GLEANINGS FROM NEW CHURCH HISTORY       ROBERT HINDMARSH       1929


[Frontispiece: Photograph of the Angel Hotel - a Colchester Landmark. Here Robert Hindmarsh delivered a lecture in July, 1816.]

NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. XLIX JANUARY, 1929          No. 1
     ACCOUNT OF A LECTURE AT COLCHESTER IN 1816.

     FROM "RISE AND PROGRESS OF THE NEW JERUSALEM CHURCH," PP. 258, 259.

     As the rise of a Society of the New Church in the neighborhood of Colchester had attracted some notice in that large and respectable town, and had even called forth there a professed opponent of the doctrines, in the person of a Methodist Preacher, who had endeavored to vilify the character of Swedenborg, and make his sentiments appear ridiculous, in a small pamphlet which had been extensively circulated; it was thought that it might be useful in checking this opposition, and in improving the attention thereby excited into a serious and profitable inquiry into the real merits of the case, if convenience could be obtained for Mr. Hindmarsh to deliver a Lecture or two in that town. Two friends, therefore, went over from Brightlingsea to make inquiries, who, not being able to find any other suitable place, applied to the Mayor for the use of the Town Hall, stating the object to be the delivery of a Theological Lecture; and the Mayor, without hesitation, immediately granted the request. Posting and hand-bills were accordingly circulated through the town, apprizing the inhabitants "that on Friday, the 26th of July, by permission of the worshipful the Mayor, a Lecture would be delivered in the Town Hall by Mr. Hindmarsh, from Manchester, on some of the most important doctrines of the New Church, called the New Jerusalem, particularly the doctrine of the Divine Trinity, the doctrine of life, or the way to heaven, and the state of man after the death, of the body."

     Hereupon, as was afterwards learnt, the Corporation and the Clergy of the town took the alarm, and insisted upon the Mayor's revoking his consent; which was notified to the inhabitants by counter-proclamations, and the assiduous vociferations of the Town Crier. In the meantime, Mr. Hindmarsh, with some friends from London and Manchester, had arrived, but remained without any knowledge of the change till about three o'clock on the day appointed. On the spur of this emergency a large room was engaged at the Angel inn, a few paces from the Town Hall, and proper measures were taken to announce the change in the place of delivering the Lecture. Notwithstanding the shortness of the notice, the room was crowded almost to suffocation by seven o'clock, the time of commencement, and many went away unable to obtain admission. The number in the room was supposed to be not less than from four to five hundred.

     Previous to the commencement of the Lecture, and after the people were assembled, the landlord informed Mr. Hindmarsh that he had been threatened with a fine of forty pounds if he permitted the Lecture to be delivered in his house, and he desired to know if anything of a political nature was intended to be introduced. Mr. Hindmarsh assured him that his subjects would be purely theological, that he was in no danger of any unpleasant results from the meeting, and that he should stand completely indemnified for anything he might suffer on account of it. The landlord, being satisfied with this assurance, told him he might begin as soon as he pleased.

     The Lecture is stated by some who were present to have been of the most clear and convincing description, and it appeared to give much satisfaction to the greater part of the audience. Some few, indeed, near the door, among whom were noticed two or three Methodist Preachers, were heard at times to mutter disapprobation, saying of the Lecturer, "Why, he denies the doctrine of a Trinity of Divine Persons! He sets aside the atonement, the merits of Christ, justification by faith alone, and the resurrection of the material body!" Finding, however, that the company in general was too much engaged in listening to the doctrines of the New Church on these subjects to suffer their attention to be withdrawn for a moment from them, they at length discontinued their opposition, and remained silent.

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     When the Lecture, which lasted an hour and a quarter, was concluded, one of the Methodist Preachers present asked leave to propose some questions; which being granted, he abused the permission by haranguing those who chose to listen to him, without giving Mr. Hindmarsh sufficient opportunity to reply; who, therefore, seeing a disorderly spirit beginning to manifest itself, and judging that no real good could be done by controversy, prudently put an end to the meeting, earnestly recommending to the company to reflect seriously and without prejudice on the important subjects which had been laid before them that evening.
LAW OF THE BURNT OFFERING 1929

LAW OF THE BURNT OFFERING        N. D. PENDLETON       1929

     "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Command Aaron and his sons, saying, This is the law of the burnt offering. It is the burnt offering, because of the burning upon the altar all night unto the morning. . . . The priest shall put on his linen garment, . . . and take up the ashes which the fire hath consumed, . . . and shall put them beside the altar. And he shall put off his garments, and carry forth the ashes without the camp unto a clean place. . . . The fire shall ever be burning upon the altar; it shall never go out." (Leviticus 6:8-13.)

     This is the law of the burnt offering. The perpetual fire on the altar burned all night and through the day. The whole burnt offering was an entire consummation unto the Lord. It signified man's constant worship, and the Lord's enduring mercy. The flame of the fire in its purity ascended to God, from Whom it was in origin given. Yet, in its burning, it left a deposit upon the altar, to be removed. This is the ancient ritual of its removal: The priest put on his linen garments, panned the ashes, and laid them beside the altar; then, changing his garments again, he carried them out of the camp unto a clean place. It was so done because the altar and everything connected with it was holy. Even the ashes left from the burning, and not redeemed by the ascending flame, were sacred, or were to be so treated, because of the Divine service of which they were the relic, and also because of their contact with the altar.

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Everything that touched the altar was made holy by derivation from that central source of holiness.

     The ashes, however, must of need be removed, and this by a ritualistic representation, and by significant stages, lest, from abruptness, violence be done to the sanctities of the altar and its worship. With this in view, the priest put on a special garment and lifted the ashes in the pans and placed them beside the altar. This was the first and partial removal. The more complete separation was represented by a second change of garments, and the carrying of the ashes out of the camp. The third requirement was, that the ashes should be deposited in a clean place-this in final recognition of the sanctity of the use of which they were the deposit. Not even in their final disposal were they to be mingled with anything unclean. For they were not as common ashes; with them there could be no infernal association, no significance of evil, and no representation of that which was damned. As the remnant from a Divine service, they were to be taken away; for they could not be raised, could not ascend with the dame to God. Not being of the spirit, but only a body of matter, they could not but signify that which falls away as life ascends; but the process was normal; no evil was attached, no perversion was implied. The ashes of the altar were the leavings from a noble process, and the memory of this held until their final mingling with the clean earth.

     Sacrifices were central to Jewish worship. They were the ancient mode of gift-offerings unto God, whereby the worshiper caused his gift to ascend, purified through the flame, and at times by a total consumption. The act was so holy that the sacrificial altar became a holy of holies. "Seven days shalt thou make propitiation upon the altar, and shall sanctify it, and the altar shall be a holy of holies." (Exodus 29:37.) This title was usually given to the inner compartment of the tabernacle, and of the later temple, which contained the Ark of the Covenant and the tables of stone. It signified the intellectual rather than the fundamental affectional side of worship. The Jews, in fact, had two holy of holies-the inner shrine of the law, and the sacrificial altar which came deep out of the past, to be subjoined to the more refined temple worship. The altar was stationed without in the court.

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This fact denotes not only its relation to the temple worship, but as well its significance with reference to those fundamental emotional rites, implanted in the early life-history of the race. This ancient sacrificial worship penetrated the higher temple ritual with a dominating influence. This was symbolized in the fact that the sacrificial fire was taken from the brazen altar and carried into the temple, there to kindle the flame of the fuming incense on the golden altar.

     The hands of men have raised many altars to God, and the essential meaning of them all is the same. By the altar, approach to God is given, and the ritual of the altar signified the steps in that approach. However, the true altar of God was never made of wood or stone, nor yet by a mound of earth. These were but outer signs of the inner states of reverence. The altar of God is the purified heart of man. There is the true meeting place. There the flame of love ascends, which purifies every gift and makes it acceptable.

     If the heart of man is the true altar of God, then in every heart there must be a blood atonement, a life expiation. When the heart of man becomes an altar to God, then his mind becomes a temple, in which his every thought is lit from the altar's flame.

     The world-old ritual of sacrifice molded the temple, even as the early-formed affections in man become habitual and mold his mind. These affections ascend as a constant formative force, dominating the future mental structure. They come out of the distant past, even from the play of childish affections, which in form are forgotten, but as impulses ascend like an invisible stream of power, affecting, moving and forming the present states of the mind's life. These early affections, unconsciously ritualistic, are also symbolic, and as such, they contain enduring verities which pass from symbol to symbol as life advances; the same deeper meaning is in them all, in the play of childhood and in the so-called rational actions of the adult. This inner significance is never lost. While the earlier forms die of disuse, or fall into the background of life, the spirit of them takes to itself new bodies, new modes, and therein finds for itself a new continuance. Every true symbol, every habitual expression of life, contains such a living and enduring verity.

     The priest clothed in linen, standing before the brazen altar, removing with careful hands the ashes of the sacrifice, bespeaks the Christian of later days, who with reverence opens the Sacred Book and reads in earliest revelation the foretold prophecy of the coming Messiah.

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There is much on the face of this remote revelation which, like the sacred ashes of the altar, must be put aside as of no longer practical utility. The times have vastly changed. The old ritualistic observances are outworn. A new body of religious observances has taken their place. The old has become as the ashes of the altar, as things to be removed, to be put aside. The Christian who reads the Old Testament interprets it in the light of the Christ who has come, and the priest before the sacrificial altar is dispensed with; the old ritual no longer serves; yet it yields its spiritual content. It remains, but only as an ancient body of prophecy. With the Lord's coming, the temple was destroyed; yet it is preserved in sacred memory and the written Scriptures. The fire on the ancient altar was allowed to go out, but it still burns spiritually in the hearts of men.

     As the Christian reads the old story, his vision of the Christ becomes as a consuming flame, and the Scripture is thereby glorified, while the old ritual, in its literal form, becomes as the ashes of a dead past. Yet is it sacred, because of the spirit of prophecy that lies within it. Herein there is both a death and a resurrection. The priest of God still stands before His altar, and feeds the flame and removes the ashes. But this priest is the Lord Himself.

     Man experiences like changes in his own life, as he puts aside the things of his childhood, and yet recurs to them. Not that his habits may again become childlike, but that the trusting affections and the believing thoughts of his earlier life may come to his rescue, may aid in overcoming the dismal pessimism that tempts his maturity, and in bringing him back to the altar of God.

     The Writings are specific. They treat the altar in all its parts as human in form, or as having reference to that form, as being in correspondence therewith. They treat the ritual of the altar as dramatizing the mental process which takes place within the mind of man as he advances in regeneration. Herein the representation of the removal of the altar-ashes plays a definite part. The Writings speak of their removal as signifying that which must be removed from the mind after it has fulfilled its use, so that other things of higher utility may replace them.

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     Man, from infancy to old age, is continually perfected in intelligence and wisdom, in faith and love. Knowledges are the means to this end. These knowledges are of service to the internal sight of the mind, i.e., the higher intelligence. This intelligence inspects the knowledges stored in the memory, and chooses thence those which promote its wisdom. By virtue of the inner light from heaven, the higher mind is enabled to make this selection. It stores them up in its more interior memory. The knowledges in question are principally from the Word, and from doctrine, and as such they are of service in implanting spiritual intelligence in the internal mind. In this way, also, man's interior good chooses for itself suitable truths extracted from sacred knowledges. After the memory knowledges have performed this use of yielding their inner content, and man has acquired spiritual life therefrom, they disappear from the memory, remaining, however, as matters of habit. It is in this way that man, in the first instance, learns to speak, think, discriminate and judge, and also to lead a moral life and to act becomingly. In this way man learns language and good manners, and finally, intelligence and wisdom. The knowledges which have served these uses are, it is said, "the ashes of the altar."

     The higher knowledges of truths and goods, through which man has gained spiritual life, after they have served this use, that is, after they have become of the life, are also signified by the "ashes of the altar." But the Writings note that, when the ashes are being removed, they are first Placed beside the altar, and afterwards are carried forth outside the camp to a clean place, and that meanwhile the fire of the altar is continually burning because of the new sacrifice. (See A. C. 9723.) Herein the altar is man, and it is seen functioning like the mind of man when fed with sacred knowledges, as fuel for the burning of his loves, even as the wood of the altar feeds the sacrificial flame, whereby life is exalted to the point of its meeting with God.

     We are further told that the altar, with its fire and flame, and the sacrifice thereon, is a supreme representation of the Lord Himself, when He was a man on earth, undergoing the glorification of His human assumed, and that He advanced to this glorification, even as the regeneration of man is effected, through sacred knowledges from the Word.

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And so it was that with the Lord there were in like manner ashes to be removed-ashes not significant of evil, but of the manifold appearances of truth from the Word which He encountered, passed through and put aside as more interior truths Divine opened to greet His ascension to the Father.

     As He drew near to complete union with the Divine, these appearances, even the most highly wrought conceptions of which the intellectual mind is capable, fell away as so much dust and ashes. The highest heavens were involved in this, and the holy angels thereof. The angels unknowingly tempted Him through their finite apperceptions of truths, and were reduced to order. Their sanctity was as ashes upon the altar of His Glorified Human. They must needs be removed degrees from His presence, in a threefold order, and this by means of a sacred ritual known to the angels only. But the place of their abiding was indeed a clean place-a new formed heaven, strengthened from within, and of higher information than before was possible.

     These are the supreme mysteries of the altar of the whole burnt offering, upon which the flame of Divine Love burned through the night and through the day, unto the total consuming of the sacrifice, and until all that was mortal, all that was finite, was separated from His Body made Divine. This is the deep symbolism of the sacrifice by fire, which came out of the hidden past, and which, in its historic development, reached the forbidden point of laying a dearly beloved son upon the flame. This dire result of a cruel rite, in its own perverted way, still told the story of the prophetic happening to the Son of Man, the suffering of the Anointed One, because of the sins of men, whom He came to save, not to satisfy the Father's sense of vindictive justice, but as a sign and means of the deliverance from the hells of those who were bound down under the altar, and from which bondage they could not be delivered save by way of His temptation, His sacrifice, and His ascension. This ascension of life to the Divine is the sign in all the Scripture, and in every rite thereof. This, and its companion-the sign of the cross, which is that of death-are both everywhere and in all things; but the sign of life is the deeper, and it transcends. Amen.

     Lessons: Leviticus 6:8-30. John 17. A. E. 915.

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IS CHURCHGOING AN OBLIGATION? 1929

IS CHURCHGOING AN OBLIGATION?       Rev. GILBERT H. SMITH       1929

     (Delivered at the Chicago District Assembly, October 12, 1928.)

     There are two kinds of worship-that which is held in churches, and that which a man puts into his daily living. If a man goes to church regularly, and performs other acts of piety, and does not worship the Lord in his life, he is a hypocrite. The present question is as to what may be said of the man who does perform worship of the life, but does not go to church.

     The first point is settled, and therefore we leave out of consideration that kind of worship which a man must put into his daily life. It is assumed that this should be, and that it is the essential kind of worship. But we will confine our discussion to the other kind of worship-the worship in churches, or public worship.

     What do people gain by going to church? And is going to church an obligation for the spiritual man? This is the question I wish to propose for discussion. Should a man of the church consider himself free to go to church or not to go?

     Public worship offers an opportunity for four things: for prayer, for praise, for thanksgiving, and for instruction. These are the four elements of it. Under Prayer comes the opportunity for penitence, especially in connection with the Holy Supper. Under Thanksgiving we also include the matter of offering to the Lord. And under Instruction we include the hearing of the Word and of Divine Doctrine. Praise is the singing of sacred music, which, if it is adapted to the state of the worshipper, not only stirs the affections but lets them forth in song.

     But the most important thing is instruction, through the reading of the Scriptures and from Doctrine, and through preaching. We go to church for the sake of enough reading from the letter of the Word to establish a connection with the societies of heaven, and for enough reading of the Doctrine for us to gain a whole and distinct idea of spiritual thought. And the sermon should illustrate that idea.

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Supposing that these uses are adequately performed in our public worship, should we regard it as an obligation of conscience for members of the church to attend worship regularly when possible, or not?

     I once asked an old colored janitor, who for years had presided over a New Church society in his official capacity, whether the teaching of the Church had ever been a matter of interest to him, and he said that church had never meant much to him, because he had never had much sickness himself, nor in his family. He had never had much trouble in his life. How near to this mental attitude do other men come? Is public worship only for the poor, the sick, and the oppressed? Does the strong, healthy, successful man have no need of it? Or is it enough if one goes to church when he feels like it, or when some zealous soul in the family urges it upon him, or only once in a while?

     Time was when people thought ill of the person who did not go to church; but today, outside of Tennessee and a few other places, this is no longer the case. In the more enlightened parts of our country it makes no difference whether one is an ardent churchman or an arduous golf player. In fact, the non-churchgoer is rather thought better of than the churchman.

     Of course, non-churchgoers do not consciously mean to imply any such thing. But have you ever stopped to consider what their absence from public worship implies? It implies irreverence toward the Lord, and criticism of the minister-a criticism of deed, if not of word; and if the man is a supporter of the church, it implies insincerity in himself.

     Public worship is the appointed means by which men approach the Lord, and by which His spirit is communicated to men. The ministry is of Divine appointment. If things are as they should be, the sermon, and therefore the service, is the result of inspiration from the Lord's own Spirit. And if these things are so-if the Lord is really present at public worship in a peculiar manner-then it is clearly a matter of irreverence toward the Lord for men not to be there; provided always that it would be quite possible for them to be there.

     In the second place, it implies a criticism of the minister; and, moreover, a criticism which he cannot answer. It means, we may say with reasonable accuracy, that the absentees regard the minister's work and teaching as not worth while.

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They do not regard it as being sufficiently inspired by the Lord. When the minister has faithfully prepared something for the spiritual good of the people, and they do not come to hear it, it is as much as saying that he is seriously deficient in his illustration and his use.

     Either this is implied, or else it is implied that the absentee does not regard himself in need of instruction, and does not need to come into a state of adoration of the Lord or elevation of mind. He does not stand in need of thanksgiving or of prayer. It implies that prayer and instruction are all right for other people, but not necessary for one's self. And, to follow out this attitude in strict logic, it implies that the man himself is insincere, if he is a supporter of the church in other ways. Logically, a man should not give support to the church at all, if he does not attend worship when he night. For if he does not go, he does not find that it fills any vital need for him. And if it does not fill any vital need for him, might he not conclude that it probably does not fill it for others? And if not for others, he is not acting sincerely in giving the church the material support that he gives.

     We are not asking now, let it be understood, whether church-going should be made compulsory, or whether ministers should try to bind it upon the consciences of men against their consent; but we are asking whether the man of the Church himself should consider it a regular and important obligation of conscience.

     Many will say: "No; it is not a matter of conscience; it is a matter of individual choice. We must have freedom in worship, and in all things that pertain to worship. No one should ever try to persuade another that it is his duty to go to church. If one would have all men feel it an obligation to go to public worship regularly, what becomes of the idea that there should be freedom in regard to worship!"

     But let us consider. In the mind of a spiritual man, freedom in worship does not mean freedom to worship or not to worship, but it means freedom to worship according to the dictate of each man's understanding. In view of our teachings, it would appear that no man with a genuine conscience feels free to omit public worship, unless there are extenuating circumstances and sufficient excuse. It is only those without conscience, or who have only a poor conscience, who insist on doing as they please about going to church.

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     For what is conscience? Conscience is the sum of all the Divine Truths that we know. It is not a spiritual conscience that men are said to have, if they have no Divine Truths which they acknowledge. And Divine Truths continually recommend the keeping of the Sabbath, and sanction the ordained priesthood, and commend public worship. They teach, then, that people should go to church. The only condition under which man may conscientiously remain away from church is one in which he believes that by going to worship he would be given instruction that is contrary to the dictates of his own understanding. Swedenborg could conscientiously absent himself from the worship of the established Church of his day; and this, because its sphere and its teachings were contrary to what he knew to be the truth. But if he remained away from public worship, he nevertheless devoted himself to the worship of the Lord in private. In him was the true Church, and the pure worship of his own mind was going on from day to day. In fact, it can be said that he was the Church at that time, for the Old one was dead.

     And men may neglect going to public worship in favor of private devotions; but their doing so implies that the church to which they might go is not a true one. And if, perchance, staying away from the appointed place of worship meant that the absentee preferred to devote himself to Private devotions and reading, the reason might seem a valid one; but it would imply the same criticism nevertheless, that the public worship was not fulfilling its functions in a satisfactory manner. But people do not usually remain away from church for the sake of entering into private worship which they regard as better.

     The New Church is established by the Lord in order that true worship may be provided among men. And if it is true that the priesthood is ordained and inspired by Him to perform this use better than it can be performed without them, then the staying away must mean, either that there is nothing in the ordination and appointment of the priesthood, or else that the priests are not functioning as true priests; in other words, that the Church is ruined for the time being.

     In conclusion, we may say that public worship should be forced upon no one. Yet every real churchman should force himself to it from his own conscience.

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And although everyone must feel free to stay away from public worship if he chooses, he should not hold the idea that in doing so he is doing God service, or that he is doing what is perfectly right. If the worship is a true one, it is not all right for people to absent themselves from public worship for avoidable reasons. And unless one has a just complaint against the work and teaching of the priesthood, there is a certain self-conceit and arrogance of spirit in staying away, which means that public worship is all right for others, perhaps the common people, or the poor or the unfortunate, but not for one's self.

     Would we, then, make churchgoing an obligation for all people? No, we would not; unless the man can see for himself that it is an obligation of conscience. But if a man can see that it is an obligation from conscience, or from spiritual reasons, his freedom does not thereby vanish.

     Habitual absenteeism from public worship is an evil. Stealing is an evil; killing is an evil; lying is an evil; adultery is an evil. All alike are contrary to the Lord's commandments. Yet a man's freedom is not taken away if he is under obligation not to kill or not to steal. Burglars may think so, but it is not so. No thinking man can consider himself deprived of personal liberty if told that he must not kill. But deserting public worship is also an evil, if the Lord established it, and recommends it. And, therefore, no man can rightly regard churchgoing as anything else than an obligation, although it must not be imposed upon him by others. It is an obligation, however, that is not enforceable by the civil law, but by the law of conscience, which, while it is above civil law, is still more valid to the spiritual man.

     But there is much more to be said. There is the element of time to consider. Doubtless many object to churchgoing because of the time it takes. I admit that, under the present customs, it does take about half a day. But this is because we loaf away most of the Sabbath morning, or, if we work around the place before church, we have to interrupt ourselves to go to church. We can never sing with perfect truth the words of the favorite hymn, that "early in the morning our song shall rise to Thee." Yet, if it were a business appointment that we felt obliged to meet every Sunday, we would do it promptly, and not waste so much time over it.

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     Civil obligations do not require as much time as spiritual ones. A little time is asked of us to go to the polls and vote, but it is much more time that the duties of worship require. It is asked of us to give the time that it takes to go to church and to prepare for it. It also requires more thought and attention. And this is one of the things people object to in this busy world, perhaps more than anything else. Our leisure hours are all too few, and there are many things to which they may be devoted. Must we consider it an obligation of conscience to give that time which public worship requires? Your one free day in the week must be broken into, and much of it sacrificed if you go to church. This, I think, is where the rub comes most of all. But in a better state of society all this could be changed, if people were interested enough to change it, and the worship of the Lord could take place early in the morning.

     In days of old, when people went to church three times on a Sunday, they must have had the patience of saints. How they ever did so is hard for us to understand, unless it was for the reason that there were fewer things to be done. But with us New Church people it is seldom more than two hours that we spend in worship, and that is certainly about the minimum. So that the time element is not in itself a reasonable excuse for absence.

     There can be little doubt that it has been the failure of people to recognize in their hearts the obligation of churchgoing that has been responsible for the Continental Sabbath of the old countries, and that threatens to usher in the same thing in America. It is the turning of the Sabbath into little more than a business holiday, or a gala day for all kinds of sports and amusements. And the first step in this desecration of the Sabbath is the attitude that regards churchgoing as too much to expect as a regular duty. Certainly we must have an unrestricted Sabbath, but that does not mean that it is right and orderly to omit churchgoing. Men must be free to deal with this Question according to their wishes, but still a conscience that is truly such cannot escape the conclusion that to observe the Lord's day with worship is an obligation which should be voluntarily accepted.

     But perhaps there may be something in our manner of worship that is distasteful, or at least uninteresting, to people of our day. Ancient rituals and mannerisms have been retained.

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There maybe too much dead formalism and too much sameness, Our ritual may possibly be too wordy, too much loaded with irrelevant phrases and songs which no longer express the affections of modern people. Women, because of their affectional nature, are more tolerant and less critical of the forms of worship. Perhaps we need a more direct and simple approach to the Lord that would appeal more strongly to the male mind. I do not know; I am merely suggesting. But at any rate the worship of the Church should be such as to appeal especially to the male mind. Of this I feel sure; for men are the real backbone of the Church. Among us, at least, heaven forbid the growth of the common idea that public worship should be molded to feminine predilections principally, and that the religion of the family ought to be in the hands of the women of the Church as its chief conservators.

     In our day, I think, both men and women are delighted with ritual that is full of life and therefore of meaning. They desire sincerity and vitality. They do not want mere beauty and sweetness. Solemnity? Yes; but not mere sentimentality. They may be expected to enter into the spirit of humiliation and prayer, if the prayer is straightforward, and expressive of present states and needs. General prayers, no matter how beautifully worded, do not answer, any more than general confessions of sins. We are told that it does no good for a man to confess that he is in general a sinner, unless he knows in what particulars he sins. And it must be the same with general prayers in which such confessions of general sinfulness are contained.

     Moreover, men want the same elements in ritual that we now have, but they would prefer them, I think, in their proper relation and balance. They want quotations from the Word, but they do not want irrelevant ones. They want the majesty of musical intonation, too, provided the same style does not engulf the whole service. They want prayer, but not many prayers. They want to sing, but they do not want to sing the same things forever without change. They do not enjoy poor singing. They want straight-forward and simple preaching, in which something new is brought forward, together with the old treasures. They do not want to hear the same doctrines presented in the same way all the time. They want humiliation in its proper place and relation, but they also want glorification and the lifting up of the spirit.

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     My point is, that they could have all that they want in and from public worship, if they can see it as an individual obligation to go to church at the appointed times; for then, through their vital interest in worship, whatever things are tedious and without present meaning would surely in time be changed into something more strong and living. The one most potent thing to build up the Church is churchgoing from conscience. And if this were truly recognized among men, society would in time be healed of most of its flagrant disorders.
SOCIETY USES 1929

SOCIETY USES       Rev. HENRY HEINRICHS       1929

     DOCTRINAL CLASS AND SOCIAL LIFE.

     The vital relation of these two things to the health and usefulness of a society ought to be clearly evident to everyone. Without instruction directed to the rational mind, to supplement the individual reading, those who really have at heart their own salvation, as well as the prosperity and perfection of the church, labor under a severe handicap. Moreover, the failure to avail themselves of the instruction obtainable deprives them of an exercise that all who desire to be regenerated should seek,-the humbling of self-intelligence and self-conceit. Every regenerating man must be a pupil, a learner; and we can be learners only as we humble our self-intelligence. The weekly attendance at doctrinal class provides a regular occasion for a submersion of the self-conceit-if the attitude with which the classes are attended is what it should be, as set forth in the Writings where the uses of instruction are treated of, and where the function of the priesthood is defined.

     There are two things necessary, in order that the church may grow,-accommodation on the part of the priesthood, and reception on the part of men. The priesthood does its part when it accommodates the truths of the Writings to the rationality of those attending. The latter do their part when they humble their self-intelligence. It is indeed possible for a priest to accommodate the truth in such a way as to appeal to men's self-love and self-conceit, instead of to the rational faculty, thus demanding nothing from those who are being instructed.

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But this is mere blandishment and flattery on the part of the priest, though none the less soothing to the hearer. No true shepherd will give such instruction. He will not exceed what is required of him,-namely, to accommodate truth to the understanding. It remains for the man himself to free his rational faculty by humbling his self-conceit. This the man does when he endeavors to free himself of preconceived notions which he perceives to be contrary to the teaching presented, and arranges other notions into a new order, in harmony with the order and arrangement of truths proposed by the priest and shown by him to be the order of heaven as revealed in the Writings.

     Given these two elements, doctrinal classes will instruct, and there will be no lack of interest. They will instruct perfectly in the measure that the hearer has scientifics, things in his own memory in which his own rational, unbound by self-conceit, may operate freely.

     Social life is another handmaid to progress, but in a different way. Together with the ultimate business transactions looking to supplying the temporal needs of a society, it is the means of making of a society a one-a larger man-a man in a higher degree, formed of many men in a lesser degree. For these two constantly call for cooperative effort; and as that is given, the society becomes a one; as it is withheld, it is not a society, but a group of individuals. That cooperative effort, however, must be intelligently given; and to be intelligently given there must be an elevation to a conception of the society as one entity,-a form of use. As there is a passage from such a conception to the consideration of the means necessary to the administration of the use, enlightenment will come. One must conceive of a society as a use, and place self in subordination to that use, and not conceive of the society from self. Use ought to rule men, and men should not attempt to rule the use.

     We have frequently heard it stated that friendship is the foundation of a society. This is true, but the foundation will be strong and enduring only when the friendship is a by-product of use by-product of a mutual looking to the use on the part of the members. We must form a conception of the use of a society of the New Church, which is that of the "bride and wife of the Lamb," into whose hands the care, protection, and nurture of the means of salvation, the Holy Word, is given, just as it is given to woman to bring forth and care for children.

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And then we must see to it that we ourselves properly appreciate this use, and after that determine what is the neighbor's attitude toward it. As it is affirmative, we are bound to extend our friendship. As it is negative, and in the degree that it is so, we can but withhold.

     Friendship in the New Church, therefore, need not be intimate and personal. Often, indeed, it will be purer as it is less intimate and personal; for personality is always to some extent associated with the proprial loves. Personal friendships among the unregenerate-and we are all such in greater or less degree-exist where the proprial loves do not clash, and personal antagonisms where the proprial loves do clash. In a New Church society, where there are personal animosities, they should but serve to discover to self the nature of the proprium or our love of it; and the subjects should then feel themselves called upon by the Lord to shun that love, to see its antagonism to the elevated conception of use which he should have, and then resist it as contrary thereto. If all would do that, then a friendship far stronger and deeper than that of personal agreeableness will descend into the church, to bless her and crown her with prosperity,-the fruition of uses.
               
There is such a thing as burying the hatchet; but the hatchets will remain buried only when no one goes back to dig his out. Evil affections, becoming active in one, are apt to call forth the evil affections in others. A constant nagging, and a continual harping upon the personal short-comings of others, can only arouse the proprial loves of others. We ourselves find it not difficult to appeal to things held in common with others when we wish to cultivate them for some cherished end, avoiding scrupulously those things which may turn them away. It should be no less difficult for one New Churchman to look to that which is of the Church in another New Churchman, scrupulously avoiding those things in his personality which are antagonistic to the Church. When we see an exhibition of proprium, let us overlook it, remembering his main attitude to the uses of the Church. Let animosity toward another New Churchman never become fixed and permanent, and then the atmosphere generated by such exhibitions of proprium will in time clear away, and a happier sphere take its place.

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SACRAMENTS: THEIR USE AND POWER 1929

SACRAMENTS: THEIR USE AND POWER       Rev. R. J. TILSON       1929

     (Delivered at The New Church Club, London, November 9, 1928.)

     Unto the New Church, and unto the New Church alone, has the Lord made known the true uses of the two sacraments of Baptism and the Holy Supper. This is one of the results of the incarnation and consequent glorification of the assumed human of the Lord: To this end-that of knowing the true uses of the two sacraments-two things were necessary: the revelation of the spiritual sense of the Word, and the revival of the knowledge of that most ancient of all the sciences, the science of correspondences.

     This is plainly stated at the head of the two chapters in the True Christian Religion which deal with the two sacraments. As the caption of Chapter XII, dealing with Baptism, it is written: "Without a cognition (cognitione) of the spiritual sense of the Word, no one can know what the two sacraments, Baptism and the Holy Supper, involve and effect." (667.) At the head of Chapter XIII, dealing with the Holy Supper, these words occur: "Without an acquaintance (notitia) with the correspondence of natural with spiritual things, no one can know the uses and benefits of the Holy Supper."

     It is of interest to notice the two Latin terms here used. In the chapter dealing with Baptism particularly, but with reference to both sacraments, it is said "without a cognition" (cognitione) of the spiritual sense; but in the chapter dealing with the Holy Supper, it is written "without an acquaintance" (notitia) with the correspondence of natural with spiritual things. A "cognition" is a spiritual knowledge, in which it is differentiated from the term "scientia," which is knowledge-natural knowledge; whilst a "notitia" (a very rare word) is a natural idea, conception, a living actual knowledge, something known allied with a living conception and realization of what it means.

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For both sacraments, therefore, it is essential to have a knowledge-spiritual knowledge-of the revelation of the spiritual sense of the Word; and for the Holy Supper especially, a fuller idea, conception, or acquaintance of the science of correspondences, that there may be a complete change of "the natural sense of the Word . . . into the spiritual in heaven; for the two senses correspond to each other." (T. C. R. 698.)

     Outside of the New Church, therefore, the sacraments of Baptism and the Holy Supper are not, and cannot be, known interiorly, as to what they really are, and what they really effect, or how they effect it. The First Christian Church at its very best, before it became fully "a church in name only," could have but a very natural idea of both sacraments; and since the Council of Nice, when the First Christian Church interiorly, and thus entirely, changed its character, the natural idea of the sacraments has become more gross and obscure, until, at the present time, that idea is becoming one closely allied to idolatry-a tendency that is very manifest. This, indeed, is its inevitable goal; for it will recede gradually from all contact with revealed truth, rightly understood.

     Of this we may be assured from the teaching of the Gospel of the Second Advent, which asserts: "How very important it is to have a correct idea of God may appear from this consideration, that the idea of God constitutes the inmost of thought with all who have any religion; for all things of religion and all things of worship have respect to God." (D. L. W. 13.) Again: "The idea of God enters into all things of the church, of religion, and of worship; and theological matters reside above all others in human minds, and in the highest parts therein is the idea of God." (B. E. 40.)

     As to the sacraments themselves, the teaching of the spiritual sense is, that in the various sects of the consummated Christian Church, "in the use of the sacraments of Baptism and the Holy Supper, a trinity of gods enters into every particular; and although it may not seem to be actually in these, yet it is the fountain from which they flow." (T. C. R. 177.)

     To superficial thought, it may appear at this day that there is a tendency to deny the existence of three persons in the trinity, and an advance towards the true idea of one God in the Person of Jesus Christ; but a little careful examination is sufficient to show that that idea is but a confession of the lips.

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And, as if anticipating this development of religious thought, so called, the Lord revealed in the True Christian Religion the following: "The idea of three gods cannot be destroyed by the lip-confession of one God, because that idea is implanted from childhood in the memory, and every man thinks from the contents of his memory." (173.)

     Whatever developments take place in so-called religious thought among the various sects of the consummated Christian Church, he who would be guided by Divine Revelation must expect, as will most assuredly be the case, that the trend of thought will be towards the humanizing of the Lord, and away from the recognition of His sole Divinity. The so-called Advance, or Modernism in the Christian World today, is a nearer approach to materialism, in which science will take the place which religion occupied in the past. Even the Spiritualism, or Spiritism, now to the fore, will become more of the earth earthy, as is evidenced in the nature of the messages sought for and blindly received, even when genuine. And because of this decadence of the sects, there is the greatest necessity that those who are of the New Church should realize what is meant exactly by the term used in the Writings, "The Christian Church," introduction into which is by the gateway of Baptism; as also of the New Heaven in the other world which is akin to the New Church upon earth.

     The First Christian Church ceased to be an internal church after the Council of Nice. It should never be forgotten that the so-called Christian Church took on a different character after the Council of Nice. For we read in the Sketch of an Ecclesiastical History of the New Church (1771):

     1. "A new Ecclesiastical History must be written, because now is the Lord's Advent predicted in Matthew xxiv."

     2. " The Church was different before the Council of Nice, as long as the Apostles' Creed was in force. It became changed after the Council of Nice, and still more after the Athanasian Creed was composed."

     Prior to the Council of Nice, the Christian Church was an internal church, in comparison with the Jewish Church, which was but the representative of a church. But after the Council of Nice it became a Church "in name only." (T. C. R. 668.) The real and true Christian Church did not begin until the spiritual sense of the Divine Word was revealed, that is, when the Writings of the Church were given to the world, in which Writings the Lord has made His Second Advent.

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That this very important point may be made clear in the mind, let the following teaching be heard:

     "The spiritual sense of the Word is revealed at this day, because the Christian Church, such as it is in itself, is now first beginning; the former Church was Christian in name only, but not in reality and essence." (T. C. R. 668.) Again: "The spiritual sense is now disclosed because hitherto Christianity has existed in name only, and with some a kind of shadow of it. . . . But because Christianity is now first arising, and a New Church is now being instituted by the Lord, meant by the New Jerusalem in the Apocalypse, it has pleased the Lord to reveal the spiritual sense of the Word, in order that this Church may be admitted into the real use and benefits of the two sacraments, Baptism and the Holy Supper." (T. C. R. 700.) And again: "The Christian Church, which the Lord founded when He was in the world, is now first being built up by Him." (T. C. R. 674.)
                         
Stress is laid upon this explicit teaching of the Divine Doctrines of the Church, because it should dispose once and for all of the frequently spoken term of "rebaptism," when one has been formerly baptized into one of the sects of the Old Church, and then is asked to be baptized into the New Church. In truth, there is no question of rebaptism, when one changes from the Old to the New Church, for the former was a Church "in name only," and did not acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ as the one and only God; and, with the beginning of the New Church, true Christianity took its rise, and the real Christian Church was first being built up by the Lord.

     Is it not self-evident that in the New Church alone it is possible for that which is declared to be the "second use of Baptism" to be accomplished, viz.: "That the Christian may know and acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ, the Redeemer and Saviour, and follow Him"? Only in that Church can the Lord Jesus Christ be truly known as the one and only God of heaven and earth. He is not known when He is recognized merely as a second person in a trinity of gods. Only in the Lord's New Church can the two sacraments be known and realized as "the most holy things of worship," as "like two jewels in a king's sceptre," and as being the "two gates to eternal life." (T. C. R. 667, 669, 721.)

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     These two sacraments were appointed by the Lord as a great focus of all that was spiritually involved in the many representative washings, sacrifices, offerings, libations, etc., enjoined upon the Jews as a representative of a church, when no true church could be formed upon earth. All these were mere representatives, the internals of which were not known or appreciated by the Jews. To them there was nothing internal in their many, and even loathsome, representatives. Therefore the Lord, at His First Advent, did away with these mere ceremonies, and instead of them all instituted the two sacraments, which comprise all that was represented by the Jewish ceremonies, and which were real and genuine representatives, and living correspondences, of all that which is living, and all that is involved, when spiritually understood, in the work of regeneration.

     REPRESENTATION AND CORRESPONDENCE.

     And here let us carefully note the difference-the vital difference-between representatives and correspondences. This seems to be little known and understood, even in the organization in connection with the Lord's New Church, at the present time. Indeed, it has recently been publicly asserted that Baptism is a representative, but is not a correspondence. Were this the case, then the sacrament of Baptism would be robbed of all its power-its living power-as a spiritual use, and would be lowered to a mere form, title, or ceremony. The like would apply to the sacrament of the Holy Supper. Indeed, to understand properly the use of the two sacraments, one should, from spiritual light, be able to differentiate between correspondences, representatives, and significatives.

     This is an enticing study, and cannot here be entered upon to any great extent, but only in a summary, sufficient to throw some assisting light upon the theme now in hand. To those who wish to follow up that important study, it may be helpful to state that in that most virile of New Church journals, the NEW CHURCH LIFE, for the year 1906, there is a luminous article by the late Rev. C. Th. Odhner on the subject of "Correspondence, Representation, and Signification," worthy of the closest study. For our present purpose, let it suffice to say that Correspondence is the relation between cause and effect,-the relation between the internal and the external, on the several planes. This is taught in the following:

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     "Correspondence is the appearing of what is internal in what is external, and its representation there." (A. C. 5423.)

     "Creation was effected by and according to correspondences." (See T. C. R. 75, 78; A. C. 9272; D. L. W. 343; De Verbo VII; D. Wis. XI: 4.)

     All existence and subsistence depend upon correspondence; for, as is revealed in D. L. W. 83, "the two worlds communicate only through correspondences." So much is this the case that "correspondences have all force, so that what is done on earth according to correspondences has power in heaven; for correspondences are from the Divine." (A. C. 8615.)

     Note well that statement of Divine Truth as to the power of correspondences, for it is also applied most directly to the two sacraments. (See Invitation 45 and 59.)

     As to Representatives, it is written: "A representative is nothing but the image of that which is represented, and it is, in image, the thing itself which is presented." (A. C. 3393.) Heed especially the two words, "in image." A representative, therefore, is a form, an image, in which some essential thing is re-presented to the sense of man.

     The difference between Correspondences and Representatives is very succinctly stated in the following: "There is a correspondence between spiritual and natural things; and there is a representation of spiritual things in natural things."

     As to Significatives, the difference is wider, as will be very apparent, for significatives deal with words and expressions. In explaining the opening words of Genesis 12, it is written in the Arcana Celestia: "True histories begin here, which are all representative, and every particular word is significative." (A. C. 1401.) Again, it is stated: "The historical facts are representative, and all the words are significative." (A. C, 1407.) Again: "The historical facts are what represent the Lord; the words themselves are significative of the things which are represented." (A. C. 1540.) One more brief quotation: "Whatever the Lord did in the world represented, and whatever He spoke signified." (A. E. 405.)

     The distinction between Correspondences, Representatives, and Significatives is, as said before, very important in connection with the subject of the two sacraments, and so we venture to detain the mind one moment more, as we quote the summary of Professor Odhner, in the excellent article already referred to:

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"As to the difference in meaning between the terms 'Correspondence,' 'Representation,' and 'Signification,' it may be said, in general, that the first refers especially to agreement as to essential quality, use, or good; the second refers more particularly to agreement as to external form, appearance, or manifestation; and the third always refers to the expression of either, or of both, by a spoken or written word."

     This may appear as somewhat of a digression from the main subject of this paper, but it is necessary that this difference between a Correspondence and a Representative should be realized, in order that the true force and use of the two sacraments may be seen in their true light. Surely this contention will be fully maintained when the following from the Invitation to the New Church is heard:

     "The greatest power dwells in correspondences, because in them heaven and the world, that is, the spiritual and natural, are together. . . . By this means also the Lord is in first, and, at the same time, in last things. On this account the sacraments have been instituted through correspondences, and, therefore, Divine power dwells in them." (See also A. E. 475:21; A. C. 8615; Invitation 41, 45.)

     The man of the New Church, thus entering intellectually into the mysteries of his faith concerning the two sacraments, will realize the wondrous meaning of the statement made in the Divine Love and Wisdom: "Before the assumption of the Human, the Divine influx into the natural degree was mediate through the angelic heavens, but after the assumption, immediate from Himself." Until the members of the Church realize this, they cannot possibly enter "into the real use and benefit of the two sacraments, Baptism and the Holy Supper, which follows when men see with the eyes of the spirit, that is, with the understanding, the holiness concealed therein, and apply it to themselves by those means which the Lord has taught in His Word." (T. C. R. 700.)

     To the members of the Lord's New Church the sacraments must be the real presence of the ford-the "New Presence of the Lord," as it has been happily phrased. In this connection, it may be as well to recall to mind the statement made in the A. C. 5942: "The historicals of the Word . . . are spiritually apprehended when the correspondences are understood instead of them."

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     Now, if the foundations for the intelligent study of the Sacraments,-their Use and Power,-have been well and truly laid, we may advance to a brief and more detailed consideration of the selected theme.

     BAPTISM.

     Naturally the thought will turn immediately to the fact that the Lord was baptized. Why?

     It is well to note how punctiliously the Lord observed all appointed ultimates according to the Word. Born of a Jewish mother, as to the assumed human, He was in due course circumcised, in accordance with the representative rites of the Jewish Church. Then, later, before entering upon His short public life, He was baptized by John in the River Jordan. Again, Why?

     The answer is contained in the Lord's own words, spoken in reply to His reluctant forerunner, who exclaimed, "I have need to be baptized of Thee." (Matt. 3:14.) The Divine reply was: "Suffer it now; for thus it becometh us to fulfill all justice." (Matt. 3:15.) The Lord came into the world, as a Man amongst men, to fulfill-i.e., to fill full-all the Law and the Prophets; yea, to their very letter; for, as to their very external expression, they were Divine, and from their very ultimates reached, by correspondences, unto the Divine Itself within Him.

     But what was involved in the justice which He was to fulfill-i.e., fill full-full with the Divine? The spiritual sense of the Word, in the light of which the uses of Baptism can alone be understood, gives the reply: "Justice is to do all things according to Divine Order, and restoring to order whatever has departed from it; for true Divine Order is Justice." (T. C. R. 95.) "Divine Justice" required the observance of all those things which had been taught in the Word, and which were not as yet abrogated by the Lord as to their observance. Therefore, the Lord was first circumcised. Then, as to why He was subsequently baptized, the answer is given in that spiritual sense, as follows: "The Lord was Himself baptized by John that He might not only institute Baptism for the future, and go before as an example, but also because He glorified His human, and made it Divine, as He regenerates man and makes him spiritual." (T. C. R. 684.)

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     The purpose of the Lord's baptism, therefore, was to institute that sacrament, which, together with the Holy Supper, was to take the place of all the washings and multitudinous observances, merely representative, of the Jews, in the new church which the Lord came, at His First Advent, to establish. He also was baptized to set an "example" to all His future disciples. And, finally, He was baptized because it correspondentially represented all that was to be endured during the process of the glorification of His assumed Human.

     By His baptism the Lord shared, as to His human assumed, the benefits which accrued to the Jews by the baptism at the hands of John. John's baptism prepared the way of the Lord, by causing the spirits of those baptized to be placed in the spiritual world among those from all ancient religions who had been taught to expect a Messiah who should come to save His people. The Lord, by His baptism at the hands of John, would place Himself among such in the spiritual world; and the power of that baptism by John, upon and for the Jews, is thus taught in the spiritual sense of the Divine Word: "Unless this representation (that of baptism) had preceded, the Lord could not have manifested Himself. . . . Unless, by baptism, that nation had been prepared by a representative of purification from falsities and evils, it would have been destroyed. . . . The baptism of John could produce this effect, because the Jewish Church was a representative Church, and with them all conjunction with heaven was effected by representatives." (A. E. 724; T. C. R. 688.)

     A wonderful teaching! It could not be accepted by man save upon the authority of the Lord, and as such it is gladly received and sought to be understood. What a powerful, unseen influence that baptism must have exercised, and how it reveals to those who have eyes to see the conjunctivity of the two worlds!

     John's baptism, however, was external-very external; yet the Lord partook of it, from a Divine sense of Justice; in other words, from a realization of the needs of Divine Order. Shall anyone do less in respect to baptism into the Lord's New Church, which is the highest and best of all the Churches, and which, being the highest, must come down to the lowest; even as He, the Most High, came down to compliance with the lowly baptism of John?

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It is written: "The baptism of John represented the cleansing of the external man, but the baptism which is at this day among Christians represents the cleansing of the internal man, which is regeneration." (T. C. R. 690.) And, in confirmation of the great distinction between the baptism of John and the baptism instituted by the Lord, recall to mind what is Clearly taught or recorded in Acts 19:1-6, namely, that those who had been converted to Christianity, and had been baptized by John, were baptized again by the Apostles.

     Then, too, in connection with the phase of the subject now before the mind, recall the fact recorded in John 4: 2, where it is written, "Jesus Himself baptized not, but His disciples." True, in chapters iii and iv of the same Gospel, there are statements which seem to imply that the Lord did baptize. It is written: "After these things Came Jesus and His disciples into the land of Judea; and there He tarried with them, and baptized." (John 3:22.) In verse 26 the same implication is given as the statement of the Jews to John. The fourth chapter opens with these words: "When therefore the Lord knew how the Pharisees had heard that Jesus made and baptized more disciples than John." Verse 2 of chapter iv, however, settles the question, and the other references must be understood in the light of that definite statement, though parenthetically recorded: "Though Jesus Himself baptized not, but His disciples." For it can easily be realized that the baptism performed by the disciples in the name of Jesus could be taken as a baptism performed by the Lord Himself, since they did it from Him.

     But there is a spiritual reason for this merely apparent difficulty. The first baptism-that by John-was most external. It was protective, calling to an outward repentance,-a calling back to the remembrance that a Messiah was to come, and arousing that expectance in the minds of the people. The second baptism was that performed by the disciples, and represented a more interior reception of the Lord's Truth, even the reception of the natural truths of the New Testament, calling to amendment of life. They taught truths directly from Him, in His Name; and at the dawn of the Second Advent they were sent out into all the spiritual world to Preach the same preliminary Gospel.

     But there was to be a third baptism-to make the ordinance complete-and that baptism could only be by the Lord Himself; and it would be a hidden baptism, the baptism of the spirit, or internal man, prophesied by the statement of John concerning the Lord, when he said, "He shall baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire." (Matt. 3:11.)

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That is the real and lasting baptism, the essential, which can be performed by the Lord alone; the other baptisms were but preparatory and representative; absolutely necessary, indeed, but useless unless followed by the inner baptism of regeneration.

     Thus far we have endeavored to establish the fact that baptism is not merely a "sign," as that is superficially understood, but that it is a spiritual use, and that it has its own province of spiritual benefit, which cannot be neglected by man without injury to his spiritual growth and development. Briefly, then, just what does Baptism do for man?

     According to Divine Revelation, the "first use of Baptism is introduction into the Christian Church, and at the same time insertion among Christians in the spiritual world." (T. C. R. 677.) In making His Second Advent, by revealing the spiritual sense of His Word, the Lord has stated that, " in the spiritual world everyone is inserted into societies and congregations there according to the quality of the Christianity in him, or outside him." (T. C. R. 680.) That world is a world of perfect order. "Christians are in the center, Mohammedans sound about them, idolaters of various kinds behind them, and the Jews are at the sides." (T. C. R. 678.)

     Baptism introduces into the Church upon earth. It is the Divinely appointed "gate" into that Church. It must, therefore, be regarded as a condition of membership in every rightly ordered Church upon earth. But, note that the first use of Baptism is twofold. It takes place in both worlds at the same time. That must be, in order that the rite may be truly correspondential, because that which is a correspondent binds both worlds together, and is effectual in both worlds. As to our spirits, we are in that other world now. Thus, when the body is baptized, the spirit receives a "sign," by which it may be distinguished in that world as to what religion the one baptized belong. That "sign" causes those who are baptized to be "recognized"; and so distinctly is this done that the sign distinguishes "just as bands of different colors are put upon infants of two mothers, in order that they may be distinguished one from the other."

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So effective is this sign that its use is especially to prevent Mohammedan spirits from influencing the child baptized. But why single out the Mohammedan spirits? Because they are next in order in the arrangements of that world, and also because they are of the Gentile disposition, unto which all children are prone in their infantile days. Thus are they of the Christian faith protected by the Lord, in the arrangements of the religions in the other world.

     In this connection, I would relate an incident which occurred at the meeting of the Council of the Clergy, in connection with the recent General Assembly. During a discussion concerning Baptism, attention was called to the double use of Baptism,-the use in both worlds, and the Bishop stated that when he baptizes a little one, he always adds to the formula in the Liturgy the words: "The name of this child is now recorded in heaven among those who are of the New Church, who receive the Lord at His Second Coming." Truly a telling ultimation of the fact arising from the reality of the use of Baptism in the other world, as well as in this!

     As to the use of Baptism to adults as well as to children, we are instructed in T. C. R. 677, among many other passages bearing upon the same subject, that "not only infants are baptized, but also all foreign proselytes converted to the Christian religion, whether they are young or old, and this before they have been instructed, provided they express their desire to embrace Christianity, into which they are inaugurated by Baptism. Matt. 28:19." Note that they are baptized" before they have been instructed." The principle herein involved led the Academy of the New Church, from its beginning, to insist upon Baptism before any child was admitted into its school for instruction. Surely a wise decision. (See editorial in NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1920, p. 32.)

     This question of instruction brings us to the "Second Use of Baptism," which is "that the Christian may know and acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ, the Redeemer and Savior, and follow Him." This inevitably follows the first use of this holy rite, in orderly sequence. Instruction must follow introduction and insertion. For man is regenerated by truths; and man can only obtain truths by learning them, and by reflecting and meditating upon them. This he must obtain from parents, teachers, and by preachings, as well as by study and observation.

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     What a responsibility this second use of Baptism places upon parents, teachers, and preachers? What care it requires? What fidelity to the teachings of Divine Revelation, what prayerful guidance, what circumspect conduct, what subduing of proprium, all this calls for? And yet duty demands it; and it is ever true that "as thy days, so shall thy strength be."

     "The third and final use of Baptism is, that man may be regenerated." This is the climax, the goal, the end of the uses, not only of Baptism, but also of the Holy Supper. Indeed, it is the Divinely appointed and wished-for end of human life. For this man is born; for this all the ordinations and permissions of the Divine Providence are governed by the Lord. Nothing else really matters, so long as man is being regenerated.

     Regeneration is the "essential" of man's being. "It is the essential itself that sanctifies and vivifies what is formal or ceremonial." Further, heed well this teaching: "Whatever a man does from the external alone is unclean, but whatever he does from a purified internal, through the external, is clean; for the latter is from the Lord, but the former is from man." (A. E. 794:4.)

     Of the three uses of Baptism it is written: "All these three uses follow in order, and join in the ultimate; and consequently, in the idea of angels, they are united in one." (T. C. R. 685.) May they ever be so in the hearts, minds, and lives of the members of the Lord's church upon earth!

     One other thing awaits mention in connection with the sacrament of Baptism, and that is the instrumentality of the priestly office. This is a part of the subject which is by no means unimportant, but it can be but lightly referred to in this paper.

     The spirits attending the priest as he administers the rite must influence the spirits attending the child or person who is being baptized. The priest is commanded by the Doctrines to make the sign of the cross upon the head and the breast of the one baptized. This is done by the touch, and by touch communication is effected; and this communication must have its spiritual effect upon the spirit of the one baptized. Nor is this benefit, passing through the priest, dependent upon the state of regeneration unto which the individual priest has or has not attained. It is the office, and not the man, which is active here. (See A. C. 3670.) The office is the essential; the man is the instrumental.

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     One final word on this part of my theme. Seeing the holiness of the rite of Baptism, and its wondrous correspondential power, would it not be a helpful sign of the recognition of all this on the part of the laity, if, when the actual rite is performed, they would rise and stand during that part of the ceremony?

     THE HOLY SUPPER.

     And now to pass on to the second sacrament,-that of the Holy Supper. Much that has been said as to the great use and correspondential power of the former sacrament will equally apply in the consideration of the second of the two great sacraments. Its power lies in the fact that it is wholly correspondential when properly administered. The elements used must be truly correspondential.

     The bread must consist only of the finest flour, pure olive oil, and a touch of salt, and must be absolutely free from anything of leaven. It must be broken, and is by no means to be cut with a knife. The wine must be wholly fermented, and absolutely free from any fortifying by spirits. It must be the "fruit of the vine," cleansed by the natural process of fermentation. For the bread corresponds to the Divine Love of the Lord, and the wine to the Divine Truth of that Divine Love; and the act of eating signifies the appropriation of good and truth from the Lord by the acceptance of the Lord's Truth, in which is enshrined His Love, and by a life in accordance with the truths of the Lord's Word, made manifest by the shunning of all evils as sins against God.

     The Sacrament of the Holy Supper is said in the Divine Doctrines of the Church to be the most holy thing of the Church. (A. C. 10159.) This because it is purely correspondential. The elements, being pure as to their finest essences, ascend to the brain, and there soul and body meet, and the purest particles of matter can come into closest touch with the lowest things of spirit, and through the lowest may reach unto the highest. (Invitation 48.)

     For, remember, the teaching is that "correspondences are mediator." (T. C. R. 702.) In the Holy Supper the correspondence is real, is actual, yea, it is spiritually organic. (See Invitation 57.) Not that the bread and wine are the Lord in themselves; yet they are so thoroughly correspondential, so purely representative, and so completely significative, that the Lord Himself allowed the following to be written:

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"The Lord Himself is in the Holy Supper; the flesh and bread are the Lord as to the Divine Good of Love, and the blood and wine are the Lord as to the Divine Truth of Wisdom. . . . Wherefore the Holy Supper involves three universals,-the Lord, His Divine Good, and His Divine Truth." (T. C. R. 711.)

     But, in themselves, the elements are not the Lord. They may be, and are so called, even by the Lord, only in accordance with the well-known spiritual law, that the instrumental may be called by the name of the causal. There is no room for the hideous and idolatrous falsity of transubstantiation in the Lord's New Church-none whatever. They are correspondences, and in them, being such, there is Divine power, when they are applied to their uses, strictly under the guidance of the Lord's own truth. They are adjunctions, not conjunctions. (T. C. R. 718.) They are adjoined in the minds of those who worthily approach the sacred table. (T. C. R. 154, 718; A. C. 2177.) The natural is changed into the spiritual "in heaven" (T. C. R. 698), and the entrance is in and through "the memory." (T. C. R. 699.) There can be no physical change in the elements themselves, but who shall say what change there may be in the sphere which goes forth from them when consecrated to their holy use? Let not man "rush in where angels fear to tread."

     In accordance with the purely correspondential nature of the Holy Supper, may it not be well that the priest, as representing the Lord, should give to the communicant individually the bread? For the spiritual teaching is that good, represented by the bread, is given by the Lord, and is not acquired by man, whilst truth, being acquired by man, by study and observation, necessitates, in accordance with physical ability, that man should take the wine into his own hand as contained in the cup. Be it here also noticed that bread and wine, on the spiritual plane, represent the same as flesh and blood on the celestial plane.

     In the light of all this, is it not plain that, in the worthy partaking of the Holy Supper, man is brought into the closest touch with the angels (A. C. 3316); yea, even more, into closest touch with the great Father in the heavens. Such is the teaching: "In the Holy Supper, the Lord is wholly present with the whole of His Redemption." (T. C. R. 716.)

     But, how is this? The answer is that the Lord is present correspondentially and representatively.

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But, spiritually considered, this is an actual presence. Such questions, and such subjects as these now before us, have to be considered with a "spiritual idea." They cannot be understood in mere natural light, nor are they to be given to those whose delight is limited and confined to intellectual speculations. They must be spiritually discerned; and they can, and that with ease, if the spiritual eyes,-man's understanding,-be but lifted up to the mountains of Divine Love, as revealed in Divine Truth. In the consideration of the "Sacraments, their Use and Power," we are on holy ground. Therefore, take off the shoes of merely natural thought, and you will see beauties of untold worth.

     In conclusion, heed well the following warning of revealed truth: "Those things which are called the holy things of the Church are not holy unless they be devoutly received; the Divine does not flow into them; and all holy things with man are unholy save from Divine influx. For instance, sacred buildings, altars therein, the bread and wine for the Holy Supper, become holy solely by the presence of the Lord; wherefore, if the Lord cannot be present there by reason of the sins of the people, the holiness is absent, because the Divine is absent; also, the holy things of the Church are profaned by sins, since they remove from thence the Divine." (A. C. 10208.) In the light of such teaching, how forcefully comes the Divine exhortation: "These things ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone."

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STUPIDITY 1929

STUPIDITY       Rev. E. E. IUNGERICH       1929

     It is said of Bezaleel, who was in charge of providing the furnishings for the tabernacle, that he was "filled with the spirit of God, in wisdom, intelligence, science, and in all work." (Exodus 31:3.) In the internal sense this means that the Church is to be established with those in the good of love who receive influx from the Word, so as to be enlightened in all matters of the will and understanding in the internal and external man. (A. C. 10331.) The degree of the soul with Bezaleel, or with one who is in the good of love, is characterized by the expression "filled with the spirit of God"; the degree of the body, by "in all work"; and the three intermediate discrete degrees of the mind, by the terms so frequently used in the Writings to describe the intellectual differences among the heavens, viz., "wisdom, intelligence, and science," or knowledge. The name "Bezaleel" in Hebrew means "in the shadow of God."

     In the present paper I propose to take up one of the perversions of these degrees, namely, stupidity, and to consider its causes and effects on the planes of spirit or mind, as evinced in this world and the next.

     At first sight, a reader of Swedenborg might suppose that all these degrees,-the soul, the three discrete planes of the mind, and the body,-are liable to perversion. For he speaks of three hells opposite, respectively, to the three heavens of the mind, and, below all, of the place of profaners, when both soul and body have shriveled into lifeless bone. In a treatise on the Diseases of the Fibres, he speaks not only of the diseases of the body or its red blood, but also of those of the purer blood or animus, and of those of the purest blood or intellectual mind; and he then adds that there are still higher diseases (Fibre 376), seeing that the soul is above our intellectual mind, though the terms "disease," "sickness," and "affection," as used with respect to the lower planes, are not predicable of the soul, but rather " guilt," and consequently essential changes of state.

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     Stupidity is classified in this treatise as among the affections of the mind and the perversions of its state. "Such," the passage reads, "are the various loves of self, vain ambitions, misanthropy, hatreds, and excessive desires for depravity, whence come malice and insanities, whereof there are many species; also imbecility, and excessive heat in thinking and judging, and the phantasies arising therefrom; nay, also stupidity, and many other ills." (Ibid. 379.) These all arise from not bridling the animus and its cupidities, and especially from the banishing of conscience. As remedies, he refers to those used for a sickened animus, namely, purifiers of the blood, the festive board, and agreeable society; but he recommends "that the mind suffer itself to be formed by masters who have saner judgment; thus from natural theology, and also from revealed theology; especially that the mind curb and restrain its animus and the impetuosities thereof, and thus set itself free under its own law and liberty." (Ibid. 374.)

     With regard to a certain Lang, who seems to have had guilt in the soul, since the Spirit of God was replaced by a manifestation of the devil, it is related in the Diary (no. 5870) that he, more than others, had been confirming himself in favor of nature and against the Divine, and had thus acquired a hardness that reflected away Divine things. Recognizing that this would lead to a low state, he began to listen respectfully to the truths of the church, in the hope of improvement, these being represented by a sled which he drew behind him. But in turning to look at this sled, he suddenly perceived the devil crouching upon it, and then advancing toward him, as if to swallow his face. He rushed away in vain until he rejected these truths, and let go the sled; and then the devil drove him like a beast into the hell in the northwest where he was made stupid.

     In actuality, however, the only planes liable to perversion are the organics of the body and the ultimate ones of the mind. A perversion of the organics of the body is per se of no lasting effect upon the state of the spirit after death. But a perversion of the ultimate organics of the mind, when in accordance with the desire of the individual, is fatal to his prospects for heaven. This perversion may be in generals, or as to their overtones in particulars and singulars. Or, to be more exact, we may say that the individual is opposed to the laws of spiritual society, or to loving the neighbor, or, as in the case of Lang, to the Lord directly.

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The generic term for the intellectual perversion in all three planes is "insanity," this term being used to denote an active state of the perversion when the bonds of repression are not in operation. Although various expressions are in use to denote each successive degree of the perversion, the most exact trine seems to be drunkenness, fatuity, and stupidity, as in the passage: "They who ascribe all thing; to their own intelligence . . . at first become drunkards, afterwards like fools, and at last stupid." (S. S. 118; T. C. R. 276.) Stupidity is a term which applies to the whole range of intellectual perversions, but specifically to that third degree of it which is brought about by the love of dominion. (A. E. 1056, 1057.) There is only one type of perversion that is worse, namely, that of profanation, when nothing human whatsoever is left with the individual.

     Recognizing that there are only two organisms that are the basis of perversions, we shall first consider the stupidity which is peculiar to the body and the world, and which may be removed after death (Document 243), and then treat of the mental kind which persists to eternity.

     II.

     Some men are born stupid, and are therefore physically incapable of understanding matters of intelligence. "Every man," we read, "if not born fatuous or in the highest degree stupid, can come to very reason, and by it to very freedom. . . ." (D. P. 98.) "In the world, a man who is not utterly stupid . . . can understand, retain, and then confirm what he hears about a lofty subject." (D. L. W. 244.) The same passages and others teach that one not born stupid may become so by various physical or moral abuses. Thus "freedom and rationality cannot be given to those who are fatuous from birth, nor if they are made so later, so long as they are such, . . . nor to those born stupid and obese, or those made so from the torpor of ease, or from a bitterness which had perverted or altogether closed the interiors of the mind, or from loving to live the life of a beast." (D. P. 98.) "Sight and hearing are senses subservient to angelic intelligence and wisdom, but not the remaining three, which, if exquisite in the same degree, would take away the light and delight of their wisdom, and introduce instead the delight of the pleasures which are of the appetites and of the body, which obscure and weaken the understanding to the degree that they excel; . . . as also happens with men in the world who are so far obese and stupid in respect to spiritual truths as they indulge the taste and pander to the things of the touch of the body." (H. H. 462 prime.)

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"When any think and speak from the lust of adultery, they do not enjoy rationality, . . . because the flesh then acts upon the spirit, and not the reverse." (C. L. 498.) "Those who stick in the terms of philosophy close the way to the intuition of internals and universals." (S. D. 767.)

     In a later treatise, entitled Diseases of the Brain, we find intercalated between chapters on the "Loss of Memory" and "Melancholy" a chapter on "Stupidity and Fatuity," which treats primarily of the perversions of the body, and introduces to the subject of the perversion of the mind. From this we quote in part:

     "There are those who live as to the body alone, and very slightly as to the mind; and if any light comes thence, it is intercepted, as the sun's light is by clouds. Their life is of a low type, almost like that of the being who was turned into a tree or a trunk, according to the fable. They are also absent-minded, taking in the words of a speaker confusedly, and scarcely perceiving the sense of his words, unless it be one springing up in their own obscure phantasy, or one interruptedly without connection. They also grasp subjects in a similar indistinct way. When they do chatter, they break the thread of another's discourse, and evolve something incoherent out of the store of their imagination. Yawning, they lift up their noses, and after this paroxysm they forget what they meant to say. They act in a leaden way, the will rarely taking the lead; but subsequently they notice their acts and admire them. If any matter penetrates deeply, or beyond the ordinary comprehension, they listen as asses do to the creak of the millstone, are stupefied at everything, and not seldom are bereft of the animus. They snore by night and by day. They are witless, pandering merely to their whims, and are as simpletons, clods, and of dull perception (filii pingues narium). This is stupidity, and its height is fatuity. Such are also incapable of mentality, sensation, and almost of speech. Beyond the outmost form or hide there is nothing human which is coherent in them." (Codex 55, on The Brain.) The passage then describes the cerebral conditions attending such a state, and treats of the inherited and accidental causes in detail.

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     III.

     Turning now to the consideration of stupidity of the mind or spirit, we note that the Writings inform us that some men who had been celebrated for their intellectual acumen while living in the world have none whatever after death. Since the outward appearance in the spiritual world is the correspondent expression of the inward state, such men then have all the earmarks of the worldly stupidity, grossness, and bestiality which we have described above. In the Writings, the causes of this internal stupidity are said to belong either to the intellectual or the voluntary, though both these faculties undoubtedly operate in every case.

     Under the intellectual causes we may list the following:

     1. A lack of development of the interior memory by a cultivation of the rational. As the exterior memory is quiescent after death, those who had been skilled in languages and other sciences, but had not developed the rational faculty, have no mode of expression on the planes of heaven. (A. C. 2480; H. H. 464.) Among examples of this state are the philosopher Wolff, who applied himself to the study of mediating sciences, and the physiologist Leeuwenhoek, who only made experiments and did not develop his rational. "For in the other life it is the rational which speaks, and not the natural as to its scientific faculty, the memory being closed." (S. D. 5785.)

     2. A more grievous condition, though very similar to the preceding, is produced with those who have choked their minds with the dust of philosophical terms. (S. D. 767.) To this cause may be added the itch to reflect upon one's own faculty of knowing, as with one who, while dancing, is trying to think of all the muscular fibres that are in operation, and thus becomes self-conscious and checks the spontaneous operation. (S. D. 2949.) Learning nowadays is of such a character that simple truths are involved in intricacies which make then unintelligible. The result is a loss of common sense and a growth of stupidity among the erudite. Among the ancients, naked truths were taught, as this led to the acquisition of innumerable others. (S. D. Minor 4578-9.) The present artificiality places the human mind in an opaque, sunless forest; and having no light, the mind turns to thoughts of self and one's own glory; and as the love of truth has perished, the mind becomes stupid. (S. D. Minor 4655.)

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     3. Intellectual conceit, the belief that one's intelligence is self-derived, and a conviction that one is wiser than others, with a resulting contempt of them in comparison with one's self, intromit a man almost directly into darkness, folly and stupidity on entering the other life. (A. C. 4532; H. H. 464; S. S. 118.) The arrogance of such extinguishes the light of heaven, and they exude a sphere of dregs. (A. C. 4949.)

     4. An active belief in falsities which prevent a reception of the truth. The perverted idea of priests, that they have power to open or shut heaven or hell, and to remit sins, perturbs the mind and induces darkness even to pain. (H. H. 508.) The lack of knowledge and the stupidity of those who have once embraced faith alone, and who have made it the all of their religion, is declared to be unbelievable. (A. R. 458; S. D. 6033.) It induces upon the heart a stupidity, stubbornness, and hardness which excludes all good of life. (A. R. 461.) It is said that Christians have made themselves stupid, not from lack of instruction, but from fallacies of the senses. Their wisdom is so extinct or infatuated that they know nothing of the state of man's life, as differentiated from that of beasts. (C. L. 152, secondo.)

     5. Opposition to Divine things, as in the case of Lang, mentioned above. Such are made so stupid that they can scarcely understand even a civil truth. Their interiors appear black, and are ossified. (H. H, 345, 464.) If they acknowledge the Father, but deny the Lord, they fall into merely natural ideas associated with the loves of the body and the world, and are not in intelligence, but in a sort of stupidity. (S. D. 5941 1/2.)

     Under voluntary causes, or those pertaining to the will, we find the following:

     1. A delight in sensual and corporeal loves. With these the flesh acts on the spirit, and they become stupid, since to control their lusts under rules of wisdom is undelightful to them. (C. L. 498.) For when spiritual things are entangled in corporeal ones, men are shut off from a view of interior things. The gift of spiritual vision is occasionally removed from upright men, as from Swedenborg at times; and under extraordinary circumstances it is even granted to the unworthy, as to King Saul when he was a type of prophecy. (S. D. 2022.)

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When those in corporeal loves feign a love for good, sincerity and justice, in order to receive benefits, their interiors are closed and appear black, and their exteriors are foul and sorry. (H. H. 481.) Those who have thought and loved nothing but self and the world, after being so vastated as to perceive an unpleasantness in what is terrestrial, have so little residual life that they are stupid. (S. D. 5072.) Swedenborg describes meeting a monk of the eleventh century who had been without Divine Truth ever since, and had undergone no change, except to become more stupid. (S. D. 5957.) Here, too, we may place those who enter into societies with no end of use, but merely to have friends and indulge in social pleasures. Their sphere extinguishes the affections of good and truth. Such become obstructions of the brain, and induce stupidity. At their presence, Swedenborg experienced a dullness, a sluggishness, and a deprivation of affection. (A. C. 4054.) All who live merely for self, honor, and gain become corporeal men of a gross sphere. No stupidity in the world can be compared to theirs. (S. D. Minor 4747.)

     2. An overweening ambition to advance one's self. This involves a hatred of competitors. (A. C. 4221.) Here are to be placed those who prefer themselves to their uses, and who only value uses in the degree that they are thereby placed ahead of other people. (H. H. 563.) They believe good and truth to be from self, and place merit in their good deeds. The angels regard such as stupid, since they look to self and not to the Lord, and consider them as thieves, since they take away what is the Lord's. (H. H. 10.) Worldly preachers, to whom sacred things are only a step to fame, belong to this class. (S. D. 5514.)

     3. Those in the love of dominion, in spite of all their cleverness in bringing others under their influence, and as a result of their taking away the Lord's rule, bring on the darkness of hell, and so become stupid as to the things of heaven. (A. C. 10812.) The cunning of certain Catholics penetrates to all and single parts of their interiors, and makes them most stupid. (S. D. 5654-5; A. E. 1056:5.)

     4. Finally, all evildoers who love to be so are stupid. For this, their will, flows into the thought, and twists truths to defend itself, and so deprives them of all the essence of truth. (A. C. 3033.)

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To such, scientifics are only the means of becoming insane, by confirming the life of evil, and by parading as true those utterly false principles in which they pride themselves as being wiser than others. They thus destroy the rational; for one who calls evil good, and the false truth, is irrational. (A. C. 4156.) The Africans say that, if a man does not live according to religion, he must become both stupid and evil, since he receives no truth and good from heaven. They call an ingenious maliciousness stupidity, because there is no life in it, but only death. (C. L. J. 76.)

     In conclusion, I may add that even the best of angels are stupid at times. The celestial angels, for instance, come into states of stupidity at such times as they are not stimulated to active thought by the ministrations of spiritual preachers. (S. D. 5730.) Without speech in society with others (S. D. 2145), and by the removal of communication with angelic societies, individual spirits fall into apathy as if they were nothing. (A. C. 9826, 5828.) The presence of the sphere of the stupid also paralyzes the thought-processes of men who are usually alert in their wisdom. This happened to Swedenborg on many occasions. He relates how Gustave Benzelius could hurl such gibes at his opponents that they became stupid and irate at their inability to reply. (S. D. Minor 4548.)

     For the Lord alone is wise, and it is of His mercy that we should be humiliated repeatedly, in order to learn how much we depend upon Him.

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NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS 1929

NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS       Rev. HUGO LJ. ODHNER       1929

     The Value of Uniform Readings.

     The benefits which the New Church bestows upon its present membership and upon the ages of the future are all derived, in the last analysis, from the reading and reception of the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg and of the Word of the Old and New Testaments as seen in the light of the Internal Sense and the Heavenly Doctrine revealed in those Writings. The church is according to its doctrine; yet doctrine does not establish the church, but the soundness and purity of doctrine, thus the understanding of the Word. (T. C. R. 245.) Upon the acceptance of the Writings as our source of doctrine and daily enlightenment depends our very existence as a church and the salvation of the world.

     In this world of change, it is important to realize that Space and Time were introduced into the natural world by the Lord Himself as ultimates of His order. As we pay our tithes of substance and energy, we must also hallow the first fruits of our time to the Lord. To most, our boasted inventions, our labor-saving machinery, and our shorter working-hours, mean only so much more natural comfort or luxury; but the New Churchman ought to recognize in all this the hand of Providence which seeks to set men free, if they wish, from the crushing material factors of life, free to devote more time to the higher spiritual phases of development. No program for our day is complete unless a time is set aside for the Lord's use, for direct contact with His Mind as it meets us in the Word of His revelations. Although we might hedge, and say that all uses of charity are devoted to His service, honesty compels us to admit that it is when we are reading and hearing the Word that our own proprium is quieted and we are taught and led by the Lord immediately and consciously. (D. P. 171.)

     The Letter of the Word is the complex, power, order and holy ultimate of all truth. It initiates and holds man in communication with the heavens as a whole; its use is to give the fundamentals of religious thought and affection.

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     The Writings are the Internal Sense of the Word. While a man reads from the Internal Sense, he "thinks together with the angels, and conjoins them to himself in his intellectual mind." (De Verbo 20.) By this there is a further introduction into the light of heaven, and into the angelic societies proper to his state and genius. And we are told in the Spiritual Diary (n. 5610), that when the angels turned to those things in Swedenborg's thoughts which were from the Heavenly Doctrine, they were "in greater clearness than in any other case." It must be so also with any others who read the Writings, since "the Lord Himself is in the spiritual sense with His Divine, and in the natural sense with His Human. Not a single iota of this sense can be opened except by the Lord alone. This surpasses all the revelations that have been hitherto made since the creation of the world. Through this revelation a communication has been opened between men and the angels of heaven, and the conjunction of the two worlds has been accomplished. . . ." (Inv. 44.)

     The Calendar is frankly designed to encourage among our people a habit of reading the Heavenly Doctrine more regularly. To become a creature of mere habit is, of course, foolish and dangerous. Ironbound, fixed habits, stubbornly insisted upon, even against the dictates of common sense and charity, would disorganize all social relationship. None the less, habits are the actual salvation of both mind and body. By establishing mental habits of right thinking, man is gradually conjoined to heaven. (H. H. 533.) We order our lives by habits freely decided upon and deliberately cultivated. When a task has become habitual, the doing of it means less expenditure of energy, because the pathways of thought and determination have become smooth and spontaneous; and what once meant hard work has become a pleasure.

     Choirs of Thought.

     Unity, the saying goes, makes strength. If many unite in an effort, it thereby becomes more effective. It was observed during the Great War how whole peoples were carried into enthusiastic cooperation by a common influx from the spiritual world. The Writings relate that one of the usual modes of preparing novitiate spirits for life in societies is by initiating them into some community-activity, represented by their organization into "choirs" or gyres.

     A common program of readings from the Word and the Writings may be compared to such "choirs," in that the thoughts of the whole church are centered around the same subjects, and the result will be an increased and varied illustration. Thought is spiritual speech. The following passage from the Arcana invites our reflection:

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     "I heard many angels of the interior heaven. . . . It was a choir in which there were many who were thinking the same thing all at once, and they spoke the same; . . . and this because no one wished to do anything of himself, still less to be over the others and lead the choir. He who does this is of himself dissociated in a moment. But they suffered themselves to be led by one another, thus all individually and generally by the Lord. Into such accordances are all the good led who come into the other life." (A. C. 3350.)

     Authority of Swedenborg's "Posthumous" Works.

     The selection by the Consistory, guided by the sense of the Assembly meetings, of the titles included in the Posthumous Theological Works for our Calendar this year may require some explanation, especially since a number of personal and official letters written by the revelator are also included in the readings. The fact is, that many of these works were not before accessible, and the church will benefit greatly by a careful study of them. The General Church does not, as we see it, and as may appear from the discussions on the subject in the July, 1926, issue of the LIFE, set up any "canon" which precisely defines the books or writings constituting the inspired works containing the Heavenly Doctrine to the exclusion of others. We believe that the Lord made use of Swedenborg to disclose the spiritual sense of the Word to mankind; and that the theological teachings of Emanuel Swedenborg, taken as an organic whole, are the means of bringing to earth the message or Word of the Lord in His Second Advent, the four-square city of truth, consistent and impregnable.

     We can, therefore, make no differences as to inspiration or authority between the published and the unpublished Writings of Swedenborg. He received the Divine Doctrine in his rational mind, and was inspired to write as well as to publish.

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"From the first day of my call," he solemnly testifies in the True Christian Religion (n. 779), "I have not received anything that pertains to the doctrine of that [New] Church from any angel, but from the Lord alone while reading the Word." "When I think of what I am about to write, and while in the act of writing, I enjoy a perfect inspiration, for otherwise it would be my own; but now I know for certain that what I write is the living truth of God," he wrote to Gjorwell. (Documents II, p. 404.) Nor is there any reference to any published works in the following statement: "It has been given me . . . to perceive clearly what comes from the Lord and what from angels. What has come from the Lord has been written; what has come from the angels has not been written." (A. E. 1183.)

     Among the manuscripts left unpublished at the time of Swedenborg's death is such a monument as the one just referred to,-the Apocalypse Explained,-filling six volumes. It contains a remarkable wealth of revealed truth, gives the spiritual sense of thousands of passages of Scripture, and is thus-next only to the Arcana-the most important of the exegetical source-books of the New Church. That it was not found feasible for Swedenborg to complete it and publish it detracts in no wise from its importance in giving us doctrine written by Swedenborg from the Lord. Nor can we presume that Swedenborg's doctrine, when contained in his private notebooks and diaries, was a different doctrine from that which he was meanwhile writing out for the press. In the published Writings the language may be more easily understood than in some of the posthumous works, but the inspiration was constant whenever he wrote.

     To divorce the Writings published by Swedenborg himself from the latter class of works is impossible. In a hundred instances, our understanding of the "published" Writings is qualified and exalted by a study of the posthumous works. To base our theology upon isolated books would be as dangerous as to base it upon isolated passages, and "heresy" would soon spring up. (A. C. 362, 2160 Pref.) The doctrine of the Writings has to be drawn on all that Swedenborg wrote on each subject.

     Autobiographical Letters.

     The Calendar Readings open with two letters by Swedenborg. These give an insight into the revelator's humility, and show that he accepted honor only for the sake of his holy office.

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The life of Swedenborg must be known by New Churchmen, if they are to have a full comprehension of his mission and of the New Church which he foreserved.

     The Coronis.

     The last work published by Swedenborg, then eighty-three years of age, was the True Christian Religion (June, 1771). The promised Appendix to this work was written and practically completed during the last eight months before his death, which occurred on March 29th, 1772. The Swedish physician who attended him in his illness borrowed the manuscripts, and some of the pages seem to have been lost, the remnant being published by Augustus Nordenskjold in 1780 at London, under the title "Coronis."

     The Coronis gives the Divine philosophy of history, the outlines of the successive Churches, and shows the status of the New Church as the "Crown of the churches." To judge from the researches presented by Dr. Alfred Acton (NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1917, pp. 209 ff.), the intention of Swedenborg was to include the works called "Consummation of the Age" and "Invitation to New Church" within this Appendix. When, later, the statement is made (in Invitation 25) that "unless this little work is added to the preceding work (the T. C. R.), the church cannot be healed," this undoubtedly refers to the Coronis as a whole, and to the fact that unless the teachings there given about the internal death of the Old Church be realized, no distinctive New Church can he established; the rule of redemption being that "all are redeemed, since all who reject the falsities of the former Church; and receive the truths of the New Church, can be regenerated, but still the regenerated are properly the redeemed." (Coro. 21, ix.) The perception of this truth was the vital motive which prompted the establishment of the Academy of the New Church and the organization of the General Church.

     Questions and Discussion.

     This department will be open, within reasonable limits, for discussion on any doctrinal points which come up in the course of the Readings.

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NOTES AND REVIEWS. 1929

NOTES AND REVIEWS.              1929


NEW CHURCH LIFE
Office a Publication, Lancaster, Pa.
Published Monthly By
THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM
BRYN ATHYN, PA.
Editor                    Rev. W. B. Caldwell, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager          Mr. H. Hyatt, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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

     TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
In the United States, $3.00 per year; Elsewhere, $3.25 or 14 shillings; payable in advance
Single Copy          30 cents
     A NEEDED MANUAL.

HANDBOEK VOOR DE ALGEMEENE RERK VAN HET NIEUWE JERUZALEM IN NEDERLAND (Handbook for the General Church of the New Jerusalem in Holland). The Hague: Swedenborg Society, 1928. Crown octave, half cloth, 192 pages.

     We recently received a letter from a total stranger asking for information about the General Church,-its doctrinal beliefs, history and customs. Such inquiries come not infrequently to the officials of the General Church, to the pastors of societies, and to individual members, entailing lengthy verbal or written replies, since the information desired is scattered through many of our publications, few of which are readily accessible to the stranger. It is possible, indeed, to refer him to one or two encyclopedias or to the United States Government book on Religious Bodies, where he will find brief statements of the history, doctrine, polity and work of the General Church. At best, however, these are insufficient to satisfy one who makes such inquiries as we have referred to above.

     For some time, therefore, we have felt the need of a handy volume containing official information about the organization of the General Church, its ecclesiastical and educational uses, its doctrine, history and established usages.

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Such a book, well illustrated, could be offered to inquiring strangers and newcomers, as well as to the children and young people of the Church, and furnish them with a knowledge which they could not otherwise obtain in such compact form.

     Evidently the Society at The Hague has felt the need of such a volume, and the Handbook before us provides it in the Dutch language. We take pleasure in felicitating Mr. Pfeiffer and our friends at The Hague upon their pioneer venture. Our readers will be interested in the nature of the contents, as shown by the titles of the chapters:

     I. THE INTERNAL SENSE OF THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT,-"Honor thy father and thy mother," from the Arcana Celestia 8861, 8862, and 8896-8900, which gives the Scriptural foundation for the love of the Church. The opening words of this Commandment appear in Hebrew on the title-page of the book.

     II. THE DIVINE AUTHORITY OF THE WRITINGS, being a translation of the Rev. C. Th. Odhner's little work, Testimony of the Writings concerning Themselves.

     III. THE CANON OF THE WORD, giving the list of Books which form the Word, as in A. C. 10325; also the list of the Writings of the New Church, taken from the Liturgy of the General Church, pp. 324-326.

     IV. THE TWO SACRAMENTS: BAPTISM AND THE HOLY SUPPER, from T. C. R. 667-687 and 698-730.

     V. THE PRINCIPLES OF THE ACADEMY, by Bishop W. F. Pendleton.

     VI. A STATEMENT OF THE ORDER AND ORGANIZATION OF THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM, by Bishop N. D. Pendleton.

     VII. CHARTER AND BY-LAWS OF THE FIRST DUTCH SOCIETY OF THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM.

     VIII. STATUTES AND BY-LAWS OF THE SWEDENBORG SOCIETY AT THE HAGUE.

     Conclusion: THE UPBUILDING OF THE CHURCH, by the Rev. Ernst Pfeiffer.

     Appendix: THE CREDIBILITY OF SWEDENBORG'S SCIENCE, by Bishop W. F. Pendleton, from NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1901.

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ARCANA CLASS. 1929

ARCANA CLASS.              1929

     Apropos of our revival of the Calendar Reading of the Writings this year, it will be news to many of our readers that there is in existence a group, numbering over one thousand persons in various parts of the world, who are engaged in the highly commendable and inspiring task of reading the Arcana Celestia in concert. The undertaking is under the direction of the Rev. John Whitehead, of Arlington, Massachusetts, who instituted the movement ten years ago, and who is Editor of THE SWEDENBORG STUDENT, Official Bulletin of the Arcana Class, which serves as a guide to the readers of the Class, besides printing reviews and other articles.

     Speaking of the late Clarence W. Barren, in the November, 1928, number of THE STUDENT, Mr. Whitehead says: "I well remember his efforts to get the New Church Club of Boston to take up the systematic reading of the Writings, especially the reading of the Arcana. This interested me, and on one occasion while his guest in the Ritz Carlton, New York, I proposed the establishment of the Arcana Class. He entered heartily into the plan I outlined. From that day, ten years ago, I have received his cordial support, both with sound advice and financial aid."

     Elsewhere in the same issue Mr. Whitehead states: "The Arcana Class began with a small number, and gradually increased until there are now over one thousand members scattered over the world. Quite a number of the members have completed the reading of the Arcana, the scheduled daily assignments of about three and one-half pages taking about six and one-half years to read."

     Continuing, he refers to the discussion of the subject of Calendar Reading in the General Assembly at London: "We notice in the NEW CHURCH LIFE for September, 1928, an account of a meeting of the General Church in London, at which there was a discussion of the question of the daily reading of the Writings, and a proposition was made to take up the daily reading of the Arcana, a proposition we heartily approve and hope will be carried out." He then quotes from a number of the speeches made on that occasion.
Title Unspecified 1929

Title Unspecified              1929

     An "inspiring task," we have called such an undertaking to read the Books of the Writings.

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For it may begin as a task, as something the New Churchman feels that he ought to do,-a duty,-requiring self-denial and self-compulsion at times. But it will soon become an inspiration, a holy delight, to go regularly and frequently to those Books of Divine Revelation wherein the Lord has brought Himself and His heavenly kingdom near to men, those Books wherein He is immediately present in Divine Light and Life, where He alone speaks directly to the individual mind and moves it to a new love and a new life.

     It would seem that every New Churchman should experience this joy of receiving the precious gifts of the Lord in His Second Coming, of daily beholding new wonders out of His Law, and this by going to Him in those Books wherein He has come, by reading the Arcana Celestia through, and also the other works of the Writings, at least once during life in this world. That reading, if it is an inmost opening of the mind to the reception of Divine Light, and a humbling of the mind before the Lord, is an actual acknowledgment of Him in His Second Coming. It is an approach to Him in prayer for the enlightenment of the understanding and guidance in the way of the regenerate life,-a prayer that is never unanswered, but is ever rewarded with a new inspiration and joy and delight that can come from the Lord alone.
BIBLIOLATRY. 1929

BIBLIOLATRY.              1929

     Those who reverence the Books of the Writings, believing that the Lord is present therein and speaks to the one who reads with an open mind, are sometimes accused of bibliolatry, or book worship,-a term applied to Christians who have an excessive regard for the letter of Scripture. If there are New Churchmen who are blindly enslaved to the literal authority of the Writings, or New Churchmen who conceive the reading of a book to be the all of worship, or all that is needed to receive the Lord in His Second Coming, then there are those in the Church to whom the charge of bibliolatry in some degree applies. But it could hardly be attributed to any whose book-reverence has an internal and rational ground.

     From an early day, the children of the Academy have been taught to reverence the very Books of Divine Revelation, both the Scriptures and those Books upon which "The Advent of the Lord " was written "by command."

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The contents are holy, and a man may there meet his God as verily as Aaron kneeling at the Ark in the inmost sanctuary of the tabernacle. The habit of childhood continues in adult age, but with rational appreciation of the meaning of the act. Otherwise the implied idolatry might hold. Like Paul, we then "put away childish things," and heed the injunction, "Little children, keep yourselves from idols."

     We "put away," and yet we do not. Rather do we endeavor to infill the piety and innocence of childhood with a genuine piety and innocence. The habitual reverence for those Books in which the Lord has come is now deepened by a realization of the Divine Truth perceived therein and rationally believed, by a sense of the presence of the Divine Love within that Divine Truth, Divine Love moving to a worship of God in speech and act,-to confession, prayer, song and sacrament, and to a serving of' the Lord in all the uses of life. The "hearts whom God hath touched," through instruction by the reading of His Word, thus find spontaneous delight in a full ultimation.
DRUIDS. 1929

DRUIDS.              1929

     Our readers will recall Mr. Arthur Carter's review of Sir John Daniel's The Philosophy of Ancient Britain, which interprets the Druidical teachings, customs and rites in the light of the New Church, and indicates a direct connection with the Ancient Church. (See November, 1927, issue, p. 663.) That such a favorable interpretation of Druidism would hardly be acceptable to those who do not believe in what is revealed in the Doctrines of the New Church, was to be anticipated, and is confirmed by the following review in an English contemporary:

     "If devotion to an ideal were sufficient, then The Philosophy of Ancient Britain should be convincing; for its author, Sir John Daniel, shows a confident faith in the spiritual and intellectual nobility of the Druids, entirely honoring to his heart. His book, however, is addressed to the few who accept his assertions in a spirit akin to his own. So little is actually known of the ritual and practices of the Druids that much-and very much-must be left to conjecture.

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The author does not hesitate, not only to deny the cruelties with which ignorance has charged the Druids-human sacrifice, for instance-but compares their teachings favorably with those of the Christian churches. He does this through "Correspondences"-really a most doubtful method when dealing with prehistoric circumstances-and the writings of Swedenborg. To an ordinary plain mind his conclusions appear too far-fetched. We only wish that his earnestness and evident honesty of intention and thought could restore the details and principles of the teachings of the Druids; for, to some degree, all of the British race must be interested in these ancient fathers of our civilization. With all its daring and learning, this volume does not achieve the result it aims at." (QUARTERLY REVIEW, July, 1927.)
DR. CADMAN ON EMERSON'S VIEW OF SWEDENBORG. 1929

DR. CADMAN ON EMERSON'S VIEW OF SWEDENBORG.              1929

     In the NEW YORK HERALD TRIBUNE of November 16, 1928, Dr. S. Parkes Cadman gives the following answer to a reader's question:

     Does Emerson in his Representative Men exaggerate the merits of Swedenborg?

     Despite my warm admiration for the personality and work of Swedenborg, I feel that Emerson allowed his congenital sympathy with him to carry him too far. Of course, Swedenborg was a prime favorite with the Sage of Concord, or he would not have listed him with Plato, Shakespeare, Montaigne and Goethe. This seems to me a forced association, even though the Scandinavian prophet was a genius, and, what is better, a genius devoted to divine realities and to human welfare. Emerson suggests that there is "a line of relation between Shakespeare and Swedenborg." I may be stupid, but I own I am unable to see it. He also says that Garth Willkinson, a noted British Swedenborgian, had "a co-equal vigor of understanding and imagination comparable only to Lord Bacon's."

     I presume Emerson alluded to Sir Francis Bacon, to give him his correct title. Here again I feel the analogy is strained. Doubtless Dr. Wilkinson had a receptive and brilliant intellect, but few critics will assign him a place equal to that of the author of The Advancement of Learning.

     However, I turn to Emerson's discussion of Swedenborg with renewed interest, if only for its tense power. He finds vastly more in The Animal Kingdom than I have ever been able to discover there. He believes in symbolisms with a whole-heartedness I cannot muster. These, my shortcomings, prevent my assent to Emerson's estimates, but they do not interfere with my enjoyment of his scintillating sentences, vibrant with meanings I may not always accept. [Copyright, 1928, New York Tribune, Inc. Reprinted by permission.]

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FEUDALISM AND HEAVENLY GOVERNMENT 1929

FEUDALISM AND HEAVENLY GOVERNMENT       G. A. SEXTON       1929

Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE:
     I am interested to see the very full and generally accurate report of all the speeches made in the General Assembly, but may I be permitted space to correct a Possible misapprehension of my remarks on feudal governments, as recorded on page 688 of your November, 1928, issue? What I was expressing may seem absolutely new and unthought of to some,-the idea that feudal government, which had been held up as so evil, is, in its foundation, the most perfect and ideal of all governments. It is the form of government that grew up under the spontaneous expression of a God-guided evolution, wherein the underlying principles of human nature expressed themselves, before the machinations of human inventiveness thought of artificial ideas; and so it is the most direct image possible of heavenly government on earth.

     This is so contrary to what we are used to hearing reform agitators saying, that many people find it difficult to take in the idea at first, and probably this will be particularly so on the Western side of the Atlantic, because that land, being so far from the home of early civilization, has not had the chance of seeing even the remnants of the old systems, so that the evils that existed in early days are still confused with the system; whereas it was only the perfection of the system that enabled it to cope with the conditions of a world so evil that anything at all democratic in the form of government would have been impossible.

     What is heavenly government? It is government from above. That means that the Lord, who is above all, is the Head of all; but that each lower society, and section of society, must also be in the human form, with its head and body and feet. These are thus governed by the Lord raising up leaders, who are naturally recognized as heads, because they are filled with His Spirit; and on each plane these are in tune with the inspiration from above, so that they are able to lead and inspire those who constitute the society in general.

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In the heavens, these are called "princes," and "priests," of which we have several descriptions in the Writings; and these, in the spiritual realms, would be able to hold open conversation with some from the higher realms at times, for guidance and study. Thus every plane, or sphere, is ruled from the plane above it through inspired leaders, and finally from the Lord.

     The same is the plan on earth, when it is permitted to unfold itself under Divine guidance, and not muddled by the machinations of men, who devise what they call "democratic rules," by which they think to avoid having anyone to rule over them, and find in the end that they have changed rule by Divine appointment to that of appointment by the votes of men. In the perfect condition, those men who are fitted to rule would be rulers. In the State, it would be kings, born and trained for their offices; and we are told in the Writings that the dignities of high office have not the degrading effect upon the souls of those born to those dignities that they have upon those who attain them by their own machinations. In the Church, it should be priests, and at the top bishops; who should be those men who are most in tune with the heavens; and in a perfect State would be indeed; if not in physical perception of the other world, yet conscious of the Divine guiding in every judgment, and receiving evidences of it in the events of their lives. But in an imperfect world, less perfect leaders are necessary.

     In the days when the best man was measured by his strength in fighting, then the winner in battle became the knight, and finally the feudal overlord, if his king saw in him the one who could best rule that portion of the land. The king, too, may have looked to the measure of military service, but then nothing else could have kept order, and enabled the people to live immune from robbers and murderers. As we are told again, in the Writings, the best general to rule in war, under the Divine Providence, may have to be a man who is stern and even cruel, so in the terrible days before the Last Judgment, when the evils around the world were such that men were driven by devils to subject each other to terrible torture, if the government had been lax, or even if it had been regulated by the popular struggle for supremacy, the horrors would have known no bounds. Thus it was only by the fact that the feudal lords punished rebellion as cruelly as the rebels would have dealt with them, and afterwards with each other, and then with the helpless people, if they had had the power, that order was preserved and life made possible, like the order maintained amongst the devils in hell.

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     Therefore, do not let us blame the order of feudalism, but rather praise it for what it accomplished in the way of government, in those terrible inhuman days. And let us realize that, even though we are passing through a phase when the lust of rule, if not so strong as it once was, has left the scar of the fear of being ruled, which is causing people to say that if they cannot be king themselves, they will have a republic; or if they cannot be bishop, they will have the Church congregational, or even if they cannot be priest, they will have no ecclesiastical order, but only lay preachers, yet, in spite of this popular tendency, the true form in every society is, that it should be in the human form, with its kings, and priests, who look upward to the inspiration from above, so that all, from the lowest to the highest, are always looking upward all the time, and ultimately to the Lord.

     This is certainly the government of the heavens, and it is the true order for every country or society on earth; and it is most clearly indicated as the true order for the Church, in which we are told that there must be "the mitred prelate, the parish priests, and the curates under them." (Coronis 17.)
     G. A. SEXTON.
COMPLETE WORD 1929

COMPLETE WORD       L. C. KNUDSEN       1929

     COMMENT UPON A DISCUSSION AT THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE:
     I wish hereby to acknowledge receipt of the September copy of the LIFE, for which I thank you sincerely. Having read the various articles contained with deep interest and the closest attention, keeping aloft what the Doctrines authoritatively state themselves ever, I find but one point upon which I wish to be allowed to apply or point out the correct Doctrinal teaching, according to the work, The New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine, nos. 249-266, "On the Sacred Scriptures, or the Word."

     The views held and expressed by Dr. Alfred Acton, and sustained by the Rev. F. E. Waelchli and other representatives of the Academy school or position, "That the Writings are the Word," meaning the Doctrines evidently, are in plain conflict with what is taught in the one cited under the heading and numbers given above.

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The "Writings" alone are not the complete Word. For the Word is complete only in its ultimate form, the letter, or literal sense. Within this, the two others, the spiritual and celestial senses, reside, and nowhere else; even as the soul resides in its body, and not abstractly from it. And their communication is by correspondence, and not otherwise. Neither is the letter alone the Word, but all three senses together constitute the Divine Word or Truth in its fulness. To divide the three senses, instead of conjoining them, is to separate the soul from its body, or the reverse,-certainly a destructive idea of the truth.

     For the truth is one from its source, and should remain so in its descent from the Divine through the planes, the celestial, spiritual and natural; the latter being the ultimate in which the whole, Holy Word, exists. To maintain that either of these senses or planes is the Word by itself is a manifest error, and contradictory of what the Doctrines teach and declare everywhere. For the Word is the Trinity of end, cause and effect, either one of which is insufficient by itself, as all know. "The internal sense without the external would be like a house without a foundation." (N. J. H. D. 262.) Nor would the opposite be anything rational,-a foundation without the superstructure.

     It seems strange that so learned and thorough students of the Doctrines, or Swedenborg, should have missed the true conception of this most fundamental idea of the Divine Scriptures, according to their own confessions, printed so completely. For the very glory of the New Church lies in the conception of the truth presented in its new Revelation, and certainly not in its misconception. There is no interpretation of the Writings allowable in reality. For these are the authoritative interpretations of the Divine Scriptures given by the Supreme Author Himself, than which nothing better can be supposed. And for this reason the "Writings" are final or supreme Authority, and cannot and must not be disputed.
     Sincerely yours,
          L. C. KNUDSEN.
R. R. Waterville, Kansas,
October 18, 1928.

     [See September issue, pp. 577-582.-Editor.]

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Church News 1929

Church News       Various       1929

     A SWEDENBORG SOCIETY CELEBRATION.

     We are interested to learn that the Swedenborg Society (Incorporated), of London, is to hold a Social Reunion on January 29th, 1929, in celebration of Swedenborg's Birthday.

     The Council of the Society hopes to gather together on that evening all persons interested in Swedenborg, and in the Doctrines given to the world through him, who are resident in London or will be there at the time. It will try to raise between L250 and L300 in connection with the celebration, the money to be applied towards the cost of Swedenborg House, which a number of our people visited during the General Assembly last August.

     The Society's own Hall, which forms a part of Swedenborg House, will not be large enough for the function, and Holborn Hall, with a capacity of 500, has been engaged for the occasion. Details of the program have not reached us, but we understand that the Right Rev. R. J. Tilson will be among the speakers, and that he is a member of the Committee responsible for the arrangements.

     THE PACIFIC COAST.

     Soon after my return from the General Assembly at London, I set out on my annual visit to the Pacific Coast, going first to Los ANGELES, where I arrived on Friday, September 14th. I need not tell about the church activities there during my four weeks' stay, as an excellent report of the same, by a local correspondent, appears in the December LIFE. I would only say that what is told about the members being "more than a little sad" because of the close of my visiting-pastoral relation, notwithstanding the great joy in now having a resident minister, expresses my own feelings also. It is with no little regret that a minister withdraws from work so delightful as has been mine at Los Angeles; yet, when, in so doing, he can look forward to an increased growth and progress under the leadership of another, delight therein places the regret far in the background. Besides, I hope to see the Los Angeles friends annually, in an unofficial way, on my Pacific Coast trips.

     Leaving Los Angeles, I arrived at BURLINGAME, near San Francisco, on Wednesday, October 10th. Here live Mr. and Mrs. A. E. Bundsen and family. During my stay of one week, doctrinal classes were held four evenings, instruction was given the youngest son of the family on four afternoons, and services were conducted on Sunday morning. The only person attending who was not of the family was Mr. Peter Vellenga, formerly of Los Angeles, now at Stanford University not far from Burlingame. Included in the Sunday services was the celebration of the Holy Supper, at which there were six communicants. At the close of one of the classes came an event that was a great happiness to all, namely, the entrance of Mrs. Frederick Bundsen into the Church by the gate of baptism. In San Francisco, calls were made on Mr. Edward Jordan and Mr. E. H. Nutter. The latter is a prominent member of the General Convention and of the Lyons Street San Francisco Society. At the same time his altitude towards our body is most friendly. We spent several pleasant hours together including lunch, and discussed a number of subjects relative to the life and doctrine of the church, especially the doctrine of creation. One afternoon I called on the Rev. and Mrs. L. G. Jordan and their daughter, Miss Susie, at Oakland. Perhaps the younger readers need to be told that Mr. Jordan was an active and prominent minister of our body at Philadelphia in the days of Bishop Benade. We spoke about old times in the church, and also about new times and the progress that has come in them. They were especially interested in hearing about the General Assembly at London. Mr. and Mrs. Jordan are both eighty-three years of age, and, consequently, rather feeble physically, but mentally most active and alert. An evidence of the latter is that during the past year Mr. Jordan has read through the Old Testament in Hebrew, the New Testament in Greek, the Septuagint (the Old Testament translated into Greek), a Hebrew translation of the New Testament, and the Latin Vulgate!

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     Another week was spent with old-time friends, Mr. and Mrs. John Teuscher, members of the General Convention, at PORTLAND, OREGON. Little work was done, as we have here only two members of our body, Mr. Putnam and Mrs. Sweet, and the former is seldom in the city, as business occupies him elsewhere. Mrs. Sweet I saw frequently. One evening, when Mr. Putnam was in town, our two members joined the Teuschers in their home for a doctrinal class. On Sunday, October 21st, I attended services of the Portland Society, of which the Rev. Bjorn Johannsen is pastor. On Mr. Johannsen's invitation, I read the lessons, and he told me that if he had known of my being in Portland, he would have been pleased to have me preach. So the stay at Portland was a rest, and my friends provided several pleasant excursions to places of interest in this country of wonderful scenery and historical associations of pioneer days.

     On Saturday, October 27th, I arrived at SPOKANE, WASH., to remain over two Sundays. A longer visit to the promising circle here had been intended, but on account of the serious illness of Mrs. Hansen it was necessary to shorten my stay. Notwithstanding Mrs. Hansen's condition, she and Mr. Hansen and the family desired that I be their guest as usual. The circle consists of sixteen persons, of whom two are of the Convention. Included in this number are seven young people, four young men and three young ladies, all of them loyally New Church. One of the young men, Mr. Emanuel Hansen, I had seen earlier on my trip, at Los Angeles, where I had the pleasure of officiating at the betrothal of himself and Miss Bertha Unruh, of our Society there. Services were held on both Sundays, and on the second there was the administration of the Holy Supper to twelve communicants. There were also four evening doctrinal classes. All the meetings were well attended, and always there was the manifestation of affectionate interest in the Heavenly Doctrines. The circle meets every first and third Sunday of the month under the able leadership of Mr. Emil Hansen.

     Next, there was a week at WALLA WALLA, WASH. Here there are ten New Church persons, several of them young people; three persons somewhat interested; and five children. Five evening doctrinal classes were held, with an average attendance of ten; and at services on Sunday there were fourteen present, including children. Seven partook of the Holy Supper. The five children are those of Mr. and Mrs. Lee Fine. Mrs. Fine (Anna Niederer) was of the "famous" class of 1910 in the Academy Schools. I spent Saturday with the family in their home at Freewater, ten miles from Walla Walla, and in the course of the day gave the four oldest children three forty-minute periods of religious instruction. At Walla Walla, as at Spokane, there is an earnest interest in the church and the doctrines. One of the members is reading the Arcana Celestia for the third time. At the close of the last class, on Sunday evening, the members of the circle decided to meet on the first Sunday of each month for services, using a discourse from New Church Sermons.

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     Monday, November 13th, I travelled to LA GORANDE, OREGON. Here there are four ladies who fully receive the Doctrines. One of these, Mrs. McDonald, conducts a week-day ladies' class, quite largely attended, at which the internal sense of portions of the Word is presented and affectionately received. On the three days of my stay, doctrinal classes of a missionary character were held afternoon and evening, with an attendance of from five to fourteen.

     On Friday I went to BAKER, OREGON. Miss Hug, our General Church member at La Gorande, accompanied me, to be at Baker for the three days of my visit. Here live Mr. and Mrs. George Blake. Mrs. Blake (Minna Crandall) attended the Academy Schools during the time of my student days there. Throughout the years, in her isolation, she has remained true and loyal to the teachings of her Alma Mater. Besides the Blakes, there are several persons at Baker who are inclined to the Doctrines. Three evening missionary classes were held, with an attendance of nine, seven, and eight respectively, and great interest was shown by some of the visitors. On Sunday morning there were services, with seven persons present, at which there was a delightful sphere of worship. After the class on Sunday evening, I took the train for home.
     F. E. WAELCHLI.

     GLENVIEW, ILL.

     The most prominent of recent church events was the Thanksgiving Day celebration. A service was held in the church at 10 a.m., and a particularly attentive congregation listened with deep interest to a short sermon by our pastor, showing masons for special thanks by New Churchmen. Appropriate music, vocal and instrumental, added much to the service.

     Many family reunions followed the church service. It has become the common practice for the relatives, direct and side, to get together on this day,-the Nelsons, Burnhams, Synnestvedts, Pollocks, Junges, and others.

     On December 9th, a special Sunday evening musical service was held in the church, with singing by the choir and congregation and instrumental numbers by members of the orchestra.

     At the Friday Suppers, the pastor has given very interesting talks on matters suggested by recent explorations in Mongolia, where they are said to be finding remains of the earliest known animal life and the probable home of the earliest man. Mr. Smith has also undertaken additional labors in the form of a weekly class for young men, and a similar class for girls.

     The School is rejoicing over the acquisition of a splendid picture-projecting machine, the gift of Mr. Seymour G. Nelson, who brought the apparatus from Paris. Mr. Nelson has also favored the society with three talks on his travels and the places visited, well illustrated on the screen.

     The Immanuel Church has recently sustained the loss of a member in the death of Mr. Louis B. King, who had been seriously ill for an extended time at his home in Colorado Springs, whither he went some years ago in search of health. Louis was a favorite Glenview boy, and leaves a widow, Dorothy Cole King, and five young children.

     The finest ice and skating conditions in years on our Park pond are affording great enjoyment. Many tots are taking their first lessons (and falls).
     J. B. S.

     PITTSBURGH, PA.

     Armistice Day was observed on Monday, November 12th, by a special service for the children of the School. About twenty others were in attendance. Mr. Edmund J. Blair, as a veteran of the Great War, delivered an address, showing what the war had meant to our men in the way of character building and the development of patriotism.

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Four of the school children, Vera Brickman, Daniel Horigan, Quentin Ebert, and Nancy Horigan, declaimed appropriate patriotic speeches. Miss Anita Doering is giving a course in Ancient History two afternoons a week to four high school boys, who are taking this subject so as not to be behind hand with the Bryn Athyn requirement in this subject. Those in attendance are Charles H. Ebert, Henry M. de Maine, Norman Glenn and Stevan Iungerich. This course means considerable extra effort and time on the part of a busy teacher, and it is a pleasure to note that her devotion is deeply appreciated by our patrons.

     Although the Charter Day celebration in Bryn Athyn had dozen Pittsburghers in attendance, the supper and doctrinal class held here on November 2d had over thirty in attendance. At the supper on November 16th, almost sixty were present, and the Pastor then concluded his three classes on the Doctrine of the Lord.

     The attendance at Sunday School is increasing. A new feature is that Esther Grote plays the violin, accompanied by Mrs. Mary E. Blair at the organ.

     The marriage of Mr. Thomas Ahlstrom to Mrs. Cora Idleman took place privately in the Pastor's residence on Tuesday evening, November 27th. The couple expect to move shortly to Chicago.

     Visitors in attendance at service on Thanksgiving Day and on the following Sunday were: Miss Emma Roschman, Toronto; Miss Louise Kintner, Johnstown, Pa.; Miss Eleanor Loomis, Buffalo; Mr. Philip G. Cooper, Miss Catherine Doering, and Mrs. Regina Iungerich, of Bryn Athyn, Pa. Mrs. Iungerich is visiting in Pittsburgh until the first of the new year.

     During the holiday week-end Mrs. S. S. Lindsay took charge of a card party held at her home to raise funds for equipment for the new building, which we hope to have under way before very long. The regular meetings of Theta Alpha, Philosophy Club and Ladies' Society were held as usual. At the Friday Supper on December 9th, the Pastor began a series of classes on the Word.
     E. R. D.

     CINCINNATI, OHIO.

     It has been a long while since news from this Circle, which meets at Wyoming, Ohio (near Cincinnati), has appeared in your pages. A brief sketch of our past activities, therefore, is not out of place.

     Beginning with three families-the families of Colon Schott, Charles G. Merrell and William L. Smith-the Circle has grown under the leadership of the Rev. F. E. Waelchli. Including the children, the Circle now numbers twenty-five people, fourteen of whom are adults. Services have been held regularly for the past nine years; in the absence of the pastor, one of the laymen has read the service. The prospects for the future are quite hopeful. There are eleven children, and weekly classes for their instruction are given by the pastor. There are several people not connected with the Church who have manifested an interest, and there is the probability of one or two New Church families moving to Cincinnati.

     Two of the organizers of our little society are now in the spiritual world. While their death was a great loss to our circle, and threw the burden of responsibility upon the shoulders of the younger men, their loss served to arouse the younger generation to a more active interest in the affairs of
the society-and in a study of the Writings.

     The pastor has just returned from a long and interesting trip to the Pacific Coast, and we are a little late in beginning our formal program. On Thursday evening, November 22d-the day after Mr. Waelchli's return to Wyoming-we enjoyed a delightful social at the residence of the pastor. The young women prepared an excellent dinner, after which Mr. Waelchli gave an account of his trip to the West Coast.

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There was but one thing lacking-that was the cheerful presence of Mr. Schott.

     The society has come to the realization that the time has arrived for some form of external evangelization. Inspired by the success of other centers, and by Mr. Waelchli's outstanding ability to express the fundamental doctrines in dear, understandable form, we have decided to hold informal doctrinal classes of a more or less missionary character. We plan to advertize conservatively, depending upon our own people to interest their friends rather than upon the advertisements to attract total strangers. The outcome is, of course, entirely in the Lord's hands. We can merely obey the injunction to disseminate the doctrines.
     D. M.

     TORONTO, CANADA.

     With the arrival of the Rev. F. E. Gyllenhaal, our new Pastor, all the regular activities have gotten under way, and are now in following. The doctrinal classes, commencing on September 26th, had for the first five weeks a varied series of subjects arising from questions propounded to the Pastor during his previous pastoral ministrations, and they proved to be both interesting and instructive, evoking considerable reaction in the way of questions and discussion. On October 31st, a serial subject, "The Creation of the Universe" was taken up and continued until November 21st, when it was temporarily discontinued to allow of instruction being given on "Why the Lord was Born in this World," in preparation for the celebration of the Advent of the Lord at Christmas.

     The Day School has only eight pupils this year, spread over four grades. Some of last year's pupils have left the city, and distance prevents others from attending. This is one of the problems our schools have to contend with in cities of metropolitan proportions. Bigness is not always an unmixed blessing. These conditions seem to create an almost unsolvable problem, not so easy of solution as may appear on the surface, especially when a decision has to be made between living near enough to enable one's children to attend school and what may appear to be a possible crippling of one's use in other directions. However, the important thing is to keep the opportunity,-an open, active school,-available for all who can and will send their children to it. The more there are, the better the school and the school and class spirit.

     Harvest Thanksgiving was observed by a joint service of children and adults on November 4th, when the former brought their gifts of fruit, etc., placing them upon the chancel; they were afterwards sent to one of the local hospitals. Sunday, November 11th, was kept as Armistice or Remembrance Day, and the two-minute silence was observed at the beginning of the service. On both occasions the Pastor gave appropriate addresses to the children, and in his sermons touched upon the real and vital things involved or signified in giving thanks and in commemorating the great liberation that came with the signing of the Armistice, and the things which it is essential to fight for it regeneration be the goal. Armistice Day was further celebrated by a turkey supper prepared under the direction of Mr. A. Thompson. The program included two enjoyable sketches, "Dick Swiveller and the Marchioness," by Mr. A. Craigie and Miss G. Knight, and the "Night Watch," by Mrs. Ray Kuhl, Messrs. T. P. Bellinger, F. J. Knight and J. Parker. Music and dancing were provided, and it was altogether a very pleasant and enjoyable affair.

     Recently our brother in the Church, R. Wesley Hynds, has gone from our midst to the bourne whence no traveler returns. He had been familiar figure at worship on Sundays for almost as long as the present generation can remember. Thus have passed, within the last seven months, three of our male members whose ages aggregated 256 years.

     An account of the Forward Club activities will be given in our next report.
     F. W.

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CHANGE OF ADDRESS 1929

CHANGE OF ADDRESS              1929




     Announcements.



     Mr. S. Warren Potts, with his children, John and Florence, has moved to 2705 Colden Ave., Bronx, N. Y.
ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS 1929

ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS       WILLIAM, WHITEHEAD       1929

     The Annual Council Meetings of the General Church of the New Jerusalem, and the Philadelphia District Assembly, will be held at Bryn Athyn, Pa., from February 4th to 10th, 1929.

     Visitors.

     Those who expect to come to Bryn Athyn to attend these meetings are requested to notify Miss Florence Roehner, Bryn Athyn, Pa, in order that provision may be made for their entertainment.
     WILLIAM, WHITEHEAD, Secretary.

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ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS 1929

ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS              1929

     BRYN ATHYN, PA., FEBRUARY 4TH TO 10TH, 1929.

Monday, February 4.
     3:00 p.m. Consistory.

Tuesday, February 5.
     10:00 a.m. Council of the Clergy.
     3:00 p.m. Council of the Clergy and General Faculty.
          Address: Rev. F. E. Gyllenhaal.
          Subject: "New Church Education and Missionary Uses."

Wednesday, February 6.
     10:00 a.m. Council of the Clergy.
     3:00 p.m. Council of the Clergy and General Faculty.
          Address: Rev. Homer Synnestvedt.
          Subject: ''The Training of the Will."

Thursday, February 7.
     10:00 a.m. Council of the Clergy.
     3:00 p.m. Council of the Clergy and General Faculty.
          Address: Mr. Wilfred Howard.
          Subject: "The Modern Curriculum and New Church Education."
     8:00 p.m. Public Session of the Council of the Clergy.
          Address: Bishop N. D. Pendleton.
          Subject: "Personality."

Friday, February 8.
     10:00 a.m. Council of the Clergy.
     3:00 p.m. Executive Committee.
      7:00 p.m. Philadelphia District Assembly. Banquet.

Saturday, February 9.
     10:00 a.m. Joint Council.
     3:00 p.m. Joint Council.

Sunday, February 10.
     11:00 a.m. Divine Worship-Sermon by Rev. Gilbert H. Smith.
     8:00 p.m. Service of Praise-Sermon by Rev. F. E. Gyllenhaal.

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GLEANINGS FROM NEW CHURCH HISTORY 1929

GLEANINGS FROM NEW CHURCH HISTORY              1929


[Frontispiece: Photographs of the outside and the inside hall of the Swedenborg House, Hart Street, Bloomsbury Square, London.]

NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. XLIX      FEBRUARY, 1929          No. 2
     THE SWEDENBORG SOCIETY.

     Many of those who attended the General Assembly held last August in Victoria House, London, availed themselves of the opportunity to visit the nearby home of The Swedenborg Society, Incorporated, where they were hospitably received by the Rev. J. R. Presland, Secretary of the Society, and shown some of the important Swedenborgiana and documents of New Church history there treasured. For many years the Society occupied premises at No. 1 Bloomsbury Street, but in 1926, upon the expiration of the ground lease, the commodious new quarters of Swedenborg House, facing Bloomsbury Square at the corner of Hart and Barter Streets, provided a fitting home for its varied uses, including a bookshop, offices, storerooms and a public hall.

     We are indebted to Mr. Presland for the loan of the plate showing Swedenborg Hall, an auditorium seating about three hundred, with an entrance on Barter Street. The picture of Swedenborg House is reproduced from THE NEW-CHURCH MESSENGER of October 6, 1926, which also contained portraits of Mr. David Wynter, President of The Swedenborg Society, and Mr. Frederick A. Gardiner, Treasurer. From the same issue of the MESSENGER we gather the following brief outline of the history of the Society.

     On the 26th of February, 1810, a group of active and devoted laymen, headed by John Augustus Tulk, met at 31 Essex Street, London, and formally organized "The Society for Printing and Publishing the Writings of the Honorable Emanuel Swedenborg," now known simply as The Swedenborg Society. Samuel Noble, who was later to become one of the greatest New Church ministers and apologists, was the secretary, and Charles Jenkins, the treasurer. June 19th was selected as the date most appropriate for the holding of meetings of such an organization, and meetings have been held on or near that date each year to the present time.

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     In 1813, the Society definitely undertook what has ever since been its chief task,-that of publishing and circulating a long series of editions of the writings of Swedenborg. These have, of course, been mainly in English translations, but much has been done in translation into other tongues, such as Welsh, Arabic, Hindi and Magyar. The average book sales last reported had risen to more than two thousand volumes a year, besides large free distribution. In fact, Swedenborg's own policy of giving his books to whomever he thought they might benefit has been followed from the first by the Society. There are now sets of the Writings, mostly its gifts, in all of the large university and public libraries of Britain, and many have gone to other countries.

     For a time the Society possessed the manuscripts of the most important of Swedenborg's posthumous works, that of the Apocalypse Explained in particular. But these were surrendered voluntarily to the Library of the Swedish Royal Academy of Sciences, where it was felt that they properly belonged. The Society still has, however, a museum of Swedenborgiana, and a fine collection of documents of New Church historic interest.

     Besides its extensive Publication of the works of Swedenborg, the Society was chiefly responsible for two monumental aids to the understanding of these, and to wider knowledge of their author. They are the three-volume collection of Documents Concerning Swedenborg, gathered and edited by the Rev. Dr. R. L. Tafel, and the Swedenborg Concordance, which was the impressive life work of the Rev. John F. Potts. The Society has also borne a large share in the lately completed task of photographic reproduction of all the remaining manuscripts in Swedenborg's hand, amounting to twenty-nine folio volumes.

     In 1910, in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the Society's foundation, the officers organized and carried out with conspicuous success an International Swedenborg Congress. Held in London, the Congress attracted students and admirers of Swedenborg from all parts of the world. His Majesty, Gustaf V, King of Sweden, gave the Congress his official patronage, and Count Wrangel, the Swedish Ambassador to England, served as Honorary President, presenting hearty greetings from the Swedish House of Nobles of which Swedenborg was himself a member.

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Many learned societies, as well as all of the organizations of the New Church, were represented among the four hundred members of the Congress, who came from no less than fourteen different countries and from all walks of life. The papers read, dealing with Swedenborg's contributions to science, to philosophy, and to theology, fill a volume of 350 pages. (NEW-CHURCH MESSENGER, 1926, P. 229.)

     A full account of the Swedenborg Congress, by the Rev. C. Th. Odhner, appeared in NEW CHURCH LIFE for October, 1910. Mr. Odhner was appointed to represent the General Church of the New Jerusalem at the Congress, the Rev. Alfred Acton went as the representative of the Swedenborg Scientific Association, and Mr. John Pitcairn represented the Academy of the New Church.
COMMUNICATION BY THE WORD 1929

COMMUNICATION BY THE WORD       Rev. NORMAN H. REUTER       1929

     "And Jesus said, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead." (Luke 16:3:1.)

     If we hearken not to the voice of the Lord in His Word; if we are not willing to search the Scriptures, and have faith in the truths thus found; we will not be interiorly persuaded of their verity, though they were demonstrated in some miraculous manner; yea, though one rose from the dead to testify of their truth. This is the obvious teaching of the text.

     If we are really in search of the truth, if we sincerely wish to communicate with heaven and the Lord, we must "hear Moses and the prophets,"-that is, we must go to the Word, which includes the Law, the Gospel, and the Heavenly Doctrine. For Revelation alone is the Divinely appointed door to ah spiritual knowledge. It is the Truth, the Way, and the Life. We must have faith in its absolute Divinity, in its Power to teach and to save.

     If man is not willing to "hear" the Word; that is, if he does not desire to obey its precepts; if he has not a faith from which arises a perception of its Divinity, an inner conviction of the truth there revealed; then he is not able to see the truth; indeed, he cannot be persuaded concerning it, even in the presence of miracles.

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Externally he may seem to be changed by such means, but not so internally; for miracles compel. Such a man may have induced upon him a persuasive faith, but he does not really believe. Lasting faith rests only upon a belief in the Word, born and nourished in a state of freedom.

     But the Christian world, having lost this belief, no longer thinks that the Word is the only source of truth. Men imagine that they can gain a knowledge of the goal of life by other means, through science and through spiritistic phenomena. And because these methods have not enlarged their knowledge of heaven and of the Lord, some tacitly deny both, saying that there is no proof of a God or of a heaven, and asking that if there be a God, let Him show Himself by some prodigious miracle, and they will believe. They echo the taunt of the Jewish chief-priests and elders, who, having crucified the Lord, said of Him: "If He be the King of Israel, let Him come down from the cross, and we will believe Him." (Matt. 27:42.) Christians likewise, in their hearts, have denied and crucified the Lord. Though they clamor for miracles, for proof that they may believe, we are assured by Revelation that they would not be "persuaded though one rose from the dead." And so we are told in the Arcana, that if the men of this day " were to see the veriest Divine miracles, they would first bring them down into nature, and there defile them, and afterwards would reject them as fantasms, and finally would laugh at all who attributed them to the Divine and not to nature." (A. C. 7290.)

     The Word,-the legitimate and only true means of communication with heaven and the Lord,-is put aside, and communication is sought by forbidden ways. The Word,-the Door to heaven and the Way to eternal life,-is closed, and men are seeking to enter through some other way. But the Lord has said: "Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice; and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.

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And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him; for they know his voice. And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him; for they know not the voice of strangers." (John 10:1-5)

     The Jews failed to see the import of this parable. But the Writings show that the union of the Lord's Human with the Divine, called the Father, is here spoken of, as well as the fact that the Word is the sole means of access to the Father; it also teaches that the glorification of the Lord took place by His fulfilling the Word. And since the glorification is the type of our regeneration, the parable teaches that the threefold Word is the only means of regenerating our evil proprium, and making it heavenly, and thus of communicating with heaven; that the Word is the Door to the sheepfold, and that he who climbeth up some other way is a thief and a robber.

     But how is the Word the Door through which men map enter and be fed? How is it that the Word is the only entrance to the sheepfold,-the sole means of conjunction with the Shepherd within?

     Why is there no communication with the spiritual world except by means of the Word? Can so much rest on mere books,-inanimate productions which have been given to the world through the lips and hands of men? These are the doubts and questions that have shaken and destroyed the faith of many, and may even torment the New Churchman. Men do not understand, and therefore it was said: "This parable spake Jesus unto them; but they understood not what things they were which He spake unto them." (John 10:6.) And then these words of explanation were added, showing how the Word is the Door, and why man's salvation depends upon his entering therein: "Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers; but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door; by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture." (John 10:7, 8, 9.)

     The Lord is the Door. He is Divine Truth Incarnate. He came upon earth to the end that men might know Him even as to the Divine Natural, and thus be conjoined with Him. But we can know of Him only from Revelation, His record of Himself, and through this knowledge learn to love Him and be conjoined to Him in a life of use.

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Being finite, we cannot directly approach the Infinite, and therefore the Lord accommodated Himself to mankind in the Word, by descending through successive correspondential planes, all of which are contained interiorly within the letter of the Word.

     Now, if we thus view the threefold Word as the veiled mind of God, we will not think of it as a mere set of books, but as the ultimation and manifestation of Infinite Wisdom, as the Divine Human among men. The books are merely the outmost coverings, the garments which protect the body of Revelation, within which is the Divine as the soul is in the body. Thus the Lord in His Divine Human, as He manifests Himself through His Word, is the Door to heaven.

     But unless the nature of the Word be known, men cannot understand how there can be communication with the Lord and heaven by means of the Word alone. If its Divinity be denied, no one can see how the Lord is approached through it, nor how there is conjunction with the Lord by means of it. Unless there be a knowledge of discrete degrees, and hence of correspondences and representatives, the Word cannot appear as anything but a human production. These necessary knowledges are now revealed in the Writings, to the end that men may again turn to the Word, where the Lord speaks to us concerning Himself and His heavenly kingdom.

     In most ancient times, when men were in the order of their lives, the interiors of the mind were opened even to the highest degree, and hence were receptive of the inflowing Divine. Thus the Word was inscribed on their very minds. And since they were willing to be led by Providence according to Divine order, their minds were forms receptive of Divine Truths; for free, reciprocal action is that which makes reception possible. With them, the Divine Truth descending through the heavens, where it was first clothed and mediated, entered minds in which there was nothing to pervert it, and where it was received and appropriated. Because their minds were in heavenly order; that is, because the natural was to them merely the ultimation of the spiritual and the resting place of creation; nature itself appeared to them as an open book in which the Lord was revealed in ultimates. To the celestial man all creation reflects the Divine, because the proceeding is an image of that from which it proceeds.

     After the Fall, men's perverted minds obstructed this direct passage of Divine Truth into ultimates, because their interiors were closed.

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Then, lest men cut themselves off from heaven and perish in darkness, it was necessary that the Lord should take certain of them and cause their propriums temporarily to be laid asleep; that is, to set aside that in them which had become hereditarily opposed to the influx of truth; and then, by visions and communication with angels, to declare the truth to these chosen men, that they might record it for the use of all mankind. This was first done for the sake of the Ancient Church, when men still knew and understood correspondences; on which account they did not dwell in the letter of the Revelation thus given, but Perceived its spiritual and Divine contents. Later this knowledge was lost; and men, blinded by their cupidities, soon became unable to see the Divine in their Word, even as today men fail to see the Divinity of the present Word.

     Then, through Moses and the prophets, a new Word was given to men, the external of which is in the form of laws and admonitions for the Jewish nation. Even so, this literal sense embodies all the genuine truths necessary for salvation. From this genuine sense, and that of the Gospels, the Christian Church at first drew its light and life, and thus was conjoined with the heavens. This communication and conjunction continued, until the time when men lost sight of the Divinity of the Word, because of the cloud of man-made dogmas through which they began to view it. And even now, although the Christian world has to a considerable extent freed itself from this bondage, these false doctrines still cling to the popular mind as the only explanation ever given. In fact, with those who think themselves emancipated from the old beliefs, these false dogmas rise anew like specters, in the form of scientific theories.

     And yet, despite man's falsification, arising from the very nature of the Word, it remains the basis and resting place for heaven, the Door by which men may still communicate with heaven and conjoin themselves with the Lord, if they so desire. In the midst of the perversions into which the race has fallen, the Word remains as the golden thread of absolute truth leading to the beyond of men's hopes and dreams. The Word alone, in its trine of Law, Gospel and Doctrine, is the Light that will guide men out of the darkness, and through the labyrinth of trials and temptations. Revelation is like God's arm, reaching down and gently drawing all men unto Him. And it is because the Word is God, and from God,-the breath of His mouth and the Spirit of His Truth,-that Revelation alone is the infallible guide to God Himself and His heavenly kingdom.

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All else in the world of men is twisted through evil and warped by falsity. All other productions partake of the proprium of men, rather than of the Divine nature of God. The Word stands supreme as the perfect embodiment of Divine Truth, a miracle of God's Providence, prepared and preserved that men may have a means of returning in repentance and willing obedience to the ruling of His Divine Love.

     Originally, when men were in the true order of life, their minds served as a basis for the heavens, but after the Fall, because this order was destroyed, it was necessary that another means should be found, to preserve Revelation among men, to make it more ultimate, more fixed, and not as easily perverted as is the mind of man. To this end, writing and printing were established on this earth, that the Word might be preserved in its integrity even throughout the dark ages of mankind. It was for this reason that the Jews were used to care jealously for the letter of the Word in so minute a manner, even as to the least jot and tittle, and that later the monks performed a similar service, in order that the Word might remain the perfect clothing of Infinite Wisdom.

     Nevertheless, it is not the printed books that are the basis and foundation of heaven. The Word in the minds of men,-this is the resting place of heaven. The books are, as it were, the inanimate ultimate; the real resting place of heaven must be living, must be human. Because men have fallen, a written Word is necessary, that men may turn to it as the final authority, as the ultimate court of appeal, as the voice of God unchanged by man; but the Word considered as a book is only the sanctuary in which the Divine Truth is preserved, ready for man's use when he is prepared to receive it.

     And since the written page itself is not the conjunctive medium between heaven and earth, but only a means for creating that medium in the minds of men, it follows of necessity that there must always be some men who "hear," that is, who have faith "in Moses and the prophets"; who read, and love, and to some extent understand the Word, and thus form their minds in such a way that they are able to serve as a connecting link between this world and the next. By studying and living according to the Word, this body of men so shape the very organics of their minds that they are able to become the first receptacles of Divine influx among men.

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Thus they willingly give themselves as servants of the Lord in His Divine work of saving souls. Such a group of men is called the "Church" on earth,-the Church Specific, which serves as the heart and lungs of the human race, and through which the Divine Life, the Blood of the Lamb, is circulated among men.

     Thus communication with heaven is not established in some miraculous manner by the presence of the Word apart from men, but by men's reception of Divine Truth through Revelation, by the "hearing of Moses and the prophets," and thus by men's conjunction with the Lord and His angels through the knowledge and spirit of His Truth. In Revelation alone can we see the Lord in His Divine Human; there only can we meet our God face to fade. And this vision becomes more complete and perfect as we search more deeply into the Scriptures; for the Word is like a ladder by which we may climb ever upwards, as we enter interiorly into the truth contained therein.

     We can the more readily see this when we realize that ascent and communication with heaven and the Divine is through the same path as that taken by the descent of Divine Truth in the Word of God. When a prophet or disciple was used in the giving of revelation, the Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord was clothed, as to its celestial and spiritual senses, by the angels with whom he was associated; and then, under the special guidance of Providence, his mind was used further to clothe the Divine Truth with the natural sense; lastly, his material body became the means of giving that revelation fixity, by his putting the correspondential words on paper. In this way the Divine descends through mediations to man, and rests in ultimates; and this is how the literal sense is the basis and foundation for the Divine in the heavens, and for the heavens themselves. And in the degree that we lift these providential coverings, in that degree we approach nearer to the Lord as He is in Himself. As we progress, we lay aside the limiting adaptations, and enter into the purer regions of angelic perception.

     It is clearly evident, therefore, that it is not the Word in the letter which is the living basis of heaven, but the Divine Truth as it is incorporated and made living in the minds and lives of men. Communication denotes an active and reactive relation, and man alone in all creation is capable of receiving the Divine Life and reacting thereto. Hence the necessity of a church in which the Word is read, and loved, and carried into life.

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It is of Providence that there should ever be such a church on earth, else the race would perish; and at the present time the New Church is such a church. In the Revelation given to that Church are to be found the keys that will unlock the internal sense of the Word, and thus allow men to come into communion with the Lord and His angels. Now have been revealed the genuine truths without which no man can enter into the interior truths of the Word. In the Writings is given that key,-the doctrine of genuine truth and the science of correspondences and these will enable future generations to grow and progress in the wisdom of God, if, by a life of use according to the Doctrines, they but prepare themselves for enlightenment from the Lord. Thus the Lord has mercifully provided that men may reascend to their God.

     But this ascent comes only by an individual study of His Word as it is explained in the Writings of His Second Coming. We cannot expect to progress in regeneration, nor to develop as a church, if we do not read and study that which teaches us how that progress is to be made. We cannot attain the heights of heavenly peace and wisdom without the ladder which leads thereto. In the eyes of the Lord, we as a church are estimated according to our understanding of the Word, and every member is valued according to his fidelity in life to his understanding of that Word. And as the members read and study the Heavenly Doctrines, and daily draw their principles of life from them alone, becoming wholly imbued with their spirit, the Church will grow and fill the earth. Amen.

     Lessons: Isaiah 8. Luke 16:19-31. A. C. 7290.

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HOW I WAS BROUGHT TO THE LIGHT 1929

HOW I WAS BROUGHT TO THE LIGHT       Rev. T. S. HARRIS       1929

     (A Letter to Mr. Walter C. Childs, published with the consent of the writer.)

                                             HALETHORPE, MD.,
                                             Dec. 8, 1928.
My dear Mr. Childs:
     I am writing you a brief outline of my religious experience which may be of interest to you as an explanation of how I came out of the Old Church into the New.

     Being born of Methodist parents, and brought up under the influence of the external piety practiced by the people of that religion during the Victorian Age, my early life was favorable for the storing up of remains. The Bible was the book with which I became most familiar, because works of fiction were strictly prohibited in our home. But even as a child I found the stories contained in the Word very interesting, owing to the absence of more exciting literature. At the age of twelve I made my first public profession of religion; when about eighteen I was appointed a "Class Leader," and at twenty-one received license as a "Local Preacher." Two years later I became a "Probationer" for the Methodist Ministry, and spent two years as assistant of the Pastor on Lansdowne Circuit in the Kingston, Ontario, District.

     Strange to say, during all those years I was in total ignorance of the very existence of the Heavenly Doctrines. Not until I became a student in the Theological College of the Methodist Church did I ever hear Swedenborg's name mentioned. This was when I had reached the age of twenty-four years, and was attending a lecture on "Comparative Theology" given by the Principal of the Wesleyan Theological College of Montreal. At this lecture, the learned Doctor made one statement which awakened my interest more than anything which he uttered during the hour. "Gentlemen," he said. "Of all the Theological Systems which have come to my notice, and of which I know anything, that of Emanuel Swedenborg is the only one I am not able to understand." It was evident that the Professor did not wish to discuss the subject of Swedenborgianism before his class, but his remark made an impression upon my mind.

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I kept wondering what kind of a religious system this must be which Dr. Douglas could not understand. But my roommate told me that there were some people in the western part of Canada, from which he came, who seemed to understand a good deal about this religion which was so mysterious to the good Doctor. It so happened that this young man had a relative who was interested in the Writings of Swedenborg. I am relating this incident, because of the fact that first impressions are of great importance; and though it may seem insignificant, it must have had some influence in preparing my mind for further investigation of the matter.

     Soon after this, I came into the possession of a pamphlet which had been mailed to a Roman Catholic priest. It had not been called for at the post office, as there was no priest of that name in the community, and so the postmaster, in order to get rid of it, handed it to me. The title of this pamphlet was "Progressive Thought"; the author, Rev. Ravlin, a Baptist minister in California. My mind was but little impressed by the reading of this pamphlet, and had it not contained an advertisement of the New Church "Gift Books" offered to theological students, it is possible that I might have forgotten all about it. But my curiosity had been excited concerning Swedenborg's System of Theology, and here was my chance to find out something which might enlighten me on the subject. I sent for and received three books, viz., Heaven and Hell, Apocalypse Revealed and The True Christian Religion. These I began to read with great interest, and to my surprise found them less difficult to understand than I had expected. I had a feeling that if these things were not the truth they ought to be, and I could not keep out of my mind the statement contained in Psalm 119:99: "I have more understanding than all my teachers." This thought gave me much anxiety, for I felt that it was shaking my confidence in those from whom I was receiving instruction. One of my intimate friends warned me against reading such pernicious books, and advised me to use them as shaving paper! Still I kept on reading, not with the idea that these books contained the truth revealed from heaven, but merely with the object of understanding Swedenborg's System of Theology.

     This was my state of mind regarding the Writings when I was ordained into the ministry of the Methodist Church.

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But as Pastor of my first parish, Swedenborgian ideas began to appear in my sermons. How could it be otherwise? For my mind was saturated with them, and they seemed to me to be both rational and Scriptural. At my ordination I had been given authority to preach the Word of God, and to administer the holy sacraments in the congregation, and I felt that I was exercising this authority to the best of my ability. All the new ideas which I presented to my congregation were confirmed by the letter of the Word, and no reference whatever was made to the Writings of Swedenborg. It was only through a long and sad experience that I became convinced that the Old and the New could not be mixed without causing "confusion worse confounded." Such preaching wrought confusion in my own mind, and brought nothing but perplexity to the minds of my hearers. You must remember that at this time in my experience I was absolutely alone; I did not know that there existed a New Church organization in the world, and I had not met anyone who was interested in the Writings. This state of ignorance and isolation existed with me for over four years after my ordination. At this time I was appointed as Pastor of a parish near the city of Montreal, and there I learned of the Rev. Edwin Could, looked up his address, and soon called on him. You can imagine what a happy experience this was to both of us.

     During my three years in Lachine I frequently consulted with Mr. Gould, who advised me to continue Preaching New Church doctrines in the Methodist Church until it might become necessary for me to resign from its ministry. When I recall the state of my mind at that time I now see that this was wise counsel. He loaned me several books which had been written by enemies of the New Church, and advised me to read them carefully, saying that I ought to become familiar with all that could be said against the Writings of Swedenborg. I read Pond, White, and others who had written against the teachings of Swedenborg, and after my mind had become greatly distressed, my friend Gould gave me Noble's Appeal. Meanwhile, in addition to the three Gift Books, I had procured a set of the Arcana and a copy of Conjugial Love. By means of these works, and with the assistance of Noble's Appeal, I was able to dispel my doubts.

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     When I now read some of the sermons which I preached during my three years at Lachine I am surprised to see how clearly I set forth the doctrines of the New Church relative to the Trinity, the Atonement, Redemption and the Spiritual Sense of the Word. I do not wonder that the minister who followed me there felt justified in reporting me to the Conference as "a preacher of erroneous and strange doctrines contrary to God's Word." In doing so he was fulfilling a vow taken upon himself at his ordination into the Methodist Ministry, viz., "Will you be ready, with all faithful diligence, to banish and drive away all erroneous and strange doctrines contrary to God's Word?" Answer: "I will, the Lord being my helper."

     But he who made the charge of heresy against me was asked by the President of the Conference to name some Particular doctrine upon which the case could be brought to trial. This he did by offering the following statement: "Mr. Harris denies the Divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ." Imagine such a charge being brought against a receiver of the Heavenly Doctrine of the New Jerusalem! However, a committee of three, including the President, was appointed to investigate the case, and I was summoned to appear before it. The indictment was read: "You are charged with denying the Divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ." To this I replied: "I believe with all my heart that Jesus Christ is the only Divine Being in the universe." The members of the committee then held a consultation among themselves, after which they said: "Surely this is not a denial of the Divinity of Christ; yet it is not Methodist doctrine, but is something like what Swedenborg teaches in his theological writings." I said that it was from this source that I had obtained the idea of the sole Divinity of Jesus Christ, and that, regarding this doctrine, I never could be anything but a Swedenborgian. I suggested that, for the sake of order, it would be better for me to resign from the Ministry of the Methodist Church, but the committee advised me not to be in a hurry about it, and recommended that I take a year to consider the matter. These men assured me that they were my friends, and I have every reason to believe that they did everything in their power to make the conditions of my coming out of the Old into the New as easy as possible. Their report to the Conference was in the nature of a rebuke to the man who made the charge against me, and one of them was heard to remark that Harris was worth a hundred of his traducers.

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The case was dismissed because the committee found that I did not deny the Divinity of Christ.

     It has always been a mystery to me why I was charged with this particular heresy. A garbled report of my sermon on the "Unity of God" may have awakened a suspicion that I was preaching Unitarian doctrine. But the investigation of the charge convinced the committee that I was not a Unitarian, and this prevented my immediate expulsion from the Methodist Ministry. To my surprise, the President of the Conference admitted that he read Swedenborg's Writings, and found them very suggestive and helpful, but that he could not accept his theory of the Trinity. When I stated that Swedenborg's Doctrine of the Trinity was the key to the solution of his whole System of Theology, the President remarked that this was not the time and place to discuss this subject, but that we had met to investigate the charge laid against me; that it was very evident that I did not deny the Divinity of Jesus Christ, and that they would report accordingly.

     This, however, was but a temporary adjustment of the difficulty, for at the next District Meeting each Minister would be asked the question: "Do you believe and preach all our doctrines?" (See Art. 118, No. 2, of Methodist Discipline for the year 1884.) What should be my answer to this question? The committee recommended that I give the matter my most earnest consideration during the year, and that if I had not changed my views before the annual meeting of the District, then would be the most convenient time to resign from the work in which I was engaged. The investigation of the committee took place at the beginning of my second year as Pastor of the Compton Circuit, and it would have been inconvenient, if not difficult, to secure a supply after all the ministers had been appointed to their respective Circuits. Doubtless this was the chief reason why I was advised to continue as pastor of this place until the end of the year.

     I had been preaching, and continued to preach, the sermons which I had written and used in Lachine, revising them as I received new light from the reading of the Heavenly Doctrines. Following the advice of my good friend, Mr. Gould, I took a correspondent course in Theology with Professor Frost of the New Church Theological School, Cambridge, Mass.

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Thus it came to Pass that, while preaching from a Methodist pulpit, I was at the same time a student of a New Church Theological School, and this with the entire sanction of those in authority over me!

     This condition continued for nearly a year; then came the District Meeting. When my name was called, and the question asked, "Does he believe and preach all our doctrines?" I arose and read the following: "As I cannot give an affirmative answer to this question, therefore I tender my resignation as a minister of the Methodist Church." This was something so unusual that one of the ministers asked for an explanation, to whom the Chairman replied in these words: "Brother Harris generally says what he means, and means what he says." Nothing further was said relative to the matter, and my resignation automatically passed on to the Conference and was placed on record without being discussed.

     When it became known that I had left the Methodist Ministry of my own accord, other denominations became interested in me as a prospective candidate for their Ministry. But I had learned a lesson from my past experience, and felt confident that other denominations were no more liberal toward Swedenborgianism than Methodism could be, and that to become entangled again in the yoke of bondage would be very unwise.

     My resignation from the Methodist Ministry took place in June, 1895, and in September of the same year I became a student in The New Church School of Theology in Cambridge. At the end of two years I was baptized into the Faith of the New Church, and ordained into its ministry. Thus from 1886 to 1897, a period of eleven years, I was on my way from the Old Church into the New, and the great wonder to me is how I found the light, and was able to follow on, in spite of the many obstacles which beset my pathway. My unique experience is a confirmation of the truth that the Lord is able to lead into the light all who are willing to be led.
     Sincerely yours,
          T. S. HARRIS.

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WORD OF GOD WITH MEN 1929

WORD OF GOD WITH MEN       Rev. ALBERT BJORCK       1929

     (Delivered at the New Church Club, London, February 10, 1928.)

     The New Church has, since its first beginnings, developed into two sections, one now represented by the General Church of the New Jerusalem, the other chiefly by the Convention in America and the Conference in England. In the General Church we hold that the theological works of Emanuel Swedenborg are the Word of the Lord. Indeed, it may be said that this is what makes the General Church most distinct from the other New Church organizations.

     It is true that the holding of this view is not a condition for membership in our body, but I doubt that anyone who does not share it can be a sympathetic, active and useful member. And, if he is averse to the position, he will doubtless sooner or later sever his connection with the body; and before that he may have caused a good deal of trouble.

     The development of the position has a history, in the light of which it would be of interest to compare the development of thought which led to the acceptance of the New Testament books as the Word of God.

     When the New Testament had once been accepted, and when, in a few generations, the belief in it as the Word of God had become traditional, it was natural that the men of the first Christian Church should think that, because the prophecies of the Old Testament had been fulfilled with the coming of the Lord, therefore the books that give to men a knowledge of His birth, His teaching, His death and resurrection, are, together with the Old Testament which they supplement, the Word of God to men in completed form, to which nothing can be added. This traditional thought has had so strong a hold on the majority of those who have accepted the truths made known through Emanuel Swedenborg as Divinely revealed, that they nevertheless have rejected the thought that the Writings containing these heavenly revealed truths could be considered as the Word of God. However, that conception of the Writings has gained ground, and is now the accepted position of the General Church.

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     Those who differ from us forget that, through the guidance of the Divine Providence, the first Christian Church included the Apocalypse among the canonical books of the Word. That book is prophetical; that is, it speaks of things that were to occur at a time future to that in which it was written,-of the coming again of the Son of Man, according to His own promise in the Gospel of John, not as a person born of woman, as at His first advent, but as the Spirit of truth, which is Himself. (John 14:3, 17, 18.)

     The Writings reject some of the books included in the Word by the first Christian Church, but they not only recognize the Apocalypse as part of the Word, but the revelation of the Divine Truths hidden under its prophetic representations fills a large part of the Writings; and these truths are the fundamentals upon which the New Church must be built, and upon which rests our faith in the Second Advent of the Lord. In the Writings we are given truths that never could have been seen by men until the events prophesied had taken place, and which are now made known by a human agent who had seen them take place, and in whose words dwelt the Lord Himself as the Spirit of truth. The Writings are therefore supplementing the revelation given in the former parts of the Word, just as the New Testament supplements the Old by revealing truths which otherwise would have remained unknown to mankind. These facts alone are sufficient to cause the mind of thinking men to Ponder the question of the status of the Writings from an angle differing from the traditional conception of the Word; and this, indeed, has been the case until the present position of the General Church was reached.

     But the human mind is restless, continually driven by Life Itself, or the Lord's Spirit, which, going forth from His own active Love, continually moves men's minds to try to acquire and understand more of the infinite truth which is the Spirit revealing itself through the natural words of God's revelation to men. So it has come about that, in later years, men in the Church have advanced an opinion, or a faith, or a conception,-whatever you like to call it,-that the works we generally speak of as "the Writings" are not only part of the Word of God to men, but also that they are part of the Word in the letter, just because they, like the former parts, have been given to men through the agency of man.

     Some of those who have advanced and defended this position are well known ministers in the Church, recognized as good men, faithful workers and intelligent thinkers.

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Their position has nevertheless caused opposition from some equally good and gifted men in the ministry, and in others it has awakened questioning doubt. As one of those who have come to hold this position, and having formerly spoken in defense of it in this Club, I have now, when asked to write a paper for the Club, chosen to say something more on the subject. As I cannot be personally present, I will not be able to take part in the discussion or to answer the objections that may be made by those present. That may be lucky for me, and perhaps unlucky for you, or vice versa, but I will have to be content with stating very briefly the main reason for accepting the position, and also some objections that have been raised against it.

     II.

     When I first heard the opinion advanced, I found myself in an affirmative state, and I soon commenced to ponder the question, reflecting somewhat in the following manner upon the teachings in the Writings which seemed to have a particular bearing upon it.

     In Jehovah, or the Lord, from the beginning, Love and Wisdom, Good and Truth, are one; that is, His Love is infinite Wisdom, and His Good is infinite Truth; they cannot be thought of as separate in Him. The Good of His Love, wanting to create a heaven from the human race, and going out from the Lord to men on earth, gave them love of good in their will; and, as wisdom and truth are born from love, even as the light coming to us from the sun is born from its heat, so the affection of good in the men of the Most Ancient Church made them wise, and as long as the affection of good ruled in their interiors they had an interior perception of, or knew intuitively or instinctively, what was good and right for them to do in the circumstances in which they lived. That knowledge was the Word of God with them. It came to their affection of good, and gave them the wisdom of life, or the truth of how to live. The Word of God was humanized in them as unselfish love for the good of others,-as good affections, wise thoughts and helpful actions, all from the Lord, or infinite Love Itself; and these affections, thoughts and actions were the Lord's life received by them. Thus heaven was created in them, and after the death of their bodies their angelic spirits constituted the heavens of the spiritual world.

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     After the Fall, when the affection of good in their will had been perverted, and they no longer partook of the good of the Lord's Love going forth to give of Itself to others, but instead turned to that which seemed good to them for themselves, they were no longer wise from the love of the Lord; their intuitive knowledge or feeling of what was right to think or do was destroyed, and selfish loves or lusts became the reigning powers over men's lives on earth. Those powers created hell in man, and after death the men whom they ruled constituted the hells of the spiritual world. And if the wisdom and power of the Lord's love had not provided another way for the Divine Word to reach men, enabling them to fight against and overcome those powers, the basis for the heavens would have been destroyed, and the hells alone would have grown, until men, in the madness of their selfishness, had utterly destroyed themselves.

     We are told that the way provided by the Lord for the truth of His love to reach men consisted in separating the faculties of willing and understanding, so that now, although we are born with inherited inclination to selfish affections, our natural understanding can see the truths from the Lord which tell us that the powers of selfishness are destructive of true life and happiness, and arouse the remaining spark of unselfish affection, or good in the will, to fight against them and shun them as sins against the Lord in obedience to His truth, that a new will may be born in us,-a will to live from the Lord. As our will is our very life, we may thus be born anew-not for the hell to which we are destined by natural birth through the inherited selfish tendencies of our will, but for the heaven of love to the Lord and the neighbor.

     But mark that it is to our natural understanding alone that the Word of the Lord can come at first. If it is not received there, at least as memory knowledge, no spiritual understanding can be born in us, and the little spark of good in the will that remains in us from the Divine order of creation could never be made to glow and leap into a living dame. The Word of God to men must therefore take on a form or aspect which our senses can take cognizance of; for it is through our senses that our natural understanding is developed. The Word must come to us in an external natural way which can be heard or seen by our physical ears or eyes. Only in such an external, natural form can the Word of God be in the fulness of its power, because without it the truth of God,-His Wisdom going out from His Love to create heaven in man,-would find no receiving faculty in us, and so could in no way influence us.

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That external natural form in which the Word is in its fulness of power cannot be given except through the instrumentality of men living in the natural world, and it is the literal sense of the Word of God, or the Word in the letter. (De Verbo II:2. V:15.)

     This understanding of what the Writings teach us is my main reason for accepting as true the view that the Writings-the Word of the Lord's Second Advent-are the Word of God to men on earth, and part of the Word in the letter equally with the Old and New Testaments.

     III.

     I could go on with a detailed exposition of what we are told in the Writings as to how the wisdom of the Lord, passing through the heavens, is veiled over, and finally, when received by men, is clothed and covered by their receiving faculties in natural sentiments and thoughts which hide the Divine Truth, and may almost be said to express it only in a representative way, as is the case in the Old Testament; how the natural wrappings covering the truth in the Old Testament are partly unwound and made more transparent in the letter of the New Testament; and finally how, in the letter of the Last Testament, given us by the Lord through His servant Emanuel Swedenborg, the spiritual sense of the former Testaments takes on a natural clothing so transparent that the Divine Truth is revealed through it to men, more and more clearly as their spiritual rationality is developed. But such an exposition would make this paper too long, and so I will occupy the rest of the time in presenting some of the objections made to the idea that all the books of Divine Revelation which have been given an external form by means of men, and which together constitute the Word of God with men, including also the works of Swedenborg which we commonly call "the Writings," are the Word in its ultimate form,-its letter,-in which the fulness of its power resides. (De Verbo III:4, 6.)

     The main objection seems to me to arise from a feeling that, if we call the Writings a part of the Word in its letter, we thereby lose sight of the different forms which distinguish the three main parts of the Word from each other. But is this so?

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If we, in our thoughts, include the books of the last Testament under the general term, "the Word in its letter," would that cause us to forget or lose sight of the difference in form between them and the Testaments formerly given? The books of both the Old and New Testaments we call "the letter of the Word," but that does not blind us to the fact that the language of the New Testament is very different from that of the Old, and that through the external form of the New Testament spiritual truths are revealed to men which could never otherwise have been seen in the letter of the Old Testament.

     The Lord's servant at His Second Advent was given to see the spiritual sense hidden under the letter of the two Testaments which had been given to men before his time. He had a thorough knowledge of the literal sense of both, and his intromission into the spiritual world gave him the knowledge of the correspondence between spiritual and natural things which enabled him gradually to understand the spiritual truths which the angels of the then-existing heavens perceived when men of earth read the Word, that is, the Word in its letter. Through Swedenborg's knowledge of correspondences, and when he was reading the Word in the letter, the Lord could reveal to him more of the Divine Truth within than the angels perceived, and he could thus bring more light to them from the Word with men. The Divine Truths which Swedenborg was thus given to see, or the spiritual sense, he calls the soul within the body of the letter. But in making known to men this spiritual sense,-the soul within the body of the letter of the Old and New Testaments,-he must necessarily give it an embodiment, an external natural form, by clothing it in natural words through which it could come to the knowledge and understanding of men living in the world; in other words, he must give it a letter.

     If what I have thus far said is correct, the letter of the Writings is a new embodiment given to the soul that was hidden, or partly hidden, by the previous embodiments of it; a body through which that soul-the spiritual and celestial truths emanating from the Lord-could show itself more clearly than ever before; a body capable of revealing progressively to men more and more of the infinite truth of the Lord, in the degree that they, by living according to its Plain teaching, enter more and more interiorly into its meaning. And through men on earth, who thus get a progressive perception of the soul within the body, more light from the Word of God with men can come to the heavens, for "all who are in heaven are instructed by the Lord from Truth Divine which is with man, thus from the Word." (A. C. 9430.)

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     The Word of the Lord's Second Advent reveals to men more Truth Divine than had been seen by angel or man before. In it the spiritual sense within the letter of the former revelations shines forth in sevenfold light;-but still it is covered or veiled by a literal sense in which it is embodied. We practically concede the truth of this, even if we do not acknowledge it intellectually, when we come together to exchange thoughts and discuss our different understandings of what the Writings teach; all, in order that we may enter more interiorly into the Doctrine.

     The Writings do not give more than a partial exposition of that spiritual sense which can be seen through a knowledge of correspondences. They give a continuous, but by no means exhaustive, exposition of the spiritual sense of the books of Genesis and Exodus, and of the Apocalypse, together with a summary of the internal sense of the Prophets and Psalms, and a fragmentary exposition of other books of both Testaments. But the whole of the spiritual and celestial senses of the former Testaments is embodied in the Doctrine given to the New Church in the Last Testament. (De Verbo VII:17, 21.)

     I do not think that anyone who admits that the Writings are the Word, and yet opposes the view that they are part of the Word in the letter, denies that the works which reveal to us the Doctrine of the New Church are an embodiment of Divine Truth and Divine Good, or a natural, external expression of the Divine Truths which they reveal. But, although they acknowledge that the Writings, equally with the Old and New Testaments, are the Word of God-the Last Testament given to men by the Lord-and also that these Writings have a literal sense, curiously enough they are not willing to admit that they are a part of the letter of the Word, but insist upon calling them the "spiritual sense," or the "soul" of the letter of the Word. Such a position, it seems to me, implies a confusion of thought,-a confusion that will necessarily remain as long as the position is held, and one that will make clear thinking difficult with regard to many details of the Doctrine into which we should all endeavor to enter more and more interiorly.

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     A natural embodiment through which the soul reveals itself cannot be this soul itself, however transparent it may be. One may as well say that a man's external here, if it truly reveals his soul through his speech and actions, and by the expression of his eyes and the features of his face, is that soul itself, such as it will appear to the angels after the death of the body.

     The Old, or prophetic Testament, promising the Coming of the Lord; the New, or the Testament of the Lord's First Advent into the world through the son of Mary; and the Newest, or the Testament of the Lord's Second Advent as the Spirit of Truth; all together are the Word of God to men on earth, and they are all the Word in a letter which, even in the last and most transparent of the Testaments, veils the love and truth proceeding from the Lord, which are the soul within them all.

     We can therefore understand in different ways the particulars of the Doctrine which embodies the Lord's own Love and Truth; and when we defend our particular understanding of these particulars of doctrine, we refer to certain verbal statements in the Last Testament, in support of our understanding.

     There is only one way in which we can develop a true perception of the spiritual sense, or of the soul within the letter of the Word,-that sense which angels perceive when we read the letter reverently. The Lord's servant, Swedenborg, learned the science of correspondences through his Divinely guided preparation for his office as revelator, and through his intromission into the spiritual world while still living in the natural body. Through this knowledge of correspondences, and while reading the Word, the Lord could enlighten him concerning the true Doctrine of the Divine Truth in the Word; and, as he lived according to that true doctrine, his mind was still further enlightened by the Lord to see it more and more profoundly, and to give it an ultimate form in natural language. This ultimate form of Divine Truth, or the works written by Swedenborg after his illumination, is the Lord's latest and last Testament to men on earth.

     Through this last Testament we are given the same means that were vouchsafed to Swedenborg, and by them we can come to perceive the spiritual sense within the letter of the Word. We are there introduced to the spiritual world, and may learn enough of its conditions and character, and of the correspondence between this world and that, to see that the exposition of the spiritual sense of Genesis, Exodus, the Apocalypse, and other parts of the Word, given in the Writings, is not the result of a man's fanciful imagination, but rests upon a rational spiritual ground revealed by the Lord. So prepared, we can also see that the Doctrine of the New Church is not a theology of a man's making, but that it embodies the true teaching of the Spirit of the Lord within the letter; in other words, that the Writings are the spiritual sense in a doctrinal form.

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If we, then, acknowledging this, endeavor with the Lord's help to live according to that teaching, the Lord, who is the inmost Soul of the Word, can so illumine our minds that we can perceive more and more of the Divine Truth and Love revealing itself through the correspondential language of the former Testaments, and through the Heavenly Doctrine of the Last Testament.

     This is the only way in which anyone can be prepared to perceive the spiritual sense of the Word, as is definitely and clearly stated in De Verbo XXI. Still, as long as we live here, we are natural men, howsoever enlightened our minds may become spiritually; and we shall behold the spiritual sense as through a glass, which, though it is transparent, always hides in a measure the beauty we shall first see as angels in the other world.

     IV.

     You will have noted that most of the references given in this paper to that part of the Word in the letter which we generally call "the Writings" are taken from the little posthumous work, De Verbo, the full title of which is, Concerning the Sacred Scripture or the Word of the Lord from Experience. The work seems to have been especially written to give us light on this subject, and I have referred you to numbers which contain explicit statements, all, to my mind, supporting the position I am defending. The most recent English version of this work is published in Volume I of the Posthumous Theological Works, from which I will here quote some statements from the passages referred to above. From De Verbo:

     "The natural sense of the Word is such as it is in the sense of the letter, every particular of which becomes spiritual, and afterwards celestial in the heavens."

     "I have often been sent among the spiritual angels, and I then spoke with them spiritually, and then, retaining in my memory what I had spoken, when I returned into my natural state, in which every man is in this world, I then wished to bring it forth from the former memory and describe it, but I could not; it was impossible; there were no expressions, nor even ideas of thought, by which I could express it; they were spiritual ideas of thought and spiritual expressions so remote from natural ideas of thought and natural expressions, that they did not approximate in the least." (III: 4.)

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     "It was granted me to be among the angels of the middle and highest heaven, and to hear them conversing with one another; . . . after which it was given me to understand that I could not utter nor describe them by any spiritual or celestial expression, but that nevertheless they could be described even to their rational comprehension by words of natural language. And it was told me that there are not any Divine arcana which may not be perceived, and even expressed, naturally, although more generally and imperfectly; and that they who, in a natural manner, by means of their rational understanding, perceive those things from the affection of truth, afterwards, when they become spirits, can perceive and speak of them in a spiritual manner." (III: 6.)

     "The Word may be compared to the Divine Man who is the Lord, in whom there is not only the Divine Natural, but also the Divine Spiritual and the Divine Celestial; it is on this account that the Lord calls Himself the Word. And the angels said that the very holiness of the Word is in the sense of its letter, and that this is more holy than the other senses, which are internal, because it is the complex and containant of the rest, and is like the body living from the soul. Thus the Word in the sense of the letter, or the natural, is in its fulness, and also in its power; and by means of it man is in conjunction with the heavens, which, without the sense of the letter, would be separated from man." (V:15.)

     "The spiritual or internal sense of the Word is nothing else than the sense of the letter unfolded according to correspondences; for it teaches the spiritual which is perceived by angels in the heavens, while man in the world is thinking in a natural way of that which he reads in the Word." (VII:17 end.)

     "At this day, the spiritual sense of the Word has been revealed from the Lord, because the doctrine of genuine truth has now been revealed, . . . and because that doctrine, and no other, agrees with the spiritual sense of the Word." (VII: 21.)

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     "No one can see the spiritual sense except from the doctrine of genuine truth; from this doctrine the spiritual sense can be seen, when there is some knowledge of correspondences. He who is in false doctrine cannot see anything of the spiritual sense. He draws out and applies the correspondences which he sees to the falsities of his doctrine; and thus he can still more falsify the Word. Wherefore, the true spiritual sense of the Word is from the Lord alone. This is the reason why it is not permitted anyone in the natural world, nor in the spiritual world, to investigate the spiritual sense of the Word from the sense of its letter, unless he is wholly in the doctrine of Divine Truth and in enlightenment from the Lord. Wherefore, from the doctrine of Divine Truth confirmed from the sense of the letter of the Word, the spiritual sense can be seen; but doctrine can never first be seen from the spiritual sense. He thinks falsely who says with himself: 'I know many correspondences; I can know the true doctrine of the Divine Word; the spiritual sense will teach it to me.' This cannot be done. But, as has been said, let him say with himself: 'I know the doctrine of Divine Truth; now I can see the spiritual sense, provided I know correspondences.' But still this must be in enlightenment from the Lord, because the spiritual sense is Divine Truth itself in its light, and is meant by 'glory,' and the sense of the letter by a 'cloud,' in passages in the Word where these are mentioned." (XXI:58. See also S. S. 6, 31, 36, 39.)

     There are, of course, many statements to the same effect in other works, but to avoid giving too many references I will here quote from the summary of the doctrine of Divine Truth as stated in our Liturgy:

     "The Word, in descending from the Lord, is spiritual in heaven with the angels, and natural in the world with men; and being inwardly spiritual, the Word conceals within itself all Divine and all angelic wisdom.

     "The spiritual that is in the Word with the angels of heaven is called the spiritual sense, and is in the natural sense as the soul is in the body.

     "Thus the spiritual sense is in all and every part of the Word, and it is from this sense that the Word is Divinely inspired and holy in every syllable.

     "It has pleased the Lord now to reveal the spiritual sense of the Word, which hitherto has been unknown; but it will be received only by those who acknowledge the Lord as the God of heaven and earth, and live according to His precepts.

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     "Before a man turns himself to the Lord, and acknowledges Him, he cannot see any Divine Truth in the Word; for the Lord is the Word, and appears in the Word as the one only God, Jesus Christ our Lord." (Liturgy, pp. 320, 321.)

     "The doctrine of the New Church is truth continuous from the Lord, laid open by the Word." (P. 322.)

     If we live according to the doctrine of genuine truth which the Lord has revealed to us in and through the natural language of the works that are the Word of His Second Advent, that natural language lays open to our growing spiritual rationality continuous truths from the Lord.

     In view of the teaching referred to thus far in this paper, it seems to me impossible to call those works the Word of the Lord and yet deny that they are the Word in a natural or literal sense. The natural sense is the sense of the letter of the Word which we, as men living in the natural world, understand it. And just because of this we can understand it differently. Because men understand differently the literal statements, or the sense of the letter of the Lord's last Testament to men, and because the doctrine of genuine truth from the Lord given us through and in that literal sense is continuous truth from the Lord, the Church must continually enter more and more interiorly into the meaning of the letter, and so be continuously enlightened by the Lord as to its interior or spiritual sense. Other wise the Word of the Lord to men may again be perverted, and the Church die spiritually.

     The only way in which this continuous truth from the Lord can be seen by the church, and recognized as the doctrine of the church, is by our coming together and voicing our different conceptions of the meaning of the letter, and, in love for the truth, searching the literal statements of the Word from the Lord that contain this continuous truth, and which express the spiritual sense, which is with angels, in a natural manner that can lay it open to the gradually growing spiritual rationality of the growing church.

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     In conclusion, I would like to draw your attention to another teaching which has a close bearing upon the subject before us.

     The three Testaments, which together are the Word of God with men, are not three altogether different and distinct bodies in which the spiritual sense dwells as the soul. They are one, as the legs, trunk and head of a man make one body, in all the parts of which dwells the soul.

