding and how to live according to the teachings of the Word.
     According to the text all of the people-men, women, children, and strangers: all of these were to be gathered together to hear the Law read and thus learn of its truths. Gathering the men and women signifies that if we are to be regenerated, we must be willing to bring all of the principles of faith and charity which have been stored up within us from childhood-present them before the Divine truths of Revelation, so that they may be infilled and become our own and made living.

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This can he done only by the truths of the Word, for these are the only genuine truths. And if the truths do not enter into the framework of religious principles formed in childhood, then this framework can but remain an empty, hollow thing which in time must totter and fall. Only if we hearken to the eternal truths, only if we strive to understand them and acknowledge them in life, can this framework be infilled and formed into a pulsating, spiritual being. Yet how can we hearken to this truth, how can we understand and acknowledge it, if we do not: read and meditate upon the Word of God?
     An emphasis is placed in the text upon the "children, which have not known anything." In the command these too were to be instructed in the Word. The very first of a child's learning should be from the Word in order that what he learns in later life will be based upon spiritual truth. And the love which a young child has for the stories of the Word is a strong indication of the great need he has for such instruction. It is our responsibility and privilege to satisfy that need. And if we do it rightly, the child is truly educated, for in no other way can that essential foundation be laid in the child's mind upon which must rest the spiritual development of his adult years.
     But more is meant by the children of the text than the states of childhood proper. For each of us has childhood states within us, far into adult life-states of half-formed ideas and actions of faith and charity (stemming from remains) which as yet are largely uninstructed, but their potential may be great. There is innocence in these states of remains for they have not been sullied by evil and folly. The man who does not have them lives in spiritual poverty, for the advancement he can make is strictly limited. Still if these half formed states of faith and charity are ever to be of service to a man, they must be allowed to grow and develop, and for this to be done it is essential that there be instruction from the Word, for truth alone is able to bring them to maturity. These are the children in every man, which must be taught.
     Our ignorant, gentile states are what are meant by "the stranger that is within thy gates." These are uninstructed states in which there is a longing for truth. But in these states there may well be an intermingling of unintentional evil and falsity. We all have such states and they too must be brought to the light of the Word. In no other way can they be seen and recognized for what they are and ignorance be dissipated. Only the Lord's truth in revelation has the power to strip away the veilings behind which evil and falsity hide. It takes courage to expose the "strangers" within our hearts to the power of truth, yet if we fearlessly do this, our past states of ignorance can and will be purified-purified from the Word.

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     From this we can see that the gathering of the people together-men, women, children, and strangers-to hear the Law read, means that the reading and studying of the Word has a threefold purpose. First, to infill and make living the things of faith and charity which we have previously gathered, but have not yet made our own in life. Second, to instruct and bring to maturity those partially formed principles of faith and charity which are present in all men. And third, to bring all our ignorance and unintentional evils and falsities out into the light of truth where we can see them. It is the Word that does all of this, for it is the Divine truth accommodated to our understanding that gives life to what was dead, that causes the tender seedlings of the mind to grow and become fruitful, and that cleanses us from our iniquities. But this truth is powerless to do its work unless it is freely and lovingly received in man's mind by study, meditation, and life.
     The fact that it was Moses who gave the command to read makes it evident that it is a command given directly from the Divine truth itself, for it is this that is represented by Moses. This Divine truth is the Word, or the Lord's manifestation of Himself to mankind. And as the command to read the Law of the Lord is contained in the Word itself, it is clear that the very presentation of the Word to us is in itself a command to read it, acknowledge its truths, and live according to them. The Word was given us for our salvation, and to fulfill our part of that process is our supreme duty. In no other way can we be conjoined to the Lord and with heaven.
     Yet do we fulfill this duty? Do we as New Church men fulfill it-we who should know of its universal importance and necessity in a way impossible to others? Do we, with sincere hearts, make the best use we can of the revelation given us by the Lord? Do we read regularly, and if we do, do we read with the best understanding we have? Are we content to merely read and re-read those parts that are readily comprehended or that hold special interest for us? Or do we make a real effort to enter into the more difficult aspects of doctrine? And lastly, do we read and study revelation in order that we may use the truths we gather for the good of life, or do we read largely because of the intellectual pleasure it gives us?
     We are to fulfill these responsibilities in our reading of the Word-fulfill them to the best of our ability. We are to enter into our full part in our own regeneration. For the Word has been given to us to use-to read, study and live.

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It is not to be ignored. And it is important to note that it can be ignored even though we shroud our indifference with reverence.
     When we realize the tremendous importance of reading the Word-the absolute necessity of learning the truths of doctrine if we are to be conjoined with the Lord and regenerated-it seems incredible that at times we feel little else but apathy and even aversion towards a serious and devotional study of revelation. Yet this is not hard to explain when we consider the state of the human race. The natural part of each of us ever strives towards the things of earth and even of hell. When spiritual things cross our path when in this state, we have a feeding of distaste. This is understandable for it is the natural state into which all men are born, but this does not take away from the fact that it is a state of evil. This is a state which must be left behind at all costs. And the study of revelation is the most powerful aid we have in raising ourselves above our merely natural states.
     When our natural man is active, we can even fear to read the Word because we know it will bring our evils to light and denounce them, because it will deny us that which we find so delightful, because it will place a responsibility to progress spiritually upon us. And this it does. But when, after a period of negligence, we turn once again to the Word-to the rock of our salvation-it is a spiritual home-coming with all its attendant joys: the joy of a liberated conscience, the joy of renewed spiritual vigor and ambition, and the joy of order regained. And with these joys comes peace, the peace which can only come by turning to the Lord and meeting Him in His Word, for it is there we find Him! This conjunction with the Lord is the eternal blessing which is given to those who hearken to the Word and live it.
     How sweet are Thy Words unto my taste! Yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through Thy precepts I get understanding: therefore I hate every false way. Thy Word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.* Amen.
     * Ps. 119:103-105

     LESSONS: Deuteronomy 31:1-15. Mark 4:3-20. Apocalypse Explained 803.2

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CHALLENGE TO THE AUTHORITY OF THE WRITINGS 1979

CHALLENGE TO THE AUTHORITY OF THE WRITINGS       Rev. HAROLD CRANCH       1979

     In the General Church it is held that the Writings are the very Word of the Lord. In the little work, Sketch of Ecclesiastical History, Swedenborg wrote: "The books written by the Lord through me are to be listed."* Similar statements are found in other parts of the Writings, and the Divine authority of this revelation, and that it is the coming of the Spirit of Truth, the second coming of the Lord, are emphasized in The True Christian Religion, in The Coronis, and in Invitation to the New Church.** We use the Writings as the Word when we think from them, and apply their teachings to our daily life, and use them as the source of doctrine in sermons and doctrinal classes. So these works are considered the Word not only from these statements, but because they are used as the Lord intends the Word to be used for reformation, regeneration, and the establishment of the church. They are not the Word from so naming them, nor do they have authority in the church unless we use them as the Lord intends. By such use we show that we accept the authority of the Word.
     * Sketch of an Ecclesiastical History of the New Church; Docu. II:483.3
     ** T 779 et seq.; Coronis, Summary III; Inv. VII: 44
     One of the reasons the authority of the Writings has not been accepted by all of the organizations of the New Church to the same degree is contained in the closing pages of Divine Providence. It does not seem to be the Word when Swedenborg could write: "Excuse the addition of this which is added to fill the page." And then he quotes a conversation with a devil! This does not seem to be the Word for many reasons, one being the casual reference to filling a page. It is also said that the teaching is from the devil, yet in the Writings Swedenborg says: "I have not received anything whatever pertaining to the Doctrine of that church from any angel but from the Lord alone while I have read the Word."* Again what is the use of this passage? What is the value of having a brief quotation from the devil (as it were asking equal time to answer what had come from the angels)?
     * T 179

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     We must find answers to these challenges if we are to accept the Divine authority. If we cannot find satisfactory answers, then we would have to deny at least some aspect of the Divine authority of the Writings, and possibly accept the more commonly held view that the Lord gave a Divine revelation to Swedenborg and then Swedenborg wrote it down. Many New Church men hold that the revelation itself was from the Lord, but the writing describing it was Swedenborg's. Just as we might have a dream. The dream could be given us by the Lord, but in the morning we could write down our remembrance of that dream to the best of our ability. The writing would be our description of what the Lord had revealed. Those who hold this view of the Writings say the filling of the last page of Divine Providence with the statements from the devil is evidence that it is not from the Lord.
     Let us review very briefly the argument as to why this part of the Writings is fully the Word despite such external difficulties in form. In the first place the Lord protects man's freedom. If there were no possibility of doubt we would be under compulsion, so the Word is always given in such a way that we can question, yet with so many confirmations that we can answer those questions if we desire. Without the possibility to question there could be no freedom. Without freedom the Word would not be received because we would be compelled. We would be marionettes pulled by strings with no choice as to where we would go or how we would think, and whatever is not received in freedom does not remain.* It would not affect our lives, as we would not then act from free will. A person under hypnosis acts according to the direction of the hypnotizer, and a man is not responsible for what he says or does under those conditions. Freedom is essential for us to be human, and therefore there must be freedom to accept or reject Divine revelation. This is also true in the Old and New Testaments. Nowhere are we told, "this is the Word of the Lord that must be accepted in fullness." There are a few statements from the prophets: "Thus saith the Lord:" Yet if you believe the prophet, you believe his prophetical teachings to be the Word of the Lord. But the fact that we are free to accept or reject the prophet maintains our freedom.
     * A 9588; CL 132.6
     In the New Testament we have a statement that has caused many to question the acceptance of the Gospels. It begins:

Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us, even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the Word; It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus, that thou mightest know the certainty of those things, wherein thou hast been instructed.

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     So the beginning of the Gospel of Luke is a letter to an individual explaining something about the life of the Lord, because Luke had a very perfect understanding. This does not seem to be the language of positive revelation. It implies a question, a doubt. How can a letter sent to an individual to explain certain points of doctrine be part of the Word? Yet we accept it as the Word for many different reasons. But man can accept it in freedom because he can question. He must confirm himself by the fact that it is essentially different from any human production, and this can be shown fairly easily.
     There are many Gospels, some true, some spurious. The four Gospels of the New Testament tell their story plainly, clearly, without apology, and without trying to make others accept it without argument. They just say it because it's so. The spurious gospels (and there are many of them) are all written with a. special purpose of persuasion. They are very conscious of the reader. They want to make sure that they are accepted. So they say all sorts of strange things and use all sorts of strange language to convince one that they are true, and their excessive efforts to prove they are true proves them false. For example, in their day miracles were accepted as a matter of fact. So the authors of the spurious gospels used them to meet the challenges of their day. When lack of details of the Lord's childhood became a major challenge to the church, a monk "remedied" the situation. He wrote a gospel about the Lord's childhood and in a miraculous way discovered it and gave it to the church. It is abundantly filled with miracles, but the miracles in this gospel are so contrary to the nature of the Lord that it is a mender that it was ever used. They made the Lord, as a child, a monster. On His way to Egypt the sphere from the Lord as a little infant drove away all men-bandits, and others that might have hurt Him. When He was a child, He began to model things at a fountain and there were other playmates with Him. They made little mud images and one of them was quite an artist and made a very nice looking animal, and he said to the Lord: "You can't make an animal as perfect as this." The Lord said maybe not, but He made a little bird and said: "But mine can fly." He threw it up into the air and it flew away. These were ridiculous miracles. Again He was jostled by one of His playmates and He turned and said: "Because you did that to me you shall die before nightfall," and he did. So this human element of trying to prove His case by making inhuman miracles, actually destroys the possibility of belief in the spurious gospel. You don't find any of that in the four Gospels that are now accepted.

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The spurious gospels are still published. Many of the Roman Catholic traditions about names of people of the Lord's day, and saints, and so forth come from them. But they are discredited as actual revelation. They are shown to be pious frauds written to prove a point. So we can see how the freedom of man is protected by the possibility of doubts. Yet after examination we see that the content of the challenging portion of Divine revelation is of the same high spiritual quality as all the rest.
     Now let us look at the last number in Divine Providence where the devil asks to present his case. What is challenged here is Swedenborg's statement that he wrote down only that which was from the Lord. This is answered plainly by Swedenborg himself in another place when he referred to what the angels spoke to him. He said that he was given a most acute perception of where the ideas came from. He could see the source of the thought. That which was from the Lord he wrote down, that which was from the angel he did not.* The same thing would be true here. That which would serve a spiritual use comes from the Lord even though it comes to us by means of an evil man or a devil. So the Writings teach that an evil minister can still perform the uses of the ministry if his evils are not known. The fact of his being an evil man does not detract from the fact that the Lord acts through the reception of the Word, not through the quality of the man reading the Word or preaching from it.** Again it is taught in The Doctrine of Charity and in many other works that an evil man can perform uses equally and even better than a good man because he does it from the zeal of selfishness and he gains rewards and honors according to the skill that he displays in performing his uses.*** So the Lord can act even through an evil man or a devil to perform uses. Here He acted through the devil to present some very important spiritual truths. The question of what use it can be to have a quotation from the devil is thus answered, for many important doctrines are contained in that very simple statement.
     * D 1647; E 1183.2; D 4034     
     ** A 4311.3; 1030.2
     *** P 250.3; NJHD 81.3
     To obtain a true understanding of any part of the Word we must see it in its context. What is here being taught is the operation of Divine Providence, and in the number that precedes this little statement from the devil we have the teachings about how Providence operates despite the falsities and evils that exist with man, and despite the teaching that had become very wide spread, that man is saved by immediate mercy apart from the quality of his life. If we think of this for a minute we can see the use. If we put the two together the teaching from the devil says that we cannot change the nature of our life after death.

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Each one will remain in the delight of his life, although it seems most malignant, evil, and horrible to others. It shows the delights that they breathe in, as we would breathe in the fragrance of flowers, were to an angel like the most horrible smells from sewers and dead bodies and so forth. They said: "Do you find delight in this?" "Yes, to us it is most delightful," and Swedenborg said: "You are like wild beasts that live in such stinks;" and the devil replied: "If we are, we are, but these are the things that give us delight."
     In the other section it was pointed out that when devils were permitted to enter heaven by making their evil loves quiescent, there was nothing of them left. They lay as dead. The only way they could be brought back to life was to allow the delights of their evil nature to flow back into them, because their whole mind and the very fibres of their bodies had been twisted to perceive and react to evil loves. The only way they could live was to enter into their enjoyments.* This confirms the teaching in Divine Love and Wisdom that love is the life of man.** If our loves were cut off, we would barely exist. So those spirits could not be resuscitated until they again breathed in the lusts and delights of hell.
     * P. 338.7
     ** DLW 1
     These teachings can be seen on three planes. First the specific, factual narration of the way things are in the spiritual world after the death of the body. Second, a statement of a, number of very important doctrines that are contained in the facts and knowledges that are there presented. And third, their plane of application-how we are to use these things after we learn them. These are the three planes: end, cause, and effect. This is very plainly taught in a narration in T.C.R. which parallels this, which I will just touch on. The efficient causes are the facts and knowledges. What are the facts and knowledges here? That the devils are in their delights just as the angels are in theirs. Everyone is permitted to live in the delights of his life after death. The devils are allowed to enter into and enjoy their evil lusts and nature so long as they do not harm others. They enjoy their life as far as it is possible while in the lust of harming others-the lusts of adultery, cheating, stealing and lying. And yet by the very nature of those four evils they become unacceptable to one another. Everyone is at least a bit wary of a liar. One never knows when he is telling the truth. He will lie at the first opportunity if it will help him. We cannot trust one who lies, cheats and steals, and is in the lust of adultery. Yet these are the evils that they love, therefore they constantly cause enmity, hatred, and fear in others. This does not build a truly happy life. But because they delight in these things they feel every delight they are capable of in that sphere.

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     The delights of a man's life are permitted in the other world so long as they do not harm others.* We are taught also that the delights of others are recognized as spheres and odors, and it says in a parallel passage that the spheres of the angels are like beautiful odors from a garden, with great varieties; and the spheres of the hells are like all noxious scents. They can be known by the odors that surround them.** We learn also that man is in freedom to choose his place and that he may know the nature of his loves, and his trend towards heaven or hell, by the nature of the delights that influence him. All of these things are plainly taught in the lowest aspect of this teaching. With just a little reflection it. teaches us the very nature of life after death.
     * T 570.7.               
     ** W 292; A 4626, 1519
     From this we have the next higher plane, the plane of causes and motivations and doctrines-that which affects our understanding and our will. It manifests the nature of delight and how it leads us, and teaches that we must either change it or accept it, and that will lead to our spiritual development. We are taught the importance of the doctrine of spheres, the nature of life after death, and the nature of the judgment, the necessity for the separation between the heavens and the hells. These are doctrines drawn from the plain sense of the letter, and can be understood in it.
     The third plane is the plane of applications and how these teachings can affect us in daily life. The doctrine of delights is very fully taught in the parallel memorable relation in The True Christian Religion. A novitiate spirit who in the world had thought much of heaven and hell, when he realized he was in the spiritual world, again began to meditate upon them, and he asked; "Where is heaven? and where is hell?" He was told: "Heaven is above, hell is beneath, and you are in the middle ground." When he realized this, he prayed to the Lord for an understanding of heaven and hell, and immediately an angel appeared at his right hand, raised him up, and said: "You have prayed to be instructed about heaven and hell. Enquire and learn what delight is, and then you will know."*
     * T 570
     We can draw a few ideas on how we should read the Word from this. First, we are all novitiate spirits. Our life in the world is a time of preparation. It continues in the world of spirits until we are ready for our place. So we are novitiate spirits. Everything that is said about novitiate spirits has personal application here and now, to each one of us. So we should learn about heaven and hell, our purpose, and where we are.
     The novitiate's first inquiry produced a general answer: Heaven is above and hell beneath. That is also true in this world, but not spatially.

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As to state, heaven is everything superior and good. Hell is everything evil and bad. That is the general statement which must be filled in with particulars. First we are enlightened as to the general ideas. Then we can ask the Lord to give us some understanding of particulars. The Lord always answers such a petition, here represented by the angel appearing immediately. His answer is very interesting. "Enquire and learn what delight is, and you will know." The Lord does not take away our responsibility to use our minds. He doesn't give us things too easily. He tells us how we can learn, how we can develop, because our development is His purpose, and if He gave us the answers we would hear them and say, oh yes, of course, and then forget them. But if we have to work for them, we remember, and use them. So we are told: "Seek out what delight is and we will learn both things, what heaven is like, and what hell is like."
     The novitiate first began an undisciplined inquiry, just as we do. We pet interested in a subject, and we begin to get ideas from many sources. As they come into our minds, we give them a little thought, and accept or dismiss them. So he asked everyone he met, "Tell me what delight is!" Some said: "What sort of a question is that? who doesn't know what delight is? Is it not joy and gladness. Delight is delight, one is the same as another. We know no difference." Others said: "Delight is the mind's laughter." One replied: "Delight is nothing but feasting, drinking and getting drunk." Then we use common sense. So the novitiate said: "These answers are boorish. Such delights are neither heaven nor hell. I must find some wise man." This is the way we are to develop. If the common answers are unsatisfactory, we are to find what wisdom teaches. Where do we find that? From the Lord in the Writings. The novitiate spirit was led to an angelic spirit who said: "I perceive that you have an ardent desire to know what the universal of heaven is and the universal of hell, and as this is delight I will conduct you to a hill where there is a daily meeting of those who enquire into effects, into causes, and into ends."
     End, cause, and effect are in every teaching. The end or purpose for which the teachings are given, then the doctrines drawn from the teachings that affect out mind and our will, and then the effect of these-the application of these things to our lives. The end or purpose is the intended use of the teachings of the Word. The cause is the facts themselves, their rational nature, their presentation of the vision of what might be attained by their means, and the means of attaining the goal. The effect is the ultimate, the application when these teachings effect our daily acts and purposes, and begin or further our regeneration. If we would become wise, we too must seek them out.

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     The wise men pointed out the nature of love's activity in the natural, and its cause and motivation, and finally, its application. Then we are given the description paralleling that in Divine Providence of the devils from hell who came up to explain what hellish delights were. The Lord cannot give us truth without also showing us its opposite. We can no more see truth without seeing the falsity that it corrects than we can see whiteness against whiteness, or light against light. It would be like snow blindness when everything is white, and we lose our sense of perception and sight. Shadows are necessary to delineate anything, and so we see a truth against its opposite falsity.* Even the angels of heaven cannot receive truth without being shown its opposite. So here the nature of angelic delight is contrasted with the nature of delight as it is with the devils. When we see truth in comparison with its opposite falsity, we can weigh, judge, and accept the truth. We see its necessity, and we can see its nature.
     * A 4172e; P 24; A 7075e; D 1427e
     Many other things are pointed out. One, the devils accept their nature. In the world, when we are accused of something, we want to cover up. Even if it is true, we still want to appear good. We do not like to admit our mistakes and evils. It does not bother the devils anymore, because they delight in their evils, and they are not going to change, so they do not care who knows it. When they were accused of being like unclean beasts that live in filth, they answered: "If we are, we are, but such things are grateful to our nostrils."*
     * T 570:7; P 340
     The memorable relation goes on to teach that everyone is his own delight, angel or devil. Delight is the enjoyment of man's loves. And the nature of a man's love is such that it compels him to act. We can see that here if we think as we read. The devil said that everyone is allowed to be his own delight, even the most unclean, provided he does not infest good spirits and angels. But, the devils added, on account of our delight we cannot help infesting them, so we are cast into work houses where we suffer terribly. So this teaches that love and its delight compel one to act. We cannot love something and not act from it. Therefore the devils want to hurt others, and they work at it. As sure as they work at it they are punished. They are put into work houses where they must do useful things as the angels do, but devils do not like it, therefore they are in hell when they do it. The angels like their work because it helps others, therefore they work willingly. The devils work in order to get food and some recreation.
     In this world men are often compelled to take jobs needed in the community. They may not like the work, but they need the wage to live, so they will do what they dislike because it produces the means for their livelihood.

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In the perfect order of heaven everyone would find work that he delights in, and the work he delighted in would be useful and accepted in society. The Lord can regenerate us by our work, and we develop, even if we dislike it, but we do not have the added joy of doing what we love. Because of this, some work that men are compelled to do is less in the image of heaven, and more in the image of a higher hell. However much we may dislike aspects of our work, if we will approach it from this stand-point, that we will shun evils as sins, and do the work of our employment honestly, sincerely, and justly to the best of our ability, the Lord will build our spirits into a form of charity which will find a perfect use in the heavens. But even here, if a man loves his work it is heaven to him; but it is actually hell if he takes dangerous and evil work simply because it will give him the highest amount of money to indulge his own whims. When devils are put into workhouses they are compelled to do something that they do not like at all, but they must do it if they want to eat and find some pleasures in recreation. For them this is the only reward. So we learn from this teaching that the zeal of their evil love makes them act against order, but when they hurt others, they must be punished by performing useful service.
     When the devils recognized that Swedenborg and those with him were under Divine protection, and when they felt the sphere of heavenly love they were filled with fury. They would have done evil, so they were sent back into hell. This brings up the last aspect of our subject, the application. What is involved in this last statement that we can use particularly? When we think of things that are evil, things that are false, things that lightly or deeply profane the Word, or joke about or pervert the marriage relationship, we are not coming into the sphere of heaven. Almost everyone has listened to, or told, jokes about the Word, or about marriage, at one time or another, particularly the so called clever, dirty jokes. If we saw them for what they are, if we saw the spiritual associations they bring, we would turn away from them in horror. We would see it to be the fulfillment of what is being said here. A devil comes into our minds and says: "Consider some of my delights and enjoy them." Like Swedenborg, we must as it were examine him and say to the evil spirit that brought these ideas of filth into our minds: "What are your delights like?" In the memorable relation he said: "Like the smell of open sewers, and decaying bodies." What is making fun of the marriage relationship and telling dirty jokes but being embroiled in filth? There is no angel there. Only those who enjoy the stench of open sewers are present in this love of adultery, for that is what it is. When we talk adultery, perversion, and evil, the hells are invited into our minds.

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At that time spiritually we are covered with filth and are so affected with the stench that the angels cannot come near us. When we see the source and realize the impact upon us, we can say as the angels said during the narration: "Back into Hell. We want nothing of this. It will destroy us. It will make us one with you." All we need do is see it for what it is, and we will shun it. Which one of us would willingly wallow in physical filth and manure? Yet spiritually, that is the way we are seen when we indulge in dirty stories or malicious gossip. This is not an imaginary thing, for we are spirits now, and every time we give in to such things we allow ourselves to be bathed in spiritual filth and we drive away angelic associations. This application of the teachings in that memorable relation can lead us to make better judgments.
     There is a further application. As soon as the devils were seen in relationship to the harm they would do to others they were cast out into hell. The derived teaching is that as soon as we recognize an evil to be evil we must shun it. The Lord will give us the power to do it, to put it back into the hell from whence it came, and we can remain with the spiritual association of the heavens. If we cling to the evil, if we delight in it, if we make ourselves popular with others by catering to this sort of filth, then we make ourselves purposely like these devils from hell. But if we fight evils while they are small, we will have power over them. If we let them grow large and important in our life they become very difficult to unseat. This is a most important thing-shun evils while they are small and we won't be overcome by them when they are big.
     There are many applications that can be made from these teachings but the main point is that every teaching of the Writings can be analyzed and used in the same way. The end and purpose is that the Writings be used for our regeneration. The effective causes are the plain teachings and knowledges which move our will and expose the loves which are involved, and then in effect we can make application and cleanse our mind, or the reverse. Power is given to each one of us. If we read the Writings in this way, every bit of reading that we do will become a fascinating challenge to see what the Lord is teaching in it, and what use we can make of it, and we will find delight in our reading, and spiritual development in our lives.
     When we look at the challenge to the authority of the Writings by the inclusion of this statement from the devils, we see that there is no real challenge. It is the Lord teaching, even though He uses a devil to present this most powerful lesson. Because we can see the Divine purpose and use in this brief quotation from Divine Providence, and we can see how its form preserves our freedom, and causes us to think and make personal applications, we can accept it as a worthy and important part of the Lord's Word.

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EXPERIENCE 1979

EXPERIENCE       Rev. STEPHEN D. COLE       1979

     There are two ways in which man can think and draw conclusions. He can reason from experience or he can reason from principles. The former is called the inductive or empirical approach and is also known in philosophy as reasoning a posteriori (from what is posterior). Reasoning from principles is called the deductive approach and is known in philosophy as reasoning a priori (from what is prior). This is more than a philosophical distinction, however, for it is essential to rationality to recognize these two different approaches and their relative values.
     Reasoning from experience is very popular at this day. There is virtually universal assent to the maxim "experience is the best teacher." The inductive approach is hailed as the "scientific method." In philosophy existentialism has made experience the only criterion of reality. This existential bias is seen in a number of the current pop psychologies, which enthrone experience as the only road to coming to grips with reality. The modern infatuation with reasoning from experience, though, is in direct opposition to the teachings of the Writings.
     The story of the abuse of experience goes back to the fall of mankind. This fall is described in the book of Genesis by the eating of the fruit of the forbidden tree. Those who ate of this fruit are said to have been "unwilling to believe what was revealed, unless they saw it confirmed by the things sensual and scientific."* It should not be thought, however, that because they were forbidden to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil that they were therefore allowed no knowledge of good and evil. For the Writings teach:
     * AC 208

It is to be noted that they were never forbidden to acquire for themselves knowledges of good and evil from heaven, for by these their intelligence and wisdom was perfected; neither were they forbidden to acquire for themselves knowledges of good and evil from the world, for thence their natural man had its knowledge. But they were forbidden to view these knowledges in a posterior way, because it was granted them to look upon all things that appeared before their eyes in the world in a prior way.*
     * AE 739.7

The Lord Himself had put the tree of knowledge of good and evil in the garden of Eden, so man was not forbidden to apprehend things of the world through his senses, which indeed was essential to his life.

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It was forbidden, however, to eat of this tree, to reason from the things of sense and memory, to reason in a posterior way.
     Some might suppose that the application of the story of the garden of Eden ended with the Most Ancient Church, that things are different now. But the Writings warn us:

A desire to investigate the mysteries of faith by means of the things of sense and of memory, was not only the cause of the fall of the posterity of the Most Ancient Church . . . but it is also the cause of the fall of every church; for hence come not only falsities, but also evils of life.*
     * AC 127

     This reminds us that the serpent of the garden of Eden has reappeared as the great red dragon which threatens the life of the New Church and its doctrine.
     Another objection to the broad application of the prohibition against reasoning from experience might be derived from the teaching that there are two foundations of truth, one from the Word, and the other from nature.* From this one might argue that need for reasoning from principles drawn from the Word applies only to spiritual matters, while for the guidance of life in this world we have the second foundation of the truths of experience and the scientific facts of psychology. Were this true, however, it is hard to see how the inclination to reason in a posterior way about purely spiritual things could constitute a serious temptation for anyone. The temptation is grave because it is about the things with which we are most concerned that we are forbidden to reason from the things of sense and memory. All religion is of life. The conclusions which are arrived at from principles drawn from the Word should govern all things of our lives. A beast can and must direct its life from the things of sense and memory. But man's humanity rests in his ability and responsibility to govern his life from things prior.
     * SD 5709
     It should also be noted what the Writings actually say about the two foundations of truth. First, the foundation from nature is for those who are unable to be convinced from the Word. Second, that even then nothing can be founded upon scientifics except it be previously founded on the Word.* And finally it must be realized that these are foundations of truth, not sources. The one, only source of truth is the Lord. The truth from the Lord can then be founded, that is, confirmed and illustrated from the things of the Word, and from the things of nature seen in the light of the Word. There is no suggestion that man can arrive at truth beginning from things of sense and memory.
     * SD 5709-5710
     The Divine Love and Wisdom also teaches plainly of the uselessness of trying to think from the things of this world:

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From all this it can be seen how sensually (that is, how much from the bodily senses and their blindness in spiritual matters) do those think who maintain that nature is from herself. They think from the eye, and are not able to think from the understanding. Thought from the eye closes the understanding, but thought from the understanding opens the eye.*
     * DLW 46

This does not merely recommend that prior things not be regarded from things posterior, but indeed demands that the rational man view things posterior from things prior. This is because the things posterior, the things of the world, are merely effects of prior causes, causes belonging to the spiritual world.* And the Writings tell us: "Effects may, it is true, be observed; but unless at the same time the causes of effects are seen, effects only appear as it were in the darkness of night."** Or as it is even more strongly put: "To see from effects only is to see from fallacies, from which come errors, one after another; and these may be so multiplied by inductions that at length enormous falsities are called truths."*** Man should put no faith in his judgments drawn from the world of effects, experience must not be trusted, things of the senses and of memory are not only fallible, they are fallacious: "Sensuous things and those which by their means enter immediately into the thought, are fallacious, and all fallacies which prevail in man are from this source."****
     * DLW 119
     ** DLW 107
     *** DLW 187
     **** AC 5084
     Lest it be thought that the prohibition against reasoning from experience has only philosophical application, let us take an example. Concerning the performance of the offices of men by women the Writings teach:

It is thought by many that women can perform the offices of men if only they are initiated into them from their earliest age, as are boys. They can indeed be initiated into the exercise of them, but not into the judgment on which the right performance of the offices inwardly depends.*
     * CL 175

Without getting into the question of what the offices of men are, we can still see clearly that the Writings teach that there are such offices, which cannot genuinely be entered into by women. This is a point much disputed in the world today, and one often hears objections to it which are drawn from experience: women have entered masculine offices and have successfully executed them. The passage quoted, however, answers such objections directly: women can exercise a masculine office, but without the judgment for its right performance. This is a plain case, then, where experience can tell us nothing. The observation of a woman exercising an office cannot demonstrate that the inward judgment is there.

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It is therefore evident that the case must be decided from principle.
     Again, take the modern belief that married partners, if after having lived together for some time feel incompatible, should feel free to get a divorce. The whole emphasis is on their experience. The same idea is suggested by the concept of trial marriages, where a couple live together to have experience of what being married would be like, so that they can have a better basis for deciding if they wish to be permanently married. Again this makes experience the source of truth. From the Writings we learn, however, that experience can tell us nothing about the presence or lack of conjugial love in a marriage:

There are marriages in which there is no appearance of conjugial love, and yet it is there, and there are marriages in which there is an appearance of conjugial love, and yet it is not there. . . .That love may have place with one married partner and not at the same time with the other; and it may lie so deeply concealed that the man himself does not notice it.*
     * CL 531

     Let no one imagine then that he can ever say from experience that there is no conjugial love in his marriage.
     Another teaching of the Writings which makes plain how fallacious are the conclusions drawn from experience, is the fifth law of Divine Providence, as given in the work Divine Providence:

It is a law of Divine Providence that man should not perceive and feel anything of the Divine Providence, but still that he should know and acknowledge it.*
     * DP 175

Man cannot detect the workings of Providence by observation or experience, and yet he should know and acknowledge it. Therefore it is clear that the knowledge and acknowledgment must come from the Word and not from experience. Without the guidance of the Word, the Writings tell us, one would think:

Do I not see from experience itself as in clear daylight that if only a man by skillful cunning can make crafty devices appear to be trustworthy and just, they will prevail over fidelity and justice.*
     * Ibid.

If one judges from experience, one concludes that there is no Providence.
     There is probably no one who reads the Writings affirmatively who is in danger of coming openly to deny Providence from experience. The Writings, however, warn of a much more subtle form of denial of Providence, which surely threatens even those of the New Church:

Those who ascribe all things to nature also ascribe all things to human prudence; for those who ascribe all things to nature deny God in their hearts, and those who ascribe all things to human prudence deny the Divine Providence in their hearts; the two are inseparable.

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Yet both, for the sake of their good name and from fear of losing it, profess in words that the Divine Providence is universal, and that its individual things rest with man.*
     * DP 201

     It is possible, then, to deny Providence in heart, but yet to acknowledge it with the lips as something universal. Indeed, those who so acknowledge Providence may even deceive themselves into thinking that they really do believe in Providence. They may speak in grand terms about the vast scope of Providence, while yet denying that it governs any particulars. And are not we all tempted at times when faced by difficult decisions to suppose that the Lord's Providence and the guidance of His Word, although generally powerfully and important, have little to do with the particular situation before us? The inclination is to make Providence universal but to think that individual things are to be decided by man from experience. However, the denial of Providence in particulars is, in fact, as sweeping a denial as a flat denial of all Providence:

If it is claimed that the Divine Providence is a universal government, while nothing is governed, but things are merely held in connection, and the matters pertaining to government are conducted by others, how can this be called a universal government?*
     * DP 201.2

     It is of the utmost importance, then, to recognize and acknowledge that the government of the Divine Providence is in the minutest particulars of our life, for without this we tend toward a complete denial of Providence.
     Experience would have us attribute all things to human prudence, when yet human prudence is nothing and it is Divine Providence that governs all things. The only way to avoid this fallacy of experience is to look to the Word, which alone can show how Providence governs all things. The Writings do speak of using human prudence rightly and this is done when man uses his prudence to effect the ends that he learns from the Word. This, of course, is the true alternative to all reasoning from experience.
     In the New Church we have great freedom as to how we apply the doctrines to our lives. But with this freedom comes great responsibility. For the Writings very seldom tell us exactly how we are to act in a given situation. What we are given in the Heavenly Doctrines is a set of principles which we can apply to various situations. The challenge then, the responsibility that we have, is always to think from those principles and not to choose our course from experience, the things of sense and memory. This task is sometimes difficult: we may try to find guidance by looking up a few key words in the Concordance and find nothing that seems relevant; we may check indexes and tables of contents and find nothing that appears to talk about our problem; we may flip aimlessly through the Writings and conclude that they say nothing that is any help in the particular case with which we are faced; we may finally feel that we are left with the things of sense and memory only to guide us in what we are to do.

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This, however, is not an indictment of the potential for guidance in the Word, which contains infinite truth, but rather it renders suspect our own effort, however seemingly sincere and industrious.
     Rarely will we be able simply to look up an "answer" in the Word. The principles from which we can draw conclusions and decide how to act cannot be found quickly, but must arise from ongoing study of the Word. We must faithfully continue in this study and in reflection on it. We must trust the guidance that this will give and look not to our own experience. As the Psalmist said: "I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in His Word do I hope."*
     * Ps. 130:5 FURTHER ON THE WORD CONJUGIALIS 1979

FURTHER ON THE WORD CONJUGIALIS       Dr. J. DURBAN ODHNER       1979

     (Ed Note: The editorial here referred to contained a mistake I can't explain-the date of writing of the Economy of the Animal Kingdom was given as 1741. The correct date: 1740-1741.)

     Although the comments that follow were circulated in substance the better part of a year ago to some members of the General Church Translation Committee and others involved in translation, the present discussion in New Church Life* earmarks them for this publication; especially for the reason that while the Rev. Frank S. Rose's communication and the Editor's remarks tend in a refreshingly corrective direction, there still seem to be some major misconceptions regarding the word conjugialis and some other terms.
     * New Church Life, July 1979, pp. 319-23: "Conjugial"
     One of these misconceptions is reflected in Mr. Rose's statement that "conjugialis is a poetic spelling of a very ordinary word describing a very well known love." Others are reflected in the editor's remarks:

     - Swedenborg, from the first, used the rare Latin word conjugial[is], rather than the ordinary Latin word conjugal[is] (our New Church "conjugial," rather than the world's "conjugal").

     - Yet here he is searching for a term for a higher love, more spiritual, than ordinary "marital love." He finally coined his own term for this higher kind of love. (The reference here is to amor vere conjugialis, which the editor seems to see as a distinct creation as compared with amor conjugialis.)

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     - Think of some of our distinctly New Church terms: correspondences, proprium, celestial, Divine Human, conjugial. Would any ordinary English words fill their requirements?

     While a discussion of the language problems of the church might be more appropriately handled in a scientific or linguistic journal than in New Church Life, yet the fact that such a discussion is being presented as concerns the understanding of the Word and the purity of doctrine, invites* and even necessitates a ventilation, certainly from the point of view of those deeply involved in the problematique of translation.
     * Cf. editorial: ". . . I hope [this editorial] will stir further thought on the question raised in the following provocative "letter to the editor from the Rev. Frank S. Rose."

Conjugialis

     We are not questioning that Swedenborg chose the word conjugialis as distinguished from conjugalis. Obviously, he did. But we reject (almost all) the speculations as to why he chose it, and the conclusion that it justifies the creation of a "distinctive" English word ("conjugial").
     To gain further clarity on this subject, there is need for a rational, even logical approach. The data advanced in most of the arguments we have thus far seen in favor of the English word "conjugial,"* are followed up by non-sequitur reasoning:
     * See A Translator's Guide, Swedenborg Society, 1975, and the earlier Rules and Code for Translators, at conjugialis

     - Ovid used conjugialis in poetry* therefore it is a poetic spelling of conjugalis.
     * Metamorphoses 11, 743; 5, 3; 6, 536

     - Swedenborg was searching for a term: therefore the term he at length adopted was "coined" or "new" or "rare" or "distinctive."

     - Conjugial differs from conjugal in having the vowel i: therefore Swedenborg chose it because of the vowel.

     - The word "conjugial" appears in a number of English dictionaries (always defined as "Swedenborgian"): therefore it is an accepted English word.

     - That love, like everything from the pure intellectory (or for that matter anything spiritual), cannot be described in words (cf. Rational Psychology 207): therefore it must be designated in natural language by a "coined" term.

     - "Conjugial love" being an enigmatic expression attracts young people more than "marriage love;" therefore it is the best word.

     Swedenborg had a keen sense of basic meanings. This is the true reason he chose the word conjugialis and not the word conjugalis.

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Though Latin dictionaries may seem to make them synonymous, in their base-meanings they are not synonyms. And though conjugialis may not have been used often, yet many adjectives [noun stem + -alis] that would not be considered unusual do not even appear in a classical Latin dictionary. Wortbildung was a normal Latin device, as it is in German. Would the words raationalis ("national") or cordialis ("from the heart"), for example, be "rare" or "unusual" because they were not used by any classical authors and do not appear in Lewis and Short (unabridged)?
     The suggestions that this word conjugialis is a "poetic spelling" or that it is a "rare Latin word" are based on misconception. There are two normal (and classically familiar) Latin adjectives, that closely resemble one another, one (conjugalis) belonging to conju[n]x (note the stem is conjug-), and the other (conjugialis) belonging to conjugium (note the stem is conjugi-). Conjux means a married partner (or a partner not associated by marriage). Conjugium is the marriage pact, and its adjective, conjugialis ("pertaining to marriage") is rendered in English by "marital" (also "matrimonial," "connubial") ox by "marriage" treated adjectivally.
     It is linguistically indisputable that in their base-meanings conjugalis refers to the partner, and conjugialis to the partnership. This by itself explains the preferential use of conjugialis in the Writings, where conjugalis is twice mentioned, either unfavorably or in its broader meaning (see CL 98, 203), implying a "limited love of the sex," or mere joining together.
     As for the fact of amor conjugialis being rare (in Swedenborg's day, as it is today): this does not justify failing to translate that expression or otherwise sustaining the false impression that it intends to express something other than what is totally semantically contained in its English equivalent, when understood within its context.
     The word "conjugial" in English is another example of a Latinism that has gained ascendency through tradition within the Church; nor is it to be found in the most recent dictionary of American English (ABD). The distinctiveness of heavenly marriage love is not upheld by depriving the word conjugialis of its fundamental meaning. In fact, to distract the mind from this meaning by not translating it into English can only serve to impede enlightenment for both priest and layman.
     Conjugialis is anything but a coined word. It is the only Latin word that adjectivizes the Latin word conjugium, "marriage." To assert, as is sometimes done, that the distinctiveness of that heavenly love makes it desirable to have a new English word coined for it, is equivalent to saying that because of the distinctiveness of the heavenly marriage, we should not use the commonplace word "marriage" but rather coin the word conjugium as a ("New Church") English word, and from now on speak of the "heavenly conjugium"-as some translators have done with the word "proprium" (this will be discussed below).

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The danger is that in this way, through a "language apart," the Word may recede farther and farther out of the grasp of the common people to whom it is addressed, remaining readable or intelligible only to the initiated.
     If wherever the expression "conjugial love" occurs, one would mentally substitute "marital love" or "marriage love"-just as if every time the loan-word "celestial" (which will be discussed below) occurs one would substitute "heavenly"-the English text would begin to take on the true language-substance that is present in the Latin, but lost in English when thus (wrongly) translated. (This might even help to prevent the kind of fantasizing about that love which can lead people to look for it somewhere else than within the marriage covenant.) Of course, we do not deny the existence of certain problems of translation in respect to the words conjugialis, conjugiale, conjugiatiter, etc.
     Much of the misconception-noting the Editor's statement, "our word 'conjugial,' rather than the world's 'conjugal'" (italics mine)-is a result of imagining that Swedenborg was not writing for the world. He was. And he was using natural, understandable and translatable language, which has, to the detriment of the Church, been so represented in translation as to give the impression that he was writing not for the world, but "just for us." The horror of this misconception is the implication that we ate not the world or even have part in it. What far deeper misconceptions lie at the root of such an idea?

Amor vere conjugialis

     It is suggested that in this expression Swedenborg coined a "term for a higher love, more spiritual than ordinary 'marital love.'"
     In the first place, "marital love," surely, would not, as the Editor has worded it, have "in the world around us,. . . almost exclusively sexual connotations;" although that expression would, inevitably, include the sexual aspect of marriage love. On what data is such an impression based?
If anything, the opposite would be true.
     Secondly, the adverb vere, which distinguishes the expression under discussion from amor conjugialis ("marriage/marital love"), by itself defines its higher quality, namely in being "love truly pertaining to marriage," i.e., in plain English, "true-marriage love."
     Mr. Rose's point about "conjugial partner" illustrates clearly the great danger involved in faulty translation. But this applies the more strongly to amor vere conjugialis: for to translate this as "love truly conjugial" does not, ironically, strengthen the idea of the marriage relationship, but rather of "conjunction" or "conjoining."

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While the Latin expression amor vere conjugialis strictly intends to convey "the love that exists in a true marriage," the word "conjugial" has been mentally identified by many, both newcomers and members of the Church for some years, with the word "congenial" [that is, "conjunctive"]-something quite remote from the essential idea.
     If indeed, as suggested, there is such a keen distinction between amor conjugialis and amor vere conjugialis that one is justified in translating the first by "marital love," but must have a distinct term for the second, "love truly conjugial," then it is surprising that the term amor conjugialis is so often used to refer to that distinct love (as in the very title of the work, De Amore Conjugiali).

"Distinctively New Church terms"

     The terms mentioned by the Editor are "correspondences, proprium, celestial, Divine Human, conjugial." "Would any ordinary English words fill their requirements?" (p. 322). We believe they would.
     The distinctiveness of these terms in the Latin text, and what should make their English equivalents distinctive, does not lie in a use of unusual words: it lies in the whole context and environment of usual words, and the deeper understanding that thus emerges.
     The word "correspondence" is not unusual or distinctive English. The distinctiveness is in the concept which is adjoined to it. In this case, there is no objection to retaining the word that has been in usage-although this does not exclude the possibility of discovering a better word in the future, one that suggests the concept even more effectively.
     When it comes to the word "proprium," however-this is a mere evasion of the translator's responsibility: nor is there anything distinctive about the word in Latin. It is easily translatable in most European languages, which have more facility in forming adjectival nouns than does English. Again, it is not the word proprium that is distinctive in the Latin text, but the conception that emerges through its doctrinal treatment. The problem of translation associated with it occurs in many other instances, such as bonum, verum, malum, falsum, Divinum, Humanum, etc. the only difference being that a nominalization of "own" in English sometimes meets with difficulties. The Editor asks who could make sense out Of "intellectual own," "voluntary own?" We don't know the answer, but they certainly make more sense than "intellectual proprium," "voluntary proprium," because they render in English exactly what the Latin says. If we wish to know what something means, let us first be allowed to read what it says. In plainer English, the Latin is saying "the understanding's own," "the will's own," though this is slightly transformed.

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     Again, any distinctiveness in the Latin word caelestis is purely imagined, this as a result of the artificial distinction that has plagued our translations. This word is the adjective of coelum. In most European languages no problem exists. In French there is "ciel/celeste," in German "Himmel/himmlisch,'' in Dutch "hemel/hemels," in Swedish "himmel/himmelsk." Coelum coeleste means "the heavenly heaven." Only this translation gives the substance of the Latin expression and permits an understanding of the terms unencumbered by artificial distinction. The distinct nuances of this word appear through context. Studies have been made of how various translators who imagined a basic distinction between "heavenly" and "celestial" handled the word coelestis, and there was found to be an incredible inconsistency, e.g. in the translation of regnum coeleste: one would insist that in a certain context "celestial kingdom" was meant, another that "heavenly kingdom" was meant. In the case of such an expression as coeleste naturale, many will say that here, it is clearly "celestial natural" that is meant. Thus the minds of English readers of the Writings have been confused and divided on a concept which, in order to be pure, needs the unity and consistency that is built into it in the true, Latin letter of the Word. The sooner the word "celestial" is abandoned in favor of the word "heavenly," the sooner a pure concept of this innermost quality will be attained.
     The distinctiveness of the expression "Divine Human" also lies on the conceptual plane, not on the plane of words. Both these words are quite understandable and current English.
     The argument that New Church theology requires the knowledge of a new vocabulary should perhaps be rephrased. Of course, every reader, even of secular books, learns new words in the course of his reading. But what New Church theology requires really, is a new understanding of words already within the reach of current English vocabulary, just as all the words Swedenborg used were within the reach of contemporary Latinists. It is not to be expected that the reader of even a "true" translation of the Writings will know the meaning of every word; but he should be able to find out the meaning in an English dictionary!
     Whether the views presented here differ with, supplement, or amplify those of the Editor in no way detracts from the mainstream of good sense in the editorial, which, it is to be hoped, will inspire further useful thinking on this important subject along the lines of its wise advice:

Let us not confuse "Swedenborg's meaning" for certain terms . . . with "Swedenborgians' meanings." The former are meanings that Swedenborg himself employed, clearly and obviously; the latter are meanings that we "Swedenborgians" have read into his terms. The former, I think, must be retained; not so, the latter.

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REVIEW 1979

REVIEW        RICHARD R. GLADISH       1979

     Bread, Beauty, and Brotherhood: The Ethical Consciousness of Edwin Markham by Sigfried T. Synnestvedt. A dissertation in American civilization presented to the faculty of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences of the University of Pennsylvania.
     This book, written as a doctoral dissertation in 1959 and issued in Xerox form in 1973, should be of interest to many readers of New Church Life. Having read it recently, I would like to share my appreciation with others.
     I see several good reasons for reading this book. First, it presents a picture of a strong missionary for the essential doctrines of the Church; second, it documents the desperate social conditions of many Americans, children included, in the early years of this century; third, it tells a good deal about Thomas Lake Harris and his connection with the New Church; and fourth, it explores the work and influence of an American poet, two of whose poems, at least, seem powerful and timeless. These are "The Man with the Hoe," and "Lincoln, the Man of the People." The latter seems especially rich in correspondences.
     We learn from Doctor Sig's book that Edwin Markham, an educator who became principal of the Tomkins School in Oakland, California, had heard of Swedenborg as early as 1576, and that by 1879 (at age 27) was a reader of Swedenborg and believed "that he (Swedenborg) had presented a rational hypothesis about God and creation. He was interested not only in his theological books, but in his scientific studies as well. In the 1890's while at the Oakland school he was increasingly interested himself and also urged others to read and study the great Swede."
     For thirty or more years from 1900 Markham gave nearly annually a series of lectures on Swedenborg, under the auspices of the General Convention. To the poet, creation was the art work of God; unless God continued to permeate everything every minute, the entire universe would crumble to dust at once. God created man as His crowning work; man in whom was both God and animal. To Markham death was only a door through which man passed, and from which he emerged into a world as meaningful as the one here on earth. One of his reassuring letters of condolence to a young couple who had lost a small son reads: "Your boy has only gone on into another of the great mansions of life, and no real harm can happen to him.

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As he found friends to welcome him into this world, he will find friends to welcome him into the next world. He is not friendless: he is in the midst of friends. . . . Your boy has gone ahead of you . . . you will see him again some day." To a couple who had lost a daughter he wrote, "in that new existence there will be ample space for the growth of the mind, for the evolution of character, for the education of all the instincts and aptitudes which so often remain unawakened in the chaos of our world. If we are faithful, we will all meet her again."
     Titles of some of Markham's lectures were: "Emanuel Swedenborg, the Eye of the New Age," "What Swedenborg Brings to the Heart of Man," and "Swedenborg as a Liberating Power." After the lectures Markham threw the floor open to questions "and they were often lively sessions which covered a range of inquiries on Swedenborg and the application of his teachings to life. Markham handled the questions with a skill that indicated wide study of the writings and considerable understanding of their import." Although closely allied in thought and sympathy with followers of Swedenborg, Markham was not a formal member of the church.
     Americans are often aware of the bad working conditions in England and other foreign countries during the industrial revolution, but Chapter VI in this work discloses some shocking information about our own social history, and indicates that Markham was one of those who called attention to the problem for its eventual betterment.
     As Dr. Synnestvedt puts it,

     The poet was not an obscure person. For forty years he was a well known American, He was the personal friend of hundreds, lecturer to thousands, and possibly, through his poetry, an inspiration to millions. There was evidence that most of the reformers of his time were inspired by his poetry at one time or another. . . .He made a larger mark than most men do and it was a mark that showed him, with all his failings, to have been a warm hearted, ethically conscious, highly admirable man.

     Markham entered the lists to attack what was originally almost unregulated child labor, but his poetic message also was employed to support other legislation. In June of 1937, Speaker William Bankhead urging passage of the Farm Tenancy Bill, recited most of "The Man with the Hoe" in support. After his dramatic presentation, "the House rose in spontaneous ovation and the bill was passed by a huge majority." As late as 1943 the same poem was used in a Congressional debate.
     Thomas Lake Harris is one of those figures on the fringe of New Church history who seem ephemeral and undefined, but here in Dr. Sig's book I at last learned who he was.

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Harris (1823-1906) was born in England, but came as a boy to Utica, New York, where he grew up. He learned about Swedenborg from Andrew Jackson Davis, and in 1850 took part in the first of several community groups which mingled Swedenborgianism with spiritualism. After a checkered career, Harris came to head a community at Fountain Grove, California, which Markham visited, and where he became impressed with some of Harris's views, as well as swayed, at least for a time, by his personal magnetism.
     And now a word about Markham's two great poems: "The Man with the Hoe," written after seeing Millet's painting of a brutalized farm laborer, takes as a kind of text this verse from Genesis:

God made man in His own image;
In the image of God made He him.

     Then come a series of searching questions which in Markham's rich rolling bass exerted a tremendous power on the lecture platform:

Bowed by the weight of centuries he leans
Upon his hoe and gazes on the ground,
The emptiness of ages in his face,
And on his back the burden of the world.
Who made him dead to rapture and despair,
A thing that grieves not and that never hopes,
Stolid and stunned, a brother to the ox)
Who loosened and let down this brutal jaw?
Whose was the hand that slanted back this brow?
Whose breath blew out the light within this brain)

     And now the questions rise to a crashing eloquence:

Is this the thing the Lord God made and gave
To have dominion over sea and land;
To trace the stars and search the heavens for power;
To feel the passion of Eternity?
Is this the dream He dreamed who shaped the suns
And markt their ways upon the ancient deep?

     And then the judgment, loaded with accusation:

Down all the caverns of Hell to their last gulf
There is no shape more terrible than this-
More tongued with censure of the world's blind greed-
More packt with danger to the universe.

     Then, those responsible are called to account, the "masters, lords, and rulers in all lands," who are asked:

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How will you ever straighten up this shape;
Touch it again with immortality;
Give back the upward looking and the light;
Rebuild in it the music and the dream. . . . . ?

     Of course the hoe man, gifted with free will, would have some responsibility for his condition, and the peel treats him as wholly a pawn of ruthless higher powers; yet man is his brother's keeper to some extent. The poem has been called "The battle-cry of the next thousand years," and has been translated into thirty languages since its original publication in 1899.

     "Lincoln, the Man of the People," though published in 1900, was read at the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, D.C. in 1922. Are these not consciously-fashioned correspondences!

Here was a man to hold against the world,
A man to match the mountains and the sea.

     Then,

     The color of the ground was in him, the red earth;
The smack and tang of elemental things:
The rectitude and patience of the cliff;
The good-will of the rain that loves all leaves;
The friendly welcome of the wayside well;
The courage of the bird that dales the sea;
The gladness of the wind that shakes the corn;
The pity of the snow that hides all scars;
The secrecy of streams that make their way

Under the mountain to the rifted rock;
That give as freely to the shrinking flower
As to the great oak flaring to the wind-
To the grave's low hill as to the Matterhorn
That shoulders out the sky.

     I would close this review by expressing thanks and appreciation that Dr. Sig wrote this book, and by recommending it to other readers of the Life. The only copy I know about I borrowed from Mr. Lennart Alfelt at the Swedenborgiana Library on the Academy campus, Bryn Athyn. But I suppose that other copies could be obtained for about $15 from University Microfilms, Ann Arbor, Mich. 48106, U.S.A.

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MOST AMAZING STATEMENT 1979

MOST AMAZING STATEMENT              1979

     IN OUR CONTEMPORARIES

     TEN POINTS ABOUT THE RELATION BETWEEN CONVENTION-ACADEMY (THE TWO AMERICAN SISTER CHURCHES, THE GENERAL CONVENTION AND THE GENERAL CHURCH)

     (By the Rev. Dr. Friedmann Horn, President of the Swedenborg School of Religion, Newton, Mass. (Offene Tore, February, 1919, pp. 21-25). Translated from the German by Lennart O. Alfelt, revised by Dr. J. Durban Odhner.)

     1. The heavenly doctrines, as they have been derived from the Word of God by Emanuel Swedenborg, the servant of the Lord, under the influence of Divine revelation, constitute the foundation of the theology of the General Convention, with which the congregations in the whole German-speaking world have been affiliated for over one hundred years. Not a single resolution, no matter whether it concerns the doctrine or practical decisions, is passed by this Convention without a thorough consultation of these heavenly doctrines.
     2. This does not mean, however, that the above-mentioned doctrines must be regarded as absolute, indisputable truth, as some under the influence of our sister-body, the General Church, assert. The Lord alone has or is absolute truth ("I am the truth," John 14:6). This view only appears to be opposed to what is said in point one. If God were to reveal Himself to us in His absolute Truth, we would not understand one word of it-no more than first-graders would of Einstein's renowned "Formula of the Universe." In order to be understood by finite human beings, God had to adapt His infinite, absolute truth to our understanding.
     3. In the Old and New Testament this was done by using correspondences and representations, which to some extent point to the absolute truth, at the same time permitting an interpretation on man's part, and indeed, by each according to his acquired understanding. Swedenborg tells us that God could not possibly reveal His absolute truth even to the angels of the highest heaven. Since the angels are just as finite, created beings as we earthly humans are, they also have only "appearances of truth" (nowadays we would perhaps say "images of truth"). These appearances or images with them, however, are "non-falsified" and thus "genuine."*
     * Cf. AC 1108

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     4. In Swedenborg's revealed Writings, which we in accord with Swedenborg himself differentiate from God's most holy Word, since they have no internal sense as the Word has, the Lord reveals Himself through the agency of the [in our eyes] greatest human spirit of modern times. But who would deny that even this is just another kind of adaptation or "watering down" of absolute or Divine truth? For who could deny that Swedenborg, this wonderful instrument of the Lord in His second coming, was a finite human being, therefore obviously incapable of receiving and transmitting infinite or absolute truths! Swedenborg himself would have been the last to claim such an impossible thing about himself. On the other hand, he was certainly justified in making the claim that those appearances or images of truth which he received from the Lord "while he was reading the Word," were genuine, i.e. unfalsified, and at the same lime the very limit of what human beings of that particular time in the church of the Lord on earth could understand.
     5. Our friends in the General Church are wont to point out to us that the Writings of Swedenborg present the internal sense of the Old and New Testament. They refer in this connection especially to the voluminous works of Bible exposition, Arcana Coelestia and Apocalypse Revealed. This misunderstanding is one of the most frequently mentioned reasons for the assertion of our friends that "the Writings are the Word of the Lord in His second advent" (quoted from a letter of the present Bishop of the General Church). This is a further point against which we in the Convention raise objection. We believe it simply is not true that these Writings have the internal sense of the Old and New Testament-they only explain it, and, indeed, even this only in some measure, presenting only the very first beginning of the internal sense, just the little bit that men of Swedenborg's time were able to grasp. How often did Swedenborg not expressly emphasize that it was either not possible or not permitted for him to penetrate more deeply into the internal sense of the Divine Word?
     6. One of the most important differences between our church and our sister-body, the General Church, lies in the fact that we, from our innermost conviction, want to be bridge-builders between our precious theological heritage and our time-more than two hundred years after Swedenborg's death. We do not believe that we are anything more than an instrument in the hands of the Lord for the advancement of His second coming. We do not identify ourselves with what our Writings say about the New Church or the New Jerusalem. Our friends in the General Church are convinced of the contrary. They believe that the organized New Church (to which they do also count us, though of course only as a kind of "outer court") is the New Jerusalem.

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We of the General Convention pray to be allowed at least to have a part in the New Jerusalem, but in our view, the Lord promotes His New Church in thousands of ways besides that of our weak organizations, and indeed through influx from the spiritual world, where the heavenly Jerusalem already exists;* and we praise Him for this, for if He in His efforts depended only on us-how frustratingly slow the progress would then be! This is also the reason why we feel compelled to broaden our influence, beyond the boundaries of our own organization, so as to stimulate as much as possible a gradual acceptance of our great spiritual heritage.
     * Cf. LJ 73
     7. We all know from our own experience how comparatively easy it is to maintain high standards as long as we are living by ourselves or together with our closest friends. In such a situation the "world" seems shut out and everything we believe is also approved of by the others. Our friends have the same standards, talk the same language. Everything is self-evident to everyone. This is exactly the situation and climate for the great majority of our friends in the General Church. They live in their centers as if on the famous "Isle of the Blessed" or in an "Elysium" before its time. How we envy them for it! And there is certainly nothing wrong with the idea of living together with one's religious friends. It is just that to us, this is not reality, and it is not our style to exclude the world in which we live. Rather, we try to relate to it in our beliefs. Our membership and participation in the National Council of Churches is a sign of this attitude of Convention.
     8. But the main obstacle to a better collaboration between the two sister churches lies in this, that "Bryn Athyn" (the center of the General Church) denies its democratic sister equality of status and considers her adherents as "external," at least as not quite "one hundred per cent." That this is not idle chatter, but a deplorable fact, can be demonstrated. Here I will mention only the most shocking example. In the course of years, many ministers of the General Church have preached from our chancels, some have even been invited by our congregations to serve them as pastors. But as far as I know, it has never yet happened that a Convention pastor has been invited to preach from one of their pulpits. This sounds unbelievable, yet it is true. The explanation given from the side of the General Church runs: that their ministers are "priests," ours are not; but that a priest, when he is ministering, represents the Lord; that this is the decisive difference. This is unacceptable to us, not because it implies that we regard the idea of the representative role of the officiating priest or minister as completely false, but rather because we are convinced that our ministers perform their representative role just as well as theirs do.

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     9. Coupled with this denial of equal rights goes the charge that the ministers of Convention know less about the doctrines. At the Swedenborg School of Religion, the Convention's Theological Seminary, "everything is being taught-only not the doctrines of Swedenborg." Now, it is certainly true that we do not instruct our students in our theology exclusively, as is done at the Theological School in Bryn Athyn. We are a church that has been called to serve all men and to promote the Lord's New Jerusalem by all means. From this principle it follows of necessity, that we teach our students how they can pass on our spiritual heritage, so that it can be understood not only within our own walls, but also in the world.
     Somehow this situation resembles the familiar history of the early Christian church; Peter and the other Apostles believed that every Gentile convert had first to be circumcised before he could be received into the congregation, which at that time still consisted exclusively of Jews. Finally Paul succeeded in convincing them that that was not the way in which the Lord wanted to found His church.
     Therefore our theology students learn to speak the language of our time and culture, and not "Swedenborgish" only. But it is mere falsehood to maintain that they "do not know their Swedenborg." We are convinced that the person who "knows his Swedenborg" is not one who can quote him verbatim-but rather one who has inwardly "digested" [Swedenborg] to the point that he knows his thoughts in all their shades, and is able to apply them meaningfully to the situation at hand, and express them in his own words. Memory knowledge is good and useful, but only as a tool, not as a goal. In any case, it is not sufficient in the type of situation our students will later find themselves as missionaries.
     10. When one considers the outlined differences, one understands why the General Church, with its exclusiveness (Geschlossenheit) and its "either-or" attitude, makes an impression on many followers of Swedenborg and tries to compensate its lack of success in external evangelization by "picking off" members of the much less "important" and moreover considerably poorer General Convention. But the members of Convention should be thankful and proud to belong to a church that keeps its doors wide open toward the world and does its best to help the new age in the world to become reality. Whatever can be done to promote among us what the French call "esprit de corps," should be done. We are not worse or more external just because we are walking the more difficult way and tackling the problems of our time, instead of closing our eyes to them. But just because we do take these problems seriously, we are naturally not always all of the same opinion, especially since we do not

continued on page 463.

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EQUILIBRIUM 1979

EQUILIBRIUM       Editor       1979


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

Acting Editor                Rev. Ormond deCharms Odhner, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager                Mr. L. E. Gyllenhaal Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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

     TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$5.00 (U.S.) A year to any address, payable in advance. Single copy, 50 cents.
     II: MAN'S SPIRITUAL EQUILIBRIUM

     Man [or, rather, man-angel] is the crowning work of the Lord's creation. Indeed, the very end or purpose of the Lord's government of the whole universe is to establish a heaven out of men; and to do this, it is necessary that heaven shall be established in the individual. We can say, then, that the establishment of a heavenly character in the individual heart and mind is the inmost purpose of Divine Providence, as far as the individual is concerned.
     In last month's editorial, I considered the Writings' teachings that everything exists in equilibrium and that nothing can exist and continue to exist, except in equilibrium. Pre-eminently, this is true of a man's character. It cannot come into existence, and it cannot continue to exist, except in equilibrium.
     It is therefore one of the basic teachings of the Writings that man is held by the Lord in spiritual equilibrium in order that he may make a heavenly character his own-held in a spiritual equilibrium in which he may freely choose good and make it his own. Hence we may say, as the Writings themselves teach, that today as long as man lives on earth he is held in spiritual equilibrium between good and evil, between heaven and hell, so that he may freely choose to make a heavenly character his own.

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     It is possible to raise a whole host of objections to this teaching. A born idiot who cannot know right from wrong-is he in equilibrium, in spiritual freedom? A person born and raised in the slums [be they physical slums, or today's mental slums, which often exist amidst luxury]-is he really in spiritual freedom, since he has never been taught right from wrong? A man in a fit of passion or temper-is he in spiritual equilibrium?
     It is not the part of wisdom to consider objections and exceptions before one really understands the teaching against which objections are raised, the teaching to which exceptions appear. It is the part of wisdom to learn the truth itself from revelation, and then to consider objections and exceptions in its light. [A whole host of current foolishness would have been avoided if so-called New Church men had followed this course. As Stephen Cole points out in his article, Experience, this month, there is only one source of truth, spiritual truth-revelation. Oh, that New Church men would remember that!]

     Man, today, as long as he lives on earth, is held in a perfect balance, a perfect equilibrium, between good and evil, between a force impelling him toward evil that flows into his mind from hell and a force drawing him toward good that flows into his mind from the Lord through the heavens. These influences, these influxes, are perfectly equilibrated, balanced, by the Lord at each and every moment. That is the basic teaching of the Writings that we are considering; and general teachings to this effect can be most easily found in the last two chapters of Heaven and Hell, nos. 589-603, the chapters titled, "The Equilibrium Between Heaven and Hell," and "It Is by Means of the Equilibrium Between Heaven and Hell that Man Is in Freedom."
     The hells must be allowed to exert an influence upon man, for apart from man those who reside in hell could have no conscious existence. More important, however, they must be allowed to influence man for man's own eternal good, that is, so that many may be reformed. Today, man, by inheritance, inclines towards evils of every kind. And man could never overcome these evils, allowing the Lord to extricate them, unless he could see those evil tendencies in himself. Nor could he ever see those evils, those evil tendencies, within him, unless they were stirred up in him by some influence from outside him. Hence the association of the hells with man.

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     If there were only the influence of the hells acting upon him, however, man would be hopelessly doomed to the eternity of hell. Therefore the Lord has provided that an exactly counterbalancing influence, an exact equilibrating influence, shall act upon man from Himself through the heavens.
     It is this that gives man his freedom, and indeed that is his freedom; and in this freedom, today, he is kept as long as he lives on earth.

     But what of that day when there was no hell? Were men even before the origin of evil in spiritual equilibrium, in spiritual freedom? They most certainly were, for man's freedom does not essentially depend upon the existence of the hells. Man, even then, was in equilibrium, though not as yet between good and evil, between heaven and hell. He was in equilibrium, in freedom, between staying as he was or following the Lord's gentle uplifting influence toward good.
     Only the Lord has life in Himself. Man is created out of dead substances to be a form receptive of life in such a way as to feel it to be his own. But man himself is created out of dead substances, and in those dead substances there is an inertia, a tendency to "stay put." The Lord appeared to man (however that may have been, in the beginning), teaching him and inspiring him to follow his Creator. To the first man, untainted by any hereditary evil, that choice seemed pleasant. But it also seemed pleasant to him to remain as he was, in some kind of an animal-like state. [Both "seems," both appearances, had to feel pleasing.]
     And it was between these two opposing things-the Lord's gentle uplifting influence and the deadness of his own creation-that even the first men, before the existence of evil, were in spiritual equilibrium or freedom. It is only since hell has come into existence that man is in equilibrium between heaven and hell, apparently a stronger influence toward good now acting upon him than acted upon the first man. For today, even as at the beginning, man can choose to make good his own, can build up a heavenly character within himself, only if he is in perfect spiritual equilibrium and so can take to himself in freedom the heavenly life which the Lord ever seeks to give him.

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"THE WISDOM OF THE HUSBAND AND THE LOVE BF THE WIFE" 1979

"THE WISDOM OF THE HUSBAND AND THE LOVE BF THE WIFE"       GERALD F. NELSON       1979

Dear Editor:

     Sometimes when I hear or read the teaching that "the male was created to become wisdom from the love of becoming wise; the female was created to become the love of the male from his wisdom, thus according to it,"* it seems to me to be one-sided because it leaves but the reciprocal love that the husband has for his wife. It is in fact, not the whole truth. In another part of Conjugial Love where the same words are written, it adds "but this is not a primary love, but a secondary love which the wife has from the Lord through the wisdom of her husband. The love of the Lord which is a prior love, is the love of growing wise with her husband."**
     * CL 66
     ** CL 22
     "The husband is so created to be the understanding of truth, and the wife is so created to be the will of good, consequently the husband is truth and the wife is good."* Also the wife is love and the husband is understanding.
     * AE 1004:2
     "The union of love and wisdom is reciprocal, love unites to wisdom, and wisdom reunites itself to love; hence love acts and wisdom reacts. Such is the reciprocal union and hence the reciprocation of the will and the understanding, also of good and truth appertaining to the man in whom the Lord is. The same union is meant by the union of man and wife in Mark, "They will be one flesh, wherefore they are no longer two but one flesh," for the man was born to be understanding, and thence wisdom, but the woman was born to be the affection which is love."*
     * D Wis. III:3
     While I was contemplating some of the above teachings, I read a part of the Divine Love And Wisdom that explains the correspondence of a person's heart and lungs to love and wisdom.*

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I'm not sure whether or not it is good doctrine to change the idea of the love and wisdom of one person to the idea of a married couple-the wife being love and the husband being wisdom, but I did it anyway. Where the quoted heading of a number speaks of love, I added (of the wife), and where it speaks of wisdom or understanding, I added (of the husband), with the following results.
     * DLW 410-426

     "The love or will (of the wife) conjoins itself with the wisdom or understanding (of the husband), and brings to pass that the wisdom and understanding (of the husband) is joined reciprocally."
     "The wisdom or understanding (of the husband) by virtue of the potency given to it by the love (of the wife) is able to be elevated, and to receive those things which are of light from heaven, and to perceive them."
     "The love or will (of the wife) in like manner is able to be elevated, and to receive those things which are of heat from heaven, if it loves it's spouse's wisdom in that degree."
     "Otherwise the love or will (of the wife) drags back the wisdom or understanding (of the husband) from its elevation, to get as one with it."
     "The love or will (of the wife) is purified by the wisdom or understanding (of the husband) if they are elevated together."
     "The love or will (of the wife) is defiled in the understanding (of the husband) if they are not elevated together."
     "The love (of the wife) defiled in the understanding (of the husband) and by it, becomes natural, sensual and corporeal."
     "Spiritual and celestial love is towards the neighbor and love to the Lord; and natural and sensual love is the love of the world and the love of self."
     GERALD F. NELSON,
          Linthicum Heights, Md.
DR. HORNE (Continued from p. 458.) 1979

DR. HORNE (Continued from p. 458.)              1979

have over us a bishop or a priesthood that relieve us of the decisions. Looked at externally, we may occasionally be "in bad shape," but in our midst lives that unextinguishable spirit which always, even in the most difficult situations, has kept us together in the service of our Lord to which we feel ourselves called.

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CHURCH NEWS 1979

CHURCH NEWS       Various       1979

     59TH BRITISH ASSEMBLY

     Colchester July 6th to 8th 1979

     Colchester were hosts to this Assembly, the first one held in England for three years. Bishop King sent Rev. Peter Buss to preside over the Assembly and we are grateful for his choice.
     The opening proceedings were a cheese and wine reception on Friday evening where old and new friends could greet and meet each other over a refreshing glass of white wine and some delectable tid-bits.
     The opening session of the Assembly was preceded by worship which Mr. Buss conducted, he then introduced Rev. Patrick Rose, Colchester's pastor. Mr. Rose gave a paper on 'The love of the world'. He showed how horrible even the mildest hell is and how selfishness is involved in both love of self and the world. Love of luxury for its own sake and greed are love of the world. We should put the Lord and His kingdom first and 'all things will be added unto you.'
     On Saturday we met early, 10 am for opening worship given by Rev. Erik Sandstrom, the pastor of the London Society, Mr. Buss then gave the Presidential address on 'Prayer'. Mr. Buss described what prayer really is, speech with God, and showed how it enabled us to turn to the Lord. He gave many examples of the kind of prayers that are not heard, including ones used only when misfortunes threaten and when there is vengeance in our hearts. Prayer should be said humbly to uplift us from things of the world, and through it comes hope, consolation and inward joy. The Lord answers prayer in a quiet, even silent way enabling us to make wise decisions.
     Following the discussion of the paper, a business meeting was held. Reports were given on the Newsletter, the Sound Recording committee, and future British Assemblies.
     The general opinion was in favor of keeping the name of the 'Newsletter' as a distinctly British heading. The work of copying tapes of services sent to the Open Road members would shortly come under Rev. Ottar Larsen, when he arrives to take up his duties in England.
     The suggestion was made that Longheld Hall might be hired for a London Assembly in 1981, perhaps making it a two-day Assembly only, so that accommodation for only one night would be needed for visitors. A venue for study weekends, at the moment centered on Hengrave Hall, Suffolk, was being investigated near Bath.
     Lunch was served in the schoolroom and grounds.
     Saturday afternoon Rev. Erik Sandstrom gave an address on 'Exercises in freedom'. 'I do what I will and I will what I do' was the essence of freedom given by the Lord. Man must order his externals and the Lord will order the internals. Animals, birds and insects had instinct instead of true freedom, which was a combination of affection and knowledge.
     Following this session the British Academy Annual General meeting took place. Approximately forty members stayed for this. The minutes of the last meeting were read and accepted. A letter was read from Bishop de Charms who had received a report on 25 years of the British Academy from Mr. Sandstrom.
     A report on religion lessons sent to 17 isolated families was read. The Secretary, Mrs. Nancy Dawson, reported on the summer school and young people's weekend.