     Apparently a church dies, and another takes its place; but the church of the Lord is one. Like an individual man, it has grown from infancy, childhood and youth to manhood and rationality.

     The Old Testament, in its literal sense, preserves the manner in which the church in its infancy and growing childhood received and gave external clothing to the Divine Truth. The New Testament preserves in its letter the way in which the church, in the years of its youth, received, understood and clothed the Divine Truth in words. And the Last Testament preserves the way in which the church-now represented by one man, grown into spiritual rationality of manhood,-received, understood and gave utterance to the Divine Truth in natural language. The three Testaments make one body, and in them the Divine Truth proceeding from the infinite Love of the Lord is the soul. The Lord Himself is therefore the inmost of the Word.
ANGELIC PERFECTION 1929

ANGELIC PERFECTION              1929

     "The states of good spirits and of angels are continually being changed and perfected, and so are they raised into the interiors of the province in which they are, thug into nobler functions. For in heaven there is a continual purification, and, so to speak, new creation; yet no angel can ever arrive at absolute perfection to eternity; the Lord alone is perfect; in Him and from Him is all perfection. They who correspond to the mouth wish continually to speak, for in speaking they find the highest degree of pleasure; but when they are being perfected, they are reduced to this, that they do not say anything but what is profitable to their companions, to the common good, to heaven, and to the Lord. And the delight of so speaking is increased with them in the degree that the desire of regarding themselves in their speech, and of seeking wisdom from the proprium, perishes." (A. C. 4803.)

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WAYSIDE NOTES 1929

WAYSIDE NOTES       G. A. MCQUEEN       1929

     XI.

     Comment on the General Assembly.

     By this time the members of the General Church throughout the world have had the opportunity to realize what a great use is performed by the publication of such a full report of the General Assembly in London as appeared in NEW CHURCH LIFE from August to December, 1928. In the early days, it was the printed reports of the doings of the General Church and the Academy that attracted New Churchmen with open minds who were desirous of following the thought of the Church on the many subjects that were then coming up for consideration in all parts of the New Church.

     In reading the account of the Assembly, the writer of these notes was carried back in memory to his early experiences in the New Church. The familiar names of the men who took Part in the discussions stirred up memories of associations and friendships which can never be obliterated. One thought reverted to the time when I first became acquainted with two of the gentlemen who were prominent in the Assembly meetings. It was on the 18th of May, 1886, that I, as a member of Conference for the Colchester Society, attended the funeral services of the late Dr. Jonathan Bayley at Palace Gardens Church, London. After the service, the congregation went by various means of transportation to Highgate Cemetery, where the burial took place. And it was while riding on the "knife-board" of an omnibus that I first met the Rev. R. J. Tilson and the Rev. W. H. Claxton (then a layman). This apparently accidental meeting was destined to be the first stepping-stone in the direction of my acceptance of the Academy views, and also of the ultimate withdrawal of the Colchester Society from connection with Conference. Mr. Tilson is now a Bishop in the General Church, and Mr. Claxton is a sincere New Church minister who has given his life in work for the Church which he loves more than anything else in the world.

     So I was meeting old-time friends in reading about the Assembly. Mr. Claxton I saw taking part in the general discussions, in spite of the fact that those in authority in the organization to which he belongs had refused to publish notices of the Assembly meetings.

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This is the same Mr. Claxton I knew in the beginning,-a thorough believer in freedom of discussion; and his remarks no doubt acted as a stimulus in a body of men who have satisfied their own minds on the points of difficulty which he at present cannot accept. Perhaps it is unreasonable to expect that my old friends in Conference will change their minds, but what a delightful thing it is to know that these doctrinal difficulties will vanish in the other world, if there is the unity of an internal acknowledgment of the Lord in His final Revelation.

     The foregoing paragraphs furnish a sample of what might be expected if the writer were to go into further reveries about things brought to mind by reading the report of the Assembly. If readers of the LIFE are interested in this kind of thing, perhaps others in our Church can supply similar bits of information, which might be of use to writers of church history in the future.

     The Academy Movement in America.

     In reflecting upon the beginnings of the Academy movement in England, it occurs to me that there may be many in the Church who have not read the booklet entitled Early Days of the Immanuel Church,* which deals with a like development in the city of Chicago, and contains much to claim the attention of the New Churchman who likes to follow the history of the organized church, in both its internal and external manifestations. After reading this record of early days, one can have a clearer idea of the way in which the principles of the Academy found a ready welcome with those New Churchmen who looked for a distinctive organization founded upon the Revelation given in the Writings. Many histories of church organizations are more or less unreliable, being written from a prejudiced point of view. We think the compiler of this book has not erred in this respect. Where it has been necessary, in the interests of accuracy, to refer to times of trouble and controversy, there is the endeavor to limit the history to the facts recorded, with an evident desire to be fair in stating the position of those who opposed the Academy movement. It was no easy matter for the members of the Church in those days to separate from their brethren because of a difference in the understanding of the Writings.

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Yet this had to be, if true charity was to prevail; the separation could not have been avoided without delaying the progress of the church.
     * Compiled by Mr. Seymour G. Nelson, edited by the Rev. Wm. Whitehead, and published at Glenview, Ill., October, 1927. May be obtained at The Academy Book Room, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Price, $1.00.

     Poor Advertizing.

     It seems well-night incredible that some of our New Church writers should be willing to quote Emerson with a view to furthering the cause of the New Church. After reading his essay on "Swedenborg, the Mystic" in the volume entitled Representative Men, we can only conclude that a person would be ill prepared thereby to approach the Writings with an open mind. While he might be attracted at first by the much-advertized quotation which refers to Swedenborg as "one of the missouriums and mastodons of literature, who is not to be measured by whole colleges of ordinary scholars," what must he think when he finds the following in the same essay: "For the anomalous pretension of revelation of the other world, only his probity and genius can entitle it to serious regard. . . . Swedenborg is disagreeably wise, and, with all his accumulated gifts, Paralyzes and repels. . . . His books have no melody, no emotion, no humor, no relief to the dead prosaic level. In his profuse and accurate imagery is no pleasure, for there is no beauty."

     Lack of Reception.

     How many have had to learn by experience that the truths of the New Church can only be received by prepared minds. In early states of enthusiasm they have been zealous in communicating to their friends the great spiritual treasures they have found in the Writings. Like the woman in the parable of the Lost Piece of Silver, which was found only after diligent search, they invited their friends and neighbors to rejoice with them. But in most cases there was little response. The same applies to the missionary efforts of the organized church. Only a few see and accept while in this world. There must be some explanation of this lack of reception, other than the inability of mankind to understand the truths of Revelation. The following from the Arcana may supply the answer: "Divine Truth from the Lord flows in continually into human minds, and fits them for reception; and so far as evils are desisted from, so far it is received." (A. C. 9399 end.) The prevalence of evil is thus the real obstacle to the growth of the church.

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NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS 1929

NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS       Rev. HUGO LJ. ODHNER       1929

     The February Readings.

     The February Readings from the Coronis cover a treatment of the end of the Most Ancient Church, the rise and decline of the Ancient Church, and the successive states of the Jewish Church; thus practically completing the extant parts of this little work. In the assignments from the book of Genesis (xxii-xxxviii) the stories of Abram, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph are the subject, and the internal sense of these is revealed in the Arcana as treating of the Lord in His Human, first in His infancy and childhood, and later in the process of glorifying the Rational degree ("Isaac") and the Natural degree ("Jacob"). The story of Joseph describes the reception of the Divine Human in the church.

     The Problem of the "Golden Age."

     The New Church view of history, which divides the progress of mankind into four church-epochs, may appear at first sight as widely opposite to the evidence which historians accept at this day.

     The world increasingly denies that there ever was a Golden Age such as the classic poets loved to remind us of. Now the cave-man, with ferocious snarl and bestial jaw, elemental and merciless, creature of fear and passion, stands as the ancestor of man, at least in the Sunday press and in popular fancy. And historians love now to point to the upward trend of progress, to the primate's gradual discovery of the advantages of social cooperation and the development of the herd instinct at the expense of the cruder passions now subconsciously mastered; to the discovery of fire, and of weapons made successively of crude and polished stone, brass and iron; to the domestication of animals and the increase of civilized modes of living.

     But the picture of the Coronis and the Arcana is different. The history there traced opens with a celestial man-an image and likeness of the Creator, wise, peaceful, humble and socially perfect, yet so equipped with unity of faculties that when his will became pervert his whole being became atrociously wicked and imbued with the most profane persuasions of being self-sufficient and intrinsically divine.

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And only a remnant of that race was salvaged from destruction and instituted as a spiritual church which became, under the name of the Ancient Church, the mother of all the known civilizations of antiquity, as evidenced in Babylonia and Egypt as well as in other parts of the world.

     Does this view, then, run counter to historical evidence? No. The Writings display the spiritual and inward story of the race, and follow the thin thread of religious truth as it was Preserved intact throughout the stormy cultural history of the races. They follow one line of spiritual development which served as an essential resting point for the heavens. The prehistoric researches of today have not gone far enough to yield any conclusive evidences about these earliest "churches." It is certainly true that roughly contemporary with the extinct paleolithic races now described as the Neanderthalers and Cro-Magnards, etc. (dated now about fifty and twenty-five thousand years B.C.), and the still earlier "pre-human" races which the finding of the famous "Heidelberg jaw" and the remains of the Javanese "Pithecanthropus" may portend, there might well have lived somewhere else on the earth a fully developed race with celestial characteristics such as the Writings describe. In those days of pre-glacial seas and no ship-building, civilizations were vastly more likely to be isolated than was the case before the last century with Australia and central Africa, where life was barbaric in the extreme when compared with Europe and China and India.

     Historians today are not looking for a Golden Age in the extreme past. Why should they, indeed, if unguided by a faith in Divine Revelation? But the New Churchman is wise to be patient, for some day the present opinion of anthropologists, based on fragmentary and scattered evidence, will be revised; and the scientist, who now sees only the sidelines of human development-the arrested and degraded races which no doubt descended from the original stock of those "pre-adamites" who refused to be led towards the celestial degree, and thus did not enjoy the blessings of the Golden Age-may come to see that there was also a prehistoric race of more noble human character (the Most Ancient) which was extinct by rather sudden decadence, and left but a slight remnant (the Ancient Church) to carry on that deep religious tradition which later was externalized and couched itself in the fancies of mythology and in the superstitious and world-wide nature-worship of dawning historical time.

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Coronis, Nos. 39 and 40.

     The diffusion of the Ancient Church, and of the primeval revelation known as the Ancient Word, is spoken of more fully in another treatise, on The Word. (See Posthumous Theological Works, pp. 346-348. See also Nos. 264-266, 275 and 279 of the True Christian Religion.)

     The Analogy of the Churches.

     The Coronis establishes with considerable force the distinctive position of the New Church in the series of specific churches or dispensations. The definite commencement of each church is a coming of the Lord in a Divine Revelation or a "Word of the Lord" to the new church that is to be established. In the case of the present New Church, this advent of the Lord was in the inspired Writings of Swedenborg, which are therefore the Lord's Word, written by the Lord through His servant Swedenborg for the New Church, to be its guide of life and source of doctrine,-a new covenant of God with men.

     The New Church therefore bears entirely as distinct a relation to the old churches of the Christian world of today as did the primitive Christian Church to the faith and worship of Judaism, from which it had to separate to pursue its destined function as the "light of the world" and the "salt of the earth." Thus it is clear that the baptism of the old Christian Church cannot introduce anyone into the New Church in either world; worship in an old church congregation cannot convey to anyone the spheres of the New Heaven. The analogy of the churches gives us a potent warning against retrogression into former states; against the possible "New Church" equivalents of every heresy and schism which poisoned and rent the Christian Church; against the false charity which bids us "bury our father" with heartbreaks, regrets and hesitations, before we follow the Lord in His new coming, and go forth to "preach the kingdom of God"; and against the ever-present danger of forsaking the sacred Covenant through a lip-acknowledgment which neither enlightens the mind with new spiritual light nor remolds the life by continual repentance into a closer image of heaven.

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     For the fact is, that just as the laws of God have not changed, neither have the innate tendencies of the flesh altered. Even though he may be supported by the possession of the Truth, man gravitates towards a decline and a consummation, unless eternal watchfulness and humble prayer bring the power of the Lord to his aid. Already, in the brief span of our Church's history, we have seen parallels to most of the foibles and faults of the Christian Church. We have seen invasions of Judaizing Christianity as "non-separatism"; of Docetism as "Tulkism" of Arianism as "modernism"; of Socinianism as the denial of the Divinity of the Writings, and thus of the Lord in His Second Advent; of Gnostical heresies, as theosophical and pseudo-celestial notions; of Neoplatonism as a false "rationalism"; of Demonism as "spiritism"; not to mention others. But with the book of history now opened in the Coronis, the New Church should be equipped to maintain its morning state by an eternal dawning of new illustration.

     When to Read.

     We have been asked: "When is the best time of day for reading the lessons assigned by the Present Calendar?"

     This leads us to reflect how differently all of us are situated. Among our people, perhaps the most usual time for reading is shortly before retiring at night. Some, who are not in the maelstrom of business, or who are people of unusual resolution, prefer to read the Writings in the morning when their minds are fresh and clear, and the Word in its Letter at night. Others will use the assignments in Family Worship, just after or just before the evening meal. In our own case, we shall endeavor to do our reading informally before rising from the supper table; for until the small children are "tucked in," the elders of the household would have difficulty in attempting any abstract thinking! Children require, we think, a separate "family-worship" where their interest and response is invited by a more direct accommodation: they need stories from the Word, and relations from the spiritual world told simply and with freedom for questions. They need a part of their own, too, unless this is offered them in school; and thus the recitation of a verse in chorus, or a little singing from the Hymnal, makes this sacred hour an occasion in which they delight.

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     The choice of a time for the Calendar Readings is certainly an individual problem. But we strongly suspect that where our resolution to find time for such a reading fails, it indicates usually a state of vacillation which we should carefully analyze. Should we fall behind with our reading, however, the prudent thing to do, in our view is first to cover the portion assigned for the day, before trying to "make up" our omission of yesterday.
THREE MISSIONARY JOURNEYS 1929

THREE MISSIONARY JOURNEYS       Rev. GUSTAF BAECKSTROM       1929

     During October and November, 1928, I undertook three missionary trips, the first being a visit to Dalarne (Dalecarlia) where I lectured in five places, namely, Leksand, Rattvik, Mora, Alvdalen and Orsa. They are all small places, but are of interest because the people in that part of the country used to fight for freedom against the oppression of the Danes, and have always been considered a strong and fearless race.

     In Alvdalen there was, in Mr. Boyesen's time, an interest in the New Church, and there are still a few elderly people there who remember those days. I stayed with a family of the name of Ehrner. The father, now dead, was very much interested in the Doctrines, and this interest is maintained to some extent by his wife and some of his numerous daughters, one of whom assisted me in making the arrangements for my visit in Dalecarlia. The attendance at the lecture in Alvdalen was 140 persons; in the other four places it was 53, 78, 112 and 152 respectively. At the five lectures I sold books to the value of about 100 kroner ($26.80). I noticed that many young men attended these lectures and bought books. I also observed how honest and upright some of them looked, and their very handsome faces. It was my first missionary experience in Dalecarlia, and it was encouraging. I may add that at Rattvik I had the pleasure of meeting Mrs. Alfred Acton and Miss Benita Acton, who were living there while Dr. Acton was traveling in Germany.

     My journey to Dalecarlia was undertaken between Sundays, and after a week's rest I was absent from Stockholm for another week, leaving Sunday night and returning the following Saturday.

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By this arrangement the missionary work is necessarily more concentrated, and also more expensive and tiring, but the regular Sunday services in Stockholm are not interrupted. This is the plan I have followed in the past. Last year our services were suspended on two Sundays, when I paid two visits to Norway, but otherwise the missionary trips are made between Sundays. I desire to make this plain, as remarks made in the General Assembly may have given the impression that I am absent from the center in Stockholm much more than is the case.

     On the second journey I first visited Gothenburg, where a meeting was held in the home of the Rev. J. E. Rosenqvist. I administered the Holy Supper to Mr. Rosenqvist and three other persons. Later in the evening I gave a lecture which was attended by 246 persons, books being sold to the value of 35 kroner ($9.38). I could only spend one day in Gothenburg, and every minute was occupied.

     The following day I went to Boras, a nearby city of 30,000 inhabitants. The interest shown here was unusually great. At the lecture there was an audience of 422 persons, and books were sold to the value of 70 kroner ($18.76). Among those who attended the lecture was a young lady who told me that her mother had died two years ago. Some days later, her husband saw her in a dream, and she told him that everything in the other life was just as Swedenborg had described it. Neither the husband nor the daughter, however, knew anything about Swedenborg and his teachings. The young lady had been trying to find some book on the subject, but in vain. There is a lending library in Boras, belonging to the city, but there was no book there that could give her the desired information. And so she had been searching in vain for two years. And when she heard me speak about the other life, it all seemed to her like a beautiful dream from which she was afraid to awake. She bought a number of books from me, remarking, "I have never in my life bought any book except the Bible." She is married, and has four little children to bring up, and I gave her a copy of the book I prepared several years ago for my use in giving instruction to our children in Stockholm.

     The next place visited was Falkoping, a small city, where there is a man who is interested in the Church, an architect by profession.

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My lecture here was attended by 120 persons, in spite of very bad weather.

     Then I went to Skavde; a military town of 10,000 inhabitants. At the school auditorium where I was to give the lecture I asked the usher whether they usually had a good attendance at lectures. He said that on several occasions only three people had come,-the lecturer, the ticket seller, and himself, but that when they gave a funny performance called "Lame Lena and Squinting Per" so many people came that there was standing room only. This was not very encouraging, as what I had to tell was very far from the indicated tendency of taste. But it turned out better than I had dared to expect, and there was an audience of no less than 157 persons, and books to the value of 22:40 kroner were sold ($6.00).

     I mention the amounts of the book sales because I consider this a measure of the interest. At the lecture in Boras, where the greatest number of books was sold, the interest was very noticeable, and a very strong sphere prevailed. One newspaper said that "there was such a mood in the audience that sometimes it was quite enraptured." Some were weeping.

     Such a sphere there was also in Skara, the last place I visited on this second journey. In that little town, where Swedenborg's father was once Bishop, there has always been some interest in the New Church. I stayed with a brother of Mr. Bertram Liden, and succeeded in reviving the family's interest in the Church. When first married, the then young couple had lived in Stockholm, where they had come in contact with the Church. I met some other interested persons in Skara, and the attendance at the lecture was 220 persons, with a sale of books to the value of 52 kroner ($13.94).

     During the first fortnight in November I undertook a third journey, this time to Norway. This was my fifth visit to that country since my missionary work began there several years ago, and I now went to some places not visited before. Before entering Norway, however, I stopped at Ostersund, a city of 12,000 inhabitants in the northern part of Sweden. Quite isolated here is a lady, Miss Marta Persson, who is deeply interested in the Church. It is my hope that an interest has now been awakened among others in that place, as quite a crowd attended the lecture I gave there. The main room would not hold those who came, and two adjoining rooms were also filled. Even the entry was occupied, people standing, or sitting on tables, wherever there was room.

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We estimated the number at 350 persons, and many went away unable to get in. The sale of books was 60 kroner ($16.08).

     The next day I was in Trondhjim, in the northern part of Norway. Two lectures were given here, attended by 255 and 200 persons, in spite of a snowstorm on the second day. Books sold, 75 kroner ($20.10). Some time ago, a Mr. Smedsas resided in Trondhjim, a very earnest receiver of the Heavenly Doctrines; and as his three girls came of age he sent them one by one to a New Church minister for instruction. One was sent to Mr. Manby in Stockholm, another to Mr. Winslow in Copenhagen, and the third to Mr. Rosenqvist in Gothenburg. The daughter that went to Copenhagen eventually married a son of Mr. Winslow, and the other daughters are also married. But the father is dead, and the only one of the family remaining in Trondhjim is the daughter who studied in Stockholm. She told me that she still has an affection for the New Church, but being quite isolated she never has an opportunity to speak with anyone of the same faith. She now has two boys. I was invited to dine with the family, and I think my visit was useful to them.

     From the comparatively large city of Trondhjim I turned southward and stopped at the small Norwegian city of Hamar. As in the cases of Ostersund and Trondhjim, I had never visited this place before, but one of my books had found its way there from Oslo, and had awakened the interest of two families. Accordingly I was invited to the home of a Mr. Backe-Hausen, who is an engineer. He and his wife are interested, and at their house I met a Mr. and Mrs. Jensen. Mr. Jensen is a teacher and librarian of a public library, for which he had previously ordered many of our books. These four persons form the nucleus of a circle in Hamar. They are very nice people, and seem to be intelligent receivers. I had good talks with them, and I am only sorry that I had so little time to spend with them. Mr. Jensen, because of his position, has some influence, and will have our magazine in the library, placed among other publications where people can read it. I was asked to broadcast at Hamar, but was obliged to continue my journey. The lecture here was attended by 225 persons, and books were sold to the value of 67 kroner ($17.95).

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     The next day, Saturday, I spent in Oslo. Our circle there has begun holding regular meetings at which Miss Anna Boyesen, formerly a teacher, reads to the rest. Those who attend the class were invited to the Boyesen home in the evening, and I spoke to them on the relation between the two worlds, the law of correspondences, and miracles, and answered questions. Seventeen persons were present. On Sunday, a service was held privately in the Boyesen home, on which occasion I administered the Holy Supper to eleven or twelve persons, the largest number who have attended so far.

     I remained in Oslo five days. I gave a public lecture entitled "Who was Jesus Christ?" choosing this subject because of the present controversy there between the Fundamentalists and Modernists. The lecture was delivered in the University building, and was attended by 96 persons. It was so well spoken of in all the big newspapers that I decided to repeat it, but only 50 persons came. Yet they seemed to listen with the closest attention. At the same hour, in the same building, a professor spoke on the same subject. The sale of books at my two lectures amounted to 44 kroner ($10.79).

     I had been specially invited by a professor at the University in Oslo to speak on Swedenborg and psychical phenomena before the Society for Psychical Research. While I do not believe this to be an especially good field for missionary work, I complied with his request, but used the opportunity to tell them what Swedenborg says about spiritism.

     Finally, I visited Fredriksstad, a city of 10,000 inhabitants south of Oslo. I had never been there before, and it is likely that nothing has ever been heard there about the New Church, except what they may have read in the Oslo papers or heard over the radio. My lecture was attended by so many people that there was not room for all who came. The doors to two extra rooms were opened, and even these were soon filled. We estimated the attendance at over 260 persons. It was so crowded, however, that it was difficult to sell books after the lecture, but I sold 35 kroner worth, and left a supply at the bookstores in the city, which fact was mentioned in the newspapers.

     On the three journeys described above I visited, in Sweden, nine new places and two that I had visited before; in Norway, three new places and Oslo.

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Everywhere I found interest, and in many of the places isolated receivers who need the visits of a New Church minister with whom they may converse, receiving explanations of many things which they have not understood before. There is no doubt that these visits have strengthened the faith of such isolated persons, giving them wider views and reviving their affection for the Heavenly Doctrines. They have also been supplied with many new books. It is a field in which some seed has already been sown, and in which something here and there is growing. It is also a benefit to the missionary to have the assistance of these isolated receivers in preparing and making arrangements for other visits. "The field is whitening for the harvest."
     GUSTAF BAECKSTROM.

     P. S.-I may add that the Norwegian version of The New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine, translated by Mr. M. Eckhoff, of Stavanger, has now been completed and published. Stockholm, December 10, 1928.
GRADUAL INSTRUCTION 1929

GRADUAL INSTRUCTION              1929

     "Although the doctrine of faith is in itself Divine, and thus above all human apprehension, even the angelic, still nevertheless in the Word it has been dictated according to the apprehension of man in a rational manner. The case in this respect is Like that of a parent who is teaching his infant boys and girls; when he is teaching them, he sets forth each and every thing according to their genius, although he himself thinks from an interior and deeper ground; otherwise it would be teaching what is not learned, or like casting seed on a rock. This is the case also with the angels, who in the other life instruct the simple in heart; although the angels are in celestial and spiritual wisdom, still they do not elevate themselves above the grasp of those whom they teach, but speak simply with them, rising by degrees as the instruction proceeds; for if they were to speak from angelic wisdom, the simple would grasp nothing at all, and so would not be led to the truths and goods of faith. The case would be similar, if the Lord had not taught in the Word according to the apprehension of man in a rational manner. But still the Word is elevated to the angelic understanding in its internal sense, and yet, in that highest elevation in which it is before the angels, it is infinitely beneath the Divine." (A. C. 2533.)

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NOTES AND REVIEWS. 1929

NOTES AND REVIEWS.              1929


NEW CHURCH LIFE
Office a Publication, Lancaster, Pa.
Published Monthly By
THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM
BRYN ATHYN, PA.
Editor                    Rev. W. B. Caldwell, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager          Mr. H. Hyatt, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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

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

     Old books bearing the autographs of their owners, or other inscriptions and annotations, are always interesting and sometimes yield important historical information. To the New Churchman, of course, the outstanding example is the copy of the Brief Exposition upon which Swedenborg wrote: Hic Liber est Adventus Domini. Then there is the copy of the True Christian Religion, preserved in the Academy Library, upon which he wrote the List of Gifts received by him in the spiritual world. A few years ago we mentioned a copy of Conjugial Love that belonged to Dr. William Spence, of London, now the property of the Rev. Raymond G. Cranch. On the page (No. 242) where Swedenborg describes how he was unable to enter a certain house because the married couple there residing were of different religions, Dr. Spence wrote (in Latin): "Mrs. Shearsmith, still living, confirms this fact, in whose house E. Swedenborg departed from the world. W. S. 1788." (See NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1924, p. 492.)

     Some years ago, Mr. Alfred H. Stroh found that a set of the Arcana Celestia (original edition) in the Harvard College Library contained annotations by Swedenborg himself, evidently made while he was preparing the Earths in the Universe for publication.

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On the page at A. C. 7483 some one wrote this footnote: "Written by Mr. Swedenborg himself, these Books having been his own. They were bought of Mrs. Lewis. . ." This, no doubt, was the wife of John Lewis, the London printer. Phototypes of all the annotated pages are now in the Academy Library. (See Mr. Stroh's detailed description in NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1904, pp. 599, 656.)

     Many other examples might be cited, but we write nom to speak of a recent acquisition by the Academy Library, presented by Bishop R. J. Tilson,-a copy of the original edition of Conjugial Love upon which are several autographs and inscriptions of historical interest. On an open space in the middle of the title-page, just above the author's name, have been written these words in French:

Donne par L'auteur age de 81 ans
au marquis de St. Simon Le 2 Xbre 1768

Translation: Given by the Author, aged 81 years,
to the marquis of St. Simon, December 2, 1768.

     The handwriting is not Swedenborg's, but presumably that of the recipient. With the aid of Professor Vinet we have reached the conclusion that, although a number of men bearing the name of Saint-Simon have been prominent in French history, this undoubtedly was Maximilien Henri, marquis de Saint-Simon, who was born November 15, 1720, and died near Utrecht in 1799. From La Gorande Encyclopedie we learn that he took part in the Italian campaign of 1744, but withdrew from military service in 1749; that for ten years he made numerous journeys, but in 1758 settled down and devoted himself exclusively to the study of history and the cultivation of letters and science, particularly botany. He wrote a number of books, but of special interest to us is the fact that, in the year 1768, he published a quarto volume on Hyacinths at Amsterdam. Here, in September, 1768, Swedenborg published the work on Conjugial Love, many copies of which he presented to learned men in Europe. It seems not unlikely, therefore, that Saint-Simon met Swedenborg in Amsterdam at this time, and that this copy of Conjugial Love was presented in person, as the inscription indicates.

     Swedenborg resided in Amsterdam from about May, 1768, to April, 1769, when he went to Paris. Cuno gives us an intimate picture of the sprightly old gentleman of eighty-one during this winter spent in Amsterdam.

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He is a "perfect wonder of health," Cuno says, "and although he is more than twenty years older than I am, I should be afraid to run a race with him; for he is as quick on his legs as the youngest man. When I dined with him the last time at Mr. Odon's, he told me that a new set of teeth was growing in his mouth; and who has ever heard this of a man eighty-one years old?" (Documents, II, p. 450.)

     As to the later ownership of the Saint-Simon copy of Conjugial Love, another inscription in the volume places it in the possession of Charles Augustus Tulk, who presented it to his friend John Gordon in the year 1833. For on the inside of the front flyleaf is written:

This most Precious Volume is given to
          John Gordon
     By his affectionate Friend
               Cha : Aug : Tulk

     Beneath this Mr. Tulk wrote out No. 102 of Conjugial Love, the passage treating of the successive opening of the rational mind even to that state of wisdom which is the receptacle of love truly conjugial. And Mr. Gordon adds in pencil a note which fixes the date of the gift: "previous to my going to Jamaica in July, 1833. J. G."

     We hazard the conjecture that Mr. Tulk obtained this copy of Conjugial Love while on a visit to Paris in 1816, for he wrote of his interview with Barrois, the bookseller, who assured him that he had frequent demand for the Latin editions of Swedenborg's works. (Annals, pp. 258, 559.)

     The John Gordon bookplate, with coat of arms, is on the inside of the cover, and beneath it the bookplate of Mr. Claude Toby, who bought the book in Shepherd's Bush in 1902. On the death of this staunch New Churchman in 1919 (NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1919, p. 335), Mrs. Toby sold the volume to Mr. Philip Stone, a member of Michael Church now residing in Western Australia. On January 1,1923, Mr. Stone presented it to the Rev. R. J. Tilson, who, having regard to its historical interest and value, felt that it should be in the possession of the Academy Library.

     We shall be glad to hear from any of our readers who can throw further light upon the matters treated of in this article, and also from those who possess or have knowledge of other volumes bearing names and inscriptions of interest to the New Church.

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NEW BOOKS. 1929

NEW BOOKS.              1929

     The following recent publications have been received for review: HEMELSCHE VERBORGENHEDEN (Arcana Celestial. By Emanuel Swedenborg. Volume III, nos. 2135-2893, Genesis xviii-xxii. The Hague: Swedenborg Genootschap (Society), 1928. 605 pages. Dutch Version by Anton Zelling, uniform with Volumes I and II.

EMANUEL SWEDENBORG, PROPHET OF THE HIGHER EVOLUTION. BY John R. Swanton. New York: New-Church Press, 1928.

AN EPITOME OF SWEDENBORG'S SCIENCE. By Frank W. Very, Boston: The Four Seas Co., 1928.

THE WORD OF THE OLD TESTAMENT EXPLAINED. By Emanuel Swedenborg. Translated by Alfred Acton, M.A., D.Th. Bryn Athyn: Academy of the New Church, 1928.

TOPICS FROM THE WRITINGS. By William Frederic Pendleton, D.Th. Bryn Athyn: The Academy Book Room, 1928.
Title Unspecified 1929

Title Unspecified              1929

     We are pleased to state that Volume II of The Word of the Old Testament Explained is in course of publication, the proofs being forwarded to Dr. Acton in Sweden.
Title Unspecified 1929

Title Unspecified              1929

     "Thanks to Bernard Shaw, we are to have an opportunity of becoming better acquainted with a national literature hitherto little known in England. When he won the Nobel prize in 1925, Mr. Shaw accepted the honor, but let the money go. He decided to spend the award of 118,165 kroner (about $32,000.00) in endowing an Anglo-Swedish Literary Foundation, whose object was to be the encouragement of cultural intercourse between Sweden and Great Britain through the promotion and diffusion of a knowledge and appreciation of the literature and art of Sweden in this country. The first fruits of this largesse are now seen in the issue of the first of four volumes of translations of Strindberg plays. Among later publications of the Foundation will be a history of Swedish literature by Professor J. G. Robertson, director of Scandinavian studies at London University, and a selection from the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg."-(London Letter in NEW YORK TIMES.)

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HOW WERE YOU BROUGHT TO THE LIGHT? 1929

HOW WERE YOU BROUGHT TO THE LIGHT?              1929

     The story of his conversion to the faith of the New Church, told by the Rev. T. S. Harris elsewhere in this number, was written in response to a request by Mr. Walter C. Childs, of Bryn Athyn, who has kindly placed it at our disposal for publication. Mr. Childs has interested himself in gathering information of this kind, and he would be glad to hear from any who feel moved to record their experiences on entering the Church. Not infrequently the workings of Divine Providence in bringing people to the Light are attended with remarkable confirmatory incidents, an account of which is of dramatic interest to the New Church reader.

     Mr. Childs' project was described in his communication entitled "How were you Brought to the Light?" published in our October, 1926, issue. Replies to this question appeared in NEW CHURCH LIFE for December, 1926, p. 797, and for February, 1927, p. 83.
ADAM CLARKE AND JAMES HINDMARSH. 1929

ADAM CLARKE AND JAMES HINDMARSH.              1929

     Ministers of the New Church, in their study of the literal sense of the Word, have found many valuable suggestions in the six-volume work known as Clarke's Commentary. While not free from the errors and obscurities of Christian theology, his comments upon the Scriptures are characterized by great learning, especially in the oriental languages, and also by a simple faith and piety which are refreshing in these days of the Higher Criticism. We have often wondered whether Clarke had any acquaintance with the doctrines of the New Church, since he was a contemporary of the earliest New Churchmen in England. He was born about 1762, and died in 1832. A bit of evidence on this point has lately been discovered by Mr. Arthur Carter in an old volume entitled An Account of the Life of Adam Clarke. (New York, 1833.) From this book we learn that Clarke began preaching on June 19th, 1782, but was ordered to Kingswood School, near Bristol, a Methodist Seminary under the direction of John Wesley, from which he went forth as an itinerant preacher in September of the same year.

112


Now James Hindmarsh, father of Robert Hindmarsh, was at one time Writing Master at this Kingswood School, and also became an itinerant preacher in the Wesley Connexion (Rise and Progress, p. 59), but had become a reader of the Heavenly Doctrines when, in l784, he and Clarke held a conversation in which the latter strongly opposed the "Swedenborgian" doctrine of the Trinity. The record of this interview is herewith quoted from the above-mentioned volume, being taken from the journal of a Mr. Hampson. [By "J. H." we understand James Hindmarsh, and by "Mr. C." Adam Clarke]:

     I find the following entry in his [Hampson's] journal, under the date of Sunday, January 4, 1784, which is too important to be passed by unnoticed.

     Mr. J. H., who had been master of Kingswood School, and several years a traveling preacher, had retired in the preceding year, and became resident in Norwich. He was a kind and affable man, but had unhappily drunk in the doctrines of Baron Swedenborgh. On a conversation that passed between them this day, on the subject of the Trinity, Mr. C. was a good deal perplexed, and writes as follows:

     "I was a good deal distressed in my mind today, by conversing with a, preacher on the doctrine of the Trinity and some other points. Many, said he, are greatly puzzled with the mystery of the doctrine of the Trinity: but there is in truth no mystery in it, if we leave out the unscriptural word person. There is a Trinity; but it is not a Trinity of persons; but, what is called God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, is only the great God acting under three different characters. He added several things more to the same effect; and especially against what he called the unscriptural and absurd doctrine of three persons in the Godhead."

     Against this doctrine Mr. C. gave the following reasons: "This appears to me absurd, as there are a multitude of characters under which God acts: if he is to be designated from such characters, as to his Godhead, this Godhead might be as well called a Denity, A Quadragintenity, yea, a Centenity, as well as a Trinity: as God acts under ten, forty, yea, a hundred different characters in reference to man. Beside, that there is a Trinity of persons, in the most proper sense of the word, is proved by what happened at the baptism of our Lord, Matt. III:16, 17; where we find that he, the Son, was baptized, the Holy Ghost in a bodily form like a dove lighted upon him, and a voice from God the Father was heard out of heaven, declaring that this was his beloved Son. Here, it is most evident, there were three distinct persons, occupying three distinct places, and not one God acting under three distinct characters; this argument is most undoubtedly unanswerable.

113


Again, we find two distinct persons worshiped by the angels in heaven: for there they worship God and the Lamb: not God under the character of a Lamb. Again, we are told to worship the Son, even as we worship the Father: now, if we believe that it is one person acting under different characters; and we are commanded to worship the Son, that is, one of these characters; then this is not worshiping God, but one of the characters under which he acts, and this would be flat idolatry, were it not nonsense; which, well for the sentiment, is neutralized by this absurdity. On this mode of explanation, this part of the doctrine of Baron Swedenborgh must forever stand self confuted." (An Account of the Life of Adam Clarke, pp. 112, 113.)

     It will be observed that Adam Clarke was but twenty-two years of age at the time of this interview in 1784. James Hindmarsh was thirty years older.
FATE OF A VEGETARIAN SUNDAY SCHOOL. 1929

FATE OF A VEGETARIAN SUNDAY SCHOOL.              1929

     Writing in THE OPEN COURT some years ago (1908), Mr. Albert J. Edmunds, an expert in historical research now residing in Cheltenham, Pa., gives the following account of a one-time sect of Swedenborgian vegetarians:

     There is in Philadelphia a vegetarian church. It was founded at Salford, Manchester, England, in 1809. The first members were largely drawn from the Established Church, and others from the ranks of the Swedenborgians, then a rising sect. Their leader was a certain Mr. Cowherd, who had been a curate of St. John's Church (now Manchester Cathedral) under the celebrated John Clowes, who has been immortalized by De Quincey in the latter's essay on "A Manchester Swedenborgian." The creed of the vegetarian sect was thoroughly "New Church," as may still be seen from the current edition. It differs from Swedenborg only in minor ways, and includes a plank in its platform making abstinence from flesh and wine compulsory.

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     In 1817, a number of families, led by the Rev. Wm. Metcalfe, came to Philadelphia, where in 1823 they established a church on Third Street, above Girard Avenue. At first it was of wood, but in 1845 a substantial brick building was put up. Metcalfe died in 1862, leaving a widow who survived him into the present century. She died at eighty-five with her hair still almost black. She had never tasted fish, flesh, or fowl in her life. After the founder's death the church began to languish, and for many years past has made no new converts. Every member who dies makes one less.

     In 1890 there was an agitation to move. The neighborhood, which was in the fields in 1817, was now crowded, and, worse than that, a sausage mill had been built next door, and the steam from the engine was discoloring the tombstones. But how could the members move? The only bidder for their property was the pork butcher, and to him they could not sell. At last, however, the estate was put into the hands of an agent, and their consciences were clear. The agent was not a vegetarian, and promptly sold out to the pork butcher. Then came the nemesis of fate: upon the very spot where a vegetarian church and Sunday school had been established for so many decades there were hams piled up to the ceiling!
OTHER-WORLD TALES. 1929

OTHER-WORLD TALES.              1929

     Our readers will recall the vivid picture of first experiences in the spiritual world given in Louis Pendleton's story, The Great Crossing, published in our issue for December, 1918. A French translation has now been made by Madeleine Jeanmonod, appearing under the title of La Gorande Traverste in LE MESSAGER DE LA NOUVELLE EGLISE for May and June, 1928.

     The Book Room has recently received a letter from a blind friend who is transcribing New Church reading matter into Revised Braille, and finding it "more delightful than anything previously engaged in." He asks for Mr. Pendleton's address, "for I have important things to write him concerning The Wedding Garment, such as will give him added happiness for having written the greatest of all works of fiction since the dawn of history. As an other world novel, it has no equal as yet."

115


COMPLETE WORD 1929

COMPLETE WORD       F. E. WAELCHLI       1929

     A REPLY.

Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE:
     In your January issue appears a communication from Mr. L. C. Knudsen, in which he claims that "the views held and expressed [in the September LIFE] by Dr. Alfred Acton, and sustained by the Rev. F. E. Waelchli and other representatives of the Academy school or position, 'That the Writings are the Word,' meaning the Doctrines, are in plain conflict with what is taught in New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrines, nos. 249-266."

     To support this position, Mr. Knudsen says many excellent things,-so much so that we feel inclined to give his letter here again in full. We can, however, quote only a few of the statements, as follows:

     "The Writings alone are not the complete Word."

     "The Word is complete only in its ultimate form, the letter, or literal sense."

     "The letter alone is not the Word, but all three senses [celestial, spiritual and natural] together constitute the Divine Word or Truth in its fulness. To divide the three senses, instead of conjoining them, is to separate the soul from its body, or the reverse,-certainly a destructive idea of the truth."

     "To maintain that either of these senses or planes is the Word by itself is a manifest error, and contradictory of what the Doctrines teach and declare everywhere."

     "'The internal sense without the external would be like a house without a foundation. (N. J. H. D. 262.)'"

     These statements, as likewise others in the letter, every Academician fully endorses. And as Mr. Knudsen refers to views expressed by Dr. Acton and myself, I would say that ideas essentially the same as those of his statements appear in Dr. Acton's remarks on page 578 of the September LIFE, and in mine on page 580.

116




     Moreover, Mr. Knudsen's statements seem to me to involve the idea that the Writings are the Word. If "the three senses together constitute the Divine Word or Truth in its fulness," then, surely, each sense is on its plane Divine Truth, and as such the Word. Would we say that it is not such? And if not, what is it? Apparently Mr. Knudsen identifies the Writings with the celestial and spiritual senses of the Word, as we do. And so these Writings on their plane are Divine Truth, given, as Mr. Knudsen says, "by the Supreme Author Himself," "the final or supreme Authority." If they are such, then can they be anything other than that which the Lord speaks? And what He speaks is His Word.

     Again, it is said that "to divide the three senses, instead of conjoining them, is to separate the soul from its body, or the reverse,-certainly a destructive idea of the truth." True, but, although soul and body constitute one man, and neither can exist without the other, yet the soul is man, and the body is man. If one or the other is not man, again we would ask, What is it?

     "The Writings alone are not the complete Word." Most true. That is the Academy position. We fully recognize the doctrine quoted that " the internal sense without the external would be like a house without a foundation." (H. D. 262.) To which we may add the still more definite teachings that " the spiritual sense and the celestial sense are not the Word without the natural sense, which is the sense of the letter; for they are like spirit and life without a body; and they are like a palace that has no foundation " (S. S. 39); and that "every Divine Work is complete and perfect in the ultimate." (Ibid. 28.)

     Recognizing all this, there is nevertheless a sense in which each form of the Word is the complete Word. The Word most eminently, the Lord Himself as the Word, above the comprehension of men and of angels, is the complete Word. The Divine Truth, or the Word, which proceeds from the Lord and constitutes the heavens, celestial and spiritual, is the complete Divine Truth, the complete Word. (See H. H. 7 to 19; especially 13.) The Word as it exists in each heaven in written form, and containing no mention of earthly objects, is the complete Word. And so is the written form existing on earth, and containing within itself all that is higher. The Word, wherever it is, and in whatever form, is complete. As the Divine Truth, it cannot be otherwise.

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     "The spiritual and celestial senses are not the Word without the natural sense, which is that of the letter." (S. S. 39.) But shall we say that the angels have not the Word? It is true, and the angels know and acknowledge, that the Word with them must rest upon the Word as it is with men, and that otherwise they could not have it. But, so resting, it is for them the Word, and the complete Word. Furthermore, the Word as it is with them has an ultimate, a written form, differing, as already said, from the final ultimate, which is on earth. And that written Word of theirs has its letter and its spirit. We read: "The angels have a Word, and read it the same as men do on earth, and also drawn from it their doctrinals, and preach from it. It is the same Word; but its natural sense, which is the sense of the letter with us, does not exist in heaven, but only the spiritual sense, which is its internal sense." (H. H. 259.) Elsewhere it is said that the simple understand this Word simply, and the wise, wisely. That is, the wise see more fully the spirit within the written form.

     The Writings of the New Church are the Heavenly Word, celestial and spiritual, brought down to earth in a form accommodated to men. Thus brought down, it is clothed in a letter here,-that letter which is the written presentation of the Heavenly Word in the Heavenly Doctrines. As the Word with the angels has its ultimate, so the Writings have their ultimate. Also, as the Word with the angels rests finally upon the ultimate letter of the Old and New Testaments, so also does the angelic Word as given in the Writings. And further, as the angelic Word has its letter and its spirit, so does that Word as given in the Writings. The simple understand it simply, and the wise wisely.

     Let us now view the same truth from another aspect. A truth needs to be viewed as it were from various angles, in order that it may be seen clearly. This is what is meant by the teaching that the truth of a matter is to be established "at the mouth of two or three witnesses."

     There was a time, in the days of the Jewish Church, when the Word was the Word of the Old Testament. This was then The Word,-the complete Word. To it, the Lord, when on earth, constantly referred. In time, after the Lord had come and again ascended, there was written another Word, that of the New Testament.

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The Christian Church was slow to accept it. Many were unwilling to recognize anything other than the Old Testament as the Word. Yet, in the course of two or three centuries, the new Word was recognized. It was a new Word, and yet a one with the former. In fact, it everywhere, in every line, depends upon the former. It has, indeed, its own ultimate or letter, and yet this depends upon that lower ultimate or letter of the Old Testament. But, even though so depending, it is a Word from which doctrine is to be drawn, and by which doctrine is to be confirmed. And now, in this day, there has again been given a new Word, likewise being but slowly accepted as such by many of those who acknowledge its teachings. This Word is a one with the former. In every line, it depends upon the former. It has its own ultimate or letter, yet this depends first on the lower ultimate which is that of the New Testament, and through this on the still lower of the Old Testament. And yet, even though so depending, it is a Word from which doctrine is to be drawn, and by which doctrine is to be confirmed. This is true, even though the final drawing and confirming of doctrine is to be from the letter of the two Testaments.

     The New Church has from the beginning drawn doctrine from the Writings, and confirmed doctrine thereby, as is shown by Dr. Acton in the September LIFE, pages 578 and 579. Mr. Knudsen says that "there is no interpretation of the Writings allowable in reality." But is not he, in his communication, interpreting? And am not I in mine doing the same? Each of us is drawing doctrine from the Writings, and confirming that doctrine by them. The Letter of Doctrine stands. It is the written form of Divine Revelation, to be preserved inviolate. But the spirit within that letter will be perceived variously. And herein lies the growth and progress of the New Church, from generation to generation, into the ages,-a growth and progress into an ever more interior understanding and perception of the "Spirit of Truth" contained within the letter of the Heavenly Doctrines.

     As now, when about to conclude, I turn again to Mr. Knudsen's communication and read it through, I cannot but feel that he is really very much with us in our Academy position; for although he opens by challenging the view that the Writings are the Word, yet in what follows there is a fuller recognition of them as such than he himself may realize.

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But, be that as it may, we are most certainly a one in his splendid closing words: "The Writings are final or supreme Authority, and cannot and must not be disputed."
     Sincerely yours,
          F. E. WAELCHLI.
LITERAL SENSE OF THE WRITINGS 1929

LITERAL SENSE OF THE WRITINGS       CONRAD HOWARD       1929

Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE:
     In your issue for May, 1928, p. 309, Mr. F. C. Frazee calls into question a point in the paper by the Rev. Albert Bjorck, entitled "The Visible God of the Heavens," published in the December, 1921, number of the LIFE. Like Mr. Frazee, I found this paper extremely interesting and illuminating, so much so that I am willing to give up what may be termed the "accepted" or "traditional" idea regarding the subject of the literal sense of the Writings. To my mind, Mr. Bjorck's point of view is far more comprehensive and satisfying.

     I think I am right in saying that the traditional idea is briefly this: That the Writings constitute the spiritual or internal sense, as distinguished from the literal or external sense of the Scriptures, which are, of course, the Old and New Testaments.

     This conception has served, and has been passed on, for at least two or three generations, and in my own case without thinking much about it. This teaching I accepted very much after the manner of a good Catholic. But of recent years, and especially since the War, much stimulating thought has been focused upon the nature of the threefold Word, and upon the status of the Writings in general, as is well known to all readers of the LIFE.

     To my mind, this development of thought shows that the traditional idea, although it may be relatively true, is in itself incomplete and needs further qualification. For example: If all doctrine is to be drawn from the literal sense of the Word, as is definitely stated in the Doctrine of the Sacred Scripture, No. 50, and we confine the term "literal sense" to the Old and New Testaments, then surely we find ourselves in much the same position as the early Christians. For have not Christians been drawing doctrine from these two sources,-the literal sense of both Scriptures? Whether their doctrine is right or wrong does not affect the argument.

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But if, on the other hand, we are convinced that the Three Scriptures are nothing less than the complete Word as given to the New Church, then the statement in S. S. 50 is full of meaning,-a definite message for the guidance and instruction of the New Church in its development of doctrine.

     To put it in another way, have we not, in the past, been too literal in our interpretation of the statement, "That the doctrine of the church is to be drawn from the sense of the letter of the Word, and confirmed by it." (S. S. 50.) Personally, I think we have. To me such a statement involves a universal law that is applicable to all inspired Revelation, whether Mahometan, Jewish, Christian or the Word of the Writings. If we limit its scope, and say that it applies only to this or that Testament, then the truth of the statement is lost.

     Further on in the Doctrine of the Sacred Scripture (No. 52) we are told that the Word without doctrine is like a lampstand without a light. In other words, the light that illumines man's understanding is doctrine that has been drawn from the literal sense of the Word-to the New Church. The Word of the Lord, as Mr. Bjorck puts it, includes not only the books of the Old and New Testaments, but also the Writings. If this is a conviction that rests in the minds of most readers of the LIFE, as I believe it does, then surely we are accepting, either consciously or unconsciously, definitely or vaguely, a doctrine that has been drawn from the sense of the letter of the Writings, and from so other source. Such a doctrine is indeed confirmed by the two former Scriptures, but not drawn from them.
     CONRAD HOWARD.
26 Ramsbury Road, St. Albans, Herts, England.

     [EDITORIAL NOTE: In connection with Mr. Howard's communication, we would call the attention of our readers to the paper by the Rev. Albert Bjorck, entitled "The Word of God with Men," printed elsewhere in this issue, in which he sets forth more fully the view to which Mr. Frazee took exception. The question was also dealt with by speakers in the General Assembly last August. (See September, 1928, issue, pp. 577-582.) As the subject is one of vital and continuing interest in the Church, we shall be glad to receive further contributions to a discussion of its various phases in our pages.]

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Church News 1929

Church News       Various       1929

     THE SOUTH AFRICAN MISSION.

     November 27, 1928.

     Since our last resume of Mission activities, the normal duties at all the stations have been faithfully maintained. From a report received at Headquarters, we learn that the Rev. Moffat Mcanyana, now personally known to more readers by reason of his attendance at the General Assembly in London, has made an extended trip to Zululand and has officiated at a number of Baptisms. At Durban and Alpha the Native Theological Classes have been resumed; while at the latter place a reorganization of the accommodation for the Trade Schools has been made. The Elementary Schools in Basutoland, as well as those at Alpha and Greylingstad, are preparing for the closing of the Christmas term, being busy with annual examinations, musical contests, and preparations for the observance of the Christmas Festival. At the end of January, the Leaders and Teachers of the whole Mission will meet at Alpha for the Annual Meeting.

     The Alpha Circle has resumed its Sunday evening Services; while the Thursday evening Doctrinal Class, meeting alternately in the different homes at Alpha, is devoting attention to the General Assembly Addresses and Discussions, as printed in New Church Life. These are providing useful instruction, at the same time giving a full reflection of the thought of the whole Church so happily concentrated in Victoria Hall, London, last August.

     Our latest event was the Baptism of Naomi Ethel, the baby daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Edward J. Waters, born on September 30th. The service was held at the Homestead on Sunday morning, November 25th, and was attended by seven adults and air children. After the ceremony, the customary South African morning tea was partaken at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Waters. Toasts were also honored, to "The Church" and to the youngest member at Alpha.
     F. W. E.

     LONDON MICHAEL CHURCH.

     After the pace of the Assembly we had to pause to recover our breath! Then away to the sea to recuperate. And it was only on our return to our native haunts, and to the new session of church work, that we felt able to try to realize what we had really thought of it all. For indeed it was some Assembly! The Autumn session was inaugurated on Sunday, October 7th, by the holding of the Harvest Thanksgiving Service. The pulpit and lectern were very tastefully decorated with corn (by Mr. Alfred Cooper) and the usual offerings of fruit were made, and thankfully received next day by the Homeopathic Hospital. During this service, too, the Pastor administered the Holy Supper to forty-nine communicants.

     In the afternoon, a Feast of Charity was held, at which it was understood we were to hear some "Impressions of the Assembly." As this gathering was also the adjourned Annual Meeting; the officers of the various departments of church work first presented their reports, as these had been crowded out on New Church Day by pressure of higher things. In this connection the Treasurer of the School, Mr. Priest, expressed his regret that this was the last occasion on which he would appear in that capacity, as far as could be seen at present.

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He, however, refused to believe that our School, which had "carried on" for so many years, had come to an end, but preferred to think that its uses were, through force of circumstances, suspended for the present. Let us hope that may be so. As Chairman of the Board he also took the opportunity, as did several other speakers, of congratulating our beloved Pastor on his recent elevation to the Third Degree of the Priesthood, and expressed his joy at having an English Bishop in our midst. The Pastor then announced the names of the members of his Council and of the Board of Finance for the ensuing year, made some other appointments, and received Mr. A. V. Cooper into membership.

     These preliminaries completed, he rose to give an Address. Rightly and naturally, his deepest "impression" of the Assembly was his own inauguration into the Third Degree of his Holy Office. When one recalls the tremendous sphere that came from that ceremony to those who were in the congregation,-in the circumference, as it were,-one can realize to some small extent what it must have meant to the one who was its center-or rather the two. The Bishop of the General Church of the New Jerusalem consecrating a "dear Brother" as o Bishop in that Church. What a never-to-be forgotten scene it was! Our Pastor in his address was careful to make the distinction thus indicated. Though now a Bishop, he has no diocese. It is a joy to him and to us to know that his appointment came directly from the Bishop of the General Church, supported by all his advisers.

     Bishop Tilson referred to the Assembly as a whole as a "Revelation and an Inspiration," and such indeed it was. He exhorted us to "take stock" of our position, beginning from within, and assured us that repentance is always in order. He would say no more. Verbum Sap!

     Mr. Wilfred Pike then read a very thoughtful paper, appreciative of the wonderful addresses we had been privileged to hear during the course of the Assembly, and of the worship in which we had been able to take part. Here we must digress for a moment in order to congratulate the Editor of the Life on the four splendid Assembly numbers which have arrived in such quick succession, giving us the welcome opportunity to live it over again, and, so far as in us lies, to make it our own.

     Mr. Archie Stebbing followed with some pleasant and well-chosen remarks on the social aspects of the Assembly. He made special reference to the delightful Reception and Musicale given at Crosby Hall by Mrs. Lauriston Shaw and her sister, Miss Ethel Spalding. And he evidently had an excellent "impression" of the Club Dinner! Well! That may of course have been quite good, but then he was not present at the Theta Alpha Dinner! In any case, however, comparisons are "oderous."

     Lastly, in this connection, we refer to the remarks made by Mr. V. R. Tilson. His special "impression" of the Assembly is very emphatically shared by the present writer. It was that of the enthusiasm and keenness, and affection for the things of the Church, evidenced by the great majority of our visitors. Intellectually and socially, men and women alike, it was apparent that the Church came first, and all else afterwards. England! Wake Up! Vivat Nova Ecclesia!

     On Tuesday, October 9th, the Social Club held its first meeting. The gatherings have been well attended each week during the session now near its close. They have been varied in character, and all enjoyable, and a recent one at which many of the "Social Songs" were a prominent feature, was especially so. "Friends Across the Sea" went with a will.

     Social Teas are held on the second Sunday of each month, and our Pastor invariably provides, directly or indirectly, matter that is, or should be, of interest to those present. We should like to see them better attended.

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The Tea on Sunday, December 9th, was extra full of "good things," Bishop Tilson reading various letters he had received from absent friends, both in the "Old Country" and "Across the Sea." There was one from that "young old man" Mr. Walter Childs, whom we all remember with affection and admiration, and wonder "how he does it!" He wants statistics! Another communication which was received with enthusiasm was from the Rev. Moffat Mcanyana telling us of his work in Africa, and surely giving evidence of the wisdom of the Bishop in having ordained him. Again our thoughts went back to a moving Assembly scene! May the work in Zululand prosper! Then there was a letter from the Rev. Hugo Odhner, with reference to the Calendar Readings of which we heard at the Assembly. We are looking forward to the arrival of the Calendars; and let us hope that all will put them to their appointed use. Other letters were equally welcome, but space forbids further reference to them in detail.

     The weekly meetings of the Theological Class (T. C. R.) are always instructive, and seem to be doing some excellent missionary work. There is also an afternoon class for women once a month, which is thoroughly appreciated by those who attend. It is studying the Canons. The Sunday Services continue as usual. And as a result of some very forceful teaching on Baptism from our Pastor, one adult has recently been baptized, as well as several infants. On Sunday, August 26th, the Rev. Victor Gladish, the new Pastor at Colchester, preached at Michael Church in the morning, and read the Lessons in the evening. We were glad to welcome him among us and hope to have the opportunity of doing so again from time to time, though we doubt not that he finds quite sufficient to do in his own field of labor.

     Bishop Tilson recently paid a pastoral visit to the Rev. T. F. Robinson at Northampton, and administered the Holy Supper. Mr. Robinson, though unable to take much active part in church life, nevertheless follows all its concerns with deep interest, and much regretted his inability to be present at the Assembly. Add to the list, ordinary pastoral visiting and a terrific correspondence, and it will be realized that our Episcopal Pastor thoroughly justifies his existence, and that Michael Church, though silent of late for the reasons stated, is still here. Greetings and Good Wishes to all "Friends across the Sea" for a Very Happy New Year!
     K. M. D.

     TORONTO, CANADA.

     The Ladies Circle got off to a good start at the first meeting in the Fall, held at the home of Mrs. Rudolf Potts, a subsequent meeting at the church in November being catered for by Mrs. Fred Longstaff and Mrs. Barber, and the December meeting held at the home of Mrs. Reginald Anderson. The attendance has been good and the regular uses maintained, with the addition this year of committees appointed each month to visit the sick.

     The Forward Club has held its regular monthly suppers and meetings. At the September meeting the Pastor read a paper on "Where do Spirits Live?" The October meeting was devoted to a "Quotation Night," each member coming prepared with a quotation from the Writings, not more than half a page long, with relevant remarks. This can be recommended as providing an exceedingly interesting evening.

     The Club invited the men of the Kitchener Society for Saturday, November 17th, when seventeen of them made the trip by automobile. We have at least a triumvirate of "chefs" upon whom we can always depend to cater well and truly to the gastronomic proclivities, and Mr. "Ted" Bellinger, assisted by Mr. F. DuQuesne, served up a meal in his best "cafeteria" style, to which between forty and fifty men did full justice. Our Kitchener friends demonstrated that they had "arrived" in most emphatic fashion, so much so that they monopolized all the spare moments between bites telling in song the Toronto Society in general and the Forward Club in particular of all the latter's known good qualities, and then some more.

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They made a noble appearance, grouped in imposing array around "Ed." Hill wielding an imaginary baton, flanked on either side by such stalwarts as the genial "George" Schnarr and the lusty "Alf" Hasen, with the "lesser lights" fading away into the background, but all equally vociferous in testifying to the conspicuous place their hosts occupied, not only geographically, but also in the counsels and economy of the church. And it was well told, to the tunes of "Marching through Georgia" and "Nancy Lee."

     However, as all good New Churchmen should and can, we were able, at the call of the gavel, to lay aside or put to sleep the hilarious side and enter into the consideration and discussion of things of truer import. The general subject for the evening was "Progress," under three captions: "New Church Education," by T. P. Bellinger; "Society or Church Organization," by F. R. Longstaff; "New Church Evangelization" by A. Thompson. The speakers brought out many good points in their addresses, but perhaps the greatest reaction in discussion was caused by the references made by Mr. T. P. Bellinger to what is coming to be referred to as the "Colchester Experiment" in New Church education; and the further consideration and discussion of this in the church at large may be looked for. It was an enjoyable evening for both Toronto and Kitchener men, and we hope it may be repeated.

     The December meeting of the Club was "Ladies' Night," when it was our privilege and pleasure to entertain our sisters in the Church at supper. The Pastor read a paper on "The Function of the Rational," taking as the basis of his treatment the statement in T. C. R. 508, that "Now it is lawful to enter intellectually into the mysteries of faith." The burden of Mr. Gyllenhaal's address was to show that the function of the rational is to confirm, and not to pre-establish and originate, thus that the rational is not a master, but a servant. The genuine rational is from good, and exists from truth. Good flows in by an internal way, but truth by an external way. Good thus conjoins itself with truth in the rational, and they cause the rational to be. (A. C. 3030.) He quoted extensively from "The New Schaff-Herzog," Lecky and Barrie showing the general scope and tendency of modern thought as developed by the school of Rationalism in Europe. The address was of an extemporaneous nature, replete with germane quotations which we would like to see woven into a whole and made available as a permanent contribution to New Church literature and thought upon an important subject. We would just cite A. C. 118: "The clear sightedness of reason comes from the Lord through the internal man into the rational mind, which is of the external man." (Italics ours.)

     The meeting closed with a very successful dance under the supervision of Mr. Frank R. Longstaff, and a few male sextet musical numbers' were thrown in for good measure. Unfortunately this was the first society occasion on which the somewhat ruthless effect of the influenza invasion made its presence felt, and the attendance was to some extent impaired thereby.     
     F. W.

     GLENVIEW, ILL.

     The Sunday afternoon before Christmas was marked by a Festival of Music in celebration of the Advent of the Lord. The program included numbers by Choir, Chorus and Congregation, with orchestral accompaniment, and with four numbers by the Orchestra interspersed. Professor Jesse V. Stevens conducted. The 21st Psalm and the 150th Psalm in Hebrew were sung from the Psalmody, and excerpts from Bach's Christmas Oratorio. The splendid program was concluded by all singing the Hallelujah Chorus from the Messiah.

     The service on Christmas morning featured the children in song and recitation. A departure from our usual procedure was introduced by having the entire service in the church, instead of concluding it in the parish hall.

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Offerings were brought forward by all, and all the children in turn received gifts from the church. The pastor's address was accommodated to the children, telling them the significance of the Day, and what is involved in our celebration of it.

     The New Year's Eve party was largely attended, and furnished dancing and other entertainment. The ladies supplied delicious refreshments in the form of chicken salad, coffee, etc. At midnight a brief Watch Night Service was held in the church to note the passing of the Old Year and the beginning of the new state typified by the New Year.

     Two of our school teachers,-Miss Volita Wells, of Bryn Athyn, and Miss Venita Roschman, of Kitchener,-went home for the holidays, but have now returned, and the school work is moving along with much enthusiasm.

     The Calendar Reading has aroused much interest, and the available supply of the Posthumous Works was soon exhausted, with many awaiting the arrival of more copies. Several of the older members recall with pleasure the Calendar Reading of thirty-five years ago, and some admit that they have not done as much systematic reading of the Writings as they did in those days. It is to be hoped that nothing will again interfere with the regular calendar. Great interest will be added by the notes and comments appearing in the Life from month to month.

     The Seymour G. Nelson family is again at the winter home in St. Petersburg, Florida. With friends met there, and their own strong interest in the Church, it would not be surprising to hear of the establishing of a substantial church center there.
     J. B. S.

     KITCHENER, ONT.

     The first event of the season was a banquet held to bid farewell to our departing pastor and his wife, the Rev. and Mrs. L. W. T. David, and also to welcome our new pastor and his wife, the Rev. and Mrs. Alan Gill. During the course of a delightful evening, Mr. David was presented with a purse in token of our appreciation of his work among us, and the ladies of the society presented Mrs. David with a bridge lamp. Mr. Gill was presented with a key to our church building.

     We are well established in our regular uses now. Doctrinal classes are held every Friday, with suppers preceding twice a month. Our pastor is giving us instruction from Divine Providence. He is taking up the introduction to the Word Explained with the ladies at their monthly meetings, and also with a group of men known as the "Students." There is a Young People's class held every other week. The Men's Club was well represented with an attendance of eighteen in Toronto at a special meeting of the Forward Club there. They surprised their hosts with some songs especially prepared for the occasion. To judge by reports, they caused much merriment, and earned for our men a reputation for singing which they certainly didn't expect.

     The Sunday following this meeting, our pastor and the Rev. Fred E. Gyllenhaal exchanged pulpits. That was the first time many of us had heard Mr. Gyllenhaal preach. He also conducted the Sunday afternoon children's service, which we are having this year instead of the Sunday School before Church which we have had for some years. The children were spellbound by the address he gave them. Needless to say we enjoyed his visit, and hope to have him with us frequently during the winter.

     Our day school has seventeen pupils, two more than last year, and we are now looking forward to a regular increase each year. The children gave an entertainment at Christmas time which was enjoyed by both parents and children. It showed careful planning and was well presented.

     On November 12th we celebrated Thanksgiving Day by a banquet. The speakers of the evening were three octogenarians of our Society,-Messrs. Jacob Stroh, Richard Roschman and Isaac Steen. They recalled for us many interesting things that took place in the early days of our Society. Lantern slides of the pioneers and founders of the Society, also the first places of worship and school buildings, were shown during the speeches.

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     During the Christmas season we had tableaux, representing in six scenes the story of our Lord from the time Mary and Joseph were turned away from the inn to the Flight into Egypt. On Christmas Eve the children's service was held, and the address was on the same subject as the tableaux, emphasizing that there was "no room for them in the inn." The service on Christmas Day was especially appreciated. The chancel was beautifully decorated with candles and evergreens, and the choir sang an appropriate anthem. The sermon was on the Divinity of the Lord and His birth from a virgin. It was enjoyed by all.

     On December 23d, Mrs. Louisa Hasenphlug passed into the other world. She was a staunch and loyal member of our Society, and many of us will miss her presence here.
     C. R.

     BRYN ATHYN, PA.

     As usual we are deplorably behind in our account of the activities in Bryn Athyn, and now find ourselves with more events to report than can be crowded into the available space. The departure of the Rev. E. E. Iungerich, who accepted a call to act as Pastor of the Pittsburgh Society, left a vacancy in the Academy Schools which it is very hard to fill. The Rev. Homer Synnestvedt has begun his duties as a teacher in the various departments of the schools, and the Rev. Hugo L. Odhner has come both to teach and to assist with the pastoral work of the Bryn Athyn Society.

     We are glad to welcome these new helpers, who have both entered with enthusiasm upon their respective tasks. The doctrinal classes have been divided between the Rev. Hugo Odhner and the Rev. Theodore Pitcairn, the former giving series on "The Last Judgment," and the latter taking up the subject of "Education." Both series have been highly stimulating and valuable studies. We are also glad to welcome the Rev. L. W. T. David, who has just arrived to act in a secretarial capacity. His family is expected to move from Toronto and take up residence in Bryn Athyn in the near future.

     The Charter Day celebration followed in general the traditional program of the last few years. On Friday morning, November 2, following a procession of students, ex-students, the Board of Directors and Faculty, from Benade Hall to the Cathedral, all joined in an inspiring service, at which the Rev. H. L. Odhner delivered a noteworthy address. Then was a football game in the afternoon against Woodbury High School, but unfortunately the visitors proved too strong for the Bryn Athyn team, which, in spite of a determined battle, went down to defeat by a score of 18-12. At the banquet in the evening, Mr. Edward H. Davis presided as toastmaster with marked ability. The speakers of the evening, Messrs. Donald F. Rose, Eldric Klein and Philip Pendleton, addressed themselves to some of the live issues in present-day Academy life. Because of the active interest of all present in the forthcoming Presidential election, the discussion turned upon political issues, a fact which some felt a little unfortunate in view of the character of the occasion. On Saturday afternoon, a delightful tea in the Faculty Room and the Bishop's study gave opportunity for an informal meeting of the ex-students with the teachers, and for pleasant reminiscences of the "good old school days." There were 52 visitors present from other centers of the Church.

     The Christmas program was signalized this year by the dedication of the North Group of Cathedral buildings, which were put to immediate use, both for the choir and for the gathering of the children for their Festival Service. Following the regular morning service on December 23d, the congregation followed the Ministers and the Choir in procession into the new Choir Practice Room, where a short service of dedication was held. Because of the illness of Bishop N. D. Pendleton, the service was conducted by Bishop George de Charms. It consisted in the opening of the Word in a Repository specially provided, followed by a short address of presentation by Mr. Raymond Pitcairn, a response by the officiating Priest, and the formal dedication, after which the Word was closed and the Ministers retired while the Choir sang a closing Anthem. The address of presentation follows:

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     "Bishop de Charms: The north tower entry, the cloister leading to the church, and these rooms, are ready for use. Their design and building, committed to my charge, have been a work of joy and affection shared by all who labored on them, and by Mildred, who has given largely to this end. In the presence of the congregation, and before the Lord, I give possession of these buildings to the Bryn Athyn Church-in witness whereof I give to you, Assistant Pastor of the Bryn Athyn Church and Vice President of its corporation, a key. May choirs in this hall prepare to sing the praises of our Lord, and children of many generations assemble here before their Christmas festivals, and bear their floral gifts at Eastertide. And through the cloister, whose figures in completed series will stand for all that is of faith and love whereby entrance is made into the Church, will pass many members of the Lord's New Church more worthy of His blessings than are we."

     At four o'clock in the afternoon, there was a Christmas Service for the children. There were about two hundred and sixty in the procession, and a total of six hundred and fifteen in the congregation. This represents the largest gathering at any one service since the Dedication. As usual, the ladies of the choir led the procession, in white vestments, and carrying lighted candles which were placed on temporary stands at the chancel steps. The service was conducted by Bishop de Charms, who delivered an address on the meaning of the shepherds and the wise men. The service was enriched by a number of selections by a quartet of wind instruments from the Philadelphia Orchestra. At the dose of the service the children passed through the new buildings to the Tower Room at the north end, where they viewed a representation prepared by Miss Helene Iungerich, and received a little Christmas gift.

     On Monday afternoon, a series of three tableaux representing the Christmas story were presented in the Auditorium under the direction of Miss Margaret Bostock, Miss Erna Sellner; and Mr. W. H. Alden, Jr. Music for the occasion was supplied by the Bryn Athyn Orchestra. At the Christmas Service held on Tuesday Morning, December 25th, the Rev. H. L. Odhner preached a most illuminating sermon. There was special singing by the choir and instrumental music.

     It is of note that the preparations for the Assembly of 1930 are already under way, and that plans are in progress for the erection of a building adequate to provide for the large gathering which we confidently hope will meet in Bryn Athyn a year from next June.

     Bryn Athyn suffered rather severely from the epidemic of influenza which has been sweeping the country. As a precautionary measure, the Elementary School was closed for two weeks following the regular vacation. The Society was saddened by the loss of two of its members, both in the same family, who fell victims to the disease. S. Alden Simons, who was a student at Antioch College, Ohio, took sick during his vacation in Bryn Athyn. He seemed to have recovered, but contracted pneumonia shortly after his return, and died on January 10th. One day later his father, Mr. Samuel Simons, passed away, while at the same time a younger sister, Una, was very critically ill. Mr. Simons had been actively connected with the Ushers' organization from its beginning. He had been in charge of the difficult problem of arranging the seating in the Cathedral, and had served for several years on the Pastor's Council. His loss will be keenly felt by the Society, and the sympathy of all goes out to his wife and family for whom the double bereavement has been a most severe trial. While there are still a number of cases in Bryn Athyn, it is hoped that the epidemic has passed its height and that it will steadily subside.
     G. DE C.

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WANTED 1929

WANTED              1929




     Announcements.


     Would like to correspond with anyone who has for sale one or more copies of Volume I of Swedenborg's Spiritual Diary, English Edition, published by James Speirs, London. THE ACADEMY BOOK ROOM, Rev. W. H. Alden, Manager, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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SHARP TWO-EDGED SWORD 1929

SHARP TWO-EDGED SWORD       Rev. L. W. T. DAVID       1929


[Frontispiece: Photographs of the Rev. Albert Bjorck at his home in the Balearic Islands.]
NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. XLIX      MARCH, 1929           No. 3
     "To the angel of the church in Pergamos write: These things saith He that hath the sharp sword with two edges. . . ." (Revelation 2:12.)

     The Lord has made His advent to the New Church by revealing to men the Human which He glorified during His sojourn upon earth in the flesh. And He has done this by revealing Himself in His Word, showing that He is the essential Word, and that the Word is Himself. Thus He has shown that the Word is Divine throughout, and consequently that it is celestial and spiritual throughout.

     Before His Second Advent, the Lord had revealed Himself to men by means of Divine Natural Truth which could not disclose His glorified state, except representatively, thus remotely and in a general and obscure idea. But in making His Second Coming to reveal fully to men His glorified Humanity, He made Himself known by Divine Truths Spiritual and Celestial, which are indeed the only truths that man can receive, and in any degree understand, in which the Lord's Divinity can be seen in particulars as well as in general, and thus clearly instead of obscurely. Particular ideas of the Divine will then be found in the whole universe, both heavenly and terrestrial, and in the life of its inhabitants, if our eyes be opened; consequently they are to be seen in all the experiences of human life, which are but the providings,-the leadings, restrainings, withholdings,-of the Divine Providence. But His Divinity is still more clearly disclosed in the particulars of the literal sense of the Word, where it is seen that all Divine things, as well as all the celestial and spiritual that flow therefrom, are contained in fulness and in power, because they are contained in things or images most natural.

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     As the Son of Man is described by John, and as He announces Himself in the messages to the Seven Churches, His glorified Humanity, or His Divinity, is set forth under certain natural ideas, and, therefore, only in a general way and obscurely. But as He has shown Himself in the spiritual and celestial truths of His Second Coming, those obscure ideas are wonderfully illuminated and made clear by the disclosure of particular things of His Divinity.

     The vision of the Son of Man as seen by John was a vision of Him Glorified, and that vision contains many particulars descriptive of His Divinity; but they are expressed according to natural ideas, thus representatively and obscurely to the rational understanding. Rational thought about the Lord's Divine Humanity can be formed only when we understand these various particulars according to spiritual and celestial ideas; and as these become established in the mind, and are more and more fully developed and enlarged by continued study of the revealed interior truth and meditation thereon, His Divinity is manifested ever more clearly, as clearly as human understandings are capable of perceiving Infinity and Eternity. Our reasonable faculty, when filled with such spiritual ideas of the Lord, and governed by them, becomes rational in the only true sense,-spiritual-rational and celestial-rational,-and the eye of the understanding is then open to see the glorified Lord, and also that kingdom which He has made, and which has its all from Him.

     Our text involves that attribute of the Son of Man which He used in addressing, through John, the third of the seven churches in Asia. This attribute is purely natural,-a sword, sharp, and having two edges. Nevertheless, because it is ascribed to the Lord, it sets forth representatively some particular quality of His Divinity or Infinity. It is plain that if we were to remain only in this representative idea we should never know what that Divine quality is, except perhaps that we might have a vague notion that in some way He has the means of fighting in combat. And because such an idea is not rationally understood, and it is not known how He fights, or when, or by what instrumentality, the idea that He is able to fight, and that He does so, is easily overthrown. For it easily appears to man as if he had to do all the fighting himself.

     With the exception of several miraculous instances described in the Old Testament, there are no creditable accounts of Divine warfare; and in human affairs it appears as if it made no difference whether questions of right or human benefit were involved.

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Liberties have been overthrown and tyrannies established; prosperity and well-being have been ruined by devastation; all the cultural arts and the amenities of intelligence have been reduced to barbarism, cruelty, and bestiality; and apparently nothing has been done to check these downfalls of humanity, except when men themselves took matters in hand to protect their rights, to assert their liberties, and to reestablish the rule of law in the place of the rule of individual self-will.

     Those who think much along such lines come to the conclusion, either that there is no such thing as Divine Providence, and thus practically that there is no Divinity except Nature in her inmosts; or, what is internally the same, though apparently different, that Divine Providence is only in greatest things, and not in leasts, that it is in the universe governing the motions of the stars, the succession of the seasons, the rising and setting of the sun, but not in the affairs of men, and consequently is not concerned with the issues of right and wrong. Thus the idea that the Lord is able to enter into battle and to fight is entirely taken away, and the ability to contend with opposing forces is ascribed to man only.

     In all this we see how the natural man must think, if he pursues these matters without the enlightenment of spiritual truth. It would be better for him spiritually if he did not in such ways subtract from the Divine powers. It would be better for him to acknowledge those powers, and put confidence in them, even if he remained only in the representative idea that the Lord has a sword with which He sometimes goes to war to defend His kingdom, as is described in the Apocalypse: "These shall make war with the Lamb, and the Lamb shall overcome them." (Rev. 17:14.) "And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and He that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness doth He judge and make war. . . . And the armies which were in heaven followed Him upon white horses. . . . And out of His mouth Went a sharp sword, that with it He should smite the nations." (Rev. 19:11, 14, 15.)

     From these things we also see how very inadequate all natural ideas, even representative ones, are to rational thought concerning the qualities and powers of the Lord's Divinity.

     *     *     *     *     *

     "He that hath the sharp two-edged sword." These words refer to the vision of the Son of Man seen by John, and described by him in the first chapter of the Apocalypse, where it is said, "Out of His mouth went a sharp two-edged sword." (Rev. 1:16.)

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     Now the Son of Man is the Lord as to the Word in all aspects and relations, internal and external, while the various attributes describing Him are indicative of special relations and aspects by which He reaches all the different states of mankind, and in which men in all these states may approach Him and know Him. Or, since the Son of Man is the Lord as to the Word, the various attributes are indicative of the relations of the Word to our life, and of those modes by which we may approach the Essential Word, Divine Truth Itself, appropriating it in our lives, and being elevated thereby into interior life.

     The expression "out of His mouth" clearly signifies instruction, for nothing proceeds from the mouth of the Lord but Divine Truth, and all truth instructs and thereby leads or judges; just as nothing proceeds from the hand of the Lord but Good, which benefits and blesses the path of life. Hence the "two-edged sword . . . out of His mouth" means instruction by and from the Word.

     Instruction is given in the Word adequate to every quality and condition of man; but here, it will be understood, instruction is meant such as meets a specific state, introducing a man into this state, and leading him in it and out of it. This special state is that of temptation. This is why the Son of Man with the sharp two-edged sword stands at the head of the message to Pergamos. For the church of Pergamos represents all those in the church who are in temptation, and thus abstractly all temptations, or the state of temptation in general. (A. E. 130.) The same is involved in the number "two" ascribed to the sword, in the expression "two-edged." For "two," as it precedes "three," signifies the state before regeneration, thus a state of combat or temptation (A. C. 755); that is, the series "one," "two," "three," signifies beginning, progression, and completion, or, initiation into spiritual life, struggle to maintain spiritual life, and victory in which spiritual life is established, completed, and made perfect. Hence the "sharp two-edged sword" is all Divine Truth in its relation to a state of temptation.

     It has been said that this Truth introduces a man into this state. This must not be taken to mean that the Lord desires us to experience the pains of temptation, or that we should desire to have them brought upon us, like the Flagellants of old.

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On the contrary, He teaches us to pray, "Lead us not into temptation." It simply means that in our present condition temptation is unavoidable if we would attain a certain goal of spiritual life, just as a man must pass over a certain road if he would arrive at his desired destination. The Lord's desire is that we all should come into a condition of blessedness and peace that can be eternal, and in the Divine Truth He inspires us with a desire for the same end. But this end cannot be realized unless the evils and falsities which destroy blessedness and peace are removed, and goods and truths fixed in permanent security in their place. This is done by the Lord's Divine instruction, which is then His "sharp sword with two edges"; and with it He fights against evils and their falsities which tire the powers of darkness. It is interesting to note that this relation of instruction to temptation was known in the Apostolic Church, probably from the Lord's private discourse with the Disciples, and passed from mouth to mouth; for we find Paul saying to the Ephesians, "Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the speech of God." (Eph. 6:17.)

     The idea of temptation is also contained in the word "sharp," which is suggestive of pain and suffering; and spiritual suffering is temptation. In the Apocalypse Revealed we are told that the sword is described as sharp, "because it penetrates the heart and soul" (A. R. 52); an idea also expressed by Paul, and very forcibly," For the Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrows, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." (Heb. 4:12.) To penetrate the heart and soul is to penetrate to the springs of our life, our loves, and there to cut asunder the tissues of false appearances and pretensions by which the life of proprium comes forth into hurtful act; it is also to carve out new channels for heavenly affection, that they may descend from the Lord into our conscious thought and act.

     But Divine instruction does much more than initiate man into a state wherein he must endure the pains incident to spiritual temptation; it also leads him through. Spiritual temptation arises when there is deficiency, either of spiritual truth or of spiritual good. But spiritual good can always be given when spiritual truth is received with genuine affection. Hence a lack of spiritual truth is the chief cause of temptation, and one then finds the course of his life obscured in darkness; he wanders in uncertainty, and is misled by deceptive fallacies.

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From this it is plain that it is by Divine instruction alone that we are led through the trials of temptation to the victory that shall endure forever. So now the sharp two-edged sword becomes the symbol of this spiritual victory. Its very sharpness is significative of victory; for we read, "It is said to be 'sharp,' because it disperses completely" (A. E. 73); and when there is a complete dispersion of evils and falsities there is victory.

     It is the merely natural man who sees the sword of the Lord as something terrible and threatening, who seeks to avoid the instruction of Divine Truth, lest his self-will and self-intelligence be hurt; To the internal or spiritual man this sword is as the strengthening of his arm, giving assurance of safety in the combat and of final conquest. Thus it is the sign of salvation; wherefore in a psalm of praise it was sung, "Let the saints be joyful in glory; . . . let the high praises of God be in their mouth, and a two-edged sword in their hands." (Ps. 149:5, 6.)

     There is still another connotation of the word "sharp" that we should not pass over. In the Apocalypse Explained we are told that "'sharp' signifies accurate, exquisite, and complete,. . . for a sharp sickle, like a sharp sword, acts very exquisitely, and penetrates very subtlety." (A.E. 9082.) By this is meant that Divine instruction applies itself to the internal man, that it searches out the inmost quality, that it discriminates perfectly according to quality, and that it finds recesses in the interior mind where genuine truths of the Lord and His kingdom are implanted.

     From all these things, taken together, it is not difficult to see that when the sword is called "sharp" it means that the instruction proceeding from the Lord's mouth is perfect. It is indeed perfect, both in itself and in its use when in function among men. We also know and acknowledge this, because we know that nothing but what is perfect comes forth from the Divine. Yet how little do we see of that perfection until some little glimpse is given us of the heavenly meaning of the words expressing what is perfect!

     A sword may be said to be perfect when it is sharp, and imperfect or useless when it is dull; and yet its Perfection may also be said to reside in its design or shape, its weight and poise, and these may even be the greater factors. In the case before us, perfection is especially meant by the other term of the description, namely, "two-edged."

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     If we recall the various meanings of the word "sharp," we shall observe that it signifies the perfection of the Divine instruction in its relation to men:-in initiating them into temptation, in leading them through their trials to a sure victory, and in constantly turning them away from what is external and merely temporary toward interior things that are eternal. "Two-edged," however, as we shall see, is descriptive of the perfection of that instruction as it is in itself.

     Our first thought of the fact of its being two-edged is that it cuts both ways, that is, that the sword of Divine instruction fights, on the one hand, against falsities and their evils until they are destroyed, and, on the other hand, that it fights for goods and truths even until their salvation, and then eternally for their preservation.

     But the very idea of fighting, whether against falsity or for truth, involves a further perfection, for a sword does not fight of itself. There is implied a man behind the sword who plies it skillfully in the combat; but in the man there is nothing living or active except an affection of his love. Thus, in spiritual matters, the evil man always fights with falsities from an affection of destroying, while the angelic man, and pre-eminently the Divine Man, the Son of Man, fights with truths from an affection of saving and making happy. Hence, in temptation-combats, all Divine instruction is a conjunction of good and truth, and these cannot be separated, except in the heart of him who contends against the Lord.

     This conjunction is meant by the number "two." And the sword being two-edged thus signifies that Divine instruction is in itself a conjunction of Good and Truth, or of Love and Wisdom. This is its perfection. And from this it follows that no one can receive anything of Divine teaching into his heart without also receiving at the same time good from the Lord.

     Concerning this Perfection we find the following in the Arcana Celestia: "That it is perfect, is because it was doubled, and being doubled involves all things of good and all things of truth; what is on the right side involves good from which is truth, and what is on the left involves truth from good, thus also a perfect conjunction of both. Hence also it is that 'two' signifies conjunction, and also all and single things, as also what is full" (A. C. 9861), that is, what is complete and perfect.

     But this idea of perfection will not be complete in our minds, unless we see what is meant by the sword's having two edges.

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In the original tongue, the edge of the sword is called the "mouth," quite naturally from the fact that it is the edge of the sword that bites. But spiritually this usage is derived from the fact that the sword represents truth, and the idea of the declaration of truth by the speech of the mouth; or, as expressed in the passage from Paul before quoted, "Take. . . the sword of the Spirit, which is the Speech of God!" In other words, the speech that proceeds from the mouth of God is the spiritual sword.

     But this sword has two edges, or mouths; that is, it has a twofold speech. This twofold speech is nothing else than the speech of the Letter and the speech of the Heavenly Doctrine taken together. The Letter without the Doctrine cannot be understood, and the Letter illustrates and confirms the Doctrine. They are intrinsically united as the two edges of one sword. They are One Word. For this reason we are told that the words "'He that hath the sharp two-edged sword' signify the Lord as to truths of doctrine from the Word, by which evils and falses are dispersed." (A. R. 108.)

     No man can be led into spiritual temptations, and safely through them, without this weapon of defense. Nothing but the Heavenly Doctrine can search out and disperse interior falsities and evils. And since the instruction that proceeds from the Lord's mouth is also the Lord Himself, to place our entire reliance in this Doctrine is to trust in "the Lord who alone fights in temptation." (A. E. 131.) In obedience to His perfect Speech, we shall be led into that perfect Peace that endureth forever. Amen.

     Lessons: Numbers 22:15-35. Ezekiel 21:l-17. H. H. 512.
MOST PERFECT ANGELS 1929

MOST PERFECT ANGELS              1929

     "There are two things which proceed from the Lord as a Sun,-Divine Truth and Divine Good. Divine Truth is presented in the heavens as light, and Divine Good as heat. But Divine Truth and Divine Good are so united that they are not two, but one; yet with the angels they are separated, for then are angels who receive Divine Good more than Divine Truth, and there are those who receive Divine Truth more than Divine Good; the former being in the celestial kingdom, the latter in the spiritual kingdom. The most perfect angels are those who receive both in like degree." (Heaven end Hell 133.)

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KNIGHTHOOD-CHIVALRY 1929

KNIGHTHOOD-CHIVALRY       ALICE E. Grant       1929

     A TALE TO A BOYS' CLASS.

     Cnect-youth; Knabe-boy; Chevalier-a rider, a fighter on horseback; hence cavalry-chivalry.

     Every people, in every age and in every land, have had some means of marking the change that comes over boys between their twelfth and fourteenth year. In warm countries this change comes as early as the tenth year. Indians have rites by which boys at that age are initiated into the training that will make them physically and mentally fit to be warriors and chiefs. Once upon a time everyone that was not capable of developing and coming up to the standard was disposed of, or considered underwitted or a cripple and turned over to the women in disgrace.

     All primitive peoples have some such trials of endurance, not only of the mind, but also of the body, by which their youths are trained. Boys are separated from the women and live among the men, and are taught to hunt, fight, and perform deeds of daring that will make them control their nerves, and train their eyes, ears, smell, taste and touch in such a way that they become sensitive to every change that plays upon them.

     You know that wild animals are in the order of their lives, and that all their senses are under the direct government of the Lord through what is known as instinct. These senses are given to them for their protection, and in a life free from the influence of man are used for that purpose. A primitive man is trained to be like an animal in the use of his senses, except that, having a mind, he can be trained to use these senses in a better, higher, keener way, and in more ways, than an animal can. But leave a man alone and untrained, and he becomes worse than an animal. Because of his brain, he can become worse than any beast; for he can open his mind to the control of evil spirits, and give them the opportunity to become the worst kind of beasts, such as were seen in hell by Swedenborg, and were made known to him as human monsters. Idiots and insane people are like beasts, in the sense that their brains do not control their bodies.

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     It is an interesting study to find out the different ways in which nations and peoples train their boys during the age of adolescence to be what they consider the highest type of man. Of all these rites and ceremonies, those used by our European ancestors are of the most appealing interest to us. When I say "King Arthur's Knights," all that period "When Knighthood was in Flower" passes before your mind. When I speak of "Roland" you immediately think of that great knight and his deeds of valor. Siegfried recalls one of the most beautiful and most knightly characters. And who among you would not like to be "Sir Galahad," the knight without reproach?

     I know that many of you have read these beautiful tales, and have been inspired by them, and have wished that you had lived at the time when men and boys did such wondrous deeds for their king, and for all mankind, and especially for all women and children. It is well that you should have such images and ideals in your mind, and it is well that you are in a school where such ideals are presented to you, that you may learn to love them, and be inspired with the wish to be like them.

     And can you live them? Is there any way in which boys can be trained at this day and age of the world to be as wonderful and inspiring men as were the Knights of King Arthur? Can any of them be worthy to guard that sacred cup, "The Holy Grail"? Yes-and more than yes. The world today is more in need of knights than ever before. Never have there been more foul deeds to be avenged, more fair maidens to be delivered, more wizards and witches to be unmasked, than in our day and age.

     We have just celebrated our Christmas festival. Up to this time it has been to you a beautiful, sacred festival in memory of the birth of our Lord into the world as a babe. Then followed a week or more of holidays full of merriment and good will-gifts and games and sports and parties. You have loved that, but the time has come when you must take a deeper view of what Christmas means. You must begin to study why the Lord was born on earth, and what it means when your question is answered with "To save you." The explanation and fulfillment of this answer will be the explanation of the meaning of the training of the knights of long ago.

     The most wonderful of all the knights was the One born on earth on Christmas Day so many centuries ago.

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He came into this world to fight the most terrible dragon that has ever existed, either before or since that time. He came to release men from terrible dungeons, to deliver maidens from enchanted castles, and to deprive evil wizards of their power to work magic. As a child, His power was unseen. He was guarded from danger by a Power unknown to others,-a Power of which even He was not as yet fully conscious. In that unseen world of magic the evil had attempted to cast deadly spells upon Him, but because He was "without reproach" they were of no avail. It was when He came to the age that some of you boys have reached that He felt His power coming to Him. Unlike any human being, either before or since, He felt this power growing daily within Him. Of the age of training for manhood-His years between twelve and twenty or twenty-one,-the Word tells us nothing, but the Writings tell us of His combats with unseen foes of so great power and strength that He alone could overthrow them, because of the Divine power that was in Him.

     The story of our Lord's life during His manhood is written in the Gospel in such a way that there is no glitter and show, and there are no glowing tales of deeds of prowess. Yet what more knightly deed was ever done than when the woman in the threes of sin was brought to Him by her accusers, that she might be stoned to death, and when he turned to them, and said: "Let him that is without sin cast the first stone!" And when the accusers had departed, and He found her alone, He drove the evil spirits away from her by saying, "Go, and sin no more!" When the devils threw a young man on the ground, making him writhe in agony, Who dispelled their hold and drove them into a herd of swine? What knight ever did a knightlier deed than that of our Lord in healing the ear of one of His betrayers when it had been cut off by one of His enthusiastic followers? And then, when He was led to His death, He could say of His slayers, " Forgive them, for they know not what they do!"

     The Lord's whole life was a perfect example, and it was this life that was taken as an inspiration by the greatest knights of old; for it was after the world had again forgotten the lessons of the greatest of all Knights that Knighthood or Chivalry arose. Their insignia was the Cross, which to them represented what the Lord willingly did when He suffered Himself to be crucified. He willingly laid down His life for His friends, that they might be saved from evil. This was their ideal,-to be willing to give their lives that others might be saved from danger.

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The Cross represented the most terrible of all the trials that a man could endure. Even the Lord prayed to be spared this trial, if He might save men in any other way. In the Garden of Gethsemane He prayed that this cup-this trial-might not be required of Him, but added, "Thy will, not mine, be done!" It was then that He had a vision of an angel, really of Jehovah, His Soul-Father, who strengthened Him. Such visions are often spoken of as coming to knights. No one knew of this trial, nor of the Lord's agony, where His sweat was as drops of blood; for His disciples slept, and left Him to keep His vigil alone. Could any body of men have a higher ideal or a more perfect symbol than those first knights had?

     Now what was their preparation for knighthood? It was not an education from books, which few could have at that day, but it was an education of all their senses to obey a mind in which reigned a vision,-a, vision of the Lord as the Sun of Heaven, holding for them the cup of salvation represented by the Holy Grail,-that cup which He drank from, and gave to the disciples to drink from, when He said, "Drink ye all of this cup. For this is my blood of the new covenant which was shed for you." No one could see this vision excepting those who had followed His Divine commands.

     In those days, boys were educated to high ideals of manhood by older men. "Service to God and Man " was their motto. Such service entailed preparation for war, as the world was again filled with evil, and but few remembered the lessons of the Great Teacher. To be made strong enough for war, one needed to be able to perform strenuous physical feats,-to ride, to wrestle, to jump, climb, swim, throw, also to endure cold, heat, hunger, thirst, long journey; in strange lands, over mountains, through deserts. Their sight must be clear and true, their hearing acute and correct, their scent keen. They must control their taste, lest they themselves eat and drink too much, becoming dull from gluttony and unbalanced by strong drink, and so losing control of their minds. Their sense of touch must be clean, pure and gentle, but firm; and in a death struggle it was to be strong for the right, yet merciful to a fallen enemy. The Lord's own words, "Do unto others as ye would that they should do unto you," were to be the rule practiced in their lives.

     In their eyes, all women were to be held sacred. Their ideal was the Virgin Mary, in whom they saw a vision of perfect womanhood, worthy to be the Lord's mother.

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At first she was not thought of as a saint, but as an ideal. When these youths in training came into the presence of a woman, they bent the knee in acknowledgment of women's use and service to the world. They offered to be of service to her, and then employed all their trained senses in that service,-eyes been to watch for her pleasures and needs, ears quick to hear her commands, hands capable, through the training of their sense of touch, to aid her gently and tenderly in her wants; all this without familiarity, for this was most carefully guarded against. On bended knee, with lowered eyes, a youth might kiss a lady's finger tips, if she granted him that happy privilege. If she sent him forth to fight for her, thrice blessed indeed was he if permitted to wear a knot of ribbon of hers to show that he was her chosen knight.

     You know the tales of Gawain, Percival and Launcelot, of their trials, failures, successes and rewards. If you have not read these tales, you have many hours of pleasure in store for you. But there are other knights about whom not much has been said or written, who have worn no glittering armor, nor ridden on prancing steeds, who have not rescued forlorn maidens, nor downed recalcitrant knights, but who yet have done more glorious deeds than any knight of old, and who, in the world where they now live, appear in garb more wonderful and radiant than any ever seen in this world.

     These are the knights who, while they lived on earth, fought unseen dragons, and who are now in heaven. It is much easier to fight an enemy that one can see; for when the foe comes unawares, like a snake in the grass, and when he is least expected, it takes well-trained nerves and muscles, obedient to a trained and alert mind, as well as a keen sight and quick hearing, to overthrow him before he gets an opportunity to strike.

     Have you read the tale of Apollo's slaying the dragon, of Hercules' strangling the snake that attacked him when but a tiny infant, of Bellerophon and the Chimera, of Jason and the Golden Fleece, of Perseus and the Old Serpent of the Sea, of St. George and the Dragon? All of these stories of mythology are but prophecies of what the Lord was to do when He came on earth, and how He was to overthrow that old dragon, Satan, whose strength had been increasing ever since he was cast out of the Garden of Eden, even until it had become impossible for any man to overcome him. The Lord came with His sword of Truth, and conquered the dragon and cast him, down.

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And now the dragon can never again overcome man, if he has trained in his youth and young manhood to fight and defeat him.

     This, boys, is what you must train for, because the dragon appears in many guises. You must have a mind trained and alert to recognize him when you see or hear him. He may come in a glittering garb and on a prancing steed like a knight of old. He may ask you to be his page or squire. He may lead you forth to gay fields of pleasure to tilt with knights for the love of fair ladies. He may blind your eyes to the fact that his sword is of lead, that his shining helmet is of paper, and that the fair ladies are not those who would take your hand and follow you into a land of true delight. This is Sin,-Knight of the Love of the World and of Pleasure, who would lead you to forget the World of Use for which you were created, and where alone true happiness lies.

     The second knight dragon is not so beautiful to look upon. He is more grim and looks stronger. His armor does not glitter, but his eyes do. He has an impelling glance. He does not ask you to serve him; you are drawn to his service. His appearance is commanding, like that of a king. You watch others serving him, and yet they do not seem to do it willingly. They seem fascinated by him, and yet hate him. Have a care! This knight is no true knight, for all his apparent kingly bearing. If you allow yourself to be trained by him, he will teach you magic. He will try to make all your fellow men appear to you as beasts that you must either destroy or enslave to your service. Fair maidens will be locked in towers, and good men manacled in dungeons. And who is this knight? Sir Knight Love of Self!

     Who, then, is the knight that is to lead us and train us? The Apostle John saw him. He is the knight who fought to save the whole of mankind from that dreadful dragon when men had again allowed him to gain entrance into the world, when such men as Sir Knight Love of Self and Sir Knight Love of the World had opened the gates. This knight is described in the Book of Revelation, and his name is St. Michael,-an angel of the Lord. (Chap. xii.) He was arrayed in shining armor, and had in his hand the sword that was placed on the gates of the Garden of Eden to guard it against that same old dragon when he was first cast out. It is the Sword of Truth!

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That Garden was like the Heavenly Paradise into which have been taken all those who have loved the Tree of Life. But ever the dragon desires to re-enter the Garden, and to destroy all those who are trying to gain that Garden. He hates them with a most deadly hatred. He strives daily and hourly to turn them from the right way, and sends out his knights,-love of Pleasure and Love of Self,-to lead them to him.

     But St. Michael stands ever on guard and ready to aid all those who call upon him.

     Yet how can they call upon him unless they have seen him? Here is where your training for knighthood comes in. Every youth, sometime, somewhere, in some way, is shown the vision of St. Michael with his Shining Sword. It may have been in his earliest infancy, when he was in that angel's charge; for St. Michael and St. Gabriel are the guardian knights of both worlds. Having once seen him, this youth may see him again if he so desires. He must have this desire. And to be able to have this he must go into training early. It may seem like a commonplace training, as did the training of youths for knighthood long ago. It was not all glitter. To become a knight, they first had to serve as a page. All the menial services of the house and barn were theirs. Stables and horses must be cleaned and kept in order. Armor must be kept shining and repaired. Swords must be sharpened, fires built, food and drink prepared and served on bended knee. Of this latter they might have only the coarsest part, and often none. They must learn to endure cold, hunger and thirst, weariness, often mistreatment, without complaint. These services fitted them to be squires, and from that estate it was not easy to become knights. Only a few, and of these only the strongest, the most skilful, the most adaptable, the most courteous, the most loyal, the most upright, ever attained to knighthood. And there were few again of these that became Sir Parsifals and Lohengrins, worthy to guard the Holy Grail.

     What in your life at the present day represents this training of the page? All your daily duties:-lessons well learned; the courtesies of life observed in relation to others; the Golden Rule applied at all times, while everywhere you learn to be "good sports," to play fair, making every effort to build your bodies to be strong, clean, upright, quick, your minds alert and active; your eyes, both inner and outer, to be keen to distinguish order from disorder, right from wrong, good from evil; your ears sharp to hear harmonies and to love them, and quick to close against evil sounds and teachings that would lead to evil acts; hands capable of wielding any weapon in the service of right, also of tenderly serving those who are in need of service, of courteously and graciously doing acts of gentleness and mercy to those less strong than you are,-to all women children and the aged; hands capable of smoothing the brow of those in pain, and of giving them the "cup of cold water."

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     At such times you may dimly see St. Michael at your side beckoning you onwards. This will be when you receive the reward that always follows such acts of kindness,-the love and appreciation of those to whom they have been done. And you may hear the gracious words of your Patron Knight, saying, "Whosoever shall give unto one' of these little ones a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, he shall in no wise lose his reward." Your heart beats faster, you feel warmed by this praise, and better able to go about your disagreeable tasks, to attack your many-headed dragon, one of whose heads must be cut off daily, although, like the Chimera, two seem to grow in its place. But you must be courageous, loyal, faithful, obedient, cheerful, reverent, thoughtful and courteous, keeping ever before you the goal you seek,-to be knighted by the sword of St. Michael, the Sword of Truth, given him by the Lord our God. Before you gain this longed-for goal, you must be led by older knights to the room of the bath. Here you must bathe in a pool of clear water (truth); then you must rest upon a soft bed you will find there (truth understood and believed). When called, you must put on a white vestment provided for you; (garments represent character, or truth lived). You must then follow them to the Church, and there on bended knees pray all night for strength to gain the victory in the battles you must enter. Later you will be led before your chosen Knight, and he will give you the Accolade, and you will arise and thereafter be known as a knight in his service. You will then be given your sword and armor. Your brother knights will buckle them upon you. A horse (intelligence) will also be given to you, and you will be charged to be of "Service to God and Man." And then you will go forth to overcome the knights of the dragon,-love of Pleasure and the World, and Love of Self.

     You will often return to the Chapel of the Holy Grail, to pray to the Lord for the service of St. Michael; and if you fight a good and strong fight, some night you will see him with his Sword of Truth, and then you will know that you have become his chosen knight, worthy to guard the Holy Grail from the dragon forever.

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At such a time you will be filled with holy joy and rapture, and you will fall prostrate before the Lord, and humbly thank Him for permitting you to go through all these years of trial and service, even though it lasts until you are old and weary in this world. For you then know that the eternal joy of service to Him will soon be yours. Do you not want to prepare for this knighthood, for service under the banner of St. Michael,-the angel of the Lord?
NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS 1929

NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS       Rev. HUGO LJ. ODHNER       1929

     The March Readings.

     During March, those who follow the Calendar will acquaint themselves with a manuscript by Swedenborg consisting only of headings for a projected treatise on The Consummation of the Age, or the state of the Christian Church at its end or at the time of its Last Judgment, which Swedenborg witnessed in the spiritual world in 1757.

     And what is that state? The manuscript, in a series of remarkable indictments, shows that falsities so abound in the Christian Church that there is "no knowledge" left of any one essential of the Church. That Church is at an end. "It hence follows that there is no religion, and therefore no church."

     Surely a hard saying! And one to the defense of which the "Academy" marshaled its forces only in the face of determined opposition, seeing that it offended many whose affections were still tied to the Old Church. But even as the Lord did not hesitate, in the face of death and rejection, to hurl His woes against the Pharisees and Scribes of His day, neither did His Spirit move Emanuel Swedenborg to any mincing of words about the state of the fallen church.

     An Invitation to the New Church.

     The fragmentary manuscript which next follows (as another part, no doubt, of the "Appendix" or Coronis) is well entitled "An Invitation to the New Church."

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For herein Swedenborg shows that the truths now lost to the Old Church are recovered in the New; and that all in the Christian world are invited to the New Church, that their state of disease may be healed.

     Yet, in No. 25 (p. 129), we are warned-I take it-as to the attitude which we must assume in order to be "healed" of the putrid wound that the falsities of the old "orthodoxy " have caused in the church. The doctrine of the New Church can cure only palliatively, only the surface, unless we realize that the Old Church is spiritually dead, and that its false dogmas and ideas are the very "corrupt matter" of the wound which must be thoroughly cleansed away, no matter how painful the operation. So the Revelator is led to say, "Unless the present little work" (viz. the Coronis, including all its fragments about Consummation, etc.) "is added to the preceding work " (viz., to the True Christian Religion), "the church cannot be healed." In other words, no true New Church can be established in the world except on the bold acknowledgment that the Old Church is consummated. Experience testifies to the repeated failure of any missionary work which does not thoroughly make clear the state of the Old Church and the distinctive function of the New. Although it will always be possible to point to illusive appearances which seem to indicate that the world is "growing better" and becoming "more New Church," when here and there critics and reformers arise within the Christian sects who reject some dire falsity or other, yet an entire change of loyalty is needed. "At the present day there are none other than false churches. . . . For them it is as impossible to see one single genuine truth from the Word, except what is encompassed with and steeped in falsities, and coheres with falsities, as it is to sail to the Pleiades or to dig out gold from the center of the earth." (Inv. 38.)

     Better than Miracles.

     Since the Invitation especially stresses the need for the New Church, it also discusses the question why this Church was not introduced and established by Miracles, as were the Jewish and Christian dispensations. (Preface, Coro. at end, p. 24; Cons., A. 31, C. 21; Invit., Syll. VII, p. 121; Invit., nos. 6, 29, 39, 43, 44,46, 52, 55.) Miracles, he shows, compel and do not foster rational faith. He is permitted to write that the fact of his own introduction to the spiritual world, and his conversing with angels as one of them for "now 27 years," "surpasses all miracles"; that never in history do we read of such an intercourse before.

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Even the men of the Golden Age, in their converse with angels, were only in natural light, i.e., in the light of correspondences, while he himself was granted "to be in both spiritual and natural light at the same time." (52.)

     And as to the disclosure of the spiritual sense by the Lord through Swedenborg, it is shown as a purely Divine work, which "surpasses all the revelations that have hitherto been made since the creation of the world."

     Papal Miracles.

     In Invitation, nos. 46, 52 and 55, and in Consummation (A. 31 and C. 22), certain false miracles of the Papists are referred to, as a proof of the failure of miracles to Produce true spiritual faith.
The following notes may elucidate some of the statements made in the text.

     1. St. Anthony of Padua, born at Lisbon in the year 1195, became a leader in the Franciscan order of monks, and a hermit and Preacher of repentance. His fame does not rest upon his surviving works (among which is a mystical interpretation of Scripture) but on the tradition that he performed miracles, e.g., that the fishes came to listen to his open-air sermons. He is the patron saint of Padua, and much venerated in Portugal.*
     * The relies of another St. Anthony, born in Egypt, A.D., 251, who was the virtual founder of monasticism, are also reputed for wonderful cures!

     Even at the present time he is acknowledged among the Catholics as the greatest thaumaturgist (wonderworker) of the times, and the Catholic Encyclopedia still urges belief in his miracles. He is especially invoked for the recovery of things lost.

     As to the after-death fate of St. Anthony, Swedenborg saw him as obscure in dress and severe in looks; interiorly he was proud of being worshipped as a saint, which seems to have been his life's ambition. He is infested by mocking spirits, and spent some time in a hell among the profane, but finally was cast down into another hell. (D. M. 4565-4568.)

     A peculiar thing is mentioned: that he inflows into the interiors of the tongue and induces inability to speak, and among his arts is to surround himself with a phantastic representation of a vocal idea.

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This is interesting in view of the story that when his body was exhumed thirty years after his death, his tongue remained among his bones, undecayed! (See Catholic Encyclopedia, s.v.)

     2. The two large and very rare volumes about the miracles of Paris, to which Swedenborg refers (Cons. A. 31, C. 22) may be consulted in the Academy Library, in the University of Chicago, and, no doubt, in some other institutions. Large pictures of "Before" and "After" the cure are here shown, which would make us believe that even the sartorial effect of the suppliants at the tomb of this holy man was much improved by the miracles, which, Swedenborg indicates, were wrought through spirits who entered the memory of man and affected him. Francois de Paris-a Jansenist-died from oversevere penance in 1727. "Still he did not apply himself to any religion, and hence did not know anything of the truth of the church; wherefore at the present day he is among those who are in hell." He was a spiritual paradox. Crowds besieged his tomb and witnessed miracles of healing and conversion, the subjects of the cures being mostly females suffering from various forms of nervous and hysterical afflictions, including partial paralysis. Finally the convultionist movement became one of undisguised indecency, and in 1732 the Jansenists repudiated it. And the author of the two volumes in defense of the miracles ended his life in prison. (See McClintock and Strong, Encyclopedia.)

     3. The Three Wise Men of Cologne. Archbishop Rainald of Cologne, Count of Dossel, an able general of the Emperor Frederick I, patronized the antipopes, and brought from Milan to Cologne the pretended bodies of the "three holy kings," which are venerated as the most precious relies of the Cathedral.

     Swedenborg's State Among Spirits.

     A puzzling statement is made in the Invitation (Syll. VII). The revelator speaks of "the introduction of his spirit, and at the same time of his body, into the spiritual world." Similarly, in the Word Explained, n. 475, he wrote, "It is granted me to add this only, that in a certain manner I have been introduced into heaven itself, not merely as to my mind, but also as it were with my whole body, or with the sense in the body; and that, too, when I was quite awake."

     In the preface to the Coronis (p. 24) he wrote: "Every man is in the spiritual world as to his spirit, without separation from his body in the natural world; I, however, with a certain separation, though only as to the intellectual part of my mind, but not as to the voluntary. . . ."

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     This separation as to the intellectual had its ultimate cause in Swedenborg's ability to respire "internally" for long periods, for the breathing of his body was then controlled by his spirit, and reduced into a puiescent correspondence with his internal states.

     By being "in the spirit" is meant a state of the mind separated from the body. The prophets were in such a state, resembling that of spirits, but Swedenborg tells that he was "in the spirit and at the same time in the body, and only sometimes out of the body." (T. C. R. 157.)

     "I have spoken with spirits as a spirit, and I have spoken with them as a man in the body. . . ." (H. H. 436.) "Two or three times I have been let into the state in which spirits are, so that I was a spirit among spirits and thus devoid of an earthly body." (Spiritual Diary 4726.) This state is described (in Arcana Celestia 1883 and 1884, or Heaven and Hell 440, 441) as one of a more exquisite sensation of the things of the other life, "almost nothing of the body intervening." Especially the spiritual sense of touch seemed more perfect, and Swedenborg seemed more readily subject to spiritual changes of state and "place." At the same time, his body, though utterly unconscious for hours, might be engaged upon a walk, and this without any feeling of fatigue resulting. Such peculiar states were imposed upon him so that he might examine how far the life of spirits differed from that of men.

     Swedenborg's state is further described as follows: "While I was in intercourse with men, I have not differed one whit from myself, as I was before. . . . But when I was among spirits, I was then as it were separated from the body, but yet was at the same time conjoined with it, because my Spiritual was then with spirits. . . ." (Spiritual Diary 722.) "My mind being withdrawn from corporeal things, I could be in the society of spiritual and celestial beings; and still I have been like another in the society of men, without any difference." Yet when Swedenborg's attention was centered upon natural worries of finance, he notes that the spirits could not speak to him, but were as if absent. (Spiritual Diary 1166.)

     "These things (from the spiritual world) I saw and heard in the wakefulness of my body and at the same time of my spirit; for the Lord has so united my spirit to my body that I am in both at the same time." (Apocalypse Revealed 484".)

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"These things are not visions." (Continuation of Last Judgment 35.) When in the spirit, he was withdrawn from the body, and could thus be in company with angels. (Heaven and Hell 46.) Yet the interiors of his spirit, he tells, were opened in such a way that he might, while still living in the material body, also be with the angels of heaven. (Arcana Celestia 9439.)

     The alternate states of the seer are referred to in Conjugial Love (n. 326) as causing the appearance before spirits that Swedenborg was Present one moment and not the next, because of his changes of state. "When I let my spirit down into the body, I was not visible to you," he explained, "but when I raised it out of the body I became visible."

     While these teachings may seem somewhat difficult to understand, the general truth is clear, that Swedenborg was normally conscious of both worlds, living in two environments at once. When alone, no doubt the natural environment would become obscured and his whole mind could be intent upon the other life and be led into heavenly conversations, or he could pay visits to various places and states in the spiritual world.
FUNERAL ADDRESS 1929

FUNERAL ADDRESS       Rev. W. L. GLADISH       1929

     (Delivered at the funeral of Mr. Joseph B. Headsten, Glenview, Ill., January 13, 1929.)

     "The steps of a man are ordered by the Lord; and He delighteth in His way." (Psalm 37:23.)

     The message I bring you from the Lord today is of His love,-His love and His care. He would remind you that He is Love Itself, pure, unselfish love, from whom comes all the love that you can ever feel for Your loved ones. It was His love that created him whom we mourn today, that watched over him, and guided him through all the devious paths of childhood and youth; that gave him all those sterling qualities which so endeared him to those who loved him; and is still caring for him, and for us all.

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     To the wife, to the mother, the sister, the children, the Lord would say, " Even as you delighted in him whom you loved so well, and had his happiness ever in mind, so did your Lord love and care for him with an even stronger, purer love; a love guided by greater wisdom." "The steps of man are ordered by the Lord; and He delighteth in his way."

     Do we realize what the Lord tells us in these words? Not only does He order a man's steps, watch over him, guard him, as a mother the first uncertain steps of her little one; not only does He guard him from all harm and danger, directing his steps even from infancy toward the haven of his desire, and this long before the man himself knows what his desire will be;-not only does our Lord, every moment of our lives, do that for us all which pertains to our eternal welfare, but He delights in man's way. Everything that gives a man delight,-true, unselfish delight,-gives the Lord delight. He feels the joys of others as joy in Himself. Yea, as our delights pass up to Him through the heavens, they are refined and sublimated; what is unworthy in them is dropped at the threshold of the successive heavens, so that they pass to Him purified, and as if holy. So that He rejoices in our happiness, and is grieved by our sorrows.

     Nor does any evil come from the Lord, not even the evil of correction and punishment. He does permit evil when it would cause greater evil to prevent it. He permits or suffers it, but only when He can turn it to good.

     Among the countless blessings given by the Lord in the Heavenly Doctrine is deliverance from the thought that death was sent as a punishment. It used it be almost universally taught by the church that the death of a loved one was God's punishment for the wickedness or worldliness of those who were bereaved. But the New Church teaches that death, so far as the time of it is concerned, is solely from the Lord's love. Having sole regard to the man's eternal happiness, He knows when is the best time for each one to enter the other life. God is infinite and eternal, and His Providence cannot but look to what is eternal. He indeed regards the temporal things of this fleeting life, but only as they bear upon our eternal welfare.

     The sickness, the pain, the suffering by which men die are not from the Lord. All evil is from hell. From the Lord comes only good. He continually watches over the evil, mollifies and assuages the pangs of the sufferer, and brings good out of his suffering.

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     We can hardly hope to see this at the time, especially where our affections are engaged. And the future is unknown to us. Like little children, we must simply trust Him Whose wisdom sees the end from the beginning, and Whose love, by His wisdom, provides the means to bring blessings to the children of His love.

     Ever the Lord is merciful. He does not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men. Even when we go astray, when, through the sins or the ignorance of ourselves or our fathers we become a prey to evil influx, and so suffer in mind, body or estate, even then the Lord watches over us to make our suffering as light as possible to achieve the end He has in view. "For He knoweth our frame; He remembereth that we are dust."

     We should ever keep in mind the supreme end which the Lord has in view, toward which all His various providences tend. That end, as we know from Revelation, is a heaven of angels from the human race. The Lord's love is a love of men, a love of being with them, of blessing them; a love of having men love Him in return, and from Him love one another. For love cannot be in its happiness without reciprocal love in return. Therefore the Divine Love would, if possible, draw every man up to His own bosom, even into the third heaven. And He does draw every one; and man reciprocates, and responds, and approaches as far as he receives the truth and the good of the Divine Word, and suffers the Lord to form his understanding and his will to their pattern.

     We in this world live in a "far country," where we rarely, if ever, see our Lord's face. And we allow ourselves to become so occupied with the problems of this world, with the strenuous work of making a living, providing food, clothing and shelter for these mortal bodies of ours, and with this world's fleeting pleasures, that we forget, in great measure, the real purpose of life and the only Source of permanent happiness. But the Lord ever regards man's ruling love, his love of performing some permanent and eternal use in the Lord's kingdom. Every man is born with a latent love of some form of use to his fellows. When he is in that use he is in peace and happiness.

     The inmost of the Divine Providence for each man is to bring him to that place where he can perform the highest use of which he is capable, that he may to eternity have the joy of that use. This is the joy of our Lord,-the joy that is meant when it is said, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant; enter thou into the joy of thy Lord."

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The joy of our Lord is in serving others, and so making them happy, and feeling their joy as joy in Himself.

     This joy,-the unselfish joy of making others happy, not for the sake of ultimate benefit to one's self, but from pure pleasure in their happiness,-no man has of himself. It is received only from Him Who is Love Itself. And to receive it man must see and fight against his inherent selfishness as sin against God.

     This truth our beloved brother well knew. How well he had learned it is testified by years of faithful, conscientious service in his business and in all family relations, as a devoted son, and husband, and father, as well as among his many friends.

     The Lord in His wisdom knows when the time has come to promote his servants to higher and more interior uses. If we could understand as the Lord understands, and could foresee the future as He does, no doubt we each and all would say: "It is better so; the time has come for our friend to enter upon the activities and uses of eternal life." And even though we cannot understand, still we can trust our Heavenly Father, and say, "O Lord, Thy will be done." Amen.
READING AND LIFE 1929

READING AND LIFE              1929

     "The Word is the perfect marriage of good and truth; and because it is from the Lord, and what is from Him is Himself, it follows that when a man reads the Word, and takes truths therefrom, the Lord adjoins good. For man does not see the goods which affect him, because he reads the Word from the understanding, and the understanding takes from it nothing but its own things, which are truths. That good is adjoined to these by the Lord is felt by the understanding from the fact of the delight which flows in when it is enlightened. But this does not take place interiorly with others than those who read with the end of becoming wise; and those have the end of becoming wise who wish to learn genuine truths there, and by means of them to form the Church with themselves. But those who read it only for the glory of erudition, and those who read it from an opinion that the mere reading or hearing of it inspires faith and conduces to salvation, do not receive any good from the Lord; because with the latter the end is to save themselves by the mere words there, wherein is nothing of truth; and with the former the end is to become eminent for learning, with which end there is no spiritual good conjoined, but only the natural delight which comes of worldly glory." (C. L. 128.)

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STREAM OF PROVIDENCE 1929

STREAM OF PROVIDENCE       EVENLYN E. PLUMMER       1929

     By wondrous ways Thy Providence, O Lord,
     Outflows to save and bless;
A stream of peace untold, a sure defense,
     A refuge in distress.

It floweth like a mighty river, free,
     And on its heavenly tide
The lowly bondman and the crowned king
     Alike in Thee abide.

Content with all thou givest, blessed Lord,
     In each event they see
An angel, glad or grave, whom Thou doest send
     To lead them nearer Thee.

To him who seeks to stem the waves of life,
     Thy Providence appears
A flood of angry waters, vexed with storms,
     A sea of doubts and fears.

Who trust in Thee may dwell with equal mind,
     Or low or high their state;
Nor cross of pain or mortal ill depress,
     Nor earthly crown elate.

Borne on the stream of life's unceasing round,
     Returning to Thy throne,
They rest in joy and peace, they see Thy face,
     And dwell with Thee alone.
               EVENLYN E. PLUMMER.

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OUTLOOK ON THE WORLD 1929

OUTLOOK ON THE WORLD              1929


NEW CHURCH LIFE
Office a Publication, Lancaster, Pa.
Published Monthly By
THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM
BRYN ATHYN, PA.
Editor                    Rev. W. B. Caldwell, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager          Mr. H. Hyatt, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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

     TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$3.00 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single Copy, 30 cents
     In a, recent number of THE NEW CHURCH MESSENGER, in an account of a meeting of the General Council of the Convention, we find the following paragraph:

     "Dissatisfaction is frequently expressed with regard to the names of our Church: 'Church of the New Jerusalem' and 'New Church. This dissatisfaction has found voice recently both in THE MESSENGER and in THE NEW-CHURCH REVIEW, and in view of the perennial nature of such discontent, the Council thought it advisable to instruct the President to appoint a special committee to consider the question in all its aspects, and to make a report on the subject." (MESSENGER, January 30, p. 74.)

     We shall await with interest the findings of this committee. Meanwhile, it is difficult to conceive why this question should be "perennially " raised among New Churchmen. For "New Church" and "New Jerusalem" are the names given by the Lord Himself to the Church of His Second Advent. "At this day the Word has been interiorly opened, and thence have been revealed interior Divine Truths which are to serve for the New Church, which will be called the New Jerusalem." (A. E. 948; see A. R. 886, etc.) This is one among many such declarations to be found in the Heavenly Doctrine.

     Moreover, the world has accepted these names, and has incorporated them in its standard encyclopedias and dictionaries.

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Yet it seems that many in the New Church continue to cherish an unreasonable fear that the world will not understand that a new and distinct religious body has come into being. Others go so far as to persuade themselves that the Heavenly Doctrine never contemplated a new and separate Church, and they are ever drawing a line and marking a difference between the New Church "organization" and the so-called "New Christianity," which is supposed to be pervading and permeating the Christian world everywhere, though the evidence of this is by no means convincing.

     Fortunately, there are others in the New Church at large who are not be fearful of what the world will think, and not ashamed of the "new name, the New Jerusalem." Nor are they persuaded that the Old Church is being reformed and revived by hidden processes wholly apart from the visible organized New Church. They are not deceived by the appearances of betterment in the world, which they regard as one of the outward effects of the Last Judgment, but not as that true regeneration which can be effected only among those who embrace the Heavenly Doctrines in the faith and life of the New Jerusalem.

     And so we believe that if newcomers and the young in the New Church are duly impressed with the beauty, the sacredness, and the significance of the names which the Lord Himself has given to the Church of His Second Coming, we shall hear less of this "perennial discontent."



     In their outlook upon the world today, the writers in the periodicals of the New Church at large may be classified, in general, as holding to one or other of the two views we have contrasted above, being carried along in one or other of two currents of thought with respect to the state of the world,-its scientific, intellectual, moral and religious condition. For the benefit of those of our readers who have not access to the periodicals to which we have referred, we reprint below several extracts that will serve to illustrate the line of cleavage between the two views.

     As an example of the "permeationist" attitude, we quote the opening paragraphs of a letter written by a member of the Church who was brought up from childhood in its doctrines:

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     "WORKING WITH UNION CHURCHES.

"To the Editor of THE MESSENGER:
     "It is an undeniable fact that there is a strong and growing movement toward the consolidation of the different Protestant denominations into one Union Church. In some cities and towns it has been found necessary for Protestant churches to unite, owing to the decreasing attendance. In one town, a Methodist, a Unitarian, and a Congregational church have united, with satisfactory results. This is only one of many cases, and the movement is rapidly spreading.

     "What part will the New Church take in this movement? There are many New Church members scattered all over the country who have perforce located in communities where there is no New Church society. These people are forced to worship in a church of some other denomination, and if a roll call of such New Church believers were taken, the result, no doubt, would be surprising.

     "To my mind, Swedenborg had not so much the thought of forming a new denomination as of making the entire Christian Church a New Church; of impregnating all the churches then established with the wonderful insight and truths given to him. This admitted, what a splendid opportunity these isolated New Church believers now have to instill unobtrusively in their fellow worshipers the truths of their own faith! . . ." (MESSENGER, January 30, p. 77.)
Title Unspecified 1929

Title Unspecified              1929

     Writing in THE NEW-CHURCH REVIEW, the Rev. Wm. F. Wunsch suggests reasons for a new designation of the New Church. We quote from the opening paragraph of an extended treatment:
"THE CHURCH OF THE SECOND COMING. 1929

"THE CHURCH OF THE SECOND COMING.              1929

     "Twice recently it has fallen to the writer's lot to be regarded as a rabbi because of his connection with 'The Church of the New Jerusalem. The designation has carried suggestions of Jewish affiliations widely and long. Misleading suggestion attaches to the Church's official name. There is probably no other usual mode of reference to the Church, either, which is not open to some misunderstanding. The popular and newspaper designation 'Swedenborgian' has implied to some that the Church is made up of people of Swedish antecedents.

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Very casual acquaintances have thought that Swedish was the language in which the services are conducted. . . . As for the practice among ourselves of calling our organization the 'New Church,' that designation is not informing to others. It is not a descriptive term, really. New church buildings are what come to mind most readily. Or no impression is made, except uncertainty what can be meant. . . ." (July, 1928, p. 347.)

     The writer then goes on to give his reasons for advocating that we call ourselves "The Church of the Second Coming,"-a name to which, in itself, we can see no objection, if there were valid cause for discarding the Divinely given names of this Church. Far from being concerned as to what people think of these names, we should rejoice at any opportunity to explain them. And as for our being mistaken for Jews, no informed Christian need be told that the name "New Jerusalem" is from the Book of Revelation, a part of the Christian Gospel.

     But Mr. Wunsch is answered in an article printed in the REVIEW for January, 1929, from which we quote in part:
NAME OF THE CHURCH 1929

NAME OF THE CHURCH       Rev. GEORGE HENRY DOLE       1929

     Doubtless it is of Divine Providence that the subject of changing the name of the Church periodically arises, for only by its excitation can the truth appear, and the desire to change the name of the Church be entirely removed, if such desire is erroneous.

     Some persons object to the term "New" Church, because the Christian Science Church and the Methodist Church are as new as the Church of the New Jerusalem. In the sense that a church is properly called new, neither of these is a new church. They are schisms or sects of the former Church. Many times our doctrines declare that a new church is never established until the end of the former one. There never is but one new church at a time. Whatever terms may be used, misunderstanding will arise unless the reader ascertains the intended meaning of words. There is no possible escape from the technical use of words, nor is there any way by which others can be instructed without the use of their own minds.

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     The name "New Church" means more than a new dispensation. It includes a new revelation from the Lord and a consequent new life. In fact, when one knows what "New Church" now means, that name conveys enough knowledge to make a large volume-indeed, the meaning is unlimited, and the name will increase in glory forever.

     Whether "The Church of the Second Coming," or the "New Church," or the "Church of the New Jerusalem" is the best name to avoid confusion, may be argued endlessly from natural reasonings, and opinions remain unchanged. So vital and sacred a thing as the name of the Lord's Church should be settled from the Word and the new revelation, which opens it to the rational understanding.

     An argument for a change in the name of our Church declares that this new era of Christian growth is the New Jerusalem. This surely is a misconception of the meaning of "New Jerusalem," and it underlies the entire argument. A state of the world, which no one knows or can define, is supposed to be the New Jerusalem, rather than the newly revealed doctrines and their life as they are in heaven. The state of the world is continually changing, and at best the change is not a cause, but an effect. The New Jerusalem as a system of doctrine is Divine truth, and it can no more change than can the laws of nature. The New Jerusalem above, by means of newly revealed doctrine and its life, is the cause of all advance. For a moment, let us notice some statements in our doctrines.

     That the New Jerusalem is not a state of the world is clearly evident from the following citations:

     The "New Jerusalem" means a new church in respect to doctrine. (A. E. 431.)

     By "the Holy City, New Jerusalem" is meant the doctrine of the New Church, thus the Church as to doctrine. (Coronis 18.)

     By "the New Jerusalem" is meant the New Church as to doctrine from the Word. (T. C. R. 217.)

     These and many like statements in the Writings reveal that the New Jerusalem is something more than a "new era," which includes the internal and external of the church.

     "New Jerusalem" means the internal of the Church. The external of the Church apart from the internal is not the New Jerusalem. This is evident from the following:

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     There is the middle, where those are who are truly Christian, and in the midst is the New Jerusalem. (S. D. 5471.)

     It is granted to the men of the New Church that is called the Holy Jerusalem to behold the Divine truths that are in the Word. . . according to their essence. (A. E. 759.)

     The New Jerusalem in heaven and on earth have the same doctrine, whereby "The New Jerusalem is a New Church on earth that will act as one with that new heaven." (A. R., Pref.)

     In the higher sense, the New Jerusalem is centrally in the heavens, and is a system of doctrine and life, from the Word. The New Jerusalem on earth is from the reception of that doctrine and life; and it must be in unity with the New Jerusalem above. . . . Falsities of doctrine are in the external of the Church.

     "In the New Jerusalem there will be no falsity of faith." (A. R. 940.)

     With the men of the New Jerusalem, every Divine truth in the literal sense of the Word is translucent. (A. R. Ch. xxi.)

     It is therefore most evident that the New Jerusalem is not a state of the world, nor of the Christian Church, in general, but is that system of doctrine and life which is of the spiritual sense of the Word and of the New Jerusalem above.

     Another error is the statement that there is "a degree of presumption in taking" so holy a name as the New Jerusalem. We did not take it. The Lord Himself so named His internal Church. It is the name He gave His Bride, the name of the Church central in heaven, which is coming down to the earth. When it is so seen, no one can stretch forth his hand to change the name that the Lord has given. "Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God . . . and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is New Jerusalem, which cometh out of heaven from my God." (Rev. 3:12.)

     To change this God-given name of the Lord's Church to accord with fallacious appearances, or for any reason whatever, is to presume to know more than God knows. The Writings declare that the Lord will create a new church, "which is to be called New Jerusalem." (A. R. 886.) The name given by Divine edict cannot be changed.

     The name "New Jerusalem" is the name that the Lord wants. It is most enlightening. None other could equal it.

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It is embedded in Scripture. The old Jerusalem was builded upon and about a mount so as to represent the New Jerusalem in heaven. In the old Jerusalem the Lord communed with His people and taught them. The ceremonials of Israel's worship were representative of true worship. A change in the name of the New Church would shift it from the foundations laid in history and in the letter of the Word, wherein the name that the Lord has given His Church has correspondence, and would thus cause confusion in heaven and on earth. To Bible readers no other name could be so truly informative as "New Jerusalem," for that name brings to mind the descending Holy City, and connects with Revelation. . . .

     It seems that best to perform the uses of our Church we should stand loyally, unwaveringly, and fully on the Word and the doctrines, lest a slight divergence finally lead us away captive to fallacious appearances, and we forget thee, O Jerusalem!

     In great mercy the Lord has given His Church on earth the same name that His Church in the internal of heaven bears. The name is so full of glory and holiness that we should seek not to expunge it from the records, but humbly and faithfully labor in devotion and love that the name "New Jerusalem" may be written upon us here and hereafter. (THE NEW-CHURCH REVIEW, January, 1929, p. 7.)
TRUE MESSAGE 1929

TRUE MESSAGE              1929

     Another phase of our outlook upon the world is treated in the following excerpt from a sermon by the Rev. W. T. Lardge published in THE NEW AGE (Australia):

     It is stimulating to know that it is now allowable to enter intellectually into what have hitherto been mysteries of the Christian faith. But we should remember in this connection that intellectuality means as much of restriction as it does of opportunity and liberty. We may all enter in, and know and possess and enjoy the treasures within the veil, provided we do so understandingly. The Lord may indeed be seen "as He is," if we approach the portal with becoming humility and in due reverence.

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     Not as Swedenborg's, therefore, but as the Lord's message to mankind; this must be the supreme and dominant note of all our propagandist efforts, if the Church is to retain its true position among the religions of the world today. But it must begin from Jerusalem, thus from within the Church itself, in clear, sound, and definite teaching.

     It may be confidently said of the "immortal five," who so prominently stand out in the early annals of the Church, and who met together on that ever memorable 5th of December, in the year 1783, in London, that they sought to worship the Lord in His Divine Human. These five stalwart, faithful champions had also beheld the star of Divine Knowledge in the East, and had come to learn of Him, and humbly and gratefully to lay at His feet their gifts-gold, and frankincense, and myrrh. These and others, especially one of their number, "Father Hindmarsh," fought valiantly in their day in behalf of a truly reliable foundation.

     We have perhaps even yet to learn that the Christianity as revealed for the New Church is first a tremendous adventure, then a heroic conflict, and finally a grand campaign in which there is no laying down of arms.

     Let us, at any rate, not make the mistake of fearing to present to the young in the Church the narrow way as narrow. Do not fear to describe it as a difficult way. The heart of the child, we should remember, is the heart of a hero or heroine, and that in it there are ambitions for rising to difficulties. Our responsibility for the young is not so much to remove the difficulties from before them, as to teach them where to look for help to overcome.

     The Christianity of the New Church is a splendid legacy, a heritage of the ages-a legacy which we must pass on inviolate to those who shall succeed us. Our responsibility in this regard is truly great. For we are taught that in the New Church there will be no falsities of doctrine. To guard against their entrance, every New Churchman should humble himself before the truth, as it has been revealed today. We should discourage in ourselves that pride of intellect and proprium which causes us to think that it is a sign of originality to differ in part from such revelation. Our all-controlling purpose should be to accept the truth as it has been revealed by the Lord. We cannot protect the truth; the truth has been given to protect us; and it is our province and privilege to trust it.

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Hence each should urge upon himself the need of true and sincere humility its presence. May we then, one and all, realize this great need in ourselves more completely than we may have done in the past, and rise to it as faithful followers of the Lord in His Second Advent, and our reward must, and will, be the Lord's, "Well done, good and faithful servant . . .enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." (THE NEW AGE, December, 1928, pp. 91 10.)
INTERNAL VASTATION OF THE OLD CHURCH 1929

INTERNAL VASTATION OF THE OLD CHURCH              1929

     The following citations from an editorial by the Rev. R. H. Teed, in THE NEW AGE (Australia), picture the increasing externalism of the Christian world:

     In the course of an interesting paragraph (A. C. 4423) dealing with the characteristics of a vastated Church, Swedenborg says that, for men to believe that the Church has come to its end they would expect to see it disinherited and dispersed in an external way, whereas what really transpires is that "it perishes principally as to the states of its interiors." Is not this just what we are witnessing at the present day? The minds of the men of the Church in the broad sense are becoming increasingly external, so that their interest is wholly centered in external things. Interior matters are regarded as of little importance, and when the mind does endeavor to speak about these things, the most appalling falsities are calmly uttered in the name of reason, and no one is able to, or even desires, greatly to refute the heresies. The seat of conscious life is shifting ever outwards in the majority of Christendom today, so that interior things can no longer affect them, and they therefore are unable to profane them. The interiors have been shattered, and only a New Church can restore the ruin. How fickle is human reason! We argue only from the light we have, and when that light is darkness, how great is that darkness!

     New Church truth has been given. This has in varying measure been accepted by all New Churchmen. Let them, then, hold fast the faith against every assault; to do so is their most noble service. It's not so much a matter of what we are doing on the surface of things, but what does matter is how we are doing whatever daily duties come to our hand, from what motive, how we are thinking when we are doing, and how we are praying.

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Thus will the very New Church herself be established both in her truth, and her good; and to contribute towards this end is to answer the noblest call of our being. Even as the New Church is different as to her internal from the churches around, so should the New Church man and woman be different as to things internal from the men and women with whom he lives and moves. Such is his part, such the distinctive service required from him. (THE NEW AGE, September, 1928, P. 32.)
NOTES AND REVIEWS. 1929

NOTES AND REVIEWS.              1929

     "THE WEDDING GARMENT" IN BRAILLE.

     In our last issue we mentioned a letter received from a New Churchman who is afflicted with blindness, and who expressed his very high regard for Louis Pendleton's book, The Wedding Garment. In a more recent letter to the author he expresses his desire to reproduce the work in Braille, thus making it available for the blind, Again commenting upon the book, he writes: "As a work of fiction it surpasses all the works in its class that have ever been written, unless there is something of a more recent date that is equal to it. The great value of the book, however, is not merely as a work of fiction, but because it is full of heavenly doctrines of the Lord and His New Church. I have read The Wedding Garment about four times by proxy, and also an equal number of times after the Lord granted me to read the ink print with the left eye some years ago. If it were impossible for me to get another copy of that book, there is not enough money in this place to induce me to part with mine. It is likely that I will read it again soon."

     He then asks permission, which the author gladly grants, to have The Wedding Garment embossed, so that blind persons can also read it. The Revised Braille, he explains, is produced in two ways: By hand, with a guide and stylus, or with a Braille-writing machine, and by the press from stereotyped plates. The former is called "manuscript" Braille, and of this there is usually only one copy, unless several transcribers copy the same book. He adds: "I am making the last of three Braille manuscript copies of Swedenborg's Doctrine of Life and Doctrine of the Holy Scripture, by the generosity of The Swedenborg Foundation.

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One Braille copy of each of these books is already in the California State Library, and another of the same in the National Library at 1800 D Street, N. W., Washington, D. C."
HAVEN FOR STORM-TOSSED SOULS. 1929

HAVEN FOR STORM-TOSSED SOULS.       Rev. S. Parkes Cadman       1929

     The Rev. Dr. S. Parkes Cadman, President of the Federal Council of Churches of Christ in America and a preacher well-known to radio audiences, conducts a department in the NEW YORK HERALD TRIBUNE Under the title of "Dr. Cadman's Counsel," wherein he has several times answered questions about the teachings of Swedenborg. Examples were cited by us in our issues of October, 1927, p. 617, and January, 1929, p. 53. Another appears in the HERALD TRIBUNE of January 9, 1929, and as a matter of interest to our readers is reprinted in full herewith:

     QUESTION.

     Yonkers, N. Y.

     In my youth I was largely devoted to pleasure. Becoming weary, I turned to a study of the New Testament. The result was to convince me that the Bible was in no sense the Word of God, that Christ was not divine, and that I could not find there the way of salvation. Quite by accident, an agnostic friend of mine and I heard of Swedenborg. We studied his True Christian Religion and other writings, and our lives were wholly revolutionized. Your columns show how many people are looking for religious enlightenment. Why not suggest to some of the "hard cases" that they read Swedenborg?

     ANSWER.

     I have repeatedly in these columns and elsewhere expressed my admiration for the personal character of Swedenborg and my appreciation of much that he has written. I have told inquirers of his own striking experience and how they could obtain further knowledge of him and of his work. I am happy to say again that Swedenborg may prove to be the guide whom people with a certain temper of mind would find helpful.

     At the same time I cannot endure all the peculiar ideas of Swedenborg.

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I think, for example, that he was wrong both in his view of Scripture and his theoretical view of Jesus Christ. But the reverent spirit and the deep insight of this man of genius are beyond criticism, and I have long since given up the idea that the only persons who can be helped by me in spiritual things are those with whom I happen to be in intellectual agreement. The imaginative and mystical theology of Swedenborg may well prove the haven toward which certain storm-tossed souls should steer. But it is not, as I see it, the final refuge.

     [Copyright, 1929, New York Tribune, Inc. Reprinted by permission.]
SOME RECENT TRANSLATIONS. 1929

SOME RECENT TRANSLATIONS.              1929

     We hear that the booklet entitled The Book Sealed with Seven Seals, by the Rev. Theodore Pitcairn, has been translated into Spanish, and will be published in Mexico.

     A version of the Brief Exposition in the Czech or Bohemian language has recently been completed by the Rev. Jar. Im. Janecek at Prague, and will shortly be published. This will make the tenth work of the Writings which. Mr. Janecek has translated and printed. He is also editor and publisher of NOVY JERUZALEM, a bimonthly magazine now in its nineteenth year.

     A French translation of The Wedding Garment has been made at Lausanne, and will be published as soon as means are available.
FRONTISPIECE. 1929

FRONTISPIECE.              1929

     The photographs of the Rev. Albert Bjorck, appearing as our frontispiece this month, were taken last year in the garden of his home in the Balearic Islands, where he went several years ago on account of ill health. Mr. and Mrs. Bjorck expect to return to England in the near future, and will take up their residence near Salisbury, where Mr. and Mrs. Philip Oyler have their home in the New Forest.

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LETTER OF THE WRITINGS 1929

LETTER OF THE WRITINGS       F. C. FRAZEE       1929

Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE:
     Not having as yet been fully satisfied on the above subject, I would like to make one or two further comments thereon; for I noted in the addresses and discussions of the London Assembly, which I greatly enjoyed, a number of references to that subject.

     It still seems evident to me that the expressions generally used in referring to the matter cause confusion in the minds of many (having heard one or two say something to that effect); and I think this is due to the insistent use of certain phrases which convey the impression that the Writings are a separate and distinctly immediate revelation.

     The expressions referred to also appear to conceal the principal reason why the Writings are the Word, in the endeavor, I think, to confirm the fact. The Writings are very often called the "Word" and a "Divine Revelation" without any qualifying phrase. And yet, since the Writings are acknowledged by all to present the spiritual sense of the Word, and they themselves state, I believe, that the spiritual sense is not the Word apart from the sense of the letter, or not as standing alone, the qualifying phrase would seem to be necessary to avoid confusion.

     I take it that it is because of this statement,-to the effect that the spiritual sense is not the Word except in conjunction with the sense of the letter,-that it has seemed necessary to some to postulate of the Writings a letter of their own, apart from the letter of the Old and New Testaments. And this is what gives the impression that an attempt is being made to make the Writings a distinct revelation, independent of the Word of the former Testaments.

     The necessary qualifying phrase, to my mind, does not in any way derogate from the idea of the supreme excellence of the revelation of the Writings.

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It simply seems necessary to avoid this confusion of the understanding, due perhaps to the fact that the spiritual sense: has been transcribed into a separate set of books, no more actually separated than a soul is from its body.

     Instead of the Writings being a separate or distinct revelation, independent of the former Testaments, when they are accepted, are there not good grounds for considering them mediate revelation rather than immediate? For Swedenborg states that he received the revelation of the spiritual sense from the Lord alone while reading the Word (T. C. R. 779.) And in this way he was given to understand the spiritual sense, with all the additions involved.

     I have been provided with a quotation from A. C. 1887 in support of the contention that the Writings refer to their own letter. It speaks of revelation proceeding from the Lord to men, "with whom it is presented such as it is in the letter." To me, of course, this confirms the opposite idea. For I would suppose that the reference is to immediate revelation to the natural mind of man, such as is contained in the former Testaments; and that such revelation would thus descend through the heavens to the celestial and spiritual in those senses, and to man in the ultimate or literal sense. And it was because of this fact of revelation coming to men only as it presents itself in the letter, that in order that men may be taught the spiritual sense while in the state of the natural mind, it became necessary for the Lord miraculously to prepare the revelator, Emanuel Swedenborg, by means of whom the spiritual sense could be revealed, in conjunction with the restoration of the science of correspondences.

     To receive the spiritual sense by means of a knowledge of correspondences implies, I should think, that such revelation is mediate, namely, by means of the existing Word, since it is an explanation of what the Word means and involves in a corresponding sense higher than that of its literal meaning.

     Thus this spiritual explanation and analysis of the Word must itself be the Word, but the Word in a more excellent degree,-a degree of spiritual meaning, the elements of which, when compounded into lower correspondential meaning, produce the Word as received by the minds of men in their natural state.

     Would it not, therefore, be clear and correct to say that the Word of the Writings, although Divine mediate revelation, is the more excellent because it manifests the very essence or soul of the Word?

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Whereas the Word of the former Testaments, although immediate Divine revelation, formerly manifested itself only in the letter, except for the face and hands that were bare? Or, that the Word of the former Testaments, by virtue of the Writings, now manifests itself even as to its essence or soul, in the Writings?

     The statement that all doctrine should be drawn from and confirmed by the letter of the Word means, to my mind, that the doctrine of the Writings has been so drawn and confirmed; and, that those receiving it do so by the perception that this is the case, which the doctrine conveys. It is then a matter for the student to learn the doctrine, which he does the more satisfactorily the more he succeeds in properly correlating the many threads of doctrine into bundles of harmonious truths.

     This seems more like a direct turning to the rays emitted from the soul of the Word, that the doctrine may be perceived, than a drawing and confirming from any letter proper to the Writings. Such a ray as the following might be considered as an example illustrating the above propositions:

     "Who of the Catholic miracle workers has ever taught the way to heaven of the truths of the Church from the Word? For this reason it has pleased the Lord to prepare me from my first youth to perceive the Word; He has introduced me into the spiritual world, and has more nearly enlightened me by the light of His Word; and this exceeds all miracles." (Invitation 55. See also A. R. 658.)
     F. C. FRAZEE.
Box 142, Durban, Natal, South Africa.
November 28, 1928.

     EDITORIAL COMMENT.

     In speaking of the Writings as a "mediate revelation," our correspondent quite clearly means that Swedenborg received the Heavenly Doctrine from the Lord, and thus the spiritual sense of the Word, while he read the Word of the Old and New Testaments, according to his declaration in T. C. R. 779. In other words, because Swedenborg was enlightened by the Lord by means of the former revelations, therefore the Writings may be called a "mediate revelation." This, however, as Mr. Frazee observes, "does not in any way derogate from the idea of the supreme excellence of the revelation of the Writings."

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It should also be noted that, in another sense, the Writings are an "immediate revelation." The Heavenly Doctrine is, in reality, Divine Doctrine or Divine Truth immediately from the Lord. The spiritual sense of the Word is revealed by the Lord alone. (S. S. 56, etc.) "At the end of the Church, . . . the Lord will open the word as to its internal sense. . . . That such immediate revelation exists at this day, is because that is what is meant by the advent of the Lord." (H. H. 1 end.)

     Those of our readers who have not followed the discussion of the subject as it has appeared in our pages are referred to Mr. Frazee's previous communication in the May, 1928, issue, p. 309, and to the paper by the Rev. Albert Bjorck in the December, 1927, number. It was also touched upon in the discussions at the last General Assembly. (See September, 1928, issue, pp. 577-582.) A further treatment appeared in our last issue, pp. 81, 119.

     Briefly stated, the points at issue are as follows:

     1. While it has been customary in the New Church to refer to the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments as the "Letter of the Word," the idea has been advanced that the Writings themselves have a "letter" and a "literal sense," and thus may be considered part of the Letter of the threefold Word. As every written or printed book has a letter or literal sense, the Writings are no exception to this fact. This, however, need not Prevent our calling the Writings the "Spiritual Sense of the Word" or the "Internal Sense of the Word." For the Writings are a revelation and embodiment of that sense, and it is proper to speak of the containant as the content, or to designate the principal by the instrumental.

     2. The literal sense or literal meaning of the Writings is subject to interpretation and understanding by men in the world. From the beginning, New Churchmen have "drawn doctrine from the literal sense" of the Writings, and have "confirmed it thereby," according to the rule of interpreting the Scriptures given in Doctrine of the Sacred Scripture, No. 50.

     3. If we apply this rule or law to the Writings by "drawing doctrine" from them and "confirming it thereby," what distinction should we observe between the Writings and the Scriptures? The literal sense of the Writings manifestly is a more immediate clothing of spiritual ideas than the letter of the Old and New Testaments, where the Divine Truth is veiled by correspondences, representatives and significatives.

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In the Writings the Divine Truth is accommodated to the rational mind, fulfilling the Lord's promise: "These things have I spoken unto you in parables; but the time cometh when I shall no more speak unto you in parables, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father." (John 16:25.) The question is, then: "What relation does the literal sense of the Writings bear to the spiritual ideas thus embodied in natural language?"

     4. If it be held sufficient for a New Churchman to draw doctrine from the Writings, and confirm it only from the Writings, is not this contrary to the method of the Writings themselves, where the truth of doctrine is everywhere confirmed by Scripture, as well as by science and human experience? Even when spiritual truth has become so established in the faith and life that it is believed without confirmations (S. D. 3977), is there not a continual need of the more ultimate planes of truth, as in the Scriptures, especially in the application of spiritual truth to life? And is there not a multiplication of truths, and increased illustration, by means of confirmations from the planes of natural truth? "That order may be perfect, celestial and spiritual truths ought to be rooted in natural truths." (S. D. 1531.)

     We shall be glad to see the various phases of the subject dealt with further in our pages. Meanwhile, we append a treatment of the idea that the Writings have a "letter" which appeared in THE NEW CHURCH TIDINGS in the year 1892. We quote in part from articles by the Rev. E. S. Hyatt, Editor of THE TIDINGS, who set forth his view at length in several numbers of that periodical.
LETTER OF THE WRITINGS 1929

LETTER OF THE WRITINGS       Rev. E. S. HYATT       1929

     EXTRACTS FROM ARTICLES

     "For the angels of the third heaven have the Word written in such letters, and they read it according to the letters." (De Verbo 4.)

     With them the law still holds, that all doctrine is to be drawn from the letter and to be confirmed by the letter; but it is with regard to the letter as it is given on the plane on which they live. Similarly with regard to the Word in each heaven. Similarly also with regard to the Word as ultimated for the three planes of the natural on earth.

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When, having first received the Word in its most ultimate form, we have come to see that the Writings are the Word accommodated to the rational mind, then, for that plane, we may draw doctrine from the letter of the Writings and also confirm it thereby. For if the Writings are an ultimation of the Word, it follows of necessity that the letter of the Writings is a portion of the letter of the Word, although it is not that portion which is the most ultimate of all, but only the most ultimate that can be received on the rational plane of the mind.

     Take the familiar illustration of the letter of the Word being as the foundation of a house. The lowest foundation must be formed from the letter of the Word of the Old Testament, but each story of the house that is built thereon must have its proximate foundation, which we call the floor thereof. In this world, the proximate foundation, or floor, of the second story is formed from the letter of the Word of the New Testament, which is a form interior to that of the Old; the proximate foundation, or floor, of the third story is to be formed from the letter of the Writings. This last story is that rational which is the highest degree that can be actually opened in this world. Now a house is never an actual house before the lowest foundation is laid; and, it forever remains true that if the foundation be removed, the whole house must collapse. But so long as we remain in the cellar, worshipping the foundation itself as such, we do not really use it. They use it who live in the rooms above, resting their feet proximately upon the floors thereof, and only through them on the most ultimate foundation. Thus they at the same time accomplished what at first sight appears paradoxical-the more they remove their minds from direct contemplation of it, the more fully they make the true use of the most ultimate foundation,-the letter of the Word of the Old Testament.

     *     *     *     *     *

     But when the teaching that the Writings are the Word comes before even those who are in an affirmative position towards what is there revealed, that teaching is apt at first to excite some timidity, lest such a position should in some way be derogatory to those forms of the Word which they had before learned to reverence as such; and they may object that the Writings themselves nowhere make the express statement that they are the Word.

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But then they soon recognize that the same objection might be raised against receiving the Word of the Old Testament as the Word, inasmuch as it nowhere therein expressly states that it is the Word; and that the same also is the case with regard to the Word of the New Testament. Thus they see that consistency forbids them to demand that there should be the express statement in the Writings that they are the Word, before they can consent to recognize them as such; and they are led to consider instead what is rationally presented in the Writings on the subject. Sooner or later they then learn to see that this claim is made by the Writings with more rational certainty than any mere statement could convey. They also come to realize that they have no certain knowledge as to which books of the Bible are books of the Word, and which are not, except from the Writings,-a question which no authority lower than that of the Word could have any right to settle; and that, therefore, if the Writings are not the Word, they are without any reliable authority on the subject. Hence they become rationally convinced that the Writings are the Word which the Lord speaks to us in His New Advent, in which conviction all their study of the Writings thenceforth confirms them with more and more rational clearness, and they see in them, with ever-increasing distinctness, a new form-a new accommodation made by the Lord Himself-of the One Word which has been from the beginning.

     Even after they have come to this position, a similar timidity is apt to be excited when the incontestable conclusion first comes before them, that if the Writings are the Word, the literal form of the Writings must be a literal form of the Word, and therefore that the letter thereof is of the Word. This similar timidity is also apt to be from a similar reason, namely, lest such a position should in any way be derogatory to that letter of the Word which they have already learned to reverence as such. Thus it is the fear, ever associated with love, lest that which is loved should be injured. But if they are really in the affirmative position toward the Writings, (and it is only such that are here referred to), they will be able to come, by some such line of reasoning as that sketched in the immediately preceding paragraph, to the conclusion that the fear in this case is groundless, since the more fully the Writings are seen to be the Word, and the more fully this is seen to be true even with regard to the literal form thereof, the more fully they will be able to reverence the letter, as well as the spirit, of every Revelation from the Lord, that is, of every form of the Word, as Divine.

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     [NEW CHURCH TIDINGS, 1892, pp. 84, 86.]
ORPHANAGE FUND 1929

ORPHANAGE FUND       Walter C. Childs       1929

To the Members of the General Church:
     To conserve the growth of the Church, and to meet the desire of New Church parents, in case of their death, to have their children reared in the Church, the Academy instituted our orphanage use in the year 1883.

     During the years which have elapsed, the use has developed, slowly but continuously. So far as possible, the effort has been to assist widowed mothers, members of the General Church, enabling them to maintain their homes and their children while located where the children could have the advantages of an Academy school.

     At the present time three widows, with children numbering nine who are attending Academy schools, are receiving monthly assistance amounting to a total of $2,820.00 annually.

     Contributions for the support of the use are made to the Treasurer of the Orphanage Fund Committee, which Committee is appointed and controlled by the Executive Committee of the General Church.

     A growing Church and the emergencies of life make almost certain the need, perhaps imminent, for largely increased expenditures for the support of the Church's fatherless children. As matters stand, we must rely upon increasing the number of voluntary contributors to the Orphanage Fund.

     The Treasurer of the General Church holds in trust for the Orphanage Fund bequests and gifts amounting to $4,500.00, invested in securities which yield an annual income of about $260.00. This is all; yet it is manifest that the support of a use of this nature should have as its basis a substantial, secured income.

     In conclusion, therefore, it is respectfully urged that the members of the General Church, in any prospective wills, give consideration to the use of the Orphanage Fund.

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     Also, it is suggested that in any existing will, much and continuing good may be accomplished simply by the addition of a codicil naming the Orphanage Fund. Sincerely and fraternally yours,
     THE ORPHANAGE FUND COMMITTEE,
          By Walter C. Childs, Treasurer.     

     FORM OF BEQUEST.

     I hereby give and bequeath unto the General Church of the New Jerusalem, a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Illinois, the sum of $. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ., for the uses of the Orphanage Fund.

     FORM OF CODICIL.

     I, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ., the within named testator (or testatrix) do hereby make and publish this codicil, to be added to my last will and testament; bearing date the . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . day of A. D. 192. . . .
in manner following, to wit:

     1. I hereby give and bequeath unto the General Church of the New Jerusalem, a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Illinois, the sum of $. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . for the uses of the Orphanage Fund.

     2. I do hereby ratify and confirm my said will in all other respects.

     IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have hereunto set my hand and seal this . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . day of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .                    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(SEAL)

     Signed, sealed, published and declared by the said . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . as and for a codicil to his (or her) last will and testament, in the presence of us, who, in his (or her) presence, and in the presence of each other, have, at his (or her) request, subscribed our names as witnesses thereto.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . residing at . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . residing at . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

     Note. A will or codicil containing a bequest to a charitable corporation should be attested by two disinterested witnesses. Such witnesses should not be officers or directors of the General Church.

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Church News 1929

Church News       Various       1929

     TORONTO, ONTARIO.

     The half-yearly business meeting of the Society was held on December 12th, 1928, being prefaced by a thoughtful and apropos address by the Pastor on "The State of the Church," a subject always properly before us for consideration. The good of the Church being the sole object in view, it should be thought about and spoken about from Divine Revelation, for this is the means by which it is made, established and preserved. The internal, perpetual state of the Church will have its correspondent states in our organization of the Church, even in our Society, if we keep faithfully our part of the covenant with the Lord, and look to what is eternal in all our uses, preserving soundness and purity of doctrine, which can best be maintained by diligent reading of the Word, a continual study of its doctrine, and a daily life derived from it. The state of the Church may also be known from an examination of its worship; it will also depend upon the societies of spirits and angels in association with it, but above all upon the heart acknowledgment and the open confession and practice of the universal essentials of salvation, the acknowledgment of the one God, and repentance of life according to the precepts of the Decalogue. The Pastor said much more to the same effect, elevating the mind to a plane suitable for consideration of matters having to do with the temporal affairs of the Society, which in a world of human affairs must needs consume much of time and thoughtful care, and which may indeed be a suitable medium for the expression of one's love for and growth in the Church. The reports presented showed satisfactory progress along all lines, with increased attendance at Sunday services and the support of the uses usually connoted thereby.

     The Christmas celebration began on Sunday, December 23d, and followed the same general lines as in former years, with some variation in details and personnel. For the children's festival, the representation of the Nativity and birthplace of the Lord was placed in the chapel, at the chancel steps, the children being grouped together at the front. The Pastor read suitable Scripture passages illustrative of a looking for the advent of the Lord, and gave a moving address on the spirit of Christmas, emphasizing the suitability of supporting the Orphanage Fund, to which the offering was devoted. Miss Ruby Smith pleasingly sang the favorite Christmas hymn, "So Sweet and Clear," the children singing the refrain, after which, led by the children, a procession formed and marched downstairs to the singing of "From the Eastern Mountains." Here we heard the age-old story read from the Word by the Pastor and illustrated by six tableaux,-"The Annunciation," "Meeting of Mary and Elizabeth," "The Angels Appearing to the Shepherds," "The Nativity," "The Wise Men Presenting Gifts," and "John the Baptist." One of the major changes this year was that the pupils of the Day and Sunday Schools performed the tableaux, and the costuming and general arrangements were carried through by the teachers, who for the most part are the young men and ladies of the Society. The tableaux were beautiful in conception, artistically produced, and presented with a smoothness and precision that left nothing to be desired.

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The children seemed to be utterly unconscious of anything outside the story they were seeking to portray. We look forward to Christmas as a time of many happinesses, not the least of which is this evening with and for the children at the church.

     We had service on Christmas Day in the morning, when we gathered to render our homage and devotion in Prayer and praise to the Giver of all good, and to hear again the blessed story in the preaching of the Word telling of the coming of the Lord. At this service Mrs. Frank Longstaff sang, with a sympathetic interpretation, John S. Dwight's translation of that most beautiful of Christmas Songs, "O Holy Night" (Contique de Noel), set to the music of Adolph Adam.

     So passed another Christmas, and on to the close of the year, which again found as many of our people as mere equal to the occasion gathered within the walls of the church, enjoying a happy social time together. This year there was no watch-night service, but a brief interval in the program, just before midnight, was spent in devotional exercises. Just as we were preparing these notes, we received word of the passing into the spiritual world of our friends in the Church, Mr. Samuel Simons, of Bryn Athyn, and his eldest son, Alden. Such apparently tragic happenings leave us almost incapable of expressing our feelings. We sorrow with our friend Mrs. Simons and her family in their great bereavement, and trust that they may find comfort and surcease from sorrow in the Divine prophecy, "But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint." (Isaiah 40: 31.)
     F. W.

     CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

     Sharon Church has felt a quicken-past fall, due perhaps to the effects of life and a renewing of zeal this the London Assembly which was attended by half a dozen of our members. The attendance at Sunday service has rarely been below fifty, but the extremely bad weather of January, combined with sickness, has recently reduced it somewhat. Our Friday suppers have also been well attended, making us realize that our present quarters are too small.

     When Bishop Pendleton was here for the District Assembly held in Glenview last October, he gave us one evening. After his address had been delivered and discussed we held a memorial meeting for "Uncle" Johnson. At this meeting the announcement was first made that Mr. Johnson had left his entire estate to the church. His principal bequests were $5,000 to Sharon Church, and $5,500 to the Society in Stockholm, Sweden, We feel very grateful for this bequest, and hope it is an indication of Providence that we are to have a church building in Chicago in the near future. The Ladies Aid held a very successful bazaar in December at which they added $150 to their building fund, which now totals $1,000. Our church home was repaired and repainted this fall at a cost of over $300 which was raised without interfering with any of the regular activities of the church.

     Our Christmas celebration, held on Christmas Eve, was a delightful occasion at which we sang with the children the familiar Christmas songs. Our Sunday School is so small that we are surprised to find at Christmas time that, counting the children of out-of-town members whom we always remember at this time, we have over twenty children of Sunday school age.

     Our hearts have been deeply touched by the sudden death of Mr. Joseph B. Headsten, son of the late Rev. John Headsten. He leaves a widow (Ruth Synnestvedt) and four young children. But we are sustained by the thought that this calling into the other world of strong young men, devoted to the Church, is probably necessitated by an advance of the Church which is to be made in that world, the world of causes.

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     Since the first of the year the pastor's sermons have been upon the subject presented in the Summary of the Coronis, namely, a correlation of the four periods of human life with the four times of day, the four seasons of the year, the four Churches which have been upon the earth, and the four periods of each Church. This correlation has been very interesting and, enlightening, bringing out some truths not clearly seen before. Swedenborg's Birthday was honored in the good old way with toasts and songs and speeches. As his life was reviewed by different speakers we wondered anew that one man could accomplish so much. The point was developed that he was led by the Lord to investigate the interiors of nature and of the human body and soul by means of reason and philosophy, in order to open the inner human rational; thus the steps which lead from earth to heaven were provided in his mind. Then the Lord appeared to him, called him, and led him to the Word, and revealed Himself in the power and glory of His Divine Human; He filled Swedenborg with His Spirit, that He might teach through him the internal sense of the Word in which the Lord is perpetually present as He is in heaven. We and our children must also learn a true philosophy of the interiors of nature if we would rationally understand the interior truths of the Word.
     W. L. G.

     REPORT OF THE VISITING PASTOR.

     Services were held at DETROIT on Sunday, January 6th, in the studio of the Misses Dorothy Pearse and Marjorie Field. The Circle greatly appreciated the kindness of the young ladies in providing this attractive and centrally located place, not only this time, but also for the future. Illness prevented several persons from being present; nevertheless, there was an attendance of sixteen. The Rite of Confirmation was administered for Miss Elizabeth Field. In the evening a doctrinal class was held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Steen, with ten persons present. Our subject was the Calendar Reading, which quite a number of the Circle intend to follow. Monday afternoon, at FORD CITY, ONT., instruction was given to the young son of Mr. and Mrs. Harold Bellinger, and in the evening a class was held at the same place, for five persons, at which the signification of the serpent in Eden was considered, It was a pleasure to meet here Mrs. George Pagon, who was on a visit from her home at Davidson, Sask., Canada, where for a number of years I visited the family on my North West trips. And before that, as Laura Schnarr, she was one of my first pupils in the Kitchener (then Berlin) New Church School. Tuesday evening, there was again a class at Detroit, in the home of Mr. and Mrs. William Walker, with an attendance of thirteen. The teaching presented was, that "the doctrine of the church ought to be drawn from the sense of the letter of the Word, and to be confirmed by that sense." (S. S. 50.) It was shown that by the "church" is here specifically meant the New-Church; and that in the churches around us the Word is being less and less regarded as the source of doctrine, while instead the things that self-intelligence evolves, apart from the Word, are the accepted views, proof of which was adduced by the reading of extracts from current religious literature.

     At ERIE, PA., there were three general doctrinal classes and a young people's class; also services on January 13th. Two of the meetings were at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Johnson, and the others at the home of Mr. C. E. Cranch. Two strangers attended, one of them once, the other three times. Illness prevented several of our members from being with us, so that the attendance was only five persons on each occasion. It is a pleasure to mention that at Erie, at Detroit, the Calendar Reading will be followed, and that three homes have begun its use.
     F. E. WAELCHLI.

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     PITTSBURGH, PA.

     On Christmas Eve the children's service was held in the large community room on the first floor. In the middle of the south side, facing the congregation, was a small improvised chancel on a platform on top of which were a series of steps laden with gifts; to the right of the chancel was a stage, and to the left a small representation of notable events in Palestine nearly two thousand years ago. This was attractively arranged by Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Horigan. Festoons of green leaves, small pine trees, and occasional holly had been tastefully placed by Mr. Ulrich Schoenberger, not only in this room, but also in the entrance hall, on the staircase, and upstairs in the hall of worship for the Christmas service. The order of service was: Opening of the Word; procession of children singing "Children Can You Truly Tell," and depositing their offerings in a basket held by the pastor; the prayer; a recitation by all assembled; a Christmas song, and the first tableau, which the recitation and the long introduced. The Rev. W. E. Brickman then explained to the children the significance of the tableau.

     There were five tableaux in all. Prior to the rising of the curtain in the first tableau was heard the voice of the Lord bidding Moses ascend Mt, Nebo, there to die. The curtain rose, and on the right stood Moses, while on the left was an angel in gleaming white, on beholding whom Moses became filled with new hope, and gazed out to see the land which the angel was pointing out to him. Then the light on the stage went so low that the two figures could hardly be seen, and between them flashed out, from a lantern behind the stage, five typical scenes of the Lord's life. At the end of these the lights went on for a moment, and Moses, radiant with hope for the future, was seen with head inclined, receiving a blessing from the angel's upraised hands.

     The second tableau represented Mary and the Angel Gabriel, according to Fra Angelico's painting of the Annunciation. The third tableau was that of the Nativity, showing the holy family, the manger, and three shepherds. The fourth tableau was the Presentation in the Temple. Simeon in the center, holding the babe in his arms, uttered his speech of thanksgiving, beginning with the words, "Now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace." Then, returning the babe to Mary, and blessing her, he concluded with the speech in which he predicts, "Yea, a sword shall pierce through thy own soul also." To the left of Simeon was the prophetess Anna, and to the right of Mary stood Joseph. In the fifth tableau were seen the Wise Men carrying gifts and following the star.

     After the benediction, and the closing of the Word, the gifts were distributed by the Rev. W. E. Brickman, who made felicitous speeches to all the recipients, even to the wee babies of the society.

     Miss Lois Blair was in charge of the tableaux, assisted by Mr. S. S. Lindsay, Jr., Mr. Ulrich Schoenberger, and Miss Jean Horigan. Mrs. Mary Blair was at the piano, accompanied on the violin by Esther Grote. Mr. John Schoenberger was in charge of the lights.

     A service was held on Christmas Day at the usual hour, the music including the Christmas hymns in the Liturgy and the Te Dominum, and the sermon treating of the Virgin Birth.

     On the last Sunday in December the quarterly administration of the Holy Supper was held, the Rev. Homer Synnestvedt assisting the pastor. Mr. Synnestvedt also preached a very comforting sermon on the reason why men on earth suffered many tribulations. He and Miss Sylvia spent most of their vacation in Pittsburgh, and it is the conviction of the members here that this city is their spiritual home. The same is also true of Miss Celia Bellinger, who spent two days here on her trip to Chicago.

     On New Year's Day the Pastor and Mrs. Iungerich held an afternoon reception for the members of the Society.