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Treasurer, Mr. Roy Evans, asked for members to peruse copies of the accounts.
     The Secretary and Treasurer were confirmed in office.
     The highlight of Saturday evening was a social dance held in Williams and Griffin's store restaurant in down-town Colchester. In a happy evening of music, dancing and drama (a sketch by the Sharp family) the social side of the Assembly came into its own.
     Sunday morning service at 10:30 am was taken by Mr. Buss and Mr. Sandstrom. The chancel was decorated with lovely white and pale lemon flowers backed by green laurels. Mr. Buss gave a talk to the children from the altar steps on 'Talents' and a sermon on Rev. 14:13.
     The Assembly photograph was taken on the school playground and we hope the effort of smiling unblinkingly into the sun with two eyes on the photographer will produce a worthwhile record of the occasion.
     Visitors were invited to lunch in Colchester members' homes until 3 pm, when the final service of the Assembly, the Holy Supper took place. Mr. Buss and Mr. Rose took the service in which there were 64 communicants.
     As a farewell to our visitors Theta Alpha organized tea in the schoolroom. So ended a very happy weekend, thanks to our ministers, the Colchester society and the many members from other parts of England, from United States and Canada who all made it possible.
     We look forward to our Diamond Assembly in two years time. Why not come and join us?
     RUTH GREENWOLD
MILDRED GLENN PITCAIRN 1979

MILDRED GLENN PITCAIRN              1979

     (Mrs. Raymond Pitcairn)

     Following a lingering illness, Mrs. Raymond Pitcairn was called into the spiritual world on the 23rd of June. Mrs. Pitcairn was widely known throughout the Church; and in these latter years was known especially for sending out copies of the sermons delivered in Bryn Athyn. Hundreds and hundreds of New Church men (and others) all throughout the world counted it a privilege to be on "Mrs. Pitcairn's sermon list."
     We here quote several paragraphs from the resurrection address delivered in her honor on June 25th by the Rev. Martin Pryke.
     "Mildred Glenn Pitcairn was constantly affected by the conviction that this life is not all, that it prepares for another life which is eternal. Constantly, in thought, word and action, her life reflected her basic beliefs in the one God, in His Divine Word, in the life of charity and in a life after death.
     "Mrs. Pitcairn was born in May, 1886, to Robert and Cara Starkey Glenn [the second child and the first of seven daughters]. In 1910 she was married to Raymond Pitcairn, who entered the other world thirteen years ago. To them were born nine children, one of whom died in childhood. The lives of both Mr. and Mrs. Pitcairn were firmly centered, as a result of their basic beliefs, around the family, the church, and their country. . . Her own uses were . . . diverse, but first was the making of a home for her husband and children, raising the children in the knowledge and sphere of the church-a home in which both father and mother, by their example as well as precept, demonstrated to both sons and daughters what true masculinity and femininity are, and so demonstrated the sacredness of marriage and the promise of conjugial love. For them, family life meant family worship, family instruction from the Word, and uses served by the family to others.
     "In the Bryn Athyn community Mildred Pitcairn's concern for others was reflected in her delight in providing layettes for all the new babies and flowers for the church and for many special occasions.
     "Beyond her home, her central concern was for the growth and development of the New Church. Before marriage she was a teacher of anatomy in the Girls School of the Academy. Every facet of New Church education was a matter of interest to her. Even the athletic and social life of the young people were included in her concerns. . . .
     "Her influence was similarly wide-spread.

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As a result of her thoughtfulness hundreds of people around the world have received, for many years, copies of the sermons preached here in the cathedral. Many young people from many places worked and visited in Glencairn and at Glen Tonche (their mountain home), and they will gladly attest that they benefitted immeasurably from their contact with Raymond and Mildred Pitcairn.
     "As we reflect upon their part in the growth of the Academy and the General Church, and recall their generous support of these from their wealth, how can we help but say that we see an era closing with their passing -an era which saw the church movement move from very, very small beginnings to firm establishment, an era of real growth and consolidation."
CHARTER DAY 1979

              1979




     Announcements
     All ex-students, members of the General Church, and friends of the Academy are invited to attend the 63rd Charter Day exercises, to be held in Bryn Athyn, Pa., Friday and Saturday, October 19th and 20th, 1979. The Program: Friday, 11 a.m.-Cathedral Service with an address by the Rev. Daniel W. Goodenough. Friday evening-dance. Saturday, 1 p.m.-Banquet, Toastmaster: The Rev. Alfred Acton.
CHARTER DAY BANQUET TICKETS 1979

              1979

     In order to avoid confusion and embarrassment, those who will be guess in Bryn Athyn homes for the Charter Day weekend, should order their banquet tickets in advance, by mail, unless they have made other specific arrangements with their hostesses. The date for the banquet is Oct. 20th. The regular price-is $6.00-the same as last year. For all students, including those not presently attending the Academy, the price is only $3.00-also the same as last year. Checks should be made payable to the Academy of the New Church.
     Orders should be sent to the attention of Mrs. R. Waelchli, The Academy of the New Church, P.O. Box 278, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009, before Oct. 4th. Please mark clearly on envelopes, "Banquet Tickets." Tickets will be carefully held at the switchboard in Benade Hall for pick-up either by you or your hosts. No tickets can be sold at the door because of the need for advance arrangements with the caterer.
SECONDARY SCHOOLS 1979

SECONDARY SCHOOLS       Various       1979

     Each year the Academy invites 9th and 10th grade students from other areas to visit the Boys School and Girls School for a few days. These visits have generally been useful in interesting students in Academy education and in preparing them for it.
     In order to facilitate planning for the visits we invite the students from different areas on a rotating basis. This fall (probably November) we expect students from the Midwest Academy. In April, we will invite those from Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania. In the fall of 1980 it will be Washington and the South, and in the spring of 1981 Canada and northeastern United States.
     Those who wish to participate in one of these visits may contact one of us or their pastor for further information. In addition to these groups visits, individual students, parents, and others are welcome to visit at any time. Just write or give us a call.

DONALD C. FITZPATRICK,
Principal of the Boys School
MORNA HYATT
Principal of the Girls School

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JEHOVAH IS MY SHEPHERD 1979

JEHOVAH IS MY SHEPHERD       Rev. L. R. SONESON       1979


NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. XCIX          NOVEMBER, 1979           No. 11
     The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. Psalm 23:1.

     For centuries, the beautiful Psalms of David have filled the human soul with exaltation, imagery and song. Christian, along with Jew, seeks and finds solace in their eloquent words. For most, they span the gamut of emotions. Psalms supply words for the humble sinner, seeking forgiveness; their lyrics sing for those seeking expression of a grateful heart; and verbal descriptions abound in them for anyone striving to picture his God.
     When man seeks to praise the majesty of the Lord, he is reminded of the psalm:

Lift up your heads, O ye gates; and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in. Who is this King of glory? The Lord strong and mighty, the Lord mighty in battle.
Lift up your heads, O ye gates; even lift them up, ye everlasting doors; and the King of glory shall come in.
Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory.*
     * Psalm 24:7-10

     In moments of bitter temptation, when our own weaknesses loom before us and we cannot find our way, the opening words of the fifth Psalm come to mind:

Give ear to my words, O Lord, consider my meditation. Hearken unto the voice of my cry, my King, and my God; for unto thee will I pray. My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up. . . . I will come into thy house in the multitude of thy mercy; and in thy fear will I worship toward thy holy temple.*
     * Psalm 5:1-3, 7

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     But on such occasions as a festival day's celebration, when we approach the Lord to express in song and prayer our gratitude for His bountiful blessings, we find that our thanksgiving can also be clothed in the words of the Psalmist. In the well known passage that begins with the words, "The Lord (or, more accurately, 'Jehovah") is my Shepherd, I shall not want," we find our thoughts collected into a beautiful prayer of thanksgiving. For this twenty-third Psalm lifts the mind above the gross material world, and expresses feelings from the heart.
     It is foolish to believe that material wealth or abundant food are in themselves blessings from the Lord. Any clear-thinking man can see that pleasures of the flesh and other sensual delights can be either a blessing or a curse. The honors of reputation and pleasures from material gains come to both the good and the evil. No, the sincere worshiper offers up his prayers of thanksgiving for things much more precious and much more lasting. He sees beyond temporal things to these true blessings descending from heaven.
     He recounts to himself on these festival occasions the gift of rationality, bestowed upon mankind alone-the crown of the Lord's creation. He knows that without the ability to see truth, both as it is seen through nature and revealed in Divine Revelation, he would be nothing but an animal. But, because man is created in the image of His Maker, he can receive truth, flowing down from heaven, and bathe in its beauty and splendor. The sight of truth is to behold beauty itself-and all the inner delights that accompany the sight of it.
     The thankful man knows, too, that the Lord has given him the priceless gift of freedom. With this unique blessing, he can return his thanks and gratitude to the Lord in a freedom that does not compel him to do it. He is not a slave or puppet. He is not forced to return his thanks; but he is provided an opportunity to do so, if he so desires. Man is completely free to accept or reject the truth he perceives in his rational mind.
     These gifts, freedom and rationality, these unceasing blessings that flow down into each of us, are often taken for granted. Their magnitude, however, can come into focus when we try to reflect them to our neighbor. How many of us can offer a truth to our fellow man, at exactly the right time, in exactly the right way, that it may lead him to heaven? In fact, who can teach a single truth to another? Is not the Lord, alone, the one who teaches!
     Who among us, too, can offer true freedom to our neighbor? When we give, is it not with some secret hope of recognition? To love another, unselfishly, is to desire his freedom to accept or reject our love.

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Such a gift of love must be given anonymously. How many of our gifts are given in that way?
     But the Lord bestows upon all of us such benefits every moment of our existence. Because of His love for us, He is continually protecting us from the vicious hells, where myriads of evil spirits are bent on our destruction. His Divine Providence is forever leading us secretly toward an eternal life that promises all the happiness we are capable of accepting. There is no limit to the truths we can receive, filling our lives with joy. There is no one created who cannot be led to that inner peace and tranquillity that the heart longs for. Such is the kingdom of heaven.
     These are the blessings we acknowledge in this season. It is for these that we offer up our thanks. And, if we choose, we can express them all in those beautiful words of the twenty-third Psalm, for it encompasses them all.
     "Jehovah is my Shepherd, I shall not want." Here, in a word, is pictured for us the Lord as the giver of all. He alone can feed us the spiritual food necessary for the life of the spirit in man. Na one shall ever want for truth, if he hungers for it. There is an unlimited supply of bread from heaven, His love that descends into the heart of the repentant and the humble. We are all of His flock, as dependent upon His protection and providing as sheep under their shepherd.
     These opening words of the psalm picture for us in our imagination not only a peaceful analogy of our utter dependence, but also an accurate representation. We are told in the Writings:

     In heaven where all things that appear before the eyes are representative, representing under a natural appearance the spiritual things that angels think and by which they are affected; thus are their thoughts and affections presented before their eyes in such forms as exist in the world . . . (thus) it is from this correspondence that in heaven flocks of sheep, lambs, and goats appear feeding in green pastures, and also in gardens;. . . It is from this that mention is so often made in the Word of 'flock', 'pasture" as also of 'feeding' and 'feeder (Shepherd)'; for the Word in the letter consists of such things as appear in heaven before the eyes, and these signify correspondent spiritual things.*
     * AE 482:2

     "Jehovah is my Shepherd, I shall not want; He maketh me to lie down in the pastures of herb; He will lead me to the waters of rest (or quietness)."
     Here the 'pastures for a flock' mean those knowledges in which there are goods of truth. Man must be led to that fertile field of knowledges wherein the spiritual food that sustains life can be found. The Word of the Lord is that green pasture of tender herbs. The 'waters of rest', of course, are the thirst-quenching truths that spring from the well of the Word.

472


Here, in these words of the Psalmist, are portrayed for us our prayer today; we know and acknowledge that His Word is our source of life and sustenance.
     "He will restore my soul." In these words we also acknowledge that He, alone, can 'create anew my soul'. The gift of re-birth, of regeneration, is a blessing for which we give thanks. It is a gift from heaven that we cannot as yet appreciate in its fullness. It is a promise of a life to come; yet we can share in the delights of angels who are entering into this blessing more and more. This we do by inviting the sphere of heaven into our lives, while yet on this earth. They desire nothing more than to share their happiness with us, when we read in the Word, when we worship, and when we open the doors to them through an active life of charity. This is to be 'led in the paths of justice, for His name's sake'.
     But while we walk this earth, there will be times when we lose sight of the guiding truths from revelation. Doubts will arise, and the darkness of temptations will overshadow us. We will "walk in the valley of shadow." But we need not fear. For His Divine hand will be guiding us and protecting us. No harm or evil will beset us, for His Omnipotence and Omnipresence are with us, as close as the staff or rod of a shepherd is in his hand. We have His truths to protect us, and they alone have power against the hells. They alone will 'comfort' or 'protect' us.
     Each time we walk the path of temptation we know that the Lord is also preparing a table for us of spiritual food-goods and truths that will become a part of our lives to eternity. This is described in the Psalm as "my head wilt thou make fat with oil; my cup will overflow." We receive 'oil', wisdom which is from good; and we receive intelligence, the 'cup' of wine that overflows from natural truths into spiritual truths. "These things," we are told, "are sometimes exhibited representatively in heaven by a table upon which are foods of every kind."*
     * AC 9527
     Finally, this beautiful psalm concludes with the great message of revelation-the reality of the spiritual world. Acknowledgment of this doctrine, that we continue to exist beyond the grave, is paramount in our belief. What of life in this world could have any meaning without this teaching? The whole of the Writings confirm the existence of the spiritual world. Our lives would be meaningless, without purpose, if we were limited to but a brief earthly residence.
     But our prayer of thanksgiving rests upon the conviction that life does continue on, without end. We see it as another blessing from the Lord when we say, "I shall be at rest in the house of Jehovah for length of days."
     It is gratifying to know that when we daily turn to the Word for sustenance, we will be fed from His table.

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Food from that table nourishes all those who hunger and thirst after righteousness, "for they shall be filled." These are the blessings we recount today, and will continue to recall for length of days. For has He not promised, if we look to Jehovah as our Shepherd, "we shall not want?" Amen.
WHAT TEXT OF THE WORD DO WE TRANSLATE? 1979

WHAT TEXT OF THE WORD DO WE TRANSLATE?       Rev. ROBERT S. JUNGE       1979

     A STUDY

     It is rightly said that translations are only approximations of meaning. But in discussion of the various versions of the Bible or considering a New Church translation of the Word many seem to have forgotten the underlying question: "From among all the variant readings in the original language, what text do you choose to translate?" If one translator's Greek says "angel" and another's says "eagle" the translations certainly are not going to agree.* So in considering translation, one of our first questions must be, "What text do we translate?"
     * See Rev. 8:13; RSV "eagle," KJV "angel."
     It is supposed by many scholars that the Old Testament began to take written form about 1000-900 B.C., replacing oral tradition completely by about 300-200 B.C. The Hebrew text is believed to have been drawn from a number of sources both written and oral by means of many authors and editors. New Churchmen can perhaps accept Moses as a Divinely inspired editor or redactor, because, for example, he cited passages from the Ancient Word. Still, in a memorable relation concerning the five books of Moses, we read:


[Moses] has with him his five books, and also the Old Testament Word. I asked him about the book of Jasher. He said that he has seen it; and he told me that that Word still exists with the ancients of his day, and is read; also, that he knows something about the succeeding Word which exists at this day, but does not read it. I recited some of those things which he had written concerning certain ones in the 5 books; and he acknowledged them all, just as though they were present to him."*
     * SD 6101; cf. AR 662, WE 1741

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     In general, through such passages the Writings seem to indicate a far simpler "authorship" or "editorship" than most critics today would believe. But the essential thing is the Divine inspiration of the Word with its continuous internal sense, not the manner in which it was written. The one thing that makes a book of the genuine Word is that it has an internal sense which "treats solely of the Lord and of His kingdom."*
     * AC 3540e
     After the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. the scattering of the tribes was completed, and the Hebrew text underwent varying interpretation among the exiles and was also rendered into different languages, most notably the Sepuagint Greek in 300-200 B.C. The renderings were not always exact, according to historians, and a period of presumed fluidity gradually developed which is believed to have threatened the erosion of a unified Jewish tradition. Out of this period it is asserted by scholars in time there grew a need-even a necessity-for a single received or authoritative text, if the Jewish community were to maintain its distinctiveness. Circa 90 A.D., in Jamnia, the Jewish Canon was determined, in response to this need, establishing a clear list of what books constituted for them the Sacred text.
     About this time a group known as Sopherim over the centuries standardized the text itself in a clear attempt to fix its meaning and uphold its integrity.* Then about 500 A.D. and for five hundred years thereafter, a scholarly group called the Masoretes carefully preserved alternate readings, both oral and written, added pointing to establish the pronunciation, and made every effort to determine the true text and to preserve the Word, even counting its letters. While no two Masoretic texts are exactly the same, still they are remarkably consistent, and this consistency is what the doctrines emphasize, We read,
     * Frank M. Cross and Shemaryahu Talmon, Qumran and the History of the Biblical Text (Cambridge and London: Harvard University Press, 1975), pp. 11, 40-41.

Of the Divine Providence, those books [of the Old Testament] have been preserved entire to an iota since the time in which they were written, and by the care of many who have enumerated their minutest particulars; this was provided by the Lord on account of the sanctity which is within each iota, word, and thing they contain.*
     * LJ 41

This providential preservation makes a clear defense of the Masoretic Text of the Old Testament for the use of the New Church.*
     * Cf. Verbo 14; SD 2414; DP 260:3; SD 5621
     It is true that the oldest Masoretic manuscript preserved today is one of the Prophets and dates A.D. 916.*

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The Dead Sea Scrolls, dated approximately 200 B.C. to 200 A.D., were so exciting to scholars because they are Hebrew texts which despite their age show remarkable agreement with the Masoretic text. The Scrolls in general testify to the essential preservation of the Word for over a thousand years. Among the Scrolls we even find a fragment of Leviticus in early Hebrew script and dating perhaps to the 5th Century B.C., yet it is identical with the Masoretic text."** To a New Churchman, then, the Scrolls are a beautiful illustration of the Lord's Providence.
     * Charles F. Pfeiffer, The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Bible (Gorand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House), p. 104.
     ** Pfeiffer, p. 29
     Yet the Scrolls do differ from the Masoretic text in places. Where there are disagreements between the Dead Sea Scrolls and the Masoretic Text, unless doctrine clearly indicates otherwise, I believe a New Churchman should really hesitate before he would revise the providentially preserved Masoretic text.* Remember the words:
     * Some may wish to compare evidence on Is. 19:18 with AC 402:4, et al

From these things it may be evident what is signified by the Lord's saying that not a jot, tittle or little curve shall pass from the Law (Matt. 5:18; Luke 16:7); and it is also plain that it was of the Divine Providence of the Lord that all the letters of the Word in the Hebrew text were counted by the Masorites.*
     * Verbo 14

     Of course the Dead Sea Scrolls also have been provided in the Lord's Providential Wisdom. But there are countless uses to which they may be turned, other than revising the Masoretic Text. For example, they could assist the translator in understanding the meaning of words. But here we are concerned with the problem of editing and revising the text of the letter of the Word itself. In this we must proceed in the spirit of the doctrines: "The style of the Word is -such that there is holiness in every sentence, and in every word, and in some places in even the very letters. This is why the Word conjoins man with the Lord and opens heaven."*
     * SS 3
     The providentially preserved Masoretic Text is also sometimes described as the Old Testament portion of the Textus Receptus, particularly Van der Hooght's edition of the Hebrew Bible.* "Textus Receptus" is a phrase which originally meant the text currently accepted by critics. It is now revised or supplanted by modern scholars in an ongoing process in the light of the latest "evidence." We would note that the Van de Hooght Hebrew text, sometimes regarded as the Textus Receptus, is the one, or at least one of the texts that was in Swedenborg's library.**
     * McClintock and Strong, "Textus Receptus"
     ** Stephen Cole, "Swedenborg's Hebrew Bible," New Philosophy, Jan. 1977, pp. 28 ff.

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     But the term Textus Receptus is more often applied to the New Testament. How did this Greek text come into being and become accepted or "received" as the standard text until perhaps the last hundred years? At the outset note what the Writings say about the Book of Revelation:

Be it known that in the spiritual sense all things hang together in a continuous connection, which is fitted together in such a manner by the force and meaning of all the words in the literal or natural sense, that if even a little word were taken out of it, the connection would be broken and the coherence would perish. In order to prevent this, it is added at the end of this prophetical book, That not a word shall be taken away (Rev. 22:19). It is the same with the books of the prophets of the Old Testament; in order to prevent anything from being taken away from them, it came to pass of the Lord's Divine Providence that everything therein down to the very letters was counted. This was done by the Masorites.*
     * SS 13

Clearly here the preservation of the New Testament as to every little word is compared to the preservation of the Old through the work of the Masorites.
     We turn then to the details of the preservation of the New Testament. Scholars speculate that the original Gospel writers drew upon various sources and like their Old Testament predecessors called upon their memories and oral tradition. They cite Luke 1:1-4 as illustrative of this:

     Forasmuch as many have taken in hand to set forth in order a declaration of those things which are most surely believed among us, Even as they delivered them unto us, which from the beginning were eyewitnesses, and ministers of the word; It seemed good to me also, having had perfect understanding of all things from the very first, to write unto thee in order, most excellent Theophilus, That thou mightest know the certainty of those things wherein thou has been instructed.

     The early Church Fathers, such as Clement and Origen, quoted extensively from the Gospels as authority, which corroborates their early acceptance as Scripture. There are some 81 papyrus fragments dating from 125-300 A.D., mostly from Egypt, which are the earliest preserved records of the Gospels. Though one contains most of the Gospel of Luke, they are so fragmentary that they give us only a very sketchy picture of the text from that period. In general, scholars presume that the first 300 years were a fluid period of various versions and families of textual traditions. The following chart (adapted from Streeter as published by Metzger, p. 171) should help us trace some of the textual history from that early period.

477




     [Chart]

     The chart shows that the earliest text on vellum manuscripts, which are our earliest extensive "witnesses," are all post-Nicean.
     But what is also illustrated by the chart is the emergence in 310 A.D., of the revised text of Lucian. Though we do not have the original, we know of its existence because Jerome, around A.D. 403, called this text Lucianic and acknowledged that it was the 'koine' or 'common and wide-spread' text prior to the Council of Nicea in 325 A.D.* This is obviously important to New Churchmen.
     * Bruce M. Metzger, The Text of the New Testament, 2nd ed. (New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1968), p. 141.
     The Text of Lucian, as our chart shows, became the line designated as the Byzantine or "standard" text. Coder Alexandrinus (A) dating from about the fifth century "is the oldest example of the Byzantine type of text,"* though its family line is not regarded as certain. Coder Ephraemi (C) and Coder Washingtonianus (W) are also major fifth century witnesses to this line of manuscripts.**

478


We mention this simply to show that the Byzantine text does have some earlier Uncial (capital Greek lettered) manuscripts to trace it back towards Lucian.
     * Ibid., P. 47
     ** Richard N. Soulen, Handbook of Biblical Criticism (Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1976), p. 32.

     During the ninth century a new style of Greek writing was developed, modified in shape so that words could be written continuously without lifting the pen after each letter. This new type of writing (in minuscules) made copying a much swifter process, with the result that several thousand manuscripts of the New Testament were extant by the time printing made the work of the copyist superfluous.*
     * Pfeiffer, p. 102

     In 1516, using perhaps six "late" minuscule manuscripts, Erasmus, the great humanist scholar, put together a Greek text for the printer Johann Froben.* The scholars concede that most of the extant minuscule witnesses greatly favor Erasmus's text, but for a variety of reasons they regard them as inferior witnesses to what they believe were the original sources. Erasmus's work was subsequently revised by Stephanus from comparison with the Compiutensian Bible and also some fifteen late manuscripts. This text (in the Elzivir editions) came to be known as the Greek "Textus Receptus."** This was the standard text upon which most translation up to a hundred years ago was based, including "our" King James Version.
     * Metzger, p. 98
     ** Frederic G. Kenyon, Handbook to the Textual Criticism of the New Testament, 2nd ed. (Gorand Rapids, Mich.: W. B. Eerdmans Publ. Co.), p. 58 ff.
     In terms of modern scholarship, then, the original text of the versions used by Swedenborg and the King James version is an inferior original language text. This question of what text to translate then constitutes a fundamental problem for New Church scholars. James Hyde in 1901 sifted the evidence for what texts and translations Swedenborg used. Others may sift the details or even come to differing conclusions, but it seems to be quite clear that the original Hebrew Texts are Masoretic, and the translations used are based upon the Masoretic. The original Greek texts seem to be essentially the Textus Receptus (Jansson Bible), at least the Byzantine Text (through the Polyglot Leusden). In the case of Montanus (pagnino) translation it was apparently a Vulgate Latin revised in the light of the Byzantine text. The Vulgate (the accepted Catholic Latin version) was also available to Swedenborg in his library, but I know of only a very little clear evidence of its direct use in the Writings.
     The simplest argument for the use of the Textus Receptus as a basis for New Church translation, then, is not merely the providential preservation which we have traced, but it is the text largely used by the Lord through Swedenborg as the basis for "translating," for comparing translations, in quoting such translations as Schmidius, or which was the basis in Swedenborg's memory through which the paraphrases were given.

479


Even the accepted Swedish Bible was based upon the Textus Receptus.
     During Swedenborg's preparation, his choice of Schmidius which rests upon the Byzantine text was deliberate. In The Word Explained we read,

     [Men suppose] man can draw historical information from the Word merely by ordinary application, as in the case of other books. This, I say, is an evident truth; for men now care for nothing else, and this because we are in ultimates and in things natural, so that one is entirely ignorant of things spiritual. For this reason also, the translators themselves, being of the same persuasion, have given little study to the translation of the exact words of the text from their fountain head as done by Schmidius, but in the case of many of them, have studied merely elegances of speech. Hence the words themselves have been changed [for words] which involve mere history. Thus they entirely take away the light which lies solely in the sense evolved from the exact words of God Messiah.*
     * WE 2073, 2, 6707

     The 18th Century was becoming increasingly aware of textual criticism. AR 95 is frequently though apparently speciously used to contend for opening the door to textual criticism by the Writings. It reads, "These words are also added, 'yet thou art rich', but in a parenthesis and this because in some codices they are omitted."* Hyde contends that this was not really a textual difference and choice, but merely a choice between two Latin versions.** In general the Writings seem simply to accept the received Hebrew and Greek Texts as providentially provided, without critical analysis.
     * Cf. AE 118 where the words are given a spiritual sense.
     ** James Hyde, "Swedenborg's Bibles," N.C. Magazine (1901), p. 489.
     As we have noted several times, translation is another matter. Hyde ends his monumental study,

     That Swedenborg did not translate, but rather compounded his seriatim and occasional texts from well known versions, is sufficiently established by the evidence we have called forth; and a recent examination of his manuscripts puts this beyond doubt. It was necessary that he should not translate, for it was needful that his mind should not be enslaved to the letter.*
     * Ibid., p. 495

     Whether Swedenborg at times translated or not, the countless appeals in the Writings to the original language, indicate the importance of translation. For example: "In the original text, it is not indeed said that it was to be 'pitched with pitch', but a word is used which denotes 'protection', derived from 'expiate' or 'propitiate', and therefore it involves the same."* Again, "What the dudaim were, the translators do not know. . . ."**

480


Again [describing Uzzah] "the word hand is understood, but is not expressed in the original, lest it should be perceived by the angels that such a profane thing had touched what is holy."*** These among countless numbers indicate to translators definitions, unknown meanings, and omissions, which are vital in the pursuit of their work. By whatever means Swedenborg was led to choose a particular rendering over another, there is no doubt that he was led.
     * AC 645
     ** AC 3942
     *** AC 878
     Now it is often suggested: Why don't we just work from the text to which the Writings give a spiritual sense? The variety of Latin renderings given to the same passage in various works of the Writings, sometimes can make this difficult. But usually it is clearly a matter of a different translation, for a different emphasis perhaps, rather than a different text which is being translated. Take for example the Christmas story in Matt. 2:1, which reads in AC 3762 and AE 422 [sapienses] "wise men," while in AC 5223, it reads [magi] "learned men or magicians." This is presumably not a textual problem, but simply a different Latin translation put by the Lord into His Latin Word, for His purposes, whether we can discern them or not. Certainly New Testament translators will want to be very much aware of these various readings through such outstanding studies as that of Le Buoy de Guays. But for our purpose, we would simply observe that the text behind this variety of Latin renderings is for the most part the Byzantine text or "Textus Receptus." And we would also note that the Textus Keceptus in its own right is essentially consistent. The whole thrust of this line of argument is that if we are to begin to translate anything, it must be the "Textus Receptus, modified only in the light of clear doctrinal statements in the Writings when and if they occur.

     But what of the possible alternative of one of the more modern texts edited in the light of Biblical scholarship, such as was used as the basis for the RSV? The Textus Receptus is no longer the text received by the learned world. When a Biblical Scholar adds or takes away a word, or in varying ways edits the original text, he does so on the basis of critical scholarship. Even if we say that sincere scholars are guided by the Lord in their determinations, the emendations are the product of human intelligence, and involve endless questionings concerning the sacred text on the very order of which the heavens rest. Is this really the route we want to go? If we did, which I seriously question, do we have even close to the critical scholarship in the Church with which to begin?

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Can we really agree that the determination of the words, even the inclusion or exclusion of whole stories of the letter of the Word itself, should be left to human scholarship?
     But let's look at some of the consequences. Among other things, they may help us to see that there are more serious textual questions associated with modern translations such as the RSV, than readability or style.
     The readings of the Textus Receptus today are considerably modified by manuscript study from the other families of manuscripts, of which the Alexandrian and Caesarean are particularly respected (see chart). By way of illustration, consider simply the Alexandrian Family of manuscripts, one branch of which includes Coder Vaticanus (B) and Coder Sinaiticus (A). B is a symbol for Coder Vaticanus (meaning in the Vatican Library) and described by a leading scholar as "One of the most valuable of all the manuscripts of the Greek Bible. . . ."* A is a. symbol of Codex Sinaiticus (found in a Sinai Monastery, in a waste basket by the way, now in the British Museum), which is given "Primacy of position in the list of New Testament manuscripts. . . ."** Remember from our chart, both Sinaiticus and Vaticanus are 4th century manuscripts, both subsequent to the Council of Nicea, even though their roots can be traced through papyri into the earlier centuries.***
     * Metzger, p. 47
     ** Ibid., P. 42
     *** Pfeiffer, p. 103, dates Sinaiticus 340 BC and Vaticanus 350 BC.
     While New Churchmen might give some real weight to the potential negative effect of the Council of Nicea on the nature of the manuscripts which follow, the Byzantine texts, on which the Writings' translations are based, by scholars for historical and linguistic reasons are "generally regarded as an inferior form of text."* As New Churchmen we cannot help but ask ourselves why in Providence the influence of B and A was left out of the Textus Receptus, and therefore left out of the basis for that text upon which the exposition of the spiritual sense rests and from which it is drawn?
     * Metzger, p. 47
     We will turn to this in a moment, but in regard to our translation problem we note that the simple conclusion is "The Sinaiticus and Vaticanus manuscripts are in fact, the two great champions of the B text (the alternative to the Textus Receptus), and it is primarily (though by no means entirely) to their influence that the textual differences between our Authorized and Revised versions are due."* In other words the KJV rests upon the Textus Receptus, the same text the Writings use.

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The RSV (successor to the AV) is heavily emended, particularly by X and B and many others.
     * Kenyon, p. 70
     This being the case, we hope that the following chart of some of the more important differences between Codex Sinaiticus and the Textus Receptus will indicate the scope of the manuscript problem and something of the significance to the argument.* We have inserted appropriate selected references to the Writings and parenthetical notes, though we have left it to the reader to weigh the importance of the differing readings. Remember: Sinaiticus is only one manuscript among hundreds which might be weighed and compared to critically "determine" the appropriate reading.
     * We are indebted to Kenyon for this comparison, ibid. p. 71 ff

     Verse(s)           Sinaiticus
Matt. 1:25*      omits "firstborn" in the phrase "she brought forth her firstborn son." TCR 683 uses this verse to confirm that Jesus was not Joseph's son.
Matt. 5:44           omits "bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you and (pray) for them which despitefully use you." AC 3605: 4, TCR 409, verse quoted and expounded, AC 9256, AE 644:23.
Matt. 6:13*           omits "For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever. Amen." AC 5922: 17, 10248: 5, AE 48:3, verse quoted and expounded.
Matt. 12:47*     omits "Then one said unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren stand without, desiring to speak with thee."AC 2649: 2, AE 46, verse quoted and expounded.
Matt. 16:2, 3*      omits "When it is evening, ye say, It will be fair weather for the sky is red. And in the morning, It will be foul weather today; for the sky is red and lowering. O ye hypocrites ye can discern the face of the sky; but can ye      not discern the signs of the times?" (this is included in the RSV) AR 598, AE 706: 7, verses quoted and expounded in detail.
Matt. 17:21      omits "Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting." (not directly referred to).
Matt. 18:11*      omits "For the Son of man is come to save that which was lost." AC 2661: 2, Lord 27, TCR 142 (paraphrased and used to confirm the Lord's coming for our salvation).
Matt. 19:17*      changes from "And he said unto him, why callest thou me good? (there is) none good but one (that is God:)" to "and he said to him, Why do you ask me about what is good: One there is who is good." AC 10619, AE 254:4, verse quoted to show the Lord alone is good.

483


Matt. 24:369      adds "nor the Son" to "But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no not the angels of heaven, (nor the Son) but my Father only." AC 4332-4334, verse quoted without the addition and emphasizes unity of God.
Matt. 27:49      adds "And another took a spear and pierced his side and out came water and blood." as in John 19:34 (neither KJV nor RSV use this) Not referred to.
Mark 1:1*           omits "the son of God" (both RSV and KJV retain it) Lord 19: 8, TCR 342: 2, verse referred to confirming Son of God.
Mark 6:20           substitutes "He was much perplexed" for "he did many things." (verse not directly referred to)
Mark 9:44, 40      omits "where their worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched" (repetitive of verse 48) AC 8481, verse quoted and partially expounded.
Mark 9:49           omits "and every sacrifice shall be salted with salt." Verse quoted and expounded AC 9207:3, 10300: 2, AR 122, also see AC 2455:2.
Mark 16:9-20      omits all "Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils. And she went and told them that had been with him, as they mourned and     wept. And they, when they had heard that he was alive, and had been seen of her, believed not. After that he appeared in another form unto two of them, as they walked, and went into the country. And they went and told it unto the residue: neither believed they them. Afterward he appeared unto the eleven as they sat at meat, and upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen him after he was risen. And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.

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So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, he was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. And they     went forth, and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen." (RSV includes this in reduced type.) Sections quoted, referred to, and expounded 39 times re the Glorification, i.e. D. Lord 35:9.
Luke 2:14          reads "men with whom he is pleased" instead of "good will toward men." (a generally discussed reading).
Luke 6:14           reads "on a sabbath" instead of "the second sabbath after the first." AC 10360:7, second not noted, but Sabbath sig. the Divine Human.
Luke 10:42           reads "few things are needful or only one" for "one thing is needful." (verse not referred to).
Luke 11:2-48      The prayer is shortened and reads "Father, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread; and forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us and lead us not     into temptation." instead of "Our Father, which art in heaven. Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. Give us day by day our daily bread. And forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone that is indebted to us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil." (Verse referred to 10 times directly quoted and amply expounded.)
Luke 22:43, 44*      includes these verses which other ancient manuscripts omit. "And there appeared an angel unto him from heaven, strengthening him. And being in an agony He prayed more earnestly; and His sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground." (this is in both RSV and I(JV) AC 2819, 2821, 1573:5, 7166, verse used significantly re the Lord's temptations.
Luke 23:34           includes "Father forgive them." which is omitted in many. (in both RSV and KJV) Verse not directly referred to.
Luke 23:45           reads the sun was "eclipsed" instead of "darkened." AC 1839:11, AE 401:15, darkness expounded.
Luke 24:51*      reads simply "and he parted from them," omitting "and was carried up into heaven." Lord 35:10-11, verse quoted and explained "the Lord ascended into heaven."

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John 1:18*           reads "the only begotten God" instead of "only begotten Son." (referred to 65 times).
John 2:3           reads uniquely from any Greek Manuscript.
John 3:13*           omits "who is in heaven." AC 9807:9, D. Lord 31, 35:10, phrase fully explained re Glorification.
John 5:3, 4      omits "waiting for the moving of the waters. For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water; whoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever     disease he had." AC 10083: 4, verse quoted and briefly expounded.
John 6:69*           reads "you are the only one of God" instead of "thou art that Christ, the Son of the Living God." E 820: 4, AC 3008, 2628, 2798, AE 684: 8, Lord 19:8, AR 520, TCR 342: 29 quoted, Christ, Messiah and Son emphasized in exposition.
John 8:1-11*      omits the entire story of the woman found in adultery: "Jesus went unto the mount of Olives. And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down and taught them. And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, They say unto Him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery in the very act. Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned; but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. So when they continued, asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground. And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last; and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none by the Woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers: hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord.

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And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go and sin no more." (story referred to 17 times, amply quoted and expounded).
John 21:25           omits this verse uniquely "And there are also many other things which Jesus did the which if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen." (not directly referred to).

     From the above it is amply clear that many of the portions omitted in Codex Sinaiticus (and thus in the RSV) are given a spiritual sense in the Writings. If we once open the door to making omissions of texts expounded in the Writings, on historical or linguistic grounds, we open the door to thousands of human decisions concerning the literal sense on which the heavens themselves rest. Surely this is "holy ground." Isn't it useful to reflect upon the following: "And if any man shall take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part out of the book of life"? (Rev. 22:19)
     There is no doubt "Some readings were favored by scribes because they supported current beliefs and practices in their part of the Christian world."* We wonder if there are any general characteristics or inferences which can be drawn concerning the Coder Sinaiticus as its differences stand out against the background of the Textus Receptus. Is the critics' claim that this is a superior witness justified in New Church terms? Is it more Trinitarian? Does it emphasize an easier and external form of repentance? Is it Arian in tendency?
     * Metzger, p. 217
     I have marked with an asterisk those passages in our chart which are clearly expounded in relation to the Doctrine of the Lord. The doctrinal import of these omissions is significant. Some scholars are convinced that Sinaiticus plays down the Lord's ascension into heaven. But most pay more attention to historical and linguistic considerations than to any spiritual or doctrinal aspects. Since the KJV is based upon the Textus Receptus, as are the Writings, and also since some very competent translators worked upon it, a New Church correction of the KJV in the light of the Writings seems to be our best place to start.
     I would like to add one more point:

Textual criticism is not a branch of mathematics, nor indeed an exact science at all. It deals with a matter not rigid and constant, like lines and numbers, but fluid and variable; namely the frailties and aberrations of the human mind, and of its insubordinate servants, the human fingers.

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It is therefore not susceptible of hard and fast rules. It would be much easier if it were; and that is why people try to pretend that it is, or at least behave as if they thought so.*
     * A. E. Housman, quoted by Metzger, p. 219

     This uncertainty indicates one of the pitfalls of textual criticism. We also note that the Writings themselves are very hard on critics who while learned in language dwell in the mere words or grammatical things and who tenaciously cling to their own opinions. Though. most learned, they often understand much less than those who are not critics.* The spiritual truth of doctrine is to be rendered up without taint from the rational lest the doctrine of good and truth become null and void.** "But it is one thing to believe from what is of the rational, of scientifics, and of sense (that is to consult such things in order to believe) and quite another thing to confirm and corroborate by means of things rational, of scientifics and of sense, that which is believed."*** Biblical scholarship must never be consulted in older to believe. That is the negative principle, the spirit of doubt and denial, which says "in the heart, we cannot believe . . . until we are convinced by what we can apprehend, or perceive by the senses. . . . On the other hand they who this from an affirmative principle can confirm themselves by whatever things rational, by whatever scientific, and whatever things philosophical they have at command; for all these are to them things confirmatory and give them a fuller idea of the matter."****
     * SD 805, 1950-2, AC 6621, 5D2040
     ** AC 2538
     *** Ibid.
     **** AC 2568:4-5
     In thinking of the text of the Word in this spirit, consider:

It is solely a universal affirmative with which man is imbued as to truths by the Lord, as that the Word is the Word, that the Lord is the Lord, that Providence is in the most singular things. When one is in this principle, although he is but obscurely aware of its existence, innumerable affirmatives are insinuated by the Lord.*
     * SD 4533; cf. Also 4534 and 4536

     The Word is the Word because it contains the Lord and the continuous internal sense and reveals the Lord's will to us. His Providence in singular things is illustrated by His care for the Word:

Of the Lord's Divine Providence it has come to pass, that the Word as to the sense of the letter from its first revelation has not been mutilated, not even as to an expression and letter in the original text, for every expression is a support, and in some measure the letters. From all this it is clear what a profanation it is to falsify the truths and adulterate the goods of the Word, and how infernal it is to deny or weaken its holiness.*
     * AE 1085:2

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     It would be infernal if New Church scholarship in any way denied or weakened the holiness of the Word. The Word is the Word. Somehow we must reconcile the statements concerning its preservation and holiness, even as to jot and tittle, with the natural evidence of many variant readings.

     Let us go forward in the work of translation upon the soundest text we know, as far as we can discern it from the Writings, which I believe is the Textus Receptus. But let us remember that this is no ordinary work, for "God spake all these words."

     BIBLIOGRAPHY

     Cole, Stephen. "Swedenborg's Hebrew Bible," New Philosophy, Jan. 1977. Cross, Frank M. and Talmon, Shemaryahu. Qumran and the History of the Biblical

     Text. Cambridge and London: Harvard University Press, 1975. Hyde, James. "Swedenborg's Bibles." New Church Magazine, 1901. Kenyon, Frederic G. Handbook to the Textual Criticism of the New Testament.

     2nd ed. Gorand Rapids, Mich.: W. B. Eerdmans Publ. Co. Kenyon, Frederic. Our Bible and the Ancient Manuscripts. 4th ed., 1930; rpt.

     New York and London: Harper and Bros., 1945. McClintock and Strong, "Textus Receptus.

     Metzger, Bruce M. The Text of the New Testament. 2nd ed. New York and Oxford:

     Oxford University Press, 1968. Pfeiffer, Charles F. The Dead Sea Scrolls and the Bible. Gorand Rapids, Mich.:

     Baker Book House. Soulen, Richard N. Handbook of Biblical Criticism. Atlanta: John Knox Press, 1976.
APPLICATIONS FOR ADMISSION TO THE ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH COLLEGE 1979

APPLICATIONS FOR ADMISSION TO THE ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH COLLEGE              1979

     Requests for application forms for admission to the Academy College for 1980-81 should be addressed to Dean Robert W. Gladish, The Academy of the New Church College, Box 278, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009. Completed application forms and accompanying transcripts and recommendations should be submitted by March 15, 1980.
     It should also be noted that the College operates on a three-term year and that applications for entrance to the Winter and Spring terms of the current academic year can be processed, provided that they are received by Dean Gladish at least three weeks prior to the beginning of the new term.

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LOVE OF THE WORLD 1979

LOVE OF THE WORLD       Rev. PATRICK A. ROSE       1979

     An Address to the 59th British Assembly

     I thought it useful to address you this evening on a subject which relates to what is perhaps the overriding concern of modern Western Society-that is, a concern for the world. People are interested in this world, and more specifically, the various types of security, pleasure and delight the world has to offer them. And right at the center of this is of course a concern for the passport to worldly security and pleasure-namely money. Such subjects as taxation, wages, and inflation, concern people's lives at every level. Economics would seem to be the major concern of politics and government, for it is the major, if not the greatest concern of the man on the street-and the housewife in the shops.
     As New Church people, we cannot be uninvolved in this great concern. We, like everybody else, pay taxes. We, like everybody else, must cast our vote. We suffer along with our fellow countrymen when strikes make various goods and services unobtainable-strikes generally called for the purpose of increasing the money earned by the strikers. We are all involved in these and similar issues in one way or another, not only because we live in the world, but because we also love the world. All of us, just like everybody else, love to feel financially secure. We love the necessities of life, of course: we need to eat; we need a roof over our heads. And we also want something of the luxuries of life: holidays, nice furniture, going out to eat occasionally, and so on. And, like everybody else, we must choose what we are going to spend our money on, and decide what not to spend our money on. We must decide what is a necessity, and what is merely a luxury-and this isn't always an easy decision.
     Therefore, whether we like it or not, we are involved in this issue of money, and its uses and misuses. It concerns us, as it does everybody else. But, as New Churchmen, our thought on this and related matters must be based on principles drawn from the Writings. Moral issues and questions of integrity are often involved, and these cannot be resolved on the basis of whim, but only from the clear light of the Heavenly Doctrines.
     To remind you of just one type of moral issue involved in financial matters, let me quote to you from a recent Daily Telegraph (June 25th, 1979):

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Earlier this year, Sir William Pile, chairman of the British Revenue Board, stated in evidence to the Commons Expenditure Sub-Committee that he was 'Sure that there is a black economy of a disturbingly large size. It is losing us revenue. It is also eroding what you might call the integrity of taxpaying generally. We have always had a very high standard of taxpaying integrity, and it would be a great sadness, I think, if Britain saw its standards eroded in this way-but that may be the danger. It is very difficult for us in the Revenue to combat it'.

     The writer, Roderick Junor, also reports that

The owner of a string of London Fashion boutiques told me: `We only declare a fraction of our true staff. It's better for us and it's better for them. We pay the undeclared staff in cash. That way we avoid all the bother of form-filling and the consequences of the Employment Protection Act. And the girls gain in two ways: they don't have to pay any tax and, if they choose, they can claim they're unemployed and get money from the State'. The owner in question, who like everyone else to whom I spoke naturally refused to allow his name to be used, deplores the situation. 'But what else am I to do? My competitors are doing it. Every few months 1 have to put up the cash payments (at the moment it is ?50 a week) because the girls are being offered more money in other shops. Most of them are single and the tax on a single person is ridiculous. After tax they couldn't afford to live in London'.

     Now, I don't plan to talk about this example. It is just by way of illustration, though I would call your attention to Divine Providence 278:4 which says "A man does not regard evil as a sin who in his desire for wealth makes certain forms of fraud allowable, by reasons which he devises." Neither am I planning to talk about whether it is allowable under certain conditions to strike. I don't want to talk about when a luxury is to be considered a necessity-or about whether you should have roast lamb for Sunday dinner. I am certainly not going to comment on who you should vote for. These are matters of conscience, matters a man of the church should decide for himself on the basis of his understanding of the Writings and on the basis of an enlightened judgment. What I am going to do is present this evening certain of the teachings of the Writings on the subject of the love of the world, ask you to listen to this presentation, and to reflect upon these teachings.

     The love of the world is defined in the Writings as follows:

The love of the world is not merely a love of wealth and possessions, but is also a love of all that delights the bodily senses, as beauty delights the eye, harmony the ear, fragrance the nostrils, delicacies the tongue, softness the skin; also becoming dress, convenient houses, and society, thus all the enjoyments arising from these and many other objects.*
     * TCR 394

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     Now it should be emphasized right at the beginning that there is nothing wrong with this love in itself. It is a good love, residing in man from creation.* Man was in fact created by the Lord to have three universal loves. The highest of these loves is the love of heaven.* This is a love of performing uses from spiritual love.** If, however, a man is to perform uses, he must love those things by which uses are performed and made possible. He is therefore given a love of the world, so that he might seek for and acquire those things around him by which he might be useful. And since he is the means by which his uses are performed, last of all he must take care of himself for this purpose. He is therefore given a love of self.***
     * TCR 395
          ** TCR 394, 403:2
          *** TCR 394e
     Thus there is nothing intrinsically wrong with the love of the world. It is given to man as a means for the performance of uses, and is therefore a useful love. Therefore, far from being undesirable, it is most necessary. Indeed, it is said in the Writings to be one of the universals of heaven.* What is more, if we didn't have a love of the world, we would have no freedom or life of our own-in fact we wouldn't be human beings-for we wouldn't be able to act as if of ourselves from the Lord.** We must indeed receive above all spiritual love from the Lord. But this reception of spiritual love would be meaningless if we could not express it in our own lives, on our own level-that is, in the world around us. We can therefore view the love of the world as a wonderful love given us by the Lord, a love which seeks for ways and means in the world around us, so that we ourselves can express our love for the Lord and for our fellow-men.
     * CL 261
     ** CL 269e
     This is the way it is meant to be; and this is the way it is so long as the spiritual love of uses reigns in man's mind. But it becomes altogether different when the world, or oneself, becomes an end in itself. If this happens, then the love of the world (or the love of self) is defiled, for its very purpose is cast aside. At the same time the most wondrous love of all, the love of heavenly uses, is neglected and cast down, or trampled underfoot.* This is evil itself. It is by loving uses, that is, doing good, that a man is conjoined with the Lord and with his fellow-men.** Once this love is cast down, there is no longer any conjunction but disjunction instead.

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Indeed, this is what evil is. We read that "evil itself consists in disunion."***
     * TCR 404, 405
     ** AC 4997
     *** Ibid.
     Now it is evident that since evil arises when the love of uses is cast down and replaced by a lower love, and since there are two lower loves of a universal nature, there must be, in general, two origins of evil. So we read: "Be it know that evils are from a double origin; namely, from the love of self, and from the love of the world."* All evil comes from one or the other.** There is indeed a third origin-falsity of religion-but then the evil which results is of a bad character only insofar as the man who commits it is "in the love of self and of the world."***
     * AC 8318:2
     ** AC 1691; cf AC 7366
     *** AC 8318e
     If we are going to have any understanding of what evil is, and what sin is, we must understand the nature of these two loves.* It is important to have such an understanding. Learning about evil and sin might not sound the most attractive proposition. Why not just study good instead? But the fact is, man will never come into what is good unless he resists what is evil within him. Knowledge of what sin is, is a prerequisite to repentance.** How can we resist hell if we don't know what hell is? If our idea of what is evil is vague and uninformed, we might very easily end up resisting things that are harmless*** while allowing ourselves to remain in grievous evils. We might, for example, put all our efforts into resisting such things as dancing, in the mistaken belief that it is a sinful worldly pastime, while at the same time we have contempt for those who indulge in dancing, in the even more mistaken belief that there is nothing wrong with contempt.
     * AC 4997e
     ** See TCR 525
     *** AC 5386, 5724; SD 1240
     As we study what the Writings have to say about the love of self and the love of the world, one of the first things that strikes us is the horribly evil nature of these loves, once they become ends in themselves. Though they are good, useful and indeed essential loves whilst they are properly subordinated to a love of use, once this highest love is cast aside they become horribly destructive. By rejecting a love of uses as his ruling love, a man not only loses that which conjoins him with the Lord and with other people, but in its place acquires something which divides him from and sets him against others. If a man loves himself above all, this love inevitably carries within itself a hatred and contempt for those who do not favour him.

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Also, if a man has as his chief end the acquisition of the goods of the world, and an enjoyment of their pleasures, there is implicit within this a desire to take these goods and this enjoyment from others. So it is that once the love of the world or the love of self becomes an end in itself, what was intended by the Lord to be a good and useful love becomes no longer really a love at all, but a hatred. As we read in The Word Explained: "Those loves, namely, the love of self and the love of the world, are not loves at all but mere hatreds."* Once either of these two loves reigns, it becomes hatred which contains within itself the endeavor to break up human society,** and to reject all that is good and true.
     * WE 985
     ** AC 4997:2
     Such is the endeavor of evil. It must not be forgotten that evil is essentially a matter of love-either of the love of self or of the love of the world. It is not simply a matter of some imperfection which mars man's character to some degree and nothing more. It is of love, and love is not a static but a dynamic thing. It is an active endeavor, which perpetually strives to accomplish its object. When a love is good, this is most desirable. When the three universal loves are in their proper priority, then the love of heaven constantly strives to be more and more useful to others, while the lower two loves strive to make this usefulness possible. Man is thus constantly perfected by each one of these three loves.* The tragedy is that when these lower loves become ends in themselves, they still retain the propensity to grow, even though they have now become hatreds instead of loves. They therefore have a tendency to grow endlessly, causing more and more harm. "These loves," we read, "are both of them without limit, and rush on to infinity so far as opportunity is given."**
     * TCR 395, 403
     ** AE 950:3
     Such is the nature of evil. It is a destructive force which knows no limit. It burns with hatred against all people. It is hell. We should remember this. At times it may appear as if evil is not all that bad. It doesn't seem to be that harmful. Indeed, if it is one of our own evils, we might be tempted to regard it almost fondly, with the feeling that after all we are only human. Oh, it is true that none of us is perfect, and that we are all of us only human! But let us never forget that from the loves of self and the world proceed all the terrors and horrors of hell itself, and that unless we strive to put these loves in their rightful place, we will never become more perfect, and, far from being "only human," we will become more and more inhuman with the passing of time.

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     Having recognized this, we should also realize that though all evil is horrible, some evils are less horrible than others. The specific teaching of the Writings is that evils proceeding from the love of the world are not as bad as those proceeding from self-love. It is important to realize this, partly for the reason that once we know some evils are worse than others, we can then especially shun them.* We must, however, avoid the idea that as long as we shun the worst evils, it doesn't matter if we remain in evils which are not quite as bad. This would be the same as saying that if we can't make it to heaven, at least we will try to go to a milder hell. The fact is, hell is hell, no matter what level of hell we are talking about.** Though the evil love of the world is not as severe as the evil love of self, it is still a horribly evil love. We must shun this evil. This is perhaps the very reason we are told that evil from the love of the world is less severe than evil from the love of self. We are thereby led to see that though some evils are milder than others, they all lead to hell. We are thus prompted to shun evil in all its forms, rather than regard milder evils as excusable. So it is that all evils proceed from the love of self and the love of the world, and though the first of these loves is the worst, the second also is still hell.
     * Cf. SD 6053
     ** Cf. CL 443:2
     As we turn to a consideration of the difference between these two hellish loves, and the differing ways in which each is expressed, we come to see that evil can take a host of different forms. It is a complex thing, covering a huge spectrum. But this we might expect. After all, evil is opposition to and hatred of what is good, and good can take many forms. Indeed, the universal heaven is organized according to the varying goods of hosts of individual angels, each one of whom has his own way of expressing what is good. The variation of goods in heaven is without limit. It is the same with evil. Each inhabitant of hell has his own unique way of perverting good and truth from the Lord, and living in opposition to both God and man.*
     * HH 588
     Still, though these varieties are limitless, there are in general two basic types of good in heaven, and, by opposition, two basic types of evil in hell. In heaven there is love of the Lord, the love in which are the angels of the celestial or inmost kingdom, and there is love towards the neighbor, in which are the angels of the spiritual kingdom. Of course, celestial angels still love the neighbor, and spiritual angels do love the Lord. There is a distinction, though, in the fact that the celestial angels love the Lord above all. From this love they also love their neighbor, and, indeed, more intensely than do the spiritual angels; but they do this from love of the Lord, a love which impels them to love also all whom the Lord has created.

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The spiritual angels, on the other hand, are not so deeply in love of the Lord, and their love takes the form of charity towards other people according to the laws of truth, rather than from an intense and deep love of the Lord Himself. It is a more exterior love. Now, the two loves of hell are in opposition to these two heavenly loves. We read that:

The hell where those are who are called devils is the love of self; and the hell where those are who are called satans is the love of the world. The diabolical hell is the love of self because that love is the opposite of celestial love which is love to the Lord; and the satanic hell is the love of the world because that love is the opposite of spiritual love, which is love towards the neighbor.*
     * AE 1143:4; cf. AC 4750:3, 2219:3; HH 596

This is why the love of the world is not as bad as love of self. The love of the world is opposed to a love of good which is not as deep as that to which the love of self is opposed.
     The love of self is a terrible love indeed. It is not to be confused with an outward haughtiness, for the love of self sometimes expresses itself in this way and sometimes it does not.* Rather it is a frame of mind, an attitude, which focuses on oneself alone. It is said to reign in a man when in what he thinks and does, he does not regard his neighbor, thus not the public, still less the Lord, but only himself and those who belong to him.** He sees himself in everything, and thinks only of his own reputation, honor and glory.*** For those who do not favor him he has only contempt, and if anyone should cross him, he rages deep within himself, and from hatred seeks revenge.**** This love therefore contains within itself a desire to destroy others. Above all, it contains a desire to destroy the Lord. Any man who regards himself as all-important cannot bear the idea of a Being who is infinitely more important than himself.*****
     * AC 7376
     ** TCR 400:1
     *** AC 7370, 2219:3, 4750:5
     **** AC 2219:4; Cf. TCR 311
     The love of the world is not like this. It is not as severe (though those in the love of the world still do have some desire to murder the Lord-note the reference to both devils and satans at the beginning of TCR 312). The evil love of self is defined as follows:

The love of the world is a desire to draw to oneself the wealth of others by any device whatever, to set the heart upon riches, and to permit the world to withdraw and lead one away from spiritual love, which is love towards the neighbor, that is, from heaven.*
     * TCR 400:11; cf. HH 565

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This love is distinct from the love of self and differs from it in many ways.* Because it is not as directly opposed to the deepest of all the loves of heaven-love of the Lord-it is not opposed to what is good to the same degree.** It is not so foul a love, nor does it rush onwards to so great a degree; it is not as destructive and the evils contained within it are not as great as those contained in the love of self.***
     * AC 1675e               
     ** AC 4750:4
     *** AC 1675:7, 2219:3; TCR 400:12
     The love of the world is perhaps a rather difficult love to understand, since it is perhaps not easy to see just how it differs from the love of self, and thus how it is not so severe. Surely if the love of the world is a desire to take away the wealth of others, it is a selfish love. Indeed, this is precisely how we often view selfishness. A selfish man is someone who wants something for himself. How, then, is the love of the world really different from the love of self?
     But this is to miss the point. Nowhere do the Writings say that the love of the world is not selfish. It is in fact horribly selfish. The distinction between the love of self and the love of the world is not that the first is selfish and the second is not: both are selfish. The difference is in how this selfishness is expressed.
     We can all know what this difference is, because-let's face it-we have all experienced both the love of self and the love of the world. Think first of the enjoyment we sometimes feel when we are thinking about ourselves. Depending on how unregenerate we are, or depending on what temptation we are undergoing, every now and again our thoughts turn to ourselves and our whole mind becomes fixed on just one thing-ourselves. We think how wonderful we are; or we think how oppressed we are, and how awful it is that others don't seem to care about our precious selves as much as we do. We are all important, and we don't stop to think about anybody else. It is especially easy to focus in upon ourselves when others honor us. If we become the centre of attention of a group of people for some reason or another, we can, if we aren't careful, get this wonderful swelling feeling within our chests.* How selfish we are! We are in the love of ourselves.
     * Cf. DP 215:9
     Think now of other times when we are wrapped up in enjoyable things. We sometimes become so wrapped up in enjoying ourselves that it never occurs to us that we should be considerate of others. We aren't directly focusing upon ourselves; we are focusing upon the enjoyments of the world. This is selfish, but it isn't selfish in the same way. We are being selfish by thinking of our own enjoyment only, and by doing and seeking things for our own sakes (cf. AE 950: 3-the world is loved for the sake of one's own and because of one's own); we aren't actually thinking about ourselves.

497


This is what the Writings mean when they say that "in the love of self, evil uses as regards their source (a quo), which is self, are involved; and in the love of the world, evil uses as regards their object (adquem) are involved."* The love of the world is therefore selfish, but more by default than by conscious effort. The man in this love is like the greedy child who is enjoying eating his birthday cake so much, that he forgets to give his sister a piece. He isn't as bad as the hateful child who eats his cake all by himself so that his sister can't have any because she made him angry three weeks earlier. But he is still bad.
     * Love x.
     It is evident that if a man is intent upon the pleasures of the world, and usually this involves a love of money by which he can buy the things which please him, and if this is his main purpose in life, he is not going to care about the Lord, about heaven, about religion, nor about other people. The love of the world is thus a rejection of and contempt for these things, even if it is not an out and out hatred of them.
     Therefore the love of the world, that is, the love of the world for the sake of oneself, is hell. We read in True Christian Religion:

What a man loves above all things is his end; that he looks to in all things and in every single thing. In his will it is like the hidden current of a river, which draws and bears him away even when he is doing something else, for it is that which influences him.*
     * TCR 399:3

A man's end is "that which influences him." If people are influenced primarily by the love of the world, it is indeed hell. It brings hell into a society. When people are influenced more by their own enjoyment, their own welfare, than by consideration of what is just, what is right, and what is of service to others, society itself breaks down into a greedy selfishness.*
     * AC 4997:2
     Still, the real hell of the love of the world, the real misery, is within the man himself. This love can take many forms. It can, for example, be a love of luxury, having as an end such things as "palaces, ornaments, magnificent clothing, servants, horses and carriages pompously arrayed, [the modern equivalent of course being an expensive car] and other like things."* On the other hand, the love of the world can verge towards avarice-sheer greed-where happiness consists mainly in the mere possession of money for the sake of money, which is much worse than having luxury as an end.** It can also be more or less involved and connected with the love of self,*** or more or less involved with cunning and deceit.**** And, depending on the type and degree of severity of the love of the world in which a man is, it hurts him more or less. But it always hurts him. It turns him into a little hell and makes his life pitiful and miserable.
     * TCR 404
     ** Ibid.
     *** TCR 400:13
     **** AC 7374

498



     It really is pitiful. To love the things of this world more than the things of heaven, more than such things as charity, trust and use to others, is to set one's heart on something so lowly it is pathetic. After all, what is money? All it is, is a bunch of paper or metal, or perhaps figures in a bank account. And what of the pleasures that money can buy-material things and natural enjoyments-neither of which lasts for more than a lifetime at the most, and usually the pleasure wears out in a much shorter time than that?
     These things of course have their uses, insofar as we view them as the means and necessities for leading a useful life in this world. But if they become an end in themselves-if we set our hearts upon such things-and forget about use and about love, charity and the things of true wisdom, then we have rejected what is truly valuable and chosen something completely worthless. The truth is that money and the things money can buy are worthless, absolutely worthless, if we do not consider them in terms of a life dedicated to usefulness towards other people. They are as worthless as a pile of mud. What is more, someone in the other world who had a phantasy of possessing great wealth, and had his heart set on this wealth, saw his gold turn into filthy mud.* And the love of wealth for its own sake, that is, avarice, is indeed filthy or sordid.** So we Speak of sordid avarice. And we have the saying, which originated with Paul, and is confirmed in the Writings, that the love of money is the root, or a root, of all evil***-probably in the sense of being one of the lowest and basest and most pitiful of evils, drawing man away from things of true value. After all, to seek after wealth as an end in itself is pointless and stupid. As Paul wrote to Timothy: "For we have brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment, let us- therewith be content."**** And as the Lord Himself asked: "For what shall it profit a man, if he gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"*****
     * SD 4428
     ** HH 463
     *** I Tim. 6:10; DP 220e
     **** I Tim. 6:7, 8
     ***** Mark 8:36
     It is foolish and pathetic to set one's heart upon the things of this world. This is what especially strikes one about the descriptions of those in the other world who have been in the love of the world. We read of men sitting around, entranced by the phantasy that they possessed huge amounts of gold-although they were but small specks.* We read of women who had set their hearts on such things as pleasure and a life of delicacy and ease, and caring for nothing else, ending up having wretched quarrels in the other life, tearing and beating each other, and dragging each other by the hair."**

499


And we read of those who loved the pleasures of this world so much that all they desired to do is to obsess men in this world, and so return to the world they loved-something rarely if ever allowed.*** The indication is that even when such a thing is allowed, it sometimes results in insanity and suicide in the man whose mind they obsess,**** so even then their desire to reenter the world is tragically and pitifully frustrated. So it is that the love of the world reduces a man to a sordid, pitiful and pathetic state, both in this world and in the next.
     * CL 268               
     ** AC 944
     *** SD 4198, 4225
     **** SD 4198e
     But it does more than this. It also leads to mental pain and anguish. This is because the love of the world leads particularly to what the Writings call "the insanity of not being contented with one's lot."* If a man in this love has wealth, he is always afraid-afraid he will lose it.** If he does lose his wealth and possessions, he is not only saddened, as any normal man would be; more than this, he is "inmostly grieved."*** On the other hand, if he is poor, he still sets his heart on riches and when he doesn't get them, he is provoked, and harbors "ill thoughts about the Divine Providence."**** He is angry that it's always other people who have all the luck, always other people who win the football pools. He feels pain in many ways. For example, it hurts him deep down inside when he pays taxes, doing so unwillingly, and then only when he cannot defraud.***** He doesn't enjoy working either, not really. If people in the love of the world cannot make extra money when on the job,****** they take no real delight in it. If they can keep their salary and avoid work, they will do so. It is said that they are "idlers and sloths; they lie in bed, thinking of nothing but how they may find companions to talk, eat, and drink with. They are public burdens."******* But when they have to work, as they certainly have to do after death, if they are to eat, and as they sometimes have to do in this world, then work itself becomes a, source of pain, for "their duties are burdens to them."********
     * AC 1675:7               
     ** DP 139:5
     *** TCR 399:2
     **** HH 364
     ***** TCR 430****** C 195******* C 196
     ******** Ibid.
     It never occurs to those in the love of the world that there is delight and enjoyment to be found in serving others. Nor would they ever dream that there can be happiness in being content with one's lot and trusting in the Divine.

500


They don't realize that whether people obtain wealth or remain poor is in the Lord's hands, and that He gives to everyone according to his needs, that is, according to what is best for their spiritual state.* Certainly they could never imagine the peace felt by those who trust in the Lord and look to what is good and true. All they know instead is disturbance, fear and unrest.**
     * AC 6481
     ** AC 5660e
     The greatest tragedy of all which arises from loving the world above all is that it closes the mind to spiritual things. It draws the mind away from any consideration of the Lord, of heaven, of religion or of love and charity. In fact this is by definition what the love of the world partly is-it is allowing the things of this world to draw us away from spiritual love and from the things of heaven.* If a man sets his heart on the riches and enjoyments of this world, so that this is the most important thing to him, obviously the Lord, and the things of charity, faith and use cannot be so important. He doesn't really care about them. People like this may still worship, but only from a natural love;** they only "go through the motions."*** Their real worship is a worship of money, or of the pleasures of the world; this is their god.****
     * TCR 400:11      
     ** TCR 400
     *** Cf. DP 278a:4
     **** AE 950:3
     Indeed, if the truth were known, their worship is little else than demon worship, for they worship and adore the lust of worldly things, a lust that proceeds from the demons of hell.* Certainly they do not really worship the Lord. They worship money, and they worship the world. And, as the Lord taught in His Sermon on the Mount: "No man can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon."** "Mammon" was what the ancients called a man in the love of the World.*** The result of serving mammon-the result of loving the world above all-is not only that the mind is distracted from serving the Lord, but that it is actually closed to Him, and the spiritual things which are from Him. Total immersion of the mind in worldly concerns, concerns about "possessions, the acquirement of riches, about pleasures, and the like" drag the mind down, "and when they are regarded as the end, they remove the man from heaven."****
     * AR 458
     ** Matt. 6;24; cf. C 38
     *** TCR 404e
     **** AC 6210; cf. DP 139:5
     The result is that a man in the love of the world is unreceptive to the truth, and not caring for the truth, has no real idea of what repentance involves.*

501


It is said that when such men hear the truth, whether in a sermon or otherwise, they ask themselves what this truth has to do with them. If they do happen to listen to what is said, they stifle it, and remember nothing except "some few phrases."** It is no wonder such a man doesn't care to hear or remember the truth, and sees no purpose in it, for in fact the love of the world is in its essence nothing but falsity.*** This of course is to be expected. The love of the world is opposed to the love of the neighbor, in which are the angels of the spiritual kingdom, and these angels do what is good to others according to the truth. Indeed, spiritual good in its essence is truth.**** Therefore the love which opposes it, love of the world, is essentially the opposite of truth, namely falsity. And the man in this love comes indeed into falsities of all kinds, for by focusing on the things of this world alone, he shuts himself off from the light of heaven.
     * DP 278a:3
     ** Ibid.
     *** AE 576e
     **** Ibid.
     In this lies part of the reason why there are so few people in the New Church. It was prophesied in the Book of Revelation that the woman would flee into the wilderness, that is, that the New Church would at first be received by a few people only. The reason is that at the time a church ends, there are many people, though not all, in the loves of self and the world. And these loves close the mind to heaven. They close the mind to a reception of the doctrines of heaven-the Heavenly Doctrines-and if these doctrines are not received, neither is the New Church. The love of the world, together with the love of self, is opposed to the New Church. It is an enemy of the church. Where men are in this love they will not normally be willing to see the truth of the doctrines.*
     * AE 730:1-3; Rev. 12:6
     It is therefore especially important that we do not allow ourselves to be ruled by the love of the world. It is so easy to allow ourselves to come to regard the things of the world around us as all-important-so important that we forget about our religion, forget about the Lord, and forget about finding happiness in service to others.
     We must guard carefully against this. But let's not regard this as a gloomy and austere duty. We are not expected to shun the love of the world itself. Let us note this carefully. All we must beware of is letting this love rule our lives, that is, shun the predominance of this love. In talking of the rich and poor in heaven, Heaven and Hell tells us:

It should be said to begin with that a man may acquire riches and accumulate wealth as far as the opportunity is given, if it is not done by craft or fraud; that he may enjoy the delicacies of food and drink if he does not place his life therein; that he may have palatial dwellings in accord with his condition, have intercourse with others in like condition, frequent places of amusement, talk about the affairs of the world, and need not go about like a devotee with a sad     and sorrowful countenance and drooping head, but may be joyful and cheerful; nor need he give his goods to the poor except so far as affection leads him; in a word, he may live outwardly precisely like a man of the world; and all this will be no obstacle to his entering heaven, provided that inwardly in himself he thinks about God as he ought, and acts sincerely and justly in respect to his neighbor.*
     * HH 358

502




     You can enjoy yourself. You can grow rich, if you are able to, and not feel guilty. You can have good food on the table, and enjoy it. You can live in a nice house, if you can afford one. You can have a really good time in this world. What is more, you can look forward to an even more enjoyable life in the next. You don't have to content yourselves with the absolute necessaries, if you are in a position to enjoy luxuries as well. It is a law of the spiritual world, reflected to some degree in this world, that a man is provided not only with necessities, but also enjoyable things-luxuries, if you will-depending upon the excellency of the use he performs.* And there is nothing wrong with these enjoyments. Man can love and enjoy the things in the world around him. What is more, if he happens to be rich, no man should begrudge him that.
     * Love xii
     We can enjoy the things of this world that we have been given to enjoy, and the things we have acquired honestly. All that is necessary is that we do not set our hearts upon these things, and that we do not seek gain and deprive others by evil means. We must be content with our lot, whatever it may be, and set our hearts on higher things-things of eternal value. We must love above all the things of heaven. We must love and worship the Lord, love and obey his Word, and find our greatest delight in being useful to society.
     And this isn't difficult. It really isn't. We certainly don't have to reject the things of this world. All the Lord expects us to do is receive from Him a greater love for the things of heaven. It is not difficult to receive this, for it is something the Lord freely gives us, so long as we believe in Him and obey His Ten Commandments. He will then not only give us to love heaven more than the world, but will give us a happiness, a contentment, in the things of this world as well.

503


ANNUAL REPORT OF SECRETARY OF THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM 1979

ANNUAL REPORT OF SECRETARY OF THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM       Various       1979

     During September 1978, through August 1979, one hundred and twenty-one members were received into the General Church. Two resigned from the church. Twelve were dropped from the roll. Fifty-two deaths were reported. On September 1, 1979, the roll contained three thousand six hundred and twenty-seven names.

Membership, September 1, 1978                     3,572
     (U.S.A.-2,409. Other Countries-1,163)

New Members (Cert. 6516-6636)                     121
     (U.S.A.-103. Other Countries-18)

Deaths reported                                    52
     (U.S.A.-33. Other Countries-19)

Resignations                                    2
     (U.S.A.-1. Other Countries-i)

Dropped from Roll                               12
     (U.S.A.-9. Other Countries-3)

Losses                                         66
     (U.S.A.-43. Other Countries-23)

Net Gain during September 1978 through August 1979      55
     (U.S.A.-60. Other Countries-Loss of 5)

Membership, September 1, 1979                         3,627
     (U.S.A.-2,469. Other Countries-1,158)

     NEW MEMBERS

     THE UNITED STATES

     California: San Diego
Mr. Jeffrey Reid Blair
Mr. Robert Arne Larsson
Mrs. Helen Dorothy (Jones) Sonier

     California: Stockton
Ms. Micheline Diane Iungerich Schoeffling

     California: Van Nuys
Miss Janice Ida Campbell

     Colorado: Arvada
Ms. Edgar C. Beatty (Florence Kellejian)

     Colorado: Westminster
Miss Leila de Mendonca Lima

     Delaware: Newark
Mr. Wayne Edward Hyatt

     Florida: Eustis
Mrs. Betty Mae (Acton) Bone

504




     Florida: Lake Helen
Mr. Mark Richard Frazee

     Florida: Miramar
Mrs. Kenneth E. Leeming (Virginia Smith)

     Florida: Orange City
Mrs. Jay Vernon Cross (Elaine Claire de Maine)

     Florida: Orlando
Miss Janet Alden

     Florida: Pensacola
Mr. Terry Robinson McClarren

     Florida: South Daytona
Mr. Edward Gary Frazee

     Florida: Winter Park
Miss Shirley Alden

     Georgia: Americus
The Rev. William Burke
Mrs. William Burke (Eleanor R. Sweatt)
Mr. Joseph Ray Cripe
Mrs. Joseph R. Cripe (Jaye Scott)
Mr. William Harold Eubanks
Mrs. William Harold Eubanks (Sylvia Holman)
Mrs. Mary Elizabeth (Presnell) Johnson
Dr. Irma Mae Stephens

     Georgia: Atlanta
Mrs. Anthony L. Sills (Shelly Cooper)

     Georgia: Marietta
Mr. Stephen A. Jensen

     Georgia: Plains
Mr. Curtis Anderson
Mrs. Curtis Anderson (Evelyn Kramer)

     Illinois: Elgin
Mrs. Kay Joan (Morgan) Farback
Mr. LeRoy Merton Morgan
Mrs. LeRoy Merton Morgan (Hilda Louise Rediger)
Mrs. Harold Arthur Truax (Valerie Anne Morgan)

     Illinois: Glenview
Mr. Robert Franklin Coffin
Mr. Gary Owen Edmonds
Mrs. Gary Owen Edmonds (Jennifer Frances Keegan)
Miss Pamela Jeanne Harer
Miss Nancy Jane Lau
Mr. Donald Lowell McQueen
Mr. George Alexander McQueen
Mr. Lawrence Andrew Mitzen
Mrs. Joel E. Smith (Elizabeth Ann Lau)
Mr. Lawrence Samuel Wathen

     Illinois: Hoffman Estates
Mrs. Kevin Howard McBride (Lynn Leslie Hedstrom)

     Illinois: Wheeling
Mr. Roger Herrinton Phelps

     Maryland: Upper Marlboro
Mr. Christopher James Smith

     Massachusetts: Westwood
The Rev. George Daniel McCurdy

     Michigan: Birmingham
Miss Kathryn Merrell

505




     Michigan: Lake Orion
Miss Leigh Goodwin Martz

     Minnesota: Plymouth
Mr. Larry David Person

     Missouri: Glencoe
Mr. Daniel Anthony Eller
Mrs. Daniel Anthony Eller (Betty Sue Williams)

     Missouri: Glendale
Mrs. Walter Edward Orthwein, II (Angelina Gene Gill)

     New York: Ithaca
Mr. Lewalle Jacques

     New York: New York
Lt. Douglas Abbott Macgregor

     Ohio: Glendale
Mr. Duncan Sydney Lee
Mrs. Duncan Sydney Lee (Nancy Jo Latta)

     Ohio: Urbana
Mr. Nathaniel Dean Pendleton

     Ohio: Youngstown
Mr. Jim G. Spetsios

     Oregon: Ashland
Mr. Paul Ronald Whitney
Mrs. Paul Ronald Whitney (Kathleen Denise Hannan)

     Oregon: Lake Oswego
Mr. Clifford Harvey Eichorst, Jr.