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Alexander and Stevan Iungerich did the honors of what is now known as the "ecclesiastical" Ford sedan, by taking various people about in it. There are as yet no casualties to report, possibly due to the Pastor's reluctance to go over fifteen miles an hour, or to parking within a foot of the curb.                                             

     On Friday, January 4th, after the society supper and doctrinal class concluding the subject of "The Word," a special meeting of the Society was held. Great suspense reigned, as it was feared that, out of seventy-eight voting members, a quorum of thirty-nine, including the absentees who were faithful enough to send proxies, would not be present. But after a count of those who answered the roll call, the secretary announced that there were just thirty-nine members present. Thereupon, one extra member came in to give us full measure.

     By the unanimous action of those present, the committee on the new property was constituted a building committee, two additional members were added, and the committee was empowered to engage an architect, construct the necessary buildings, and sell the present Wallingford Street property. Mr. David Lindsay then moved a vote of thanks for what the previous committee had done, and an expression of confidence in the one newly constituted. This was passed by a rising vote.

     On December 12th, 1928, the deed of purchase was ratified. Over one-half of that part of the property which we do not wish to hold has been sold, and a wrecking company is at present rapidly demolishing the main edifice, on the removal of which the other lots will be available for sale.
     E. E. I.

     February 3, 1929.

     We are now able to report that the Wallingford Street property has been sold, and profitably too. The building has been the home of the Pittsburgh Society for many years, providing a chapel for our services of worship, as well as School rooms and a hall for suppers, doctrinal classes and general meetings. It has been sold to a church organization which found it perfectly suited to its needs.

     We feel that the hand of Providence is with us in our new budding undertaking; for everything thus far has gone smoothly and in our favor. We have been fortunate in securing the services of Mr. Harold T. Carswell, of Bryn Athyn, as architect. He has had a wide experience in the architectural field, and also has a fine knowledge of New Church architecture and symbolism.

     The Swedenborg's Birthday Supper was unique, if such can ever be the case with this occasion. Mr. Richard L. Goerwitz made his debut in the role of toastmaster, and carried it oft in fine fashion. Miss Freda Schoenberger, in a most interesting paper, gave us vivid pictures of Swedenborg's childhood and home life. Mr. John W. Rott continued with a sketch of "Swedenborg, The Man of Affairs." (His speech made us feel that he had gained much from the course in Oratory given in the Boys' Academy.) Mr. Arthur O. Lechner gave us a useful paper on how Swedenborg's philosophy is adaptable to modern business, and spoke of Swedenborg's foresightedness in regard to several modern inventions. The Pastor then gave a splendid address on "Swedenborg, A Hero." There we much discussion, and many interesting comments were made. The supper was delectable. The only trouble in serving such a delicious meal is that there is seldom enough to satisfy everyone completely. Miss Alice Broadbridge was in charge, assisted by several of the ladies. We wish to congratulate Miss Broadbridge and her assistants, and hope she will repeat her efficient work soon again. Mr. and Mrs. Lester Asplundh, of Bryn Athyn, and Mr. J. J. Kintner, of Johnstown, were visitors.

     Rev. and Mrs. Iungerich and Miss Anita Doering attended the Annual Council Meetings and District Assembly in Bryn Athyn. The school was not closed for this week, as Mrs. G. P. Brown and Mrs. Frank L. Doering substituted for Miss Doering during her absence.

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     And one feels called upon to remark upon the affinity-sudden affinity-which the "ecclesiastical Ford" I showed for a certain honored telegraph pole. This occurrence injured the Pastor's pocketbook, and reminded the family that telegraph poles are still beside the road. We hope the ecclesiastical equipage has learned a lesson, and will have no further accidents.
     E. R. D.

     GLENVIEW, ILL.

     Our society has lost another young householder in the passing of Joseph B. Headsten, who died on January 20th after a brief illness. He was the only son of the late Rev. John Headsten, who, in adult life, joined the General Church, studied at the Academy Theological School, and started a society in Chicago which merged with Sharon Church after his death in 1923. Mrs. Headsten and her daughter Eugenie are still active members of that society. Joseph is survived by his wife, Ruth Synnestvedt Headsten, and four little girls. The couple had recently joined the Immanuel Church, and were looking forward to many years of happy activity in the service of this society. Joseph was a highly successful salesman. At the outbreak of the World War be enlisted as a private, but by hard work and study earned an officer's commission, being mustered out as a first lieutenant. We have lost the earthly presence of a loyal and earnest New Churchman.

     Swedenborg's Birthday was celebrated in a fresh and novel manner this year. The Pastor asked the members of his young ladies' class and young mens' class to take complete charge, including the rendering of the program. A splendid supper, featured by a leg of lamb on each table, was only equaled by the extensive and appropriate decorations which had been provided by the girls. The boys' efforts took the form of pithy and brief speeches, mostly concerning the countries and events of Swedenborg's time, and contained many light touches which kept all present at eager and amused attention, After the formal program the boys handed the meeting back to the Pastor in a witty ditty addressed to him. Several speeches, light and serious, followed, and this successful meeting closed with stirring church songs.

     Rev. Norman Reuter, assistant to the pastor, is officiating while Mr. Smith is attending the Council Meetings it Bryn Athyn. Mr. Reuter's many activities add greatly to the life of the society.
     J. B. S.

     LOS ANGELES.

     We feel that a great deal has been accomplished in our little society since our last report. Getting together regularly and having a leader right in the field brings results that are never possible otherwise.

     Preparation for our Christmas celebration began early with special singing practice and planning of the tableaux. A series of sermons leading up to the subject of the Birth of the Lord on Earth helped a great deal in our understanding of the internal meaning and importance of this occasion we were about to celebrate. The Fred Davis' home affords a most delightful place for our gatherings, and was appreciated especially for the tableaux which require space in which to spread out. There were five tableaux presented, namely, the Annunciation, the Lord in the Manger, The Angel and the Shepherds, The Wise Men, and the Presentation in the Temple. Thoughtful planning, able direction, and the capable cooperation of the committees, together with the earnestness and affection of those who took part, all helped to make them very impressive and most enjoyable. There was a record attendance of fifty-two on this occasion. After the presentations, which were interspersed with Readings from the Word and appropriate Christmas songs, toys were given to the younger children, and the older ones were presented with copies of the Rev. H. Lj. Odhner's First Elements of the True Christian Religion, to be used as an outline for their instruction in the Sunday School.

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     New Year's marked our second social event,-another good time. Just before the passing of the old year a short service was held at which our Minister presented an inspiring paper on "The New Year," stressing the significance of the orderly entering into new periods of life, that they may become so many states of good in the life of regeneration.

     Swedenborg's Birthday was celebrated in the real New Church way. Forty gathered together around the banquet table, which had been charmingly decorated with the Academy colors. At the close of the meal we had toasts followed by interesting and instructive speeches on Swedenborg's life, on his preparation for the use of Revelator, and on his intromission into the spiritual world. The evening closed with a short service to take the place of the regular morning service.

     Aside from all these festivities we have been progressing in the regular everyday way. Sunday School is held before the church service. Following the custom in the General Church, doctrinal class is held weekly, preceded by singing practice. The Chancel Committee has been very busy, and various things have been added to the church fittings which add to the beauty and order of the service as well as to the comfort of the members.

     We were most pleasantly surprised one Sunday morning to have Mr. Ray Brown, of Toronto, with us. Mrs. Grove, of Buffalo, Miss Mae Smith and Miss Helen Vaughn, of Bryn Athyn, are paying an extended visit, and are quite an addition to our little society. We are looking forward to
a visit from Mrs. Reginald W. Brown, who is expected early in February, when she is coming to see her son, Lawson Cooper, his wife and baby daughter.

     After having been for a long time with us in the principles of faith, and in attending worship, it is with great pleasure that we may now count Mr. and Mrs. C. J. Orff as regular members of our Society. We extend a most hearty welcome to Mr. and Mrs. Orff, and to Mrs. Grove, all of whom have been received by the Bishop as members of the General Church.

     DENVER, COLORADO.

     With the Church year half over, it is time that we inform the readers of, these columns concerning our activities. The present notes will be a review of the past five months. They have been full of interest, the uses have been supported and carried forward with zeal; and the social life, of which we have had an unusual amount, has been exceptionally pleasurable. This is in great measure accounted for by the fact that for the first time in many years we have young people of sufficient numbers to make a group. With the return of three young ladies from Bryn Athyn last summer, three other ex-students of the Academy of the class of `25, and a Sunday School class of high school age, we have a total of eleven young people, who have given a devoted and loyal service to the Church. Their presence and interest, taken together with other elements,-a ladies' society functioning with great credit to itself, and the organization of a local chapter of Theta Alpha,-have given focus to the loyalty which all have to the Church. Altogether, we are more hopeful of the future, and more appreciative of our present blessings.

     Services were resumed on September 9th, and the first event of a social nature thereafter was the gathering at the Chapel to hear the Pastor's report of the General Assembly,-an event of such moment to the Church that it could not fail to be of deep interest, and the account of it was received with marked affection. Numerically the General Church is not so large but that the whole of it may be included in the horizon of each one of us; and the directing of our attention to the various societies scattered over the whole globe is always a very pleasant exercise.

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     A second social event, and one that gave us real delight, was the reception at the Chapel for the Rev. H. W. Boef. As soon as we heard that he was to minister to the Los Angeles Society, we invited him to make a stopover with us on his way to that place, but his plans at that time did not permit. We were disappointed, because we were very much interested in the minister who was to preside over our new sister neighbor. But when we later heard that he was accompanying Mr. Lindrooth on the latter's return journey from Chicago, and would stop over one night, we were indeed gratified. Mr. Boef received a very hearty welcome here, and added all in our society to his circle of friends. After the introductions were made, and opportunity for informal conversation had been given, the Pastor spoke briefly about the importance to the church of the organization of a new society, and, on behalf of the Denver Society, he welcomed the Los Angeles Society into the Sisterhood of Societies, and congratulated Mr. Boef on being her first Minister. He asked Mr. Beef to carry greetings and good wishes from us to his congregation, and expressed the hope that no opportunity for intercourse between the two might be passed by. Although Mr. Beef was very tired, he was prevailed upon to address us, and gave us an outline of the work he planned to do there, and also told us of his summer's work in Bryn Athyn. The evening was one of real pleasure. We only regret that he was not able to remain longer and preach for us.

     Next came our annual meeting on October 19th. The Treasurer reported the finances to be in good shape (by which we mean that there was no deficit), but called for more sustained individual support. The Pastor's report, which was a review of the past year with comments, stimulated an extended discussion. The executive officers, time-honored in their services, were unanimously re-elected.

     The Ladies Society has had its regular monthly meetings, the first being held at the home of Mr. Howland, who had returned to us from Los Angeles (to our great gain) after a little more than a year's absence. She was given a cordial welcome, and, as the first act of the meeting, was asked to resume the office of President. At this meeting the activities for the coming year were discussed. In the business session it was voted to continue the efforts to give aid to the treasury of the local church; and in the class session the course of study , decided upon was selected,-Memorable Relations from the work on Conjugial Love. At present the Pastor is reading the series of Memorable Relations dealing with Marriage in the Golden and Silver Ages, etc., presenting also a comparative outline of the characteristics of these Ages. In the way of carrying out the resolution of the business session, Mrs. Schroder has given a benefit luncheon which augmented the Ladies' treasury by the sum of $29.00.

     Early in the season, about the middle of September, it was a pleasure to have with us Mr. and Mrs. Harold Lindrooth, of Chicago, who were spending their honeymoon here. They were made the recipients of the congratulations and best wishes of all in our Society.

     The Christmas season was celebrated in our customary manner. We had a very lovely tree, and the representation of the Nativity scene to impress both young and old. The celebration called for a series of three services, one of a preparatory nature on Sunday, a children's service on Monday afternoon, and the last on Christmas morning. In lieu of a sermon at the first of these services, Rev. C. Th. Odhner's extracts from the Writings, printed in New Church Sermons, giving the signification of the persons, places and things connected with the Nativity, was read with comments. The children's festival, with its sphere of innocence, had a distinct place in the series. The last service was most impressive and affecting because of three things:

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(1) Two young men made this the occasion of their confession of faith; (2) the sermon on the song of the angels, "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will towards men" was an exposition of the effect of the Incarnation upon the heavens; (3) the Holy Supper was celebrated.

     In the way of looking after our children, we have had two very successful and efficiently managed parties. The first, on the Saturday preceding Hallowe'en, was in charge of Mrs. Tyler and Mrs. Heinrichs, assisted by the young ladies of the Pastor's Sunday School class. The responsibility for the second, in celebration of Swedenborg's Birthday, was in the hands of the aforesaid young ladies. This was the first time they had taken any responsibility in the cooperative work of the Society, and as they acquitted themselves in a praiseworthy fashion, we shall make a point of mentioning them by name, Miss Thyra Schroder, Miss Winifred Allen and Miss Vera Bergstrom. During supper, the Pastor told the children briefly about the life-mission of Swedenborg. At the end of each paragraph he reduced what had been said into a sentence which all repeated in unison twice. A very entertaining feature for the youngsters was their introduction to a relic of the past,-the magic lantern. Some former resident left it stored away in the recesses next to the eaves where it was accidentally discovered by the Pastor. The children were simply fascinated by it.

     Reverting to the adult social life, we may add that, in addition to the two social occasions already noticed, we have had three others, managed by committees of young people, all very enjoyable affairs. The order at the first two was dancing and cards. The second came at the dose of the old year, and was made the occasion of a brief address by the Pastor. The last was the Society's celebration of Swedenborg's Birthday, on Sunday, January 27th. At the service in the morning, the Pastor had given an address on "Swedenborg's Inspiration," and in the evening he continued the same subject, treating more intimately of the states through which Swedenborg passed in the course of his preparation. A surprise of the evening was the introduction of a new toastmaster in the person of Jack Lindrooth. He received a fine welcome, and we look forward to seeing him again in that capacity. At the conclusion of the Pastor's address, Mr. Tyler and Mr. O. A. Bergstrom contributed some remarks, the latter making an announcement to the effect that an anonymous friend of the Society had donated $50.00 to start a building fund, with the proviso that the Society add to it from time to time. The offer was accepted with expressions of gratitude to the donor, and we shall expect to see some additions to the fund soon. The meeting closed informally with cards and dancing.
     HENRY HEINRICHS.

     THE CHURCH AT LARGE.

     We learn from The New-Church Messenger that the 1929 meeting of the General Convention is to be held in Brooklyn, June 15th to 18th, the Council of Ministers to convene on June 11th. Mr. Ezra Hyde Alden, Vice-President of the Convention, will be its representative at the British Conference, returning in time for the Brooklyn meeting.

     A review of the 1928 meeting of the General Convention in our pages was prevented by the preoccupations of our General Assembly. The Convention met at Washington, D. C., in May, as fully reported in the Messenger, May 30 to July 4, 1928. In the election of officers we note that the Rev. Paul Sperry, Pastor of the Washington Society, was chosen President of the Convention, the Rev. Wm. L. Worcester declining re-election. The Rev. E. M. Lawrence Gould was re-elected Editor of The Messenger by 88 votes, Mr. B. A. Whittemore receiving 67 votes. The Rev. H. Gordon Drummond, President of the General Conference, was present as a representative of that body, and addressed the Convention on several occasions.

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     The General Conference met at Failsworth, Manchester, June 16th to 22d, 1928, as fully reported in The New-Church Herald. The Rev. Wm. A. Presland was elected President for the ensuing year, Mr. Drummond becoming Vice-President, according to the custom of that body.

     During the past year, a number of prominent members of the New Church passed into the spiritual world. As we learn from The Swedenborg Student, Mr. James E. Young, one of the Rotch Trustees, passed away very suddenly during the summer. "He was one of the very active New Churchmen of Boston, a man of solid attainments, wide reading in the Writings, and extremely interested in the movements of the Church, locally very active in the work of the Boston Society." The Student also notes the death of Professor Frank W. Very, "well-known in astronomical circles. He was associated with Professor Langley in the Allegheny Observatory, and later with Professor Lowell in the Harvard astronomical work. He was greatly interested in the correlation of Swedenborg's science with modern discoveries and theories,"-a record of which is left in his two-volume work, recently published, entitled An Epitome of Swedenborg's Science.

     Mr. Clarence W. Barren, of Boston, died at Battle Creek, Michigan, on October 2d, 1928, and the Messenger of October 31st contains a portrait and obituary. Mr. Barron held an important place in the held of American finance. He was especially interested in promoting the publication and distribution of the Writings of the New Church, and was himself a constant reader.

     The New-Church Herald of November 24, 1928, contains a portrait and obituary of Mr. Andrew Eadie, of Glasgow, who died on November 11th at the age of seventy-five years. His writings appeared occasionally in the periodicals of the Church, and he took a very active part in the affairs of the General Conference.

     Australia.

     On August 1, 1928, the Rev. Wm. Reece, formerly pastor of the Portland, Oregon, Society of the General Convention, began his duties as minister of the Brisbane, Australia, Society. He there continues the publication of The New Christian Minister in mimeographed form. There are now three New Church ministers in Australia: the Rev. Richard Morse, at Hurstville, Sydney; the Rev. Richard H. Teed, at Melbourne; and Mr. Reece at Brisbane. And we learn from The New-Church Herald that the Society in Adelaide, South Australia, is seeking to secure the services of a minister.

     A New Portrait of Swedenborg.

     The Messenger of January 23d contains the photograph of a new portrait of Emanuel Swedenborg by Stanislav Rembski which was to be unveiled at the Brooklyn Heights Church on February 3d. While not a reproduction of any of the familiar portraits of the Seer, it conforms most closely to the one that hung in his bed-chamber, now the property of the Academy of the New Church, and said to be the best likeness. (See Annals, p. 64.) Judging from the photograph, we gain the impression that the new picture is a dignified and worthy interpretation of the personal appearance of the Revelator.

     Broadcasting in California.

     The Rev. Walter Brown Murray has recently made a successful experiment at Los Angeles in broadcasting a knowledge of Swedenborg's Heaven and Hell. The first talk was given over KHJ in Los Angeles, January 18th. Many telephone calls were received by the station afterwards, asking for Mr. Murray's local address. Two people called to purchase copies of the book, and fifty-three others wrote in care of the station, enclosing ten cents for a copy. (Messenger, Feb. 13, 1929.)

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     SWEDENBORG SOCIETY CELEBRATION.

     In commemoration of Swedenborg's Birthday, a Social Reunion was held in Holborn Hall, London, on January 29th, under the auspices of The Swedenborg Society, Incorporated. An invitation had been extended to members of the New Church in London, and 360 persons were present.

     The program included the following Addresses: "Birthday Celebrations," Sir Campbell Rhodes, C. B. E.; "The Theology of Swedenborg," Rev. W. A. Presland; "Swedenborg: The Instrument of the Lord's Second Advent," Right Rev. R. J. Tilson; also the reading of Swedenborg's "Ode to Steinbock on the Defeat of the Danes," by Mrs. W. A. Presland. Interspersing these were musical numbers, both vocal and instrumental, closing with Community Singing conducted by Mr. A. E. Friend. Then followed three Tableaux, the subjects being: 1. The Noted Five Men at the First Meeting of the Church; 2. Swedenborg and the Blind Girl; 3. Swedenborg Shewing the Little Child an Angel. The Tableaux were arranged by Miss J. Wynter. They were beautifully costumed and splendidly given. A collection was taken on behalf of the Swedenborg House Fund, and the meeting concluded with refreshments and dancing.

     The text of the Addresses delivered on this occasion has not yet appeared in print, but a copy of the paper read by Bishop Tilson has been sent to us, and we herewith quote the major portion:

     In the British Museum there is a Book written by Emanuel Swedenborg which bears the inscription in his own handwriting: Hic Liber est Adventus Domini, scriptum ex mandato-"This Book is the Advent of the Lord, written by command." And in an Ecclesiastical History Sketch, written by him, he tells us that upon all his Books in the spiritual world the same inscription appeared.

     It is also remarkable that on the title-page of the last work he published he wrote, after his name, "Servant of the Lord Jesus Christ." Although he wrote some 200 books, never before had he placed that sentence upon a title-page. Upon being asked by a banker and merchant named Cuno, why he had done so, he replied that he had received a command thus to do. (Documents, Vol, II, p. 483.)

     How much this inscription and these added words on the tide-page imply, and how stimulating are they to thought! When I read them, I am always reminded of the heading of one of the sections of a remarkable book written by one of the Founder of this Society, and its first Secretary, the late Rev. Samuel Noble,-the book generally known as Noble's Appeal. The heading referred to introduces a chapter on the Second Advent of the Lord, and reads as follows: "A Human Instrument Necessary, and Therefore Raised Up." (Section V, p. ll8.) This assertion, together with the aforesaid inscription and addition to the title-page, brings to my mind the significant and instructive fact that, both for the First and Second Advents, a specially selected "Human Instrument" was chosen by the Lord for an absolutely unique mission.

     For the First Advent, the Lord called the Virgin Mary to that sacred use; and for His Second Advent He chose Emanuel Swedenborg. For, as to the latter, Swedenborg wrote in the True Christian Religion,-that book on which he inscribed "Servant of the Lord Jesus Christ"-as follows: "The Second Advent of the Lord takes place by means of a man, before whom He manifested Himself in Person, and whom He has filled with His Spirit to teach the Doctrines of the New Church, by means of the Word, from Him." (T. C. R. 179.)

     This, then, was the unique use to which Swedenborg was called by the Lord. In the Books written by him, from the Lord, the world possesses a Revelation by which all the various activities in the realms of Religion, Science, Ethics, Economics, and Politics, for the betterment of the human race, may be measured, their excellencies exalted and their errors corrected.

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     Such reflections as these surely impress every thoughtful mind with the immense responsibility of the Society in whose interests we are gathered together this evening. With its governing Council, above all other considerations, surely there rests the great responsibility of choosing the most competent translators to render in dignified and telling English the message contained in the Original Latin of these Books, together with the duty of seeing that no one volume is ever out of print, or not to be obtained at the Society's Depot.

     May it not also be added that a similar responsibility rests upon all the members of the Society to make themselves familiar with the contents of those Books, not being satisfied that their duty to themselves and their fellow men is done, until their library contains a copy of every Book in which the Heavenly Doctrines of the New Jerusalem are revealed, and this with the sole end that, by careful reading, reflection and meditation, their minds may be filled with those glorious Truths which will prepare them not only to cope successfully with the difficulties of this world, but will also assuredly prepare them for an eternity of usefulness and felicity in the world to come.

     DR. ACTON AT UPPSALA.

     As is known to our readers, Dr. Alfred Acton is spending a year's leave of absence abroad. After the General Assembly in London, he journeyed through parts of Holland, Germany and Sweden. About Christmas time he rejoined Mrs. Acton and Miss Benita Acton, who had preceded him to Sweden, and they rented an apartment at Karlaplan 1811 in Stockholm. Dr. Acton, however, has been spending much of his time in the Library of the University of Uppsala, and has discovered a number of interesting documents connected with Swedenborg's life and work. In a recent letter to Bishop Pendleton, the following are noted:

     1. Anonymous letters appearing in newspapers in 1769, relating to the attacks upon Dr. Beyer.

     2. A letter from Swedenborg to Oelreich (original) not before known.

     3. An autographed inscription never before known.

     4. A legal document in Swedenborg's handwriting-not before known.

     5. An autographed letter of two folio pages from Swedenborg to Messiter. "This," writes Dr. Acton, "is extremely interesting; we had no knowledge that Swedenborg ever wrote to Messiter. The contents of the letter are in part the same as those in the letter to Hartley giving autobiographical details; but the original of this letter to Hartley probably was destroyed over 150 years ago. Now we have an original in this letter to Messiter. It is important because of the fact (noted in my Introduction to the Word Explained) that the assertion is made that Swedenborg wrote 1745 as the date of his intromission into the spiritual world, and that Hartley misread it as 1743. In the manuscript we now see clearly that it is 1743."

     6. An autographed letter from Swedenborg to Oetinger. The text of this has been printed, but the whereabouts of the original was unknown when Dr. R. L. Tafel compiled the Documents.     

     BRYN ATHYN.

     The Choir Hall, which forms the new north wing of the Cathedral, was dedicated on December 23d, as described last month. At the north end of this handsome structure there is a carriage porch for vehicles, affording the worshippers an entrance to the church by way of the cloister that extends along the west side of the building. Within are commodious robing rooms for the men and women of the choir, these adjoining the hall proper, where choir practices will be held and the procession formed on Sundays. This spacious room, with its lofty, timbered ceiling, white walls and high windows, has an atmosphere in keeping with its uses. Fortunately, also, the sounding properties are excellent,-an essential feature in a place that is planned to aid in the development of church music, both vocal and instrumental.

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Having a seating capacity of about 250, including the gallery at the south end, the hall is also well suited to the giving of musical programs. On the first occasion of this kind, Sunday evening, January 6th, the Bryn Athyn String Quartet was heard in a program that included quartets by Mozart, Beethoven and Glazounow. For some years the Bryn Athyn Quartet has given serious study to this form of ensemble music, and has frequently played incidental music in our services, besides giving several concerts each year.

     Founders' Day.

     The anniversary of the day upon which four men-William H. Benade, John Pitcairn, Walter C. Childs, and Franklin Ballou-met informally in a Pittsburgh restaurant and initiated the Academy movement, has been observed in recent years by a social gathering d the members of the Board and Faculty of the Academy of the New Church. The day was January 12, 1874, and this year the fifty-fifth anniversary was commemorated in notable fashion. On Saturday evening, January 19th, about seventy-five assembled as guests of Mr. and Mrs. Harold F. Pitcairn at Cairncrest, their recently completed residence on the hill overlooking the valley west of the cathedral. Here, in the spacious Hall, a sumptuous banquet was served amidst lovely floral decorations, each guest finding at his place a handsome souvenir program and menu. The speeches dealt with topics of timely interest to the present-day Academician, and many festive songs were interspersed, including a long series of personal serenades.

     Mr. Randolph W. Childs was toastmaster, and after expressing gratitude to the host and hostess for their warm and gracious hospitality, he introduced Mr. Walter C. Childs, the one surviving Founder, who spoke and sang in reminiscent vein in response to a toast to "The Founders." Proceeding with the theme of the evening, the toastmaster then said:

     "The Academy founders were not only men of vision; they were also men of action. Doubtless other men of the New Church had entertained the same thoughts as these four men, who had the energy, the steadfastness, the practical sense to pass from vision to promotion, from promotion to organization, from organization to progress, and from progress to achievement.

     "It is characteristic of the Academy man to labor for the attainment of his ideals. And so today our Academy educators are not content merely to theorize about distinctive New Church education, but day by day they are developing new concepts of education in the practical work of the Academy Schools. The Academy teachers of today indeed have their visions, and these visions reach to interior truth. Such a vision is that portrayed almost two hundred years ago by Swedenborg in No. 387 of the Word Explained, where, in treating of the blessing on Isaac, he said: '-the Kingdom of God will be an earthly kingdom so joined together that while men will live in heaven with their minds, they will live on earth with their bodies.'

     "This passage sets forth the inmost end of our education,-to prepare children and youth to live in heaven with their minds. To translate this high purpose into action is the daily task of every Academician. If we can at all rely upon the conclusions of modern psychology, the most important part of child-training is in the pre-school age; indeed, in the first two years. In any event, it must be conceded that the training of the child to live in heaven with his mind must begin in the home, and therefore I ask you to honor a toast to 'The Academy Home,' to which Mr. Raymond Pitcairn will respond."

     Describing the customs of the early Academy, and the efforts then made to foster childlike innocence and obedience in the home sphere, Mr. Pitcairn urged the maintenance of those ideals in the Academy homes of today.

     The Rev. Karl R. Alden then spoke on "The Academy Student," treating his theme in a half-humorous manner, as he described the effects of a dream in which his "sustained enthusiasm" had died, only to be revived by a visit to the scenes of the first Academy Schools in Philadelphia.

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His enthusiasm for the students of today returned, and he exclaimed: "The Academy will never grow old. Though in existence for more than half a century, the Academy is still young,-young with the rejuvenation of perpetual youth!"

     Discussing the relations of "Academy Thought and Contemporary Thought of the World," the Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner first referred to the function of the skin, which Garth Wilkinson had said was to make us "world-tight"-not entirely impervious, but "keeping the world discreetly at a distance, to hold its violent winds and contagious vapors from entering our private domain uninvited, and disturbing the delicate equilibrium of the organs and fluids of the body. At this day and age, if our beloved Academy is to survive for the glorious destiny we all vision, and not to be home away helplessly, and perhaps unwittingly, upon the world's strong currents-which appear as the pleasant streams of least resistance, leading nobody knows where-we must develop a rather thick skin! Not that the skin is intended merely to keep the world out; for while the skin protects, it is also a means of feeding us, as Swedenborg tells us in the Animal Kingdom. The speaker recalled the manner in which the earlier Academy had met the problems of our relation to contemporary thought in the world, and toward the dose of his remarks said: "The New Church must watch lest it ally itself with Assyria, or become enticed by the profane sensualities of Babylon. Though it must at times borrow from Egypt, it must bring the vessels of knowledge out of Egypt, and must never return to the land of many tombs, to be enslaved again and finally mummified there. And the guard against this, our possible fate, is a broad and deep knowledge of our separate fields, coupled with a living criticism that is not bigoted but understanding, not merely institutional but intellectual, not merely negative but productive. The existence of the Academy is justified only if it remains in the constant perception of the need of showing discrimination in what it shall accept from the world and what it shall reject. It represents the critical faculty of the Church. It educates its clergy and much of its laity. Whatever bears the stamp of approval by the Academy Faculty has tremendous and, in a way, revolutionizing effects in the Church at large. For good or ill, the 'faith of authority' exists, and makes our responsibility for exercising informed and wise judgment so much the greater, both individually and collectively."

     As the concluding speech on the program, Bishop George de Charms treated of "The Application of Revealed Truth" as follows:

     The Application of Revealed Truth is the essence of Academy Education. The degree of success which that Education attains is ever dependent upon the degree in which the principles of the Writings are applied to the practical working: out of the educational program. With this central acknowledgment the Academy began, and I believe that there has been no thought in the mind of any Academy worker of abandoning that initial position. Yet there has come an apparent falling away from the first state of enthusiasm, an apparent cooling of the ardor that gave the movement so strong an initial impulse. Certain customs and modes, both of thought and procedure, which had become identified with the spirit of our Academy, have undergone a modification.

     The Academy of today is in certain ways more external in its outlook. Yet this, in part at least, is the result of changed conditions which are inevitable. From a private organization for internal propaganda, it has become a rather complex institution, with buildings and grounds and equipment, with departments of educational work differentiated and highly organized, with a student body that presents daily problems of a very practical nature. The need for some system of education to take care of our immediate demands has outstripped our ability to build a system de novo out of the Writings.

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In consequence we have had to borrow liberally from the Egyptians, and the desire to adopt the best and most pliable means from the world, rather than the worst, has led us to seek more contact with the education of the day, to study more particularly modern methods and theories. I do not think, however, that this indicates any essential change in attitude, or any diminution of loyalty to the principles of the Heavenly Doctrines. Yet it cannot be denied that it brings with it a great danger, against which we must be continually on our guard.

     The building of a truly distinctive system of education is necessarily a long process. As a first requisite, we must have an understanding of the implications of the Writings with reference specifically to education. This understanding must progress from generals to particulars. It must clarify our minds as to the place and function in education of every particular subject we are called upon to teach. This means that we must know the subject. We must be familiar with the facts. Nor is this possible without a direct study of them, such as is a pre-requisite to the development of any adequate philosophy governing the arrangement and presentation of those facts. Something of this has been done along certain lines by leading educators from the beginning of the Academy movement, and the work must go forward and be perfected with reference to everything we teach, from first to last. Even this is not enough. There is needed, in addition, a comprehensive philosophy of the human mind, and the normal development of this philosophy, based upon facts scientifically demonstrable, arranged in form and structure by a living soul of spiritual perception, to be derived only from the Heavenly Doctrine. The need for this was dearly seen by Bishop Benade, who himself made a notable beginning in this direction. Others have supplemented and extended his studies.

     But this is a long task, a thing that cannot be done superficially, and one that is very far from complete with us. It is further necessary that we keep abreast of the times, in order that we may wisely accommodate our education to the children of another generation. This is a task that is ever new, and will continue to tax the judgment and creative ability of every generation of New Church educators for all time to come. In attempting to meet this practical necessity we must face a strong temptation to fulfill our duty in a worldly way, to put our thought and energy into the attainment of external efficiency, and to consider that the really distinctive New Church education must await some miraculous appearance of the needed philosophy in the future. This is a grave mistake, for that philosophy can only arise out of our constant efforts to produce it. We are criticized continually from two opposite angles: first, because our education is not sufficiently practical from a worldly standpoint, and secondly, because we do not teach things in a sufficiently distinctive manner. Both to some extent are true; but either criticism, if pressed too far, would destroy the institution, in which alone there is the hope and the seed of eventual success. We need from time to time to rest our eyes from a minute examination of our faults and failings, and by a comparison of the results already accomplished by our New Church Schools in nurturing the growth of the Church, with the evident failure of all other means thus far adopted, to see the tremendous spiritual advantages accruing from a truly distinctive educational system. Thus me are given courage to go forward with the difficult task to which we have been called.

     If we realize that the present position of our schools is the outcome of the enthusiasm and high vision of the Founders, laboring under conditions more difficult than those in which we find ourselves, then will we give thanks for the increased advantages we enjoy today as a result of their sacrifices, and receive encouragement to dedicate our hands and our minds anew to the single purpose of contributing, each his own quota to the true building of our Academy, so that at last, in children will reap the full benefit of it, the vision which is now an indistinct dream will assume actual embodiment in an educational system such as the world has never seen, and such as would have been impossible before the dawn of that glorious age in which the Lord revealed His Divine Human to the rational minds of men.

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     Swedenborg's Birthday.

     The Elementary School celebrated Swedenborg's Birthday by an assembly hour on Monday morning, January 28th. The chief entertainment was in the form of a series of playlets, gotten up by Philip Odhner and written by Laurence Odhner, presenting several well-known incidents in Swedenborg's life. One of them depicted the familiar story of the little girl who asked Swedenborg to show her an angel, whereupon he led her to a mirror and told her that she would never see any other kind of angel until her spiritual eyes were opened. Another of the plays showed Swedenborg seated in his study with two friends; a spirit entered, and through Swedenborg's eyes saw his friend sitting there, and wished to speak to him, but his friend could neither hear nor see him. The plays gave the children a vivid picture of the man Swedenborg, and they greatly enjoyed them. Between scenes the children sang songs, and Mr. Victor Rosenqvist sang a solo in Swedish. The College and Secondary Schools gathered in the auditorium on the evening of January 29th, all wearing Swedish costumes and entering into the spirit of the occasion. The college girls gave a very colorful folk dance which was so much appreciated that they were obliged to repeat it. Some of the boys gathered around the piano and sang some Swedish songs. Professor William Whitehead then gave an illustrated talk in which he spoke of Swedenborg as the first member of the New Church on earth and the spiritual ancestor of all New Churchmen. The address dwelt especially upon the conditions that prevailed in the universities of his day, and the stand taken by Swedenborg for a genuine synthetic science and philosophy as against the growing secularism and its anti-theological basis. The talk was much appreciated by the students, especially for its new point of view. It was illustrated by a number of lantern-slide pictures, including portraits of Swedenborg's teachers at Uppsala University. The whole evening was characterized by a newness and originality. At the close there was dancing followed by refreshments, the latter including a large birthday cake.

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FELIX ARIEL BOERICKE 1929

FELIX ARIEL BOERICKE       Rev. L. W. T. DAVID       1929




     Announcements.





[Frontispiece: Photograph of Dr. Felix A. Boericke. This picture was taken at Bryn Athyn on October 8th, 1919, during the tenth General Assembly.]
NEW CHURCH LIFE
Vol. XLIX APRIL, 1929 No. 4
     BIOGRAPHICAL ACCOUNT

     Quietly and unconsciously, on Saturday afternoon, February 23d, 1929, Dr. Felix Ariel Boericke passed over into the other life, after an illness of about six months. By those who knew the circumstances it could only be regarded as a happy release; and for himself, indeed, if he realized the event, it would be welcomed as the opening of a door leading into a realm of greater possibilities of usefulness and of richer intelligence in spiritual things. From the end of last August he had suffered from paralysis, and for the last four weeks of his life he appeared to be unconscious nearly all the time, and as if quietly asleep.

     Felix Boericke was born in Philadelphia, Pa., on July 291, 1857, being one of the good-sized family of Dr. Francis E. Boericke of that city. The father had come from Saxony to Philadelphia as a young man, had become acquainted with Rudolph Tafel, who was in the same boarding house, and had gone into business partnership with him. As a youth, Felix Boericke looked forward to mining engineering as his career and, with this as an end, directed his studies at the University of Pennsylvania toward the natural sciences. When he found that this university did not (at that time) give degrees in Mining Engineering, he left in his senior year and went to Freiburg, Germany, to complete his studies. This accomplished, he was again disappointed, for the university there was unwilling to grant a degree to one who had attended only one year.

     Returning to the United States in 1878, he hoped to enter into metallurgical and mining work, and made quite an extensive trip through the silver and gold mining camps of the Western States, visiting Leadville and many other places in Colorado, and traveling, mostly by horseback, through Arizona to Yuma, and through much of California.

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But here again disappointment met him, for everywhere he found the professional places filled by appointment from the East, and it appeared there was no way, in the West, of getting an opening.

     Returning East, he was employed by assayers in New Jersey, but soon found it to be the practice there to manage the analysis in such a way as to undervalue ores to the detriment and deception of clients, and, being troubled in conscience, he left the place, and turned to his father's homeopathic drug business in Philadelphia. Here he made his beginning at the bottom, and became thoroughly interested in all aspects of the work, doubtless finding his previous studies, especially in chemical analysis, of much value. After a thorough initiation, he was sent to New York for a time, and then to Chicago to take charge of a branch of the business there, where he remained for ten years. While in Chicago, Mr. Boericke undertook new studies, and presently received the degree of Doctor of Medicine. In 1893 he went to the New York branch, and in 1895, at the death of his uncle, the senior partner, he came back to Philadelphia to take charge of the headquarters of the firm's business. In 1912, he retired from these duties, which had become very arduous, still retaining an active interest, however, and continuing to give much time and thought to the betterment of the business.

     On September 27, 1883, just before leaving Philadelphia for Chicago, Felix Boericke married his cousin, Miss Selma Boericke. The young couple at once began to attend the New Church on Washington Boulevard Chicago, and when, five years later, the Society removed to Carroll Avenue, they built a new home two doors from the church and next to the home of the Rev. E. C. Bostock.

     Dr, Boericke's father had become interested in the New Church through his friendship with Rudolph Tafel, and it was one of the purposes of the Boericke and Tafel partnership to sell New Church literature. But his interest soon went much further, so that he took a step of great practical importance in the development of his New Churchmanship, when he married Miss Elise Tafel, Rudolph's sister, Thus it was into a home pervaded with the spirit and thought of the New Church that Felix was born, one of the evidences of which is the fact that the eight surviving brothers and sisters of the deceased are all active members of the New Church.

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     Preparing for the journey to Germany in 1877, the young college student wished to take something to read on the way, and picking up a copy of the True Christian Religion, decided to try it. Beginning to read it on the boat, he became intensely interested, and made it his custom to spend most of the day in the bow of the vessel, reading. Thus began his own active interest in the Writings of the Church; and from that time to the end of his earthly life he took a very lively and keen interest in every phase of the doctrine of the Church and its development. Thus the Academy movement for New Church education enlisted his whole-hearted support. When a few New Churchmen turned to a more active study and publication of Swedenborg's philosophy, he perceived the great value of such work, and generously promoted it in every way he could; consequently, he was active in the Swedenborg Scientific Association from its beginning. Doubtless he was much influenced by the discussions of doctrinal and other subjects when it was the custom for Bishop Benade and Mr. John Pitcairn to come to the Boericke home for Sunday dinner. The young Felix was greatly interested in these discussions, and we may be safe in assuming that it was his appreciation of the standards of New Church doctrine and distinctive life set forth by Bishop Benade that led him to identify himself very early with the Academy movement.

     Dr. and Mrs. Boericke, with their daughter, Winifred, took up their residence in Bryn Athyn in 1906. Here he built a home, and took active part in the life of the Society. He was a member of the local councils, as also of the Executive Committee of the General Church, and of the Corporation and Board of the Academy.

     In his later years, his friends observed that Dr. Boericke seemed deeply characterized by patience with his fellow men and tolerance. His counsel was always pacific and moderate, yet he was firm in those principles which are basic to the life and welfare of the Church. He cherished as very precious a little copy of the Word which he had carried in his saddle-bag and read every day while traveling in the West; and in his last illness it was his special delight to have the Word read to him from this well-worn volume.

     We close this brief account of our friend's life and work by quoting words of tribute from the address at the funeral service:

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     FROM THE FUNERAL ADDRESS BY BISHOP GEORGE DE CHARMS.

     In fulness of days, s long life ended, a task of earthly service done, a well loved friend has passed out of the world of shadow, through the gates of death, into the world of light and life. Having finished the pay's work assigned to him by an all-wise Providence, he has laid aside the tools of that work, and in the shades of evening has gone home. All who labored with him here, learning, as he bore with them the burden and the heat of the day, to know his kindness, his patience, his steadfast striving for an exalted goal of personal character, his love of thing; Divine and spiritual, his keen delight in understanding the deepest truths of Revelation, his earnest desire to promote the highest welfare of the Lord's kingdom among men, these will feel his passing deeply. So intimately was he connected with the life of the Church, so accustomed had we become to welcome his genial presence and his valued counsel, that it will be hard to realize that he has gone from us. Yet, knowing how he looked forward to the other life, living in the thought and amid the interests of that life increasingly with advancing years; knowing how his failing powers had deprived him of the work in which his life on earth was centered; our hearts will follow him into that higher world, and, despite the sadness of a temporary parting, will share with him the joy of his new-found happiness and peace.

     There are few at this day, whose spirit on awakening will be so well prepared to enjoy the wonderful experiences of that new life, who, by previous knowledge, reflection, and affectionate reception of the Divine Truth now given in the Heavenly Doctrine, will be ready, when they stand in the presence of their Maker, to "enter into His gates with thanksgiving, into His courts with praise." He who has now departed was noted for his intellectual, as well as his affectionate, interest in the Church. By reading, by study, by conscientious application of the Word as now in its inner sense revealed, his mind had been opened toward that other world, and in it had already been formed a plane for an intelligent perception of Heaven's Truth. There are few at this day who pass from the earth with a spiritual mind informed.

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For such, if the spirit is molded by the love of God, and by genuine charity, there are experiences and delights made possible, on entrance into the other world, which others cannot know. For these there is a heavenly use assigned which only they are furnished and equipped to undertake. Their use is that of the New Church, from which a New Heaven is slowly forming in that other world, a heaven distinguished by this, that those who enter there have known the Lord in His Second Coming, have acknowledged him, hearkened to His Word, and followed Him, during their life on earth. Herein lies the possibility of receiving life in greater fulness in that other world, and of serving the Lord by imparting a deeper realization of His life, of His Glorified Human, to others.

     Our departed friend loved to dwell in the contemplation of spiritual things, and sought by conscious effort to increase his understanding of them, his perception of their beauty and their harmony, knowing that thereby he was providing a plane, not only of a fuller life, and a more intense delight in the other world, but of a broader use, a use now rare, and greatly needed for the redemption of mankind.

     *     *     *     *     *

     It would be his fondest wish that at this moment of his resurrection we should turn from his personality which we had grown to love, and which only appears to be lost in death, to think of that for which he stood, of that to which his life was dedicated. After all, the essence of our love toward him, lies in his love of the Church and of the Heavenly Doctrine. For this, above all else, we honor him, realizing that in this lies the seed of all that is truly great; for through this the Lord can work, after death more fully than before, to build His kingdom in the heart, His church on earth, His heaven in the other world. "Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it."

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TWO PRINCES 1929

TWO PRINCES       Rev. GILBERT H. SMITH       1929

     "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." (Genesis 1:1.)

     Let not the mind cleave to the literal sense alone of this account of creation. The creation of the world, of the paradise called Eden, and of man or Adam, are indeed treated of, but are of little importance compared to the spiritual things which lie within. Genesis contains the story of the re-birth or spiritual creation of man. It contains this story in six stages or six days, the first of which is meant by "In the beginning." The first state in which human regeneration begins is what is meant by the "beginning." "In the beginning " also refers to most ancient times.

     "God created the heaven (heavens) and the earth." In every man there is created an internal and an external, here meant by "the heaven and the earth." The internal of the mind is called "heaven," and the external mind is called "the earth." These are the heaven and earth that God created in the beginning.

     It is said of the "earth" that it was "void and empty." It is not said that the heavens were void and empty, but the earth; not the internal of man, but the external. And "void" and "empty" mean that the external of man was devoid of truth and good. "Void" means to have nothing of good, and "empty" means to have nothing of truth. In the first state, in which regeneration begins, this is true. There is nothing of good and of truth in the external man, and hence, as said here, the earth was covered with darkness, which spiritually is stupidity and ignorance in all things of heavenly life or of a spiritual nature.

     There was "darkness upon the faces of the deep," and "the Spirit of God was brooding upon the faces of the waters," expressions surpassing in charm and poetry. The words "faces of the abyss," or of the deep, refer to the continuous universe in which the formless earth was floating,-a chaotic earth-mass in the midst of a dark universe or sky. Such is the natural picture.

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But in the spiritual meaning of the picture, the "deep" or the "abyss" signifies the cupidities of the natural man and its many falsities. The "faces of the waters," however, refer to a nucleus of spiritual things in the midst of such cupidities.

     Before regeneration, a man is in a state exactly described by the nebulous earth in its beginning. He has no spiritual light. He is like an abyss, or something deep, dark, and confused. But the Spirit of God, His mercy, broods upon the faces of the waters. Heaven, earth, the deep, the waters,-all picture something in man that has to do with his spiritual state and nature. In fact, in these words we have presented to us the first most general ideas of correspondences. And through these correspondences we can see that the very first teaching of the Word in Genesis is that man before regeneration is like the description of the world before it was formed. Here, in the beginning of the Word, the Lord has provided a most general and fundamental conception of the internal and the external of man, and of the relation between them. Therefore it is said that "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,"-the internal and the external man, the higher and the lower natures of man, the spiritual and the natural.

     All things in nature are but images of spiritual things. And when we look upon a landscape we see in general but two greater things,-the sky and the land. These are the types of the internal and the external man. The sky, the firmament, which we call the "heavens," contains many things,-light, the sun, the moon, the stars,-and all these things correspond to spiritual things in the internal man. The earth or land is also full of lesser correspondences,-trees, grass, shrubs, waters, fish, fowl, and all kinds of animals. The earth includes and contains all things that are produced upon it. So the earth corresponds to all things in the natural man.

     That heavenly and spiritual ideas may enter into our understanding, they are clothed in terms of natural objects and things. And no more perfect way could be devised to tell us of the making of a man into a spiritual being than by describing it as the creation of the world; and first, that in the beginning, or as the initial state, God created the heavens and the earth. He provided that man should be constituted with an internal and an external.

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     But it is said that the earth, the external, was void and empty in the beginning, which is the same as to say that the external man was without any real good and truth that is spiritual, and that, so far as spiritual or heavenly thing; are concerned, there was nothing but darkness, that is, ignorance. And because the external of man is full of all manner of cupidities, these cupidities are referred to ass "deep." But because the mercy of the Lord causes the storing up and hiding away of certain impressions of good and truth,-remnants of spiritual ideas and affections impressed upon the natural mind from infancy,-it is said that there were waters over which the Spirit of God was brooding.

     There is no reason to think that the story of the creation is merely a literal account of it, and yet it will be found that the order of creation, as it occurred, is everywhere preserved. But we are cautioned not to try to conceive of the creation of the world from space and time, or in relation to spaces and times. Still, the order of the creation is seen throughout the whole account, as, for instance, in the appearance of light in the midst of universal darkness. Light made possible by the creation of an envelope of ether around the earth. For although light itself is not creatable, the ether, in which alone light may appear upon the earth, is creatable, and was created. And the formation of what is called the "firmament," or the "expanse in the midst of the waters, to divide the waters" above from those beneath, was in actuality the formation of another surrounding envelope which we know as the ordinary air. The incipient earth was first encompassed with the ether, and then there was light; and it was next encompassed with the natural air, so that there might be the beginnings of vegetation and of animal life, and, last of all, man. The order of the creation is thus preserved in the Genesis account.

     But as to the spiritual contents of the creation account, we rise to a great and fundamental conception when we consider what is said throughout the Writings of the two princes. They are the "prince of this world" and "The Prince of Heaven. Even in the letter of the Word the prince of this world is mentioned, and the Prince of Heaven is of course the Lord,-the Only Love, or the Only-begotten Son. On an occasion the Lord said: "The prince of this world cometh, and hath nothing in me." "Now shall the prince of this world be cast out." (John 12:31, 14:30.)

     These two Princes are two principles of life, two sources of thought and affection.

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And as it is said that "in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth,"-the internal and the external of man,-so it is ordained that the Prince of Heaven, who is the Lord, shall rule over the internal man, and that the prince of this world shall rule over the external man; but that the prince of the world should be entirely subject to the Prince of Heaven.

     In particular, this prince of the world is man's natural mind. To create man perfect, it was necessary that he should have a physical body, and should be endowed with sensation responding to all the stimuli of nature; and that, for the preservation and effectiveness of that body, man should be given strong appetites, with their attendant delights. To make heaven and earth means that man was to be spiritually and also naturally organized, to be organized so that he might live in both worlds at the same time. He was created with a two-storied mind, capable, on the one part, of responding to things in the spiritual world, and, on the other part, of responding to all things in nature. God created man as a middle-essence between Himself and nature, so that the Prince of Heaven might flow down into man's corporeal nature, and through the prince of the world communicate with external creation.

     The prince of this world is that intelligence which God gave to man as his own, together with that freedom of decision and of choice by which each man may direct his life on earth as he will. And although, in giving to man reason and freedom to conduct his life as he will, there was the great risk of the entrance of evil into the scheme, yet it was of Divine necessity that this risk should have been taken. Divine mercy saw fit to place in the hands of man the making of his own life. And our own intelligence and freedom of choice and decision is that principle which is called the "prince of this world."

     The intelligence of man, as God created him in most ancient times, was a perfect intelligence. It was pictured by the Garden of Eden or paradise and all the things that were created in it. When it is said that "God placed man in this garden to cultivate and to till it," the meaning is that God made man as a, free agent, an administrator or steward of all things that belong to the natural world and the body. Thus He made man a "prince of this world." He opened the minds of the first men to receive, as through an upper gate, a knowledge of all things necessary to human life by intuition.

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Man was able to perceive in this world the nature and quality of all natural things, and not only that, but also to Perceive what everything was for, the purpose for which it was created. This is why it is said that Adam gave names to all the things created and brought to him in Eden, and that whatever he called each thing, that was the name of it.

     Thus there was furnished man in the beginning an inner source of knowledge, and not only an inner source of knowledge, but also an influx of heavenly delights and affections. This influx flowed into man's mind through an upper gate, and came from the Prince of Heaven; and man's own intelligence,-that of the external mind,- which we have been calling the "prince of this world," was receptive of instruction, and was innocently guided by no other than the Prince of Heaven, who is the Lord.

     But God conferred upon man another source of knowledge besides that higher one,-the senses of the body, alive to nature, which was created for their good field of operation, perceptive of delight from the objects of the external world. He gave to man the ability to enjoy, not only the things of heaven, but also the things of the earth, so that life from the Prince of Heaven might how down into man's life on earth, in such a way that life from the Divine might come down through man as a middle essence into its ultimate effects. The Divine effort was, that through man's consent and cooperation the prince of the world, acting always under the will and direction of the Prince of Heaven, should provide that all man's life in the world should be but the outgrowth and product of the life of heaven. The Divine end was to form worlds full of an infinitude of things which are images of the Divine Love and Wisdom; and after these, to create man, to whom is given the capacity to enjoy all the other things which He creates. It is also from the wisdom of God that man should find his fullest life, his greatest delight, in ultimate things. Therefore He gave to men the physical body suited to the enjoyment of the ultimate things of nature, that the life of the spirit might find its fulness of delight in the life of the flesh. In an angelic idea this body of man is thought of as a kingdom, and man's intelligence is set over it to rule therein as a prince; but in the beginning a prince who had all his authority and office from the Lord, the Prince of Heaven.

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     With men, the greatest delight is in ultimate things, but always when the ultimate things are in order, and when the delight flows down from interiors. In ultimate things is all power. This means that the outmost expressions of things Divine, which we call Nature, are the things the reaction of which delights us most. Men love the things of the world and of nature because they are ultimate things and affect the ultimate body. The greatest joy of life lies in the accomplishment of things in actual fact. The loves of men require actual objects and persons to love. The fulness of all delights is only felt in the life of the body. The delight of riches is only felt in the actual possession of riches. The delight of the bridegroom is in the bride.

     So the ultimate principle of life, the life of the senses, signified by the serpent in Eden, was the last of the things created by God before man himself, and was the most perfect except for man. And that which the serpent represents was created good in the beginning. It is the symbol of that lowest of human qualities which is called prudence. The first man was gifted with prudence and circumspection in all things of natural life and the life of the body, that this kingdom of the body and of its senses might not rise above its rightful place and office, but remain subject in all things to the Prince of Heaven.

     Now, in gifting man with so great a delight in worldly and bodily things, God put into man's hand a mighty instrument for good or for evil. In the use of this gift was life or death, perfection or destruction. And in placing upon man this responsibility, which at times appears as of awful magnitude, there was tremendous risk; for man might abuse it. But this risk was foreseen, and was quite necessary, if man was ever to become a free agent, or, as God intended, a prince of this world.

     It was the abuse of this great responsibility which constituted what is called the "fall" of man, a thing which God also foresaw and provided for. In the history of the race of men, the prince of the world rebelled against the Prince of Heaven. The greatness of the ultimate delights of the body and of the world proved too much for the preservation of the balance between them and the delights of the life of heaven. The love of self arose. Men turned from the way of heaven because they were free to turn or not to turn.

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The fall of man was the turning from higher things to lower, from interior things to external things. Thus it was that the prince of the world came to be called the Devil, though originally good, and that the serpent took on an evil signification. But in the Lord, when He came upon earth, the breach between the internal and the external, between the Prince of Heaven and the prince of the world, was healed. And through Him men, who are continually falling, may return to the first integrity.

     We may know that the case is the same with us today,-that we have an internal man that is capable of receiving the love and guidance of the Prince of Heaven. This is our heaven. And we also have an earth,-an external mind and life which is, of itself, void and empty, and inclined to fall, to rebel against the Prince of Heaven. The first light,-the light of the first day, when there was a distinction made between day and night,-is when one realizes that God is, and that good and truth are something higher, and that we are by nature full of many cupidities arising from the love of self. When these things are realized, it may be said that the Spirit of God is "brooding upon the face of the waters," and it is the first day of the spiritual creation.

     We have, too, a greater interest and a greater delight in external things than in internal. But if we know this, we can earnestly work to bring our human intelligence, the prince of this world, once again under the will of the Prince of Heaven. The will of the Prince of Heaven, who is the Lord, is made known to us by the Doctrine now revealed. And we should seek to know from our Doctrine what that Divine will is; and having sought, we must bravely act according to what we believe to be the Lord's teaching. And then the Lord will lead us; our earth will no longer be void and empty, as at the beginning, but will be patterned after the form of heaven, and bring forth spiritually all the things represented by the Paradise of Eden. Amen.

     Lessons: Genesis 1. John3:1-21. De Verbo 34.

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SOLOMON'S JUDGMENT 1929

SOLOMON'S JUDGMENT       Rev. E. E. IUNGERICH       1929

     (Translated from the Portuguese, A Nova Igreja, January-March, 1928.)

     In the 3d chapter of the First Book of Kings we find the account of King Solomon's decision between the two women who came before him, each claiming to be mother of a certain child. The King's judgment is thus described:

     23. Then said the King, The one saith, This is my son that liveth, and thy son is the dead; and the other saith, Nay; but thy son is the dead, and my son is the living.

     24. And the King said, Bring me a sword. And they brought a sword before the King.

     25. And the King said, Divide the living child in two, and give half to the one, and half to the other.

     26. Then spake the woman whose the living child was unto the King, for her bowels yearned upon her son, and she said, O my lord, give her the living child, and in no wise slay it. But the other said, Let it be neither mine nor thine, but divide it.

     27. Then the King answered and said, Give her the living child, and in no wise slay it; she is the mother thereof.

     28. And all Israel heard of the judgment which the King had judged; and they feared the King; for they saw that the wisdom of God was in him, to do judgment.

     All the circumstances attending this episode show that it must involve a teaching of great value. Its effect upon the people of Israel evinces the same. As it occurred shortly after a sacrifice of thanksgiving offered by Solomon standing before the ark of the covenant in Jerusalem, it must denote the fruit of a closer conjunction between man and God.

     Other events that precede it look to this episode as their point of culmination. For while the king was still in Gibeon, and before going to Jerusalem to solemnize his thanksgiving, the Lord had appeared to him in a dream, and said, "Ask what I shall give thee." "An understanding heart," Solomon besought, "to judge the people, that I may discern between good and evil."

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For this choice the Lord blessed him doubly, saying: "Because thou hast asked this thing, and hast not asked for thyself long life; neither hast asked riches for thyself, nor hast asked the life of thine enemies; but hast asked for thyself understanding to discern judgment; behold, I have done according to thy words; lo, I have given thee a wise and an understanding heart, so that there was none like thee before thee, neither after thee shall any arise like unto thee. And I have also given thee that which thou hast not asked, both riches and honor; so that there shall not be any among the kings like unto thee all thy days. And if thou wilt walk in my ways, to keep my statutes and my commandments, as thy father David did walk, then I will lengthen thy days." (I Kings 3:5-14.)

     On receiving this favor as the result of his wise request, Solomon at this period of his life could stand before all as one who had fulfilled that which a thousand years later the Lord on earth recommended in the words: "Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you." (Matt. 6:31-33.)

     On awakening from this dream, Solomon went to Jerusalem and made offerings to the Lord. And it is immediately said that the two women came to him with the difficult matter for judgment. This, the first application of a wisdom so highly commended, must assuredly refer to a subject of no little value. Indeed, it treats of a decision between good and evil; and had not Solomon asked for "an understanding heart . . . to discern between good and evil"? And not only between good and evil, but between life and death, inasmuch as the life of a child was at stake, reminding us of the identical contention over the male child of the Apocalypse persecuted by the great red dragon and finally saved by his mother.

     The Writings of Swedenborg are silent on the subject of Solomon's decision. In no place is mention made of this episode. Still, one who seeks need not despair of finding its meaning, if he but bear in mind what is said about Solomon, not only in this world but also in the next, and follow the thread of the Heavenly Doctrine which is contained in the internal sense of the Word.

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Such a seeker acts as Solomon did when he said: "Bring me a sword!" For to unsheathe the spiritual sense from its literal covering is like baring a sword from its scabbard. And as in ancient contentions appeal was made to the trial by sword, so those who strive to discover the truth make an appeal to the sword which the Lord promised to send into world,-the sword which our antecedents left behind them in the hand of the cherubim who guarded the way to the tree of life.

     With regard to the man Solomon, the Word and history relate that he fell from the estate of wisdom in which he had been at the beginning of his reign. He became unfaithful to his wife, the daughter of Pharaoh, and came under the influence of the seven hundred princesses he later took to wife, and of his three hundred concubines. For this entailed a corresponding perversion of his mind. He accordingly forswore the worship of the Only God, Jehovah, in order to raise altars to Ashtoreth, Milcom, Chemosh, Molech, and other idols invoked by his wives. And for this apostasy it was denounced to him by the Lord that all but one of the tribes would be wrested from the hands of his successor. (I Kings 11:1-8.)

     It should not surprise us, therefore, to learn that Swedenborg, after meeting Solomon in that world where states of mind are shown forth in objective realities, concluded that he was not among the blessed, nor even among the wise. He shed about himself such a sphere of pride (for he considered himself to be wiser than others) that it engulfed all who approached him in a dense storm-cloud from which they could not escape until he was removed. (S. D. 2681.) As a matter of fact, his mentality was of a low order,-its stock of information being restricted to those knowledges which a merely natural affection procures. Persons of this sort are ignorant of all things above matter, and perceive nothing spiritual. Even in the other life all reality to them, consists in the impressions they receive by their senses; and inasmuch as they feel they are in a body similar to that which they had on earth, they conclude that this is the truth. For "they do not comprehend," says Swedenborg, "that such organs do not serve any use for them there, and are ignorant that they are spiritual entities which correspond to such organs, and which possess forms capable of containing those entities." (W. E. III:5227-28.)

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     Solomon did not even know that the temple built by him had any higher end than that of furnishing a suitable embellishment to external worship. His wisdom, for which he gained so much renown upon earth, was not one of spiritual principles, but a sort of dexterity and astuteness in handling civil and political situations. (W. E. III:5225.) When we read that "Solomon's wisdom excelled the wisdom-of all the children of the east country and all the wisdom of Egypt." (I Kings 4:30), it means that he excelled in the ability to propound and decipher sphinx-like riddles, such as those which the Queen of Sheba presented to him, and in teaching the causes of natural things. In such matters the wisdom of his age consisted. (A. C. 5223.) According to Swedenborg, his wisdom was of a poor sort, evidently aiming to arouse the astonishment of his listeners when they saw him able to solve enigmas which others could not. He would utter half-phrases, and challenge his auditors to furnish the missing part. He had associated with him a familiar spirit, who would insinuate into his mind the answers to these divinations.

     Such wisdom, says Swedenborg further, is no more than the shade of intelligence. It resembled that of the magi of Egypt (I Kings 4:30-31) who, by a perversion of knowledges with regard to the world of spirits, exercised an Aladdin-like power over the genii of the other world. For they acquired a sort of cunning or cleverness in causing illusory incantations that resembled miracles, and gave them a great ascendency over others. (A. C. 5223.) Swedenborg plied him with some half-expressed phrases, but Solomon could not complete them, inasmuch as his former mentor could no longer aid him. (W. E. II:1434; III:5225.)

     "He cared for nothing that was not in contact with the external senses, nor did he allow himself to be affected by anything else, on which account he praised so highly the delicate life of the body, as may be seen in his book entitled the Wisdom of Solomon." This book is among the Apocrypha of the Old Testament. "But I cannot be persuaded that it contains any wisdom whatever." (W. E. III: 5226.)

     His Song of Songs does not deserve a place in the Word, nor do his Proverbs, which are merely an imitation of other books of the church of that epoch (A. C. 1756), which derived this style from the primitive antediluvian race who represented heavenly and Divine things by means of visible objects, and on associating the two worlds in this manner beheld with pleasure all natural objects, especially when they were beautiful and in an orderly arrangement. (See A. C. 3942, 9942:5.)

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     The subsequent Church, down to the epoch of Solomon, conserved in its writings the custom of using names of personages to represent recondite subjects. In this way many kinds of human affections were represented in mythology as gods and goddesses, whom the ignorant pagans and superstitious idolaters (among whom Solomon is to be included because of his later life) venerated with divine worship. (A. C. 1756.)

     II.

     But regardless of his character, Solomon could serve as the type of a wise man in the representative church to which he belonged. The role he played could then symbolize the wisdom which the Lord gives to men who are guided by Him, and, in a supreme degree, the wisdom which the Messiah alone possessed. The statement that Solomon "excelled the sons of the East and the Egyptians" is to be taken to mean that the Lord is the source of wisdom to those in the celestial and the spiritual kingdoms. (A. E. 65429.) While David represents the Lord who was to come, Solomon represented Him in His Omnipotence and Omniscience after He had come into the world and risen in glory, possessing all power in heaven and on earth, and so over the celestial kingdom which descends from heaven, and over the spiritual kingdom which ascends from the earth. In this sense, even Solomon's lapse into polygamy and idolatry has a good signification, representing that the Lord, after His glorification, gives life to all types of churches and religiosities in which there is any vestige of spirituality. (D. P. 245.)

     How rich in arcana is the following passage from the Apocalypse Explained: "As Solomon represented the Lord as to both kingdoms, and all who are in intelligence and wisdom in those kingdoms by means of the cognitions of truth and good and of scientifics which, confirm them, therefore Solomon took to wife the daughter of Pharaoh, and brought her to the city of David, and afterwards built a house for the daughter of Pharaoh like unto the porch. These things represent science; for Egypt, in a good sense, signifies the knowledge upon which all intelligence and all wisdom are founded.

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And seeing that man has three degrees in his mind,-a spiritual, a rational, and a natural,-Solomon built the house of God or the temple for the spiritual, the house of the forest of Lebanon for the rational ('cedars' and 'Lebanon,' where they grew, signifying the rational), and the house of the daughter of Pharaoh for the natural. These arcana do not appear in the historical sense of the Word, but lie concealed in its spiritual sense." (A. E. 654:33.)

     Solomon represents the Lord, from whom proceed the good which constitutes the celestial kingdom and the truth which constitutes the spiritual kingdom. By these two principles the Lord erects in man's mind those three tabernacles of which Peter spoke mystically on the Mount of Transfiguration, and which Solomon rendered visible in the panoply of architectural structure. Supreme among the three was the temple, emblematic of the highest degree of the mind; next came the house of the forest of Lebanon, and then the palace of the daughter of Pharaoh, typifying respectively the middle and lowest degrees thereof.

     And so the Judgment of Solomon must refer to a decision necessary to be taken before such mental structures can be raised. As will shortly appear, it represents a choice between diverse ends that offer themselves to a man while he is still on the threshold of their formation.

     Although the Lord, whom Solomon represents, is ruler over His two kingdoms, the celestial and the spiritual; and over their respective principles, good and truth; and over the bases of these in a man, -charity and faith; there is need that a judgment take place in the man with regard to which of the two shall be predominant. The true order is expressed in the Lord's Prayer in the phrase: "As in heaven, so also upon the earth." For if another order should prevail, it would not be the Lord who guides the man in the judgment he is making. In that case he undergoes a fall not unlike that which occurred when the tree of science was preferred to the tree of life.

     Every infant born into the world is at once ushered into a conflict between two influences. Only a wise decision on the part of parents, and afterwards on his own part, as to which of the two shall predominate, will make the man a suitable field for the building of his mental tabernacles.

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     During the first month after birth, when he is as yet dormant to external stimuli, the spiritual influence of heaven governs him entirely, forasmuch as "evil spirits cannot approach infants, seeing that they have not yet in the memory anything with which to clothe themselves, and for this reason good spirits and the angels are with them." (A. C. 5857.)

     This is what is meant in the episode we are considering by the babe's having been three days under his mother's care, before the other woman also gave birth to a child. For this interval of three days signifies that first complete cycle during which he lives exclusively under the influence of heaven.

     Now as every babe is born for heaven and predestined to perform some heavenly use, this heavenly influence is his true mother,-the "mother" of the Fourth Commandment. The heavens in their entirety yearn to draw to themselves every new-born child whom they consider as a future angel at whose entrance into their communion the well-being of each and the perfection of the whole will be increased. They regard him as their child when submissive to this influence and malleable under their care. They resist every other influence that would draw him away, much as the true mother of the babe in our story opposed the false claimant.

     But later, and for long periods, and sometimes forever, the presence of this heavenly influence no longer makes itself felt as it did with the babe who smiled and cooed, extending his little arms to touch the baby angels who played around him.

     And then the child comes to forget who is his true mother, and a false one gains possession of him. For a second influence begins to hold sway as soon as his senses awaken and he receives impressions that come from an outside source.

     Most parents nowadays are ignorant of the true mother, and so submerge their child at this crisis of his life in a network of scientifics which fasten around him until he cannot be extricated from the clutches of this false claimant.

     Today, only those of the New Church possess the means of warding off this peril, for they alone can give embodiment to the spiritual influence by means of the Heavenly Doctrine and a living ritual whose first step is baptism into the true Christian Church and an insertion of the child among good spirits in the other life. These will protect him against the evil spirits who would establish themselves in his memory by clothing themselves with the knowledges they find there.

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Without the Writings of the New Church, which teach of the immanence of the spiritual world, and show how to make it predominant in all our concerns, no one would be able to fulfill the destiny for which he was born.

     The Writings, when acknowledged as the Word of God, are the two-edged sword in the hand of Solomon, for when led by their teachings we may learn to make judgments no less wise than that set forth in his case.

     Whenever instruction by the external senses predominates over every other influence, there occurs what is signified in the episode by the false mother's overlying and smothering her own offspring.

     Men today are not born into the order of their lives, and do not possess any intuitive knowledge of sciences useful to their development. Children straying in the woods would put harmful as well as good things into their mouths. In like manner, years later, minds straying without guidance in the infancy of their intellectual responsibility would be lost in the maze of modern science and choose the false as readily as the true. Their acquisition thence would be dead bones of mere facts to which clings some putrefying flesh in the guise of materialistic theories. Here the Spirit of God would scarcely find entrance to knit bone to bone, and cause a mighty host to rise in acclaim of God's kingdom. (Ezekiel 37.)

     Now when a dead body is laid in the bosom of one who desired living sciences corresponding to the heavenly influence, and opening even to the Lord, and it is insistently affirmed that the dead is her own son, we cannot wonder at her horror and her instant prayer to the Lord for aid. This is the signification of the words: "And when I rose in the morning to give my child suck, behold, it was dead: but when I had considered it in the morning, behold it was not my son, which I did bear."

     The scientific spirit which calls into doubt everything that has not, been demonstrated by the senses sheds death on all that it touches. Every hypothesis of material origin which attempts to explain observed facts is condemned to die under new facts with new hypotheses that arise subsequently. The only hope of this monster's maintaining its supremacy with thinking people is to lay hold of the offspring from a spiritual source and claim it as its own.

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This is well illustrated by the avidity with which modern scientists lay hold of the doctrine of a spiritual world to maintain that now for the first- time it can be accepted without doubt, since it is susceptible of scientific demonstration by the facts of psychical research. But mark well that to accept this or that doctrine under such reasoning does not advance the spiritual ends which that doctrine has in view. And when such a thing occurs, appeal must be made to the Writings that it be restored to its true mother, on whom its salvific effect depends. In fact, all of our heavenly doctrines would fail with one who merely accepted them on the ground that they were more agreeable to the standards of correct thinking among men.

     Still, it is not sufficient that the heavenly influence predominate over the scientific; for each, the light of heaven, as well as the light of the world, must be restricted to its own Proper limits. That which prescribes the law to both is the sword in Solomon's hand. The false mother had to restore the child she had lyingly claimed as her own. She was herself unmasked when she showed her lack of affection for him, being unconcerned at the prospect of his death. She was quite willing that he should be cut in twain, if she might still maintain dominion over a part. The same attitude is to be noted among scientists who are exclusively under the sun of the world, as is patent from their effort to exclude all influence from the Lord in the studies that occupy their attention. Now to exclude from a subject the Source of life to all subjects, is to show a lack of affection for it, to exhibit an unconcern for its survival, provided it but remain under their dominion. This is instanced in higher criticism of the Word, which would introduce a wedge in order to divide the Divine in Revelation from what seem to be fallible human concepts, in order to place the ability to discern the latter under man's jurisdiction as the spoil of his own intelligence.

     But the genuine mother had also to be tried and tested. She had first to pass through the agony of despair on seeing the death that menaced her child, and then be willing to relinquish all right over him before he could again be delivered to her arms. Thus the false claimant had to be branded as a source of death to that which she claimed as self-derived, and the true mother could not have him delivered to her anew until she had been willing to relinquish him in order that he might live.

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     Both women, fallen in character, and companions of the same house and room, represent the state of the human will, perverted since the Fall. The sword in Solomon's hand, which ended their contention by protecting the child, is the human intellect with its conscience, dictate, and perception, when by virtue of a Divine Revelation it has been elevated as an arbiter to assign the law to both parts of the will.

     For the will, imaged in the heart's diastole and systole (T. C. R. 37), has two functions: one to open to receive what inflows from the Lord, and the other to constrict itself so as to carry into act that; which had been received. But since the Fall both functions have been perverted through an inclination towards proprium, that is, in favor of the love of self and the world. The constricting, executory function claims the heavenly gift as its own and self-derived, unwilling to admit that it came by virtue of the other and opening function and from the Source of life. But the other and more noble function of opening to receive was yet not satisfied to live in the presence of the Lord with a continual gratitude for His gifts, but I longed to feel as its own that which had been received. Still, in His mercy towards fallen man, the Lord permitted him to feel as his own all that is received, though with the condition that he acknowledge that it is not his, but the Lord's. Under no other condition can Divine gifts now continue to live with man.

     These spiritual gifts, entrusted to us as to unjust stewards, must be delivered to both functions of the human will, and so face the hazards of spiritual death. On the one side, it risks coming under the sway of an ambition which values only the external affairs of the world; on the other, it runs the risk of never being developed. During life in the world these two influences are like two fires through which the gold of our use must pass in order to be tried and burnished.

     But if the "talent" given into our care does not survive these temptations, after death we shall enter hell as twisted and distorted structures that dwarf the use they should fulfill. And in hell there is no appreciation of others from the standpoint of their use, nor is there a rejoicing at the entrance of newcomers in the hope that they will increase the general good. For all consider these as vile slaves to serve their caprice, or loathe them if they do not submit.

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     From time to time it is given to every man to make examination, that he may know which of these two functions of his will he is giving the preference, and whether he is maintaining his use as a sacred talent above the yearnings of both of these fires. Do we regard this use as a Divine gift, entrusted to us that we may give it the requisite development; or do we so identify our personality with it that we resent every adversity that we encounter as an aggression against our use? What a pity, if our pride at possessing it should lead us to exercise dominion over others without regard-to their own uses which may be superior to our own! On the other hand, it may happen that we are remiss, and hold others responsible for the development of what was entrusted to us, while we do nothing. All inquiries of this sort are profitable if they lead to our emendation. They should cause us to read and meditate often upon the Word which the Lord has given to His New Church; and then, under the light of its teaching, we shall make judgments that will enhance our use and restore us to the arms of our true spiritual mother. And those who travel this path will find a fulfillment of the promise made to those who keep the Fourth Commandment, since, having honored their father and mother, their days will be long in the land which the Lord their God giveth them.
SOURCE OF CHARITY IN THE CHRISTIAN WORLD 1929

SOURCE OF CHARITY IN THE CHRISTIAN WORLD              1929

     "It was perceived that a man in the Christian world cannot be in the life of charity, unless, when he thinks of the Lord, he thinks of His Divine. To think of His Divine only when he is in the doctrinal, and not when thinking apart from that, is not thinking of the Lord's Divine. Nor does a man think of the Divine of the Lord when he prays the Father for the sake of the Son; for then he has not the Lord in his idea of the Divine. It was also perceived that everyone who, when thinking of the Lord, thinks of the Divine of the Lord, is in the life of charity; for the Lord leads him.

     "It was also observed that many declared charity, and not faith, to be the essential of the church, believing that thus they would be saved in preference to others; but they who said this from a principle only, and not from life, differ not at all from those who are in faith alone. A certain one said that he had heard that he, because he believes in charity, has the life of charity, just as he who believes in faith has the life of faith; from which it was evident that they believed life to be in one, apart from actual living." (S. D. 5881.)

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NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS 1929

NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS       Rev. HUGO LJ. ODHNER       1929

     The April Program.

     The last few pages of the Invitation, the fragments which are called the "Additions to True Christian Religion," and the first; three chapters of the Canons, along with chapters 6 to 23 of Exodus, constitute the April Readings.

     The story from Exodus covers the recital of the plagues sent upon the Egyptians (Judgment), the flight of the twelve tribes from the land of Goshen and the crossing of the "Red Sea" (Redemption), and the giving of the ten precepts from Mount Sinai (Revelation and Instruction). Herein we may confirm the mode of the establishment of each new Church, as taught in the February reading; from Coronis (nos. 46 and series, and also in the prefaced Summary). In the life of individuals, the parallel redemption takes place by regeneration, which includes an emancipation from the dominance of the worldly, sensual or literalistic states signified by Egypt, and an entrance upon a state of reformation,-a distinctive religious state, the progress of which is marked by temptations and sacrifices of natural delights whereby the natural man is ordered and humbled, and introduced into a representation of regenerate life.

     The Lord's Eating of Natural Food.

     The Invitation closes with several references to miracles, already discussed in our Notes in the March LIFE. We would now call special attention to n. 56, which in a striking way confirms the reality and presence of the Lord as Natural Man after His resurrection. We are here taught, as in many other places, that the Lord "rose with His whole natural or external man, and did not leave anything in the sepulcher; on which account He said that He had bones and flesh which spirits do not have." But the statement is here added, that "He ate and drank with His disciples of natural food, and in their sight."

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     This teaching has at times aroused discussion, in view of the general doctrine that the disciples saw Him with their spiritual eyes, not with their natural eyes, after He had risen.

     Certain biblical incidents here suggest themselves. The three angels who visited Abram appeared to have consumed earthly meat and drink (Gen. 18); while the angel who declared the coming birth of Samson refused to eat of Manoah's bread, but ascended in the flame of his sacrifice. (Judges 13:16, 20.) Elijah's water-soaked sacrifice was lit on Mount Carmel by a Divine fire from heaven which also consumed the altar stones themselves. (I Kings, 18:38.)

     The varying power of the spiritual over the natural is here taught us. In Elijah's case, an actual effect was produced in nature. In the other cases there was a spiritual vision. In no case dare we say that "angels have assumed human bodies " from the elements, and thus became visible. (De Dom. 14; H. H. 76.) That the househo1d of Abram was elevated into a spiritual environment, and that the three angels ate spiritual food, is most likely. But the case of the Lord's eating of "broiled fish and a honeycomb" (Luke 24:42) is unique, for it was natural food. "The Lord (then) appeared as to the body which He had in the world," i.e., the glorified form of the body that had been buried, whose freedom from spatial, natural law was at the same time demonstrated by His coming through closed doors. And He appeared to their spiritual vision, projected into their physical environment, and ate natural food to convince the bewildered disciples that He was still Natural Man, present and operating not only in their natural minds (as a phantasm) but even in the ultimates of nature.

     What was the manner of this eating? How did this material food from the three kingdoms of nature become a gift of God, which, through the hostelry of the Apostles, became returnable to the infinite Human, to enter the currents of the Divine purpose which organizes and continually creates the whole universe?

     As an inexhaustible parable, the marvels of this eating shall furnish food for thought to a thousand more perceptive ages than ours. Even as a fact it is not unintelligible when we consider that the Natural Divine Human, which was localized in substantial shape to their spiritual sight, was actually omnipresent and beyond the limitations of space; was, indeed, that very Body of natural law which is at the roots of the physical universe.

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That Body of Divine law is the power which not only creates but also assimilates all nature, and turns its elements into the service of man, and thus upbuilds from below the larger human of angelic society.

     The Lord at His coming assumed all truth, all law, even that of nature. All natural law has not yet been experimentally detected and catalogued; nor will that ever be fully done. But in His Human the Lord comprehended all the laws of His cosmic government, and displayed them in the perfect balance of a Human Form.

     And finally, the substances of earth, now in a scientific sense perceived by our sages to be merely centers of a still more mysterious I and inexhaustible energy, are only ultimations of a Divine activity, and are resolvable into subtler forms beyond the scope of comprehension. Knowing this, we cannot deny to the Creator the power to return the currents of that Divine energy to their source, that they may again go forth to organize His twin worlds of flesh and spirit.

     Additions to the "True Christian Religion."

     The "Additions" were apparently portions of the first draft of the Memorable Relations in the True Christian Religion, which were left behind by Swedenborg on board the ship on which he made his last journey from Stockholm to Amsterdam. The first of these notes (P. T. W., p. 152) contains what is perhaps the most circumstantial statement about the mode by which the Divine miracles of the Word were produced, "by an introduction (illationem) of such things as are in the spiritual world into corresponding things in the natural world."

     The Canons.

     Swedenborg's autograph of the "Canons of the New Church" was lost at an early date, before the importance of a proper care of the original manuscripts of Swedenborg had been realized by the Church. The Rev. M. Sibly, in his translation, has a note which indicates that the original was examined by him, doubtless in England. The Latin text, on which the present translations are based, is that of a copy made by Christian Johansen, an early Swedish New Churchman, under the superintendence of Augustus Nordenskjold. The Canons was written after the work on Conjugial Love had been published, late in 1768, but the precise date is not known to us.

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Hyde notes that a translation sponsored by the Rev. C. T. Odhner was included in the Book of Doctrine published by the Academy in 1896; showing the importance which the students of the Academy have always attached to the work.

     The opening sentence of the Prologue is so noteworthy that we cannot refrain from citing it here as we would translate it: "At this day nothing else than the self-evidencing reason of love will reestablish [the canons of faith], because they have fallen."*
     * We recall reading a pamphlet containing a memorable sermon by the late Bishop Benade elucidating the phrase which we have italicized, and would invite any of our readers who may chance to own a copy of that sermon, to donate it to the Academy Library, which does not possess any copy of it.

     "The self-evidencing reason of love"! Arguments alone will not give illustration. Reasonings and confirmations by themselves are only the shadows of the truth, while its substance is the conviction that love brings about. Power indeed lies in truths, but in truths from good. The Word, and thus all Divine Revelation, is Divine Truth from the Divine Good; the Writings, or the Heavenly Doctrine, being Divine Rational Truths from Divine Love. Until we see this Love of God behind His Truth, the rational character of the Truth is not self-evident to us, and the acknowledgment of the Doctrine remains as a vague formula which has to be bolstered up again and again by arguments and reasoning, lest we should lose its power.     

     The term "canon" means a straight rod or carpenter's rule, and is used in theology to suggest an authentic summary of doctrine and a standard of orthodoxy. Two special canons for the New Church are mentioned in T. C. R. 330, referring to the shunning of evils as sins. Another "canon" is mentioned in T. C. R. 508, to the effect that falsities close up the understanding, while truths open it; the injunction to the New Church being, "Enter hereafter into the mysteries of the Word, which has hitherto been closed up; for its truths, one and all, are so many mirrors of the Lord."

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BROUGHT TO THE LIGHT 1929

BROUGHT TO THE LIGHT       L. D. GEHRING       1929

     In recent issues of NEW CHURCH LIFE we have mentioned the making of Braille copies of the Writings by a New Churchman who is afflicted with partial blindness, having recovered the sight of one eye some years ago, and who also desires to make a Braille copy of The Wedding Garment. (February, p. 114; March, p. 164.) In response to a request, he has written the Rev. W. H. Alden the following account of his coming to the New Church:

Dear Mr. Alden:
     This communication is both a personal testimony and an invitation, should it find its way into print; a testimony of how the writer was led by the Lora into His New Church, which is meant in the prophetic Word by the "New Jerusalem," and an invitation to well disposed persons who are as yet without the Church, to come into the Lord's New Church now.

     I was born in what was then South Dakota Territory, on January 28, 1880. We moved to Kansas when I was a child of about three years, and I grew up in ignorance until the beginning of my school years (1893-1901). At the commencement of my first school year, I had, among other things, to learn the English language. We are of Swiss descent, and at that time spoke a sort of dialectic Dutch language that slightly resembles German.

     I was educated at the Kansas State School for the Blind, where we were taught to read and to write a raised dot system called New York Point, and to this day I have a fondness for the type of my early youth. But to pass over these details.

     With my early education there grew a strong desire for a true religion and a true church. I felt that there must be somewhere what I then called "The Right Church." And I found it, so I thought, the Roman Catholic Church, which I joined at the age of sixteen, much against the wishes of my parents, and against the strict tenets of the Mennonite Church of which they were members. So I be came an outcast, so far as Protestantism was concerned, but I clung to "the Ark of safety," and remained in it a little over six years. And then-alas for my "safety!"

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     About the year 1903 I began to have misgivings about the Catholic Church being the "right" one; as, for instance, that it might do to live by, but it won't do to die by; then also that it won't do to live by. And finally, after having become acquainted with some of the leading Doctrines of the New Church, I began to see that the priest could no more forgive my sins than he could eat my dinner.

     It is to be noted here, alas! that after leaving school my life was for some time that of a wanderer, not a tramp, but yet reckless at times. This lasted about four years, beginning in the Fall of 1901.

     Then came into my life the dawn of a new spiritual day, slowly but surely. O what a wonderful dawn! One never to be forgotten through countless ages.

     In 1904 there lived, a few miles east of Pretty Prairie, Kansas, a man by the name of Daniel P. Graber. We usually call him Dan for short. Dan was at that time running a creamery on his place; and it so happened that I was a great deal of the time in Pretty Prairie during that year. So one early summer evening before sundown, Dan invited me to ride home with him; and on the way our conversation gravitated toward religion. "Have you ever heard about Swedenborg?" he asked me. Of course, anybody near that town had at times heard of Swedenborg. But, like others, I had only heard about him.

     Now at that time Dan had been reading the Writings in German for (perhaps) about a year. In English he could understand but little of them. The case was the same with me as to German. Dan and I would often exchange ideas; and he was the first instrumental cause of my first impressions of, and acquaintance with, the Doctrines of the New Church. My real interest in the Writings, however, was not manifest until about a year after having first been acquainted with them, and from then on this interest increased, and is still increasing. I joined the Pretty Prairie Society of the New Church some time during the latter part of March, 1906, if I am not mistaken in the date of the year. Thus it can safely be said that I have now been in the New Church about twenty-four years; the only Church on the face of the earth that acknowledges and worships the Lord Jesus Christ as the One and Only God of the universe, the Church of the DIVINE HUMANITY.

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     The Lord's New Church, the "New Jerusalem," the true "Bride, the Lamb's Wife," invites with love greater than that of any earthly mother those who are as yet in the consummated church, but who "hunger and thirst after righteousness," to come to the Lord, and to her, His Church. The Lord Jesus will then be their heavenly Father and Savior, and His Church their spiritual mother, and they will no more be left "orphans."

     To be in the Lord's New Church for twenty-four years-yea, to eternity, with ever-new joy and delight of heavenly love and wisdom-is quite different from being in the old church a few short years, and then lapsing into doubt, and finally standing on the very brink of atheism. It shudders me to think of it.

     In the New Church there are no misgivings, no uncertainties of faith, " no more sorrow or crying," spiritually considered, but genuine confidence, and the sweet assurance of a living faith, the faith of spiritual and heavenly love, the faith which acknowledges and worships no other god than the Lord God the Savior Jesus Christ believes and accepts the Divinity of His Word now open as to its internal sense in the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg, and lives according to the Heavenly Doctrines of the Church from the Word. "It is now allowed (nunc licet) to enter intellectually into the arcana (secrets) of faith." (T. C. R.) This is granted by the Lord to those only who are in the genuine faith and life of the True. Christian Religion, and thus in His New Christian Church. To come to the Lord Jesus and His glorious New Church and its faith and life, we extend a hearty invitation to all Christians worthy of the name.
     L. D. GEHRING.
KINGMAN, KANSAS,
February 25, 1929.

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PROTESTANT CONSOLIDATIONS 1929

PROTESTANT CONSOLIDATIONS       Editor       1929


NEW CHURCH LIFE
Office a Publication, Lancaster, Pa.
Published Monthly By
THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM
BRYN ATHYN, PA.
Editor                    Rev. W. B. Caldwell, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager          Mr. H. Hyatt, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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

     TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$3.00 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single Copy, 30 cents
     To some New Church writers the phenomenon of the "Union Church" brings evidence of an internal change of state in the Old Church, a change for the better, and one so great that the descriptions of its spiritual devastation, as given in the Writings, no longer apply. In certain communities, Methodists, Presbyterians and Congregationalists have found it possible to unite in a common worship and church activity, while differences in creed and custom are either abandoned, compromised or suppressed. This is held to be a sign of "growth in Christian goodwill," and to show that former variance in "theological opinion" no longer exists. A recent editorial in THE NEW-CHURCH MESSENGER deals with the subject as follows:

     "The Methodists and the Presbyterians, so the papers tell us, are to combine forces and become a single body-the largest of Protestant denominations. A similar combination, with the Congregationalists included, has been in effect in Canada for some time, and seems to be quite successful. Few will question that efforts in this direction represent a growth in Christian goodwill. If-as is indeed true-nothing has been keeping these bodies of Christians apart except the tradition of a difference in theological opinion which in fact no longer exists, it is surely right and proper that they come together. But what a road has been traveled to arrive at this point!

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One recalls the doctrine of predestination, which Swedenborg describes as 'a damnable and cruel heresy,' as having been in the first place the keystone of Calvinistic thinking. It was largely because of his opposition to this doctrine that John Wesley would not throw in his lot with the other 'evangelicals.' Today it is evident predestination, if not formally abandoned, has been relegated to limbo of forgotten issues. In view of such facts, how futile it is for us to continue talking of 'the old Church' as if it were still as Swedenborg described it! " (NEW-CHURCH MESSENGER, February 27, 1929, p. 131.)

     Would that it were so! In an earlier day, the disputes in the Church led the gentiles to exclaim: "How these Christians do love one another!" And every New Churchman would rejoice to see the day when he might look out upon the Christian world, and with the Psalmist: "Behold, how good and how lovely it is brethren to dwell together in unity!" We are among those, however, who must question any claim that this day has arrived, and who must doubt the validity of the conclusion, based upon premises so slender, that Swedenborg's descriptions no longer apply. Granted that there may be a measure of "simple good" at work in effecting the combinations among Protestant sects, we think it would be a large assumption to believe that it is sufficient to "leaven the whole," and bring about a real spiritual union, a revived Christian Church, no longer meriting the strictures placed upon its spiritual condition by the Revelation of the Second Coming.

     In the first place, the sects which have thus buried their differences form but a fraction of the Old Church. We hear nothing of a union of Catholic and Protestant denominations, or of any considerable combination of the innumerable sects which still hold apart on doctrinal and formal grounds. The census recently taken by the United States Government reveals the appalling number of these sects. There is, indeed, a sentimental charity abroad in the world which makes it possible for a Jew to contribute to the building of an Episcopal cathedral because it is a great "community center," and for a Catholic prelate and a Protestant minister to appear upon the same platform when some national or civic movement is under way. These things banish the odium theologicum for the moment, and make for the outward peace of the world; but why should the New Churchman magnify them into signs of a spiritual union which can only come to pass by a spiritual process now revealed in the Heavenly Doctrines?

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     In the second place, the causes of the "Union Church," and of the consolidations of certain Protestant sects, are not wholly ecclesiastical or spiritual. To illustrate. Three churches in a small town, all poorly attended and unable to support their own establishments, are confronted with the prospect of closing their doors. Differing little in their creeds and their forms of worship and government, the business men in their congregations feel that it is only common sense to amalgamate, and thus to "reduce the overhead." Economic necessity plays its part, and the result is a "community center," in which social activity holds a prominent place, while the doctrine and worship are kept on broad lines to avoid offending the sensibilities of the various parties to the compromise.

     Of course, some form of "goodwill" or charity must be at work to preserve such unions, and "theological opinion" must be kept in the background, which means either the suppression of divergent views in doctrinal matters or an indifference to them. 'But what kind of charity is it that ignores or suppresses doctrinal views or theological opinions? Is theology-the knowledge of God-a secondary thing in the Church? What is worship without a knowledge of the God who is worshiped? And what is charity without the truths of faith which direct it into the channels of spirituality? A knowledge of God can be acquired only through the truths of faith revealed in the Word, and the beliefs thence derived are "theological opinions," giving character to faith with the individual, giving quality to his affections,-the affections from which he worships, and from which he exercises charity toward his neighbor. And without this spiritual quality, provided only by genuine truths from the Word of God, the charity and goodwill of men is only natural, having its origin in self-interest and worldly ends. In other words, true charity is from the affection of truth,-the truth of the Word.

     We often hear it said that "it doesn't matter what a man believes so long as he lives well." But what do we mean by "living well"? Is it living according to civil and moral laws? The merely natural man can do that. Can there be any spiritual "living well" apart from spiritual truths,-the truths of the Word in which one believes?

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If one cannot live well spiritually without a knowledge and application of the truths of faith, then surely it does matter what a man believes if he wishes to live well, to live the life that leads to heaven, the life that is taught by the Lord in the Word. "By loving the neighbor is not meant loving a companion as to his person, but loving the truth which is from the Word, and loving the truth is willing and doing the truth." (H. H. 15.)

     These considerations are important in connection with the subject of so-called Christian unity, for many New Churchmen today ale assuming that the natural good of charity which ignores the truths of faith is a genuine, spiritual good of charity. They point to the teaching concerning the Ancient Church, where charity reigned and differences of doctrine did not separate; but they overlook the fact that the charity of the Ancient Church was founded upon the acknowledgment of the Lord as God, which acknowledgment has departed from the Christian Church, and with it the source of a genuine charity. It will be well to recall what is said of the state of the Ancient Church in this respect. We read:

     "The doctrine of charity, which is the doctrine of life, was the doctrine itself in the ancient churches. And that doctrine conjoined all churches, and thereby formed one church out of many. For they acknowledged all those as men of the church who lived in the good of charity, and called them brethren, however they might differ respecting truths, which at this day are called matters of faith. In these they instructed one another, which was among their works of charity; nor were they indignant if one did not accede to the opinion of another, knowing that everyone receives truth so far as he is in good. Because the ancient churches were such, therefore they were interior men; and because they were interior men they excelled in wisdom. For they who are in the good of love and charity, as to the internal man, are in heaven, and as to that are in an angelic society which is in similar good. Hence they enjoy an elevation of mind towards interior things, and, consequently, they are in wisdom for wisdom can come from no other source than from heaven, that is, through heaven from the Lord; and in heaven there is wisdom, because there they are in good. Wisdom consists in seeing truth from the light of truth; and the light of truth is the light which is in heaven.

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But in process of time that ancient wisdom decreased; for as mankind removed themselves from the good of love to the Lord, and of love towards the neighbor, which love is called charity, they removed themselves in the same proportion from wisdom, because, in the same proportion, they removed themselves from heaven. Hence it was that man, from being internal, became external, and this successively; and when he became external, he also became worldly and corporeal. When such is his quality, he cares but little for the things of heaven; for the delights of earthly loves, and the evils which, from those loves, are delightful to him, then possess him entirely. And then the things which he hears concerning the life after death, concerning heaven and hell, in a word, concerning spiritual things, are as it were out of him, and not within him, as nevertheless they ought to be. Hence also it is that the doctrine of charity, which with the ancients was held in such high estimation, is at this day among the things that are lost. For who, at this day, knows what charity is, in the genuine sense of the term, and what,-in the same sense, is meant by our neighbor? whereas that doctrine not only teaches this, but innumerable things besides, of which not a thousandth part is known at this day." (N. J. H. D. 9.)

     Now we are also told that the various Churches in Christendom would be similarly united, if true charity reigned. We read:

     "What is doctrinal alone does not constitute the external, much less the internal of the church, nor does it distinguish churches before the Lord; but this is effected by a life according to doctrinals, all of which, if they are true, regard charity as their fundamental; for what is a doctrinal for, except to teach how a man should live? The several Churches in the Christian world are distinguished by their doctrinals, and the members of those Churches hence call themselves Roman Catholics, Lutherans, Calvinists, or the Reformed, and the Evangelical, besides other names. This distinction of names arises solely from doctrinals, and would never have existed, if they had made love to the Lord and charity towards the neighbor the principal point of faith. Doctrinals would then be only varieties of opinion concerning the mysteries of faith, which they who are truly Christians would leave to everyone according to his conscience, and in their heart would say that he is truly a Christian who lives as a Christian, that is, as the Lord teaches. Thus one Church would be formed out of all these diverse ones, and all disagreements arising from mere doctrinals would vanish; yea, all the hatreds of one against another would be dissipated in a moment, and the Lord's kingdom would be established on earth.

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The Ancient Church, which existed immediately after the flood, although dispersed throughout many kingdoms, was yet of such a character, namely, that they differed much from each other in respect to doctrinals, but nevertheless made charity the principal thing, and regarded worship, not from the doctrinals of faith, but from the charity of life. This is meant by what is said in Genesis XI:I, that 'they had all one lip, and their words were one.'" (A. C. 1799:4.)

     These teachings inveigh against the state of faith separate from charity in the Christian Church,-a state into which that Church fell when it departed from its primitive good of love and charity, as did the men of the Ancient Church before it. And the return to that early excellence is to be brought about by making the doctrine of love and charity the principal doctrine, not by ignoring, compromising or suppressing the truths of faith, while assuming a guise of pseudo charity and good will.

     It will be clear from the statements quoted above that the charity of the Ancient Church was a spiritual charity, which united all lesser churches and beliefs because it was founded upon the acknowledgment of the Lord as God, from whom alone genuine love of the neighbor can come. When such an acknowledgment reigns m a church, then the variety of opinion in matters of doctrine does not disunite, but rather enriches the church. But how can this acknowledgment be present among Christians who doubt or deny the Divinity of Christ and the holiness of the Word, as is the case with the Modernists in the very sects which form Union Churches? These unions are only possible in the degree that men are indifferent to spiritual things, to theological opinions,-the knowledges concerning God and the Divine things from Him which make the Church and the genuine charity of the Church. If they are not indifferent, why do they not receive the precious truths of the Heavenly Doctrine?

     One has not to read far among Christian writers themselves to I find the frank admission that indifference in matters of religion pervades the whole Christian world, an indifference begotten of selfish and worldly loves, of immorality and evil,-a sign that the spiritual devastation described in the Heavenly Doctrines is even greater at this day than in Swedenborg's time.

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ABYSSINIA AND THE NEW CHURCH 1929

ABYSSINIA AND THE NEW CHURCH       CYRIEL SIGSTEDT       1929

     There are many ways in which the light of the New Revelation is being spread, and occasionally, as the result of individual initiative, it reaches some remote part of the world. Such a case is reported in the November-December, 1928, issue of NOVA ECCLESIA, the periodical edited by the Rev. Gustaf Baeckstrom and published at Stockholm. It reads:

     The Writings tell us about the receptivity of the Africans for the New Church, as in the True Christian Religion 835-840. . . .

     Among those particularly interested in this subject is one of the members of the New Church in Sweden,-Mr. Oscar Svensson. Hearing that the ruler of Abyssinia,-Ras Tafari, an ardently religious man,-had made a journey for the purpose of studying the Christian religion, in the course of which he had visited Sweden, Mr. Svensson determined to make an attempt to interest the prince in the doctrines of the New Church. Knowing that the prince was skilled in the French language, he ordered from Switzerland copies of Heaven and Hell and the True Christian Religion, had them bound in beautiful leather bindings, and, on the 19th of April, sent them to the ruler of Abyssinia.

     Later on, Mr. Svensson became informed that the judges of Abyssinia were ordered to execute judgment according to the law of Moses. On the 6th of July, therefore, he sent them the first volume of the Arcana Celestia in French, with a letter in which he offered to send them more of Swedenborg's works if it was so desired.

     On the 4th of September the eagerly awaited answer came. It was dated August 14, at Addis Abeba, and read as follows:

     "We acknowledge the receipt of your amiable letter of July 10, as well as the book entitled Arcana Celestia. We are also in receipt of the two books you sent us on a previous occasion. We have found these books very interesting and delightful. We are therefore very happy to have them. We thank you very much for your kind attentions in the above mentioned letter.

     "In respect to your question as to whether we desire you to continue sending us books about Swedenborg's doctrines, we would be very happy to receive such books, but we beg you, in each consignment; to enclose a bill. Receive our sincere greetings, etc."

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     On account of the encouraging tone of this letter, Mr. Svensson has now sent the prince of Abyssinia all of Swedenborg's theological works that have been translated into French, which includes the greater number of them, and among them the whole of the Arcana Celestia.

     As reported in the daily press, Ras Tafari has lately had himself declared Emperor of Abyssinia.
     CYRIEL SIGSTEDT.
REFERENCES TO ABYSSINIAN SPIRITS 1929

REFERENCES TO ABYSSINIAN SPIRITS              1929

     "African spirits from Abyssinia were present with me. On a certain occasion their ears were opened, so that they heard the singing of a Psalm of David in a certain temple in this world, which affected them with such delight that they joined in the singing. Presently their ears were closed, so that they heard nothing of the singing, but they were then affected with a delight still greater, because spiritual, and they were at the same time filled with intelligence, because that Psalm treated of the Lord and of redemption. The cause of this increase of delight was, that there was opened to them a communication with that society in heaven which was in conjunction with those in this world who were singing that Psalm." (S. S. 108. See S. D. 5947; De Verbo XVIII.)

     "In Abyssinia, in Africa, they have some psalms written in a style similar to that of our Word, and they sing them in their temples, and spirits are sensible of communication therefrom. In the spiritual sense they treat of one God, the Redeemer of the human race." (Last Judgment, Post., 122.)
RECENT PUBLICATIONS 1929

RECENT PUBLICATIONS              1929

     THE BULLETIN.

     With the issue for March, 1929, the Sons of the Academy BULLETIN comes out under the editorship of the Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner, the Rev. Vincent C. Odhner being Assistant Editor. An article on "Education for Life," by the Rev. Theodore Pitcairn, opens the number and raises the question as to "Whether the present predominantly intellectual training is the best preparation for life, both spiritual and natural," that is, for use.

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Dealing with "Ambitions and Results," the Rev. V. C. Odhner lists the various avenues of use into which the 453 male students who have attended the Academy have entered after leaving school. The Editor contributes a number of short and spicy treatments of such topics as "Who Should Be Educated?", "The Passing of Sin," "Continents Adrift," "Religion at College." He pays well-deserved tribute to the retiring Editor, the Rev. William Whitehead, and feels that the Sons of the Academy owe a significant debt of gratitude to one who gave "unstintingly of his many gifts of wide knowledge, keen wit, kindling imagination, brilliant analysis and terse expression to the service of the BULLETIN." The periodical began publication in 1912; since October, 1927, it has been issued twice a year, the present number being the first for 1929. Those of our readers who do not receive the BULLETIN may obtain it by sending $1.00 to Mr. Morel Leonard, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
NAME OF THE CHURCH. 1929

NAME OF THE CHURCH.              1929

     Commenting upon our editorial last month, a friend writes:

     In the March issue of the Life, it is recorded that there is a movement by some members of the General Convention (ministers at that) to discard the name "New Church" and "Church of the New Jerusalem" or rather "New Jerusalem," and perhaps to substitute "Church of the Second Coming," which is not definite and complete. Anyone in sectarian Christendom can imitate that latter name, for most of them are still expecting the Second Coming, even as the Jews still expect the First Coming. Is it possible that ministers of the New Church can even so much as think of denying her holy name, knowing that "the Lord is in all things of heaven and the church"? The name of a thing means its quality, its distinctness from anything else. All things of the Word, and of the Church from the Word,-" all things holy by which the Lord is acknowledged and worshipped,"-are His Name. (See T. C. R. 297.) Now the New Jerusalem-the New Church in her purity-is "The Bride, the Lamb's Wife"; and "The Lamb," Who is Jehovah Jesus Christ in His Divine, Glorified Humanity, is her One and Only Divine Bridegroom and Husband.

     It is, therefore, an eternal truth that the name of this Church, both in the heavens and on the earths, involves her whole quality of the love and worship of the Lord. Thus, on our earth, the members of the Lord's True Church will acknowledge her by no other name than that which Jehovah Jesus Himself calls her,-in general terms, "New Jerusalem" and "New Church." It is a great joy to know that the Academy and General Church so faithfully defend the sacred name of the Church.

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OUR LATEST PUBLICATION 1929

OUR LATEST PUBLICATION       Rev. T. S. HARRIS       1929

TOPICS FROM THE WRITINGS. BY William Frederic Pendleton, D.Th. Bryn Athyn, Pa.: The Academy Book Room, 1928. Cloth, crown 8vo, 249 pages. Price, $2.00.

     The external dimensions of this neatly hound volume are almost the same as those of the Liturgy for the General Church of the New Jerusalem. The binding is uniform with the author's Science of Exposition.

     The book is a reprint of thirty-six monthly installments which the author contributed to NEW CHURCH LIFE during the period between October, 1921, and November, 1926. These monthly installments are indicated in the book by Roman numerals. Under the thirty-six main divisions or installments are two hundred and sixty subdivisions, making an average of seven to each, but some of the main divisions have as many as twelve subdivisions, while others have as few as four. The Index is most elaborate, containing 519 references to the contents of the 260 subdivisions. The list of abbreviated titles of the Writings, given at the beginning of the book, will be of great advantage to the readers who are not familiar with the meaning of the initial letters used to indicate the names of Swedenborg's Works.

     The style in which the Topics are written attracts attention because of its conciseness and simplicity. The author expresses much in a few words. Throughout the volume are to be found many sentences which contain from three to five words only. On page 18,-in the Topic on "Good Conduct," there are but twenty lines, and these few lines contain sixteen sentences; this is followed by one on "Limitations" with twelve and one-half lines divided into eleven full periods. Such concise and simple diction gives spice to the subject-matter of the book.

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     It is interesting to note that there are over twelve hundred and twenty references to passages contained in the Writings; and two hundred verses of Scripture are indicated as confirmations of the truths contained in the Topics.

     The method by which this useful book was evolved is clearly stated in the Preface, which states: "In the course of his many years' reading and study in the Heavenly Doctrines, Bishop W. F. Pendleton made notes on various subjects which especially interested him, intending at some future time to write upon them." It is very evident that the short articles which the author contributed to NEW CHURCH LIFE Were not considered by him as an exhaustive treatment of the Topics, but were intended to awaken interest and stimulate thought on the part of the reader relative to the subjects which had especially interested him. Some of the Topics end with a mark of interrogation, thus inviting further investigation of the subject. Such a method always appeals to those who are open minded, and also overcomes the prejudice of those who are narrowminded. The very titles of the Topics are calculated to catch the attention of the indifferent who may happen to open the book.

     The elegantly concise mode of expression, together with the sphere of charity which permeates every sentence, cannot fail to charm and captivate the reader, thus making the book a valuable means in promoting missionary work; for even the most casual reader can scarcely escape becoming Interested in the Writings from which the Topics are taken. The twelve hundred and twenty sign-posts, directing the reader to the Heavenly Doctrines, cannot fail to be of service to those who are sincerely seeking the way of Truth.

     Not only as an instrument of evangelization among those who are outside of the New Church will this little book perform a use, but also as a textbook in our schools it would furnish an excellent course in religious instruction. Its simple style makes it suitable for this important use, and the boys and girls of high school age would find it very interesting and most profitable to study the doctrinal and practical subjects as presented in Topics from the Writings.

     But its chief use will be for those of the New Church who are in the effort to enter more interiorly into the mysteries of faith. To all such this volume will be an inspiration to investigate more deeply the Divine Truth revealed in the Heavenly Doctrine of the New Jerusalem.

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     The difficulty in reviewing a book of this type consists in the multiplicity of subjects discussed. To do justice to the work as a whole, each of its 260 subdivisions should be carefully reviewed.

     But there are several Topics upon which the author wrote more fully than on others, and these call for special attention in writing a review of the book. For instance, the subject of Baptism contains fifteen subdivisions in Chapters XXVI and XXVII. In the first of these main divisions the following points are discussed: "The Uses of Baptism"; "What is meant by the Christian Church"; also the effect produced through the instrumentality of the priest who performs the Sacrament of Baptism. Chapter XXVII treats of the distinction between the Baptism of John and Christian Baptism, also or what is meant by the "wrath to come" and "smiting the earth with a curse." Although so much is said about Baptism, there is no article devoted to the Sacrament of the Holy Supper; it is mentioned indirectly several times, as on pages 88, 131, 166, 167, 168 and 221, but it causes some surprise that this important Topic has been omitted.

     Chapter XIV contains five articles on the use and abuse of wine. The titles are: Drunkenness; Excess; The Writings on the Use of Wine; The Use of Wine, and the Abuse of Wine, Mentioned in Scripture. Relative to this question, which is perplexing the minds of many at the present day, the author states that "temperance is better than abstinence."

     In part of Chapter XXIV and all of Chapter XXV, the Glorification of the Lord's Human is the Topic discussed. Eleven articles are employed, the titles of which are: The Body of the Lord in the Sepulcher; What Became of the Substance of the Lord's Body; The Meaning of the words "Transmute," "Dissipate" and "Reject"; The Divine Human After Glorification; The Supreme Doctrine; The Human Made Divine; The Divine Body from the Father; What a Man Inherits from His Mother; The Lord Now Has All the Planes of a Man in the World; The Descent of the Divine by Glorification; The Divine of the Lord is in Three Degrees. The author approaches this subject in the spirit of the words spoken to Moses at the burning bush; he realizes the lack of unity of thought in the New Church relative to this Supreme Doctrine, and points to the injury which discussions of a controversial quality may inflict upon the holy truth revealed concerning it.

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     In addition to the Topics so fully discussed in the chapters mentioned, there are seven, each of which contains three consecutive articles. These seven are Memorabilia in Chapter I; The Writings as the Word, V; Science and Philosophy, VI; War, XXVIII; Providence, XXIX; Evangelization, XXX; and Divine Foreknowledge, XXXIII. Twelve Topics have two articles each, viz.: The Conjugial in Chapter IV; Rebellion, IX; Insanity, X; Primary Truths, XVII; Right Thinking, XXII; Capital Punishment, XXIII; Submission, XXIII; Spiritism, XXIX; The Dragon, XXX; Revelation in Africa, XXXL; Spontaneous Generation, XXXII; Predestination, XXXV.

     Out of the 260 articles which the book contains, there are 183 Topics having no relation to others. Many of these are of a practical quality, with titles such as: Anxiety; Baby Talk; Games of Chance; Conversation; Curiosity; The Use of Dogs; Habit; Hurry; Lying; Suspicion; Suicide; Worry; Discontent; Disease; Doubt. Others treat of some historical characters in a most interesting manner, among which are Aristotle, Cicero, Plate, and Socrates,-men whose writings have influenced modern civilization.

     This book is unique, in that it contains so much in such a little space. It should be in every household of the New Church, available for occasional reading or study."
RECEIVED FOR REVIEW 1929

RECEIVED FOR REVIEW              1929

EL LIBRO SELLADO CON SIETE SELLOS (The Book Sealed with Seven Seals). By Rev. Theodore Pitcairn. A Spanish version published by the author at Bryn Athyn, Pa. Paper, 107 pages.

SWEDENBORG'S HISTORICAL POSITION; containing the Testimonies of Eminent Men of his Own and Subsequent Times. By Lewis Field Hite, M.A. Boston: Massachusetts New-Church Union, 1928. Cloth, 174 pages. Price, $1.25.

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LETTER OF THE WRITINGS 1929

LETTER OF THE WRITINGS       PHILIP T. OYLER       1929

Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE:
     It would be interesting to hear what are the grounds of opposition to the opinion, so ably expressed by the Rev. Albert Bjorck, that the Writings have a letter, because it seems to me that:

     1. If they are only a spiritual sense, they have only a spiritual body, and are therefore invisible to us in the material world.

     2. If they have no letter, they would not be interpreted differently by different people. Then we should all see them eye to eye, as we do that 2 X 2 = 4.

     3. As they are the Word, and the Word is the Lord, we should (if there were no letter) see the Lord as He is-which is not possible.
     
Seen naturally, the story of creation appears to put a thick veil or letter between man and his Maker, while the Writings appear to place a thin one. But seen spiritually, is it not the reverse? The celestial angels can surely enjoy the story of creation as it stands. Can they do the same with the Writings? Or is the letter of these accommodated so much to the natural mind of man that they have difficulty in penetrating it?
     PHILIP T. OYLER,
WOODGREEN, NEAR SALISBURY, ENGLAND,
February 19, 1929.

     EDITORIAL NOTE.

     In considering the questions propounded by our correspondent, there comes to mind the statement in the Spiritual Diary where Swedenborg is treating of "how the angels have their wisdom from the Word," and says: "The angels said that when their thoughts are turned to those things which are in my thought from the heavenly doctrine, they are in greater clearness than at any other time." (S. D. 5810.) A reading of the whole context (nos. 5607-5617) will indicate, we think, that the angels derive such a light from the reading of the Writings by men on earth.

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THREE CHURCHES 1929

THREE CHURCHES       L. H. STADEN       1929

     There are three heavens, namely: a celestial, inmost, highest, or third heaven; a spiritual, internal, middle, or second heaven; and a natural, external, outmost, lowest, or first heaven. The natural heaven is divided into a celestial-natural and a spiritual-natural heaven. In the eyes of the Lord all these heavens are as one heaven, and form two kingdoms, the celestial and the spiritual. The celestial principle, which is of love to the Lord, represented by Judah, is the celestial kingdom itself, constituted of the celestial heaven and the celestial-natural heaven, the latter being the outmost of this kingdom. The spiritual principle which is of love towards the neighbor and faith in the Lord, represented by Joseph, is the spiritual kingdom itself, constituted of the spiritual heaven and the spiritual-natural heaven, the latter being the outmost of this kingdom.

     The two-kingdoms of heaven are represented correspondingly within the Church of the Lord upon the earth, and from this within all the other churches or gentile religions in a lesser degree. This explains why the terms "nations" and "peoples" are used together in the Word; in the mind of the former, the voluntary, which corresponds to the celestial, prevails, and in the latter the intellectual, which corresponds to the spiritual, prevails. Hence it follows that within all the churches of the earth, particularly in the Church of the Lord, because it has the Word, there are men of the genius of the angels of each kingdom, or, what is the same, of each heaven. Since the Lord's First Advent there have been on earth three Churches: the Apostolic, the Christian, and the New Church, called the New Jerusalem. The first was a primitive Church, the second an apparent or nominal Church, and the third a genuine Church.

     We read in the Canons: "The primitive church, which is called the Apostolic, knew nothing of the birth of any Son of God from eternity." (Redeemer V:7. See T. C. R. 638, etc.) It was the Church of the Lord in its infancy, and, like a child, was in natural good from celestial. When this Church grew up, approaching rationality, they began to ask questions concerning spiritual things which they could not answer; nevertheless, they endeavored to do so, and even to confirm them by natural reasoning, which led this Church into false doctrines of faith, and finally into false doctrines of charity.

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They possessed originally the fundamental truths faith, as their articles of faith prove, but from an obscure understanding of them. The virgin apostolic mind, in which the will was leading, followed the dictations of the heart as the motif of a charitable life, without considering it necessary to consult the intellect in particular in respect to advice and confirmation. For this reason, in the course of time they plunged into all kinds of perversities, such as self-torture, extreme fasting, voluntarily self imposed natural temptations, etc., in order to overcome worldly sires and lusts, as is described at large in Gibbon's Dedirte and Fall of the Roman Empire. On the other hand, especially in the flourishing period of this Church, they cultivated an upright religious assisted one another in all adversities like a true brotherhood, in strict conjugial morality, raised their children in the fear of the Lord God, traded honestly, and a promise was a promise which had to be kept under all circumstances, even when facing loss of property or loss of life. Those who have read Schiller's poem, "The Hostage" (Die Burgschaft) may obtain an idea of the beautiful, character of the man of the Apostolic Church, though from a conception. In short, they obeyed conscientiously the words of James: "Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only." (2:24.)     

     When the Lord sent forth His apostles in the spiritual world, they preached the same gospel they had preached in the natural world, but with one important difference, that they preached it no longer from a celestial-natural, but from a celestial-spiritual, principle. While in the natural world, they did indeed acknowledge that "in Christ dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily," yet they did not know the Divine Substance; consequently, the Apostolic Church, following in their footsteps, acknowledged the Lord likewise as a Divine Man, though their idea was tainted with a natural hue. Accordingly their conjunction with the Lord was childlike, pure and simple. It stands to reason that, when growing up, their ideas were exposed to perversion and falsification, lacking true intellectual guidance.

     This was the cause of the decline of the Apostolic Church. We read. in our Canons: "If the church recedes from the good of charity; of its infancy, it becomes involved in thick darkness as to truth, and falls into falsities as a blind man into a ditch." (Redemption I:6.)

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Such was the case with that Church.

     We further read in the Coronis: "By His First Coming and the redemption then wrought, the Lord could not form a new heaven of Christians, since there were no Christians as yet, but they became Christians gradually through the preachings and writings of the apostles. Neither could He afterwards, since from the beginning so many heresies broke forth that scarcely any doctrine of faith could in its own light. And at length the apostolic doctrine in process of time was torn, rent asunder, and adulterated by atrocious heresies." (XXXI-XXXIII.)

     These passages explain obviously that the Apostolic Church degenerated completely, and as a consequence the Christian Church likewise, which was a Church as to name only. However, this Church was given to bring forth in general a class of well-disposed men of two kinds,-one of natural good from celestial, and the other of natural good from spiritual, and also, in particular, men of spiritual good and of celestial good.

     It is said in A. E. 1074: "The angels of the third heaven who are in love to the Lord are called the 'called'; the angels of the second heaven, who are in love towards the neighbor, are called the 'chosen'; and the angels of the first heaven, who are in the faith of charity, are called the 'faithful.' In the Lord's Church on earth there are those who belong to the third, the second and the first heaven, and who, therefore, after death become angels of those heavens."

     Since the Christian Church was not a genuine Church, there could be no conjunction with the church in heaven, and thus with the Lord; and therefore it was provided that conjunction should be by those Christians who are classified as well-disposed. And when the Last Judgment took Place there were in the spiritual world the three above-mentioned kinds of well-disposed of the Christian Church, and likewise of all other churches, waiting for their liberation and elevation into the new heavens which the Lord now could form from these, and out of which He founded and established the New Church the New Jerusalem.

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     In the following, the internal causes why the well-disposed of the so-called Christian Church consisted principally of the class called the "faithful" shall be explained more distinctly by comparison with what took place when the Lord met Mary Magdalene Thomas after His resurrection, because these two Persons are typical representatives of those who are in the faith of charity.

     By belief in the resurrection body of the Lord, the Church of the Lord became established. His living body was the evidence of life after death, and became the watchword that went through whole world. The church was established in its first dispensation by the good of charity represented by Magdalene, and in its second dispensation by the good of faith represented by Thomas. Both kinds of good are in essence truth,-natural truth from a celestial principle, and natural truth from a spiritual principle.

     Magdalene recognized and acknowledged the Lord by the sound of His voice, as the angels of the celestial kingdom recognize a to be celestial by the sound of his internal voice when he reads the Word. Magdalene also did not hear the Lord's voice in this world, though she imagined so, but this scene took place in the spiritual world, as all other scene's of the Lord's appearance after His resurrection; consequently, she heard with her spiritual ears opened; and not knowing how to discriminate between the two worlds, she remained under the impression that she heard with her natural ears. This had to be so, because she represented the celestial-natural, namely, dutiful obedience to the letter of the Divine commandments from love to the Lord.

     When Magdalene saw the body of the Lord, she saw no prints the nails, no mark of His wound. Neither did she desire to see them. She was immediately convinced of the evidence of His life when hearing her name. Therefore, He appeared to her according to the state of the church she represented, that is, the Apostolic Church in its infantile innocence and purity. This Magdalene church, as we may call it, hearkened to the very words of the Lord which He preached while on earth, which echoed in their hearts without their paying any deeper attention to the spiritual meaning, even as children are wont to hearken to the very words of their superiors, without paying attention to the intellectual meaning.

     This church conjoins itself with the Lord not yet ascended or fully glorified in a non-violated resurrection body.

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For this reason it was forbidden Magdalene to touch the Lord, because it would have signified confirmation of spiritual truth from natural-rational reasoning, which is not permitted the man of a celestial mind, because he perceives from inborn good, and not from truth which has become good, with the spiritual man. In spite of this warning, the Apostolic Church, as we know, declined into such reasoning, with the final result of rending asunder their doctrines by many heresies.

     The case was otherwise with Thomas, who represented the well-disposed of the Christian Church in respect to the faith of charity from love towards the neighbor. When the Lord met the disciples in the locked chamber, signifying that their internal mind was dosed, they thought, like Magdalene, that the scene was in the natural world, and were under the impression that they saw and heard the Lord with their bodily eyes and ears. Thomas acknowledged the Lord through seeing the violated resurrection body, meaning through the understanding of the apparent truths of the Word as genuine truths from an obscure spiritual influx, and he insisted upon further confirmation of the evidence of the Lord's life upon thrusting his hand into His side, which was granted, though no use was made of it. Hence what was forbidden Magdalene was permitted Thomas, and for this reason the Lord appeared to him according to the state of the church he represented. Therefore, the Thomas Church conjoins itself with the Lord not as yet ascended to entire union with the Father, thus by the apparently material and violated resurrection body. Thomas was a simple, upright man, like all those in the Christian Church who are in simple good. When he had seen, he was fully convinced, and he did not further insist upon proof by touching, though he had made it a condition. Every doubt vanished, and he exclaimed: "My Lord and my God!" Such was Thomas; and all Thomas men are natural but well-disposed.

     However, it appears strange that Thomas would not accept the Lord's challenge. What was the reason? It was because the Lord accepts apparent truths as genuine truths, provided man lives according to His commandments as well as he can, and regards living contrary to them as sin. Such a man, as a rule, does not bother himself with studying theological questions, and still less religious philosophical questions or explanations of the spiritual Word. To him the letter of the Word is paramount, though he is continuously challenged by the Lord to cultivate an affection for genuine.

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But he remains undecided, and contents himself with what he a understand naturally by means of some spiritual light.

     While the Apostolic Church declined through being impressed by a natural tinge of the Lord as a Divine Man, the following dispensation, called the Christian Church, became totally consummated terminating the idea of the Lord into one of a natural man like any other man. Hence the idea of God as a person degenerated into an idea of an impersonal power or energy. Thus it would have been impossible to create a new heaven and from it a new church, if it had not been for those three kinds of well-disposed.

     The Lord rebuked Thomas, "Because thou hast seen me, thou hast believed; blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed." These words refer to the New Church of His Second Coming, which is the true Christian Church, and worships the Lord as a Divine Man, the only God of heaven and earth, and thus from a spiritual and from a celestial principle in acknowledging His Substance to be Divine Love and Divine Wisdom, both of which can be received and appropriated by man as being his own, and by which a conjunction with heaven and the church, that is, with the Lord Himself, is established directly.

     This reception, appropriation and conjunction is the real new in our Church. It is, in fact, what makes a new church, consequently a new mind in men, and thus that makes all things of this Church, as well as all things in the universe, new.

     To sum up: The New Church called the New Jerusalem conjoins itself with the Lord by His Divine substantial, ascended and fully glorified resurrection body, or His Divine Human, who reveals Himself at His Second Coming in the celestial-spiritual sense of His Divine Word in the form of the Writings of the New Church, to everybody who is willing from his heart and soul to believe in Him as the only God, and to live according to His commandments from love to the Lord and from charity towards the neighbor.
     L. H. STADEN.
BROOKLYN, N. Y.,
February 18, 1929.

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WHAT THE WORD IS 1929

WHAT THE WORD IS       L. C. KNUDSEN       1929

Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE:
     Replying to the Rev. F. E. Waelchli's kind review of my communication published in the January issue of the LIFE, permit me further in clarification of the point in question,-"What the Word is,"-call attention to the very definite statement in A. C. 10325. Explicitly this number instructs: "The books of the Word are all those which have an internal sense; but those which have not are not the Word." Following this, the books of the Old and New Testaments are enumerated, having the internal sense, which is the very characteristic difference between Sacred Scripture and profane; or between Divine Writing and that merely human; or yet, between what is Infinite and what is only finite.

     In the part of the Posthumous Theological Works entitled, "The Word of the Lord from Experience," Swedenborg elaborates the idea fully to plain understanding willing to see, as elsewhere in the numerous places where he treats directly of or alludes to the subject.

     The difficulty experienced with many in understanding the teachings presented in the "Writings" is not ascribable to these, but lies with the student, as does other real knowledge. Unless the "Writings" are read in an affirmative state of mind, the truth they are read in an affirmative state of mind, the truth they are cannot be perceived. And if not, the opposite must result,-the false impression of them, with the accompanying danger of confirmation. About this Swedenborg distinctly warns that the false confirmed cannot be removed, but remains. From this it follows that to read the Doctrines, or Divine Truth, as they are, in a negative state of belief is a dangerous pastime. It is the Pharisaical attitude so much denounced by the Lord as unsalvable; and expressly in His lament over the fallen Jerusalem, He states it passionately.

     The very essential characteristic of the "Word" is that it is written according to the Science of Correspondence. This science is Divine, and for that reason employed by the Lord whenever and wherever He spoke. For "without a parable He spaken not." And the "key" to this incomparable knowledge was given to Swedenborg as the means or instrument wherewith to unlock the Arcana Coelestia lying hidden for ages in the Sacred Scriptures, deeply concealed from the view of a wicked, sensually deluded humanity. And to this effect he abundantly teaches throughout his "Writings."

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     That the Literal Sense of the Two Testaments is the Sacred Shrine, containing the treasures, spiritual, as we possess them in the Doctrines of the New Jerusalem, to which he applied this "key" in its unlocking, must be manifest. For the Lord teaches man in and by His Scriptures only and without exception. And thus Swedenborg himself was taught, and not otherwise.

     To understand what the "Word" is truly, the knowledge of degrees is essential. Through this we learn of successive and simultaneous order, also of prior and posterior principles, and of superior and inferior ordination, or of what is internal and what is external and their relative excellency and importance. That this knowledge is part of the Heavenly Doctrines, given for the true establishment of the real Christian Church which we call the New, because it is so from its very first principle,-the Prince of Peace, the Lord God coming in His Glory to save a benighted world,-is well known, not realized sufficiently. By this knowledge we may see that the "Word" of God is necessarily of a trinal composition, because of His Divine and Human unified constitution. From the Divine in Itself it descends successively through the degrees,-the Celestial, the Spiritual, and the Natural, the latter being the very ultimate recipient of mostly simple and often dark sayings. On this latter plane it is that men come into dispute as to understanding; and unless elevated into the superior degrees above it, by which the Letter Sense is made comprehensible, it results in denial and final rejection, as we see it now-a-days in all lands. In short, on the true or the false understanding of the "Word" human salvation, or the opposite, hinges.     

     The true understanding of the descent of the "Word" even to the ultimate is by the idea of discrete degrees, and not of continuity, Discrete degrees transcend towards the innermost, the Infinite Divine, by distinct steps of purity. They are incomparable in their very nature, and communicate only by correspondence. And according to this order, the three heavens and their opposites, the three hells, fundamentally are organized. That is to say, according to the possession of genuine or spurious intelligence, man and spirits fall into this grading arrangement, but voluntarily or from free choice. From which the conclusion is rational, that the hells are of human origin or invention.

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     That the Doctrines are what they claim to be, who will dare dispute? And their claim is, as all who have read them must know, that they are the internal sense of the "Word," but never that they are the external. This latter has always been among men, except the Most Ancient, who had interior enlightenment or intuition natively instead. It therefore cannot be a new Revelation. But the unfolding of the hitherto unknown internal meaning in every word and expression, yea, tittle and even iota, of the Letter, is this. That is new,-so new that the world at large rejects it as incredible. It knows; but what? Not God, sure. What then? His Truth? To this is inconceivable, and therefore unbelievable, as daily provable. What then, I ask, is such? Is fiction? Is real or fictitious food the nourishing element of the body? How, when it be of the mind? Can one live on fictitious nourishment? If so, what is the use of food, especially mental? In the New Church it should be unnecessary to ask what "the Bread of Life " is. For the Lord has told it. But the question seemingly is not, Do we believe Him actually that "His Word" is this?-That we really and only truly live "by every Word that issueth from the mouth of God"?

     Summing it all up, where and when God has ever spoken He has spoken the Holy Truth a priori throughout the illimitable universe, of which we perceive ourselves a mere point; but, of course, for intelligent reflection, particularly to mankind, He addresses Himself continually. And the medium is the "Word." This is the connecting "Link" between the Infinite and the finite man, without which the latter must perish. For what is finite has no original or eternal existence but what is derived from the Infinite. The essence of what "the Word of God" truly is should appear somewhat out of this more plainly, that it is the integral Divine Truth (indivisible unit of origin, as I conceive it) of the discrete composition of superior and inferior quality according to its reception, as we have pointed out. For originally it is purely Divine, but is modified in its descent by degrees of successive order, terminating in the last or ultimate in the simultaneous, in which it exists in its fulness.

     And the Unity of the Divine Trinity is perceivable in this, as in the series of end, cause and effect, which is connected and cannot be separated in the concrete, but is distinguishable in the abstract.

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     It is the acting series of life in continual performance of endless variety of form and quality which we observe everywhere, rational, or irrational, according to, or contrary to, Divine Order.

     That the "Word" is complete only in its ultimate, which is the letter of the Two Testaments composed of the books cited in the Arcana Celestia as written in Divine style of correspondence, should be plain by comparison. To maintain that the Doctrines by themselves are the "Word" in the face of this, their own teaching, is to contradict them. For to be this they must possess the characteristic style of the books enumerated as the "Word," or be written according to correspondence, and thus be merely natural and not spiritual. By this conclusion their Divine Authority evidently would be entirely invalidated.

     But all who really believe what the Doctrines teach and declare on all points know that they are the spiritual sense of the "Word," and not the natural, which the Letter is.
     Sincerely yours,
          L. C. KNUDSEN.

     NB. That the Doctrines are not the Literal Sense of the Word should obviously never be made a point of contention among New Church professors. Yet this in sum is the present issue.-L. C. K. R. R.
WATERVILLE, KANSAS,
February 11, 1929.

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Church News 1929

Church News       Various       1929

     REPORT OF THE VISITING PASTOR.

     On my return trip from the annual meetings at Bryn Athyn, a visit was made at the Wiley home in COLUMBUS, OHIO. A doctrinal class was held on Tuesday evening, February 12th, at which the subject was conjunction with the Lord by reciprocation. The next day, during the afternoon, instruction was given the youngest child of the family; and in the evening a service was held, including the Holy Supper. At the class there were four persons present, and at the service five.

     From Columbus I went to MIDDLEPORT, making my stay with Mr. and Mrs. Eblin, at nearby Rutland. A class was held on Thursday evening, the 14th. The doctrine that no one can be reformed by miracles was presented from Divine Providence 130 to 133, and some application was made to Christian Science healing. Friday evening there was another class, the subject being conjunction with the Lord and consociation with the angels by means of the sense of the letter of the Word. Reference was made to the Calendar Reading now in use in the General Church. On Saturday afternoon, instruction was given to six children, all of them grandchildren of Mr. and Mrs. Harvey Skinner. At the service on Sunday morning there was an attendance of sixteen, including four children. At the Holy Supper there were nine communicants. In the evening we again had class, this time at the home of Mrs. Lucy Boggess, who, because of health, had been unable to attend any of the other meetings, all of which were held in the church building. This final meeting, at which ten persons were present, was an especially delightful occasion. Our thoughts turned to the great blessing which those of the New Church enjoy in being able to look with full confidence to the Lord in His Word for instruction, while, on the other hand, in the world around us the Word is being more and more discarded as the source of absolute truth.
     F. E. WAELCHLI.

     KITCHENER, ONT.

     A pretty wedding took place here late in the Fall, when Mr. Gustav Woelfle and Miss Uarda Doering were united in marriage. Mrs. Woelfle has entertained in her new home on several occasions.

     Swedenborg's Birthday was celebrated in our customary manner, a dinner being given for the children at noon. One of the older school boys acted as toastmaster and introduced six of his fellow students, who read short papers on "Incidents in the Life of Swedenborg." Afterward games were enjoyed by all. In the evening there was a banquet for the adults. The room and tables were tastefully decorated in the Swedish national colors. The toastmaster, Mr. Samuel Roschman, introduced the four speakers of the evening, who treated of different phases of Swedenborg's preparation for his great mission. Our Pastor then added some thoughts on the subject in general, and we closed this part of the program by singing together "Thou Prophet and Seer." Progressive cards and dancing filled the remainder of the evening.

     Since Christmas, Mrs. George Pagon of Davidson, Saskatchewan, has been visiting and renewing her friendships here. There has been quite a whirl of bridge and tea parties in her honor.

     When the Rev. Alan Gill returned from the Annual Council Meetings in Bryn Athyn he gave us an interesting report of them. I hope the papers given there will be printed in the near future, as our interest was aroused in them by our Pastor's report and we would like to read them.

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     The enthusiasm for our Friday Suppers has increased, and we are going to have them weekly in the future, instead of fortnightly as formerly.

     In February, the Antique Club entertained the society by an evening of cards, guessing contests and dancing. There was a large attendance, and a very enjoyable evening was spent. On Valentine's Day, Mrs. Alena Bellinger gave a party in her home to the older school children, and all had a very good time. School parties in the homes are always eagerly welcomed and much appreciated by both the children and the school teachers.
     C. R.

     SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA.

     Our last report, in your November number, was from the Fiji Islands, written by our Pastor, the Rev. Richard Morse, when returning from London, via America, to Australia. We held a social in our little church building to welcome him after his four months' absence. It is our custom at socials to have the children sing in choruses, and some to recite, and some of the adults to sing solos and duets. This one was in the usual form, excepting that a revision was made in one song for a chorus of welcome. Mr. Guthrie, who ably conducted the services during our Pastor's absence, presided.

     During an interval in the program, Mr. Morse spoke of his travels, after which there was a general round of thanks to those who "carried on" while our Pastor was absent; the recording, of which brings to mind that Mr, Morse never tires in his efforts to-establish an internal society in Australia. We all feel deeply grateful for his distinguished work, and hope that this work, which has as its object "keeping the Divine among the people," will never end.

     The Christmas activities were varied this year. Our tableaux were given on the Sunday evening before Christmas, small children being chosen for the characters. It was advertised as a Children's Service, the parents being invited; and although there is a general exodus to the beaches and health resorts at the Christmas vacation, we nevertheless had a larger attendance than at any previous ones; and it was inspiring to hear our little church building resound with Christmas hymns.

     At the end of a short service, two tableaux were shown, the first representing Mary and Joseph in the stable scene. A very artistic stable, with thatched roof, was erected in the church, and two children, aged nine and ten years, represented Joseph and Mary in characteristic costumes, very soft and pretty in tone, also appropriate. They looked beautiful. The other tableau represented the three wise men approaching the stable, over which was the star, while the church was in semi-darkness. Before the curtain was drawn for the first tableau, ten little girls in white dresses, and with white wreaths in their hair, sang "Holy Night." For the second one, all the Sunday School children sang "From the Eastern Mountains." Mr. Morse's address during the service treated of the Advent.

     On Christmas night, the Christmas tree, loaded with gifts, presented an attractive sight for young and old. There were seventy presents to be distributed, many having been made by the children. Owing to the generosity of members, friends and children, some nice presents were displayed. All the teachers and officers of the Sunday School received gifts from the parents of the children.

     We have recently added to our church property, Mr. Morse having extended the lot by about 100 feet; he has also added an extra block, 64'x100', adjacent to the church property. A portion of his own land is being made into a tennis court for the use of the church people, and for the school which we hope to have in the near future. It is very interesting to hear about Miss White's activities at the College in Bryn Athyn. We are looking forward to her return among us for both school; and church uses.

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Those far away from the center realize their far-awayness when reading her letters, and we soliloquize thus:-"Do the people and children in such a sphere realize their very, very great opportunities, and also responsibilities, for all that is being done for them in such a consummated age as that in which we now live? The external world can be kept from them; they can enter it from their fortified city, and so be spared the numbing effect of entering too much into the world's pleasures. That is how one views it from the antipodes.

     Our annual picnic was held at National Park, a very beautiful pleasure resort. Going by train to the top of a small mountain, a walk of over a mile down an easy grade brought us to a pretty winding river, where we spent a very pleasant day in bright ''sunshine tempered by a cool breeze, and in a variety of games suitable for the day. A pleasing incident, so far as the children were concerned, was the hospitality of another picnic party that had brought several dozen large water melons, which were so lavishly bestowed upon our children that they finally refused to eat any more, being satisfied for once in their little lives-with mater melons anyway.

     Interest in the Sunday School children's social club, formed over ten months ago, does not wane. Children who had graduated are returning for the pleasures which are offered. Quoits, bobs, ping pong, ball, hop scotch, pegs, etc., are varied with other games. It commences at 1:30 p.m., and when 9 o'clock is announced they obediently put on their hats and coats and disappear in a few minutes. We find that this hour is late enough for ages ranging from seven to seventeen. Mr. Taylor enters into the sport with enthusiasm, which adds to the children's pleasures.
     A. T.

     MR. SCHRECK'S RETIREMENT.

     "The Rev. E. J. E. Schreck resigned from the pastorate of the Birmingham, England, New Church Society at the annual meeting on February 8th. For the last few years he has found it increasingly difficult to meet the demands of the church, despite a three months' holiday in America given him by the church in 1927 for the purpose of recovering his health. Mr. Schreck has now resolved to retire from all active pastoral work, and will not take another church. His resignation was accepted with deep regret by the Birmingham Society, and he will move to London in the near future." (Messenger, March 13, 1929.)

     GLENVIEW, ILLINOIS.

     The feature of the news for February was the Annual Meeting and Banquet of the local chapter of the Sons of the Academy. The banquet was an imposing function, to which each of the Sons brought his lady. The Rev. Fred E. Waelchli was the guest of honor, and delivered the principal address, which was a careful and well-thought-out presentation of the subject of co-operation with the Academy by the Sons. Besides various modes of helpfulness pointed out, considerable historical data of the Academy was given, particularly of the early days and struggles about the time the speaker himself was going "through the mill," and of the persons active at that time. This proved especially interesting to the older ones, and entertaining to the younger.

     Our School has recently given three parties to the pupils,-one for the youngest, one for the intermediates, and one for the "olders." Hope Hager, who has been teaching rhythmic dancing for the school, gave an exhibition of the progress of her pupils to relatives and friends.

     Just as these notes are written, I hear of the death of Mrs. George A. McQueen, who passed into the spiritual world on March 8th after a lingering illness.
     J. B. S.

     DOCTOR ACTON IN SWEDEN.

     "A Swedenborg Investigator in Uppsala" is the title of a newspaper article which comes from the Swedish press regarding the work of Dr. Acton. It reviews briefly the Assembly of the General Church in London last summer, and gives something of the history of the progress of the New Church presented at that time.

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Then there is an account of Dr. Acton's sabbatical year and his mission. The writer of the article had met him at the home of Mrs. Signe Stroh, and looks with true appreciation upon his genius. He says:

     "Professor Alfred Acton, who is now a man of sixty years, has a considerable literary career behind him. He has translated from Latin into English: Swedenborg's Ontology, the work on Generation, on the Fibre, the work on the origin of the soul, called Opuscula Philosophica et Psychologica, and Swedenborg's first work on the brain, De Cerebro. He is now engaged upon the translation of Swedenborg's preparatory work on the interpretation of the Sacred Scriptures [The Word Explained]. He has written in English both large and small works illustrating Swedenborg's theology; for example, The Origin of Man, the Nature of the Spiritual World, Divine Omniscience and Freedom, etc.

     "His purpose in the year's visit to Sweden is: (1) To study the Swedish literature of Swedenborg's time; (2) To try to find some of the many letters by and to Swedenborg which were known to exist at the time of his death, but have since disappeared; (3) To follow up possible traces of missing works of Swedenborg. Among these is a work on the Anatomy of Living Forces, which is said to have been left at Storbo near Smedjebacken, and another work on the subject of Love.

     "Professor Acton praises the interest and cooperation of the Swedish librarians. He has already made a number of 'finds.' (See New Church Life, March, 1929, p. 187.) He next intends giving his attention to the Royal Library at Stockholm, which has a large collection of Swedenborgiana. He would be very grateful if owners of Swedenborg's letters would get in touch with him. The Swedenborg library in Bryn Athyn is one of the largest in the world." At the request of the interviewer, Dr. Acton then gave an account of the spread of Swedenborg's teachings' in America, including something about Bryn Athyn, the schools, the publication work, and the church work, including the missionary phase. There was also an opportunity to touch upon the Academy's attitude towards spiritism, in connection with Dr. Emil Kleen, whose immense and entertaining work attempting to prove that Swedenborg was to be explained as a pathological case was widely read in Sweden a few years ago. "The assertion that this clear thinker should have been insane, was, in Dr. Adon's opinion, so absurd, that he did not even want to discuss it." (From Nya Degligt Allelranda, Stockholm, Dec. 30, 1928.)
     CYRIEL SIDSTEDT.

     WASHINGTON, D. C.

     Though a number of our members have suffered attacks of influenza during the winter, the epidemic has not interfered with our church meetings, which have been held regularly once a month. In January, the Rev. Homer Synnestvedt visited us, in February the Rev. Reginald W. Brown, and in March the Rev. W. B. Caldwell.

     It is our custom to hold the doctrinal class on Saturday evening at about 6 o'clock, followed by the supper at 7 o'clock. Dr. Acton, our pastor, has always liked this arrangement, and it seems also to be approved by the visiting ministers. The supper then becomes a social occasion, but the conversation often takes the form of a discussion of the subject presented in the doctrinal class.

     As Mr. Caldwell's visit came at the time of the Inauguration of the new President of the United States, we invited him to stay over for that occasion. With Mr. and Mrs. Lester Asplundh, we had a little New Church group to witness the event, and it was a thrilling sight, even though it became necessary to sit in the rain to see the parade.

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The thought occurs-since we now have a President belonging to one of the smaller sects, why not a Swedenborgian one of these days? We should be glad to welcome such a member to our Society!
     E. H. G.

     PITTSBURGH, PA.

     "After the Friday Supper on February 15th, Mr. Iungerich gave a resume of the Council Meetings and Philadelphia District Assembly, instead of having a doctrinal class. He also called on Mrs. F. L. Doering to give an account of the wedding of Mr. and Mrs. S. S. Lindsay, Jr.

     On February 20th, Mr. Iungerich conducted the funeral services of Mr. Walter Denny Uptegraff, recently of Buffalo, N. Y., at the home of his daughter, Mrs. Donald H. Shoemaker (nee Marguerite Uptegraff). Mr. Uptegrd was a member of the Pittsburgh Society for many years, and while he lived in Pittsburgh was very active in church work. He came into the New Church through "Aunt Aitken."

     The young people sponsored a dance and card party on February 21st. The decorations were modernistic and quite attractive. The orchestra was peppy, and much "whoopee" was made by all.

     The regular meetings of the Council, Philosophy Club and Ladies' Meeting have been held as usual.

     We regret that Mrs. Iungerich is spending several weeks in the hospital as a result of a motor accident. We are glad to report that she is recovering nicely, and undoubtedly the enforced rest is doing her good.

     The preliminary plans and sketch of the church and community building were presented for consideration after the doctrinal class on March 1st, and were received with favorable comments. It looks as though our buildings will be under way before very long now.

     LONDON, MICHAEL CHURCH.

     The celebration of Swedenborg's Birthday was postponed this year until Sunday, February 3d, the actual anniversary being occupied by a Social Re-Union given by the Swedenborg Society at the Holborn Hall, where Bishop Tilson was one of the speakers.

     On the following Sunday, he administered the Holy Supper to thirty communicants at the morning service, and in the afternoon presided at a "Birthday Tea." This was attended by about fifty people, and after some social converse the more formal part of the proceedings began with the singing of the "Ode." Then the Pastor, having read welcome letters of greeting from the Rev. Victor Gladish, of Colchester, and the Rev. G. A. Sexton, of Jersey, went on to explain that the textbook of the evening was to be Dr. Acton's Introduction to the Word Explained. He would read certain paragraphs, which were in turn to serve as a basis for individual speeches.

     The first paragraph chosen was that which we may perhaps call the "Nunc Licet" (p. 17), and this was followed by a most thoughtful and attractive paper by Mr. W. Pike on "Swedenborg's Preparation for his great work-his heredity, infancy and early manhood." The next reading (pp. 85 and 86) was introduced by the singing of "The Voice of One Crying in the Wilderness" from the Psalmody, and the speaker was Mr. Priest on "Swedenborg's Closer Approach to the Spiritual World, his Admission there, and the Dangers Met." The singing of "Great and Wonderful are Thy Works" introduced the final reading by the Pastor (p. 112), and Mr. Anderson followed with some remarks on "Swedenborg's Call to the Office of Revelator," dwelling especially upon the "as of himself" character of his work, which was a necessity for a revelation to the rational mind. Next came the singing of "Our Glorious Church," and as a "conclusion," the Bishop read from pp. 163 and 164 of Dr. Acton's fine work, the last words of which we cannot refrain from quoting:

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     "The truths contained in these writings are provided for our use. Let our part be to study them, to ponder over them, that so we may gather them together into one grand system, which shall be inspired and made living by the Heavenly Doctrine now revealed to the world."

     Surely, no "conclusion" could have been more fitting, and the hearty singing of " Vivat Nova Ecclesia" seemed to follow almost spontaneously. A very happy sphere prevailed, and this Birthday gathering was thoroughly enjoyed by all present.

     The Pastor has of late adopted a new method in connection with the Theological Class. The paragraphs from the True Christian Religion which in turn come up for study are read be the members before coming to the class, and Bishop Tilson, after summarizing the contents and making his own comments, asks for those of the class, and for their questions. The method seems most useful, and has caused a revival of interest which it is hoped may lead to an increased attendance. The same method has been tried with success at the Ladies' Class, held each month, where the s study is now based on the Calendar Readings.

     The Social Club goes happily on, and has provided some very interesting occasions-a dramatic performance given shortly before Christmas being of outstanding excellence. The New Year opened with a "Fancy Dress" Social, where prominent among the company was a handsome Indian Chief, in whom we thought we recognized our Hen. Treasurer! Recently, we have had a "Shakespeare Evening,"-a most interesting lecture by the President of the Club (Bishop Tilson), interspersed with songs and readings from the plays by various members. These three have perhaps been the "Star" performances, with other lectures and various Whist Drives to complete the list. What we most want to complete our happiness at the moment is some warmer weather! But all things come to those who wait-long enough!
     K. M. D.

     THE SOUTH AFRICAN MISSION.

     The erratic weather, which seem to have visited various parts of the world during the latter part of 1928, has not left Alpha alone. On the evening of December 19th, during a severe thunder storm, the Alpha Mission Church was struck by lightning and entirely burnt out, despite all efforts to save. Only the cracked and smoke-smeared stones were left to testify to the three hours of dame when fire was master. The event, read variously by native opinion as: "a visitation," "an examination," or some one's "revenge," has disorganized the usual routine work of church and school, but renovations are now under way, which will restore order in a few months.

     The Annual Meeting of the Leaders and Teachers was held at Alpha from January 22d to 29th. The Leaders met in the mornings, and the Leaders and Teachers together in the afternoons. Beside the Superintendent and the Rev. E. C. Acton, sixteen Leaders and six Teachers signed the respective rolls.

     The topics contributed to the Agenda were both numerous and interesting. Moreover, an advance was made this year in the reading of prepared addresses on doctrinal subjects. The Annual Address by the Superintendent was entitled "The Order of Teaching, Leading and Blessing through the Ages." Mr. John Jiyana read a paper entitled "The Love of Self." Mr. Berry Maqelepo subscribed to the subject, "The Science of Correspondences in the Most Ancient Church." A question on the docket as to "Why there should be two organizations in the New Church" was ably answered by the Rev. E. C. Acton. The fact that six sessions, or seventeen hours, were devoted to the deliberations, indicates that the gathering made the best of the time at its disposal.

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     The Agenda for the Teachers' Meetings was not so prolific in subject matter, yet in three sessions some useful educational work was covered. Mrs. C. Letele (Alpha School) presented an essay on "Nature Study"; a published paper from the Journal of Education (April, 1916), entitled "Moral Training in Elementary Schools," by Miss Celia Bellinger, was read by the Secretary, the Rev. E. C. Acton. At the last session the Superintendent gave a short lecture explaining the Curriculum of an Elementary School, as designed by the Rt. Rev. George de Charms in his circular diagram, so well known in Bryn Athyn. Miss V. E. Msomi (Greylingstad School) contributed a study on "School Organization," using blackboard sketches to illustrate her subject. All the items presented received useful and appreciative discussions.

     On Sunday, January 27, Divine Service was held in the Mission Hostel, on account of the destruction of the church building. The Rev. M. B. Mcanyana gave the discourse, which was delivered in English and interpreted into Sesuto. The subject, from the text "Abide in Me," suitably led to the celebration of the Holy Supper.

     On the evening of January 29th, Swedenborg's Birthday was duly honored. About fifty people gathered at the Hostel. The Superintendent presided. Five addresses were given, interspersed with musical selections by a small choir specially formed for the occasion. The subjects of the evening were as follows:-"What Swedenborg gave up when he became a Revelator," by the Rev. E. C. Acton; "Why we celebrate Swedenborg's Birthday," by Mr. Julius Jiyana; "Swedenborg-A Citizen of Two Worlds," by Mr. Twentyman Mofokeng; "Swedenborg's Preparation," by Mr. Philip Stole; "Swedenborg and his Attitude to the Theological Writings which he was Commanded to Write," by Mr. Luke Noygana. Messrs. S. Mote, J. Motsi and John Jiyana spoke in appreciation of the addresses, thus concluding a very useful evening.

     The next day, the Leaders and Teachers dispersed to their several stations in Natal, Zululand, Transvaal and Basutoland. During the first week in February, the Elementary School at Alpha, together with the Trade Department and Theological School, opened a new term.

     January also proved to be a very busy month for the "Alpha Circle." Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Ridgway and Mr. Rowland Ridgway have visited Alpha on business. Their sojourn harmonized with that of the Rev. and Mrs. E. C. Acton and family; although, unfortunately, Mr. and Mrs. Acton had their holiday curtailed on account of illness in the family before leaving Durban. Miss Kathleen Ridgway, making a prolonged stay at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Elphick, has also added to our visitor list; while Miss Iona Leask from Maritzburg has been with our group since the middle of December.

     During the busy time of the Mission's Annual Meeting, Mr. Acton kindly officiated at two Sunday evening Services, which were much appreciated. On January 31, he also officiated at the Baptism of Nathaniel Gerrit, the infant son of Mr. and Mrs. Elphick. On the evening of the same day the Rite of Betrothal was administered for Mr. Norman A. Ridgway and Miss Iona Leask by the Rev. F. W. Elphick. After the ceremony, the evening was devoted to toasts and convivial social songs, expressing affection to "The New Couple," "The New Church," "The Academy," and "Friends across the sea." For both services the ladies at the Alpha Homestead made suitable leaf and floral decorations, which added much to the sphere of the happy occasions.
     F. W. E.
ALPRA, LADYBRAND, O. F. S.,
February 5, 1929.

     Editorial Note.

     Photographs of the Alpha Mission Church, recently visited by fire as described above, were printed in New Church Life for November, 1925.

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     TORONTO, CANADA.

     The Olivet Church had two celebrations of Swedenborg's Birthday, as has been customary with us for a good; many years,-that for the children being held on Tuesday evening, January 29th, when several of the children from the Day School and Sunday School read little essays commemorating the event, which were interesting and enjoyable. The Society celebration took the form of a banquet supper, most excellent both as to quality and quantity, provided by Mrs. Fred Bellinger. Between sixty and seventy people did ample justice to the repast, after which we listened to a series of short, pithy extracts selected by the Pastor from various sources, including both the Writings and Swedenborg's philosophical works, conveying a diversified and comprehensive view of the manifold activities of this great and illustrious servant of the Lord. Another feature was the drawing at random of various questions from a box, each having some little token attached which was awarded to the first one to answer correctly the question called. This was productive of much that was "illuminating," instructive, and quite frequently amusing, and it is perhaps just as well for most of us that not anything of serious import depended upon our ability to answer the questions, and which yet would be useful information to have in mind.

     During the absence of the Pastor at the Annual Meetings of the Council of the Clergy at Bryn Athyn, in order to maintain continuity of weekly public worship in the church, Mr. Frank R. Longstaff, by appointment of the Pastor, conducted the service on February 10th.

     A very successful masquerade dance and social was held on February 15th, with Mr. Alec Craigie as master of ceremonies. The scene presented made a very picturesque ensemble, and the; prize winning costumes and wearers were: Mrs. Dr. Richardson as "Martha Washington," Miss Lois A. Davison as a "Court Lady of the Early Victorian Era," Miss Smith as a "Japanese Lantern," Mr. R. M. ("Bob") Brown as a "Pierrot," and Mr. H. P. Izzard as a very clever collection of "Road Signs."

     On Wednesday, February 20th, the Pastor gave an interesting and comprehensive account of the recent Council Meetings held in Bryn Athyn which are so much appreciated by the clergy of the Church, especially those who have so little contact with other New Church pastors during the course of the year, and to whom this annual get-together is an inspiration which reflected in the various societies when they return.

     The January meeting of the Forward Club had for its consideration "The Case Against Evolution," an article by George H. Bonner, published in the November, 1921, issue of The Nineteenth Century and After, which was read by the Pastor. The inescapable conclusion seemed to be that the writer of the article was either a reader of the Writings or there was evidence of a somewhat remarkable similarity of ideas and conclusions. The subject of the February meeting was: "Should Education be Controlled by Church or State?" It was well presented in papers by Mr. Desmond McMaster and Mr. Alec Sargeant, who both showed careful preparation, involving much apparent "digging" for material, and in the main reasonable and sound conclusions, having regard to all circumstances. The subject elicited a lively discussion, and some of the points brought out were: "The Roman Catholic Church constitutes a protection for all separate school systems;" "Education in Canada does not suffer from State Control, private schools being fully recognized and protected, and compulsory education being provided for every child, and to that extent was justifiable and good." Another speaker thought there was "great danger in any church having absolute control of education, as it would be something of a temptation, and he favored a church or religion, education under state control, from which much danger was not to be apprehended, and which would at least provide that religion be taught."

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Another, that "in the home is the place where influence and love for spiritual things is implanted." And again, another speaker "doubted the wisdom of vocational training, and ability of any school, whether church or state, to turn out men who were practical when they got into the shop or factory and up against doing the actual work on a commercial basis." Still another favored "state control until the New Church dominates the world," and echo answers, "Speed the day!" If in the former expressions of opinion there should be anything approximating the heretical, or even a seeming backsliding, Mr. Gyllenhaal emphasized our great responsibility as New Churchmen to provide education for our children within the folds of the church, seeking the co-operation of the state where possible to obtain it. He also traced in an interesting way the history of education, stating that the Roman Catholic Church cannot be regarded as a true friend of education. He further pointed out that Divine Providence never works apart from men, and that it is our responsibility to see the absolute necessity for providing New Church education, and our duty and high privilege to do so.

     The Ladies Circle has recently held an "apron sale" at the home of Mrs. Reginald Anderson, and in this very simple but extremely efficacious way, they extracted $45.00 from somebody's pockets for the purpose of replenishing the kitchen requirements. We are quite sure many church treasurers would welcome some magnified effort along these lines to help out in pinches sometimes.

     The Pastor's report at the third quarterly business meeting of the year showed that all uses have been maintained, though suffering to some extent by reason of illness in the Society, especially during the Christmas holiday season. Since February 20th, the doctrinal classes have been conducted at the supper tables, when the instruction given makes the supper more completely a Feast of Charity, and ministers to a larger congregation, also stressing the importance of having every member of the Church take advantage of this avenue of doctrinal instruction. The young people's doctrinal classes have been well attended, and an intelligent interest has been consistently shown. The boys' club recently organized is progressing satisfactorily, and the Pastor expressed keen appreciation of the work of the young men who are acting as instructors in this club. A fair amount of gymnasium equipment has been obtained, and a good development is looked for. It was also announced that there would be no Ontario District Assembly this year, as, owing to the protracted absence of the Bishop on a visit to South Africa, it will not be possible to provide for any District Assemblies this year.

     The Olivet Church is entertaining the Sons of the Academy at their annual meetings this year, particulars of which will be made known through the appointed channels. Needless to say, we are looking forward with a great deal of pleasure to this event, and we hope there will be a large influx of visitors.
     F. W.

     ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS.

     Publication of the Report of the Annual Council Meetings, held at Bryn Athyn, February 4-10, 1929, has been unavoidably delayed. It will appear in the May issue of New Church Life.

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GLEANINGS FROM NEW CHURCH HISTORY 1929

GLEANINGS FROM NEW CHURCH HISTORY              1929




     Announcements.





[Frontispiece: Photographs of the interior and exterior of the Angel Hotel, scene of the Hindmarsh lecture at Colcester. Photos by Muriel Gill.]

NEW CHURCH LIFE
XLIX          MAY, 1929           No. 5.
     THE HINDMARSH LECTURE AT COLCHESTER.

     Accompanying a present-day photograph of the Angel Hotel, Colchester, in our issue for last January, we reprinted Robert Hindmarsh's account of the lecture he delivered there on July 26, 1816, as recorded in his Rise and Progress of the New Jerusalem Church. This we now supplement with additional pictures of the historic place, kindly sent us by Miss Muriel Gill, showing the hall engaged for the lecture. This room must have extended into the building at the rear of Angel Hotel, to accommodate the large number of persons who were present. Concerning this Hindmarsh states: "The room was crowded almost to suffocation, and many went away unable to obtain admission. The number in the room was supposed to be not less than from four to five hundred." For in spite of the singular name of the hotel we can hardly ascribe to it the conditions of the spirit-world, where, by aspect or thought determination, very many can appear together in a place where none of them actually are,-so many, as Swedenborg avers, that if they were all actually there, some would be within others. (S. D. 2338.)

     It will be recalled that, when the Corporation and Clergy of the town of Colchester learned that the lecture was to deal with theological subjects, permission to use the Town Hall was withdrawn, and Hindmarsh was obliged at the last moment to engage a "large room in the Angel Inn." Even there his presentation of the New Church doctrine was interrupted by murmurs of disapproval on the part of certain Methodist Preachers who were present. For a time the great interest shown by the audience moved them to silence, but at the close of the lecture violent opposition was manifested by one of the preachers.

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     The event has a significant interest for us, not only because those beginnings of the Church in Colchester have borne fruit in an established society there, but also because on that occasion the New Church doctrine of the Trinity came publicly into conflict with the Tripersonality and Vicarious Atonement dogmas of the Old Church. The incident may be regarded as one of the earliest earthly ultimations of that war between Michael and the dragon in the world of spirits which Swedenborg so vividly describes, and which sometimes took the form of violent hostility toward himself, because of the doctrine he was given to write,-the dragonistic endeavor to "devour the man-child."

     In the Apocalypse Revealed, where he is treating of the "man-child" (Rev. 12: 5), who signifies the "doctrine of the New Church," he declares that " the doctrine here meant is the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem (published in London, 1758); as also the Doctrine of the Lord, of the Sacred Scripture, and of Life according to the Precepts of the Decalogue (published at Amsterdam, 1763). And he adds: "While those Doctrines were being written, the Dragonists stood around me, and collaborated with all their fury to devour, that is, to extinguish them. This new thing I am allowed to relate, because in truth it so happened. The Dragonists who stood around me were from all parts of the Reformed Christian world." (A. R. 543.)

     Why is it that we hear so little today of violent attacks upon the doctrine of the New Church? Some would have it that the old dogmas are being widely discarded, and that the world is traveling rapidly in the direction of the New Church. We prefer to ascribe the change to the prophesied "freer state to think on matters of faith" that was to follow the Last Judgment. (L. J. 73.) In the Protestant world, and to some extent among Catholics, the new freedom has reduced many to indifference; with others it has engendered an inquiring state which leads them to "dabble" in all kinds of religions while adopting none; in the universities it has produced abundant atheism and materialism The Protestant clergy are "polite" when confronted with the new Doctrine, but will manifest the old hostility when not "on their good manners." The fact remains that there are very few converts to the New Church. It is one thing to be free to cut loose from old faiths, another thing to do it.

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INSPIRATION 1929

INSPIRATION        N. D. PENDLETON       1929

     "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Ward was God." (John 1:1.)

     Men say that the Scriptures are inspired. They speak of them as holy, and call them the Word of God. Upon this confession the Christian Church is founded as a Divine institution. The spiritual a vitality of that Church is therefore measured by the depth and sincerity of that confession, and its enlightenment is according to the understanding thereof.

     In appearance, the Scriptures are not unlike other ancient writings of the same date and race. In style and subject matter, the canonical are similar to the non-canonical books. They apparently differ only in excellence and reliability. But if this be the case, they are separated only by a human degree of excellence, and not radically, not by Divinity. Wherein, then, comes that which was called plenary inspiration? Grave doubts have arisen and rapidly increased during the past generation. The truth is, that faith in the Divine inspiration of the Scriptures is broken in the Christian Church, and in consequence the Church itself, as of Divine origin and miraculous institution, has failed. It will never recover until faith in the inspired Word of God is restored. The hope of such a restoral must depend upon a new revelation, a new perception of the nature of the inspiration of the Word. This is given in the Writings of the New Church, where the quality of inspiration is revealed, and along with it, as basic to it, the nature of the inner structure of the Word. This structure is revealed as one with the series and order of creation,-the creation of the heavens and the earth in a fourfold series, involving, as in the case of the Word, four separate senses, three for the angels, and one for men, or one for each of the heavens, and a last or ultimate sense for men in the world.

     The Word of God in its highest interpretation is the Divine Truth, he Divine Light proceeding from God, descending through the four successive planes of creation, and resting finally in the world of nature, or in the minds of men on that which is called the Sacred Scripture.

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This Scripture is therefore as an ultimate and as it were worldly vessel containing inner Divine meanings in an ascending series, even as the earth is fundamental to the heavens, or as the body and brain of man are the ultimate plane of and correspondent to his mind and soul. This view presents the Scripture as outwardly a replica of the world in human minds, but as of Divine formation and providential arrangement, containing, even as the world contains, everything of the Spirit, and in the highest degree the very creative Spirit, of God Himself; the idea being that God created all things, and that as He created, so He entered into all things of His creation.

     The Word, therefore, in its highest meaning, is the creative Spirit of God, as that Spirit descends, forming and entering into all create planes, imparting to them a certain constituted correspondence with itself, even as the soul of man so forms his body and all things thereof. From this view, nature may be called the Word of God in the last and most general degree. But nature, as such, is dead. It may, however, be made to live by celestial perception. But of this we are not capable. The spiritual man calls for a written Scripture, embodying the human mind and human history. This was given, but the complex of human minds and the totality of human history can only be represented. For detail, the history of a certain nation was taken and specially prepared. The marvelous Jew presented features and possibilities for this purpose not possessed by others. He could be and was strangely used by Providence. Through Him the Word was given, and through Him the Christ came into the world. The Word might have been given through another people, through the history of any people, in part at least; but not so fully, so fundamentally. Because of this, the hand of the Jew comes to us across the altar of God.

     The Word is the Divine Truth descending through the heavens and entering into the history of men, and especially entering and forming itself in and to the history of a chosen race. This is even that Word spoken of by John as being with God in the beginning, and as having made all things. It became as if flesh in the Scriptural story of Israel. It actually became flesh in the Person of our Lord. Hence the truth that the Lord's Human in the world, while physically Jewish, was in fact the Divine Truth proceeding from the Divine Love.

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This Truth was His very own Body which He had in the world, and which He glorified by its reunion with the Divine Love. It was in this Body that He ascended to the Father. So also the Scripture ascends by an analogous glorification. When the Word in the letter is thus glorified, all that is Jewish is put off. Thus the letter of the Word serves its Divine purpose; thus it yields the wisdom of the angels and the love of God.

     The Divine Truth descends by the several planes of the heavens into the world. It descends in an involving series. When it is glorified, it is evolved in accord with the same series. Thus it comes to pass that both the heavens and the earth are caught in its fold, and along therewith angels and men. It is everywhere the bond of union. It is everywhere one and the same, yet it everywhere varies in aspect and a seeming difference in perfection and glory on the one plane and on the other. In the letter it is at times clothed with the lowest humanities, and often with the base passions of man. But this is not a difference in the Word. The holy Divine flowing through the prepared vessels, in its going and coming, is the pure Spirit of God. The ultimate structure of the Scripture, however low in its formation, does not impede but aids this Spirit. It carries it efficaciously, so that he that reads the Scripture, seeking for life therein, is caught by the Spirit of God and held forever.

     The going and coming of the Spirit is called in the Writings "influx." It is given in accord with correspondences, angelic and human, and ever in concord with the creative law. Hence the several senses of the Word, which lie as if one within another. In creation as a whole it marks the distinction of planes, and provides a perpetual communication of the lower plane with the higher, and of the higher with the lower. This distinction and relation of planes is such that the angels may live in heaven and men on earth, separate from each other, yet conjoined. The conjunction is such that all are of one communion; all live together, and yet so distinct, so separate, that they know not, the one of the other. They are so close, so together, that they perceive no distinction; for their communication is instantaneous, and that which is of the one becomes of the other, though under a different aspect. And this, because the Word is ever descending and ever ascending, as the inner vein of the life-circles, and, in so doing, finds its sacred ultimate and returning point in the lowest plane of creation, and especially in the written Scripture there.

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     The Word thus stands even as creation, or as a formed image thereof in the minds of men. Providence guards this Word with especial care. There has been no impairment of it from the time of its first revealing; or, if it has been changed, its perfection was thereby added to. The heavens and even the earth are dependent on it, as well as man's salvation. To deny the holiness of this Word is to sin against the Holy Spirit; for the Word is that Spirit in form among men. To deny this Word is that sin which cannot be forgiven, for such denial separates man from the Holy Spirit. It closes; heaven, and indeed it must close heaven, lest all things be profaned. When heaven is closed, there is no influx, and happily no profanation. Consider; if the Word be denied, heaven must, in defense of man, he closed, and this lest ascending falsities from human minds should "turn the wisdom of the angels into foolishness." This eventuality has several times threatened, and has been avoided by successive judgments, and by renewed comings of the Lord, whereby the Word was re-established in its place and power, and a new church formed of those who could become subject to a new order and receptive of a new revelation of the everlasting Word.