     Pennsylvania: Bryn Athyn
Mr. Reed Kirk Asplundh
Mrs. Reed Kirk Asplundh (Elaine Synnestvedt)
Mr. Daniel Fitzpatrick
Mr. Nathan Donald Gladish
Miss Doris Jane Greer
Mrs. Peter Jay Lermitte (Kaye Junge)
Mr. Stephen Ashley Maxwell
Mr. John Llewellyn Odhner
Miss Naomi Pryke
Miss Elizabeth Rose
Mr. Hubert Keith Rydstrom
Miss Amy Joan Smith
Mr. Grant Merrell Smith
Mrs. Sigfried A. Soneson (Judith Ann Hecker)
Miss Kimberley Hough York

     Pennsylvania: Carversville
Mrs. Lorraine Elizabeth (Sawler) Bacon

     Pennsylvania: Huntingdon Valley
Mr. Hugh Raynor Brown
Mrs. Hugh Raynor Brown (Janina Cole)
Ms. Barbara Lynne Asplundh
Mr. Walter Lee Horigan, III
Mrs. Walter Lee Horigan, III (Ellen Marie DeLong)
Dr. Gerald Michael Lemole
Mrs. Paul Sullivan (Lynn Doering)
Miss Linda Katherine Wright

     Pennsylvania: Kempton
Mr. Duncan Pitcairn Cole
Mrs. Duncan Pitcairn Cole (Anne Karine Boyesen)

     Pennsylvania: Oil City
Mrs. Blair King (Darcie Herder)

506




     Pennsylvania: Philadelphia
Mrs. Eugene Joseph Heffron (Marilyn Anne Stumm)
Mr. Stanley Richard Kresz
Mrs. Stanley Richard Kresz (Helen Marie Kennedy)

     Pennsylvania: Pittsburgh
Mr. Curtis Leslie McQueen

     Pennsylvania: Rices Landing
Mr. Edward Stephen Walko
Mrs. Edward Stephen Walko (Christine Harkins)

     Pennsylvania: Somerton
Mr. Andrew Glover

     Pennsylvania: Wayne
Mrs. Francis Adams Meisel (Grace Marie Johnston)

     Pennsylvania: West Chester
Mrs. Florence Ruth (Gay) Rivera

     Pennsylvania: Wyncote
Mr. Paul Mausby Herr
Mrs. Paul Mausby Herr (Barbara Anne d'Amato)

     Washington: Anacortes
Mr. Ian Robert Woofenden
Mrs. Ian Robert Woofenden (Frea Gladish)

     Washington: Bremerton
Mrs. Richard Dean Houghton (Kathleen Ann Anderson)

     Wyoming: Cody
Miss Tana Gram

     CANADA

     Ontario: Kitchener
Mr. Ralph Wayne Hill
Mrs. Ralph Wayne Hill (Suzanna Echols)

     Ontario: London
Mr. Philip B. Schnarr

     EUROPE

     Denmark: Herfolge
Mr. Steen Kronborg Hansen

     England: London
Miss Mabel Beatrice Greenwood

     England: St. Albans, Herts.
Miss Rachel Eva Bruell

     France: Blightslouche
Mr. Marcel Nicolier
Mrs. Marcel Nicolier (Renee Biller)

     France: Monimagny
Miss Martine Nicolier

     Netherlands: The Hague
Mr. Roelant Marinus Johannes Luylix

     Scotland: Balfron, Stirlingshire
Mr. Malcolm John Fraser
Mrs. Malcolm John Fraser (Mildred Anne Zollman)

     Sweden: Lidingo
Mrs. Erik Gustaf Magnus Rosenblad (Rose Jannica Veronica Liden)

507




     Sweden: Jarfalla
Mrs. Gerner Jensen (Hanne Karin Persson)

     Sweden: Stockholm
Mr. Jan Gustaf Liden                                             

     SOUTH AMERICA

     Brazil: Rio de Janeiro
Mr. Leonardo de Mello Araujo Castro
Mrs. Leonardo de Mello Araujo Castro (Ruth Pontes)

     SOUTH AFRICA

     Natal: Westsville
Miss Tanya Ann Mansfield

     DEATHS

Bach, Mrs. Knud (Kirsten Estrup), January 9, 1979, Copenhagen, Denmark (53).
Baeckstrom, Mr. Harry, DELAYED REPORT, February 7, 1978, Stockholm, Sweden (61).
Bellinger, Mrs. Harold Diebel (Elvera Louisa Deppish), May 27, 1973, Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania (89).
Bengtsson, Mr. John Alvar, May 6, 1978, Stockholm, Sweden (60).
Berggren, Mr. Carl Torvald, March 5, 1979, Stockholm, Sweden (86).
Blair, Mrs. Robert H. (Anne Pleat), Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (51).
Bolton, Mrs. T. Coulston (Phyllis Price), January 30, 1979, Syracuse, New York (90).
Brown, Mrs. George Percy (Elise Junge), June 26, 1979, Sarver, Pennsylvania (94).
Bulthuis, Mrs. Henricus Wilbelmus (Johanna Gerritse), DELAYED REPORT, Date Unknown, The Hague.
Childs, Miss Elizabeth Hughes, April 30, 1979, Meadowbrook, Pennsylvania (64).
Clennell, Mrs. James (Ella Maud Sandwell), December 14, 1978, Chadwell Heath, Essex, England (84).
Cooper, Mr. Lawson Pendleton, September 29, 1978, Riverside, California (73).
Cranch, Mrs. Frederick Dawes (Rae Dooley Vaughan), November 10, 1978, York, Pennsylvania (65).
Day, Mr. Horace Goodwin, January 10, 1979, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada (81).
DeLong, Mr. Julius Francis, January 3, 1979, Meadowbrook, Pennsylvania (75).
Dorsey, Miss Jean, July 3, 1979, Gaines, Pennsylvania (40).
Field, Mrs. George (Eleora Serene Odhner), January 10, 1979, Troy, Michigan (59).
Frost, Mrs. Amy Alphonse (McKenzie), October 7, 1978, Durban, Natal, Rep. South Africa (75).
Gilman, Miss Anna Eidse, May 19, 1979, Beamsville, Ontario, Canada (85).
Gloster, Mr. Herman Farland, June 28, 1979, Upper Darby, Pennsylvania (75).
Goodall, Mrs. Michael Charles (Gillian Elisabeth Mellor), October, 1978, Durban, Natal, Rep. South Africa (41).
Grocott, Mr. Stanley Herbert, October 2, 1978, Stanmore, New South Wales, Australia (72).
Gyllenhaal, Mr. Hugh Anders, March 14, 1979, Meadowbrook, Pennsylvania (57).
Hansen, Mrs. William E. (Bertha Unruh), August 13, 1978, Spokane, Washington (80).
Hayes, Mr. Rinaldo James, June 3, 1979, Meadowbrook, Pennsylvania (74).

508



Hedberg, Miss Myrtle, October 30, 1978, Rockford, Illinois (77).
Horigan, Miss Mary Jean, August 1, 1978, St. Petersburg, Florida (88).
Johansson, Mr. Carl Olof, DELAYED REPORT, January 5, 1977, Jonkoping, Sweden (64).
Koltzoff, Mr. Gregory John, September 28, 1978, Bell Gardens, California (75).
Leonardos, Mr. Georges, October 22, 1978, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (75).
Lyman, Mr. Addison Franklin, Jr., April 21, 1979, Abington, Pennsylvania (83).
Lyman, Mrs. Payson (Bertha Farrington), December 24, 1978, Richboro, Pennsylvania (79).
Martz, Mr. George O., July 20, 1978, Pottsville, Pennsylvania (79).
Mays, Mrs. Paul Kirkland (Margaret Pendleton Cooper), May 4, 1979, Carmel, California (77).
McQueen, Mrs. Noel (Mildred Edrei Hark), August 18, 1978, Chicago, Illinois (70).
Moore, Mrs. John Paull (Johnette Elizabeth Goddard), April 3, 1979, El Paso, Texas (74).
Morris, Mr. Ernest C., December, 1978, Lake Helen, Florida (53)
Nyman, Mrs. Rune (Birgitta Sofia Ingeborg Lunden), January 30, 1918, Stockholm, Sweden (52).
Pitcairn, Mrs. Raymond (Mildred Glenn), June 23, 1979, Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania (94).
Price, Mr. Archibald Enoch, May 11, 1979, Glenview, Illinois (75).
Richter, Mr. Jean Paul Iii, January 29, 1979, Des Plains, Illinois (48).
Rose, Mrs. Donald Frank (Marjorie Wells), May 1, 1979, Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania (88).
Sargeant, Mrs. Alec O. (Clara Anne Mary Scott), January 11, 1979, Toronto, Ontario, Canada (92).
Schoenberger, Mrs. Arthur (Marie P. Noffman), April 26, 1979, St. Petersburg, Florida (84).
Schuurman, Mr. Willem Van Enter, January 22, 1979, Durban, Natal, Rep. South Africa (72).
Sigfuss, Mrs. Elsa Gudrun Kristin Einarsson, May 22, 1979, Fakse Amtssygehus, Denmark (71).
Smith, Mr. Philip Marshall, December 23, 1978, Abington, Pennsylvania (49).
Synnestvedt, Mrs. Kenneth Paul, (Beatrice Nelson), August 29, 1978, Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania (74).
Thomas, Mr. Joseph Arthur, June 9, 1979, Sarver, Pennsylvania (80).
Wilde, Mrs. John (Geraldine Elizabeth Flory), April 25, 1979, Massena, New York (70).
Winchester, Mrs. Clarence W. (Hildur Elizabeth Hedberg), DELAYED REPORT, April 18, 1977, Rockford, Illinois (77).
Name Withheld, DELAYED REPORT, Essex, England.

     RESIGNATIONS

Eby, Miss Loella Jean, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
Henry, Mrs. Emmett Jean (Susanna Rotharmel Glebe), Pales Verdes Peninsula, California.

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     DROPPED FROM THE ROLLS

Ansell, Mr. William Harwood, Australia.
Ansell, Mrs. William Harwood (Adele Field), Australia.
Guise, Mrs. Burton (Edith Lillian Adams), Hendersonville, South Carolina.
Happee, Miss Johanna Hendrika Christina, The Hague, The Netherlands.
Hiersemann, Mrs. Lyle (Mildred Violet Stoll), Las Vegas, Nevada.
Mahler, Miss Mary Elinor, Washington, District of Columbia.
Nichol, Dr. Thomas Herbert, Jr., Steinhatchee, Florida.
Nichol, Mrs. Thomas Herbert, Jr. (Emily Elizabeth Drexel Boone), Steinhatchee, Florida.
Opperman, Mrs. Charles, Jr. (Barbara Lou Macauley), Houston, Texas.
Udofa, Mr. Okon Edison, Amherst, Massachusetts.
White, Mr. Harry Joseph, Deerfield Beach, Florida.
White, Mrs. Harry Joseph (France Marcelle Vinet), Deerfield Beach, Florida.
APPLICATIONS FOR ADMISSION TO THE ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH BOYS SCHOOL AND GIRLS SCHOOL 1979

APPLICATIONS FOR ADMISSION TO THE ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH BOYS SCHOOL AND GIRLS SCHOOL              1979

     "Requests for application forms for admission to the Academy Secondary Schools should be made for new students before February 15, 1980. Letters should be addressed to Miss Morna Hyatt, Principal of the Girls School, or Mr. Donald C. Fitzpatrick, Principal of the Boys School, at The Academy of the New Church, Box 278, Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania 19009. Letters should include the student's name, parents' address, the class the student will be entering, the name and address of the school he or she is now attending, and whether the student will be day or dormitory. Please see the Academy catalog for dormitory requirements.
     "Completed application forms and accompanying material should be received by the Academy by March 30, 1980."

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In Our Contemporaries 1979

In Our Contemporaries              1979

     THE GENERAL CONVENTION AND THE GENERAL CHURCH

     (An Historical Perspective)

     BY THE REV. DR. ROBERT H. KIRVEN

     The two major Swedenborgian church organizations in America share common historical origins in the Swedenborg reading circles which formed in England and the United States in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. The reading circles became church congregations, the congregations joined into a national group in England, and into regional groups in this country. Under leadership from Boston, the American regional groups (many of which were called "conventions") joined into a national body, the General Convention.
     The last group to join, about 1860, was a group called the Central Convention, headquartered in Philadelphia. The leaders of the Central Convention had been engaged in disputes far a long time with leaders of the General Convention, especially those from Boston. The disputes centered in three issues: (1) the view that should be taken of Swedenborg's writings, (2) the organizational structure (polity) that should govern the church, and (3) the relationship of the church to education. It should be noted that these issues had been debated by interpreters of Swedenborg's works since the 1790's. Organizational merger did not resolve the issues or settle the disputes.
     After some thirty years, the former members of the Central Convention led a group that split from the General Convention and incorporated as the General Church. The reasons most commonly cited as causing the split were those same three issues: perspective on Swedenborg, church polity, and education.
     This brief historical summary is presented for three reasons. First, it identifies three long-standing areas of difference between the two bodies. It demonstrates that both "sides" of all three issues have as long a tradition as the other, reinforcing freedom of choice in the matter. And finally it illuminates the depth and significance of the issues. The following comments on the substance of those issues should be considered in the light of their history.

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SWEDENBORG'S WORKS

     Regarding Swedenborg's theological writings, the Convention position may be summarized in this way. As part of the Lord's Second Coming among people, He chose Swedenborg to receive a revelation of essential teachings that would be necessary for a new age, and commanded him to communicate them to the world. Swedenborg was prepared for this experience and this mission by a superb development of his powerful mind: in the course of that development he mastered most of the fields of knowledge in that dawn of the scientific era. In addition, he went through deep and extensive spiritual re-formation and development. Thus prepared intellectually and spiritually, he entered into years of spiritual experiences in which he shared the life of angels and spirits, entering into their angelic understanding of the Word of the Lord, and learning from first-hand experience the nature of the spiritual world and the essence of human life.
     While reading the Word, he says, he was given essential teachings for the new age, the New Church: understandings which came to him with the authority that the Lord alone can give. These experiences of heaven and hell, of angelic and spiritual life, and of learning from the Lord while reading the Word, constituted a direct and unmediated revelation to him from the Lord.
     The second part of his task was to formulate these experiences, and the knowledge and understandings gained from them, into teachings that would "prepare the way of the Lord" through the wilderness of materialistic prejudices and other falsities. Utilizing all the abilities developed during his years of preparation for this task, he wrote the volumes of what we call his Theological Works-leaving behind in his first-draft manuscripts a record of repeated revising and re-writing in a laborious and continuing search for the right word, a clearer phrase, a better explanation. His remarkable success at this monumental task inspires our awe. A human product drawn from divinely-provided revelatory experiences, it is ideally suited to our best human effort and understanding, interpretation, and application.
     The General Church position differs from this statement of the General Convention's position most directly in that last paragraph about the second part of Swedenborg's task. From their perspective, Convention's emphasis on the part played in the revelatory process by Swedenborg, his mind, his learning, and his historical context, seems to weaken the revelatory status and authority of what he wrote. From our perspective, it appears that they give Swedenborg's writing the authority that we give to the divine revelation which he received.

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The issue has become focused and symbolized in their designation of his published works as "The Word"-a title that Convention's usage confines to the meaning that Swedenborg gives it in AC 10325.

POLITY

     Both the General Convention and the General Church balance the authority of the central organization and the authority of the local congregations in ways that avoid traditional categories of congregational and episcopal government. But the General Convention is more congregational in polity, and the General Church more episcopal. This means, for instance, that in most situations an individual must be a member of a local congregation that belongs to an Association which belongs to the General Convention, in order to be eligible for a vote at a convention; and on the other hand, an individual must be a member of the international General Church in order to be eligible for membership in a local congregation of that body. Similarly in ordination, ministers' assignments and salaries, and many other issues, congregations have more power and the Convention less, as compared to the General Church and its congregations.
     Most visibly, the General Convention has a President who serves for either three or six years, with virtually no vested authority except the power to preside over meetings of the General Convention and General Council, and to ordain at the direction of the Convention. By contrast, the General Church is led by a Bishop who is elevated for life, and who presides from his installation until his voluntary retirement with authority and powers that have no counterpart in the General Convention.
     This issue of church polity offers one illustration of the consequences of the difference in perspective on Swedenborg's writings which divide the two bodies. Many of Swedenborg's terms and statements which form the basis for details of General Church polity are regarded from Convention's point of view as having been drawn from Swedenborg's experience in the Church of Sweden as illustrations of spiritual principles and relationships-never intended as literal ecclesiastical instructions. Convention's polity is developed according to our best application of Swedenborg's teachings regarding freedom of choice, community structures, and interpersonal relationships.

EDUCATION

     The education issue exists as an issue partly because both groups see it in different contexts. In the General Convention, teaching is one of the important tools for leading people to the good of life; but the amendment of lives for the better-whether conceived in terms of salvation or regeneration-is regarded more intensely than the means of accomplishing it.

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For the General Church, New Church Education is either the central task of the church, or an essential and integral part of that mission.
     Again, this difference reflects the differing perspectives on the Lord's revelation to Swedenborg (as Convention sees it) or through Swedenborg (as in the General Church). The General Convention's position tends to promote greater involvement with the world around the church-including secular education, and communication and cooperation with other Christian churches-while that of the General Church leads more toward internal education as a kind of protection from secular and other-church influences.

CONCLUSION

     Both church bodies, and their traditional theological positions, are based on the Lord's teachings for the New Church as different readers perceive, interpret, and apply them in what Swedenborg wrote. Sometimes by regarding different passages as basic or determinative, and at other times by finding different emphases or meanings in the very same words, different people have come to different conclusions from the same body of doctrine. From Convention's point of view, such differences are to be expected and respected, except when they lead to one person's denial of another's valid and conscientious right to differ. This toleration and even encouragement of differences may lead to inefficiencies, inconveniences, and inconsistencies; but although it can limit an individual's right to do what he or she wants within the structure of Convention, it can never infringe on an individual's right to believe and to fight for what he or she wants-either before or after a formal decision has been reached. It is consistent with the freedom of choice which the Lord has made essential in the nature of every human being.
DECLARATION OF FAITH AND PURPOSE 1979

DECLARATION OF FAITH AND PURPOSE              1979

     ALLISON L. NICHOLSON

     I believe that the Lord Jesus Christ in His Divine Human is the one God of heaven and earth; the Creator, Redeemer and Savior of mankind.
     I believe that the Lord's purpose in creation is a heaven from the human race and that all are saved who acknowledge God and live rightly (DP 325).

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     I believe that a knowledge of the Lord and conjunction with Him are given only by means of the truths in His Word. However, general truths in part remain in the various religions of the Universal Church from the revelations of the Ancient Word no longer extant. These truths of the Ancient Word are the foundation of all civil and moral truths for those religions who do not know or acknowledge any or part of the threefold Word.
     I believe that the Lord's Word for the Church of the New Jerusalem is the threefold Word consisting of the Old Testament, the New Testament and the Theological Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg. These three revelations make an inseparable one, just as the Divine Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit within our Glorified Lord Jesus Christ make a one. In the Old Testament the Lord as Jehovah from eternity reveals Himself through the words of prophecy as the Creator and Sustainer of all. In the New Testament there is the Divine account of the Lord's First Advent by means of which He redeemed mankind, and by continual temptations, of which the cross was the last, He glorified His Human and became the Savior incarnate. The Theological Writings given through Emanuel Swedenborg are the third and final revelation of the threefold Word and they are the Lord's Second Coming as the Spirit of Truth.
     I believe that all who would be of the New Church must seek the Lord in His Word, shun evils because they are sins, and perform good works which are of use to the neighbor.
     I believe that the Lord's New Church which is the Church of the New Jerusalem is the Church Specific, the heart and lungs of the Gorand Man, by means of which those of the Universal Church have conjunction with the Lord. It is my sincere belief that the General Church of the New Jerusalem is the most perfect embodiment of the Lord's Church Specific that is found on earth.
     I believe that the purpose of the clergy is to teach truths from the Word and cooperate with the Lord in leading men to the good of life.
     In presenting myself for inauguration into the priesthood of the New Church, I pray that the Lord will keep me in the love of the priestly use upon which I am about to enter. I confess that from what is my own I am nothing but evil. I pray for humility and the Lord's strength in setting aside the proprial aspirations of my natural man in the Lord's work of evangelization. I pray that in all future growth of the Church I will remember that, "This was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes" (Mk 12:11).

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EQUILIBRIUM-III 1979

EQUILIBRIUM-III       Editor       1979


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

Acting Editor                Rev. Ormond deCharms Odhner, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager                Mr. L. E. Gyllenhaal Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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

     TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$5.00 (U.S.) A year to any address, payable in advance. Single copy, 50 cents.
     MAN'S SPIRITUAL EQUILIBRIUM-WHEN IS IT ACTUAL?

     As long as man lives on earth, he is held in a state of spiritual equilibrium, a state of perfect spiritual balance between a force from heaven inspiring him to good and a force from hell inspiring him to evil. Because of these two opposing yet equal forces, he can make his own to eternity either the good character of an angel or the evil character of a devil.
     But when is man's spiritual equilibrium actual? This is a legitimate question, for the Writings themselves seem to teach that frequently the balance between good and evil in man is upset, and common experience also seems to teach this-probably even more strongly.
     If there are two equal opposing forces acting upon you, one pulling you up and the other pulling you down, and if you add the force of your own free will to either one of these, are you still in a state of perfect spiritual balance or equilibrium? Of course not. One force is as it were advancing into you, and the other is retreating. The balance is temporarily upset. Concerning this we read:

In the case of a man who is in the concupiscences and delights of the love of self and the world, and regards these as the end, diabolical spirits are so near him as to be in him, and so rule both his thoughts and affections.

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Angels from heaven cannot possibly be within the sphere of such, but are without; and therefore the angels recede as the infernal spirits approach nearer. Nevertheless, the angels from heaven in no case recede altogether from man, for then all would be over with him, because if he should be without communication with heaven by means of angels, he could not live.*
     * AC 5979

     When a man is in a fit of temper, when he is indulging in the insane pleasures of adultery or theft or conceit-at those moments he is not in a state of perfect spiritual balance between good and evil. Hell is advancing into him and heaven is withdrawing from him. And from this I believe it is permissible to conclude that when a man is in the active enjoyment of a good love, just the opposite is the case. Heaven is advancing into him, and hell is retreating from him.
     But notice the last sentence just quoted from AC 5979: In no case do the angels recede altogether from man (for if they did, all would be over with the man). Because of the continued presence of heaven, a man in the active enjoyment of evil can, at any moment, stop and reflect upon what he is doing, and at that moment his equilibrium is restored. Surely, the converse is also true. As long as man lives on earth, hell can have some direct influence upon him; and therefore at any moment (perish the thought!) he can cease being good and can return to his former evils.

     In moments of active enjoyment of either good or evil, then, man's spiritual equilibrium is upset, even though it still exists potentially. And from yet another leaching it would seem to follow that under still other circumstances some strange things happen to a person's equilibrium.
     In the small "unpublished" work of the Writings, The Canons of the New Church, we read, "Equilibrium is elevated toward heaven as evil prevails over good, and depressed toward hell as good prevails over evil; since good from heaven depresses it, and evil from hell elevates it." (Canons, Redemption II:10)
     Now, admittedly this is speaking of equilibrium in the spiritual world-in the world of spirits, to be exact. Yet the same "chapter" of Canons ties in the state of the world of spirits with the state of the church on earth. [It's well worth studying both Chapters II and V in this regard.]
     The general teaching seems to be that as evil prevails over good at the end of the church on earth [here, the Christian Church], so also evil prevails over good in the world of spirits. The power of hell at such a time is said to "distend and infill" the world of spirits, pushing the point of balance between heaven and hell, good and evil, further and further upward toward heaven, until at last the very heavens themselves are threatened with destruction.

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Hence the necessity of a last judgment in the world of spirits.
     Yet this rather "abstract" teaching about conditions in the spiritual world also seems to bear upon the daily life of men on earth, and from it I conclude that on earth, when society is in a state of widespread disorder (as it most certainly is today) a person's free choices, the point in life at which he is actually free to choose between good and evil, is pretty high, "elevated toward heaven;" while in an orderly state of society, free choice can reach much further down into daily affairs.
     What does all this mean? Well, today the rottenness that has long been at the core of our Judaeo-Christian society has come out on the surface. The worship of a living, personal God who can tell you what to do is steadily losing ground (in spite of all apparent increases in formal church membership). Corruption in government is pretty much taken for granted. Abortion and birth control are widely practiced merely for the sake of personal convenience and pleasure. Divorce is rapidly increasing. Marriage itself, as an ideal, is tottering. And no New Church man should be at all surprised by this, unless he be one who confuses social welfare and peace of mind with religion.
     In a time when evil is beginning to prevail over good in human society, then, (and that is how I view today's society), the point of equilibrium is elevated upward toward heaven. As I understand it, this means that a fundamentally good man's choice of good cannot reach as far down into the affairs of daily life as it should or as he might like it to.
     I have heard it said many times (though I still am not convinced that it is true), that it is simply impossible for a man today to succeed in business if he even tries to be strictly honest. If that statement is true, it illustrates my point. A good, fundamentally honest business man cannot be as honest in all the affairs of life as he knows he should be (or, perhaps, as he should know he should be, for we have gotten so used to the presence of evil that we no longer quite recognize every small bit of dishonesty as being dishonest).
     We can be good in intention, in a disordered society; but we cannot always carry our good intentions as far down into the details of life as we should, or as we would if society were in a more orderly state. (This is not in the least to say that some, and even most, of our acts cannot be generally good. They can be, but just not as perfectly good as they should be.)
     On the other hand, if society is in a good state, the power of good strongly prevailing over the power of evil, then our free choices of good can easily reach down into the lowest affairs of our lives.

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"Equilibrium is depressed" as good prevails over evil. We can be really good, not just in intention, but even down in the most sensual pleasures of life.

     Several other questions should also be considered here, briefly, before bringing these editorials on equilibrium to an end. What of the born imbecile-is he in equilibrium? What of the person born and reared in the mental-spiritual slums of the world (that today are found even in surroundings of luxury)-the person who really is never taught right from wrong. Is he in equilibrium?
     As to the born imbecile, of course he is not in equilibrium. Rationality is prerequisite for both freedom and equilibrium, and this person has no rationality as long as he lives on earth. Rather surprisingly, the Writings themselves are not clear as to what happens to him after death, but the church has built up many derived doctrines on the subject, all of which seem eminently sound. After death his education begins; his rationality develops; he comes into a state of freedom and equilibrium, and in equilibrium he chooses to make the life of heaven his own. No matter what disorderly things he may have done with his body on earth, he still freely, wisely chooses heaven, for only those things become a part of man's eternal character which he does in freedom according to his own reason.
     Pretty much the same is true of the person who never is really taught right from wrong. He does many evils, ghastly evil perhaps; but those things only become a part of his eternal character which he does in freedom according to his own reason. (And with him there is not much moral reasoning.) After death, he too will be taught the truth, and he will choose to follow the truth to the extent that he had built up a love of good within the limits that his disordered society imposed upon him.

Dr. Kervin's Article

     "The General Convention and the General Church-An Historical Perspective" is, in my mind, an eminently fair Convention statement of the differences between the two largest New Church bodies centered in the United States.
     The Rev. Dr. Robert Kervin is now the president of the Swedenborg School of Religion (Convention's theological school, in Cambridge, Massachusetts), having assumed the duties of the post on September 1st. He has taught in that school for many years.
     Dr. Kervin, I believe, quite succinctly states the fundamental difference between our two bodies when he says that Convention believes that the Writings contain Divine revelation given to Swedenborg, which Swedenborg, after marvelous Providential preparation, wrote down and published as part of the Lord's second coming; while the General Church believes that the Writings are a Divine revelation, not only to Swedenborg, but also through Swedenborg, and thus in themselves are the Second Coming of the Lord and as much the Word as the books written by Moses and Jeremiah, Matthew and John.

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     That, I repeat is the essential point of difference between our two bodies; and from that point of divergence we have gone very, very far in different directions, the General Church insisting that the church stick to the plain teachings of the Writings themselves as the only spiritual authority for the church; the General Convention holding that the Writings are an enlightened human production which the church should consult as it takes active part in dealing with the problems of the world. . . . And oh, what a world of difference has resulted in the beliefs, attitudes, and practices of these two bodies of the New Church!

     Perhaps Dr. Kervin knows of some historical evidence that I am unaware of, but I read our joint history rather differently from the way he does. Convention was organized in 1817, primarily at the instigation of New Church men in Philadelphia and Baltimore, and met that year in Philadelphia; no New Church men from Boston attended that meeting. "The New Church in Boston" was "organized" the following year, 1818; it grew rapidly and was "very active" in church affairs by 1829. As early as 1822, however, strong differences between Boston (under the leadership of Thomas Worcester) and Philadelphia were developing over Boston's "conjugial heresy" (there is a similar conjugial relationship between a pastor and his society as there is between a husband and his wife). And by 1836 Boston's influence was becoming dominant in Convention and has remained dominant ever since.
     One further point. The Central Convention, of which Dr. Kervin speaks, was formed in 1840 by dissidents in the General Convention who objected to its "squeeze rule," under which all Convention societies were to be organized according to policy laid down by the Boston-dominated General Convention. Under the leadership of the Rev. Richard deCharms, the Central Convention flourished for a while, but rather gradually its reason for being faded away, and the members of the Central Convention, as Dr. Kervin points out, applied for re-admission into the General Convention in 1860.

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"CONJUGIAL PAIRS" 1979

"CONJUGIAL PAIRS"       H. KEITH RYDSTROM       1979

To the Editor:

     Portions of your pages have recently been forum for discussion concerning the specific question: "Who is a person's conjugial partner?" The primary task of a translator and the use of a unique vocabulary are two areas pertinent to this discussion in a broad sense, and, perhaps, are more important than answering the question itself.
     Rev. Frank Rose offered an answer in the July issue of Life, stating that one's conjugial partner is the person to whom he is married. (p. 320) I was greatly disturbed the first time I read this, although I could not precisely define and isolate any reason for my uneasiness.
     Later, when discussing the letter with a friend, I suddenly saw Mr. Rose's point: one's conjugial partner is one's marriage partner, provided, of course, as Mr. Rose indicates, that by "conjugial partner" is meant nothing more nor less than "married partner" or "spouse"
     Armed with this pleasing discovery, I set out again to isolate what had first upset me. I soon realized that I had been guilty of the very thing I had suspected of him! That very thing which was the root of the problems I had seen in his answer: I had defined "conjugial partner" in my own terms. I had, without thinking, equated "conjugial partner" with "eternal consort"! I did not pause to consider the author's intent. I did not pause to consider the context. These must be considered in translation, whether it be ideas from a page to a mind or words from one language to another.
     Consider the following mundane example, meant only to be a simple illustration of a very complex problem:
     Il a dit a sa femme qu'elle etait une vision. How is this sentence to be translated in light of the fact that -even as to the context of the sentence itself- the French word vision has English equivilents in both "vision" and "sight"? Although the denotations of both choices are similar, sentences with two very different connotations are the result:

     He told his wife that she was a vision.
     He told his wife that she was a sight.

Only the context of the passage surrounding the sentence can make clear the author's intent. For instance, had the man and his wife been married only moments before? Or had the wife just come in from gardening in the rain? I believe a translator's best hope of being true to an author's intent is to view, and translate accordingly, words and sentences within the context of the entire passage in which they rest.

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     The translator's primary aim is to use the clearest language possible and yet maintain the spirit and integrity of the author's intent. Should a translator of the Writings, in his effort to achieve this, employ words over which he has no control? That is, common words which will continue to shift in both connotation and denotation as the language he translates into continues to live? Or would he fare better in some instances were he to continue to use the unique vocabulary wide-spread in use only within the New Church?
     Many of the doctrines of the New Church necessarily contain concepts unfamiliar to the large majority of the world's population. Given the choice between re-educating the public by defining a familiar word in terms of a new concept, or educating the public by introducing a, new concept in association with a new word, I would have to choose the latter. It may be insignificant word play -perhaps it may not even support my argument favoring a unique vocabulary- but I would rather people applied the terms of their new theology to the rest of their lives than have them assign terms from the rest of their lives to their new theology.
     I believe not only that a new theology requires a new vocabulary, but that it can actually function better under the auspices of such a vocabulary. For when new and unique words are created in a language and given specific definitions, they contain neither the pre-attached connotations of present civilizations nor the familiar denotations of the past. However, if the unique vocabulary is to be an asset, its usage must be carefully controlled.
     When careful control of the new vocabulary is not exercised, there is a breakdown of the operation of the new theology. How I came to read "eternal consort" for "conjugial partner" down through the years is obscure. What is clear to me is this: many times in the recent past I have discussed the subject, thinking I knew what I was talking about. It is a sobering realization indeed to discover that those arguments so carefully put forth and thought to be solid were actually constructed on a flimsy misconception.
     A new theology can function properly only to the degree that we understand each other. Let us take the time to explain even our individual interpretations of words and terms, not only that we may he corrected if in error, but also that we may understand each other better. For the sooner we can understand each other, the sooner we will be able to chuckle at the folly of past misconceptions and build a more firm base for the New Church and her future generations.
     Sincerely,
          H. KEITH RYDSTROM,
               Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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"CAN WE SEE INTO HEAVEN?" 1979

"CAN WE SEE INTO HEAVEN?"       LEON RHODES       1979

     Through the ages mankind has tried to picture the beauties of heaven. If we believe in a heaven in which we will be surrounded by the Lord's beauty, we often long to be able to get just a glimpse of its marvels to strengthen us as we try to earn its happiness, and we tend to wish that somehow we would be able to see the beauty of heaven. But, as the opening number of Heaven and Hell declares, "Man knows scarcely anything about heaven and hell" because no one has come from thence to tell us, and when we read the Writings, we are confronted with words clearly trying to convey what is ineffable or beyond description.
     May it not be useful for us to remember that we CAN glimpse heavenly beauty? No matter what our circumstances in this life, the Lord has surrounded us with beauties that only require us to really look. Certainly, the incredible beauty of the physical world is provided by the Lord as a sort of preparation. We will not awake into a spiritual world quite different and filled only with beauties that are beyond our imagination. The sights of heaven will not be based on strange never-before-seen shapes, colors and patterns, but on greater perfection, order and harmony, and the absence of defect and ugliness. It is likely that we CAN begin to be aware of the future beauties of heaven by coming to see with more appreciation the marvels which are common in our everyday lives.
     We can remember that we are told that the beauties of heaven are more perfect, of greater variety and more full of meaning to us than the sights of this world, with more brilliant colors and vibrance beyond the light of this world's sun. But, by conscious direction of our eyes and minds to beauty around us, we can truly glimpse heaven's beauty.
     First we should remember that the sights in heaven are "like those on earth, but more perfect,"* and remember that Swedenborg describes the surroundings there as so "precisely the same as those in this world" that he did not know the difference. He assures us** that heaven has the same appearances, even though their origin differs, and that we will be surrounded by trees, flowers, gardens, houses and buildings of magnificence. The lovely experiences of this world are, then, a preparation for the spiritual senses.
     * HH 171               
     ** HH 176

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     Our world is one of color and textures, shapes and combinations that pre-portray the marvels of the spiritual world. Think of the marvelous scenery that nearly all of us have been able to enjoy-the hills and plains, the forests and lakes, the seas and mountains; think of the myriad patterns that adorn the sky itself as the sun plays on mist, clouds and vapors. Direct your attention to the endless variety of beauty in the surfaces of water in streams, lakes and seas, and the play of light and reflections in a hundred moods.
     Think then of the indescribable beauties of the vegetable kingdom in which the shapes and colors of flowers are so varied as to force us to gaze in awe. Peer into the miraculous tiny beauty of even a simple, common wildflower, a leaf, a blade of grass or tendril. Then the marvels of fruit and seed. Surely the Lord did not err in making the food for our bodies so attractive to our eyes. Think of red strawberries, purple grapes, ripe apples, pears, plums and peaches, of golden wheat and lush green lettuce or spinach.
     And what of the crystals, the beauty of minerals and marvelous chemicals? Consider the scales of a fish fresh from the water, of seashells, of the wings of a butterfly or of a bird. Ponder the texture, color and patterns in the fur of an animal, or the true beauty, if we look closely, at a repulsive caterpillar, lizard or beetle. How often our eyes fail to find the delight in these forms simply because we are not thinking properly.
     And the Lord has endowed man with ability to play a part in creating beauty. The artist, the craftsman and workman take simple materials and combine their qualities into marvelous forms. The most beautiful works of art and the most magnificent structures are but suggestions of what we will experience in heaven, and the true artist somehow feels that the Lord will allow him to play a role in the assembly and presentation of beautiful things. This is true, too, of the person gifted with talents for music or dance. There will be beautiful music which can move and inspire us even beyond the intense emotions we have come to feel as we listen to the great music composed and then performed by geniuses endowed by the Lord with special talents.
     It would seem a bit irreverent, yet might we not include cooks in our list of artists? Who can doubt that the Lord took delight in preparing foods for us in nature which act so marvelously on our tastebuds? Surely it is no accident that crabmeat combines so well with the flavors of butter, lemon and white wine. How can we imagine the range of tastes in the juice of the grape without being aware of the varieties in enjoyment of spiritual truth? And the Lord also added aroma-incomprehensibly subtle spheres emanating from substances to create perfumes and pleasures to be perceived-that very special smell we come to know as we cradle an infant in our arms or sense the presence of one we love.

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     Our sense of touch, too, foretells delights of heaven, and we can imagine heavenly delights in marriage in such a way that we can really recognize that the Lord does give us experiences in this life which will last to eternity.
     The delights of sight, sound, taste, smell and touch are all around us, and by sharpening our awareness we can greatly enhance them. We can really look with awe at a drop of dew on a leaf or cobweb; we can notice the flickering light among the leaves of a tree; we can pause a moment and sense the sounds of birds we had not noticed or stoop a moment to sniff the perfume of the soil, or consciously take the hand of a friend. We can, if we but try, experience as through a tiny chink the great beauty of heaven.
     At the same time it is true that we can become conscious of ugliness and filth-see it in ways which help us to remove it or avoid it. We can do so, reminding ourselves that the dark and disgusting distortions of hells too easily appear beautiful to the devils, and that on this earth, too, we can too easily come to accept repulsive sights and actions. We need only look thoughtfully on some of the scenes offered by those who pander to our basest appetites to be aware that we, too, can allow ourselves to enjoy what is filthy and obscene.
     As we become conscious of the little glimpses of heaven, we can make extra effort to cultivate what is beautiful and avoid what is grotesque, doing our part to increase the beauty of life on this earth, thereby preparing ourselves to play a part in the beauties of heaven.
     LEON RHODES,
          Bryn Athyn, Pa.
DR. FRIEDEMANN HORN-A CLARIFICATION 1979

DR. FRIEDEMANN HORN-A CLARIFICATION              1979

     Dr. Friedemann Horn, whose "Ten Points of Difference . . ." appeared in our October issue, is regularly the pastor of the General Convention's German-speaking society in Zurich, Switzerland. As pastor, he edits the German-language New Church Magazine, Offene Tore ["Opened Gates"], and it was in the February, 1979, issue of that journal that his article appeared. For a two-year period, however, he agreed to serve as president of The Swedenborg School of Religion (Convention's theological school in Cambridge, Mass.), and it was in that period that his "Ten Points" was published. Dr. Horn made several visits to Bryn Athyn during this time, and on one occasion visited the Academy's Theological School. Dr. Robert Kirven succeeded Dr. Horn as president of SSR in September of this year.

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Church News 1979

Church News       Various       1979

     The British Academy's Silver Anniversary

     The opportunity must not pass without reviewing the progress and achievements of the British Academy. November, 1978, marked twenty-five years of continual progress. The first meeting was held at Swedenborg House, on Saturday Nov. 28th, 1953. Following a petition to Bishop DeCharms at the British Assembly that August, "The British Academy of the General Church of the New Jerusalem" was the first general body to further New Church education in Great Britain, although funds had been earmarked for this use under the Rev. Wynne Acton as early as 1946.
     The Rev. Morley D. Rich was the first chairman, Mr. A. S. Wainscot secretary, and Mr. A. N. Waters treasurer.
     After first outlining the ideals of: i. Education of those in the Church; ii. those outside the Church; iii, of oneself; iv, educational materials; v, information, and vi, funds, the uses of the British Academy zeroed in on establishing a private school, with a view to expanding this to a full boarding school.
     As a step along the way, the British Academy became a legally constituted body by a Deed Poll of Appointment, on June 10th, 1954. The former Board of Governors was dissolved, and re-elected onto the new Board.
     The Rev. Alan Gill became chairman in 1955. New ideas flourished as the Rev. Messrs. Frank Rose and Erik Sandstrom added their impetus. The latter proposed a Correspondence Institute, and the support of the Colchester Elementary School as proper areas of concern.
     By 1957 the B.A. funds stood just over L4000 after generous donations from the Bruce Pitcairns, the Cairncrest Foundation, and from Miss Celia Bellinger's legacy. With a fresh outlook, 1958 saw the planning for the first Summer School, to allow young gentlemen and ladies to reap the benefits of education in the Church doctrines, and not just the boys, as at the boys-camps begun by the Rev. Martin Pryke.
     In 1959, the first summer school met in Lightwater, Somerset, eleven students attending (myself included). The Rev. Frank Rose, who had taken over the popular boys camps, and also tried a bicycle tour one summer, became the moving spirit of enthusiasm for these summer schools. Although hopes to establish a secondary school for older New Church young people were dashed by 1960, the summer schools under the Rev. Messrs. Alan Gill, Erik Sandstorm and Frank Rose, moved from strength to strength-and have continued to do so ever since. Literally hundreds of young people, now young adults from all over, have passed through the "halls of Academe" in various fair British vales! The longest run has been, and at present is, at Purley Chase, a Conference owned and run mansion in the Midlands (nr. Birmingham) where we have always enjoyed excellent fare.
     The British Academy has accepted ladies into its membership since 1965, and without their support, the uses may have folded! Mrs. F. Coulson, Mrs. R. H. Griffith and Miss Hilda Waters were the early constant supporters and practical laborers in the uses of the Academy. Today, the Board includes Mrs. G. P. Dawson (Secretary), Mrs. J. Burniston, Mrs. T. J. Sharp, and Miss Hilda Waters.
     The Academy continued to receive generous donations, from Mr. and Mrs. C. S. Cole in 1967, which made possible new attempts in education. Michael Church Sunday School became one small beneficiary. By the following year the interest in the Academy uses had spread, and the membership increased considerably over the next few years.

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Its membership today is over 60.
     Everyone's appreciation of the Rev. Frank Rose's enthusiastic leadership was fulfilled when he departed to Canada and instituted a similar school there, now called the "Maple Leaf."
     The Rev. Donald Rose became Chairman, and continued to substantially implement the uses of the Summer School and Young People's Weekends. His sincerity and good humour became real pillars of strength. The Rev. Bjorn Boyesen became Chairman soon thereafter, and remained in this post for ten years-an appreciation of which was registered in a motion at the annual general meeting in Oct. 1978.
     In 1974 an investigation by Dr. Freda Griffith led to the discovery that the interest of the accumulated funds of the British Academy could be used at the Academy's discretion. First British young people were subsidized at all schools and weekends, then Europeans and overseas students also. However, this year a decision was taken to subsidize only British and European students.
     The last major step of the British Academy was to accept the responsibility for the General Church Religion Lessons program in Great Britain and part of Europe. A committee was appointed to this effect by the Rev. Boyesen, in 1974, I myself being appointed Chairman of it. This use had been served by Miss Rinnah Acton in a single-handed operation previously, in appreciation of which the British Academy presented her with an inscribed locket at a fund-raising concert and sale-of-work, in Colchester, February 1978. This use now continues, thanks to Mesdames N. Dawson, K. Bowyer, D. Morris, I. Searle-and L. Boyesen up till last year.
     The uses of the British Academy will in the future rest more and more with those young adults who have themselves passed through the British Academy educational facilities. With this in mind, I proposed at the annual general meeting in Oct., 1918, to concentrate on what we have-the weekends and the summer schools, plus concerts and sales, etc.- and to seek the informal and formal assistance of our young people. To that end I have also formed a standing committee of all young people over 19 years of age, regardless of Church membership, to be invited to join the Staff in running the British Academy sponsored events.
     The efforts of all the leaders and numerous lay supporters -more numerous than can be mentioned- through the last 25 years have not been in vain. The fruits are being harvested. This use, under the Episcopal Office from the beginning, will continue to grow. And this summer marked the 21st birthday of the British Academy Summer School, which was celebrated by all of us singing "happy birthday to you . . . British Academy!"
     Erik E. Sandstrom, chairman
SCHOOL ENROLLMENTS 1979

SCHOOL ENROLLMENTS              1979

     1979-1980

     The Academy

Theological School (Full Time)           10
College (Full Time)                     125
Girls School                          127
Boys School                              113
Total                                   375

     Midwestern Academy
Grades 9 and 10 (Boys and Girls)           19

     Local Schools

Bryn Athyn                               250
Colchester                          11
Detroit                               20
Durban                               30
Glenview                               62
Kempton                               10
Kitchener                               48
Pittsburgh                               21
Toronto                               27
Washington                          22
Total, Local Schools                    501
Total reported enrollment in all schools      901

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ORDINATION 1979

ORDINATION              1979




     Announcements
     Nicholson.-At Islington, Ontario, Canada, September 9, 1979, Candidate Allison La Marr Nicholson into the first degree of the priesthood, the Rt. Rev. Louis B. King officiating.
CORRECTION 1979

CORRECTION              1979

     Sargeant, Mrs. Alec O. (Clara Ann Mary Scott). The date of the death of Mrs. Sargeant was incorrectly reported in the April issue of LIFE. The correct date: January 11, 1979.
VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN, GLENVIEW, PITTSBURGH, TORONTO, AND KITCHENER 1979

VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN, GLENVIEW, PITTSBURGH, TORONTO, AND KITCHENER              1979

     Visitors to Bryn Athyn, Glenview, Pittsburgh, Toronto, or Kitchener who are in need of hospitality accommodations are cordially urged to contact in advance the appropriate Hospitality Committee head listed below:

Mrs. James C. Pendleton                    Mrs. Philip Horigan
815 Fettersmill Rd.                         50 Park Drive
Bryn Athyn, PA 19009                     Glenview, IL 60025
Phone: (215) 947-1810                     Phone: (312) 729-6544

Mrs. Paul M. Schoenberger               Mrs. Sydney Parker
7433 Ben Hur Street                     30 Royaleigh Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15208                     Weston, Ont. M9P 2J5
Phone: (412) 371-3056

Mrs. Mark Carlson
58 Chapel Hill Drive
R.R. 2
Kitchener, Ontario N2G 3W5

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SHEPHERDS KEEPING WATCH 1979

SHEPHERDS KEEPING WATCH       Rev. CHRISTOPHER R. J. SMITH       1979

     
NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. XCIX          DECEMBER, 1979           No. 12
     A Christmas Address

     And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall Be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men. Luke 2:10-14

     This is the message that was given to the shepherds on the night of the Lord's birth. They heard it while they "were keeping watch over their flock by night."
     Keeping watch-keeping watch even by night-what a wonderful picture of faithfulness that gives us! It is easy to keep watch for dangers during the day when you can see well. But at night it is harder to be watchful, to be faithful, especially as there is the added danger of falling asleep on the job.
     Like all men, the shepherds had a responsibility. But unlike other men, they were keeping watch over their responsibility. We all have responsibilities. Some are easy to manage, like keeping watch during the day. But the responsibilities represented by keeping watch at night are those that do not give us any delight and therefore are more likely to be shirked. In this case we can easily become like a sentry who is found fast asleep during the night-watch, when the enemy attacks.

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     Be awake! Be watchful, the Lord says, or we will be found unprotected. The enemy, the power of the hells, can be resisted only by keeping watch like the shepherds. It was on these same hills around Bethlehem, the City of David, that David himself, the shepherd boy, kept watch and killed a lion and a bear with his own hands. This was told to prove to King Saul that David could kill Goliath because the Lord was with him and would give him the necessary strength.
     The Lord is with those who keep watch, and it is to such people that He makes Himself known. "And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them." All at once, in the darkness, the brightness of an angel appeared to the shepherds. Their spiritual eyes were opened, and they saw and heard a single angel telling them the Messiah had come.
     It was a simple message: "Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, who is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger."
     An angel stands for what is true, and truth is something that can be opened to infinity, to see other truths. The shepherds accepted the single and simple truth of the Lord's birth as announced by that one angel. And then it is said: "Suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God."
     The spiritual eyes of the shepherds were opened further to see a great army of angels, perhaps the whole society in heaven from which came the angel Gabriel. First there was a single angel and then a multitude of the heavenly host.
     What happens when we take one single truth and work with it? The newcomer to the Heavenly Doctrines may find one single truth that he can accept, that excites him, while everything else he doubts, he cannot accept. Perhaps he accepts just the truth of conjugial love, or life after death, or the doctrine of use, or perhaps the clear teaching that God is one.
     Let it be something that is simple and excites him so that he reads about it. He loves to study all he can about that one single truth. "And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God." Is this not the experience of the man who becomes a New Church man? At first he gets one idea from the Writings. But suddenly there follow many other things. He sees a vision of unlimited truths that all apply to his life.
     One can look at the Word and see nothing but night, darkness. But in that darkness there are truths in dazzling brightness and in such number that they can never be counted. When something of their presence is seen, when we finally see for ourselves that there are countless truths in the Word, we can hear them all declaring the same thing: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men."

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     What does this earth want more than peace and the comforts of life for all? But what peace is there? Since the time the shepherds heard that message, there have probably been very few years, if any at all, in which there has been no war somewhere on this earth.
     How could those angels have said "on earth peace, good will toward men"? Notice, however, what they said first: "Glory to God in the highest." Only when the worship of God comes first can there be peace. And consider what glory is given to God today.
     At Christmas we celebrate the Lord's coming into the world, and yet in the so-called Christian world God is hardly known, let alone worshiped. How many people in this city will attend church for Christmas, let alone make attending church a regular and important part of their lives? It would appear that far more attention is given to the myth of Santa Claus. Profit-minded people have been quick to cash in on this idea, encouraging the concept of Christmas as a holiday of mere merry-making and indulgence.
     As long as this attitude lasts, there can never be peace and still less any good will among men. Yet, there may be times of truce and good relations between families, cities, and even countries. But greed and selfishness will constantly rise up wherever there is no glory given to God.
     Indeed, Herod the King is still alive. Do not look for him in the world, however, complaining about the lack of peace and good will there. Look for the tyrant Herod in yourself, for Herod represents the loves of your unregenerate self-all your evils.
     Herod was the king in Jerusalem when the Lord was born, and his character is an excellent picture of evil. He had his wife and three of his sons murdered merely because he thought they threatened his throne. For the same reason he had many leading men of the city murdered. On the occasion of his own death, he left an order that men of high rank in the town were to be murdered to ensure that there would be mourning at the time of his death, even though the mourning obviously would not be for Herod.
     When the wise men came asking, "Where is He that is born King of the Jews?" Herod said with his lips that he also wanted to worship the Child, but in his heart he had already plotted murder. The full ugliness and horror of our unregenerate sell showed itself in Herod when he ordered the mass killing of all the boys in Bethlehem under two years old.
     Yes, find Herod in yourself and flee from him. This is the meaning of repentance, which any man can do.

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The wise men obeyed the angel's warning and defeated Herod's cunning by departing into their own country another way-avoiding Jerusalem and the court of Herod. Joseph was able to take Mary and the Child and nee into Egypt until the death of Herod.
     All men can learn from the Word what evil is. All men can examine themselves to discover their own evils. All men can repent by shunning any evil they have discovered in themselves. They can simply stop doing it. But no man can remove the delight of evil.
     This is the difference between the birth of John the Baptist and the birth of the Lord. The work of John represents repentance. He called men to pay attention to their evils and to change their ways. This is repentance. This we can do. And therefore John had a human father like every man. But the Lord was born of a virgin.
     The Lord's birth represents regeneration, which is something only He can do for us. If we repent, if we co-operate with the Lord by shunning our evils, then He will remove the delight that we had felt in those evils and give us a new delight that comes from heaven. He gives us a new will, a new heart that loves good and not evil.
     This is the Divine work of salvation that only the Lord can perform. And this is shown in the fact that He Himself had no human father. He was born of a virgin. He was the Father of Himself.
     Here is the corner-stone of Christianity. He who does not believe in the Virgin Birth, says that the father of Jesus Christ was Joseph. It would follow then that Jesus was a great but still just an ordinary man, who began His-existence at the time of conception. Such an idea can never allow the belief and worship of Jesus as the God of all the universe, who is, and who was; and who is to come. Then God Himself would remain hidden, invisible.
     The man however who has accepted the Heavenly Doctrines for what they say has been given a great privilege. For in these Writings the Lord Jesus Christ make Himself known in such a way that no person in the whole world could be better known. And the man who sees this will show the same reverence as the shepherds, because he has not only been to see, but now knows in his heart the truth of this statement: "Knowledge of the Lord surpasses in excellence all other knowledges in the church, and even in heaven."*
     * TCR 81
     He has seen the Lord wrapped in swaddling clothes-the one or two simple truths that first introduced him to the Lord as if He were a mere baby. But then he was led further to see the glory of God. And when this glory was seen, how could he possibly hold back from giving his whole mind, his whole life to be cleansed by Him, our Savior?

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     John said: "Behold the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world."* And what did the angels say, "Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord."
     * John 1:29
     Our Savior is still very much present with us today and always. He says, "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me." (Rev. 3:20) How sad, how tragic it would be if it were discovered that we did indeed hear the repeated knocking of the Lord, but He was turned away for want of room in the inn.
     Shall we not therefore take care to keep watch over our spiritual life? Shall we not open the door for our Saviour to enter and become Emanuel, God with us? Shall we not let Him unceasingly affect our lives and thus the life of our community? Indeed, let us keep watch that we may become a light to those in the world around, hastening the day when there will be peace on earth and good will among all men. Amen.

     LESSONS: Luke 2:8-20; Matt. 2:1-14; AC 2921:6 WHY THE NAME, "LORD," INSTEAD OF "JEHOVAH" 1979

WHY THE NAME, "LORD," INSTEAD OF "JEHOVAH"              1979

     Among the hidden reasons of their calling Jehovah "the Lord," were the following. If at that time it had been said that the Lord was the Jehovah so often named in the Old Testament, men would not have accepted it, for they would not have believed it; and moreover the Lord did not become Jehovah as to the Human . . . until He had completely united the Divine Essence to the Human Essence, and the Human to the Divine. The full unition was accomplished after the last temptation, which was that of the cross; and for this reason, after the resurrection the disciples always called Him "the Lord;" and Thomas said, "My Lord and my God." And because the Lord was the Jehovah so often named in the Old Testament, He therefore also said to His disciples, "Ye call Me Master and Lord, and ye say well, for I am" (John 13:13, 14, 16); and these words signify that He was Jehovah God; for He is here called "Lord" as to good, and "Master" as to truth. That the Lord was Jehovah is also meant by the words of the angel to the shepherds, "Unto you is born this day a Savior who is Christ the Lord" (Luke 2:11). He is called "Christ" as the Messiah, the Anointed King; and "Lord" as JEHOVAH; "Christ" in respect to truth, and "Lord" in respect to good. Arcana Coelestia 2921:6.

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DIALOGUE BETWEEN A MAN AND HIS SOUL 1979

DIALOGUE BETWEEN A MAN AND HIS SOUL       Rev. WILLIAM H. CLIFFORD       1979

     An Answer to the Question: "To Whom Did the Lord Pray?"

     The Gospels record several instances of the Lord praying, as for example, when He was baptized:

     Now it came about when all the people were baptized, that Jesus also was baptized, and while He was praying, heaven was opened, and the Holy Spirit descended upon Him in bodily form like a dove, and a voice came out of heaven, "Thou are My beloved Son, in Thee I am well-pleased."*
     * Lk. 3:21, 22; NAS. NAS-New American Standard Bible, Lockman Foundation, Copyright 1975

     And in the garden of Gethsemane, the Lord said to Peter, James, and John:

     "My soul is deeply grieved, to the point of death; remain here and keep watch with me." And He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, "My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as thou wilt."*
     * Mt. 26:38, 39: NAS

     A person hearing such passages wants to know to whom the Lord was praying. Almost everyone would agree that the Lord was praying to His Father, but who was His Father? Orthodox Christianity believes that the Father, Jesus Christ, and the Holy Spirit are each one of three persons (each of whom is God and Lord) who, together, are the one and only God. Some Christian sects, such as the Mormons and World Wide Church of God, believe that the Father and Jesus Christ are distinct Gods. Others, such as the Jehovah's Witnesses and Christian Science, believe that the Father was God and that Jesus Christ was something less than God. The New Christian Church, however, believes that from eternity there has been only one God, the Father, and that in time He assumed a human nature and was known to us as Jesus Christ. Orthodox Christianity, therefore, sees Jesus Christ as one person in the Godhead praying to the Father as another person in the Godhead. Others see the prayers of Jesus as being the communication between two, distinct Gods, or between someone who is less than God with God.

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But the New Christian Church sees the prayers of Jesus as being indicative of the communication between the Lord's merely human nature (which He had derived by means of His bodily inheritance from Mary) and His Divine nature (which He had by virtue of His Divine conception in the womb of Mary).
     The New Church view seems very strange to many Christians because it seems so obvious that one part of a person does not pray to another part of himself; therefore, when Jesus prays to the Father, He must be praying to another person. But this is not necessarily so. The letter of the Word contains a style of writing known as "the Dialogue between a Man and his Soul."* In this style of writing one part of a person carries on a conversation with another part of himself. Perhaps the most obvious example of this is the Lord's parable of the rich fool:
     * Mitchell Dahood. Psalms I, II, and Ill, vols. 16, 17 and 17A of The Anchor Bible, ed. by William Foxwell Albright and David Noel Freedman (59 vols.; Garden City, New York: Doubleday and Company, Inc., 1964-see the notes to Psalms 42:6; 62:2; 103:1; and 116:7

     The land of a certain rich man was very productive. And he began reasoning to himself saying, "What shall I do, since I have no place to store my crops)" And he said, "This is what I will do: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I will say to my soul, 'Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years to come; take your ease, eat, drink and be merry.'" But God said to him, "You fool! This very night your soul is required of you; and now who will own what you have prepared?"*
     * Lk. 12:16-21; NAS

In this parable, which Jesus Himself told, a man speaks to his soul as if it were a separate person!
     We find other examples of this way of writing and thinking in the Psalms:

     Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me?*
     * Ps. 42:5, 11; NAS

This form of speech also shows up in one of the graces which we frequently say before meals:

     Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name.
Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all of his benefits.*
     * Ps. 103:1, 2; KJV

     Hannah spoke in a similar manner in celebrating the birth of Samuel,

     "My soul exults in the LORD; . . . My mouth speaks boldly against my enemies."*
     * 1 Sam. 2:1; NAS

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     And in the New Testament we find Mary (the mother of the Lord) saying in the Magnificat, "My soul exalts the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior."* The Lord also used this style of speech: "Now my soul has become troubled; and what shall I say, Father, save me from this hour; But for this purpose I came to this hour. Father, glorify Thy name."**
     * Lk. 1: 46, 47; NAS
      ** Jn. 12:27, 28; NAS-cf. Mt. 26: 38; Mk. 14: 34. Even though the Lord quickly identifies the troubled state of His soul with His own state of mind, He begins the passage quoted speaking of His soul as if it were distinct from Himself. This creates an interesting ambiguity: Is the Lord discussing with the Father the state of His soul? Or is He addressing His soul as "Father"?
     Further, the Jews were not the only people to use this style of speaking and writing. The Canaanites also used it: "Then Yassib returned to the palace, and his innards instructed him: Go to your father, Yassib go to your father."* And the Egyptians had a story of a man who argued with his soul. The man gave his soul all the reasons why he was going to commit suicide; and the soul argued back, telling the man why he shouldn't commit suicide.**
     * UT, 127:25-28, as quoted in Dahood, Psalms III, q.v. notes on Psalm 116:7. (See fn. 3 for bibliographic information.)
     ** "A Dispute Over Suicide," trans. by T. W. Thacker in Documents from Old Testament Times, ed. by D. Winton Thomas (New York: Harper Torchbooks; Harper and Row, Publishers, 1961), pp. 162 ff.
     These passages clearly show us that for a person to speak to (or about) a part of himself, as if it were a separate person, was a perfectly acceptable Biblical practice. The possibility that the Lord's human nature was praying to His Divine nature is thereby established, but not proved. To determine whether this is a fact or not, we must find out what the Lord meant when He spoke of His Father.
     It is important to keep in mind that the Lord was raised as a Jew, His disciples were Jews, and His audience was mostly Jews. When the Lord spoke, therefore, He did so with an understanding of how the Jews would interpret His remarks; and in such a way that they would know what He meant. So we must keep in mind the Jewish idea of God, if we are to understand the intent of the Lord's words about the Father.
     For the Jews, there was only one God-Yehowah. This Yehowah Himself declares, even going so far as to say that He doesn't know of any other gods.

     Thus says Yehowah, the King of Israel and his Redeemer Yehowah of Hosts: "I am the first and I am the last, And there is no God besides Me. And who is like Me? Let Him proclaim and declare it; Yes, let him recount it to Me in order, from the time that I established the ancient people.

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And let them declare to them the things that are coming and the events that are going to take place. Do not tremble and do not be afraid; Have I not long since announced it to you and declared it? And you are My witnesses. Is there any God beside Me? Or is there any other Rock? I know of none."*
     * Isa. 44:6-8; NAS-marginal reading; and substituting Yehowah for LORD in accordance with the Hebrew.

     The Jews frequently used the title "Father" when speaking of God; so when the Lord spoke of the "Father," they knew from the context of His remarks that He was referring to God. But Jesus spoke of the Father in a different manner than the Jews did. The Jews seldom said: "my Father," and when they did, they would add: "in heaven." Their usual custom was to say "our Father" in speaking of God.* But this the Lord did not do. Jesus frequently addressed God as "Father," or "My Father," without ever adding the qualifying phrase "in heaven." In this manner the Lord implied that He had a special relationship with God that the Jews did not have. But what was that relationship?
     * Josh McDowell, Evidence that Demands a Verdict (Copyright 1972), pp. 95 f.
     Since Jesus spoke of God as His Father, and God spoke of Jesus as His Son, there is a tendency to think of God and Jesus as being two separate beings, who have a parent-child type of relationship. But this is not necessarily implied by the terms "father" and "son." Both terms are used in the letter of the Word to show that a person has certain qualities.* Isaiah, for example, prophesies that Christ would be the "Father of Eternity,"** meaning that He is eternal, and that He is the giver of eternal life.*** In John, the Lord describes the character of the Jews by saying that the devil was their father, and that the devil is the "father" or source of lies.**** The term father can also mean the author or maker, as in Job: "has the rain a father?"***** Teachers and masters are also called "father" in the Word;****** and Joseph, who was Pharaoh's chief adviser, said that he had been made "a father to Pharaoh."******* An "intimate connection and relationship" is sometimes expressed by the term father,******** as when Job lamented: "I have said to corruption, you are my father."*********
     * James M. Freeman, Manners and Customs of the Bible (Logos International: Plainfield, N.J., 1912), #1 and #650
     ** Isa. 9:6
     *** Freeman, Manners and Customs of the Bible, #1; and customary translation.
     **** Jn. 8:44
     ***** Job 38:28
     ****** Sam. 10:12;2 Kings 2:12, 5: 13, 6:21, 13:14; Jud. 17:10, 18:19
     ******* Gen. 45:8
     ******** Gesenius' Hebrew and Chaldee Lexicon, qv. [Hebrew symbol] (7)
     ********* Job 17:14; KJV, slightly modified.
     The term "son" has very similar usages in the Word.

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Thus we read in the Word of the "sons of the east,"* "the sons of wickedness,"** "the sons of the kingdom" and "the sons of the evil one,"*** and "the sons of God."**** Such expressions describe a person's quality; a "son of God" was a person who was a "manifestation of God in human form,"***** thus a very pious and holy person. Angels, heroes, and kings were also called "sons of God"****** because their power came from God.
     * Jud. 7:12
     ** 2 Sam. 3:34               
     *** Mt. 13:38
     **** Mt. 5:9, 45
     ***** W. E. Vine, Dictionary of New Testament Words (Old Tappan, New Jersey: Fleming H. Revell Company, 1940), qv. Son: The Son of God.
     ****** Joseph Henry Thayer, The New Thayer's Greek English Lexicon of the New Testament (Wheaten, Il.: Evangel Publishing Company, 1974), p. 636.
     From these examples we can see that the terms "father" and "son" in the letter of the Word do not always refer to people, but may in fact refer to the quality or characteristic of a person. This raises some important questions. When Jesus spoke of God as "My Father," was He referring to a separate being, or to His own Divine nature? Is the "Son of God" one Divine being begotten of another, or is the "Son of God" the supreme manifestation of God in Human form?
     The answers to these questions are important, for the whole of Christian faith rests upon the nature of Jesus Christ. Due to two assumptions, many people conclude that Jesus and God are two separate beings. It is assumed that since the Lord prayed, He must be praying to a being outside of Himself. And it is assumed, since God is called the "Father," and Jesus is known as the "Son," that they must be two distinct beings, or persons. These assumptions, however, are not necessarily correct. We have already seen how a person may speak with his own soul as if he were talking to a separate person. And now we have seen that the terms "father" and "son" do not necessarily refer to separate people, but may refer to the qualities of a person.
     If we keep in mind the Jewish background of the Lord's life on earth, we can easily determine the true relationship between Jesus and God. Especially if we keep in mind that the Jews believed that there was only one God in one person, whose sacred name was Yehowah; and that they spoke of Him as "the Father." With these things in mind, it should not surprise us that when Jesus said: "I and the Father are one;"* the Jews picked up stones to throw at Him. They clearly understood Him to say that He was God. Note what follows:
     * Jn. 10:30

     But Jesus said to them, "I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?"

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"We are not stoning you for any of these," replied the Jews, "but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God."*
     * Jn. 10:32, 33; NIV. NIV-New International Version, Copyright 1978 by New York International Bible Society

The Lord did not deny this charge; in fact, His response only reinforced their first understanding of His meaning. They were so certain of His meaning, and so angered by it, that they tried to grab hold of Him. They wanted to stone Him to death for blasphemy, according to the penalty of their religious law. But He slipped away from them.
     But this was not the first time that they had wanted to stone the Lord. Previously the Jews had asked Him: "Who do you think you are?"* And Jesus answered them by claiming to be Yehowah. "I tell you the truth," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!"** Here, also, they tried to stone Him for blasphemy. Why? Because Jesus was clearly alluding to the name of God (Yehowah-derived from the verb "to be"), that was revealed to Moses from the burning bush, and applying it to Himself:
     * Jn. 8:58; NIV          
     ** Jn. 8:58; NIV

     Moses said to God, "Suppose I go to the Israelites and say to them, 'The God of your fathers has sent me to you,' and they ask me, 'What is his name?' Then what shall I tell them?" God said to Moses, "THE-I-AM-WHO-IS-THE-I-AM. This is what you are to say to the Israelites: LI AM has sent me to you.'" God also said to Moses, "Say to the Israelites, 'Yehowah, the God of your fathers-the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob-has sent me to you.' This is my name forever, the name by which I am to be remembered from generation to generation."*
     * EX. 3:13-15; NIV modified to read THE-I-AM-WHO-IS-THE-I-AM in place of "I am who I am." For the doctrinal basis of this change see the article by Andrew James Heilman in March, 1976, NCL, p. 105 ff. Also modified to read Yehowah for "The LORD" in accordance with the Hebrew.

     There are many other occasions throughout the Gospels where Jesus clearly claims to be God,* and uses the Divine name: "I AM" in reference to Himself.** Since Jesus (who is the Son of God) claims to be the only true God (who is the Father); it is obvious that Jesus and God, the Father and the Son, are not two distinct beings, but are really two natures in one being.
     * See Jn. 5:9-18; Mk. 2:5-7; for example.
     ** See Mt. 14:27; Mk. 14: 62; Lk. 24:36; Jn. 8:24, 28; 13:19
     To understand these two natures, we must examine the conception and birth of Jesus Christ. By birth all people have two hereditary natures: one from their father, and one from their mother. While Jesus had a purely human heredity from His mother, His paternal heredity was not human.

540


We know from the fact that He was born of a virgin, that He did not have a human father. And the Gospels tell us that the conception of Jesus Christ was brought about by God Himself, for we read that the "power of the Most High overshadowed" Mary.* And that which was conceived was to be called the "Son of the Most High,"** that is, the Son of God, because He was conceived by God. The crucial question is, "What was conceived?" Surely it was not another God, for all Scripture testifies that there is only one God, and Jesus Christ claimed to be Him. Nor could that which was conceived be merely human, for in place of a human father there was a Divine activity.
     * Lk. 1:35, CP. Mt. 1:20          
     ** Lk. 1:32
     What was conceived, however, was a human nature-a vessel-by which the only true God could come into the world and save the human race from its sins. This is evident from the prologue to John:

     In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. This was in the beginning with God . . .And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only one from the Father, full of grace and truth.*
     * Jn. 1:1, 2, 12; NAS, substituting "one/only" for "only begotten" in accordance with the Greek; and "Son" for "God" following the traditional text, as opposed to earlier Greek manuscripts.

The Greek term which is here translated as the "Word" means the expression of thought, thus it involves both the thought and the speech of a person. It was, therefore, the "expression of thought" which was in the beginning, and which "was with God," and which "was God." It was the "expression of God's thought" that was "in the beginning with God . . . and became flesh, and dwelt among us." Thus it was the Word of God, His Divine truth, that assumed a human nature and revealed God to us.
     The Word, or Divine truth, however, is not a thing apart from God, but is God Himself. Remember, John says, that the Word was not only with God, but was God. And Paul declares that in Christ "dwells all the fullness of the Divine nature bodily;"* or what is the same: "In him dwells all the fullness of God in bodily form." Again Paul states that "God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself."** It is evident, therefore, that Jesus was not merely a Divinely inspired leader, but God Himself dwelling in a human nature, that He might give us salvation.
     * Col. 2:9; both renderings are mine.
     ** 2 Cor. 5:19; N.4S
     Jesus, consequently, was the fulfillment of those prophecies that proclaimed that Yehowah Himself would come. "[Yehowah] said, 'Surely, they are My people, Sons who will not deal falsely. So He became their savior."*

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Certainly it was the advent of Yehowah that John the Baptist announced when he claimed to be the fulfillment of the prophecy in Isaiah: "The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of Yehowah, make straight in the desert a highway for our God."** To fulfill these prophecies, Yehowah-the one and only God-created for Himself, in Mary's womb, a human nature by which He could come into the world, reveal Himself to us, and teach us.
     * Isa. 63:8; NAS
     ** Isa. 40:3; KJV, substituting "Yehowah" for "LORD" according to the Hebrew. See also Mt. 3:3; Mk. 1:2, 3; Lk. 3:4; Jn. 1:23.
     The human nature which the Lord put on by means of the virgin conception was like a body, and His Divine nature was like a soul. The relationship between the Lord's Divine nature and His human nature is analogous with the relationship between the soul and the body. The soul and body are distinct, yet they form one person, the soul being the life of the body. Similarly, the Lord's two natures are distinct, yet they formed one person, Jesus Christ, and it was the Lord's Divine nature that was the source of His life and power. By understanding this analogy, many confusing and apparently contradictory teachings in the Word can be seen as being beautifully and harmoniously interrelated.
     Jesus said, "He who has seen Me has seen the Father,"* because His human nature revealed God, just as our bodies are a reflection of our souls. Frequently the Lord says that He can "do nothing from Himself,"** ("but the Father abiding in Me does His works;"*** similarly, our bodies do nothing from themselves, and everything from their souls.
     * Jn. 14:9; NAS          
     ** Jn. 5:19, 30; 14:10
     *** Jn. 14:10; NAS
     "Believe Me that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me."* Two beings can not be in each other, but the soul can be in the body, and the body in the soul. And our motives, our thoughts, and our actions can be of one spirit, even as the Father and the Son are one.**
     * Jn. 14:11; NAS
     ** Jn. 17:22
     When Jesus prayed, therefore, He prayed to the Divine nature that was within Him. He prayed because His human nature, derived from Mary, had inherited inclinations and tendencies towards evils. And it was into these hereditary inclinations that the hells could inflow, tempting Jesus to forsake His mission. Just as we are not conscious of our souls, neither was Jesus conscious of His Divine nature in itself. He was conscious of its leading and guidance, and at times this influx was so strong and clear that He knew that He was the incarnation of God. At these times He could declare His oneness with God, perform miracles, and speak with authority. But at other times, in states of temptations, the influx from His Divine nature seemed so remote and weak, that He had doubts about who He was, and whether His mission could succeed.

542


In such states He would pray to God, seeking a renewed state of the Divine presence in His human nature.
     While both the New Christian Church and orthodox Christianity recognize the fact that the Lord had two distinct natures, one human and the other Divine, there are two important differences. The first is the answer to the question: "Who was the Lord praying to?" The New Christian Church uses the fact that the Lord had two different natures to answer this question, by saying that Jesus was seeking a renewed influx of His Divine nature into His maternal human. Orthodox Christianity does not make use of the fact that the Lord had two natures to answer this question. Instead, they believe that there is only one God and that in this God is a trinity of distinct persons, the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Each of these persons is God and Lord, and has properties that the others do not; nevertheless they are one God because they consist of the same substance and essence. When Jesus (the second person of this trinity) was praying to the Father, He was not praying to His own Divine nature, but to the first person of this trinity. Christian scholars admit, however, that their doctrine of the trinity "is nowhere explicitly expressed in the scriptures [sie.]," though there are a couple of passages that they feel are suggestive.* Even the "Apostles' Creed is not clearly Trinitarian."** Further, they tell us that the "Church began to formulate its doctrine of the Trinity in the fourth century."*** But as we have seen, the Word of God clearly teaches that there is only one God, and that Jesus is the incarnation of that God.
     * Claude Welch, "Trinity," in A Handbook of Christian Theology, ed. by Marvin Halverson and Arthur A. Cohen (New York: New American Library, 1958), p. 366.
     ** J. Kenneth Grider, "The Holy Trinity," in Basic Christian Doctrines, ed. by Carl F. H. Henry (Gorand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Book House, 1962), p. 37. Cp. BE 31.
     *** L. Berkof, Systematic Theology (4th rev, and enlarged ed.; Gorand Rapids, Mich.: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1941), p. 82. Emphasis added.
     The second important difference between the New Christian Church and orthodox Christianity is the position taken concerning the Lord's human nature. Orthodoxy believes that after the resurrection of Jesus Christ and His ascension into heaven, He retained the merely human nature that He had from Mary. The New Christian Church, on the other hand, believes that by means of victories over temptations (the last of which was the passion of the cross) the Lord put off the merely human nature that He had from Mary, and replaced it with a Divinely Human nature from the Father. While there is not enough time here to demonstrate the validity of this belief, its truthfulness can be briefly indicated.