     This has once more come to pass in these latter days, by a revelation of that which is called the internal sense of the Scriptures. This revelation is a rational expression of the Divine Word. Seemingly, it is evolved from the letter of Scripture, and yet in fact it descended from God out of heaven as the Divine Doctrine. The Writings are this Divine Doctrine descending, even while they are given as of the ascending series of truth drawn from the letter and confirmed thereby. Yet their truth descends into the Scripture, and is there made ultimately manifest. This internal sense is not a thing apart from but is one with the literal Word, which is made to bear witness to the truth of the Divine Doctrine, even as the Doctrine bears witness to the sanctity and the plenary inspiration of the Scripture. A knowledge of the true inspiration of the Scripture cannot be restored otherwise than through the spiritual light of this Doctrine, which fixes the view upon the internal sanctities of the Word, and makes manifest wherein the true Divinity of the Word lies. Certainly these internal sanctities will never be discovered by the way of critical approach.

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That way lies doubt and the disintegration of all faith, and at length the dissolution of the church.

     The Writings are given; the Doctrine is revealed; faith is restored, and the church is re-established, and this by the self-evidencing reason of truth, and the love thereof. We believe this testimony, because of its inner appeal to that high rational perception which looks to the letter of the Word as the priests of old gazed upon the urim and thummim on Aaron's breastplate, and there beheld the lights which flashed from the sacred stones.

     This letter of the Word, this sacred ultimate of Providence, formed throughout the ages by the voice of prophecy, interpreting and admonishing, binding and moulding the life and actions of a chosen people;-this Scripture, when finished, stood and will forever stand as the enduring basis of all revelation and all divine perception. Amen.

     Lessons: II Kings 22. John 5:25-47. A. E. 1067:3.
"SMALL ROUND THING." 1929

"SMALL ROUND THING."              1929

     Describing the manna that was given the Children of Israel during their journey from Egypt to Canaan, it is said that " upon the face of the wilderness there lay a small round thing, as small as the hear frost on the ground." (Exodus 16: 14.) This "small round thing signifies the good of truth in its first formation. Small is predicated of truth, and round is predicated of good. This is derived from the appearances of truth and good in the other life. When truths are presented visibly, which is done manifestly to the eyes of spirits and angels, then truth is presented in a discrete quantity, consequently as much or little according to the quality of the truth; truth is also presented as angular in various forms, as also as white. But good is there presented in continuous quantity, thus not as much or as little; good is also presented as round, which is continuous in form; and in respect to color, good appears as blue, yellow and red. That good and truth so appear when presented visibly, is from their difference as to quality, which thus puts itself forth and represents itself in a natural form, when it becomes visible." (A. C. 8458.)

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SWEDENBORG AND THE LAST JUDGMENT 1929

SWEDENBORG AND THE LAST JUDGMENT       Rev. ALBERT BJORCK       1929

     (A paper prepared for the New Church Club, London, February, 1929.)

     When your Secretary wrote, asking me to send him a paper to be read at this meeting, and I considered the question of a suitable subject, my thought turned to one which, off and on for years, has been in my mind to speak about. Many years ago I came to the conclusion that the Last Judgment had been accomplished by the Lord through Swedenborg as an active instrument. By this I mean that, just as any man here thinks what is true and does what is good as if of himself, although it is the Lord alone who does it, so Swedenborg as the servant of the Lord prepared for the Last Judgment, and did that as if of himself, though he knew and acknowledged that the Lord alone did it.

     I once mentioned this conclusion in a letter to an elderly New Churchman, many years my senior, who believed in the authority of the Writings. His reply was that he could not see it that way. He referred to the fact that Swedenborg had definitely stated that he had been permitted to see the Last Judgment, and that in the absence of any direct statement showing a more active participation, we had no authority for believing so.

     This did not seem to me a sufficient reason, nor even a good argument, because I believe such statements are to be found. The Memorable Relation in Apocalypse Revealed 531 seems to me to testify of an active participation by Swedenborg. But other questions came up, demanding my whole attention, and this subject was pushed into the background. Years later, however, it came up again in a conversation with our mutual friend, the Rev. F. E. Gyllenhaal, during which we discussed many different conceptions among New Churchmen as to what the Writings teach. I then mentioned the conclusion to which I had come in regard to the part Swedenborg played in the Last Judgment. Mr. Gyllenhaal did not oppose my view; neither did he admit that it was correct. He ended, as he had done with regard to one or two other questions that had come up during the conversation, by saying: "Why don't you write a paper on it?"

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     I have not done so until now, but I believe this will be a good opportunity to bring up the question, that it may be discussed by men who are desirous of entering understandingly into the particulars of doctrine. I shall therefore try to set before you briefly the basis upon which my conclusion rests. My thoughts on the subject have been more or less indirectly connected with, or caused by, my acknowledgment of the Writings as the Word of the Lord, and therefore the Lord in His Second Coming.

     The definite statements in the Writings, showing that Swedenborg was permitted to see the Last Judgment, are to be found principally in the Apocalypse Revealed and the Last Judgment. In the latter work we read:

     "Lest perchance many should recede from faith in the Word, it has been given me to see that the last judgment has now been accomplished, and that the evil have been cast into hell and the good taken up into heaven, and thus that all things have been reduced into order, and thereby the spiritual equilibrium between good and evil, or between heaven and hell, restored. In what manner the last judgment has been accomplished has been given me to see from beginning to end. . . . All these things have been given me to see with my own eyes, in order that I might testify of them. The last judgment was commenced in the beginning of the year 1757, and was fully accomplished by the end of that year. (L. J. 45.)

     In the Apocalypse Revealed, explaining the spiritual sense of Revelation 7:1, we read:

     "After these things I saw four angels standing upon the four corners of the earth, signifies the whole heaven now in the effort to execute the last judgment upon those who were in the world of spirits. Many things now follow as to the state of the spiritual world just before the last judgment, which no one can know except by revelation from the Lord; and because it was given me to see how the last judgment was accomplished, and also the changes that preceded it, and the arrangements (ordinationes) which followed it, I am able to relate what is signified by all things in this chapter and those which follow." (A. R. 342. See also T. C. R. 772.)

     These statements tell us very definitely that Swedenborg was permitted to see the manner in which the Last Judgment, from beginning to end, was accomplished; and not only that, but also the changes in preparation for it, and the arrangements (ordinationes) following it; and that he, because he had witnessed these things, was able to see and make known the signification of the letter of the Apocalypse.

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     Shall we now conclude from these passages that Swedenborg was simply a witness, permitted to see these wonderful changes and tremendous upheavals, and the subsequent arrangements for a "new heaven and a new earth," without all of which no one could have been saved, the human race would have perished, and even the heavens would have been destroyed-only in order that he might testify of them to men on earth? Before we so conclude, let us consider a few other passages and their bearing on the subject before us.

     In A. C. 931 we read: "The last judgment of every church is when it is vastated, or when there is in it no longer any faith. The last judgment of the Most Ancient Church was when it perished, as in its last posterity just before the flood. There was a last judgment on the Jewish Church when the Lord came into the world. There is also to be a last judgment when the Lord shall come into glory." (See also A. C. 2121-2126.)

     In T. C. R. 780 it is said that "the glory in which He is to come (Matt. 24:30) signifies Divine Truth in its light, in which the spiritual sense of the Word is."

     That part of the Arcana Celestia from which the above quotation is taken was written in 1747 or 1748, and it was printed and published in London in 1749, eight years before the Last Judgment took place.

     I take it that those here present are familiar with the reasoning, based upon the declarations of the Writings, which has led to the belief in and acknowledgment of the Writings as the Word of the Lord,-His Second Coming to men in His Divine Human. This faith and acknowledgment is the basic reason for the existence of the General Church, whose whole organization and theological views and teachings are based upon that faith and acknowledgment. We look upon the Writings as the Word of the Lord, or the Lord as the Word, who, in and through them, has come in the glory of His Divine Truth, judging the false heavens of the first Christian Church, reducing the hells into order, and establishing a New Church with men on earth, dwelling with them in the glory of His Divine Human, teaching and leading those who suffer themselves to be led in the to heaven.

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And this, our faith, we proclaim to the world, because we believe that, without that faith in the Writings as the Word, or as the Lord with men, they cannot serve as a basis for a new dispensation of Divine Truth or a New Church established upon that Truth.

     Because of this conception of the Writings, we implicitly believe and understand the declaration made by Swedenborg himself, that in publishing the Doctrine of the New Church in human language he has taken nothing from himself or from any angel, but has been taught by the Lord alone. But this does not Prevent our seeing that Swedenborg wrote as if of himself; in other words, that the Lord used him as an active human instrument for accomplishing His end. We can, through what Swedenborg himself says, follow his preparation for that work from childhood, seeing how he gradually advanced from light to light; and that he, so prepared as to natural and spiritual faculties, could recognize the voice of the Lord in the Word when he read it, revealing to him the Divine Truth which should judge the false heavens, reduce the hells into order, and establish a new and genuine conscience, thus a new church, with men on earth. We can see that Swedenborg not only taught and acted from the Lord, but that he did so knowing and understanding the Lord's end in view, and that, in the work required of him, he used his human faculties of investigation, reflecting and drawing conclusions as if of himself.

     Connect this view of Swedenborg's work, as the servant of the Lord in giving us the Writings, with the subject before us, and you will see how it inevitably leads to the belief that Swedenborg was the human instrument through whom the Lord accomplished the Last Judgment.

     When, in 1748, Swedenborg wrote that there would be a last judgment when the Lord should come in glory, he probably could not, know just what year that judgment on the first Christian Church would take place, but he did know that the Church was vastated, and that the Lord had called him as His servant to prepare for that judgment. After long previous preparation, he had actually entered upon that work with the writing and publishing of the Arcana Celestia. With that work began the revelation from the Lord of the genuine truth of the Word with men.

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As the work proceeded, the Divine Truth in the Word became manifest. Or, as the Divine Truth is the Lord, the Lord was revealed in the glory of truth from Himself. That revelation was also made to the spirits in the false heavens at the same time, or perhaps previous to its publication upon earth.

     II.

     We must remember that the Word of the Lord with men on earth is the only source through which they can get any knowledge of what is good and true, and therefore the only source through which-their lives can be formed according to the revelation they have of what is true and good. As men on earth cooperate with the Lord as the Word, by living according to the teaching of the Word, they are being created angels by the Lord. And they must do that as if of themselves. There are no other angels than those so created. And nothing but the truths of the Word which they understand, and the good which it teaches, and which they have made their own by living it, can be in heaven. Therefore the Lord as the Word is the all of heaven.

     The Word of the Lord with men always necessarily has an external natural form in the human language through which it is conveyed to men's understanding. And that external, ultimate form is always subject to misunderstanding or willful misinterpretation by men. If the Word of the Lord is misunderstood or in the Church so that finally its truth is not seen, and falsities arise which excuse the lusts of man's will, or teach that he can be saved for heaven without the good of faith or charity, and those falsities are regarded as the Divine Truth, then that church is being consummated, the judgment follows, and a new church is raised up by the Lord.

     Those of the church who so misunderstand and misinterpret the Word may appear before others to be good men, even as ministers the Lord, teaching men truths from Him. The falsities they preach become doctrines of the church, and an appeal is made to the literal sense of the Word for their confirmation. If the baseness of their hearts is not externally evident, or they themselves are persuaded that their falsities are the truths of the Word, their people will regard them as good men, and will believe in and confirm those falsities. After death, they and their followers form societies in the world of spirits,-societies which they themselves regard as heavens, but which the angels regard as false heavens.

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The angels, however, are powerless to disperse them, because the falsities are defended by appeals to the teaching of the Lord in the Word. And so these false heavenly societies multiply until they hinder the influx of good from the real heavens into the hearts of men, while the influx of evil from the hells increases, and the equilibrium between good and evil is destroyed.

     As long as the true meaning of the words that clothe the Divine Truth with men on earth is lost to the understanding of men, the quality of such false heavens cannot be shown, and they cannot be judged and dispersed. The judgment can only be accomplished when it is shown by the very letter of the Word which is with men that the so-called truths upon which these heavens are based, and by which they are defended, are in reality dire falsities. This cannot be done until the genuine truth of the Word is revealed, and it is shown that that truth is expressed in the letter itself, and so clearly that the false understanding of it can no longer be defended.

     That work can only be done by the Lord Himself, Who is the Truth, but by means of a human instrument, who can read and perceive the true meaning of the Word with men, and can also proclaim that truth to those who compose the false heavens in the world of spirits.

     III.

     When the Jewish Church, which had the Word of the Lord, but had made it of no avail, so that the Divine Truth, or the Lord, was no longer seen, and therefore could not teach them the good of faith, it was vastated and consummated. There was no man on earth who could be prepared by the Lord in the Word to receive and unfold its genuine truth, and make it known to men on earth and to the spirits of the false heavens. But without such a human instrument the Lord could not accomplish the last judgment upon that Church, and upon the false heavens of that time. It was necessary that the Lord Himself as the Word, who by Divine Truth had created the heavens from men, should take upon Himself an earthly humanity; and that humanity,-Mary's son,-became the human instrument by whom He accomplished the judgment. As a man on earth, born of woman, it was necessary that He, like any other man, should study the Scriptures upon which the Church and the false heavens had based their belief.

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And it was necessary that the genuine Truth in the Scriptures should come down into His human understanding, before. He could judge the false heavens and establish a new church on earth.

     The first Christian Church, in its turn, became vastated of and truth, because its false interpretations of the Word separated it from the Lord and from the good of faith in Him. And the false, heavens grew strong in the world of spirits, interrupting the influx of good from the Lord through the heavens. Then there was on earth a man whom the Lord could prepare to perceive and proclaim to me and to the spirits of the false heavens, the genuine truth of the Word in the very letter of the Scriptures in which they professed to believe as the Word of the Lord. That genuine celestial and spiritual truth which the Lord gave him to perceive when he read the Word, he clothed in an ultimate form of human language to serve as the basis for a New Church,-the crown of all the Churches.

     But before the New Church could be established the false heavens must be judged, and the equilibrium between good and evil, or heaven and hell, restored.

     As a link in the preparation which Swedenborg had undergone from his childhood, the Lord eventually opened his spiritual senses, so that he could be present in the spiritual world with angels and spirits, and at the same time in the natural world with men. In the spiritual world he noted the representations of heavenly things and the correspondence between spiritual things and natural. The knowledges thus gained enabled him to receive and understand the teaching of the Lord in the Word, when he read it in the natural world, that is, in its letter, and thus to set forth and make known its genuine meaning, and to preach that truth of the Lord to the spirits composing the false heavens.

     If there should be any doubts in your minds about the reason why the truths with the angels in heaven were not Powerful enough to judge the false heavens, I would ask you to read the Relation in T. C. R. 250. There it is shown that the angels, be cause they had nothing whereby they could compare their spiritual understanding of the Word with the natural understanding of spirits in the false heavens, could be shown the difference only through Swedenborg, who was in both worlds at the same time.

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They could not refer to the natural clothing of the Word, upon which the spirits in the false heavens based their understanding, and which they defended their falsities.

     As Swedenborg, in the Arcana Celestia, unfolded and made known genuine truths of the Lord in the Word, and showed that they were inherent in the very letter-which therefore was Divine, the Lord with men-he at the same time made known and preached those truths in the world of spirits to those of the false heavens. Thus were the preparations for the Last Judgment made, and the made ready to assist in its accomplishment with their power of truth from the Lord.

     IV.

     Keeping in mind what has thus far been said, me can see who they were that composed the false heavens formed from the Christian Church.

     "All those who were interiorly good, thus who were spiritual, were separated from them and taken up into heaven; and those who were not only interiorly but also exteriorly evil were also separated from them and cast into hell; and this from the time immediately after the Lord's coming even to the last time, when was the judgment." (L. J. 69.)

     In the same number we are told that these false heavenly societies formed by spirits "who in the world lived in external holiness, who were just and sincere for the sake of civil and moral laws, who were external or natural men, but not internal or spiritual men; also those who were in the doctrinals of the church, and were able to teach them, although they were not in a life according to also those who were in various offices, and performed uses, but for the sake of uses. These and their like from all in the world lived after the Lord's coming constituted the 'first heaven.'" (See also nos. 49 and 59.) They included such as had professed to believe in God, had read the Word, had heard preaching and attended the sacrament of the Supper, and had not neglected the solemn rites of the worship of the church, but had made no account of them in life. (C. J. 16.)

     As we know this through Swedenborg, who saw the Last Judgment beginning to end, the preparations for it, and the arrangements it, we see how inevitable it is that "judgment is from the Word and according to it" (A. R. 225), and how it was that, "preparing for the last judgment, exploration was made as to the quality of the understanding of the Word as it had been with and thence the quality of their lives." (A. R. 295.)

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     This preparation and exploration could not be made except through the genuine truth of the Word; and the preparation for the judgment progressed as that genuine truth was so fully revealed that all the different teachings whereby the false heavens defended themselves could be shown up as false by the very literal sense of that Word in which they professed to believe.

     When that exploration of their understanding of the Word had been made by the revelation of its genuine sense, then the Lord, who is the inmost of the Word and of heaven, exercising His power through the heavens, could disperse the false heavens, while the angelic hosts of the real heavens joined with all their power from Him. The very ground upon which the false heavens were built was taken from them, and they fell into the abyss, their own state judging them. But before that, those who innocently had believed in their false leaders had been saved by the same truths that judged the rest.

     Swedenborg, the man, did not judge the false heavens. The Lord as Divine Truth did that; for He alone has the power to judge. But the Lord acts through ultimates; and as the Word in its form with men on earth is the only means by which heaven can be created in men and make them angels, so the Lord, or the Divine Truth in its ultimate form, is the only means by which false doctrines, based on misinterpretations and perversions of that ultimate form of Divine Truth, can be judged.

     The part Swedenborg played in preparing for the Last Judgment was to make known the genuine truths of the Word, to preach the true doctrines of that truth, and thus to combat the false by which they defended themselves. He did this as the Lord's servant, but he did it as if of himself.

     The Divine Truth met with tremendous opposition from those in the false heavens, when it was proclaimed and preached by Swedenborg there. Of this we are told in the Memorable Relation in A. R. 531.

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     In the explanation of the internal sense of the 11th chapter of Apocalypse, it is said that "the two witnesses" signify "those who confess and acknowledge from the heart that the Lord is the God of heaven and earth, and that His Human is Divine, and those who are conjoined with Him by a life according to the precepts of the Decalogue." That "the two witnesses should prophesy a thousand two hundred and sixty days, signifies that these two things,-the acknowledgment of the Lord, and a life according to the precepts of the Decalogue, which are the essentials of the New Church,-are to be taught until the end and the beginning,-the end of the former church, and thus to the beginning of the new. (A. R. 490, 491.)

     "The beast that cometh up out of the abyss shall make war with them, and shall overcome them, and shall kill them, signifies that they who are in the internals of the doctrine of faith alone will reject those two essentials." (A. R. 500.)

     "And they of the peoples and tribes and tongues and nations shall see their bodies three days and a half, signifies when all who have been and shall be in falsities of doctrine and in evils of life from faith alone, at the end of the church which still is, until the beginning of the new, have heard and shall hear concerning these two essentials." (A. R. 505.)

     In the Memorable Relation following this chapter, these two essentials are, so to speak, personified in Swedenborg. In the eyes of the spirits who were condemned by their own state, he was an "audacious preacher of sin in our great city." And this is what Swedenborg himself says: "I was suddenly seized with a disease almost deadly; my whole head was weighed down heavily; a pestilential smoke ascended from the Jerusalem which is called 'Sodom and Egypt'; I was half dead with severe pain; I expected the end. I lay thus in my bed for three days and a half. My spirit was thus affected, and from it my body. And then I heard around me the voices of them that said, 'lo, he who preached repentance for the remission of sin, and the Man Christ alone, lies dead in the midst of the street of our city. And they asked some of the clergy whether he was worthy of burial; and they said: 'No, let him lie; let him be looked at!' They passed to and fro and mocked. In truth this happened to me while this chapter of the Apocalypse was being explained." (A. R. 531.)

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ARE WE BEHAVIORISTS? 1929

ARE WE BEHAVIORISTS?       DONALD F. ROSE       1929

     The policy and practice of indifference to the philosophical fads that afflict the world around us are defensible but at the same time difficult. We are well advised to mind our own business with such wisdom as is granted us, but the mental distress and disturbance characteristic of our intellectual environment are perpetually intruding on our private peace, and challenging our institutional philosophy. Since New Churchmen are so keenly concerned with education, any educational novelty of importance insists upon our attention.

     It has been solemnly declared that Behaviorism is "the modern note in psychology," and that "the battle of Behaviorism is the battle of the century." Certainly it has had an amazing vogue in this country, even though it has aroused principally amusement among peoples of older philosophical traditions. It has penetrated deep into educational theory, and has contributed much that is sensible and useful to educational practice. It has somehow appealed particularly to young people, providing them with a ready-made and attractively simple explanation of all mysteries and justification for all indiscretions. In a word, it has probably done some good and a great deal of damage, and we cannot be entirely indifferent to it.

     The immediate occasion of this discussion is that I was fortunate enough to attend an informal debate, one of the "Socratic Dialogues" arranged by the editor of THE FORUM, at which Behaviorism was argued by its chief exponent and challenged by a man of equal public reputation. On one side was Dr. John B. Watson; on the other, Dr. Will Durant. The proposition to be debated was "Is Man a Machine?" Dr. Watson thought so, while Dr. Durant didn't. A dozen others were present,-lesser lights in psychology and the social sciences, and ordinary laymen like myself. The subject was debated at ease in a comfortable drawing-room, with cigars and coffee and some slight disregard of the 18th Amendment.

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The lesser members of the company were free to question and argue, though the privilege was used sparingly, since the learned doctors were a shade too formidable for free heckling.

     Dr. Watson is the recognized arch-prophet of Behaviorism in its whole-hog manifestation, and his book was for long-as books go-a best-seller in the non-fiction class. He was formerly Professor of Psychology at Johns Hopkins University, though he is no longer working at it. For some years he has been engaged in advertizing, and is responsible for some of the most flagrant of the cigarette advertisements and those for vanishing creams and other fundamental commodities. Dr. Durant is famous for having introduced philosophy both to society and the subway, having written The Story of Philosophy and Transition, and innumerable essays in the national magazines. Both are excellent journalists, dramatists and publicists. They have known how to get a hearing, while better scientists have browsed in obscurity.

     The debate, as might have been expected, was totally inconclusive. At the end of three scintillating and stimulating hours, the two doctors were as far apart as ever and the rest of us had headaches. The debaters agreed only in their polite admiration for each other's accomplishments, and on Such minor matters as evolution, the denial of the individuated human soul, and the mental incompetence of laymen to know What it was all about. Yet one layman, at least, brought away some impressions from the fracas. The first was an irresistible impulse to recall the Memorable Relation in which an audience sat around two such debaters and exclaimed: "O how wise! O how learned!" The other was an improved idea as to what Behavorism amounts to, and some incidental notions as to what it is

     Behaviorism, according to its own confession, is a very simple explanation of everything that has puzzled the thoughtful mind of man through the centuries of civilization. Dr. Watson, in his writings on the subject, has reduced it to two propositions: (1) "If you place a certain thing in front of an individual or a group of individuals, the individual or group will act, will do something." (2) "Seeing an individual doing something, we are able to predict what object or situation is calling forth that act." The idea of acting or doing involves every conceivable activity of the human being, including such an apparent abstraction as thought. The behaviorist holds that "thinking is behavior, is motor organization, just like tennis playing or golf or any other form of muscular activity." The same is asserted of all emotional activity.

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The behaviorist has "dropped from his scientific vocabulary all subjective terms such as sensation, perception, image, desire, purpose, and even thinking and emotion as they were originally defined." These things, he declares, are all manifestations of strictly physical or chemical action. They happen by mechanical necessity, and can be reproduced in the same manner if the full formula and synthesis are known. Man is a machine, and has no more right to claim intelligence, purpose, freewill or responsibility than has a typewriter or a ten-ton truck.

     To wipe out of existence in this fashion all that we call human is really easier than it looks. The behaviorists conduct countless experiments on animals and infants. They demonstrate that, under certain conditions, certain actions may be expected, and that when the reaction fails it is demonstrably because of some complicating cause. They observe the cause-and-effect relation of all operations in the physical world, and consider man as essentially and entirely on the same plane and subject to the same laws. We behave as we do because we can do no other, any more than a lump of sodium can lie quiet when dropped into water or a brick fall upwards instead of downwards. It is the scientific version of Predestination and Pre-established Harmony rolled into one and given a high polish. And it is sheer logic under its own premises.

     Behaviorism is become so formidable a factor in the scientific scene of today principally because these premises are singularly like those adopted by the inductive sciences in general. Both learned doctors in the debate dismissed with impatience the idea of a human soul, and would painstakingly use circumlocution to avoid the very mention of it. Both proclaimed evolution-though with cautious disagreement as to just what sort of evolution each meant-and both denied any sort of Deism. Both denied immortality and doubted God. These things, they agreed, were essential to the scientific attitude.

     But Dr. Watson has been impatient with merely negative statements or the Scotch verdict of "non-proven." In his published; debate with Prof. William MacDougall he roundly accuses the modern psychologist of superstition and mediaeval speculation, principally because he will not be scientific in the modern manner with the phenomena of human consciousness.

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He labels as one of the surviving "dicta of the medicine man" the concept that every individual has a soul. "This dogma has been present in human psychology from earliest antiquity. No one has ever touched the soul, has seen one in a test tube, or has in any way come into a relationship with one, as he has with the other objects of his daily experience." The same is true of consciousness. "Consciousness has never been seen, touched, smelled, tasted or moved. It is a plain assumption, just as unprovable as the old concept of the soul." And so he will have none of it. There simply ain't no such animal. Thereby he has the defense in a tight corner; for he says: "It is a truism in science that we should not bring into our explanation any tritalistic factor. He who would introduce consciousness, either as an epiphenomenon or as an active force interjecting itself in the chemical and physical happenings of the body, does so because of spiritualistic and vitalistic leanings." Behaviorists, on the other hand, "need nothing to explain behavior but the ordinary laws of physics and chemistry."

     II.

     The scientific reaction against Behaviorism-which may itself be nothing but a behavioristic symptom-is like that of plain people, in that it largely involves the revolt of common sense against preposterous logic. Men are aware of life, consciousness, freedom, purpose and will; or-as we would phrase it-they feel that they live as of themselves. The behaviorist says they don't. The defensive philosopher, denied the privilege of quoting the human soul, talks vaguely of the life force, the vital urge, the passion of life for growth and greatness, and becomes at last sentimentally pantheistic. Digesting such evasive refinements, the innocent bystander is afflicted at last with a sort of intellectual acidosis, and is almost persuaded to become a behaviorist. For there is logic in behaviorism, even though there be so little nourishment.

     The logic, to be sure, is that of a little dog chasing its tail. It is an energetic and even exciting process, but it becomes ridiculously static if the little dog should happen to catch his tail. Dr. Watson is the dog who has caught his tail and now has nowhere to go.

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His vicious circle of reason is complete, and there is no way out of it nor into it. He is entrenched in a syllogism, which runs somewhat thus:

     (1) Every event or action or piece of behavior is the consequence of a previous cause and condition; e.g., a man will not sit still for long on a hot stove.

     (2) Such events, actions or pieces of behavior as may seem temporarily inexplicable are caused and conditioned in the same fashion, even though we may not be able at present to prove it; e.g., a brick comes through the window because somebody threw it, even though the offender is not in sight.

     (3) Therefore, in order to account for the apparent discrepancies and limitations of behaviorism we need only more behaviorism, bigger and better behaviorism, longer, higher, wider behaviorism. To which he subtends Q. E. D., and we may add the further geometric observation,-"which is absurd."

     This is logic; but it is depressing, dangerous and deadly logic. It is part and parcel of that more subtle yet equally materialistic logic which leads to so many blind ends in scientific and philosophic speculation. It pieces together long chains of evidence which lead nowhere or end at last on the brink of an abyss. Such reasoning led Hume to cry: "I am affrighted and confounded with that forlorn solitude in which I am placed by my philosophy. . . . The intense view of the manifold contradictions and imperfections in human reason has so wrought upon me and heated my brain that I am ready to reject all belief and reasoning, and can look upon no opinion even as more probable or likely than another. Where am I or what? From what causes do I derive my existence, and to what condition shall I return? Whose favor shall I court, and whose anger must I dread? What beings surround me, and on whom have I any influence, or who have any influence on me? I am confounded with all these questions."

     To some such doubt and distress have come many who have been honest with the outcome of their own reasoning, and among them many profound thinkers in modern science. They have reacted at last from the consequences of purely inductive logic to concede the existence of an unknown quantity that obeys no known mechanical laws and yet works freely among them.

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Prof. Frederick Soddy of Oxford confesses it. "I have no claim or call," he says, "to express an opinion on the reality of the existence of intelligence apart from and outside of life. But that life is the expression of the interaction of two totally distinct things represented by probability and freewill is to me self-evident."

     There's the rub for behaviorism. Behaviorism translates "probabilities" into necessities, and thereby does away with freewill and makes unnecessary the human soul. And concerning those who will not do likewise despite their scientific pretensions and professed loyalty to the scientific code, Dr. Watson is mercilessly unkind. In the course of the debate with Dr. Durant he dismissed them into approach of death, and make a cautious truce with immortality three categories. There are those, he said, who are simply growing old and untrustworthy. There are those who grow cowardly at the approach of death, and make a cautious trace with immortality. There are those who are hedged and hamstrung by their pedagogic obligations, whose apparent humility is really plain policy. By and large, every qualification of purely materialistic scientific thought he counts no better than another clear case of behaviorism.

     III.

     In a brief presentation of the theory of behaviorism, we must pass by some of its most attractive hypotheses, which include the confident expectation of the creation of life, the promise that we shall ultimately be making human beings according to any design considered desirable, and the overthrowing of every accepted standard of morality in favor of Some synthetic social science. These are speculations in futures, to which the behaviorist is notably prone. In disputing with the behaviorist we must also surrender the right to talk the soul, or anything else which we call human, since the behaviorist has never seen any of these things, and denies they exist. We may as well, in fact, save our breath for argument with taxi-drivers or telephone operators. It is impossible to get close enough to a behaviorist to poke him in a vulnerable spot; he is too well fenced behind his own fatuous persuasions.

     Nevertheless he is enormously interesting to New Churchmen, both because he represents the logical outcome of a major trend in scientific psychology which will profoundly affect education, life and human conduct, and because he serves to discover the exceedingly practical applications of New Church doctrine to educational theory and experiment.

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He reveals the fact that we are, indeed, the world's champion behaviorists, as regards matters both spiritual and natural, and already far better equipped to make our behaviorism work and bring forth fruit than all the modern scholastics can hope to be. He has demonstrated, probably beyond reasonable question, that human behavior is the effect and consequence of innumerable causes, many of which can be directed and controlled. He has proved that the human being is chiefly susceptible to these causes during infancy, youth and the educable age in general. He has sharply defined the purely bodily reactions, even though he has lost the soul in the process. And he has added scientific confirmation to an educational theory which has been in effect with us since the days of Bishop Benade.

     It is no novelty to New Churchmen to assume that childhood should be conditioned by influences that will result in a certain type of adult mind and conduct. The doctrine of distinctive New Church education from the cradle is based on exactly such a hypothesis. Such education is designed to Prejudice the child with certain habits of thought, certain preferences and affirmations, and certain apparently instinctive reactions. We establish, for example, a habit of reverence for the Word of God, a distaste for profanity, a disposition to resist attacks upon faith and childhood's innocent acceptance of the truth. We do exactly the thing for which Dr. Watson blames the world at large, and we do it deliberately, in the knowledge that influx from heaven must find an ultimate receptacle which is favorably organized and disposed. We do it deliberately, and enjoy an immeasurable advantage in doing so, because we are aware of the reality of the soul, and are instructed as to its nature and its operation in the body. There is further guidance in the doctrine of influx, and in the revealed knowledge of the nature of the spiritual world and its intimate operation on men, and of that Providence which "besets man behind and before." We work along behavioristic lines, but we work with vastly greater knowledge and assurance.

     The behaviorist says: "Let us assume that there are at birth a large number of ontogenetic, embryologic responses or reflexes." In less polysyllabic fashion, but to the same effect, the New Churchman assumes much the same thing. He accepts the fact that the human being comes into the world marvelously prepared to live in it.

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He says that the human soul has thus made its own dwelling place and ultimate, in which it will later fashion a human mind. The behaviorist smiles, and retorts that the body was made by chemical combustion conditioned by temperature, pressure, and other forces at present undifferentiated. The New Churchman smiles in return, and wonders why a mystery so marvelously simple need be so marvelously complicated by the arrogance of materialistic and mechanistic philosophy.

     The body grows, and adapts itself to its environment, and is indeed sensitive to all that is good or ill around it. The behaviorist notes the development of mental processes, but insists they are identical in kind with those of the body, and of like degree. The New Churchman answers that the soul is awake and alive within the body, and forming therein a new thing, the mind, which is joint product of two worlds, and conditioned by both.

     We are, therefore, doubly behavioristic, knowing something of the behavior of the soul and of the Divine operation through the soul into man,-matters on which the ordinary behaviorist is extra-ordinarily ignorant, since he persists in looking for the soul at the bottom of a test-tube. He will not admit the single factor that would clarify his own problem and that of all the human sciences.

     And the reason is clear enough. All modern scientific speculation, impressive enough in its bulk, breadth and detail, is pyramided upside down on the denial of the individuated human soul as a living entity responsible and responsive to God. If the hypothesis of the human soul be granted, the more popular versions of evolution, psychology, and plain human conduct are untenable. It is true that these pseudo-sciences are so far more hopeful than fruitful, but they will not be readily surrendered in deference to a supposition that is almost universally considered outmoded and outworn, and which cannot be proved save by ages of human experience and the simple fact that it works.

     We are true behaviorists further by reason of the practical applications of the doctrine of Remains,-those saving goods and truths stored up in the interiors of man in states of good and truth from affection. These come from the Lord alone; yet there is in some degree cooperation by parents and teachers, and by childhood associations that parallel the company of the angels of "innocence, tranquillity and charity."

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To cooperate with this interior process is to practice a spiritual behaviorism which is the keynote of all our educational work. Such remains, of course, are sheer fantasy to Dr. Watson, and yet we believe with him that the environmental conditioning of our children will have consequences wider and deeper that we can reckon.

     Dr. Watson and his kind are, perhaps, a notable demonstration this very doctrine of remains in operation. For the things they deny are exactly those perceptions of what is true and good which are the remains of ancient faith and insight, taking form at last as common sense and rebellion against the awful logic of materialism, It is written that persuasions close the way of remains and shut off, the interior light of wisdom. It is also written that the antediluvians died because all capacity to perceive truth and good had been extinguished through persuasions, so that there were "few and almost no remains." Dr. Watson rides today on the crest of a flood, but it is a flood that leaves the earth at last desolate. He has I denied the last hope of salvation, the surviving human perception that there is a God, an immortal soul, a difference between right add wrong, truth and falsity.

     Our own behaviorism enjoys one further advantage,-that it knows approximately what it wants. Our education is primarily directed to the formation of a spiritual man, and all that goes into it has this final intent. Contrast with this the extraordinary indecision of educational psychology in general, and of behavioristic theory in particular. Having assumed that science has discovered how to make whatever sort of human being it chooses, it has no agreed and satisfying idea as to what sort of a man is desirable or will prove most useful and efficient. Dr. Watson goes so far as to say that the man of the future triumph of science may not look like a man at all; he may be a lump of agile protoplasm, or something as aesthetically constructed as an octopus. He is quite sure that some of the familiar human functions, including that of birth, will be left out of the final behavioristic product.

     The same is true of the prospects in social behavior. Nobody seems to have the faintest idea what apparent virtues are worth keeping when man is remade in the image of a calculating machine.

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A recent book, The Motives of Men, by George A. Coe, is shrewdly satirical on this score. The Sphinx of Egypt attends a meeting of scientists, including a Practicing Psychologist, a Biological Psychologist, an Analytical Psychologist, a Behaviorist, a Gestalt-Psychologist and a Psychoanalyst. Having listened to them all, the Sphinx breaks her immemorial silence, and remarks: "When you find out what you want, I hope you'll one and all get what you want, provided you care to have that kind of want; As for me, the next steamer back to Egypt."

     New Church behaviorism knows what it wants, and has guidance whereby to get it. It recognizes with the scientist and physiologist that the human body is essentially a machine which can be made more efficient or less, can be trained to good habits or bad, can be developed with a fair degree of assurance and accuracy to serve its true purpose. It admits that evils in the body can infect the mind, and to this extent qualify and condition adult human behavior. But it also insists that there is an interior, immanent and insistent force at work within the body, seeking to achieve the truly human destiny, sustaining the essential freedom of the individual, and tempering with the infinite wisdom of God the countless chances and changes of the bodily environment. It insists on the human soul as a factor in its philosophic and psychological scheme. It declares that by virtue of this soul man is not a machine, whatever may be the mechanical operations and necessities of his body.

     The behaviorist dismisses such a soul as sheer hypothesis. And so indeed it is, apart from the testimony of revelation. Yet, despite every watchful precaution of the most scrupulous advocate of the scientific method, every system of science or philosophy is built on such a hypothesis. Even Dr. Watson makes such a gratuitous assumption,-the assumption that in a universe in which nothing is good or bad or true or false, but all is inevitable and inescapable logic, his ideas can be of any importance whatever. His own doctrine denies ideas; yet he proclaims them with heat and eloquence. As says Dr. MacDougall, the Watsonian thinking processes can logically be considered as "nothing more than the mechanical play of his speech organs." There are equally indefensible assumptions "in practically every science, whether it be the reliability of sense observation, the infallibility of mathematics, or the final competency of human reason itself.

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     Let the soul, then, be granted as a hypothesis. It is, by all the evidence, a sound working hypothesis. It explains what is otherwise explicable only by labored and manufactured ratiocination which is always in the shadow of the ridiculous. It preserves the dignity of man, and justifies his own speculations concerning himself. It gives point and sense to education, and makes possible some standards of human conduct. It does not deny that men behave and misbehave, but it frees them from the sense of slavery to their endocrine glands, their infantile experiences, and their unconditioned embryological responses. It permits the picture of man as a free spirit, bounded on one side by the "probabilities" of his bodily environment, and on the other by the infinite wisdom of his Creator. Even in scientific company, a hypothesis that will so much clarify all evidence and experience as to human behavior, human hopes and purposes, human ideals and aspirations, needs no apology.
NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS 1929

NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS       Rev. HUGO LJ. ODHNER       1929

     The Tabernacle Twice Described.

     The May Readings from the Old Testament are almost wholly devoted to the description of the Tabernacle which the Israelites, by Divine command and under Moses' direction, built for their worship of Jehovah; together with an injected account of the people's backsliding in the matter of the golden calf, and their re-acceptance by the Lord on a different basis-as a mere representative of a church. The question will no doubt arise in the minds of many readers as to why this Tabernacle is described in full detail twice in the Book of Exodus, first in the form of a Divine commission, and later in the account of its actual construction. Yet the whole moral of the book hangs upon this precise external obedience thus elaborately depicted against the background of an internal corruption of which their orgy about the golden calf was merely a well-selected symptom. The Arcana tells us that there is no repetition in the Word (734e), but that when there seems to be a repetition, there is a reference to the will and the understanding (5888); and this is very clear in the Book of Exodus, where the understanding of God's plan of the church is first given, but the application of this to life is delayed until after a repentance has taken place, when the will of the Church carries it out, but only in a relatively external manner.

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     Because of this order of representation, and the power which the ultimate Word exerts upon our minds, it is unwise to shirk the reading of such repetitions as in Exodus 36-39. We should be inclined to think that the spiritual environment caused by the reading of this second description would be even more powerful and valuable than the first, since it refers to the doing of the Divine will. For the tendency of mankind is to take an "academic interest" in new truths, in all that is novel and picturesque, but to feel small enthusiasm about the ordinary routine tasks into which every great undertaking actually resolves itself. The establishment of the Lord's Church on earth may with many be a grand vision, a delightful promise for the future; but it is the introduction of that Divinely given vision into our ordinary, homely duties which-day by day-builds the Church.

     The "Procession of the Holy Ghost."

     In the chapter on the Holy Spirit, which opens the May Readings from the Canons, the Holy Spirit is shown to be the Divine Truth which proceeds from the infinite God through His Human, passing through the angelic heavens and thence into the world, thus through angels into men; and further it passes through men to men, and in the Church (if it be according to order) into the clergy, and through II them into the laity. It is the same as the Word which is written from the Spirit of God.

     We are impressed with the simple clarity which marks the heavenly doctrine on this subject. In the teachings of the Apostles we find the same simple and easily comprehended doctrine, which reflects the Lord's teaching when He breathed upon His ordained few and said, "Receive ye the Holy Spirit." (John 20:22.) At Pentecost, no idea entered into Peter's mind that the uplifting influence, which they all felt (Acts 2) as an inpouring of new zeal and enlightenment about the mission which stood before them, was the action of any personality separate or distinct from that of Jesus Himself!

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When the Lord had spoken of the Comforter, they rightly took it as a plainly symbolic personification of that Spirit of Truth of which He spoke in the neuter gender, as His Divine Proceeding. Nor did the New Testament writers suggest any distinctions when they used, indiscriminately, the expressions, "Spirit of God," "Spirit of Christ," "the Spirit of the Father" or "the Spirit of His Son"; or when they report the Lord's sayings concerning "the Holy Spirit which the Father will send" and "the Comforter whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of Truth which proceedeth from the Father."

     Later in the Christian Church, when the dogma of three Divine Persons had been established, there arose endless difficulties and long wranglings about the "procession of the Holy Ghost," resulting in the divorce of the Eastern (Greek) Church from the Latin.

     The fact is, that to imagine that one person can proceed from another person is at best mystical. The Greek Church-since A. D, 381-insisted that the Spirit Proceeded from the Father through the Son (John 15: 26), and appended this to the Nicene Creed. The Latin Church appealed to John 14:26 and 16:13 and other passages which seemed to indicate that the Spirit proceeded from both the Father and the Son ("filioque"),-the laudable part of the argument being their fear lest the Son be considered merely as a subordinate instrument, not equally Divine with the Father. "Filioque" thus became a welcome battle-cry in the politico-theological war of later ages, which terminated in the 11th century (just before the period of the Crusades) in the total separation of the Eastern and Western Churches, "as at this day."

     The New Churchman has no interest in hair-splitting arguments. Still, our doctrine clearly rejects both of the views just described, and shows that the Divine Proceeding, called the Holy Spirit, proceeds "from God the Father into the Son, and out of the Son from the Father," and in nowise from the "Father" immediately. (T. C. R. 153.) "That the Lord of Himself sends the Spirit from the Father, and not vice versa," is an arcanum now revealed from heaven especially "for the New Church," and may be illustrated by the relation of soul and body in man. For the soul acts in the body and into the body, but the body acts of itself from the soul. The soul and body do not deliberate with each other, and the soul does not command or request the body to do or speak this or that.

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Similarly the Human in the Lord does not ask of its Divine (John 16:16) to send the virtues signified by the Holy Spirit, since everything of the soul is of the body, mutually and reciprocally; and in the case of the Lord, who said "All things that the Father hath are mine," the Human Essence became one and the same with the Divine in the perfect and absolute union brought about by the process of glorification. (T. C. R. 154.) Incidentally, it may be necessary to remark that this union of soul and body exists in perfection only in the Lord, who alone is truly Man. (A. E. 1123, 4.) Before His glorification, as John shows, the Holy Spirit was not yet, because that Jesus was not yet glorified." (7:39.) "If I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you." (16:7.)

     By regeneration man's spiritual body (the only body which is really man's) acts as of itself from the soul towards a more perfect image of unity; and the greater this unity, the more can the human spirit or the spiritual mind proceed for the uses of life. It is that unity which gives strength of character and personality, and which even endows the material body with power.

     The Divine Trinity Before the Incarnation.

     In the readings from the Canons for May 8th to 10th, two chapters are devoted to display the impossible absurdity of the Old Church doctrine about three Divine Persons existing from eternity, especially of a "Son born from eternity." And Swedenborg is allowed to show that the Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit was not from eternity, since the Son was born in time, from the virgin Mary. The Apostles did not acknowledge any "Son born from eternity." The Canons therefore give the negative teaching,-" Before the world was created, the Trinity of God was not." "The Trinity of God came into existence after the world was created, and actually in the fulness of time, and then in God Incarnate, who is the Lord the Savior Jesus Christ." It is further stated that "the Trinity of God did not and could not exist before the world was created."

     Was there, then, no Trine in God before the Incarnation? The Writings admit that the Divine Essence is such that "One Divine by itself is not possible, but there must be a trine," and they proceed:

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     "It may now be asked, What trine did God have before the Lord assumed the Human and made it Divine in the world? God was then likewise Man, and had the Divine, the Divine Human, and the Divine Proceeding, that is, the Divine Esse, the Divine Existere and the Divine Procedere; for, as has been said, God without a Trine is not possible. But the Divine Human was not then Divine even to ultimates. . . ."

     Thomas Hartley, towards the close of Swedenborg's life, wrote to Swedenborg asking several categorical questions about this Trine before the Incarnation, and the Revelator's reply is published under the title "Nine Questions about the Trinity, Etc.,"-a little book which sheds a marvelous light into several obscure corners of theology. Here we are also shown that the Holy Spirit is not the same as the Spirit of God mentioned in the Old Testament; for the "Holy Spirit" properly is that which proceeds directly from the Divine Natural-that degree of the Divine which became ultimate actuality by the glorification of the Lord's Human even as to "flesh and bones"; a proceeding which operates into men perceptibly, and gives to men the ability of "comprehending spiritual truths in a natural manner." (Nine Questions, V.)

     But our questioning might go still further, in asking whether even the Trine of Esse, Existere, and Procedere could be said to exist before the world was. For how could God have a proceeding if there was no universe into which He could "proceed"? The Canons also suggest that God cannot be conceived as Creator or Redeemer before He had created, and before there were any men to be redeemed. "Therefore, if there were those uses in God's idea, still they were not (realized) before the creation of the world, but after it actually existed; from which it follows, that the Trinity from eternity was not a real Trinity, but an ideal one. . . ." (Canons, Trinity iii.)

     The Nadir of Spiritual Life.

     When did the church descend to the lowest ebb of spiritual life? Was it at the time before the Noachian Flood, when the highest of human loves was utterly profaned? Was it in the age just before the Incarnation, when "the human race had so removed itself. . . that not even with a single one was there natural good from a spiritual origin") (Ath. Creed 49.)

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Or was it in the consummation of the Christian Church, which was to be known by "great tribulation such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be"?

     Presumably each of these judgments marks the consummation of a certain specific kind of spiritual virtue that had characterized the preceding church, and then perished from off the earth. The antediluvians sank to the depths of profanation by destroying in themselves the original love to the Lord which made the race into a true humanity. Still, the judgment described by the Flood "was accomplished from the Divine that yet remained in the human race" (Ath. Creed 49), showing that the vastation was not absolutely universal. The end of the Jewish Church,-the last remnant of the Ancient Representative Church,-marked a more universal perversion of religion, involving a total ignorance of spiritual truths of doctrine. "The whole world had entirely alienated itself from God by idolatries and magic." (T. C. R. 121.) "When there was no longer any faith of love left in the whole world, then the Lord came." (A. C. 20348.) "No natural good was left with the man of the Church." (A. C. 103558.) "In mankind there was left no longer any celestial or spiritual good, and not even any natural good " (A. C. 2854), and "consequently there was no truth." (A. C. 2905.) We do not understand this to mean that there was no hereditary natural good left, for without such there can be no social organization whatsoever; but there was no good in the natural which sprang deliberately from true religious knowledge.

     Could there be a worse state than the one just described? A passage from the Canons, which is listed to be read on May 16th, states that the Gentiles and Jews were ignorant of the Lord as the fountain of salvation, and "ignorance excuses; but the case is otherwise with Christians after the Advent, to whom the truth is laid open in the Word of both Testaments." The state of the consummated Christian Church at the Second Advent was not better than that at the first, because the possession of the Word made them more responsible for the ebbing of spiritual life and truth from the Church. Because they said, "We see," they had the greater sin.

     The Christian Church was thus the greatest failure in the history of religion. Chesterton remarks something to the effect that Christianity has "never yet been tried out!"

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Undoubtedly its primitive work during the first centuries brought great spiritual blessings, and revived the ideals of charity, peace and brotherhood; undoubtedly it broke down many cruel institutions in gentile lands; and wherever it resisted exercising the love of power, and devoted itself to preaching to the consciences of individuals, it reaped good fruit for mankind and for heaven. But we venture the opinion that, for the general civilization and organized order of our own commercial age, the Christian Churches have not been so completely responsible as is: often claimed by Protestant preachers. For the secular Humanism of the Renaissance has had more to do with the molding of our age than have the Christian Churches, which-through "Christian Evidence Societies," etc.,-are taking more credit to themselves than they justly should, in order to satisfy themselves that, despite the failure of their creeds and the deep doubts gnawing at the foundations, the Church has yet gone on to triumph, and has still a raison d'etre,-an excuse for existence. They should have no need to apologize, if they but taught the Word of God, even in the letter; for that was and still is their use, so far as they are willing and able to perform it. But this use they forsook, with the result which the Scribe of the New Revelation depicts in these terse phrases: "Through the faith of the Church of the present day there is no conjunction with God, and thence no salvation."
WISDOM 1929

WISDOM              1929

     That is called the light of intelligence which is procured by means of the knowledges of the verities and goodnesses of faith; but the light of wisdom is of the life which is thence acquired. The light of intelligence regards the intellectual part, or the understanding; but the light of wisdom regards the voluntary part, or the life. Few, if any, know how man is brought to true wisdom. Intelligence is not wisdom, but leads to wisdom; for to understand what is true and good is not to be true and good, but to be wise is to be true and good. Wisdom is predicated only of the life, that the man is such; he is introduced to wisdom or life by means of knowledges." (A. C. 1555.)

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WINE OF THE SUPPER 1929

WINE OF THE SUPPER       Editor       1929


NEW CHURCH LIFE
Office a Publication, Lancaster, Pa.
Published Monthly By
THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM
BRYN ATHYN, PA.
Editor                    Rev. W. B. Caldwell, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager          Mr. H. Hyatt, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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

     TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$3.00 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single Copy, 30 cents
     The miracle of Cana, and the Lord's own use of wine, notably at the institution of the Supper, have been variously "explained away" by rabid prohibitionists who would nevertheless affect to remain Christians. Some of this type have persuaded themselves that the "wine" of the Gospel was unfermented grape juice, though they are unable to explain why it could inebriate on occasion when taken to excess. The compilers of the Shorter Bible were careful to omit the inconvenient Second Chapter of John, thus tacitly admitting the real nature of the wine at Cana. There are even those who hold that He who was "otherwise the one perfect man made a mistake in furnishing wine for beverage purposes at a marriage feast," not to mention other profane characterizations which lead them finally to "recommend to all Christian bodies the substitution of unfermented grape juice for wine at the communion service.''

     To such lengths are men driven by the total abstinence obsession! As the scruple before the eye shuts out the whole world, so this prejudice blinds men to the greater sin,-the rejection of the Lord and His Word. And not a few Christian writers have recognized this plain rejection of Christ and the Gospel. To the New Churchman it is a logical unmasking of the real inner state of Christendom. The wine of Cana, like the wine of the Supper, is spiritual truth, which is at this day "despised and rejected of men."

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     Strangely enough, there have always been numbers in the New Church itself who have become afflicted with the prohibition complex, who either will not or cannot see that such a binding of the mind closes it to a rational distinction between use and abuse, between temperance and intemperance. And when the teachings of the Heavenly Doctrine are twisted and perverted to confirm the prohibition view, and to support the practice of administering unfermented grape juice in the Holy Supper, which is not uncommon in the New Church, then men "fall into errors," as did they of the early Ancient Church when "Noah drank of the wine, and was drunken."
BROUGHT TO THE LIGHT 1929

BROUGHT TO THE LIGHT              1929

     THE CONVERSION OF MAJOR PHILIP COLEMAN PENDLETON.

     The Academy Library has in its Possession for safe-keeping a copy of an early New Church work published at London in the year 1800,-a quarto volume of over 600 pages entitled "A New and Comprehensive Dictionary of Correspondences, Representatives, and Significatives, contained in the Word of the Lord, faithfully extracted from all the Theological Works of the Hen. Emanuel Swedenborg," by George Nicholson, N. H. M. In brief, it is known as Nicholson's Dictionary, one of the first attempts at a Subject Index or Concordance of the Writings. The author, after an active career in the ministry of the New Church, during which he wrote a number of works in defence of the Doctrines, entered the Anglican priesthood, though "retaining his former faith." (Annals, p. 226.)

     This copy of the Dictionary belongs to the library of the late Bishop Emeritus W. F. Pendleton, and the inscriptions are of interest. At the top of the title-page appears the signature of "James N. Taylor, 1809," evidently the first owner. Beneath it is written "E. Levy, 1840," and under this "E. Yulee, 1846." Opposite the title-page, on the inside of the cover, Bishop Pendleton wrote: "Mr. Yulee is the man who presented the Doctrines of the New Church to my father. His original name was Levy.-W. F. P." The volume was found by Mr. Alfred H. Stroh in Baltimore, and presented to Bishop Pendleton in 1904, as is also noted on the inside of the cover.

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     From various sources we have learned that Elias Yulee, and his brother, David Levy Yulee, U. S. Senator from Florida, changed their surname from Levy to Yulee in 1845, this being effected by an act of the Florida Legislature, recognized by the U. S. Senate in January, 1846, the year in which Elias Yulee wrote his name a second time in the Dictionary, as noted above. In making the change, however, they were but resuming the original family name of Yulee. Their father, racially Portuguese, became a Mahometan, and their mother was an English Jewess whose surname was Levy, which name they had adopted while residing in the Island of St. Thomas, W. I. (Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography; "Senator Yulee of Florida," a pamphlet.)

     As to how Elias Uulee became interested in the Heavenly Doctrines, we are not informed. During the Civil War he presented a copy of Heaven and Hell to Major Philip Coleman Pendleton, who thus became a receiver. Major Pendleton imparted the Doctrines to his nine children, all of whom followed in their father's footsteps and became members of the New Church.
EMERSON AND SWEDENBORG. 1929

EMERSON AND SWEDENBORG.              1929

                    


     NOTES AND REVIEWS.
     Mr. Clarence Paul Hotson, of Springfield, Missouri, has been making an intensive study of the influence of Swedenborg and New Church ideas upon Ralph Waldo Emerson, and has embodied the results of his research in several magazine articles. The NEW ENGLAND QUARTERLY for April, 1928, contained his article on "A Background for Emerson's Poem 'Grace,'" in which he states that "the first real interest of Emerson in Swedenborg arose through Sampson Reed." In the NEW-CHURCH REVIEW for January, 1929, appears his treatment of "Emerson and the Doctrine of Correspondence," which is to be followed by others on the same subject. "Emerson's Biographical Sources for'Swedenborg,' " published in STUDIES IN PHILOLOGY (The University of North Carolina Press) for January, 1929, discloses the information that Emerson's knowledge of Swedenborg's biography, as embodied in his lecture on "Swedenborg, the Mystic," was obtained from Nathaniel Hobart's Life of Emanuel Swedenborg (1831) and from J. J. Garth Wilkinson's article on Swedenborg contributed to the Penny Cyclopedia.

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     Mr. Hotson's very thorough treatment of his theme is a valuable contribution to a certain phase of New Church history which will note the reaction of prominent men of the world to the doctrines and philosophy set forth in Swedenborg's works. "Everybody reads a little Swedenborg," but very few become New Churchmen, at least in this world; and we are not in a position to say what happens in the next. The list of notable men who have been more or less "influenced" is a long one. Emerson had some very good things to say of Swedenborg and the doctrines, and also some very harsh ones. The phenomenon makes an interesting study, and Mr. Hotson's articles are preserved in the Academy Library for the use of the future historian, and for any who may wish to consult them.
"THE CHURCH OF THE NEIGHBOR." 1929

"THE CHURCH OF THE NEIGHBOR."              1929

     Protests against the proposed substitutes for "New Church" and "New Jerusalem,"-the names which "Swedenborg used" and which were "given by Revelation,"-appear in THE NEW-CHURCH MESSENGER for April 10th, 1929. Meanwhile, the Convention Society in Brooklyn, N. Y., has discarded the name "New Jerusalem," as we learn from the NEW YORK TIMES Of April 8th, where we read:

     "The Church of the New Jerusalem, for sixty years a landmark in Clark Street, Brooklyn Heights, will bear in the future the new name of the 'Church of the Neighbor.' The decision to change the name was explained yesterday morning by the pastor, the Rev. E. M. Lawrence Gould, in a sermon on 'The Law of Growth.'

     "'It may seem strange,' he said, 'for a church to give up a name which it has borne for more than an ordinary lifetime, and which has so many dear associations, but such changes must come. Life means growth, and growth means passing from old things to new ones. The world has been growing since this church was founded, and unless the church in turn expands its interests and its viewpoint, it will lose its contact with the life around it. Seventy years ago people went to church to learn and to argue over doctrines. Most of the world then held ideas about God and His laws which today seem crude, incredible, and even heathen. The teaching of Swedenborg, drawn from his interpretation of the Scriptures, appeared to this church's founders, as it still does to us, to involve a vast improvement over what was then called orthodoxy.

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Swedenborg taught that the New Jerusalem described in the Book of Revelation was the symbol of a new system of Christian thought which would some day become mankind's spiritual habitation. His prophecies have been or are being fulfilled. The dogmas against which he protested have nearly all been abandoned by liberal-minded Christians, and today the emphasis in religion is being shifted from doctrine to practice. Our change of name registers our recognition and approval of this change in feeling.'"
BOOK NOTES. 1929

BOOK NOTES.              1929

     Under the auspices of the Swedenborg Foundation, New York, a Braille edition of the First Chapter of the True Christian Religion, on "God the Creator," is in course of preparation. The first of four volumes has been completed, and a copy is in the Academy Library.
Title Unspecified 1929

Title Unspecified              1929

     In the National Library for the Blind, 1800 D Street, N. W., Washington, D. C., there is now a Braille edition of The Wedding Garment, by Louis Pendleton. It is in five volumes, and can be borrowed by those who wish to read it. The work of preparing this edition was done by Mr. L. D. Gehring, of Kingman, Kansas.
Title Unspecified 1929

Title Unspecified              1929

     Helen Keller's My Religion has been translated into the Czech or Bohemian language by the Rev. Jaroslav I. Tanecek, of Prague.
Title Unspecified 1929

Title Unspecified              1929

     Herrens Bon (The Lord's Prayer) is the title of a recent book Prepared for Swedish readers by the Rev. Gustaf Baeckstrom and published by the New Church Book Room at Stockholm. In compiling this collection of sermons, Mr. Baeckstrom has drawn freely upon various sources, among which the Preface mentions the Rev. John Presland's book on The Lord's Prayer and the Rev. Wm. Bruce's Commentary on Matthew. The volume is nicely printed, the paper cover is substantial, and the book sells for 2 kroner, or about 50 cents.

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ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS 1929

ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS       Various       1929

     BRYN ATHYN, PA., FEBRUARY 5 TO 8, 1929.

     COUNCIL OF THE CLERGY.

     The Thirty-third Annual Meeting of the Council of the Clergy was held in the Council Hall of the Cathedral at Bryn Athyn, February 5 to 8, Bishop N. D. Pendleton presiding. There were 2 Bishops, 17 Pastors and 2 Ministers in attendance.

     The meetings included four regular morning sessions, one public session, and three joint afternoon sessions with the General Faculty of the Academy, and with visiting teachers from societies of the General Church.

     The regular morning sessions of the Council were singularly devoid of prepared papers or studies,-usually forthcoming in embarrassing profusion. This was probably due to the close proximity of the recent General Assembly, and the inevitable accumulation of pastoral and academic duties which awaited our pastors and teachers on their return from Europe. But although little time had been found in which to write papers, a welcome opportunity was thus provided for extensive and valuable discussions. Amongst the topics thus treated were: "The Revision of the Liturgy," The Calendar Readings, New Church Life, New Church Sermons; also several important practical pastoral problems (relating to life, government and doctrine) which all received fairly thorough analysis.

     The paper of the Rev. Albert Bjorck on "The Word of God with Men " (see NEW CHURCH LIFE, February, 1929) was also the subject of an excellent discussion, initiated at the request of the writer of the paper.

     The regular Public Session of the Council was held in the Auditorium of De Charms Hall on Thursday evening, February 7, when a large audience listened to a masterly study by Bishop N. D. Pendleton on "The Personality of Man and the Person of God." A discussion of several points in the Address followed.

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     At the conclusion of the regular sessions of the Council, the Rev. E. E. Iungerich gave, by invitation, an interesting account of the new church building programme in the Pittsburgh Society, which aroused much interest.
COUNCIL OF THE CLERGY AND GENERAL FACULTY. 1929

COUNCIL OF THE CLERGY AND GENERAL FACULTY.              1929

     The 1929 joint sessions of the Council of the Clergy and the General Faculty, held on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday afternoons, February 5-7, in the Council Hall, were both lively and stimulating. An average attendance of 58 (including four visiting teachers from society schools in the General Church, outside of Bryn Athyn) listened to three papers of quite varied content, and discussed the same with as much vigor as was in consonance with the dignity of the surroundings.

     The initial paper, by the Rev. F. E. Gyllenhaal, on "New Church Education and Missionary Uses," aroused a vigorous discussion. On the basis of a recent experiment in the Colchester Society, he made an able and courageous plea to perform certain missionary uses in conjunction with our present educational programme. The discussion which followed was unfavorable to Mr. Gyllenhaal's arguments; but, in justice to the speaker, it should be noted that he was invited to present such views at these joint meetings in order to elicit a general educational opinion concerning them. The "drift" of opinion may be indicated by the following sentiments, voiced by different speakers:

     "Perhaps the majority of all the Old Church parents who approach us on behalf of their children are not interested in spiritual purposes."

     "We have seen the disadvantages of 'mixing' even in our present system. The proposals made would render the situation worse."

     "Our hope for the future lies in a greater distinctiveness. The important part played by heredity is based on fundamental spiritual laws. The Church must be from those who have some basis for spiritual things."

     "If we adopted the proposed policy, the majority of our Church members would probably be held only by external bonds rather than by internal bonds."

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     "Some day 'New Church Mission Schools' will doubtless exist in various parts of the world; but they will be very different from regular distinctive New Church schools for the children of New Church parents."

     "We would detract from our present work by absorbing our energies in 'Mission Schools.'"

     "In environment as a whole lies our educational field; and this includes the New Church home life and New Church social life."

     "The world is a spiritual Flood. It is false charity to open the doors of the Ark, and destroy or endanger those who have taken refuge within."

     "The adoption of the speaker's proposition would reverse the history and spirit of the Academy. Our schools at Bryn Athyn would immediately be flooded with antagonistic spheres."

     "There should be some flexibility in the application of principles."

     "Just as 'society worship' includes some measure of missionary work, so the same duality may apply to the field of education. But 'Society Schools' and 'Mission Schools' are distinct entities; and only when we have established firm, and strong 'Society Schools' are we warranted in extending our energies to missionary uses."

     At the conclusion of the discussion, the Rev. F. E. Gyllenhaal stated that he "did not desire for a moment to reverse the traditional Academy view. He did not contemplate opening the sluice gates. He believed in strictly Academy schools, with rigid requirements. But, in Colchester, they had taken small children (from Old Church families) who had never been to any other school, and who had no brothers or sisters going to any other school."

     Wednesday afternoon's paper was on: "The Modern Curriculum and New Church Education," by Mr. Wilfred Howard. The speaker outlined the development of the mediaeval and modern curriculum, and analyzed the difficult conditions which surrounded the reconstruction of the educational curriculum from and through a New Church doctrinal basis. In the present generation we find ourselves not so much occupied with prophetic visions of what New Church education may or should become,-as was characteristic of earlier states,-as with the task of ultimating the visions of the past so that they may become the realities of the present. The problem was one of practical reconstruction.

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     Amongst other things, the speaker asked whether we had not a tendency-in common with modern education-to crowd the curriculum and confuse the mind? Did we spend sufficient time in transmitting our distinctive philosophy to our students? Was it desirable to spend so much time and effort in the study of the mere mechanics of Latin? Would not the essence and value of ancient cultural and spiritual remains be more powerfully transmitted to youth through their own native language? Were the sciences being sufficiently utilized as conveyors of richer, rational concepts of the universal doctrines of the Church? The writer suggested answers to some of these questions. Altogether a solid and interesting paper. The general discussion which followed favored greater simplicity, and the more effective teaching of generals. The right choice of materials rather than encyclopedic breadth was favored. It was not necessary to be in too great a hurry to change the traditional curriculum, which represented many centuries of experience. The whole future of our work really lies in the spirit of our teachers, and in developing truly New Church teachers.

     The final joint session witnessed the reading of a stimulating and lively paper, by the Rev. Homer Synnestvedt, on "The Training of the Will." Opening with some witty characterizations of certain educators who did not believe in discipline, the speaker proceeded to analyze the nature and development of the will from an educator's standpoint. As this, like the previous papers, will be published as opportunity offers, we shall content ourselves with a few typical comments made by those who discussed the same:

     "There are two sides to the training of the will: (1) fear instilled by punishments; and (2) the instilling of good, which is prior. We cannot shun evil until some good is implanted. The new will is at first formed by pleasures and delights. In heaven good is instilled first; and it might be so done on earth."

     "The shunning of evil came first. Cease to do evil, learn to do well."

     "Remains from the Lord do precede in the formation of the will; then the understanding is formed."

     "With the celestial, good is in the will at birth; but since the fall the will is evil from birth."

     "Children should be brought up with a respect for the Fourth Commandment. We need more training in politeness, obedience, etc."

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     "We cannot establish higher things except upon a basis of order, Discipline is necessary. Many niceties of politeness have been lost in America today."

     In conclusion, the reader of the paper emphasized the difference between the celestial and the spiritual. In the paper he had been treating of the latter, with whom evil is in the will at birth. We must discriminate in using pleasures and delights in leading to good,
PHILADELPHIA DISTRICT ASSEMBLY. 1929

PHILADELPHIA DISTRICT ASSEMBLY.              1929

     The Philadelphia District Assembly, as for some years past, took the form of a Banquet in the Auditorium, on Friday evening, February 8, with an attendance of nearly three hundred persons. Mr. Otho W. Heilman supplied the customary satisfying management of our culinary needs at a charge so modest as to mystify all the local economists (meaning husbands) and housewives.

     The toastmaster this year was Mr. Geoffrey S. Childs; and although we confess to a distinct prejudice against "modern efficiency" per se, we would pay tribute to the art with which Mr. Childs concealed his art. The audience was "managed" from start to finish with a skill which only dawned on its members whilst they were walking home. The toastmaster announced that nobody knew the speakers' subjects, not even himself. They were given a completely free hand in this "mystery evening." The result was both highly diverting and useful, in that it produced the proper blend of grave and gay that is the despair of toastmasters, and the consummation of a successful banquet. One very interesting "speech" was read by the toastmaster himself, on behalf of an absent speaker. It was an eloquent plea to return to the good old days of the early Academy movement, and scrutinize watchfully the evils of the younger generation. Just as the younger portion of the audience began to wear a worried and thoughtful expression, and whilst the older members were nodding with contented approval, Mr. Childs quietly remarked that the "speech" was an article taken from the files of NEW CHURCH LIFE, in the eighties of the last century!

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     The Rev. F. E. Waelchli discussed the modern attitude towards our doctrine of Conjugial Love, and presented some original comments on the path in which our feet must be kept. The Rev. Gilbert B. Smith delivered perhaps one of the best speeches he has ever made, in a clear and vigorous defense of a program of developing the sciences in New Church educational work. It was easily delivered, readily grasped, and yet struck profound notes not easily forgotten. The Rev. E. E. Iungerich startled-and then interested -his audience in the lessons to be learned by studying the spiritual correspondences of his recently acquired Ford car! However, space forbids any further description of this Banquet. It is enough to say that it was a Banquet; that it was not too heavy, nor too light; that it provided nourishment, both spiritual and natural; and that a delightful sphere of charity prevailed. Such an obituary cannot be written of all banquets, as generations of frustrated toastmasters can testify.
SUNDAY WORSHIP 1929

SUNDAY WORSHIP       WILLIAM WHITEHEAD       1929

     Three services were held on Sunday, the first being a Children's Service at 9.30 o'clock, when the Rev. W. L. Gladish delivered the Address.

     At 11 o'clock, the regular service, followed by the monthly administration of the Holy Supper, was conducted by Bishop N. D. Pendleton, the Revs. Theodore Pitcairn and G. H. Smith assisting. Mr. Smith delivered a very interesting sermon on "Preaching" (Matthew 4:23).

     In the evening at 8 o'clock, a musical service was conducted by the Revs. H. Lj. Odhner and F. E. Gyllenhaal, the latter preaching a stimulating sermon on "The New Will" (John 5:30).     
     WILLIAM WHITEHEAD,
          Secretary.

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JOINT COUNCIL 1929

JOINT COUNCIL       Various       1929

     BRYN ATHYN, PA., FEBRUARY 9, 1929.

     First Session-10:00 a.m.

     1. The Thirty-sixth Annual Meeting of the Joint Council opened with worship conducted by Bishop N. D. Pendleton.

     2. There were present:

     COUNCIL OF THE CLERGY:

     Bishop N. D. Pendleton, presiding; Rt. Rev. George de Charms; and the Revs. K. R. Alden, W. H. Alden, R. W. Brown, W. B. Caldwell, R. G. Cranch, L. W. T. David, C. E. Doering, Alan Gill, W. L. Gladish, F. E. Gyllenhaal, T. S. Harris, E. E. Iungerich, H. L. Odhner, Theodore Pitcairn, Enoch S. Price, Gilbert H. Smith, Homer Synnestvedt, F. E. Waelchli and William Whitehead (Secretary). Total: 21.

     EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE:

     Messrs. E. C. Bostock, Paul Carpenter, G. S. Childs (Secretary), R. W. Childs, Walter C. Childs, H. Hyatt (Treasurer), A. P. Lindsay, S. S. Lindsay, C. G. Merrell, A. E. Nelson, Seymour Nelson, H. F. Pitcairn, Raymond Pitcairn (Vice-President), and Paul Synnestvedt. Total: 14.
                    
     3. The Secretary presented the Minutes of the Thirty-fifth Annual Meeting as published in NEW CHURCH LIFE, March, 1928, pp. 179-181; also as embodied in detail in the Minute Book. As the latter account included a full record of the extended discussion on the need to perpetuate the ordaining degree of the Priesthood, and to provide for Episcopal assistance,-which discussion was followed by the Bishop's announcement of the early ordination of the Rev. George de Charms into the Third Degree of the Priesthood,-a Committee, composed of the Revs. C. E. Doering and K. R. Alden, was appointed to examine and verify the record.

     4. The Bishop announced that the Rev. Theodore Pitcairn had been appointed a member of his Consistory. Also that he had appointed the Rev. L. W. T. David as an additional member of the Committee on NEW CHURCH SERMONS, on account of the increasing work of that Committee.

     5. The Bishop read a letter from Sweden detailing certain important discoveries in Swedenborgiana, made by Dr. Alfred Acton.

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On motion, it was unanimously agreed that we forward word of our keen appreciation of this work, with congratulations, to Dr. Acton.

     6. The Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner read the report of the Secretary of the General Church (see p. 306) which, on motion, was received and filed.

     7. The Rev. Wm. Whitehead read the Report of the Council of the Clergy (see p. 308) which, on motion, was received and filed.

     8. The Secretary, on behalf of Mr. G. S. Childs, read the following Report of the Executive Committee which, on motion, was received and filed:

     REPORT OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.

     During the past fiscal year, the Executive Committee has held six meetings, with an average attendance of ten members.

     At the Annual Meeting in London, England, Mr. Victor Tilson was added to the Executive Committee.

     Aside from the consideration and adoption of the annual Budget, the meetings have been devoted to the provision of funds for new activities coming up during the year.
     Respectfully submitted,
          G. S. CHILDS,
     Secretary of Executive Committee.

     9. The Rev. Wm. Whitehead presented the following report of the Committee on NEW CHURCH SERMONS, which, on motion, was received and filed:

     REPORT OF COMMITTEE ON NEW CHURCH SERMONS.

     Since our report last February, this periodical of the General Church has been issued each month, except July to September.

     We are pleased to report that during the year a number of evidences of the increasing usefulness of New Church Sermons have come before us. The Treasurer of the General Church informs us that this periodical now goes to about 750 persons, who have all signified a desire to receive same.

     During the last volume, we increased the number of addresses for children in home worship. Since the October (1928) issue, we have secured the valued services of Miss Gertrude Nelson, of Glenview, Ill., who has contributed a series of Biblical and other stories for children. Mr. Alvin Nelson very generously defrayed the cost of the additional pages needed to make this provision for distinctive New Church literature for our children.

     The "Theta Alpha" organization has now made an offer to meet the expenses of publishing Bishop George de Charms' addresses to children in the Bryn Athyn Cathedral.

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Your Committee has this matter under consideration.

     By appointment of the Bishop, the Rev. L. W. T. David has now been added to the Committee.

     We wish to thank those ministers who responded to our recent appeal for MS. sermons; but wish again to urge that a wider variety of sermons be sent to us that we may make the most useful selection,-suitable, for example, to the Church festivals, etc., of each year.

     The very large proportion of isolated receivers in our Church makes the continuance of this use a very desirable thing.
     GEORGE DE CHARMS, Chairman.
     WM. WHITEHEAD, Editor.

     10. Mr. H. Hyatt formally presented the last printed Report of the Treasurer of the General Church, with some oral explanations and comments. He reported that the number of contributors had been slightly less during the past year. He urged that there should be a better appreciation of the uses of the General Church in the large societies of the Church. In a general discussion, it was generally agreed that the attention of the members of the Church should be drawn to the fact that their primary relationship was to the General Church. The problem was not a question of the amount to be contributed, but of the recognition of membership and its duties. This was necessary for the spiritual health of the body.

     11. Mr. Walter C. Childs presented the Report of the Treasurer of the Orphanage Fund, which was accepted and filed (see p. 312). He further pointed out that the use could not be carried on by ordinary contributions, and suggested that a form of bequest might be printed in NEW CHURCH LIFE. This would help to mitigate our sorrow over the departure of our friends from this natural life.

     12. The Bishop read a communication from the Executive Committee, suggesting the consideration of the following topics: (1) General Church support of local missionary work; (2) General Church support of local education; (3) the relation of Academy ex-student bodies and other associations to the General Church and to the local pastorates.

     13. On motion, Mr. Alvin E. Nelson introduced the subject of "General Church support of local education." A thorough discussion of this problem, in its various phases, followed. The general consensus of opinion was, that any attempt to devise a system of support that relieved local societies of their independence and responsibility would be a grave mistake.

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We should follow the indications of Providence, preserve an open mind, and consider individual cases as they arose.

     14. The session adjourned at 12:35 o'clock.

     Second Session-3:15 p.m.

     15. The Rev. C. E. Doering reported, for the Committee on Minutes, that the record of the 1928 Joint Meeting was an admirable and historically valuable rendition of the facts and sphere of that occasion. The Minutes were, on motion, approved and accepted.

     16. On motion, Mr. Randolph W. Childs presented the subject of "The relation of Academy ex-student bodies and other associations to the General Church and to the local pastorates." A valuable discussion ensued, in which it was demonstrated that the practical problem for leaders was how to preserve the initiative and as-of-themselves development of organizations that performed uses to the Academy and to the General Church, and yet at the same time to protect the order of the Church in its development, and observe the proper courtesies necessary at all times.

     At the end of the discussion, the Bishop, in reviewing the general problem, pointed out that it was both difficult and dangerous to attempt to work out a rigid formula of order and subordination. The formalities of government must not be allowed to suppress the life of the Church. Mutual adjustments and re-adjustments were necessary from time to time. These were the growing pains of our body. It was useful, however, for the various independent bodies within the Church to reflect, from time to time, as to where they were going. Often difficulties centered around matters of courtesy; and courtesy was too often ignored.

     17. On motion, it was unanimously resolved: That the Joint Council desires to convey to the ladies of the Bryn Athyn Society its keen appreciation of their kindness in providing refreshments at the conclusion of the meetings each afternoon.

     18. On motion, the meeting adjourned at 4:30 o'clock.
     WILLIAM WHITEHEAD,
          Secretary.

306


REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF THE GENERAL CHURCH 1929

REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF THE GENERAL CHURCH       HUGO LJ. ODHNER       1929

     During the year 1928, 66 new members were received. There was one resignation. Deducting 27 deaths, and 1 resignation, the net increase for the year was 38. As the total membership at the end of 1927 was 1,912 members, this increase of 38 brings the total at the end of 1928 to 1,950 members.

     Geographically, the 66 members received during the past year were distributed as follows:

United States           28
Canada                    9
England                10
Scotland                2
Sweden                    4
Holland                8
South America           2
South Africa           3
                          66

     These figures do not include the membership of the South African Native Missions. According to the report of the Missions to December 31, 1928, there is a total of approximately 622 native members in various parts of South Africa.

     NEW MEMBERS.

     June 1, 1928, to December 31, 1928.

     A. IN THE UNITED STATES.

     Oakland, California.
Mrs. Elia Erminetrude Bundsen

     Chicago, Illinois.
Mr. Andrew John Gowanlock

     Glenview, Illinois.
Mrs. Elva Zent Burnham
Mr. Hubert Swain Nelson
Miss Sylvia Serena Scalbom
Miss Gertrude Thyra Starkey

     Manteno, Illinois.
Mr. Robert Neville Hall

     North Arlington, New Jersey.
Mr. Gustav Mauritz Larsson

     Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania.
Mr. Edward Franklin Allen
Miss Stella Magelli Campbell
Mr. Samuel Wilson Fritz
Miss Provida Gunther
Rev. Vincent Carmond Odhner

     Huntingdon Valley, Pennsylvania.
Mr. Otto Kofod
Mrs. Irene Gregson Kofod

     Renovo, Pennsylvania.
Miss Rachael Adams Kendig

     B. IN CANADA.

     Toronto, Ontario.
Mr. Algernon Frederick Down

     C. IN ENGLAND.

     Bournemouth.
Miss Annie Elizabeth Tilson

     Chelmsford.
Mr. Kenneth Pryke

     Colchester.
Miss Ivy Vespa Clarke
Mr. Harold Scrutton Wyncoll

     London.
Mrs. Katherine Benade
Mr. Alfred Victor Cooper

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     St. Albans.
Miss Lois Edith Motum

     D. IN SCOTLAND.

     Balmore, Torrance.
Miss Olive Bowie
Miss Vera Bowie

     E. IN SWEDEN.

     Stockholm.
Mrs. Ida Charlotta Ruckstuhl

     

     F. IN HOLLAND.

     The Hague.
Mr. Francois Antoine Lans
Mr. Nicolaas Jan Vellenga

     Scheveningen.
Miss Maria Anna van der Feen

     G. IN SOUTH AFRICA.

     Durban, Natal.
Miss Alma Cockerell

     H. IN SOUTH AMERICA.

     Rio de Janeiro.
Mr. Jose Raymundo da Silva
Mr. Celio Machado

     DEATHS.

     June 1, 1928, to December 31, 1928.

Mrs. Lars Wilhelm Perkus (Gustava Kristina Anderson), Stockholm, Sweden, May 18, 1928.
Mr. James Murray Somerville, Toronto, Canada, July 11, 1928.
Mr. Colon Schott, Cincinnati, O., August 6, 1928.
Mrs. John Mauritz Svensson (Ada Elisabet Johansson), Lilla Edet, Sweden, August 7, 1928.
Miss Jenny Carolina Klingstedt, Stockholm, Sweden, September 12, 1928.
Mrs. Winfred Sumner Hyatt (Berith Odhner), Philadelphia, Pa., September 25, 1928.
Mrs. Charles Edro Cranch (Addie Louise Zeppenfeldt), Erie, Pa., October 1, 1928.
Mr. Nels Johnson, Glenview, Ill., October 7, 1928.
Mr. Donald Spencer Edmonds, Philadelphia, Pa., October 12, 1928.
Miss Theresa Liljegren, Stockholm, Sweden, October 20, 1928.
Mr. Richard Wesley Hynds, Toronto, Canada, October 31, 1928.
Miss Christiana Schill, Jamison, Pa., November 6, 1928.
Mr. Louis Blair King, Colorado Springs, Colo., November 22, 1928.
     HUGO LJ. ODHNER,
          Secretary.

308


REPORT OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CLERGY 1929

REPORT OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CLERGY       WILLIAM WHITEHEAD       1929

     Since the last Annual Report of this Council (see New Church Life, March, 1928, pp. 184-188), this Council met-for the first time in its history,-in Europe, in connection with the meetings of the Thirteenth General Assembly. Twenty-five members of the clergy were present at a meeting held at Michael Church, Burton Road, London, England, on Friday, August 3, 1928, when virtually the entire session was occupied in an intensive discussion on the revision of the Liturgy of the General Church. (The notes of these deliberations have been preserved for the further promotion of this liturgical work.)

     Open meetings of the Council were held in connection with the Assembly on August 7, 8 and 10, when papers were read and discussed, as follows:

     "Progress." By Rev. Albert Bjorck. (See New Church Life, 1928, p. 584.)

     "The First Love." By Rev. Richard Morse. (Ibid., 1928, p. 621.)

     "The New Church and the Modern State." By Rev. Wm. Whitehead. (Ibid., 1928, p. 672.)

     A report of the work of this Council, as of June 1, 1928, and covering the previous two-year period, was made to the General Assembly in the printed pamphlet embodying reports, and distributed to the members of the Assembly. (This report was reprinted in New Church Life, December, 1928, pp. 776-719.)

     The list of the Clergy of the General Church now comprises three Bishop, thirty-five Pastors, and five Ministers.

     From this list of forty-three members, the Bishop of the General Church has this year received reports from thirty-eight, as follows: Bishops N. D. Pendleton, George de Charms and Robert J. Tilson; Pastors Alfred Acton, R. R Alden, W. H. Alden, A. Bjorck, G. Baeckstrom, W. E. Brickman, R. W. Brown, W. B. Caldwell, E. R. Cronlund, L. W. T. David, C. E. Doering, F. W. Elphick, A. Gill, V. J. Gladish, W. L. Gladish, F. E. Gyllenhaal, T. S. Harris, H. Heinrichs, F. Hussenet, E. E. Iungerich, H. Lj. Odhner, E. Pfeiffer, T. Pitcairn, E. S. Price, J. E. Rosenqvist, G. H. Smith, H. Synnestvedt, F. E. Waelchli and Wm. Whitehead; also from Ministers H. W. Beef, R. G. Cranch, V. C. Odhner and N. H. Reuter.

     The statistics involved in these Reports show that the Rites and Sacraments of the Church have been performed as follows:

     Ordinations 11; Baptisms 111 (as against 99 last year); Confessions of Faith 32 (as against 25); Betrothals 10 (as against 18); Marriages 13 (as against 24); Funerals 40 (as against 27) Public administration of the Holy Supper to societies and circles 124 (as against 151); and to private individuals 22 (as against 29).

     In the South African Mission to natives, there are reported: Baptisms 84; Marriages 1; Funerals 3; Holy Supper 14.

     From the reports of individual members of the clergy, the following facts of general interest have been gathered:

     Bishop N. D. Pendleton presided over the Annual Council meetings held in Bryn Athyn, January 30 to February 5, 1928. He further presided at District Assemblies held in Glenview, October 12 to 14, and in Pittsburgh, October 19 to 21.

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He also made episcopal visits to New York on May 6, and to the Sharon Church, Chicago, on October 16. The ordinations performed by him during the year 1928 were reported to the last General Assembly; but, subsequent to that report, he ordained Moffat Mcanyana into the First Degree of the Priesthood, at the closing session of the General Assembly, on August 12.

     He also preached in Bryn Athyn nine times; and once each in New York, London (Burton Road), Colchester, Glenview and Pittsburgh.

     Rev. Alfred Acton reports that, last June, he obtained leave of absence for one year from his duties in the Academy of the New Church at Bryn Athyn, and from the Washington Society. Since July, he has traveled in Belgium, Holland, Denmark, North Germany and Sweden; in all which places he has pursued studies intended to throw light upon the life of Emanuel Swedenborg. At present, he resides at Stockholm, where these studies are being continued.

     Rev. K. R. Alden reports that during the past year he has been engaged as Principal of the Boys' Academy, and as Housemaster of Stuart Hall, Bryn Athyn, Pa. He also reports that he "continued the Sunday afternoon services in the summer," preaching ten times in the Cathedral, which services resulted in one baptism, a steadier attendance than hitherto reported, and several interviews after services with persons who wished answers to their questions.

     Rev. Gustaf Baeckstrom reports that he has made seven missionary trips of which two were made to Norway. On these occasions he has delivered twenty-eight lectures, with an average attendance of 179 persons in Sweden, and 215 persons in Norway. Books to the value of about 3,000 Kr. ($800.00) have been sold during the year.

     Instruction of the children has been carried on during a part of the year in two classes, and during the balance of the year in four classes. The Sunday services have been postponed only twice on account of the missionary work, which has been undertaken between Sundays, except during the two journeys to Norway.

     Rev. R. W. Brown reports that he conducted doctrinal class and Sunday service in Washington during the first week of October and December.

     Rev, W. B. Celdwell reports that, in addition to his duties as Editor of New Church Life and Professor in the Academy of the New Church, he officiated three times at services and doctrinal classes for the New York Society and preached once in Bryn Athyn.

     Rev. Raymond Cranch reports having conducted one service in New York City. He also delivered a series of ten lectures on Economics in the College and Boys' Academy at Bryn Athyn.

     Rev. Emil R. Cronlund preached five times to the Bryn Athyn Society, conducted three Sunday afternoon missionary services, and officiated twice at the monthly administration of the Holy Supper in Bryn Athyn.

     Rev. L. W. T. David served as Acting Pastor of the Carmel Church, Kitchener, Ont., Canada, by appointment of the Bishop, until September 1, 1928.

     Rt. Rev. George de Charms was ordained on March 11 into the Third Degree of the Priesthood. In June he was appointed Dean of the College of the Academy, such appointment taking effect at the opening of the school year on September 18.

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During the first part of the year he conducted a series of doctrinal classes on the Doctrine of Degrees. From January to Easter, and from November 4 until Christmas, he conducted Sunday morning Children's Services in the Cathedral. For four months he held alternately two young people's classes, one on General Doctrines of the Church, and the other on the education of little children. This fall, these two classes were combined in one class for the study of the New Testament.

     On December 23, he dedicated the North group of buildings in connection with the Cathedral. On May 24 to 27, by appointment of the Bishop, he presided over the Ontario District Assembly, held in Kitchener, Ontario, Canada.

     Rev. C. E. Doering, at the request of the Bishop, visited the schools in Pittsburgh, Glenview, Toronto and Kitchener. He also preached once, in each of the societies at Pittsburgh, Glenview, Toronto and Bryn Athyn.

     Rev. F. W. Elplick, in addition to his duties as Superintendent of the General Church Mission in South Africa, has conducted service once in the Orange Free State, twice at Durban, and twice in London, England. The informal circle at Alpha has continued its services and weekly doctrinal class throughout the year.

     Rev. Alan Gill, after resigning as pastor of the New York society last April continued his work in New York until the latter part of June, when, according to custom, the church dosed for the summer. His new duties as pastor of the Carmel Church at Kitchener consist, for the most part, of the carrying on of the customary uses hitherto reported. The Sunday School, however, has been discontinued, and in place thereof there are regular Sunday afternoon children's services. He also teaches Religion and Hebrew to all five grades in the Day School, which now has an enrollment of seventeen pupils, and prospects of a steady increase in the number of pupils for years to come. With a view to coordinating the education of the children in the school and in the homes, joint meetings of the parents and the teachers are held monthly.

     Rev. Victor J. Gladish has, during the past four months, been engaged as Acting Pastor of the Colchester Society.

     Rev. W. L. Gladish reports an excellent spirit of cooperation and vigor in the Sharon Church. The average attendance at Sunday service has been 50, with over 40 at the bi-weekly doctrinal class. The Ladies Aid is responsible for a building fund of $1,000. The church property has been repainted and repaired. A bequest of $5,000 from Mr. Nels Johnson has quickened the hope that the society may be able to have a church building before many years.

     Rev. F. E. Gyllenhaal reports that he was engaged as Pastor of the Colchester Society until August 31. Since September 1, he has been Pastor of the Olivet Church, Toronto, Canada.

     Rev. Henry Heinrichs states that the Denver Society has enjoyed something of a revival since the opening of the fall term. For the first time in many years there is a group of young people, who have accelerated social life. The effects of the General Assembly, through the published reports, have been marked.

311


A notable increase of interest in worship and doctrinal classes has been noted.

     Rev. Eldred E. Iungerich during the past summer, spent two weeks in Spain, two weeks in France, and two weeks in England, during which he made unofficial visits to various individual receivers. In the Pittsburgh Society, of which he has been pastor since September 1, he has conducted the Sunday School service, held previous to the regular morning service, and also teaches an adult class in it. A bi-weekly doctrinal class on the General Doctrines is also held. Besides other regular activities in the Philosophy Club and Ladies Meeting, he conducts the worship in the society's school, teaches Religion to grades 4, 5 and S (three periods a week to each), and beginner's Latin to grade 8 (five double periods a week). In October, he visited the Erie Circle, and preached a funeral sermon at the service held for Mrs. Edro Cranch.

     Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner reports that, on August 6, he assumed the duties of Secretary of the General Church. Since September 1, he has been engaged as an assistant-pastor of the Bryn Athyn Society, and as teacher in the various departments of the Academy Schools. During the year, besides the pastoral work in Canada, he has preached six times in Bryn Athyn, and once each in New York and London, England. In Bryn Athyn he has conducted six doctrinal classes. He also meets a group of young married people for an informal class each week, the topic being the Correspondences of the Gorand Man. The Bishop also appointed him to prepare the Calender of Daily Readings for 1929.

     Rev. Ernst Pfeiffer, as pastor of the First Dutch Society at the Hague, Holland, reports that, in addition to the ordinary society ministrations, he has conducted a children's service each Monday, with an average attendance of nine; also two classes of weekly religious instruction to young people, with an average attendance of five. The average attendance at the monthly social suppers has been twenty-six.

     Rev. Theodore Pitcairn, as an assistant pastor of the Bryn Athyn Society, has preached at the morning services six times, and conducted a series of doctrinal classes on Ideals of Education. He has also conducted the missionary services in the Cathedral during the spring and autumn months. In the Academy, he has given a course in the History of Education, and is at present teaching a course on the Human Organic.

     Rev. Norman H. Reuter reports that, since his ordination in June, he has preached ten times in Glenview and once in Chicago, as well as assisting at most of the remaining services in Glenview. In the school he has taught the seventh grade, as well as other classes in specific subjects.

     Rev. Joseph E. Rosenqvist reports that although he is engaged in secular work as a private teacher of modern languages, he began, on December 2, to hold weekly doctrinal classes each Sunday in his private room at Gothenburg, Sweden.

     Rev. Gilbert H. Smith, states that the Immanuel Church at Glenview, Ill., is in thriving condition. At the Christmas service there were 230 adults and children. The society is making tentative plans for the enlargement of its place of worship.

312


During the past year, separate doctrinal classes for young men and young women have been inaugurated.

     Rev. Homer Synnestvedt, in reporting his relinquishment of the pastorate at Pittsburgh on September 1, in order to take up the duties of Professor of Education at Bryn Athyn, has contributed some interesting and valuable reminiscences to the records of this Council.

     Rt. Rev. Robert J. Tilson, in addition to his duties as pastor of Michael Church, Burton Road, London, England, has visited Colchester three times, preached there on one occasion and also lectured on "How we Got our Bible." He has also visited Bristol and Bath, and acted as President of the New Church Club for the year, and contributed papers thereto.

     Rev. F. E. Waechli visited Middleport three times; Detroit and Michigan each twice; Erie and Niles each once. In the South, during three weeks in March, he visited Knoxville, Tenn.; Atlanta, Ga.; and Jacksonville, Oak Hill, Apopka and Miami, Florida. He also made his annual visit to the Pacific coast. During ten weeks, visits were made at Los Angeles, Ontario, and Burlingame, California; Portland, La Gorande and Baker, Oregon; and Spokane and Walla Walla, Washington. Full reports of the work done in the above eighteen places have appeared in New Church Life.

     As pastor in the Cincinnati Circle, he officiated at twenty-five Sunday services. During his absence services are led by members of the circle. A weekly doctrinal class is held when possible. This year, these classes have been missionary in character, three or four strangers being brought in each time by members. Quite extensive advertizing has been done, but this brought only one person. However, the work has been a useful stimulus to our own members. After an interval of four years, the Sunday School has been revived, as there is now a new group of young children, five in number, with six more in prospect during the next few years. The circle suffered a great loss in the death of Mr. Colon Schott, on August 6.

     Rev. Wm. Whitehead has conducted a service and doctrinal class once each month in the New York Society; and has also acted as editor of New Church Sermons.
     Respectfully submitted,
          WILLIAM WHITEHEAD,
               Secretary.
ORPHANAGE FUND 1929

ORPHANAGE FUND       WALTER C. CHILDS       1929

     Statement from January 1 to December 31, 1928.

     RECEIPTS.

Cash Balance, December 31, 1927                          $885.16
Interest on Investments                               215.18
Bank Interest                                        13.91                                                                                 $1,175.46

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     CONTRIBUTIONS.

Orphanage Boxes                         $462.59
Bryn Athyn Cathedral Boxes                204.53
Denver Society, Children's Contribution           3.67
Kitchener Society, Christmas Offering           18.95
Cincinnati Society, Christmas Offering          25.00
Cincinnati Society, Christmas Offering           11.67
Pittsburgh Society, Christmas Offering           44.29
Baltimore, Special Contribution               10.00
Mr. Harold F. Pitcairn                    360.00
Mr. Louis B. Pendleton                    20.00
Mrs. Cara S. Glenn                          100.00
Mr. Colley Pryke                         5.00
Mr. Jacob Schoenberger                     32.38
Mr. J. R. Kendig                          1.81
Dr. Felix A. Boericke                         50.00
Miss Winnie Boericke                     10.00
Mrs. Raymond Pitcairn                    800.00
Mrs. W. S. Howland                          12.00
Mrs. F. O. Breitstein                         10.00
Miss Josephine Sellner                    15.00
Mr. D. E. Leonard                          5.00
Miss Hannah Nelson                         2.00
Miss Ellen Wallenberg                    15.00
Mr. and Mrs. Soderberg                     5.00
Mrs. Lorensen                         5.10
Rev. G. C. Starkey                         1.46
Mrs. Regina Iungerich                    10.00
Mr. Walter C. Childs                         15.00
                                                             $2,255.45
Total Receipts                                   $3,430.91

     DISBURSEMENTS.

Assistance to Sundry Persons                $2,715.00
Postage                              5.45           $2,720.45
Cash Balance, December 31, 1928                          710.46
     WALTER C. CHILDS,
          Treasurer

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Church News 1929

Church News       Various       1929

     REPORT OF THE VISITING PASTOR.

     Two days, March 5th to 7th, were spent at KNOXVILLE, TENN., with Mr. and Mrs. R. S. C. Hutchinson and their daughter, Ethel Rae. A call was also made on Mrs. Clarice Remington, a member of the General Church. There was opportunity for only one meeting, a doctrinal class, at which the subject was the teaching that man's external thought is intrinsically of the same nature as his internal thought. (D. P. 106-110.)

     On Thursday evening, the 7th, I arrived at ATLANTA, GA., for a week's visit. Three evening classes were held, two of these on the doctrine concerning the Sacred Scriptures, and one on the doctrine concerning the Lord. The attendance was 9, 15, and 12 respectively. Among those present were several persons not of the church, and so the teaching was presented largely in a missionary manner. Considerable interest was shown. At one of the classes we had with us Mr. J. D. Cozby, of Clinton, S. C., an earnest member of the General Church. This was the first time he had ever attended a New Church gathering, or met a New Church minister.

     Services were held on Sunday afternoon, with an attendance of 22, including 6 children. Mr. and Mrs. Sterling Smith, of Macon, were with us, having come especially for this occasion. It was at our meetings a year ago that they first became acquainted with one another, and they received a most hearty welcome from all the Circle. As at our classes, a number of strangers were present. The services opened with the baptism of the five-year old daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Barnitz, and closed with the administration of the Holy Supper to nine communicants.

     Instruction was given the children three times. The first time, the latter part of the First Memorable Relation in Conjugial Love describing the visit of ten persons to a heavenly society, was told in story form. One of the children said it was the best story she had ever heard. The second time, the lesson was on the Wise Men and the Star, and on the fact that the Word is the Star that leads us to know the Lord and to come and worship Him. The third time, more was told about the Star, that is, about what the Word teaches us concerning the Lord, presenting what is given in questions 1, 2, and 3 of the new General Church catechism.
     F. E. WAELCHLI.

     COLCHESTER, ENGLAND.

     It is now nearly six months since our late Pastor, the Rev. F. E. Gyllenhaal, left for Toronto, and the Rev. Victor J. Gladish was appointed to Colchester by our Bishop. Under the new regime our Bishop's choice has been fully justified. Mr. Gladish is a busy man, and to maintain the various uses, we fear, cannot leave him much time for leisure. This being his first pastorate, we must certainly congratulate him upon his initial efforts.

     To mention some of the activities of the Society: So far we have had two services each Sunday, together with a monthly celebration of the Holy Supper. A series of eight sermons was delivered in the Autumn, being based upon verses 1 to 5 of Revelation XXI, the subjects being:

1. The New Church descending from the New Heaven.
2. The Imaginary Heavens.
3. The Giving of the Heavenly Doctrine.
4. The Reception of the Lord in His Glorified Human.
5. The Great Voice out of Heaven.
6. The Divine Presence.

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7. The Removal of Falsities.
8. All Things New.

     An evening series of monthly evangelical sermons dealt with the following subjects:

1. The Divine Trinity.
2. God is a Man.
3. The Holy Spirit.
4. The Sacred Scripture.
5. Repentance.

     The above were advertized in the local press, but so far the thirsting multitudes have not come our way.     

     We are now enjoying a very interesting series of sermons which form a useful supplement to the Calendar Readings:

1. The Four Churches. (Daniel 11:43.)
2. The Most Ancient Church. (Genesis 11:8.)
3. The Ancient Church. (Genesis 9:18, 19.)
4. The Israelitish Church. (Genesis 49:10.)
5. The Christian Church.

     The usual weekly doctrinal class has been held, the True Christian Religion being the textbook. The attendance has been good, and the exposition of the subject lucid. The Hebrew Class inaugurated by our late Pastor is being carried on, and there are three pupils. A fortnightly class for the young people of the Society is held, the work studied being the New Jerusalem and Its Heavenly Doctrine. A supper is provided by hostesses of the various homes. The average attendance is eighteen. On Tuesday evenings, Mr. Gladish holds a class for four of the older boys. He also assists Miss Gill two days in the week in our Day School, and is Secretary of the New Church Club, which meets monthly at the "Old Bell Inn," Holborn, London.

     The "Octet" has no connection with music, vocal or instrumental, but the name was bestowed upon us by our late Pastor, and it has stuck. We have met weekly for over a year at the home of Mrs. Rey Gill, and during that time have read Dr. Acton's Introduction to the Word Explained, from which we have all derived much help and spiritual enlightenment. We are now reading The Word Explained, and have been delighted with the new light which has come to us. Our Pastor visits us occasionally, and any questions or difficulties are submitted to him for solution.

     You will be pleased to hear that practically the whole Society has adopted the Calendar Reading. The benefits that must accrue cannot be overestimated. Our book steward informs me that he has already supplied twenty-four copies of the Coronis. The articles in the Life are also a valuable help to the reader, and we are now enjoying a useful supplement to the above in the series of sermons by our Pastor.

     At our Annual Meeting, Miss Gill's report of the School provided opportunity for a full discussion, the large majority expressing their appreciation of the year's work. An important point was raised by our Pastor as to whether Miss Gill, with the assistance of our Pastor, could carry our older children for another year to the age of 9 years, and this, I am pleased to say, has been mutually arranged. The writer recently visited the School at a morning session, and was much pleased to witness the order and discipline which were accorded the teacher without any apparent effort on her part. The interest evinced during religious instruction also appealed strongly, for here, by their questions and answers, it was evident that the affections were active. The mode of instruction in the other classes was well accommodated to the different ages. There are thirteen children at present attending.

     To our industrious Book Steward and Librarian, Mr. H. Howard, we are indebted for the following particulars: Our Library, which has been in a state of chaos, is at last assuming some semblance of order. In addition to our small nucleus, the generous gifts of books by the Executors of our former Pastor, the late Rev. Andrew Czerny, by Bishop Tilson, the Rev. F. E. Gyllenhaal, and recently by the Executors of the late Mr. W. Posthuma of London, through Mr. E. J. Waters, bring the number of books to about 450, exclusive of a complete set of the Writings, many of the Philosophical Works, New Church Life, New Church Magazine, Intellectual Repository, Potts Concordance, and, our Librarian adds, "also many valuable books that we dare not mention for fear of arousing the acquisitiveness of Dr. Acton and others in Bryn Athyn."

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Our Book Room has been suitably shelved, and the profits from the sale of books will be used for renovating and rebinding. Some time must elapse, but in the near future Mr. Howard hopes to have it ready for general use.

     Swedenborg's Birthday celebration was held at the church on January 26th, with forty-five present, including twelve visitors from London, our Pastor presiding. Our thanks are due to our Social committee for the provision of an ample and delicious supper, after which our attention was directed to the opinions of eminent men concerning Swedenborg, from his own time down to the present, with special reference to his Scientific, Philosophical, and Theological Works, presented by Messrs. C. Ashley, K. Pryke, N. H. Motum, J. Potter, and J. S. Pryke in an interesting series, interspersed with songs and toasts. One toast was of especial interest to us,-to Mr. H. Williams of Northampton, our young friend and prospective member, who was introduced by Mr. J. S. Pryke. In response, Mr. Williams spoke of his doubts and difficulties until, in the Divine Providence, he was led to the Heavenly Doctrines of the New Church. Mr. Williams was baptized the following day by our Pastor. On this occasion the congregation numbered fifty, with forty communicants at the Holy Supper.

     Last year, Bishop Tilson, in answer to a question in regard to the books of the Apocrypha at the lecture on "How we got our Bible," said be hoped to devote his attention to these Books. On Wednesday, February 27th, he redeemed his promise, and we listened to a most interesting lecture, the subject matter of which was in the main new to most of us. After mentioning that the Books historically formed a link between the Old and New Testaments, he gave us a very full historical survey, and followed with details of the names and characteristic qualities of the several Books. Many interesting books were available for our inspection, one of which contained the Apocryphal Books of the New Testament. The lecture we trust may at some time appear in the pages of New Church Life.
     F. R. COOPER.

     GLENVIEW, ILL.

     The feature of the church news in March was a meeting of the Sons of the Academy. The Rev. W. L. Gladish was the speaker of the evening, and presented two papers. One of them was on the subject of "Higher Education," and in it he dwelt upon the present-day tendency to atheism and the exaltation of nature, as opposed to Divine rule and origin. He deplored this tendency, and stressed the importance of having our children educated in the Academy, where these alien forces are constantly resisted and combated. The other paper was on the subject of "Friendship Among the Sons of the Academy," and treated of that true and sincere friendship that should be cultivated among us. Our local chapter of the Sons is flourishing, as always, and Mr. Gladish was greeted by the largest attendance we have ever had. There is no greater proportional attendance shown among the other chapters in the church. A committee has been appointed in the matter, and a substantial attendance may be expected at the forthcoming Sons' meeting at Toronto, Canada.

     The Annual Meeting of the Immanuel Church is set for April 12th, and the General Council, in accordance with its custom, has nominated this slate of candidates: George K. Fiske, Ralph Synnestvedt and Winfred Junge, as Trustees; and, inevitably, John B. Synnestvedt for Recording Secretary. To the end that there may be no feeling of "cut and dried" politics, our by-laws provide that any member of the society may make nominations for these offices by securing a second and having the names posted on the bulletin board in advance of the meeting. Thus freedom is preserved.

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     Palm Sunday was a gorgeous spring day, and was featured by the usual splendid service, in which the children take the prominent part. Easter Sunday was also made glorious by a beautiful service and fitting music. Mr. and Mrs. Seymour G. Nelson, with Misses Emelia and Adah, have returned from their hibernation at St. Petersburg, Fla.
     J. B. S.

     TORONTO, CANADA.

     The 18th meeting of the Forward Club was held on Thursday, March 21st, when twenty-one men sat down to an excellent repast presided over by Mr. Ed. Craigie. Other members drifted in later on, and we had an interesting study on "The Value of the Study of History for the New Church." After a few apt and illustrative remarks the chairman introduced the speakers,-Mr. Felix Du Quesne, who dealt with the general aspect of the subject, and Mr. A. Van Paassen, who treated of the particular phase of its relation to the New Church. Both gentlemen, making their initial bow as speakers in the club meetings, were well received and by their treatment of the subject won the merited applause of those present. The discussion was brisk and well maintained right up to the dose of the time allotted, and more than one speaker "looked" what he thought of the chairman for using his gavel.

     These notes would be incomplete for this period without mention being made of the passing into the spiritual world of Mrs. Richard Roschman. She was a member of the Kitchener Society, but she was more than that she was a highly respected and devoted supporter of the Church's interests in the Ontario District, and one of its gracious hostesses whose home was ever open on the occasion of District and General Assemblies. And so it was fitting that sympathetic reference should be made at our doctrinal class on March 27th when a brief resume of her life and activities was given, and testimony borne to the high esteem in which she was held by the membership of the Toronto Society. Our sympathies are with Mr. Roschman and his family and the Kitchener Society in the loss that they have sustained.

     Just prior to Easter we were given instruction in doctrinal class in the chronological events leading up through temptation's darksome days-to the Passion and the Crucifixion, with their significance for us. On Palm Sunday the sermon was on the "Lord's Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem," when, along a flower-strewn way, to the joyous acclaim of the multitude, He passed to what would, to outward seeming, be the crowning glory of His life on earth. Alas for human frailty! Within a few short days, "the common people who heard Him gladly," now incited by the chief priests and scribes, came with swords and staves and led Him to Caiaphas, the high priest, thence to Pontius Pilate, thence to Golgotha and the cross. So on Good Friday evening we had worship, and a sermon on the "Passion of the Cross," chastened in mind and spirit at the thought of our human weaknesses, but still sustained by the thought of the coming glory of Easter Day, when, once more assembled in our chapel, its chancel decorated with the Easter lily, emblem of purity and grace, coming to its great and fragrant beauty through the long dark days of winter,-we sensed the sphere of this glad day of Resurrection.

     It is significant, and, to our mind, not to be accounted for in any other way than that of the message which the days bring to us, that Christmas Sunday and Easter Sunday are the two days in all the year when we have our largest congregations. It is the spirit of these days that brings us together to celebrate in worship and adoration the Birth and Resurrection of our Lord. The attendance on Easter Sunday was 105. The sermon was on "The Lord's Resurrection," telling us that "joy should fill the hearts and minds of men, women, and children today, joy in the risen Lord, who from His infinite love for the human race united His Divine and Human Essences, thus completely glorifying Himself for man's salvation, and thereby establishing eternally the truth of the resurrection of every man into eternal life; for truly He is "not God of the dead, but of the living."

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     Palm Sunday was a joint service of adults and children, who brought daffodils to decorate the chancel. On this day and on Easter Sunday the pastor gave short addresses, suitable to the needs of the children, and telling in simple language the great lessons of Eastertime for us all. Holy Supper was administered on Easter Sunday to a large number of communicants.

     Through the good offices of the local chapter of Theta Alpha, we were fortunate in having a two-day visit on Easter Sunday and Monday from Theta Alpha's president, Mrs. Besse E. Smith. They very generously shared her with the whole society on Sunday evening at a soiree-musicale held in her honor. Mrs. Smith first spoke on the importance of teaching music, especially singing, to school children, that they might learn to produce beautiful sounds in the worship of the Lord,-the true purpose of our voices, as well as for the pleasure to be derived from association with all beautiful music. After the talk, Mrs. Smith played on the piano a most varied selection of numbers, ranging all the way from Beethoven's Fifth Symphony to the Irish tune from County Derry. There was music to suit all tastes, and, although our visitor was apologetic, saying that she had little time for practice, the beauty of tone in her playing outshone any shortcomings she herself may have been conscious of. While coffee and cakes were being served we all just naturally had to burst into song as Mrs. Smith played some of the old favorites. And we shall remember for many a long day the pleasure derived from her efforts that evening, and will look forward to her return on some future occasion.

     On Monday evening the Theta Alpha chapter held a banquet with almost all members present. A room was secured at the Five Sisters' Tea Rooms, and a long table was spread where all could face each other. Mrs. Gyllenhaal made beautiful place cards, and red and white flowers decorated the tables. Mrs. Smith spoke of the work done in the past by the organization as a whole, the ambitions for the future, and the dangers to be avoided. Problems were discussed, and advice asked and given, so that by the time the evening wore on to its close everyone felt that the bond between the head and the branches had been strengthened. As a small token of appreciation, the chapter presented Mrs. Smith with a cup and saucer.

     The time for the annual meetings of the Sons of the Academy is rapidly approaching. The meeting-place, Toronto, is central to many of our church centers, and to a large number of isolated receivers. We have a great convention city; we shall be decked out in all the fresh beauty of early summer; and a warm welcome awaits all our visitors.     
     F. W.

     PITTSBURGH, PA.

     Following the Friday Supper on March 15th, the semi-annual meeting of the Society was held, and proved to be a most inspiring one. We were all bred with enthusiasm by Mr. S. S. Lindsay's wonderful address on the subject of raising funds for carrying out our building project. The plans submitted by Mr. Harold T. Carswell, the architect, have been approved, contractors have been interviewed, and the whole undertaking is moving along satisfactorily. To register the gradual rise in the amounts subscribed to the building fund, a "thermometer" has been set up by Mr. Ulrich Schoenberger. "Over the top" is what we are striving for.

     The Easter services were beautiful and impressive. The children's service came first, and continued until the intermission of the adult service, the children remaining until then in the front seats and forming a choir.

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Their floral offerings were placed upon a graduated stand at the left of the chancel, and a number of palms completed the decorations, for the tasteful arrangement of which we are grateful to Miss Norris. There were twenty-three children and sixty adults in attendance.

     Plans are under way for the meetings to be held during the forthcoming visit of the Rev. C. E. Doering, who comes as representative of the Academy Schools to confer with us on educational matters.
     E. R. D.

     REPORT OF THE VISITING PASTOR.

     A visit to MIDDLEPORT, OHIO, beginning Thursday, April 4th, opened with a doctrinal class that evening, at nature of the visions described in the which the subject considered was the Word, especially those of Ezekiel, Daniel, Zechariah and John, and it was shown that they were representative scenes in heaven, significative of the internal things of heaven and the church. The next evening another class was held, at which the subject was the danger of spiritism. On Saturday afternoon instruction was given to six children. The service on Sunday morning included the Holy Supper. In the evening we had another class, at which there was a presentation of the doctrine that the Word is in all the heavens, and that angelic wisdom is from it. (S. S. 10-75.)

     At our classes the attendance was eight, fourteen, and nine respectively; and at the services twenty, including seven children. At all the meetings except one some strangers were present, and they expressed themselves as pleased with what they heard. Our hope is, of course, that they may be led to the Church. Yet, if this should not come to pass, may we not believe that what is heard is of spiritual benefit, and that it may serve as a preparation for reception in the future life of the faith of the New Heaven and the New Church?     
     F. E. WAELCHLI.

     MRS. RICHARD ROSCHMAN.

     An Obituary.

     In the death of Mrs. Roschman on March 23d, one who lived her whole life in association with the New Church in Kitchener passed to the other world. She was the daughter of Charles and Elizabeth Ahrens, who were among the very earliest New Church settlers in this district. At the age of two years she was baptized by the Rev. Thomas Wilks, one of the first ordained missionaries to visit here. When a young lady of nineteen, she was instrumental in "converting" Mr. Richard Roschman, who had but recently arrived from the Old Country. He had become interested in the Doctrines through the preaching and teaching of the Rev. F. W. Tuerk, but it was through her who was to become his life-long partner, unconsciously on her part, no doubt, that he was led to a wholehearted acceptance of the things of the Church. Mr. Roschman has told of their first meeting (New Church Life, 1927, p. 83), of their marriage a few years later, and of their happy married life. Their union was blessed with seven children, six of these and her husband surviving her.

     Mrs. Roschman's love of New Church companionship was one of her outstanding characteristics, and until her health, never robust, at length failed, her home was the scene of many informal gatherings and social occasions at which she was the "life of the party." To her many friends her memory will be very dear. Her long life as a loving wife and mother, and her many years of devotion to the Church, have been an inspiration to many here, and will undoubtedly continue to be such among her refound and newly-found friends in the other life.     
     ALAN GILL.

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GLEANINGS FROM NEW CHURCH HISTORY 1929

GLEANINGS FROM NEW CHURCH HISTORY       Various       1929




     Announcements.





[Frontispieces: Photograph of Great Bath Street, Clerkenwell, London. The Shearsmith house can be seen.
Photograph of the Shearsmith home, No. 26 Great Bath Street, Clerkenwell, London, as it appears today.]

NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. XLIX JUNE, 1929           No. 6
     SWEDENBORG'S LAST LODGINGS IN LONDON.

     The photographs of the house once occupied by Mr. and Mrs. Richard Shearsmith, presented as our frontispiece this month, were obtained by Dr. Alfred Acton while visiting London last summer, and sent by him as a contribution to the collection of historical Pictures in the Academy Library. These pictures will be of great interest to New Church people, affording a view of the very house and street in which the Revelator resided at the close of his earthly life on March 29, 1772. At that time, Dr. Acton states, the locality, now a populous section of London, was a suburban district known as "Cold Bath Fields," so named from the fact that in the middle of a field in that region there stood a Bath House where medicinal bathing was indulged in at the cost of 2/6 or 3/- each time. Hence also the name "Great Bath Street." Swedenborg first lodged at the Shearsmith home in the year 1769. (Docu. II, p. 599.) He had been seeking lodgings in the neighborhood, and had been offered quarters in a certain home, but the angels could not enter, because the couple were of discordant religions, and so he "told the landlady that there was no harmony in the house, which she acknowledged, and recommended him to Mr. Shearsmith's." (Docu. II, p. 546.) This incident, referred to in Conjugial Love, no. 242, was confirmed by Mrs. Shearsmith in 1788. (Seee NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1924, p. 493.)

     Returning from Holland in July or August, 1711, Swedenborg again went to 26 Great Bath Street, but Mr. Shearsmith informed him that his apartments were at that time occupied by a family; "but," said he, "I will go upstairs to them, and ask them if they will quit the lodgings to make room for you." On his return he told Swedenborg that they were willing to accommodate him; and, what is very singular, they immediately removed without further notice, and gave up their apartments to one who was a total stranger to them.

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"This information I had from Shearsmith's own mouth," says Robert Hindmarsh, who lived nearby and had frequent occasion to employ Shearsmith in his profession of barber and peruke maker, and thus "many opportunities of gaining information from him concerning Swedenborg and his habits of life." (Docu. II, P. 548.)

     Hindmarsh further says of Shearsmith: "He was not attached to any religious sect of professing Christians; but appeared to be a plain, simple and upright man, assenting to the religion of his country as he found it established, yet acknowledging and respecting the good among other denominations, without mixing with any of them. A character of this description was perhaps the most suitable that Swedenborg could have selected for a landlord; and having no prejudices for or against any particular Society, or any particular tenets of a Society, he was always ready candidly and honestly to speak the truth, whenever called upon to answer questions relative to his
venerable and illustrious lodger." (Docu. II, p. 1187.)

     The number of the Shearsmith home at 26 Great Bath Street has not been changed since the year 1772. Dr. Acton examined the musty old record books at the Town Hall in the Borough of Finsbury, and plainly saw Shearsmith's name, just legible, opposite No. 26. He also received the following official letter:

                         "The Town Hall,
                              "Rosebery Avenue, E. C. 1,
                                   "14th August, 1928.
" Dear Sir:
     "With reference to the enquiry made by you at this office, I am now able to inform you, from reference to the Rate Book of that period, that Richard Shearsmith was resident at No. 26 Great Bath Street, Clerkenwell, during the year of 1772, and that there has been no alteration of the numbering of that street since that date.
     "Yours faithfully,
          "HUGH GREEN,
               Town Clerk."

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     [Drawing of Second floor plan.]

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     The apartments occupied by Swedenborg were on the second floor of the Shearsmith dwelling, and the floor-plan printed herewith shows that access to this second story was by a rear entrance to the building. It was in these rooms that the Rev. Thomas Hartley visited Swedenborg four days before his death, in company with Dr. H. Messiter, the physician who attended the Revelator during his last illness, and who was a warm admirer of Swedenborg. In the large front room Swedenborg wrote the Coronis, the manuscript of which, with some pages missing, was found by Augustus Nordenskiold in the house of Dr. Messiter in 1780, the year following his death, (See Documents, II, pp. 507, 522, 545, 580, 1021.) The rear or smaller room was the scene of Swedenborg's passing, as described in an Affidavit by Mr. and Mrs. Shearsmith. (Docu. II, p. 577.)

     Between the two rooms, the landing, "door-way" or "door-stead," as it was variously called, is of special interest. Peckitt, in his testimony, says that Swedenborg would sometimes " stand talking in the door-stead of his room, as if he were holding a conversation with some person; but as he spoke in a language which Mr. Shearsmith did not understand, he could not make anything of it." (Docu. II, p. 545.)

     This "door-way" also figures dramatically in an incident recorded by Robert Hindmarsh, who wrote:

     "The following anecdote was communicated to me by Mr. Shearsmith. Among the many gentlemen and others who, from time to time, came to his house to make inquiries concerning Swedenborg after his decease, one gentleman from St. Croix called to see the apartments which so great and extraordinary a man had occupied; and, being led up to the one pair, he was shown the front and back rooms in which the Author was wont to write and sleep. The stranger quickly passed his eye over the two rooms, and then cast them to heaven, as if in the greatest astonishment that so humble a dwelling should have been chosen for the abode of such an exalted genius as he considered Swedenborg to be. After putting some questions to Mr. Shearsmith, and receiving his answers, he then said, 'Place me, as near as you possibly can, on the same spot in the room as that on which he formerly stood; that is all I request.' Mr. Shearsmith accordingly took him to the door-way between the two rooms, where he had often observed Swedenborg to stand while he was conversing with his invisible friends.

325


'Here,' says Mr. Shearsmith, 'place your feet on these boards, and you will be on the very spot you desire.' The gentleman, then, standing as he was directed, said, 'Am I now exactly in the position, and on the very spot of ground, on which you have observed Swedenborg to stand?' 'You are, Sir,' replied Mr. Shearsmith. 'Then here is half-a-guinea for you,' said the gentleman, 'I am abundantly satisfied with the honor of having for once trod in the footsteps of so great a man.'" (Documents II, p. 550.)
TARRYING OF JOHN 1929

TARRYING OF JOHN       Rev. RICHARD MORSE       1929

     "Jesus saith unto Peter, If I will that John tarry till I come, what is that to thee? Do thou, John, follow me." (John 21:22.)

     It has been revealed that the names of persons and places which appear in the literal sense of the Word are not known in heaven, but only the spiritual qualities which they represent. A very little reflection upon the reason for the giving of the Hebrew or Old Testament Revelation should make it clear that this must be so; for that Revelation would not have been given if the human race had remained in its original integrity. Moreover, because that Revelation inmostly describes the whole process of the Lord's redemption and glorification, accomplished during His whole life on our earth, it would not have been necessary for God to clothe His Divine with the evil heredity of man for the purpose of fighting the hells, since there would be no hells to fight.

     That Revelation was necessary, because it inmostly relates to the Lord's work of Redemption by means of human nature made Divine through temptations and combats; and it was given through representative characters drawn from the three kingdoms of nature and of man.

     The place of the representations was the Land of Canaan, with adjoining regions. The choice of the representations, and the method of representation, being from heaven, the inhabitants of heaven were able thereby to see the whole process of the Lord's Glorification and Redemption which, ages afterwards, the Lord fulfilled as to the least particular.

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     Thus were the heavens preserved; for we read in the Arcana Celestia:

     "In the internal sense of the Word the Lord's whole life is described, such as it was to be in the world, even as to the perceptions and thoughts, for these were foreseen and provided because from the Divine; this being done for the additional reason that all these things might be set forth at that time as present to the angels, who perceive the Word according to the internal sense; and that so the Lord might be before them, and at the same time how by successive steps He put off the human, and put on the Divine.

     "Unless these things had been as if present to the angels, through the Word, and also through all the rites of the Jewish Church, the Lord would have been obliged to come into the world immediately after the fall of the Most Ancient Church; for there was an immediate prophecy of the Lord's advent (Gen. 3:15); and, what is more, the human race of that time could not otherwise have been saved." (A. C. 2523. See also A. C. 2457.)

     When the Lord spoke the words of the text to Peter, He had risen from the sepulchre, and had appeared before the same disciples to whom He had come three years before. As then, so now, they were fishing. They evidently had toiled all night; for the record says: "That night they caught nothing. But when the morning was now come, Jesus stood on the shore: but the disciples knew not that it was Jesus." Then is recorded their success after casting the net on the right side of the ship at the command of the Lord. It was then that Jesus was recognized by John; for the Divine record states: "Therefore that disciple whom Jesus loved saith unto Peter, It is the Lord."

     When they were come to land, "they saw a fire of coals there, and fish laid thereon, and bread." Jesus then said to them, "Bring of the fish which ye have caught." And when Simon Peter drew the net unbroken to land, full of great fishes, Jesus invited them to dine, "And none of the disciples durst ask Him, Who are Thou? knowing that it was the Lord." "Jesus then cometh, and taketh bread, and giveth them, and fish likewise."

     Then it is recorded: "This is now the third time that Jesus shewed Himself to His disciples after that He was risen from the dead."

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     If it were not that every least detail of this incident contains spiritual meanings, which place the whole of it within the mind of every regenerating person, it surely would not form a part of the Word of the Lord, which treats of the Lord's Glorification, and of its image, the regeneration of man. It would doubtless be an intellectual treat to have all the details of the incident spiritually explained; but if nothing more resulted from such explanation, the Word's purpose would not be served. The purpose of the Word is man's regeneration by means of the Lord's Glorification.

     Everything that the Lord has created is for the use of man. The Word itself was not created, but was that by which all things were made, and without which was not anything made that was made. In the Word was life, and the life was the light of men. And we have this eternally important knowledge: "The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among" or within "us, full of grace and truth."

     The Word is the "Child born, the Son given"; and the quality of the Word is-"Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace."

     The Word cannot be circumscribed, any more than God can be circumscribed.

     The use of the Word is the highest use, because the Lord is Use Itself, and men were created by the Word to become uses,-to become inhabitants of the Lord's Kingdom of Heaven, which is a kingdom of uses.

     Therefore it is not sufficient that the internal beauty lying within the commonplace and crude literal sense of the Word shall satisfy the intellect, but that it shall also serve to rouse the will, which is the seat or receptacle of the loves, to respond to the Word's teaching, so that its purpose shall be fulfilled in the soul of every man.

     The cause of the Lord's words to Peter, "If I will that John tarry-wait, or abide-till I come, what is that to thee? Do thou, John, follow me," is contained in the Lord's remarkable utterance to him after the disciples had dined with their risen Lord on the seashore of Galilee. Three times did the Lord say, "Simon Jonas, lovest thou me?" And each time Peter acknowledged that he did. After the first acknowledgment, the Lord said, "Feed my lambs"; and after the others, "Feed my sheep."

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     Then the Lord said to Peter, "Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not."

     It is inconceivable that the God of the universe would so speak to Peter, unless by him was represented some very vital principle within the church, or what should be the church in the mind of every man and woman. If we carefully note the circumstances in connection with an event or place in which this disciple appears, it will be evident that Peter represents the faith of the church. And faith is truth. In early times faith was not known, but truth only.

     When Jesus said to the first of the disciples, "Thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church, it was because of Peter's reply to the Lord's question: "But whom say ye that I am?" Peter replied, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God!" It was upon this faith,-this living Truth, this Rock,-that the true Church of the Lord will be built; not upon the simple ignorant fisherman, who, when put to the test, thrice denied his Lord.

     Peter-the name-means stone, or rock; and everywhere in the Word this substance of nature corresponds to spiritual truth, or faith. And now is made clearer the reason why, after His resurrection, the Lord spoke to Peter in words that could have no meaning, if Peter the person were not lost in Peter the spiritual quality. The meaning is that faith and charity go hand in hand at the commencement of every church.

     Faith is strong and vigorous, because charity is strong and vigorous. Faith receives all its life and light from charity, even as natural light has its luminosity from heat. Without heat there is no light.

     Peter, the person, is not meant by the words: "When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself, and walkedst whither thou wouldest; but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not." Peter the person is not meant, but the faith of the church, which, at the end of the church, is old and blind. It was a Divine prophetic utterance of what would so soon be the faith in that early Christian Church. In the year 325 A.D., spiritual faith was no more. Peter was blind, and instead of leading the way, was himself led.

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     Peter's affirmation, "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God," had no true meaning for that great assembly of Bishops presided over by the Christian Emperor, Constantine; for it dethroned the Lord by assigning Him a second place in an impossible trinity of persons, each of whom was decreed to be God!

     And now we may see the meaning of the words of the text, "Jesus saith unto Peter, If I will that John tarry till I come, what is that to thee?" Or, giving another translation: "What is it to thee, Peter? follow thou me, John!" or "Do thou, John, follow me!" (H. D. 122; L. J. 39; A. E. 229.)

     At the end of a church, true faith is no more, which state is represented by being "old," and "stretching forth the hands," and being "guided by another and carried whither it would not." But though faith is no more, or is false, the good of charity, which John represents, remains. It tarries, waits, or abides until the Lord comes again with a new Revelation, with a new faith or Truth.

     At the end of every church there are a few who have spiritual life, and who will form the nucleus of a new church. At the end of every church, the old faith, the false and decrepit faith, despises charity, which is illustrated by Peter's "turning" and saying to Jesus, "What about this man? " when he saw John following the Lord.

     The translation has, "Lord, and what shall this man do?" But this is not correct, since the words "shall" and "do" are not in the original Greek. The idea intended to be conveyed is that Peter accounted John as nothing, which is exactly what faith, at the end of the church, would say of the good works of charity if it could voice itself.

     John was the disciple whom Jesus loved. So it is frequently recorded. But it should not be supposed that Jesus loved John, the person, more than He loved Peter or James. That John was the disciple whom Jesus loved is so said on account of John's representation.

     The Lord loves all alike; but all do not receive alike. Those who are most in the Lord's love are those who are most loved by the Lord; and those are most in the Lord's love who are what John represents, which is the good of charity, or charity in act, or in the life.

     The Lord is the "Sun of righteousness." He is essential Love and Wisdom-Divine heat and light. In Him is no favoritism. Those who, by charity in act, come under the influence of the Divine Sunshine, come into the Divine warmth and light, and are like those who come out of the cold shadows into the warmth and light of the natural sun of the world.

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     We of the New Church know, or should know, what charity is. Its definition cannot better be given than as stated in the Heavenly Doctrine:

     "Charity itself is to act from justice and fidelity in the office, business, and work in which anyone is, and with whomsoever he has any intercourse. No man, however, can do this from himself, but only from the Lord; nor can a man do this from the Lord until evils are removed. Hence, the first thing of charity is to shun evils because they are sins, and the second is to do the goods of use to the neighbor." (Liturgy, p. 336.)

     It is also said in the Heavenly Doctrine that "charity without faith is not charity"; and this statement may appear inconsistent with the teaching that John, or charity in act, tarries or abides till the Lord comes, while in the meantime Peter or faith perishes. But the inconsistency is an appearance only.

     Revelation, or Divine Truth, may be wholly falsified, as has been done by the first Christian Church, in which not a single truth remained unfalsified; nevertheless, faith remains with those who are in the will to do what is right, and who, by virtue of that willingness believe the Lord to be God. Faith is born of charity, even as light is born of the sun's heat. True charity never parts with faith, for that would not be possible. To say that it can, would be equivalent to saying that love has no means of expression. Love's means of expression is its faith, or truth. It may not be in itself true, but it is accounted true to those who love the Lord and keep His commandments.

     All in the church universal, as distinct from the church specific, are tarrying, or abiding, till the Lord comes. They would not injure the neighbor, either in thought or deed, but rather would they benefit him. They do not esteem themselves as of more importance than others. They love to be of use, and regard idleness as the devil's pillow. These are waiting for the coming of the Lord. And the Lord will surely come to them in the power and light of His new Revelation; if not in this world, owing to some natural hindrance, He will in the other, when they are freed from their material bodies and earth trammels.

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     The Lord, it is said, "suffered no man to follow Him, save Peter, and James, and John." (Mark 5:37.) This was because these three particular disciples represented the regenerate life in true order,-faith, charity, and the works or good uses of charity. No regeneration is complete without these. None but these may witness the Lord's transfiguration. But as the last or John state is the completion of all that Peter and James represent, it is John who tarries till the Lord comes.

     It is because the mother of Jesus represented the church, and John, charity in act, or good works, that the Lord called Mary the "mother" of John, who took her unto his own. The words of the Lord from the cross to John meant that the church would be where good works are.

     Faith and charity, to be effective, must be ultimated in use; and use is faith and charity in act. Everyone has been created to be a form of charity in act, or use; and the daily uses of life pave the way to the higher angelic uses, when, in those daily uses, the Lord and the neighbor are loved; and they are loved when man shuns evils as sins against God. It is said that John lay on the Lord's breast. Here again, what would seem a strange act on the part of the Lord loses its strangeness when it is remembered that everything connected with the Lord's life on earth was representative; for the breast means the good of charity, which also John represents.

     The first Christian Church, as a Church, came to its end very early in its career. Its principal tenet of faith became totally falsified at the beginning of the fourth century; and in the middle of the eighteenth it had run its course. And if a New Church had not then been established by the Lord, into which the remnant who were in the good of life could be received, and to whom a still more interior Revelation could be given, the human race would have perished in self destruction.

     But all through those terrible centuries of spiritual darkness, John "tarried" in the Apocalyptic vision which has been the puzzle of all theologians, who have variously interpreted its extraordinary language. This is not a matter for surprise, since the Lord only can interpret the spiritual sense to a race that has long since lost that science of sciences which is the key to the heavenly mysteries. That science has now been revealed.

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John's vision has been explained; and those only who are in the good of life may see its meaning, and be received into the "Holy City, New Jerusalem," which John said he saw "coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband."

     This is the New Church,-the crown of all the Churches; and it will last for ever.

     This is the Church to which the Lord has come, and for which John has tarried through all the dark ages of the past.

     In this Church the good of life is taught by the Lord for those who will be of His New Church, which is the New Jerusalem. Amen.

     Lessons: Jeremiah 31:31-40. John 21. A. R. 17.
GLORIFIED BODY 1929

GLORIFIED BODY       Rev. W. L. GLADISH       1929

     I. OMNIPRESENCE AND OMNIPOTENCE OF THE DIVINE HUMAN.

     There is no fact better attested by the Sacred Scriptures than that the Lord rose with His whole body, and that in this He differs from spirits, who have not a body of flesh and bones.

     There must be a profound reason connected with this; it must have an important bearing on our salvation, or it would not have been insisted upon with such reiteration.

     Again, in the Heavenly Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, the same point is stated and proven, and illustrated and explained, on many pages and in many volumes.

     We can at least establish the truth in our minds, with its proofs and the reasons given; thus a thoroughly affirmative attitude toward the truth, even if we cannot altogether understand how it can be true, and hope that an understanding of the difficulties will be granted us in the spiritual world, if not in this. For it must be admitted that there are difficulties in the way of our understanding just how some of the things recorded of the risen Lord were done; but these difficulties grow out of our ignorance of essential truths, and the obscurity in which our natural mind gropes in the effort to understand spiritual and Divine verities. Many things that shine forth in clearest light in the spiritual world are seen but dimly, if at all in the light of this world.

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     Let it be said in the beginning of this paper that the universal truth based upon all the phenomena of the Lord's various appearances to His disciples after His resurrection,-the truth to be held continually before the mind of the worshiper of the Lord,- is, that He retained and took into heaven all the Human He assumed in the world, now glorious and fully Divine, in which He continues to be to eternity the visible God,-visible before the natural mind even of men in the world; that He left nothing behind in the tomb, but took up into His Divinity all His Human even to its flesh and bones. Wherefore, He is equally infinite and Divine in His Human as in His Divine; thus as to His Human He is now everywhere present and has all power on earth as in heaven.

     In proof of the Lord's rising with the whole body we have, first, the testimony of the angels to the women: " H is not here, for He is risen, as he said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay." And when Peter and John ran to the sepulcher, and went into the sepulcher, they saw the linen clothes lying, and the napkin that was about His head wrapped together in a place by itself. Thus it was shown that the body was risen, leaving behind only the clothes belonging to this world, which had been wrapped about it.

     Then there are the words recorded by Luke: "Behold my hands and my feet, that it is I myself; handle me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones as ye see me have. And when He had thus spoken, He showed them His hands and His feet." What was meant by His showing them His hands and His feet is made plain in John's Gospel. Thomas was not with the other disciples when the Lord first appeared to them; and when they told him they had seen the Lord, he said, "Except I shall see in His hands the print of the nails, and put my finger into the print of the nails, and thrust my hand into His side, I will not believe." And when, on the next Sunday evening, Thomas was with the disciples, and the Lord appeared in the midst of them, after His salutation, "Peace be unto you," the Lord said to Thomas, "Reach hither thy finger, and behold my hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into my side; and be not faithless but believing." And the Writings say that the Lord caused Thomas actually to put his finger in the print of the nails, and his hand into the wound in His side, that he might be convinced by touch as well as by sight that it was the Lord's actual body, and not merely His Spirit. (L. 41.)

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     Another proof He gave when He asked: "Have ye here any meat? And they gave Him a piece of broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. And He took, and did eat before them." (Luke 24:41-43.)

     Now the manifest purpose of all this was to show and convince the eleven beyond the shadow of a doubt that He had arisen from the dead with the whole body, the body which He had had in the world, the body which was hung on the cross.

     As already Said, the Writings add their testimony to that of the Gospels: "With Him alone was the correspondence of all things of the body with the Divine most perfect." (A. C. 1414.)

     "With the Lord all is Jehovah, . . . even the very body; wherefore He alone rose . . . with the body." (A. C. 1729.)

     "The Lord made Divine . . . even the interior and exterior sensual, thus the very body." (A. C. 2083.)

     "The exterior things of the Natural are what are properly called corporeal or sensuous things, . . . together with their receptacles; the latter with the former constitute what is called the body. The Lord made the Corporeal in Himself Divine, both its sensuous things and their receptacles; wherefore He rose . . . with the body. These things are said that it may be known that no man rises with the body with which he was encompassed in the world, but the Lord alone, and this because He glorified His body or made it Divine while He was in the world." (A. C. 5078.)

     "The evil with man cannot be expelled, but only removed, because he is not life in himself, nor Divine as to the soul, but is only a recipient of the Divine. Therefore man dies as to the body. But the Lord, from the Divine in Himself, expelled the evil from the mother; wherefore He rose with the whole body." (Ath. Cr. 192.)

     "The body of Christ is Divine good and truth." (T. C. R. 372.)

     Thus the fact stands fully and clearly established that the Lord rose with the whole body, the body which He had in the world.

     Yet here come in the difficulties for the natural mind. The body which He had in the world was subject to the limitations of time and space, was composed of material substance, was subject to death. The body with which He rose was wholly glorious and Divine; it appeared in their midst when the doors were shut, and again disappeared from their view; it ascended up into heaven, and indeed above heaven, and is now visible to the angels, and even to men whose spiritual sight is opened, in the midst of the sun of heaven.

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     It is therefore evident that the body in which He rose is of a very different nature from that of the body which hung on the cross. Matter such as composes a physical body cannot enter heaven; still less can it be raised into the Divine Itself. This the Writings clearly teach. They teach that the body which rose contained nothing from the mother, but was solely from the Father, and wholly Divine; that the matter of the maternal body was not transmuted or changed into Divine substance, but that the human from the mother was dissipated in the tomb.

     "The Lord did not transmute the human nature from the mother into the Divine essence, nor commix it with it. . . . Hence He put off the human from the mother, which in itself was like the human of another man, and thus material, and put on a Human from the Father, which in itself was like His Divine, and thus substantial; from which the Human also was made Divine." (L. 35.)

     "That the Lord put off all the maternal in the sepulcher, and rising thence glorified Himself; . . . for in the sepulchre all such was to be dissipated." (Ath. Cr. 161.)

     Now to say that the Lord rose with the same body He had in the world, that He had a body of flesh and bones, a body showing the print of the nails and the spear, a body that could eat the fish and honeycomb which the disciples gave Him, and yet that all the material substance of His body had been dissipated in the tomb,-this seems to our common thought a manifest contradiction. Yet, if so, it only means that we must admit into our minds new ideas, and that some words must take on new and wider meanings. And why not? We have often seen this to be the case. The Writings, opening up a whole new world of ideas, often use words to convey new and deeper meanings than have been embodied in those words heretofore.

     Let us see whether we cannot get some glimpses of the meaning the Lord sought to convey by the proofs He showed to His disciples, and by the explanations He has given to the New Church, remembering that even the dimmest perceptions of spiritual and Divine truths grow brighter and brighter with the passing years.

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     Matter in itself is dead; God is living, is life itself. Yet matter is capable of being moved by life, of being formed and woven into receptacles of life, and so of presenting forms of life to our view in the natural world. To come into the world, the Lord had to clothe Himself with a body of material substance from His human mother; but the soul and life which organized those matters and gave them form was the Divine life. Interiorly His body was Divine from conception and birth; the material receptacles from the virgin mother but gave His Divine body forth-standing form in this world before the physical eyes of men, both good and bad alike.

     Moreover, the fact that these organic vessels, constituting the rudiments of His natural mind, as well as His body, were assumed from a human mother, carried with it the imperfections, the twist and warp of her own disposition. Thus the Lord "laid on Him the iniquity of us all." This served the purpose of His coming. It gave Him contact with men, understanding of them, understanding of the nature of self-love and love of the world, so that He "knew what was in man." It gave the hells approach to Him, so that He could be tempted in all points like as we are.

     But he never appropriated to Himself any of those evils from the mother, but in every case rejected them, accepting instead life from the Divine. So He successively put off all the forms from the mother, and put on in their place the perfect forms of life from the indwelling Father.

     Thus His real body, His living body, His substantial body, that body which made Him the Christ the Son of God, was of God and from God even while He was in the world. The matters which made Him visible before men, and subject to the assaults of infernal spirits, were no real part of His living body; they were but carried in the currents of His life so as to make Him visible, but ready to be dropped and dissipated as soon as they had fully served His purpose.

     Only by means of this veil of matter could He reveal Himself to men in the world; by this only could He reveal, to men what they had done to His Divine, to His Word. He was the Word made flesh, the prophet. He permitted men to do to Him in person all that they had done spiritually to His eternal, living Word. At the same time He showed the Divine reaction to all human evil and hatred; revealed the Divine Love and Wisdom. "Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do."

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     Now the importance of His showing both His disciples and the men of His New Church that He rose with His whole body which He had in the world, although the dead matter which gave Him visible finite limits in the world was dissipated by death,-is, lest we should think that the natural degree of life, that of a Divine Man in the world, was put off and dissipated, and has ceased to be any part of the Divine. In that case we should think of the Divine as having assumed a human for a time in the world, and then, having put it off and reverted into the invisible Divine again; so being as before, a God "without body, parts or passions,"-thus a God Whom no man hath seen at any time, as the Lord Himself said of the Father.

     But no; by the incarnation and the glorification of His Human the Lord added to His Divine a new degree which it had not before,-the natural degree, the plane of human life in the world. By this means He added a Divine substantial Body, making the eternal God visible before the mind of man in the world.

     The Lord had this degree in potency from the beginning, had the power to put it on, or He could not have created man to live in this degree of life. But the Lord God could put it on and make it actual in Himself only by birth of a virgin, and then by glorification.

     Think and say what could become of that life He lived here among men, and of the organic forms which constituted that life? A finite man who lives a life conjoined with the Divine by faith and love cannot perish to eternity; his soul has become a receptacle of the Divine; he lives forever. How much more permanent and enduring must have been the very organic forms which contained the Divine Itself and constituted His life among men in the world.

     All this life which the Lord lived in the organic vessels assumed through the virgin was new. It did not change the Divine as He is in first principles, above the heavens; but it did add to the Divine a new degree of life,-that of His own life lived in our finite world. Thus He added to Himself a new natural degree, a body, in which He makes Himself visible in His own Divine Human even to the natural mind of men in the world.

     This degree of life which He put on He glorified and retains. In it He has the full power of His omnipotence in the natural world, in ultimates;-not as before His incarnation, when He could work in ultimates only through angels and men, limited by their imperfect reception, and finally rendered impotent in the natural realm by the fact that there was no longer any human reception of the Divine.

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"I looked, and there was no man." "Therefore mine own arm brought salvation."

     That the Lord rose with His whole body which He had in the world, leaving behind nothing of that life of affection and of truth that He showed to His followers,-although He dissipated all the maternal human with its dead matter, and that He now exists in a visible substantial human form,-this is the very essential doctrine of the Church of the New Jerusalem. Without this doctrine we could not worship the Lord Jesus Christ as the God of heaven and earth, whose Human is Divine, and whose Divine is Human.

     II. THE WOUNDS IN THE LORD'S BODY, AND THE EATING OF FOOD.

     We have now considered the proofs which the Lord gave in such abundance, both in the Word and the Writings, that He rose with the whole body fully glorified, that is, made Divine.

     The importance of this, and of its acknowledgment in the Church, cannot be overestimated. For upon it depends the acceptance of the Divinity of the Lord's Human and the worship of the visible God. This is the truth upon which the Church of the New Jerusalem, the true Christian Church, is founded; namely, that our God is now visible, having a Divine Natural Body. This is only true if He rose with His whole body, even its flesh and bones.

     Yet we are not to think of His risen body as material. Matter is dead; and what is dead cannot be changed into life. On the contrary, we are clearly taught that the matter of His body was not transmuted into the Divine body with which He rose, but was put off and-dissipated in the tomb. The Lord's body, after His resurrection, was wholly of Divine substance, put on from the indwelling Father, He was seen only when He opened the disciples' spiritual sight. This is why He appeared among them, and again disappeared. He was never seen by the physical eye after His resurrection.

     Now herein lies our difficulty, the difficulty of the natural mind thinking from the light of the world. It seems that if the matters composing His maternal human were dissipated, He could have no body left, surely not the body He had in the world; for He had in the world a material body.

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The only body the natural man knows is composed of material substances; take away matter, and no body is left. Granted; that is true so far as the merely natural man is concerned. Even as the spiritual eyes of the disciples had to be opened, that they might see Him after His resurrection, so, in a certain sense, must our spiritual sight be opened, that we may see Him after He put off the maternal human.

     But the Divine had not fully come into the world when He was born of virgin mother, a little babe. The assumed human, the maternal human, was but the means by which He was to come in Divine majesty and glory. His coming was gradual and successive. It took place as in every experience of life He rejected the human from the mother, and accepted in its stead the Divine Human from the Father. Thus He was not only conceived, but also born, of the Father. For, as He rejected the thought and affection from the mother's heredity, He put off the form and substance from her, and put on instead new form and new substance from the indwelling Divine.

     This new body of substance and form from the Divine was the body He had in the world, so far as He was the Son of God; this was the very Divine Human.

     We are taught that to think first of the Divine form, and from that of His essence, is to think of God materially; but to think of His Divine essence, and from that of His form, is to think of God spiritually. (A. R. 611.)

     Let us apply this teaching to the Divine Human Body of the Lord, The life lived by the Lord in the world was a new, a unique, thing. It was not the life of the Divine above the heavens, but the life of the Divine in a human assumed from man. Every human experience as a finite, created being, with all the problems caused by evil and falsity, was thought through and lived through as a man, yet not as a mere man, but as a Divine Man. At first His Human was limited on one side; but within it opened up to the infinite Divine.

     Now this life lived in our humanity was organic; it had organic forms just as every human life must have; and finally those organics were altogether Divine, both in form and in substance. Then they could never cease to be; could never be put off by the Divine. If a finite man is made immortal by conjunction with the Divine, so that he can never perish, how much more immortal and eternal must be the Divine Human of the Lord God!

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     This now constituted a Divine Natural, a Divine Human Body, the soul of which was the Divine called the Father, the Divine made visible by life in the world. Yet it is not visible as Divine until the maternal human with its dead matters is dissolved before our view, allowing the glory of the unclothed Divine to shine through.

     This Divine Body was the body which the Lord had in the world. He had the rudiments of it by conception from the Father; put it on gradually in organic forms even to flesh and bones within the maternal human as a matrix. Finally He dissipated the maternal human, and then the Divine Human shone out for those who had eyes to see it, that is, for His disciples, and for such as could have their spiritual sight opened.

     Now in this glorified body there were wounds. He showed them the print of the nails, and the wound made by the spear in His side. If this was a Divine body, how could it be wounded?

     It has often been said by New Churchmen that the wounds were not really there, but only appeared to the disciples from correspondence. It is true they appeared from correspondence; but they were there, although they were not made by the material nails and spear of iron, but came from a deeper cause.

     This will be seen if it be remembered that the Lord suffered His passion as the Word, and that everything they did to Him was representative of what they had done spiritually to His Word. They put a purple robe upon Him, a crown of thorns, a reed scepter in His hand, and bowed the knee before Him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!"-mocking Him, just as they had made a mockery of His Word and worship. There was not one least thing done to Him that did not in its minutest particulars represent what had been done by them to His Word in their hearts.

     He bore all these things in order to make manifest to angels and to men, even to eternity, what would otherwise be hidden from their view. He suffered them to put Him to death because they had already crucified His Word. His hands and His feet represent the Divine power in ultimates. This power in the church, and thus among men, was destroyed by their falsifications. They had, as it were, nailed the Divine Himself to their cross of false and evil doctrines in such a way as to deprive Him of all power among them.

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He no longer had power to save. Hence He came Himself, and took on the human and became our Redeemer and Savior. His crucifixion but revealed the wounds His Divine Human had suffered from the time of the establishment of the church among them.

     The wound in His side, or His breast, had a similar significance, except that the breast, where the heart is, represents the Divine Love. The soldier's piercing it represented the entire destruction of the Divine Love,-or Divine Good,-among them.

     These wounds to the Divine Man, by which He was deprived of all power and all life in the Jewish Church, were first and primarily in the minds and hearts of the Jews. According to a fixed law of the spiritual world they had to be projected outside of them, visibly before their eyes, whenever they were looked at by eyes which saw clearly in the light of truth. In the presence of the Lord Himself, who saw in full Divine light, these wounds appeared in the spiritual world, and they were also inflicted upon Him in the natural world, to the end that all things might be done in ultimates and so in fulness and power.

     Therefore these wounds were in His Divine Human-i.e., in His Divine Human as received in the Church, and had to appear there, had to be seen there by His disciples, and by good spirits and angels, until He ascended to His Father, as a testification to them that there was no longer any Divine life in the Jewish Church,-a testimony that the Lord had suffered death among them.

     It is similar at the present time. The first things the Lord shows to His disciples in His second coming are the wounds in His Divine Human, that He has been "done to death in the house of His friends." He who cannot see these wounds can never see the need of a New Church.

     Another stumbling block to faith is the Lord's eating of material food when He was no longer in a material body, but a Divine substantial body. This too was representative, and had to be done to set forth a great truth. By this He represented at the same time both the nature of His risen body, and the nature of the church He would raise up among them and their successors.

     It is not necessary to think that the Lord in His Divine Human assimilated material food just as we are nourished by food. His love is fed by our reception of the good and truth He offers us, by our reciprocation of His love and His wisdom. This was represented by His asking for and eating the food they had there.

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"Have ye here any food? And they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. And He took, and did eat before them."

     "Fish" represent the scientific truths of the Word, the simple truths of its literal sense, such as are first received; and a "honeycomb" represents the delight of the natural and sensual man in such truths.

     The Lord had demonstrated to them by scientific proofs, by sight and touch, that He had power over death and hell, and that it was He Himself who had come back to them from the tomb. They believed these proofs, and rejoiced in heart that the Lord was restored to them.

     Here was provided the human reciprocal He sought. This was the purpose of His coming. In this was involved the successful implanting of His church. And this reception of Him by faith and love was represented by His asking food of them and eating before them of the food which they provided.

     When we come to the Holy Supper, our souls are not nourished by the material food we take into our mouths, but by our reception of the Divine good and truth represented by these symbols. So with the broiled fish and honeycomb which the Lord received and ate. It is probably allowable for us to think that the material food was dissipated by the ardency of the Divine life, which is like most pure fire; but the spiritual food with which He was nourished was-as said-the human reception and reciprocation of His love and wisdom.

     The fish was "broiled" to represent the effect of the warmth of love-or of fire-upon the truth. It is not merely believed, but is believed from love. It was not a whole fish, but a "piece" of a broiled fish and a "piece" of a honeycomb, because the disciples did not see the whole of the truth involved in His resurrection and glorification; they got but a partial view of it, as indeed do we in the New Church, and as do all men and even angels. No finite mind can see the whole truth concerning the nature of the Divine Human. Though we should find some way to explain to our satisfaction every mystery, and though our understanding of the subject should seem to us beautifully rational, still it must ever be but a partial understanding; for the finite mind cannot grasp the whole truth.

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     The disciples and the first Christian Church were able to receive from the Lord only scientific and sensual truth, and the delight or the good of that truth. That Church was in the natural, and in the literal sense of the Word. They thought from the light of the world, and understood all spiritual things in that light. This was especially meant by the fish and the honeycomb.

     That Church thought of the Lord's risen body as not only natural but also material. And their thought of heaven was material and sensual. They believed that our physical bodies should rise again and enter heaven.

     In His second coming, our Lord has opened for His New Church the spiritual sense of His Word and the nature of the spiritual world. He has revealed "in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself," and the steps by which He assumed and glorified His Human. By means of His opened Word we may stand before His face, and may see Him in the very light by which angels see Him.

     But that we may so see Him, it is necessary that we allow Him to lift our minds into the light of heaven. We must believe in a spiritual world that is more real and substantial than this world,-a world of substance and of form; and we must believe that man's spiritual body is an actual organic body. We must also believe that the Divine is substance itself and form itself; that although the Divine is above the grasp of our physical senses it is the underlying reality of the whole universe, the only Life, in Whom we live and move and have our being; that He is both above and below, within and around all created things, and that He is Divine Man.

     To the merely natural man, who thinks solely in the light of this world, these truths will ever seem beyond comprehension and belief. But to one who has suffered the Lord to open his spiritual mind by the truths of the opened Word, they seem fully proven in rational light as evidently as any scientific truth is proven in scientific light.

     He who thinks in this light from the Word will be able to see the Lord in His glory as a Divine Man, having even a Natural Body on the plane of man's body in the world; not composed of matter, nor even of spiritual substance, but of Divine Substance, yet made visible before the mind, and hence before the spiritual sight, by the assumption and glorification of His Human.

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NATURE OF THE WRITINGS 1929

NATURE OF THE WRITINGS       Rev. THEODORE PITCAIRN       1929

     The Lord has established His covenant with the church under three types of revelation, written in three languages, Hebrew, Greek, and Latin.

     The recognition and acknowledgment of the Divinity of these revelations has always been a gradual process in that church which was most immediately concerned. The Jewish Church first recognized the stone tables, written upon by the finger of God, as His Word. Shortly thereafter the Five Books of Moses were acknowledged as Divinely inspired. It was not until the Lord declared the Divinity of what was written by the Prophets that these boobs were acknowledged as equal to the Law of Moses; and this in spite of the fact that nearly every one of the prophetical messages begins with the words, "Thus saith the Lord," or its equivalent.

     In the New Testament we find far fewer statements as to its own Divinity than in either the Old Testament or the Writings. The Lord did indeed say, "Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away" (Matt. 24:35); and in Revelation (22:18-20) we read, "If any man add unto these things, God shall add unto him the plagues that are written in this book. 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, and out of the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book. He that testifieth these things saith, Surely I come quickly. Amen; even so come, Lord Jesus." But, apart from these two statements, there is little said in the New Testament concerning itself. Nevertheless, the Christian Church came to recognize the New Testament as the Word of God, and as equal with the Old.

     The testimony of the Writings concerning their own Divinity is far greater than that of either the Old or the New Testament; as the following few quotations will illustrate:

     "Through an hour's experience it was shown to me how all thoughts are ruled by the Lord. There was an influx which flowed in from the Lord . . . which led the whole series of my thoughts, . . . insomuch that I could not wander into other thoughts." (A. C. 6474.)

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     "When I think of what I am about to write, and while I am in the act of writing, I enjoy a perfect inspiration, otherwise it would be my own; but now I know for certain that what I write is the living truth of God." (Docu. ii: 404.)

     "It has been granted me to Perceive what came from the Lord and what came from the angels. That which came from the Lord has been written, and that which came from the angels has not been written." (A. E. 1183.)

     "The books which were written by the Lord by means of me must now be enumerated." Here was to follow a list of the Writings. (Eccl. Hist.)

     "And it was told them that they are not my works, but the Lord's, who desired to reveal the nature of heaven and hell." (S. D. 6102.)

     "As regards myself, I have not been allowed to take anything from the mouth of any spirit, nor from the mouth of any angel, but from the mouth of the Lord alone." (De Verbo 13.)

     "It has pleased the Lord now to reveal many arcana of heaven . . . . This revelation is meant by the Second Coming of the Lord." (A. E. 641.)

     "By the Word is meant all Divine Truth from the Lord in His kingdom . . . . And because the truth is meant, therefore by the Word is meant every revelation." (A. C. 2894.)

     "All Divine Truth is called the Word." (A. C. 5075.)

     "The spiritual sense of the Word has been disclosed by the Lord through me. . . . The Lord Himself is in it with His own Divine, . . . and not a jot could have been opened except by the Lord alone. This surpasses all revelations which have hitherto been since the creation of the world. By this revelation there is opened a communication with the angels of heaven." (Inv. 43-44.)

     "This immediate revelation is the Advent of the Lord." (Ath. Creed 1.)

     These are but a few of the statements of the Writings testifying to their own Divinity in most striking terms. The Writings state far more explicitly and clearly that they are Divine, and are the Lord in His Second Coming, than the New Testament states that the Christ is God Himself.

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And there are no passages that might bring this teaching into doubt, as is the case in the New Testament where the Lord said, "The Father is greater than I."

     The New Testament also corroborates the plain teaching of the Writings concerning themselves, in a prophecy of the giving of the Writings, where the Lord said: "I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now." "The time cometh when I shall show you plainly of the Father." (John 16:12, 25.)

     II.

     While the Writings most clearly manifest their own Divinity, they are not so explicit in revealing the manner in which they veil the Divine, and thus the way in which they differ from the Old and New Testaments. Still, the Writings give us certain doctrines which may enable us to understand something of their nature.

     The question arises: Are the Writings the Word of God, and have they a literal and an internal sense? If the Writings are Divine, and are the Lord in His Second Coming, they must be His Word. Yet usually when the Writings speak of the Word, and especially when they speak of its literal sense, they evidently are referring to the Old and New Testaments; but this apparent difficulty need not deter us. When the Lord spoke of the Law and the Prophets as teaching concerning Himself, or as depending upon the Two Great Commandments, He obviously referred to the Old Testament; yet the understanding perceives that we must include in this teaching the fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets contained in the New Testament. In the case of the Writings, the same rule applies. When they speak of the Word, they commonly mean the Old and New Testaments; but in a broader sense these references include also the fulfillment of those Testaments which is found in the Writings. To illustrate: The Writings tell us that all doctrine is to be drawn from the letter of the Word, and confirmed by it. (S. S. 50.) All New Churchmen, consciously or unconsciously, have applied this teaching to the Writings themselves, drawing their doctrine from the statements contained in their pages, and confirming it by them.

     If the Writings are the Word, it would necessarily seem to follow that they have an internal sense and a literal sense. Surely "the crown of revelations," the Word of God, the Lord Himself in His Second Coming, inmostly regarded, can treat of nothing but the Divine Human Itself; yea, like the ancient Scriptures, it must contain Divine Truth as it is above the heavens. This is the internal of the Writings.

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     Swedenborg several times mentions seeing the Writings in the spiritual world. For example, he tells us that the words, "This book is the Advent of the Lord," were written on every copy of the Brief Exposition in that world. From what we are told about writing in heaven, it is clear that the books in that world must have differed greatly from what they are in this world. In that world, there would be no reference to time, place, person, or nation, though the Writings, as we have them, frequently refer to such natural things. The Writings, as read in each heaven, must be discretely different in correspondence with the nature of the three heavens. Thus the Writings in the natural heaven will be spiritual-natural, and will treat of faith and obedience; in the spiritual heaven they will be spiritual, and will treat of love and charity towards the neighbor; while in the celestial heaven they will be celestial, and will treat throughout of the Lord and His Divine Human. Yet all these degrees must be contained in the Writings as they are on earth.

     In the hells, or in the mind of an evil man, the Writings would be an ultimate of falsity. To illustrate, let us take the statement that "God is Love." To an evil man, "love" has an evil association; he thinks of it in ideas of his own love, which is evil; this is the only kind of love he knows. The word "God" means to him one who is all powerful; but he knows no other power than the power of ruling, which has its origin in the love of self. Wherefore, the words "God is Love," in the sense in which he understands them, are a dire falsity.

     Here it must be noted that the living Word is not the mere book on a table; it is the Word in man's mind; and, in one sense, it is not the Word when in the mind of an evil man who does not acknowledge its holiness. The Word is truly the Word only as it is vivified by the Lord in man. Likewise, a man who knows the Writings, and yet has no belief in them, is not in the internal sense of the Word.

     III.

     Let us now consider in what ways the Writings are the same as the Old and New Testaments, and in what ways they differ from them. First, as to the agreement.

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     The Letter of the Word is said to be written according to the appearances of the spiritual world. Certainly this is also true of the Writings, a considerable part of which is actual description of things heard and seen in that world. These appearances correspond to and represent interior things, the appearances forming the letter or body which contains the spirit. But this quality of appearance belongs, not only to the descriptions, but also to what we usually think of as purely doctrinal statements. For example, the words higher, lower, internal, external, influx, form, degree, and even such words as infinite and omnipresence, are all words that refer to space and spacial relations in their literal meaning, and as such they cannot enter heaven.

     That the Writings have a literal sense is confirmed by a statement in the Spiritual Diary, where we read:

     "Spirits said that those things which I have written are so crude and gross (rudia et crassa) that they suppose nothing which is interior can be understood from those words or the mere sense of the words. I also perceived by a spiritual idea that it was so, that my expressions were very rude; wherefore it was given me to reply that [my words] are only vessels in which purer, better, and interior things can be infused, like a literal sense; that such as it were vessels are many senses of the letter of the Prophets, and that their expressions were not only rude, but even bordered on the mire, the dung-hill, and mud, and yet interior, clean, and sacred things can be infused in them; as, for instance, that the Lord is angry, that He is full of wrath, that He kills. These expressions are so roughly framed that it scarcely can be credited that aught of good can be infused therein; when yet the prophets spake to the apprehension of the common people, and if they had spoken otherwise, naught that is good could have been infused, because it would not have been understood." (S. D. 2185.)

     Swedenborg here compares his own Writings to the letter of the Word, and gives the reason for clothing them in the words he used, namely, that truths may come to the apprehension of men.

     In the Apocalypse Explained 641, we read: "The interior things of the Word, of the church, and of worship, were revealed by the Lord when He was in the world; and now again, things still more interior are revealed." This passage shows that the fact that a revelation reveals the interior truths of the Word does not necessarily preclude the idea that it may also have a letter of its own which contains an internal sense.

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The New Testament was such a revelation, and there seems to be no good reason for denying this to the Writings.

     In Divine Providence 251, after speaking of the wars of the Children of Israel with the Amorites and the Philistines, the number continues: "Like things are represented by wars at this day, wherever they occur; for all things that take place in the natural world correspond to spiritual things in the spiritual world, and all spiritual things concern the Church. It is not known in this world what kingdoms in Christendom answer to the Moabites and Ammonites, what to the Syrians and Philistines, etc., but still there are those who do correspond to them." Who can doubt that, when the angels read in the Writings of the various modern nations, they read them according to this correspondence? And that the same applies to the various men mentioned, such as Luther, Calvin, and Charles the Twelfth?

     IV.

     So far we have considered the similarity between the Writings and the Old and New Testaments; let us now mention some of the differences. These differences are indeed great, for the former revelations were in part a prophecy of the Lord, and in part a description of the Lord's life on earth; while the Writings are a manifestation of the Lord glorified and appearing in His Second Coming.

     When the Lord glorified His Human, He did away with mere representatives. Everything, therefore, in the Writings is true on every plane. To illustrate: Some of the laws given by Moses, as also some of the rules of life given by the Lord while on earth, are to be obeyed literally, while others are not. There is no rule of life given in the Writings which is not given to us to apply to our life, and this for the reason that in them there is a perfect and full correspondence between the spiritual and the natural, in contrast with many of the laws of Moses and some in the New Testament which are merely representative, and which do not necessarily apply to life in the form given in the letter.

     To illustrate this difference further: A man or a nation mentioned in the letter of the Word might, owing to some external consideration, represent a spiritual quality totally unlike his own internal character.

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In the Writings, the internal representation of a man or nation is in entire agreement with the internal state of the man or nation which is treated of. The Writings, being in a rational form, and being a manifestation of our glorified Lord, unlike other Divine Revelations, are true and applicable to life on every plane, from the inmost Divine to the letter. We will further illustrate this by the work on Conjugial Love. All the relations of man and woman described there correspond to the relations of good and truth or their opposite; therefore, there is nothing said of the one that does not apply to the other. On the other hand, as we have said, some of the laws given in the Old Testament merely represented spiritual relationships, but did not fully correspond. All such laws were either abolished by the Lord when He came on earth, or are now abolished in the Writings; as, for example, the law that a man should marry his deceased brother's wife.

     The Writings make a further distinction between themselves and former revelations, stating that they are an immediate revelation from the Lord, while the Old and New Testaments are a mediate revelation. That is, in the case of Swedenborg, the Lord led him directly, by an internal dictate, while in the case of the Old and New Testaments the intermediation of angels and spirits was used to direct the writers.

     Another great difference, which is as plainly stated as it is obvious, is that the Writings are a rational revelation, in contrast with the former revelations, which, as to their ultimates, are sensual or on the plane of the imagination. The Old Testament, in its ultimate form, reveals sensual truth; the New Testament, moral truth; and the Writings, in their ultimate, reveal rational truth.

     V.

     The Divine Truth, such as it is in itself, is above the apprehension of the angels of heaven. All truths must be veiled, in order to come to men. These veilings are the letter of revelation. The veiling may be dense, as in the case of the Old Testament; or it may be light, as in the case of the Writings, where the splendor shines through; but in either case it is a veiling.

     While all New Churchmen would admit that parts of the Memorable Relations are, in a sense, written according to correspondences, it might be doubted as to whether this is true of the expository works such as the Arcana Celestia, the Apocalypse Revealed and the Apocalypse Explained.

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     We believe that it is possible to take too narrow a view of correspondence, thinking of it only as the relation of some natural object to its spiritual correspondent. There is a correspondence on every plane of both the physical and mental worlds. The fact that the larger part of the Writings is in the form of abstract statement of doctrine does not take away the possibility of an internal sense. We lead in the Old Testament such passages as these: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength"; "There is one God, and there is no other than He"; "O give thanks unto the Lord, for He is good, for His mercy is forever." There is a spiritual sense contained in these just as much as in those passages which have a letter of sensual imagery. In the case of the passage quoted, the internal sense makes one with the literal sense. In such cases, the lower or higher degrees of the internal sense are not in the statement, but in the understanding of the statement. The Jews understood such passages carnally and sensually; they thought of God as a natural potentate much like their own kings. Spiritual angels, in reading such passages, would have a spiritual idea of God, and the celestial angels would have a celestial idea.

     In passages like those we have quoted the internal sense shines through. They are expressions of the truth in the highest possible form in human language; yet one would not say that such expressions have not an internal sense. The Writings, to a large extent, express truths in such a sublime manner that there can be found no possible expression that is more interior; but this is no reason why their language may not be read spiritually by the spiritual angels and celestially by the celestial angels.

     If the Writings are part of the letter of the Word, in a broad sense, how is it that they call themselves the internal and spiritual sense? With respect to this question we must note that the Writings frequently use the same word with different significations in different series. The internal sense is sometimes defined as the "soul" of the Word, while the letter is its "body." But the word "soul" is used with several different meanings. In the highest sense, the soul means the influx of life from God; this life vivifies every degree of the mind or body.

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The term "soul" is frequently used to indicate that which is in the spiritual world, as over against that which is in the natural world. In another series it is defined as a higher degree in relation to a lower degree, as that the rational mind is the soul of the natural mind, or the celestial mind is the soul of the spiritual mind. The letter of the Writings is not the soul or internal sense of the Word, if by this term we mean influx or life; on the other hand, if by the soul or internal sense we mean a higher or more interior degree of formulated truth, then the Writings, even in their ultimate form, are the internal sense and soul of the Old and New Testaments.