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     Given the fact that Jesus was the incarnation of the only God, what else could Jesus have meant when He said that He would "go,"* or "ascend,"** to the Father; then, that He will make His human nature Divine? For one part of a person cannot move towards another part of himself, except in the sense that it becomes like the part towards which it is moving. Since Jesus was the human nature that God assumed when He came into the world, and since Jesus (before His resurrection) always gave credit to His Divine nature for all His works, He would never have allowed Himself to be worshipped and called "My Lord and my God,"*** unless His merely human nature had been made Divine. Nor could He have said: "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth."****
     * Jn. 7:33; 14:12, 28; 16:5, 17, 28. Cf. Jn. 13:1, 3
     ** Jn. 20:17; 6:62. Cf. 16:19; Lk. 9:51; 24:51
     *** Jn. 20:28
     **** Mt. 28:18; NAS
     The great truth of the New Christian Church is that it worships one God in one person, and that God is the Lord Jesus Christ. We do not deny a trinity, but we see the trinity in the person of Jesus Christ: that within Him there is the Divine in itself, a Divine Human, and a Divine Proceeding, which is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. No other Christian denomination sees the true Divinity of the Lord's Human nature, or worships Jesus Christ as the one and only God of heaven and earth. This is the true Gospel, "the Lord God Jesus Christ reigns, whose kingdom shall be for ever and ever."*
     * TCR 791 APPLICATIONS FOR ADMISSION TO THE ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH COLLEGE 1979

APPLICATIONS FOR ADMISSION TO THE ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH COLLEGE              1979

     Requests for application forms for admission to the Academy College for 1980-81 should be addressed to Dean Robert W. Gladish, The Academy of the New Church College, Box 278, Bryn Athyn, Pa. 19009. Completed application forms and accompanying transcripts and recommendations should be submitted by March 15, 1980.
     It should also be noted that the College operates on a three-term year and that applications for entrance to the Winter and Spring terms of the current academic year can be processed, provided that they are received by Dean Gladish at least three weeks prior to the beginning of the new term.

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VISIT TO THE HOLY LAND 1979

VISIT TO THE HOLY LAND       Rev. HAROLD C. CRANCH       1979

     Early in my ministry I began to lecture on the subjects of Biblical archeology and the geography of the Holy Land. I had taken several post-graduate courses with professors at the University of Southern California and UCLA. But in that time, despite my studies and continued research, I had never actually visited the Holy Land to see the archeological sites themselves, nor the actual geographical setting of the Biblical stories. The importance of the geographical relationships becomes evident from the teaching of the Writings, that the Word was written in the Holy Land because the Most Ancient Church had been located in that area and that all the geographical features were therefore correspondential and representative. So the Children of Israel, through whom the Old Testament was given, were brought back into the land, that all aspects of the literal story might be correspondential. It is therefore easy to understand how thrilled I was that this year my wife, Jean, and I could take a tour of Israel, its historical and geographical sites, and particularly the archeological remains in that country, on our way to visit our friends and the church groups in South Africa. We armed ourselves with a good light motion picture camera so that we could make a record for my future lectures, and also with still cameras, both slide and prints, to augment the record and make it complete.
     In the middle of January we flew to Tel Aviv. After clearing Customs at Ben Gurion airport at Led, we hired a cab to take us to Jerusalem. We arrived at our hotel after dark, and after checking in we could not resist the desire to begin our explorations immediately. We walked in the direction of the Old City, and suddenly turning a corner we saw the floodlit walls of Old Jerusalem. It was a breathtaking moment. And although the old walls have very little that is still extant from Biblical times the setting was still the same and the feeling that we were in the geographical setting of the ancient stories of the Word, and the very land where the Lord had walked, became overwhelming. We returned to our hotel overawed by the realization that we were actually in the land, and in the city, where Christianity had its rise, and where every hill and mountain, and every valley and road, had played its part in providing the setting for revelation and for the wonderful teachings of the Lord-the Word made flesh.

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     In Jerusalem the next day, we continued our exploration on our own as our tour group would not meet until late afternoon. My studies in modern Judaism also helped to make our visit meaningful. Our hotel was set up to keep all of the old requirements of Jewish law in regard to the Sabbath observance, and the Kosher requirements for meals. We had met several of the executives at the hotel and were invited to take part in the Oneg Shabbat, which is preparation for the Shabbat, and in the Kiddush dinner which immediately followed sundown and was the beginning of Shab6at, the sabbath. So we joined the group and sang some Israeli songs, toasted modern Israel and the sabbath in wine, and then went into the separate dining room for the Kiddush dinner. Each table was provided with a bottle of native Israeli wine. As the members of each table gathered, the men wearing either a broad brimmed black hat Or a yarmulka, the oldest man would rise and, having poured the cup of wine to be shared, would read the opening blessing of the sabbath. In the larger groups the women, and the other men, apparently paid no attention but continued their normal conversation. However, at given points in the prayer of the elder they would suddenly stop and join in with the proper Hebrew responses. We did not know the ritual; however we could enter into the spirit of the evening by saying our own Hebrew blessing: "Ho dhoo lai-HO-WAH ki tov." The only necessary accommodation being to say Adonai in the place of U-HO-WAH. This meal is the only warm one served on the Sabbath and it was cooked before sundown and kept warm until it was served at the after sundown, Kiddush dinner. Following the dinner many Jews went to the "Wailing" Wall for a special service, and then they either went to the synagogue or returned to the hotel. Meanwhile we made arrangements with our tour director and prepared for an early morning start the next day.
     An interesting feature in the hotel was the provision of a special Shabbat elevator. It was strictly for the Jewish patrons; all others were expected to use the self-service elevators. There were two reasons for the Shabbat elevator (which was merely one of the regular elevators operated by a non-Jew). It would stop at each floor so that it was not necessary to push the button to summon the elevator nor to do more than say at what floor they wished to get off. The reason for this is twofold. Pushing the button was work, it required a service; and secondly, it could also cause a spark since it is electrical. Since the Commandments and ritual laws of the Jews require that no work be done on the Sabbath, and no fire be made, they avoided both problems by having a non-Jew run the elevator in this special way.

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     The tour group was made up of Christians and Jews and one Moslem. It was a small group and the tour concentrated on archeology and places of religious interest, with some overtones of politics and social progress. The political side was represented by the armed soldiers who were everywhere. No one could enter the hotels, the airline offices, or any public building without opening his camera bags, hand bags, or any other closed briefcase or piece of luggage. It became more pointed when we visited the battlefields at Golan Heights, for in many places we had to hold carefully to the paths laid out as there were still live minefields which had not been cleared. We were in enemy territory twice, once in Syria and once in Lebanon and in neutral grounds when we visited the UN peace-keeping headquarters. Our bus driver had been a soldier in the War of Independence in 1948, and had served in the Israeli navy during the Six-day war. Our guide was a Russian Jew who had managed to emigrate from Russia only with great difficulty. Knowing their experiences helped to keep something of the political situation present, as did our visit to the West Bank where there were complete cities of refugee Arabs.
     Due to many checkpoints and the very efficient but inconvenient inspections to prevent sabotage and terrorism, the tour itself was very peaceful and successful. Our visits to archeological sites included Masada where the Zealots and their wives and children held out against the might of imperial Rome for a three-year period. There we toured Herod's palaces, the storerooms, the Byzantine church, and the other points of interest. At Ein Gedi, an oasis, we saw a beautiful agricultural section right by the Dead Sea. It was in this area that David and his men hid from Saul in the local caves and evaded direct battle with him. Further north we came to the Qumran caves where the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered, and we explored the archeological remains of the Essene community. At Jericho we saw the remains of the ancient city, including the neolithic tower which, of course, is at the bottom of the tell, going back to 7500 B.C. It is unfortunate, and sometimes little understood that as a tell is explored the upper layers essentially must be removed to get at the lower and earlier cities and developments. And also where there is rain and severe weather the remains of a deserted tell are washed away from the upper levels. Little was found from the time of Joshua for there has been 3000 years of weathering since the city was conquered. It had not been rebuilt on the same mound, for later Jericho was built at a nearby site, so the top of the tell was severely weathered, and few remains exist from Joshua's period.

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Those that had existed were cleared as the archeologists moved down into an earlier period for their explorations. However, two different sets of walls could be seen and the early neolithic remains at the base of the tell.
     We visited many Biblical cities famous in ancient history. Meggido and Hazer had tunnels to assure a water supply during time of siege. In both cases the water sources were outside the walls but by clever engineering it was possible for those within the walls to gain water during the time of siege, and the source of the water was covered and hidden from the invaders. We visited the archeological and religious sites of ancient Galilee, including Tiberias and Capernaum, and on the way to the Mediterranean coast we stopped at Safed the ancient capitol of Jewish religious thought, famous for its students of the Talmud and its ancient synagogues. Along the Mediterranean we stopped at Acre, and Haifa at Mt. Carmel, and Caesaria where there are remarkable remains of Crusader days, and then at the ancient city of Jaffa near Tel Aviv. At Hebron in the middle of the southern part of the land we visited the ancient cave of Machpela and the cenotaphs of Abraham and Sarah, Isaac and Rebecca and Jacob. We spent time at Bethlehem and then returned to Jerusalem.
     At Jerusalem a great deal of archeological research is still going on. Just outside the old wall there have been many excavations and discoveries. But there are great difficulties in excavating within the confines of a very heavily populated city. However in several places they have uncovered many more of the stones of Herod's day in the Western or "Wailing" Wall, and in other parts of the ancient wall. But most of the present wall was built at the time of the Crusades.
     In Jerusalem proper we visited all of the traditional sites. However, many that are traditional are also doubtful. Personally I enjoyed more the fact that we were in the geographical center of these happenings than seeing the modern and ancient churches built over the supposed sites of events recorded in the Word. Many have been confirmed, and yet the ornate shrines and chapels built upon them have taken away from the closeness to the events themselves. But in the fields, and on the ancient paths leading from the Mount of Olives to Jerusalem, and at the gates built around the ruins of the ancient gates of Jerusalem, we have both the knowledge of the events that took place there and a closeness to the story itself, as we see the same general landscape and walk on the same paths trodden by the Lord and His disciples, and by the prophets of old.
     Viewing the ancient city of Jerusalem from outside its walls the scene is dominated by the beautiful building "the Dome of the Rock" and its adjoining mosque, "El Sherrif." This is built where the ancient temple of Solomon had been constructed, and it is a beautiful sight.

548


It is surmounted by a golden dome and the walls are intricately designed blue the which glistens in the sun, and the windows are beautifully glazed in stained glass with geographical designs and quotations from the Koran. It is a very graceful building, and within, it shelters the great rock, the site of Abraham's near sacrifice of Isaac, and the threshing floor of Araunah the Hittite on which David offered his sacrifice. Although Araunah offered to give David the oxen and wood for his sacrifice, David refused, and purchased the land, the oxen, and their equipment that he might make the offering, saying: "I will not offer to my God that which doth cost me nothing." To the Mohammedans also the rock is sacred, and this for another reason in addition to the two mentioned. It is thought that it was from this rock that Mohammed set off on a visit to heaven, and that he will return to that rock in the future.
     In our free time at Jerusalem I visited the old city and looked up a special merchant who dealt with archeological finds that had been released by the government for purchase by archeologists and museums. There I met a very pleasant Muslim, Haj Mahmoud Abou Eid, who showed me many beautiful and ancient things. I was particularly anxious to get a bronze Ba'al (a Canaanite god) and some other special antiquities. Some I discovered, and some he brought out from his special treasure department when I specially requested them. He was interested in why I wanted the particular things I mentioned and discussed the things very fully with me. Of course one is meant to bargain but it was so obvious what I wanted that it was difficult to do much bargaining. In the bargaining process you should select objects which you gradually divide into three piles; the first things that you really don't want but are interesting; the second, things that you'd like to have if satisfactory terms can be arranged; and the third, the things you really want. In your bargaining you go back and forth and argue and bargain most fully over the material you want least, and treat that which you really want with some disdain and push it aside more or less; then you take some of the things from the second group that you would like to have but are not really that important and say: "Well, we'll add this and that" from the part you really want but had treated with disdain. I went through the motions, but I'm sure I fooled no one. On the other hand even the most astute bargainer does not really fool anyone, but the process allows the two to come to a mutually agreeable price.
     Throughout our bargaining we talked of our families and religions. He very proudly introduced his son and politely inquired if I had any sons (evidently daughters do not count). He was interested in our complete acceptance of the oneness, the unity, of God.

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So in the middle of our bargaining, satisfied that I was a sure customer, he broke off everything for a few moments to say: "Shall I send for coffee?" He did so, and we had a very delightful visit over small cups of very sweet Turkish coffee brought in by special messenger. Then he said; "We have broken bread together. We are friends whether you buy anything or not." And he promptly told me about his pilgrimage to Mecca and his seven walks around the Ka'aba, showing me pictures of himself in his pilgrimage gown, and some souvenirs. For instance on his pilgrimage journey around the
Ka'aba the pilgrims walk barefoot. He stepped on a pebble which hurt his foot. He picked it up, but as he was about to throw it away he thought: "No, this is something that will remind me of the fulfillment of my spiritual obligation." So he had the pebble polished and brought it back as a memento of his visit.
     From him I finally purchased a brass miniature menorah, a 16th century megillah (that is a parchment scroll of the book of Esther), a widow's mite, (that is a lepton, the small coin referred to by the Lord), a saucer lamp from about the time of Joshua from the dig at Jericho, and a juglet from the Hazer of the 9th century B.C. at the time of Elisha (the type of juglet used in the miracle of the widow's oil), and a small bronze Ba'al. I was quite excited about this figurine as they are fairly rare, and only a few have been approved for export from Israel. But I believe this to be a statue not of Ba'al but of Fl Elyon (that is God Most High, the Father head of this pantheon of gods). 13a'al, in their mythology, is the son of Fl, and represents the Lord. But Fl Elyon represents God as He is in Himself above all, and is seldom pictured or modeled. Ba'al was worshiped because he presented and carried out the will of the Divine itself. He represented the Lord incarnate, and represents Fl in his creative work comparatively as the Lord said of the Divine itself: "No one cometh to the Father but by me" (John 14:6).
     After this free day at Jerusalem we returned to our hotel in the late afternoon. As we approached we saw police and army cars surrounding the hotel and a detachment of soldiers checking everyone entering. They looked at my movie camera and my slide camera, told me to unload the film, which I could do in the movie camera without loss, but I objected to emptying my slide camera, pointing out that it was a reflex and there was no way that any bomb could be hidden in its body. They took it to the captain who allowed me to keep it as it was. I then asked an English speaking soldier why the very rigorous safety precautions. He answered that the Prime Minister, Mr. Begin, would attend a wedding reception in a very short time. So I joined a number of members of our group, gave them this information, and we settled down in the lounge to await developments.

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We were just two or three yards away from the entrance to the wedding reception. We talked with an attractive young lady who sat at the same table with us and she proved to be a member of the security police. The maitre d' and the social director of the hotel had also been replaced by very suave young men from the security force. In a short time Mr. Begin arrived to be greeted by enthusiastic applause. He waved to us and went on in to the reception itself. That evening we saw most of the leaders, political and military, of present-day Israel.
     The next day we left our hotel, the Jerusalem Plaza, to visit northern Israel and the sites around the Sea of Galilee. Our tour was scheduled to visit Nablus, ancient Shechem, on the way, but this was not to be. On the appointed day there had been shellings, and a bomb had been exploded in that town, and it was considered unsafe for tourists. Altogether there were twelve bombing attempts while our party was in Israel. Some were very clever but thwarted by the extreme precautions taken by the people, the police, and the army; others very amateurish, and easily detected, and the bombs were quickly disarmed. The most dangerous and potentially destructive occurred in Jerusalem. It was cleverly arranged and failed only by a small mischance. The terrorists had stolen a beautiful Mercedes Bent car. They loaded it with explosives and drove it to the center of modern Jerusalem to the most populous and active intersection in the city. There they parked the car, set the timer, locked the car thoroughly, and left. However, by mischance, when they parked, most of the car was in a no parking area. This brought it to the attention of the news vendor on the corner. When it had remained there for an hour without being moved, he called the police. The police examined it and said to him that it was only a wealthy person taking advantage of his position to overlook some of the local requirements, and they left. However, when another hour had gone by the vendor called the army and the bomb squad. They came and tried to clear the area of all people, but they wouldn't go. They found this too interesting, and stayed even at the risk of being injured. The bomb squad carefully opened the car, found the timer, and disarmed the bombs, all within a few minutes of the time set for the explosion.
     However, we did get to the Sea of Galilee. There we stayed in ancient Tiberias. We were in a beautiful modern hotel and our room on the 18th floor looked out directly upon an ancient mosque with its muezzin's tower almost level with our room. The mosque was no longer actively used, although it was still set aside as a religious monument. We explored the city, and the next day sailed across Lake Galilee to the northern end, to the city of Capernaum. Here we saw the ancient synagogue built over the original synagogue in which the Lord had taught.

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     We have so many impressions of Israel. We stayed at a Kibbutz in Galilee, in very comfortable quarters, and were impressed with the warm friendliness of the people, their industry, and sharing. But we saw also that every school and nursery had its bomb shelter, gaily painted with clowns and dolls, but a grim reminder that even the children's instruction and play were not without a serious threat of shelling or bombing from the Palestinians or the inimical neighboring countries. Mount Tabor, the eternal snows of Mount Hermon, the Mount of the Lord's sermon, the rich valleys, the source of the Jordan, all made living the beautiful stories of the Word. And visits to a beduin encampment, eating native food in a native environment, in the customs of the ancients, bridged the ages.
     As we were traveling on to South Africa after our tour, we stayed at Tel Aviv for several days after the guided tour was completed. During that time we had further opportunities to explore the city and the ruins of ancient Jaffa. We ate the specialties of Mideastern cooking and visited museums via public transportation. As we were traveling on greatly reduced fares we could not make reservations but were on standby. This required rather frequent checkups at the airport. So the last day we moved to a hotel on the outskirts of Led, and traveled to the airport two or three times by bus. This was quite an experience. I had memorized the routings, bus numbers, and signs (in Hebrew) on the buses, so I was prepared, even though some of the people did not speak English. But the buses were always crowded and as we moved toward the back of the bus we would lean over the submachine guns carried by the many soldiers on the buses. They handled them as if they were toys and they were always at the ready.
     At the airport we had great cooperation from the TWA technical staff where we would go to check out the availability of the various flights. (Eventually we had to fly back to London and then on to Johannesburg, South Africa, as the few flights from Israel that we were authorized to take were sold out for several weeks.) The airport is rather an expensive place to eat so I was on the lookout for a restaurant with more reasonable prices. To this end I hunted up the employees' restaurant at Ben Gurian airport and we walked up three flights, entered the cafeteria-style dining room which was bright and clean, but very plain. We received a few questioning looks but took trays, pointed to what we wanted, and paid the price asked, and enjoyed good meals of native food. We ate there several times and the cost was about one fifth of what it would have been in the restaurant for travelers.
     While I had the opportunity I bought many articles of Jewish ritual and worship. Together with one of my Jewish friends from the tour we went to the Jewish supply house and bought a beautiful prayer shawl and the velvet case to carry it in, and a set of Tefilin or phylactories and a beautiful velvet case to carry them in.

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I also bought a shofar, the ram's horn trumpet as used by Joshua, and used today in synagogue worship for special holy days. And I bought a model of the Torah with its royal garments, the silver breastplate and the yodh, (the pointing finger used to keep one's place while reading), and the crowns that were placed over the trees of life, (the sticks upon which the Torah was rolled). These were all purchased for lecture work on the meaning of the Jewish rituals of old, and how they are carried on at the present day.
     In addition to the archeological artifacts, and the Jewish articles of worship, I bought some of the usual tourist mementos that could also be used to illustrate the life of Canaan. Olive wood camels and brass plaques and various articles of shepherd life, the shepherd's pipes or double oboes, and some of the polished stones of flat.
     Although I brought back these artifacts and mementoes for my lecture work, and thus have a material basis for remembering the visit to the Holy Land, I think the most permanent memories have nothing to do with physical properties. The haunting call of the muezzin at the time of evening prayer while visiting in Jericho, joining in the Oneg Shabbat, and the Kidush dinner to begin the Sabbath at Jerusalem, walking through the water tunnel in Hazer, and standing in Herod's palace on the island is the sky-Masada, all will leave indelible impressions upon my mind; and Jerusalem, its old walls and turrets bathed in the golden sunshine of late afternoon when it truly becomes Jerusalem the Golden, will always remain with me as a symbol of the New Jerusalem descending from God out of heaven.
"NEW CHURCH HOME" 1979

"NEW CHURCH HOME"              1979

     NEW CHURCH HOME, under a new editor, began its 1978-79 publications with the September issue. It is aimed at New Church families-both those in church centers and those who are isolated. It contains items for both parents and children, and is designed to stimulate the development of the things of the church in our home. There are ten issues each year, and the subscription price is $3.00. It makes a very suitable gift to families with growing children. We are working to fill a real need in the Church.
     For further information or to get a subscription, please write to NEW CHURCH HOME, Cairncrest, Bag C, Bryn Athyn, PA 19009.

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PURSUIT OF KNOWLEDGE 1979

PURSUIT OF KNOWLEDGE       Rev. DANIEL W. GOODENOUGH       1979

     Charter Day Address

     The question the angels introduced for discussion, in the memorable relation just read from Conjugial Love, was why all animals are born into knowledge while only man is born without any knowledge at all. But before the assembly tried to reach an answer, they discussed just how ignorant man really is from birth, having no knowledge or instinct beyond the ability to suck. Completely helpless, the human infant can survive only because as he grows he gains knowledge from others. "In a word," we read, "man is born corporeal like a worm, and remains corporeal unless he learns from others how to know, to understand, and to become wise."*
     * CL 133
     Think about that. "Man is born corporeal like a worm." Corporeal means bodily, fleshly, limited to the earth and nature, and despite the presence of celestial angels, man at birth is so limited to his own body that he is compared to a worm. Even less comforting, we remain corporeal, totally wrapped up in nature and our physical bodies, unless we learn from others how to know, understand and become wise. It doesn't say we need just to receive knowledge and wisdom from others. Even animals can be taught knowledges of a sort, and this doesn't make them human. What makes man human is learning, from others, how, to know, understand, and become wise.
     Learning how to pursue knowledge is not a mere intellectual game; it can be great fun, but it also is essential to our becoming human beings. With good reason the Writings present a very full doctrine about knowledge, explaining again and again how during childhood the lowest plane of the mind is opened by knowledge, while in youth the next plane of the mind is opened by learning to think from knowledge. In Potts' Concordance references to five different words for knowledge fill over 55 pages. Learning how to know is important! All mental and spiritual development, all human growth, proceeds by first acquiring knowledge, then thinking and acting from knowledge.

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For "the knowledge of a thing must come first, in order that there may be a perception of it."* Not merely knowing, but learning how to know, understand and become wise
is a human task so important that we need to start when we are young and keep on learning how to know and be wise all the way through life. It would be a pretty dreary task if it were not for the fact that the Lord gives us interests, curiosity, a love of knowing, and then provides so many different kinds of knowledge, from the Word and also from people, from the world of nature, from books, from myriads of sources all around us. We can all find many things we want to know and think about, if we'll just take the trouble.
     * AC 5469:3, 1802
     Indeed, that knowledge is central to human life has been understood by man, and is mirrored in the history of civilizations. A warlike people may suddenly arise and conquer, but without the pursuit of knowledge they accomplish little and soon usually disappear from history. Genuine advance and accomplishment, by a people or a civilization, always is accompanied by the serious pursuit and mastery of knowledge. Perhaps the best example is provided by the descendants of Judah, who through the ups and downs of history, including national exile for nearly nineteen centuries, have been held together principally by their pursuit of knowledge of Jehovah as revealed in the Word of the Old Testament. For anyone who doubts the power of knowledge, the history of Judaism offers a most striking example of unity and accomplishment, accompanied and led by an incredibly persistent mastery of knowledge of the externals of the Old Testament and of Jewish tradition. Equally significant, when the other tribes descended from Jacob lost interest in the knowledge of Jehovah, they simply disappeared from history, they intermarried with pagans and their identity was lost forever.
     Much of the history of civilizations could be written in terms of the history of the pursuit of knowledge, at least since the flood that consummated the Most Ancient Church. Education was an integral part of ancient civilizations. The mighty conqueror Alexander the Great studied under Aristotle, the greatest scholar of his day, and out of his conquests grew an educated culture and a pursuit of knowledge that spread Greek learning and ideas throughout the Near East. Copying the Greek example the Roman civilization under which the Lord was born placed a high premium on education, and the serious pursuit of knowledge enabled the Roman empire and culture to thrive for hundreds of years. As cooperation among men failed and uneducated tribes administered the coup de grace to the western Roman Empire, formalized schooling collapsed, and the onslaught of ignorance contributed greatly to the brutal period rightly called the Dark Ages.

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Though at first ignorant warriors, the Arabs were the first to begin to restore some measure of civilization and achievement to European life, and they did so by establishing centers of learning where ancient books could be translated into Arabic and then mastered by many students. We westerners have been slow to appreciate the contributions of educated Arabs living a thousand years ago towards restoring western civilization.
     In time our remote ancestors in England, France, Germany, Italy and later Scandinavia were able to turn to the pursuit of knowledge. The universities begun as cathedral schools in the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries in such places as Paris, Bologna, Padua, Oxford, Cambridge, became the models for academic education up to the present time, and more important, they supplied society with men who could read, write and think-men who over many generations were able to bring solid and lasting accomplishments to the western world-achievements not merely in learning, but in political organization, in agricultural and economic development, and indeed, in most of the areas of life that we today care about. During the Protestant Reformation it was Protestant schools that sent out trained men to win converts from Roman Catholicism, and when the Roman Catholics fought back, their most successful weapon was the development of Catholic universities. To this day Roman Catholic integrity owes an enormous debt to Catholic schools of all levels. It is true that many of the scientific developments of the last four centuries have not been achieved in formal schools, but without universities to educate people in the first place, the scientific and technological advances that have so revolutionized modern life would be utterly unimaginable. Creativity cannot operate in a vacuum of ignorance. In politics, in economic life, in education, in art, in religion originality can be productive only if you start by knowing something.
     The impulse to begin an Academy of the New Church, then, derives from one of the deepest wells in the human mind. If a knowledge of some kind is found to be important, human beings have, at least since the Flood, understood that the knowledge must be learned, studied, if possible mastered, and taught to the next generation; they have understood that in large measure their success in all of life depends upon their ability to see and pass on that body of knowledge which they hold dear. When the truth of the Lord's Second Coming came to be clearly seen, receivers of the Heavenly Doctrines immediately began to dream, plan and then work for a school where this most precious of all knowledges could be learned as fully as possible and so pass into human life.

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Yes, the Academy was founded to train ministers and to educate children and young people, but more fundamentally it was founded because the importance of the doctrines given at the Lord's Second Coming demanded then, as it demands now, that we learn how to know, understand and become wise in them.
     An appreciation of the importance of that Divine knowledge has sustained and directed the Academy movement through successes and failures. If we or our descendants lose that sense of the central importance of the Divine knowledge revealed to us, our own Academy will become just another church-originated school, like so many schools all around us, however rich, technically proficient and professional we may become. To put the matter more affirmatively, so long as human beings appreciate the Lord's three-fold Word as the most important of all knowledges, they will want centers of learning to study it, and they will give their all to make those schools fulfill the dreams they cherish within.
     The human race has thus been aware that the key to progress, the gateway of escape from limitation and backwardness, is knowledge. Knowledge gives power. In the world it gives man power to improve himself economically and socially, in everything from driving a car to helping find a solution to a complicated energy problem. Spiritually, knowledge gives us power to change ourselves, or rather to be changed by listening to the Lord and following His doctrines in our lives.
     And sadly it is in this very power of knowledge that its worst abuse lies hidden. For man comes to love the power he gains from knowledge, and so he too easily comes to love his knowledge for its own sake-not for the good it can lead to, but for the power it gives him. And pursuing this power from knowledge as an end in itself, he imagines the knowledge is his own, indeed from himself. He fancies that knowledge originates not from others, or from God, but from himself, and so he tastes the sweet fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. It is insane to believe that we are wise from ourselves, that we always know what is best, that we have all the big answers, and that those who disagree with us are just wrong, yet that is the fancy we fall into when we love knowledge for the power it gives us rather than for the uses it call do for others. "Ye shall not surely die," said the serpent, or man's sensual. "For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and Ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil."* The man seduced by the power of knowledge becomes his own god, confident that only he really knows anything, believing wisdom and goodness derive from his own intelligence.
     * Gen. 3:4-5

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     In an age that greatly appreciates knowledge and its power, modern man would seem to be especially susceptible to the serpent's flattery. Anyone feels more powerful if he trusts in himself rather than admits his need to be guided by truths from outside himself. But eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, believing we are wise from ourselves, destroys all the intended blessings of knowledge, and perverts its power for good. We should not be surprised that the greatest crimes against humanity have been perpetrated not by the ignorant masses but by highly intelligent and educated men, not by men who knew too little but by those who loved knowledge too much for its power.
     As one popular philosopher recently put it,

We have seen the highly educated German nation give its allegiance to the most murderously vengeful government in history. The bloody-minded professors in the Kremlin, as Churchill called them, liquidated sixty million Russian men, women and children. We have also seen a band of graduates of the Sorbonne, no less, slaughter and starve millions of innocents in Cambodia and Vietnam. The murder weapons that may destroy our society are being forged in the work factories of our foremost universities. In many countries, universities have become the chief recruiting ground for mindless terrorists.*
     * Eric Hoffer, "Beware the Intellectual," National Review, Vol. XXXI, n. a39, September 28, 1979, p. 11 of center advertisement.

     On the other hand, the pursuit of knowledge can become a deadly dry search for meaningless facts and theories, as though the highest good in life is contemplation of knowledge. In today's academic world are many intellectuals who can tell you virtually everything about the history of religious ideas, but who cannot handle or even understand the only really important question, "What in fact is true?" When the pursuit of knowledge becomes its own reward, the essence of man, his will, is forgotten and human life loses all meaning.
     Knowledge is like wealth, and in fact riches in the Word correspond to knowledge.* Everyone wants wealth, and when used as a tool to uses, wealth is indeed good and worthy of pursuit. Like riches, knowledge is good or evil, not in proportion to how extensive it is, but according as it is loved for uses or else merely for the power it gives the individual. Nothing is filthier than to love money for its own sake, and nothing is more vain than to worship ideas as ends in themselves. But intended as an instrument of good, knowledge is a priceless treasure.
     * See esp. AC 7770:3, 8628:3; AE 236:7-8
     This does not mean, however, that we will at once understand how to use the knowledge we learn. Every student knows he learns a great deal he cannot at once apply to life. A lot of knowledge we may never apply to life directly. Yet this knowledge still can be important if it enters our thinking and affects the way we look at life.

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     The purpose of much religious knowledge, for example-the doctrines we learn in church and class-is not simply that it be used in practical application. The fundamental purpose of religious knowledge is to turn us to God. Because He exists, our Creator, it is important to learn about Him; and those many doctrines that teach us about Him and His ways, even when we cannot immediately apply them, can still turn us to the Lord and open our hearts to Him. Similarly, many teachings about conjugial love cannot be directly applied to life by the unmarried, but they can still prepare you for conjugial love if you will think seriously about them and believe them. To want all Divine knowledge to look to ourselves now and to our immediate practical problems is to center our religion on ourselves rather than on God, to care about God for our own sake rather than for the sake of Him and His kingdom. The underlying purpose of knowledge about God and His order is to make us less self-centered, to turn us away from our usual self-concern and self-awareness, and to make us think about uses outside of ourselves. And while a great many doctrines can help us do this by being applied to life, there is no truth we can learn about God that cannot turn our attention to Him and the neighbor instead of to what we think are our own needs and wants.
     So it is with knowledge of all things. Of course we want to use knowledge, but the real reason for schools is not just practical, to learn things which will help us be successful and rich and influential among men. The inner purpose of secular education is to foster an interest in the world outside ourselves, simply for the reason that it is there, the handiwork of God and the product of human activity. No animal can respond to this. An animal can be interested in its environment only for the animal's own sake. If something is not relevant to an animal, the animal has no interest in it. But human beings receive from God the gift of being curious about things whether or not they are directly relevant to one's own ends and needs. Wanting to understand the nature of the world and of other human beings, whether or not there is direct application to ourselves, is a distinctly human affection. Undue cries for relevance may at times simply mask an overweening, animal-like obsession with one's own wants. If we care about the world and other people more than for the good they can do us, we will want to gain knowledge about them, not for our sake but for theirs. Similarly if we care about another individual as much as we care about ourselves, we will be genuinely interested in him when he shares with us; we will really listen to him and not get bored and just wait till we can express ourselves again. Love towards the neighbor and love of God are inconceivable without a love of knowing about things outside ourselves, for their sake as much as for ours.

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     May we value, then, the treasures of knowledge the Lord grants us, about Himself and His creation and about other human beings, and may we cultivate the love of learning He implants in us from birth. May we appreciate knowledge as the wealth of the mind, the indispensable tool to all human accomplishment, spiritual or natural. The power it gives us is by creation an enormous blessing and will benefit us in every area of life if we receive it as a means to genuine use. If we love that power for the elation it gives our ego, we eat of the forbidden tree and make sin in ourselves; our self-intelligent conceit will be our denial of God, and we will hurt others and destroy ourselves.
     Rather may we love knowledge for its power to do good on every level, and may we also learn to distinguish true ideas from those falsities and lies that offer a meaningless or destructive power. Seeing the difference between good and evil, between truth and the lie of falsity, is often not easy, but it is a distinctly human work, not an unpleasant task really, a work that everyone can take part in. For however much or little we know, if we treat knowledge as a part of our love to God and His creation, ideas will bring us towards the Lord, will benefit our neighbor, and as a byproduct will make us happy. "If ye know these things," the Lord told His apostles, "happy are ye if ye do them."* But in this world of time we first must learn how to know, to understand, and to become wise.
     * John 13:17 APPLICATIONS FOR ADMISSION TO THE ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH BOYS SCHOOL AND GIRLS SCHOOL 1979

APPLICATIONS FOR ADMISSION TO THE ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH BOYS SCHOOL AND GIRLS SCHOOL              1979

     Requests should be made before February 15, 1980 for application forms for admission of new students to the Academy Secondary Schools in the fall of 1980. Letters should be addressed to Miss Morna Hyatt, Principal of the Girls School, or Mr. Donald C. Fitzpatrick, Principal of the Boys School, at The Academy of the New Church, Box 278, Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania 19009. Letters should include the student's name, parents' address, the class the student will be entering, the name and address of the school he or she is now attending, and whether the student will be day or dormitory. Please see the Academy catalog for dormitory requirements.
     Completed application forms and accompanying material should be received by the Academy by March 30, 1979.

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CLERGY REPORTS 1979

CLERGY REPORTS       LOUIS B. KING       1979

     September 1, 1978, to August 31, 1979

     Report of the Bishop of the General Church

     The inauguration of six young men into the priesthood of the New Church, and receiving five of them as active priests in the General Church symbolizes the spirit and growth of the General Church this past year. Add to this two men ordained into the second degree of the priesthood and the recognition of an additional second degree priest from another body of the church, and we have a record number of new priests entering the work of the church. More significant than the number of individuals involved in this increment to the Council of the Clergy, is the quality of ministrations which can be expected of these men.
     The Theological School of the Academy of the New Church is not only unique, but the training it provides for the priesthood of the General Church grows in perfection each year. A large faculty, sensitive to the individual needs of the students, and particularly sensitive to the needs of the church at large, labors diligently and with deep affection to cooperate with the Lord in preparing young men whom He has called to the work of His ministry. There is no greater use in the General Church than to assist in the preparation of our future ministers, so that they may respond to the love and work of saving souls, and this, by teaching doctrine effectively and leading thereby to the good of life.
     This year we have continued to respond to requests from Convention societies and circles to provide interim ministrations. Requests have come from Central West Canada; Baltimore, Maryland; Bath, Maine; Orange, New Jersey; Stockholm, Sweden; Copenhagen, Denmark; and Boston, Massachusetts.
     There are many items of information which I should like to include in this report, but space does not permit. The following statistical report of the Episcopal Office is suggestive, however, of a full and productive year.

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     As Bishop of the General Church:
Episcopal Visits and Assemblies
Dedications (1 church, 1 school, 2 homes)
New Circles recognized (Americus, Georgia; Lake Helen, Florida and Seattle, Washington)
Inaugurations into the Priesthood (6)
Ordinations (6 into the first degree, 2 into the second degree)
Candidates recognized (3)
Board and Corporation Meetings (3 Board, 1 Corporation and 1 Joint Council)
Educational Council Meetings (held in Glenview)
Council of the Clergy Meetings (held in Bryn Athyn)

     As Pastor of the Bryn Athyn Church:
Services conducted-59 (festival, public and private)
Regular Doctrinal Classes-6
Arcana Classes-78
Board of Trustees and Society Meetings-13
Special Services-33 (Rites and Sacraments)

     As Chancellor of the Academy:
Chaired 12 Faculty Meetings (General Faculty and Theological Faculty)
Meetings of the Board and Corporation-10
Teaching Assignments:
          Doctrine of the Lord-Theological School (1 term)
          Church Government-Theological School (2 independent studies)
     Elective Religion-Secondary Schools (3 terms)
Chapel Services-it (all Schools)

     MINISTERIAL CHANGES AND ASSIGNMENTS

     The Rev. Jose L. de Figueiredo has, after many years, retired as Minister of the Rio de Janeiro Society of the General Church as of January 1st, 1979. He will continue to serve as Assistant Minister of the Rio Society.

     The Rev. Andrew J. Heilman has been recognized as Minister and President of the Rio de Janeiro Society, effective January 1, 1979.

     The Rev. Mark R. Carlson has been called by the Carmel Church Society in Kitchener, Ontario, to serve as its Assistant Pastor, effective April 1st, 1979.

     The Rev. Ottar T. Larsen will serve as Visiting Pastor to the isolated members of the General Church in Great Britain, effective September 1st, 1979.

     The Rev. Mark E. Alden has been assigned as Assistant to the Pastor of the Immanuel Church, as of September 1st, 1979.

     The Rev. Eric H. Carswell has been assigned as Assistant to the Pastor of the Pittsburgh Society and also providing assistance to the Pastor of the North and South Ohio Circles, effective September 1st, 1979.

     The Rev. Kent Junge has been assigned as Minister to the Northwestern District of the United States, resident in the Seattle area, effective July 1st, 1979.