     Again, if we use the term "internal sense" to designate the Word as it is in the spiritual world, we must agree that the Writings are not that internal sense, although in the closest agreement with it. The difference between the internal sense in the heavens and the internal sense as presented in the Writings is shown to us in Arcana Celestia, 1772, where Swedenborg says: "Of the Lord's Divine mercy, it has also been conceded me to see the Lord's Word in its beauty in the internal sense, and this many times; not as it is while the single expressions are being explained as to the internal sense, but all and single things in one series, which may be said to be the seeing of a heavenly paradise from an earthy one." (See also numbers preceding this.) In the spiritual sense as it is in heaven each letter and each curve of a letter has its signification.

     If the Writings themselves have an internal sense it might seem necessary to have a further revelation to expound it; but this is not the case, for the reason that we have been granted the knowledge of correspondences, and the genuine doctrine of the church, as it is in heaven; and if we are worthy, we can be granted the third requisite for understanding the Word, and even the Writings, interiorly,-namely, illustration.

     There is an interesting correlation between the life history of the individual and that of the race. An infant has only sensual ideas, and can have no other truths; later in childhood he is instructed in moral truths; and finally, as a youth, he learns spiritual-rational truths. On the other hand, a young infant is surrounded with celestial angels, and is gifted with celestial remains; later in childhood he is surrounded with spiritual angels, and is gifted with spiritual remains; and finally, in youth, angels of the natural heavens are more closely present, with whose assistance he may be gifted with celestial-natural and spiritual-natural remains.

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If man then regenerates, a reverse process takes place. The remains last received are vivified first; then he is raised into the spiritual degree as the remains of childhood become vivified; and at last he may be introduced into the celestial state, as the remains of infancy become vivified. On the other hand, it is the rational which is first regenerated in manhood, later the natural, and finally the sensual; the Lord alone perfected the ultimate of the sensual,-the body itself; wherefore, He alone rose with this degree of His Human.

     Turning to the history of the race, we find a similar progression. The first age was an age of celestial perception and sensual imagery; of this the Old Testament in its letter is the external form and replica. The age of the childhood of the race is one of spiritual perception within, and of moral instruction outwardly; the New Testament would seem to answer to this state. The period of the young manhood of the race is on the plane of the natural heaven internally, and externally it is the time of spiritual-rational development; the Writings appear to answer to this state and age.

     Following our analogy, the New Church will first come into the interior understanding of the Writings as it becomes spiritual-natural; later it will come into the interior understanding of the New Testament; and finally, as it becomes celestial, it will enter into a deeply internal understanding of the Old Testament. Certainly it would seem probable that a perception of the signification of the Hebrew Old Testament, as to the jots and tittles and the curvatures of the letters, will only be attained in the final stage of development.

     Let us note that with the celestial man all degrees of the mind are essentially celestial, and are really one. So, we believe, it will be in the New Church in its Golden Age, when the three forms of Revelation will be seen clearly as the three degrees of the Human of the Lord, all of which are Divine, and therefore, inmostly regarded, are One Divine Word.

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TORTOISES 1929

TORTOISES       Rev. W. H. ALDEN       1929

     A STORY OF THE OTHER WORLD.

     (Based upon the Memorable Relation in True Christian Religion 462.)

     John and Jan walked swiftly along the road which led to the sea. Jan had proposed that they visit some great docks, where there were curious tortoises who gave strange instruction.

     "I do not know just what to make of it," said Jan. "These great shelled creatures climb up upon the ships, and then teach us. The queer thing about it, queerer even than the fact that the tortoises can speak, is that they have two heads,-a large one which teaches the living of a good and useful life and a small one that introduces itself into the large head, and changes the meaning of everything it teaches. The large head teaches that we should not lie or steal, or in any way injure one another, all of which seems right and good. But then the little head, which appears shrewd and cunning, declares that all this teaching is for the sake of being well thought of among men, and has nothing to do with our relation to the Lord or our salvation."

     "The two things do not seem to fit," agreed John. "You know that we have been taught in our school that the living of a good life the shunning of evils as sins, the refusing to do evil because the Lord has so commanded, is the way to heaven, the very way of salvation."

     "Yes indeed," said Jan, "but what would you say to them? There are many who listen and who are convinced by a certain plausibility of manner in these teachers that they are right. It seems easy for them to think that they are saved by some means in which they have no part; that they have only to confess their belief that they are saved by the Lord's dying for them on the cross."

     "I should think," said John, "that those who believe such a thing would not be very careful to do what is right and to shun what is evil, if only they are not found out. If they are saved by simply believing that the Lord died for them on the cross, and thus bore the penalty of their sins, this would seem to make salvation very easy, and the living a good life, except to be seen of other men, not at all necessary."

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     "Well," said Jan, "I have brought you to hear them, and to help me think up some way of preventing this false idea from being accepted by those who listen. Suppose, when we hear them teach such contradictory things, we call out, "No! No! that is not true!" There might be some who would stand with us, and prevent the spreading of such false notions."

     John agreed to this, and they went on their way, passing through beautiful fields in which there were flocks of sheep, and also many flowers which sprang up as they passed and seemed to greet them joyfully and bid them welcome. On their left was a range of hills which rose higher and higher as they passed on, till they became mountainous. The way led along the base of these mountains, and as they looked up to the heights their thoughts and affections were likewise uplifted.

     The day, which had been bright and cheerful, suddenly became dark and overcast, and they were struck by a cold blast from a ravine, a cleft which opened far into the hill and seemed to slope downward. It was from this cleft that the darkness and the cold had come forth like a smoky cloud, hiding the face of the sun. They drew near to the ravine, and suddenly a man rushed out. He was in great haste, and apparently in terror. Gazing down into the rocky opening out of which he had come, they saw many dark shadows,-shapes that looked human but were not human, monstrous forms which seemed to be pursuing the man. But now the shadowy forms shrank back, and the fugitive, coming to the two children, fell at their feet exhausted.

     "Come," said Jan, "we must help this poor man. Run down to the little brook that flows yonder from the mountain, and bring some water to revive him."

     John did so, and as he bathed the man's face in the clear water, and moistened his lips with the cool drops, he revived, opened his eyes, and spoke.

     "Have they gone?" he cried; and when they reassured him, he exclaimed, "Thank the Lord, they no longer pursue me! This time I have escaped them!"

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     "What is it?" eagerly inquired the children. "You are safe here, you know. Here the Lord rules, and no evil can approach."

     "Yes," said the stranger, "I am sure that here no evil can approach. That is because you are children, and innocent; and evil cannot dome near you."

     "But how," they said in wonder, "how could evil hold you? Surely, if you look to the Lord, the evil spirits could not harm you."

     "Yes," returned their visitor, " But I did not always approach the Lord, and I did not know the way to avoid the evil spirits, When I was a man in the world, I believed, as do so many others, that I should be saved, if only I believed that the Lord had died on the cross for me, and that while I should live a good life in the world for the sake of standing well with men about me, I should win heaven simply and solely by belief in the saving power of the Lord's blood that was shed on the cross. So when opportunity came to gain success by some deceit, by over-reaching others in business, I yielded to the temptation, thinking it would not matter so far as my salvation was concerned. I was successful, and yet managed to stand well with my fellows in the world. They judged me partly by my generosity; for I was friendly with those about me, hospitable, kind, active in what men call good works. I built hospitals, poured out my money freely to succor the needy, to mitigate the effects of famine in my own and other lands. I knew, indeed, that my shrewdness brought ruin to many, but I considered this an inevitable accompaniment of skill in business,-a game in which some won, some lost. Besides, competition was necessary,-the life of trade; he who was strongest must win, and ought to win. Wars for a place of supremacy on earth were necessary, for each nation must look out for its own, and must maintain its own place. I sought to still the grumbling of conscience by liberal gifts to those who suffered from the inevitable conditions of business, but who had not the strength or cleverness to stand against the stronger and more clever. But all this seemed quite apart from any relation to the spiritual world, to which I must go after I died. In fact, I did not think of dying; it was not a pleasant subject, and I put it away from my thought as much as I possibly could.

     "But when I came to this world, which I am told is the spiritual world, I discovered that I had bound myself in a mesh of the love of over-reaching others.

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I found myself in the company of those who had indulged in the same game of getting the best of others in the world. What had seemed in the world to be a proper business acumen, which brought me success among my fellows, now shut me off from the companionship of those with whom I had supposed I should delight to associate. To my horror I found that my love of getting the better of others was greater than my love of helping others, and to that love came these dark spirits seeking companionship. At first, strange to say, they seemed agreeable and pleasant. I found delight in their company, and the love of doing genuine charitable acts seemed dull and pale. Nevertheless, I thought myself safe for heaven. For had not the Lord died upon the cross for me? Then an angel appeared to me, and said: 'The Lord indeed died for you upon the cross, but not, as you mistakenly think, to free you from the necessity of shunning evils. He suffered on the cross as the last great temptation by which He overcame the hells and made it possible for you to be saved. He overcame the hells so that all who would might be free to do His will, free to shun the evil-doing in which the power of the hells was exercised upon men. Your well-doing in the way of almsgiving, your wide generosity, your hospitality, will be of no avail, unless you have in addition shunned evils as sins against God.'"

     "Then I pleaded: 'I have always met my business engagements. I have lived an upright life before men. I have not violated any law. What I have done in business is what others would have done if they had had the shrewdness of mind to do it. I have, it is true, been cleverer than my competitors, and have won out against them. That they have suffered is not my fault; that is the fortune of life's warfare.'"

     "'But,' urged the angel, 'in your "warfare," as you call it, what were you thinking of,-the welfare of others, or success for yourself? It is true that you violated no law written on the statute book; but did you consider laws which the lawmakers had not been wise enough to put upon the statute books? Did you, in your business dealings, take care to avoid injury to others, under the simple canon of the Lord's commandments?'"

     "I could not answer him. I knew that I had not exercised that care. On the contrary, I had employed men skilled in the law, who enabled me to carry out my cunning schemes to outwit and get the better of others, and yet avoid the penalties of violated law.

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And in this I succeeded. Action was brought against me more than once, but never with success. I went through life scatheless of any legal condemnation. In one case, indeed, I was in grave danger. As director of a business organization, I had joined in declaring a dividend not justified by the condition of the company, our object being to unload stock upon an innocent public. When this was discovered by one of the stockholders, action was brought against the directors, but a liberal price paid to the complaining stockholder caused him to withdraw his legal action, and I escaped punishment. Furthermore I urged, as a trait which I thought should secure me consideration, that I loved children. I had married happily, had a large family, and loved them dearly. All children were drawn to me, and I loved them all."

     "In the midst of the approval of me by the sharp-dealing spirits who were pulling me downward, there came this love for children, and with it a kind of attraction which seemed, for the time at least, to draw me away from the companionship of the evil ones. I followed this attraction, but even as I did so, the evil spirits strengthened their hold upon me. I strove against them, but it seemed in vain. But at last I broke away, and found myself here with you."

     "Yes," exclaimed John and Jan together, "it was we who brought you; we know it now. We, too, felt the dark influence of the evil spirits, and trembled for you when we saw how exhausted you were."

     "And may I not remain with you?" cried their new companion. "I do not wish to go back to those evil spirits. With you, all is peaceful and happy."

     "Surely you may stay, if you wish," said the boys, "for no one here is compelled; everyone may do as he wills."

     "Yes, truly," broke in a new voice, as a majestic form stood before them. It was the angel who had before appeared to the man who had come out of the cleft in the rocks. "Everyone may go where he will. More than that; he must go where he will."

     At this the man's face took on a new look, and he cried out: "I would stay with you, I would stay with you!"

     But even as he spoke the words, the children saw with amazement, and with something of terror too, that the cleft in the side of the mountain had again opened, and the dark forms again appeared through the cleft.

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At the same instant the countenance of the man was changed, and an awful delight gleamed in his eyes. He turned away from the children, and, as if impelled by a force, an inward force of his own will, which he could not resist, and which he did not wish to resist, he darted through the cleft and joined the dark companions there.

     The angel now instructed the two children.

     "This man came to you because some remnant of his love for children stirred strongly within him, and for the time overcame the other love which had become his life's love. As you passed by, that love of children was awakened to activity, and was so strengthened by your sphere as to draw him away from his evil companions, who then seemed so hateful to him that he fled from them to you. But when he was told that he might go where he would, that he must go where he would, the hold of Your sphere was loosened, and the attraction of those evil spirits who represented his real love was strengthened, and with a horrid joy he returned to them. And now he will never return to you, nor to the companionship of those like you. For he has been given the opportunity to compare the two spheres, and knows which is the stronger love, and where he wills to be. And every man in the spiritual world goes where he likes to go, where he chooses to go."

     "But it is time you were going on to your destination. I may not go with you, but I shall be near you. Your plan to contradict the false teachers who assume the form of the small head of the tortoises, of whom Jan has spoken, is good; but you will need support from heaven in carrying out your intention. The false teachers will not easily give up the hold they have upon their disciples."

     And now the two boys drew near to the docks. These were magnificent indeed. In a spacious harbor, girt about with massive rocks that rose into precipitous mountains, was a fleet of ships, some of which were moored by the docks, and laden with precious merchandise. There were many about the docks who appeared like children, but Jan said, "They are not really children, but appear so because they seek instruction, and in their wish to be instructed they appear like children."

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All these were expressing their great affection for their teachers, bringing them sweets and cakes, and giving them precious gifts.

     The tortoises were beautiful, with shells of variegated coloring and a wonderful lustre like pearls. From the large head they taught how all should avoid doing evil to anyone, and should try to put away all wrongful intention. This the crowd listened to eagerly. But when the small heads were inserted into the larger heads, and the children were taught how all this instruction as to a good life was simply that they might appear good before men, and that this was not really of any use to prepare them for the heavenly life, which they were taught was to be attained merely by belief in the saving power of the Lord's blood, the crowd listened even more eagerly and thronged about the teachers, embracing and kissing them, and giving them even more precious things.

     "Now is our time!" said Jan. And the two boys pressed forward to the front of the crowd, and cried out, "No, no, it is not so! No one is saved simply by belief in the saving power of the Lord's blood shed on the cross. What the large head told us is the truth, and what the small head tells is false and cunningly designed to make men careless of their life, since they need not, for the sake of salvation, think how they shall live, and are taught that they may do as they will, if only they make a lip profession of faith, and if only they appear respectable among men."

     While the boys spoke, there was a division among the throng of hearers. Some said, "What is this? Who are these youngsters who dare to contradict these wise teachers? Let us take them and drive them out."

     But even as many pressed upon them, there appeared the same majestic form which they had previously seen, who stood before the boys and said with a calm assurance of authority which held back the crowd: "Stand back! The boys are right, and those who say they are wrong must be separated from them." Then it appeared that there were some who heard and believed what the boys had said, and came and ranged themselves on their side. But the greater part of the hearers stood back in fear of the angel, although muttering, "The small head was right. What is the use of troubling one's self to live a good life! Is it not far easier to believe that the Lord has died on the cross for us, and thus made our way clear for heaven?"

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     So, on the right band gathered those who listened to the boys, and on the left those who opposed them. And to those on the right were given new white garments, while those on the left, with tattered and ragged garments, hastened away to their like in the darkness.

     Just then Jan said, "Look, John! What is that?"

     Above them in the air appeared a strange sight. A vessel with seven sails, manned with officers and sailors clothed in purple dress, having magnificent laurels upon their heads, and crying, "Behold, we are in heaven; we are the purple-robed doctors, and crowned above all, because we are chief above all among the clergy!"

     While they wondered at this strange sight, the angel told them, "These are the images of the pride and phantasy of those who before were seen as tortoises, who are now insane, and cast out of societies and gathered together into one body."

     The angel further instructed them as to what all this meant:

     "Many come continually from the earth who have been taught that salvation is by faith alone, and that living a good life is only of use to obtain a good reputation among men. On their arrival in the spiritual world, means are used for their judgment, to see how many have confirmed themselves in this idea, and how far, in spite of this teaching, they have endeavored to live a good life, and to shun evil doing because the Lord so taught them in His Gospel. All have dwelt together in the natural World with the same apparent faith are the same apparent profession of a good life. But when they come here they are Show", as you have seen today, the difference between the faith alone which cared not for the life except for the sake of life in the world, and the faith which is expressed in the sincere endeavor to shun the evil and do the good, and this because the Lord so taught. This is done in various ways. Some of these Ways you have seen today, and you boys have been made the instruments in the doing of it. For, in and through you, the innocent love of heaven and its hatred of evil and falsity is strong, and the evil cannot stand before it. 'Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings,' it is written, 'Thou hast ordained praise, because of Thine enemies, that Thou mightest still the enemy and the avenger.

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And again, we are taught, in the Writings of the New Age, how in the presence of one child a thousand evil spirits may be put to flight in terror."

     As the children returned to their homes, they said, one to the other, "We have seen strange things today." And for them life took on a new seriousness of purpose, which they had not thought of before.
WAYSIDE NOTES 1929

WAYSIDE NOTES       G. A. MCQUEEN       1929

     XII.

     Charles E. Benham.

     In NEW CHURCH LIFE for 1914 (p. 708), there is a communication from Mr. C. E. Benham, of Colchester, England, in which he speaks of Swedenborg's having passed through Colchester on May 5th, 1744, when en route from Harwich to London, as noted in his Journal of Dreams. (P. 68.) Mr. Benham also suggests that this must have happened a number of times, or whenever Swedenborg journeyed from the Continent to London by way of Harwich. In the LIFE for 1915, there appear other communications from Mr. Benham dealing with the question of the date of Swedenborg's birth.

     It may interest your readers to hear something about this talented gentleman, a one-time reader of the Writings, who has recently passed to the other world, having died while alone in his office. He and his brother were the editors and proprietors of the Essex COUNTY STANDARD, the leading county newspaper representing the Conservative Party. The following obituary notice will give an idea of the character and versatility of the man:

     Charles Benham had no great inclination for public life. "The simple life" was his ideal. But his ability and his exceptional gifts as a speaker and lecturer made him much in demand, and he unselfishly devoted much time to public service, chiefly in connection with education. He refused many invitations to become a member of the Colchester Town Council. His leisure was devoted to scientific study and original research and experiment, in which he achieved successes which made him well known in scientific circles. Of a sociable disposition, he delighted in society, especially intellectual and artistic society. Being extraordinarily well-informed and well-read, he was a brilliant talker. His "Essex Ballads," perhaps the best dialect poetry ever published, will remain as a classic of Essex literature.

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At one time he made a study of "Mesmerism" and gave some extraordinary demonstrations in Colchester and elsewhere. He was always much interested in psychological matters. After many religious vicissitudes, he joined the Church of Rome a few years ago, and remained till the end a devoted adherent. (Essex County Standard.)

     In another notice it is stated that his "Essex Ballads" form the basis of a German brochure on the subject of dialect, and that his water color drawings are highly praised by collectors.

     Early Acquaintance with the Writings.

     If we go back to the year 1884, we find Mr. Benham one of a group of young men greatly interested in the doctrines of the New Church. They were writing papers for a shorthand magazine called THE NEW CHURCH CENTENARY EVERCIRCULATOR, but which did not circulate forever. There were separate departments for articles, discussions, questions and answers. Each member did his part, and passed it on to another member of the group. When it became evident that most of the contributors were becoming confirmed in the belief that the Writings were a Divine Revelation, our friend resigned to resume his studies alone. Just to show how thoroughly he was studying the Writings at that time, I quote below his answer to my questions in the magazine, not, of course, committing myself as to the correctness of the answers.

     Questions and Answers

     "What is meant by the Natural Principle?"

     "What is meant by the Rational Principle?"

     "What is meant by the Intellectual Principle?"

     "Answer: The natural principle, considered as a principle of the voluntary part of man's nature, is the principle from which he loves and desires the things of self and the world. Considered as a part of man's intellectual nature, it is the principle by which he acquires, or stores up in his memory, mere knowledge of facts. Facts are called by Swedenborg 'scientifics,' which does not mean things pertaining to the sciences as we call them, but bare facts. For example, that Colchester is fifty miles from London is a scientific which we acquire possession of in our memory by exercising our intellectual natural principle. That Colchester is eighteen miles from Ipswich is another scientific or fact.

     "The Rational Principle is the principle by means of which we make deductions from two or more facts.

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Thus, from the two facts mentioned above, the rational principle tells us that London is sixty-eight miles from Ipswich. Simple as this deduction seems, men alone of all created things can make it. Animals are acquainted with facts, but have no rational principle to draw deductions.

     "The Intellectual Principle is the highest faculty of the understanding of man. When I say that two straight lines cannot enclose a space, or that the whole is greater than its parts, I am stating a scientific or fact, the truth of which is made apparent to you by an internal perception. You cannot prove it to anyone else, but you can see it yourself. It was the intellectual principle of the understanding which enabled you to see it. Probably every statement before it is admitted as true is finally decided by the internal perception of the intellectual principle, but in mathematical axioms such as I have quoted the perception is more observable."

     So we learn that Mr. Benham, from his early years to his death at the age of sixty-eight years, was fully acquainted with the teachings of the New Church; and we are led to wonder as to the nature of the spiritual journeyings which he traveled, only to end under the shadow of the Church of Rome. This is known to our Heavenly Father alone, and we have the satisfaction of knowing that all who lead a good life in accordance with their religious beliefs will ultimately receive enlightenment and take their place in the heavenly kingdom.
HEAVENLY MEASURE 1929

HEAVENLY MEASURE              1929

     "All who have acquired intelligence and wisdom for themselves in the world are accepted in heaven, and become angels, each according to the quantity and quality of his intelligence and wisdom. For whatever a man has acquired for himself in the world remains, and he carries it with him after death, and it is also increased and infilled, but within the degree of his affection and desire for truth and good, and not beyond that degree. They with whom there has been little of affection and desire receive little; yet they receive just as much as they are able to receive within that degree. But they who have had much affection and desire receive much. The degree itself of the affection and desire is like a measure, which is increased to fulness, more being given to him who has a large measure, and less to him who has a small measure. That this is the case, is because the love, to which the affection and desire belong, receives everything that it requires. So much as is the love, so much it receives. This is meant by the Lord's words: 'To him that hath shall be given, and he shall have more abundantly. (Matt. 13:12.) 'Good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall they give into your bosom.' (Luke 6:38.)" (H. H. 349.)

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NOTES AND REVIEWS. 1929

NOTES AND REVIEWS.              1929


NEW CHURCH LIFE
Office a Publication, Lancaster, Pa.
Published Monthly By
THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM
BRYN ATHYN, PA.
Editor                    Rev. W. B. Caldwell, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager          Mr. H. Hyatt, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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

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     THE INTERMEDIATE STATE.

     The Writings characterize the Catholic idea of Purgatory as a "purely Babylonish figment, which may be called diabolical, because invented for the sake of gain, and for power over the souls of men, when yet there is not and cannot be such a thing." (A. R. 784.) Nevertheless, many Christians have rightly cherished a vague idea that there is an intermediate place or state between heaven and hell, where the departed are prepared for their final abodes,-a fact only now made known in what is so fully revealed in the Heavenly Doctrines concerning the world of spirits.

     A reference to the Christian belief in this matter has been brought to our attention by Mr. Arthur Carter. Boswell, in his life of Dr. Samuel Johnson (A.D. 1752), writes:

     "That he, in conformity with the opinion of many of the most able, learned, and pious Christians in all ages, supposed that there was a middle state after death, previous to the time at which departed souls are finally received to eternal felicity, appears, I think, unquestionably from his devotions: 'And, O Lord, so far as it may be lawful in me, I commend to Thy fatherly goodness the soul of my departed wife; beseeching Thee to grant her whatever is best in her present state, and finally to receive her to eternal happiness.'" (Biglow, Brown edition, vol. i, p. 278.) Boswell also records conversations on the same topic in A.D. 1769 and 1772.

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SAMPSON REED AND EMERSON. 1929

SAMPSON REED AND EMERSON.              1929

     In an editorial note last month we mentioned the studies of Mr. Clarence Paul Hotson in tracing the influence of Swedenborg and New Church ideas upon Ralph Waldo Emerson. Another article by Mr. Hotson, entitled "Sampson Reed, A Teacher of Emerson," was published in THE NEW ENGLAND QUARTERLY, NO. 2, 1929, and has been sent to us in reprinted pamphlet form. By numerous citations the writer undertakes to show that Emerson's "first genuine interest in Swedenborg arose through his reading of Sampson Reed's Observations on the Growth of the Mind, first published in 1826," and that "this book gave Emerson his first definite literary impulse, and largely influenced both the form and the content of his first publication, Nature." We are surprised to learn, however, "that Growth of the Mind does not mention Swedenborg's name, though it distinctly shows his influence."

     The pamphlet also gives the following biographical details: Sampson Reed graduated from Harvard in 1818 with high honors. During his subsequent study in the Divinity School at Cambridge, his religious opinions became Swedenborgian, and, with no preaching career open, he entered the drug business, in which he achieved success. He was very active in the Boston Society of the New Jerusalem, and was a contributor to the NEW JERUSALEM MAGAZINE, and for some time its editor, besides writing pamphlets and books advocating his interpretation of Swedenborgianism. His son, the Rev. James Reed, was Pastor of the Boston Society for many years.
NEW BUST OF EMANUEL SWEDENBORG. 1929

NEW BUST OF EMANUEL SWEDENBORG.              1929

     As we learn from THE HELPER of May 1, 1929, Adolph Jonsson, the sculptor, of Stockholm, Sweden, has recently completed another portrait-bust of Emanuel Swedenborg. Mr. Jonsson has specialized in sculptural studies of the Revelator, based upon extensive research, in order to obtain the best possible likeness, and has now produced a bust that is said to be an improvement upon the one that was placed in Lincoln Park, Chicago, Ill., several years ago, a photograph of which appeared in our issue for January, 1923. THE HELPER quotes the opinion of the Rev. E. J. E. Schreck, who says: "It seems to me to be far superior to the bust which Mr. Jonsson made in bronze for Lincoln Park.

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The face is strong, and that of a scholar. The eyes are wonderful. I conclude that it represents further study on the part of Mr. Jonsson. It is the best bust of Swedenborg that I have ever seen, either in the United States or Great Britain."

     The sculptor is prepared to deliver reproductions of his latest bust, including packing and freight to America, at the following prices: Plaster casts, $25.00; bronze casts, $100.00; executed in white marble, about $350.00. The approximate dimensions are: Height 15 inches, width 10 inches, profile depth 9 inches.
APPRECIATIVE REVIEW. 1929

APPRECIATIVE REVIEW.              1929

     THE NEW AGE (Melbourne, Australia) for April, 1929, contains the following editorial review of Bishop W. F. Pendleton's Topics from the Writings:

     "We have read with delight a considerable portion of the book. Indeed, our pleasure in reading the 'Topics' has only increased as we have continued their perusal. Truly did the author have a remarkable insight into the teachings given in the Writings, and also a happy faculty in seeing applications of the heavenly doctrines in historical and topical affairs.

     "The 'Topics' do not appear to be arranged in any particular order, which, in a measure, militates against the use of the book as an aid to serious study, although there is an index of subjects at the end of the book. We feel we could highly recommend this work, particularly for daily reading, as an aid for private devotion. The sections are short, full of instruction, and thoroughly readable.-R. H. TEED."
MODERNISM AND THE NEW CHURCH. 1929

MODERNISM AND THE NEW CHURCH.              1929

     In the same number of THE NEW AGE, the Editor comments at length upon a book entitled Should Such a Faith Offend? In it Bishop Barnes, of Birmingham, sets forth "the faith of the modern churchman," and while Mr. Teed finds some things with which he can agree, he is astonished to find a chapter on "The Deity of Jesus" in which the author "repudiates the belief that Jesus is God!"

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And upon the equally vital matter of the Divinity of the Word, the thought of the writer is "impregnated with higher criticism," so that he accepts or rejects at his "unrestricted discretion, and, of course, any notion of an internal sense he would laugh to scorn.

     Concluding, Mr. Teed says: "We are anxious that our New Church readers should get a clear idea of what the Modernist position is, lest any should foolishly slacken his efforts as a New Churchman in the deluded belief that, with the advance of modern thought in relation to religion, the New Church is getting its foothold without need for urgent presentation of the distinctive New Church viewpoints. It's so easy to soothe one's conscience with the thought that all is well, that progress is assured, and that the New Church is increasingly coming into its own. But we would ask our readers: 'Is the swing of Modernism really in the direction of the New Church?' Read for yourself, and see. Too long have we been satisfied with an easy optimism. In our opinion, Modernism has swung right past the New Church, and is not disposed to look back to it for any guidance or inspiration whatever. The Christianity of our day is becoming quickly Gentilized; yet some New Churchmen can still see only signs of advance towards the New Church. Again we say, Is it so?"
NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS. 1929

NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS.              1929

     We regret to state that the Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner has been prevented by illness from preparing his "Notes on the Calendar Readings" for June. We trust, however, that he will be able to resume the "Notes" in the July number.

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SENSE OF THE LETTER OF THE WORD AND THE LITERAL SENSE OF THE WRITINGS 1929

SENSE OF THE LETTER OF THE WORD AND THE LITERAL SENSE OF THE WRITINGS       ARCHIBALD BOWIE       1929

Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE:

     As I have thought about this subject during the past few years, perhaps the following declaration of my faith, and the reasons for the same, may be of interest, and possibly of some service, to others.

     When studying the subject, there seemed to me to exist some obscurity of thought among those who acknowledged the Authority of the Writings, and that they were the Second Coming of the Lord in a New Revelation of Divine Truth, at the consummation of the First Christian Church.

     In NEW CHURCH LIFE for 1902, page 365, there is an article entitled "The Standard of Authority in the New Church," by the Rev. W. H. Benade. The Editor, on page 393, makes the following statement regarding that article: "It is the most complete, able, and definite statement that we have seen of the Authority of the Writings, . . . and expresses exactly the present position of the Academy and of the General Church on the subjects involved."

     In Mr. Benade's article, page 368, the following statement appears: "But how is this second coming of the Lord in the Word effected? Not by the giving of the Word in the letter, for this had been done long ages before. Not by the fulfillment of the Word, for this had been accomplished centuries before. Not by the provision of a new Word in a literal form, for this was impossible, seeing that the Lord had filled every jot and tittle of the Word full of a Divine life, and so had made it Divine Truth itself in last, as it was in first, principles. Not thus was His second coming effected, but by the opening of the Word as given and fulfilled by Himself; by a revelation of its spirit and life to the understandings of men; by the unfolding of its spiritual sense, in which resides the Divinity of the Word, that Divine Human of the Lord which makes heaven and the church, and which is 'the true light that lighteth every man that cometh into the world.'

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And this opening, this revelation, this unfolding, is given in the doctrines of the New Church, which are the spiritual sense of the Word."

     In NEW CHURCH LIFE for the same year, 1902, page 164, the Editor makes the following statement: "Though the Writings are the 'Word of God,' they are not, and are not to be called 'THE Word.' The Word in the heavens is surely 'the Word of God,' and yet it is not the Word, in which Divine Truth resides in its fulness, in its holiness, and in its power. The Writings, being the revelation of the Word, such as it is in the heavens, are not 'the Word ' in the same sense that the Letter of the Word is the Word, being as dependent upon the latter as the soul is dependent upon the body in this world."

     In contradistinction to these statements there is an article in NEW CHURCH LIFE for 1904, page 593, by Dr. Edward Cranch, entitled "The Word of the Lord in His Second Coming." It contains the following statements: "The inspired writings of Swedenborg are a new revelation of Divine Truth from the Lord. Therefore, it follows in strict logic that they are the Word of the Lord, just as much so as the Old and New Testaments, already known to men, or as the Ancient Word, which is now lost. Further, the writings of Swedenborg, given by the Lord for the use of His New Church, which is the New Jerusalem, while they reveal the internal or spiritual sense as it has never been revealed before, are yet part of the literal sense, for they are in the world, in the natural degree of Divine Truth, which is for men." It is also said that "in the Writings, Divine Truth is present in its fulness, its holiness and its power; from them doctrine for the church is to be drawn, and by them it is to be confirmed."

     In recent times, also, articles have appeared in the LIFE advocating the position that the Writings are the Sense of the Letter of the Word.

     The position at which I have arrived is as follows: The Writings are not what is called in the Writings the "sense of the letter," but yet they have an ultimate, which, in relation to the interior truths which they reveal are "like a literal sense." (S. D. 2185.)

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     The teaching, as I apprehend it, is that Divine Truth which is the Word can only be presented before the natural man, so that there may be a full correspondence, in the language of representatives and significatives such as are in the sense of the letter. For we read:

     "The ancients had representatives and significatives of the celestial and spiritual things of the kingdom of the Lord, thus of the Lord Himself; and they who understood such representatives and significatives were called wise, and also they were wise, for thus they were able to speak with spirits and angels. For angelic speech, which is incomprehensible to man, because spiritual and celestial, when it descends to man, who is in a natural sphere, falls into representatives and significatives such as are in the Word; and hence it is that the Word is a holy writing; for what is Divine cannot be presented in any other way before the natural man, so that there may be a full correspondence." (A. C. 3419.)

     Here we are clearly taught that what is Divine cannot be presented in any other way before the natural man so that there may be a full correspondence, except in representatives and significatives, such as are in the sense of the letter of the Word. The Word in the sense of the letter, therefore, consists of mere correspondences. (S. S. 51.)

     That the literal sense of the Writings is not the sense of the letter clearly appears, it seems to me, from all the teaching of the Writings themselves on the subject, as also from the following:

     "'For the time is near,' signifies such an interior state. This is evident from the signification of time, as meaning state (H. H. 162-169), and from the signification of 'near,' as meaning the internal; thus here, because it refers to state, interior state such as is described above is meant. By state is meant a state of affection and of thought therefrom. He who reads this, and has no acquaintance with the internal sense, supposes that by 'the time being near' is meant that the time was then near when the things contained in the Apocalypse would be fulfilled. But that this is not meant can be seen from the fact that seventeen centuries elapsed before they were fulfilled. But because the Word in its letter is natural, and within is spiritual, it is said 'the time is near' in order that in heaven interior state might be understood; for if the expression 'interior state,' which is the spiritual sense, had here been used, it would not have been understood by angels; for they perceive all things of the Word according to correspondences." (A. E. 16.)

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     The Writings reveal the interior truth of the Word, which is here "interior state," but the teaching is that if this expression had been used in the sense of the letter, it would not have served as a correspondential basis for the angels.

     The same teaching is given in A. E. 1061, where we read: "The angel did not explain the vision in the natural sense from the spiritual, because his explanation constitutes the Word in the letter; and the Word in the letter must be natural, in every particular of which a spiritual Sense must be stored up; otherwise the Word would not serve the heavens as a foundation, nor would it serve the church as a means of conjoining it with heaven. For the same reason, when angels explain visions elsewhere in the Word, as in Daniel and the rest of the prophets, they explain them in a sense merely natural, and not at all in a natural sense from the spiritual. We have a natural sense from the spiritual when the signification of 'the seven mountains,' 'the seven kings,' and other things are explained, namely, that 'mountains' signify the goods of the Word, and 'seven mountains' these profaned; and that 'kings' signify the truths of the Word, and 'seven kings' these profaned. This is the natural sense from the spiritual sense, which is called the internal sense, also the spiritual-natural sense." (A. E. 1061.)

     The Writings give us the spiritual-natural sense of the Word; and here again we are instructed that if the sense of the letter had been like this, the Word would not have served the heavens as a foundation, nor would it have served the church as a means of conjoining it with heaven. That is, if I understand it aright, if Divine Truth, which is the Word, had stopped in its descent at interior truth, such as is given in the Writings, it would not have reached its ultimate, which is the sense of the letter, and would not have served the heavens as a foundation, nor the church as a means of conjoining it with heaven. (See A. E. 1752.)

     Do not the Writings conjoin us with heaven? Does not the Lord speak to us in them?

     Yes, because the sense of the letter has been given, and when the ultimate of Divine Truth has been given, the Lord has now, in the fulness of time, given us the interior truth of the Word resting on that ultimate.

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     The revelation of interior truths given by the Lord in the Writings is in the ascending series of Divine Truth. (See A. E. 641, 948.)

     As I apprehend it, all the ascending series of Divine Truth, even to the wisdom of the celestial heaven, rest on Divine Truth in ultimates, which is the sense of the letter of the Divine Word, written by mere correspondences, consisting of the sense images of the natural created works of God, and the operations of these natural sense images, which are mere correspondences.

     Here it appears to me to be necessary to recognize clearly the principle that the Word means the Divine Truth, the Wisdom of God, and that the Word in Itself, or the Divine Wisdom of God in Itself, is always the same. In Itself, it never differs, but it differs in reference to reception by men and angels. (A. C. 6417, 3235, 3712; A. R. 466.) In order that it may be received by angels and men, it must be presented in forms, which accommodate it to their capacity of reception. These forms are called "the Word," because the principal cause and the instrumental cause together make one cause (Influx 11, A. C. 5948), and we only receive the Divine Truth through the form which accommodates it to our reception. (A. C. 2531, 8443, 8783.)

     The Writings are the Word, because they are the interior Divine Truth of the Word, revealed by the Lord in natural and rational expressions adequate to convey to our understandings the Divine Truth which is the Word, for we are instructed that "the Word is the Word according to the understanding of it with man, that is, as it is understood. If it is not understood, the Word is indeed called the Word, but, with man, it is not." (S. S. 77.)

     To understand the subject further it seemed to me to be necessary to see clearly the state of man, how his rational mind is built up, and the provision of the Word by the Lord to suit his state.

     With reference to the state of man, we are instructed in the Word that "the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living soul." (Genesis 2:7.) Man at first is in external sensuous things; and if he advances in true order, he, as to his mind, becomes scientific, and finally rational. (A. C. 5774.) Now the rational mind always rests on the scientific, and the scientific on the sensuous. (A. C. 1435.)

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Elsewhere we read: "Scientific truths are founded upon sensuous truths, for without sensuous truths scientific truths cannot be comprehended by man. . . . There is nothing existing with man in his thought, even as to the deepest arcanum of faith, which has not with it a natural and sensuous idea, though man is for the most part ignorant of its quality." (A. C. 3310.)

     In applying this teaching to the Word, we note that external sensuous things are first opened with man. (A. C. 5580.) In order, therefore, that Divine Truth, which is the Word, may be presented before man, so that there may be a full correspondence, it can only be presented in a sensuous form, consisting of mere correspondences; which serve as a foundation to the heavens, and as a means of conjoining man with heaven. This is the Divine Word in the sense of the letter of the Old and New Testaments. All interior Divine Truth with man is built upon Divine Truth in the sense of the letter, just as man's interior natural or rational mind is built upon his ultimate natural mind called the "external sensuous," and this will always be the case, because man's rational mind will always rest on his sensuous mind.

     Further, regarded from simultaneous order, all Divine Truths are together in the ultimate, which is the sense of the letter. In A. C. 10028 we read:

     "'And all the blood thou shalt pour forth at the foundation of the altar.' That hereby is signified the whole Divine Truth in the sensuous, which is the ultimate of man's life, appears from the signification of 'blood' as denoting the Divine Truth from the Divine Good of the Lord (no. 10026), and from the signification of the 'foundation of the altar,' as denoting the sensuous, which is the ultimate of the life of man. The ' foundation of the altar' has this signification because the altar was representative of the Lord's Divine Human; wherefore its foundation signifies that which is the ultimate of life in the human, and the ultimate of life in the human is that which is called the external sensuous which is here meant. The altar was the chief representative of the Lord's Divine Human; that the foundation is its ultimate, is evident; this with man is the external sensuous. How this is, must be briefly stated: When man is being purified, then first of all are learnt such truths as can be apprehended by the sensuous man, such as are the truths in the literal sense of the Word.

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Afterwards, interior truths are learnt, such as are collected from the Word by those who are in process of enlightenment; for these persons collect the interior sense from various passages where the sense of the letter is explained. From these, when known, truths still more interior are afterwards drawn forth by those who are enlightened, which truths, with the former, serve the church for doctrine; these latter for doctrine to those who are men of the internal church, the former for doctrine to those who are men of the external church. Both the former and the latter men, if they have lived according to those truths, are elevated into heaven amongst the angels, and are there imbued with angelic wisdom, which is derived from truths still more interior, and at length from inmost truths in the third heaven. These truths, with the former in their order, close into ultimates, which are those of the external sensuous, and are there together. Hence it is evident that all interior truths are together in the truths of the sense of the letter of the Word, for these truths, as was said above, are the ultimates. That all interior things in order are stored up in ultimates, and are together there, may be seen in nos. 9826, 9828. From these considerations it is evident what is meant by Divine Truth being wholly in the sensuous, which is signified by 'all the blood being poured out at the foundation of the altar.'" (A. C. 10028.)

     We are here instructed that it is the external sensuous which is the ultimate. All the blood is poured out at the foundation of the altar. What, then, are the Writings, and what is the nature of their literal sense? The literal sense of the Writings, speaking generally, consists of natural and rational expressions, which are adequate to convey to our understandings the Divine Truth which is the Word. But the Divine Truth revealed in the Writings is the interior truth of the Word; and therefore, so far as reception by man is concerned, this Divine Truth is in the ascending series of Divine Truth, and has been drawn from and rests upon the sense of the letter of the Divine Word. This is the reason why they are not the sense of the letter of the Word.

     But the Divine operation for man's salvation, which is effected by his reception of the Word in faith and life, is through the apparent and ultimate Divine Truth, which is the sense of the letter of the Divine Word.

     Does not the Lord, then, operate through the Writings to enlighten, redeem, and save man?

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Yes, because the Writings rest on the letter of the Word. With those who acknowledge the letter of the Divine Word, the knowledge of the letter is in their minds as a plane, although they do not consciously in every case connect the statements of the Writings with the sense of the letter. (See S. D. 5609, 5617.)

     The Writings have also a scientific plane or foundation of truth, which enables the Divine Truth to reach to men who have rejected or falsified the Word. (See S. D. 5709, 5710. A. R. 936.)

     In his letter to Oetinger (Docu. 232), Swedenborg wrote as follows: "Query: Why from being a philosopher I have been chosen! Answer: The cause of this has been that the spiritual things which are being revealed at the present day may be taught and understood naturally and rationally; for spiritual truths have a correspondence with natural truths, because in these they terminate, and upon these they rest. That there is a correspondence of all spiritual things with all things of man, as well as with all things of the earth, may be seen in the work on Heaven and Hell, nos. 87-102; 103-115. For this reason I was introduced by the Lord first into the natural sciences, and thus prepared, and, indeed, from the year 1710 to 1744, when heaven was opened to me. . . . Falsities that have been confirmed close the church, wherefore truths rationally understood have to open it. How else can spiritual things, which transcend the understanding, be understood, acknowledged, and received?"

     Nevertheless, although scientifics are a foundation, the interior truth founded upon them must be from the Word in the first place. The "leaves of the tree for the healing of the nations" must be the leaves of the tree of life. We read: "Nothing can be founded on scientifics except it be previously founded upon the Word. This must be first; the other is only a confirmation from man's scientifics." (S. D. 5710e.)

     The views I have expressed appear to me to agree with those of some of the great thinkers in the Church. The opinion of Bishop Benade is quoted above from the address he read to the American Conference of New Church Ministers in 1873. Bishop W. F. Pendleton wrote as follows: "The Lord's First Coming, then, is in the sphere of nature; but not so His Second Coming. The Second Coming is to the spiritual sight of man . . . Man while in the world is indeed on the plane of nature, but his thought can be elevated above that plane into heavenly light, and see spiritual and Divine truth.

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It is only by such elevation of the thought that the spiritual truth of the Writings is seen, and the Lord is seen in them." (NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1900, p. 322.) Bishop N. D. Pendleton, in his address on "The Soundness and Purity of Doctrine," states: "The roots of the tree of doctrine are the letter of Scripture, and every branch of this tree which does not have corresponding roots in the letter withers away and dies." (NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1922, p. 19.)

     But it is said that we draw doctrine from the Writings. Why, then, do the Writings themselves teach that doctrine ought to be drawn from the sense of the letter of the Word, and to be confirmed by it? Because it is a universal truth, founded on the very nature of man's mind, as shown above, also in the nature of Divine Truth in the very ultimate which, by the Lord's mercy, has been given in a form suited to man's state.

     Yet the teaching is, that from the interior truths of the Word, "when known, truths still more interior are drawn forth by those who are enlightened." (A. C. 10028.)

     But all truths, however interior they may be, even to the wisdom of the third heaven, "in their order," close into ultimates which are those of the external sensuous. (A. C. 10028.) This may be illustrated by a leaf on the topmost branch of a high tree; unless it were connected with the root which lies in the earth, it would wither and die. As another illustration we may take home life, which is possible in a house, the foundations of which rest in the earth. Without such foundations, the walls would fall, the house would become a ruin, and home life would be dissipated.

     The Sense of the Letter, then, is the Divine Word written in the language of mere correspondences and representatives in the Books of the Word of the Old and New Testaments. The Writings are the Books of the interior truth of the Word, revealed by the Lord through His servant Emanuel Swedenborg, the literal sense of which is adequate to describe Divine arcana even to our rational comprehension. (De Verbo III: 6.)
     ARCHIBALD BOWIE.
HILLVIEW, BALMORE,
     TORRANCE, SCOTLAND,
          March 30, 1929.

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SCRIPTURES IN THE WRITINGS 1929

SCRIPTURES IN THE WRITINGS       BERT M. BERG       1929

Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE:
     As one who has been a reader of your enlightening magazine for the last five or six years, I have carefully followed everything that has appeared therein concerning "What the Word of God is," what the Heavenly Writings revealed through Emanuel Swedenborg really are, as to whether they are the Word in its fulness or not, or whether or no they have a literal sense of their own, as independent of the former two Testaments as these two Testaments are independent of one another, and so on. But there is one feature that occurs to me as not having been touched upon.

     In his communication on "What the Word Is" (April, p. 243), Mr. L. C. Knudsen fails to acknowledge that in the Arcana Celestia the Books of the Word called Genesis and Exodus are in their fulness with all the senses. If the principle he tries to maintain were followed, then wherever the Word is found in the Writings we should not grant that its ultimate sense is there. But why so mistreat those Heavenly Writings? A Book of the Word certainly is a Book of the Word in its fulness, even when found in those Writings. Is it not so! And yet it seems as if the logic of our friend would try to deny that. Let us hear from him on this point.

     Is it not a rather subtle excuse to claim that the Writings are exalted by taking from them what rightfully belongs to them? And yet, is not that the inference to be drawn from what he says: "The Doctrines claim that they are the internal sense of the 'Word,' but never that they are the external. This latter has always been among men, except the Most Ancient, who had interior enlightenment or intuition natively instead. It therefore cannot be a new Revelation." (P. 245.) In the Lord Himself, are there not things so "new" that they have never been enunciated or prophesied among men? There must be such things in the Writings. Then why should we deny them the right to be classified as a New Revelation?
     BERT M. BERG.
P. O. Box 44,
PORT ANGELES, WASH.,
April 30, 1929.

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Church News 1929

Church News       Various       1929

     THE BISHOP TO VISIT EUROPE AND AFRICA.

     Bishop Pendleton is contemplating a trip abroad. According to present plans, he and Mrs. Pendleton, with the Rev. and Mrs. Theodore Pitcairn, will sail for Europe about the middle of July. After a month's stay on the Continent, during which episcopal visits will be paid to the General Church societies in Paris and at The Hague, the party will go to South Africa, where Durban, Basutoland and other places will be visited. It is expected that several natives will receive ordination at the hands of the Bishop. The entire journey will take about four months, bringing the travelers back to Bryn Athyn early in November.

     REPORT OF THE VISITING PASTOR.

     A short visit, of one day only, was made at DETROIT on Sunday, April 28th. A service was held in the latter part of the afternoon in the Pearse-Field studio. There was an attendance of twenty-one, including children; and at the Holy Supper there were fifteen communicants. Most of those present remained for an enjoyable social supper. In the evening, at the same place, there was a doctrinal class. Some persons, not with us during the afternoon, also attended, and the class numbered twenty-two adults and young people. It was a pleasure to all that there should be so large a class. The subject considered was, that the Word in its spiritual and celestial senses, as revealed in the Heavenly Doctrines, is a one with the Word in the sense of the letter; that the two cannot be separated, any more than can spirit and body; and that if it is believed that they are not a one, and that they must be separated, the Heavenly Doctrines must necessarily be regarded as of human, and not of Divine, authority.
     F. E. WAELCHLI.

     SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA.

     Early in March our Pastor, the Rev. Richard Morse, tended us all a very pleasant evening with photos and snaps taken on his recent trip around the world; while viewing them we made the journey in spirit with him. This review of his experiences afforded pleasure to young and old. Our Easter Service for the children of the Sunday School was a delight. The Pastor, in his robes of office, stood at the center of the chancel with a large basket decorated with red and white streamers and soft green foliage. The children received flowers at the entrance of the church, and, as they marched in procession, sang the hymn, "All glory, praise and honor to Thee, Redeemer King!" On reaching the chancel, they placed their offerings in the box and their flowers in the basket, which was soon filled to overflowing. Mr. Morse then addressed the children on the meaning of Easter. It was appreciated by both teachers and children; for he excelled himself in his lucid explanation and adaptation to the child-mind. One teacher remarked, "I've learnt more about the churches from that address than I have through sermons." The children listened open-mouthed. So did I.

     We have inaugurated monthly Sunday Afternoon Teas, the first being held on Sunday, April 7th, at which sixteen were present. The idea was derived from Miss Dowling's report in the February number of New Church Life, but the purpose in having them is to draw the Society closer together in the general work of the church, when we shall be able to discuss vital things, and attract the young people to the doctrinal class which follows, being held every Sunday evening.

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On this first occasion, the work on Heaven and Hell was substituted for Divine Love and Wisdom, as it was thought to be more suitable for the younger people.

     The occasion being the twelfth anniversary of the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. Taylor, Mr. Morse proposed in a short speech that we offer congratulations to the pair. This was given with much heartiness, for both are very consistent workers in our Society.

     Miss M. White, who has been our organist, and a teacher in the Sunday School, and who is now being prepared at the Academy Schools to teach the day school which we plan to open on her return, is prolonging her stay in Bryn Athyn for another twelve months. We were disappointed at her not returning as first arranged, but Bishop de Charms considered it necessary that she remain for a longer preparation, in view of the many difficulties that will be encountered in the early beginnings of a New Church school.     
     A. T.

     WASHINGTON, D. C.

     For the month of April, the Rev. C. E. Doering conducted our doctrinal class and church services. The supper and class were held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Schott in Laurel, Md. We were much impressed with Mr. Doering's paper on the necessity of New Church education for children and young people in the Church, and gained many new ideas on the subject. His figures showed us the large percentage who stay in the Church when they have been trained in the Church schools. On Sunday we heard a fine sermon in the hall we have been renting for our services. There is a grand piano in this hall, and when played by Mrs. Chara Schott Trimble, with Mr. G. F. Benkert accompanying on the violin, it adds much to our services. We enjoyed having Mr. Doering with us for this week-end, and hope we may have him again.

     The friends of the Society at Arbutus, Md., joined with us on the 5th and 6th of May for a District Assembly. The Rev. Homer Synnestvedt represented Bishop Pendleton on this occasion. We had a banquet Saturday evening in the Rowland Trimbles' glassed-in porch with twenty-two present, including Messrs. Ariel Gunther and Robert Synnestvedt, who came with Mr. Synnestvedt in his car from Bryn Athyn. Mr. Rowland Trimble acted as toastmaster, and made a good one. Most of the men present spoke, and gave us renewed spirit for carrying on our uses in the church here. Our banquet was decidedly "New Church," as all the food was made by the women, and most of it, including the butter, was made on the Trimble farm. We from Washington stayed on the farm or at Mr. Arthur Schott's over night, and went from there to Arbutus for services in the morning. The Revs. T. S. Harris and Homer Synnestvedt conducted the impressive service. Before coming home, we had sandwiches and coffee which Mrs. Harris prepared for us.
     E. H. G.

     GLENVIEW, ILL.

     Since our last report, the Rev. C. E. Doering has paid his annual visit to our School. On Wednesday evening he was the guest of our local chapter of the Sons of the Academy, and addressed the members on matters pertaining to the history and uses of the Academy. On Friday evening he addressed the society, dwelling upon the importance of distinctive New Church education. His points were clearly made, and thoroughly refuted those who say, "What's the use," "what's the difference," etc.

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Mr. Doering also visited the classes of the School and conferred with the teachers.

     Two cases of scarlet fever in the family of our Pastor interfered somewhat with the school work recently, and Mr. Smith was compelled to attend to the pastoral affairs from a distance. Fortunately the cases were light, and the quarantine is now about to be lifted.

     The Ladies Guild is trying the experiment of meeting in the evening instead of the afternoon, to enable several ladies to attend who are employed during the day. The outcome of the experiment is doubtful.

     We learn with pleasure of the success of Miss Edith Goerwitz, who has just won high honors at Northwestern University with her music. She is very useful in our society, taking her turn at the organ and also accompanying the choir, chorus and orchestra.

     Mrs. Beatrice Nelson Synnestvedt, of Bryn Athyn, is visiting her parents, and has received warm welcome from her many friends here. The tennis courts, in tip-top condition, are now the stellar attraction in The Park for young and old. The more active ones play, while the older ones and little ones have a splendid time visiting or watching the games from the sidelines under the trees.
     J. B. S.

     PITTSBURGH, PA.

     During the past month we have been quite active socially, the first event being a card party and bake sale in the assembly hall on April 15th. This affair was sponsored by the Ladies' Society, and the proceeds from the nucleus of a fund for the equipment of the new kitchens. We were happy to welcome Mr. and Mrs. Samuel S. Lindsay, Jr., who had just returned from a honeymoon abroad, and Mr. Lindsay responded with an account of their trip.

     On April 15th, Madame Sturkow-Ryder, who is well known in Pittsburgh musical circles, gave a fine Piano recital at the home of Mr. and Mrs. A. P. Lindsay, the charming atmosphere of their home adding much to the success of the occasion. The proceeds went to our building fund.

     The Rev. C. E. Doering was welcomed by the society at the supper on Friday, April 19th. Flowers and candles graced the tables, besides an excellent meal. Mr. D. P. Lindsay made a very acceptable last-minute master of ceremonies, replacing Mr. W. F. Blair, who was called away on business. Mr. Doering gave an excellent paper on New Church Education,-a subject that is old, but ever new. Miss Roena Acton read a short paper on the History of Education, and Miss Alice Broadbridge one on The Teaching of Music. Songs written for the occasion were interspersed, and Dr. William Cowley favored us with some of his own. We were pleased to have Miss Elsie Champion, of Durban, Natal, with us, and she told us about her school there. The Pastor concluded the program with fitting remarks. A spirit of good fellowship and conviviality pervaded the evening. Mr. Doering spent Friday and Monday visiting the school, and complimented us upon the happiness and contentment of the children, which he assured us means a good school. He also delivered the sermon at the Sunday service.

     The school gave the parents, patrons and friends a most interesting and entertaining afternoon on May 8th. It was a compilation of the year's work in Hebrew, Music, Dancing and the Social Sciences, and was entitled "A Trip Abroad." The audience traveled with the children to Japan, Russia, France, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland, Italy, Holland, and then returned to America. The countries were depicted in song, dance and story, with charming costumes. The primary group and a few children under school age, who have formed an orchestra, gave us two numbers. The instruments are triangle, drum, xylophone, tambourine, cymbals and sticks. The children love it, and their rhythm is quite remarkable. A Hebrew pageant by the school entitled, "Song of the Trees" (Judges 9:8-15), followed by the anthem Odheka, concluded the program.

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One felt that the children understood every word they were saying or singing, and that they did it with a wholeheartedness which was most impressive. We congratulate Mr. Iungerich on his success with this course. The children and teachers deserve much credit for work accomplished. Miss Doering deserves special commendation for the costumes, and Miss Broadbridge for her success with the dancing and music.
     E. R. D.

     MANCHESTER, ENGLAND.

     At the invitation of my wife and myself, the Right Rev. R. J. Tilson recently visited our home while on his way to see members of his society in York. He and Mrs. Tilson were with us: from April 15th to 20th, and their stay was much enjoyed and appreciated.

     For a considerable time I have felt how regrettable is the policy of silence which the General Conference adopts in relation to the General Church, and I took advantage of Mr. Tilson's visit to introduce him to several members of the Church in the vicinity of Manchester. At my request a service was conducted in my home on April 16th at which a dozen people were present, including Mr. and Mrs. Tilson. It was in the form of a "home dedication," and a delightful sphere was felt by all to pervade the service. In his sermon the Bishop took occasion to explain several points of difference between Conference and the General Church in relation to the doctrines of the Word and the Priesthood.

     We were delighted to be able once again to meet the Bishop, who is a friend of several years' standing. We are not members of his society, but we rejoice in the privilege of having this visit, especially as it provided the opportunity to introduce him to many people he would not otherwise have met. For it is our considered opinion that until there is free communication between the General Church and Conference and Convention, very little of true charity can exist throughout the Church. The barrier that was erected years ago must be pulled down; they who built it are rapidly passing hence, and to those who succeed remains the task of once again uniting the forces of the Church, not, I imagine, as to institutional fusion, but more in the sense in which it will henceforth be possible to exchange mutual goodwill, and to benefit from each others' experiences. Worship may be true under a variety of forms, and to enjoy each others' goodwill need not demand a united institution. At the General Assembly in London last year, Conference members addressed the various meetings from the door. We, on our part, may some day find ourselves able to be equally generous. At least it is permissible to hope so.     

     Bishop Tilson's visit to us was not undertaken in an official capacity as an emissary of the General Church, but was merely a friendly visit; yet it has done something which we are sure will prove of use to the Church at large.
     PERCY DAWSON.
New Moston, Manchester,
April 30th, 1929-159.

     TORONTO, CANADA.

     On April 20th, twenty-four members of the Forward Club journeyed to Kitchener by motor car, in response to the invitation of the Carmel Society's Men's Club, reciprocating our entertainment of them in the Fall of 1928, thus establishing another source of contact between the two societies which we feel sure will be of mutual benefit to all. We sat down at 6 p.m. to tables literally groaning with good things to eat, everybody in good appetite and better humor, and prepared to make the most of the occasion. This interchange of meetings has rejuvenated what we were afraid was becoming a lost art with us,-the art of entertaining in song and story. Reference to our account of the Toronto meeting of these two groups of men will show that the Kitchener men outdid themselves in their song ability on that occasion.

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This time it was something of a contest between the two groups, with honors about even. It was very enjoyable, and exhibited a keen appreciation of the idiosyncrasies and pet weaknesses as well as the good points of the various men who were honored in song.

     The subject of the evening was, "The Establishment of a New Church High School in Canada." Dr. Robert Schnarr dealt very ably with the "Necessity and Use," citing many trenchant passages from the Writings in support of his deliverance on that phase of the subject. Mr. Nathaniel Stroh gave an interesting and ex tempore address on "Its Feasibility," whilst Mr. F. Wilson, of Toronto, dealt with "Method and Procedure." Ad three efforts were well and sympathetically received, even by the " Official Opposition," and a good discussion ensued, to which both pastors ably contributed, and which was well maintained until time for closing. Space will not permit of giving any detailed account of the addresses and discussions, but all were on a highly affirmative plane. It was not the intention to arrive at any conclusion, but it was abundantly evident that the matter has become one of active thought with us, which we trust will be kept alive and lead to further consideration and planning, until the time is ripe and the harvest ready for the gleaning.

     Shortly after the above meeting, the Rev. C. E. Doering came to us in the interests of education generally and our day school in particular. On the evening of May 3d, we assembled at a Feast of Charity, the attendance being larger than was expected. Mr. Doering gave us an exceedingly interesting address on "Reasons for New Church Education," which stimulated a discussion in which fourteen persons took part, besides the asking and answering of very many questions. Mr. Doering also had sessions with the day school and the teachers, which are always helpful and encouraging. On Saturday evening, May 4th, the men of the Society assembled at the home of Mr. F. Wilson for a gathering of a more informal and perhaps more intimate nature, when our visitor gave us a talk on the Academy, its work, its objects, and to some extent its problems and its hopes. The chairman, in introducing the speaker, read from the Bishop's statement on Order and Organization that portion dealing with the Academy. (New Church Life, 1929, p. 184.) Again we had a good meeting, Mr. Doering exercising exemplary patience and a rare good humor in dealing with questions that were fired at him from all sides on the subject of New Church Education in general, and on the purposes and aims of the Academy. There appeared to be practical difficulties with some who have not as yet found their solution, but which solution, as the speaker pointed out in his summing up of the discussion, will be found as we enter more fully into the true intent and purpose of our distinctive educational system, and as we come into a fuller realization that education is for heaven and eternity. As visitors at this gathering, we had Mr. Cumming, of the College Street Society, and two Swedish gentlemen, Mr. Hergeir and Mr. Gronberg, who have recently come to Toronto, and have been attending our services and doctrinal classes. During the course of the evening, Mr. Rudolph Potts, in a happy little speech, presented Mr. Doering with a pipe as a souvenir of the occasion and a token of our appreciation.

     Mr. Gyllenhaal offered a resolution of thanks to our visitor, the Bishop, and the Academy for making these visits possible, pointing out the inestimable benefit that is derived therefrom, particularly by the school and the teachers. The resolution was accorded musical honors in the singing of "Our Own Academy," and the boys made the welkin ring.

     The Ladies' Circle concluded another year's activities with their meeting on May 6th, when the following officers were elected for the ensuing year: President, Mrs. T. P. Bellinger Vice-President, Mrs. F. E. Longstaff; Treasurer, Mrs. P. J. Barber; Secretary, Mrs. Charles Brown.
     F. W.

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BRITISH ASSEMBLY 1929

BRITISH ASSEMBLY       VICTOR J. GLADISH       1929




     Announcements.


     August 3-5, 1929.

     Members and friends of the General Church of the New Jerusalem are cordially invited to attend the Twenty-second British Assembly, which will be held at Colchester on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, August 3d to 5th, 1929. Everyone expecting to be present is requested to communicate as early as possible with Mr. J. F. Cooper, 8 Capel Road, or with the undersigned at 43 Lexden Road, Colchester, England.
     VICTOR J. GLADISH,
          Secretary.
ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH 1929

ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH              1929

     Saturday, June 15, 1929.

     The Annual Joint Meeting of the Corporation and Faculty of the Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa., will be held in the Chapel, Benade Hall, on Saturday, June 15, 1929, from 9.30 a.m. to 1230 p.m., when the annual reports of officers will be presented and other business transacted. The public is cordially invited to attend.

     Please note that the date of the meeting is one week later than the date announced in the Journal of Education for July, 1928. E. S. KLEIN, Secretary.
SOUTH AFRICAN ASSEMBLY 1929

SOUTH AFRICAN ASSEMBLY              1929

     During the Bishop's visit to South Africa, the First South African Assembly of the General Church of the New Jerusalem will be held at the Church in Durban, Natal, the most likely date being the week-end of September 15th, 1929.

385


JOURNEYS IN NORWAY AND SWEDEN 1929

JOURNEYS IN NORWAY AND SWEDEN       Rev. GUSTAF BAECKSTROM       1929


[Frontispiece: Photograph of Rev. Gustaf Baeckstrom.]
NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. XLIX          JULY, 1929           No. 7
     Early in February I visited isolated New Church friends in the southern part of Sweden-in Vaxjo, Karlskrona, Degeberga and Malmo-where there are members of the Stockholm Society. I also visited the following cities: Solvesborg, Kristianstad, Lund, Landskrona, Halmstad and Jonkoping. In all of these places, with the exception of Degeberga and Jonkoping, I gave missionary lectures, at two of them two lectures each-in all, ten lectures during a twelve days' journey.

     The attendance at these lectures was as follows: In Vaxjo, 118; Karlskrona, 94 and 41; Solvesborg, 147; Kristianstad, 96; Malma, 164; Lund, where there is a university, 107; Halmstad, 260 and 138. This is an average of 128 persons, which may be considered good, if we take into account the fact that many homes now have radio, and that people would rather listen to broadcasting than attend a lecture, as was said to me by a number of persons. Thus an usher at the school in Landskrona where I gave a lecture said: "A few years ago we had an attendance of several hundred at the lectures here, but now we seldom have as many as fifty."

     I believe that many who attended the lectures were interested, as was shown by their attentive attitude, and by the purchase of books afterwards. A great many books were sold on this trip, the total sales being Kr. 420 ($112.56), an average of Kr. 42 ($11.25) per lecture. And our books are low priced.

     At Vaxjo and Jonkoping I administered the Holy Supper, in the latter place to a little group of five persons in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Ryno Sigstedt, who have a family of about ten children. He is a brother of Mr. Torsten Sigstedt, now residing in America.

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     Later in February I undertook a second journey, this time to Norway. In Oslo, I first met with The Swedenborg Society (Norsk Swedenborg Selskap) and some specially invited friends at the home of the Boyesen family. I gave them a general outline of the different Dispensations, showing the place of the New Church in the history of the world. I also delivered a public lecture on the Miracles of the Bible, with an attendance of only 40 persons, as I was unable to secure a popular hall, but only a small room.

     Our friends in Oslo hold regular meetings, at which they study the general teachings of the Doctrines. Some who showed an interest in the beginning have now withdrawn, but others have joined who seem to be faithful. Among these newcomers is a Swedish architect and his wife, a Norwegian. A journalist connected with one of the leading newspapers has been with us from the beginning, and reads the Writings in Swedish. Thus the work in Oslo seems to have a solid foundation,-a nucleus that has grown, even if not very much, and with good hope for the future. I have been able to visit them only twice a year, but in the meantime Miss Anna Boyesen does all that she can to promote the work.

     From Oslo I went to Bergen, the second largest city in Norway. Here reside Miss Nelly Svanoe and Mrs. Monsen, a relative of the Rev. Homer Synnestvedt, who, with her husband, is interested in the Church. In Bergen I delivered three lectures, one on the Miracles of the Bible and the Virgin Birth, attended by 117 persons, one on the Spiritual World, with an attendance of 160 persons, and the third on Conjugial Love, attended by 50 persons. There were several present who had attended my previous lectures and bought books, and who now wanted more. An engineer and a lady in his company bought books to the value of 20 kroner ($5.36), and the total sales in Bergen amounted to Kr. 105 ($28.14).

     From Bergen I went by night steamer to Stavanger, where Mr. M. Eckhoff lives. He has just finished and published a Norwegian translation of the New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine, and I sold ten copies of the work during my stay in Norway. In Stavanger I gave the lecture on the Miracles of the Bible and the Virgin Birth, which was attended by 91 persons. I also lectured in the nearby town of Sandnes to an audience of 69 persons, and visited the small city of Hangesund, on an island of the west coast, where 140 persons attended the lecture.

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Finally, I went to Drammen, where I had been once before, and here the lecture was attended by 45 persons.

     The average attendance at lectures on this trip to Norway was 89, and books were sold to the value of Kr. 250 ($67.00). On my previous visits to Norway I had discovered that my listeners had not understood all of the Swedish words in my lectures, and that on this account the audiences in general had possibly lost the connection of things in my remarks. This time I took pains to go over my lectures beforehand with some of our Norwegian friends, changing the Swedish words into the corresponding Norwegian expressions, with gratifying results. It would be still better if I could take the time to learn to speak Norwegian altogether in my lectures in that country, which could be accomplished if I were to remain there for some months, and thus become accustomed to the language; but I see no way of doing this as yet.

     I am glad to say that the lecture on the Miracles of the Bible and the Virgin Birth was favorably received, even by some of the newspapers. A Bergen paper said: "The lecture was not very long, but none the less contained a good deal." Another, in Stavanger, called it a "beautifully formed praise of the infinite goodness and wisdom of God."

     On a third journey I went to the northern parts of Sweden, where, for the most part, I visited places where I had not been before. In Gavle, one of the larger cities of Sweden, I delivered two lectures in the big hall of a school. The first one was so well attended that a line was formed in the street. We counted 505 persons. The next day, however, the attendance was only 146. No doubt many had come the first time but of mere curiosity. Yet considerable interest must have been awakened, as books were sold during the two days to the value of Kr. 141.15 ($37.83)-an exceptionally large amount-and many purchasers were those who had come back a second time. In Gavle, there is one isolated receiver of the Doctrines, a young man who is not a member of our Society.

     In Soderhamn, the next place visited, I gave two lectures in the large hall of a school, with an attendance of 161 the first day, and 109 the second. There many persons attended both lectures. Books were sold to the value of Kr. 71.40 ($19.13). One lady told me that she had been so anxious for the visit that she had not been able to sleep, and that she feels quite lonely, being the only receiver of the Heavenly Doctrine in the whole city.

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However, I found a man who said that he had read all of our books.

     In Hudiksvall, the third place, there was an elderly man who was very anxious to see me. He came to the hotel to have a private talk, and told me that his father-in-law, just before he died, had withdrawn all his money from the bank, and no one had been able to find it. He wanted me to tell him where it was! "I am sorry," I said, "but the only thing I can tell you is that I didn't take it." "But I have read," he said, "that Swedenborg was able to tell where a lost receipt was hidden, and I thought that you, as his follower, might be able to tell me where that lost money is!" At Hudiksvall there was an audience of 200 persons, and books were sold to the value of Kr. 28.70 ($7.69).

     The next place visited was Harnosand, where I had been before. One of our members lives there, and I spent two days with him. The public lecture was attended by 165 persons, and books were sold to the value of Kr. 34.50 ($9.25).

     From Harnosand I went to Sundsvall. Here also I had lectured once before, with a good audience, the room being almost filled. On this second occasion, an adjoining room was also filled, many were standing, and some were unable to get in. One of the leading newspapers had this to say about it: "The reporter is inclined to think that it was not from mere curiosity that the people came to the lecture in such crowds that there was not even standing room, while compact lines of those who could not gain entrance were formed outside. Our times are characterized by crass materialistic movements away from Christ, but also by strong deep-running, religious currents, perhaps more or less unconscious with many who come to such lectures as isolated thinkers, who feel the need of filling up an emptiness which they cannot explain, even to themselves. In the large, many-minded audience last night, different ages and stations were represented, but it seemed to be made up mostly of those whom the Master, addressed when He said: 'Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden.'"

     According to the number of tickets sold, there were 255 persons at the first lecture in Sundsvall. The next day, 131 persons came, including many who had been present the day before. The subject was Conjugial Love, and the question of Marriage in the Other Life, which one elderly lady said "was not so interesting!"

389


The book sales amounted to Kr. 65 ($17.42).

     On my way home I delivered lectures in three small places,-Sandviken, Hedemora and Avesta,-with an attendance of 154, 106 and 90, respectively. In Hedemora I found several persons who had already become interested in the Doctrines.

     On this third journey, the average attendance at lectures was no less than 184 persons, and the sale of books amounted to Kr. 420 ($112.56)-a very successful trip, and one which involved no financial outlay on our part. All expenses were met by the admission fees, and there was a surplus of Kr. 300 ($80.40) to offset the losses on previous journeys, especially those made in Norway, where the traveling expenses are high, owing to the long distances between the places visited. I may add that the newspapers everywhere, with the exception of one of a pronounced religious color, spoke very favorably of the lectures.

     My absence from Stockholm for longer periods than on my previous trips was made possible by the kindness of the Rev. Alfred Acton, who conducted services and preached on three Sundays.

     During recent months, Dr. Acton has also conducted a doctrinal class on Sunday evenings, with an attendance of about twenty persons. Speaking in English, which a few of our members understand, he first treated of the subject of Divine Providence, and afterwards of the Connection between the Spiritual and Natural Worlds.
IDLENESS 1929

IDLENESS              1929

     "Certain spirits, from an opinion formed in the world, believed heavenly happiness to consist in an idle life, in which they are served by others. But they were told that no happiness ever consists in being at rest, and thence having happiness; for thus everyone would want to have the happiness of others for himself; and when everyone wanted this, no one would have it. Such a life would not be active, but idle, in which they would become torpid; when yet they might know that there is no happiness of life without an active life, and that the idleness of life is only for the sake of recreation, that one may return with greater alacrity to the activity of life." (H. H. 403.)

390


EMERSON'S TITLE FOR "SWEDENBORG." 1929

EMERSON'S TITLE FOR "SWEDENBORG."       CLARENCE HOTSON       1929

     Through his lecture "Swedenborg; or, the Mystic," in Representative Men (1850), Ralph Waldo Emerson did more than any other person, perhaps, to make the name of Emanuel Swedenborg known to the world, and likewise to fasten on him a particular epithet, which, especially when Emerson used it, had in the minds of most people an unpleasant association or suggestion. In my study of Swedenborg's influence on Emerson I have made certain discoveries which indicate how Emerson came to apply that term.

     In the technical theological sense, the term "mystic" means one who bases religion upon direct revelation or religious experience, or one who has such a theory of religion. In that sense of the term, of course, Emerson is certainly a mystic.

     The term "mystic" is, however, used also in a loose, vague and derogatory slang sense to convey a general impression of superstition, extravagance, or incipient insanity. Especially in the mouths of fools, it is a vague and senseless term of reproach.

     Of "mysticism" the Encyclopedia Americana says:

     "Merely to tabulate the countlessly divergent senses associated with the term, not only in common usage but by authors of high repute, would exhaust the limits of the present article. . . . The confusion results mainly from the failure to view mysticism objectively in its ultimate meaning and relations, its origin and finality: an omission on which has followed a confusion of a primary and essential property of human nature with one or other of its merely contingent modifications or partial tendencies; and thus abnormal and insane phenomena have come to be associated with a term which radically expresses the deepest movement and loftiest aspiration of man's being."2

     A term involving such confusion in the minds of most people is objectionable for that reason alone, especially when it is applied as a descriptive term in such a title as Emerson's.

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The New English Dictionary defines the word "mystic" as:

     "One who, whether Christian or non-Christian, seeks by contemplation and self-surrender to obtain union with the Deity, or who believes in the possibility of the spiritual apprehension of truths that are inaccessible to the understanding."

     When I call Emerson a mystic, I use the term in this sense. The same authority defines "mystical":

     1. Having a certain spiritual character or import by virtue of a connexion or union with God transcending human comprehension.

     2. (Spiritually) allegorical or symbolical.

     3. In the interpretation of Scripture, applied to the spiritual or allegorical sense which is held to underlie the obvious or literal meaning.*
     * This use of the term, among both Jews and Christians, is referred to by Swedenborg a number of times in the Theological Works, as in the following: "The Jews, and also some Christians, believe that there is something recondite in the Word which they call mystical; but when asked what that mystical is, they do not know. . . . Because, of the Divine mercy of the Lord, it has been granted me to be in heaven, and to speak with the angels, I cannot do otherwise than open those things which are called the mystical things of the Word, that is, its interiors, which are the spiritual and celestial things of the Lord's kingdom." (A. C. 4923.) "The arcana of wisdom of the three heavens which are in the Word are the mystical things of which some speak." (A. E. 1079e.)-EDITOR.

     The same authority gives for "mysticism": "Belief in the possibility of union with the Divine nature by means of ecstatic contemplation: reliance on spiritual intuition or exalted feeling as a means of acquiring knowledge of mysteries inaccessible to intellectual apprehension."

     Under this definition of mysticism, Emerson himself is a mystic of the mystics, as his "Divinity School Address," his "Over-Soul," and many passages in his "Journals" abundantly prove. From this fact it is evident that Emerson could discuss Swedenborg consistently only from the point of view of the preconceptions of mysticism. Yet that is just what, in his " Mystic " lecture, he failed to do.

     The New English Dictionary further says:

     "As a term of reproach: (a) From the hostile point of view, mysticism implies self-delusion or dreamy confusion of thought; hence the term is often applied loosely to any religious belief to which these evil qualities are imputed."

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     It appears, then, that Emerson took a favorable view of his own mysticism, and in the "Mystic" lecture, an essentially unfavorable view of that which he ascribed to Swedenborg, whom he himself had chosen to represent both mysticism and religion in general.

     On his return from his first European trip, Emerson sent to Thomas Carlyle, on May 14, 1834, a copy of Sampson Reed's Observations on the Growth of the Mind, which, as I showed in the NEW ENGLAND QUARTERLY for April, 1929, first attracted Emerson's favorable attention to Swedenborg. On August 12, 1834, Carlyle wrote an appreciative reply. Emerson answered on November 20, 1834, sending with his letter two papers by Sampson Reed, and also "an article on Swedenborg by Frederic Henry Hedge."3 This article (as I found on consulting Poole's Index to Periodicals) had appeared in the CHRISTIAN EXAMINER, Boston, for November, 1833. It was the earliest magazine article concerning Swedenborg (outside of the avowedly New Church press) to be published in the United States. Hedge entitled it simply " Emanuel Swedenborg." It purported to be a review, in that Unitarian organ, of a new translation of Swedenborg's Vera Christian Religio (1771), published with the title True Christian Religion by John Allen, School Street, Boston, in 1833. Instead of reviewing this work, however, Hedge began by announcing:

     "One radical difference . . . dividing all minds into two distinct classes, . . . the discursive and the profound,-those who glance at and over the objects of sense and intelligence, and those who look into and beyond them." (CHRISTIAN EXAMINER, XV, 193.)

     Profound minds, Hedge continued, consider facts as valuable to them only as they express some normal principle; and the whole sensible world as important only as it manifests that intelligible world, whose laws it is the business of their lives to study and to trace:

     "It generally happens that minds of this class, in metaphysics and in religion, become mystics. We would fain rescue this word from the low and almost reproachful sense in which we fear it is generally understood." (Ibid., 194-5.)

     It would have been more honorable, if less clever, it seems to me, not to use the word at all, instead of to attempt, or pretend to attempt, the task, which Hedge must have known was impossible so far as his readers went, of "rescuing" it from "the low and almost reproachful sense" which, he "feared" with but too good reason, people generally attached to it.

393


One does not escape responsibility for the use of an abusive epithet by protesting, even while using it, that he is trying to rescue it from the low and reproachful sense in which it is commonly understood. Such a protest should be regarded as an aggravation of the offense.

     By the term "mystic," Hedge continued, he understood a true philosopher, one who is actuated by an honorable (though vain) desire to extend the bounds of human knowledge:

     "In that direction which, though of all others the most inviting to a profound mind, is looked upon by the many as the way of darkness, and perchange of madness." (CHRISTIAN EXAMINER, XV, 194-5.)

     As a definition, this is a sad mistake. As an example of the art of insinuating defamation without directly defaming, it is unsurpassed. Here, as before, the important thing is not the avowed intention, but the effect which the writer must have known his words would produce on ordinary readers.

     After this artful introduction, Hedge (who, by the way, was a Unitarian clergyman and an acquaintance of Emerson's) asserted directly that Swedenborg belonged to this exceedingly ill-defined but indirectly maligned class.

     Emerson was doubtless aware of the fact that Frederic Henry Hedge (1805-1890) had studied in Germany and presumably knew his metaphysics. In spite of Hedge's comparative youth (he was twenty-eight years old, or two years younger than Emerson), therefore, his opinion would naturally carry weight with his brother clergyman of the same denomination, whose theological training had been far inferior to Hedge's. The fact that Emerson sent this article oversea to Carlyle shows in itself that he had read it and admired it; and also that he agreed, in general, with the views it expressed. Emerson must naturally have been impressed with Hedge's designation of Swedenborg as a mystic, and inclined to agree with and adopt that designation, without inquiring too closely just what, if anything, Hedge meant by that term, or just why it was peculiarly applicable to Swedenborg.

     On looking at Emerson's lecture "Swedenborg; or, the Mystic," I find passages which suggest some influence of Hedge's article, and especially of the sentence last quoted: "His profound mind admitted the perilous opinion . . . that he was an abnormal person."4

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     Hedge, at the outset of his article on Swedenborg, used the expression "profound mind" three times in connection with mysticism and Swedenborg. Evidently the words remained in Emerson's mind with these associations, to be used later after he had long forgotten their original source. In the lecture Emerson said: "This path is difficult, secret, and beset with terror." (Centenary, IV, 97.)

     This may possibly be the result of his vague recollection of Hedge's sentence last quoted. Just as Hedge, in his article, had dropped an indirect hint of madness near the beginning of his discussion of Swedenborg, so also did Emerson in the first Part of his "Mystic" lecture: " This beatitude . . . drives the man mad." (Ibid., 91.) And similarly: "Men of large calibre, though with some eccentricity or madness." (Ibid., 99.)

     Hedge continued in his article by differentiating three degrees or stages of mysticism (which he had not yet defined), the first of which arises when the brooding mind, ascending from forms to principles, and from the visible manifestation to the invisible power, first begins to spiritualize nature, and loses itself in the contemplation of one pervading intelligence:

     "When, not content with knowing the obvious relations and powers of animate and inanimate being, or the obvious meaning of revealed truth, it seeks to interpret all things in conformity with its own spiritual views. This is contemplative mysticism; it may be compared to the first budding of a noble plant; it is the vine in blossom, the fresh bloom and early fragrance of a visionary mind." (CHRISTIAN EXAMINER, XV, 195.)

     The second stage occurs when the mind returns again from the universal to the particular, from abstract essences to determinate forms:

     "When, having annihilated the creations of sense,-the crude conceptions of its childhood,-it devises a creation of its own, and constructs, on principles more ethereal, new theories of nature and new systems of religion. This is constructive mysticism, the plant in production, the vine hung with full dusters of rich, ripe fruit." (Ibid., 195.)

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     Thus far, Hedge added, mysticism appears as an innocent, if not as a very profitable employment of the mental powers. The reader will note that in all Hedge's pretentious verbiage there is as yet not the ghost of a definition of the term "mysticism."

     But mysticism (whatever it is), Hedge said, becomes dangerous in the third stage, when it becomes "enthusiasm"; when the mind grows dissatisfied with intellectual intuitions, and burns to express itself in outward acts:

     "When, according to the nature of its doctrine, it either disjoins itself from the mother church, and riots in ascetic enormities, or inflamed with the fierce zeal of proselytism, waxes intolerant of received opinions, and, snatching the sword of persecution, attempts to force its heresies upon the world. This is practical mysticism,-the plant in its manufactured produce, the fruit divorced from the vine, pressed and fermented into a maddening wine." (Ibid., 196.)

     Hedge here implies that, in order to riot in ascetic enormities, one must necessarily disjoin himself from the "mother church"-an implication which church history shows is absurd. The only definition of "heresy" which he gives is an implied one: any doctrine, namely, at variance with "received opinions." Hedge conveniently ignores the plain fact that "the sword of persecution" has been employed, in the nature of the case, almost invariably in the interest of "received opinions," and that when "heresies" can be "forced" on the world, they are no longer what he calls "heresies," but "received opinions." Hedge's attempt surreptitiously to inject as premises such patent absurdities indicates either mental confusion or downright dishonesty. Just why Hedge, if neither confused nor dishonest, should drag in such remarks in connection with a discussion of Swedenborg, is hard to see. For he added that his last statements had no application to Swedenborg. He continued by saying that Swedenborg belonged to the second class,-a constructive mystic: "He was no fanatic." (Ibid., 196.)

     Imitating this statement, I remark that Hedge was no fool. He knew, I suspect, what he was doing. He must have known that his readers would not preserve the distinctions he made or professed to make, but would at once associate the name of Swedenborg with the least pleasant ideas he mentioned in connection with mysticism in his article, "Emanuel Swedenborg," quite regardless of the fact that Hedge knew and admitted that such ideas had no application to Swedenborg.

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     Swedenborg's followers, said Hedge, had been a quiet unobtrusive sect. After a short biographical sketch of Swedenborg, including mention of his technologic and philosophic works, and the recognition they brought him, Hedge dealt with his period of religious prophecy, and the question of whether there is evidence in his life from which to conclude that his statements as to a Divine mission are true. At this point, Hedge discussed four stories or anecdotes about the life of Swedenborg which indicated unusual powers, and concluded that, though some of them are well authenticated, they indicate only extraordinary knowledge, and are by no means acceptable proofs of a special Divine mission.

     This part of Hedge's article is a probable source of Emerson's reference, in Nature (1836), to " the miracles of enthusiasm, as those reported of Swedenborg." (Centenary, I, 73.) Here the word "enthusiasm," which Hedge had used in connection with his third stage of mysticism, is used, though Hedge professed to leave Swedenborg in the second stage. In accordance with the psychologic law of association on which Hedge cunningly counted, Emerson associated Swedenborg nevertheless with the idea of enthusiasm, forgetting Hedge's distinctions, as Hedge probably intended should happen with his readers generally.

     Having successfully evaded any discussion of Swedenborg's teaching, and done as much damage by artful insinuation as he conveniently could, Hedge closed his article with the promise, which he failed to keep, that he would demolish Swedenborg's doctrine in a subsequent article. For whatever reason, whether because Hedge thought he had nothing to gain by a discussion in which he could be pinned down to volume and page, or for some other reason, the promised article never appeared.

     When he answered Hedge in the NEW JERUSALEM MAGAZINE for September and October, 1834, Caleb Reed, the New Church champion, made what seems to me the mistake of ignoring Hedge's trickery. He did not touch on the question of whether Swedenborg was a mystic or not, or point out the fact that the question does not admit of intelligent discussion in the absence of a definition of the term "mystic" which is mutually agreed upon between critic and champion, and that, in view of the fact that the important question is whether Swedenborg's teachings are true or not, the attempt to dispose of him by a derogatory epithet of doubtful meaning is a disingenuous, evasive, and contemptible trick.

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     The inference that Hedge's classification impressed Emerson and caused him to consider Swedenborg the typical mystic, and accordingly furnished the title for his later lecture, "Swedenborg; or, the Mystic," gains support from the very first Journal note in which Emerson referred to Swedenborg by name as a mystic. This note he made between February 8 and March 12, 1843. In recording a conversation about democracy and government, Emerson remarked on Mahomet's statecraft, his reliance on the sword, his veiling of woman, and said:

     "I remembered what I have heard or dreamed, that the most terrific of hierarchs would be a mystic. Beware of Swedenborg in power. Swedenborg in minority, Swedenborg contemplative, is excellent company; but Swedenborg executive would be the Devil in crown and sceptre. Fagots!"5

     This ought to stand as a classic example of the effect which artful insinuation can produce, even upon a reputable writer. Here we see how Emerson's memory behaved. Hedge had divided mystics into three types: first, the contemplative, which was harmless (compare Emerson's "Swedenborg in minority, Swedenborg contemplative, is excellent company"); second, the constructive type, also harmless, under which type Hedge had placed Swedenborg; and third, the practical type, ascetics, fanatics, who seize the sword of persecution. (Compare Emerson's reference to Mahomet's reliance on the sword, and his "Swedenborg in power . . . Swedenborg executive would be the Devil in crown and sceptre. Fagots!").

     To an Occidental, of course, Hedge's third class, of practical mystics, as described, would readily suggest Mahomet, and the later discussion of Mahomet's statecraft would easily recall to Emerson's mind the association of Swedenborg with mysticism in Hedge's article, which Emerson remembered so vaguely that he thought he had heard or dreamed it somewhere. His memory, as might have been expected, and as Hedge evidently intended should happen with all his readers, spread Swedenborg over the very classes in which Hedge had professed not to place him, and generalized him as the typical or representative mystic, whatever that was.

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     Thus it was that Emerson's "profound mind" admitted the perilous opinion that Swedenborg was a mystic, and somehow "dangerous." Hedge was the serpent that seduced him from his innocence, and by artful insinuations caused him to fasten upon Swedenborg an epithet which, whatever its justifiable use or application by technical theologians, had in the popular mind a savor so unpleasant as to condemn out of hand without trial any religious teacher to whom the epithet could be attached.

     The irony of the resulting situation lies in the fact that Mysticism was the only kind of religion that had any attraction for Emerson; yet, yielding to the pressure of popular prejudice, and to the half remembered but potent insinuations of Hedge, he chose to condemn by the epithet "Mystic" the only teacher whom he himself selected as the "Representative Man" of religion; and by so doing he belied the only type of religion he himself believed, and consciously or unconsciously betrayed his own order.
     DRURY COLLEGE,
          SPRINGFIELD, MISSOURI.

     1 The author acknowledges the courtesy of Houghton Mifflin Company in permitting the use of certain copyrighted matter.

     2 Encyclopaedia Americana, 1925, IX, 665.

     3 The Correspondence of Carlyle and Emerson, 1834-1872, edited by Charles Eliot Norton, Boston and New York, 1897, I, 16-17; 19; 32-33; 35.

     4 The Complete Works of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Centenary Edition, 1904, IV, 118.

     5 The Journals of Ralph Waldo Emerson, 1820-1876, Boston and New York, 1909-1914, VI, 354.
HEAVENLY DOCTRINE AND THE SPIRITUAL SENSE 1929

HEAVENLY DOCTRINE AND THE SPIRITUAL SENSE              1929

     "As to the Doctrine which now follows, that also is from heaven, because it is from the spiritual sense of the Word; and the spiritual sense of the Word is the same with the doctrine which is in heaven. For in heaven, equally as on earth, there is a church; the Word is there, and doctrine from the Word; there are temples there, and preaching in them; also ecclesiastical and civil governments. . . . But I will come to the Doctrine itself, which is for the New Church, and which, because it has been revealed to me out of heaven, is called the Heavenly Doctrine; for to give this is the purpose of this Work." (N. J. H. D. 7.)

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LIVING IN A NEW CHURCH COMMUNITY 1929

LIVING IN A NEW CHURCH COMMUNITY       Rev. GILBERT H. SMITH       1929

     THE MAIN PURPOSES.

     (A paper presented at the Friday Class of the Immanuel Church, Glenview, Ill.)

     The purpose of our living together in a community as New Church people,-the purpose which we all recognize as standing out beyond all others,-is that we may provide for the continuance of the Church. To carry out this purpose, two things are necessary: (1) Worship according to the teachings of the New Church, and (2) the instruction of the young in those teachings. Community life is the best means of promoting both of these things. Unless New Church people live near together, continuous worship is made difficult, and New Church schools are impossible.

     I suppose that the question never seriously arises in the mind of any of us as to the importance of Perpetuating the Church; but the question may fairly arise as to whether community life is the best method of perpetuating it. And this I say, in spite of the fact that I know there are some people who express a rather harsh and heroic attitude toward the Church, which would require it to survive all difficulties by the force of its own teachings. There are some who say that the New Church should be able to survive without the necessity of our doing anything to protect it. "The New Church," they say, "should be strong enough to withstand all difficulties and obstacles; and if it does not survive them, it deserves to die out. Why take means to protect the Church, if it is not able to protect itself? Anything that cannot stand the shock of contact with the world does not deserve to survive." In other words, they think that if the success of the New Church depends upon people living together in communities, it is probably a forlorn hope to expect it to survive.

     It is said that the Spartans made a practice of exposing new-born infants to the elements of the weather, and to a conflict with the forces of nature, and left them to fight for their lives.

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If they did not survive, it was considered better that they had not lived. But we would scarcely advocate such a thing in our day. And it would be just as unreasonable to follow a similar policy in regard to the Church.

     The Church in its infancy needs protection, just as a child does. After a child is grown, if it has had the proper protection and instruction in childhood, we expect it to stand alone and meet the world. And so do we expect that a man who has been fully indoctrinated in the Church will be able to meet the world, whether he then lives in a New Church community or not. But the children of the New Church ought to be protected during childhood by being educated in the teachings of the New Church, and by contact with the lives of New Church people until they reach maturity. And this is according to the wisdom of Solomon: "Train up a child in the way he should go; and when he is old, he will not depart from it." (Proverbs 22:6.) The only fear to be entertained is the fear that the life of the community may not, after all, be such as to "train up the child in the way he should go." Mere living according to the community idea will not accomplish anything, but only if the community life is such as really to protect the interests of the New Church.

     II.

     We cannot be too fully conscious of the purposes we have in living together in one community. Not to be conscious of them is to miss the advantages of such a living together.

     It is often said among ourselves, that we live together in order that we may have our schools, and that if it were not for our carrying on a distinctive educational program, the main reason for living in a separate community would be gone. But, to my mind at least, this does not express the whole truth of the matter. The main object of our dwelling together is worship. The schools are for the sake of worship, and the perpetuation of it with our children,-for the purpose of preparing them to enter into worship,-the worship and life of the New Church.

     In addition to the school and worship, we live together for the sake of our families or our homes. The quality and nature of the life we live in our homes is of an importance quite as great as the quality and nature of our instruction in the school.

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A group of homes associated together creates a social sphere. It creates a social relationship by the very fact of proximity. Thus it is an important part of our community life to develop and maintain social relationship independent of the school, and outside the strictly devotional activities.

     Community life, therefore, involves three major estates: Organized worship, organized social life, and organized education. It has frequently been said that, when the General Church and the Academy were first organized, there were three men who were leaders in each of these three estates. There was a great and wise religious instructor and administrator, a great promoter of education, and an inspiring leader in social life. And it has been said that the success of our movement was due to this fact. There used to be a very strong statement on the inside cover of the NEW CHURCH LIFE, speaking of the necessity of distinctive New Churchmanship. It covered three points: That, as recognized principles, there should be the purpose of distinctive worship, distinctive education, and distinctive social life.

     Is it possible that the New Church can progress truly if any one of these three purposes is lacking? And what is the meaning of the Word "distinctive," which has become so familiar to us through repetition? When we say that we want a distinctive New Churchmanship, do we not mean that we want to develop activities that are inherently different in practice and in aim from those that go by the same names outside of the New Church? Our aim and practice in: worship we want to make distinctly different. Our aim and practice in education we want to make distinctly different. And if we are also prepared to accept responsibility for that third estate, we want to make our aim and practice in social relations also inherently different.

     No doubt we are all fully committed to the idea that in the estate of worship and religious instruction we must be distinct and separate from other worship and instruction. For our Writings teach us in so many words that the religion and worship of the New Church cannot be together with that of the Old without a conflict and the mutual destruction of both. But how strongly are we convinced that our schools should be separate and distinct from the schools that flourish outside the Church? About this we are inclined perhaps to make modifications, by saying that we agree with it in principle, and up to a certain point in the growth of the child, but that our educational system is not yet complete, and that there are certain elements of impracticability in educating our children in the sphere and under the auspices of the Church all along the line.

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     It may be that some do not accept this thing fully, even in principle. Moreover, there is no direct statement in the Writings to the effect that the Church should undertake the full program of education. It is a deduction that has been made by men from their study of the Writings. It is a conclusion that has been drawn by the founders of our Church. It is necessary that men should draw conclusions and make deductions from the Writings, and our only concern is that these deductions be clearly and correctly made. Nor have we in the present generation any right to declare the deductions of a former period in the history of the New Church to be incorrect, unless we are prepared to enter as fully into the study of the Writings as was formerly done, and bravely to draw our own. Certainly no one in our present time, who knows at first hand what the Writings teach as to the state of life and learning in the world, can fail to draw the same conclusion as was formerly drawn in regard to education by the Church, and accept the idea of complete New Church education, at least in principle.

     III.

     But what about the third estate,-the organization of social life as between New Church families and homes? Is there a stronger claim upon the people of the New Church to limit or confine their social activities to those within New Church communities, than to extend them to other people? Is it narrow for New Church people to seek their social life, or the greater part of it, within the membership of the New Church? And is there any direct statement in the Writings to this effect? No doubt there are some who hold the opinion that social life has nothing to do with the New Church, but that social relationships will take care of themselves, and that the New Church need not concern itself with the organizing of any distinctive social life. Some may say that they accept the idea of separate New Church worship and education, but that in social relations the New Churchman should be free to form social contacts wherever and whenever he will.

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All well and good, they say, if the people of the New Church develop a social life of their own; but if it is not enough to satisfy them, they will seek social pleasures outside.

     Does the success and progress of the New Church depend to any considerable degree upon the distinctiveness of life in this third estate? Should not New Church people enter as fully as they wish into social activities among non-New Church people, and so play their part in the larger community of town or city?

     Beyond a doubt it has been a principle of the Academy that the people of the New Church should seek a distinctive social life together, that is, a social life apart from the general social life of the larger community. This, too, has been a deduction from doctrine, a conclusion of reason. But it has certainly never been a principle of the Academy that one should have no social contacts except with New Church people.

     It is a very fortunate circumstance that New Church people must do business with non-New Church people. Every New Churchman has a duty to the world in connection with his employment; and this is as it should be; and it is one of the greatest means of insuring breadth of mind and balance of judgment, as well as livelihood. The general social sphere is a very broad band of activities that lies mid-way between religious and social life. No one is rightly banned from entering into these broad social activities. Nevertheless, there is a social life which belongs distinctly to the Church, and which should, in a manner, be under the auspices and government of the Church, which means under the auspices and government of New Church people themselves.

     It is for the New Churchman to make the proper distinction between the two kinds. We all have our business connections, and we all have our Church affiliations; but between the two there lies a broad area of social activity. There are few organizations or associations of men for any purpose that have not their social activities in connection with them. The sports' club, the military organization, the lodge, the business association, the political party, the fraternity, and many other groups of people are organized for specific purposes. And no principle of the Academy interferes with people entering into and taking their part in such social activities. The extent to which one enters into these social activities is a matter of individual judgment; and usually, we suppose, it is determined in the mind of each one by the relative importance which he attaches to the uses which are performed by these various associations.

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     Still, in the presence of all these outside activities, the Church has a social life belonging to itself; and this is the social life that is to be kept distinct from every other. The Church cannot progress without it, or if it is not held as distinct. The New Church, being an organization for the promotion of the highest use, has a social side which is auxiliary to the use of salvation. The study of the Writings will reveal this to be the case,-will reveal this to be a true deduction from doctrine.

     But social activities of all kinds should be regarded altogether from the standpoint of use. An association formed for the sake of an external use admits of an external friendship; but an association formed for the sake of an internal or spiritual use admits of an internal or spiritual friendship. Our teaching is that a man may enter into friendship with all other people, but that he should be careful not to enter into the friendship of love with others merely upon a personal basis, without regarding the state of life and thought in which others are. It is altogether a matter of intimacy. It is our teaching that not all men are to be treated alike,-that one cannot be equally intimate in friendship with all people; but that it is only with those who are truly interested in spiritual things that he can be intimate in friendship without harm.

     Those, therefore, who make no distinctions between one social sphere and another, those who seek social pleasures without discrimination, or those who do not see that friendships within the Church are on a plane above other friendships, are in effect frustrating one of the three main purposes for which New Church people have chosen to live in a separate community. For, as we have stated, the three main purposes for which communities of New Church people were formed are: That they might maintain a separate worship, a separate education, and a separate social structure uniting New Church homes.

     And this is not narrowness; it is protection,-a protection of the New Church while it is, as we say, in a state of infancy, and therefore subject to the perils of other influences in the world, which, if they were allowed to do so, would frustrate all distinctive life and thought among us.

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     The social sphere of any association of people is determined by the character of the people who enter into it; and the character of the people who enter into it is determined by the purposes or uses which they propose to carry on. There is no other way of determining the nature of people.

     Nowhere is it more true than in the social sphere that a man is known by the company he keeps, that is, by the company with whom he enters into intimate friendship. He is known thus especially in the other world; and a man takes on the same sphere as those with whom he is socially intimate. The fact that anyone is interested in the New Church, if he really is, is presumptive evidence that he is in good; and we are to do good to those who are in good. That is the teaching.

     It is often said that friendship within the New Church is limited, and that there are people outside who are as good as any within it. But if that is so, why not present spiritual things to them, and see if we can be intimate on that plane, before entering too deeply into a personal friendship with them? It is the purposes to which people set their hearts and hands that form the only basis of a true judgment as to their character. And they who hold dear the purposes for which the New Church is, will accept in principle, and, so far as they can, in practice, the purposes for which New Church communities were established.
BUTTER AND MILK 1929

BUTTER AND MILK              1929

     "That the spiritual, or spirits who constitute the spiritual class, are averse to butter, was made evident from the fact that, although I had been delighted with butter, still for a long time I did not desire it, and when I ate it, I was deprived of its taste and so of its delight, and this for some months. . . . By this experience I was instructed that the spiritual are averse to butter. But the spiritual are very much delighted with milk, especially in its natural state (crude); for when I took some, the delight was almost indescribable. Wherefore, milk belongs to the spiritual, and butter to the celestial; not that they are delighted With them as foods, but on account of the representation, or what they signify, which arises from the agreement of spheres, which also are represented by the odors." (S. D. 1161-1163.)

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NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS 1929

NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS       Rev. HUGO LJ. ODHNER       1929

     A Retrospect upon the June Readings.

     The Doctrine of Charity, which was mainly covered by the June assignments, contains some of the most strikingly "practical" teachings of the New Church, and, as the readers will have found, contains searching and profound truths, not only about the way of man's individual repentance, but also about his place in Society, the larger Man. It is essentially the doctrine of uses, for charity does not abide with anyone unless he perpetually perform the good of use to the neighbor from affection and delight.

     The spiritual sociology of the New Church finds its main texts in the Doctrine of Charity, nos. 126-157, where the relation of the individual to the "common good" of the community is shown. For adequate and practical pictures of what charity really means, what more vivid and definite could be asked than the treatment in chapter VII, nos. 160ff? Whether one be priest or business man, soldier, sage or servant, it is through work that his life is purified and blessed. For in uses,-whether in his self-chosen work, or in the duties that perforce lie before him,-a man is lifted above himself and becomes an integral, albeit infinitesimal, part of the Gorand Human Form of heaven, provided only that his performance is sincere, just and faithful.

     In a few pages Swedenborg is allowed to dispose, once and for all, of the "charity" that oozes false piety or sentimentalism, as well as of the merit-seeking kind of "charity" which loves to mistake its obligations for benignities, and makes a virtue of its necessities. And then, generously, he "allows to Christian liberty its full scope," demolishes the citadels of asceticism by simple common sense, and tells the subtle difference between the diversions of charity (which are useful for the recreation of the mind) and the pleasures of folly and sloth which blunt the mind's capacities and degrade man into a bestial state.

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     I may be allowed to observe that Swedenborg, by his whole temperament and character, was most precisely fitted to give this doctrine of charity to the world; for in him that concept of charity finds a striking embodiment. He impressed his contemporaries as one who "never knew either repose or fatigue," since his devotion to his government post at the College of Mines, and his zealous interest in the duties of his various offices, were obviously the essence of his life. The ever-widening scope of his investigations was always due to his realization of the need of his country and of his fellow men. As the Rev. Thomas Hartley first pointed out, Swedenborg was not at all an "enthusiast" in his manner or in his writings, had nothing of the melancholy in his temper, and neither refrained from nor censured social amusements when properly conducted. His charity was rational, and not that of a bigot or a self-conscious altruist. Hartley's words to Swedenborg in 1769 are of special significance because of their proved sincerity, and because of the personal knowledge of the aged Seer which they represent: "Your charity towards the neighbor, the heavenly benignity Shining from your countenance, and your childlike simplicity, devoid of all vain show and egotism, are so great, and the treasure of wisdom possessed by you is so sweetly tempered with gentleness, that it did not inspire me with a feeling of awe, but one of love, which refreshed my innermost heart. . . ."

     It was such a man only that could be a proper agent for the Lord in revealing and formulating the heavenly doctrine of Charity.

     The July Assignments.

     The readings from the Old Testament assigned for the month of July include parts from the books of Leviticus and Numbers. The former, as the title indicates, contains the laws of the sacrifices and hygienic regulations of the Jews which were in the charge of the Levites. The book of Numbers recounts the story of Israel's wanderings in the desert, beginning with the numbering of the people at Sinai, and ending with the census taken thirty-eight years later in the plains of Moab, just prior to the entry into the promised land. Spiritually, these numberings are reviews of the state of man before and after the temptations described by the defeats and rebellions and plagues of those testing years of Israel in the school of fortitude and discipline. Losses as well as gains come from temptations.

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Some of the tribes were sadly depleted in comparison with the rest. So also do temptations leave the scars of sin deeply and irretrievably burnt into the fibers of our being.

     Two new works of the revelator Swedenborg are taken up during the month. One is only a little fragment of jotted notes covering less than two pages. Yet its utmost importance is such that without it the Revelation to the New Church would seem, somehow, incomplete. It dates from the year 1771, and is entitled, "A Sketch of an Ecclesiastical History of the New Church."' Surely a startling title! since the New Church had not become established in the world as an ecclesiastical body, and indeed did not take such a form until 1787, But here we have to do with the embryonic history of the New Church,-its inchoate beginnings in both worlds.

     It is of import to note at once that when Swedenborg speaks of the history of the New Church he very evidently refers to the story of the actual reception of the Writings, and to nothing else, i.e., not to any mythical influx from the new heavens permeating unconsciously into uninstructed minds. And thus the first seed of the New Church history, which he intended to write, would be an enumeration of "the books which were written, from the beginning to the present day, by the Lord through me."

     The closing phrase has proved unsavory to many, who would consent that Swedenborg had the general guidance of the Lord in his writing, but would deny that the Lord was their real author, or that the books were the Word of the Lord to the New Church. The translation of the original Latin "a Domino per me" was changed into "from the Lord through me"; but the author of that suggestion was miserably taken to task, since every Latin grammar insists that "the Ablative accompanied by a tab) is used with passive verbs to denote the personal agent." The Lord wrote these boobs of revealed instruction; He was the "personal agent"; Swedenborg (acting as if of himself) was a means,-a consciously cooperative medium,-in the process.

     This character of the Writings, as "written by the finger of God," is sustained by peculiar occurrences in the other world which the Seer now relates. Before believers the text of these books shines brightly; and when one of these books, the Brief Exposition, was published, all the angelic heaven appeared in a blaze of color, as if to glorify the event.

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And, as if to settle the question of the status of the Writings for all ages, Swedenborg was commanded to inscribe two earthly copies of his books with the remarkable inscription which was seen on all these books in the spiritual world: "This book is the Advent of the Lord."

     These Writings are the vehicles of the Lord's presence with His New Church. That is the indisputable doctrine here conveyed. And it was, we believe, no mere coincidence that at the very time when the early Academy champions were fighting with their backs against the wall for the Divine authority of these Writings, one of the two copies was found, and the imagination of the Church was kindled to the new confirmation of the close connection between the inspired books of the Second Advent and their Divine Author.

     The Church in the Making.

     Actually, at the time of the writing of the Sketch of an Ecclesiastical History, the number of receivers could scarcely have exceeded fifty persons, scattered in many lands. And the history of the New Church was as yet really the story of its persecution and rejection, which, of course, make up as essential a part of its history as do its worldly triumphs. For the convenience of the reader we shall make brief mention of some of the characters mentioned in the texts. The English receivers, such as the Rev. Thomas Hartley, Mr. Cookworthy, and Dr. Messiter, are strangely not mentioned.

     Dr. Gabriel Beyer, a professor of theology and learned languages at Gothenburg, became acquainted with Swedenborg in 1765, and he and Dr. Rosen, his colleague, were both convinced of the truth of the New Revelation. He was the author of a collection of New Church sermons, and of the first Concordance or Subject Index of the Writings, the Index Initialis, which was printed in 1779, the year of his death.

     Dr. Johan Rosen, in his journal, the Prestetidningar, publicly championed Swedenborg against the attacks of Ernesti (of whom later). This led to what is called by Swedenborg the most important trial for 1700 years, the "Gothenburg Trial." (See NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1910, pp. 153, etc.) Swedenborg himself took a hand in the proceedings, and some of his memorials and letters anent the persecution of his reverend friends, Beyer and Rosen, by their ecclesiastical colleagues and superiors, Assessor Aurell, Dean Ekebom, and Bishop Lamberg, will be found in our present Calendar Reading course.

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The trial simmered down before Swedenborg's death, but not before the Writings of the New Church had, by act of the Diet, become interdict and condemned. This persecution naturally helped the cause of the New Church in Sweden at the time.

     Dr. Petrus Filenius, bishop of Linkoping and Swedenborg's brother-in-law, professed deep friendship for Swedenborg, but betrayed his confidence and advised the confiscation of his books (Conjugial Love) which he had promised to seek to have released from the custom-house.

     (Who the person might have been who was "writing a literary history," in Sweden, we are not informed. Voltaire turned history into literature about this time. But who did the same in Sweden? Or is the reference to a history of literature?)

     F. C. Oetinger, a prelate of rank in Wurtemburg, had early been influenced by the mystic Boehme's writings and by Spener, Bengel and Zinzendorf. His admiration for Swedenborg's Principia laid the groundwork for his belief in Swedenborg's spiritual experiences, and-in 1766-he became an "unwilling martyr" in the cause of the New Church by championing Swedenborg before an inimical Consistory. By his publications and translations he paved the way for more thorough New Churchmanship than he himself displayed. For as may be seen from his correspondence with Swedenborg and Beyer, he rejected Swedenborg's revelation of the internal sense of the Word, being tied to the literal sense by life-long bonds.

     Gottingen is a place in Germany which Dr. R. L. Tafel (Docu. 301) connects with Dr. John Augustus Ernesti, a prominent theologian, whose periodical "Neue Theologische Bibliothek" (1760-1769) contained attacks against the Arcana Celestia, and against the personal character of Swedenborg. Ernesti is referred to in a memorable relation in the True Christian Religion (137) as living "not far from Luther's tomb!" An article on Ernesti's relation to Swedenborg, and the wide effect of his attacks, is to be found in NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1912, pp. 133, etc.

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     "The Word, . . . from Experience."

     The work with the above title is also fragmentary. It shows the marvelous construction of the Word, and the relationship of the Letter to the Spiritual Sense. In the portion assigned for the July readings occurs also a memorable passage (no. 29) which shows that the conjunction of man with heaven through the Word surpasses any communion that might be effected through open intercourse with spirits. For the New Churchman, this disposes of all the tempting claims of "spiritism," and proves that spirits are utterly unable to reveal anything not already held as a belief by the man.
DIVISIONS OF HEAVEN, GENERAL, SPECIFIC AND PARTICULAR 1929

DIVISIONS OF HEAVEN, GENERAL, SPECIFIC AND PARTICULAR       Rev. VICTOR J. GLADISH       1929

     (A paper read at The New Church Club, London, April 12, 1929.)

     In the work on Conjugial Love, nos. 11 to 25, we are given a view of life in heaven as it appeared to ten men who were elevated thither from the world of spirits. It is well to have such an objective picture as an ultimate containant for our thought while considering the nature of heaven,-its divisions, degrees, and forms. Therefore, a summary of their experiences in that heavenly society will be presented as a preface to this paper.

     In a great assembly in the world of spirits, many ideas concerning the nature of heaven and its joys had been expressed, after which we read as follows:

     "A voice was heard from heaven, saying to the angel with the trumpet, 'Select ten out of the whole assembly, and introduce them to us. We have heard from the Lord and He will prepare them so as to prevent the heat and light, or the love and wisdom, of our heaven from doing them any injury during the space of three days.' Ten were then selected, and followed the angel. They ascended by a steep path up a certain hill, and from thence up a mountain, on the summit of which was situated the heaven of those angels, which had before appeared to them at a distance like an expanse in the clouds.

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The gates were opened for them; and after they had passed the third gate, the introducing angel hastened to the prince of the society, or of that heaven, and announced their arrival. The prince said, 'Take some of my attendants and carry them word that their arrival is agreeable to me, and introduce them into my antecourt, and provide for each a separate apartment with bed chamber, and appoint some of my attendants and servants to wait upon them and attend to their wishes.' All of which was done. On being introduced by the angel, they asked whether they might go and see the prince; and the angel replied, 'It is now morning, and it is not allowable before noon; until that time everyone is engaged in his particular office and work; but you are invited to dinner, and then you will sit at table with our prince; in the meantime I will introduce you into his palace, and show you its splendid and magnificent contents.'"

     While they admired the palace, perfected far beyond earthly arts, the angel said, "You may possibly conceive that such objects charm our eyes, and infatuate us by their grandeur, so that we consider them as constituting the joys of our heaven; but because our hearts are not in such things, they are only accessories to the joys of our hearts; and therefore, so far as we contemplate them as such, and as the workmanship of God, so far we contemplate in them the Divine omnipotence and clemency." (C. L. 12.)

     When the novitiates were shown the most magnificent of all the gardens of that heaven, they saw at first only a single tree, with, as it were, golden fruit and silver leaves; but, as they came nearer, their eyes were opened to behold a marvelous garden in which a great variety of trees, radiating in a continuous spiral from the bejeweled tree in the center, were interspersed with flower beds and rustic seats. And from the center there went forth a glow of light which caused all the trees to shine with a graduated splendor that continued from the first to the last, so that the novitiate spirits cried out, "Behold heaven in form!" (C. L. 13.) They were then led to a sumptuous banquet with the prince, his officers, and attendants, and were instructed by the prince that the richness of the table-service and the abundance of the food were not regarded as sources of delight in themselves, but because of their refreshment to mind and body for the performance of uses. (C. L. 14, 15.)

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     The visitors also learned about the days of festivity set apart by the prince, when there were musical concerts and other entertainments in the public buildings. They were told of the daily recreations, when, after a morning of active performance of their respective uses, there were entertainments and games in the outskirts of the city, including competitive sports for boys, and dramatic performances. (C. L. 17.)

     While they were being instructed by certain wise ones of the society in regard to the derivation of all their delights from the love of uses to the neighbor, a messenger arrived to invite the ten spirits to a wedding which was to take place that evening. (C. L. 18, 19.) They were permitted to view the marriage ceremony, and the significance of its particulars was explained to them. And, the following day being the Sabbath, they were allowed to attend Divine worship with the members of that society. (C. L. 20-24.)

     When they had returned to the apartments which had been assigned to them, the angel said," This is the third day since you came into the society of this heaven, and you were prepared by the Lord to stay here three days; it is therefore time that we separate; put off, therefore, the garments sent you by the prince, and put on your own." When they had done so, "they were inspired with a desire to be gone; so they departed and descended, the angel attending them to the place of the assembly; and there they gave thanks to the Lord for vouchsafing to bless them with knowledge, and thereby with intelligence, concerning heavenly joys and eternal happiness." (C. L. 25.)

     II.

     The terms used in the title of this paper are taken from the statement in the work on Heaven and Hell: "The general division is into two kingdoms, the specific into three heavens, and the particular into innumerable societies." Or, in a literal translation of the Latin, "Heaven is distinguished . . .in general into two kingdoms, in special into three heavens, and in part into innumerable societies." (H. H. 20.)

     We are all very familiar with this general teaching concerning the divisions of heaven. It is set forth early in the work on Heaven and Hell, which probably is as widely read as any work of the Writings.

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But when we come to a comparison of the passages describing the two kingdoms, the three heavens, and the individual societies, we find difficulty in fitting certain numbers into a general scheme with the others. There are at least one thousand numbers in the Writings which treat more or less specifically about heaven, and a goodly proportion of these deal with the divisions into which heaven is distinguished. Such an array of teaching indicates that there is much food for study in the subject; and the variety and complexity of the passages indicate that some digestion is necessary to attain an interior grasp of the teachings.

     Let us quote a few representative statements on the subject: "There are three heavens: the first is the abode of good spirits; the second, of angelic spirits; and the third, of angels. Spirits, angelic spirits, and angels are all distinguished into the celestial and the spiritual. The celestial are those who, through love, have received faith from the Lord, like the men of the Most Ancient Church.

     "The spiritual are those who, through knowledges of faith, have received charity from the Lord, and who act from what they have received." (A. C. 459.)

     "Those (visions) which I have seen in the world of spirits I have seen in clear light, but those in the heaven of angelic spirits I have seen more obscurely, and still more obscurely those in the heaven of angels. . . ." (A. C. 1972.)

     "There are three heavens: the first is the abode of good spirits, the second of angelic spirits, and the third of angels. . . ." (A. C. 684.)

     Many of the earlier and some of the later numbers of the Arcana Celestia speak of the heaven of good spirits, the heaven of angelic spirits, and the heaven of angels; but in many Arcana numbers, and in the specific treatment at H. H. 29 (as well as all the other works), we find the familiar statement that there are three heavens,-an ultimate or first, a middle or second, and an inmost or third. And in H. H. 31, and a few numbers in the later works, such as A. R. 876, we find the three heavens termed the celestial, the spiritual, and the natural, the designation which has become most familiar to the Church.

     Of the two kingdoms it is written:

     "(The general division) is said to be into kingdoms, because heaven is called the 'kingdom of God.'

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There are angels who receive more interiorly the Divine that goes forth from the Lord, and others who receive it less interiorly; the former . . . (are of) the celestial kingdom, (the latter) of the spiritual kingdom." (H. H. 20, 21.)

     At the outset it is well to note that these two general divisions are given Scripturally derived titles, indicative of the fact that one is ruled primarily by the "flame of love from the Lord," and the other by the "light of truth " from Him.

     Again we read:

     "In heaven or the Gorand Man there are two kingdoms, one of which is called celestial, and the other Spiritual . . . They who are in the celestial kingdom all belong to the province of the heart, and they of the spiritual kingdom to the province of the lungs." (A. C. 3887.)

     Similar statements may be found in many other places, as in A. C. 9670, where it is said that there is a correspondence of the heart and the cerebellum with the celestial kingdom, and of the lungs and the cerebrum with the spiritual kingdom. This and other passages seem to identify the celestial kingdom with the inmost heaven, and the spiritual kingdom with the middle heaven. For we read:

     "Those of the Lord's celestial kingdom constitute the third or inmost heaven, but the spiritual constitute the second or interior heaven." (A. C. 36944.)

     "There are two kingdoms of which heaven consists. The celestial kingdom is the inmost or third heaven, the spiritual kingdom is the middle or second." (A. C. 5922, 6417, and many others.)

     Then again there is the teaching that all infants who are being educated in heaven can be distinguished into a genius like that of the celestial angels or that of the spiritual angels. (H. H. 333, 339; A. C. 2301.)

     Now if we believe that man has the power to open his mind either to the natural, spiritual, or celestial degree, which is unmistakably taught in D. L. W. 237, 239, T. C. R. 34, and many other places, how is it that all men evidence a genius, even in childhood, like either the celestial or the spiritual angels,-evidently an inborn disposition?

     Still another problem arises. In addition to the teaching above, indicating that, among all men, some are born of a celestial genius, and some of a spiritual, there are a few statements, and additional implied statements, that whole nations are of one genius of the other; as, for example:

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     "The Africans are of the genius of the angels of the celestial kingdom, Europeans of the spiritual." (S. D. 5518e.)

     "The Africans are of a celestial nature (indole)." (S. D. 4783.)

     A description of the Chinese in the spiritual world is given in H. H. 325, and it is strongly indicated that they are of a celestial genius. In another place it is said of certain Chinese spirits that they were of a "spiritual celestial genius." (J. Post. 132.)

     Before leaving this survey of the problem to be encountered, let us add one more, namely, the relation of the heavens from the Most Ancient, Ancient, and Christian Churches to the overlapping scheme (as it were) of the three heavens, two kingdoms and two geniuses. It will be unnecessary to adduce references for the familiar teaching (to be found especially throughout the early numbers of the Arcana Celestial that the men of the Most Ancient Church were celestial men, and those of the Ancient Church spiritual men. But there is also teaching that seems to identify the Most Ancient Heaven with the inmost heaven, and passages like the one which states: "The men of the Most Ancient Church, from whom the Lord's celestial kingdom is made. . . ." (S. D. 4712.)

     The question is: "Can these various explanations of the form of heaven,-seemingly making " things equal to the same thing" not "equal to each other,"-belong to one harmonious and all-embracing scheme of heavenly order? "If we mean, " Is the doctrine, in itself, such a harmonious law?" the answer is, unhesitatingly, "Yes." For He who created the heavens spoke this doctrine. As touches our present ability to grasp it and set it forth as such a unit, there is not the same assurance. Nevertheless, I think the answer, even from this point of view, is in the affirmative. First, I will set forth an outline of the divisions of heaven which a study of hundreds of passages leads me to believe is the general teaching of the Writings. This, let me say, is not a departure from the traditional understanding of the subject, but is, I believe, about the same general plan as that understood by those who have given it thought in the past. It is a matter of returning, in general, to what one had formerly taken for granted, with a fuller knowledge of what is involved-of the steps on the way. Such a general sketch follows, and confirmations of the several points will be given later.

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     III.

     The great historic divisions of the heavens (which most legitimately may be thought of as spatial separations, or groups of societies set far apart from one another) are the heavens of the Most Ancient Church, the Ancient Church, and the Christian Church. In each of these heavens there are men of the Lord's celestial kingdom and men of His spiritual kingdom,-that is, men born of a celestial genius, and those born of a spiritual genius. And this, even though the Most Ancients were celestial men, as compared with those of later ages. Just as they were born male and female-intellectual and voluntary-in the Most Ancient Church, so some were born to be affected primarily by the "flame of love" (as compared with their fellows), and others to be primarily (again in comparison with their compeers) affected by the "light of wisdom."

     Furthermore, in each of these heavens there are men in three different degrees of regeneration, those who have opened their minds to the celestial degree, those who have done so only to the spiritual degree, and those who have opened neither the celestial nor the spiritual, but only the natural degree.

     In the Most Ancient Heaven, they came from a celestial and uncontaminated age, and the rule was that men regenerated to the celestial degree; so much so that they gave character to their age, and their heaven as celestial; and, when grouped against the heavens of the ages that have thus far succeeded, they are properly called the inmost heaven; and also, as such a group, they represent, par excellence, the Lord's celestial kingdom,-those who receive the "flame of love," and thence intelligence and wisdom.

     Similarly, the Ancient Heaven contains some who are celestial, but it is characterized by the spiritual; while the New Heaven, or Natural Heaven-formed from faithful Christians, from gentiles who could be converted, and from the Christians and gentiles who died as children-contains some few celestial and spiritual, but is characterized by the natural,-those who have attained only to the good of faith, who have led a life of charity from simple obedience. Thus the Christian Heaven is by far the most external of the heavens, as a matter of individual choice in regeneration.

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     Be it noted, however, that it is possible for Christians to open their minds to the celestial degree, and, if they choose to be as interior as the Most Ancients, with, at the same time, an added fulness from a more complete opening of the natural-rational, made possible by the Coming of the Lord and His Word. But even had such celestial-natural men characterized the Christian Heaven (to linger in the realm of those things which did not happen-for the sake of illustration), it would still have been the natural and ultimate or lowest heaven, though it need not have been inferior and merely external.

     IV.

     And now there are but two of the questions raised at the beginning of this paper which I have not, in some small and general way, attempted to answer. One is: How can nations or races be described as of a celestial or spiritual genius, if all peoples contain those of the celestial and spiritual kingdoms,-those who will become angels of the will-kingdom, or devils of the diabolic kingdom, and also those who will become angels of the intellect-kingdom, or spirits of the satanic kingdom? If such be the universal law, how can it be said that the Africans, for instance, are of the celestial genius or disposition? The answer would seem to be that the Africans are of the celestial, affectional, or voluntary type, as compared with Europeans, or the white race; but that they, too, have men and women of the two great classes,-those who are comparatively intellectual, and those who are comparatively affectional.

     The other seeming obscurity not yet touched upon is the naming of the three heavens, in the early Writings, as the "heaven of good spirits, the heaven of angelic spirits, and the heaven of angels," while in the later written parts of the Writings we are given the terms, "natural heaven, spiritual heaven and celestial heaven."

     First, let us recall that the Arcana Celestia was written before the Last Judgment. I am not aware of any passage where the term "heaven of good spirits" is used after 1757. Until the Judgment, the historic natural or ultimate heaven,-that formed from Christians-was not established. Is it not reasonable to believe that formerly the place of the ultimate heaven was filled by good spirits who were held in the world of spirits until the time of the Judgment?

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     In this connection, let me again refer to A. C. 1972. There, instead of the usual trilogy,-the heaven of good spirits, the heaven of angelic spirits, and the heaven of angels,-Swedenborg refers to visions "seen in the world of spirits, the heaven of angelic spirits, and the heaven of angels." Furthermore, the Doctrine teaches that there are three states in the world of spirits: (1) a state of exteriors, (2) a state of interiors, and (3) a state of preparation for either heaven or hell. (H. H. 491.) Now societies of spirits in this third state are frequently called "heavens." At least, one is strongly led to that belief from a comparison of many passages in the Arcana Celestia and the Diary. With these things in mind, it seems a logical conclusion that those from the Christian world in the third state of the world of spirits filled the place of the ultimate heaven (in the historical series) until the New Heaven was formed; and further, that the "heaven of angelic spirits" is that which is later called the "spiritual heaven," and is typified in the societies of the Ancient Heaven, and that "the heaven of angels " bears a like relation to the celestial and Most Ancient Heaven.

     While we are still in the realm of hypothesis, and before proceeding to confirmation and the citation of authority, let us put forth a conclusion as to how we are to regard the division into parts or societies. In the sense we now have in mind, a society must surely be a community such as that which the ten men from the world of spirits were permitted to visit, community which seems similar, in its general outlines, to the communities of men on earth. All types of good men are to be found there, from the prince and the "wise men" to the lowest of the servants; that is, all types needed to complete the uses of the community. There would be the symmetrical proportion of the celestial and spiritual geniuses. There would be the wisest, whose interiors were opened to the celestial degree, angels of the spiritual degree, and those in the good of faith, or natural angels,-angels of the ultimate heaven. Where, then, are the celestial, spiritual, and natural heavens? Where should they be? Surely not in space, not dependent for their unity, their consociation and conjunction of individuals, upon the constant appearing of those individuals side by side in the same houses and communities. Angels do dwell in the appearance of space, and hence the communities such as that described in C. L. 11-25, where wise and simple perform mutual uses. They do not dwell in space, and hence the full communion of the celestial with the celestial, the spiritual with the spiritual, the natural with the natural, whether of their own or other communities.

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     It is true that the natural mind has its difficulties in solving all the problems herein, but why not, since we are told that even the angels cannot fathom all the arcana of heavenly influx and communication. (See A. C. 9877e.) But, in addition to the statements in the Writings to the effect that each society is composed of three degrees, and is in the human form, there is the seeming impossibility of a community in which all are in the same degree of wisdom and love, or in the same use, etc. It does not take much study of the Writings to feel sure that one society would not be made up exclusively of housemaids, another of plumbers, and so on. There might indeed be societies of plumbers, and certainly societies of philosophers, but all having their fellowship in the same way-on a much more perfect scale-as societies of philosophers, architects, or plumbers have their fellowship in this world.

     In support of the deduction that there are celestial, spiritual, and natural angels in each community of fixed appearances, there is the teaching that the light which proceeds from the Lord is received in the inmost heaven as the good which is called charity, and in the middle heaven as the truth which is from charity, but that when this flows into the ultimate heaven it is received substantially, and appears as a paradise, and in some places as a city in which are palaces. (A. C. 4411.) Now it is not only before the eyes of natural angels that paradises and palaces appear, but, according to their interior quality, the angels perceive more or less dearly the reality of that which appears before them, namely, the Divine Truth from the Divine Good. In a somewhat similar manner confirmations can be drawn from many other passages. (See A. C. 46188, 6701, 51453.)

     As to the position that there is a kingdom of good and a kingdom of truth in each heaven and society, there is, in addition to A. C. 459, already quoted, the statement that the kingdoms are circumstanced like the voluntary and intellectual in man (A. C. 9993), as well as other numbers to the same purport. There is also a direct statement:

     "The reason for the difference in light is that all good spirits who are in the first heaven, and all angelic spirits who are in the second, and all angels who are in the third, are distinguished in general into the celestial and the spiritual; the celestial being those who are in the love of good, and the spiritual those who are in the love of truth." (A. C. 1525. See also 1752:2, 1802:3.)

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     V.

     Such is a brief statement of a view of the form and disposition of the heavens that would seem to bring the various teachings into some alignment, even before the natural-rational mind; and such are a few of the many confirmatory passages that might be adduced. It is true that there are yet very many passages to be explained, and to be reconciled, one with another. As we consider each instance of the heavenly divisions, set forth according to different series of order, we come into difficulties, because of our difficulty in thinking spiritually. But as the universal idea is grasped, and the natural, spatial mind sinks down into its place, the difficulties, one by one, disappear. Although there may remain some passages that are not readily fitted into the general scheme, it is not essential to bring them all into perfect harmony in the mind before adopting as a working hypothesis that which seems to be the general teaching of the Writings, in harmony with hundreds of passages, and according to what one may perceive as the "spirit" throughout the Writings.

     It will be observed that I have not dwelt at any length upon the explanation of the many statements to the effect that the celestial kingdom is the inmost heaven, and that the spiritual kingdom is the middle heaven. In spite of some glimpses of the truth, the mind will return to these statements as most baffling,-that the two kingdoms which make the all of heaven are identified, in some sense, with two of the three heavens. My reason for making only a general statement of the principle that harmonizes these seeming discrepancies is, that I propose to conclude by a quotation at some length from a letter on this subject by the Rev. Richard de Charms, Sr. I found the printed extract of this letter on the day that this paper was finished, but it clarified and rendered expressible the tentative conclusions which I had been forming and adjusting for weeks and months. The letter was written to the Rev. N. C. Burnham in 1840, and is printed in NEW CHURCH LIFE for September, 1884, p. 133.

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This remarkably lucid statement of the relation between the two kingdoms and the three heavens is worthy of careful and repeated study. The substance is as follows:

     ". . . The celestial Kingdom and the celestial heaven, and the spiritual kingdom and the spiritual heaven, are the same when mention is made of principles in successive order; and yet the celestial and spiritual kingdoms are in each and all of the three heavens when their derivatives are regarded in simultaneous order. It amounts to the same thing to say that Swedenborg calls the celestial or spiritual heaven the celestial or spiritual kingdom when he alludes to their distinguishing characteristics. The celestial kingdom is the kingdom of love or good, the spiritual kingdom is the kingdom of faith or truth. Now the distinguishing reigning principle in the celestial heaven is love or good, and the distinguishing reigning principle in the spiritual heaven is faith or truth. But it does not follow that there is no dominion of truth in the celestial heaven and no dominion of good in the spiritual. It is in the same way that Swedenborg calls the man intellect, and the woman love; it is not that the woman has no intellect and the man no love, but that love characterizes the woman, even her intellect, and intellect characterizes the man, even his love. Besides, the celestial heaven is the celestial kingdom, because its functions reign in the whole heaven or greatest man, just as the head reigns in the whole body; and the spiritual heaven is the spiritual kingdom, because its functions reign in the whole heaven just as the thorax reigns in the whole body; but the two kingdoms are in all the heavens, just as the heart's blood and the lungs' motions are in all the body. The celestial heaven is not in the whole Gorand Man, just as the head is not in the whole body; this is true of successive order. But the celestial kingdom is in the whole Gorand Man, just as the nerves, nervous fluid, and consequent functions of the head are in the whole body. This is true of simultaneous order. The celestial heaven is the celestial kingdom, because the head is the center of the nerves with their fluid and of the body's whole nervous energy; but the celestial kingdom is in all three of the heavens, because the brain acts by its derivatives or circumferential parts in every organ, member, and tissue of the body. The same thing is illustrated by the heart and lungs with their functions in the body. And hence the heart corresponds to the celestial kingdom, and the lungs to the spiritual kingdom, although the heart and lungs, together with the thorax that contains them, corresponds specifically to the spiritual heaven.

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     "If the two kingdoms were not in all the heavens, the heart in the thorax could not correspond to the celestial kingdom. (See A. C. 3635.) Or if the celestial kingdom were only the celestial heaven, thus the head of the Gorand Man, and the spiritual kingdom were only the spiritual heaven, thus thorax or body of the Gorand Man, then the head would alone correspond to the celestial kingdom in the body, and the breast would alone correspond to the spiritual kingdom in the body. . . . If each heaven is a kingdom because its predominating principle exists and rules in the whole body, then there are three kingdoms, for the natural heaven as a natural principle exists and reigns in the whole Gorand Man.* It is said that the feet correspond to the natural heaven; this is the case in successive order; but by the term feet in simultaneous order is meant not merely two members upon which the whole body rests, but also that upon which the interior textures of its several parts rest. Thus the brains have their feet as well as the body, for they have their enveloping membranes and a skull. The heart and lungs, too, have feet in their enveloping membranes and thorax. Hence, the natural heaven extends throughout the Gorand Man, as well as (throughout) the spiritual and celestial heavens. For ultimates, as well as interiors and intimates, exist everywhere in the body. Thus in the head you have the nervous fluid, the brain, and its enveloping membranes, and in the feet you have the blood and nervous fluids, the flesh, and their skins. Thus you have the celestial, spiritual, and natural in both the head and the feet; and so of every other part, as well as of the whole body. Hence, you have everywhere in the body three heavens, which, if the heavens are kingdoms, are three kingdoms. But in these three kingdoms are reigning two kingdoms,-the kingdom of the heart, and the kingdom of the lungs, or the kingdoms of the right and left hemispheres of the brain. This is the case in the body. And in the mind you have the kingdom of the will with the kingdom of the understanding, reigning in affection, in thought, and in act or speech. In the mind there are ends, causes, and effects.

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The celestial heaven is in ends, the spiritual heaven is in causes, and the natural heaven is in effects, and in all three there is the kingdom of love with the kingdom of wisdom, the kingdom of good with the kingdom of truth, the kingdom of heat with the kingdom of light. Good and truth in ends is the celestial heaven, good and truth in causes is the spiritual heaven, good and truth in effects is the natural heaven. And as good and truth reign in ends, causes, and effects, so the two kingdoms are in all the three heavens. And the two kingdoms are in the three heavens as heat and light are in the animal, vegetable, and mineral regions of the earth. Hence, as Swedenborg teaches, the two kingdoms are tripartite, as the three heavens are twofold. There is the essential light of truth, which is the spiritual kingdom, and there is the flame of good, which is the celestial kingdom; and these exist in three distinct degrees, which are so many distinct heavens." (NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1884, pp. 133, 134.)
     * In a few passages in the Writings, as T. C. R. 195, 212, the natural heaven is called the natural kingdom.-V. J. G.
DIVINITY OF THE WORD 1929

DIVINITY OF THE WORD              1929

     "When the natural man reads the Word, and inquires where the Divine lies concealed therein; and when, on account of its common style, he does not find it in the letter; he first begins to hold it in low estimation, and next to deny that it was dictated by the Divine Itself, and let down through heaven to man. For he does not know that the Word is Divine from its spiritual sense, which does not appear in the letter, although it is within the letter; nor does he know that that sense is presented in heaven when man reads the Word in a holy manner; for in that sense it treats of the Lord and His kingdom. These are the Divine things from which the Word is Divine, and through which holiness inflows through heaven from the Lord even into the literal sense, and into the very letter. But so long as a man does not know what the spiritual is, he cannot know what the spiritual sense is, nor what correspondence is; and so long as a man loves the world more than heaven, and himself more than the Lord, he is not willing to know or to grasp such things; when yet all ancient intelligence was from this source, and likewise angelic wisdom. The mystic arcana, which some diviners have vainly labored to detect in the Word, lie concealed in the spiritual sense alone." (A. C. 9280.)

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NOTES AND REVIEWS. 1929

NOTES AND REVIEWS.              1929


NEW CHURCH LIFE
Office a Publication, Lancaster, Pa.
Published Monthly By
THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM
BRYN ATHYN, PA.
Editor                    Rev. W. B. Caldwell, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager          Mr. H. Hyatt, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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

     TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$3.00 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single Copy, 30 cents
     "SWEDENBORG'S WRITINGS."

     A friend has translated the following from the Czech or Bohemian language:

     "The New Church Writings, commonly called 'Swedenborg's Writings,' are the third and final revelation concerning the Lord Himself,-the new and glorious Gospel of His Second Coming,-to be placed alongside the Old and New Testaments, not as the writings of the man Swedenborg, but as the Lord's New Revelation through a man. They do not belittle or put away the Bible, but fulfill it in the same way as the New Testament fulfills the Old Testament.

     "The Lord Himself said to His disciples: ' I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit, when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will lead you into all truth. . . . These things have I spokes unto you in parables; but the time cometh when I shall no more speak unto you in parables, but I shall shew you plainly of the Father. (John 16:12, 13, 25.) How, then, can the reader of the New Church Writings have any doubt that these Writings are the fulfilment of the Lord's promise, or that the Lord Himself 'speaks plainly of the Father' in them?

     "The warning given at the end of the Apocalypse, about adding or taking away from the words of the book of this prophecy, has reference only to this Book of Revelation, not to the whole Bible, which at that time had not been as fully written as we have it today.

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Besides, the prohibition against adding anything could apply only to a man, and not to any action of the Lord Himself, who plainly promised further revelation. And if we were, on this account, to reject the New Revelation given through Swedenborg, then even the Jews might be justified in their rejection of the New Testament; for it is plainly said in the Old Testament: 'Ye shall not add unto the word which I command you, neither shall ye diminish aught from it'; and again, 'What thing soever I command you, observe to do it; thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.' (Deuteronomy 4:2 and 12:32.) It was on this ground that the Samaritans felt justified in rejecting all of the Old Testament except the Pentateuch. Even the early fathers of the Christian Church believed that only the books of the Old Testament were a holy and dependable guide; for the New Testament was not acknowledged as such, and called the Word, and regarded as equal to the Old Testament in holiness and inspiration, until the Time of Theofil Antioch, about 180 years after Christ.

     "That the Theological Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg are the Lord's Revelation, is the belief of all those who read them understandingly, and try to live according to them. It is our conviction that they are not the writings of a man, but that when we refer to them as 'Swedenborg's Writings,' it is the same as when we speak of the 'Books of Moses,' the' Book of Isaiah,' etc., believing that Moses and Isaiah were only the means of giving the holy, inspired books which are called after them to distinguish them from other books." (Translated by Mr. A. A. Sellner from NOVY JERUSALEM, NOS. 1-2, 1922.)
REASONS FOR READING THE WRITINGS. 1929

REASONS FOR READING THE WRITINGS.              1929

     Beginning a series of "Brief Studies in the Writings," the first of which is published in the May number of THE NEW AGE (Australia), the Rev. Richard Morse gives a description of the Arcana Celestia, and presents the following reasons for a daily and consecutive reading of its Precious volumes by New Churchmen:

     "These brief studies in what are called the Writings of the New Church, are presented for the purpose of fostering a desire in the minds of the members for reading them daily.

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They are veritably the Heavenly Father's messages of loving instruction to His children; and for professing members of the Church to ignore them, partially or wholly, would be a far greater offence than to treat with indifference a letter of love from a human parent, or from a wife, husband or child, because of the infinite difference between the human and Divine message. Attention and reception in the case of the former may be postponed, but not in the case of the latter; for when He Who is Love and Wisdom in absolute reciprocal union reveals Himself, it must be clear that He desires to be received. It may, therefore, be said of the Writings: '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. There is no other way of opening the door than by a willing reception of the Message. The Lord is known only by His Revelation, or Message; and when that is received, as from Him, He is admitted into the heart and life.

     "There was no period in the life of man on this planet when he was less spiritual; nor was there a period when he possessed more knowledge or science. It is not said intelligence or wisdom, for these belong to the spiritual and celestial; and neither of these degrees is opened, except with those who regard the Lard Jesus Christ as the Creator and Preserver of the universe, and who shun evils because they are sins against Him.

     "This hereditary state of everyone makes it imperative that the member of the Church shall employ self-compulsion respecting the obvious duty of reading the Writings daily, in order that the understanding shall continually be enriched with heavenly knowledges, to the end that a new will may be formed within it by the Lord. No one is without the ability to do this; and there is only the very brief earth-life in which to do it. If a desire for spiritual things is not acquired here, it will not be acquired; and the only source from which they can be obtained is the Opened Word. . . .

     "No one desiring to regenerate, by seeking 'first the kingdom of God and His justice,' who has not read these wonderful secrets of heaven, can have the faintest idea of the delight which the reading of them affords. But they should be read consecutively. The Swedenborg Concordance is of inestimable value in special study, but cannot take the place of daily and consecutive reading.

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The twelve volumes of the Arcana Celestia can be read in eight and a half years, if five minutes only each day are devoted to it. But it is known that more time will be devoted as the delight in reading grows. And at the end of that time the spirit of the reader-that real self that is to live forever-if viewed in the light of heaven, would be found to have become more vigorous and comely than it was at the beginning."
MYSTICISM AND DIVINE REVELATION. 1929

MYSTICISM AND DIVINE REVELATION.              1929

     In a communication to the NEW-CHURCH MESSENGER of May 22, 1929, the Rev. Herbert C. Small deals with the question, "What is A Mystic?" In the course of his treatment of the subject, that form of mysticism which places reliance upon personal experience and intuition as the final criterion of truth is boldly contrasted with a faith in Divine Revelation as the only genuine and authoritative source of a knowledge of spiritual and Divine things. There has been a tendency among New Churchmen to adopt this "mystic" attitude toward the Revelation of the Second Coming, especially when there is a doubt as to its being Divinely authoritative, and when it is held that the individual "perception" is the final court of decision as to the truth or falsity of what is taught therein. As one writer has expressed it, "The only 'Authority' to which any man can submit, if he is to retain his freedom, is that of the voice of the Lord in his own soul." (NEW CHURCH LIFE, April, 1928, p. 243.) Granting that the individual, in the freedom of his rational mind, must determine his acceptance or rejection of what comes to him with the claim of Holy Writ, this does not make the human mind the origin and source of truth, nor a special receptacle of individual revelation which is to supplant the written Word as the only way of spiritual instruction for the man of this earth. Mr. Small makes this very plain, and our readers will be especially interested in the contrasts drawn in the following passages from his communication in the MESSENGER:

     "Mysticism, therefore, gradually narrows itself down to an attitude or belief concerning the source of genuine spiritual knowledge. Its standard of truth is that of the inner emotions, and whatever agrees with them, called by some, 'intuitions.'

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These intuitions are regarded as superior to cool, logical reflection, and to deductions from every known scientific, historical, and physical fact bearing on the matter, and they are often allowed to set aside both the logical processes of the mind and the facts of bodily sense, as being superseded by inward sensations which are supposed to deliver the real truth. But it is apparent, of course, that intuitions are not necessarily truths at all; that they may be just as false as conclusions reached by other means, and indeed are likely to be almost universally so when the external reason does not analyze and correct

     "Interpreting this condition in the light of New Church teaching, we readily come to the simple definition: Mysticism is the acceptance and the practice of the persuasion that Divine revelation need not be written or be communicated through books, but may be given immediately to each person; or, what is the same, that truth need not come by an external way as knowledge, but may come by an internal way as intuition. It involves the assumption that an authoritative Bible, however useful, is not imperative; that inspiration supercedes external instruction. Mysticism therefore properly covers everything not properly derived from the written Word of God; and a study of the products of mysticism actually shows it to include almost everything imaginable.

     "Viewed thus, every well-grounded student of Swedenborg will see how foreign mysticism is to Swedenborg's teachings and practice. Swedenborg rejects in total the possibility of enlightenment in this age by any immediate or subjective revelation. The written Word alone is the source of truth, and all not so derived is spiritual fantasy. . . .

     "It is a grave mistake to connect Swedenborg's doctrine of 'perception' with the 'intuitions' of mysticism. Rightly understood, this doctrine is the direct opposite of mysticism, and the corrective of it. However much the uncorrupted minds of the earliest inhabitants of the earth may have enjoyed illustration without external instruction, Swedenborg clearly recognizes that this faculty ceased with them, and that since those innocent days "the thoughts of the imaginations of men's hearts have been evil continually. Perverse propensities broke down utterly that method of enlightenment, and it was superseded by written revelations as the only possible means of saving man from floundering in the morass of his own loves and conceits, falsely labeled 'revelations.'

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     "Swedenborg took great pains to point out the infatuation into which man falls when left to the guidance of his 'intuitions.' External authoritative Divine revelation, together with the constant study of it and full obedience to it, was to him not a mere accessory to spirituality, but an absolute necessity to all true feeling, thought and life. The love of knowing and doing what is good and true is the source of real spiritual exaltation and perception, but that perception is not creative; it is selective. It does not originate truth, but enables one to see the truth in what is read or heard. Hence Christian perception does not operate apart from the Word, but upon it, to decipher its true import. Swedenborg knows no other source of illustration than that which comes to a good heart fired with a zeal to interpret truly and to live the precepts of the Sacred Scriptures. All leading aside from this is the leading of self, not of the Lord, and while it may have much glamor, it is not genuine, but fallacious."
PLAN TO STIMULATE READING. 1929

PLAN TO STIMULATE READING.              1929

     An editorial in the issue of the NEW-CHURCH MESSENGER for June 15, 1929, describes a plan of The Swedenborg Foundation to promote the reading of the Writings, commenting as follows:

     "The habit of serious reading is not easy to maintain in this age, although the increasing volume of religious, philosophical, and scientific publications would seem to show that it is by no means on the decrease. Probably the members of the New Church read more of such literature than did their fathers, but they do not, we fear, read more of Swedenborg's writings. There are many reasons for this, of which the two most decisive would appear to be the feeling that the writings are 'hard,' and the idea that their message may be gained in other and less arduous ways. Neither of these reasons is without foundation, and yet neither nullifies the principle that the best way to get knowledge is to go to the 'source.' New Church people should accordingly feel grateful that the Swedenborg Foundation is embarking on a campaign to encourage them in more extensive reading of the books which are the Magna Charta of the New Age. The first stage of the plan is a very interesting contest, announced in the advertizing columns of this and of last week's issue of THE MESSENGER.

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Prizes of most generous proportions will be given for the best short essays on the subject: 'Why We Should Read Swedenborg. The contest is one which should be profitable to all the participants, whether or not they may happen to be what is called 'successful.'"
HEAVENS. 1929

HEAVENS.              1929

     To gain a clear view of the arrangement of the heavens, in their series and degrees, has always been a fascinating object of study with readers of the Writings. The doctrine is there plainly set forth, but often with such a variety of statement that many problems of interpretation are presented for solution. Little dealing directly with this subject has appeared recently in our pages, and so we welcome the paper on "The Divisions of Heaven" which comes to us from the Rev. Victor J. Gladish for publication in the present number. This stimulating study will doubtless encourage others to contribute the results of their own studies in this field, and we believe that a discussion of the doctrine in its various phases would be useful. We are moved to set down a few thoughts that have come to us in reflecting upon the theme.

     As the science of geography has mapped the physical and political divisions of the earth, and the science of astronomy has charted the stars, so the celestial science of order and degrees, now revealed in the Heavenly Doctrines, makes it possible for the New Churchman to chart and map the divisions of that world wherein eternal abiding places are provided for all human souls, wherein heavenly homes are prepared for the blessed among the "many mansions" of the Father's house. The celestial geography, as Mr. Gladish has shown, is simple and clear in its general outlines, and when viewed in the light of universal truths, but may become obscure as the mind enters into particulars, or endeavors to interpret the various statements of our Revelation. This we find to be the case with any doctrine upon which we seek a rational interpretation of the teachings of Revelation. Orderly procedure calls for an adherence to universals or generals while examining particulars,-the finding of the "key passage" which illuminates all other statements, bringing them into a true order and perspective before the rational mind, establishing its conclusion in a clear and convincing light, with abundant confirmation from every source.

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The mind that is avid of genuine truth can be satisfied with nothing less than this; and it is the way in which the church is to grow and progress in its understanding of revealed doctrine.
STUDY OF THE HEAVENS. 1929

STUDY OF THE HEAVENS.              1929

     Treading upon the threshold of such a subject, one is first of all impressed with its immensity. When we consider that the Lord, in the process of His glorification, formed the Human "to the idea of an infinite heaven" (S. D. 4845), we realize that, in our endeavor to contemplate the order and form of His heavenly kingdom, we are entering an inexhaustible field of study. "As concerns the form of heaven in particular," we read, "and how it proceeds and flows, this is incomprehensible even to the angels. Some idea of it may be conceived from the form of all things in the human body, when examined and explored by a sagacious and wise observer. How incomprehensible and inextricable that form is, may be evident in a general way from the nerve fibers, etc. . . . That form of heaven is from the Divine Human of the Lord. These things are adduced to the end that it may be known that the heavenly form is such that it can never be exhausted, even as to its generals, and thus that it is incomprehensible even to the angels." (H. H. 212.)

     We may well approach the subject with humility, but also with confidence under the guidance of the Heavenly Doctrine and the light of universal truth there revealed to us. And we may here suggest one or two of the great universals now made known to the New Church:

     1. That heaven is a Maximus Homo or Gorand Man,-an image of the God Man, the Lord Jesus Christ in His Divine Human. Such a heaven is formed from the inhabitants of each earth, through the periods of its racial history, which follow the order of growth with the regenerating man. Also, that a universal heaven is formed from the inhabitants of all earths, each contributing a distinct quality to this universal Gorand Man. Thus that heaven, in the whole and in every part, is in the human form.

     2. That the spiritual world is essentially a world of state,-of state which there clothes itself in its own corresponding form. It is a law of that world that all things which exist and are produced there come from within.

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"The kingdom of God is within you." "Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh" in that world. The degrees of heaven, therefore, are determined by the states of angelic minds, characterized by their reception of love and wisdom from the Divine Human of the Lord; and all outer forms there, both of the human body and its environment, are correspondences of inner states of life.
Title Unspecified 1929

Title Unspecified              1929

     To understand the heavens in the light of these well-known universals, and to obtain a clear view of the organic form of heaven, the following knowledges are necessary:

     1. A knowledge of the Divine attributes,-the Divine Essence, and of the analogous human states of love and wisdom,-states of the human mind or spirit, in their order and degrees.

     2. A knowledge of the human body.

     3. A knowledge of the atmospheres of the universe, to which the heavenly expanses correspond.

     4. A knowledge of the three kingdoms of nature, and of their correspondence with states of the human mind.

     That these knowledges are necessary to an understanding of the heavens is evident from the fact that the Writings everywhere employ them as a means of explaining the states and forms of heaven. This we may briefly illustrate by the following citations:

     "From the Lord as a Sun have emanated auras and atmospheres, but spiritual, because from the Divine Love, which makes that Sun. Those spiritual auras and atmospheres which are nearest to the Lord as a Sun are most pure; but according to the degrees in which they are removed from Him they are less and less pure. Hence it is that there are three heavens, an inmost heaven in a purer aura, a middle heaven in an aura less pure, and an outmost heaven in an aura still less pure." (A. E. 7264.)

     "The states of spirits and angels, with all their variety, can never be grasped without a knowledge of the human body. For the Kingdom of the Lord is like a Man; and without such a Kingdom, which is likened to a true Man because the Lord is the Only Man, and is. His Own Kingdom, no man can live; for all things in heaven conspire to the conservation of the single parts in the body. And if you are willing to hear things still more secret, unless there were innumerable worlds or earths, which together constitute such a Man, the souls of one world or earth would never suffice, because there must be endless varieties, and innumerable individuals in every part, to confirm the whole." (S. D. 11454/2.)

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     "That the universe of the spiritual world represents man in an image can be clearly seen from this, that [the forms of the mineral, vegetable and animal kingdoms] appear to the life, and have existence about the angel, and about the angelic societies, as if produced and created from them. . . . This is seen by their no longer appearing when the angel goes away, or when the society passes to another place; also when other angels come, the appearance of all things about them is changed-in the parks the trees and fruits are changed, in the flower gardens the flowers and seeds, in the fields the herbs and grasses; and the species of birds and animals are also changed.

     Such things have existence, and are changed in this manner, because all these things come into existence according to the affections and consequent thoughts of the angels, for they are correspondences, and are a representative image. . . . It has been granted me to perceive that the angels, when their eyes were opened by the Lord, and they saw these things from the correspondence of uses, recognized and saw themselves in them." (D. L. W. 322.)
MILK AND ALE 1929

MILK AND ALE              1929

     "It is known that infants love milk, and that adults are unaccustomed to it, insomuch that some will not even tolerate it, believing that it does them harm; and therefore it is a rule of the physicians that milk is injurious in cases of disease. The reason it is injurious, when yet it is the simplest food, and harmless above all things, is that they are accustomed to drinks which are repugnant [to milk], especially ales. Hence their stomach and intestines are accustomed to these, as also the blood, which thus do not tolerate the food of milk. When such persons are first consociated in the other life, there is a species of repugnance; for I have perceived from some a manifest odor of ale while I was drinking milk." (S. D. 2084.)

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Church News 1929

Church News       Various       1929

     LOS ANGELES, CAL.

     Springtime is back, even in Los Angeles. And with it new joy in life, and enthusiasm for the future of our still small society have come to inspire us in the struggle to gain a place among the larger communities of our Church.

     Slowly, but gradually, our activities are being multiplied to provide proper found for community life; and it is with this end in view that we all look with pleasure upon the decision, made at our second quarterly meeting, to have Friday Suppers once a month. The value of such Suppers to our group may become evident, if we take into consideration that no two families live within walking distance of each other. On this account there is not much social life among our members, unless a special effort is made to come together.

     One of the happy events in our Society's life, since Swedenborg's Birthday, was a social held at the home of Mrs. Royal Davis in Pasadena, at which all enjoyed themselves by playing games after partaking of supper.

     It has been the custom to have both young and old participate in the same entertainment, so that the persons engaged in the playing of a game may vary in age from six to sixty years. Though this condition reminds one of a happy family, it has been found advisable to organize the young ones into a club, that they may take the initiative themselves in providing entertainment suitable to their state.

     Through the generosity of the Swedenborg Foundation, of New York, a new set of the Writings has been presented to us, and many books have in already been borrowed by the members. By this most welcome gift, we now have a good beginning of a New Church Library.

     Miss Marie Smith and Miss Helen Vaughan have returned to Bryn Athyn, and Mrs. Wm. V. Grove to New York. We shall miss them very much, but hope that they will all return next winter to enjoy our pleasant climate, if nothing else draws them back to us. It is with great pleasure that we welcome Mrs. Stoll and her daughter Mildred, who have come from Chicago to live permanently in Los Angeles.

     Mr. C. R. Brown, of Toronto, and Mrs. R. W. Brown, of Bryn Athyn, were pleasantly surprised at meeting each other here quite unexpectedly. Mr. Brown came to attend church, while on his usual business trip to Los Angeles, and Mrs. Brown is visiting her son, Mr. Lawson Cooper, and his wife.

     Your regular correspondent, Miss Evangeline Iler, has been taken ill, and is now recuperating in the mountains. It is with regret that we miss her from our midst, and we hope that she will soon return to us in good health.
     A. S.

     HIGH KILBURN, YORK, ENGLAND.

     Bishop Tilson, accompanied by his devoted wife, paid us a much appreciated pastoral visit from Saturday, April 20th, to Friday, May 3d. He conducted two services on each of the Sundays, and administered the Holy Supper to eight communicants during the morning service on April 28th. Instructive and helpful discourses and "talks" were greatly enjoyed on the week-days, dealing with matters arising out of current questions in the Church, or with individual difficulties in doctrinal understanding. Among the subjects dealt with were: "The Lord Tempted; How and Why?" "The Hereditary"; "The Sense of Taste-not possessed by angels and spirits as by men in this world."

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     We are promised a further pastoral visit in the autumn, and all who had the privilege of participating in the above described ministrations are looking forward with pleasant anticipation to it.
     W. COPLEY JUBB.

     REPORT OF THE VISITING PASTOR.

     On Wednesday, May 15th, began a five days' visit to MIDDLEPORT, OHIO. That evening, and on the two following, doctrinal classes were held. At the first, the subject was self-compulsion; at the second, the importance of a true understanding of the Word; and at the third, the atmospheres of heaven. On Saturday afternoon, instruction was given to five children. On Sunday there was a service, including the Holy Supper, and in the evening another doctrinal class, at which we dwelt on the opening words of Heaven and Hell: "It must first be known who is the God of heaven." At the classes there were present 8, 2, 9, and 10, respectively; at the services, 13; and at the Holy Supper there were 10 communicants. In view of the small numbers now constituting the Circle, this was a very good attendance; and at all the meetings there was an earnest spirit of interest.

     In the afternoon of Sunday, June 2d, members and friends of the Detroit Circle of the General Church had an outing at the home of Mr. and Mrs. George Field, near ANN ARBOR, MICH. At four o'clock a service was held. Twenty persons were present, among them several New Church people from Ann Arbor. Then followed a delightful social time, including supper. Afterwards there was a doctrinal class, at which teaching was presented concerning the manner in which the Word is written in the heavens. (S. S. 70-75.) This subject led to a consideration of the Hebrew of the Old Testament, wherein the internal sense is present in the very letters, and progresses in series according to the sequence of the letters. The class seemed to be greatly enjoyed by all.

     On Monday afternoon, at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Harold Bellinger, EAST WINDSOR, ONT., the oldest child of the family was given instruction, and in the evening the youngest was baptized. After the baptism we had a doctrinal class, the subject being that it is the Divine of the Lord, and not anything of the angel's own, that constitutes heaven.

     Tuesday evening in DETROIT, a class was held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Frank Day, with thirteen present. We considered the interesting doctrine that the Lord, in the operation of His Providence, never acts upon any detail in man, without at the same time acting upon his whole nature. (D. P, 123.) The many questions asked indicated the interest in the subject. Then refreshments were served by our hostess, and we had a very enjoyable social hour.
     F. E. WAELCHLI.

     MRS. A. J. APPLETON.

     An Obituary.

     Mrs. Alwyne J. Appleton (Margery Waters), who passed into the spiritual world on April 19th, 1929, at the age of forty-two years, was the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. James Waters, of London, and was educated at the Academy School, Burton Road, London, of which the late Rev. E. C. Bostock was then Headmaster.

     At the time of the inauguration of the General Church in this country, and the linking up of the London and Colchester Societies, each society possessed a group of young people, and this fraternal state has resulted in many happy marriages. It was by this means that Miss Waters met her future husband; and they were married on July 10th, 1913, at Camberwell Grove, then the home of the London Society.

     Always physically fragile, the care of a family of five children and many trying experiences sorely tried her strength. She had a discerning mind, a bright and happy disposition, and was ever alert to give and receive of the Heavenly Doctrines. It was to her a great satisfaction that her children could receive the benefits of education in our school.

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Her influence will not be lost to us, and the sphere of her support will surely be enhanced from the other side.

     A fitting conclusion is from our Pastor's Memorial Address: "She who has so recently gone to that higher sphere, whose going we commemorate today, was content with no merely passive interest in spiritual doctrine. Her thirst for the truths of the Church was strong and recurrent. It has been marked that the last year of her life exhibited a heightened intensity in her desire to comprehend the underlying laws of the spiritual world-as if there were need that certain planes in her mind be opened, in preparation for the infilling and expansion so soon to come."
     F. R. COOPER.
Colchester, England.

     CHICAGO, ILL.

     It is customary with the ladies of Sharon Church, on a Saturday of the early summer each year, to give themselves the pleasure of entertaining their lady friends of the Immanuel Church, Glenview. Today, June 8th, they came in large numbers, and responded generously to our efforts to entertain them. So we had a specially delightful time. After an appetizing luncheon, provided by two of our efficient ladies, Mrs. Headsten and Mrs. Cronwall, we listened to some musical numbers, vocal and instrumental, rendered by Mrs. Eleanor Gladish and the Misses Vivian Curtis and Ruth Poulson. Then came a short play, prepared by Miss Poulson and Mrs. W. L. Gladish, and based upon a Memorable Relation and Louis Pendleton's Wedding Garment. It represented the experiences of a young girl awakening in the world of spirits, the part being beautifully taken by Miss Bertha Farrington. The sphere of the play was so holy, so touching, that we were deeply affected. The earnest and gentle instruction given her by the attending angel; the sweet sphere of the little children who met her and related their daily experiences in being educated for heaven; and the last scene, when the maiden meets her conjugial partner and they depart for their heavenly home;-all these, with suitable musical accompaniment, have left their impressions upon us as dear and precious memories.

     Our Friday suppers and classes are so well attended that we are hard pressed to find room at the tables for all who come. Fifty-two was the banner attendance! In the class instruction our pastor is enlarging upon and applying the lessons given us in our daily readings from the Doctrine of Charity     
     E. V. W.

     COLCHESTER, ENG.

     The celebration of the Fiftieth Anniversary of the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. A. H. Appleton took place at the church building on May 23d, 1929, the happy couple being hosts to the whole Society, and the Pastor acting as toastmaster While the wedding cake was being cut and distributed, Mrs. John Cooper played Mendelssohn's Wedding March.

     Speaking on the toast to "The Church," Mr. Gladish turned our thoughts to that universal doctrine which, in its broadest aspect, embraces all the teaching of the church. "Conjugial love," he said, "has its origin in the marriage of good and truth, which marriage is perfect with the Creator and is imaged in greater or lesser perfection in all created things. And as the conjugial marriage of husband and wife is representative of the marriage of the Lord and the Church, this love is therefore the fundamental love into which all good loves are gathered. It contains and strengthens all spiritual loves, lust as, on the external plane, the institution of marriage is that around which all society is built, giving stability to civilization and the social relations of man. Therefore, it seems not inappropriate, in reference to the toast to the Church, to turn the thought immediately to the underlying theme of the evening,-that love which progresses as the Church progresses.

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That love is developed from a universal natural love as a matrix, but is no more like the natural love of the sex than the pearl is like the oyster-shell in which it grows, or the ruby is like the day from which it is formed. For truly conjugial love is a regenerate love; and only as a couple advance in regeneration do they advance in this love, which goes always hand in hand with religion." The account of the illustration and representation of conjugial love by a pair from the third heaven was then read from C. L. 42. The contrast between the perfection of that love in the heavens and its rarity on earth was also briefly commented upon.

     A toast to Mr. and Mrs. Appleton, our generous hosts, was then honored. Mr. Appleton, in responding, expressed his pleasure at being able to celebrate this occasion with so many members of the society, and spoke of how much the Church has meant to them in their married life.

     As February 17th had been the fiftieth anniversary of Mr. and Mrs. William Gill, a toast to them was honored, and to the Golden Wedding we should have delighted to celebrate with them, had Providence so willed. Mrs. Gill then proposed a toast to the members of the society who were contemporary with Mr. Gill and herself,-the pioneers of the New Church in Colchester. After this had been honored, Mr. Potter spoke of their unflagging labors for the Church in Colchester, and added some interesting reminiscences of Mr. Gill.

     At this point, Mr. F. R. Cooper, on behalf of the Society, presented to Mr. and Mrs. Appleton a silver gilt bowl, which could also be used as a loving cup; and it indeed performed this service shortly after. Mr. Cooper added that its covering of pure gold was a fitting symbol of the occasion, and that, with its base of silver, it represented good and truth in intimate conjunction. After Mr. and Mrs. Appleton had expressed their appreciation of the gift, the grandchildren presented them with a gold bookmark for use in the; Word. A silver gilt set of salt cellars from the members of the family also made its appearance at this time. Mr. Appleton was kept very busy expressing thanks for these gifts, and spoke feelingly of his pleasure in them and what they represented. The loving cup then arrived, well charged with wine, all the guests partaking to the accompaniment of the old song and refrains, which are yet ever new.

     Letters were read from Bishop Tilson, Mr. and Mrs. J. S. Pryke and Mr. G. A. McQueen, and greetings from the Michael Church were conveyed to the couple.

     In the course of the evening the 45th Psalm was sung; Mrs. Gladish sang "To Lovers" from the Social Song Book; and numerous other songs from the same source were interspersed, and the occasion brought to a close by the singing of "Auld Lang Syne" (New Church words).

     Mrs. Rey Gill was responsible for the table decoration, which presented a mass of golden blooms, the simple buttercup predominating. It was a beautiful and unique display.
     F. R. C.

     KITCHENER, ONT.

     On April 20th the Men's Club held a special meeting to which the members of the Toronto Men's Club were invited. They were well represented, and helped to enliven the entertainment by appropriate songs. Their men and ours vied with each other in that respect, but which of the two came off victors I cannot say.

     When the Rev. C. E. Doering came to us our school was closed because of a scarlet fever scare, and he was unable to visit the classes. However, we had a supper for the society at which he delivered an interesting address on an old subject, namely, "Why we have New Church Schools."

     Mrs. Besse Smith also paid us a visit as president of Theta Alpha, At a special meeting, held at the home of Mrs. Jessie Bond, she spoke to us on many subjects dear to the hearts of all Theta Alpha members. A lively discussion ensued.

     Our pastor, the Rev. Alan Gill, and the Rev. Fred Gyllenhaal, of Toronto, exchanged pulpits on Sunday, May 19th.

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Mr. Gyllenhaal conducted our Friday class that week-end. His subject was the "Use of Asking Questions," and many new thoughts were brought out.

     Over the week-end of the 24th of May, our Bishop, the Rt. Rev. N. D. Pendleton, was with us. His presence was specially welcome as it has been some time since he has been here. On the 24th there was a grand picnic on the church grounds, as is customary with us on that day. The weather was anything but warm, but as it did not rain, the children were very well satisfied. Also, according to custom, we had a program of races and a Peanut and candy scramble for children and grownups. A May-pole dance by the school children was an added attraction. We all had picnic suppers together in the school room, after which the Bishop spoke briefly to the children. In the evening, after the huge bonfire had burnt itself out, and incidentally thawed us all out, there was dance for the young people.

     On Saturday afternoon, the Ladies of the society met the Bishop at an informal tea at the home of Miss Edith Roschman. That evening the Men's Club held a supper at which there were speeches on the Interrelation of the Society and the Pastor, Executive Committee, and Minor Organizations in the Society. A lengthy and animated discussion followed. On Sunday morning we had service and the Holy Supper. The Bishop Preached on the subject of the "Resurrection," having for his text Mark 16:1-6. In the evening there was a banquet, and the Bishop delivered his address on "The Personality of Man and the Person of God." It was a wonderful presentation of an especially interesting subject, and we hope it will appear in print before long, so that we may read and study it at leisure.

     There were quite a number of friends here from the Toronto society for these meetings, and this gave them quite the air of an assembly.
     C. R.

     RAYMOND F. KUHL.

     An, Obituary.

     It is with sincere regret that we have to record the death of one of our members, Raymond F. Kuhl, who passed to his spiritual home on May 8th at the age of thirty-three years. Raymond, who was born and educated in Kitchener, enlisted in the Canadian Expeditionary Force during the Great War, went overseas, and came back apparently in good health. Very shortly after his return, however, he was stricken with sickness for about seven weeks, but seemed to make a good recovery. He moved to Toronto in 1921, where he at once entered actively into the life of the Olivet Church, and became very popular with the younger generation being well fitted by inclination and temperament to lead in their social activities. He married Miss Eva Campbell in 1922. Not long after he returned to Kitchener for business reasons, and subsequently went to live at Guelph, but returned to Toronto in 1928.

     Raymond again fell sick in 1923, and from that time on was unable to keep steadily at business. His was a sunny disposition, which sustained him throughout his long sickness as a most cheerful and exemplary patient. The funeral services at Kitchener were conducted by the Rev. Alan Gill, six of Raymond's brothers in the Church acting as pall-bearers, the coffin being draped in the flag of the country he loved so well that he gave his all for it. A delegation of sympathizers from Toronto, about twenty-four in number, journeyed to Kitchener for the funeral.

     On Wednesday, May 15th, at the doctrinal class, our Pastor, in memory of Raymond, Rave us instruction from the Writings on "Death and Resurrection," setting forth the definitions of death, how it is a passage and continuation of life, the beginning of life anew, and the releasing of the soul, or the completion of one state and the commencement of another. He also described in some detail the early experiences of the spirit at the resurrection, picturing the possible function of New Churchmen in the other life as instructors of novitiates.

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He further spoke of the fact that, on the passing of those near to us, our affections are strongly aroused, not only for those who have passed on, but also for those who are left. The mind then traverses the paths of memory, recalling the goods of our brothers, and this also goes forth in a strong sphere of sympathy and affection which is felt as a sustaining influence by those who have been bereaved. In memory of Raymond we would quote: "By soldiers are signified those who fight for the goods and truths of the church." (A. E. 375:6.)
     F. WILSON. Toronto, Canada.

     GLENVIEW, ILLINOIS.

     This society went dramatic during the past month. The higher talent produced "Dear Brutus" with great eclat. The School had three representations, that of the primary group having to do with the Return of Odysseus, and Miss Starkey piloting a King Arthur playlet. The sixth grade, under Miss Volita Wells, had Alice in Wonderland; and the seventh grade, assisted by the ninth, gave a series of representations based upon Scott's Lady of the Lake.

     At one of our Friday classes, our Pastor gave a paper on the warrant for and the use of distinct community life in the Church. His brief was well taken, and he pointed out the three great central uses as follows;-First, the religious life, with the opportunities for doctrinal instruction and combined or general worship; second, the educational life, or the opportunities for New Church education in the group; third, a distinct social life among the people of the same faith, holding the same ideals. In considering this third point, he showed that we also have our civic and social contacts with the outsiders in general, and that this is of order in its place. It may well be hoped that this paper will receive general circulation.

     The regular meeting of the Sons of the Academy chapter was addressed by Mr. George A. McQueen, whose address covered a large range of the important questions being considered and debated by New Churchmen, such as this: "Will the New Church cover the earth?" Indications are that there will be a large and enthusiastic attendance of local members of the Sons of the Academy at the meeting in Toronto.

     Mr. Earl Kenneth Leonard met his death on June 9th while in the performance of his duty as motorcycle traffic policeman in Chicago. He was shot by a man whom he was arresting for violation of the traffic regulations. Kenneth was the son of Mr. and Mrs. D. E. Leonard, who resided in the Park far some years, during which their two boys and two girls attended our school.
     J. B. S.

     TORONTO, CANADA.

     The bimonthly exchange of pulpits between the pastors of the Kitchener and Toronto Societies came on Sunday, May 19th, both pastors making a long week-end of it this time. Mr. Gyllenhaal went to Kitchener on Friday, and conducted the doctrinal class there. Mr. Gill came to Toronto the same day, and he and Mr. Archie Scott were present at the 81st meeting of the Forward Club on May 17th. The subject for consideration was: "Is there a Doctrine of Ecclesiastical Government for the New Church!" a pamphlet by the Rev. J. F. Buss, published by the New-Church Doctrinal Research Association, and obtainable at the New-Church Press, Ltd., Bloomsbury Square, London, W. C. 1. Mr. Anderson read the paper, and whilst the consensus seemed to be that Mr. Buss had made out a strongly affirmative case, there appeared to be considerable difference of opinion as to just what that doctrine was or is. Mr. Buss himself states at the end of his paper that this is a matter for separate inquiry." A lively and well-sustained discussion ensued, in which twelve men took part, seeking to clarify the general situation, and particularly the other fellow's point of view, and succeeding admirably in leaving matters pretty much as they were.

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There was, however, one contribution to the discussion, by Mr. Alec Sargeant, which evidenced a great deal of previous thought on the subject. Being written out, and containing ideas expressed with clarity and conviction, it is reported here verbatim. We might say that there appeared to us to be a pretty general agreement with the idea that seemed to underlie Mr. Sargeant's remarks, viz., that that form of government is most successful which is least felt; or, as Mr. Gill remarked, "Man is not conscious of the Lord's Government." Mr. Sargeant's paper follows:

     LEADERSHIP.

     "First of all, I do not like the word 'government'; it is too much associated with the idea of compulsion and domination to be happily connected with church affairs. I prefer the word 'leadership,' and would quite contentedly think of myself under the 'leadership ' of the church, but would balk at the idea of being under the 'government' of the church. The organized church, as so constituted, is an entirely voluntary organization; and whilst compliance with certain external rules and regulations is essential, for the sake of order, yet the members of the church are entirely free to comply, or otherwise, with the teachings of the priesthood. In other words, the idea of compulsion is entirely absent, and the priesthood is effective only in so far as the priests can induce voluntary co-operation on the part of the lay members of the church.

     "This implies leadership of the very highest kind, and makes the work of our pastors really one of enormous difficulty. Take the average society,-a heterogeneous aggregation of pride, prejudice and intolerance, which the pastor has to mould into a passable state of regeneration. It takes a real leader to do that. It is not enough that the priest should officiate with becoming dignity in chancel, pulpit or professional chair; this is very proper and very necessary, but it is only part of a true leader's work. Swedenborg tells us that a priest's duty is to preach, to teach and lead the people, and this leading ability is the real acid test of a priest's usefulness.

     "What is meant by leading? Treating this, that and the other occasion with voluminous quotations from the Writings, and letting it go at that? Paternalism-wherein the pastor treats his flock as a bunch of silly, naughty children, and their differences of no moment? Autocracy-where the `dignity of the priesthood' is one of the basic principles of thought? Speaking personally, I would say, by no means! True leadership, in my thought, means: Truth made living and effective by the vitality of the love behind them! Not only the love of the truths which are being taught, but the love of the people to whom they are being taught!

     "A true leader needs to know far more than the doctrines. He should know his people individually and intimately,-their sorrows, joys, peculiarities, aspirations, and, above all, their potentialities for use! It should be his care to foster and develop that use, protecting it as far as he is able from jealousy and intolerance. A leader should have the ability to harmonize opposing temperaments, and to gather hearts and minds into one solid unit for the good of the whole. To my mind, all troubled states can be traced, in the final analysis, either to entire lack of leadership or to mistakes in leadership.

     "We speak of the 'state of a society'; just what do we mean? What happens? Well,-some person's tongue slips a little out of place; somebody's dignity is hurt; the tongues automatically send a long-distance call to hell, and disruptive ideas of every shade and strength come clustering round the original incident like grapes on a vine! There you have your state! It's all very foolish and very silly.

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Presumably every New Church man and woman is fundamentally charitable, well-disposed, well-intentioned, I heartily believe that to be the case; and, to my mind, all that is needed in such a case is a leading, directing mind, calm, sympathetic, judicial, that will round off the rough spots, modify hysterical and mistaken viewpoints, and shove all stupid falsity back to the hell where it belongs.

     "It's a pastor's job to keep hell in the background, and heaven to the fore, in the minds of his society; and he can only do this by being a leader, as well as a preacher and teacher. We speak of government in the church. The only government worth speaking of is this government of leadership, wherein people are led to heaven through love as well as truth; it's the kind of government every society needs, wants, and looks for."

     On Tuesday, May 21st, the "younger young people," mostly in their early teens, assisted by three or four of the "older young people," gave a very successful little play of the light comedy type, entitled "Cousin Julia's Jade Earring." There was no particular object in view in giving this, other than perhaps to find an outlet for the bubbling activity of early youth, the use served by, and the pleasure given, in affairs of this kind, whilst incidentally powers are discovered and developed that may never otherwise be known. Beyond a little coaching and supervision as to expression, costuming and stage management, this young; group was self-supporting. We were not able to be present, but judging by the expressions of opinion from a representative number of those who were present the play was very well done and gave much pleasure. The young people are to be congratulated, and we hope they will continue their efforts, and work up to more pretentious offerings.

     On May 27th we had a very enjoyable episcopal visit from the Bishop, who stopped oh in Toronto on his return journey to Bryn Athyn after a more extended visit in Kitchener. We had a very enjoyable supper together at the church, with a large attendance. After a short intermission, we reassembled for a doctrinal class conducted by the Bishop, in which he dealt with some phases of the subject of Divine Providence. This provided a new contact for nearly everyone present, as very few had ever sat in a doctrinal class conducted by the Bishop. These are days when superlative terms are used in the description of events and things, and, through too common a usage, perhaps, terms are apt to lose force and significance. But we feel that any terms used in appreciation of this doctrinal feast cannot be considered as superlative. The doctrinal story connoted by the subject was told in the most beautiful language,-simple, clear and convincing; in fact, it was epical in its quality. We went home the richer for being present, and we would suggest to our sister societies that, on the Bishop's next visit, it would be a delightful and useful feature of the program if he could be prevailed upon to give this class. Our thanks are due, and given in full measure, for this short but delightful visit from the Bishop.

     At our Sunday service on June 16th, Miss Nancy V. Wilson was confirmed and made her Confession of Faith. The performance of this rite carried with it a strong conviction of the dignity and solemnity attaching to the occasion of a young soul taking upon itself direct responsibility to its Maker for its future conduct and progress in the regeneration.

     Other matters, such as our annual meeting, Day School Closing, and the Nineteenth of June celebration, will be reported in the August issue of the Life.
     F. W.

     BRYN ATHYN.

     After the Easter Festival at the end of March, a Spring series of Missionary Services was conducted by the Rev. Theodore Pitcairn in the cathedral, the attendance of strangers varying from a few to as many as 106, the average being 58.

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The Sunday morning Children's Services were continued through April.

     During March and April, the Friday evening doctrinal classes were conducted by Bishop de Charms, who treated the subject of "Miracles." Bishop Pendleton gave the last three classes, in which he dealt with the subject of "Ecclesiastical Government."

     After the final Friday supper of the season, on May 17th, the Spring Meeting of the Bryn Athyn Church was held. Reports for the Elementary School were given in the form of interesting addresses by Principal Heilman and the Misses Lucy Potts and Margaret Bostock. The meeting then gave consideration to matters connected with the new Assembly Hall which is to be erected by the Society and the Academy, and which is to include a gymnasium. At a later meeting, on June 9th, the revised plans were shown on the screen by the architect, Mr. Harold Thorp Carswell.

     The Society then authorized its Building Committee to proceed with the construction of the building, in cooperation with the Academy. It is expected that the new Hall will be ready for use at the General Assembly in June, 1930.

     The Schools.

     In the month of May, two plays were given by the pupils of the schools. The Boys' Academy and the Girls' Seminary offered to the Bryn Athyn public a performance of Shakespeare's "Macbeth." The verdict on every hand was very congratulatory. Both the stage effects and the histrionic work of the actors received high praise, and it was realized how high in educational value such an undertaking can be in our schools.

     The second event of this kind was a delightful rendering of "Master Skylark" by the Elementary School. On the lawn near Glenn Hall, with scene settings of shrubbery and trees, and some chairs when needed, the children reveled in romantic costumes I and in dreams of great things. Especially they seemed to enjoy the Court Scene in which Master Skylark sings before Queen Elizabeth and is taken under her protection. The fine ladies in their long gowns, treading a stately dance; the vigorous and masculine hunter's dance; the maypole and the weaving of its ribbons; the armed knights charging down the lists and overthrowing one another in joyous jousting;-all furnished splendid opportunities for the boys and girls, and recalled the days of chivalry and courtesy. Most of the parts were well taken and well done, though the leading parts were somewhat difficult. This play is an excellent one for school children, and the work of the Bryn Athyn School gave the large audience most enjoyable afternoon. The teachers are to be congratulated upon the results of what must have been a great deal of hard work.

     The closing exercises of the Elementary School took place on Thursday morning, June 13th, in the auditorium of De Charms Hall, the annual address being delivered by the Rev. Raymond G. Cranch, who spoke on the subject of "Why We Go to School," first drawing a comparison between our school and schools in heaven. In simple and attractive language he described the heavenly education as it is revealed to us in the Writings; that it is chiefly by means of representations which the children or in which they take part. He spoke of the frequent use of games and contests, in which the victors are awarded crowns of olive leaves. Books are also used there, and libraries, but the Book by far the most used is the Word itself. Be showed how, by learning things, we obtain a measure that can be filled by the Lord, Especially by learning the truths of the Word do we obtain a heavenly measure that can be filled with the happiness of heaven.

     Principal Heilman, in a happy vein, spoke to the graduating class, which was not quite as large as in recent years, though the school as a whole has had its largest enrollment this year, and the list has been steadily strengthened by additions through the year. The graduates from the eighth grade were: Joan Bostock, Margaret Vida Cowley, Eleanor Doris Cranch, Donald Dandridge Cronlund, Curtis Rau Glenn, Elizabeth Hope Glenn, John Howard, David John Lechner, and Tryn Rose.

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     On the morning of June 14th, the Academy Commencement exercises were held, also in the auditorium. The hall was crowded with parents and visitors, who joined heartily in the beautiful processional song of the schools. The students of the Academy and Seminary marched in according to classes to their reserved places, then the Junior and Senior College students, and lastly the members of the Faculty and Board, who filled the platform and gave an added sense of dignity in their scholastic hats and gowns. Bishop Pendleton opened the Word upon the altar, and led the assembly in worship; the Rev. C. E. Doering, Dean of Faculties, read the Lessons from the Word and the Writings; and the Annual Address was given by Mr. Harold Pitcairn. Mr. Pitcairn chose for his subject "The Mechanical Age," pointing out that we are in such an age, and must live in it, whether we like it or not. In an original and practical manner, he then proceeded to develop a philosophy of our relation to this phase of modern civilization, and showed that there are many advantages in having a mechanical and standardized foundation for life, if we will but build upon it an adequate and beautiful superstructure of the spirit. This last must be our great purpose as New Churchmen, while we may well use the mechanized externals as means to that end.

     Diplomas were given to the following students of the Boys' Academy: Robert McFarlane Cole, john Emanuel Goerwitz, Arne Gustav Larsson, Laurence Xandry Odhner, and Leander Phillips Smith. Also to these young women of the Girls' Seminary: Anne Macbeth Boggess, Natalie Suzanne Carpenter, Alma Cockerell, Dorothy Corinne Kendig, Norah Price, Priscilla Jane Scalbom, Alice Mary Smith, Collene Hera Carpenter Starkey, and Janet Ann Wiley.

     Junior College Certificates were given to Katherine Macbeth Boggess, Bruce Somerville Cronlund, Ruth Marie Curtis, Elizabeth Doering, Margaret Loudon Kendig, Joseph Walter Powell, Doris Adeline Ridgway, and Mary Scalbom.

     A special Certificate for teaching in the elementary schools of the Church was given to Miss Phillis Cooper.

     Two Senior College students were awarded the degree of Bachelor of Arts: Miss Angella Bergstrom, of Denver, and Mr. Alfred Wynne Acton, of Bryn Athyn, both cum laude.

     Special Honors were: The Oratorical Prize (a silver cup) to Carl Herman Synnestvedt, the Deka Gold Medal to Priscilla Jane Scalbom, a Theta Alpha Scholarship to Lois Eileen Stebbing, and a Theta Alpha Tuition Scholarship to Alice Fritz.

     These presentation ceremonies were deeply impressive to those who were privileged to witness them, and the feeling of the occasion was brought to a higher intensity when the President bestowed the honorary degree of Doctor of Philosophy upon the Rev. Charles Emil Doering, as a recognition of his long, faithful, and effective service in the work of the Academy. This act carries with it, not only the esteem of his fellow-workers in the Academy Schools, but also the affection of all the people of the Church.

     The President also announced the following new appointments as professors: Rev. Karl R. Alden, Professor of Education; Mr. Otho W. Heilman, Professor of Education; and Mr. Frederick A. Finkeldey, Professor of Physical Education.

     The evening of the same day brought the final reception and dance. The hall, still hung with the class banners, was filled, even crowded, with youthful dancers and sedate elders,-a very happy company, yet tinged with sadness, for it is the end of a season of work and play together; it is the time of good-byes, and for some it may mean a long farewell.

     As always, Bryn Athyn has its many visitors, and probably no one here has knowledge of all who come and go. But we must mention Mr. Horace Howard, of Colchester, England, who has come to visit his son, Wilfred, and family.

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He is proud of having grandchildren on both sides of the Atlantic. Rev. G. H. Smith, with his son, Gerardin, came from Glenview to his daughter's graduation from the Seminary, and on the following Sunday he gave us an inspiring sermon on "The Second Advent and the New Church."

     The Rev. and Mrs. Hugo Lj. Odhner returned to Bryn Athyn in time for Commencement. A sojourn in the mountains did much to promote Mr. Odhner's recovery from a severe case of pneumonia, which had made necessary an absence from his duties in the Society and in the Academy since the latter part of April.

     June the Nineteenth.

     Although the evening was very warm, electric fans made the auditorium reasonably comfortable for the large number who attended the Banquet in celebration of New Church Day, and who did full justice to the excellent menu provided by the committee. The program of the evening, with Mr. Raymond Pitcairn as toastmaster, was very well planned. The general theme was "The Apostles," those twelve men, now angels, who were called together in the spiritual world, and sent forth by the Lord with a new commission at His Second Coming.

     The toastmaster first referred to the early days of the Academy, to the wonderful spirit of affection, enthusiasm and brotherly love then filling the Fathers of the Church, and identified in memory with Oak Nest, Beach Haven and Knight's Hill,-a spirit so strong that a waiter of the hotel at Beach Haven was heard to say, "Sho'ly dey is de Lord's people!" Then was announced the beloved song, "Our Own Academy." Turning to the subject of the Disciples, Mr. Pitcairn quoted from the Writings that they represent "all those in truths from good," and that "the twelve apostles represent all the truths of the church." As they were gradually prepared for their mission, and, only after much teaching and experience, began to realize what their Lord's words meant, and what their work was to be, so the men of the New Church have only gradually come to realize the high place and significance of the Revelation of the Second Advent. Swedenborg shows that the Disciples needed to feel their own part in their work, and to have the external incitement of ambition; for with none of the post-diluvian races is there any truth from good, but instead they have faith. Yet, in spite of this deep-seated imperfection, the Apostolic Church is likened, in the Writings, to the Garden of God.

     Mr. Randolph W. Childs then spoke on "The Disciples, Their State and Work in this World." He called attention to the brevity of the statement in T. C. R. about the calling together and sending forth of the disciples, and it leaves room for us to ask many questions. So concerning the life and work of the Apostles comparatively little is told, and many questions arise that it is impossible to answer. Their state of preparation is described in the Gospels, and their state of work in the cause of the Church in the Acts and Epistles. Some of the Twelve are only mentioned in the lists of names; some are casually mentioned in connection with one or two incidents; Peter, James and John are mentioned frequently because of their more intimate relation to the Lord. It was only after the Resurrection that the Twelve began to realize the nature of their Lord and His kingdom. After Pentecost their state was remarkably changed, and Peter then preached so eloquently that some three thousand were converted to the Church. He was the first to renounce the Jewish prejudice against the Gentiles, and in many ways he appears as the leading Apostle. Yet, contrary to the Roman pretensions as to the primacy of Peter, it was James who presided at the first council of the Church. John seems not to have been interested in church organization and forms; he had no part in the strife between Peter and Paul, but simply taught the Gospel, and enjoined charity and love as the essential of the Church.

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In the Writings, the Primitive Church is called a "spiritual brotherhood" and "a new star in the firmament." The faith worked out from Paul was a later and excrescent development. Thus the evangelizing work of the Apostles on earth was an ultimate basis and preparation for their similar work in the spiritual world.

     Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner, treating of "The State of the Apostles in the Spiritual World before their New Commission," pointed out that, before the Last Judgment, the Disciples were in two states,-an internal heavenly one, and an external natural one which did not well agree with the internal; for they were in rather close relation to the "heaven of spirits" from the Christian world, and would be lured into the literalistic interpretations of the Lord's words there prevailing for the separation of true from spurious Christians had not yet taken place, and the new and genuine heaven of Christians had not been formed. The Disciples were in need of instruction, which could not be provided until the interior light of heaven was given upon earth in the mind of a man. This was the reason the Disciples were sent to Swedenborg by the Lord, that through him they might be told the genuine sense of the Scriptures, and thus prepared for their new mission. After the Last Judgment, the New Heaven was formed, and a new way of interior influx opened, while those deceptive ones who wished only to exalt themselves by the power of the Letter were cast down, and the bonds of literalism were broken for those who were to carry to the whole spiritual world the message of the Lord's Second Advent. These Twelve were chosen because they were eye-witnesses of the Lord's life on earth, and of His Resurrection. Only through the Divine fact which they witnessed could the spiritual world be evangelized in its full scope. This fact gave universality to their mission,-the thing which could make all creation see its Lord as Divine Man.

     The Right Rev. George de Charms spoke of the relation of the Twelve Apostles to the New Heaven, from which the New Church descends, expressing the view that the New Heaven formed from Christians at the time of the Last Judgment could not be the same as the new heavenly societies that are now being formed from those who have lived on earth in the doctrine and tradition of the New Church; the mental structure being so different as to make a wide distinction between these groups in heaven. On the whole, the Apostles would seem to be of the former group; yet they are brought into close association with the New Church; for the message they were commanded to carry throughout the spiritual world is elsewhere called the "Everlasting Gospel." And this Gospel, we are told, is nothing else than the Heavenly Doctrine as now revealed in the Writings.

     As features of the evening there were some new songs: "Onward, yet Onward, Fearless and Free," by Mr. Walter C. Childs; "Forward, Academy!" and two songs to Bishop Pendleton, by Miss Creda Glenn; and one to the Academy, by Miss Elsa Synnestvedt. Mr. Seymour G. Nelson brought greetings from Glenview, and there was an exchange of greetings with the Pittsburgh Society, on the occasion of the laying of the corner stone of their new church building the same day. So the evening ended joyously, infilled with a deep sense of thankfulness for the blessings granted by the Lord to His New Church.
     L. W. T. D.

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BRITISH ASSEMBLY 1929

BRITISH ASSEMBLY       VICTOR J. GLADISH       1929




     Announcements.



     August 3-5, 1929.

     Members and friends of the General Church of the New Jerusalem are cordially invited to attend the Twenty-second British Assembly, which will be held at Colchester on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, August 3d to 5th, 1929. Everyone expecting to be present is requested to communicate as early as possible with Mr. J. F. Cooper, 8 Capel Road, or with the undersigned at 43 Lexden Road, Colchester, England.
     VICTOR J. GLADISH,
          Secretary.
SOUTH AFRICAN ASSEMBLY 1929

SOUTH AFRICAN ASSEMBLY       ELMO C. ACTON       1929

     Members and friends of the General Church of the New Jerusalem are cordially invited to attend the First South African Assembly of the General Church of the New Jerusalem, which will be held at Durban, Natal, September 13-15, 1929, Bishop Pendleton presiding.
     ELMO C. ACTON,
          Secretary.

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TWENTY-SECOND BRITISH ASSEMBLY 1929

TWENTY-SECOND BRITISH ASSEMBLY              1929

     TO BE HELD IN COLCHESTER, AUGUST 3D TO 5TH, 1929.

     PROGRAM.

Saturday, August 3d.
     6.00 p.m.-Tea.
     8.00 p.m.-First Session. Presidential Address by the Right Rev. R. J. Tilson.

Sunday, August 4th.
     11.00 a.m.-Divine Worship. Preacher: Right Rev. R. J. Tilson.
     1.00 p.m.-Dinner.
     4.30 p.m.-Administration of the Holy Supper.
     6.00 p.m.-Tea.
     7.00 p.m.-Second Session. Address by the Rev. Albert Bjorck.

Monday, August 5th
     11.00 a.m.-Third Session. Address by the Rev. Victor J. Gladish.
     1.00 p.m.-Dinner.
     3.00 p.m.-Fourth Session. Address by Mr. Colley Pryke.
     5.00 p.m.-Tea.
     7.30 p.m.-Assembly Social.

     The services and meetings will be held in the church of the Colchester Society, Maldon Road. The meals will be served in a marquee at the rear of the church. Meal tickets at 8/6 for the five meals, and single meal tickets, may be obtained from the Treasurer, Mr. A. J. Appleton, 3 Drury Road. Hotel accommodations may be arranged through Mr. John F. Cooper, 8 Capel Road.

     Gentlemen attending the Assembly are cordially invited to the 98th Meeting of the New Church Club, London, which will be held at The Old Bell Restaurant, Holborn, E. C. 1, on Friday, August 2d, at 7 p.m. Mr. Fred J. Cooper, of Bryn Athyn, Pa., will deliver an address on "The Diamond and the Pearl."

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CHURCH OF THE PITTSBURGH SOCIETY 1929

CHURCH OF THE PITTSBURGH SOCIETY       ELIZABETH R. DOERING       1929


[Frontispiece: Sketch by the Architect, Harold Thorp Carswell of the Church of the Pittsburgh Society, Corner Stone laid June 19th, 1919.]

NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. XLIX AUGUST, 1929          No. 8
     LAYING OF THE CORNER STONE-JUNE 19, 1929.

     After many months of planning for the building that is to provide a new home for our Society, we were able to begin actual construction on the morning of the 19th of June, when the corner stone was laid with appropriate ceremonies, and dedicated by the Right Rev. N. D. Pendleton, Bishop of the General Church.

     The day dawned bright and warm, as only June days can, and a large congregation of the members and their families, with many guests from afar, assembled to take part in the service. All could feel the sphere of expectancy and the delight of accomplishment which the event inspired,-the feeling that this spot was now to be our place of worship, that our affections were here; the feeling of leaving old states behind and entering upon new ones.

     THE CEREMONY.

     Our Pastor, the Rev. Eldred E. Iungerich, opened the service with the Ascription: "I will come into Thy house in the multitude of Thy mercies; in Thy fear will I worship toward Thy holy temple."

     All then said the Lord's Prayer, which was followed by the singing of "Our Glorious Church."

     As the First Lesson, the 118th Psalm was read by the Rev. R. W. Brown. The Second Lesson was from Luke 20:1-18, and was read by the Rev. Walter E. Brickman. As the Third Lesson, the Rev. Homer Synnestvedt read three selections from the True Christian Religion, being a description of the sending forth of the Twelve "Apostles in the spiritual world, after their commission anew by the Lord on the 19th day of June in the year 1770.

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     Bishop Pendleton then consecrated the corner stone in the words following:

     CORNER STONE DEDICATION.

     In the name of the Lord, this stone is laid in its place to signify the Divine which supports heaven and the church. It is laid at the head of the corner upon which a building is to be raised to serve the purposes of Divine worship,-the worship of the Lord Jesus Christ as He has manifested Himself in His Second Advent, in supreme unity and Divinity, as the only God, one in Person and one in Essence with the Father and the Holy Spirit; even our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, who came into the world to redeem men and to save them from their sins, and who, after His crucifixion, ascended to the Father, from whom and out of whom He came, not as a separate God, but having the Father's life in Him as His soul, and into which life He, by glorification, fully and completely returned. This one God is the true object of all human worship, since by Him alone may men be saved from their sins.

     This God, now made manifest in His final coming, presents Himself to the world of men in the forms of Divine Truth revealed as the internal content of the Sacred Scriptures, which content now stands exposed in the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg, and is known as the internal sense of the Word, or a Divine Revelation thereof, signified by the Second Coming of the Lord in the clouds of heaven, wherein He comes again, not in Person, but in Truth, to redeem once more a fallen race, and to establish on earth a New Church, signified by the New Jerusalem, the Holy City, descending from God out of heaven, prepared as a Bride adorned for her Husband.

     For the worship of this New Church of the Second Advent, now being established on earth, this stone is laid, and the building upon it is to be raised. The stone is the head of the corner, and the building will be a house of God. The stone represents the Divinity of the Lord sustaining and supporting the church, and the building thereon the church that is thereby sustained for the sake of its service to men and women who will therein assemble to bow before their God and Lord in confession of their need of His presence and His saving power.

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     Therefore, in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, I now dedicate this stone to its sacred use. It is set apart for the sake of its representation, and in order that it may stand in the eyes of men as a symbol of that Divinity which supports all the undertakings of men which look to the upbuilding of the New Jerusalem.

     PRAYER.

     And now let us pray for the Lord's blessing upon this beginning of the building of a house in His name and for His service. And let us pray that this outward act of laying this corner stone may coincide with and correspond to the beginning and development of a new spiritual endowment within our minds and hearts, apart from which no outward structure will be of any avail in establishing the Lord's new and true Church. Let us pray that the inward development of the Church within ourselves may be such as not only to bring about our own salvation, but also that it may serve to unite us together in a new and more perfect spiritual body, to serve as a perfected ultimate for a higher reception of the Light of Life inflowing from the Lord through heaven, which Light is ever given where "two or three are gathered together in His name" and lift their hearts in prayer to Him. Amen.

     The Lord's Prayer.

     The Bishop then placed the first trowel of mortar, and the congregation sang the Hebrew Anthem Odheka:

     "I will praise Thee; for Thou hast answered me, and art become my salvation. The stone which the builders rejected is become the head of the corner. This is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. This is the day which the Lord hath made; we will rejoice and be glad in it." (Psalm 118:21-24.)

     The significance of the inscription carved upon the stone was explained by the Pastor, who then closed the service by pronouncing the Benediction.

     Placed at the southeast corner of the church, beneath the chancel, the granite corner stone bears upon its eastern face the following Greek inscription:

     [Greek: tethemelioto gar epi tein petran]

     "For it had been founded upon a rock." (Matt. 7:25.)

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     On the southern face is the date: June 19, 1929.

     Inside of the stone was placed a copper casket, and in this were sealed the following:

     (1) A copy of the Word, and a copy of the Brief Exposition, signed respectively by the members of the congregation and those still of school age.

     (2) A copy of the June, 1424, issue of NEW CHURCH LIFE, with the signature of the editor, the Rev. W. B. Caldwell, and appropriate dedicatory words by him.

     (3) A List of the Members of the Congregation, with their present home addresses.

     All of the ministers taking part in the service had, at one time or another, been pastors or had performed notable ministerial duties in the Pittsburgh Society. It must have been a joy to them to witness this sign of our growth and progress, and to realize that the many years of effort in maintaining our uses had culminated in an undertaking which, we trust, marks another step forward in the life of the Society.

     Our property is favorably located in Le Roi Road, off Reynolds Street, near Homewood Avenue. The church will stand upon rising ground, its handsome facade in plain view of the main thoroughfare, yet in satisfying retirement from it. The north wing, adjoining the church proper, will provide an assembly hall in the basement, school rooms on the second floor, and apartments for the residence of the Pastor on the top floor.

     After the ceremony, and before the congregation dispersed, a telegraphic message of good will from the Los Angeles Society was read by the Pastor, and the general rejoicing of the Society was appropriately voiced in a social song by Mr. S. S. Lindsay Sr., accompanied by the children.

     The singing in the service was conducted by Mrs. Grote, and accompanied on the violin by the Rev. K. R. Alden and Esther Grote. Motion pictures of the ceremonies were taken by Mr. A. P. Lindsay, thus furnishing posterity with an actual view of the occasion.

     Among the guests not already mentioned were: Mr. Horace Howard, of Colchester, England; Rev. Gilbert H. Smith and his daughter, Alice, of Glenview, Ill.; Mr. Otho W. Heilman, of Bryn Athyn; Miss Angella Bergstrom-our new teacher for next year-and Miss Berith Schroder, of Denver, Colo.; and many others from Bryn Athyn, Glenview, Blairsville, and other places.

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     It was delightful to us to feel the lively interest of members of the Church from elsewhere. A number of the residents of Le Roi Road were also present, and several Viewed the ceremonies from nearby doors and windows. Work on the property was suspended at the time to enable the workmen to attend.
     ELIZABETH R. DOERING.
ENEMY IN THE VALLEY 1929

ENEMY IN THE VALLEY       Rev. HUGO LJ. ODHNER       1929

     "And the Lord was with Judah, and he occupied the mountain, but could not drive out the inhabitants of the valley, because they had chariots of iron. . . . And the Amorites forced the children of Dan into the mountain, for they would not suffer them to come down to the valley." (Judges 1:19, 34.)

     Joshua, the leader of Israel, had died. The Land of Canaan had been conquered, and the tribes dwelt in their assigned parts. The promise of the Lord had been fulfilled, and the land had passed as a heritage unto the seed of Abraham.

     We would naturally suppose that the period after the time of Joshua would be one of peace and rest. For, according to our general ideas, the Land of Canaan represents heaven; and heaven, once gained, is to be a state of rest and peace,- the blessed enjoyment of a "land flowing with milk and honey."

     But there was little rest-only a few years of peace. For the Jews were a nation that could only represent heaven in a most external and incomplete sense. They were sensual and worldly, and their sense of holiness was only adjoined to their superstitious minds. Their souls were closed to those things which make for heavenly life and peace. They were stiff-necked idolaters at heart, and would not obey the Lord for long. Hence we find that they could not represent heavenly things in their purity.

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And the Lord therefore provided and permitted that they should represent His kingdom as far as they could and would, and that their faults, their sins, their disobedience, and weakness, their failures, idolatries and vacillations, might represent those things which are opposite to heavenly life, those things which oppose the regeneration of a church or of an individual; that the whole life of Israel might become a living sermon, a living prophecy, and an example unto all ages.

     The states of spiritual life that could be represented by the nation of Israel, after it had settled in its inheritance, and before it had become a stable kingdom, are various, and depend upon the series which we are following. The conquest of Canaan signified the opening of the spiritual mind, of the new will and the new understanding, which are the products of regeneration. In the opening of this interior mind is involved the shunning of interior evils, or the lusts of evil from the old will. For these lusts are really lodged at the entrance of the man's spirit, even as the imaginary heavens are situated at the entrance of heaven in the spiritual world. And these lusts of evil have their roots in the hells, which are in the natural degree of the spiritual world, or, what is the same, in the lowest degree of spiritual substance.

     The rooting out of the lusts of evil from the spirit of man is the chief work of regeneration. If evil acts are shunned, and yet the lusts or delights of evil remain in the will of man, there is only a temporary betterment. For as long as man lusts for evils, and delights in evils, his will is full of evils and falsities; and when he comes into freedom and opportunity, he will satisfy his evil cravings and rush headlong into his hell.

     The nations of Canaan which the Israelites conquered signify such lusts of evil and of falsity. Each such nation signifies a particular group of hells, or a particular group of evil delights, with their falsities. But the Lord foresaw that Israel would be unable to drive out these nations altogether and once for all. Nor can the man of the spiritual church drive out his evil lusts from his spirit and heart in a short time and by a few battles. It served, therefore, as a representation of spiritual life, that the tribes of Israel entered upon the enjoyment of their inheritances before the remnants of the nations were driven out. And in the text we find that the two tribes, Judah and Dan, are mentioned as being unable to drive out the old inhabitants from their territory.

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In both cases it is said that the Israelites were able to occupy the mountain districts, but were unable to dislodge their enemies from the valleys. And what was true in these cases was true as a general rule. The Israelites were good mountain fighters-good infantry. But on the plains they could not conquer, for they were not equipped with horses and chariots. Indeed, throughout its history, Israel's great fear was of horses and of chariots of iron.

     It must not be thought that this peculiar fact of history was merely incidental. For it is also a representation of the spiritual fact, that in the progress of regeneration man's greatest enemies are found in the valleys and plain lands of his mind, in the lower states of his spirit, where he can with difficulty stand against the inimical power which is signified by horses and chariots of iron.

     As the tribes of Israel were isolated, each in its mountain districts, so the truths of spiritual life are implanted within man's spirit in higher states of worship and conviction; but as these isolated and abstract acknowledgments seek to go forth into the thoughts to commune with other truths, and to join in uses of spiritual life, and apply themselves to natural problems and situations, there is an interference on the part of worldly spheres of pride and of selfish interests which are signified by the enemies of Israel with their horses and chariots.

     It is because of the wavering of our loyalty and of our faith that this is so, and that our path of regeneration must be of so long a duration. The chosen tribes within our mind lack the courage to face the horses and chariots of natural reasonings: so we delay tackling the problems that would involve any change in our natural affairs, or in our practical attitudes toward our spiritual duties on lower planes of use. We leave the fertile valleys to be cultivated by our foes, and remain on the mountains, with the sources of continual temptation near us below, in the disorders of the natural mind and the frictions of our outward lives, instead of purging the land completely of our foes, of the disorders and persuasions that are present in our natural mind, and thus, freed from fear, achieving the heavenly peace and rest of mind which we were promised, but can- not as yet completely receive.

     As long as there are still disorders of attitude or belief in our minds, so long the lusts of evil will give us no rest, for they then possess a means of oppressing our spirits and tempting us to evil and falsity.

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For we then seek to be on a friendly basis with disorderly things of evil, and to persuade the devil by kindness to do us no harm. As a result we lose our power over evil and over all natural things; we give our thoughts and affections,-our spiritual sons and our spiritual daughters,-in marriage to the idolatrous people of Canaan-to our foes. And as we do this, we are misled into a false sympathy for evil; our pride is aroused about natural things; we become ashamed of our supposed narrow-mindedness and seclusion; we labor to find a mode of "getting along" (modus vivendi) with the merely natural world about us; we compromise our ideals for the sake of temporary natural advantages; we begin to harbor the comfortable delusion that we can intellectually assert our faith and citizenship in the New Church without making any sustained attempt to reorganize our lives,-our natural habits, and the habits of our children, into better accord with our deepening conscience. And more and more we sink back into a natural state, forgetting our allegiance to the Lord Jesus Christ, even as the tribes of Israel forgot their Law, and Jehovah their God.

     During a human life-time such states of fluctuation are frequent and inevitable. It is seemingly impossible, as man is usually constituted, to live always upon the mountaintops in spiritual exaltation, or in an interior state of entirely unselfish love and charity. There is a natural man very present and very urging within him, a natural mind which feels weary whenever the thought is lifted above the concrete things of self and the world, of time and of space. This natural man asserts himself and seeks his due-seeks his own good,-rest, comfort, attention. It is unwilling to be subdued, and to become as a mere servant under the bidding of the spiritual mind. It is willing to a certain point, if man has at all regenerated; but it soon asserts itself, and calls upon man to "be selfish for awhile,"-to leave the higher uses of charity and spiritual love, and to give attention to the lower uses of natural recreation and refreshment; even as Martha called upon Mary, her sister, to stop her listening at the feet of the Lord, and to help her in the preparation of food for bodily needs.

     Self-or the natural man-asserts itself periodically. And this is so, in an image, even with the angels, who have an "evening-state" when their thoughts descend to more natural and ultimate things of life, and when their perception grows dull.

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And yet, with men whose natural is not yet purged from evils and disorders, the descent into a natural state means more than mere relaxation and rest from the higher functions; it means a descent into a state abounding in perversions, where they lose their illustration, where their perception of the principles of right and wrong are confused by natural falsities and evils; where they find their thoughts borne on false currents of popular opinion which is not their own, and torn away by emotions of natural aversion, or pity, or generosity, or self-interest, or passion, or other waves of feeling, without knowing whither these are leading them; or, in this state of the natural man, they may surrender their spiritual freedom to natural habits which have survived from days when as yet little thought had been taken as to what was good and wise or evil and foolish.

     This and similar kinds of bondage are represented throughout the Books of Judges, Samuel and Kings, by the many and frequent oppressions and captivities which befell the tribes of Israel, after their conquest of the land of promise. The many wars of Israel against the nations of Canaan and of other lands signified, in general, struggles between the spiritual man and the natural man, or between the church and world, or between the spirit and the flesh, or particularly, between the internal man and the old will, with its many allies within the natural proprium.

     And here we come upon a most interesting thing: So long as Israel was faithful to the worship of Jehovah-so long as the nation of Israel could represent by the faithful observance of its ceremonial law, its sacrifices and washings, and circumcisions, and, above all, by its reading of the Sacred Law-so long victory and peace rested with them; so long the hand of Providence spread a wall of protection around the chosen people; so long the power of Israel was unbreakable; for it was fortified and confirmed by innumerable wonders and miracles such as characterize their peculiar history. But whenever they fell away from this external worship, they were reduced into oppression and slavery, or into a condition of tribute to the enemies. The Book of the Judges, treating of the period after Joshua's death, speaks of at least seven distinct times when Israel fell into apostacy and disloyalty, and was punished by oppression; and when, after repentance, the nation was saved by some leader who, by miraculous power, re-established their freedom and independence by overthrowing the foe.

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     The Writings tell that each of the nations which thus for a time ruled over Israel represented some particular evil of idolatrous worship into which Israel had fallen. And in the Writings we meet the remarkable intimation (D. P. 251), that the same protection by reason of representation is extended by the Lord today as in the days of yore that the laws of Providence have in no wise changed since then; that among the many nations at this day, each has its own representation. In other words, each nation of today answers to some nation of Biblical times, and each is preserved or punished according as it is true to that special, self-assumed representation for which it stands; that is, according as its actions represent spiritual justice or not.

     The great difference is, that it is not made known to the Church what the nations of today represent, in either the positive or the opposite sense, lest our natural freedom of judgment should be prematurely influenced. But we are granted to know what the nations of the Ancient East represented.

     It should be known that representation is an external function, which yet is based upon some peculiar feature or characteristic in the internal of the nation or individual who represents. The Jews represented the church because they insisted upon being a representative of a church. And later-after the type of a church had been entirely destroyed with them-they took on the opposite representation, because they insisted upon destroying all the qualities which might serve to represent a true church. And as it was with Israel, so it is with every man and every city, every nation, every society, every church. Each man selects for himself a certain use, whereby he assumes the spiritual representation of that use. We cannot judge precisely what any certain man represents. The function or place which at heart he, perhaps almost subconsciously, regards as his own, we are not able to discern; but none the less he has a use, and has the protection of the sphere belonging to that use, both in this world and in the next. If he departs from its representation-departs from the use-he departs from its protection as well, and meets with disaster. And so with nations, and with churches.

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If they fall away from the representation which they have assumed, they withdraw themselves from that protective sphere in the spiritual world which was to guard that external as a basis for some spiritual thing; and so their state becomes one of temptation, vastation, and perhaps consummation and dissolution.

     A little reflection will show what a wealth of instruction there is in this truth,-that there is protection in representation. We are judged by what we represent ourselves to be, as the Jews were judged by their allegiance to their chosen God. We are judged by our faithfulness to the ideals which we raise, by the uses for which we stand. Providence is a government of uses. In all human struggles the cause that is just must conquer. If it does not conquer in appearance, yet it is certain that a higher, deeper justice is somehow victorious,-a spiritual justice which we may not see, but which is based upon the real representation of the parties involved.

     Let us remember this in times of chaotic thought, of dissension and anxiety. Let us remember that horses and chariots are as nothing, mighty armies are futile, human prudence and worldly knowledge come to naught, if there be with us a true loyalty to that for which we stand, to the ideals which we seek to represent, to the Church we seek to enter. For we also can assume a representation; we can become living representatives of the true Church; we can enter into the sphere of protection which is extended to us in the work and companionship of the Church. Unity and common work, and common conviction and confession, afford a basis for a spiritual protection which is real and actual; and if our hearts are in this common sphere of the church, we shall in no wise need to suffer the evil experiences of Israel. For to all eternity pre shall then be carried onward upon "eagle's wings."

     So also it is with the larger destinies of the New Church. For the representation of that Church as the New Jerusalem, the Bride of the Lamb, is one that comprises all spiritual justice; a cause that cannot be lost, because the whole power of heaven is the Lord's instrument in protecting it and guarding it until it shall be as the tree of life, whose leaves shall be for the healing of the nations. Nor shall this New Church fear to descend from the mountains, and, in the valleys of natural life, to challenge the prudence of the world and the dreadful dogmas of religious and irreligious presumption,-to meet the horses and the chariots of iron of the Canaanites and Philistines.

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For her God is that Rider upon the White Horse whose "Name is called Faithful and True, and who in justice doth judge and make war." And "out of His mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations. And He shall rule the nations with a rod of iron." (Rev. 19:11, 15.) Amen.

     Lessons: Judges 1:1-21 and 1: 22-36. D. P. 251:3, 4.
EVERLASTING GOSPEL AND THE NEW CHURCH 1929

EVERLASTING GOSPEL AND THE NEW CHURCH       Rev. GEORGE DE CHARMS       1929

     Reflecting upon the internal sense of the Apocalypse, and upon the description there given of the Last Judgment, we have been led to speculate upon the part played, in the drama there unfolded, by the Twelve Apostles of the Lord, of whom it is said that they were called together on the 19th day of June in the year 1770, and sent forth to Preach through the whole spiritual world the gospel that the Lord God Jesus Christ reigneth. Undoubtedly their work was an essential factor in the formation of the New Heaven, and in the establishment of the New Church. But why were they called and sent-forth at that time? To whom did they go? What was the specific effect of their proclamation of the Everlasting Gospel? To these questions there is no direct answer given in the Writings, and in consequence there may be variety of view in the church with reference to them. And yet there are certain indications which it may be of use to present as suggestive in connection with them.

     In the broadest sense, the New Heaven formed at the time of the Second Advent was fully and completely Christian. It was constituted of all who lived in the world subsequent to the coming of the Lord upon earth, who, in heart and life, were receptive of the teaching that the Lord Jesus Christ is the one God of heaven and earth. But two distinct divisions of this heaven are spoken of in the Writings, one composed of Christians, and the other of gentiles. It is said that, unless the Lord had come, when He made His First Advent, no flesh could have been saved.

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This refers, not only to the Jews, but also to the gentile descendants of the Ancient Church, from among whom, for the most part, the Christian Church was formed. Those who did not become Christians on earth could indeed be saved, if they believed in God and lived well according to their own religiosity. But this salvation could be effected only with such as were able to receive faith in the Lord after death. The Ancient Heaven, formed from the Ancient Representative Churches prior to the Lord's Advent, was closed. Prophecy had given place to fulfilment. The "shadow" of the Lord to come had been replaced by the splendor of the "Sun of righteousness rising with healing in His wings." And this because the shadow was no longer effective, and only the actual presence of the Lord in His Human was able to regenerate and save. Inhabitants of gentile nations, who did not receive Christian faith on earth, were, upon entering the world of spirits, formed into imaginary heavens similar to those of Christians. The judgment upon these gentiles is mentioned and described in the Writings as taking place at the time of the Second Advent. From them, after the judgment, was formed a Christian Heaven; for the good among them received the doctrine of Christianity. But it was a heaven distinct from that formed of those who had been Christian on earth, and this because, while the inner truth concerning the Lord is everywhere the same, the mode of understanding that truth, the forms through which it is expressed, and the quality of angelic life based upon it, are different with different peoples. For that which has been regarded as holy by men on earth,-forms of worship, modes of thought, principles of conduct drawn from religion,-are not broken in the other world by the Lord, but are bent toward the truth, and rendered receptive of it, as vessels into which it may be poured. Thus customs of life, and all that has become traditional, and as it were second nature, if it is not opposed to the truth, is retained, and produces distinctions in heaven as on earth. There is in every religion some remnant of truth that can be receptive of the Divine, and through which the Lord can effect salvation. Wherefore, from every religion among men, there was a remnant to be saved,-a remnant out of which a Christian Heaven was to be formed. But this heaven, while interiorly one with that formed from those who had been Christian on earth, was still distinct from it as to externals of thought and life.

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     Now it is worthy of note that the New Heaven specifically treated of in the Apocalypse is that formed from such as had lived in the Christian World, both Catholic and Reformed, from the time of the First Advent. This was apparently the first to be established; and such would naturally be the case, for with them was the Word, both of the Old Testament and the New, which had formed with them a basis and foundation for the reception of the Heavenly Doctrine not present with those who had come into the spiritual world from gentile nations. The formation of this heaven from Christians began immediately after the Last Judgment, which was, we are told, completed in the year 1757, though it continued throughout Swedenborg's life. In 1767, Swedenborg wrote to Dr. Beyer: "The Lord is preparing at this time a New Heaven of those who believe in Him, acknowledge Him as the true God of heaven and earth, and look to Him in their lives, which means to shun evil and do good; for from that heaven the New Jerusalem is to come down. . . . I daily see spirits and angels, from ten to twenty thousand, descending and ascending, and being set in order. By degrees as that heaven is formed, the New Church likewise begins and increases." (Docu. 234). On April 30th, 1771, less than a year before his death, Swedenborg again wrote to Dr. Beyer, saying: "The New Heaven, out of which the New Jerusalem will descend, will very soon be completed." (Docu. 245 BB.) While its full completion was never recorded, it is, we think, to be inferred that it was practically coincident with the fulfilment of the work of the Revelator.

     This means that, on the 19th day of June in the year 1770, when the Twelve Apostles were called together by the Lord and sent out to Preach in the whole spiritual world, the formation of the New Heaven had already gone forward for a period of nearly thirteen years, and was almost at an end. It was not with reference to the work of establishing this heaven that the Apostles were to labor. The same conclusion would seem to be supported by the account of the Judgment and formation of the New Heaven as given in the Apocalypse. In the 14th chapter it is said that John "saw an angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue and people." In the True Christian Religion, no. 796, it is said that by this "Everlasting Gospel" is meant the Doctrine of the New Church, the essential of which is that the Lord God Jesus Christ reigneth.

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It is, therefore, to be identified with that which the Apostles were commanded to preach. And yet the New Heaven from Christians had already been formed; for in the opening verses of the same chapter we read: "I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Zion, and with Him an hundred and forty and four thousand, having His Father's name written in their foreheads." This is said, in A. R. 612, to represent " the Lord now in the New Heaven collected out of those in the Christian Churches who have acknowledged the Lord alone to be the God of heaven and earth, and have been in truths of doctrine grounded in the good of love from Him through the Word. . . . This is the New Heaven, from which the Holy Jerusalem, that is, the New Church on earth, will descend."

     It is not to these that the angel, flying in the midst of heaven was to preach, but to those "who dwelt on the earth, and to every nation and kindred, and tongue and people." These latter are said to represent the same as the great multitude, clothed in white garments with palms in their hands, that stood before the throne. (Rev. 1:9.) That is, they were such as belonged to the Church Universal,-such as were in good according to their religion, but not yet in truths from the Word. Thus they were all who were in a gentile state, whose quality is known to the Lord alone. These were the ones to whom the Apostles were sent forth, even as they had been sent to such as these in the natural world at the time of the Lord's First Coming. Indeed, it is a remarkable fact that the First Christian Church was, above all, a missionary Church. It carried the Word all over the earth. To do this was its love; and that love was manifested even in the other life. For we read that, wherever Swedenborg went through the universe in his visits to various planets, he found that Christian missionaries had been before him, who had brought thither, not only the Word, but also the false doctrines of fallen Christianity, particularly the idea of three persons in God. The special task of the Apostles, and, as we conceive, of many other Christian missionaries, after the formation of the New Heaven from Christians, was to correct these false conceptions of Christian faith, and to declare to gentile peoples, gathered in imaginary heavens in the world of spirits, the Everlasting Gospel,-the truth of the Sole Divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ, the vision of His Divine Human Glorified, that from them also, or from the good among them, there might be formed a New Christian Heaven.

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     From the New Heaven formed of Christians, the New Church first begins to descend on earth, that is, the Church among the remnant of the Christian World. Would it not seem to follow that the New Heaven formed from gentiles would be the primary source whence the New Church could be established in the gentile nations of the earth? Is not the preaching of the Everlasting Gospel by the Twelve Apostles preparatory, therefore, to the spread of the New Church beyond the bounds of Christianity? This would seem to us to be a most logical conclusion. There must first be a Christian Heaven, formed in the spiritual world, of their own people, having their own mode of thought, their own form of mind, their own background of earthly tradition and experience, when there can inflow into their minds the light and illustration from the Lord essential to their reception of the Heavenly Doctrine.

     We have spoken of the two general divisions of the New Heaven,-that formed from Christians, and that formed from gentiles. Now, while the teaching of the Writings is not clear on this point, it appears to us that there must be a third division also, upon the same grounds and for the same reasons. In the degree that there is established a new mode of thought, a new mode of life, a new worship, based on the teaching of the Heavenly Doctrine, there will arise a distinct Church among men. While this will derive its first inspiration from the Christian Heaven formed at the time of the Second Advent, and while, as to interior doctrine and light, it will be one with that heaven, yet it would seem to be inevitable that as to externals of religious thought and conduct it will remain distinct in the other world as it has been in this. If we are correct as to the effect of the Writings upon the actual lives of men, then this difference in manner of thought and life between the New Church and the Old will steadily increase, until it will be as great, if not greater, than that which obtains between Christian and gentile peoples. We cannot but conceive that those who have labored and fought side by side for the establishment of the New Church in the midst of an alien Christian civilization will remain banded together in the other life, joined in a common bond of mutual love and understanding, based upon their common experiences on earth.

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If this is the case, then there will steadily grow up in the other world societies formed from such as have known the Lord in His Second Coming, have read, and studied, and sought to apply the teaching of the Writings during their natural life. So far as these are formed among Christians, that is, from those in the Christian World, they will be more closely associated with the Heaven of Christians; and so far as they are formed among gentiles, they will be more closely associated with the Heaven of Gentiles. In both cases they will perform, however, a distinct use, arising from the fact that they had possessed a foundation of knowledge and life from the Writings on earth.

     In one important respect the New Church is to be different from any previous dispensation since the foundation of the world. It is not to be a temporary Church. It is called "a kingdom that shall not pass away." This is the prophecy concerning it; while in the case of temporary churches, such as marked the infancy and childhood and youth of the race, there was always a prophecy of another dispensation. From those of former Churches who passed into the other world, societies were formed in the world of spirits, and there remained, until the Last Judgment, becoming imaginary heavens, in which the good and the evil could not be separated, except by a New Revelation from the Lord. But there is to be no such general judgment upon the New Church. Judgments will indeed be necessary. Societies will still be formed in the world of spirits, and from them, from time to time, will arise imaginary heavens. But the judgments will be frequent, and performed upon small groups, as false ideas and disorders creep in. For the race has attained adult stature. It has been given a rational Revelation, on the basis of which it is blessed with the power of spiritual judgment, of self-purification, such as was not known before. This power of frequent self-purification, which will render another Last Judgment unnecessary, is the effect of the Lord's presence in the Natural, in His Divine Human Glorified; and it is the crowning achievement of the Divine Providence for the blessing of men. This is the reason why the New Church is called "the crown of all the Churches," and why it is said to be the last of the great dispensations.

     Let us remember, however, that this does not give assurance that any specific branch of the Church, any human ecclesiastical organization, may not come to an end.

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Whether it does so or not will depend upon its power to purify itself from time to time, to purge itself of the spiritual poisons that would undermine its health and destroy its life. This power can come only from the Lord. It is present only in the Divine Truth revealed. It is imparted to men only in the degree that they remain true in heart and mind to the Word of God now opened in the Heavenly Doctrine. To this we must return in every time of stress, putting aside the things of self and the world that becloud our vision, approaching the Lord there manifested with trust and faith, with Prayer for guidance, if the living Church is to continue with us. For the Lord as He comes to us in the Writings, He alone is our Strength, our Shield, and our Refuge of Defense. This is the faith that has been espoused by the General Church of the New Jerusalem, as the keystone of the arch. The New Church descends indeed from the New Heaven. But the converse is also true, that a New Heaven must arise from the New Church on earth.

     It is, we believe, this New Church Heaven which is referred to in A. R. 547, where it gives, as a reason why the New Church will grow so slowly, that there is first to be formed a New Heaven, when yet the heaven of Christians was, in large part, already formed when this was written. The specific Church on earth is the foundation of that heaven, a Church in which men are willing to "follow the Lamb whithersoever He goeth," to remain true to the teaching of the Heavenly Doctrine, to separate themselves from the Old Church, in order that they may fight the battle of regeneration under the Lord's guidance and protection. And only they who are faithful unto death shall receive the Crown of Life.

467


REST FROM LABORS 1929

REST FROM LABORS       Rev. VICTOR J. GLADISH       1929

     A MEMORIAL ADDRESS

     (For Mrs. Alwyne J. Appleton, Colchester, April, 1929.)

     "And I heard a voice from heaven saying unto me, Write, Blessed are the dead which die in the Lord from henceforth. Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labels; and their works do follow with them." (Revelation 14:13.)

     The voice which came out of heaven, and was heard by John on the island of Patmos, was a prediction from the Lord; for the Lord alone speaks from heaven. The Divine message is concerning the other-world state of those who have come into the Lord's New Church. This is involved in the words, "from henceforth"; for all of the Book of Revelation is a prophetic utterance concerning the Last Judgment and the New Church established from that time.

     The death which is "blessed" is the death of all that which is external and obstructive to spiritual life,-chiefly the proprium, the earth-bound loves; and also, when its work is done, the material clothing of the spirit, which must be left at the gates of eternal life. The "dead who die in the Lord" are they who are willing that the external should die for the sake of the internal, who have entered the battles of regeneration and have suffered temptations, in order that they may put aside the old or unregenerate man, and put on the new. Such temptations are signified in the Word by "labors," and it is promised that in the life above there will be "rest from labors": that is, that they who have counted spiritual things above earthly things will have peace in the Lord,-a peace that is rest of the soul.

     The labors which are earthly trials are left behind at death, but "their works do follow with them," and the "works" of man include the whole man,-all that is vital and lasting. Man's "works" are said to be all that he has loved and believed, and thence has done and spoken. The phrase, "their works do follow with them," therefore contains a teaching which, as it lies unfolded in the pages of the Writings, has brought immeasurable comfort and inspiration,-the fact revealed, that the death of the body takes nothing from the man himself, but uncovers the keener faculties of the spiritual body, and introduces him into the spiritual environment of the life that ends not.

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     This message of the text-that our Lord is God of the living, not of the dead-the Apostle was commanded to write. "Write" signifies certainty. What is written is confirmed, established, permanent; and this message is indeed written in the minds of New Churchmen; and, especially by the passing of those dear to us, it becomes written on our hearts. Inwardly, we can see the process so fully described for us: a brief lingering for two or three days in the borderland between the worlds, in order that the spirit may be disengaged in a gentle and orderly manner from the body to which it formerly gave life; then the awakening, under the loving care of angels, into the realm of the spiritual sun. Finally, in a strength and freedom of mind and body such as this world cannot give, the journeying through scenes at once familiar and strange, both known and rich with newness, to the spiritual home,-the mansion in our Father's house.

     Well known is the teaching concerning children in the other life,- that all who die in tender years are brought up under the care of angels, passing more rapidly than is the case here into manhood and womanhood, and thus into angelhood. Not one is lost from the heavenly kingdom. These innocent ones, in the present irreligious age, are the salvation of the race; for, if it were not that a third of the human race dies prior to adult age, the hosts of hell would far outnumber the angels of heaven. These who die as infants are characterized by most tender affections, and they attain a perceptive, interior wisdom; but within this there lies a certain dependence; their growth were impossible if they had not contact with another type of angels,-those who, while living in the natural world, had entered into spiritual temptations, who began the struggle of regeneration in this sphere-the life of the body-and thus acquired a certain foundation,-opened a certain basic plane, upon which the limitless progression of heaven rests. With these facts in mind, the unusual number from New Church societies who have recently been removed in the prime of life leads us to reflect that there must be a particular need for the other-world ministrations of those who have "borne the burden and heat of the day,"-especially those who have made the Revelation of the Second Coming the guide for their "labors" and their "works."

469




     There can be no doubt that those "who die in the Lord" perform most vital uses to heaven and earth, in the education of heavenly infants, in the stabilizing of the heavens, and in uses to men on earth that can best be performed from the other side. How many such are needed to give an adequate basis for these uses, we mortals do not know. A specific church on this earth, though its members be but few, can perform a vital use to mankind, as long as it remains in genuine worship. So it would seem that those who have been molded by the Heavenly Doctrine while yet in this life can form a special leaven for the vast heaven of the Lord. Who are needed for this great use, and when, can only be known as we observe the call of those who may well be of such service. She who has so recently gone to that higher Sphere, whose going we commemorate today, was content with no merely passive interest in spiritual doctrine. Her thirst for the truths of the Church was strong and recurrent. It has been marked that the last year of her life exhibited a heightened intensity in her desire to comprehend the underlying laws of the spiritual world, as though there were need that certain planes in her mind be opened, in preparation for the infilling and expansion so soon to come.

     When one in the prime of life, active in the uses of this world, is called by the Heavenly Father, our natural mind is drawn again and again to the suddenness of the bereavement, to the gap that seems to be left in the sphere of earthly uses; but the power of the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, because it is the Spirit of Truth, can lift us above ourselves. It can raise us to a more interior view,-a view which dwells in eternal values, which sees through the appearances of this world. In this elevation of state the departed one is not departed, but returns with increased power for good. As our Lord ascended above, and yet remained with men, being everywhere present for good, so He gives to men, when they have laid aside the obstructing garment of the body, to imitate this power to a marvelous degree. "Their works do follow with them,"-all that is vital to them, all that they have gained by the labors of the world. All the interior ties and inner affections of this world remain with them; and through these they remain in the inmosts of the associations and uses of the earthly sphere although their elevation from external activities requires the development of new qualities and uses by those who are left behind, the departed remain present in the activation and inspiration of the use that once was theirs.

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Perhaps this is the reason why, even with great figures of history,-men of unique genius,-the marvel of their going has been the essential continuance of their work.

     "Yea, saith the Spirit, that they may rest from their labors, and their works do follow with them." The friend who has gone from the scope of material vision was a woman who possessed a wide range of gifts and of aspirations. These are among the works which follow her. The artistic bent, which she gave little indulgence because of her primary duties as a wife and mother, can now be given a free outlet in the new life. All the desires that have not found expression in this world can now be expressed and fulfilled-just to the extent that they are really desires of the heart; for to that extent they harmonize with the ruling love,-the paramount use.

     Of the many causes which determine the time when one shall cease from the labors of earth, not the least is the effect upon those who remain. The knowledge of this truth brings both a responsibility and the strength to fulfill it. It is possible for men still in the material world to be among the "dead who die in the Lord,"-those who count the spiritual above the natural, who are willing that the external man should die, even though it require unremitting combat against the proprium. These are they who are called "blessed," that is, happy with the happiness of the Divine blessing. An emphasis and expansion is added to the understanding of the word "blessed " when its origin is known. For it means "not dead," and this is in complete harmony with its spiritual meaning. The "blessed" are they who are "not dead," who are living with life from above, who, with love, receive the Divine Life. All such are "the dead who die in the Lord." And of such it is most truly said, "The dead are living unto Thee." Amen.

471


EDUCATION 1929

EDUCATION        W. F. PENDLETON       1929

     (An Address delivered at the Second Annual Commencement of the Academy of the New Church, May 15th, 1829; also before the Conference of New Church Ministers, Brooklyn, May 24, 1879. So far as we are aware, it has not before appeared in print.-EDITOR. )          

     "Behold, I make all things new," were the words uttered by the Lord in the prophecy of the New Jerusalem. The former things must pass away; the New Church must be established; to this end the Divine Truth must be revealed; for by the Divine Truth the Lord makes the great change from the old to the new. Whatever changes are not made by the Truth, and according to it, are but delusive appearances, lacking the essential elements of change. The Lord alone makes all things new; in this work He needs not the help of man. He gives men work, not because He needs them in the work, put because they need the work; and they must work as He directs, or He cannot impart to them what He so much desires to give and they so much need to receive. Through work done in the light of truth revealed from heaven does the Lord create in men that new state of the church On earth which is the crown of prophecy.

     A new church must be created because the old is dead. And, being dead, the old can no longer save men; for the dead cannot bring to life. This is the reason why the Divine Creator said: "Except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved." (Matt. 24:22.) The days have been shortened; the old church has been rejected; the new takes its place. If the old is dead, then all that proceeds from it is dead; its methods are dead; its works are dead, as to every essential quality. The stream cannot be purer than its source. We must, therefore, look to the Lord in His Word, now laid open in the doctrine of the Church, not only for new ends and thus for a new life in work, but also for a new light to guide and govern in the choice and selection of instrumentalities and methods in work; from which will flow new activities, even a new work itself. The whole order of life will be reversed; the world will wear a new face, because of a new soul within.

472


And then shall be fulfilled the gladdening words: "The wilderness and the dry place shall rejoice in them; and the solitude shall exult and flourish as the rose. In budding it shall bud, and shall exult even with exultation and singing." (Isaiah 35:1, 2.)

     To create this new state of the Church, the Lord brings to bear many instrumentalities, even on the natural plane. He is preparing the whole world of science and art to serve in this use. These instrumentalities are servants of the Truth, and to be obedient servants they must themselves be new; that is, they must have a new form, must be disposed into a new order. We have just observed that the old is dead, even as to its ultimate activities; the instruments of those activities must be seized and appropriated by the Truth, even as the Sons of Israel appropriated the vessels of silver and gold in their departure from Egypt. The Truth cannot establish a new life in ultimates until natural scientifics are broken away from all connection with "that great city, spiritually called Sodom and Egypt, where our Lord was crucified."

     If, yearning for the fleshpots of Egypt, we attempt to follow the old order of things in our ultimate uses, turning away from the Truth which comes down to us from heaven, the result will be another golden calf, with all its bitter consequences. Not until all natural forms have been brought under full subordination and agreement with the laws of heaven can we expect to perceive and experience the influx of the life of heaven; not until this can the will of God be done, as in heaven so upon the earth.

     We must agree that one of the most important instrumentalities on the natural plane by which the Divine Truth will restore the heavenly form and order among men will be a genuine Education. But it must be a genuine education; and to be genuine it must be new.

     The theology of a people gives soul, quality, even form to their works. If the theology be a false and evil theology, the works will be false and evil; and they will be of a false and evil quality, even when they have the outward appearance of good. Such being the quality of the works proceeding from a dead theology, we are instructed in the Apocalypse Revealed 652 that such works must be explored in the light of Divine Truth, that their quality may be exhibited to view, and thus rejected.

473




     If we speak from the Divine Truth and according to it, we cannot hesitate to declare that the prevailing system of education is dead. A work is a dead work when it has in it no end of the Lord and His Kingdom, but in their stead opposite ends, which are of self and the world. In the education of the day we find naught but these latter ends.

     The doctrine of three persons in God is the father of all infidelity. "The naturalism which reigns at this day is from no other source." (T. C. R. 4.) And we are clearly instructed as to the spiritual death which follows in the wake of such a doctrine: "To implant in infants and children the idea of three divine persons, to which inevitably adheres the idea of three Gods, is to take away from them all spiritual milk, and afterwards all spiritual meat, and lastly all spiritual reason, and to induce upon those who confirm themselves in it spiritual death." (T. C. R. 23.)

     The old education, perhaps more than other works which are the fruits of the old theology, shows the baneful and deadly influence of such a doctrine, in that its whole effort and tendency, as we have just intimated, is towards a denial of the Lord Jesus Christ and His Word. And the greater the education, the more open and manifest is the denial. This is the rule; there are few exceptions. And we need not be surprised when we find that the educated, the learned, have much less faith than the simple-minded and ignorant. The leading educators, especially in the department of natural science, are open and professed materialists, and their vast stores of knowledge are brought forward and used to destroy all spiritual faith with men. It needs but little investigation to show that even Bible commentators, students of the original tongue, have no conception of the holiness of the Word, see nothing of genuine Divinity in it, have but little reverence for the sacred text.

     In that section of our country where the prevailing education is more widespread and thorough, where the so-called culture of the day has its greatest development, we find, more than elsewhere, the Divinity of the Lord denied, and the Word of God brought down to the level of the sacred books of the East. A powerful denomination makes an invisible, imaginary being its God, and "culture" its religion. The same spirit is beginning to exhibit itself in other denominations; and he who reads aright the signs of the times sees promise of a rapid increase of this state of things.

474


Such is the legitimate result of the old theology; such the logical sequence of the prevailing education.

     The truth of what we have asserted is not only seen in the influence which the false doctrine concerning God exercises over education, but in the all-permeating effect of the false doctrine of life which the old theology teaches. The life that a man lives is not a factor in his regeneration; faith is the only essential of salvation. This reveals to us the reason why the prevailing education is itself a system of faith alone. The intellect is made the standard of perfection; and this sums up the whole aim and purpose of education, namely, to train the intellect. The will is left to a spontaneous growth; it receives no rounded development; in one direction its activity is cramped, yea, suppressed; in another it is allowed to reach abnormal proportions; it receives no proper balance; and when adult age is reached the human mind is not like the horse, full of activity and power, yet under a noble restraint, but is like the wild ass, knowing no restraint but that of fear.

     But even the intellect itself does not receive any genuine training under such a system. As faith alone, or faith without charity, is no faith except in appearance, so the education of the intellect without that of the will, is no education, presenting only the superficial appearance of it. The intellect is but the form of the will,-a fact unknown to modern educators; and since this is true, it follows clearly that the intellect cannot be trained independently of the will; so that, even under the old system, the will receives a training of a certain kind, but it is a false and evil training. Under it, evils of all kinds are nourished and supported.

     From an interior view it can be clearly seen that the end of the old education, however concealed it may be, is to cultivate the evils of the will,-the lusts of self love and love of the world. The intellect is trained for the sake of advancement in the world, for this life alone, to gratify merely worldly and selfish ends. The intellect is encouraged to acquire knowledge, that such knowledge may be made the means of obtaining wealth or fame. And the will is trained to cunning, that it may make a more effectual use of such knowledge in the same direction. Intelligence is made to consist in accumulating stores of sensuous facts and appearances in the memory, and wisdom in the application of those facts to self elevation and advancement.

475


Well may we exclaim with the angels that "such intelligence is intellectual stupidity, and such wisdom is infernal cunning!"

     With the acknowledgment of no intelligence but that which is derived from self and the world, and no wisdom but cunning, we can see that the old education, like its theological parent, does not recognize evil as evil in itself. All infernal lusts, such as are forbidden in the Decalogue, may be freely cherished within; for does not the old church teach that the Decalogue has been abrogated in the New Testament? Man may then be saved without obedience to it, and all the evils mentioned in it are allowable, provided man conceals them within himself, or prevents them from appearing before the eyes of the world. But if they become publicly manifested, so as to injure his reputation, then they are accounted as evil, and repentance is exercised. They are then accounted as evil, not because they are evil, but because they have been found out; and repentance is exercised, not from a recognition of evil as sin, but from a ground of sorrow because punishment is to follow its discovery. This is all that is possible under the old theology, and all that its child, the old education, will allow.

     We have already alluded to the fact that the old theology is inwardly a denial of the Lord and His Word, and that all the infidelity and materialism of the Christian world is from this source. The avowed infidels and scoffers of the Word simply declare openly what the church itself inwardly believes. If this is true of the theology itself, it is also true of all its works; they contain in them a denial of the Lord and His Word. This denial is becoming more and more apparent; men are becoming bolder in their utterances of unbelief; and this increases as men come into greater freedom of thought on religious subjects, and into the freedom of expressing that thought.

     Perhaps no work of the old theology has in it more of a denial of the Lord, or produces a greater fruit of infidelity, than the old education. Scientifics are acquired, as we have seen, for the sake of the glory and fame of erudition, and are made to minister in the pursuit of wealth and power. In addition to this, they are used to confirm the mind in its denial of God and unbelief in His Word. It is from this that the learned believe less than the simple.

476


We have already spoken of this, but let us now see what the Doctrines teach on the subject.

     "It is a commonly known thing that the learned have less belief in a life after death than the simple, and that in general they see Divine Truths less than the simple. The reason is, because they consult scientifics, which they possess in greater abundance than others, from the negative, and thereby destroy in themselves intuition from what is superior or interior; and when this is destroyed, they no longer see anything from the light of heaven, but from the light of the world; for scientifics are in the light of the world, and if not illuminated by the light of heaven, they induce darkness, however it appears otherwise to themselves. Hence it was that the simple believed in the Lord, but not the scribes and Pharisees, who were the learned of the Jewish nation." (A. C. 4760.)

     "The learned of the world believe that they would receive the Word more favorably if celestial things were exposed nakedly, and if it was not written with such simplicity; but they are very much deceived, for in such case they would have rejected it more than the simple, and would have seen no light therein, but mere gross darkness. For human learning induces this darkness with those who trust to their own intelligence, and on that account extol themselves above others. That such things are hid from the wise, and revealed unto infants, that is, to the simple, the Lord teaches in Matthew 11:25, 26; and in Luke 10:21. The same is also evident from this consideration, that they who are atheists and naturalists, as they are called, are such as are learned. This the world knows, and this they themselves know." (A. C. 8783.)

     "In the Christian world, the internal is closed in more instances with the intelligent than with the simple. The reason is, because the intelligent are in the lusts of eminence and gain, and thence in the loves of self and the world, more than the simple; and also in the faculty of confirming evils and falses which are from those loves, by scientifics, in which the intelligent excel the simple." (A. C. 10492.)

     "A certain spirit came to me unawares, and entered by influx into the head. Spirits are distinguished according to the parts of the body into which their influx is. I wondered who and whence he was, but after he had been silent for some time, the attendant angels said that he was taken from the spirits attendant upon a certain learned person still living in the world, who had gained extraordinary reputation for his learning.

477


Communication was instantly given by this intermediate spirit with the thought of that person. I asked the spirit what idea this great scholar was enabled to form concerning the Gorand Man, and concerning its influx and consequent correspondence? He said that he could form no idea. He was next asked what idea he had of heaven. He said, 'None at all, except a blasphemous one, in supposing that the inhabitants are always playing on musical instruments, such as the country people are wont to make a jingle with.' Nevertheless this person stands high in reputation, and it is believed that he knows the nature of the influx of the soul, and of its commerce with the body; possibly it is also believed that he knows better than other men the nature of heaven. Hence it may appear what sort of persons at this day teach others,-namely, those who from mere scandals oppose the goods and truths of faith, although they publish the contrary." (A. C. 3749.)

     It is evident, therefore, that the learned of the Christian world live upon the remotest boundaries of the mind and its thought, that they are sensual more than others, that they have no interior intuition, in consequence of the closing up of their internal, and hence the mind is immersed in terms and definitions so that men reason from terms and about terms, having scarcely any conception of things as above terms, and which terms merely serve to represent to the eye and ear. And in the light of this teaching we are not surprised at the claim put forward in standard works on Logic, that the mind is incapable of reasoning independently of terms.

     The tendency of the learned to immerse the mind in terms and definitions is more painfully evident in works on Metaphysics than elsewhere; and in scanning such works one is fully prepared to believe the teaching given us that the science of Metaphysics is less understood at this day than in ancient Greece, where flourished such philosophers as Socrates, Plate, Aristotle, Zenophon, and others. Aristotle, in particular, who may be called the father of Metaphysics, had an intuition superior to those who have followed him in modern times in the same department, and who fancy that they have improved upon him. He invented terms which were formulae by which he described the interior things of thought and reason; not that he regarded those terms as essential to the reasoning process itself, but as the means by which that process may be described, and thus taught as a science.

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Terms were only the instrument by which thought expressed itself in speech and writing; thus from thoughts he proceeded to terms, as from the internal to its external. (A. C. 4658.) The terms have been handed down to the present time, but the interior thoughts which Aristotle expressed by the terms are entered into but superficially, because they are approached from terms, thus inverting true order; so that the science of reasoning, called Logic, is but little more than a science of terms.

     Such is the tendency and effect of the old education. It makes infidels and atheists; it encourages and fosters infernal lusts in men; it blasphemes the Word; it destroys the church on earth; it closes heaven. Such being its quality and active endeavor, we may without hesitation declare that, like the Old Church of which it is a part, it is thoroughly vastated, and utterly incapable of being made to serve the Lord in the establishment of His New Church.

     Let us not forget, however, that while a false education is the means of making man insane, and inducing spiritual death, a true education is the means of making man wise, and of introducing him into eternal life. And the very accumulation of scientifics, which the old education uses to make men spiritually insane, can be made to serve in preparing man to receive the truth and good of heaven. The evil is not in the materials used, but in the perverted application of them. Scientifics are the facts and laws of the Divine Order in the natural world; they are in their origin true and good; it is only a false education from a false theology that applies them to a perverted use. Hence we read:

     "Scientifics are the means of becoming wise, and also the means of becoming insane; that is, they are the means of perfecting the rational, and are the means of destroying the rational. They, therefore, who have destroyed the rational by scientifics, in the other life are more stupid than those who have been unskilled in the sciences." (A. C. 4156.)

     "The inhabitants of the earth Jupiter make wisdom to consist in thinking well and justly on all occurrences in life. They know nothing at all of the sciences, such as are cultivated in our earth, nor are they willing to know; they call them shades, and compare them to clouds which intercept the sun.

479


This idea concerning the sciences they have derived from some belonging to our earth, who boasted in their presence that they were wise from their skill in the sciences. The spirits from our earth who thus boasted were such as made wisdom to consist in things pertaining merely to the memory, as in languages, in the history of such things as relate to literature, in bare experimental discoveries, and in terms, especially such as are philosophical, with other things of a like nature, not using such things as mean leading to wisdom, but making wisdom to consist in the things themselves. Such persons, inasmuch as they have not cultivated their rational faculty by means of the sciences, in the other life have little of perception, for they see only in terms, and from terms, which are then as motes and as gross clouds before the intellectual sight; and they who have been conceited, by reason of erudition thus grounded, have still less perception; but they who have used the sciences as the means of annihilating the things which are of faith have totally destroyed their intellectual, and see in thick darkness like owls, mistaking what is false for what is true, and what is evil for what is good. The spirits of Jupiter, from conversation they had with such, concluded that the sciences induce shade and cause blindness; but they were told that in this earth the sciences are means of opening the intellectual sight, which sight is in the light of heaven, and instructs in such things as relate to spiritual life; but inasmuch as self love prevails, and love of the world, and hence such things as are of mere natural and sensual life, therefore the sciences to them are means of becoming unwise, that is, of confirming them in favor of nature against the Divine, and in favor of the world against heaven. They were further told that the sciences, in themselves, are spiritual riches, and that they who possess them are like those who possess worldly riches, which in like manner are means whereby a man may do service to himself, his neighbor, and his country, and whereby he may also do mischief. This was perfectly intelligible to the spirits of Jupiter, but they were surprised at the inhabitants from our earth, that, being men, they should prefer the things that conduct to wisdom before wisdom itself." (A. C. 8628.)

     It is plain, therefore, that "the sciences ought not to be rejected on account of their making man insane" (S. D. 2523), or because they are used to pervert the human faculties and blind the understanding.

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Nor should education be rejected because a false education generates unbelief and withdraws man from heaven. For we are instructed that the same sciences that render man insane, such as the various kinds of experimental knowledges, as physics, astronomy, chemistry, mechanics, geometry, anatomy, psychology, philosophy, the history of kingdoms, and also of the learned world, criticism and languages "-these" same sciences are what serve the truly intelligent for the forming of the understanding. (H. H. 353.)

     What is needed, therefore, are not new scientifics, but a new use and application of them. They must be reduced into a new order. And when this is done, we shall have a new science out of the old materials. And a new science involves a new education.

     This new science and new education must not be the product of human intelligence; it must come from the Lord. All the essential principles which are to reduce scientifics into order must come from Him out of heaven, must be given by revelation. These principles we already have in the Writings of the New Church. They must be collected together, studied, thoroughly digested, put into practice.

     This is a matter of supreme importance to the New Church. We are safe in asserting that not until there is a genuine science and a right education will the Church have a firm foothold upon the earth. Not until then can the prophecy receive its fulfillment: "And after three days and a half the spirit of life from God entered into the two witnesses, and they stood upon their feet." (Apoc. 11:11.)

     It is a question that comes home to us; for we have children growing up. When they ask us for bread, shall we give them a stone? Or shall we throw it to the dogs? Can we trust them to the old educators and the old education, when we are so plainly taught that its methods and results are dead? Can the dead bring to life? Can the educated be better than the education? Look back for fifty and a hundred years. Where have our children gone? It is a story that is familiar to us all. The startling fact is before us that the Church has not been equal to its opportunities. We have been in the clouds; we have mistaken the shadow for the substance. We have not made use of the heavenly gifts, of which an abundant store lies at our hands. We have been scattering bread to the multitude, and our own children famishing for the necessaries of life.

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And hence we have lost them. They have gone away from us, and we have not seen them again. Where they are, the Lord alone knows.

     It is time to repent. We are in the midst of desolation, and this because we have not humbly turned to the Lord, beseeching Him to instruct and guide us. We have followed the devices of our own hearts, and have not asked of the Lord His will in the Revelation He has made of Himself in His Second Coming. Hence all our woes! Notwithstanding all this, the Lord has not forsaken us. He is present still; and He has never ceased to work. The fruit is beginning to appear. The darkness is about to be dispelled. A glimmering of light is seen in the eastern sky; this betokens the approaching morn. In His mercy the Lord has put it into the hearts of some to labor for a New Education, not from any merit of theirs, but because He wills to establish His New Church.
BEYOND THE MICROSCOPE 1929

BEYOND THE MICROSCOPE              1929

     "Organic forms are not only those which appear to the eye, or which can be detected by the microscope, but there are still purer organic forms which can never be discovered by the naked eye, or by artificial means. These latter forms are interior, such as the forms which are of the internal sight, and finally those which are of the intellect; these are inscrutable, but still they are forms, that is, substances; for it is not possible for any sight, not even intellectual; to exist, except from something. It is also known in the learned world that without a substance, which is a subject, there is not any mode, or any modification, or any quality which actively manifests itself. Those purer or more interior forms, which are inscrutable, are what present the internal senses, and also produce the internal affections. The interior heavens correspond with those forms, because they correspond with their senses, and with the affections of these senses." (A. C. 4224.)

482


ACQUISITION OF WISDOM 1929

ACQUISITION OF WISDOM       Rev. RICHARD MORSE       1929

     As there is no acquirement so precious as wisdom, the man of the New Church constantly offers up this prayer to the Lord: "So teach us to number our days, that we may acquire a heart of wisdom." (Psalm 90:12.) For even if one were to acquire all the distinctions which the world sets so much store upon, they could not be compared with wisdom. Yet it is possible to have worldly riches and honors, and wisdom as well. What, then, is this precious thing that so far surpasses worldly riches and distinction as to make comparison impossible?

     The Word of God, as the only source of wisdom, is today a sealed book, in consequence of the spiritually fallen state of man. Through ages of evil heredity, man has lost the heavenly habits of his remote ancestors, who had much delight in describing heavenly things by their natural symbols or correspondences, such as everywhere existed in the three kingdoms of nature. In that early period, when man was in the image and likeness of the Lord, he knew that everything in nature, and in the human body, corresponded to spiritual things. Moreover, he knew what the correspondence was; and this knowledge or science was the science of sciences, according to which the Word of the Lord was written.

     In that early period, the Lord was loved above all things, and the fellow man was loved from that principal love. Consequently, there was no sickness or disease, for no evil existed as a cause. Everyone was sincere, and there was no dissimulation. "Innocence then reigned, and with it wisdom. Everyone then did what was good for the sake of good, and what was just for the sake of justice. . . . Angels could therefore converse with men, and convey their minds, almost separated from corporeal thing;, into heaven, and could even lead them about there, and show them the magnificent and blessed things there, and also communicate to them their own happinesses and delights. But in the course of time this scene was totally changed and reversed, when the lust of dominion and of possessing many things invaded the mind.

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Then the human race, for the sake of self-defense, gathered themselves into kingdoms and empires," instead of living, as they had done, "distinguished into nations, families, and households, and every household by itself; and when it never entered into anyone's mind to seize upon another's inheritance." (E. U. 49.)

     Today, however, heaven is so far removed from man that the very existence of a heaven and a hell is unknown, and even is denied by some. In the so-called Christian world, it is almost universally believed that man was not created into the image and likeness of God, but was evolved from protoplasm through the ape, thus that the perfect was evolved from the imperfect, that something was evolved from nothing! Man's condition today is the result of a gradual decline from the image and likeness of the Divine Man, who is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ in His Glorified Human.

     Thus it may be seen that man's spiritual state, which sealed for him the spiritual sense of the Word, sealed also for him the true nature and meaning of Wisdom.

     Preeminently, in that Golden Age of man's state, was the sanctity of marriage. Marriages were the chief source of the happiness and delight of the people of that age, and therefore they likened everything they could to a marriage. The conjugial, which is the spiritual love existing only between husband and wife, and which made their union eternal and ever progressive, was the very heaven of that state. The word "conjugial" is not known outside of the New Church. By that word, marriage is translated beyond the confines of this short earth-life into the Lord's eternity. In the marriage service of the New Church, the words "till death do us part" do not appear; for in love truly conjugial there is no death, but rather it is a "fountain of living waters springing up into everlasting life." The Lord's heaven is a heaven of angels who are engaged in delightful uses and recreations, and every angel is a married pair.

     Now we are told in the new Revelation that "conjugial love is according to the state of the church with man, because it is according to the state of wisdom with him." (C. L. 130.) We are also shown the relation existing between three things that are, or may be, with man, and which, on account of man's degraded state, are quite misunderstood. These three things are Knowledge, Intelligence and Wisdom.

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     Knowledge, or science, belongs to knowledges; that is, science is built up from knowledges. As, for instance, the science of astronomy is built up of knowledges relating to the stars, or suns, and their systems. The science of anatomy is built up by knowledges relating to the structure of organic bodies. And so on, with all the sciences.

     The first thing with man is Science, which is said to belong to knowledge; and there is no one living who is not in possession of this thing, in some degree, from very early years. The knowledge of how to sweep a room is science. A child does not know how to sweep a room properly until it learns. The knowledges relating to recreation, such as cricket, football, tennis, bowls, golf, are sciences; and no one may claim to be a cricketer, a footballer, or a tennis player, until he or she has acquired some proficiency in those games; even as no one may claim to be an astronomer or an anatomist until a certain degree of proficiency in those sciences has been acquired.

     Regarding knowledge, one thing is very remarkable, in consequence of man's degraded state,-namely, that no one has any knowledge at birth, whereas all the lower animals are born into all the knowledges relating to their life.

     The reason is, that with the man of today, otherwise than his remote ancestors of the Golden Age, the understanding is separate from the will, which is loaded with hereditary evils; and so he is now born into no knowledge, in order that he may acquire unlimited knowledges throughout eternity. Man is born for heaven, and if he uses the knowledges he acquires to that end, by shunning the evils to which by nature he inclines, he will thereby fulfill the Lord's purpose regarding him. But if he remain "of the earth, earthy," and uses the knowledges he has acquired for self's sake, then he will pass on to his eternal place and state in the hell which he has prepared for himself while in the world.

     If man had not fallen, his will and understanding would have remained conjoined, and he would have been born, like the lower animals, into all the sciences, and a written Word of the Lord would not have been needed. Consequently, since the Word is a description of the Lord's life on earth, and of man's regeneration or new birth, it would not have been necessary for the Lord to come on earth, nor for man to be re-born that he might enter the kingdom of God.

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     But the knowledge which belongs to the trine of which we are treating is the knowledge which is a means to wisdom; consequently, it is knowledge relating to the Lord and heaven, and to man's regeneration, which knowledge is inexhaustible. Nevertheless, these knowledges are so intimately bound up with natural knowledges, or the natural sciences, as to make natural knowledges indispensable; for they are the means of providing food, clothing and habitation during life in the world of nature.

     No one can regenerate who does not work; and no one can properly work unless he or she have adequate recreation. All the occupations of life, therefore, are the matrices of those eternal functions or uses which everyone will delight to perform in that world for which all are born.

     The second of the three things that are to be with man is intelligence, which belongs to reason.

     Reason is formed by means of knowledges. No one is able to reason on any subject of which he has no knowledge. But no amount of knowledge will enable one to reason spiritually, if he have not wisdom, which is the third of the things that are with man. A man may reason naturally from proved natural facts, but, unless he have wisdom, his reasoning beyond and above those natural facts will not be rational. That this is the case, is clearly illustrated in the internal sense of the words in Genesis 31:34, describing Rachel's action in putting the teraphim in the camel's straw, by which is meant interior truths within scientifics, or in knowledges that have been acquired and are in the memory. Of this we read:

     "Scientifics are relatively gross and devoid of order, and are therefore signified here by 'straw,' and also by 'thickets'; but this is not apparent to those who are in mere scientifics [that is, who do not believe in the spiritual cause of any natural science], and are on this account reputed learned. These believe that the more a man knows the wiser he is. But that the case is very different has been made evident to me from those in the other life who, when they had lived in the world, had been in mere scientifics, and thereby had gained the name and reputation of being learned, for they are sometimes more stupid than those who have no skill in sciences. The reason of this has also been disclosed, namely, that scientifics are indeed a means of becoming wise; but to those who are in a life of evil, they are a means of becoming insane; for by means of scientifics these persons confirm, not only their life of evil, but also principles of falsity, and this arrogantly and with persuasion, because they believe themselves to be wiser than others." (A. C. 4156.)

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     In the 31st chapter of Exodus, treating of the call of Bezaleel and Aholiab to the work of rearing the tabernacle,-signifying the setting up of a representative church, and its conjunction with the Lord by means of representatives,-we find these words in the 3d verse: ''I have filled Bezaleel, of the tribe of Judah, with the spirit of God, in wisdom, and in intelligence, and in knowledge, and in all work." "Wisdom and intelligence" are the things of the will and the understanding, respectively, in the internal man; "knowledge," the things of the understanding and consequent speech in the external man; and "work," the things which are of the will and of the consequent effect in the external man. This will be clear when we reflect that man's mind is the man himself, and is composed of will and understanding, which are both internal and external.

     We read in the Arcana Celestia that "they who do not know what the internal man is, and what the external, and also what the understanding is, and what the will, cannot apprehend in what manner wisdom, intelligence, knowledge and work are distinct from one another, for the reason that they cannot have a distinct idea concerning the one and the other. Wherefore, they who have not this knowledge call him wise who is only intelligent, yea, who merely has knowledge. But he is wise who does truths from love; he is intelligent who does them from faith; he has knowledge who does them from knowledge; and 'work' is that which is done from them; thus it is the effect in which they conjoin themselves. Wherefore, in the genuine sense, no one can be called wise, nor intelligent, nor as possessing knowledge, who does not do. For wisdom, intelligence and knowledge are all of life, and not of doctrine without life; for the life is the end for the sake of which these are." (A. C. 10331.)

     Again, we read:

     "Wisdom, considered in its fulness, belongs at the same time to knowledges, reason and life; knowledges precede, reason is formed by means of them, and wisdom by means of both; as is the case when a man lives rationally according to the truths which are knowledges. Wisdom, therefore, is of reason and hence of life together; it is becoming wisdom when it is of reason and thence of life; but it is wisdom when it has become of life and thence of reason.

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The most ancient people in this world acknowledged no other wisdom than the wisdom of life: this was the wisdom of those who were of old called Sophi. But the ancient people, who succeeded the most ancient, acknowledged the wisdom of reason as wisdom; and these were called Philosophers. At the present day, even knowledge is called wisdom by many; for the learned, the erudite, and the merely knowing, they call wise; thus wisdom has fallen from its mountain-top to its valley." (C. L. 130.)

     In a summary statement, the wisdom that is the wisdom of life "consists in shunning evils, because they are injurious to the soul, injurious to the commonwealth, and injurious to the body; and in doing what is good, because it is profitable to the soul, to the commonwealth, and to the body. This is the wisdom which is meant by the wisdom with which conjugial love binds itself; for it binds itself therewith by shunning the evil of adultery as the pestilence of the soul, of the commonwealth, and of the body; and since this wisdom springs from the spiritual things which belong to the church, it follows that conjugial love is according to the state of the church, because it is according to the state of wisdom, with man." (C. L. 130.)

     It is this wisdom of the life that is the object of the petition which we mentioned at the outset: "So teach us to number our days, that we may acquire a heart of wisdom."

     Spiritually understood, to "number our days" means to suffer the Lord to order and dispose our states as we progress in the life of regeneration. (A. C. 10217.) For it is assumed that all who come to worship the Lord desire to be born again, and then to return by degrees or states of life to the image and likeness of the Lord, that we may thereby become His children. The order of life now is, that we start as infants in the innocence of ignorance, and should finish as children in the innocence of wisdom. "This is the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes."

     But in the work we co-operate; otherwise it remains undone. We co-operate by constant self-examination in the light of the truths of the Word. In this way do we "number our days." Self-examination cannot be carried out without knowledges, or spiritual truths. These are absolutely necessary to the attainment of wisdom. Examination by means of the truths of the Word is the Lord teaching; for the Lord is the Word; and this is what is meant by the petition: "So teach us to number our days."

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     We may know the intentions of our will by means of the thoughts of the understanding; for all our thoughts are from the affections of the will which produce them; and when we thus know our evil loves, as they present themselves day by day and press for outward expression in the life, we must examine their quality by the Ten Commandments, understood according to their natural, spiritual and celestial senses, as progression in regeneration demands the higher interpretations.

     And this self-examination, this knowing the quality of our states during the course of regeneration, is in order that we may acquire a heart of wisdom, which is a new will in place of the old, into which we were born as infants. The heart is the will, the seat of the loves. This is illustrated in the words: "Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me. (Ps. 51:10.) Here we have an example of the dual expressions which abound in the Word of the Lord throughout, relating to the two constituents of the human mind,-the will and the understanding. By the "clean heart" is meant a new will, and by the "right spirit" a true understanding.

     And when we have acquired this new will, we shall be of those concerning whom the Lord spoke, whose angels do always behold the face of the Divine Love, or the Father,-those who see the Lord Jesus Christ in His Glorified Human, and who worship Him alone; for God is nowhere else than in the Glorified Human of the Lord Jesus Christ.

     The attainment of wisdom is the attainment of the highest and most interior state destined by the Lord for all, which is the celestial heaven. But relatively few are willing to make the supreme sacrifice of self, and become little children, loving nothing so much as to be ]ed by the Lord in all things. The celestial angels are such, and are the wisest of the angels, although they do not so appear to those who are in lower states.

     Let us leave the consideration of this subject with a prayer in keeping with the spiritual meaning of the Psalmist's petition: "Teach me, O Lord, to know the quality of the states of my love towards Thee, and to my neighbor, as shown me day by day in the light of Thy Word, so that I may attain to that wisdom which contains all the noblest qualities of truly human life."

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NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS 1929

NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS       Rev. HUGO LJ. ODHNER       1929

     The August Readings from the unfinished work called The Word, from Experience, opens with a number (42) which shows that the Word, although read only within the specific church, enlightens all nations and peoples by a spiritual communication which is chiefly exercised in the spiritual world, and in the natural only in so far as the evangelizing work of the visible church goes forward. The function of the New Church may be inferred from this. Because the light has waned in the Old Church, the Lord has now been pleased to make a new revelation "by which the light of truth, almost extinguished, may be restored." (Ibid, no. 44.) For the Word, if it is falsified in men's minds, does not effect any communication of spiritual light, but creates clouds and darkness in both worlds.

     The natural sense of the Word is necessary, in order that communication with heaven may be effected. The spiritual sense, as present in our understanding, in the form of doctrinal opinion, does not possess the ritualistic power of opening a conjunction with heaven. As an instance, the acceptance of various moral and spiritual ideas from the Sermon on the Mount does not compensate-as many a Modernist supposes-for a denial of the holiness of the Word or the neglect of reading it. Neither does the fact that our Old Church acquaintances occasionally kindle to some spiritual thoughts effect their immediate consociation with the New Heaven or the New Church. Communication comes about through ultimates. When we, with reverent acknowledgment, use the ultimate language of the Word and the statements of the Writings in our thought and speech, we stand on the same holy ground with the angels, are joined under the same banner, and thus are conjoined with heaven.

     "The Last Judgment (Posthumous)."

     The work with the above title is a compilation of notes,-a storehouse of material which Swedenborg did not exhaust when writing for the press. The first part, which gives the work its name, bears directly on the Last Judgment and the spiritual events of 1757 and shortly afterwards.

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The various nations, and some of the historical personages of our earth, are described as to their appearance in the spiritual world. The spiritual fate of some of those mentioned was not complete until a later time. See, for instance, what is said of Calvin, the reformer, in the True Christian Religion, no. 798, where his ultimate lot would seem to be definitely unhappy. The more pleasant picture of him, given in L. J. Post., nos. 24 and 25, is one of his temporary toleration in a good society before his real character was revealed. That he might have to be counted among the lost is less incredible when we remember his vile treatment of Michael Servitus, whom he condemned to death for heresy. (See C. T. Odhner's Michael Servitus, His Life and Teachings, Bryn Athyn, 1910.)

     The Lord's Glorification Body.

     We cannot refrain from calling the special attention of our readers to the remarkable teaching of L. J. Post., no. 87, on the character of the Lord's glorified Body, because it marks one of the "shibboleths" to which any New Church theory on the subject must subscribe before it can be accepted as a bona fide doctrinal interpretation. We quote in part:

     "Therefore He could glorify the whole body; so that, as to that of the body which is rejected from those who are born of human parents, and putrifies, was with Him glorified and, from the Divine in Him, was made Divine. With this He rose, nothing being left in the sepulcher; and thus otherwise than happens with every man." (L. J. Post., no. 87.)

     This teaching, showing the completeness of the change within the Lord's body at Resurrection-His being "made Divine" even as to flesh and bones-is paralleled in the Spiritual Diary, nos. 5244 and 5245, in slightly different language. And in the Reading for September 12th the statement is cited from the mouth of angels, that His body became infinite, as His soul had been from conception:

     "It could not be otherwise than that His body should become like His soul, after He had rejected that of the body which He had taken from the mother; and that therefore He rose as to His whole body, nor did He leave anything of it in the sepulcher, as is the case with every other man, who rises only as to his spirit, and never as to his material body. And further it was said [by the angels] that the Divine Itself, as it is in Itself, which is infinite, could not have done otherwise than reject the finite which was from the mother, and put on the infinite from the Father, thus the Divine." (L. J. Post., no. 129.)

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     The Lord "before" Creation.

     A correspondent, reading our comments in the May issue (p. 288) on the doctrine of Canons, Trinity iii. 3, and A. E. 1112, that there was, in an ideal sense, a Trinity with God before creation, mistakes us to mean "that there must have been a time when there was no world as yet created." But this is hardly true. Time only began together with created substances and their finite relations and mutual progressions. To the Lord, time does not exist. He is the same apart from time. "The world was created, not in time, but times were introduced by God with creation." (T. C. R. 318.) "But," our correspondent observes, "how can we think of a God without a world?" Let us admit, straightway, that the natural mind, bound as its ideas are to spaces and time-concepts, can in no wise think sanely on the subject. The first duty of philosophy is to recognize the limitations of its scope. Natural thought, at its best, reaches only over the natural world. Creation, in its first processes, brings the thought to the highest ranges of the prior world of causes,-the spiritual world. "Creation itself," the Doctrine therefore teaches, "cannot be brought to apprehension unless space and time are removed from the thought; but if they are removed, it can be comprehended." (D. L. W. 155.)

     The same warning extends also to the thought about the Lord before creation. The Spiritual Diary (nos. 3476, et seq:) speaks, for instance, of those who speculate from material things of time and space about what God was doing prior to creation, and who draw such "absurd conclusions, as that God began to exist with the world, thus that nature is God, or that God existed from nature." Natural thought on spiritual matters leads to conceit and insanity; spiritual thought leads through humility to perceptions of wisdom.

     Spiritual thought begins in the acknowledgment that God is the first cause, and is thus prior to the temporal world. It also acknowledges that to create beings who might respond to His love is of the very essence of God. (T. C. R. 43.) But since God sees all future things in the present, what difference could it possibly make to Him that the world did not "always" exist?

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NOTES AND REVIEWS. 1929

NOTES AND REVIEWS.              1929


NEW CHURCH LIFE
Office a Publication, Lancaster, Pa.
Published Monthly By
THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM
BRYN ATHYN, PA.
Editor                    Rev. W. B. Caldwell, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager          Mr. H. Hyatt, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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

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$3.00 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single Copy, 30 cents
     PAGANIZED EDUCATION.

     As not a few writers in the world today perceive and deplore the fallen state of the Christian Church, so there are many, both within and without the teaching profession, who recognize the vital lack in the education of the day,-the lack of an aim that looks beyond what is merely temporal to the eternal world and God, and that seeks to instill the spiritual idea and motive with the young. Nor can a public school system that is confined to secular studies be expected to succeed in this respect where the Church has failed. And while educators will frankly acknowledge that the absence of religion from the curriculum is the chief thing wrong, they are hopelessly at variance in their own religious views, and are confronted with an insurmountable difficulty in the variety of faiths represented among their pupils. Even the sectarian schools, which impart their own brands of religious belief, are unable to cope with the predominant sphere of naturalism and materialism in the learned world today. And so, while the young must be prepared to know and work in God's world, they are not to be told of the Creator, and thus to receive what should be the great inspiring motive of life,-the service of God in His kingdom of uses. Rather are they encouraged in the doubt and denial of God, especially by the prevailing doctrine of Evolution; their training for life is pointed to success in this world alone.

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Education, therefore, in spite of the alarm expressed by those who see the condition, is becoming more and more paganized; and New Churchmen know that the cause lies in the spiritual death of the Church.

     As an expression of the alarm felt by one observer of conditions in the public school system, and outlining the cure he would offer, a friend has sent us one of Roger W. Babson's "Reports," dated February 11, 1929, and entitled, "Needed-An Educational Revolution." Mr. Babson states that he has been greatly impressed by the "character, earnestness and ability of the teachers engaged in the work," but that "unfortunately they are largely cogwheels in a great system." To quote further:

     "When I ask leaders in these fields of education what it is all about, I get diversified answers, if any. . . . Children universally reply that they go to school because they have to. Mothers, when pressed for an answer, say that, whether or not the school system is accomplishing its purpose, it takes care of the children each day, and it's worth the cost to have a place to 'park them.' The fact is, that the school system today has no real goal, but is a great machine, running along conventional lines, so big that no one dares interfere with it. . . . However, we all know in our hearts what this goal should be-namely, preparing young people to be useful and happy parents, citizens and neighbors."

     Nothing beyond a temporal life is pictured in this "goal," but Mr. Babson continues:

     "To have the educational system function to accomplish the desired result requires three fundamental changes. The first of these is that more attention should be given to character development. Some may call this the spiritual side of life, others may call it the ethical side. Certainly it does not mean that theology should be taught, or any denominational creed. It must be done in a way to command the co-operation of Catholics, Protestants, Hebrews and others. All these groups, however, could agree on the teaching that there is a God, and that He has a purpose and method of work. I believe that all groups would agree to the teaching of the Ten Commandments and certain other fundamentals of life. . . . "

     The Report closes with this warning: "Something radical must be done. Our country cannot long continue with material progress so far in advance of physical, intellectual and spiritual progress."

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SWEDENBORG FOUNDATION, INCORPORATED. 1929

SWEDENBORG FOUNDATION, INCORPORATED.              1929

     The great work of publishing and distributing the Books of the Heavenly Doctrine was initiated by the Revelator himself, and has been zealously carried forward by New Churchmen for over 150 years. Though the New Church is still numerically small, the dissemination of its teachings by the sale and gift of the Writings continues unabated in a world that reads but gives little sign of acceptance. And it is well that this use be maintained, both for the sake of providing the needs of those who are already avowed receivers of the Doctrines, and for those who will, in the Lord's good time, be led through the gates into the New Jerusalem. We must be content to leave the results to Providence, as was said by the angels when they were informed of the small sale of the Arcana Celestia. Of this we read:

     "I received a letter informing me that only four copies had been sold in two months, and this was made known to the angels. They indeed wondered, but said that it must be left to the Providence of the Lord, which is such that it compels no one. This could be done, but it is not well that others should read first than those who are in faith. At the Lord's advent into the world, He was able to compel men to receive His words and Himself, but He compelled no one; nor did the apostles after Him. But still there were found those who would receive,-those who were in faith,-to whom also the apostles were sent. . . ." (Spiritual Diary 4422.)

     Today there is quite a large distribution of the Writings in the world at large, and doubtless there are many who read the books, in whole or in part. It is of special interest, therefore, to learn of the activities of one important agency in this work of distribution.

     The Eightieth Annual Report of the Swedenborg Foundation, Inc., of New York, organized in 1850 as The American Swedenborg Printing and Publishing Society, brings to us in pamphlet form an account of the accomplishments of this organization during the year ending April 1, 1929. The Swedenborg Student, official organ of the Arcana Class, was acquired by the Foundation, and the Rev. John Whitehead retained as editor. Missionary activities were promoted in Seattle, Portland, Ore., and Winnipeg; the Writings were systematically advertized on an extensive scale; and contribution was made to the publication of editions of the Writings in the German, Norwegian and Czechic languages.

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By advertizing, donations and sales, copies of the Writings were distributed as follows:

Heaven and Hell                     7917
Divine Love and Wisdom                3922
Divine Providence                3330
The Four Doctrines                4640

     To libraries in all parts of the United States and Canada were given 35'1 copies of the Writings, either in sets or parts of sets. Ministers and students for the ministry received 1334 of the Gift Books sent out for the Trustees of the Iungerich Publication Fund.

     In addition to the publication, sale and free distribution of the Writings, the Foundation does considerable "follow-up" work by writing to Persons who have ordered books. During the past year, f86 replies were received,-220 from persons "greatly interested," 264 from those " merely interested," and 129 from those "not interested," besides others.

     For the carrying on of its uses the Foundation has an income of about $30,000 a year from sales and interest on investments. The total assets of the Corporation are nearly $500,000.00.
DEMISE OF AN ENTHUSIAST. 1929

DEMISE OF AN ENTHUSIAST.              1929

     The Seattle newspapers of June 13th feature prominently the incidents attending the death of a resident of that city,-one Daniel Sawlt, self-styled "Messenger of God" and aged leader of the "Seventh Elect Church of Israel." His followers remained for some days at his deathbed, and refused to allow burial of the body, believing that their leader would work a new miracle and return to life.

     Sawlt had visions and communication with spirits, claimed the gift of the Holy Spirit and miraculous powers of healing, and expected bodily immortality. Scripture warrant for his commission to establish a church, he found in the 10th Chapter of the Apocalypse, regarding himself as "the Seventh Eye, the Seventh Star, the Seventh Angel, the Seventh Messenger with the vial of golden oil, who was to open the key of the Seventh Church."

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So persuaded, he gathered about him a group of disciples and organized a communal life, promising the joys of a 1000-year Sabbath when he would "lead the elect bodily into heaven."

     Evidently the day of "false Christs who deceive the very elect" are not over. And it is remarkable how much alike they are. Joseph Smith, Jr., founder of the Church of Latter-day Saints "through the gift and power of God"; Alexander Dowie, Elijah come again to establish the Christian Apostolic Church in Zion; and a host of others-all manifesting the same symptoms of "enthusiasm," and clearly confirming the teaching of the Writings concerning "enthusiastic spirits," who are ever seeking to dominate, possess and obsess men, always claiming to be the Holy Spirit, and the bearers of a new revelation from God. As is well known, not a few New Churchmen have been the dupes of such spirits.

     In the sense in which we here use the term "enthusiasm" (from the Greek en-theos), it means to be inspired or possessed by a god. Referring to the "enthusiasts " of the Christian era, Locke wrote: "Enthusiasm is founded neither on reason nor divine revelation, but rises from the conceits of a warmed or overweening imagination.'' More than this, it is now revealed in the Heavenly Doctrine that those who are afflicted with the fantastic conceit that they are specially chosen vehicles of revelation have allowed themselves to become the victims of "enthusiastic spirits," who are of a very low order, chiefly characterized by a desire to return into the world of nature, on which account they teach and infuse perverted and wicked things under the guise of a Divine revelation.

     The Writings reveal much about the operations of such spirits during the Christian era, making it possible for the New Churchman to recognize the symptoms of their presence among the queer cults of the present day. (See Potts Concordance under "Enthusiasm.") A few general statements may here be cited:

     "Every man who is sensibly acted upon by some spirit, and still more when the spirit speaks with him, thinks that it is the Holy Spirit. All enthusiasts suppose this to be the case; when yet it is unclean spirits, whom they then call the Holy Spirit, yea, whom they adore and worship. Those spirits love that, and so they think that they themselves are the Holy Spirit." (S. D. 1366. See also no. 3011.)

497




     "After death, very many enthusiasts fall into the insane phantasy that they themselves are the Holy Spirit; and many belonging to the Church, who had believed while in the world that the Holy Spirit spoke through them, terrify others with the words of the Lord in Matthew 12: 31, that to say a word against what the Holy Spirit has inspired into them is the unpardonable sin." (T. C. R. 138.)

     "They who are instructed by influx what to believe or what to do, are not instructed by the Lord, nor by any angel of heaven, but by some enthusiastic spirit, and are thus led astray." (D. P. 321:5.) When we recall that, in the Ancient Church, it was still of order that spirits should speak with men, but that this afterwards became perverted by magic, we can understand the remarkable statement in Coronis, no. 45, concerning the magicians in the hells of the Ancient Church: "From these especially have come forth the enthusiasms in the Christian world."
BOOKS RECEIVED FOR REVIEW. 1929

BOOKS RECEIVED FOR REVIEW.              1929

     THE WORLD WITHIN THE BIBLE. A Handbook to Swedenborg's Arcana Coelestia. By William F. Wunsch. New York: The New-Church Press, 1929. Cloth, 161pages. Price, $1.50.

     MARRIAGE: Ideals and Realization. Compiled from the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg. By William F. Wunsch. Cloth, 155 pages. Price, $1.00.

498


PROFESSOR VERY'S EPITOME 1929

PROFESSOR VERY'S EPITOME       Rev. C. E. DOERING       1929

     A REVIEW

     AN EPITOME OF SWEDENBORG'S SCIENCE. By Frank W. Very, S.B. (Massachusetts Institute of Technology), Member of the American Astronomical Society. Boston: The Four Seas Company, 1927. Cloth, Two Volumes, $12.00.

     The publisher's announcement has the following to say concerning the author and this work:

     "Mr. Very was, in particular, an authority in astrophysics. He was rated by American Men of Science among the fifty leading astronomers. He was astronomer at Allegheny Observatory, and a professor in this subject at Brown University. He was active with Langley of the Smithsonian Institute during the latter's aeronautical experiments, and from 1906 on was Director of the Westwood Astrophysical Observatory, Westwood, Mass. His association for many years with the late Percival Lowell resulted in epochal discoveries concerning water vapor and surface marking on Mars. Especially notable are his recent determinations with respect to sunspots, stellar evolution, radium, terrestrial and lunar albedos, spiral nebulae, the luminiferous ether, and the constitution of matter.

     "The scope of the Epitome, representing the experience and reflections of a lifetime and the labor of twenty years, is not merely analytic. The author's equipment, his sincerity and wealth of utterance, and his penetration to the ultimate factors of human thought, aspiration and conduct, have all enabled him to approach the task unrestricted by dogma or bias; and, working thus in consonance with deep, emerging principles, to contribute a creative theory, a splendid synthesis, that is founded upon the most reasonable assumptions concerning the essence of matter. To examine the Epitome with intelligence and vision should serve to disperse all confusion regarding the permanent relations of Science and Religion to life.

     "Professor Very has rendered accessible, for the first time, the essence of Swedenborg's science.

499


Here, in two volumes, is the result of an exhaustive research which presents a consecutive, well-molded discussion of the thoughts and theories of that man of genius, and their enormous generative effect upon our knowledge of the universe. The Epitome is certain to remain a standard reference work on the subject."

     For many years a desire has been expressed on the part of some for a popular presentation of Swedenborg's scientific and philosophic principles. In the year 1915, the Rev. Frank Sewall, M.A., D.D., then President of the Swedenborg Scientific Association, addressed that body at its annual meeting on the need of a primer of Swedenborg's Science and Philosophy. In that address, which was published in the July issue of the NEW PHILOSOPHY for that year, Dr. Sewall, after noting the appreciation of and interest in Swedenborg's Science and Philosophy in the past and present, and the difficulty that many, for various reasons, have experienced in getting a comprehensive view of the whole system, says:

     "Everyone who has attempted to grasp a great system knows that the attempt is futile if it mean only a grasp here and there, reaching at random only a feature here and there, but arriving at no survey of the system as a whole. In these busy days, the time of the ordinary student or business man is too crowded with the multitude of other things for him to be able to take up in a systematic and thorough manner so large a subject as that cosmical system of science and philosophy which Swedenborg himself avers to have been given him as the ground upon which to build up his theological system. From these very conditions the problem seems to find its solution. If the works are inaccessible because too voluminous and expensive, then the utmost abbreviation and lowest cost must be the remedy; and if the system is too vast to be grasped by any but the professional scholar, then it must be simplified by reduction to its principles, its ABC, and to its plainest, simplest form of presentation to the mind of ordinary intelligence. In a word, the solution is to be found in the Primer of Swedenborg's Science and Philosophy." (NEW PHILOSOPHY, V01. XVIII, no. 3, pp. 85, 86.)

     The title of the work before us-An Epitome of Swedenborg's Science-suggests that we should here find a response to the appeal by Dr. Sewall, for "Epitome" connotes that idea.

500


The work is in two volumes, divided into seventeen chapters, with an addendum, and comprising in all 1035 pages. The general make-up of the book-binding, paper, and presswork-is in the main all that could be desired, although there are typographical errors which careful proof reading would have avoided. While there is a good table of contents, the work is marred and its usefulness curtailed by the lack of an index. A bibliographical and a subject index would add much to its value, particularly as there are so many references to the recent developments in the field of modern physical science, and the subjects discussed are very numerous and diverse.

     The work seems to have been written from various states of mind with the author. In one place, we are impressed with his enthusiasm and his loyalty to Swedenborg, particularly to what are known as his theological works, and thinking from that point of view; at other times, the reader gets the impression that the writer is thinking entirely from the viewpoint of modern science; and again, one cannot but feel that he is wavering between the two. There is no doubt that Professor Very's purpose was to be loyal and affirmative to the works which he attempted to epitomize; for, in his Introduction, he says: "There never will be a time when a larger number of confirmations of the essentials of Swedenborg's scientific theories will stand ready to hand. But interpretation and correlation of his terms with those of modern science are necessary. In a sense, of course, this will not be exactly or literally what Swedenborg taught; nor would it be easy to give this, since he frequently modified his ideas, as those who are engaged in original work are apt to do. The stickler for historical precision may object to this, but nevertheless, to interpret seems to me the only sensible thing to do." (P. 19.) And again, on page 17, he says that the " chief end in our study of Swedenborg's science should be to become imbued with his spirit and method. . . . It is, indeed, a new departure in science; but the method originated in a greater than Swedenborg. . . . It was new in science to begin with the acknowledgment of God, and from this as a center to deduce the principles of natural science. Henceforth religion and science are to be one. The conflict of the ages is ended."

     We take no issue with anyone's right to interpret; but would it not be fairer to Swedenborg to interpret him by his own later definitions and explanations, rather than by the current ideas of his day, or by the theories of modern science?

501




     For instance, Professor Very assumes that the first elementary particles of Swedenborg, having a vortical form, are the electrons of modern physical science, whereas Swedenborg evidently had something quite different in mind; for he conceived of them as the particles of the first element, atmosphere or aura, formed to convey the creating and forming power and life of the Infinite to the subjects of His creation. Thus we read in the Principia: "Inasmuch as man is not created prone to the earth like beasts, he is endowed both with an upright mien, in order to enable him to look upwards to the heavens, and with a soul derived from the aura of a purer and better world, in virtue of which he is allied to heaven." (Vol. II, p. 231, Clissold Edition.)

     It might seem on casual reading that this purer aura was an aura distinct and separate from his first element, but on following him through his works we find that this is not the case, but that this aura is identical with the first element. For again, in the Economy of the Animal Kingdom, Swedenborg says that "the soul is actuated by the first and purest aura of the world." (Vol. II, p. 290.) And, on page 301, he identifies his first aura with the first element of the Principia, thus making it plain that he conceived his first element of the Principia to be the "aura of a purer and better world"-i.e., a purely spiritual aura, a concept which at once links the two worlds organically as soul and body. This is in line with the view expressed by Dr. Sewall in the address noted above, where he says: "Swedenborg avers the cosmical system of science and philosophy to have been given him as a ground upon which to build his theological system."

     Swedenborg's view was one that visualized the universe as a whole, as a living organism, whose life and soul was the Infinite Divine God-a view which saw the operation of that Divine Human God in all the works of His creation. And this is why the author of the Epitome could say that " the conflict between science and religion is ended." And undoubtedly he occasionally had glimpses of this universality of Swedenborg's Philosophy; for he notes, on page 81, that Swedenborg begins by calling upon the name of God, and by placing him at the center of His creation. He is at his best when he stands foursquare upon the religion of the Writings of Swedenborg, and compares it with the views of religion propounded by Professor James in the ideas set forth in his Varieties of Religious Experience. (Epitome, Vol. II, p. 79.)

502




     Professor Very was an astronomer, and so we are not greatly surprised to find that the Epitome deals largely with the astrophysical sciences, although Swedenborg wrote much more voluminously on anatomy and physiology than on cosmology.

     It would have been interesting if, in the chapter on Heat and Light, which occupies approximately one-third of the two volumes, the author had brought out Swedenborg's difference in pressure between the two higher atmospheres and the two lower, in that the lower press proportionally according to their altitude, whereas Swedenborg says of the former that altitude means according to the direction of their flow. Unfortunately, Professor Very seemed to miss Swedenborg's explanation of altitude as applied to the superior atmospheres, and concludes that Swedenborg was in error when he said that they press according to their altitudes.

     It would also have been of interest to have brought out Swedenborg's important distinction between heat and fire, and his belief that the cause of the law of the inverse ratio of atomic weight and specific heat may possibly be explained by the structure of the tellurian ether bullae, their mechanism and mode of operation during changes of temperature.

     Professor Very quotes affirmatively what the Writings say about the atmospheres, but he apparently fails to see that the Principia gives the organism and modus operandi of those same atmospheres.

     The Epitome devotes but one relatively short chapter of twenty-one pages to Anatomy, and a good part of this quotes opinions by such eminent scholars as Dr. R. L. Tafel and Dr. Garth Wilkinson, men who, by their labors in translation and their profound studies, have done much to make Swedenborg's Science and Philosophy appreciated, not only by the New Church, but also by such scientists as Retzius, Loven, Henchen, Nathorst, Arrhenius, and others.

     In conclusion, we would say that the Epitome, for the most part, is very technical, and as such will not have much appeal to the ordinary reader, but may prove valuable as a reference work to the student who enters deeply into a study of the physical sciences.

503


COLLECTION OF TESTIMONIES 1929

COLLECTION OF TESTIMONIES       Rev. L. W. T. DAVID       1929

     A REVIEW

     SWEDENBORG'S HISTORICAL POSITION: Containing the Testimonies of Eminent Men of his Own and Subsequent Times. By Lewis Field Hite, M.A. Boston: Massachusetts New-Church Union, 1928. Cloth, crown 8vo; pp. 174; price, $1.25.

     There is an inveterate desire on the part of men to put the great ones of the race in a "place" and give them a "label," and, when this has been done, to pass off this label as a complete appraisal of the man, with almost complete indifference as to whether it is just or adequate. It is possible that, under a persuasion of upward racial progress, a later age regards with an amused condescension the men and works of an earlier day; and this complaisant conceit formulates its labels, and is pleased with the "place" in which it pigeonholes and neglects its great predecessors. To be sure, the wheel turns; and as the temper of the race changes, there is a delving into the past to find, if possible, in the deeds and writings of those called "great" a support and sanction for current ideas and standards. And sometimes an ancient name emerges from deep obscurity, because of some real or fancied agreement with the dominating thought of the day.

     Swedenborg has been called an "Aristotelian," "Cartesian," "Scholastic," "Pantheist," "Socinian," "Sabellian," "Visionary," "Mystic," "Madman," et cetera ad libitum, sufficient to conceal the reality from the eyes of the world. The epithets are usually applied derogatorily, as marking him a heretic or an adherent of an obsolete philosophy, or one unworthy of any credit, though many terms have doubtless been used appreciatively, in an endeavor to characterize him favorably. Nevertheless, those really familiar with his philosophical or theological teaching find such labels insufficient and misleading, and end by refusing to "tag" or "place" him. His place is unique, and can hardly be categorized; and so his best epithet is his own,-"Servant of the Lord Jesus Christ."

     New Churchmen have often been concerned over the failure of the world (even the learned and cultivated world) to realize the importance and stature of Emanuel Swedenborg, and they have endeavored from time to time to stimulate a more lively and proportioned appreciation of him by showing what men of special standing in the world have thought of him.

504


Of such efforts we feel that this book by Prof. Hite is much the best. In the first place, he does not regard the situation superficially, but sees that general opinion has been, and probably still is, in direct opposition to the doctrine and philosophy of Swedenborg, and so, of course, unfavorable to the man. The condition is well described in the opening paragraphs, from which we quote a sentence or two:

     "Many . . . have paid various tribute to special features of his character and teachings; but they have studiously avoided efforts to comprehend the man or his system " (p. 5).

     "Highly competent men in professional circles have recognized Swedenborg's greatness in the field of science, . . . but even here the breadth of his knowledge, the rare depth of his insight, and the high degree of his philosophical cultivation have scarcely been noticed, or have been, as a matter of course, depreciated " (p. 6). We are thus prepared to find that Mr. Hite, when he comes to quote men's thoughts and estimates of Swedenborg, does so discriminatingly, not by suppressing unfavorable comment, but by showing the root of it. Some years ago, in a little collection of testimonials, I read Emerson's rather extravagant praises of Swedenborg,-"one of the missouriums and mastodons of literature," etc.,-and decided to see what else he could say. Reading the essay in Representative Men, it brought a rather violent disillusionment to realize that Emerson was essentially inimical to Swedenborg, and that his knowledge of his subject was shallow. In fact, it impressed me as a resounding platform lecture chiefly intended to popularize Mr. Emerson. Consequently, it has seemed both impolitic and incongruous for New Churchmen to use Emerson as a prop to Swedenborg's reputation. Mr. Hite quotes Emerson considerably, but wisely shows why he could not fully appreciate Swedenborg, but rather, in his heart, depreciated him. On the whole, one feels that the quotations from the more modern and the American thinkers are the least valuable in the book.

     It should be mentioned that the first chapter, after a few introductory paragraphs, contains an excellent sketch of the life and work of Emanuel Swedenborg. The second chapter contains a discussion of the development of opinion about Swedenborg, from his own day to the present followed by a collection of testimonies of personal acquaintances of Swedenborg: Hartley, Messiter, Sandels' Eulogy, Ferelius, von Hopken, Tuxen, Robsahm, Cuno.

505


These are quoted in some fulness, and are connected together by very useful explanatory and critical comment. This section, we believe, could very well have been made more inclusive. It is delightful reading, and vividly brings to one the personalities of Swedenborg and of some of the men he knew. It is, possibly, the most valuable part of the book, as it is the major portion.

     A final section on later testimonials discusses Wesley, Rant, Coleridge, and other Europeans ve'y fairly, and then several Americans, including Emerson, of whom we have spoken, and John Bigelow.

     There is a state in the world to which this book is perhaps intended to appeal; namely, the disposition to accept as truth the dicta of great men or those who are accepted as authorities. A statement is valued not Simply for what it says, but chiefly because "So-and-so" said it. Often a useful disposition, it is nevertheless offset by another,-that the world kind of thing that agrees with its accepts as authoritative only the kind of thing that agrees with its present state; or at least it takes no keen interest in other things. The prospect of popularizing an interest in Swedenborg and his Writings by an appeal to "authorities" seems to us very dim in this generation. We try to dig away the sand from over the treasure, but the sea of world-opinion covers it up more rapidly, and leaves not a trace of our effort. Only a deep-moving change of current will effectively uncover it. New Churchmen, however, will read this book with much enjoyment, since it contains in a compact and handy volume, with complete references to sources, so much material relating directly to Swedenborg, written with discriminating judgment in an easy and entertaining style.

506


Church News 1929

Church News       Various       1929

     PITTSBURGH, PA.

     Our school dosed on June 15th, for the last time in the building on Wallingford Street. There were no graduates from the eighth grade this year, but all the children were advanced with the exception of one who missed much of the work, having entered late in the year and been absent on account of illness. The Pastor addressed the school on the "Coming of the Lord." Honors were then given to the children. Miss Anita Doering received a book and roses from parents and friends, and Miss Broadbridge a handbag as a farewell gift in recognition of her year's service in the school. Theta Alpha gave the children a supper at the home of Mrs. G. P. Brown. The children were asked what had impressed them most during the school year, and the responses were enlightening and amusing.

     After the laying of the corner stone of the new church building on the 19th of June, there was a society picnic at Orchard Lawn of the North Park. This proved an ideal spot for such gatherings, and everyone had a good time. But I venture to say that we all would have stayed longer, if two thunderstorms had not dampened our clothes, though not our spirits. There was much merriment, sports-chiefly aquatic-and good food, ice cream, and what not. We thank Mr. John Rott and Mr. John Schoenberger for their efficient work as the committee.

     On Thursday evening, June 20th, a reception was tendered Bishop Pendleton at the home of Mr. and Mrs. A. P. Lindsay. It was a lovely evening, and the Lindsay home and garden lent itself so nicely to such an affair. After the people had visited together awhile, all assembled in the living room, and the program opened with the singing of "Our Glorious Church."

     The Pastor read a telegram which had been received from the Bryn Athyn Society, felicitating us upon the corner stone laying, to which a suitable reply had been made. We then sang a song to the Bishop which had been written for this occasion by Miss Creda Glenn, and sung in Bryn Athyn the previous evening. The Bishop, responding, spoke to us on the significance of laying the corner stone on the 19th of June, and wished us much success, both external and spiritual. He said that the New Church is much more than a revival of the Primitive Christian Church, and explained the difference between disciples and apostles. He anticipated that the spirit of the ceremonies will carry over until his return in the Fall for the dedication of the building itself.

     Referring to the main part of the Bishop's speech, the Pastor said that those who merely read the Writings are as yet only disciples or learners, whereas those who also take an active part in the work of the church are apostles.

     The Rev. K. R. Alden expressed his great pleasure in being present on this occasion, and said it brought to his mind the building of the church in Toronto while he was pastor there. He told how the small congregation had had the ability to build the church, and then to fill it through growth in itself and missionary efforts. He said they had one evening service a month given over to missionary work, and these services had been well attended by prospective receivers, who came in response to invitation cards sent to those who had expressed an interest.

     Mr. Ed. Blair read a radiogram of good wishes from the Pittsburghers at sea on the Bergenfjord.

     Mr. Jacob Schoenberger expressed his great happiness at the growth of the Pittsburgh Society which our new church promised, and felt confident that it would be accompanied by corresponding internal development.

507




     Rev. Homer Synnestvedt said that wide and far-reaching results grow from small beginnings, and Providence provides men to assist in the uses. Mr. Horace Howard, being urged to make a speech, said that he had been pleased to see so many beautiful young ladies and earnest young men brought together for this occasion, and that he would remember Pittsburgh as a bright spot in his visit to America.

     Mr. Chas. H. Ebert then proposed a toast to Mr. A. P. Lindsay for his invaluable service on the building committee. In response, Mr. Lindsay spoke of the fine co-operation and unanimity of the members of the society in the work we have under taken.

     There were toasts and songs, and excellent refreshments, and so another pleasant and successful occasion drew to a dose.

     The series of celebrations in connection with the 19th of June and the laying of the corner stone came to an end with the service on Sunday, June 23d, when Bishop Pendleton preached a most excellent sermon on the subject of the Lord's Resurrection and its Bearing upon the Second Coming. The service closed with the Holy Supper, the Pastor assisting the Bishop in the administration.     
     E. R. D.

     GLENVIEW, ILL.

     Our school closing took place with the usual exercises, but there was no eighth grade to graduate this year. The children had a celebration on the 19th of June or New Church Day, with a dinner at noon. Contrary to our custom, there was no further observance on the 19th and 20th, as our Pastor was visiting Bryn Athyn and Pittsburgh. But on June 21st the annual Banquet was held in the evening, the Rev. W. L. Gladish being in charge as toastmaster, and the members of Sharon Church joining us. The speeches were along the lines of showing the difference between the old order of things and the New Church. Mr. Seymour G. Nelson, fresh from the celebration in Bryn Athyn, gave us an account of that occasion and read the address there delivered by Bishop George de Charms. Ninety persons were present, and thoroughly enjoyed the excellent fare provided under the direction of Mrs. John B. Synnestvedt, voting it worth several times the fifty cents charged.

     A Home Coming Dance on Saturday evening, June 22d, was very much enjoyed by the young people.

     On Sunday, June 23d, there was a special service in the forenoon, with the administration of the Holy Supper. In the afternoon, a Service of Music in celebration of New Church Day was held at the church. The children, in their vestments, were seated on the chancel opposite the adult choir. There was singing by both choirs, and the congregation joined in several numbers. Several pieces were played by a string quartet, and Mr. Stevens played solos and accompanied on the violin. Between the selections, the Pastor read from the Word and the Writings.

     We regret that Miss Volita Wells, our leading soprano, who has been teaching in the school, will not be with us next year.

     Visitors in The Park at this time are: Mrs. Edward E. Boericke; Mr. Horace Howard, of Colchester, England; Messrs. Price Coffin and Robert Blackman, of Bryn Athyn; the Rev. Homer Synnestvedt and Mr. William Blair, en route by auto to the Pacific Coast.

     Many of our men, young and old, attended the meeting of the Sons of the Academy in Toronto on June 30th-in fact, they furnished the largest out-of-town attendance. Most of them went by auto, and all returned enthusiastic over the meetings, and assured of the increasing usefulness of the Sons. The undersigned was present, and can say that the spirit was fine, that there were no substantial differences of opinion, and that he believes, with Bishop de Charms, that "we have no fears as to how the Sons' movement will develop."
     J. B. S.

508




     DURBAN, NATAL.

     The Durban Society has had a busy and exciting year.

     All the usual events have taken place, and have all been successful, except, perhaps, the Social Committee's efforts to introduce social suppers and various social evenings. But in looking back over the year's events, no one can say that the Durban Society has no social life. We have doctrinal class every Wednesday evening, ladies' class on Monday morning, men's and young peoples' classes on alternate weeks, girl's class once a week, and a bridge evening once a month!

     Of course, the classes are for instruction, but we always have tea and a social time afterwards. Then there is the Banquet on the 19th of June for the adults, and one on the 18th or 20th for the children, a picnic on the 24th of May for the whole Society, to say nothing of a Hallowe'en party, an Easter party, and the Christmas Festival for the children. Besides all this, we have several clubs (four, in fact) each having its own meetings. The Women's Guild gives a Bazaar every year, which, by the way, netted over three hundred dollars, not pounds, as incorrectly stated in the last report! This affair always finishes up with an evening of stunts, sometimes dancing. The school entertainment took the form of scenes from Alice in Wonderland, and was most enjoyable. In October, the Social Committee gave two one-act plays. One was a mock radio play. This is a very easy way to give one, as the actors, not being seen, read their parts behind a curtain. The play, "A Pair of Lunatics," was peculiarly adapted to this method. Miss Caryl Cockerell and Mr. H. Scott Forfar took the parts of the lunatics, and did them with consummate skill! The other play, "Between the Soup and the Savory," was most successfully acted by Miss Yveline Rogers, Miss Beryl Cockerell and Miss Viva Ridgway. A farewell evening was given to those going to the Assembly in England. Stunts and refreshments were provided by the Social Committee.

     We have at last had a wedding in our church building. It has stood for nearly six years before being used for this delightful purpose. At any rate, the ball has started rolling, for the wedding was hardly over when an engagement was announced,-Miss Sylvia Pemberton to Mr. Max Rouilliard. We wish them joy! Then we are expecting to be invited to the wedding of Mr. Levine and Miss Enid Cockerell in the very near future.

     A few days before the wedding of Mr. and Mrs. Norman Ridgway here in Durban, the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. H. Scott Forfar took place in Bryn Athyn. Of course, Durban was very deeply interested in this wedding also, and is now eagerly awaiting the arrival of the happy couple. So there really seems to have been a matrimonial epidemic in our Society!

     I feel highly honored that it is my place to give a report of the first wedding ever held in the church building at 125 Musgrave Road. The lovely bride, Miss Iona Leask, has been living in Maritzburg with her parents, who hail from Scotland, Mr. Leask being the Manager of the Standard Bank here. Iona became engaged to Norman in February of 1928, and joined the Church last June. She has endeared herself to us all. We only regret that Norman's use keeps him away from Durban, so that they will have to make their home at Alpha in the Free State, instead of here. They were betrothed at Alpha, and a few weeks later met in Durban for the great event. The church was artistically decorated; a novel and charming feature was a veil of dowers hanging from the roof of the chancel. There were two bridesmaids,-Miss Joan Braby and Miss Beatrice Forfar; a flower girl, Miss Joy Lowe; a best man, Mr. Fred Parker; a groomsman, Mr. Ian Leask, (the bride's brother); a ring-bearer, small Glen Ridgway; and a trainbearer,-very small Denis Cockerell.

509


The happiness that radiated from the bride and groom, and the heavenly sphere that pervaded the entire service combined to make a lasting impression of joy and beauty on the minds of those present. The reception at the Booms was a very festive one,-a truly fitting climax to a most happy occasion. One of the speakers said that there were three kinds: those who are not married, but want to be; those who are married, and don't want to be; and those who are married, and are very glad to be. I think that, if our beautiful teachings are applied and lived, the second kind of marriage will always be unknown. The Rev. E. C. Acton proposed the toast to the bride and groom, mentioning that this was the first European wedding at which he has officiated since becoming a Minister; he has officiated at many native ones. He went on to tell us that selfishness is the great cause of unhappiness in marriage-that if each would look to the happiness of the other-each be ready to forgive the faults that they will surely find in the other-and if they live a life of use, sharing the work and the play through all the years-they will be on the surest path to obtain the jewel of human life,-conjugial love,-that will make them more and more one, even to eternity.

     This Society has indeed kept the shipping companies busy this year. I think it will be of interest to enumerate our comings and goings since last May. In June, the Rev. and Mrs. Elmo Acton and two small daughters, with Mr. and Mrs. Henry Ridgway, went to the Assembly in England, and returned three months later. In September, Miss Denise Cockerell was welcomed back from Bryn Athyn. In November, Mr. Scott Forfar suddenly left for Bryn Athyn. In January, Miss Champion also sailed for Bryn Athyn. About the end of March we were very glad to have Mr. Eric Ridgway among us again. In April, we said good-bye to Mr. and Mrs. Frazee and two children. It is our earnest hope that they will return, for we have all become very fond of them, and feel that they have a very definite place in our Society, and that we need e them. At the beginning of May, Mr. a Eric Ridgway returned to his work in Philadelphia, and we were sad to have him go. Such go-ahead young men as Eric are needed here. We are expecting Scott to return in a week or so, bringing his wife (formerly Miss Beatrice Robinson of Bryn Athyn) with him. Mrs. Scott For far will be a delightful addition to our Society, and she will receive a I warm welcome. Two more of our I young people, possibly three, will leave for Bryn Athyn in June. Miss Yveline and Mr. Norbert Rogers are looking forward to their stay in Bryn Athyn. May it be a happy and profitable one! Miss Beatrice Forfar, accompanied by her parents, may also leave shortly. The best we can wish for her is that she will also find her way to Bryn Athyn.

     I cannot close without mentioning one more event. The birth of a new baby is always of prime importance to the church as a whole. A son, George Michael, was born to Mr. and Mrs. Kenneth Ridgway on March 16th.

     We are looking forward with great pleasure to the proposed visit of Bishop and Mrs. N. D. Pendleton and the Rev. and Mrs. Theodore Pitcairn in the near future.
     V. H. R.

     SWEDENBORG SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION.

     The Thirty-second Annual Meeting of the Swedenborg Scientific Association was held at Bryn Athyn, Pa., on June 10th, 1929. The Treasurer reported an encouraging balance, and stated that the number of books sold showed an increase of 31; a total of 74 books were sold, as against 43 last year. The membership now numbers 232. The present officers were reelected for the coming year.

     A Memorial Resolution, expressing the Association's profound sense of loss at the death of Dr. Felix A. Boericke, was passed by a rising vote.

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     Two papers were read: The President's Address by the Rev. Lewis F. Hite on the subject of "Swedenborg's Chemistry," and one by the Rev. John Whitehead on the subject of "The Science, Philosophy and Theology of Swedenborg."

     An adjourned meeting of the Association was held in New York City on June 17th, during the meetings of the General Convention. Thirty persons were present, and the above-mentioned papers were again read, being followed by a brief but interesting discussion.
     WILFRED HOWARD,
          Secretary.

     LONDON, ENGLAND.

     In Michael Church, New Church Day was celebrated this year on June 16th, this being the nearest Sunday to the Nineteenth of June. There was a good congregation at the morning service, the Pastor reading T. C. R. 791 from the altar immediately after the opening of the Word, and this also forming the text of his discourse. The Third General Office was used, and before the sermon Bishop Tilson addressed the children present, explaining to them in simple language the meaning of "New Church Day." He also administered the Holy Supper to forty communicants. It was a very full and uplifting service.

     At 6 p.m., we met to celebrate the occasion further by a Feast of Charity, which had been prepared by Mrs. V. R. Tilson. The Pastor presided, and, after the opening of the Word, he extended a hearty welcome to several visitors from Colchester and elsewhere, including the Rev. and Mrs. Victor Gladish, and requested the former to ask the blessing. This was followed by the hearty singing of "Our Glorious Church," and some time was spent in general conversation and the enjoyment of the good things provided. Then the Pastor rose to give his review of the year's work, and as we listened we were moved to wonder, not for the first time, how he manages to cover so much ground, in every sense of the words!

     The Trustees and Officers having presented their reports, the Pastor next invited the Rev. Victor Gladish to address us, and as the latter rose to do so, he again received a most cordial welcome, in acknowledging which he expressed the hope that as many as possible from Michael Church would attend the Colchester Celebration on the following Sunday. Soon we realized that it was getting late, and that most of those present had a long way to go to reach their homes. Bishop Tilson, having thanked the Pastor of Colchester for his address, and Mrs. V. R. Tilson for her labors in the preparation of the feast, brought the meeting to an end with the Benediction and the closing of the Word. "Good-byes" were said, and another New Church Day celebration had been added to the list.

     On the following Saturday, June 22d, the annual outing in connection with New Church Day was held, this year at the invitation of Mr. and Mrs. Newall. After some time passed "under the trees" at Hampstead, and the partaking of an al fresco luncheon, we proceeded to "Kenwood" to view the very interesting and valuable collection of pictures and furniture bequeathed to the Nation by the late Lord Iveagh. Thence a pretty walk brought us to "The Vale," where Mr. and Mrs. Newall and their two children have their abode, and where we received a warm welcome and sumptuous tea, to which nearly thirty guests sat down. Bishop Tilson addressed the company in a manner appropriate to the occasion, and, on his request that a representative of the laity should do likewise, Mr. Priest responded. Our host briefly replied, and then announced that he had a "little programme" that he desired us to carry out! This proved to be an extremely well organized series of competitions, including the following up of mysterious "dues," all of which, if a trifle strenuous, were thoroughly enjoyed.

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Fortunately, the weather, which had begun by trying to dampen our bodies, but had utterly failed to dampen our spirits, had repented, and was quite fine for these open air attractions! Tired, but happy, we at last said good-bye to our kind host and hostess, and departed on our several ways.

     On Sunday, July 7th, in common with the other churches of our ]and, the morning service took the form of a thanksgiving for the restoration to health of our beloved King George. The whole service was a unit, prayers, lessons, music and sermon having the spirit of thanksgiving as their central idea. The congregation was good, and an impressive sphere prevailed.

     Now the thoughts of most of us are turning towards the coming British Assembly. That over, away to the Sea!
     K. M. D.

     SONS OF THE ACADEMY MEETING.

Dear Editor:
     I am moved to send you a few impressions of the annual meeting of the Sons of the Academy, held at the Carmel Church, Toronto, on June 30 and July 1, 1929. Besides the men of the local society, there was a very large attendance from Glenview, Pittsburgh, Kitchener, Bryn Athyn and other centers. The sessions were deeply inspiring, and a real urge forward was given to our Academy work by this gathering. We were made to feel that the use of New Church education is a cause worth living and dying for.

     At the first session, Bishop George de Charms delivered a masterly address on "The Relation of the Sons of the Academy and the General Church." He treated the theme in a broad and enlightening way, and left no doubt in our minds that the Sons have a vital use to perform to the whole Church. There were 168 persons present,-the largest gathering of General Church members ever held in Toronto.

     The second address was by Mr. Sidney E. Lee, of Glenview, on the subject of "Fraternalism in the Sons of the Academy." It was a brilliant paper, and spoke especially of the use of finding places in the work of our societies for those who return from the Schools in Bryn Athyn. Three hours of animated discussion followed, and at the close Bishop de Charms summed up the subject of friendship in the Church, saying that if we all have the love of the Lord as the center of our thought, we will be coming into an ever closer brotherhood.

     Next came an excellent paper by Dr. C. R. Pendleton on "The Limitations of Science," in which he showed conclusively that a true science can never destroy the New Church idea of God or our conception of the life after death. The discussion expressed great appreciation of the clear treatment of this highly abstract and philosophical subject.

     The series of meetings reached their climax at the banquet. The ladies were present on this occasion, and at the evening sessions. The Rev. F. E. Gyllenhaal was toastmaster, and the speakers were: Rev. W. L. Gladish, Mr. Alvin E. Nelson, Mr. Horace Howard, Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner, Mr. Walter C. Childs, and Mr. Randolph W. Childs. All the speeches were good, but we were all deeply affected by the remarks of "Uncle Walter" at the close, witty at first with recollections of the early Academy days, but touching at their conclusion when the speaker said it was probably the last great meeting he would attend on this side," and that he looked forward to telling the friends "on the other side" about the Academy movement in this, our day.
     KARL R. ALDEN.

     A full report of the meetings will appear in The Bulletin of the Sons of the Academy.-EDITOR.

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SOUTH AFRICAN ASSEMBLY 1929

SOUTH AFRICAN ASSEMBLY       ELMO C. ACTON       1929




     Announcements.



     Members and friends of the General Church of the New Jerusalem are cordially invited to attend the First South African Assembly of the General Church of the New Jerusalem, which will be held at Durban, Natal, September 13-15, 1929, Bishop Pendleton presiding.
     ELMO C. ACTON,
          Secretary.

     After the Assembly at Durban, the Bishop will visit Alpha, in Orange Free State, where an Assembly of the Native Mission will be held.

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NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS 1929

NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS       Rev. HUGO LJ. ODHNER       1929


NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. XLIX SEPTEMBER, 1929          No. 9
     Deuteronomy.

     The principle of Repetition, which is recognized as of utmost value in the education of children, and in all training and habit formation, is also sanctified for us by its use in the Word of God. The title of the book of Deuteronomy (which will be commenced during September) means "the second law" or "the law repeated." The law was first given at Mount Sinai, but when Israel was ready, nearly forty years later, to enter the promised land, a new generation had to be instructed in the commands given by the Lord to their fathers. Moses therefore repeats the law on the plains of Moab, in a form adapted to a new state. His powerful oratory, springing from his heart's hopes and fears, and inspired by the Divine Spirit, is shown in Deuteronomy; and his evident zeal for the salvation of his people reminds us of the testimony given in the Writings to the effect that Moses is now among the happy. The statement is as follows:

     "Concerning Moses, who has been seen.-The Jews asked the Lord that Moses might be shown them, who was therefore seen. He was then below in his own place where the Ancients are, in a quiet state. He came to me also, and I spoke with him. He was a serious man. He said that he seemed to himself to be a man of about fifty years of age, although in the world he had been 120 years old; and that he has with him his five books, and also the ancient Word. I asked him about the book of Jasher. He said that he has seen it, and told me that that Word is still with the Ancients of his time, and is read. Also, that he knows about the following Word which exists at this day, but does not read it.

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I recounted some things from those which he had written concerning some things in the five books, and he recognized all things, as if they were present to him." (S. D. 6107.)

     To every new state, in the course of man's reformation, must the ancient truth come anew, as the "second law"; and this in order that man may recognize more interior applications of the truth. He needs the constant repetition which the Writings employ, in order that new experience may be assimilated with age-old truths, and result in a balanced reason. The purpose of the Calendar Readings is to foster in the members of the Church this love of returning constantly and daily to the Word.

     Should we read Leviticus without omissions?

     We have been asked why the Calendar includes the reading of the whole ritual law of Leviticus, with its somniferous details and unpleasant particulars about sex and hygiene, instead of selecting the "essential" parts.

     The answer is that the Calendar, as it stands, is intended primarily as a guide for the individual reading of the Word and the Writings. Such reading, unhurried, meditative, is essential to everyone who desires to be "of the internal church." Omitting parts from any book which we peruse may contort the sense of the whole. Especially is this the case with the Divine Word, wherein everything is constructed in a Divine Series, and every chapter is the basis for some angelic society. To omit the portions of the Letter of the Word that are less pleasing to one's natural sensibilities means the marring of a Divine ultimate which is being established in our minds by the consecutive reading.

     What we have said applies to individual or private reading. On the other hand, if the Calendar be used in family worship or in group-reading, some adaptation is occasionally desirable, because of the fact that all phases of life touched upon so frankly in the Old Testament are not suitable for public discussion in a merely social sphere. However, a sphere of innocence from heaven lingers about the primitive frankness of the Word, even as it does about the life of infants, and while it is wise to accommodate at times to the states of others, it is unwise to fall into worry or embarrassment.

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     "Last Judgment (posthumous)."

     Few sections of the Writings give a more concrete visualization of the world of spirits than the work which is taken up this month; for it is almost a continuous "memorable relation." We are shown the nations dwelling upon a globe, there as here, but arranged according to a spiritual orientation, the good towards the East, and those in natural lumen or learning towards the South; the West and the North being regions of relatively less heat and less light. Yet in the center-region are those spirits who have light from the Word, and among these the English were found by Swedenborg to be in the middle district. A careful study would show that this apparently "geographical" arrangement of the world of spirits is wonderfully consistent, and that nothing which appears there is arbitrary, but is ruled by spiritual laws that determine the appearances. But it also would appear that the "geographical" order alone is not sufficient to show more than one aspect of the world of spirits,-viz., its relation to the reception of Divine truths. The place of spirits in the great economy of uses, or in the Gorand Man, is shown by a different mode, whereby they are represented in "situations" in respect to the organs or provinces of the human body, some appearing on the plane of the forehead, some on the plane of the knees, etc. This is the mode of representing their reception of the Divine Good, and by it much of their character is made known.

     The Mohammedans.

     What is said of the Mohammedans in the Writings is given additional interest from the fact that there are about 209,020,000 "Moslems" on earth today. The reason why the Mohammedan religion, as a bastard Christianity which could still serve to extirpate idolatry in many countries, was permitted by the Lord to arise in such power as to be the main rival of Europe for centuries, is told in the Divine Providence, no. 255. From L. J. post., no. 98, we also infer that the Koran, the holy book written by Mohammed (who died in 632 A.D.), contains some pages written by correspondences, like the Word with us; from which pages there is some light in the heavens of the Moslems.

     Their heavens, which are distinct from the Christian heavens, are "higher and lower" (C. L. 341-352) or even threefold (D. P. 255:5).

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In the lower they live in polygamy and concubinage, as on earth, wherefore " all communication between the Christian heavens and the (lower) Mohammedan heavens has been taken away." But in the higher Mohammedan heaven they acknowledge the Lord as one with the Father, and live with one wife only. It is obvious, however, that there can be no lasting happiness in polygamy, which cuts men off from the influx of heaven. And the lowest Mohammedan "heaven" is therefore defined as being for "those who are being initiated " (D. P. 2552),-an imaginary heaven which serves as a forecourt and a means of disillusionment.

     The Popes after Death.

     In our text, only a general survey is given of the judgment upon the "Babylonish" region of the world of spirits, which consists of those from Catholic countries; the particulars being found in the Last Judgment, nos. 53-64.

     Religious attachments such as the Catholic Church inculcates are strong bonds of natural affection, fear, and favor. These survive death, and before the Last Judgment they created separate communities of age-long duration, a spiritual hierarchy which, like Lucifer's, was in disguised rebellion against the kingdom of heaven. Even so, the Lord limited its Power by continual judgments. The popes, who on earth boldly claimed to possess the power and vicarship of the Divine Human, are not permitted to rule as pontiffs over their co-religionists in the other life (C. L. J. 59), probably because most of them are too thoroughly infected with the lust of dominion, and are soon led into open evils that are not tolerated in the world of spirits. They still endeavor to rule, from hell, through subject spirits.

     Still, because the papist spirits seek for a pope, someone is always appointed, and in one case only do we know him to have been a deceased pope, Clement XII, whose reign extended from 1730 until 1740, when he died at the age of eighty-eight. History pictures him as a peacemaker, not very efficient, and as an austere disciplinarian. (L. J. post. no. 102.) With him, Swedenborg testifies, "all is well." (S. D. 5845.)

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     Two other popes are mentioned by name in the Writings. One is Sixtus V (1585-1590), whose energetic reforms made him celebrated in history, and who had a passion for order and completeness, which resulted in vigorous enforcement of cold-blooded justice, magnificent public works, and an everswelling store of wealth in the vaults of St. Angelo, but also in undertakings like the "Great Catholic League" and the "Spanish Armada," and in many enemies.

     Apparently such talents could be well employed, even in the spiritual world. Foy while, from the Diary (5833. and 5529), it appears that he was the governor in an infernal society, and apparently unable to stand being lifted up thence, still we hear of him later (A. R. 752) as the chief regulator of a Catholic society into which no one is admitted except such as excel in judgment and believe in the Lord and the Word; and "under the Lord's auspices he is every day perfecting that society." Half a year before his death, he tells Swedenborg, he discovered the papal vicarship to be an invention for the sake of dominion, and turned away from saints and synods to the Lord and His Word. And he commissioned Swedenborg to take a message to the living that conveys what he had learned.

     A third pope, Benedict XIV, died on May 3d, 1758, just as he was preparing to suppress the Jesuit order. History tells that he was always opposed to the Jesuits, but Swedenborg, who spoke to him three weeks after his demise, notes (L. J. post. 103) that this pope, after death, loved the Jesuits more than others, and went down into their hell, from which, it would seem, he has not emerged. Perhaps he had never before realized his common interests with them. When he first entered the spiritual world, he spoke very politely and adroitly, as if he accepted the instruction offered. And "some therefore hoped, respecting him, that he had really been in the world a worshipper of the Lord, and had been in the affection of truth, and thus that he might have been able to be of use with the people of that religion." But soon he began to act in unison with the most crafty of the hells, and claimed the Divine for himself. Thus, after a few days, he was cast into hell. (A. E. 114e, S. D. 5833, 5841, 5843-1. See also an article on "Popes in the Other Life," by the Rev. Alfred Acton in NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1903, pp. 428-436.)

518




     The Bull "Unigenitus."

     The decrees issued by the Roman pontiffs were usually sealed with a leaden bulla; wherefore they were called "bulls." They are distinguished from each other by their opening words or phrases. The bull Unigenitus was issued by Pope Clement XI on September 8, 1'113, at the request of Louis XIV of France and the Jesuits. Its object was to forbid the reading of the New Testament by the laity, and it was aimed against the French translation of the New Testament made by the celebrated Jansenist Quesnel. But it was opposed openly by many Gallican bishops and by the faculties of the universities.

     The Protestants (Huguenots) of France had been guaranteed religious freedom and the enjoyment of civil rights by the Edict of Nantes, published by Henry IV in 1598 and confirmed by Louis XIV in 1652. Under the influence of a penance and, probably, of the Jesuits and their willing tool, Madame de Maintenon, Louis revoked the edict in 1685, forcing a wholesale emigration of some of the best blood of France, the number being given as 400,000. It was one of those despotic acts of religious intolerance which marked the approach of a final spiritual judgment within the century, and makes us glad to be living in a saner age. All Protestant churches were ordered destroyed, and their pastors banished. Persecutions raged in every town, and unsuccessful attempts to emigrate were punished by condemnation to prison or slave galley for life! After this act, Louis' career was one of accumulating misfortunes.

     On his deathbed, in 1715, Louis XIV disclaimed responsibility for all this, declaring that in opposing the Protestants and the Jansenists he had acted under the guidance of his spiritual advisors, being himself ignorant of ecclesiastical questions. After his death, with growing spiritual knowledge, his concern increased, and Swedenborg records in L. J. post. 104 how he seeks to warn his great-grandson and successor, Louis XV, against confirming the bull Unigenitlcs, with the result that the Jesuits were prevented from continuing the persecutions against the Jansenists. Louis XIV, we are told, is among the happy, and the governor of the best society of French novitiate spirits. That this could be, despite the reputation which he left behind him in the world as a person of loose morality, is a sign, either that chroniclers also are human and courts rampant with false rumors, or that the judgment after death may overlook many things where there is zeal from a spiritual love of use.

519




     Revelation to the Africans.

     The Africans are spoken of in the Writings as the best of the Gentiles, being of a celestial genius; and because they have the capacity of being in greater enlightenment, and think more interiorly than others on this earth, they occupy a region in the world of spirits just outside of the Mohammedans. They live in a spiritual "Africa" which vaguely resembles that on the earth.

     But the most striking teaching of our text occurs in L. J. post. 116 and 124, where it is told that a church was being established at that day with many in Africa, and revelations made. They are taught by instructors who communicate with the angels of heaven. It is somewhat difficult to piece together the scattered statements about this revelation. Suffice it to say that they received the Word, and the instructors dictated it to the men in "Africa" with whom they had communication. Afterwards a number of the theological Writings of Swedenborg were received by them and laid up for their use. (S. D. 5946.)

     Perhaps this was in answer to the angelic promise given them before (S. D. 4775), that "they were about to receive the unblemished doctrine of the church out of heaven, and also that they would receive a Bible, but a new Bible, from the Lord." They were cautioned against missionaries. The angels rejoiced that the coming of the Lord was then at hand, and that the Church, which was now perishing in Europe, should be renewed in Africa; and that this is done by the Lord alone by means of revelations, and not by missionaries from the Christians. (S. D. 4777.)

     These revelations were made from heaven through instructors to the spirits of the Africa in the world of spirits. The center of the spread of the Heavenly Doctrine among the nations in the world of spirits is possibly to be shifted from the European "world," where men have "by means of sciences extinguished every gift of perception," and propagated from the center of spiritual Africa" to spirits from various regions of this earth, and then to spirits of other earths." (S. D. 4778-4780.)

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"The angels have small hope of the men of the Christian Church, but much of a nation far distant from the Christian world, . . . which is such as to be capable of receiving spiritual light, and of being made a celestial-spiritual man; and they said that at this day interior Divine truths are being revealed in that nation, and are also being received . . . in life and heart." (L. J. 74.)

     The Africa where revelations are made, and a new church established, is thus the Africa of the other world. But it seems also to be allowed certain African spirits to engage in the "oral instruction" of certain Africans in the natural world. This "instruction," we think, is received, not as speech, but as a perception of enlightenment. Are we to believe that a new church is being raised up in the center of the Dark Continent; or that revelation, when entering this ultimate world, can dispense with the natural means of propagation; or that we can expect the Negro race unaided to attain to the New Jerusalem? We have this further teaching on the subject:

     "Such being the character of the Africans even in the world, there is, at the present day, a revelation with them, which, commencing in the center, is communicated around, but does not reach the seas. They acknowledge our Lord as the God of heaven and earth, and laugh at the monks in those parts they visit, and at the Christians who talk of a threefold Divinity, and of salvation by mere thinking. . . I have heard the angels rejoicing over this revelation, because, by means of it, a communication is opened for them with the human rational, hitherto closed up by the blindness which has been drawn over the things of faith. It was told me from heaven that the truths now published in The Doctrine of the New Jerusalem Concerning the Lord, Concerning the Word, and in The Doctrine of Life for the New Jerusalem, are orally dictated by angelic spirits to the inhabitants of that country." (Cont. L. J. 76.)

     Revelation only after Judgment.

     In several places Swedenborg points out that the spiritual things of the Word and of doctrine therefrom could not be disclosed until after the Last Judgment had purified the world of spirits and opened a way hitherto almost wholly intercepted between heaven and man. (L. J. post. 134.) Man, before this, was unable to be enlightened. "If anything, therefore, had been then revealed by the Lord, either it would not have been understood, or if understood, still it would not have been received, or if received, still it would afterwards have been suffocated." (Cont. L. J. 11.)

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"Hence it is that, after the Last Judgment, and not sooner, were revelations made for the New Church." (Ibid. 12.)

     This may seem a surprising doctrine, since the whole of the Arcana Celestia, with its wealth of teaching, was "revealed" before the year of final judgment, 1757. Let us recall, however, that as there were preparatory judgments before the climax came in 1757, so also the Arcana was a first form of the Revelation which, after the Last Judgment, assumed new shapes more challenging to public attention. And not until the clouds of evil spirits had ceased to darken the sky of the world of spirits was there any reception of the Heavenly Doctrine on earth.

     The complete "revelation" of the internal sense could hardly have occurred before the Apocalypse, for instance, had been fulfilled in the Day of Doom. Then light arose in the world of spirits, such as was not before. "A similar light also then arose with men in the world, giving them new enlightenment." (Cont. L. J. 30.) "Henceforth the man of the Church will be in a more free state of thinking on matters of faith, and, from restored liberty, can better perceive interior truths, if he wills to perceive them, and thus become more internal, if he wills it!" (L. J. 73f.)
WALL OF BRASS 1929

WALL OF BRASS              1929

     "In order that I might see the torment of those who are in hell, and also the vastation of those who are in the lower earth, I was sometimes let down thither. To be let down into hell is not to be transferred from place to place, but it is an immission into some infernal society, the man remaining in the same place. It is permitted me to relate here only the following experience. I manifestly perceived that as it were a kind of column encompassed me. This column became sensibly increased, and it was insinuated that this was the brazen wall spoken of in the Word, formed of angelic spirits, in order that I might be let down safely unto the unhappy. When I was there, I heard miserable lamentations, and indeed this cry, 'O God, O God, be merciful to us, be merciful to us!' and this for a long time. It was also conceded me to speak with these wretched ones for a considerable time. They complained chiefly of evil spirits as burning with a continual desire to torment them; and they were in despair, saying that they believed their torment would be eternal. But it was given me to comfort them." (A. C. 699. See Jeremiah 1:18 and 15:20.)

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NEW CIVILIZATION 1929

NEW CIVILIZATION       Rev. W. B. CALDWELL       1929

     "For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered, nor come upon the heart." (Isaiah 65:17.)

     The New Heaven and the New Church instituted by the Lord at His Second Coming are the fulfillment of the ends of His Divine Providence from the beginning of the race, and indeed from eternity. It is this new and everlasting kingdom in the spiritual and natural worlds which was meant by the Lord's words in the Gospel, "Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world." (Matthew 25:34.)

     This new kingdom has been the burden of all Divine Revelation from the first; and all the intervening progress of the race on earth and in heaven has been a preparation for it. In no sense is it to be regarded as an accident, nor as a necessity brought about by an unforeseen condition of mankind, but rather as a direct provision in realization and fulfillment of a Divine end and forevision from eternity. Even in the permission of evil, and the gradual decline of the race, we view the operation of this Providence. For without that permission man would have no real liberty, and without the liberty of man the image of God would not be in him, and without this image in man there could be no reciprocal conjunction of man with God, and no reception of the gift of human delight and blessedness, which is the end of creation.

     The new kingdom of the Lord, now beginning, is introduced into that reciprocal conjunction in the freedom of love and the freedom of light, because it will worship the visible God, with whom there can be such a conjunction. To this kingdom the Lord is manifested in the Human glorified in the world, manifested outwardly to the sight of man and angel as the only object of their love and worship, manifested inwardly to man and angel as the subject of their love and perception. At the Second Advent there is a new manifestation of God in heaven and the church,-a twofold revealing of the Divine to the human race,-a revealing from within and without, whereby both the internal and external of angels and men are enlightened from the Lord Himself.

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This new thing was made possible by the Lord's glorification in the world, and is now imparted to that new kingdom which was foretold and prepared from the beginning. "Remember ye not the former things, neither consider the things of old. Behold, I will do a new thing; now it shall spring forth; shall ye not know it?" (Isaiah 43:18, 19.) "For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered, nor come upon the heart."

     All things are in the Divine infinitely which can ever come forth actually in finite creation. They are in the Divine as Divine ends or beginnings, which are ever proceeding,-the Divine proceeding in its own Human, which is present in the inmost of every created thing, which produces all finite forms as receptacles of Itself, that its ends may be realized and fulfilled. The supreme end in the Divine was the putting on of the Divine Human in perfect image and likeness of the Divine, and the union of the Divine and the Human; and that supreme end involved that, in the Human, the Divine might be immediately present in finite creation, especially with finite men. That supreme end was not accomplished in fulness until the Human was glorified on earth, when the Divine in that Human became immediately present on all planes of the finite human of angels and men; immediately present, not only in the human soul, but also in the human mind, entering from within and from without. In broadest compass, that end is fulfilled in the angelic heaven,-a spiritual form perfected more and more as an eternal abiding-place and receptacle of the Divine Human. The Human was perfected and "formed to the idea of an infinite heaven"-an eternal kingdom. (S. D. 4845.) But heaven itself, consisting of finite angels as recipient forms, must be perfected to eternity, both by the growth of the angels in reception of the Lord and by a perpetual increase in numbers.

     The Divine end was realized in part in the celestial heaven of the Most Ancient Church, formed to receive the Divine Celestial of the Lord's Human. All the spiritual functions of the human form were represented in that heaven, but the angels therein were relatively few in number. The Divine end was still more realized in the spiritual heaven of the Ancient Church, which was formed at the advent into the world to receive the Divine Spiritual of the Lord's Human.

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The Divine end was still more fully realized in the New Heaven of the Second Advent, which Heaven was formed to receive the Divine Natural of the Lord's Human. Then, in the completion of that trine in the glorified Human, heaven may be said to have been completed as to its general outline and form, though capable of growth, infilling and perfecting forever, in the reception of the Divine Human of the Lord.

     From this we may see that this completing of heaven, providing for all degrees of men-angels, according to the opening of the degrees of their minds, could not but have been in the Divine end from eternity, could not but come forth in actuality in the fulness of time, and cannot but be provided for to eternity. And so this supreme matter could not but have been foretold in all prophetic Divine Revelation, as the very goal and end toward which all things would be led. To the heavens of pre-advent times the glorification of the Human was continually represented, and this by a reflex from written Revelation upon earth. So also the angels of the ancient heavens were given a prophetic vision of the new kingdom, which would be the kingdom of the Glorified Human: "I (Daniel) saw in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought Him near before Him. And there was given Him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not Pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed." (Daniel 7:13, 14.) This new kingdom in both worlds, in heaven and the church, the angels were given to see in representative vision when the manifold prophecies thereof were given to the Israelites, as in the words of Isaiah," For, behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered, nor come upon the heart."

     We have seen that heaven, as to its degrees, was formed progressively,-celestial, spiritual, and natural; each heaven at the end of a Church, when a judgment was performed by the Lord,-at the Flood, a celestial heaven; at the Incarnation, a spiritual heaven; and at the Second Advent, a natural heaven. At each judgment a new heaven was formed, and a new church instituted, while the former church, and its imaginary heavens, were abolished, "no longer to be remembered, nor to come upon the heart."

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That is, the former imaginary heavens were judged and removed;-no longer to infest the true heavens. Just as, in the individual man, after victory in temptation, the former states of evil and falsity are removed, and no longer enter the thought or affect the will,- are neither "remembered" nor "come upon the heart."

     Moreover, at each judgment the true heavens of former churches were renewed,-ordered anew by the Lord. When He came into the world, and then formed a new heaven from the Ancient Church, He at the same time renewed the celestial heaven of the Most Ancient Church, which He did by His combats against the antediluvian hells, then completely subjugated and sealed forever. So at His Second Coming, when He formed the Christian or New Heaven, He renewed and purified the ancient heavens. They were instructed in new things from the Heavenly Doctrine. Such a periodic renewal of heaven and the church, especially at the time of a Divine coming to judgment, is involved in the text, "Behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered, nor come upon the heart."

     Our text is one of the many Old Testament Prophecies of the Second Coming of the Lord; and so it was again given after the First Advent, in the similar words of John, "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away." (Rev. 21:1.) Literally understood, these prophecies foretell the destruction of the visible heaven and earth, and the creation of new ones; and it is true that the restoration of the Lord's spiritual kingdom in heaven and the church will also renew the atmospheres and the earths, as an outer result of that spiritual renewal. For the hells find an ultimate in nature when the church is corrupt, producing disease and obsession, as was the case with the Jewish Church when the Lord came into the world.

     The spiritual meaning of the text, however, treats of the restoration of the church, and is fulfilled in particular at every coming of the Lord to the individual man of the church, reforming and regenerating him, and thus renewing him both internally and externally, both spiritually and naturally, as to his heavenly mind and his earthly mind. It is by the regeneration or new creation of the individual man that a new church is actually raised up and a new heaven formed.

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All other things attending the Lord's Advent,-the giving of Revelation, the forming of an organized church,-are but means to the reception of the Lord by the individual. For heaven and the church are formed only in men, who were created to become images of the Lord and His kingdom, images of the Divine and the Human of the Lord, images of the heavens and the earth.