     The Rev. Cedric King has been assigned as Assistant to the Rev. Roy Franson, resident in the San Diego area, effective July 1st, 1979.

     The Rev. Lawson M. Smith has been assigned as Assistant to the Pastor of the Washington, D.C. Society and Visiting Minister to the Baltimore Convention Society, effective July 1st, 1979.
     Bishop,
     LOUIS B. KING

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COUNCIL OF THE CLERGY MEMBERSHIP 1979

COUNCIL OF THE CLERGY MEMBERSHIP              1979

     During the year ending August 31, 1979, five young men were inaugurated into the first degree of the priesthood, and two ministers were ordained into the second degree.
     At the end of the twelve month period the Council of the Clergy consisted of three priests of the episcopal degree, forty-six in the pastoral degree, eleven in the ministerial degree and one associate member, for a total of sixty-one. Of these five were mainly or essentially employed by the General Church, nine by the Academy of the New Church, thirty-two were in pastoral work, nine were retired or engaged in secular work and one was unassigned. The five newly inaugurated ministers were preparing to enter their fields of priestly use.
     In addition, the General Church has five priests of the pastoral degree in the South African Mission besides the Superintendent.
     A Directory of the General Church and its Mission in South Africa was published in the September issue of NEW CHURCH LIFE, pp. 408-415.
STATISTICS 1979

STATISTICS       B. DAVID HOLM       1979

     The statistics of the Sacraments and Rites of the General Church administered during the year, compiled from reports of the priests of the General Church as of September 1st, 1979, together with comparative figures for the twelve month periods five and ten years ago are shown below.

                              1978-79      1973-74      1968-69
Baptisms
     Children                    152           94           124
     Adults                     41           33           31
          Total                    193           127           155
Holy Supper Administrations
     Public                    280           188           180
     Private                    60           32           30
          Communicants          6,113      5,535      5,180
Confessions of Faith                31          49           47
Betrothals                         33           33           31
Marriages                         57           57           50
     Blessings                    6           2           not given
Ordinations                         8           5           3
Dedications
     Churches                    1           1           1
     Homes                     10           4           4
     Other                     1           1           1
Funerals or Memorial Services      46               57           50

563




     REPORTS OF THE MEMBERS OF THE COUNCIL

     The Rt. Rev. Louis B. King served as Bishop of the General Church, Chancellor of the Academy of the New Church, and Pastor of the Bryn Athyn Church. The full text of his report appears on pages 560-561.

     The Rt. Rev. George de Charms, retired, has written several papers and articles for NEW CHURCH LIFE and NEW CHURCH HOME.

     The Rt. Rev. Willard D. Pendleton, retired, reports a number of sacraments and rites at which he officiated, and that he taught in the Theological School September through December, 1978.

     The Rev. Alfred Acton II continued to serve as President of the Academy of the New Church.

     The Rev. Glenn G. Alden continued to serve as Pastor to the Florida District, resident in Miami, and also served as a member of the staff of the Laurel Leaf Academy.

     The Rev. Kurt H. Asplundh continued to serve as Dean of the Bryn Athyn Church.

     The Rev. Arne J. Bau-Madsen served as Pastor to the Kempton Circle and as visiting Pastor to the Group in Wilmington, Delaware. He reports that the Kempton Circle's New Church Day School will open on September 17th.

     The Rev. Bjorn A. H. Boyesen served as translator of the Writings from Latin to Swedish. Also, he served as Assistant Pastor in Jonkoping, Sweden.

     The Rev. Ragnar Boyesen continued to serve as Pastor to the Scandinavian District, resident in Stockholm, and visiting the Circles in Jonkoping, Sweden, Copenhagen, Denmark, Oslo, Norway and other small groups and isolated. He also served as Editor of Nova Ecclesia.

     The Rev. Peter M. Buss served as Pastor of the Immanuel Church in Glenview, Principal of the Immanuel Church School and Bishop's Representative in the Midwestern and Central Western Districts of the General Church. He also represented the Bishop at the British Assembly.

     The Rev. Mark R. Carlson served as Assistant Pastor of the Carmel Church in Kitchener, Ontario.

     The Rev. Geoffrey S. Childs continued to serve as Pastor of the Olivet Society in Toronto, Canada, and as Headmaster of the Olivet Day School. By episcopal appointment he also continued to serve as the Bishop's Representative in Canada.

     The Rev. William H. Clifford served as Pastor to the Dawson Creek Circle, British Columbia, Canada, and as Visiting Pastor to Western Canada and the Northwestern District of the United States. In July he stopped visiting the Northwestern District and added Central Canada to his visiting schedule.

     The Rev. Robert H. P. Cole, unassigned, reports activities of a pastoral and missionary nature in a number of places.

564




     The Rev. Stephen D. Cole served as Pastor of the North Ohio Circle, resident in Cleveland, Ohio. In addition he served as Visiting Pastor to the Circle in Erie, Pennsylvania, and to the South Ohio Circle. Since August he has been resident in Cincinnati, Ohio.

     The Rev. Harold C. Cranch continued to serve as Associate Pastor of the Immanuel Church, and supervising Pastor of the Sharon Church Circle, and supervising Pastor of the Missionary and radio activities of the Immanuel Church.

     The Rev. Roy Franson continued to serve as Pastor of the Tucson Circle in Arizona where he is resident, and also as Visiting Pastor to the San Diego Circle and the Groups in Phoenix, El Paso, and Pima. Also he has given monthly classes to the Orange County Group in California.

     The Rev. Michael D. Gladish continued to serve as Pastor to the Hurstville Society in Australia and Visiting Pastor to the Auckland Group in New Zealand. He is also Pastor to the Isolated in Australia, which involves a great deal of traveling.

     The Rev. Victor J. Gladish, retired, reports occasional visits to the Group in Wilmington, Illinois.

     The Rev. Daniel W. Goodenough continued to serve as Associate Professor of Religion and History at the Academy of the New Church, where he taught in both the College and Theological School. He also preached a number of times and serves on the Board of Directors of the Swedenborg Scientific Association, He has now finished his graduate thesis which was favorably received and accepted by the Lutheran Theological Seminary of Philadelphia and in May received the degree of Master of Sacred Theology.

     The Rev. Daniel W. Heinrichs continued to serve as pastor of the Washington Society and Headmaster of its Day School. In addition, he served as Visiting Pastor to the District of Maryland and Virginia.

     The Rev. Willard L. D. Heinrichs served as Instructor in Religion in the Academy of the New Church Theological School, College and Girls School.

     The Rev. Henry Heinrichs is retired.

     The Rev. B. David Holm served as Assistant Dean of the Bryn Athyn Society, Instructor of Religion in the Bryn Athyn Elementary School and Secretary of the Council of the Clergy.

     The Rev. Geoffrey H. Howard continued to serve as the Pastor of the Durban Society and Headmaster of the Durban Society's Kainon School. He also served as Bishop's Representative in South Africa. In addition he reports activities in the General Church Mission and in the Johannesburg Circle. He also visited in Glenview and Bryn Athyn.

     The Rev. Robert S. Junge served as Dean of the Theological School.

     The Rev. Brian W. Keith continued to serve as Assistant to the Pastor of the Immanuel Church in Glenview, and as Assistant in the Midwestern and Central Western Districts of the General Church.

565




     The Rev. Thomas L. Kline continued to serve as Pastor to the Atlanta, Georgia, Circle, and as Visiting Pastor to the Southeastern United States District.

     The Rev. Ottar T. Larsen served as Traveling Pastor to Montreal, Ottawa, Muskoka, and by invitation to Convention groups at Roblin, Winnipeg, Saskatoon, Rosthern in Canada and as visiting pastor to the Fingerlake District in New York.

     The Rev. Kurt P. Nemitz continued to serve as Pastor of the Bath Society of the New Jerusalem Church. (A Convention Society in Bath, Maine.)

     The Rev. Ormond de C. Odhner continued to serve as Professor of Church History and Instructor in Religion at the Academy of the New Church. He also served as Acting Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE.

     The Rev. Walter E. Orthwein, III continued to serve as Pastor of the Detroit Society. He also served as Principal of the Detroit Society Day School, In addition he was Visiting Pastor to the Circle in Gorand Rapids, Michigan and the Group in Lansing, Michigan.

     The Rev. Dandridge Pendleton continued to serve as Instructor of Religion and Theology in the Academy of the New Church.

     The Rev. Martin Pryrke continued to serve as an Instructor in Religion in the Academy of the New Church in both the Theological and Boys School. He also served as Director of the Academy Museum.

     The Rev. Norman E. Reuter, retired, continued to give pastoral assistance in the Bryn Athyn area when called upon. He preached in other centers of the Church, gave two doctrinal classes and substituted as teacher in the Academy.

     The Rev. Morley D. Rich is retired. He reports he has conducted a bi-weekly class in Bryn Athyn and has conducted various services of worship.

     The Rev. Norman E. Riley served as Superintendent of the Mission in South Africa and as Assistant to the Pastor of the Durban Society, Teacher of Religion in Kainon School, Visiting Pastor of the Transvaal Circle, the Rent Manor Group and the Cape Group as well as the isolated in South Africa. In addition he serves as Director of Religion Lessons to the isolated in South Africa.

     The Rev. Norbert H. Rogers is retired.

     The Rev. Donald L. Rose continued to serve as Pastor of the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Society, and Principal of the Pittsburgh Society's Day School. He also served the Group in Freeport, Pennsylvania. In addition he participated in the Laurel Leaf Academy Summer Camps. He reports further that he participated in the High School Religious Assembly at the Academy of the New Church.

     The Rev. Frank S. Rose continued to serve as an Instructor in Religion in the Academy of the New Church in the College, Girls School and Boys School. He also served as Housemaster of Childs Hall. In addition he presided over the Maple Leaf Academy and the two Laurel Leaf Academies. He was a lecturer al the Almont Summer School. And further, he ran three Marriage Enrichment programs.

     The Rev. Patrick A. Rose served as Pastor of the Colchester Society, and Headmaster of the Colchester Society's Day School.

566


He also served as Visiting Pastor to the Letchworth Circle, the Manchester Circle and groups in Glasgow and Edinburgh. In addition he participated in two young people's weekends. Further, he became a member of the following boards-the British Academy Board, the General Church of the New Jerusalem, Ltd. Board and the Advisory and Revision Board of the Swedenborg Society.

     The Rev. Erik Sandstrom (retired from September 1, 1978) has served as Resident Pastor of the Oral-Hot Springs Group, Visiting Pastor of the Denver Circle, held informal doctrinal classes at Scottsbluff, Nebraska, placed books of the Writings in the library and bookstore in Hot Springs and ads in local papers. He also has written two articles for New Church publications and preached in Washington, D.C.

     The Rev. Erik E. Sandstrom continued as Pastor of Michael Church in London, England, and as Visiting Pastor to the Circle in the Hague, Holland, and the West Country Group in Tauton, England. He also visited the isolated and served as Chairman of the British Academy, Editor of the Newsletter in England and translator and advisor.

     The Rev. Frederick L. Schnarr served as Principal of the Bryn Athyn Church Elementary School, and as a member of the Bryn Athyn Pastoral Office conducted a number of services of worship.

     The Rev. David R. Simons continued to serve as Pastor of the Los Angeles Society. He also served as Visiting Pastor to the San Francisco Circle. He also visited the San Diego Circle once a month. He further reports of giving public lectures, running a summer camp for children, and various missionary endeavors.

     The Rev. Christopher R. J. Smith served as Pastor of the Carmel Church in Kitchener, Ontario. He also served as Headmaster of the Carmel Church's Day School.

     The Rev. Lorentz R. Soneson served as Acting Secretary of the General Church, Editor of NEW CHURCH HOME, Director of the General Church Religion Lessons, Chairman of the Sunday School Committee, Chairman of the Traveling Ministers' Committee, Chairman of the General Church Publication Committee and Manager of Cairncrest.

     The Rev. Kenneth O. Stroh continued to serve as the Bryn Athyn Church Organist, as Director of Music for the Bryn Athyn Society, and as Choir Director, He also did Pastoral Visiting in the Bryn Athyn Society.

     The Rev. Douglas M. Taylor served as Director of Evangelization and Chairman of the Extension Committee. He also served as Chairman of the Sound Recording Committee and as Chairman of the Bryn Athyn Epsilon Society. He conducted two courses for newcomers in the Bryn Athyn Society and arranged six missionary services in the Cathedral. Further, he made a number of trips to other centers of the Church to encourage evangelization in the General Church. He also taught a Training Course in the Academy's College on how to talk about the New Church to inquirers. He also reports a revision of the Missionary Manual.

     The Rev. Mark E. Alden completed his final year in the Theological School of the Academy of the New Church. He was inaugurated into the Priesthood on June 10, 1979, and since August has served as Assistant to the Pastor in Glenview.

567




     The Rev. Christopher D. Bown continued to serve as Resident Minister in Connecticut and Visiting Minister to the New Jersey and New York Circle.

     The Rev. Eric H. Carswell completed his final year in the Theological School of the Academy and studied as a graduate student at Lehigh University and received a Masters in Education in School Administration. He was inaugurated into the priesthood on June 10, 1979, and since then prepared for his work as Assistant to the Pastor in Pittsburgh.

     The Rev. Jose Lopes de Figueiredo served as Minister to the Rio de Janeiro Society from September until December, 1978, and since that time as Assistant Minister to the Rio de Janeiro Society.

     The Rev. J. Clark Echols, Jr. served as Assistant to the Pastor of the Glenview Society and Traveling Minister to the Midwestern and Central Western Districts. He reports a number of trips.

     The Rev. Andrew J. Heilman served as Assistant to the Minister of the Rio de Janeiro Society until January 1st, 1979, when he took on the responsibilities of Minister of the Rio de Janeiro Society.

     The Rev. Kent Junge completed his final year in the Theological School of the Academy of the New Church. He was inaugurated into the Priesthood on June 10, 1979. In August he took up his duties as Minister to the Northwest District, resident in the Seattle Circle and also as Visiting Minister to the Group in Vancouver, British Columbia.

     The Rev. Cedric King completed his final year in the Theological School of the Academy of the New Church. He was inaugurated into the Priesthood on June 10, 1979. In July he took up his duties as Assistant to the Pastor and Resident Minister to the San Diego Circle.

     The Rev. Robert D. McMaster continued to serve as Assistant to the Pastor of the Olivet Church in Toronto, Canada.

     The Rev. N. Bruce Rogers continued to serve as Associate Professor of Religion, Latin, and Hebrew in the College of the Academy of the New Church. He also served as Head of the College Religion and Sacred Languages Division. In addition he served as Chairman of the General Church Translation Committee and Director of Sunday School for the Bryn Athyn Church.

     The Rev. Lawson M. Smith completed his final year in the Theological School of the Academy of the New Church. He was inaugurated into the Priesthood on June 10, 1979. In July he began his duties as Assistant to the Pastor of the Washington, D.C. Society. In September he will also serve as Visiting Minister to the Convention Society in Baltimore, Maryland.

     The Rev. Jan H. Weiss was engaged in secular work in Los Angeles, California.

     The following men, while not members of the Council of the Clergy, now look to the General Church and are associated with it.

568




     The Rev. William Burke (an ordained minister of the Christian Church) will be attending the Theological School of the Academy of the New Church. His official acts were done with the authorization of the Bishop of the General Church.

     The Rev. George McCurdy has been employed as an Instructor of Religion in the Academy of the New Church and as Pastor of the Boston, Massachusetts, Circle. He is also taking a course of orientation in the Theological School of the Academy of the New Church.

     The Rev. Alain Nicolier completed a Candidacy for the Priesthood in France where he was serving New Church people. He was inaugurated into the priesthood on May 31st, 1979, and will continue serving his people in France.

     Added to the above priests are those of the General Church of the New Jerusalem Mission in South Africa. Since they do not report directly to the Bishop of the General Church, they are not included here. Their names and assignments appear in the September, 1979, issue of NEW CHURCH LIFE, p. 413.
     Respectfully submitted,
          B. DAVID HOLM,
               Secretary
VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN, GLENVIEW, PITTSBURGH, TORONTO, AND KITCHENER 1979

VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN, GLENVIEW, PITTSBURGH, TORONTO, AND KITCHENER              1979

     Visitors to Bryn Athyn, Glenview, Pittsburgh, Toronto, or Kitchener who are in need of hospitality accommodations are cordially urged to contact in advance the appropriate Hospitality Committee head listed below:

Mrs. James C. Pendleton                    Mrs. Philip Horigan
815 Fettersmill Rd.                     50 Park Drive
Bryn Athyn, PA 19009                    Glenview, IL 60025
Phone: (215) 947-1810                    Phone: (312) 729-5644

Mrs. Paul M. Schoenberger                    TORONTO:
7433 Ben Hur Street                     Mrs. Sydney Parker
Pittsburgh, PA 15208                    30 Royaleigh Ave.
Phone: (412) 371-3056                    Weston, Ont. M9P 2J5

Mrs. Mark Carlson
58 Chapel Hill Drive
R.R.2
Kitchener, Ontario N2G 3W5

569


"AND HE CALLED HIS NAME JESUS" 1979

"AND HE CALLED HIS NAME JESUS"       Editor       1979


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

Acting Editor                Rev. Ormond deCharms Odhner, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager                Mr. L. E. Gyllenhaal Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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

     TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$5.00 (U.S.) A year to any address, payable in advance. Single copy, 50 cents.
     Quite rightly, Joseph plays a minor role in the story of the birth of the Lord. Quite rightly, for in the literal story he was simply the man to whom the virgin Mary was espoused or betrothed or engaged (or, as the New Testament puts it, "married"). And quite rightly, he plays a minor role in the spiritual sense of that story, for the Christmas story itself deals with the beginnings of man's regeneration, that final step toward heaven which comes after repentance and reformation (signified by the birth and work of John the Baptist). Joseph himself seems to represent man's intellect, and this can never "father" a man's regeneration. Regeneration is a work effected by the Lord alone.
     Chronologically in the story of Christmas, Joseph is first mentioned in the opening chapter of Luke, when, six months after the conception of John the Baptist, "the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph."* There follows the annunciation to Mary of the virgin birth of our Lord.
     * Luke 1:26-27
     Apparently the next chronological mention of Joseph is in the first chapter of Matthew, verses 18 to 24. Mary had conceived of the Holy Spirit. Joseph, however, doubted the truth of this, and "was minded to put her away," that is, to divorce her.
     Several things should be mentioned here about ancient Jewish marriage customs. Apparently some special notice was taken of a couple's "announcement" of their engagement or betrothal, even though most marriages were still being effected by the man's purchasing the bride from her father.

570


["In heaven they neither buy in marriage nor sell in marriage, but are as the angels."*] Perhaps a priest was present at the announcement of the betrothal, to invoke a blessing on the couple. After that, the man and the woman were called husband and wife [". . . with Mary, his espoused wife, being great with child."**], and could break their betrothal only by legal divorce. Some time later the man put on a wedding feast [Samson's lasted seven days . . .***], and then the man took the woman home to be his wife. Originally the period between betrothal and marriage had been twelve months, but by the time the Lord was born, that interval had been much contracted.
     * Matt. 22:30
     ** Luke 2:5
     *** Judges 14:7
     Joseph, then, had decided to divorce Mary. Two kinds of divorce were permitted. The man could publicly accuse the woman of adultery; she was then stoned to death. Or the man could privately give the woman a written notice that he was divorcing her-a "bill of divorcement."*
     * Matt. 5:31
     Joseph, being "a just man," decided on the second course, decided to "put her away privily." And it was while he thought on these things that the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, assured him that the Child conceived in Mary was of the Holy Spirit, and commanded him to name the Child Jesus (which means "salvation"). Then Joseph, awakened, "took unto him Mary his wife, and knew her not until she had brought forth her first born Son."
     Back to the second chapter of Luke for the next mention of Joseph, as he takes Mary with him to their ancestral home, Bethlehem, to be enrolled in the Roman census. And he was present in the stable where the Lord was born, for when the shepherds came with haste from the fields, they "found Mary, and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger."*
     * Luke 2:16
     Perhaps the most important single thing Joseph did in the story of Christmas is not even attributed to him in Luke's Gospel: "And when eight days were accomplished for the circumcising of the Child, his name was called Jesus."* But in Matthew the naming is specifically attributed to Joseph: "And he [Joseph] called His name Jesus."**
     * Luke 2:21
     ** Matt. 1:25
     The remainder of Joseph's actions I merely summarize. The wise men from the East had come and gone. Joseph, "being warned of God in a dream" of Herod's nefarious plot, took the young Child and His mother into the safety of Egypt.

571


A few years later, perhaps six, and again at angelic command, they came back to Canaan, circumvented Jerusalem, where a new Herod reigned, and returned to Nazareth, where Joseph resumed his carpentering. Another six years, and Mary and Joseph took the Child to Jerusalem to offer His first sacrifice, and Joseph joined Mary in the three-day search of the city for the Child missing from the caravan going back to Nazareth.
     That is the end of the story of Joseph. He played a minor role in the story of the birth of the Lord, perhaps to strengthen the truth that in actual fact he was not the father of the Lord.

     Joseph, the husband of Mary, is hardly even mentioned in the Writings. It is said that "It was needful [for the Lord] to be born of a virgin in lawful marriage with Joseph."* (I believe that this was needed to give Mary an orderly preparation for marriage and motherhood. But there are other reasons also-the Child would need the protection and also the name of a man as though that man were the Child's father.) And again in the Writings, the falsity is condemned that the Lord was the actual son of Joseph.**
     * De Just. 65:38
     ** De Just. 58e
     Definitely, the spiritual significance of this Joseph is not given in the Writings, but it is a general rule that the persons mentioned in the Word were given names that embodied their spiritual signification. ["Isaac" laughter = rationality; "Jesus" = salvation.] And the spiritual signification of the other Joseph, the son of Jacob, is given again and again.
     In general, this first Joseph represents what is spiritual in man and in the kingdom of the Lord, that is, truth. And even though it is also said that Joseph represents the celestial of the spiritual (the good of truth, or the good that results from spiritual truth), still, it is noted that spiritual good is in its essence truth, that is, it is truth put into action. Again, "spiritual" has reference to the man of spiritual genius (the man who is saved through truth learned by the understanding), rather than the man of celestial genius (the man of the Most Ancient Church who was saved through good in the native will). Joseph, in other words, represents a man such as you and I.
     We are taught that it was the spiritual man whom the Lord was born on earth to save; and the spiritual man, I repeat, is one who can achieve salvation only by learning Divine truths from the Word, and then, by the power that is apparently his through remains, forcing himself to obey these truths until the Lord grants him a love of them.

572


Joseph, the husband of Mary, seems to represent such a man. He was a carpenter, a man working on wood with tools of iron, a man achieving good only by long, hard self-compulsion to attain the good of spiritual life. For Joseph, like us, was a sinner, but the Lord came on earth not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.
     Joseph, however, was a just man, a salvable man. Otherwise he could not have been the husband of Mary, the mother of the Lord. Yet Joseph could not be the father of the Lord. Human intellect can never beget angelic life, nor even a genuine understanding of Divine truth. Only in man's pure and inmost affection of truth can the Lord be conceived, can regeneration begin-in the affections of the spiritual man, but not in his intellect.
     In spite of his entirely corrupt native will, there is inmostly with every man who advances into regeneration, a certain pure, virginal affection of the Lord's truth. (It is in him through those things that the Writings call "remains.") And into this, in the Lord's own good time, Divine truth can first inflow. But before this advent of the Lord, the man has not yet come into full conjunction with this purest of his affections. It assumes only a minor role in his life, even though it be all-important, even as Mary assumes only a secondary role in the first, that is, the Matthew, Christmas story.
     To this purest affection of truth the intellect of the spiritual man is, as it were betrothed, but not yet fully married. And when the intellect, which previously had thought to produce spiritual life by its own power, finds this affection stirred up by a newly discovered perception of truth, it is skeptical. This is not its own. This is but another's, a man-made theory, and not the real and eternal truth of God. The intellect does not yet know that this purest affection of its mind has at last found the living meaning of truth, that living, spiritual truth which alone can be its Savior, Jesus Christ. This affection of truth, however (the virgin Mary) has been longing for genuine truth and seeking for it (even as Mary was looking forward to marriage); and at last it has been stirred up by truth, truth not concocted by the intellect of man himself, but truth from another source, directly from the mouth of the Lord alone.
     Of this new perception of spiritual truth, however, this spiritual perception which is the beginning of regenerate life, Joseph is at first distrustful. But Joseph is a just man. The intellect of the spiritual man who seeks salvation will not make a public mockery of the affection which is stirred to life by this new perception of the meaning of truth. Rather will it be minded to put it away in secret disappointment; and being just, it will consider all things before making even this move.

573



     Into this spirit of justice the Lord can inflow with the dim perception (the angel appeared to Joseph only in a dream), that this is at last the Divine truth he has been seeking, the Divine truth promised of old. And perception alone can convince.
     Then, awakened to the glorious hope of the future, the intellect of the salvable man will take this affection to itself with glad fulness of heart, waiting until its Child is born. The intellect of the salvable man will then perform the one single important act of man in the regenerative process wrought in him by the Lord. He will give his free assent to the Divinity of this work. He, Joseph, man's intellect, will call His name Jesus, that is, his salvation.
EXPERIENCE 1979

EXPERIENCE       FRANK S. ROSE       1979

Dear Sir:

     Stephen Cole's article in the October Life (p. 440) seems to call for some kind of reply. There are many interesting points in what he says, and one detail that gives a very false impression. So far as I can find, the Writings do not warn against reasoning from experience. The passages he quotes are talking about the danger of reasoning from sensuous appearances. The Concordance refers to about 120 passages under the heading "experience" and none of them support his case. A supplement to the Concordance (the NIC file, or "Not In Concordance") contains another 93. All of them speak of the value of experience.
     In the vast majority of them, Swedenborg is stating that he has learned the doctrines contained in the Writings on the basis of experience. The most common phrase is "it has been shown by much experience" or "this has been granted me to know by much experience."
     Other phrases used are:
     "From so many years' experience I have been thoroughly instructed"*
     "It has been given me to know by continual experience to the life."**
     "I have in this way been informed by experience itself."***
     This "will of the Lord's Divine mercy be shown elsewhere from what has been attested by experience."****
     This "has been made so familiar to me by the almost continual experience of many years, that I cannot even think of any doubt."*****
     * AC 59:2
     ** AC 1673:4
     *** AC 1966
     **** AC 5179
     ***** AC 6213

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     "That this is so has been granted me to know with certainty from much experience."*
     "Experience itself dictates."**
     * AC 7122
     ** AC 4321

     And what are the things that experience dictates or shows? As you put the passages together, you find that they cover virtually every doctrine in the Writings. In a sense we can say that Swedenborg learned everything by experience, keeping in mind that experience includes much more than the things picked up by the five senses. Swedenborg experienced the spiritual world, the internal sense of the Word, etc., and then was inspired by the Lord to write about them.
     There are passages that contrast reasoning from the senses, and learning from experience. Consider the following:

And the spirits were told, further, that when plain experience declares a fact, they ought not to doubt, and still less deny it, on the ground that it does not so appear to the senses, and that they do not perceive it. For even within the realm of nature there are many things that are contrary to the fallacies of the senses, but are believed because visible experience teaches them.*
     * AC 1378:2

     In this number, the example is given of the appearance that ships would fall off the edge of the world, but the experience that they do not.
     Or take this passage: "This I know will appear a very great paradox because it is contrary to the appearance; but experience itself shall declare how the matter stands."*
     * AC 5846e
     We are cautioned not to begin with some hypothesis and try to interpret our experience in its light. It is not wise to start with a theory and force experience to fit it, instead of being willing to accept the testimony of experience even when it conflicts with the theory. "This subject must be illustrated by experience, for otherwise things so much unknown and rendered so obscure by hypotheses cannot be brought forth into the light."*
     * AC 6058e, cf. HH 435, J. Post. 315
     The correspondences of the Gorand Man were revealed "to the intent that man may at last know, not from any ratiocination, and still less from any hypothesis, but from experience itself, how the case is with him.*
     * AC 4224
     Had Mr. Cole titled his article, "Reasoning from Sensual Appearances," I would have been in more agreement with him. As his article stands, it gives the unfortunate impression that we are not to trust our experience when yet the Lord leads and teaches us through experience; the experience of reading and reflecting on His Word, the experience of prayer, the experience of regeneration itself.
     Yours,
          FRANK S. ROSE

575


"A DIVINE ENDOWMENT" 1979

"A DIVINE ENDOWMENT"       ERIK E. SANDSTROM       1979

Dear Editor:
     If we are to reflect on Divine Providence nos. 64-69, to decide whether the Heavenly Doctrines teach such a thing as a "Divine endowment," should we not also consider D. P. 324: 11, 121. It reads:

It is also demonstrated . . . that in every human embryo the Lord forms two receptacles, one for the Divine Love . . . for the future will of man; and a receptacle for the Divine Wisdom for his future understanding; and in this way He has endowed (indiderit) every man with the faculty of willing good and the faculty of understanding truth.

     Your statement that "any belief in a Divine endowment (other than the human faculties of liberty and rationality) seems . . . totally unnecessary," (p. 370) does not contradict the above.
     Since the Lord Himself is present from conception, forming the receptacles for the future will and understanding, would He not "impart" (indere) to them a particular form necessitated by the particular evils of man's heredity? Would He not see man's hereditary nature with His omniscient eyes, and then impart to the embryo the forms necessary to handle what is destined to be inborn with the future individual? Would not man's faculties of liberty and rationality be prepared for what the Lord foresees lies in story-and carry out this preparation in the pre-natal stages of life?
     Now since man from his birth is endowed (inditae) with these two faculties by the Lord . . . it is clear that His Divine Love cannot but will that man should go to heaven, and there enjoy eternal happiness; and also that the Divine Wisdom cannot but provide this.*
     * DP 324:12
     Does D. P. 324 teach a "Divine endowment"? Perhaps only if we call it a "Divine impartment."
     Sincerely,
          ERIK E. SANDSTROM,
               London

576


Church News 1979

Church News       Various       1979

     EDUCATIONAL COUNCIL 1979

     The Educational Council Meetings of 1979 were held August 20 to 24. These meetings were unique in two ways. For the first time, they were held at the Immanuel Church Society in Glenview. The members of the Society responded enthusiastically to the challenge of hosting more than one hundred educators from all sections of the Church. Two teachers had traveled from England, more than thirty made the trip from Bryn Athyn in rented vans. The church schools in Toronto, Kitchener, Washington, Pittsburgh, Detroit, and Kempton were also represented. A Sunday evening church service opened the week's activities. The sermon, by the Rev. Peter M. Buss, on the "Truth of Peace," provided inspiration and enlightenment for the meetings to follow.
     The second unique feature of this Council was the continuation of a theme begun the previous year. Developing last year's study of the degrees of the natural mind, this year's Council focused on the use of literature in the development of the three degrees of the natural mind.
     Following Bishop Louis B. King's introductory remarks on the history and purpose of the Council, Professor E. Bruce Glenn gave the first of two lectures on the "Creative Imagination: or the Unity of the Mind as Expressed in Literature as an Art." The second of these was open to the Society on Monday evening.
     Dean Robert W. Gladish gave the second principal lecture, on lyric poetry, in which he presented generalizations, related poetry to degrees of the mind, and gave classroom applications.
     The third principal address, again open to the Society, was on the subject of mythology. Mrs. Sanfrid Odhner titled her paper the "Remains of the Race."
     Wednesday morning Miss Brenda Rydstrom and Mr. Yorvar Synnestvedt presented a team discussion on the subject of drama, based on reference papers titled: "The Spirit of Play" and "Summary of Values to be Gained Through involvement in Drama," by Mr. Synnestvedt; and "Drama as an Educator" and the "Relationship Between the Degrees of the Natural Mind and Drama," by Miss Rydstrom.
     Mr. Donald C. Fitzpatrick, Jr., addressed the evening open session, giving some personal reflections on fiction and the natural mind.
     Discussion groups divided according to educational levels followed each morning presentation. Afternoons were given to committee meetings and workshops. A three-session workshop on social studies by Mrs. Brian Keith provided many practical suggestions and applications.
     Other single-session workshops were conducted on science, composition, and physical education. The last included demonstrations by children in the best and second grades of the Immanuel Church School.
     Throughout the week informal presentations were made at lunch, served daily by ladies of the Society. Highlights were discussions of the new radio station at the Midwest Academy and the two new schools in Kempton and Detroit.
     A panel composed of all principal speakers led a discussion of the week's lectures and subjects arising from them on Thursday morning. This was followed by a business meeting consisting of reports by committees on various academic disciplines.

577


Professor Richard R. Gladish proposed a resolution of greeting from the Council to Bishop de Charms on the occasion of his ninetieth birthday. Bishop King announced the establishment of the General Church Arts Committee and Fund whose purpose is to promote all the arts in New Church education.
     A banquet on Thursday evening concluded the Council. Bishop King reviewed for the Society, which was again included, all the papers of the week and spoke of how these studies have special meaning in our common effort in the distinctive work of New Church education. Respectfully submitted, Boyd and Myra Asplundh, Secretary
LOCAL SCHOOLS DIRECTORY 1979

LOCAL SCHOOLS DIRECTORY              1979

     979-80
BRYN ATHYN:     Rev. Frederick L. Schnarr               Principal
               Mr. Carl R. Gunther               Assistant to the Principal
               Mr. James P. Cooper               Assistant to the Principal
               Mrs. Bruce Rogers                    Kindergarten
               Mrs. Andrew Glover               Kindergarten
               Mrs. Neil Buss                    Grade 1
               Mrs. Grant Doering               Grade 2
               Miss Cara Glenn                    Grade 2
               Mrs. Peter Bostock               Grade 3
               Miss Rosemary Wyncoll               Grade 4
               Mrs. Robert Johns                    Grade 4
               Mrs. Gina Rose                    Grade 5
               Miss Claudia Bostock               Grade 5
               Miss Elsa Lockhart               Grade 6
               Mr. Stephen Morley               Grade 6
               Mrs. Bruce Fuller                    Grade 7, Girls
               Mr. Garry Hyatt                    Grade 7, Boys
               Mrs. Peter Stevens               Grade 8, Girls
               Mr. Robert Beiswenger               Grade 8, Boys
               Miss Brenda Rydstrom               Art
               Mr. Richard Show                    Music
               Mr. Gale Smith                    Physical Education
               Mrs. Harry Risley                    Physical Education
               Mr. Kim Junge                    Physical Education
               Mrs. Robert Alden                    Librarian
               Mrs. Peter Gyllenhaal               Remedial Reading, Testing
COLCHESTER:     Rev. Patrick A. Rose                    Headmaster
               Miss Hilda Waters, Deputy Head     Grades 1-7
DETROIT:          Rev. Walter E. Orthwein               Principal
               Miss Sylvia D. Parker               Head Teacher, Grades 1-3
               Miss Maret Taylor                    Teacher, Grades 4-5
DURBAN:          Rev. Geoffrey H. Howard               Headmaster
               Miss Kathryn E. Wille               Grades 5-7
               Mrs. Bryan Lester                    Grades 3-4
               Miss Marian Homber               Grades 1-2

578



               Mrs. Peter Pienaar               Afrikaans Specialist
GLENVIEW:          Rev. Peter M. Buss               Headmaster
               Mr. R. Gordon McClarren               Assistant Principal
               Mrs. Daniel Wright               Head Teacher and Kindergarten
               Miss Marie Odhner                    Grade 1
               Mrs. Donald Alan                    Grade 2
               Miss Lori Soneson                    Grade 3
               Mrs. Ben McQueen                    Grade 4
               Mrs. Justin Edmonds               Grade 5
               Mr. Gary Edmonds                    Grades 7 and 8
               Rev. Clark Echols                    Religion
               Rev. Mark Alden                    Religion
               Mrs. William Hugo                    Librarian
KEMPTON:          Rev. Arne Bau-Madsen               Principal
               Mr. Yorvar Synnestvedt               Head Teacher
KITCHENER:     Rev. Mark R. Carlson                    Principal
               Mrs. Erwin Brueckman               Kindergarten
               Mrs. John H. Hotson               Grades 1 and 2
               Miss Barbara A. Walker               Grades 3 and 4
               Miss Joan N. Kuhl                    Grades 5 and 6
               Mr. Karl E. Parker               Grades 7 and 8
MIDWESTERN
ACADEMY:     Rev. Harold Cranch               President
               Rev. Brian W. Keith               Principal, Religion
               Rev. Peter M. Buss               Religion
               Mr. Gordon McClarren               Administration Assistant, Math, Science
               Mrs. Brian Keith                    History
               Mr. Dan Woodard                    Athletic Director, English, Radio
               Mrs. William Hugo                    Librarian
               Mrs. Gary Edmonds                    Physical Education
               Mrs. Ronald Holmes               Typing
PITTSBURGH:     Rev. Donald L. Rose                    Principal
               Rev. Eric H. Carswell               Assistant Principal
               Miss Christine Alan               Grades 2 and 3
               Mrs. E. Uber                    Grades 4-6
               Mr. C. McQueen                    Grades 5-8
               Mrs. Polly M. Schoenberger          Grades 2 and 3 and 7 and 8
TORONTO:          Rev. Geoffrey S. Childs               Principal
               Rev. Robert McMaster               Assistant Principal
               Miss Deborah Sjostedt               Grades 1-3
               Mrs. Barbara Synnestvedt          Head Teacher, Grades 4-6
               Mrs. Leigh Bellinger               Grades 7-8
WASHINGTON:     Rev. Daniel W. Heinrichs               Principal
               Rev. Lawson M. Smith               Assistant to the Principal
               Mrs. Frank Mitchell               Grades 1-5
               Mr. Craig McCardell               Grades 1-10
               Mrs. Frido van Kesteren               Grades 2-10
               Mrs. Fred Waelchli               Grades 6-10

579