     This forming of man in the regeneration, the forming of his mind internal and external, is the spiritual sense of the words in Genesis, "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth," referring in their literal or natural sense to the original creation of the spiritual and natural worlds, but in their internal sense to the creation and new creation of man, and thence the forming of the angelic heaven. For the universe was formed to be the dwelling-place of man, as a little universe organized of vessels to receive the Divine from within and all planes of creation from without, gifted with an internal mind as a receptacle of heaven, and an external mind as a receptacle of the world. The opening and forming of these two minds in man by the Lord are his regeneration or new creation, whereby heaven and the church are formed in him, whereby the angelic heavens and the church upon earth are formed of many men. And so this Divine mode, whereby the ends of His Providence are fulfilled, even by a perpetual new creation and a perpetual renewal,-this is what is meant by the expression in Old and New Testament prophecies concerning the creation of a new heaven and a new earth.

     The internal mind of man is called a "heaven" because it is composed of receptacles of heavenly heat and light, which are love and wisdom from the Lord. The receptacle of love is the will and ifs affection; and the receptacle of wisdom is the understanding and its thought. That will and understanding constitute the internal mind, and are the "kingdom of heaven within" man.     

     The external mind is called the "earth" because it is composed of receptacles of natural heat and light, which reach that mind from without through the senses of the body. These, when impressed upon that mind, are there stored up as sense-images and knowledges, together with their affections. Every sense impression is recorded there, and is reproduced by the affection which was stirred when it was implanted. That affection is a desire, and may be called the will of the natural mind; the reproduction of its knowledge is imagination, and may be called the thought or understanding of the natural mind.

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Thus the natural or external mind, like the spiritual or internal, enjoys a will and understanding, though in the external these are but states of desire and science, or cupidity and imagination, active states of the memory, wherein is recorded and stored an image of every object that has entered through the senses in the light and heat of nature. That external mind, therefore, is a receptacle of natural heat and light, and is called man's "earth," while the internal mind is a receptacle of heavenly heat and light, or love and wisdom, and is called man's "heaven."

     At birth man has both these minds, unopened and undeveloped, and his new creation consists in their opening and forming, the external by knowledges of the world, the internal by the truths of heaven. In the regeneration, the internal is opened and formed by the Lord through the truth of the Word and life according to it, and the external is brought into correspondence, so that when the body is put off at death, the angel-man is still endowed with a "heaven and an earth,"-all the states of heaven internally, and their corresponding earthly forms in his external, through which the Lord produces all the environment of His heavenly habitation.

     It is important to note that the internal mind is opened and formed only by the Lord; that this mind may be said to belong to the Lord, while the external mind belongs as it were to man, to do as he pleases with it. Behold, the heavens are the Lord's; but the earth hath He given to the children of men." (Psalm 115:16.) it should be noted further that it is the internal mind of man which has the faculty of perceiving and thinking Divine Truth in the light of heaven, and the faculty of loving God and the neighbor; while the external has the faculty of knowing and desiring the natural forms of use corresponding to his internal love and thought, which are ultimated during the earthly life in the sense and action of the body, love to God in the acts of worship, and both love to God and love towards the neighbor in works of use.

     The original creation of heaven and earth describes how the internal and external minds were opened and formed in the first men, so that they became a church,-a heaven upon earth. The internal of that church was love to the Lord and mutual love, with the perception of heavenly wisdom; these in the internal mind.

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The external of that church was the instinctive knowledge of nature as an image of heaven and the Divine, thus the instinctive science of correspondences, together with the desire and work of uses as an image of heavenly uses, but with no desire of natural things apart from an end of spiritual use. Each man was a church; his internal was a state of worship from love to the Lord; his external thought and act was in complete correspondence. He turned to the rising sun as the natural image of the Divine Love which appeared before the eyes of his spirit as the heavenly sun. His internal was also love to the neighbor,-a state of celestial charity, in which he loved the neighbor better than himself; his every external thought and act was a work of use and benefit to his companions, and a service of God in His kingdom of uses. Thus, in the most ancient times, every regenerated man was a church, internal and external, a heaven and an earth, living internally in heaven and externally in the paradise of Eden.

     In the Ancient Church, which followed, there was likewise an internal and an external, but not as excellent as in the previous age. With the man of that Church, the internal mind was opened only as to the understanding, opened by the knowledge of correspondence from a written Word, by thought from the memory and formulated doctrine; opened by the life of charity according to conscience, whereby the regenerating man of the church was gifted miraculously with a new will, implanted in his understanding by an influx of the Divine life,-a gift of mercy. He was governed by the Lord through the external mind, and was in reality an external man; while the man of the former church was an internal man, governed by influx and perception, on which account his external life was primitive and natural, not artificial or man-made. He was content with nature as God had given it to him, and desired not "to lift up a tool upon it, lest he might pollute it." Their state is represented by the Garden of Eden, and their heaven is a paradise.

     But the man of the Ancient Church, as we have said, was an external man, because governed by the Lord from without, by the precept and doctrine of a written Revelation. (A. C. 10124.) The external life was no longer primitive and natural, but more artificial and man-made. Lacking the perception of nature as a representative of God and of heavenly uses, men began to know nature as a science, and to use nature by art. They made images representative of God and of heaven, and constructed cities to dwell in; in a word, they initiated what we now call civilization. "Go to, let us build us a city and a tower, whose top may reach unto heaven.

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And the Lord came down to see the city and the tower, which the children of men builded." (Genesis 11:4, 5.)

     In the time of the Ancient Church, the race had become more numerous, had outgrown the tribal form and gathered into cities for protection, because the "imagination of man's heart" was now evil from birth. This is what we call "civilization," from civitas, a city or state, where a number dwell together in houses. Thus, in the Ancient Church, began that development in the external life of men on this earth by science and art which in our age is regarded as the triumph-of man over nature, but in the process of which mankind has become more and more external, selfish and worldly, less and less heavenly. Not entirely so, however, for the Lord has always Provided a church, even from the beginning of civilization, first the Ancient Church, and the outer image of the same with the Jews, and then the Christian Church. And the Revelations given to these Churches were not adapted to lead men back to primitive conditions as to externals, but as to internals, while the externals, of the age were to remain, and even to progress. It was to restore a heavenly civilization within the earthly one, which had been built up, as it were, by man.

     This fact is manifest from the form of the Old and New Testaments, which were adapted to the ages in which they were to be the Law and Guide for the Church. For in the conditions of those ages we are to view, not only a permission of Providence, but also a provision. The externalizing of the race, and the development of a man-made civilization, manifest a Divine Permission looking to the growth of human liberty, which could not he given without a growth of the external man apart from the internal; an expansion of man's earthly interests to the sacrifice of the heavenly; an increase of the proprium of man at the loss of the deeper acknowledgment of God; a development of human science and art, with an increasing disregard for the knowledges of Divine Revelation and the wonder works of the Lord. This, we say, manifests a permission of Providence, wherein we are to regard, among other great uses, the growth of human liberty, which is of the external man, but which is to be the more perfectly enjoyed by the future men of the church who return to the primitive internal obedience to God,-the state of true, heavenly freedom.

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     The Ancient Church was in a measure a return to that primitive internal state of heavenly obedience. That Church spread among the nations of the ancient world, having for the period a magnificent civilization. The religion of the time was everywhere evidenced, not only in their temples and images, but in their every custom and habit, which were outward signs of an inward charity. In all their consociations there was a genuine external flowing from charity and conscience, such as is witnessed at this day also in the conventions of human society, but now for the most part a counterfeit and hypocritical veneer because the true state of the church is lacking.

     The ancient internal simplicity was partly restored with the early Christians, on which account they are called in the Writings the "primitive church." It is common to think of primitive peoples as uncivilized, when yet they often possess the essentials of civilization-civility, morality, and religion,-in greater measure than the more highly developed nations. So much so that many of them are kept isolated and thus protected from Christian civilization and its great evils.

     Civilization has grown in our day in a manner undreamt of by the ancients, but there remains the greater need for the restoration of the ancient simplicity in the hearts and souls of mankind,-the renewal of the life of heaven in Men. This, we believe, is to come in the New Church, and by means of the New Church in the world at large; and this without the loss of any useful external that God has given man to create by science and art. For is it not indicated in the prophecy of the New Heaven and the New Church, which John was given to see in the form of a city,-the New Jerusalem?

     It is a notable thing that in the midst of that city is the tree of life. (Rev. 2:7; 22:2.) In this last prophetic Scripture we view a return to the first, which is ever the form of Divine Providence.

     In the New Heaven and the New Church there is to be a return to the state of the Most Ancient Church; that is, the internal of the New Church is to be the same,-its fountain in the tree of life,- love to the Lord and perception in the internal or heavenly mind; but its external is something different, being represented by a city instead of a paradise. A city-spiritually the doctrine of all truth, now to be known and rationally understood by man; revealed doctrine of Divine Truth, to form and build the external of the church,-its understanding, its worship, its works, as the outer form of its internal life, which is to be none other than love to God and mutual love, inflowing through the celestial heaven from the Lord in His Divine Human in the midst of the Holy City.

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     But the man of this Church is to eat also of the tree of knowledge. His external mind is now furnished with every means for its enrichment,-means unknown to the ancients,-in the sciences and arts supplied by civilization, and in the knowledge of spiritual and natural truth now provided in the Revelation to the New Church. The man of the Most Ancient Church enjoyed a large internal life and a limited external; the later man experienced an enlarging external with a relatively meagre internal. The man of the New Age is given to enjoy both together, in equal and corresponding measure, providing only that the internal life of heaven grow in him, keeping pace with the earthly life; that is, if both his minds are opened and enriched in the light of the Heavenly Doctrine of the New Jerusalem,-light from the Divine Human of the Lord. "Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have power in the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city." Amen.

     Lessons: Isaiah 65; Revelation 22; T. C. R. 109, or A. C. 44895.
SKILL IN CALCULATION IN THE SPIRITUAL WORLD 1929

SKILL IN CALCULATION IN THE SPIRITUAL WORLD              1929

     "They calculate also in the spiritual world. They have business there, and have servants who render an account; and they give these charge of what they sell and buy, who Center] it in journals or books, as is done in the world. When they inspect these books, they compute and examine the entries so skillfully that they accomplish within a quarter of an hour what men in the world could only do in some days or weeks. They instantly see where there is an error, and where there is deception or neglect. I had not known of this before, nor could I believe it; but still they took up the accounts which I had with a certain one in the world, and at once saw that it was correct. This arises from the fact that spiritual sight is such that it can traverse in a moment what the sight of the body can only do in a period of time. Hence it is that their servants are faithful, because they can immediately find out where there are frauds." (S. D. 5956.)

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FROM THE INTERNAL SENSE OF THE WRITINGS 1929

FROM THE INTERNAL SENSE OF THE WRITINGS        CHARLES H. VAN OS, DELFT       1929

     I. THE PLEIADES AND ORION. II. BETROTHAL.

     III. THE INHABITANTS OF JUPITER.

     [EDITORIAL NOTE:-The three papers embodied in this article were read at social suppers of the First Dutch Society of the General Church at The Hague, and published in the Dutch periodical, De Ware Christelijke Godsdienst, for September, 1921, September, 1928, and May, 1929. The Rev. Ernst Pfeiffer has now sent an English translation, asking us to place the papers before our readers as bearing upon the subject of the "Internal Sense of the Writings," which has lately received attention in our pages at the hands of various writers.]

     I. THE PLEIADES AND ORION.

     In the Brief Exposition of the Doctrine of the New Church, no. 98, we read:

     "From all my experience and consequent testification from heaven, I am able to declare for certain that it is impossible to derive a single genuine theological truth from any other source than from the Lord alone; and that to derive it from any other source is as impossible as it is to sail from England or Holland to the Pleiades, or to ride on horseback from Germany to Orion in the sky.

     Just as everywhere in the Word, this is not an arbitrary metaphor, but it contains an internal sense, conjoined in beautiful harmony with the subject treated of. Concerning this internal sense we shall now say a few words. It is at once evident that it here speaks of a transition from a lower to a higher state, namely, from a natural to a spiritual state, and of the impossibility of accomplishing this transition by one's own power. England, Holland and Germany are on the earth, whereas the Pleiades and Orion are in the firmament. Two such transitions are mentioned,-one from England or Holland to the Pleiades, and the other from Germany to Orion.

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     As is always the case when mention is made in the Word of two similar objects, one along with the other, so, in the passage quoted, one of the transitions will refer to truth, the other to good.

     We shall now try to enter into the details. The Pleiades and Orion are mentioned in the Word only by the prophet Amos, ch. 5, v. 8, where we read of Him "that maketh the seven stars and Orion." From this, too, we may draw the conclusion that these constellations refer to truth a"d to good. More is said about them in Job, which book does not indeed belong to the Word, but is yet a book of antiquity, and contains an internal sense. There we read in ch. 38, v. 31: "Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades, or loose the bands of Orion?" In order to understand this text, we should consider the relation between good and truth with the Spiritual and with the celestial man. The man who has been regenerated to the spiritual degree has his understanding opened to receive the influx of the Lord. He can freely use his powers of reflection; and, being in the light of heaven, he is sure to arrive at truths. His will, however, is closed. He cannot freely follow his affections, but must continually examine these with the aid of the truths of faith. Not so with the celestial man. His will being opened, all his affections are inspired by the Lord from within, and he can follow them freely without fearing that he will wander away from good. His understanding, however, is comparatively bound. As he immediately sees by perception whether a statement is true or not, it is superfluous for him, yea, even hurtful, to reason about truths. The transition from the spiritual to the celestial man, therefore, is marked by the liberation of the will, but also by the binding of the understanding. This is expressed by "binding the sweet influences of Pleiades, and loosening the bands of Orion." From this also it follows that Orion has reference to good, and the Pleiades to truth.

     While this passage from Job has reference to the transition from the spiritual to the celestial man, the passage we have quoted from the Brief Exposition has reference to the first part of regeneration,-the transition from the natural to the spiritual man. In this instance, therefore, that which is free will refer to truth, and that which is bound will refer to good. We shall find this confirmed in what follows.

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     As regards the internal sense of England, Holland and Germany, we are instructed in the Continuation of the Last Judgment, and also, in greater detail, in the True Christian Religion. We there read that England and Holland are distinguished by freedom of thought and of speech. England and Holland therefore represent states of the mind in which the understanding is not placed under some external bond. When this is the case, there exist two possibilities for the man. According to the first possibility, the understanding may subject itself voluntarily to some authority from without; in other words, it may assume an affirmative attitude. If this is done with discrimination, such an attitude may be salutary, and may lead the man to internal enlightenment. This state is represented by England. That is why we read that the English in the spiritual world are in internal light, but that this light is only rendered active through the instrumentality of men of name and authority among them; as soon as these say anything, or anything is read that has been approved by them, the splendor of this light appears, but seldom before.

     The second possibility is, that the understanding will not subject itself to some authority from without. But there is then the great danger that the understanding will place itself under the control of man's affections; in that case, man tries to approve with his understanding of that which appeals to his affections. This state is represented by Holland. Such an attitude need not be fatal. If man's internal affections are love to the Lord and love to the neighbor, he will in the long run be led by the Lord to the Word, and he may be regenerated. Therefore we read that it is given to the Dutch to mount up to heaven, and to behold its wonders. Anyone who takes this attitude will not easily change his opinions, because he must at the same time change his affections; for this reason, the Dutch are more steadfast than others. Because, in the state represented by Holland, the affections wish to rule over the understanding, therefore the Dutch wives have a tendency to rule over their husbands, and we have a detailed description of how, in the spiritual world, they are cured of this tendency; for women, in the Word, signify affections. In this state, the affection watches over the truths, and so we read in De Conjugio that in Holland the woman keeps the purse; for truths are represented by money.

     So much for the internal sense of England and of Holland.

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That it is impossible to sail from England or Holland to the Pleiades signifies, therefore, that the free understanding cannot possibly, by its own power, arrive at real truths. Sailing calls forth the idea of the wind, which "blows whither it listeth," and of the sea, where there are no paths, thus likewise of what is free and unbound.

     In Germany, on the other hand, there is no freedom of thought and speech. Especially was this the case in Swedenborg's time, when Germany consisted of numerous small states, in each of which the prince's religion was the ruling one. If anyone whose thought has thus been bound wishes to be regenerated, he will apply himself to good; he will try to do good works. All this is here represented by the horse, which has a bridle and reins, and must follow the beaten road. In many places in the Word, the horse signifies the understanding in general; here, in contradistinction to sailing, it signifies the understanding which has been bound. But such a one cannot reach Orion, that is, real good, unless he internally turn to the Lord. Here, too, as everywhere in the Word, we see how the internal sense of an apparently curious metaphor stands in the most beautiful harmony with the subject.

     II. BETROTHAL.

     In the work on Conjugial Love we read that marriage ought to be preceded by a betrothal, and that, during this betrothal, conjugial love, although existing in principle, must not descend into the natural, under penalty of disturbing the order. The great importance of this injunction is evident to anyone who reflects, and I need not enlarge upon it. Such an injunction, however, never occurs in the Word solely for the sake of its application to the natural life, but always on account of the internal sense. Now what is the internal sense of the period of betrothal?

     We know that the relation of man and woman corresponds to that of the understanding and the will, or of truth and good. Marriage corresponds with the conjunction of these two. The meaning of the injunction therefore is, that conjunction of truth and good must not be effected suddenly, but must be accomplished gradually.

     In order to illustrate this, let us consider the man in whose spirit a new truth has entered. For instance, he may have heard a sermon on the text, "Love your enemies," returning home deeply impressed. Now what will happen if he immediately attempts to bring into practice what he has heard?

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He will try to accommodate and assist in every possible way those people who attempt to cause him damage. But in all likelihood these latter will feel no gratitude rather will they consider this to be a sign of weakness and of feeble intellect, and so they will increase their efforts. The result will be that the man causes damage, yea, ruin, to himself, and confirms his enemies in their evil. This gives us an example of truth and good attempting marriage without this being preceded by a betrothal.

     Then how must we act in regard to such a truth? We must reflect upon it, and try to understand it fully; we must test it by other statements in the Word, and by examples from life. In this manner, it will imperceptibly begin to rule over our thoughts. And then, at a given moment, we shall be placed before a temptation; that is to say, we shall have the choice between two ways of acting, one of which is in agreement with the truth contemplated, while the other is not. For example, in the instance we have supposed, the man may be confronted with the choice of helping an enemy who is in difficulties, or refusing assistance. Then, and only then, the time has come to put the truth into practice, and with its aid to overcome in temptation. Then there is a marriage between truth and good; the preceding period corresponds to betrothal.

     III. THE INHABITANTS OF JUPITER.

     There has been a difference of opinion in the New Church with regard to the question whether Swedenborg's Writings have an internal sense in the same way as the Old and New Testaments. There are two ways of treating such a question. One may start from general ideas concerning the nature of the Writings; one may also try to show the internal sense here and there. In the following we shall make an effort in the latter direction, and consider a few numbers from the Memorabilia, or Spiritual Diary, in which the inhabitants of the planet Jupiter are spoken of.

     Our thought will be based upon the fact that Jupiter and its inhabitants represent states of inspiration or enlightenment. This may for the present be illustrated by this, that in mythology Jupiter is the god of thunder and lightning. Now thunder and lightning are well-known representatives of revelation by the Lord, or of the state of illustration with the man who receives a revelation. Furthermore, Jupiter is the highest god reigning after the Golden Age.

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In the Golden Age, or the Adamic Church, men had an immediate perception of good and truth. After that time, this perception disappeared, and now a state of illustration is the highest state a man may attain to.

     In Spiritual Diary, no. 519, we read that the spirits of Jupiter are of three kinds. Those of the lowest or rational kind are black or dark, and inquire after those by whom they can be led to the one only Lord, to the end that they may become changed, that is, heavenly. By this are represented those states which are preparatory to a state of illustration. In these states man reflects upon truths and reasons about them; therefore these spirits are called rational. As compared with succeeding states, these preparatory states are dark; and therefore these spirits are dark. In these states, man has a longing for illustration, consequently for revelation; for this reason, these spirits ask to be led to the Lord.

     The second kind of Spirits shine in the face like the light from candles, but otherwise they are dark. They sit like idols, and suffer themselves to be adored by servants, for whom, they say, they are the mediators to the one only Lord. They are not willing that these servants should come into heaven except mediately by them. They are called saints, because they persuaded themselves that they had lived a holy life in the world. By these saints are represented those men who have been in a state of illustration, but who now cling to what they have received in that state, and refuse to be led by the Lord to continually new states. With such men, the light they have received from heaven is inseparably mixed with the light of their own wisdom. This is the light shining from their faces, and therefore they are otherwise dark. Their sitting like idols represents their remaining in a certain state. All the truths which such a man possesses are subordinated to the view which he has thus far obtained, and he is unwilling to realize how narrow-minded this is. The truths which have thus been subordinated are represented by the servants, and for this reason those spirits are not willing that the servants should enter into heaven except mediately by them. In his pride, the man here described is convinced that he possesses the truth. These spirits, therefore, are called saints, for in the internal sense all that is holy which has reference to truth.

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     The third kind from Jupiter are their angels. These appear in blue garments with little stars of gold. By blue is signified the love of truth, and by the stars the knowledges of good and truth. These are well-known representatives.

     In no. 520, we read that the inhabitants of Jupiter do not walk erect, but stoop. In the work on The Earths in the Universe, no. 55, we read further that in walking they support themselves with their hands, and that they hold their face looking forwards, thus not downwards. Holding the face downwards, they call shameful, and they who do so are called accursed, and are expelled from their society. When they sit, they sit erect, on seats.

     By these details a state of true illustration is further described. It is especially taught that a state of illustration is not a state in which the faculty of reflection and consciousness have been abolished, as happens in states of ecstacy, but that in a state of illustration the man has the full use of all his faculties. For the feet signify man's natural degree, the palms of the hands his rational degree. The fact that the inhabitants of Jupiter rest on these signifies that in a state of illustration man needs and uses the natural and the rational. But his attention must not be directed to corporeal and worldly things, and so the inhabitants of Jupiter may not look downwards. Those who do so are expelled from their society, which means that with such men a state of illustration cannot endure. Their sitting indicates the state following the state of illustration. Then the man surveys what he has attained, and confirms himself therein. This survey is indicated by the erect position. We are further told that they sit with the feet crossed. The feet signify the lower parts of the human mind; and the right and left foot signify good and truth, respectively. That the feet are crossed signifies that good and truth are conjoined. And the state which follows a state of illustration, is indeed a state of peace in which the concupiscences have come to rest.

     Not only at the end of a state of illustration does a man survey the results attained, but also during such a state, while the knowledges are still flowing in, such moments of reflection constantly occur. This is represented by the details given as to the manner of walking with the inhabitants of Jupiter. At every third step they face about sideways and behind them, by which is clearly indicated a surveying of the road covered, or of the knowledges acquired.

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The number three signifies fulness; this survey takes place as often as the inspiration has attained a certain degree of completeness.

     We read further, in S. D. 520, that the spirits of Jupiter, when they enter heaven, appear to swim, or to fly, and this for the reason that this mode of advancing resembles that on the planet itself, which we have just considered. From this latter remark it is evident that this flying or swimming has a signification similar to that of their walking on hands and feet. More especially can we think of the feeling of liberation and uplifting which one experiences on entering into a state of illustration, when the thoughts flow freely instead of being laboriously called forth by exertion and reasoning. For the spirit here spoken of belongs to the dark spirits, who, properly speaking, correspond to preparatory states, while his entering into heaven signifies the beginning of a state of illustration. This is the reason why we read that the so-called saints do not swim, but sit, for they cling to an, opinion once formed.

     One may perhaps wonder that the inhabitants of Jupiter, who evidently are more perfect than the men of our earth, walk on hands and feet, whereas the inhabitants of our earth walk erect. In regard to this we may make the following remarks. In both instances, the external attitude responds to that which is opposed to the internal affection, by means of which there is represented before the eyes of the angels the necessity of a co-operation and equilibrium of the various affections. The inhabitants of this earth are naturally inclined towards corporeal and worldly objects; therefore their erect attitude calls attention to the necessity of raising themselves above those things. The affections of the inhabitants of Jupiter are directed towards spiritual and celestial things, and therefore their mode of advance calls attention to the necessity of resting on the natural.

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NEWNESS OF THE CROWN OF CHURCHES 1929

NEWNESS OF THE CROWN OF CHURCHES       Rev. E. E. IUNGERICH       1929

     Those who are wise revere what has proven of value in the past. It is a foundation upon which to build for the future. But when a further upward step has been made, to level away the interval between the two is fraught with death. This is especially so for the spiritual, or those whose spiritual life fluctuates in periodic alternations of death and renewal, since "spiritual things . . . Are alternated, for without alternation there is no joy or felicity. The celestial is what is continuous and perpetual." (Schmid. Marg. at Ezekiel 46:16.)

     Few men, however, can be raised to the celestial height of beholding God as the same from eternity to eternity, and of sharing in some measure His vision of the growth of the Gorand Man "as a magnificent palace constantly in its construction and in its amplification" (D. P. 203 end), and to be led to exclaim with Ecclesiastes: "That which has been is what will be, . . . and there is nothing new under the sun." For they soon fall away from that closeness to the currents of the Divine life which gave to past, present, and future alike the rosiness of a perpetual spring, to become like other men, in need of renewals.

     To cling to what is old, worn out, consummated and dead, under the illusion that it is of celestial perpetuity and a fountain of youth, will bring the hand of death upon their further course. This peril to a growth by successive renewals is, in fact, the burden of many Scriptural warnings. We find it in the account of the tragic fate of the young prophet who did not heed the admonition to have nothing to do with the old prophet of a former dispensation. (I Kings 13.) So, at the time of a judgment, those who are on the house-top are admonished not to come down, and those in the field not to come back, for their former possessions. The faithful are accordingly urged to provide new receptacles for the new wine, lest the natural man, in its inertia, cling to the old, inasmuch as "no man also having drunk old wine straightway desireth new; for he saith, The old is better." (Luke 5:39.)

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     At times, when the attention is fastened upon the outward gestures of men at their devotions, inasmuch as these may seem to be not new, but merely repetitions of what was done in the past, the thought arises that the newness lies only in having a new idea of these acts. In this way, some New Churchmen have forgotten that they are heirs of the Apocalyptical promise, "Behold, I make all things new," and stewards of the crowning Revelation given to mankind, in which God's message to His people is no longer veiled in parables and dark sayings. And so they even give the supreme place to former Divine Revelations, and to the organizations and rituals dependent on them. This thought then finds expression in such phrases as: "We have not a new Word, new sacraments, nor even a new Church, but only a new idea about these."

     While it may be granted that such an idea of newness may lift the occasional individual above the meshes of the bonds of association which link him to men of creeds antagonistic to the truth, it will not make for a sound body to house the new ideas. Though Naaman the Syrian might worship in the temple of Rimmon, and still keep his mind on the God of Israel, we do not read that he was ever an element of strength to the cause of Israel. For as long as the light is under the bushel, and not placed upon a candlestick suited to it, there is no real illumination. It is with this as we read with regard to man's regeneration: "Man is . . .made new; not only that a new will is given him, and a new understanding, but also a new body for his spirit." (D. W. IV:2.) The Lord's admonition to the faithful, in regard to the Old Church, "Come out of her, my people, that ye be not partakers of her sins, and that ye receive not of her plagues" (Apoc. 18:4), assuredly means more for New Churchmen than merely infusing new ideas into old forms. Otherwise, there would be no meaning to the treatise entitled The Abomination of Desolation, which, after setting forth the vacuity of the Christian Church on twenty-four vital points of religion, then adds: "Hence it follows that in that Church not a grain of truth is left, thus that it is the abomination of desolation". . . and falses are to be eradicated before truths are implanted."

     The teaching about the householder who brought "out of his treasure things new and old" (Matt. 13:52) can mean no such mixture of the living with the dead.

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The "old things" here are the sacred revelations of the past, which will appear renovated when viewed under the new light come into the world. On all other points the New Church breaks with past traditions. For all matters essential to the faith and life of New Churchmen, from the God they worship, the Divine Revelation which guides them, and the heaven to which their type of mentality is to prepare them, are new. About these a suitable embodiment of a distinctive character is to be builded, so that the new wine may be preserved in new bottles.

     The God of our faith is not restricted to any concept held in limited viewpoint by some former dispensation. It is not as the Ancient of Days, or the Messiah to come, or as the tribal Adonai, nor even as the Christ who suffered for men, that we worship Him. For among those of the New Church is to be fulfilled the promise to the Church of Philadelphia: "And I will write upon them my new name." This, according to the Apocalypse Revealed, signifies "the worship of the Lord alone, together with new things which had not been in the former Church." (A. R. 196.) The expression, "And they sang a new song" (Apoc. 5:9), means "the acknowledgment and glorification of the Lord, that He alone is the Judge, the Redeemer and Savior, thus the God of heaven and earth. . . . As this acknowledgment was not before in the Church, it is therefore called 'a new song.'" (A. R. 279.) Still, under the radiance of such a supreme acknowledgment, the former concepts can be brought, albeit through a glass darkly, to coruscate as foreshadowings of this reality.

     Again, the Revelation to the New Church is not the celestial perceptions of the Most Ancient Church, nor the book of nature which lay open before the men of that Church. It is not the Ancient Word, possessed by the Ancient Church, which contained eleven chapters of Genesis, Jasher, the Wars of Jehovah, and Prophetical Annunciations. Nor is it the Law and the Prophets of the Old Testament, nor the five sacred books in the New Testament. Yet all these messages to extinct churches can be opened up under the radiance that has come to the New Church as "lightning shining from the east to the west." (Matt. 24:27.) For the message of the Lord in His Second Coming was given through Swedenborg, and it is according to the spirit and letter of the Writings that the New Church is to be established and led. They are its Word.

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     On this point, they who insist that the new wine is to be found only in the old bottles allege that the Writings cannot be a Word, because they are not, as to their letter, a cryptogram to be elucidated by correspondences. They deny to them any spirit of greater depth than is to be found by the casual reader in their plain statements. A brief consideration, however, will show how lacking in weight are both these objections.

     In the Hebrew Word, the letters, and even the points and curves, have a correspondential sense. Passing to the Greek Testament, whose basic units of correspondence are not the letters, but individual words, we find that this difference has not invalidated their being a Word. If, then, an extension of the basis, from what is more minute to what is more general, does not constitute a disqualification, there can be no objection to the Writings' being a Word, on the ground that their ultimate bases of correspondence are neither letters nor points, nor yet the separate words, but single phrases or sentences embracing rational ideas. Being written in correspondences of letters or words is not, therefore, an essential point to a book's being a Word; for Job was written according to correspondences, and yet it is not the Word.

     The two following passages show that it is not always necessary, nor even sufficient, for the discovery of the internal sense, that the letter of the Word should be interpreted, word for word, according to the science of correspondences:

     "The internal sense is not only that sense which lies hidden in the external sense, as shown hitherto, but also that which results from many passages of the sense of the letter rightly compared with one another, and which is apperceived by those who are illustrated by the Lord as to the intellectual." (A. C. 7233:3.) "The series itself, according to its true quality, cannot shine forth by the explanation of the several words, for they then appear as discreted, and the continuity of the sense is dissipated, but only when all things are viewed together in one idea, or are perceived under one view of the thought, as takes place with those who are in the internal sense and at the same time in heavenly light from the Lord." (A. C. 2343.)

     The essential test of what causes a book to be the Word is, that it should have proceeded from the mouth of the Lord, alone and that, in consequence, its doctrinals should have this "continuity of sense," and be continuous truths from Him.

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Both these requirements are plainly satisfied by the Writings. (See De Verbo 13 end; T. C. R. 508.)

     Moreover, it is said that the Word is like a man covered with a garment, having only his hands and face bare. (S. S. 55, 40.) A wise man would conclude from this that it should be esteemed and judged rather from those bare parts than from those which are covered. In fact, the Divine teaching goes on to say that "all things which pertain to man's life, thus to his salvation, are bare, but the rest clothed; and in many places where they are clothed, they are transparent, like a face through thin silk." (Ibid.) In these bare parts of the Word, the spiritual sense stands forth even in the letter; as, for instance, in the Old Testament: "And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and all thy soul, and all thy strength." (Deut. 6:5, 6.) With reference to this particular passage, we are taught that "the sense of the letter here is similar to the internal sense, as elsewhere in many places, especially where it treats of the essentials of faith, which, because they are necessary to salvation, are stated in the letter such as they are in the internal sense." (A. C. 2225.) In the New Testament, the bared parts are still more numerous; as, for instance, in the explanation of various parables by the Lord.

     And so in the Writings, in which is fulfilled the promise of the "making bare of God's arm," it is little wonder that the essential Man within them should be as nude as were those in Eden, who were created in His image and likeness, and were not ashamed. Nor does the plain statement of a spiritual message, whether in the Writings as a whole or in former Revelations in far less degree, deprive that plain message of greater depths; for it takes on deeper values as it is viewed by a progressive elevation of the mind to discretely higher planes.

     Again, the mentality of New Churchmen, trained in the Writings under this concept of their Divinity, will prepare them for a heaven which is not the celestial heaven of the Most Ancient Church, formed of those living prior to the Flood, nor the spiritual heaven of the Ancient Church for those who lived between the Flood and the Lord's Advent, nor the natural heaven for those who lived between the Lord's two Advents.

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     The three essentials in the Lord's essence,-love, wisdom, and use,-when received in human minds by virtue of specific revelations, have developed three states of discreted mentality that gave rise, respectively, to these three heavens. The number of the heavens may be doubled, by considering each to be divided into a celestial and a spiritual kingdom; and to these can be added a seventh heaven, which intervenes between both sets of three, and is said to be the heaven for the celestial spiritual, in a noteworthy passage in the Spiritual Diary which declares that there are seven heavens. (S. D. 5547.)

     The descriptions given in the Writings, of societies in the new natural heaven of Christians, with the evidence that the heavenly doctrines of the New Jerusalem reign there, have led some to suppose that this heaven would be the goal of New Churchmen. This idea has also been strengthened by a parallelism between the natural heaven, as the last in the order of formation of the heavens, and the New Church as the last or crown of the Churches. To the first of these reasons I would reply that Swedenborg has not given us any ocular testimony about heavenly societies composed of persons whose minds had been trained by reading the Writings, for the simple reason that, prior to 1772, there were hardly any who had gone to the spiritual world with minds so formed. To the second reason I would add, that men during all ages have gone to all the three or seven heavens, and that, as I propose to show, the molding of the minds by the Writings tends peculiarly to prepare for that heaven of the celestial spiritual which runs the entire gamut between the three heavens of the celestial kingdom and the three heavens of the spiritual kingdom.

     Conditions due to the relation of the heavens to the hells, and of both to the church on earth, and of all three to the nature of the Lord's manifestations, brought it about that men who went to the other world, with one, two, or three degrees of their minds opened to or closed against the Divine, had not, for many ages, been fully segregated from one another. And yet they all belonged potentially to three heavens or three hells that would be severally segregated at the great judgments which were to occur at the Flood and at each of the Lord's Advents. Now these successive segregations may be likened to successive and permanent formations in a growing man, the last of the three occurring when he attains adult age.

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In the age which then ensues, there is a lifelong occupation in the line of coordinating the various formations that have been builded in him; and though considerable care will be expanded in sustaining each of the three formations, still the main characteristic of the crown of ages is such a coordination. It is for this reason that I consider the heaven for New Churchmen to be in the connecting bonds between the heavens,-namely, the heaven of the celestial spiritual. But let us proceed to the doctrinal evidence for this.

     In A. R. 878, we read: "The internal of the heaven of Christians was not fully formed by the Lord until a little while before the Last Judgment, and also after it." (See also A. R. 718.) This "little while before and after it" is when the Writings were being written. It would seem a reasonable deduction that minds trained in and loving these Writings would be in a state internal to the general heaven of Christians, who knew little about them.

     Now another passage, (A. R. 895), explaining the signification of John's being called up to see the bride, the Lamb's wife, states that this means "an influx and manifestation by the Lord out of the inmost of heaven concerning the New Church." Thus, when John went up to see the bride, the New Jerusalem, he drew nigh to the Lord, "inflowing," as the passage states later on, "from the inmost of heaven, and speaking through the inmost heaven." The indication here is, that the New Church heaven must extend upwards beyond the natural heaven to such inmost regions as well.

     Again, in the explanation of the sealing of the tribes (Rev. 7), which are there classified in four trilogies, the first one of Judah, Reuben, and Gad is said in the Apocalypse Explained to represent the celestial heaven; the second one, of Asher, Naphtali, and Manasseh, the spiritual heaven; and the third, of Simeon, Levi, and Issachar, the natural heaven. But there remains a fourth trilogy, which is said to represent, not any one of these regular heavens, but "the conjunction of each" in turn "with the Lord." Zebulon is said to be the conjunction of those in the third heaven with the Lord; and Benjamin, of those in the ultimate heaven with the Lord. (A. E. 446-50.) Now Joseph, who is central in the trilogy, is said repeatedly to represent the celestial spiritual, or a peculiarly rational function.

547


It would seem likely that this group of three would then refer to that same heaven of the celestial spiritual, mentioned in S. D. 5547 as the connective link between the three heavens of the celestial and the three of the spiritual kingdoms. But here the additional information is given that it conjoins each of the heavens with the Lord.

     Now it plainly follows that a heaven which, from its intimate relation to the Lord, is called "the bride, the Lamb's wife," must be nearer to Him than any of the three regular heavens. Worshiping Him, according to the Writings, in His Glorified Divine Human as both Alpha and Omega, the minds of New Churchmen will be closer to the Lard, both internally and externally, than was ever the case before. They will be nearer to Him with regard to His influx of good into the three regions of the celestial kingdom, and with regard to His afflux of truth into the three regions of the spiritual kingdom. They will thus be in the highway between Canaan and Egypt, or in the labors of Joseph, who conjoined the twain. And also, being intermediates between the Lord and these six heavens, they will be in a state in which good and truth are received in more equal measure than in the other six. The gamut of their minds will be of wider range, too, than is the case with others; for the heaven of the celestial spiritual (S. D. 5547, seq.) is a full intermediate between both sets of three heavens; and though one of the three planes,-Zebulon, Joseph, or Benjamin,-will inevitably predominate with a given individual, still the others will not be lacking in development.

     It is possibly a sign of how few salvable people there are at this day in our world, and of how great is the need that the three or six regular heavens should sustain themselves by new recruits, even at the cost of infringing upon the seminary to a heaven more glorious than theirs, that so small a proportion of New Churchmen diligently read the Writings, and that still fewer are in the desire to be deeply grounded in the Heavenly Doctrines. And if the mass of New Churchmen look more to the Christian world than to the distinctive message to the New Church, and are more interested in cultivating a moral brotherhood among salvable Christians than in strengthening the basis of the New Jerusalem, it would seem as of the goal of their striving was not further than the natural heavens of the Christians.

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     But this is far below the height to which New Churchmen are bidden to strive, if all things are to be made new with them. It therefore behooves them to keep constantly before their eyes this superlative goal, and at the same time not to discourage or neglect any instrumentalities that will contribute to impress the Heavenly Doctrines more vitally upon their own minds, and in the minds of the tender little ones who are under their care. "For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required." (Luke 12:48.)
"HEAVEN AND HELL." 1929

"HEAVEN AND HELL."              1929

     "Anyone desiring accurate, full, and first-hand knowledge of that wonderful, causal world which is his very near destiny, may obtain it from this remarkable book, written by one who had uninterrupted experience in that world for nearly twenty-nine years. Swedenborg was a spiritual explorer, directed in every detail of his Divine commission by the Lord Jesus Christ, Whose servant he was and is. Everyone professing membership in the New Church holds the great privilege by virtue of the revelation establishing it; and therefore a vital membership can only be realized in a sound knowledge of what is revealed, gained for the purpose of regeneration.

     "In this world, the choice of one's residence is regarded as very important. The building of a house to be one's very own is attended with much joy, which is usually experienced when only a very limited time remains for its enjoyment. Nevertheless, owing to the spiritual desolation that has necessitated the Lord's Second Advent, the close proximity of an eternal world attracts little attention. Many who believe that there is a supernatural sphere, but are ignorant of the fact that it is a real and substantial world, which is related to this world as cause to effect, seek in a disorderly way to gain admission, only to become more steeped in the prevailing gross naturalism." (REV. RICHARD MORSE in THE NEW AGE, June, 1929, p. 18.)

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SOURCES OF DOCTRINE 1929

SOURCES OF DOCTRINE       STANLEY E. PARKER       1929


NEW CHURCH LIFE
Office a Publication, Lancaster, Pa.
Published Monthly By
THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM
BRYN ATHYN, PA.
Editor                    Rev. W. B. Caldwell, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager          Mr. H. Hyatt, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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

     TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$3.00 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single Copy, 30 cents
DOCTRINE FROM THE WRITINGS AND THE NON-CANONICAL WORD

Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE:
     The gradual recognition and acknowledgment of the Divinity of written revelations, to which the Rev. Theodore Pitcairn referred in the June number of the LIFE (P. 344) is illustrated in the case of the crowning revelation by Dr. Alfred Acton's recent discovery confirming the date of Swedenborg's first intromission into the spiritual world as 1743, and not 1745, which indicates that further sources of doctrine are available to those who believe in a certain canon of the Writings, inasmuch as the Worship and Love of God and other publications apparently now come under the head of "Theological Works" of the post-intromission period.

     The Roman Catholic, whose doctrine is "ever one and the same," asserts that "the fundamental maxim of Protestantism is that there are no limits to change"; and although the time can never come when members of the Old Church will admit that they have "no knowledge of the holiness of the Word," and "no knowledge of the Gospel, except what is erroneous," nevertheless large sections of that Church are proving the truth of the assertion by their rejection of what they have hitherto regarded as the canon of Scripture. But if the taunt of the Roman Catholic befits Protestants who profess to "believe unfeignedly in the canonical Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments," how much more does it apply (in a sense, of course, entirely unknown to the orthodox) to the progressive states of New Churchmen, with whom (as I think the Bishop said at the great London Assembly) the differences of opinion which existed at the beginning of their history will probably ever continue!

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     Some years ago I received somewhat of a shock when informed that there were some New Churchmen who regarded the Writings as the Word. Consequent upon illuminating communications from the Rev. Albert Bjorck and others, I was still pondering over precisely what was involved in their belief-resting content in the meantime with the Divinely revealed truth that "doctrine is to be drawn from the literal sense of the Word, and confirmed by that sense"-when my faith was again disturbed by a communication appearing in the LIFE for February last (P. 120) in which Mr. Conrad Howard suggested that the statement made in S. S. 50 "involves a universal law that is applicable to all inspired Revelation, whether Mahometan, Jewish, Christian, or the Word of the Writings."

     Without attempting to discover what inspired truths there may be in the Koran, I have been endeavoring to ascertain whether, (and if so, to what extent), the statement made in S. S. 50 and elsewhere applies to the Apostolic Word, and how, in view of the definition of the "Word" given in A. C. 10,325, certain statements in the Writings are proved thereby. For while, in most of the Writings, the passages are chiefly supported by references to the canonical Word, there are other passages proved by references to the non-canonical Word, the greater part of the latter being to the Apostolic Word-sometimes in conjunction with quotations from the canon, and sometimes with quotations from the Epistles alone. Among such passages are the following:

     A. R. 820.-A passage explanatory of The White Horse (Rev. xix, 11) wherein, after stating that "the Lord said that they should see the Son of Man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory," reference is made to passages in the Gospels, the Apocalypse, and the Acts of the Apostles.

     A. R. 828.-Explaining that "smiting the nations" and "ruling them with a rod of iron" (Rev. xxi, 15) signifies the conviction of "all who are in a dead faith by the truths of the sense of the letter of the Word"; and that "faith alone without works is a dead faith, as appears clearly" from the passages from the Epistles of James and Paul there quoted.

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C. L. 524.-Stating that "every man's life remains with him after death," and that this is known in the Church from these passages in the Word," and where the quotations in support are again taken from the Gospels, the Apocalypse, and the Apostolic Word.

     T. C. R. 137.-A memorable relation of an occurrence in the spiritual world, wherein it is narrated that an angel from heaven read certain "passages from the Holy Word" to show that his faith and that of his associates was "a faith in the true God, in whom resides all Divinity," and the passages so read were from the Apostolic Word and from Matthew. (T. C. R. 1376.) Further, in the words of his Index to the Memorable Relations in T. C. R., Swedenborg himself "demonstrated from the Word that Christ even as to His Human is God, as well as from the book containing the dogmatic Creed of the Evangelicals, called the Formula Concordiae, that in Christ God is man, and man God." (XXI.)

     T. C. R. 175.-A number in which it is stated that "the Apostolic Church knew nothing of a trinity of persons from eternity, as is evident from the creed of that Church, which is called the Apostolic Creed," and four quotations-from the Apostolic Word and from Matthew-are then given to show precisely what "they knew from the Apostles."

     T. C. R. 690.-Explaining that "the baptism of John represented the cleansing of the external man, but the baptism which is at this day among Christians represents the cleansing of the internal man, which is regeneration,-and therefore the baptism of John is called the baptism of repentance." This teaching is confirmed by references to texts in one chapter of each of the Gospels, and to three chapters of the Acts.

     In the Spiritual Diary, however, we read that, "in his Epistles, Paul has not mentioned a syllable of what the Lord taught," and that the explanation of the Word of the Lord by means of the Epistles of Paul causes a departure from the good of charity. (S. D. 4412, 4824.) With regard to the Epistles generally, we are informed in A. E. 815 that there is no spiritual sense in the writings of the Apostles; and in A. C. 10325, that "those which have not (that sense) are not the Word." If, therefore, the aforementioned passages are proved by quotations from the Apostolic Word, and are regarded either as doctrine, or as illustrations of the way in which doctrine is to be drawn and confirmed, it does not appear that such doctrine is drawn from and confirmed by the literal sense of "the Word " defined by A. C. 10325.

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     And yet we learn from A. C. 1, that there were a few internal truths which the Lord revealed and explained to the apostles; from T. C. R. 190, that "the Lord . . . spoke the Word written by the Evangelists, much of it from His own mouth, and the rest from the Spirit of His mouth, which is the Holy Spirit, through His twelve apostles"; and from no. 154, "that the apostles, after they had received the gift of the Holy Spirit, Preached the Gospel throughout much of the world, and published it both orally and by writings, and this they did of themselves from the Lord."

     The Epistles, then, are not only "useful boobs for the church" (A. E. 815), but portions of them have, at any rate, been chosen to confirm doctrine stated in the Writings. And if they are available for the confirmation of doctrine, are not such portions equally available for its deduction, seeing that "all truth which is from the Divine is called the Word"? (A. C. 9987.)

     On the other hand, "the spiritual sense of the Word is at this day disclosed by the Lord because the doctrine of genuine truth is now revealed, and this doctrine, and no other, agrees with the spiritual sense of the Word." (S. S. 25.) And if, instead of the aforementioned passages being themselves regarded as doctrine, they be regarded as furnishing a letter from which doctrine is to be drawn, what is thus presented is available for the deduction of doctrine within the limits defined by A. C. 10325. Viewed in this way, it would seem to follow that while the passages are not themselves to be subjected to the law laid down in S. S. 50 and elsewhere, the reliability of doctrine drawn by men (that is to say "by those in illustration from the Lord") from any "inspired Revelation, whether Mahometan, Jewish, Christian, or the Word of the Writings" must be tested by "the Word" defined by A. C. 10325.

     The last mentioned proposition seems to offer a possible solution of the apparently conflicting meaning of the term "Word" in S. S. 50 and A. C. 10325, but your comments will be esteemed by
     Yours faithfully,
          STANLEY E. PARKER.
DEAL, ENGLAND, July 7, 1929.

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     EDITORIAL COMMENT.

     In compliance with the suggestion of our correspondent, we shall offer a few comments upon the contents of his communication. First, in regard to the use of the term "doctrine."

     Doctrine in general, or teaching, may be drawn from many sources, as from nature, from human history, from the writings of men. It is the universal practice of men to gather instruction, to derive teaching or doctrine from such sources, and to confirm the doctrine by them. Thus the doctrine of evolution is derived from the facts or appearances of nature, and confirmed by them. From Swedenborg's philosophical works we derive a doctrine of the atmospheres, and confirm it by them. This method of gaining instruction, and of formulating it, may be said to follow a universal law.

     But the doctrine of the church is to be drawn or derived solely from the Word of God, which is the only source of Divine Doctrine, given to men only by Divine revelation; given through heaven, and therefore called "heavenly doctrine,"-the doctrine of spiritual truth, which is the Divine Truth revealed to the spiritual understanding of man. This subject is treated in the Doctrine of the Sacred Scripture, Chapter V, the heading of which reads: "The Doctrine of the Church is to be drawn from the Sense of the Letter of the Word, and confirmed thereby." And the reason for this is given,-"because there, and not elsewhere, the Lord is present with man, and enlightens and teaches him the truths of the church." (S. S. 50, 53.)

     Thus the doctrine of the church is to be drawn from the Word, and confirmed by it. And that doctrine may then be confirmed by many things. "It is allowable to confirm the truths of the church by reason or the understanding as much as one pleases, and also by various things in nature; . . . also by the Word." (Inv. 51.) In the Writings throughout, the spiritual truth of doctrine is confirmed by the Scriptures, by natural truth, by human experience, and at times by passages from the non-canonical books of pre-Advent times, as well as from the Acts and Epistles of the Apostles. All these are sources of confirmation, but not of the doctrine of the church. A careful distinction should be made in this matter.

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Our correspondent, speaking of the Epistles, asks: "If they are available for the confirmation of doctrine, are not such portions equally available for its dedication, seeing that all truth which is from the Divine is called the Word' (A. C. 9987)?" If by "deduction" he means the drawing or derivation of the doctrine of the church from the Epistles, we would say that the Epistles are available for the confirmation of such doctrine, but not for its deduction. For while Swedenborg, in the Writings, employs the teachings of the Epistles to confirm, he nowhere derives the doctrine of the church from them, as we shall endeavor to show later in speaking of the "Apostolic Word."

     Now, if the Writings are the Word, the doctrine of the New Church may be drawn from them, and confirmed by them. And is not the Lord "present there, enlightening and teaching man the truths of the church"? We read: "For the sake of the end that the Lord may be constantly present, He has disclosed to me the spiritual sense of His Word, in which the Divine Truth is in its light, and in this He is continually present; for His presence in the Word is solely through the spiritual sense, and through the light of this sense He passes into the shade in which is the sense of the letter." (T. C. R. 780.)

     Specifically, the teaching in the Doctrine of the Sacred Scripture, 50, 53, refers to the sense of the letter of the Old and New Testaments as the source of the doctrine of the church, but are we not justified in applying the same teaching, the same law, to the Writings? Have not New Churchmen done so, even from the beginning of the Church? What, then, is the "canon of the Writings"?

     This is for the New Church to determine. The canon of the Word of the Old and New Testaments is determined for us in A. C. 10325, and many books of the Bible are thus pronounced non-canonical, including the Acts and Epistles of the Apostles. Declarations to the same effect are made elsewhere in the Writings.

     "The Worship and Love of God."

     Our correspondent first raises a question as to the status of The Worship and Love of God and other publications (presumably The Word Explained and Index Biblicus) written during the period that followed Swedenborg's first call in the year 1743. And he suggests that these "may now come under the head of 'Theological Works' as further sources of doctrine available to those who believe in a certain canon of the Writings."

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     The status of these works, we think, should be determined by the character of their contents, and not merely by the fact that they were written after the year 1743. Swedenborg began the Memorabilia (Spiritual Diary) and the Arcana Coelestia in 1747, and the period intervening between 1743 and 1747 was one of transition from the "philosophical" to the "theological" period. He was completing the one, and entering upon the other.

     The Worship and Love of God, published in 1745, may be said to represent the close and culmination of the philosophical period in an acknowledgment that all true philosophy should lead men to love and worship God. The very theme looks logically to the "theological" period, but the book does not claim to be Divine Revelation, nor to be a "theological work." In 1744, Swedenborg indeed made this note in his diary: "Something was told about my book; it was said that it would be a divine Book on the worship and love of God (en Liber divinus e Dei cultu et amore)." (Journal of Dreams, p. 91.) But we would hardly be justified in ascribing to this use of the word "divine" a claim of Divine Revelation. Rather, it seems to refer to the title and contents of the book, as treating of a divine subject,-the worship and love of God. Later, in the History of Creation, Swedenborg states that it was written "under the guidance of the understanding, or according to the thread of reason," and therefore must be "compared with what is revealed in the Sacred Volume." (No. 9.)

     Swedenborg began to enter upon the "theological" period by turning to the study of the Word, and the record of this is found in The Word Explained and the Index Biblicus. Here we find the evidence of his gradual intromission into the spiritual world and into the interiors of the Word, of his acquiring a knowledge of correspondences, and also of spiritual doctrine. The writings of this period have been called "intermediate" and "preparatory" works; one or two writers have advocated placing them within a "canon of the Writings," but this is not the general opinion of those who are familiar with their contents. In his Index to the Spiritual Diary, Swedenborg included many passages from The Word Explained, and quite a number are to be found in Potts Concordance, especially under "Swedenborg," where his own declarations as to the nature of his writings are quoted.

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An exact definition of the status of The Word Explained may well be left to the future. As we said before, it was written during a transition period in the revelator's life, and much of it deals with the natural and internal historical sense of the Word, not with the purely spiritual sense. It belongs in the realm of intermediates,-that "twilight zone" which holds so many problems for the human mind, as in the relation of the Infinite and the finite, the beginnings of creation, the inmosts of nature, and so on.

     Of this we are confident, that when New Churchmen become more generally acquainted with the contents of these works, they will find that they contain teaching of great value, and that they are at least "good books for the church," confirmatory of its doctrine. The same may be said of all of Swedenborg's earlier works. The philosophical works embody a great system of natural truth, upon which he drew for confirmations of the spiritual truth of doctrine throughout the Writings. But that spiritual truth of doctrine,-the "doctrine of the church,"-he received from the Lord alone by an immediate revelation. "From the first day of that call, I have received nothing whatever, pertaining to the doctrine of that Church, from any angel, but from the Lord alone, while I read the Word." (T. C. R. 779.)

     A study of The Word Explained, now becoming available in English, would seem to be a more important present duty than the effort to define its exact status. So far as the General Church has an established or recognized "canon of the Writings," it begins with the Arcana Celestia and the Spiritual Diary, written concurrently from the year 1747 onward.

     The "Apostolic Word."

     Because of the frequent use of the expression "Apostolic Word'' in the above communication, it would be well to recall the passages in the Writings where it occurs. So far as we are aware, it is used in only three places, as follows:

     A. R. 490 end: That God is One in person, "this the whole Word teaches, both the Old Prophetic and the New Apostolic." Nothing is said here to the effect that the Epistles are part of the New Apostolic Word.

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Coronis, no. 1: "These three,-the Consummation of the Age, the Advent of the Lord, and the New Church,-are treated of in the Word, both the Prophetic and the Apostolic, and fully in the Apocalypse. That they are treated of in the Prophetic Word of the Old Testament, was made evident to me when it was granted to explain it by means of the spiritual sense; similarly also in the Prophetic Book of the New Testament, which is called the Apocalypse. That it is also treated of in the Evangelic and Apostolic Word, will be evident from what follows."

     A distinction seems to be made here between the "Evangelic" and the "Apostolic" Word. Throughout the Writings the Four Gospels are referred to as the "Evangelists," but Matthew and John were also Apostles. We think, however, that the term "Apostolic Word " here includes the Acts and the Epistles of the Apostles, since they are frequently thereafter quoted in the Coronis, in confirmation of the doctrine there set forth.

     Coronis 59 end: "For these reasons the Advent of the Lord was predicted so many times in the Old Prophetic Word, and for the same reason the Lord was preached, and His Second Advent foretold, in the New Evangelic and Apostolic Word."

     In T. C. R. 158, we find the statement: "The Holy Spirit is nowhere named in the Word of the Old Testament, but frequently in the Word of the New Testament, both in the Evangelists and in the Acts of the Apostles, and in their Epistles."

     It is evident that Swedenborg, in the Writings, occasionally used the term "Word" as synonymous with "Bible," including all the books which Christians have believed to be the Word of God. Such a use of the term "Word" was at least a convenient form of reference in addressing the Christian reader and exhorting him to receive the Heavenly Doctrine concerning the Lord as God, the futility of faith alone, and the need of the good works of charity, and confirming this Doctrine by reference to the writings of the Apostles, which Christians have venerated as of Divine authority,-a powerful mode of appeal which the New Church evangelist might fell emulate. This is especially manifest in the True Christian Religion and the Coronis, the last of the Writings, where most of the references to the Acts and the Epistles occur, and where mention is made of an "Invitation to the whole Christian world to come to the New Church and worthily receive the Lord." (Coronis, Summary LV.)

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     We hold, therefore, that Swedenborg's use of the term "Apostolic Word" was merely according to Christian usage, in recognition of the belief of the Christian reader,-"by courtesy," as it were,-in much the same manner as he frequently cites the Athanasian Creed and the Formula Concordiae in confirmation of the true doctrine. The same would apply in the case of the angel who was addressing a group of the clergy, and who read them "some things from the Holy Word," which were quotations from the Epistles of John and Paul, and lastly what "the Lord Himself said" in Matthew 28:18. (T. C. R. 1378.)

     Are we, then, to attach a special significance to the few places in the Writings where Swedenborg refers to the Acts and the Epistles as the "Apostolic Word," and occasionally includes them in the term "New Testament"? Are we to assume that these writings of the Apostles are therefore part of the canonical Word of the Lord, and that New Churchmen would be justified in adopting the term "Apostolic Word" when referring to the Acts and Epistles?

     These questions must be answered in the light of the definite teaching that the Acts and Epistles are not part of the Word of the Lord. They are not included in the list given in A. C. 10325, where we are told that "the books of the Word are all those which have an internal sense; but those which have not that sense are not the Word." Our correspondent has noted the statement that "the Epistles of Paul have not an internal sense, as is known in the other life" (S. D. 4824), and also Swedenborg's reason for not quoting the Epistles in A. E. 815, namely, because "the writings of the Apostles do not contain a, spiritual sense," although they "are useful books for the Church." Answering Dr. Beyer's query as to why he "did not anywhere speak of the writings of the apostles as being God's Word," Swedenborg replied: "In respect to the writings of the apostles and Paul, I have not quoted them in the Arcana Celestia, because they are doctrinal writings, and consequently are not written in the style of the Word. . . . They were written thus, that the new Christian Church might be commenced through them. . . . The writings of the apostles are, nevertheless, good books for the church." (See Tafel's Documents, Vol. II, pp. 238, 240.)

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     The difference between the "style of the Word" and that of the Acts and Epistles is quite manifest to the New Church student. As "good books for the Church," the apostolic writings contain valuable historical records of the early Christian Church, and doctrinal matter of great interest; as, for example, Paul's teaching concerning charity in I Corinthians, ch. 13. Doctrine may be drawn from these books, and confirmed by them, but with discrimination, since "Paul was not allowed to take a single parable, and not even a doctrine, from the Lord, and to expound and explain it, but he took all things from himself." (S. D. 4824.) And certainly the doctrine of the New Church cannot be drawn from these writings of the Apostles, although it may be confirmed by them, so far as they agree with the true doctrine of the Lord's Word, as revealed by the Lord Himself to Swedenborg.

     Our correspondent has cited a number of passages of the Writings in which the Acts and Epistles are quoted. We have examined these and many others, and we find in every case that those quotations are employed as confirmations of the doctrine of the New Church, and never as the sources of it.

     Now we must recognize the Providence in the inclusion of the non-canonical books in the Christian Bible, and in the frequent quotations from them in the Writings, especially from the Book of Job and from the Acts and the Epistles. How numerous those quotations are, may be seen from the list in Searle's Index, pp. 312-396. In the Arcana Celestia we are given the internal sense or a number of passages in the Book of Job. It was written by correspondences, but was not a book of the Word. (See A. C. 3540, 3813.) The Apostles were inspired in their writing and speaking, and yet the Acts (written by Luke) and the Epistles of Paul, John, James, etc., were not written in the style of the Word, have not an internal sense, and so differ from the four Gospels and the Apocalypse. How the inspiration of the latter differed from that of the other apostolic writings is a subject that must be left for treatment on another occasion.

     In this connection we may revert to Mr. Conrad Howard's reference to the Koran as "inspired Revelation." (NEW CHURCH LIFE, February, 1929, p. 120.) We do not think he intended to imply that the Koran is Divine Revelation and the Word of God. But the Mohammedans do regard it as "inspired Revelation": and so they draw doctrine from it, and confirm their doctrine by it, according to the universal law of interpretation which Mr. Howard held to be "applicable to all inspired Revelation, whether Mahometan, Jewish, Christian or the Word of the Writings."

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FREDERIC HENRY HEDGE AND THE NEW CHURCH 1929

FREDERIC HENRY HEDGE AND THE NEW CHURCH       CLARENCE HOTSON       1929

     Since writing my article, "Emerson's Title for 'Swedenborg,'" (NEW CHURCH LIFE, July, 1929, p. 390), I have come upon the following statement which the Rev. B. F. Barrett printed in the NEW JERUSALEM MAGAZINE for October, 1845, in regard to his missionary work in behalf of the New Church in Bangor, Maine: "I preached one discourse on the Sabbath in the Unitarian Church, at the solicitation of the Rev. Mr. Hedge, the Unitarian minister."

     Mr. Barrett then said that there were five to six hundred persons present, who showed great interest in his message: "Both Mr. Hedge and his congregation profess and manifest a good deal of friendly feeling towards the New Church. Mr. H. has himself read some of the works of Swedenborg in former years, and is still disposed to treat them with great respect. He once wrote a long and very favorable review of the True Christian Religion for the CHRISTIAN EXAMINER, in which he spoke of it as the best system of theology he had any knowledge of." (NEW JERUSALEM MAGAZINE, XIX, 74.)

     This quotation proves at least one thing,-that, in 1845, Mr. Hedge's attitude toward Swedenborg and the New Church was quite different from that which he expressed, or seemed to express, in his article in the CHRISTIAN EXAMINER for November, 1833, from which, as I showed, Emerson got the idea of calling Swedenborg a "mystic." In the light of Mr. Hedge's later action, and his later characterization of his article on Swedenborg in the CHRISTIAN EXAMINER, it is possible to take a more charitable view of his motive in writing that article than I took in my account of it. Mr. Barrett apparently took Mr. Hedge's own account or description of that article, which is really in no sense a review of the True Christian Religion, but an effort to classify Swedenborg as a mystic in one of three orders or kinds of mysticism. Mr. Hedge's memory of his earlier effort had undergone the softening process of time.

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     It is quite possible, of course, that Mr. Hedge wrote that article, and the comments he made on the "three classes," without at all realizing what he was doing, and certainly without any conscious purpose of insinuating a detraction which he did not wish to make directly. Nevertheless, his article would have the effect upon most readers that it had upon Emerson, namely, of causing them to associate the name of Swedenborg with the most unpleasant ideas Hedge had mentioned in his general account of mysticism.

     It is pleasant, at any rate, to note the kindness with which Mr. Hedge received Mr. Barrett and his message, which contrasts strongly with the violent attack of the Calvinist, Enoch Pond, in Swedenborgianism Reviewed, Bangor, 1846.
     CLARENCE HOTSON, PH.D.
Watertown, Mass., August 5, 1929.
ERROR IN THE PHOTOTYPE EDITION 1929

ERROR IN THE PHOTOTYPE EDITION              1929

     "Some time ago it was discovered, through the activities of Dr. Alfred Acton, of Bryn Athyn, Pa., U. S. A., that pages 483 and 516 of the Phototype Edition of Diarium Spirituale III were identical. Pages 1034 and 1035 of the original manuscript had been reproduced on both of these pages, two Pages of the MS. comprising one of the phototype. Pages 1134 and 1135 of the original had not been reproduced.

     "Arrangements were made with the Librarian of the Royal Academy, Stockholm, Sweden, who has charge of the MS., whereby a number of copies of the missing pages (page 516 in the Phototype Edition) were reproduced. These were sent, as far as records allowed, to institutions known to possess the Phototype Edition. Any Librarian who did not receive the page should apply for a copy to the Secretary of the Swedenborg Society, Inc., 20 Hart Street, W. C. 1, London, England." (NEW-CHURCH HERALD, July 6, 1929, p. 423.)

     A similar arrangement will doubtless be made by the American distributors of the Phototype Edition.

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"HIGHER" EVOLUTION 1929

"HIGHER" EVOLUTION       Rev. HUGO LJ. ODHNER       1929

EMANUEL SWEDENBORG, PROPHET OF THE HIGHER EVOLUTION.
By John R. Swanton, Ph.D. New York: The New-Church Press, 1928. Pp. vi., 130, small octave. Price, $1.25.

     From the title of the interesting little work which lies before us, one might expect a treatment of the doctrine of regeneration by which men can undergo the marvelous development from mortal to angelhood. For that process is the only "higher evolution" of which Swedenborg, as we know him, was the prophet. But the subject matter of Dr. Swanton's book is quite of a different nature, since it concerns itself almost exclusively with the evolutionary method in the formation of the globe and of its organic kingdoms.

     After defining "evolution," and outlining the history of the concept of the origin of species by organic descent from a common stock, the author, apparently furnished by considerable studies of the preparatory works of Swedenborg, as well as by New Church faith and an encyclopedic knowledge of science, explains that although Swedenborg "set before himself the usual scientific method of approach,"-(1) experience (experiment) to ascertain the facts, (2) geometry or inductive reasoning to discover the underlying laws, and (3) reason or deductive reasoning from the laws or principles so discovered,-yet he had also the superior advantage of an a priori admission of the existence of the Deity, and an elevation of the Deity and the human soul above the mechanical processes of nature. (P. 33.) Consequently, the author argues in effect, Swedenborg's evolution of the universe from the primal egg of the sun, and of the organic kingdoms from their origins, was a "higher" evolution; resting not merely upon the material causes of progressive development, such as natural selection and the survival of the fittest, but also upon spiritual guiding causes, which make the whole process intelligible.

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     The author professes Swedenborg, not as the discoverer but only as the prophet, of this superior evolution. He calls the "arboreal theory," which Swedenborg delineates in the somewhat ambiguous chapters of the Worship and Love of God, "a strange sort of evolution, but an evolution none the less" (p. 60). Swedenborg's cosmogony, even including the Principia doctrine of creation (which he treats as a precursor to the Nebular Hypothesis), "was not only evolutionary, but founded upon observed facts, even though the deductions at times proved erroneous " (p. 126).

     Dr. Swanton is undoubtedly correct in regarding Swedenborg, who ever sought for law and continuity in the processes of creation, as an evolutionist of a sort. But we have grave doubts whether a Swedenborg-were he living on earth today-could so easily as Dr. Swanton accept the animal ancestry of man. In making friends with the Mammon of unrighteousness, we must be doubly careful as to what coinage is passed into our hands. New Churchmen may gratefully and usefully accept the findings of research without swallowing the world's theories.

     Personally, we cannot avoid the admission that Preadamite Man may have evolved from very humble dimensions and forms; yet that the human species (so discretely superior to all the animals, and the product of a soul formed from a purer and better world) could be "evolved" from a common animal stock, is a proposition which finds many obstacles in the Writings. The soul is a formative essence, not a result of development. Until we are shown from the Doctrine how the human soul might be introduced into an animal ovum, to produce the first man, we must hold our faith aloof from the species of evolution of which this book claims Swedenborg to have been a prophet.

     The admitted deficiencies of present evolutionary theories are not wholly supplied by merely adding to them the doctrine of influx and of spiritual causation to explain the hitherto unexplained sudden "leaps" or radical changes which a study of the rocks has now and then revealed within species. It is not by "adding God" to the present theories, but by accepting God at the start, and constructing an interpretative philosophy from the Revelations which He has given, that the facts about the origin of man can gradually become more intelligible to New Churchmen. In the meantime, patience is needed.

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     In the section on "Swedenborg and Cultural Evolution," the author speaks of the ancient churches, their rise, their decadence and fall, concluding that, with the coming of Christ, "an upward movement began which has continued, though with varied acceleration, ever since." (P. 63.) Here speaks the optimism of the evolutionary historian, whose pet obsession we all share more or less,-that we are growing "better and better every day."

     Some comments on anthropology (page 93) yield the interesting opinion that the Most Ancient Church might be assigned to the Pliocene Period, its later phases being represented in the early Stone Age peoples, and the extinction of the Neanderthal race is compared to the "Flood," after which the Ancient Church arose, in the Upper Paleolithic Age, among the highly artistic races classed as the Reindeer men. Dr. Swanton regards the Mousterians (Neanderthalers) as representing the most degenerate phase of the Most Ancient Church. But the reviewer would suggest that there is nothing to make us suppose that all the Preadamites who did not develop into the celestial church, Adam, died out. There were undoubtedly some who, in a state of arrested development and slow decadence, lived on past the heyday of the Golden Age, untouched by its glory. Among these, perhaps, were the Neanderthalers, who disappear as a race with the coming of the Reindeer men.

     Dr. Swanton's acceptance of the Writings does not prevent him from frequent dissensions from their sacred statements. The doctrine of "spontaneous" generation is dismissed as "now discredited," and as an unessential fifth wheel under Swedenborg's chariot (page 79). On some points, the Revelator is said to have been "under an illusion." In opposing the claim that there is only one sex in plants, Swedenborg was "guilty of a mixed correspondence" (page 85). But in these cases, it is, we believe, the author that is in error; not perhaps on points of fact, but in being somewhat out of rapport with the meaning of Swedenborg.

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Church News 1929

Church News       Various       1929

     TORONTO, CANADA.

     On Wednesday, June 12th, the annual meeting of the Olivet Church was held, there being a good attendance of members who listened to an appropriate address by the pastor on "The Growth of the Church," the burden of which briefly was to show the "growth of the Church in us individually and among us in a society form will result only by doing the truth which we derive from the Word. All of the truth must be done, difficult as well as agreeable. . . .We cannot approach good by easy truths, when we consciously avoid the seemingly more difficult ones.

     Good is to be our progressive goal,-a genuine good, spiritual good and charity and a mutual love,-a definite comprehensible way by which our society can grow internally. Such genuine internal growth will, as of itself, maintain proportionate external growth and extension, not only as to suitable externals, but even as to the increase of its members. These are among the things added to the congregation which seeks the Lord and His kingdom, and submits to His will."

     The various reports were received, that of the Pastor gathering together in a comprehensive word-picture the whole of the society activities from September, 1928 to date, and which, when so presented, made an attractive and encouraging ensemble of what ordinarily seems to be somewhat scattered and uncorrelated endeavor. The Treasurer's report showed an improved financial condition from year ago, whilst the Day School report was a record of work faithfully done with the material at our command, a somewhat lesser school due to removals of some of the pupils from Toronto. Miss Dora Brown, the teacher, who presented this report, was accorded hearty appreciation of her work and re-engaged as teacher for the ensuing year. Messrs. Alec Sargeant (as Secretary) and F. Wilson (as Treasurer) were re-elected to these offices, and, with Messrs. R. S. Anderson, T. P. Bellinger, H. P. Izzard, R. Potts, and A. van Paassen, will serve as the Finance Board for the coming year. The Ladies' Circle report presented by Mrs. H. P. Izzard showed well-sustained endeavor in the uses that are the particular concern of the ladies.

     The closing exercises of the Day School took place on Friday evening, June 14th. There was an exhibition of the pupils' work, which showed good results, particularly some of the handicraft specimens. The exercises proper commenced at 8 p.m. with a short opening service and a suitable address from the Pastor, followed by a varied program comprising two short plays, "The Sing Song Man," by Florence C. Comfort and "The Travelling Man," by Lady Gregory; also compositions, songs and recitations by all the pupils, who, one and all, acquitted themselves splendidly and with great credit to their teachers, who were ably assisted by Mrs. Frank Longstaff, more particularly in preparing for the two plays. Prizes were awarded in the form of books, on the basis of progress made in some particular line of study combined with attention and conduct. At the close, ribbons for good attendance at Sunday School were awarded to those scholars who had merited them. Good-byes were said, school was over once again, and the long vacation just ahead, with its care-free happy days of summer, visions of picnics, summer cottages, swimming and the great out-of-doors, with its open, full, and happy life, filling the minds of one and all. The school closing exercises were most enjoyable in every respect, both as to their entertaining qualities and the very evident development in an the pupils.

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     On Sunday, June 16th, the sermon was appropriate for the June Nineteenth celebration, whilst on the actual date of the Nineteenth a Picnic in High Park had been arranged for, but these out-door affairs with us are very uncertain owing to climatic conditions. This year a heavy thunderstorm broke over the city about noon. Fortunately, however, the weather cleared, and brilliant sunshine succeeded, enabling the picnic to make a later start, but with a much smaller attendance than otherwise would have been the case. However, a jolly time was the reward of those who were able to get there. Games and races for the children and young folks were indulged in, and a short and timely address by the Pastor, more particularly directed to the children, as to the purpose and significance of the occasion, making a fitting close to another celebration of the Church's natal day.

     Thursday evening, June 20th, marked the close of the ninth year of the Forward Club's existence; and its annual meeting, when Mr. F. Wilson, the retiring President, was able to report a good season, with three new active and two associate members added during the year. Since the formation of the Club it has had fifty-two members, with thirty-seven members on the roll at present resident in the city. Of the other fifteen, three have died and twelve have left the city. The officers for the tenth club year are: Mr. E. Craigie, President; Mr. A. Sargeant, Vice President; Mr. J. Knight, Secretary; Mr. A. van Paassen, Treasurer.

     SONS OF THE ACADEMY.

     The big event of the period under review, of course, has been the Sons' Meetings, held here from June 30th to July 2d, inclusive. The meetings officially did not commence until Sunday evening, but many of our guests were here in time for morning worship, when we listened to an inspiring sermon on "Loyalty and Courage" (Daniel 6:10) by our former Pastor, the Rev. R. R. Alden, who worked up to an appeal, in his peroration, for loyalty and courage to maintain our humble small beginnings in New Church Education through the years to come, until the Lord shall transfer the Church from among the few to the many, if we advance along the path of loyalty to the principles delivered unto us by our fathers, and are faithful in this work, so that in the end it may be said of us, as it was said of Daniel of old: "No manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God." To us Toronto folk this service was strongly reminiscent of the happy years when Mr. Alden labored with us in this particular part of the vineyard. There was a congregation of 158, in which the male element was for once strongly preponderant, with a noticeable effect in the singing.

     It is not our purpose to enter into any detailed account of the proceedings of the Sons' Meetings, which will be fully reported in The Bulletin. Nor can we hope successfully to portray to our readers the wonderful sphere and spirit that pervaded the occasion. One had to be there to get it. From the opening words of President Randolph W. Childs and the brief speeches of welcome by the Rev. F. E. Gyllenhaal and Mr. C. Ray Brown, right through all the meetings, there was evident a strong reciprocal sphere of good-will and brotherly feeling; that made it a joy to be present, not one moment of which could be missed. It was a crowded meeting on Sunday evening-beyond our regular seating capacity-that gathered to hear Bishop de Charms, as the representative of the Academy, deliver the first address on "The Sons of the Academy and New Church Education." The affection and esteem in which the speaker is held was evidenced by the reception he received, amounting to an ovation, which was eclipsed, however, by the reactive applause that greeted the conclusion of his eloquent presentation of his subject, and which must be counted as a significant endorsation of the theory propounded and the ideals set before us.

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     Indeed, it can be said of all the papers and speeches, that they were of a very high order indeed. Mr. Sidney E. Lee's paper on the "Fraternal Uses of the Sons of the Academy" was a masterly exposition of a subject that evidently lies near to his heart. The diction, form, and matter were alike delight to his bearers, a revelation to most of us of the quality that is growing in our midst, a portent of what an intensive and continued study, in and of matters pertaining to the Church, has in store. Then again, the fluency and accommodation of Doctor C. R. Pendleton's handling of his topic, "The Limitations of Science," making of his subject, abstract in essence, but stepped down to a plane that held his hearers enthralled, and occasionally almost inarticulate with enjoyment of his homely sallies and telling thrusts at "our friend, the enemy" of the things of revealed religion.

     Then what of the discussion? Never, at any previous function of the church, or for that matter anywhere, do we recall-after the ice of reserve was once broken-such a spontaneous high quality and to the-point discussion of the topics under consideration. The difficulty was to catch the Chairman's eye and get the floor. The luncheons and the banquet, held in the Empire Room of the Prince George Hotel, provided opportunity-which, as usual, was indulged to the full-for giving rein to the lighter side of our natures and wielding the rod of discipline in song and jest.

     Monday July 1st, being what is known in Canada as Confederation Day-the anniversary of the confederation of the various provinces into a federal entity-was designated as "Canadian Day," with Mr. Ed. Hill, of Kitchener, as toastmaster; whilst Tuesday was set apart as United States Day, with Harold P. McQueen, of Glenview, as toastmaster. And right here we would remark:

     "So long as the Sons from Glenview themselves tread the straight and narrow way, their propensity for asking meticulous exactitude on the part of all other 'Sons' will prevent any serious digression from the beaten paths of tradition, at least until we see whither we are bound!"

     On Monday afternoon the indoor Quoit Tournament, to decide the holders of the shield presented by the Forward Club, was played and won by Messrs. C. R. Brown and F. Wilson for the Toronto Society, Who played off in the final against the Rev. Alan Gill and Mr. A. Scott, of Kitchener who had played a splendid game throughout, and who put up a strenuous argument before acknowledging defeat.

     The final event of the meetings was the banquet on Tuesday July 2d, at which the Rev. F. E. Gyllenhaal officiated as toastmaster, the speakers being: Rev. W. L. Gladish, Rev. H. Lj. Odhner, Messrs. Horace Howard, A. E. Nelson, and R. W. Childs, who one and all maintained the high standard set in the previous sessions, withal on a somewhat different plane. There were 128 present at the banquet, and the presence of the ladies carried that characteristic touch of brightness which is their prerogative and adds to the pleasure of such occasions. The toastmaster was in great form, his selection of songs good, and they were sung with the gusto and affection associated with such occasions in our church life. Whilst we missed Several of those whose attendance has been synonymous with the holding of "Sons' Meetings," particularly may we mention such stalwart Sons as Mr. Geoffrey Childs and the Rev. Wm. Whitehead. The latter's long association with the Sons as Editor of The Bulletin has established an indelible and important link in the formative period of the movement, and which was honorably recognized during the course of the meetings. There was compensation found in the presence of Mr. Walter C. Childs, only living member of the Founders of the Academy, and who, on the few occasions on which he rose to take some part in the proceedings, was greeted with an affection as unmistakable as it was sincere.

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We noticed, too, at the head table such stalwart supporters of the Church as Mr. Richard Roschman and Mrs. R. Carswell-in years, not Son or Daughter, but, brushing aside the crampling definitions of human expression, time and space, as truly Son and Daughter of the Academy as the youngest there.

     And now, what remains to be said is more than our altogether too inadequate pen can describe. But this much may be said with all sincerity, that the spirit of the occasion, intense in its volume and power, perhaps to the point of being somewhat overwhelming, will carry on in the quieter reaches of the river of life's purpose, encouraging and sustaining in the knowledge that, in the battle we are fighting, the God of Daniel is with us, and that "no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God." Sons of the Academy, we thank you for coming to us!

     On Sunday, July 7th, we had the pleasure of receiving into the fellowship of the Church Miss Gwendolen W. Knight and Mr. Eric Giobel through the gates of baptism. Miss Knight, of Toronto, has been attending services, classes, and social functions for some time and has grown quite naturally into her place with us. Mr. Giobel, of Stockholm, Sweden, has recently come to Canada, and is located at Kapuskasing, Ont., and he is a nephew of the Rev. Albert Bjorck and Mr. Philip Oyler, of England.
     FRANK WILSON.

     NEW YORK.

     We would give a brief account of ourselves from September last to the end of June of this year, when meetings were discontinued for the summer months. Services were resumed on the third Sunday in September at our place of worship, 149 East 61st Street, and were held twice a month regularly and successfully, being conducted alternately by the Rev. William Whitehead and the Rev. W. B. Caldwell, with the exception of two occasions when the Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner officiated, and once when the Rev. R. W. Brown visited us. Doctrinal classes were held on Saturday evenings at the homes of the members, once a month in New York, and once a month in New Jersey, the class being conducted by the visiting minister who was to officiate at the service on Sunday. A men's meeting was held each month without fail, at the home of Mr. Anton A. Sellner, Sr., in New York City.

     Our social side received a fair amount of attention, notably in the form of several luncheons (which continued well into the afternoons), attended by all the lady members of the society who were able to be present. A Theta Alpha luncheon with invited guests was held at Wanamaker's in February, under the auspices of Mrs. Curtis K. Hicks, who also gave a second in March at her home in Westfield, New Jersey. Mrs. Mauritz Larson gave a luncheon for Theta Alpha members and friends in the society at her home in Arlington, N. J., during April. All of these were a great success, and were very much enjoyed by all who participated.

     On the evening of March 16th, after the doctrinal class at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Francis Frost, a shower was given for Mr. Harold Sellner and Miss Rachelle Vinet, and there was much fun and jollity. Besides this particular occasion, most of the doctrinal classes were followed by a social evening. Also, it became almost a custom during the past year for those who were present at worship to partake of luncheon together at a nearby restaurant, the minister of the day usually joining us. Under the new arrangement for two services a month, we all felt that we wanted to see more of each other, and lunching together after service gave that opportunity.

     Our Local Assembly was held on Sunday, May 19th, presided over by Bishop de Charms, who conducted the doctrinal class the previous evening, at which there was a record attendance.

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The proceedings for the day were: Service in the morning conducted by Bishop de Charms, who also preached the sermon and administered the Holy Supper. There was a splendid response in numbers that day, our room being quite filled. Then followed luncheon and in the afternoon we listened to an address by Bishop de Charms on "Education with Reference to the Work of the College," which was very much appreciated. After that there was short business meeting of the society, with thirty-seven members in attendance. A unanimous vote of thanks was tendered Bishop de Charms for his many endeavors among us that day; for we all thoroughly enjoyed his visit. He acknowledged most suitably and graciously and after pronouncing the benediction, brought to its close a happy and delightful reunion; for such the Assembly usually proves to be, on account of the long distances that separate us. 'Mid handshakings and au revoirs we went our several ways, looking forward to the next year's meeting, and to what, under Divine Providence, we might accomplish by then.

     Among the visitors during the year were: Rev. and Mrs. Raymond G. Cranch, of Bryn Athyn; Mr. Frankish, Mrs. Emil Stroh and Miss Ruth Stroh, Of. Ontario, Calif.; Miss Mary Scalbom, of Glenview; and Mr. Horace Howard, of Colchester, England, who I attended our Assembly. Members of the General Church who have recently taken up their residence here, and have attended the services, are: Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Wells and children; Misses Beryl and Iris Briscoe; and Mr. and Mrs. R. B. Caldwell, Jr.
     FLORENCE A. WILDE.

     COLCHESTER, ENGLAND.

     Our celebration of New Church Day was held on Sunday, June 23d, beginning with the morning service at which Bishop Tilson preached a powerful sermon on the subject of "The Woman Clothed With The Sun." (Rev. 12:1.)

     In the evening a social gathering was held at the church, when our Pastor first welcomed the following visitors: Bishop R. J. Tilson; Mr. and Mrs. Pike; the Misses Louise Gladish, Alma Cockerell Gwyneth Hart, Joan Stebbing; Messrs Stanley Wainscot and Norman Williams, the latter being welcomed as a new member.

     The Pastor then introduced the program of the evening with remarks on the nature and purpose of New Church socials, after which came the following toasts and responses:

     "The Church," by Bishop Tilson, whose eloquent and highly appreciated speech led to the conclusion that the essential of all things of the Church is to enable us to shun evils as sins against God.

     "New Church Day and the Apostolic Spirit," by Mr. F. R. Cooper, who read a brief article by the late Bishop W. F. Pendleton.

     "Swedenborg the Apostle of the New Church," by Mr. W. E. Everett, showing how Swedenborg, in addition to writing the Heavenly Doctrines, was given by the Lord to instruct spirits and angels, including the Twelve Disciples.

     "The Priesthood," by Mr. Norman Williams, who showed how the Lord lifts men above their proprial states to perform priestly uses, as was the case with the Twelve Disciples.

     Responding to The Faith of the New Church," Mr. Colley Pryke reviewed the fundamentals of the New Doctrine, especially from the summary in the True Christian Religion.

     At the conclusion of the above series of speeches, the following toasts were proposed and honored: "Absent Friends," with the reading of messages from some who could not attend; "The Academy," in responding to which Miss Gladish gave us messages from some of the Academy workers at Bryn Athyn, and from other friends she had lately seen. She also brought the greetings and best wishes of Bishop Pendleton and Bishop de Charms to the Society and to the Church in England. Then there were toasts to "The Bishop of the General Church" and to "Our Other Bishops," with Bishop Tilson, on request, speaking in behalf of all three Bishops.

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Lastly, a toast to "Conjugial Love," with a brief response by our Pastor. After further remarks by Mr. Pike, Mr. Colley Pryke, and others, the celebration ended with the singing of the anthem, "The Lord God Jesus Christ Doth Reign."

     The hum of busy conversation went on during the dismantling of the supper tables, and it was nearly an hour before this informal continuance of the social came to an end. Interspersed throughout the evening were songs from the Social Song Book and the leaflets used at the General Assembly last year.

     PITTSBURGH, PA.

     The construction of our new building is going forward rapidly. The masonry on the church is progressing nicely; the walls of the north wing, or community building, are up to the second floor, and the steel beams have been set. And as we moved out of the Wallingford Street building at the end of July, we appreciate all signs of growth on Le Roi Road. Among the residents of this neighborhood we have distributed 400 copies of a leaflet setting forth the meaning of the New Church, accompanied with the photograph of the new building which was reproduced in the August number of New Church Life. In response we have received favorable comments and a number of inquiries.

     The head mason, Mr. Dominic Chance, is becoming much interested in the New Church, and is considering joining the society with his seven children. He took an active part in the ceremony of laying the corner stone on June 19th, and, as the stone was being set at the close of Bishop Pendleton's address, he was heard to say under his breath: "This church will stand forever!" Mr. Chance has generously assisted us in the moving and storing of our furniture, which has been placed in a shed built for the purpose on the new property. This work was undertaken by twelve of our men, the Horigan truck being loaned for the hauling. In this way we have been accomplishing many things by the splendid cooperation of the members.

     The Wallingford Street building was sold to The Church of Latter Day Saints, which has been making a number of improvements. While burning off the old paint, the torch set him to the building, and considerable excitement ensued. Latter Day Saints, New Churchmen and Gentiles all worked hard, and little damage was done.

     During the month of August, the Pastor will visit and hold services in various localities of the Pittsburgh District. On August 11th, a service is to be held at the home of Mrs. McElroy in Youngstown, Ohio, to be followed by a picnic dinner and outing. On the 18th, there will be worship at the home of Mr. and Mrs. J. J. Kintner at Johnstown, Pa.; and on August 25th at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph R. Kendig at Renovo, Pa.

     Services in Pittsburgh, suspended during August, will be resumed on Sunday, September 1st, being held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. A. P. Lindsay. The School will open the latter part of September at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Walter L. Horigan. These arrangements will provide places for worship and the school until the new building is ready for use.     
     E. R. D.

     CINCINNATI, OHIO.

     The Cincinnati Society of the General Church of the New Jerusalem, located at Wyoming, Ohio, has concluded its tenth season under the leadership of the Rev. F. E. Waelchli.

     Some thought was given to external evangelization this season, and the doctrinal classes had something of a missionary character. Several people who were not members of the church attended rather regularly, and manifested considerable interest in Mr. Waelchli's presentation of the doctrines. While we cannot know what may come of these classes, in so far as external growth is concerned, the classes have been of inestimable value to all of us. Mr. Waelchli showed his remarkable power of presenting the truths of the church in a simple, understandable manner.

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The usual hour seemed entirely too short a time, and the period of questions and answers frequently occupied an additional half hour or more.

     Now that there are five children in the Society old enough to receive instruction, a regular Sunday school class was reestablished. It has been a source of great pleasure to the parents to observe how much these youngsters remember of what was told to them in Sunday school.

     The Rev. and Mrs. F. E. Waelchli celebrated their fortieth wedding anniversary on April 25th. Unfortunately, circumstances prevented the Society from getting together on that day to celebrate the event, so they all met at the Waelchli home the next evening for a delightful dinner party. Our Society is still small enough to sit around one large table, thereby making our parties more intimate than would be possible with a larger Society.

     The members expressed their happiness in being able to join with the Waelchlis on such an occasion, and spoke briefly of our good fortune in having the Doctrines, which tend to make such a happy married life as theirs the usual thing in the church rather than an exception, as it is in the world at large. Mr. Charles Merrell remarked that "the first forty years were the hardest," and then turned from jest into a serious talk of the trials and hardships which all of us, to some degree, must face together if we expect to achieve that for which every New Churchman hopes,-true conjugial love. The celebration of the Lord's Second Advent began with the services, Sunday, June 16th. After an interesting and inspiring sermon the Holy Supper was administered. On June 19th, the Society held the last social of the season at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Charles G. Merrell. On this occasion we were very fortunate in having with us Mrs. Paul Connall (Gwynnedd Smith), of Chicago, Mrs. Besse E. Smith and Miss Gertrude Price, of Bryn Athyn, and Miss Dorothy Cole, of Glenview (who now is really one of our own Society), and our pastor's brother, Mr. Noah Waelchli.

     After the supper we all went into the big living room of Larchmont to offer toasts to the Church, the Academy, the Pastor, our hosts, the babies and several others. The toasts were followed by songs and several short speeches. Mr. Waelchli's talk was especially worth remembering, and affected all of us deeply. Even at Bryn Athyn there is seldom observed such a sphere of love to the Church and the truths upon which it is founded as pervaded the 19th of June celebration of the Cincinnati Society.

     After the more or less formal part of the evening, and while the enthusiasm of all was at its height, Mr. Waelchli suggested that we sing some of the old songs. Mrs. Besse E. Smith played for us, and we all sang as this Society has never sung before. When the party finally ended, several were overheard saying that they had never experienced a more enthusiastic and thoroughly "New Church" party. We don't get together as often as we would like, but when we do have a New Church party, it's a real one!

     The Cincinnati Society is growing, and there are now thirteen children in the Society. It was felt that there was a definite use which the women of the Society could perform, and so the graduates of the Girls' Seminary formed local chapter of Theta Alpha, and held their first meeting on June 19th. Mrs. Besse E. Smith, president of Theta Alpha was present, and presented the gavel to Mrs. Kintner, president of the local chapter. One of the principal uses which the Cincinnati Chapter of Theta Alpha will perform will be to carry on the Sunday School classes in the absence of the pastor.

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     DURBAN, NATAL.

     The most important event since our last contribution was the Nineteenth of June celebration, which took place in the Church Hall at seven o'clock in the evening. There was a splendid muster of over sixty people present, in spite of most inclement weather. The evening was a great success in every way, being conducted by our very popular Pastor, the Rev. E. C. Acton, who especially revels in matters of this sort. An excellent repast was provided by the ladies, and there followed numerous toasts, intermingled with set speeches by Mr. J. H. Ridgway, Mr. Ivan Ridgway and Mr. Garth Pemberton, preceded by a splendid address by Mr. Acton, who spoke of the nineteenth day of June as an event of great significance which the Church for ages to come and to eternity will look upon as the red-letter day of the New Jerusalem. This date also holds a supereminent place as a day of thanksgiving to the Lord, because of the Revelation of Himself in His Divine Glorified Human, to behold the vision of which is the ultimate end of every New Churchman's life. To be conjoined with the Lord we must have knowledges, and the more particular and definite the number of truths received, if at the same time there be good of life, the more perfect is the conjunction. Those who would enter more interiorly into the City of the Lord must endeavor to enter into the particulars of the Doctrines, and, by acquiring a greater number of knowledges, receive a greater love for the Lord and His Kingdom.

     Mr. J. H. Ridgway's excellent paper was much appreciated, his subject being "Freedom in relation to Church Activities," showing that all the vital activities of the Church, that is, those which are based on our cardinal doctrines, are to be supported by self-compulsion. That when we exercise self-compulsion from the dictates of Truth, the Lord gives us heavenly freedom. That if we withhold ourselves from such activities we are failing, not only in what we owe ourselves, but failing also in what we owe others; for we then withhold from all the others that extension which they have into the spiritual world, and thereby reduce the general sphere on the occasion, to the detriment of the whole.

     Mr. Ivan Ridgway stressed the great importance of Marriage within the Church. No true marriage existed where there was no spiritual affinity, and it was best for the Church and the individual that New Churchmen should either marry from within the Church or should be satisfied that their affections were placed with one whose sympathies were in favor of the Church, and likely to lead to conversion to our faith.

     Mr. Garth Pemberton's paper dwelt upon the importance of the Repentance and consequent Regeneration of each individual member of the Church in fostering the growth of the New Church. The Church could only grow from within as its members strengthened the spiritual bond between the Lord's New Heaven and the Church on earth, and it was therefore vitally necessary for us to bear in mind that evils of importance from a worldly point of view, if not indulged in by our members, were not the only evils in the world. Various sins, considered as merely mild and of no consequence, were detailed, showing the utmost necessity for our being on our guard, not only for our own sakes, but also because of our use in fostering the growth of the Church.

     The musical items during the evening were: A pianoforte solo by Miss Beatrice Forfar, and songs from Mrs. Kenneth Ridgway, Miss Attersol and Mr. and Mrs. Garth Pemberton, all the performances being much appreciated and encored in each case.

     At the end of the evening, a jolly sketch was given by Mrs. Acton, who composed the words of her song, which were based on the idiosyncrasies of a number of the members of the Church, and caused a great deal of merriment. To wind up the evening, further verses in the same strain were invented on the spot by a number of people, some of which were especially good. . . .

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Altogether one of the most successful Banquets held in the Church.
     L. G. P.

     GENERAL CONFERENCE.

     The 122d Annual Meeting of the General Conference of the New Church was held June 1st to 5th at the Argyle Square Church, London, of which the Rev. Charles A. Hall is minister. A report of the proceedings appears in five issues of The New-Church Herald, June 15th to July 13th inclusive, from which we gather the following items:

     The Rev. Albert E. Edge, of Accrington, was elected President of the Conference for the ensuing year, and the retiring President, the Rev. W. A. Presland became Vice-President, according to the custom. The Rev. W. T. Stonestreet, of Snodland, was chosen President-nominate for next year.

     The Rev. W. E. Hurt was elected Secretary of Conference in place of the Rev. S. J. C. Goldsack, who has accepted a call to the pastorate of the Wretham Road Society, Birmingham, succeeding the Rev. E. J. E. Schreck, whose retirement, owing to ill health, took effect on June 30th, as noted below.

     The Conference extended a special welcome to two visitors from abroad,-the Rev. Gustave Regamey, of Geneva, and Mr. Ezra Hyde Alden of Philadelphia, Pa., Vice-President of the General Convention in America,-and both of these gentlemen addressed the meetings on several occasions. Mr. David Wynter, after a long and tedious illness, was able to attend and enter actively into the work of the Conference, and gave a Garden Party at his home, "Bishopswood," Highgate.

     The report contains an extended discussion of the Overseas Missions which are supported by Conference in Europe, Africa, India and British Guiana. The Rev. E. J. Pulsford, who spent three years as Superintendent of the Native Mission in were South Africa, has resigned from that one position, and the Rev. P. H. Johnson, held B.A., BSc., has been appointed in his place, to act also as Principal of a Mooki Memorial Training College which is to be established in South Africa, if a fund of L5000 can be raised for that purpose. Mr. and Mrs. Johnson were to sail on August 31st for Africa, leaving a pastorate at Willesden to enter the new field.

     Discussing the Conference periodicals, the Rev. A. E. Beilby made humorous reference to series of articles on "New Church Worthies" which had appeared in The New-Church Magazine. He was sorry to hear, what he had reason to believe, that the supply of "worthies" was running rather short. He would urge upon the members of Conference that they try to prepare themselves for the position. He had felt within himself that it would be sweet to die, if only to supply that want; but this reflection had been followed by devastating questions as to whether the sacrifice would be appreciated, and whether he would be recognized as a "worthy." He would insist upon some kind of assurance that a writer would be found sympathetic and intelligent enough to deal adequately with him. Otherwise he might as well go on living!

     Birmingham, England.

     The Herald of July 20, 1929, contains the following account of the close of Mr. Schreck's pastorate at Birmingham:

     On Sunday, June 30th, the Rev. E. J. E. Schreck brought to a close his ministry as pastor of the Wretham Road Society of the New Church in Birmingham. He preached to large congregations, morning and evening. Special music was rendered by the choir. Mr. Schreck's sermons bore a farewell message to his people, and each service was appropriately followed by the celebration of the Holy Supper, for which symbolic service many of the congregation remained. At each service the following letter was read:

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     "Dear Mr. Schreck:

     "On behalf of the Wretham Road Society, we are addressing to you a few words of greeting on the dosing day of your ministry in Birmingham.

     "For the past fifteen years you have endeavored earnestly, patiently and loyally to lead those of the Society who have gathered weekly at the services to worship the Lord Jesus Christ and to live the Christian life in accordance with the teachings of the New Church. During that period you and Mrs. Schreck have endeared yourselves to a very large circle of friends. Many members of the congregation are deeply indebted to you for instruction, consolation and spiritual guidance, particularly during the war years, when minister and people alike sorely felt the need of the spiritual support which the New Church has to offer.

     "We regret that your health has recently given your friends some concern. For that reason we are glad that you have planned a long rest, and we sincerely trust this will bring about a speedy recovery and a return of vigor which will enable you further to serve the Lord in the work which is so dear to your heart. The kind thoughts and good wishes of your friends in Birmingham will follow you, and we hope some happy memories of your life among them will remain with you both in the years to come.

     "We are pleased to be able to convey these wishes, coupled with practical expression of goodwill, by asking your acceptance of the enclosed cheque, which is a gift from the Society to you and Mrs. Schreck, and is accompanied with the hope that it may add some little comfort and blessing to the quiet hours of rest which you both so richly deserve.

     "On behalf of the Society,
          "Yours very sincerely,
     "IRVIN J. DALBY, Chairman,
     "JOHN SUTTON, Vice-Chairman,
     "BRODIE JEFFERIES, Secretary.

     Contributions amounting to L150 were subscribed by a very wide circle of friends, and in addition Mr. and Mrs. Schreck received many personal letters of esteem and affection. June 30th was Mr. Schreck's seventieth birthday.

     LOS ANGELES, CALIF.

     At our celebration of June the Nineteenth the name "Gabriel Church of the New Jerusalem" was unanimously adopted for our Society.

     Los Angeles has been favored this summer by the presence of quite a few New Church visitors from the East. During the month of July we had the pleasure of a visit from the Rev. and Mrs. F. E. Waelchli, of Cincinnati, Ohio. Mr. Waelchli has been with us every summer for a number of years, and we have always hoped that Mrs. Waelchli would some time accompany him, but it was not until this summer that we had the great pleasure of welcoming her to our midst.

     Besides preaching for us several times, Mr. Waelchli officiated at the marriage of Mr. William Emanuel Hansen and Miss Bertha Unruh on July 17th. This delightful event took place in the evening, in the presence of about fifty members and friends. The ceremony was very impressive, and of special significance in our history as the first wedding to be held since the organization of the Los Angeles Society. Mr. and Mrs. Hansen have gone to their new home in Spokane, with our best wishes for their happiness, though we regret that they are not making their home in this city. Among the visitors at the wedding were Mr. and Mrs. Wallace N. Dibb, and their brother, from San Diego, who also attended services while here.

     At the end of June, Jack Davis, son of Mr. and Mrs. F. G. Davis, was so badly injured in an automobile accident that the physicians doubted his recovery. Happily, however, he has made such favorable progress that we hope he will soon be entirely well. On his return from the hospital, the quiet prescribed by the doctor forbad our holding services in the Davis home as usual, and so a hall was rented at a music studio, and here the Sunday services have been very well attended, our numbers being increased by the visitors.

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     The Rev. Reginald W. Brown has preached for us recently, having come from Bryn Athyn in his auto, accompanied by his daughter, Rosamund, Miss Dorothy Cooper and Mr. Philip Cooper. Here he joined Mrs. Brown, and they are now visiting Mr. and Mrs. Lawson Cooper at Redondo Beach.

     The Rev. Homer Synnestvedt also paid us a visit, but was unable to remain for a Sunday service and preach for us. He and Mr. William Blair, of Pittsburgh, were traveling together by auto, going from here to Vancouver, B. C.

     Our minister, the Rev. Hendrik W. Boef, left on his vacation in the latter part of July, and will spend the month of August in Bryn Athyn.
     H. W. B.

     GLENVIEW, ILL.

     The continued large attendance at our Sunday worship gives proof of the desire of our members for the maintenance of services during the summer. A few fare outside of our circle for vacations, but the large majority prefer the climatic conditions here, as well as the uses and pleasures here afforded.

     Several ministers of the General Church, on vacation, have visited us recently and preached in the services on Sundays. The first to arrive was the Rev. Homer Synnestvedt, of Bryn Athyn, in company with Mr. William Blair, of Pittsburgh. They were traveling by auto to the Pacific Coast, camping by the way. We regret to hear that Mr. Synnestvedt was later overtaken by illness, necessitating an operation which may confine him to the hospital in Portland, Oregon, for some weeks. Mr. Blair was obliged to return to Pittsburgh alone.

     The Rev. Hendrik W. Boef, of Los Angeles, spent some time here while en route to Bryn Athyn, and favored us with a sermon.

     The Rev. Fred E. Gyllenhaal, Pastor of the Toronto Society, spent his vacation in these parts, preaching here and also at Palisades Park, Michigan, where a number of New Church people have summer cottages.

     The Rev. Norman H. Reuter, assistant to our Pastor, journeyed by the motorcade to the Sons' meetings at Toronto, preaching twice there and once in Kitchener.

     We have also had the pleasure of a visit from Mr. and Mrs. Percy Brown, of Pittsburgh, who, with their family, have been guests at the home of Mr. and Mrs. William Junge.

     Miss Nellie Synnestvedt, local collector for the General Church, reports that collections for these funds have been unduly delayed by reason of her long stay in the hospital following an operation. She is at home again, and slowly recovering.     
     J. B. S.

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CHANGE OF ADDRESS 1929

CHANGE OF ADDRESS              1929




     Announcements.



     The Rev. and Mrs. E. J. E. Schreck have given up their Birmingham residence, and will stay at "Purley Chase," Atherstone, Warwickshire, England, until about the middle of September, after which any communications will be forwarded to them, wherever they may be at the time, if addressed, Care of Swedenborg House, 20 Hart Street, London, W. C. 1, England.
SECRETARY WANTED 1929

SECRETARY WANTED       Dr. ALFRED ACTON       1929

     Wanted, by or before the end of September, a private secretary. Must be expert typewriter and stenographer. Some knowledge of Latin would be desirable. Apply to
     DR. ALFRED ACTON,
          Bryn Athyn, Pa.

577


COLCHESTER SOCIETY RECOLLECTIONS OF THE EARLY DAYS: 1880-1897 1929

COLCHESTER SOCIETY RECOLLECTIONS OF THE EARLY DAYS: 1880-1897       G. A. MCQUEEN       1929


[Frontispiece: Photograph of George Alexander McQueen.]

NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. XLIX      OCTOBER, 1929          No. 10
     The inception and growth of a society of the New Church may be likened to the birth and development of an individual man. And when we think of what it means to be born again, we can form some idea of the manifold secret operations that must take place in the spiritual mind if a man is to reach a state of order in accord with heaven. At some period of his life in the world he has been permitted to see the light of the Divine Word as revealed to the New Church. His outlook upon life becomes entirely changed, and he starts on a journey which he dare not retrace without endangering his future happiness. As his natural birth was the work of his Creator, the longer he lives the more convinced he becomes that it is the Word of the Lord alone which could change his hereditary evil inclinations, so numerous and so malignant, and that without Divine aid he would give up hope of salvation. He is cheered by the knowledge that his hereditary tendencies will not be charged against him in the life to come, and that if he resists in temptation, the Lord has all power to save. If it is so with an individual, what a wonderful work it must be to form a heavenly society out of such men, when they wish to unite as a society in this world. The conflicting desires and opinions of these men must be reduced to a state of order, so that all may act from internals to externals as a perfect one. We cannot be surprised that, with such material, the effort to bring a society into the human form meets with small success. But, just as the Heavenly Doctrine gives encouragement and hope in the case of individuals, so we may think of the societies of the church.

578


"Men may come and men may go, but the Church goes on forever."

     It is well to have such thoughts as the foregoing when studying the growth of the New Church in this world. We know that every provision has been made by the Lord to make possible the establishment of His Church with all who truly desire it. More and more, as we read the records of the beginnings of the visible New Church, we are able to see the leading of the Divine Providence in bringing people to the Church by ways and means which were known at the time to the Lord alone.

     So do we approach the story of the rise and progress of the Society of the New Church in Colchester, Essex County, England, giving an account of the activities of the ministers and laymen who took part in making known the truths of the New Church in the early years of that society. It goes without saying that many mistakes were made by these early workers, as would be readily acknowledged by all concerned; but the predominating impulse at the time was to make known to others the truths which had come to them. The early records tell of the stir made in the old town in the year 1816, when Hindmarsh delivered his lecture there. (See NEW CHURCH LIFE, Jan., 1929.) It was many years afterwards, in the year 1880, that a society of the Church had its inception when several young men met in the writer's house to read and discuss New Church literature. These constituted the nucleus of the present society.

     It came about in this way. The Writings had been brought to the writer's attention through reading the book, Emanuel Swedenborg, the Spiritual Columbus, by Sir Isaac Pitman, inventor of Phonetic Shorthand, and a New Churchman. He was also an enthusiast in the matter of spelling by sound, and, in addition to inventing his system of Shorthand, he arranged a complete system of longhand type, and printed a number of books in his new system of sound-writing, which he called Phonotypy. He had many great scholars with him in his advocacy of phonetic spelling reform, but it was ultimately abandoned. In his PHONETIC JOURNAL, he advertised books printed in Phonotypy, and Swedenborg, the Spiritual Columbus, was one of them. A close friend of mine, Mr. William Bush, having heard me say that I would like to know what that book was about, and as a recognition of some shorthand lessons I had given him, presented me with a copy.

579




     The reading of this brief history of Swedenborg, and the quotations it contained from the Writings, opened up to me a new world of thought, and produced such a change in my attitude toward spiritual things that it can only be likened to a transition from night to day. Like all others who have passed through a similar experience, it was not long before I was telling my friends about the wonderful things taught in New Church books. These were the friends whom I have referred to as the nucleus of the Colchester New Church Society. The more we read, the more we realized that a mental conflict would be necessary before we would be ready to reject the fallacies of the Old Church which, up to that time, had filled our minds. But the truth more and more prevailed.

     When it became known to the Rev. Joseph Deans, the minister of the Society of the New Church at Brightlingsea, not far from Colchester, that we were holding these private reading meetings, he arranged to have us meet him at the home of Mr. Charles Tweed, who had married a member of the Brightlingsea church, and then lived in North Street, Colchester. We had several very useful meetings with Mr. Deans, and greatly benefitted by his answers to our doctrinal difficulties. Those attending the meetings, besides Mr. and Mrs. Tweed, were Messrs. Frank Burrell, Ebenezer. Finch, John Ball, William Bush, and myself. All but Mr. Burrell ultimately joined the New Church.

     We began holding weekly meetings on Sunday mornings for the purpose of reading New Church books, although at first we were still affiliated with the Old Church. Later, Mr. Deans, aided by the Conference Missionary Institutions, arranged to give a series of public lectures in the Shaftesbury Hall. These lectures, commenced in October, 1881, caused quite a stir among the orthodox churches of the town. Before this time, Mr. Deans had been known in the town, not so much in connection with the New Church as with his work on behalf of the fishermen of Brightlingsea. He had been pastor of the New Church society there for some years, and had become popular as the champion of the oyster fishermen in their legal controversies with the Corporation of Colchester, which owned the oyster beds in the River Colne. The fishermen claimed certain rights, and Mr. Deans acted as their representative when the matter was before the courts. The fight continued several years, and in the end the fishermen won most of their claims.

580


It was often remarked at the time that "Mr. Deans ought to have been a lawyer," and there is little doubt but that he would have been very successful in that profession. He was also known by another section of the community in connection with the Temperance Movement, as he held an official position in the Good Templars, an organization which was making some headway at that time. He also supported the New Church Temperance Society.

     The New Church lectures, which extended over several years, and were printed week by week in a local paper, made Mr. Deans well known to many people. At the first series of lectures the hall used to be crowded, many being attracted, no doubt, by the successful way in which the lecturer replied to the numerous questions asked at the close of each lecture. Mr. Deans was small in stature, and at the close of a lecture would come to the front of the platform, and sometimes sit on the table, while in his familiar style he would meet all comers. He had a keen sense of humor, a logical turn of mind, and was generally able to hold his own in replying to opponents who came to argue against the doctrines he dealt with in his lectures. Most of the opposition came from people who quoted Scripture, but Mr. Deans had great ability in supporting the New Church teaching from the Letter of the Word. Some in the audience asked questions merely for the sake of argument, but those who had a real desire for information were delighted with his replies, and in some cases were led to study the books of the New Church.

     During this same period we of the younger generation were doing a little missionary work on our own account. We were connected with various organizations in which we managed, one way or another, to start subjects that enabled us to support New Church teaching. One of these bodies was the Band of Hope Mutual Improvement Society, where we had many discussions on the Doctrines. Several of the members of that society became interested and attended the lectures, and ultimately became members of the New Church. Among these were: Mr. Ernest Orrin; Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Bedwell; Mr. Arthur H. Appleton; Mr. Charles Turner; Mr. Arthur Motum; and Miss Emily M. Cockerell, who afterwards became the wife of the writer.

     From the point of view of the General Conference, this missionary effort appeared to be a great success, and the real beginning of the New Church in Colchester.

581


Like many other movements, it thrived on opposition. If a local clergyman preached against the New Church, it meant an increased attendance at the lecture given by Mr. Deans in reply. By February, 1882, twelve lectures had been given, when Mr. Deans was successful in obtaining the use of the Town Hall for public worship on two Sundays, and the large congregations seemed to appreciate very much the spiritual explanations of the unusual texts he chose for his sermons. In the opinion of some of the local authorities, however, the loaning of the Town Hall to this "new sect" was going too far, and so further permission was refused. The opposition in some quarters was quite emphatic, as thus recorded in the Conference weekly:

     "One sapient-minded individual was terribly annoyed, and issued an address commencing: 'Municipal Voters of Colchester! your liberties are sold by your friends, the Liberal Party, without your consent. They open the Town Hall for the preaching of doctrines which, if possible, will destroy the very foundation of the Christian faith. We may as well have Bradlaugh at once. The one is no worse than the other. Bradlaugh utterly rejects the Word of God; the Swedenborg preacher utterly twists it to his own destruction, and to the destruction of all who believe him. Civil and religious liberty has run to seed, and produced a pretty crop of thorns and thistles, when its so-called advocates, the Liberal Party, opens its Council Hall for the admission of a vain, presumptuous man,' etc. Another document from the same gentleman (attached to an announcement of the New Church services) commences with: 'This nice egg is to be hatched in our Town Hall, which will break out into a viper; the sting is in its tail, which will draw numbers to death,' etc., and concludes with-

'Wandering stars and clouds of error
     Are flying everywhere around;
In your halls, your temples, churches,
     Its destroying winds abound.
Colchester, rise up to action;
     Shun delay, no longer wait!
Go, meet the soul-destroying error;
     to, the foe is at the gate!'"     
               (MORNING LIGHT, Feb. 25, 1882, p. 79.)

582




     Not long after this, Mr. Deans became a prominent figure in the Borough by meeting a champion of the Anglo-Israelite theory in public debate. It was held in the Public Hall before a crowded audience, and was reported verbatim in the local press and in pamphlet form. (See also MORNING LIGHT, 1882, p. 207.) As in most debates of this kind, both sides claimed the victory. The Anglo-Israelites tried to prove that the British nation is made up of descendants of the Lost Ten Tribes of Israel. This they did by references to the letter of the Word, and by deductions based upon measurements of the Great Pyramid. Mr. Deans had no difficulty in proving that the prophecies of the Word could not be applied in any such way.

     Our missionary work proceeded along the lines we have already indicated until April, 1882, when a number of the friends expressed a desire for regular Sunday worship. Accordingly a committee was formed, and arrangements were made to start a local society of the New Church. Mr. Deans became honorary pastor, and the first service was held on Sunday evening, April 16th, in a small lower room at the Shaftesbury Hall. Dr. Becker was chosen to conduct the services, and the writer was to take his place when he could not be present. Dr. Becker had been a reader of the Writings for a number of years, and was the one best fitted among the laymen to teach the Doctrines to the newly-formed circle. His leadership did not continue for long, but it was always a pleasure to listen to his expositions of the spiritual sense of the Word. He spoke with a strong German accent, and with a warmth of feeling that indicated his sincere confidence in the truth of the teaching he was giving. He kept close to the Writings, probably too close for some of his hearers, who, up to that time, had heard sermons dealing only with the generals of doctrine; but it was good for those who wanted to learn more of the truth given in the Writings. I have never forgotten the impression made by a sermon the Doctor preached about Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to resist him. (Zechariah 3:1.) The spiritual meaning of the text was so clear, so self-evident, and yet so new to us.

     Dr. Becker had lived in Colchester from the time of the close of the Crimean War.

583


A German Legion had been stationed at Colchester, and was disbanded there, many of the men remaining and settling in the town. Dr. Becker was one of them, and he practiced medicine there until the time of his death a few years ago. Before coming the German Army, he had served in the Belgian and French Armies, and it was entertaining to hear him describe how he away with a young German princess on his shoulders, and was married to her. It is to be regretted that records of his early life were not preserved. We know what it meant to be trained under the discipline of the German Army, and this probably explains why Dr. Becker had little patience with the democratic principles held by most of our committee. His ideas of government received a shock when he found that his suggestions were to be decided upon by a committee of young men, and it was not long before he ceased to attend our services. To me he was always a friend, and he helped me by answering questions relating to the teachings of the Writings. I still use the set of the Apocalypse Explained which he loaned me. He told me to keep it as long as I liked, as he had another set for

     About the time we began holding evening services, a very enthusiastic meeting had been held at Which Dr. Becker and several other gentlemen promised contributions towards a building fund, because they believed the society must own its place of worship if it was to progress. They little thought that it would be forty-two years before the society possessed a building of its own! In June, 1882, it was found possible to rent the large room at the Shaftesbury Hall for the Sunday evening worship, and those members who had by this time severed their connection with the Old Church were able to meet in the Hall on Sunday mornings to read New Church works.

     The society was now placed upon the missionary plan of the Missionary and Tract Society, and furnished with visiting preachers, both clerical and lay. Mr. Deans continued giving his lectures each autumn and spring, but as time passed there was less excitement, and the serious problem was to hold those who had become regular attendants at the evening services, and to encourage their advancement in a knowledge of the Doctrines. The services were advertised, and we had a regular attendance of about sixty persons.

     The minister of the Congregational Church was instrumental in adding to our membership, when he preached a sermon in reply to one of Mr. Deans' lectures.

584


On hearing the sermon, one of the oldest members of the congregation decided to attend the next lecture given by Mr. Deans. The result was that he joined our society. His married son, Mr. George H. Bateman, with his family, also joined. Mr. William Everett, an employee of Mr. Bateman, likewise became a member of the New Church, and at the time of this writing is a member of the Colchester Society.

     As long as he remained minister of the Brightlingsea church, Mr. Deans paid regular visits to Colchester to preach and administer the sacraments of Baptism and the Holy Supper, the intervening weeks being filled by the lay preachers. This made it possible for the congregation to hear New Church sermons of very different types, and teaching was sometimes given which would hardly stand the test of agreement with the Writings. Taken as a whole, the teaching was of the general character of the spiritual food furnished in the New Church pulpits at that time. The members in Colchester had not advanced far enough in the study of the Writings to enable them to compare the views set forth by their preachers with the truths as revealed. The time had not arrived for the distinctiveness of the New Church to be made clear.

     One of the regular lay preachers was Mr. C. F. Baldwin, of Ipswich, and the sermons he read were mostly those of the Rev. Chauncey Giles, of Philadelphia. They were always enjoyed by the congregation. Another regular visitor was Mr. Thomas Plummer, of London. He was a student of the Writings, and we always looked forward to his sermons with pleasant anticipations. A man of advanced age, tall and dignified, he was a great sufferer from physical ailments, but nothing would prevent him from keeping his preaching engagements. On one occasion, just before entering the Hall, he asked me to inject a dose of morphia into his arm. He then proceeded to the platform as though nothing had happened. Colchester owes much to Mr. Plummer for the interior quality of the teaching he gave.

     One of the Conference students, Mr. W. H. Buss, stayed with the society for six weeks. His sermons were greatly appreciated, and there was some question of his becoming our minister, but the matter did not come to anything. Another preacher was the Rev. G. H. Lock, of Ipswich.

585


He was searching for the truth, but his acceptance of the Writings as Divine Revelation was anything but apparent when he was sent to instruct our little society. It was this gentleman whose application for recognition as a Conference minister was strongly opposed by Mr. Glendower C. Ottley and others at the Conference in 1887. His name was added to the Roll of Ministers, but not until after there had been considerable discussion of his doctrinal position. The mistake made at that time was seen by many in after years, when he advertised himself to be a clairvoyant, and the newspapers were publishing sensational stories about his undertaking to tell the whereabouts of a murderer.

     Then there was Mr. Richard Gunton, who was prominent as Conference Missionary for many years. In the early days he was a welcome visitor to the Colchester Society. No other man at the time had a fuller knowledge of the condition of the small societies of the Church scattered throughout England. He was sometimes called the "Conference Bishop." Upon him, to a large degree, depended the support or nonsupport given to the struggling societies by the Missionary Institutions of Conference. He was a lecturer of the old school, and well able to reply to questions put by his audiences. In spite of the evidence to the contrary, he for years believed that the world was hungering for the truths of the New Church. Towards the end of his life he publicly confessed that it was not so at all, but that he found less and less interest in spiritual things in the world at large, and was greatly concerned about the New Church itself. The time came when it was necessary for the writer to take a strong stand against his official acts, but this does not alter the fact that Mr. Gunton had a sincere interest in the Colchester Society, and did a great deal for it.

     At the period of which we are writing (1882-1883), there was on our list of lay preachers a Mr. Arthur Adcock, brother of one of the younger Conference ministers. He had come to Colchester as reporter for the EAST ANGLIAN DAILY TIMES, and found an unexpected opportunity to exercise his' budding ability as a newspaper man when the Colchester Earthquake occurred in 1884. He was conversing with me in my place of business at about nine o'clock in the morning, when suddenly it became dark, and there followed three distinct shocks which caused the shop to sway to and fro. It lasted about two seconds, and the danger was over.

586


The records tell of the large amount of damage done in the town and neighborhood. We both exclaimed, "Its an earthquake!" and Mr. Adcock was off like a shot to the post office to telegraph the news to his paper. Very soon the people in Ipswich knew more of what had happened than the people in Colchester, their evening papers containing very full accounts of the event written by Mr. Adcock. He later took a position on a newspaper at Northampton, where he became affiliated with the local New Church society and assisted in the services.

     Regarding the earthquake, there were not wanting rumors that some of the clergy were warning their people of their sins of omission and commission, and even suggesting that listening to the false doctrines that were being taught in the town might be punished by other calamities! Our progressive committee arranged for a public lecture to be given by Mr. Plummer. His subject was: "The Recent Earthquake, and the Second Coming of the Lord." The public hall was crowded with people from almost all of the churches in the town. It was probably the largest attendance at a New Church lecture in Colchester.

     Another newcomer at our meetings was Mr. William Gill, of Ipswich, who had started in business as a photographer. Like most of our people, he had been brought up as a Nonconformist, but had known about the New Church in Ipswich. He soon manifested an interest in the work in Colchester, and it was not long before he was on our list of lay preachers, and taking his turn in conducting the morning service. The work of Mr. Gill will always redound to his honor. There came times of doubt and division which must have been very trying to a man of his happy disposition, always seeking to exercise charity to all men; but he did not allow anything to separate him from those brethren in the Church who took a firm stand in regard to the Authority of the Writings. His business was very successful, and he became known as one of the leading artistic photographers in England. For years his studios in Sir Isaac's Walk and Head Street were placed at the disposal of the Colchester Society for all kinds of meetings. His photographs of New Church people have made him known to New Churchmen all over the world.

     It was from Ipswich, also, that Mr. Frederick Ryle Cooper came to start in business as a working jeweler.

587


He became an ardent member of the New Church, and up to the present time has been one of the mainstays of the Colchester Society.

     Another name on the list of Our lay preachers is that of Mr. Charles Turner. He was a gardener by trade, but dreamed of the great prospects in orange growing in Australia. After careful preparation he gave up his work as a private gardener, and departed for Sydney with his young wife and children. But his experiment in orange growing did not Prove a success, and after several years of very trying experiences he settled in Sydney to try to recoup his losses. Some years afterwards we learned that he had made good in the fried fish business. At Sydney he was able to attend the New Church services where his friend, Mr. John Ball, was an active

     Another name mentioned in the early part of this narrative was that of Mr. Arthur H. Appleton. From his remarks made at various meetings, as recorded in the journals of the Church, it will be seen that he and his family have been true to the Church through all its progressive changes. The same may be said of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Bedwell, and Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Motum, all of whom have now passed into the spiritual world. Many of the visiting preachers will recall the pleasure it gave Mr. Motum to take them for a drive around Colchester with his horse and trap.

     We must not forget to mention our old friend, Mr. R. J. Frost, who was first an Anglo-Israelite enthusiast, but later a lover of the Heavenly Doctrine. He attended Mr. Deans' lectures, and gradually gave up his Anglo-Israelism. He had been a schoolmaster, but at the time we knew him was earning a meager living taking orders for coal. He was of a loving disposition, and toward his latter days felt that he could never sufficiently express his thanksgiving to the Lord for the gift of the New Church. He wanted to tell everybody about the new truths. He lived in a small attic over a very small shop in Eld Lane. In the window of the Shop he exhibited a few New Church books for sale, and to give him a more official standing we elected him Book Steward of the Colchester Society, and called his shop the New Church Depot. He had an idea that it ought to be possible to make a beautiful Picture of a perfect man, drawn from the point of view of the Doctrines, and prevailed upon Mr. Gill to attempt this unusual kind of drawing.

588


The old gentleman was very much pleased with the picture, but we fear it was something quite different from what he had had in mind. Unable to do much in a financial way, he wanted to have some share in what was going on, and so, one Sunday evening after the service, he invited Mr. Baldwin, the preacher, and the members of the committee to take supper with him at the Depot. We ascended a step ladder to the attic, formerly a hayloft, and sat down to a long table, on which he had spread some meat pies purchased from a nearby shop. These were eaten with relish while we discussed matters of the Church and quenched our thirst with bottled ale. He may have appeared eccentric to some people, but when the writer saw him not long before he passed away, he was full of thankfulness that, even in his latter days, he had been permitted to see the Lord in His Second Coming.

     (To be Continued.)
NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS 1929

NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS       Rev. HUGO LJ. ODHNER       1929

     Faith Alone.

     At the time of the Last Judgment,-it is stated in our text for the month (L. J. posth., no. 191),-the interior, and consequently the dominant, sphere of the world of spirits was completely filled with affections and ambitions of becoming great, growing rich, or being wise for glory's sake; and there was little, if any, consideration of the "common good." That such was the state of the world finds ample confirmation in the era of Swedenborg, with its court intrigues, with its oppressions of the populace by an avaricious officialdom, and with the vainglorious rationalism which fermented the French Revolution into a veritable blood-bath.

     But the particular reference of Swedenborg here is to the decayed state of Protestantism, which had weakened the stand of the Church against sin by the specious doctrine of an instantaneous salvation by Faith Alone, through which the evil could climb to high places. "He who confirms faith alone with himself, both in doctrine and in life, cannot be reformed, and thus cannot be saved, for he has cast out of his thought all reflection upon the evil and the good of life with himself." (No. 211.)

589




     But even those who have led a good life, and yet are in the principle that faith alone saves, have, to their detriment, lost the standard of spiritual judgment which must be present to create a true church or congregation, and thus a true social and moral order. The result is, therefore, that after death such believers gather together in societies, but surround themselves with evil spirits, so that they actually dwell among the evil; for they are incapable of discriminating those within their borders who live from conscience from those who are not shunning evils, since the only requisite for salvation they can logically insist upon is mere "faith."

     The Epistle of James.

     A peculiar representation which occurs among Lutherans in the spiritual world is described in L. J. posth., no. 198. When the doctrine about faith is opposed by passages from James, an idea of Luther and an idea of James are visually represented, and a knife is seen flying from "Luther" towards "James."

     The historical basis for this is, that Luther literally "had his knife out" for James, and cut his epistle out of the list of canonical books that were to be recognized as having authority and constituting the Word of God, while leaving Paul's epistles in Luther, who translated the Bible into German, proved an editor of the slashing sort. Books like the Apocalypse, with statements such as, "And they were judged, every man according to their works," and the Epistle of James, the second chapter of which teaches that "faith without works is dead," and goes on, "Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith alone," Luther relegated with varying degrees of disrespect among the "Antilegomina" or unacknowledged books, calling the Epistle of James "an epistle of straw." (See no. 33.)

     The origin of the doctrine of "Faith Alone" lay in Luther's desire for a slogan which would rally the forces of reform and do away with the chief drawing card of the Catholic Church,-the doctrine of salvation by "merit" or by good works. Slogans have cost very dearly in the history of religion. And this one was unfortunately bred from a total misapprehension of the meaning of Paul's writing to the Galatians, "No man is justified by the law, . . . " and to the Romans, "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law."

590


To strengthen his point, Luther added the little word "alone" after "faith," not heeding that the context of both these passages made it perfectly clear that the "deeds of the law," which Paul rightly asserts bring no salvation, were the ritual works of sacrifices and ceremonial washings prescribed for the Jewish Church in the law of Moses. (See Romans 3:19-31.)

     The World of Love.

     That love rules in the spiritual world, is made clear from the sections 233-250 of the posthumous Last Judgment. Faith, intelligence, and knowledge will there pass away as husks from the summer's threshing floor, except so far as they proceed from charity, affection, and delight. Love, on the other hand, "will out," and cannot be suppressed or hidden away.

     A special warning is given us in no. 237: "Let all who are in the world and read these lines know, that the love of ruling for the sake of self and not for the sake of uses is diabolical love itself, and in it are all evils. Let them know this, and be on their guard. All evil loves are within that love and with it, even loves about which the man had been wholly ignorant in the world . . ." This teaching involves that from a dominant love most surprising developments will take place in the spiritual world. A simple and restrained person's life may suddenly begin to flower out into marvelous manifoldness,-into life more abundant; and his external faults will fall away like the pupa from a risen butterfly.

     The unnamed person, whom Swedenborg is allowed to select as the most striking example of this transformation by death, is one whom Swedenborg admired intensely on earth; to wit, Charles XII, King of Sweden 1697-1718, variously regarded as the bravest of heroes, or as the madman of the North,-the thoughtless destroyer of his country's greatness.

     Charles the Twelfth.

     Swedenborg's first introduction to this king of warriors was probably at Lund in the fall of 1716, in the company of Polhem, "the Archimedes of the North." Young Swedberg (whose father, the Bishop, had already paved his way at Court with indifferent success) was appointed a special assessor (without salary) at the Department of Mines, but was detailed to assist Polhem with the engineering projects which were dear to Charles' heart.

591


A number of interviews and conversations followed. The King was gracious and appreciative of the young mathematics, and Emanuel walked on air and admired the King's perspicacity. The King interested himself in the Daedalus project (a scientific magazine-the first to be published in Sweden), and with Swedberg's help worked out a system of counting, similar to the decimal system, but founded on sixty-four as a basic number instead of ten,-a scheme which Polhem and Swedberg sought to modify to eight, in the face of stubborn royal insistence.

     In the spiritual world, the Diary reveals (no. 4704), these conversations were recounted with the view of showing that the Divine Providence had been present in all particulars of these events, and that "unless the state had been changed from good into anger with Charles XII, one man would have altogether perished." Perhaps this man was Swedenborg, since he was certainly under the persuasive spell to which Charles subjected his associates.

     In the world, Charles was polite, blind to danger, modest in his personal wants, just and moral in his conduct. He was serious and pious, brilliant in mind, generous and truthful, made to be adored by his soldiers. The only visible fault he had was an inconceivable stubbornness, and this-a virtue perverted-was the hiding place of that unequaled love of his own way which in the other world made him a rival of Lucifer, unable to take the inevitable defeat which the love of self must meet! He was "the most obstinate mortal on the face of the earth," so obstinate that he would not bend from his purpose even if he were to undergo the most cruel death or the most fearful hell. He made himself believe that his conduct-his pursuit of the fortunes of war when these were impossible-was all for the glory of his country; yet it was really diabolical. (S. D. 4741.)

     Such obstinacy as his does not exist within the limits of this earth, but associated his spirit with a hell beyond our solar system. He tried to stir up the hells of the Antediluvians,-the Anakim,-from their misty rock below hell, and to wage war and conquer heaven and make a treaty with the Almighty, until his rebelling will lost all its sanity, and he sat like a fool, subdued by a woman! (S. D. 4748, 4751, 4745.)

592


But, what is more remarkable than this, his logical end, was the fact that, in the world of spirits, his love of rule led him into all manner of crimes which were quite foreign to his tastes and character here on earth. For in the love to rule from a love of self are all evils.

     The Jews.

     The statement, in L. J. posth., no. 251, and elsewhere, that the Jews, before the judgment, dwelt under the Christian world in the other life, "under the plane of the sole of the foot," is but one of the spiritual facts of history. For centuries, ever since the destruction of Jerusalem, they have lived in ghettos in the great cities of Europe, their social and civic rights abbreviated as much as possible, while they were ofttimes the victims of bloody pogroms or persecuted for their beliefs. There is not any excuse for fanaticism which runs riot. Still the nature of the Jews, as displayed commercially on earth and spiritually in the other life, is such as to stir up evil passions in others. They were hated in Alexandria and Rome before the time of Christ, and recent events have shown the difficulties in establishing a national home for them in Palestine. The prophecy about their triumph over the nations who have held them subject may best be regarded as fulfilled in their sometime financial supremacy, for such worldly empire was always at the heart of their ambition. But their reestablishment in Canaan the Writings dismiss as "dreams." (A. E. 1192.)

     It should be observed that all the Jewish prophecies were couched in conditional form. The fulfilment was to be the fruit of loyalty. The Jews were tolerated for the sake of the Word and its preservation. It was foreseen by the Lord that Christians would not hold the Old Testament as holy, and thus it was Provided that the Jewish nation should dwell scattered through a great part of the earth, and preserve its worship distinct from Christians, reading the Old Testament in the Hebrew, and thus affording a means of communication with some of the heavens. "For correspondences communicate, whatever may be the quality of the person who is reading, provided he acknowledges it as Divine." (De Verbo 16.) If that use had not been found for them, "that whole nation would have perished, because it is perverted."

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     Leibnitz, Wolff, and Newton.

     These three philosophers, whose conversations in the spiritual world are recounted in L. J. posth., nos. 262-267, represent the most famous of Swedenborg's early contemporaries, the leaders of thought and science in the days of his youth and early manhood. Time forbids more than brief comments on some of the terms used by the Leibnitz (1646-1716) sought to solve one of the major problems of philosophy by supposing that matter consisted, not merely of extension, as held by Descartes, nor of indivisible atoms, but of a non-quantitative essence or intensive force. He therefore assumed that there are simple Substances of which all compounds or composite things or bodies are aggregates and which are metaphysical unities rather than physical ones. These simple substances he called "Monads," and he conceived that they had no parts, and therefore no extension or figure, and that they were not divisible. (La Monadologie, nos. 1-3.) They were co-"eternal" with creation itself. The soul is a predominant monad. The human body is composed of many monads. But Leibnitz taught that each monad was different from every other, and that all were organic, and thus in a sense living; not merely mechanical, but having some degree of "perception" and "appetition."

     Wolff, however, lacking interior judgment, was blind to Leibnitz's inward perception of spiritual formative forces playing within the Monad, and claimed instead that only some of the simple substances were organic monads or souls, and that the rest were mere atoms. Wolff, who died in 1754 after making his philosophy to hold undisputed sway in Germany, became a Sensual and materialistic spirit, and in the work on Influx, n. 17, he is taken to task for closing the minds of men to the truth of Spiritual influx, by his teaching that the "simple substances" would be annihilated if divided. Interiorly in Leibnitz's mind, however, lingered the idea of "simpler and purer substances by which the monad was formed," thus intromitting the true idea that the substantial, or spiritual substance, is the primitive of the material, and that material things originate and subsist from the spiritual. (T. C. 797; C. L. 207; Canons, God iv. 8.) The Writings are emphatic that there is no simple substance, but that in the first substance are the most wonderful, perfect and various things of all, i.e., that perfection increases towards interiors. (D. P. 6; D. L. W. 229; A. C. 5084:4.)

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     "Pre-established harmony" was a term used by Leibnitz to describe the mutual relations of the body and the soul. He believed that monads could not influence one another, but that each was created with a singular line of development or self-expression, and yet God had pre-established that a harmony must always be maintained among them. Soul and body he likened to two clocks so perfectly fashioned that each chimed in harmony with the other, although there was actually no intercourse or connection between them. In the spiritual world he was taught that this harmony does not always exist, since there may be a combat between the internal and the external thought, or a disharmony between flesh and spirit. (L. J. posth., 264.)

     Newton, great man that he was, had to amend some of his earthly ideas in the light of angelic wisdom. As he was a very sincere and pious man, he willingly changed his opinion when convinced. Indeed, he was averse to becoming what he once termed "a slave to his philosophy."

     Swedenborg once wrote that "there is nothing more obscure than light." The mystery of light has not decreased since his day, but his reference was perhaps to the division of opinion as to whether light and colors were the results of different kinds of corpuscles which traveled from the light-source with incredible speed, or were due to an undulatory motion in the ether. Newton-not knowing that the phenomena of interference of waves existed in light as well as in the case of sounds-rejected the wave theory, only to be faced by undesired controversy in this world and definite correction in the next. Swedenborg (after some hesitation?) definitely accepted the wave-theory which has been established by later science. Yet, in his early works, Swedenborg sometimes assumed that light was due to an actual flux of the ether particles.* Lately, the mystical relationship of radiation and matter, as two interchangeable forms of energy, has again opened the question to scientific research. In the meantime, we are able to rest in the truth that light and heat are not material, not matters, but natural activities and modifications.
     * See an article by the Rev. R. W. Brown, New Philosophy, 1925, p. 405, et seq.

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     The Readings for 1930.

     Beginning with January next, the Calendar Readings from the Writings will be drawn from the Arcana Celestia, the aim being to cover at least the first 1113 numbers during the year. The work is available in most languages. The editions we would recommend to English readers are the Standard and Library Editions (The Swedenborg Foundation), which contain the translation made by the late Rev. John Faulkner Potts.
CHURCH AND RELIGION 1929

CHURCH AND RELIGION       Rev. GILBERT H. SMITH       1929

     "And the city hath no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it; for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the lamp thereof." (Revelation 21:23.)

     This is said about the New Jerusalem, which is the Lord's New Church in the heavens and on the earth. In the New Church there is "no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it." But the meaning of this is as follows: The sun, in this passage, is the love of self, or merely natural love divorced from spiritual love; and the moon is faith, but the kind of faith which men form for themselves from merely natural thought without spiritual enlightenment. This kind of faith and love will have no place in the New Church,-the faith that is man-made, and the love which is self-love. There will be no need of this sun and moon. But the city of God will be lighted by the glory of God; and the lamp that will give this light is the Lamb of God, which is the Divine Human of the Lord. And that which is referred to as "the glory of God" is the Divine Truth of the Word. The Divine Truth of the Word and the Divine Human of the Lord are to give the only light that is needed in the New Jerusalem. There will not be in the New Church any man-made belief, nor any love of self. The city has "no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it." But the Human of our Lord will give light to men through the Divine Truth of the Word. Such is the general meaning of our text.

     A passage similar to the text occurs in the prophecy of Isaiah:

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     "The sun shall be no more thy light by day; neither for brightness shall the moon give light unto thee; but Jehovah shall be unto thee an everlasting light, and thy God thy glory. Thy sun shall no more go down; neither shall thy moon withdraw itself; for Jehovah shall be thine eternal light." (60:18-20.) Here, by the "sun and moon which shall no more give light "are meant the love of self and one's own intelligence; and by the "sun and moon which shall no more go down" are meant love to the Lord and the intelligence which comes from Him. The sun and moon, in a good sense, mean love and faith from the Lord; but in an opposite sense they mean love and faith which is from man alone. For this reason, the worship of the sun and moon is condemned by several of the prophets; and in Deuteronomy it was commanded that the worshipers of the sun and moon should be stoned.

     Following our text in the Apocalypse, it is said: "The nations which are saved shall walk in the light of it," that is, in the light of the New Church, which signifies that all who are in the good of life, and who believe in the Lord, will live according to Divine truths, and will see them within themselves. For the "nations which are saved" mean all those who are in the good of life; and to "walk in the light" means to live according to Divine truths, as anyone may see. To walk in the light of the New Jerusalem is to see Divine truths from an inner enlightenment, and to live according to them.

     "And the kings of the earth shall bring their glory and honor into it," that is, into the New Church. The "kings of the earth" signify all those who have the truth of wisdom, that is to say, all those who are spiritual, as distinguished from the "nations," which here signify all those who are celestial, and are in the good of life. The kings of the earth shall bring the glory and honor of the nations into the city. The glory and honor of the nations is the confession of the Lord (this is glory), and the ascription to the Lord of all that is good (this is honor).

     "And the gates of it shall not be shut by day; for there shall be no night there," means that they will be continually received into the New Jerusalem who are in truths from the Lord and who are in the love of the Lord. The gates not being shut means that they who wish to enter are continually admitted. What could be plainer?

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And there being no night in the city means that there is continual enlightenment, because there is nothing false in the New Jerusalem.

     The "glory and honor of the nations" is the confession of the Lord as the God of heaven and earth, and the acknowledgment that all the truth of the church and all the good of religion are from Him. And in the book of our Doctrine, called the Apocalypse Revealed a distinction is made between the truth of the church and the good of religion. (A. R. 923.) There it is said that the church is one thing, and religion another. This is the statement; and it has a very modern ring to it. It is what intelligent men are saying,-that the church is one thing, and that religion is quite another; though this is being said today rather to the disparagement of the church. But when it is said in the Writings, there is no implied criticism of the church; for it is said only to draw the distinction between doctrine and life. The church is church according to the doctrine which it teaches; but by religion is meant the living according to doctrine. This is the distinction between the church, as such, and religion. But still, it is said, where there is doctrine, but not life according to it, it cannot be said that there is either the church or religion; because doctrine looks to the life as one with itself; and therefore, where there is doctrine but not life, there is no church.

     Surely this is a very strong and searching statement: Where there is doctrine, but not life, there is in reality no church. And since the general subject of the chapter is the New Church, the statement applies to it. Where there is the doctrine of the New Church, but not life according to it, there the New Church does not exist. And certainly this is one of the important things that is to be taken to heart by all those who are convinced that the Apocalypse contains truths which are especially for the ears of those who will be of the New Church. The spiritual interpretation of the Apocalypse is especially addressed to the people of the New Church. And this is one of the powerful truths of the Book now appearing in its strength. Religion with all men is the life according to that which they believe. And religion in the New Church is life according to what the New Church teaches. Without this life, there is no religion and no church with us; but where the life of the New Church is, there is the New Church in its very reality. There the sun of self-love does not shine, and there the moon of man-made belief does not give light.

598




     There is only so much of the true church among the people of our day as there is the true understanding of doctrine from the Word. And there is only so much of religion among them as there is life according to that doctrine. And there is not much of the one or the other. But, for the most part, men are walking in the light of the sun and the moon which shall not shine in the New Jerusalem; that is, in the enlightenment that domes from the love of self, and in the light of man-made beliefs or self-intelligence.

     There is indeed little hope for the church in the modern world,-that is, little hope that it will hold first place in the affections of men. And yet the confident assertion is made time and again that although the churches have largely lost their hold, still there is as much religion as there ever was. But when we investigate to find out what is meant by religion, as it were independent of the churches, we find that, instead of being a life according to the Word of the Lord, it is a life according to various man-made standards of what is right and wrong. Men live according to their own self-made religion and doctrine. And many say that, although they have not much to do with the churches, still they have a religion of their own.

     And the liberal-minded man cannot so much blame those who desert the churches, for the churches have brought forth nothing new to guide the lives of men for the past two hundred years; unless it may be said that, in one faction, they have revived a fundamentalism which is absurd and impossible, and that, in the other faction, they have brought forth a modernism which denies the infallibility of the Word and the absolute Divinity of our Lord. They have also lowered themselves by championing the cause of repressive legislation, and have given abundant indication that they are not without aspirations to power and wealth. But what men are making for themselves in the way of religion-personal, as it is sometimes called,-is not a religion founded, in spite of the churches, on a deeper understanding of the Word and a more exalted idea of Christ: it is the religion of self-intelligence and human reason, independent of the Word of God; it is a kind of natural philosophy and morality, not based on spiritual knowledge, but on natural.

     As a real church does not exist where there is no life of religion, so is it true that a real religion does not exist where there is no church or no genuine doctrine.

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The church and religion, although they are quite different things, must still go hand in hand, as the perfect counterparts of one another. Where there is no life according to doctrine, there is no church; and where there is no church, there is no life according to real Christian doctrine or no life of religion. Unless men walk or live in the light of the New Jerusalem, where the sun and moon of natural love and natural reason cannot enter, there is no church and no real religion, any more than there is with a people who have never had the advantages of learning from the Word, and are totally paganized.

     But the gates of this city are never closed, which means that men will be continually received into the New Church, if they are willing to enter. The gates are constantly open to those who can read its teachings, as they have been published by the press. We have so often heard the idea expressed that just because men in Christendom are drifting away from the churches, it is no indication that they are finding a way of life in accord with the life of the New Church. There is a breaking down of the old, but that is no indication that there is a corresponding readiness to accept the new. Instead, there are many indications that Christians have become more pagan, and are led in life more and more by the light of the sun and the moon, that is, by the light of self-love and of self-intelligence. But this light is not the light of the New Church; for the only light that is needed in it is the light shed from the Lord Himself, and from the genuine doctrine and understanding of the Word. This is the real Church of the Lord; and the only religion that is possible in it is that life which conforms to its Heavenly Doctrine.

     If there is doctrine, however, and not life, there is no church among us. They who know what the New Church teaches, and live according to it, are the only true church. There are some, indeed, whom we must not leave out of consideration,-some who are affiliated with the Christian churches, and some who are not, bit who are not really affected by the false teachings about faith and the Trinity, and by the motives of self-love in high places, and who, by their own study of the Word, see the fundamental teaching of the New Jerusalem, and who are therefore to be numbered with the New Church, although they know nothing about it. These also, in the other life, are to be brought into the city of God, and there shall be one fold and one Shepherd.

600


But of these it may be said that they are of the true church because they are enlightened by the Lord in true doctrine, and live according to it. How many these may be, only the Lord Himself knows; but the point remains that, with those who do not live according to the doctrine of the New Church, there is no church and no religion.

     This point we should set to our hearts as being one of those vital truths revealed to us out of the Apocalypse, without the understanding and acceptance of which no man can be saved. No man without a genuine religion can be saved; and no man has a genuine religion, no man leads a life of good, who does not live according to those things which the New Church teaches. It cannot be said that all those who are nominally of the New Church will be saved or regenerated, or born again; but it can be said that none can be saved who are not really in the life of the doctrine of the New Jerusalem.

     Let us never deceive ourselves about the truth of this assertion. It has been true ever since the Last Judgment in the spiritual world, and it will always be true. And they who are nominally in the New Church can be regenerated, and can be men of religion, only to the extent they intend and strive to live according to her teachings. The New Church is the only Church there is in the world, the only Church there has been in the world since the time of the Last Judgment; and life according to its teachings is the only real religion in the world, the only life that is really good. Other churches are true churches only in so far as they know the doctrine of the New Jerusalem, and can see it reflected in the letter of the Word, and so far as they live according to it. But how far this may be, let every man judge for himself. Only let us remember what our doctrine teaches on this point, too,-namely, that those who will be of the New Jerusalem are relatively few,-meaning those who are willing to live its life,-and that the angels entertained small hope of the men of the Christian world.

     The matter of living according to the doctrine of the New Church may be seen, therefore, to be truly a matter of life and death, that is, of spiritual life and death. Let no one, therefore, make light of the early efforts of New Church people to live according to the light that comes from the Lord alone. In the early days of the New Church, men read the Doctrines much, and made certain deductions from them.

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Perhaps some of them were wrong; perhaps most of them were right. They made deductions about marriages within the church and a distinctive social life. Let us, in our own generation, go to the Doctrine and see for ourselves, and make our own deductions from them. Let us not think that we need the light of the sun and of the moon in the New Church, but let us seek the true light from the glory of God, and from the lamp which shineth in it, which is the Human of our Lord, to Whom is the power and the kingdom and the glory forever. Amen.

     Lessons: Isaiah 60. Revelation 21:10-27. A. R. 923.
CHURCH ON EARTH 1929

CHURCH ON EARTH              1929

     "The Church is the rule of Divine Love and Wisdom upon earth, by means of men and women who are conjoined with the Lord through the keeping of His commandments. At the beginning it is small and apparently insignificant. It was so with the great Jewish representative Church, when Abram and Sarai came out of Ur of the Chaldees to go into Canaan. It grew large and wicked during the twenty centuries of its existence, and when the Lord came into the world it spurned and finally killed Him. But the Lord had instituted His first Christian Church, which struggled on, poor and despised, until Constantine gave it worldly status; and then, early in the fourth century, it did what the Jews had done-it killed the Lord by robbing Him of His sole and supreme Divinity. And since the Lord is the life of the Church, the Christian Church became a mere name. The Babylon, or will part of it, although destroyed at the Last Judgment, still pretends that it exists and retains the keys of Peter, and can admit to or exclude from heaven whom it will; while the Philistia part still claims that anyone can attain heaven on Christ's merits. But the New Church is here. The Lord is again in the world. All who receive Him in His new revelation are the remnant of the old; hence the lack, sometimes, of unanimity as children of the one Father and Mother." (REV. RICHARD MORSE in THE NEW AGE, August, 1929.)

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SOME CONFERENCE VIEWS 1929

SOME CONFERENCE VIEWS              1929


NEW CHURCH LIFE
Office a Publication, Lancaster, Pa.
Published Monthly By
THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM
BRYN ATHYN, PA.
Editor                    Rev. W. B. Caldwell, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager          Mr. H. Hyatt, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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

     TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$3.00 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single Copy, 30 cents
     As indicative of the currents of opinion in the General Conference, we would cite a few paragraphs from the addresses delivered at the annual meeting of that body held in London last June, as reported in the NEW-CHURCH HERALD.

     THE ATTITUDE OF THE CHRISTIAN WORLD.

     In the course of his Inaugural Address as incoming President, the Rev. Albert E. Edge expressed his belief that the New Church teachings concerning the life after death "are at last apparently beginning to find a ready acceptance everywhere." Similarly, that "the teachings of the Second Advent relating to Faith and Life generally are becoming so much taken for granted by most people now as to arouse very little attention and no opposition." But we are at a loss to understand how this supposed acceptance of the Faith of the New Church, with its acknowledgment of the Lord Jesus Christ as God, is to be reconciled with Mr. Edge's later statement, that the response from without to the Doctrine of the Lord, and the Doctrine of the Sacred Scripture, and the teaching of the Lord's Second Coming, is "a little more dubious-to put it mildly.

     Granting that there are among Christians some who find comfort in the assurance given by Swedenborg concerning the life after death, as supporting their hope of eternal life and the Gospel promise of the resurrection, are we to believe that Christians are really offering a "ready acceptance everywhere" to this phase of the new revelation, when yet they are, as Mr. Edge also states, "leaving out of thought altogether that vital part of theology" which deals with the Lord of the Kingdom, His Word, and His Second Coming?"

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"Leaving out of thought altogether" expresses, we believe, the prevailing attitude of the Christian world toward the vital doctrines of the New Church; and so we think it would be well not to make too much of the "ready acceptance everywhere" of the teachings concerning the life after death.

     The portions of Mr. Edge's address which treat of this matter are quoted herewith:

     "The attitude of the Christian world generally, as it stands in relation to New-Church teaching, and of New-Church teaching as it confronts the Christian world, is one of unusual interest at the present time, because the relation varies a great deal now in the different doctrines. For example, the New-Church teachings concerning life after death are at last apparently beginning to find a ready acceptance everywhere. Not only are the old doctrines of a fearsome last day, the resurrection of the physical body, and the old, hat, stilted ideas of heaven, becoming outgrown and discarded, but, what is vastly more important, the positive aspect of the views is being more actively adopted, and the teachings concerning actual experiences in the spiritual world are being delightedly accepted in most unexpected quarters. So obviously just and rational a conception of life hereafter as is presented by the New Church was practically bound to be accepted in slightly adapted forms by all thinking Christian men of faith sooner or later, as education advanced. . . .

     We may justly cherish the conviction now that if the doctrines of our Church were limited to the subject of life after death, in a few years time there would be little more needed than thanks to the Lord that the cause had so obviously prospered among Christian men, followed quite possibly by a discussion as to whether the New-Church Community, having accomplished the great work which was given it to do, could go out of existence as a separate and independent body.

     "Possibly the same might also be said, though with certainly less assurance, as to the beautifully familiar New-Church doctrines of Faith and Life.

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The old, grim tenets of Predestination and Faith Alone have, for the most part, been tacitly discarded by educated Christians of every denomination. Indeed, the teachings of the Second Advent relating to Faith and Life generally are becoming so much taken for granted by most people now as to arouse very little attention and no opposition. . . .

     "But as a collective body we stand for still other standards of thought than those comprised in the doctrines of Faith and Life and the Life after Death, and in those other teachings the response from without is perhaps a little more dubious-to put it mildly.

     "What of the Doctrine of the Lord, and the Doctrine of the Sacred Scripture, and the teaching of the Lord's Second Coming? Granted, the old ideas of a Trinity of Persons, or a Duality of Persons, in the Godhead have for the most part sunk into vagueness. One cannot say very much more than that yet, for the old forms remain most emphatically. . . . The change that is taking place in thought would seem for the most part to be a transfer from the old Trinity of Persons to a rather nebular kind of Unitarianism, a change to which, by the way, our Unitarian friends are actively adapting themselves. Man's answer to the question, 'What think ye of Christ?' is still surprisingly vague in the minds of large numbers of Christians today. Few indeed will go the length of saying that the Jesus Christ of the Gospels is the sole Deity and Lord God Almighty. It is admitted that, when the New-Church teaching on this head is presented to most people, they seem to accept it readily enough as a formula, but their very readiness is too often an index to the fact that their own ideas on the subject are unformed. The prevailing tendency throughout modern Christendom is to leave that vital part of theology out of thought altogether, and if, as Swedenborg says, 'the idea of God constitutes the inmost of thought with all who have any religion,' the present-day indifference and laxity on this point cannot be regarded altogether with equanimity by any of us.

     "The Doctrine of the Sacred Scripture, as taught in the New Church, seems to be making comparatively little headway, except on its purely negative side. It is one thing to dismiss ancient Bible stories as 'allegories,' which the Christian world is most willingly beginning to do; it is quite another to accept in any sort of fullness the alternative which the New Church offers. Only in the very vaguest form, apparently, is Christianity as a whole yet prepared to adopt the method of interpretation revealed through and advocated by Swedenborg.

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And this is one matter upon which the gravest and most intent thought and effort of the New Church will have to be concentrated. The most up-to-date Commentary on the Scriptures, valuable as it is, is doing a lot of pulling down, but leaving large tracts of old faith bereft of its former satisfactions, with nothing to replace them. . . .

     "So much for the purely doctrinal part of the work still before us,-the New Jerusalem considered only as a city. But the Church is also pictured to us in another form. It is a Woman clothed with the Sun. A vital power, with all the loving energy and activity of kill and emotion which woman so nobly represents. And this glorious aspect of the Church's life cannot be bound in by any of the limits of human creeds or formulas. Our active work, our willing helpfulness, our voluntary co-operation in every project that makes for the welfare of man and woman can know no other limits than those of sheer opportunity. Here, at any rate, we should be prepared to stand shoulder to shoulder with other bodies and institutions that tend to elevate mankind. We must take up our share in the world's work, not only praying regularly, as we do, 'that the blessings of order and civilization may extend throughout the earth,' but openly taking our part in working for that end. For this purpose we are a very small body, but no one knows better than the New Churchman that smallness of numbers and relative insignificance can never be any reason before the Lord for not doing one's utmost. We can all do our part, even though it be a minor one and in the background; and the inspired decree made by David the Warrior applies to us all in very powerful detail: 'Like as his part is that goeth down to the battle, so shall his part be that tarrieth by the stuff; they shall part alike.'" (NEW-CHURCH HERALD, June 15, pp. 369.



     In the above cited portions of his address, Mr. Edge gives what we believe to be a correct estimate of the general attitude of Christians toward the message of the New Church. They are heedless of the vital features of its Doctrine. Yet he would advocate a close cooperation with them in works. Now it is a fact that New Churchmen everywhere, as good citizens, do their share in the world's work,-in their individual uses, in the field of benefactions, uplift, welfare, and all that.

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But if Christians will not receive the great spiritual use of charity that we would perform for them in our work of evangelization, is the New Church, as such, to turn its energies into the channel of natural good works? Are we, like the apostles of old, to "leave the Word of God, and serve tables"? (Acts 6:2.) Is this the true answer to the problem?

     When we find that the precious seed of Divine Truth is falling upon stony places, bearing no fruit, might it not be well to look nearer home, within the New Church itself, for a more fertile ground,-a field of internal evangelization, in the quickening and sustaining of spiritual interest among the few already in the fold, and the implanting and fostering of a love of the church among the young and the children, so that rich fruit may be borne in the oncoming generations, and the few eventually become many? This, we believe, is the answer,-the indication of Providence as to the prime duty of the present-day New Church, that its energies may not be dissipated in attempting to cultivate a fruitless field, while neglecting a fertile one within the fold.

     The belief that the first duty of the New Church is to evangelize the Christian world has long been the dominating obsession with many New Churchmen. With each rising generation of the children of the Church departing from it, they would still go on preaching to the unheeding multitude. And, in spite of the very evident results, this fatal policy seems still to be the prevailing one in the General Conference. We would have rejoiced to see its President turning the thoughts of his people in the direction of internal evangelization and its works of spiritual charity, including the work of New Church education, instead of to the world's works. That there is need of this, seems plain from the words of the retiring President, the Rev. W. A. Presland, from whose Report the HERALD quotes as follows:

     "The following paragraph in his report strikes a note of alarm, and indicates the need for a remedy:

     'As to the state of the Church generally: it must ever be remembered that internals are known to the Lord alone. It may be that in His sight these were never better than now. Outward signs suggest otherwise. It is futile to ignore increased irregularity at public worship, diminished congregations and attendances at Holy Communion; that dramatics, dances, and socials are well supported, whilst churches are nearly empty, and there is little or no support for study-circles or doctrinal meetings.

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Moreover, can any congregation be in a highly spiritual state when the day that commemorates the last Temptation whereby our Lord fully conquered the hells and fully glorified His Human is observed only as a public holiday?

     "He moved as follows: 'Believing that the present condition of the organized New Church demands for its improvement a new spirit and life from the Lord, this Conference affectionately and earnestly appeals to every member and junior member to surrender himself entirely to the service of the Lord and His Church, and to be ever vigilant against all selfish and worldly allurements that would sap his loyalty.'" (HERALD, June 22, p. 383.)



     Quite in line with such an appeal was the thoughtful and wholesome address on "The Spiritual Needs of the Church," later delivered by the Rev. Frank Holmes, of South Manchester, a few phases of which we would note.

     Pointing out that "the soul of the church must be from the Lord alone,-the love of what is good and true, just and sincere, for their own sake, as the spiritual in worship and life,"-he asks: "How, then, is the Church to receive her soul from the Lord? In what conditions will He, with His Holy Spirit, His proceeding Divine Truth of Good, breathe upon her the breath of lives, and make her a living soul? How are these paramount needs of the spiritual to be supplied?" "The answer," he says, "is found in the doctrine about shunning evils as sins against God. . . . This is the primary condition for the opening of the spiritual mind with the individual. When the Church shuns evils as sins, she is interiorly open to the influx of the Lord out of heaven, to the inbreathing of His Holy Spirit, His proceeding Divine Truth of Good, whereby she becomes a living soul." Discussing the evils that the church should repent of, as the beginning of her spiritual needs, he continues:

     "Now, in order to be definite, we should mention some of the evils that are apt to afflict church life and destroy her soul. Perhaps the most prevalent in the New Church has been a spirit of intolerance, a denial of her new freedom to enter intellectually into the mysteries of faith.

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If we seek to bind others to our interpretation of the Word and the doctrines, and call that the very revelation of the Lord, the Word, repudiating the construction which others place upon the same statements, we are seeking to deny the orderly freedom of their rationality. When, through such differences of interpretation, there arise cliques and even rival churches which regard each other with suspicion and animosity, and speak ill of one another, then that intolerance and uncharity have developed into a destructive evil. That this has been the case in the organized New Church to a very grave extent, who can deny? Questions like that of authority and liberty, church government, the work on Conjugial Love, and fermented wine, have left behind them a somewhat lurid history. Intolerance of doctrinal interpretations in the New Church, differing from our own, is an evil to be shunned by all schools of thought if the Church is to have her spiritual opened from the Lord."

     On the positive side, Mr. Holmes shows that the end and purpose of the Church is to bear witness by means of the Word and the Heavenly Doctrines, and makes this important point: "We think that any missionary effort has fallen short of its central witness if it does not Present some aspect of the Divine Human of the Lord. Essays on immortality and the spiritual world, on biology and influx, on the nature of Scripture and correspondences, are beautiful, but ancillary to the main witness of the Church. We are told that 'all the doctrines which angelic preaching embodies regard life as their end, and none of them faith apart from life,' and that 'the essential of all the doctrines is to acknowledge the Divine Human of the Lord.' (H. H. 227.) The witness of the Church must be as near as possible to the angelic, and there is the heavenly ideal,-doctrines of life and of the faith of life, which have as their central and essential quality the acknowledgment of the Divine Human of the Lord." (HERALD, June 22, pp. 385, 386.)



     SOME CONVENTION VIEWS.

     A number of studious papers were presented and discussed at the General Convention held in Brooklyn last June, being published in THE NEW-CHURCH MESSENGER, July 10-August 28, 1929. For the information of our readers we are reprinting a few extracts, with brief comment upon points of special interest.

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     DOCTRINE OR SCRIPTURE.

     Several of the papers turned upon the question as to the character of preaching and teaching in the New Church, and exhibited some cross-currents of view as to the relative emphasis to be given to doctrine and the Scriptures, to the truths of the spiritual sense and those of the letter of the Word. It would appear that in some quarters there is a reaction against "too much doctrine," with a plea for more accommodation to the listener in the pews in the form of natural truth and the Scriptures. As if to meet this state, we find prominence given to the astonishing position that " it is not the spiritual sense, but the truth in the letter of the Word, whereby men are regenerated and saved," and also that " the spiritual sense of Scripture is not initiative of the religious experience; it is interpretative of it."

     But these views were not unchallenged. I, the opening address at the Council of Ministers, On "What Our Past Experience Teaches Us," the Rev. Warren Goddard dwelt upon the need of teaching and living the distinctive doctrine of the Second Coming. To quote:

     "Over one hundred and forty-two years ago the London group of readers of Swedenborg rejected the advice of the Rev. John Clowes to stay in the 'Established Church' and not to form a New-Church Society and organization of their own. The wisdom and far-sightedness of this group was well attested by the results that followed the formation of the Great East Cheap New-Church Society in London, and later of other Societies in Great Britain and elsewhere, and by the failure of the attempts of the Rev. Jacob Duche and others to introduce New-Church teaching 'gradually and insensibly into the Church of England and into other church bodies.

     "The experiences of these early New Churchmen, as given us through Robert Hindmarsh, show that unswerving loyalty to the Doctrines of the Church, and to the church organization, brought marked, tangible results, and, we may believe, intangible or spiritual results also. These early New Churchmen made their mistakes, as we all do; they had their share of ineffective leaders and differences of opinion, and their sermons were perhaps too much given to drawing contrasts between the Old and the New Doctrines, and to repeating the phrases and language of Swedenborg. But there was an effectiveness in their work, and a sincerity about it that produced numerical growth and that kept people in the Church.

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     "Reflection upon this past history, and upon our present experiences, shows the necessity for clear thought as to the meaning of the Second Coming and of the relation of the organized New Church to this Coming. The Lord comes to individual Christian men in one way, and in another way at the time of racial, religious emergencies. The Second Coming, historically, means the giving of new, distinctive Doctrine in two quite different ways: first, by direct revelation from heaven to the more innocent and less worldly Africans, and, secondly, through the man Swedenborg, in written form, to people who are more prone to worldliness, self-assertion, and selfish life in general.

     "But, once given by the Second Coming this new body of spiritual Doctrine, the past experience of the Church teaches us that we should be absolutely loyal to it, avoiding the mistake of weakening its force and power by adherence to the fashions of thought: evolution, for example, or the positions taken by the exponents of the modern criticism of the Bible.
     
     "Our past and present experience teaches us that what is needed is not less Doctrine, but better understood and more intelligently used Doctrine, and better leadership.

     "The Lord told His first disciples to 'tarry' in the 'city of Jerusalem' until they were 'endued with power from on high.' He did not say that they were to 'tarry' under a fig-tree until this new power came. The 'power' these disciples were to receive is the power that a New Churchman receives when he learns, studies, and lives the Doctrines of the Second Coming. With this power he can go out and do effective missionary work."

     Following Mr. Goddard's paper was one on "Effective Preaching in the New Church," by the Rev. Howard C. Dunham. Discussing the character of the sermons in the early days in America, he notes that "the pioneer New Church people were of an intelligent class, great readers; and as they soon found that the Second Coming and the New Church were the direct result of the spiritual opening of the Divine Word, they were eager to learn this spiritual truth. Consequently, the early ministers devoted themselves almost entirely to setting forth and explaining it." Describing the kind of sermons delivered by the Revs. Thomas and Samuel Worcester, James Reed, and Chauncey Giles, he goes on to say:

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     "Fifty years ago, about the time the speaker was in the Theological School, the general consensus of opinion among our ministers was that the ideal New-Church sermon should begin with a reference to the text and context; then the main body of the sermon should be devoted to setting forth the spiritual sense, while at the close there should be a few words of practical application; and in all this last half-century there has been little general divergence from this customary form.

     "Accordingly, if this brief history of New-Church preaching is approximately correct, may we not justly estimate that for nearly a century such preaching has been over the heads, or above the plane, of nearly, if not more than, one-half the congregation, including most all the young people? What wonder that our young people have mostly stopped coming to the New Church! And if they choose to go elsewhere, is it not to where the preaching is more within the range of their understanding! Consider the hundreds, yea, the thousands, of our young people who thereby have been lost to the New Church during the past sixty years! So far as the speaker is aware, the only direct effort, in all this time, to better matters was many years ago, during the activity of a previous generation of ministers, where the Rev. Messrs. Oliver Dyer and Charles A. Dunham became impressed with the fact that, while our doctrines teach that it is not the spiritual sense, but the truth in the letter of the Word, whereby men are regenerated and saved, this fundamental and most important teaching of the Lord's Second Coming was almost entirely ignored in the preaching of the New Church. They united in presenting this matter at a meeting of the ministers of the New York Association. But, alas, the strength of the error has seemed greater than that of the truth."


     Mr. Dunham does not state where he finds this "fundamental and most important teaching of the Lord's Second Coming,"-that it is the "truth of the letter of the Word whereby men are regenerated and saved." Perhaps he refers to the teaching that "the doctrine of the church is to be drawn from the sense of the letter of the Word, and confirmed by it (S. S. 50), and to the fact that the essentials of salvation are openly given in the letter. (S. S. 55.) But does that mean that the truth of the letter alone is the means of regeneration and salvation in the New Church?

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To what end, then, the revelation of the Heavenly Doctrine and the spiritual sense of the Word? Without ignoring or underestimating the power of the literal sense, in the sermon and in the life of regeneration, we must agree with the early preachers of the New Church in their conception of the primary function of this Church, which is to expound the Scriptures in the light of the Heavenly Doctrine, and to instruct and lead minds in the spiritual truths of doctrine, whereby interior planes are opened and formed in the regeneration,-planes hitherto closed among Christians, who have not been admitted into spiritual temptations since the Council of Nice. Nor will the young in the New Church be satisfied with anything less than this interior instruction, if they have been rightly educated in earlier years.

     Later in his address, Mr. Dunham shows that our teaching of natural truth should prepare for the reception of spiritual truth, or for what he calls the "uncovered truths of the letter of the Word."
To quote:

     "Others can teach men natural truth-often, perhaps, far better than we. But no one, not in direct touch with the Lord's second and spiritual coming, can be a sound and authoritative teacher of the long-hidden things of the spirit. And yet no teacher, however able, can take one whose conscious life is down in the Egypt of the natural mind, and lift him at once, in the twinkling of an eye, into the lofty realms of the spirit. It simply can't be done! A process of preparation in the natural mind must first be accomplished. The natural mind must first be quickened and aroused to pleasant activity. A spiritual fisher of men must first patiently and effectively angle in the waters of natural truth, or he cannot succeed in mentally arresting any game that can be lifted to the lofty realm of the spirit. A matter of great and continuing; importance in the New-Church minister's work is to show that the truths of the uncovered letter of the Word are Divine and spiritual truths, and that without conformity to them as the very laws of life, human society cannot endure, or even heaven itself exist. The uncovered truths of the letter of the Word should be employed with great perspicacity and vigor in driving home and fixing in mind and heart the practical, saving lesson of the sermon. If this is not effectively done, our sermons amount to little, so far as cooperating with the Lord in salvaging human souls to the blessedness of eternal life."

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     We were pleased to note in the discussion of Mr. Dunham's paper that several speakers were emphatic as to the essential duty of the New Church preacher. The Rev. George H. Dole, in the course of his remarks, said: "It is unfortunate that we should have to emphasize the principle that we must preach the truth, but it is essential. We hear much said in opposition to doctrinal preachers. But what is the New Jerusalem? It is a system of doctrine. . . . It is true, of course, that doctrine alone does not make a man good. . . . Truth is a mere mechanism by means of which the Lord insinuates good, and by means of which man ascends Jacob's Ladder. But we must have the doctrine which is the Lord's instrument. It is foolish to think that there can be good without truth. We are instructed that every church is according to doctrine, and that the church is constituted by purity of doctrine." And in closing he said: "I have worked for many years on what a New Church sermon should be. It should consist of five things: First, there should be a text from the Word; second, exegesis of the text; third, illustrations; fourth, application; and fifth, public appeal."

     We cite also a few lines from the speech by the Rev. Hiram Vrooman, as follows:

     "The danger is that in our sermons we will forget the revealed spiritual truth. These other things are sciences, and they must always be distinguished from revealed spiritual truths, whose object it is to produce regeneration.

     "With reference to the literal sense of the Bible, we are living in an age when for the first time in history we can think intellectually about the mysteries of faith. There is a fundamentally new development of mankind. We have arrived at adult age, and the material to meet the needs of this age is to be found in the spiritual sense of the Word. When we interpret the text, we should interpret it in the light of doctrine. Otherwise there is no power in it and we shall be misled. We must concentrate our attention in preaching on spiritual truth."

     BIBLICAL SCHOLARSHIP.

     At the closing session of the Council of Ministers a move was made to focus the attention of the ministers during the coming year upon the subject of the Study of the Word, with the special aim of evaluating the works of the Biblical student, commentator and critic in the world at large.

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The idea was favorably received by the ministers, and it seems likely that there will be an extended treatment of the subject at the meeting of the Council next year. The proposal was made by the Rev. Everett K. Bray in the following motion:

     "That the study for the coming year be centered upon the Word, and that a committee of five be appointed by the Chair, whose duty it shall be to learn the present attitude of Biblical scholarship on those parts of the Bible which are the Word; to analyze the Modernists' opposition to our doctrine of a continuous internal sense; to investigate what are considered as proven flaws in the letter of the Word, and on what grounds specific texts and portions are rejected; whether there is division among scholars on those parts which appear to challenge our doctrines; and to supply quotations from those authorities whose judgment would give support to our doctrine of a letter perfectly fitted to the spirit; to inform the Council if there are any charges seriously maintained against portions given a word-for-word spiritual content in the Writings; and to supply such other matters as in their opinion bear upon these points-the object kept before us being to enable us to clarify before the modern mind the New-Church truth that the Sacred Scriptures are the Word of the Lord."

     In the discussion which followed, unanimous approval of this constructive proposal was expressed. The Rev. E. M. L. Could "suggested that this work be undertaken in the spirit of interpreting and illuminating the positions of modern scholarship rather than in a spirit of correcting them. As he had come to know them, he had found much to strengthen and support the teachings of the New Church in these positions. The Rev. H. C. Dunham expressed his belief that if this proposal were seriously taken up, the rift which seemed to be appearing among New Churchmen would be closed."

     "Dr. F. A. Gustafson thought that the work of the proposed committee should be to sift the mass of material accumulated by scholars according to the standard of revealed doctrine, so that what is really useful could be available to all. The Rev. G. H. Dole commended the plan, and gave several illustrations of modern scientific investigations which seemed to him to be confirmatory of New-Church teachings, and which, it seemed to him, were being overlooked. . . .

615




     "The Rev. R. B. Wezerek pointed out that unless the New-Church minister could contribute something distinctive, he was cheating his parishioners"


     It has become increasingly evident in recent years that some of the ministers of Convention have gone so extensively into the field of modern Biblical research that they have become enamored, not to say infatuated, with the value of its findings, losing sight of the fact that the New Church has infinitely more to give than to receive in this field. In the published writings of Convention we seldom see a reference to the Word Explained and its wealth of comment upon the natural sense of the Old Testament, but we hear much of what Dr. This and Dr. That has to say Thus, in an address on "The Relation of the Deeper Meaning of the Scriptures to Religious Experience," delivered at the Convention, the Rev. Wm. F. Wunsch remarks: "I think we do unwisely to underrate the admirable studies that have been made of the inner life of Jesus by such men as Dr. Garvey and Dr. Robertson, but however far inquiry may have proceeded, it still feels that there is much more before it." The whole address is typical of the point of view that would make of Swedenborg merely one of the commentators, as where we are told that "when Swedenborg comes to the messages to the seven churches in Asia, he feels that he is describing the transition that began in his day and is extending to our day, out of a traditionalized Protestantism and Catholicism into a spiritualized Gospel." Then we find such expressions as, "Swedenborg puts all this in his own way, etc.

     Nor can we follow Mr. Wunsch when, in this address, he holds that "the spiritual sense of Scripture is not initiative of the religious experience; it is interpretative of it." For here again we find the strange notion that it is by the truth of the letter of the Word that we are to be regenerated and saved: "The truth initiative of rebirth, that is in the plain injunctions of the sense of the letter of the Word." But let us cite what Mr. Wunsch has to say on this point:

     "And now let us reflect upon one implication of our saying that the deeper sense of Scripture is an interpretation, or is interpretative, of religious experience. Let me put the matter in a contrasting way, for I do not think we use the spiritual sense of Scripture with full effect if we use it for that for which it is not intended.

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The spiritual sense of Scripture is not initiative of the religious experience; it is interpretative of it. If we want to look around for propulsion to the religious life, if we want to lay hold on the truth, or to be laid hold on by the truth, which discloses the religious life to us, and inspires it in us, and keeps even driving us to it, that is to be found in the sense of the letter of the Word. There we must look for the summons on us to live this life; there we must look for the disclosure of it in the first place; there it is that we are told the earthly truths we need will be found.

     "And, by the way, do we appreciate that it is an earthly truth that we must be born again, that it is an earthly truth what we must do to be born again! Well, isn't it? If it is true that unless we are born again here in some slight measure, we shall not be born again at all, then it is an earthly truth that we must be born again, and that earthly truth Jesus Christ was bringing home to Nicodemus when He said to him in effect: 'If you don't get back, you don't need to bother yourself about how the rebirth takes place; that doesn't concern you then. Swedenborg puts all this in his own way when he says that the sense of the letter is for men and the spiritual sense is for angels. I know how he qualifies that statement; but when he makes it he is driving home the point that the spiritual sense is interpretative of the rebirth. After this has taken place-the regeneration that the Lord Himself carries on behind the curtains of our consciousness in the other world-we shall learn, and in this world we may learn, how much He does for us in the refashioning of us; but as for the truth initiative of rebirth, that is in the plain injunctions of the sense of the letter of the Word.

     "There is the same implication in the motto which Swedenborg chose for the back of the title page of the Arcana: ' Seek ye first the Kingdom of God, and all these things (these ways of interpreting what has happened when you have it) shall be added unto you.'"

     CASTING BREAD UPON THE WATERS.

     We find in the Convention proceedings a proposal to enlarge THE MESSENGER," by adding to the pages which are adapted to interest especially our own church body, other pages which, not lacking interest for our own members, may attract a wider circle of readers."

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The reasons given for this by the Editor of THE MESSENGER bring to our attention a policy of society-building which has been in operation for some years in the Brooklyn Society of which he is Pastor, and which led recently to its change of name from "Church of the New Jerusalem" to "Church of the Neighbor." The nature of that policy, which it is now proposed to apply to THE MESSENGER, was thus outlined by Mr. Gould:

     "When I first came to Brooklyn, it was with a certain feeling of dubiousness-which I know was shared by a good many members of the Society-as to whether it was really safe to cast one's bread upon the waters; as to whether the effort to appeal to people in the first place through interests not directly religious, was either legitimate or likely to be fruitful. I am satisfied after seven years of work here-and I think perhaps some of you may agree with me after seeing a few of the results of that work-that the indirect appeal is worth while; that by seeking to meet people through their interest in that which is beautiful, through their interest in science, through their interest in human contacts, it is possible to establish a relationship with them which may ripen, and frequently will ripen, into something of real spiritual value.

     "In any case it is obvious that, as long as we make no appeal except a specifically New-Church one, the field of our New-Church publications is going to be extremely limited. If we can add to that appeal (not taking anything away from it) material of interest along other lines-I have in mind particularly those of art, sociology, and science-we shall, I believe and hope, he able to get readers for our New-Church material also. We have found, for example, in the Book Shop downstairs that it is a great assistance to the sale of our New-Church books for us to carry other books. People come in to buy the latest volume of essays, or the latest book on science, and are very likely to end by buying one of the New-Church Publications before they leave the shop. It is that same sort of appeal, that same sort of method, which we are asking you to let us try out with THE MESSENGER upon such an economic basis as the General Council may find practicable.

     "It was voted, without discussion, that THE MESSENGER Advisory Committee be empowered to carry out its plans if these are approved by the General Council."

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FAITH HEALING 1929

FAITH HEALING              1929

AN APOSTLE OF HEALING. Being Studies in the Life and Work of Pastor Richard Howton. By Hector Waylen. London: Arthur H. Stockwell, Ltd., 1928. Cloth, 126 pages.

     This volume, sent us for review, contains a record of Pastor Howton's indulgence in the disorderly practice of physical healing as a part of his ministerial functions, and argues in support of it. As such, the book can only be repulsive to the New Church reader, especially as Swedenborg is cited in one place in such a way as to give the impression that his teachings favor the practice.

     Any religion or church that makes physical healing a part or a central feature of its program of activities will gather many dupes. It is a very seductive thing, and is now invading some of the Protestant sects hitherto opposed to it. Even in the New Church there are those who incline in this direction, in spite of the plain warnings of the Heavenly Doctrine against the danger of confusing the healing of the body with the healing of the spirit, and against the use of miracles as an instrument of conversion.

     The book before us has recently received a sound treatment at the hands of a reviewer in THE NEW AGE (Australia), from which we quote the following trenchant paragraphs:

     FROM A REVIEW BY "W. R. H."

     This book is a sketch of the life of Pastor Richard Howton (1855-1927), who for many years conducted a religious mission, unconnected with any established sect, in Glossop, Derbyshire, England, and who possessed the faculty of being able to cure certain physical diseases by personal contact. But this book is more than a record of Pastor Howton's life and work. It is an attempt to justify the practice and efficacy of so-called "faith healing," i.e., the conjunction of physical cures with the Christian Faith. Whether it has been sent to this journal for review because it contains one exceedingly misleading paragraph about Swedenborg, or because it is thought that New Churchmen may have a general or particular interest in the subject of "faith healing," it is impossible to say. If the latter, then it is possible to say, and to say very definitely, that New Churchmen can have no theological or intellectual sympathy with the subject of this book.

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     Bodily cures have been performed in all times by concentrated mental power. In modern days, witness Lourdes, Christian Science, and M. Coue. Men have existed who possessed a kind of magnetic touch which was capable of exercising a curative effect on diseases, apparently incurable by medicine or surgery. In his youth, the writer of this review personally met one who had such power, and knew of others. "Bodily magnetism," it was called in those days. These men were invariably of a very large physical stature. Pastor Howton appears to have been of a similar physical build. . . .

     The first thing which strikes the New Churchman is the obvious fact that these things have been done by exceptional men in all times, both apart from a religious faith and in conjunction with it. The cures, one notes, have a twofold nature. A strong man acts on another's will, and the subject's will takes on a directing force which acts upon his body. As a rule, the subject of the cure is of a weaker will than the healer's, and the stimulation of the latter is necessary. Monsieur Coue, for instance, performed cures in this manner, but he never connected his performances with religious faith, either in himself or his patient.

     The truth is, that there is no connection between the two, but whenever a man who possesses like powers has a religious temperament, "faith" is confounded with "will-power," and the spectacle of physical cures is held up to us in a revolting manner, as caused by exceptional interference by the Lord in the realm of matter. The fact is that there are men who possess remarkable powers of physical "healing." This is often, but not always, attributed to religious faith. There is, in reality, no such connection. It is this claim of combining the physical power with a religious faith which produces such a sense of confusion, particularly on minds which have not been enlightened by the Second Advent, and which are consequently influenced by a low degree of spiritual appeal. Whenever the Christian Churches of the First Advent are considering their relative failure to appeal to the masses, there always arise those who say, "We must get back to the times of Apostolic Healing." They have, of course, no knowledge of the spiritual sense of the Word, of the nature of Divine Truth, or of Regeneration. Still less do they realize the necessity for the essential doctrine of freedom in salvation. . . .

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     The paragraph about Swedenborg, referred to above, is as follows:

     "If we inquire more especially into the practice of healing in relation to Christianity, we find that it was fully recognized in the early church, and that it has been a practice in the Roman Catholic communion all down the centuries; and though the subject has been much neglected among Protestants, we now find a renewed interest in it, due partly to the evangelical revival of the last century, and partly also-one might almost say in self-defense-from its recrudescence in new movements of a physical character, such as Spiritism, Theosophy, Christian Science, and Higher Thought. Nor should we omit to mention the gradual influence of the writings of Emanuel Swedenborg, who, in many places throughout his voluminous works, written in the eighteenth century, taught that all diseases corresponded to spiritual states, and who even, in his diary, described the particular kinds of evil influx which affected different organs of the body in his own experience." (Pp. 95, 96.)

     How misleading such a statement is, can be appreciated only by the student of Swedenborg. Unfortunately, the paragraph contains no actual false statement, but the implication is such that it reeks of a kind of Satanic falsity. By its contiguity to the first part of the paragraph, it suggests that Swedenborg approved and advocated the practice of physical healing by faith. Such a suggestion is wholly false, and the pity of it is that even if all the New Church journals which have been given the opportunity to review this book were to deny it emphatically, the falsity could never be overtaken.

     It is profoundly true that all diseases correspond to spiritual states, or, rather, to evils and falsities. It is true that if all evils and falsities ceased to exist, there would be no physical diseases. But Swedenborg never taught, and never conceived of the idea, that the physical diseases suffered by each individual are correspondent to the spiritual equivalents in the individual. Certain physical states may be produced by influx from evil spirits, especially under the conditions which environed Swedenborg. But there is no correspondence of these with the spiritual states of Swedenborg, or of anyone else in similar conditions. Let anyone think of the men and women with whom he comes in contact. Have evil and materially-minded men never lived to a healthy old age? Has virtue and goodness never been resident in a disease-stricken and pain-racked body?

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Modern physical death is undoubtedly correspondent to spiritual death. And yet physical death is the latest thing a regenerated man experiences in this world, when he is further away from spiritual death than he has ever been.

     Without hope of its ever being seen by those who will read Art Apostle of Healing, this review labels the above insinuation false and misleading, betraying a lamentable ignorance of Swedenborg's teachings.-("W. R. H." in THE NEW AGE, July, 1929.)
VOLUME ON MARRIAGE 1929

VOLUME ON MARRIAGE              1929

MARRIAGE: IDEALS AND REALIZATION. Compiled from the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg by William F. Wunsch. New York: The New-Church Press, 1929. Cloth, 16mo; pp. 155, with Index. Price, $1.00.

     This little book of convenient pocket size is advertised as "the long looked for compilation authorized by the Council of Ministers, and prepared under the direction of a Committee of the Council, composed of the Rev. W. L. Worcester, the Rev. Thomas A. King, and the Rev. W. F. Wunsch." (NEW-CHURCH MESSENGER, June 19, 1929.) We learn from the Prefatory Note that the compilation was authorized for publication by the Council in 1926. The work, however, is an enlargement of Mr. Wunsch's little book, Swedenborg on Marriage, published in 1924, now numbering 155 pages, instead of 79, containing many more passages from the Writings, and furnished with a useful index of subjects.

     The original work was reviewed in NEW CHURCH LIFE for November, 1924, p. 682. What was then said would apply, in general, to the enlarged volume. Such a collection of passages, in the very words of Divine Revelation, must always be of interest and value, especially if they lead the reader to consult the complete treatment of the subject of Marriage in the Writings themselves. The passages, from Conjugial Love and five other works, have been well selected to present an outline of the doctrine concerning the heavenly ideals, and they have been attractively arranged under such headings as: "The Rarity of Conjugial Love"; "Its Preciousness and Import"; "Love of the Sex and Conjugial Love Survive Death"; "The Fortunes There of a Tie Formed Here"; "Spiritual Foundations of Monogamy"; "Deep Changes Marriage Makes"; "A Higher Eugenics"; "The Superficial Alliance"; and so on.

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We have chosen these at random from among the fifty-six subheadings. The compilers have been successful in creating "catchy" titles which are likely to arrest the attention of the reader. The book will be useful in a missionary way, and also serve a purpose with members of the New Church, if it lead to a study of the work on Conjugial Love, where many phases of the general subject not dealt with in the book before us are fully set forth.

     And surely this should be the prime purpose of our collateral literature,-to lead men to the source in the Heavenly Doctrine. But if this is the aim in the present compilation on Marriage, we have some misgivings as to the effect upon the novitiate reader when he turns to the Writings. Our own reading of Mr. Wunsch's treatment of the subject leaves the impression that it is a one-sided presentation of the doctrine of the New Church on the subject. The book is evidently framed with the purpose of setting forth only what may be called the affirmative or positive teaching of Swedenborg respecting marriage, while references to the opposite are almost wholly omitted. But the Writings deal not alone with the heavenly ideals of marriage; they deal also with the opposite evils. And the world needs this revealed knowledge concerning the evils opposed to genuine marriage and how to deal with them. At the present day the world is laboring with the problem of the opposite. It is grievously in need of knowing what to do with the passions opposite to conjugial love, which, if unthought of and unchecked, destroy that precious pearl of human life. And a collection of excerpts from the Writings which suppresses this side of the teaching is not only an inadequate setting forth of the doctrine, but also an imperfect introduction to it, preparing the novitiate reader for a later disillusionment.

     The compilers of this volume on Marriage Ideals would doubtless claim that a comprehensive treatment of the doctrine was beyond the scope of such a specific work. Their purpose is thus stated in the Prefatory Note: "Many branches of the Christian Church have been concerned recently to state what has rather happily been called their 'teaching ideal' of marriage. The following compilation may be taken to state that of the New Church." Now we have no criticism to make of a presentation of the heavenly ideal of marriage, as so beautifully described in the Writings.

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It is essential that this teaching be impressed upon the minds of the young from an early age, that it may remain as the inspiring vision throughout life; also that it should be placed before the stranger as the blessed truth revealed by the Lord as the means of restoring genuine marriage in the world. Men, if they are willing to hear, need this truly Christian conception of marriage, as Divine in its origin, spiritual and eternal with the truly wedded. It is especially needed as an antidote to the devastating philosophy of the evolutionist. To proclaim this "teaching ideal" before men is vital to its fulfilment. But it is only half of the message. How is the heavenly ideal to be realized?

     Many of the passages in the book before us are grouped under the heading: "In Realization of the Ideal." They bring together the teachings concerning the way of entrance into marriage, its protection and preservation, under such headings as: "The Inwardness of the Marriage Tie"; "Cherishers of Conjugial Love"; "A Progressively Realized Union"; "Conjugial Love and the Love of Children"; and so on. Vitally important teachings, all of them, but here set forth with a careful avoidance of plain teaching concerning the evil loves that must be overcome if conjugial love is to be attained. Yet these evil loves are the common inheritance of mankind today; they are the enemies of the conjugial they must be seen and acknowledged by the individual in himself, must be resisted, fought against, conquered, even through lifelong repentance and temptation conflict, as the only way to a realization of the heavenly ideal of marriage.

     Here and there, of course, among the passages quoted by Mr. Wunsch, this need of repentance is intimated, as in the one cited from C. L. 130 under the heading: "The Equal Pace of Moral Wisdom and Conjugial Love." It reads: "What is wisdom of life! In a summary statement, it consists in shunning evils, because they are injurious to the soul, to the commonwealth, and to the body; and in doing goods, because they are profitable to the soul, to the commonwealth, and to the body. This is the wisdom which is meant by the wisdom with which conjugial love binds itself; for it binds itself therewith by shunning the evil of adultery as the pestilence of the soul, of the commonwealth, and of the body. . . . "

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The compilation as a whole would have more faithfully represented the "teaching ideal" of the New Church, if greater emphasis had been laid upon this cardinal precept,-that goods are only acquired by the shunning of evils as sins against God. For otherwise the heavenly ideal cannot be realized. The Heavenly Doctrines everywhere reveal the goods of the heavenly life, and everywhere contrast them with the evils of hell that must first be removed. This is the mode of Divine Revelation always, and the truth revealed concerning Marriage is no exception. The chief work on that subject is entitled The Delights of Wisdom concerning Conjugial Love, after which follows the Pleasures of Insanity concerning Scortatory Love.

     An advertisement of this work should appear in the volume under review, and the reader should be directed to its full and comprehensive treatment of the whole subject. We should not like to think that Marriage: Ideals and Realization is to be offered as a substitute. It is a fact, however, that there are some in the General Convention who would like to see the work on Conjugial Love published without the Second Part. Once, indeed, in the year 1854, this was done; but the Convention has never officially acceded to that desire. Yet there is considerable prejudice against the work on Conjugial Love, and especially against the Second Part, from a fear of what the world will think. But this is not shared by all the ministers. When the question of publishing Conjugial Love with Notes by the Rev. Wm. F. Wunsch came before the Council of Ministers in 1926, the Council voted with Practical unanimity in favor of issuing the work with the Notes as footnotes; but several ministers expressed doubts, and the Rev. George Henry Dole is reported to have said that " the book in question is simple from beginning to end; it might need a little explanation at one or two points, and no one would object to a brief footnote where needed. In the publication of these Notes, however, the Council is entering upon a dangerous course, and it will only be a short time before there will be a deep feeling against that sort of thing. Let us have faith in the Writings themselves." (NEW-CHURCH MESSENGER, June 16, 1926, p. 416.)

     The work we are reviewing was authorized by that same Council of Ministers, and is published as a "Council Compilation."

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We cannot escape the impression that the hand of prudential fear is evidenced in the form it has taken, leading to an unnecessary suppression of vital phases of the "teaching ideal" of the New Church. That teaching is Divine Doctrine revealed by the Lord at His Second Coming for the sake of a restoration of the genuine conjugial among men; and a work purporting to advocate that Doctrine should be free from the tampering hand of human prudence, and not depart from the mode of Divine Revelation itself.
NOTES AND REVIEWS. 1929

NOTES AND REVIEWS.       Rev. HUGO LJ. ODHNER       1929

     A NEW DANISH PERIODICAL.

     The fifth New Church periodical edited by the Rev. S. Chr. Bronniche, of Copenhagen, began its hazardous career with an issue for January-March, 1929, under the title of NYKIRKELIGT TIDSSKRIFT (New Church Periodical). Before Mr. Bronniche's time it was Wilh. Winslow who held the battle line in Denmark with SALEM, which ran from 1879 to 1883, FREMTIDEN (The Future), a monthly, 1884-1885, and NYKIRKELIGT SENDEBUD (New Church Messenger), 1888-1896. Then came Mr. Bronniche's publication, AURORA, 1899-1901, supported by the Swedenborg Society, and later DEN NYE TID (The New Age), 1905-1910. NORDISK NYKIRKELIGT TIDSSKRIFT (Nordic New Church Periodical) succeeded in 1912, and lived on till 1920 in the hope of something of a union between Scandinavian New Church bodies, including the Academy circle in Stockholm, to which Mr. Bronniche occasionally ministered by invitation. The decline in German exchange after the war inspired him to issue his magazine from Stuttgart, under the title, NYT LIV (New Life); but this, we believe, only lasted for a year.

     Now comes to our notice this 32-page quarterly, NYKIRKELIGT TIDSSKRIFT, the first page boldly stating its purpose,-to set forth the Word according to the Revelation of the New Church. And we take it as a sign of strength that there is direct appeal to New Church readers in the sermon published in this issue, the text being, "Ye are the light of the world." (Matt. 5:14.) Besides this, there is an article translated from THE NEW-CHURCH MESSENGER (Jan. 23, 1929) on "The New Churchman and His Job"; a Bible study on the "Raising of Lazarus"; and some extracts from the posthumous work on Charity, which is not yet available to Danish readers.

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     We wish the new quarterly all success, and hope that it will continue to shun the fatal policy of compromise which is making several prominent periodicals in the Church indistinguishable at times from Old Church publications.
     H. L. O.
SIXTY THOUSAND DEAD CHURCHES. 1929

SIXTY THOUSAND DEAD CHURCHES.              1929

     The New Churchman may wonder at the apparent signs of life in the Old Church, as shown in the building of fine churches, increased membership, and so on; but he is not surprised when an occasional writer lifts the veil and reveals a very different picture. In the WOMAN'S HOME COMPANION for September, 1929, Mr. Frederick L. Collins frankly discusses the conditions in America, and they are doubtless duplicated in other parts of the Christian world. To quote:

     "Sixty thousand of the 200,000 Protestant churches are 'dead.' Within a year they gained no new membership. Perhaps 40,000 more gained one or two new members, while between 7,000 and 8,000 churches stand vacant and deserted. 'Shall we bury these dead churches?' he asks, quoting figures furnished by the Men's Church League to show the sterility of so many institutions. His answer is that they should be buried; that Christianity owes them a debt for past services, and that the debt could be discharged by giving them a Christian burial, not only for their own benefit, but also for the benefit of the remaining churches."

     In accounting for this state of things, he shows that it was not for lack of money. "Last year," he says, "the churches collected and spent in America alone, $600,000,000, most of which was wasted on the dead church." The failure to show gains in membership he lays to the motion picture, the automobile, the radio, increased school activities, and the tired business man and woman, who crave outdoor recreation, and "have little time for church-going on their one day off." As a remedy the League proposes "to put its members, as individuals and as Sunday School classes, to work building up genuine, fresh membership," but says nothing about a revival of that spiritual interest which has ever been the only genuine source of church growth.

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     As to the reported numerical increase in Protestant churches the article further offers this startling information:

     "The Men's Christian Church League declared that it had been misled for some time by the glowing reports of growth in all churches. They discovered that instead of the 1,115,000 gains for 1928, the figures heretofore have represented births into families inactively connected with the church, and of persons who moped from one community to another, being enrolled again and again without being stricken from the rolls of the original church. In short, the poll proved to be entirely inaccurate; and, continuing its work, the League found thirty-two per cent. of the churches actually sterile." And this, we beg to add, takes no account of the "dead wood" already on the rolls of membership,-those who have lost all active interest in the spiritual things of the Church.
Title Unspecified 1929

Title Unspecified              1929

     Closer to the real cause of the "dead church" we find in articles arraigning the ministry for its devotion to all kinds of "promotion work," while neglecting its proper function. "There is no particular emphasis upon spiritual values, but great effort is exerted to induce people to become members of the Church, even if it be in name only. Every sort of persuasion is used, and questionable practices are indulged in, to swell the roll of membership; consequently, very few affiliate with the church because of definite conviction." (THE NORTH AMERICAN REVIEW, September, 1929, p. 349.)
INSPIRATION OF THE WORD. 1929

INSPIRATION OF THE WORD.              1929

     "Certain spirits especially observed what is the inspiration of the things written in the Word of the Lord. For it now appeared to them how and with what abundance it inflowed into the things which were being written by me; yea, not only into the sense, but also into the single words and ideas of words. Indeed, it seemed to them that certain ones held my hand, and wrote, and supposed it was they who wrote, which it was granted me to perceive by a spiritual idea, and as it were to feel before [it inflowed] into the smallest particulars of each little letter which was written. From which it is as in clear light that the Word of the Lord is inspired as to every letter." (S. D. 2270.)

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THIRD POINT OF VIEW. 1929

THIRD POINT OF VIEW.              1929

     "There are, we understand, two schools of thought amongst New Churchmen generally as to what is the state of the modern Christian world. Our optimists point eagerly to many manifest reforms and developments for good which have taken place in the world since the Last Judgment was effected, and they say,' See how the world is improving; clearly the New Church is secretly permeating the whole of Christendom.' Our pessimists see the reverse side of the picture. They are keenly aware of the loosening of many religious and moral holds, the growth of unbelief in any definite Christian doctrines, our ever-emptying churches; and they say, 'Who can deny that there is a constant trend backwards in all matters of religion?' And so, because religion touches the very heart of man, an all-too-obvious deterioration in the quality of life-an unflagging increase in evils and falsities. We will venture to inaugurate a third point of view.

     Our conclusion is, that what we are witnessing is the vastating of the old Christendom of all its faiths and forms of charity therefrom. The old Church-by which we mean the old faiths-is dead, and we are witnessing Christendom throwing off from itself what is increasingly seen to be dead. Therefore, Christendom is being de-Christianized, or, to use another word, Gentilized. In our opinion, Christendom is rapidly becoming Gentile. It has lost its faith in the old concepts, creeds and dogmas. These are, therefore, being cast away. But, as every thoughtful New Churchman knows full well, the new truths revealed from heaven for this age are not receiving general acceptance. The mind of Christendom, which is increasingly forsaking its churches, is being fed upon various pagan theories and ideas, which, however, are not by any means wholly evil, but are certainly in no sense distinctively Christian. We are glad to feel that, from our point of view, the Christendom upon which we are looking out is not a worsening world; in many manifest ways it is a bettering world. But we confess we fail wholly to see an increasingly Christian world; in our view, Christendom is giving place to a Gentile era, which, even as with Greeks and Romans, is forming some fine standards of morality and of good form. An age which no longer seeks to be Christian, however, will certainly neither remain nor become again so.

629


The issue is, of course, in our good Lord's hands, and there is little doubt that, in due course, He will give His new and living Gospel to a nation willing and eager to bring forth the fruits thereof. But, meanwhile, 'Christianity is dying out'-is it not so?" (Rev. R. H. Teed, Editorial Comment in THE NEW AGE, August, 1929.)
JOHN BLAIR SMITH KING 1929

JOHN BLAIR SMITH KING       GILBERT H. SMITH       1929

     AN OBITUARY.

     A figure familiar and dear to Glenview people has passed into the Spiritual world,-Dr. J. B. S. King. Ill but for a short time, and active as a physician up to the day before his death, Dr. King passed away suddenly on Wednesday, August 28th, at his home in The Park.

     The euphonious combination of capitals, "J. B. S.," represents the name of John Blair Smith, a famous Presbyterian clergyman, from whom Dr. King was descended, and for whom he was named by a curious incident at his christening. The officiating clergyman, rejecting the name presented by the parents, declared: "This child should be named John Blair Smith!" He then proceeded to baptize him so. Dr. King was also a descendant of John Witherspoon, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence. He was born at Philadelphia on February 12th, 1855, one of a family of four sons and two daughters. His parents were Edwin King and Sarah C. Smith, who were Quakers, and sent him to a Friends' school in boyhood.

     Dr. King was graduated from Hahnemann Medical College, Chicago, and was afterwards Professor of Chemistry in that institution, as well as in the Hering Medical College. He was Secretary Of the International Hahnemannian Association for many years, and President in 1913. After Dr. Allen died in 1910, he became editor of THE MEDICAL ADVANCE, which was discontinued about 1915. In 1906, he published a very useful little, book, entitled The Chemistry of Food and Dietetics. He was known throughout the General Church as a writer upon medical, scientific, and doctrinal subjects in our Church periodicals.

     Dr. King's interest in the Doctrines of the New Church dates from the days of the Rev. Lewis Pyle Mercer in the Chicago Society of the General Convention.

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In 1892, he became identified with the Academy movement, before the Immanuel Church colonized in Glenview. He left a large and growing practice when he joined in that migration in 1894. About the year 1900 he returned to Chicago, and in 1904 again moved to Glenview, where his children had the advantages of the School.

     As resident in The Park he was one of those who helped to make the Immanuel Church what it is today. He endeared himself to the people he served throughout our local countryside as a Doctor of Medicine. We, who have had the opportunity to listen to his lectures, looked upon him as a Doctor of Philosophy as well. He was well-read in the sciences and the classics, and a very eloquent speaker. As a Doctor he was reputed to be an excellent prescriber, and always a sympathetic and able friend. One of the beloved ones of the older generation, he has lately given us cause to wonder at his vitality and devotion to his practice.

     In the spiritual world he will find many of his own dear one's-his wife and nine children. For to him and his wife belongs the honor of parenthood to twelve children, only three of whom survive. Mrs. King was Arabella Mae Serbridge, who passed to the spiritual world before some of her children,-Raymond, Cedric, Hilary, and recently Louis. We can picture a happy reunion in the other world.

     Dr. King was a man of extraordinary education and culture through reading,-one of the old type of encyclopedic gentlemen, and hence delightful to talk to; gifted also with a bright humor. He will be remembered in Glenview as a loyal member of the Church and a kind friend to many of our people.
     GILBERT H. SMITH.

631


Church News 1929

Church News       Various       1929

     THE SOUTH AFRICAN MISSION.

     The Mission Theological Class at Alpha commenced its session on February 18th, and continued till June 21st. Four students-two Zulus, one Basuto and one Xosa-are receiving consecutive training. Thus far, systematic readings have been made from The True Christian Religion and The Divine Love and Wisdom; while attention has also been directed to the study of Exposition, the Letter of the Word, and Ritual. The Elementary and Trade Schools at Alpha have also fulfilled their programs.

     On June 16th, the Alpha Mission Church was rededicated. The new building is patterned exactly after the one destroyed by fire last December. The Superintendent and three Basuto Leaders conducted the service, and a large native congregation witnessed the ceremony. Being near the 19th of Tune, New Church Day was duly recognized in the afternoon by the delivery of six short addresses on the following subjects: "Why We Celebrate New Church Day" by Benjamin Ngiba; "The Second Coming," by Jonas Mphatse; "Why I believe in the Second Advent," by Sofonia Mosoang; "Swedenborg," by Nathaniel Mphatse; "What is this New Revelation?" by Solomon Mkize; and "Why the New Church is not a Sect," by Twentyman Mofokeng.

     The 19th of June was also observed at our Greylingstad (Transvaal) center. This took place on the 23d of June, when John Jiyana from Natal visited the Society. It is reported by Berry Maqelepo, the Leader there, that over 200 people took part in the celebration.

     During the period from February to June, the Superintendent visited all the Basutoland centers, as also Greylingstad (Transvaal), Newcastle, at Dannhauser, Durban, Elandslaagte (Natal) and Impapala (Zululand)-a traveling distance of over 4,000 miles.

     There were services, doctrinal classes and lectures at the various places on the journey. The Rev. M. B. Mcanyana also made an extensive tour in Natal and Zululand, opening up new districts. On every hand there seem to be signs of interest and growth.

     The next great event will be the visit of the Bishop and the Rev. Theodore Pitcairn, when it is hoped that a special meeting of the Leaders and Teachers of the Mission will be held at Alpha Headquarters, at which the Bishop will preside.

     The Alpha Circle has met on Sunday evenings for worship, and on Thursday evenings for reading as regularly as possible. The work entitled The New Jerusalem and Its Heavenly Doctrine is new being studied.

     For several months the Circle has been engaged in converting the old printing press room near The Homestead into a Chapel. This work is nearing completion, and it is hoped that the building will be ready for dedication by the Bishop when he visits Alpha.

     New Church Day was duly observed, but, owing to illness, the celebration was postponed till June 26th. The four couples met together for supper, and after the toast to "The Church" three short papers were read. To decide the order of rotation, the wives of the respective readers drew lots, with the result that the papers were read in the following order: "Why the New Church is not a Sect," by Mr. Ed. J. Waters; "Why I Believe in the Second Advent," by Mr. F. Parker; and "Why the New Church is Among a Few," by Mr. Norman Ridgway.

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     Since our last news report, the Circle has welcomed Mr. and Mrs. Norman Ridgway, who have their home at The Homestead. Our recent visitors have been: Mr. and Mrs. Percy Ridgway, from Durban; Professor and Mrs. George Barger, members of the British Association visiting South Africa. In the near future we are looking forward to seeing Bishop and Mrs. N. D. Pendleton, the Rev. and Mrs. Theodore Pitcairn, and Miss Phoebe Bostock.
     F. W. E.
Alpha, Ladybrand, O. F. S.,
     August 6th, 1929.

     KITCHENER, ONT.

     The most interesting event of the summer months was the wedding of Miss Julia Lens to Mr. Clarence Schnarr, on July 24th. The chancel was artistically decorated for the occasion with summer flowers and ferns. Afterwards, in the schoolroom, a marriage supper was provided for the relatives and friends of the happy couple. The room was charmingly decorated, as were the hall and reception room. A program of toasts followed, and later dancing was enjoyed by all.

     Another event of interest was picnic for the members of the Society. We all went by auto to the Gorand River. The weather was not all that might have been desired, but we had a good time anyway, and no one that I have heard of was any the worse for the gentle sprinkling we received twice during the day.

     Quite frequently during the vacation season a few of the families brought their children and supper to the school grounds, which are ideal for picnic purposes, and have been enjoyed in that way more often this year than ever before.

     Over a week-end in August, the Rev. and Mrs. Raymond G. Cranch, of Bryn Athyn, visited here. Mr. Cranch conducted the service that Sunday. Rev. Norman Reuter also visited here, and preached for us on one Sunday.

     Our Day School opened on September 3d, with an enrollment of twenty-one pupils. We are glad to report that we have nine beginners, thus the largest class we have had for over twenty years. We are hoping soon to have a larger school than we had even in "those days." This year we have two regular full time teachers, namely, Miss Anna Heinrichs, who has been with us for two years, and Miss Phillis Cooper, who is now entering the work here. With this increase of pupils and teachers we are looking forward to an especially interesting and useful school year.

     Friday suppers and doctrinal classes commenced at the beginning of September. Our Pastor, Rev. Alan Gill, has prepared a discourse on the "Organization of a Society and its Uses," as drawn from the Writings. The first part, which he delivered at the opening meeting, was very interesting and enlightening. The Children's Services have also been resumed, being held at 10 o'clock on Sunday mornings.
     C. R.

     GLENVIEW, ILL.

     While regular Sunday services have been continued uninterruptedly during the summer, there has been no other church activity. These notes, therefore, concern themselves with the local happenings in our society and the doings of its members.

     At the regular Sons of the Academy meeting in August, Mr. Sydney E. Lee read the paper he had presented at the Sons' meeting in Toronto, concerning the uses to be taken up by the Sons and the future of the organization.

     The local school opens on the 15th of September, and there will be about 40 pupils. The beginning class has only three this year, but next year the crop will be big. We are sending four new pupils to Bryn Athyn. Three teachers will conduct the classes, and have the aid of the Pastor and his assistant, the Rev. Norman Reuter.

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     Our Pastor, Mr. Smith, is now motoring to Bryn Athyn, taking his daughter Virginia and two other girls to the Academy schools. An auto load of boys is also on the way. Also Mrs. Gerhardt Wille is taking two in her car, and Mrs. Ruth Headsten is going along for the ride and for a visit with her many friends.

     As Glenview is a half-way stopping place between Bryn Athyn and Points West, we have had the advantage of visits from many of our friends from other centers. Among those who have dropped in recently were the following: From Denver came Mr. Alvin Lindrooth and family; Miss Angella Bergstrom, going to teach in the Pittsburgh School; Miss Vera Bergstrom, who will attend the College of the Academy; and Mr. Edward Allen, returning from Denver to his duties as teacher in the Academy Schools. From Los Angeles: Mr. Peter Klippenstein, Miss Margaret and Mr. Edgar Klippenstein journeying toward Bryn Athyn, where the two young people attend the Schools. From Bryn Athyn: Rev. and Mrs. R. W. Brown, Rosamond Brown, Miss Dorothy and Mr. Philip Cooper, turning from the Pacific Coast; Miss Dorothy Burnham; and Mrs. E. E. Boericke, of Philadelphia.

     Mrs. Louis B. King (Dorothy Cole) and her children have come to Glenview from Colorado to make this their permanent home. The husband and father, son of Dr. King, died several months ago.

     Our Society has just been saddened by the passing of our good old physician and friend, Dr. King, whose obituary appears elsewhere in this number of the Life.

     Labor Day was celebrated here by a very enjoyable day of sports, games, an outdoor supper for old and young, and an informal dance in the evening. It also held the deciding games of the tennis tournament, deciding the men's and women's champions,-Theodore Gladish and Lenore McQueen, respectively. This tournament has engaged the attention of all as players or spectators for the last month during which it has raged.
     J. B. S.

     GENERAL CONVENTION.

     The 108th annual session of the General Convention was held June 15-18, 1929, at the Church of the Neighbor, Brooklyn, N. Y., of which the Rev. E. M. L. Gould is Pastor. A very full report, including the meeting of the Council of Ministers, June 1-13, is given in seven issues of The New-Church Messenger July 10 to August 21st. From it we gather the following items of special interest to our readers:

     In the Council of Ministers, the Rev. Wm. F. Wunsch, reporting for the Committee on the Translation of Conjugial Love, stated that the work would probably be completed by the Fall, and that the Swedenborg Foundation is prepared to publish the new translation when it is finished.

     With regard to the New Church in the Philippine Islands, we learn that "in addition to the ministers who had been ordained with the sanction of Convention, four men have been ordained and three authorized to preach by the Rev. Pedro Angeles, who was consecrated General Pastor by Mr. Worcester in 1923. In these ordinations and authorizations Mr. Angeles acted, not with the sanction of Convention, but with the sanction of the Church in the Philippines. After some discussion it was voted that a special list of all the ministers in the Philippines, including those now on the Convention Roll, be printed under the title, 'Church of Christ, New Jerusalem.' which is the official name of the Philippine Church."

     As to the New Church Version of the Word, for which Mr. George Marchant, of Australia, provided a fund of L12,000 seven years ago, the Rev. John Whitehead stated that he had completed his preliminary translation of the portion of the Old Testament assigned to the American Committee, extending from Joshua to Malachi. The question of the textual basis for the translation had been raised by the English Committee, and it was his feeling that the Textus Receptus should be adhered to, with notice of some proposed emendations in the margin.

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We understand that the Rev. E. J. E. Schreck, who has recently retired from the pastorate at Birmingham, England, is to give his time entirely to editorial work on this new translation of the Word. At the opening session of the Convention proper, on June 15th, Mr. Ezra Hyde Alden, Vice President of the Convention, gave a brief account of the meeting of the General Conference, which he attended as a representative of the General Council of Convention. At a later session, he described his visits to New Church centers on the Continent.

     The Rev. W. L. Worcester, who last year declined re-election as President of the Convention, after serving seven years in that capacity, was presented with a handsome silver bowl filled with pink roses, and a silver tray, both bearing the inscription: "A tribute of affectionate appreciation to William Loring Worcester from his many friends in the General Convention of the New Jerusalem, June 15, 1929." The presentation was made by the Rev. Paul Sperry, President of Convention, and suitably acknowledged by the recipient. A brief religious service followed, during which Mr. Sperry delivered the President's Annual Address, his subject being "The Heart of the Church." It was an earnest appeal for that charity which is the conjunction of good and truth. "A church ah too easily forgets the dead worthlessness of a faith that is separate from charity. It is not merely the frank acknowledgment of the essential need of charity that counts, but the very existence of it at the heart of the church." In support of this, Mr. Sperry cited the teaching of the Doctrines, went back into the history of the Convention, and counseled self-examination on the part of the church, that it might cultivate charity, avoid contention, and come to true unity.

     At luncheons during the Convention, speakers not of the New Church gave addresses. Among these were Bishop Francis J. McConnell, President of the Federal Council of Churches of Christ in America, and Prof. Kirtley F. Mather, of Harvard University, who spoke on "Finding God through Science." A meeting of the New-Church League was addressed by the Rev. Sherwood Eddy, D.D., Secretary for Asia of the U. M. C. A., who spoke on "What Religion May Mean to a Young Person." It was jocularly pointed out, however, that Dr. Eddy " is one-quarter Swedenborgian, for one of his grandparents was a full-fledged member of the New Church!"

     We note that, at one point in the proceedings of Convention, "Mr. Ezra Hyde Alden called attention to the statement in the address from Czechoslovakia concerning reading from the Writings during church services; and on his motion it was voted, That the Council of Ministers be requested to consider, and at the next meeting of the Convention to report upon, the desirability of finding a place in our order of service for a reading from the Writings of the Church."

     At another point, the Rev. F. Sidney Mayer made this announcement: "You will recall that the Theological School Endowment Fund started out to raise $200,000, with the ultimate goal of $1,000,000. I just wanted to say that we have passed the $200,000 mark, and we now have a fraction over $450,000."

     That the sessions were not without friction, in part due to the rift between "Conservatives" and "Progressives" which has been felt for some years, is evident from the "Impressions of Convention" given by President Paul Sperry, who said, among other things, that "more opportunity is being desired for frank discussion of matters which concern our activities as a church organization. To accomplish this, there must be either a curtailment of the public addresses or the addition of another day. . . . Lack of time for free expression was partly responsible for unfortunate misunderstandings which arose in the Convention sessions. We can best prepare for our next Convention, to be held in Boston nearly a year hence, by recognizing some of the elements of misunderstanding recently evident, and by frank personal conference among ourselves in the spirit of joint devotion to right and truth, and in realization of our common responsibility.

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The recent Convention gave us great delight, and it also taught us lessons."

     Extracts from some of the addresses delivered at Convention are given, with brief comment, in our editorial department.

     Death of Mr. Spiers.

     The Messenger of August 7th records the death of the Rev. Junius B. Spiers, who passed to the higher life from the home of his son, the Rev. John W. Spiers, at Newtonville, Mass., on July 7th. Mr. Spiers was a missionary pastor having his residence at Richmond, Virginia, and visiting individuals and groups of New Church people in the Southern States. We shall give a fuller account of his life and work in a later issue.

     Another Church of the Neighbor.

     The Rev. C. W. Clodfelter in The Messenger of September 18th says:

     "The Lancaster Society of the New Church has changed the name of its church building from 'New Jerusalem' to 'Church of the Neighbor.' Our new name registers the desire and effort to meet local conditions face to face and adjust the spiritual life of the church to present needs. In being neighborly we hope to establish the propriety of our new name and open the way for more intimate contact with the community. The first message of our faith is neighborliness. The name 'New Jerusalem' does not serve this end equally well. It is too fundamental in character to meet local conditions and popular favor. Our first effort should never be to popularize fundamentals. 'Church of the Neighbor' makes a more understandable appeal to the whole community without limiting the church to dogmas of faith or blinding the public with fundamentals which may repel rather than attract. A society that embodies the spirit of neighborliness will reveal the life of heaven a which in the fullest sense is the 'New Jerusalem.'"

     Stroh Memorial Fund.

     During the meeting of Convention, the Rev. Everett K. Bray, speaking of the "heroic sacrifices made by the late Alfred H. Stroh in order to carry on the work of the reproduction of the Swedenborg Manuscripts after the War had made it impossible for his Support by the Convention and other bodies to be continued," explained that the aim of the Alfred Henry Stroh Memorial Fund is to collect an endowment of $30,000, the income of which will be used as long as necessary for the support of Mr. Stroh's family, and will later serve to supplement the Pension Fund of Convention.
     W. B. C.

     PITTSBURGH, PA.

     During July and August the pastor made the following visits to various points in the Pittsburgh district:

     Buffalo, N. Y.-On Tuesday, July 2d, on their return from the Sons' Meetings at Toronto, Mr. Iungerich, Mr. A. P. Lindsay and his son, A. H. Lindsay, spent several hours at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Lyman Loomis, 38 Walnut St., East Aurora, N.Y. Mr. Loomis, like the pastor spent his formative New Church years in Pittsburgh. Let us hope that he also may some day return to this center. His children, Eleanor, Betty and Tom, made many friends in Bryn Athyn, and as a pleasant result there is an increasing number of calls made by New Church motorists who are passing through the vicinity of Buffalo.

     Erie, Pa.-On Saturday, August 10th, a funeral service was held at the home of Miss Ruby Evans for her father, Mr. Benjamin Evans. Besides Miss Evans, her uncle and aunt, Mr. Edro Cranch and his son and daughter, Mr. and Mrs. Johnson, and Mr. Near, who are members of the Erie Circle, some twenty friends were present. A brief commitment service was subsequently held at the cemetery.

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     Youngstown, O.-On Saturday afternoon, August 10th, Alexander Iungerich motored his father from Erie to Youngstown, where they were entertained at the home of Mr. and Mrs. McElroy. That evening a call was made on Mrs. Wm. C. Norris and her daughter, Miss Valeria. A service was held the next day, Sunday, August 11th, at the McElroy home, Mrs. Harrold being at the piano. There were also present: From Youngstown, Dr. and Mrs. F. E. Renkenberger and their daughter, Miss Doris, and Mr. and Mrs. A. S. Woods. From Leetonia came Mr. and Mrs. Elmer Harrold with Mrs. Sponseller from Columbiana. From Pittsburgh came the A. P. Lindsay family of five, the G. P. Brown family of six, Mr. and Mrs. Doering Bellinger and daughter Doris, Mr. and Mrs. Homer Schoenberger, and Miss Elizabeth Brickman. After the service all repaired to a grove in the park where a most bountiful collation was served by the ladies. A would-be serious speech was attempted by the pastor, the young people played ball, the very youngest went wading in the brook, and the more elderly sat and talked together. After the Pittsburgh contingent had departed for home, those who remained had a second meal, and what could not be eaten was packed in baskets and taken back to Youngstown.

     Leetonia and Columbiana, O.-The pastor and his son, after an hour's visit at the home of Mrs. Sponseller, spent the night in Leetonia at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Harrold. The next morning, Monday, August 12th, a call was made on Mrs. Mary A. Renkenberger and her daughter, Miss Attie, in Columbiana.

     Blairsville and Johnstown, Pa.-Saturday, August 17th, Mr. Iungerich and Alexander, accompanied by Mrs. Silas Walker and her son John, motored to Blairsville, where six hours were spent at the home of Miss Janet Richey, who entertained them at midday dinner. In the afternoon, Miss Richey's great niece, Miss Mary Pitcairn Richey, who is looking forward to attending the College in Bryn Athyn a year hence, accompanied the motorists to Westmont, a suburb of Johnstown, where the J. J. Kintner family reside. That evening all the family, except Miss Louise and Mr. Richard, were present at a doctrinal class on the subject of Conscience. The next day a Sunday service was held, twenty-one being present, the G. P. Brown family of six, together with Mr. Walker, having motored from Pittsburgh. A sermon on the subject of New Church Baptism, with the cleansing of Naaman as text, was delivered. Mrs. Kintner played the piano for the service. Mr. J. T. Kintner and his great niece, Fern Fisher, aged four, were baptized, the latter's mother, Mrs. Molly Fisher, acting as sponsor for her. A very pleasant picnic lunch in the park was then enjoyed by all, there being as extra attractions an avalanche of ice cream, which somehow disappeared, and a winsome fortune-teller in the person of a Mr. Harris, who foretold prosperity to all who dealt cards under his direction.

     Tarentum, Pa.-On Wednesday, August 21st, the pastor and his son called on Dr. and Mrs. Marlin Heilman and Miss Jane Heilman, and were entertained at lunch.

     Renovo, Pa.-At 3:15 a.m., on Friday, August 23d, Mr. Iungerich and Alexander started on the 212-mile drive from Pittsburgh through Blairsville, Indiana, Punxsutawney, Dubois, Ridgway, Emporium and Driftwood to Renovo, reaching Mr. Kendig's office downtown at eleven o'clock. This, the pastor declares, is the longest epic drive he has yet made. Three days were spent with Mr. and Mrs. Joseph R. Kendig and family, which included the Misses Rachel and Corinne Kendig, who will attend College in Bryn Athyn this year, their younger sisters, Janet and Joan, and an uncle and aunt from Altoona, Mr. and Mrs. Steckman. Saturday and Sunday afternoon and evening were spent in picturesque motor drives in that beautiful mountainous district. On Saturday afternoon Mr. Kendig caught six fish in a mountain stream.

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The rest looked on, except two who also tried but might have profited by looking on instead. That evening the hungry party had a delicious dinner in a German chalet in the mountains. On Sunday a service was held, Mr. and Mrs. Van Sickle increasing the attendance to twelve. The text of the sermon was the concluding blessing from the Apocalypse. Miss Corinne Kendig played the piano. The Holy Supper was administered five-persons partaking. On Monday, Alexander drove the short route through Moshannon and Clearfield to Pittsburgh, a distance of 177 miles, in six hours.

     The majority of the Pittsburgh Society, who have been away on vacations to various places, have returned, and church services were resumed at the home of Mr. and Mrs. A. P. Lindsay on September 1st. The School opened on Monday, September 16th, in rooms of the Homewood Realty Company, situated on Kelly Street near Homewood Avenue. Miss Anita Doering and Miss Angella Bergstrom have entered upon their duties as teachers in the School. Miss Vera Bergstrom, a younger sister of Miss Angella, spent a day or two here on her way to Bryn Athyn, where she will attend the Academy Schools.

     The Pittsburgh Society has ten students on the rolls Of the Academy Schools in Bryn Athyn this year,-Nadezhda and Alexander Iungerich, Ruth and Norman Glenn, William and Margaret Cowley, Fanny Lechner, Alexander Lindsay, Joan Schoenberger and Charles Brown. We feel that this is a good showing for a small society.

     Our new buildings are making rapid progress, and we are looking forward to the dedication in the near future.

     Rev. and Mrs. W. E. Brickman with their sons, Robert, Theodore, Otho and Elmer, and their daughters, Vera and Louise, have moved to Edenburg in the southern part of Texas, where they have a small ranch of twenty acres. They are building a home, and report that it is a fine for place to live. We wish them lots of luck; and the best the land has to real offer. Miss Elizabeth Brickman is remaining in Pittsburgh, and is training the for a nurse at the Pittsburgh Homeopathic Hospital.
     E. R. D.

     BRYN ATHYN, PA.

     After the usual quiet summertime, the season of Society activities opened in a delightful way by the wedding, on September 7th, of Miss Anne Meisel, of Bryn Athyn, to Mr. Hubert Nelson, of Glenview, Ill. The evening ceremony in the Cathedral, with the many candle lights and the six white flowers garlanding the chancel rail and choir Stalls, was very beautiful. The bride was accompanied by four bridesmaids in orange gowns and a maid of honor in mauve, while a dainty little flower girl strewed the path of the newly-made husband and wife with bright blossoms. A feature of the service was a solo sung by the Rev. Hugo Odhner, a selection of Franz Abt's with words composed for the occasion. After the ceremony a reception was held in the Undercroft where the many guests offered their congratulations to the wedded pair.

     The Sunday afternoon missionary services were continued through the summer with a varying attendance. After the opening series of sermons by the Rev. Theodore Pitcairn the Revs. E. R. Cronlund, Hendrik W. Boef and K. R. Alden preached at these services. Mr. Alden will continue this work through September and for the first two Sundays in October.

     Mr. Beef has been a visitor with us for about five weeks. On September 8th he was ordained into the Second Degree of the Priesthood by Bishop de Charms, and has now returned to the Pacific Coast as Pastor of the Los Angeles Society.

     The return of the Rev. and Mrs. Alfred Acton, with their daughters Roena and Benita, on September 17th, became the occasion of a spontaneous little reception at their house that evening. A lecture on the results of Dr. Acton's work in Europe is announced for Sunday evening, September 22d. Of next month we shall hope to give readers of the Life an account of his sojourn and work abroad.

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     THE ACADEMY SCHOOLS.

     The formal opening of the schools took place on Wednesday, September 11th, the Elementary School exercises beginning at 9:30 a.m. in the Chapel, when the pupils marched in according to grades, with their teachers. A simple service conducted by Bishop de Charms prepared the audience for his eloquent address on "Beginnings." After welcoming the pupils to the school for a new year of work, and mentioning the fact that it is a beginning for all-that some now come to school for the first time, while others begin new work and come to school in a new state of life and thought, it was pointed out that what rules in the beginning of anything continues as the heart of the work to the end, and therefore we first come to the Lord to dedicate our work to Him and to ask His blessing upon it, so that, throughout the year, we may work for the sake of heaven, and that likewise the Divine blessing may be with us through the year to make us happy in our work.

     Because we are a New Church school, all our work looks to the Lord as the Source of wisdom and the Maker of the Church. The work of the school may also be called a return to beginnings, for all things really good and true come to us out of heaven from the Lord above heaven, and it is our work to learn and to live so that we may be brought back into the happiness of heaven and into the presence of the Lord. If we try our best, and make some progress in this kind of work, the Lord's blessing will be with us.

     Mr. Otho Heilman, the Principal of the Elementary School, added a few words of welcome, and expressed the hope that all would be happy during the year to come, pointing out that happiness is really given when we have done our work well.

     At 10:30 of the same day the College and Secondary Schools of the Academy were opened with a service in the Chapel conducted by the Rev. C. E. Doering, Dean of Faculties. The address was given by the Rev. K. R. Alden, Principal of the Boys' Academy, who spoke inspiringly on the subject of "Ideals." He emphasized in many ways the contrast between evanescent and permanent values in life. That which we hold as an ideal is continually molding our lives into agreement with itself. We come to this school because of certain ideals we have, and in order that we may be prepared to realize them. It is for each one to choose ideals that are of lasting worth, and to strive sincerely for their attainment. "It is the hope of the school to prepare you to discriminate the better and permanent ideals from those of less value, and also to kindle the fire of a love that will make you work for your ideal."

     On the next day class work began, and the business of getting adjusted in all the details of organization. The enrollment in the Theological School is 2 (last year none), in the College 41 (last year 38), in the Boys' Academy 41 (last year 42), in the Girls' Seminary 44 (last year 35), in the Elementary School 171 (last year 161).

     The President's Reception was held on Friday evening,-a delightful and colorful occasion, marred only by the fact that President and Mrs. Pendleton could not be there in person. Dean and Mrs. C. E. Doering and Prof. and Mrs. K. R. Alden received the guests, each of whom had been given a label for ready identification. The door of the Auditorium was crowded with happy dancers, while as many others enjoyed looking on. Many new faces appeared, and inquiry would reveal that several had come from distant places to attend our school.

     The work of the various departments is somewhat handicapped by the absence of the Rev. Theodore Pitcairn in South Africa, and of the Rev. Homer Synnestvedt and Miss Celia Bellinger because of sickness. It is earnestly hoped that they will be able to return fully recovered in a few weeks. Mr. Synnestvedt is still unable to undertake the journey from Portland, Oregon, where he has been confined to a hospital for some time.

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Miss Bellinger is visiting Dr. and Mrs. Farrington, in Chicago. Miss Alice Grant, who had a severe illness in the latter part of the summer, is undertaking some of her work in the school.     
     L. W. T. D.

     Impressions of a Visitor.

     In The New-Church Herald of August 31, 1929, Mr. Hector Waylen describes his visit to Bryn Athyn, from which we quote:

     "Bryn Athyn is a very pretty place, hill and dale and plenty of greenery, more like England, in fact, than the country usually is, even in the Eastern States. You wend your way up through trees and pretty cottages, until, on more elevated ground, you discover some big buildings and the cathedral church, which, except for its newness, might make you think you were in Brittany or some part of the Old World.

     "As I do not profess to know anything about 'art' or 'architecture,' I do not propose to criticize this building, except to say that it appears to be a fine reproduction of the mediaeval Gothic church. Constructive work is still going ahead. There is to be a cloister and all the appurtenances of an ancient Abbey. Inside it seemed to me rather stony and cold, but then all churches of this kind have that feeling about them unless be decked with the paraphernalia of Romanism. I was shown the Council Chamber, where, from near the roof, the heads of the New Church saints gaze down upon the August assembly. There, of course, was Bishop Benade. There, too, was Robert Hindmarsh, looking rather blankly through his stone spectacles. Exactly how all this mediaevalism corresponded to Heaven and the Church as outlined by Swedenborg was somewhat hazy, but I was told that the Roman Catholics say, 'It will do very well for us, when we govern America,' and view of the fact that the city of Boston is largely ruled by Irish Catholics, there may be more behind this expectation than a stranger might fancy.

     "Of the fine schools, and of the most excellent library, said to be the largest New Church library extant, I can speak only in terms of unqualified praise. I was also glad to find, in the few friends I had time and opportunity to talk to, more openness and freedom of speech than I had anticipated. Thus it was remarked to me that, when Swedenborg said he could interpret the Egyptian hieroglyphics, 'no doubt he merely supposed them to be picture writing, and did not know that the signs were used alphabetically.' It almost took away one's breath to hear such a perilous suggestion in the very seat of the defenders of his Infallibility!"

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ORDINATIONS 1929

ORDINATIONS              1929




     Announcements.



     Boef.-At Bryn Athyn, Pa., September 8th, 1929, the Rev. Hendrik Willem Boef, into the Second Degree of the Priesthood, Bishop George de Charms officiating.

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COLCHESTER SOCIETY RECOLLECTIONS OF THE EARLY DAYS: 1880-1897 1929

COLCHESTER SOCIETY RECOLLECTIONS OF THE EARLY DAYS: 1880-1897       G. A. MCQUEEN       1929


[Frontispiece: Photographs of Frederick Ryle Cooper and Glendower C. Ottley, Colchester Society History.]

NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. XLIX NOVEMBER, 1929          No. 11
     (Continued from the October issue, p. 588.)

     In our sketch of the history of the Colchester Society we have reached the close of the year 1884. The congregation has settled down to the enjoyment of the regular evening services, conducted by visiting preachers. Those who were beginning to see that the New Church meant a new dispensation of Divine Truth were also regular attendants at the morning services. Most of the sermons lead at the morning services were those of New Church ministers, but some of the laymen thought they would prepare their own sermons, the writer being one of them. This departure from order was not so recognized at the time, but caused trouble later on when some members of the congregation began to make criticisms. And when several of the laymen attempted to give extempore talks, the Committee got together and decided that all sermons prepared by laymen must be submitted to a New Church minister before being preached. This arrangement relieved the situation.

     The departure of the Rev. Joseph Deans from Brightlingsea, to become minister of the church in Leeds, and the arrival of the Rev. Charles Griffiths to take his place, was the beginning of a new state in the Colchester Society. Mr. Griffiths was accepted as honorary pastor, and welcomed at a meeting in the Shaftesbury Hall on February 25th, 1885, our regular congregation being augmented by over one hundred Brightlingsea New Church people who had come to the meeting with their new minister.

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Mr. Griffiths was an earnest preacher, and at that time was more inclined to refer to the Writings than the other preachers to whom we had been accustomed to listen. This was a very acceptable thing to those members of the Church who were just beginning to learn of the various views existing among New Churchmen, especially in regard to the authority of the Writings. The writer had been considerably influenced by his reading of some letters of Mr. Glendower C. Ottley, published in the Conference weekly, MORNING LIGHT. In them, points of doctrine were made clear, and they brought to light the fact that there were two schools of thought in the Church. At that time, the Academy of the New Church was an unknown entity to the members of the Colchester Society, but they were soon to learn of it from an unexpected quarter, as will be explained later on.

     The Society enjoyed the monthly visits of Mr. Griffiths, and had the benefit of the monthly administration of the Holy Supper, the writer being appointed to take his pulpit at Brightlingsea on those occasions. It was also planned that I should conduct some of the services at Ipswich. During my visits to Brightlingsea, I became aware of the peculiar state of mind existing with some who had been connected with the New Church for many years. The parish church in Brightlingsea is situated several miles from the present village, a memorial of the past when the inhabitants of the parish lived farther removed from the coast. Standing on a hill beside the country road, it is a prominent object for miles around, and in those days it was commonly referred to as "the old church on the hill." Now it was customary with early New Church preachers to mention the "Old Church" in their sermons, and this was being done quite frequently by Academy preachers. Much to my surprise, however, when I used the expression during the service at Brightlingsea, I received a polite request not to mention the Old Church, as my hearers might think I was speaking of the "old church on the hill"!

     The first New Church wedding in the Colchester Society was that of my marriage to Miss Emily Martha Cockerell, on May 24th, 1885. The Rev. Charles Griffiths officiated, and the ceremony took place in Stockwell Street Chapel, loaned for the purpose by the pastor of the Congregational Church. It was the minister of this church, the Rev. Thomas Batty, who on seeing my wife (at that time a member of his congregation) reading some New Church literature, offered to lend her a copy of the True Christian Religion which he had received free of charge from the Swedenborg Society.

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He brought it to her, and when she asked how long she might keep it, he replied: "Until the Judgment Day!" That volume has been our family copy of the work until the present time.

     The Doctrinal Class which had been started in Mr. Gill's studio was continued, and various efforts were made to reach the public by occasional public lectures. Several lectures delivered by the Rev. Thomas Child excited a great deal of interest in the town. Two of the young students from the New Church College who came to preach for us were Mr. William Henry Acton and Mr. Edward S. Hyatt. At the conclusion of one of the services, I went for a long walk with Mr. Hyatt; and as the result of our conversation he concluded that our members would be interested in reading a paper called NEW CHURCH LIFE, which he thought would help us to understand the nature of the doctrinal discussions then coming to the front in the New Church. Accordingly, a copy was mailed to us, and from that time to the present the coming of the LIFE month by month has been looked forward to by reading members, of the Colchester Society as the coming of a spiritual friend. Under the Divine Providence, it has helped them to understand the teachings of the Church in a way not to be found elsewhere. We soon had a number of subscribers to the LIFE in Colchester, and to it may be attributed the new line of thought on the doctrines of the Church which gradually permeated the society.

     I now began reading sermons from the LIFE at our morning service. These were quite different in style and quality from the sermons preached by the visiting missionaries at the evening services.

     When the Rev. Arthur Faraday made his first visit to preach, being an "Authority" man, he appeared doubtful as to how far he might go with distinctive teaching. When I told him that the sermon I had read at the morning service was one by the Rev. Richard de Charms on "The Good in the Old Church," he appeared greatly relieved, and exclaimed: "Well, if they can stand that, they can stand anything!"

     Without a presiding minister, the Doctrinal Class did not make much headway, and in course of time too much discussion and argument destroyed its usefulness.

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Mr. Cooper and I decided to meet one evening a week to read together, accepting the Writings as of Divine Authority. Later in the year others joined us, and the meeting was held at the New Church Depot.

     Many fine sermons were delivered by our visiting preachers, and Mr. Griffiths, in addition to his monthly visits, gave several public lectures. All that the society was called upon to do was to raise sufficient funds to pay for the use of the hall, and to subscribe when it could towards the expenses of the ministers and laymen who came from other cities.

     In the early part of 1886, Mr. L. A. Slight, then a student under Dr. Rudolph L. Tafel, preached several times. His sermons were greatly appreciated, consisting, as they did, of clear statements of doctrine from the Writings. It was little known to the members of the society at that time that they were within reach of having a minister of their own in Colchester. After one of the services, Mr. Cooper and I had a long talk with Mr. Slight, who suggested the idea of starting a small day school, if we could provide part of his support as our minister. It seems that he had something of a private income, and could afford to make this generous offer towards helping the cause in Colchester. A few of us had been looking forward to the time when a school would be possible, but we could not see that the society was able to support such an undertaking then. After this conversation with Mr. Slight, the matter was left with us to think over, but soon afterwards we learned that he had accepted a call to become minister of a Conference society in Paisley.

     In May, 1886, the writer, as representative of the Colchester Society, attended the funeral of Dr. Jonathan Bayley, and there first met the Rev. R. J. Tilson, of Liverpool, and Mr. W. H. Claxton, of London. Both of these gentlemen became connected in various ways with the church in Colchester. Many of Mr. Tilson's sermons were read at our morning services. Among other plain-speaking sermons read at our services were those by the Rev. J. F. Potts on "The Dead Churches of Christendom."

     We now tried to make the Doctrinal Class more generally useful by holding a weekly meeting in the Y. M. C. A. Room, Lion Walk, the former classes being given up. During this year, 1886, a Sunday School was started, the writer being appointed Superintendent, and also teacher of the young women's Bible Class. Mr. Gill conducted a class for young men.

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     In the month of August, 1887, the Society for the first time sent a representative to Conference, when I was appointed to this duty and instructed to bring back a full account of what happened. This account was given at a special meeting of the society. The Conference was held at the Argyle Square Church, London, and it was an interesting experience for the representative, giving an idea of the men, manners, and methods of Conference.

     The conviction of the Authority of the Writings was now growing among the reading members of the Colchester Society, two of whom, believing that this conviction would be extended among others who were desirous of following the teachings as revealed, if the principles advocated in NEW CHURCH LIFE were circulated in a local print, decided to issue a small monthly sheet. This was ultimated when the writer purchased a small printing press, and, after much difficulty in handling the type, produced, with the hearty cooperation of Mr. F. R. Cooper, the first COPY Of the COLCHESTER NEW CHURCH MONTHLY, August, 1887,-a single sheet, printed on one side only. It contained notices of the preachers for the month and other matters relating to the local society, and short paragraphs bearing upon the necessity for distinctive New Church teaching.

     In 1889, the MONTHLY was enlarged to more than double its original capacity. Its last issue under the control of the writer was that for February, 1890, when the Rev. G. C. Ottley became editor, and the paper came out in a new form, continuing until November, 1892. The name was then changed to THE NEW CHURCH STANDARD and it was further increased in size. Its final appearance was with the August issue in 1895, when it had been published for a period of eight years.

     During those eight years many things happened which brought great changes in some of the existing New Church societies. The records published in the various journals of the Church during that period should be studied by all who would truly understand the underlying causes that were working for a more orderly state of things in the organized New Church. It was at the Argyle Square Conference that the writer first met Mr. Ottley and introduced to him our modest little first issue. This was the beginning of a lasting friendship, and from that time Mr. Ottley was ready to help in the work at Colchester.

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     It was at the same meeting of Conference that I heard discussions which brought out the fact that the Church in general was not united as to the Divinity of the Writings, many of the members not being prepared to accept them as the final authority on church government and other matters. A resolution relating to Church Order was brought before the Conference by the Rev. J. F. Buss, and it caused much debate. These happenings were all reported to the Colchester Society, and the members were beginning to realize the fact that the organizations of the Church had much to learn before they could fitly represent the glorious truths of the Second Coming.

     The Society now numbered fifty-one members, the attendance at worship being between sixty and seventy. After preaching as leader of the Brightlingsea Society for nearly three years, Mr. Griffiths was ordained by the Rev. Dr. R. L. Tafel. About twenty of the Colchester people attended, and heard a very impressive sermon by Dr. Tafel on the text of Isaiah 62:6, "I have set watchmen upon Thy walls, O Jerusalem, which shall never hold their peace day nor night. Ye that make mention of the Lord, keep not silence." We said in the MONTHLY: "The preacher wielded the 'rod of iron' with great power. The duties devolving upon a minister of the New Church were stated in language not to be misunderstood. 'That will-o-the-wisp, popularity,' was especially to be guarded against. Preaching, 'Repent ye; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,' might not make a minister 'popular, but it would make him a 'faithful shepherd of the sheep.'"

     On his way back to London, Dr. Tafel stopped over at Colchester and met our society in the Y. M. C. A. Rooms, Lion Walk. In response to a question, he gave an address of over an hour in length on the subject of "Faith Healing," a subject that was active in the public mind at the time. He dealt with it in the light of the New Church, and summed up the teaching in one word,-Faith Healing was "disorderly." This was the one and only opportunity of seeing and hearing the learned Doctor in Colchester.

     In January, 1888, the Rev. Charles Griftiths, now a duly ordained minister of the Church, administered the sacrament of Baptism to twenty-eight adults. He had previously given the teaching concerning the importance of this gate of entrance into the New Church, even for those who had previously been baptized in the Old Church.

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     New names were still being added to the long list of visiting ministers; among others, those of Mr. Claxton, Mr. W. Heald, and the Rev. William O'Mant. Efforts were being directed towards bringing the members together by providing social meetings and other opportunities for discussing the things of the Church. On Good Friday, there was a Tea Meeting at the Shaftesbury Hall, when papers were read on these subjects: "The Distinctness of the New Church," by Mr. Cooper; "Phrenology," by the Rev. Charles Griffiths; "Liberty," by Mr. Alfred Godfrey; "Trees," by Mr. A. Appleton. The discussion of Mr. Cooper's paper indicated that the acceptance of the principles of the Academy was making some headway, and this fact was further accentuated when, in July of the same year, Mr. Ottley visited the society and preached two sermons which made a deep impression because of the definiteness and clearness of the instruction given.

     In August of that year, I was sent to attend the 81st General Conference at Accrington, as representative of the Colchester Society. This was the Conference at which there was so much discussion concerning the use of unfermented grape juice at the Holy Supper. Fortunately for us this question never caused any trouble in Colchester. Those of us who had been ardent teetotalers had by this time bowed to the teaching of the Writings, and even in our connection with the Old Church had never been called upon to use anything but wine at communion.

     At the same meeting of Conference a charge of breaking the rules of that body was brought against Dr. R. L. Tafel, because he had ordained the Rev. Arthur Faraday and the Rev. L. A. Slight without permission of Conference. Dr. Tafel claimed that, according to the teaching of the Writings, the Conference had no authority to decide the fitness of a candidate for the ministry, and that this function belonged to the priesthood. The matter was dropped for one year, and little more was heard of it.

     While these questions of order were increasingly coming to the front in England, the same was happening in Canada and the United States of America. That small body, the Academy of the New Church, had continued its work of education along distinctive New Church lines, and was already exerting considerable influence throughout the Church at large.

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Colchester was feeling that influence very strongly, but as yet there had been no official opposition to it on the part of Conference.

     With a view to providing more opportunity for social gatherings, classes and singing practices during the week, the Society rented a room in Crouch Street. The missionary visits continued, and Mr. Ottley, at the invitation of the Committee, came more frequently. Under the heading, "Our Society," the following appeared in the MONTHLY for December, 1888:

     Our sixth annual meeting was held in the Shaftesbury Hall on Tuesday evening, November 13th. The Rev. C. Griffiths presided. The proceedings commenced with a Tea at which about fifty friends were present. After tea, Mr. Griffiths baptized two infants,-William Ryle Cooper and Florence Maud McQueen. The officers then read their annual reports.

     Secretary's Report.

     Mr. G. Bateman reported, among other things, that during the year two new members had signed the roll, the present number on the books being 46. Average attendance at Divine Worship: Morning, 47; Evening, 67; an increase in both cases. The Lord's Supper had been administered 4 times, with an average attendance of 28. There had been 45 Baptisms, 1 Marriage, and 4 Deaths.

     The average at Reading Class had been 21 weekly.

     Book Steward's Report.

     Mr. Frost stated that, during the year, he had disposed of 30 New Church Almanacs, 60 Catechisms, 95 Collateral Works and Pamphlets, 15 copies of Morning Light every week, 5 copies of the New Church Magazine, 30 copies of Juvenile Magazine monthly, and 9 monthly issues of the Potts Concordance. In addition to the above, Mr. McQueen had 17 subscribers to New Church Life.

     Sabbath School.

     Mr. Arthur E. Bedwell reported 46 scholars, with an average attendance of 37.

     One of the lay preachers coming to us was a Mr. Noel, a commercial traveler who stayed in Colchester over the week end. A criticism of his preaching appeared in the MONTHLY, because the congregation considered his remarks to be irreverent. We quote: "Hitherto we have not complained of the preachers sent to us by the Missionary and Tract Society, but we cannot help saying that, in our opinion, the flippant style adopted by Mr. Noel in his treatment of Divine subjects is calculated to destroy that holy reverence which should accompany all true worship."

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     From this time it was considered best that I should publish the MONTHLY on my own responsibility, in order that the whole society might not be committed to the opinions appearing therein. Notice of this change appeared in the March, 1889, issue and several follow.

     Attending our services at this time was very nice old lady, a widow by the name of Bull. She had lived most of her life in a country village where she and her husband had been associated for many years with a small body of people who were called the "New Lights." They appeared to be quite under the power of an old man, a thatcher by trade, who claimed to be "He that should come." And those simple country folk practically worshiped him for years. Before leaving this world, Mrs. Bull saw how greatly they had been misled, and was thankful for the true light which she found in the Doctrines of the New Church.

     On March 31st, 1889, the members of the Society became personally acquainted with the Rev. R. J. Tilson, of London. Many of his written sermons had been read at our services by lay preachers, one of whom was Mr. Isaac Gunton. Mr. Tilson's visit was the beginning of a very helpful period of distinctive doctrinal instruction given by him on various occasions,-a period during which the Writings were becoming more and more emphasized as being the Second Coming of the Lord.

     At our Sunday School on June 16th, 1889, there was a commemoration of New Church Day, When a card was presented to the pupils quoting from the Writings the things said about the 19th day of June, 1770. The idea was, that the actuality of New Church Day as a Church Festival would thus be impressed upon the minds of the children. From that time to the present, New Church Day has been celebrated by the Colchester Society.

     During the summer, the Rev. Joseph Deans paid us a visit and preached one Sunday morning and evening. On the surface everything seemed to be well, but there were rumblings which indicated the existence of opposition to those who favored the doctrinal position of the Academy. Mr. Griffiths began to waver in his position on the Authority of the Writings. On August 2d, the Rev. E. J. E. Schreck, of Philadelphia, who was visiting England with Mr. John Pitcairn, was invited to preach at our morning service, and it was interesting to hear the expressions of delight and appreciation from several members of the congregation who were ignorant of the fact that Mr. Schreck was an Academy man.

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Their minds were then unprejudiced, and they could see the truth in its own light; but not so, later on, when they were informed of that terrible institution across the water!

     September 15th, 1889, saw the beginning of the withdrawal of the support of the Colchester Society by Conference through its missionary agencies. Mr. Richard Gunton informed the Society that fewer missionary preachers would be available, and that we ourselves would have to arrange for more of the evening services than previously. Here I would remark that the Conference exercised a great deal of patience with the Colchester Society. Considering that several years of continuous support had been accorded the movement in Colchester, we can realize with what sorrow its friends in Conference saw the direction in which the Society was traveling. They were loath to with draw all support, in the hope that things would change for the better, if they proceeded with care.

     At the Annual Meeting on November 5th, 1889, a great effort was made to keep Mr. Bateman in the Secretaryship of the society, and at all costs to keep the writer out of it. Mr. Bateman, much against his will, had been in office for several years, and this time he insisted upon having his resignation accepted. The writer was nominated for the office. Then speeches in opposition to the nomination were made by Mr. Griffiths, Mr. Deans, and Mr. Baldwin. I was elected, and then claimed the right to reply to the many unjust charges which had been made by Mr. Griffiths. As the time was getting late, it was decided to hold a special meeting for this purpose. This was held about a week later, when the Secretary took up, one by one, the charges which had been made against himself, as well as against the society, and showed that they were not warranted. Mr. Griffiths spoke at some length, and he was followed by Mr. Frost and Mr. Ottley. As illustrating the peculiar state of mind existing with some in the church at that day, one charge against the writer was that he had done harm by giving the New Church Day card to the Sunday School children at Brightlingsea, as its contents might be misunderstood by outsiders. The giving out of these cards was done with the entire approval of the minister, the Rev. Charles Griffiths.

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     At this time there was living in Brightlingsea an old gentleman by the name of Bellings. After being in business in London, he had moved to Bristol, and later on decided that he would end his days in the peaceful village of Brightlingsea. He was venerable in appearance, having wavy locks of silvery hair. His enthusiasm for the Doctrines of the New Church knew no bounds, and for years he had done a great deal of missionary work by distributing New Church literature. Wherever he went, he would find some way of entering into conversation about the Writings with strangers, and delighted in telling his friends about his experiences. He had a favorite story about what happened one day when he was traveling from Bristol to Bath, when he got into conversation with people he met on that journey. We do not remember the details of this story, which was a very long one, but it must have been of unusual importance, as it became the central point of his conversations for the rest of his life. Wherever he might be, at home or abroad, he would say, "It reminds me of what happened on the road from Bristol to Bath."

     The story was an almost endless one, and so, as soon as he reached, "It reminds me," his friends would try to switch the subject, but in vain. He would soon be back again on the road from Bristol to Bath. One Sunday we invited Mr. Bellings to Preach for us in Colchester, knowing he was a well-read New Churchman, but he was warned not to make his talk too long. He did his best, but he soon became oblivious to time, and, sure enough, after a very good address, he reached the road to Bristol and Bath! The congregation began to feel nervous, especially the ladies, as there were quite a number of Sunday dinners cooking at home and needing their attention. It was a great day for Mr. Bellings. He spoke to the Sunday School in the afternoon, and preached again in the evening, but we felt it was too much of a risk to invite him again. Nevertheless he was a good New Churchman, and did good work in circulating a knowledge of the Doctrines.

     The Colchester Society now made an effort to introduce "Feasts of Charity," where members might meet in a social way to consider the teachings of the Church. It cannot be said that they were always a success from the standpoint of true charity. There was too much internal division and prejudice to provide a sphere for calm study of the subjects introduced in the papers read at these meetings.

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It was in December, 1889, that a Feast of Charity was held in the Shaftesbury Hall, when the principle speakers were the Rev. Charles Griffiths and the Rev. R. J. Tilson. While Mr. Tilson was an outspoken believer in the principles of the Academy, because he believed they were based upon the Word and the Writings, Mr. Griffiths, who had sometimes spoken in favor of the Writings as a Divine Revelation, now began to exhibit active opposition to the Academy. Mr. Tilson read a paper giving a very full and plain explanation of what the Academy stood for in the Church, and showed that the many scandalous things said about the organization were entirety untrue. Mr. Griffiths spoke with much feeling, and reiterated some of the things that were being circulated against the Academy. So, as we have said, the meeting was not what we looked for as a Feast of Charity. Nevertheless, it helped to clear the spiritual atmosphere, and enabled our people the better to understand the actual situation of the society at that juncture.

     More and more the Writings were being read, to discover whether the Academy teachings were in accordance therewith. The MONTHLY was enlarged to make it possible to print sermons, the first being one by the Rev. J. F. Potts. A number of our men began meeting together to read Bishop Benade's Conversations on Education. This was of especial interest to the young married men, who hoped for a New Church school for their children. We were still favored with occasional missionary visits from Conference ministers. It was a happy Sunday in January, 1890, when the Rev. Jabez Fox, of America, visited us, preaching morning and evening, and addressing the Sunday School in the afternoon.

     Now came the announcement that the Rev. Charles Griftiths was leaving Brightlingsea to become pastor of the Ramsbottom Society in Lancashire, where he ministered to that church with much satisfaction until he passed to the spiritual world only a few years ago.

     (To be Continued.)

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LORD'S CHURCH 1929

LORD'S CHURCH       Rev. R. J. TILSON       1929

     (Delivered at the British Assembly, August 4, 1929.)

     "Surround ye Zion, and encompass her, number her towers! Set your heart to her bulwark; mark well her palaces; that ye may tell to the generation following! For this God is our God to an age and forever; He will lead us unto death." (Psalm 48:12-14.)

     The Psalm, of which the words of the text form the closing portion, is a Divine eulogy of the admirableness of the spiritual kingdom of the Lord."

     As indicated in the title of this Psalm, it is both a "Song" and a "Psalm"; and this twofold description suggests at once to the spiritually-minded reader or singer the thought of the marriage of good and truth in the Word. This is also strikingly shown in the first verse:" Great is the Lord, and praised exceedingly, in the city of our God, the mountain of His holiness." The Lord-He who alone lives, Divine Love, the Esse of all finition. "City of our God,"- the spiritual; and " mountain of His holiness,"-the celestial.

     Dwelling for moment upon this wonderful example, in this marvelous Psalm, of the conjugial in the Word, it may be well that the arcanum which is added to no. 326 of the Apocalypse Explained should be attentively heard: "The angels who constitute the Lord's celestial kingdom draw the internal sense of the Word from the affection alone of man when he reads the Word, which results also from the sound of the words in the original tongue; but the angels who are in the Lord's spiritual kingdom draw the internal sense from the truths which the words contain. Hence, from the celestial kingdom the man who is in spiritual affection has joy of heart; and from the spiritual kingdom confession from that joy. The sounds of the musical instruments. . . elevate the affection, and the truths give form to it. That this is so, is well known to those skilled in the art of music. For this reason the Psalms of David are called 'Psalms,' from 'Psallere' (to play), and also 'Songs' from `Canere' (singing)." (A. E. 326.)

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     In the light of this teaching of the Lord at His Second Coming, should, not the careful reading and singing of the Word be more valued and sought after by those of the Church? Surely a deep impression should be left upon the mind by such teaching,-the impression that it is a great privilege to read and sing the Word. And, brethren, see into what company such reading and singing introduces those who read and sing from the spiritual affection of truth! Wonderful instances are given in the Heavenly Doctrines of the conjunctive effect of spirits with those in the church on earth. Let one brief example suffice: "There were with me African spirits from Abyssinia. On a certain occasion their ears were opened, that they might hear singing from a Psalm of David in some temple in the world, by which they were affected with such delight that they joined in the singing. . . . Communication was given them with that society in heaven which was in conjunction with those who were singing that Psalm in the world." (S. S. 108. See also A. C. 1771, 8261, 9809; S. D. 335, 5947, 6077.)

     How greatly should such teaching enhance the conception of the privilege and beauty of Divine worship! But to experience this, one thing is needful,-that the readers and singers should understand what they read or sing, that the truth thus impressed upon the mind may be the basis for the influx from heaven. Only then can there be rightful expectation that the statement of the Spiritual Diary will be realized: "Hence musical harmony and singing are so delicious to the angels, when the thoughts of men are in accordance with their ideas." (S. D. 491.)

     How thoroughly does this statement emphasize the teaching of Psalm 47:7, which is rendered in the Psalmody, "For King of all the earth is God; sing ye Maskil!" For, if the Hebrew term had been translated, the verse would have read: "For King of all the earth is God; sing ye with understanding!"

     This much, then, to the reviving in the church of the reading and singing of the Word in its literal sense, and especially for the cultivation of the understanding of that which is sung or read, in the light of the spiritual sense, the soul of the Word. To this end, might it not be to the enhancement of worship if the Church were to revert to the custom of reading the summaries of the spiritual sense of every, song or psalm which is sung or read directly from the literal sense of the Word?

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     Applying this suggestion to the Psalm from which the text is taken, the summary of the spiritual sense is as follows:

     Title and Vs. 13, 8: "The spiritual kingdom of the Lord, how admirable!"

     Vs. 4-7: "It will dissipate all falsities."

     Vs. 9, 10: "This is the Divine Human."

     Vs. 11-13: "From this are all things of heaven and the church."

     Vs. 14: "Because there the Lord reigns."

     Now the "spiritual kingdom of the Lord," which is so "admirable," which will "dissipate all falsities," which is nothing less than "the Divine Human," from which "are all things of heaven and the church," and all this because, in that spiritual kingdom, "the Lord reigns,"-this spiritual kingdom of the Lord is, on earth, the Church. For we are told that " the Lord's spiritual kingdom on earth is the church, which is called the spiritual church." (A. C. 4286:4.)

     And further we read: "Jerusalem denotes the Lord's spiritual kingdom, which is also meant by the new Jerusalem in Ezekiel, and likewise by the holy Jerusalem coming down from heaven, in the Apocalypse. The Lord's spiritual kingdom is where the Divine Truth; in which is Divine Good, is the principal, but the celestial kingdom is where the principal is the Divine Good, from which is the Divine Truth." (A. C. 5313:12.)

     In the light of this Divine teaching, what a sanctity is given to the very term "Church"! For the church, as also heaven, is where the Lord reigns in Divine Truth, in which is Divine Good. To think of the church as a mere building, or a constitution drawn up and subscribed to by men and women, with all the impediments of their proprial heredity, is of the earth, earthy. Buildings, constitutions, and congregations, may be the creations of the church; but in themselves they are not the church; they can be but the ultimates,-useful, ultimate forms of the church.

     The true church of the Lord, as it exists outside of man in a visible form, is Divine Doctrine revealed by the Lord. (A. R. 293.) Only the Divine of the Lord, as manifested in Divine Truth, can make either heaven or the church. Not even doctrine, as doctrine, can make the complete church of the Lord; but it is the purity of doctrine; and yet more, it is the purity of doctrine manifested in a life of shunning all evils as sins against God that makes the true church of the Lord,-His spiritual kingdom on earth.

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     Now this church, this spiritual kingdom, of the Lord, is represented in the Word by the two cities, Zion and Jerusalem. "Zion," we read, " means heaven and the church, in which the Lord is to reign by means of His Divine Truth; while Jerusalem means heaven and the church in respect to doctrine from that Divine Truth. Hence it is said in Micah, 'From Zion shall go forth the Law, and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem.'" (A. E. 850:6.)

     Zion is mentioned first, because it represents the celestial of the church, whilst Jerusalem represents the spiritual of the church. In other words, Zion represents the church from the standpoint of love, and Jerusalem represents the church from the standpoint of truth, which is the embodiment of love. From correspondence, Zion was built upon a mountain, because a mountain signifies love. "In the middle of the Land of Canaan was the city of Zion, and under it the city of Jerusalem, both upon a mountain. Hence Zion and Jerusalem signify the inmost things of the church, Zion the church as to love, Jerusalem the church as to doctrine from it." (A. E. 612.)

     Note well, in this brief extract from the Heavenly Doctrine, that Jerusalem was "under" Zion, that is, lower than Zion. This was so because love is life. Love is of man's will; doctrine and truth are of man's understanding. As is the will or love, such is the real man as to character. That which makes the real man is not knowledge, not understanding, not intellect merely, but it is the will, the love, the affection from which man obtains knowledge, seeks to understand, and by or from which he lives. Man must have knowledge, must procure doctrine; for truth is the form of love, and outside of truth love cannot be given from heaven. But it is the will, the love, which gives life to the whole being of man; and that love, being corrupt and selfish by heredity, must be trained, corrected, and purified by the teachings of Divine Truth; and those teachings are doctrines. So important is it to remember this that the following teaching from the Apocalypse Revealed should be carefully heeded. It is there written:

     "I can aver that there is not in man a grain of truth, which in itself is truth, except so far as it proceeds from the good of love to the Lord; and therefore neither is there a grain of faith, which in itself is faith, that is, a living, saving, and spiritual faith, except so far as it proceeds from charity which is from the Lord." 908.)

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     Further, let the direct teaching of the Lord at His Second Advent be heard as follows:

     In the other life the knowledge of the cognitions of faith is of no avail; for the worst of persons, yea, the infernals, may be in the knowledge thereof, sometimes more than others; but it is a life according to the cognitions that avails, since all cognitions have life for their end. Unless they are learned for the sake of life, they are of no use beyond that of serving as subjects of conversation, and of acquiring in the world the reputation of learning, of being raised to honors, and of gaining fame and wealth. Nevertheless, doctrinals, or the cognitions of faith, are most necessary for the formation of the life of charity, which cannot possibly be formed without them. This life of charity is what saves after death, and not any life of faith without charity since without charity the life of faith is not possible. They who are in the life of love and charity are in the Lord's life, and no one can be conjoined to Him by any other."

     The paragraph from which these extracts are taken should be most carefully read and reflected upon, for it is an epitome of what is required for regeneration; and, if it be well heeded, men will be saved from becoming mere doctrinaires or dogmatic theorists, on the one hand, or indifferent to the priceless worth of the doctrinals of the church, on the other.

     Now it is to prevent the man of the Church from falling into either of these byways which lead to hell that the teaching of the text is expressly given: "Surround ye Zion, and encompass her; number her towers! Set your heart to her bulwark; mark well her palaces; that ye may tell to the generation following! For this God is our God to an age and for ever; He will lead us unto death."

     These words must surely be taken by every thoughtful member of the Lord's New Church as a Divine invitation to a diligent and searching inquiry as to What the Lord's church is, as to the particulars of which it consists, and as to the best means by which it can be established in the heart, mind, and life in each individual.

     To "surround Zion and encompass her "is to embrace the things of the church with an ardent love for them, because they are from the Lord and are the Lord. No mere outward reason, from friendly association, from external relationship, or convenience, is sufficient for churchmanship.

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Unless our adherence to that which is called "the church" is from a will to know what the Lord has revealed, and a determination to study the truths which have been made known to the church, vain will be our profession, and empty will be our membership of the organization calling itself "the church." Unless our loves, our desires, are earnestly fixed upon the principles which make the church, so fixed that we love to meditate upon them, to converse about them, and to make it our constant endeavor to live them;-unless this is so, we shall not be of the church of the Lord.

     But when, in the strength of heaven, we bring all our desires into play to search out the things of Divine Revelation, that we may know and live them, then, and not until then, shall we comply with the injunction of the text.

     To be satisfied with a more or less regular attendance upon Divine Worship, to take part in the mere externals of worship, to busy ourselves in the mere externals of organization, and to talk occasionally about the generals of doctrine,-this is not to "surround the Zion" of the Lord's New Church.

     The Lord's Church is an internal thing; it is His spiritual kingdom, and not merely an earthly institution; and being internal, it calls ever and anon for deeper thought, deeper study, deeper reflection, that a keener insight into its heavenly arcana may be obtained.

     All this is contained within the Divine exhortation: "Number her towers!" It is revealed that by "numbering the towers of Zion" is meant "To give thought to the higher or interior things of the church; for 'to number' means to see and give thought to their quality, and 'towers' mean higher or interior truths." (A. E. 453.)

     Now the constant aim of the members of the Lord's New Church should be to progress towards interior things. The live New Churchman will not be satisfied to talk about the doctrines of the church, but will be anxious increasingly to talk from them. This will necessitate reading, study, and reflection. This is what is meant by "progression towards interior things." (A. C. 4598.) It means far more than the development of knowledges, deeper and ever deeper knowledges of material things, as obtained from the sciences of the world. Therefore it is revealed that " what is meant by progression towards interior things is but little known in the world. It is not progression into scientifics, for this often takes place without any progression towards interior things, and frequently with retrogression; neither is it progression into manly judgment, for this also sometimes takes place with retrogression from interior things; neither is it progression into the knowledges of interior truth, for knowledges effect nothing unless man is affected by them.

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Progression towards interior things is progression towards heaven and the Lord, through the knowledges of truth implanted in the affection thereof, thus through the affections." (A. C. 4958.)

     This, then, is what is meant by "numbering the towers of Zion,"-deeper study, concentrated reflection, and more rational conversation, concerning the great things which the Lord has given to man in those "continuous truths" which are contained in the latest Word from heaven.

     But greater study of the interior things of the Word will necessarily produce a keener appreciation and a greater acquisition of the knowledges of "exterior truths which defend the church against falsities." (A. E. 453:10.) And this is what is meant by the words, "Set your heart to her bulwark!" For the exterior truths of the church defend the interior truths of the doctrines of the spiritual sense of the Word, which is its soul.

     The delight in the study of the Letter of the Word will ever accompany the sincere desire to know the particulars of doctrine. The exterior truths of the church are the garments of Jerusalem, and they who think from the interior doctrines will more and more delight in a well-stocked memory of the truths and facts of the Letter; and this even to a knowledge of the trinity of languages in which the Divine Word is given.

     They who zealously "number the towers of Zion" will assuredly "set their hearts to her bulwark." They will increasingly desire to preserve the Letter of the Word, to encourage its faithful translations, and to preserve its integrity among men. And this they will do from a desire to lead to good, that the "house of the Lord may be established upon the top of the mountains. For this is involved in the command to "mark well her palaces," since "houses mean goods, and palaces the more noble goods of truths." (A. E. 453.)

     Thus the end is good,-the good which is the soul of truth, the good which cannot be obtained, save as contained within truth,-that truth which comes from heaven, and which is embodied in self-less living, the living which is the outcome of the shunning of all evils as sins against God.

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Good alone is eternal; for God is Good, because He is Love, and love alone is eternal. This "permanence to eternity," to use the very words of revealed truth, is the internal of the statement of the text, "that ye may tell to the generation following." (A. E. 453.)

     There is no "permanency" save in good. Truth not made good by being lived is not permanent. Truth merely known, but not lived, may abide during time, as a matter of memory; but it will not survive the test of vastation in the world of spirits; for it will not have reached the will,-the love of the man; and only that which is in and of the will abides to eternity.

     The lesson of the text, as we have so far considered it, is that the duty and privilege of those called into the Church of the New Jerusalem;-the spiritual kingdom of the Lord,-is diligently to seek truth, interior and exterior,-the doctrines of the spiritual sense of the Word, and equally the knowledges of the literal sense of that Word,-that they may lead to the good of life; and this from no time-serving ends or aims, from no mere memory delight, from no mere love of argument or ratiocinating, and, yet more from no desire to condemn others by holding them in contempt, but from a sincere affection of the good which is reached by the living of the truth, to the end that, in a life of obedience, truth may be made good, and may abide in man here and hereafter as his life, his hope, and his faith, that he may "tell it to the generation following," even by the new birth of regeneration to eternity.

     In conclusion, the last verse of the Psalm now under consideration provides a very interesting piece of exegesis, at once interesting and very practical.

     "For this God is our God to an age, and for ever; He will lead us unto death." So is it rendered in the Psalmody,-a very correct translation. But is it fully warranted? And, still more important, how shall it be understood! Note well that the names, "God" and "our God," not "Jehovah" or "Lord," are used, because it is Truth-Divine Truth-which is here referred to. The Lord, as the
Heavenly Father, or the Father in the heavens, has always made Himself known to His creatures in Revelation, whether mediate or immediate. He has ever been, and ever will be, "God to an age and for ever."

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He himself is declared to be "Doctrine," and this because He "is the Word " (A. C. 2533); and by Doctrine He will ever "lead us."

     "He will lead us unto death." What "death"? That ending has puzzled scholars long; and it is yet uncertain. The Hebrew as now existing is al-mooth,-upon, to, or over death. Accepting it so, then surely the "death" unto which the Lord, as "God," will "lead us," is the death of selfishness and sin,-that death which is said to be "precious in the sight of the Lord." (Psalm 116:15.)

      That may be so. But, to quote the Words of a great and reverent scholar: "Beautiful as is the thought, it cannot be legitimately extracted from the present text." (The Book of Psalms, edited by A. F. Kirkpatrick, D.D.)

     But what is the rendering given in the Writings? There is but one passage in which the whole verse is given. It reads: "This God is our God to an age and for ever; He will lead us." There it leaves the text. There, too, we leave it. "He will lead us." That is the assurance of eternal life and salvation. The Lord will lead His church, and all in whom the church is, by His Truth, His Doctrine,-even the Heavenly Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, in the revealing of which He has made His Second Advent. For in those Divine Doctrines He has made Himself a "visible God" to those who come into that "New Church which is the Crown of all the Churches" (T. C. R. 786), and in which alone "there can be conjunction between God and man." (T. C. R. 787.)

     "And it shall come to pass in the last days that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above the hills; and all nations shall flow unto it. And many people shall go and Say, Come ye, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord, to the house of the God of Jacob; and He will teach us of His ways, and we will walk in His paths; for out of Zion shall go forth the Law, and the Word of the Lord from Jerusalem." (Isaiah 2:2, 3.) Amen.

     Lessons: Isaiah 52. Luke 14:15-35. A. E. 850:1, 2.

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RAISING OF LAZARUS 1929

RAISING OF LAZARUS       Rev. GEORGE DE CHARMS       1929

     AN ADDRESS TO CHILDREN.

     The Lord came into the world to tell men about His kingdom in the other world, and to show them the way by which they might come into heaven. Men at that day did not know about heaven. Many believed that man does not live after his body dies. Some of them believed that he would live after death, but not until some far-distant time which they called "the last day." Where he was in the meantime, they did not know. So they knew nothing about the other world, about heaven and all the wonderful things the Lord has created there to give happiness to the angels. The Lord wants all men to come into heaven. He wants them to live in this world in order that they may come into heaven. But no one can come into heaven after death who has not lived according to the Lord's Law while he was on earth. The Jews did not understand the Lord's Law. They read the Word, but they did not know what it meant.

     In order to understand the Word, it was necessary to know about heaven. For this reason, unless the Lord had come into the world no one could have been saved. The Lord came to teach them about heaven, and how it was necessary to live in order that they might come there. They could not see the kingdom of heaven, and the Lord could only describe it by comparing things in this world to things in heaven. This is the reason why the Lord always spoke in parables. A parable is a story about earthly things, but a story with a deeper meaning,-a story comparing the things of the world with the things of heaven.

     Now one thing that men had to know before they could under, stand about heaven was that they will live after death. They thought that when the body died it was the end,-that the man ceased to live, and would never live any more. Many thought that. The Lord could not show them into the other world, or show them how men rise after the death of the body to live in heaven, but what He could do was to show them that life remained and could be brought back if He wished,-even into the body.

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To show that this was possible He raised a man from death to live in this world. So it was with Lazarus, about whom we read this morning.

     You remember how the Lord Was in Jerusalem, and the people were trying to find some way to put Him to death. They tried to throw stones at the Lord and kill Him. He became invisible, passed through the midst of them, and went away. Leaving Jerusalem, He crossed the Jordan, and lived for a time at a little village called Bethabara, and the Jews at Jerusalem who sought to slay Him did not know where He was.

     In Bethany, on the Mount of Olives, there lived two sisters, Mary and Martha, and their brother Lazarus. The Lord knew them well. He had stayed at their house, and He loved them very much. Now while the Lord was in Bethabara Lazarus became sick, and they sent a messenger to tell the Lord that he whom the Lord loved was sick. The Lord said, "This sickness was not unto death, but for the glory Of God." Then for several days the Lord did not go to Bethany, but stayed where He was. Later On, the Lord said to the disciples that Lazarus was asleep, and He must go and wake him up from deep. The disciples said, "if he is asleep, that is a sign he will get Well." Then the Lord said: "He is dead. We must go into Bethany." They knew that the enemies of the Lord were seeking to take His life, and that it was very dangerous to go back to the Mount of Olives; but they loved Him, and when they saw that He would go back they wanted to go with Him, even though they thought they might die. Thomas said, "Let us go that we may die with Him." Because they loved Him so much, they were willing to lay down their lives for His sake.

     When they came to Bethany, they found that Lazarus had been dead four days, and his body was buried in a cave, with a great stone in front of it. Everyone thought that the Lord had come too late, that because Lazarus was dead He could not do anything more, and they all wept, thinking that Lazarus was gone and they would never see him again. They all came,-Mary, Martha, the Lord and His disciples,-to this cave where the great stone was, and the Lord told them to move away the stone from the cave, and they did not want to do it because they knew Lazarus had been dead four days.

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But the Lord told them that, if they would believe in Him, He would show them the glory of God. So they moved away the stone. Then the Lord prayed, and called out in a loud voice: "Lazarus, come forth!" And he who had been dead came forth out of the grave, living and well.

     The Lord did this in order that they might know that Lazarus was not really dead,-that death is only of the body, but that the spirit of man goes on living. He wanted them to know that we all go on living in another world, and that when He desired to do it He could bring back the soul to live in the body again. They did not know at that time what the Lord meant. They thought it only had reference to this world, that the Lord would make it possible for men not to die, but to live in this world always. The Lord does not want us to remain always on earth. He wants us to come into the other world, which is much more beautiful than this world. The Lord wants us to go into heaven, where He can make us a thousand times as happy as we can be on earth. That this is His will, He taught when He Himself died on the cross; for then the Lord rose and showed Himself to His disciples, but not in this world. He then opened their spiritual eyes, and let them see Him in the other world. Then first did they know what He meant by raising Lazarus from the dead. Then first they saw how He meant to teach them that they would live forever in the other world after the death of the body.

     The same thing is true at this day. Very few people know about the other world; and unless we know about it we cannot understand the Word, we cannot understand the Lord's Law, we cannot learn how we must live on earth in order to go to heaven after death. That is the reason why the Lord has come again in the Writings, and has told us about the other world, and about the things there which men never knew before. That is what the New Church teaches-that is what you children are growing up to learn-things which many people in the world can never know-things so wonderful that no one but the Lord Himself could ever tell us about them. It is as though the Lord was here teaching you of heaven, even as He did when He was in the world. He tells us indeed many things which He could not tell His disciples when He was on earth, because they would not have understood them, but which He has now made it possible for us to understand.

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     Remember always to think about the-other world. Whenever you hear of anyone dying, think about the other world and all the things you have been taught about heaven and realize that they are going into that world and will live in heaven among the angels, and that later, when you go into that would, you also will see them and know them. That is the wonderful thing the Lord has come to tell us in the Writings of the New Church. And as you grow older, you will learn more and more about that wonderful world where the angels dwell, where all things are more beautiful than you can imagine, and where, if you love the Lord and keep His Law, you will receive every blessing and all happiness forever.

     LESSON: John 11:1-17.

     HYMNAL: Pp. 109, 139.

     The above is the first of a series of Addresses to Children by Bishop de Charms. The text will appear in the December issue.
LIMITATIONS OF SCIENCE 1929

LIMITATIONS OF SCIENCE       CHARLES RITTENHOUSE PENDLETON       1929

     (An Address delivered at the Annual Meeting of the Sons of the Academy, Toronto, Canada, July 1, 1929.)

     From the time astronomers proved that the earth is not the center of the universe, men of science and men of theology have been ranged, for the most part, in opposing camps. At first scientists were burned at the stake and forced to recant; now theologians are up for torture, not so bloody but just as cruel. Scientists have almost won the battle. Few there are now in the old Christian World who believe that science and Christian theology can belong to the same scheme Of things. A few believe that these two antagonists should be kept in watertight compartments of the mind-either a highly irrational conclusion, or the last gasp of despair! Only recently a famous lawyer (Darrow) has openly proclaimed that atheism has been proved, and a famous psychologist (Watson) has privately, though well known to readers of the NEW CHURCH LIFE, announced that in a few years human beings will be reproduced according to specifications and not by the caprice of their parents. The world is full of scientific atheism.

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     We like to think, in the Academy, that the New Church will change all this. Some day it will undoubtedly be changed. But the time does not appear to be drawing near. Instead, the New Church seems to be infested more and more with agnosticism and atheism; and the difficulty of meeting this condition becomes steadily more difficult as the Academy principles of education are extended to the ever-increasing field of applied science.

     It is the purpose of this paper to point out why science can never prove that Swedenborg was wrong in his testimony regarding the existence of life after death. If some one today should return to earth after a visit to the other life, and contradict Swedenborg as to its nature, we would have testimonial grounds for objection to Swedenborg's religion, but no scientific proof that man's existence ceased at death. If some one should discover a serious error in Swedenborg's Writings which could be demonstrated from things in this world, we would have proof that Swedenborg was mistaken in this instance, but no proof that the rest of his testimony was fallacious. Attacks upon his character seem to have failed completely; so that these two are the only scientific objections which can be raised against Swedenborg's Revelation. The impossibility of any scientific proof of atheism is the subject of this paper. The Writings indeed instruct us that nature may be used to confirm a belief in God or the reverse, but there can be no proof, in this world, of the existence of God. (D. L. W. 267.) Bear in mind, then, that I do not at- tempt to prove the existence of life after death; I attempt to show only that there is no proof of atheism.

     II. NO PROOF OF ATHEISM.

     A. No Proof by Opposites.

     It is a fundamental axiom of philosophy, as well as of all sound thinking, that there is no proof by opposites. Put in another form, this axiom is: "The failure to prove a thing, no matter how long the trial or how ardent the effort, does not Prove the opposite." Applied to our theme,-"Failure to prove the existence of life after death, after twenty centuries or more, by many zealous advocates, does not prove that there is no life after death." Examples in other fields are almost "too numerous to mention." Note, however, that lightning has been in the skies from the beginning of time, but electricity was discovered only a little over a century ago.

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"Radio" waves have existed as long as lightning, but were discovered only a few years ago. Who knows what untold phenomena will be discovered in the near future? If this is true of this obvious world of matter, why not at least equally so in that elusive world of mind? This is a statement of fact, absolutely scientific in character. It is not a prediction; it is a statement of what may happen in the future, based an what has happened in the past. Every true scientist recognizes the truth of this proposition. To go beyond this in either direction is to step out of the field of science into the sea of speculation. Most scientists accept this theorem, but many have nevertheless given up hope in a life after death; not because atheism has been proved, but because they think atheism is probably true.

     B. The Laws of Probability.

     The laws of probability enter here for consideration, because the atheist, if educated in science and mathematics, falls back on the probabilities involved. The laws of probability are laws of applied mathematics. They operate with almost the precision of pure mathematics. They can be relied upon to work if they are properly applied. Many of our most wonderful discoveries in the physical world have been found by these laws. But they are laws of error, or laws of chance, as they are called. The New Churchman will understand this statement better by the explanation that they are laws governing physical happenings Which are too small to be considered by the human mind. The toss of a coin is a good example. Some slight variation in the muscular action causes the coin to fall, sometimes head, Sometimes tail, and, in a large number of cases, half head, half tail. This is commonly called chance. Whatever it be, it is due to minute differences in the amount of muscular effort. If, now, we ask what way a tossed coin will fall, no one can tell. But if we ask how a great many trials will turn out, the answer is clear cut,-calf heads and half tails, -almost. Or if we go back to a single tossed coin, we say that the chances of its falling head are about even with the chances of its falling tail, or that the chances are one to one, or are one out of two, or are one-half. Finally we say that the probability of its falling Leads is one to two, or one-half.

     This is the correct use of the mathematical and scientific term "probability."

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In other words, when there are a number of happenings of two or more kinds, and experience teaches that the several kinds occur in a definite proportion, we are justified in saying that the probability is a certain mathematical ratio; or, if we wish to speak more vaguely, that the probability is great or small. If one makes favorable bets on such probabilities often enough, he will win in the long run.

     Obviously this is not the common use of the terms "probable" or "probability." In popular parlance, the term "probable" expresses the non-mathematical opinion of the speaker. Occasionally it is based upon some undigested past experiences, but all too often it is only a "hunch," if you please, or a guess. And one man's guess is as good as another's, "in fact, a little bit better."

     It is likely that no set of laws, mathematical or otherwise, is more misunderstood or misused than these laws of probability. They can not be made to apply to cases except where the number of events of a certain kind can be counted, and proportioned to those of another kind. But this is what is done when the agnostic says that there is very little probability of life after death.

     If some human beings achieved immortality, and some did not, and if we knew how many per hundred succeeded, then we could say of someone whose lot was unknown that his chances of immortality were great or small, such as the proportion was known to be. Of course, no such fantasy is possible. But we are told that a large proportion of those dying in the Christian world today are not saved. So by-the laws of probability we may say that the probability of any one person being saved is small. But what good comes of such an idea? That very person might go to the highest heaven. The probability is correct, the inference all wrong.

     To talk about the probabilities of life after death from any scientific and mathematical basis is most unscientific and unmathematical. From the scientific standpoint no one knows anything about life after death. Expressed in the law of probabilities, the chances are about even for and against immortality. Translated back into common English, this mathematical phrase means that no one knows anything about it from experimental evidence.

     This is an obvious misapplication of the law of probability. Other similar misapplications of this same law have been made, the results studied, and later compared with positive information, giving some rather startling results.

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A good example is as follows: A number of years ago, men might have speculated on the probability that gold existed in the sun. Having no data on this subject, the probabilities were one to two, or one-half, because there was just as much evidence for as against the proposition, i.e., none on either side. Next they considered the possibility of silver being in the sun, with the same result, i.e., one to two, or one-half. Then they considered the possibilities of both being in the sun. Here the probabilities are one to four, or one-fourth, that both will be there. (Parenthetically I may say that in tossing a coin it is much less probable that you will throw two heads in succession than that you throw one head.) After numerous calculations they considered the probability of all metals being in the sun, with the astounding result that there was only one chance in one hundred billion billions that all metals were there. Then somebody discovered the spectroscope, and found most of the metals in the sun.

     In cases like this, the laws of probability become foolish calculations based on utter ignorance. Scientists themselves have seen this. Such a misapplication of this true law has been called the law of "equal distribution of ignorance," and the basis on which it is founded is known as the "principle of insufficient reason." If we apply this to atheism, what do we get? Consider the first man to die. We have no scientific evidence as to whether he is still alive in another world or not. Therefore the probabilities that he still lives are one to two. Take the second man to die. You get the same result. Consider both; the probabilities that both are alive in another world are one to four. Consider all men who have died from this world. What is the probability that all of them are still alive? By the same law of the equal distribution of ignorance, we will find that the probabilities that all are still alive are one to so many billions that we cannot express it. There is no more proof here that all men are not alive in the spiritual world than there was proof that all metals were not in the sun.

     C. Laws of Scientific Proof.

     We have here a gross misapplication of the idea of proof. Probability is not proof. Nor is probability what it is commonly supposed to be. Probability is applicable to studies of error, of chance, of measurement, and like phenomena.

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It can never be a proof of the existence or non-existence of anything. The laws of proof of existence are quite a different set of laws, which we shall now examine.

     The laws of scientific proof, if they are applied correctly and without mistake, are very rigorous in their character. They prove the existence of a datum, or fail to prove it, with about as rigid a precision as anything known to the human mind. Almost the only chance of mistake is that the human mind is unable to think correctly. For example, if the shortest distance between two points is not a straight line, then the human mind cannot think correctly in terms of truth.

     But with this rigid precision go great limitations. Two of these we have already seen: (1) The absence of proof is no proof to the contrary. (2) The laws of probability do not apply to the existence or non-existence of an unknown. Another limitation is due to the character of the data which necessity imposes on the proof. All materials of scientific proof must be such that they can be measured by natural-material standards. An example will make this clear. The difference between a dead and a living animal is one of the most common experiences. Whatever it is that causes that difference we term "life." No one knows what it is, whether energy, substance, or something else. But we usually know if it is there. Can we measure it? No. No one has ever been able to devise a unit by which to measure the amount of life in an organism. All we know is that some are more easily killed than others. It appears from these circumstances that the underlying reality of life cannot yet be considered by scientific methods. It may never be so. It is an axiom that things, to be scientific, must be measured.

     The basic method of science is to try something and see what happens. Now we may try things on a man and find out what will kill him. But we cannot try killing him and find what happens to his mind after death. If we examine the scientific method we find it composed of four sets of trials: First: Try something and see what happens. Second: Try it over again a number of times, and see if the same thing always happens. Third: Try everything else, and see if there is anything else that will produce the same result.

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Fourth: Try to split your first experiment up into parts to see if one part of it will not produce the given result. After this procedure has been thoroughly carried out, you may be safe in drawing conclusions. This procedure is often summarized as follows: Hold all factors constant but one; wry this, and note the variations in the result. This is the only true principle of scientific proof. If applied to the belief in the life after death, we may see why man may confirm himself either in favor of God or in favor of nature. The factors which can be varied are all in this world; the results are all in the other, where they cannot be examined and measured. At the present time, then, the limitations of science are the limitations of the natural phenomenal world.

     III. THE FUNCTION OF SCIENCE.

     Many atheists are sincere men who feel that the world has suffered for untold centuries from torture, crime, and bigotry in the name of religion, and, what is even worse, from wasted energies and other retarding circumstances, all in the name of religion. Other atheists are suffering from the "publicity bug." True, they have lost their childhood beliefs; but they are trying to capitalize the notoriety they may gain by their claims. Very few true scientists who have devoted their energies to this subject are willing to come out strongly in favor of atheism, because of the impossibility of proving or even giving a good account of their beliefs, though probably the majority have lost hope of life after death.

     The phenomena of science always impress students with amazement at the enormous complexity of the universe. The rapid advance of science is almost overwhelming. The wonderful discoveries which appear today were mostly undreamed-of yesterday. With good reason do scientists feel reticent about expressing themselves concerning things they do not understand. It is but natural that they should feel that there is something more than they know on the inside of the universe. And in the New Church, of course, we believe that there is. We believe that the universe was created, not for the temporary ends of this world, but for the eternal ends of the other; and that the eternal ends are much harder to see than the temporary ones. This does not mean that God created the natural world to deceive us. For this, in the words of Descartes, "would have proved His skill, but demonstrated His frailty."

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It does mean, however, that in the very nature of things, eternal ends are hard to comprehend. No small part of this difficulty is due to the fact that temporary ends are in reality parts of the eternal ends. In fact, the eternal ends could not exist without the temporary ends. This I shall endeavor to make clear from a brief consideration of the nature of the human mind.

     A. The Nature of the Human Mind.

     Although the human mind and its circumstances are probably the hardest subject in the world to understand, there are some things which stand out clearly, and these are sufficient for our purposes. The one to which I wish to call your attention is, that there is no entrance to the human mind except through the senses, and that there: is no entrance to the senses save through the natural world. I do not wish to be misunderstood in this statement. I mean that nothing can come into a man's consciousness save through the avenue of the senses from the natural world. There are certain apparent exceptions connected with the higher regions of the mind which will be considered later.

     The mass of data from experience which has entered the mind through the senses is called the "memory." And the activity of the memory data is called "imagination." We may state our proposition a little differently now by saying that all the data of memory and imagination come from sense-material. Let me illustrate. You cannot imagine anything which has not come to you through your senses. You may combine the elements of sense-data in unusual ways and produce horrible monsters, bizarre creatures, unheard-of contraptions, but in every case these structures of the imagination are built of sense-material. There are no new elements; nothing which has not come from the senses. It is even difficult, perhaps impossible, to think of a condition involving the imagination of anything which does not come through the senses. I can, however, offer you two examples, one historical, the other introspective.

     A certain Oriental Potentate who had lived all his life in a warm semicivilized country could not form the concept of solid water. He could not imagine it, could not believe that it existed, and did not recognize it when it was shown him. Now consider the second example.

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Can you imagine a solid object which has not color? (I use color in the broad sense to include black, white, and the grey series.) I believe that you cannot. All objects must be thought of as colored. And yet natural objects have not color; they have geometrical forms only, which, combined with their either absorb or reflect certain trains of light-waves which differ from each other only in their length and frequency. Color exists only in the human mind. It is not an attribute of the objects around us. We can see that this is true, but we cannot imagine these objects without color. Why? Because we have never seen them without color. We cannot imagine anything, the elements of which have not come to us through our senses.

     Doubtless Revelation will seem to you to be an exception, but it is not! Everything which has ever been revealed is either sense-material or based upon sense-material. In the early days of this planet the Lord revealed Himself to men, but always through the natural senses. And so it is in our Revelation. Everything which Swedenborg has revealed comes to us through our senses. All ideas and truths are based on sense-data.

     How about Swedenborg himself? I do not believe that he was any different. He tells us that the Lord gave him the revelation while he read and meditated on the Word. Here we find the normal operation of the human mind, but of course with added intensity of the inner light. When he was in the spiritual world, the same law was operating. He saw and heard and used his other senses as in this world. There was no other avenue to his mind than the senses. The only difference was that the earthly covering had been temporarily drawn aside. This was the great miracle of the ages.

     And about the angels themselves? They use the same sense organs, minus the material covering, and the same sense-material which they had gathered in this world. There they have many things different from those Which can be seen in this world. Some of this is reorganized sense-material from this world, but much is not. The sense-material from all the earths in the universe is theirs for the taking. It is interesting to speculate whether there are, in the spiritual world, any of the prehistoric monsters from ancient times. They may not be there, but if they are, Swedenborg could not very well describe them to us if we had not seen them ourselves, or unless he drew a picture, and Swedenborg was no artist.

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You cannot describe a grasshopper, as many college students find out, so that anybody can tell it from a cricket, unless you use drawings.

     I think we are safe in saying that sense-material from the natural world is necessary for all consciousness. This is a very sweeping statement, but I think it is true; for, as I have indicated above, and will return to shortly, all the higher functions of the mind rest in this sense-data. Scientists have seen this. Atheists make great use of it in their reasonings about immortality. But they ignore certain other laws of the human mind. They ignore them or try to reason around them. For example, how is this sense-data moulded into a state of consciousness? Where does color come from? (I have already shown you that only waves of the ether exist in the natural world.) Where does consciousness itself come from?

     Many efforts have been made to explain these things materially. Consciousness once was said to be a characteristic of all matter, and more especially of the organized matter of the human brain. But more lately consciousness has been denied to all animals, and even to man himself by a certain advanced school of psychologists.

     Again, many efforts have been made to explain the spiritual laws of the mind in a purely natural way. The association of ideas was once explained by linking nerve fibres together. Ideas themselves were explained by vibrations of these fibres. But almost a century has elapsed, with nothing to indicate that this method of explanation is true. Love, affection, reason, and the unconscious organizing force of the human mind, have never been explained in a natural way. The trite answer that they are forms of energy is true enough, but does not mean anything in explaining the nature of the microcosm.

     Swedenborg offers us an explanation of these phenomena which can at the present time be used to explain the more obvious phenomena of the human mind. He says that there is an activity from within flowing down into the lower planes of the mind, molding and organizing the sense-data from the natural world. This activity descending to the mind from the soul is called "spiritual influx, while the activity (sense-data) which mounts from the natural world is called "physical influx." That system of philosophy which is based upon physical influx alone is roundly condemned in the Writings; while that based upon spiritual influx is not any too warmly praised. (Influx 20.)

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The reason is, that matter by itself will not explain the human mind. Physical influx is purely materialistic, and would never produce an organism more living than a photographic plate; while spiritual influx alone would produce a living, though unconscious, being. Both kinds of influx are necessary to produce a living, conscious human being. Swedenborg's scheme in general is as follows:

     The activity of sense-data mounting upwards from the sense organs is met by activity descending from within. It is molded and organized into a form called the natural mind, which consists of memory, reminiscence, imagination, and natural reasonings. This is a new form of activity, and it is conscious activity. It is to be emphasized here that there are three fundamentals of the natural mind: sense-data from the natural world, spiritual influx from the soul, and consciousness, which results from a combination of the other two.

     The conscious activity of the natural mind (memory and imagination) tends to mount higher. It may or may not mount higher, just as sensations may or may not mount to consciousness. On this higher plane it is likewise met by descending spiritual influx, and from the union of the two the plane of the rational is formed. This plane, like that of the natural mind, has three fundamentals: Influx of activity from below (physical influx), influx from above (spiritual influx), and a third, all its own consciousness but so full of influx from above that we are often unaware of its existence; as, for example, in unconscious reasonings, where we reason out something almost or quite unconsciously. This is the highest plane of the conscious mind. Above this is the unconscious soul. Either the activity from the rational mind does not mount any higher, or it is so full of activity from above, and has so little left of activity from the sense-organs, that we are unconscious of any activity on this plane.

     It is apparent from Swedenborg's scheme that sense-data are the basis of all consciousness. (Note that I use the word "basis" in its strict sense, i.e., the base or resting place of consciousness.) Indeed, introspection tells us the same thing. When we think, it is always about things of the sense; or if it be abstract things we think about, we have word-images which have entered through the senses, which serve in place of an object.

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It is very hard to think of an abstract idea without a word to represent it, though it can be done. I think, however, that there never was an abstract idea that did not rest upon some set of concrete objects. Abstract ideas are generalizations from much sense-data.

     So far I have considered only the intellectual side of the human mind. The voluntary side of consciousness obeys laws apparently similar, but fundamentally different. There is no ascent from below in the matter of loves and affections, but these attach themselves to the sense-data. It seems possible to show that with every sensation comes some affection. But the affection does not come from the sensation, because there is almost no constant relation between different sensations and affections. Scientists say that every sensation arouses some affection. It appears probable from Swedenborg's system that affections are activities of a character different from the activities of thought, which always descend from above and attach themselves to some sensory material. If this is the case, what would happen if such activities should descend to the plane of the lower mind and not attach themselves to sensory material. Philosophically, it is a hard question to answer. Practically, we find human beings with this abnormality in certain types of insanity, e.g., certain emotional insanity cases.

     Following our postulate that consciousness comes from the meeting of spiritual and natural influx, we should expect to find emotions and affections almost unconscious; and so they are. We know little about them in ourselves, because as soon as we try to think of them they are gone. We know them best by the way they move other people.

     B. The Nature of the Universe.

     One may justly wonder why the universe, guided by a Spiritual Being, should be so formed that the mind of man is so signally tied down to sense-data. But Swedenborg, in his Revelation, gives the reason clear and concise. God created the universe for the eternal happiness of the human race. An essential of human happiness is that man shall be in the image of God. To be in an image of God he must be in freedom, that is, in an image of freedom, because only one omnipotent God can have absolute freedom.

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To be in an image of freedom, man must seem to live from himself, and to get his own ideas and thoughts from his own activity. This is provided by the natural world sense-data, and by consciousness resting upon such sense-data. If this were not the case, or if man could perceive the life flowing in from above, he would have no apparent life of his own. He would be an automaton, a robot, a mere machine. For a machine in motion receives activity from the Lord. All activity is uncreated influx flowing into created forms.

     It follows as a necessity of this fundamental nature of creation that man shall not be able to see the inner workings of God in his soul. Hence the dictum of the Writings that both God and atheism may be confirmed from nature, but neither proved. Atheists may confirm their belief that there is no God, but they cannot prove it.

     IV. SUMMARY.

     1. Failure to prove the existence of God is no proof of atheism.

     2. Probability based on anything save the relative frequency of a given event is based on the equal distribution of ignorance, and vitiated by the principle of insufficient reason.

     3. The scientific method cannot examine any process, the results of which do not appear before the natural senses. Any phenomena examined in this way if the results are in the spiritual, are beyond the limitations of science.

     4. The human mind draws all its data from the natural world, but gets its organizing forces from the spiritual world. Scientists have tried for centuries to give some natural account of these organizing forces of the mind, but in vain.

     5. The universe is so created that man may not know the nature of this organizing force of the mind save by Revelation. This is to the end that he may have some individuality all his own.

     Atheism cannot be proved, nor can the New Church Doctrines be proved. But the New Church Doctrines may be made safe from the attack of science, provided New Churchmen defend themselves with the weapons of science. It is the more subtle arguments and elusive persuasions masquerading under the guise of science that we are most especially to fear. These must be studied carefully, and the scientific falsities exposed.

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NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS 1929

NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS       Rev. HUGO LJ. ODHNER       1929

     The Book of Joshua.

     In the Word, the "Pentateuch" (Five Books of Moses) is followed by one which takes its name from Joshua, the militant successor of the meek lawgiver. Joshua's mission, of which we read in the rest of this year's calendar assignments, was to conquer and colonize the promised land, driving out the former inhabitants. The clear significance of this task is seen when we know the corrupt, cruel and voluptuous character of Canaanite worship. In the progress of man's regeneration the duty of reconquering and purifying the interiors of the mind from the evils and falsities which obsess it is equally urgent, before the spiritual mind can at all be opened and the conjunction with heaven reestablished with man. And no sentimental compromises are permitted in the battle against evil. Evil and falsity in the abstract must be exterminated, root and branch. The idolatrous nations of Canaan, with their cities and fortifications, also represent the "former heavens" which exist in the spiritual world before a last judgment,-strongholds of evil spirits, built on the high places and mountains of the world of spirits. Their expulsion is followed by the establishment of "new heavens" in the same regions, from colonies of souls which had been held captive by the hells in the "lower earth," just as the Israelites had been enslaved in Egypt.

     Degrees of Atmosphere.

     The remarkable treatment of the subject of discrete degrees which is contained in the Last Judgment, posth., nos. 303-313 (towards the end of the October readings) warrants a special mention because of the fact that it is the most explicit statement about the existence of three atmospheres in each world that Swedenborg has made up to this time (ca. 1760).

     Indeed, between 1747 and 1759 Swedenborg was silent as to the exact number of the atmospheres. In Apocalypse Explained, n. 726, written in 1759 or 1760, a first mention is made of a series of three auras in each world; and the next statement is the one in the passage of the Readings which we now propose to consider.

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In the third and fourth parts of the Divine Love and Wisdom, published in 1763, the doctrine of the atmospheres is given in its final form.

     Atmospheres are spheres or emanations around large objects such as the sun and the earths. The atmospheres are said to proceed from the sun, and they mediate between the sun and the earth, bearing its heat and light "down" to the soil. In his philosophical writings,-the record of his preparation for his later mission of becoming the revelator of the New Jerusalem,-Swedenborg from the first assumes the existence of a series of elements or atmospheres, but it would seem that his terminology is not sufficiently fixed to compare them one by one with the atmospheres mentioned in the Writings. Several efforts have been made in this direction, with differing degrees of success. The most elaborate and best known system of "correlation" was that of Miss Lillian Beekman, which will always remain of great historical interest. Here we shall only review some of the statements made in the Writings about the various natural atmospheres, ethers or auras, which are dead and material because they have their origin in a sun which is mere fire.

     In general, all these atmospheres consist of minute discreted parts, without the pressure of which the bodies of men and objects of matter could not be held together in any form. (W. 174, 176.) When acted upon in the mass or in volume, the atmospheres and airs present heat, but when modified Singly (singulatim) they present light. (E. 726.) The natural atmospheres are not inwardly living, but are environed by Spiritual atmospheres from the sun of heaven. (W. 175.) They are mutually discrete, in such a way that no quality of the air, for instance, can be elevated to any quality of the ether, nor any of this to any quality of the aura. (T. 32.) Each degree is discreted by composition from the next higher. (W. 190.) The continuous operation of spiritual forces into the ethers of nature gives to these natural forces a conatus and flow from which the "natural" form, which is exhibited in the vegetable kingdom, arises.

     1. "The purer ether," which is universal, and from which is all gravitation (J. post., 312) is the highest or third degree of atmosphere, and is called "aura " (T. 32:8).

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This is nearest to the sun (E. 726), and is "highest of all" (C. L. 188e). We may infer from D. L. W. 176 that since the natural mind is organized of natural substance as well as spiritual, it needs a natural atmosphere which directly affects it; this is the aura. (Compare S. D. 222.)

     2. "The middle ether," which is farther away from the sun, forms the vortex around the planets; in this are the moon and the satellites, and from it is magnetism* (J. post., 312; E. 726). It is often spoken of in the plural, as "ethers," since each planetary vortex is a separate ether. It is a purer atmosphere, which belongs to sight and reflects objects to the eyes. (D. 152; A. 37022, etc.) By it the terraqueous globe is held together and made to revolve (T. 30), and it also holds the interior viscera of man together by its pressure. (A. 6057.)
     * In S. D. 222 (a note dated "1747, October 27th, o. s.") it is assumed that there are four natural or solar atmospheres, three of which, by the aid of a spiritual influx, operate in some way upon the natural mind. The purer ether, our "n. 1," is there said to produce the magnetic forces about the magnet and about our earth, as well as to govern the situation of the planet with respect to the poles of the world. But this was written before any doctrine of the spiritual atmospheres and their parallelism to the natural ethers had been formulated.-H. L. O.

     3. "The ultimate ether," which is the air (J. post., 312), exerts its pressure upon the externals of the body, and is the element serving for respiration, speech, hearing and sound.

     Water-vapor, or mist, is also called an atmosphere in some passages.

     Six Spiritual Atmospheres.

     The teaching that there are three spiritual atmospheres, corresponding in every way to the three natural, and the respective abodes of the three heavens, is no doubt familiar to our readers. But in n. 312 of the Last Judgment, posthumous, the unique statement is made that the angels of the celestial kingdom "are" in the two higher spiritual atmospheres, the angels of the spiritual kingdom "are" in the lowest spiritual and the highest natural atmospheres, and men in the world "are" in the ether and the air!

     The impression thus conveyed that certain angels dwell in the purer ether (which disagrees with the assurance in D. L. W. 92) is immediately amended by the reflection that it is the degrees "in which men and angels are as to their thoughts, their affections, and their wisdom" (L. J. post., n. 311) that are here described; and such degrees are purely spiritual, even though they may be operating, and even formed, within the planes of nature.

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     The next number explains the difficulty by showing that there are really six spiritual atmospheres: three are in the spiritual world proper, and three operate in nature, closely accompanying the three natural ethers and empowering the natural minds of men with sensation and thought.

     This same doctrine is referred to in the True Christian Religion, n. 76, where it is shown that the Lord first created three spiritual or substantial atmospheres, one from the other, for the three heavens, and "that then the sun from which all natural things proceed was created at the same time, and by this similarly three atmospheres encompassing the former as the shell does the kernel or the bark the wood; and finally, through these, the orb of the earth."

     The spiritual spheres which thus inflowed directly into nature, "surrounding" the dead natural elements (D. L. W. 175), yet also furnishing them with an internal force, may be called "lower degrees of things spiritual" (A. E. 1210:5): "There are also as many degrees of things spiritual below the heavens, that is, in nature" and in the degrees of man's natural mind.

     This influx of the spiritual into nature also endows natural atmospheres and exhalations with a formative or plastic force sometimes referred to in the Writings. (See Ath. Cr. 26, 178; A. B. 12012, 12092.)

     It is a humiliating fact that while men live on earth their thoughts and conscious reactions are mostly on the plane of the ether and the air. But if we suffer our minds to be opened interiorly, we may even now think and feel together with the angels.

     Conversations with Angels.

     Under this heading, Swedenborg has made a number of notes about his converse with angels. We would call attention here to n. 9, where it is said that "natural objects are felt in the organs of the body as if they were in them, and spiritual objects in like manner are felt as if in the mind, although they are not there." This seems to be convincing teaching about the "objectivity" of the spiritual world, and the fact that angels sense objects which are around them. The spiritual world is thus not merely "ideal."

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     It might be added, on the other hand, that the objects of the other world, which appear as if in space, yet are not so. (Div. Wis. VII. 5.) We have the further teaching that, instead of material "objects," there are in the other world "angelic societies" (J. 9); which of course shows that all things there seen are of some human origin, i.e., are outward manifestations of the affections and mental uses of the angels.

     Justification and Good Works.

     The little section with the above title, bound in the first volume of the Posthumous Theological Works, is omitted from the Calendar Readings, being only a digest of some of the voluminous Roman Catholic dogmatic decisions of the famous Council of Trent. The Reformation seemed for a while to threaten the very existence of the Catholic hierarchy, and the Council was held to restate and confirm the ancient ecclesiastical customs and traditions of Rome, such as those involved in the authority of popes, councils, church-fathers, and bishops, the belief in purgatory, indulgences, absolution, invocation of saints, image-worship, masses, transubstantiation, etc. the Council was held, off and on, in the years 1545 to 1564, and at its end all the heresies of the Reformers and the views or practices of various extremists had been satisfactorily "anathematized." Swedenborg's extracts are from the tenets and canons on "Justification" or salvation, which, Luther falsely maintained, was obtained by faith alone; whereas the Catholics held that the free will of man, excited by God, cooperates by charity. Unfortunately, this truth, though acknowledged by the Council, was made of none effect by the Catholic traditions, and charity was perverted into merely natural good, and into blind ecclesiastical obedience.

     Calvin's Idea of Christ.

     During his earthly life, Calvin (1509-1564) was very zealous to defend the Athanasian Creed, with its fatal doctrine of three coeternal persons within the Godhead; and this, his zeal, perhaps peppered by wounded vanity, led him to betray and thus condemn Michael Servetus, the only real Reformer of the times, to certain death.

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     The November readings disclose why Calvin, otherwise reputed as a pattern of justice, made that merciless "error," now so much regretted by his modern followers. In his interiors, Calvin thought that the Lord Jesus Christ as to His Human was a mere man, the son of Joseph; but that this Jesus was united by a "hypostatic union " to the second person of the Godhead, the "Son." Such a "hypostatic union" really means a union into one personality, or individual; but Calvin, by a mental reservation, was not willing to grant this, but-in common with many other Christians-retained an idea of Christ as a separate person, below and distinct from the three divine persons! And this tendency towards a separation of the "two natures," Divine and Human, in Christ, is characteristically present in the thought of the Calvinistic or Reformed Churches, while the Lutheran Churches have displayed a leaning towards the breaking down of the distinctions between the two "natures." (See McClintock and Strong, Encycl., art."Christology.")

     Servetus occupied an unprecendented isolation in Christian history, in being the open champion of the sole Divinity of the Lord Jesus Christ, claiming that "in Christ alone God subsists and is seen; there is no face or person or hypostasis of God except Christ alone." Servetus, therefore, threatened the inmost thoughts of Calvin,-thoughts which Calvin did not dare to publish, or even to admit to himself that he possessed, but which were tied up eternally as confirmations of his own self-love, and broke forth into a ruthless and destructive wrath against the clear-sighted Servetus. On the ultimate fate of Calvin, see T. C. R. 798.

     "God the Savior, Jesus Christ."

     The little section with the above title, which probably dates from 1768, contains a few remarkable statements about the glorified Human of the Lord. Our readers may, however, be puzzled by the sentence in n. 42, which says: "He must be approached immediately, and if He is approached immediately, communication is intercepted." For the second "immediately," Swedenborg has "mediately." (See Photolithographed Manuscripts of Coder 48.) The meaning evidently is, that if man prays to saints, or to Mary, or to the invisible "God the Father," rather than to the Lord in His Divine Human, the prayer is obstructed and turned back from heaven.

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TERM "IMAGINARY HEAVENS." 1929

TERM "IMAGINARY HEAVENS."       Editor       1929


NEW CHURCH LIFE
Office a Publication, Lancaster, Pa.
Published Monthly By
THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM
BRYN ATHYN, PA.
Editor                    Rev. W. B. Caldwell, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager          Mr. H. Hyatt, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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

     TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$3.00 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single Copy, 30 cents
     It is well known to readers of the Heavenly Doctrines that the "first heaven and the first earth" which had passed away when John "saw a new heaven and a new earth" (Rev. 21:1) refer to certain great societies of spirits who had entered the world of spirits during the Christian era, but who had not yet been judged to their eternal dwelling places. They had formed so-called "heavens" on the border of the true heaven, and these were tolerated until the time of the Last Judgment in the year 1757, when they "passed away," that is, were broken up and dispersed when their occupants were finally judged.

     Such temporary "heavens," we know, were also formed during the period of the Most Ancient Church, being judged at the time of the Flood, and again during the Ancient Church, which was brought to judgment when the Lord came into the world. (L. J. 46, 67.) The phenomenon has thus been a recurrent one in the history of the race upon this earth, and the underlying causes have been revealed to us. It is not our purpose, however, to enter into this phase of the subject, but to call attention to the terms used in the Writings where these temporary "heavens" are described, and to offer some comment upon them.

     In referring to such "heavens," New Churchmen most commonly use the term "imaginary heavens," although, so far as we are aware, it occurs but once in the Writings, while quite a number of other designations are more frequently employed, each of them being more or less descriptive of the character and state of the spirits who formed and inhabited such abodes.

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     THE VARIOUS TERMS USED.

     1. First Heaven Primum Coelum. (L. J. 66.)

     2. Prior or Former Heaven-Prizes Coelum. (A. R. 865, 877.)

     3. Old Heaven-Vetus Coelum. (S. D. 5377, 5742, 5746, 5765.)

     4. Resemblance or Image of Heaven-Instar Coeli. (L. J. 69, etc.)

     5. Quasi Heavens-Quasi coeli and tanquam coeli. (A. E. 702; C. J. 10; S. D. 5765 1/3.)

     6. Artificial Heavens-Artificiales Coeli. (T. C. R. 818; C. J. 57.)

     7. Factitious Heavens-Factitii Coeli. (J. Post. 134. Factitius is derived from facio-to make, and here means that such heavens were "made by art," and were thus artificial. The Latin word Factitius is from fingo-to fix, invent; as "figment of the imagination." It is thus similar, but not the same in meaning as factiuis. In English, the two words are distinct.)

     8. Imaginary Heavens-Imaginarii Coeli. (A. R. 865.)

     Before offering a suggestion as to why New Churchmen have adopted the last-named term as the most suitable for general use, we shall quote the passage in which it occurs. In the Apocalypse Revealed, where it explains how "the heaven and the earth fled away" from Him who "sat upon the great white throne" (Rev. 20:11), we read:

     "This signifies a universal judgment made by the Lard upon all the prior heavens, in which were those who were in civil and moral good and no spiritual good, and who thus simulated Christians in externals, but were devils in internals; which heavens, with their earth, were utterly dissipated, so that nothing of them appeared any more. . . From the time when the Lord was in the world, when He executed a last judgment in Person, it was permitted that those who were in civil and moral good, although in no spiritual good, should remain longer than the rest in the world of spirits, which is midway between heaven and hell; and it was at length granted them to make fixed abodes (habitationes constantes) for themselves, and also, by the abuse of correspondences, and by fantasies, to form for themselves as it were heavens, which also they did form in great abundance.

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But when these had been multiplied to such an extent that they intercepted spiritual light and spiritual heat between the higher heavens and men on earth, the Lord then effected a last judgment, and dissipated those imaginary heavens." (A. R. 865.)

     This is the only passage we know in which the term "imaginary heavens " occurs, and it also indicates the character of the spirits who formed and occupied such "heavens." We may here note other descriptions:

     "By the 'first heaven' is not meant the heaven that was from those who had become angels, from the first creation of the world even to this time, for that heaven is constant and permanent to eternity. But by the 'first heaven' is meant that which was composed of others than those who had become angels, and for the most part of those who could not become angels. It is called 'heaven' because they who were in it dwelt on high, associated together on rocks and mountains, in similar delights as to natural things, but in no spiritual delights. For most who enter the spiritual world from the earth believe that they are in heaven when they are on high, and that they are in heavenly joy when they are in delights like those in which they had been in the world." (L. J. 66.)

     "The 'former heaven' consisted of those who were in external worship without internal, and who therefore lived an external moral life, although they were merely natural, and not spiritual." (A. E. 391.)

     "They lived a moral and seemingly spiritual life in externals, from custom and habit in the world, but were interiorly conjoined with hell." (A. E. 702:5.)

     "The 'first heaven' consisted of Christians, Mohammedans and Gentiles who had lived in a holy external in the world, but in no holy internal." (L. J. 67, 69.)

     "All those who had gathered together beneath heaven, and in various places had formed for themselves as it were heavens, which also they called 'heavens,' were conjoined with the angels of the ultimate heaven, but only as to externals, and not as to internals." (C. L. J. 10.)

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     From these brief descriptions we may see why the term "imaginary heavens" was employed to designate those outer images of heaven whose inhabitants, for the most part, were hypocrites who simulated the Christian life. Like "wolves in sheep's clothing," they could "deceive even the elect " of the ultimate heaven itself. They imagined themselves to be in heaven, but it was rather by the fantasy of perverted imagination that they had reared their pseudo- heavenly abodes on high. This they did from selfish, evil loves. They were internally devils, conjoined with the hells, and not with the true and genuine heaven, except outwardly. It is doubtless this contrast of the spurious and fantastic with the true and genuine that New Churchmen have found in the expression "imaginary heavens," and which has led to its adoption and common use in the Church as the most convenient general term, although it occurs but once in the Writings.

     We should note, however, that the term has other applications than that given above, where it refers specifically to those giant formations in the world of spirits which were tolerated during the decline of the three great Churches of the past,-the Most Ancient, the Ancient, and the Christian Churches. But we are assured in the Heavenly Doctrine that such accumulations in the world of spirits will never again be permitted, because the New Church will be progressively established, and will not undergo consummation. (Coronis 24.) That intermediate world is kept clear of obstructions by frequent judgments of individuals and groups. "Some tarry there for only a month or a year, some for ten years, and even to thirty years. Those to whom it was granted to make for themselves as it were heavens [were tolerated] for some centuries, but at this day not beyond twenty years." (A. R. 866.) On a smaller scale, therefore, groups of spirits may still form "imaginary heavens."

     A man in the world commonly forms some conception of the heaven to which he aspires, picturing in imagination the supreme good, the highest delight, in which he thinks he would like to live forever. With the natural man, it is a place of external delights; but with the spiritual man, it is primarily a state of internal delight, to which he knows all corresponding externals are added in heaven. And it is of Divine order that everyone entering the spiritual world, whether he be good or evil, is allowed to try out and experience the kind of heaven he had imagined in the world.

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     Good spirits, we are told, before they have been prepared for admission to heaven, "sometimes form heavens for themselves from the fantasy and imagination remaining with them "from life in the world, (S. D. 438.) But experience disillusions them, and they find that the ideas of heavenly joy and eternal happiness which they had cherished in the world were those of an "imaginary heaven. We are all familiar with the graphic account of the Christian spirits who experienced such disillusionments. (C. L. 2-10.)

     Evil spirits also may indulge in the creation of false heavens. By phantasy and magical arts they imitate the externals of the true heaven (S. D. 2558, 5640:2), making for themselves an image of heaven (simulacrum coeli) which may be called a fictitious heaven (from fingo-to feign, counterfeit, invent. See A. C. 586, 1298:2).

     These are forms of "imaginary heavens" that are now of continual occurrence with men in the world and spirits after death. But their scope and duration in that world are limited by frequent judgments and dispersions, that evil may not gain the ascendancy as in the past, impairing equilibrium and thus the spiritual freedom of the man of the Church.

     SOJOURN IN THE WORLD OF SPIRITS.

     In connection with the statement made in A. R. 866, quoted above, it is our understanding that "as it were heavens"-groups or societies formed of a number of spirits-are not now allowed to remain longer than twenty years, but that the individual may tarry longer n the world of spirits, in some cases for thirty years. On this we read elsewhere:

     "In the world of spirits there is an immense number, because the first meeting of all who die is there, and there all are explored and prepared. There is no fixed term of their stay there. Some merely enter that world, being soon either taken up into heaven or cast down into hell; some remain there only for some weeks; some for many years, but not more than thirty. (H. H. 426.) Some Gentiles may be initiated in a single night, but most Christians with difficulty in thirty years. (A. C. 2595.) With some there may be an extension of time even to fifty years. (S. D. 5529, 5693, 5694.)

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CHURCH CONTRIBUTIONS 1929

CHURCH CONTRIBUTIONS       HUBERT HYATT       1929

Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE:

     In the BULLETIN for September appears a Report of the Annual Meeting of the Sons of the Academy held at Toronto last July. In this Report (p. 29), without relevant context, appears the following paragraph:

     "A resolution was seconded that the Sons appoint a Committee to report and advise on the subject of Church contributions, but on motion it was laid on the table, on the ground that it trespassed on a field belonging to the priesthood."

     No objection whatsoever is being brought against this resolution being laid on the table on this particular occasion. But that the resolution was laid on the table "on the ground that it trespassed on a field belonging to the priesthood" presents an astonishing point of view.

     I write to yourself rather than to the Editor of the BULLETIN, because the next issue of the latter is not due until next March, and it seems advisable to publish at a much earlier date the opinion opposing that which holds the subject of Church contributions to be in a field belonging exclusively to the priesthood.

     From the reports which I have been publishing during the past seven years, it is evident that probably half the members of the General Church do not contribute to its material support. This involves only one of the problems included in the subject of Church contributions, but it will serve to illustrate the point that this subject is manifestly one which calls more urgently for the attention of the laity than of the priesthood.

     With much wisdom, and nothing of selfishness, the priesthood of the General Church makes an almost universal practice of abstaining from discussion of the subject of Church contributions. This helps to create a situation wherein the initiative and responsibility for the material support of the work of the Church rests upon the laity. And it is a situation of which the laity should not take advantage.

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     But, considering, among other matters, the number of General Church contributors and the inadequate support received by some of the priests, does it not appear very much as if the laity is taking some advantage? Does it not seem that the laymen, including both Sons and Fathers, have a very definite duty before them? Is it not clear as day that the subject of Church contributions should be kept on the table, and be given continuous attention, on the ground that it is in a field belonging very definitely to the laity? If not, or if any other side to this subject is being seriously advanced, I, for one, should like to hear all about it.

     Yours for Church contributions continuously,
     HUBERT HYATT,
Treasurer of the General Church.
BRYN ATHYN, October 3, 1929.
ORPHANAGE FUND 1929

ORPHANAGE FUND       Walter C. Childs       1929

To the Members of the General Church:

     To conserve the growth of the Church, and to meet the desire of New Church parents, in case of their death, to have their children reared in the Church, the Academy instituted our orphanage use in the year 1883.

     During the years which have elapsed, the use has developed, slowly but continuously. So far as possible, the effort has been to assist widowed mothers, members of the General Church, enabling them to maintain their homes and their children while located where the children could have the advantages of an Academy school. At the present time three widows, with children numbering nine who are attending Academy schools, are receiving monthly assistance amounting to a total of $2,820.00 annually.

     Contributions for the support of the use are made to the Treasurer of the Orphanage Fund Committee, which Committee is appointed and controlled by the Executive Committee of the General Church.

     A growing Church and the emergencies of life make almost certain the need, perhaps imminent, for largely increased expenditures for the support of the Church's fatherless children. As matters stand, we must rely upon increasing the number of voluntary contributors to the Orphanage Fund. Contributions in any amount will be-gratefully appreciated.

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     The Treasurer of the General Church holds in trust for the Orphanage Fund bequests and gifts amounting to $4,500.00, invested in securities which yield an annual income of about $260.00. This is all; yet it is manifest that the support of a use of this nature should have as its basis a substantial, secured income.

     In conclusion, therefore, it is respectfully urged that the members of the General Church, in any prospective wills, give consideration to the use of the Orphanage Fund.

     Also, it is suggested that in any existing will, much and continuing good may be accomplished simply by the addition of a codicil naming the Orphanage Fund. Sincerely and fraternally yours,
     THE ORPHANAGE FUND COMMITTEE,
          By Walter C. Childs, Treasurer.

     FORM OF BEQUEST.
I hereby give and bequeath unto the General Church of the New Jerusalem, a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Illinois, the sum of $. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ., for the uses of the Orphanage Fund.

     FORM OF CODICIL.
I, . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ., the within named testator (or testatrix) do hereby make and publish this codicil, to be added to my last will and testament, bearing date the . . . . . . . . day of A. D. 192. . . .
in manner following, to wit:

     1. I hereby give and bequeath unto the General Church of the New Jerusalem, a corporation organized under the laws of the State of Illinois, the sum of $. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . for the uses of the Orphanage Fund.

     2. I do hereby ratify and confirm my said will in all other respects.

     IN WITNESS WHEREOF I have hereunto set my hand and seal this . . . . . . . . . . . . day of . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .in the year of our Lord one thousand nine hundred and . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

     . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(SEAL)

     Signed, sealed, published and declared by the said as and for a codicil to his (or her) last will and testament, in the presence of us, who, in his (or her) presence, and in the presence of each other, have, at his (or her) request, subscribed our names as witnesses thereto.

     . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . residing at . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . residing at . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
Note. A will or codicil containing a bequest to a charitable corporation should be attested by two disinterested witnesses. Such witnesses should not be officers or directors of the General Church.

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Church News 1929

Church News       Various       1929

     THE PACIFIC COAST.

     My visit to the Pacific Coast this year was more than usually delightful because of Mrs. Waelchli's accompanying me and meeting my many good friends in the various localities. Aside from visiting the Circles, we did considerable sightseeing in that wonderful country, but to tell of this would not properly belong to this report.

     On June 27th we arrived at LOS ANGELES, to remain for five weeks. It was a pleasure to note the progress the Society had made under the care of the Rev. Hendrik Boef during his nine months' ministrations. What makes the church life difficult is the long distances that the members live apart. Those who live nearest to the place where services are held are five miles distant. Others have ten, fifteen, twenty, thirty, fifty and sixty miles to come. Mr. Boef's parish, from end to end, has an extent of eighty miles. Because of this circumstance, attendance at meetings cannot be as large as it would otherwise be. But Mr. Boef, now that his health has greatly improved, has in mind plans for meeting these conditions. During our stay, I preached four times, administered the Holy Supper, conducted Sunday School once, doctrinal class once at Los Angeles and once at Ontario, and officiated at the wedding of Miss Bertha Unruh, of Los Angeles, and Mr. Emanuel Hansen, of Spokane. One Sunday we had the pleasure of hearing a sermon by the Rev. R. W. Brown, of Bryn Athyn.

     August 7th to 13th we were at the home of Mr. and Mrs. A. E. Bundsen, at BURLINGAME, near San Francisco. During these six days, four evening doctrinal classes were held in the family circle. Sunday, the 11th, we had a most enjoyable day. Four persons came from Oakland, one from Palo Alto, and four-Mr. and Mrs. Pierre Vinet and Mr. Vinet's two sisters from Santa Cruz; so we had an attendance of fourteen at services, of whom nine partook of the Holy Supper. After services, all remained for lunch and a social afternoon in the Bundsen garden. One morning Mrs. Bundsen took us to Oakland to visit the Rev. and Mrs. L. G. Jordan and their daughter, Miss Susan. We found Mrs. Jordan confined to her bed, having been injured in a fall, but recovering, and we were permitted to see her. We had about an hour's conversation with Mr. Jordan, and, as ever, this was a pleasure and a privilege, because of his wide range of knowledge and his interesting manner of imparting it. Also, Mr. and Mrs. Jordan and Miss Susie were eager for news of their old friends in the East. On another day I spent two hours, including lunch, with Mr. E. H. Nutter, of San Francisco. We talked of many things relative to the Church. Mr. Nutter told of the radio broadcasting done at Los Angeles By the Rev. Mr. Murray, and of the many orders for copies of the Writings that resulted; and he expressed the hope that the General Church would do evangelistic work of this kind.

     For a week, beginning August 16th, we were the guests of Mr. and Mrs. John Teuscher, members of Convention, and old-time friends of mine, at PORTLAND. There are in Portland two members of the General Church,-Mr. Harry Putnam and Mrs. Bessie Sweet. They and the Teuschers and we were together on several occasions. On Sunday we had a picnic in Mount Tabor Park, and after the dinner, while we were still seated about the I table, I gave a sermon in an informal way.

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One evening, also, there was a doctrinal class, at which we had the pleasure of having with us the pastor of the Portland Society and his wife, the Rev. and Mrs. Bjorn Johannsen. While at Portland, Mrs. Waelchli and I called on the Rev. Homer Synnestvedt at the hospital, where he had undergone an operation. We had seen him and his traveling companion Mr. William Blair, of Pittsburgh, for a short while at Los Angeles. On continuing their automobile journey from there, Mr. Synnestvedt became ill on nearing Portland. Later I called on him again and found him making good progress, and expecting to leave the hospital in about two weeks. Notwithstanding the unfortunate circumstances, we had a very enjoyable time together, talking of many things from "the good old school days" on to the present, a period of forty-five years.

     On Saturday, August 24th, eye arrived at the home of Mr. Emil Hansen, in SPOKANE. Since my visit there last October, Mrs. Hansen had passed to the other world. I missed her greatly. Foremost among her many lovable qualities was her intense love for the Church and the Heavenly Doctrines. In this home we again met Mr. and Mrs. Emanuel Hansen, whose wedding we attended at Los Angeles. The Spokane Circle meets twice a month for services under the able leadership of Mr. Emil Hansen. At present it numbers about twenty persons, some of these living quite a distance from the city. Included in the membership are eight young people, all loyally New Church. During the nine days' visit, two Sunday services were held, with an attendance of sixteen and nineteen respectively. On the second Sunday there were eighteen communicants at the Holy Supper. We also had four evening doctrinal classes, with attendance from fourteen to eighteen. The large attendance indicates the spirit of the Circle. I would add that ir number of its members, old and young, are readers of the Writings.

     September 2d to 9th, we were in the Pribilsky home at WALLA WALLA, WASH. Here, again, there is a considerable circle At this place Mrs. Waelchli had the great pleasure of meeting Mrs. Lee Fine, who, as Anna Niederer, attended the Academy Schools nineteen years ago. Of course, Mrs. Waelchli could tell her, much better than I have been able at my annual visits, about her schoolmates, among whom were some of our own children and in-laws. Since last November the Circle has met on one Sunday each month for services, using New Church Sermons. Our meetings here came near equaling those at Spokane in attendance and surpassed them in number. In the one week we had six evening doctrinal classes, with an attendance of from seven to fourteen; average, eleven. One afternoon, instruction was given to four children. At services on Sunday there was an attendance of eighteen, including children; and eight persons partook of the Holy Supper. A happy event of the services was the baptism of Mr. Lee Fine.

     Continuing our travels on September 9th from Washington into Oregon, I left the train at La Gorande, while Mrs. Waelchli went on sixty miles farther to Baker. During my three days at LA GORANDE, classes were held every afternoon and evening. Afternoons, the average attendance was six; evenings, eleven. There were always some present who are not, or are not as yet, of the New Church. At one of the meetings there arose quite a discussion with a gentleman who believed firmly in the resurrection of the material body. His view was that there exist but two things in the great universe,-the one, God as Spirit, the other, earthly matter, of which man is constituted and that what is called "spirit" and "spiritual" is but the operation of the former upon the latter. This idea seemed to me to have a somewhat familiar ring, a bit like some philosophy I have heard advanced within the New Church. My friend held further that the Lord arose in His material earth-body. I asked him, "Did He rise in the body He received from Mary?" "Yes," he replied.

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"Then," said I, "He is still the son of Mary, and Mary is the mother of God, and you give away the whole case to the Roman Catholic Church." "No," he said, "not that." But I insisted on the point, until finally he said, "Well, then; it is so."

     On Friday, the 13th, I went to BAKER. Here I found that Mrs. Blake. (Minna Crandall) and Mrs. Waelchli were having a most wonderful time together. Forty-one years ago they were classmates in the Academy, and since then had never met; but throughout the years the spirit of the Academy had lived and grown with both as the foremost thing of life; and so, not only was the friendship renewed, but it became far more intimate bond than in the days of long ago. Here we had three evening classes, with average attendance of ten. Not all were of the New Church, but some of them greatly interested. On Sunday at services there were eleven persons present, of whom ten partook of the Holy Supper. Three of these were from La Gorande.

     On Tuesday, September 11th, we arrived at DENVER. Wednesday evening, at a reception, the Rev. Henry Heinrichs and I told of our summer's work. It was exceedingly interesting to hear of the quite large General Church homesteading colony that is forming in the Peace River district of the Canadian West. Thursday afternoon I taught the Ladies' Class, and Friday evening the General Doctrinal Class. Sunday I conducted services, at which there took place the baptism of the infant son of the Rev. and Mrs. Heinrichs. Sunday afternoon we began the homeward journey. On this trip, the number of persons to whom the ministrations of the church were brought, not including Los Angeles and Denver, was eighty-five.

     Some general observations as to the state of the church among these isolated people may be of interest. First, we would mention that everywhere there was eagerness to receive instruction. Classes were held so frequently at each place, often every evening, because this was urgently desired. Mrs. Waelchli was impressed that their state was like that of "very hungry people, trying within a week to receive food to last them a year."-There are a number who read the Writings, some, however, doing this more faithfully than others. One of them is reading the Arcana for the fourth time, another for the seventh time. A considerable number are following the General Church Calendar for daily reading. One person, who, during the Rev. E. E. Iungerich's visit a few years ago, became interested in Hebrew, and since then has studied the language from Dr. Acton's text book, reads the Old Testament calendar lesson in the original. I might add that this person is not one who would be termed "learned." He is in humble employment. But he is one of the "simple wise."-There are readers of New Church Life, and most of these, as one of them expressed it, "read it from cover to cover."-Many receive New Church Sermons, and appreciate the value of this publication. Some use it for Sunday services. So it may be evident that, although spiritual hunger so strongly manifests itself when the visiting pastor comes, these people in the meantime to a great extent avail themselves of their daily opportunity to receive the bread and wine that nourishes eternal life, by going to the Word and the Writings, and to the teaching drawn from them in the publications of the Church. "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness; for they shall be filled."-Perhaps what has been related about these isolated may lead those who live in the church centers to reflect upon the extent to which they appreciate their privileges of constant bountiful provision of worship and instruction.

     In conclusion, I wish, for Mrs. Waelchli and myself, to thank the friends in all the places visited for so kindly entertaining us in their homes, and also for the many other things done by them to make our stay among them pleasant and delightful. All this will ever be for us a happy memory.
     F. E. WAELCHLI.

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     BRUSSELS, BELGIUM.

     Belgian Art Exhibit in America.

     M. Jean Jacques Gailliard, one of the late Dr. Deltenre's friends, and a convert to the New Church, has written to the Rev. E. E. Iungerich about an Exhibition of Belgian Art that is to be shown in America this Fall. It will include a painting of special interest to New Church people by M. Gailliard, entitled "The Mystic Flames of Louvain,"-a personal vision of the artist depicting an event of the World War, and treated according to the science of correspondences.

     The Exhibition will be given under the auspices of the Belgian Embassy in Washington, D. C. where it will open on October 24th, being shown in Philadelphia late in November, and afterwards in other cities of the United States and Canada. It is the desire of the Belgian Government that the paintings be purchased by American museums and individuals.

     It was M. Gailliard who produced the symbolic decorations of the General Church Mission at Brussels some Years ago. An example of his work, entitled "The Three Testaments," was reproduced in New Church Life for January, 1925.

     DENVER, COLO.

     News in our society accumulates slowly, and in order to make a creditable showing, we bulk it. Our present notes will cover the period from June to September.

     On the evening of the 19th of June we met at the Chapel in honor of New Church Day. A supper which left nothing to be desired had been prepared by the ladies, and with this foundation the evening was a very pleasant one. The prepared speeches, three in number, all dealt with the significance of the day. The Pastor, introducing the formal part of the evening, read an interesting article treating of the 19th of June in ancient times from the pen of the Rev. C. Th. Odhner, published in New Church Life for 1905. As it may be of general interest, and contains the keynote of the speeches, we may be permitted to summarize it here. The argument, if we may so term it, is of briefly this: The Fete Dieu celebrated in the Catholic Church on the 19th of June is probably a continuation of the Greek and Roman celebration of Minerva, whose chief feast was held on that day, as it was considered to be her birthday. Minerva represented the doctrine of the Ancient Church. The 19th of June was celebrated by the Ancient Church in its integrity as the birthday of her Doctrine. The Council of Nice met on June 19th, 325 A.D., and marked the beginning of the falsification of Christian Doctrine. As the birthday of the New Church, it stands for the Heavenly Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, thus for the restoral of true Doctrine,-the true Doctrine of both the Christian and Ancient Churches. And he concludes: "There is no such thing as mere 'coincidence,' since the Lord's Providence is universal and therefore governs all things, even the most minute. We may therefore regard it as providential and of spiritual significance that the great day of the New Church should fall upon the Same day which, from hoariest antiquity, was celebrated as the birthday of Heavenly Doctrine."

     The fact of the great spiritual significance of the Nineteenth was brought home to us again by Mr. Edward Allen, who, in a clear and forceful way, contrasted the faith of the New Church respecting the Lord with that of the former Church. He showed and confirmed the fact that the Nineteenth preeminently stands for the worship of the Lord Jesus Christ as God,-the One and Only God of heaven and earth. Mr. Theodore Tyler spoke of the Nineteenth as a festival. He treated interestingly of the uses of festivals,-of the Jewish feasts, and of the festivals of the Christian Church, showing that the Nineteenth of June stands above and gathers into itself the essentials of all of them.

     The Pastor then, by reference to and a definition Of the law of a Commencement and a Beginning (A. C. 1560) distinguished between what transpired in the spiritual world before and after June 19, 1770.

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It was the Lord's purpose,-the end in all that He did before that day,-to prepare for the establishment of the New Heaven and the New Church. The Last Judgment, the subjugation of the hells, the ordering of the heavens and the revelation of the spiritual sense of the Word,-all these were the commencement of the New Heaven and the New Church. The beginning of both took place when humans actively received the Lord as revealed anew, and reciprocated His love. Heaven and the Church begin when there is reception of the Lord and cooperation with Him. And this began with the commissioning of the twelve disciples in the spiritual world. When there is an active and a reactive-a commencement and a beginning-in the Church, then and only then does it really exist. The Church is not established until that second thing is found,-human cooperation; and the 19th of June is a memorial to us of this second thing, reminding us of the part that we must perform in the establishment of the New Church in and around us.

     After the speeches there was some discussion, during which appreciation of the ability which the two young men had brought to the elucidation of their subject was expressed. Also, a thing of interest and general satisfaction was made known, namely, that the anonymous gift of $50 for the creation of a building fund, announced on Swedenborg's Birthday, had been matched with another $50 by the efforts of the Ladies' Society.

     In continuation of the festival season, the sermon on the following Sunday treated of the God of the New Church (Rev. 21:22), and was followed by the administration of the Holy Supper. Thus ended another year of active church work.

     During the vacation months, July and August, the Pastor made the annual trip to the Canadian Northwest, but the summer months in Denver were enlivened by the presence of visitors. Mr. Edward Allen, Miss Angella Bergstrom and Miss Berith Schroeder were here for the summer, and Miss Anna Heinrichs spent a month here. We understand that there were teas, luncheons and card parties in their honor. We were also favored by a visit from the Rev. Homer Synnestvedt and Mr. William Blair, and the Rev. Hendrik W. Boef stopped over for a few days on his way to Bryn Athyn. For the former there was a reception at the home of Mr. and Mrs. O. A. Bergstrom, and for the latter one at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Allen.

     The three young people have now returned to the east, and with them Miss Vera Bergstrom and Miss Thyra Schroeder. Their departure, together with that of Miss Martha Schroeder for Chicago and Mr. Theodore Tyler for Utah leaves the numbers of our young people sadly depleted.

     Since the commencement of services on September 8th we have had the pleasure of visits from Miss Meach, of St. Petersburg, Fla., who attends the services at the winter home of Mr. Seymour Nelson in that city; from Mr. Bundsen, of San Francisco, and from Mr. Peter Klippenstein of Los
Angeles. All these attended one of our services. Lastly, the Rev. and Mrs. F. E. Waelchli made this their last stopover on their return from a summer spent on the Pacific Coast.

     It was our good pleasure to have Mr. and Mrs. Waelchli with us for five days, September 17th to 22d, and we greatly enjoyed them. First, as the guests of Mr. Alvin E. Lindrooth, there was a lunch at the Denver Athletic Club when the available men of the society and Mr. Bundsen met with Mr. Waelchli and we talked intimately of many things. The same evening (Wednesday) there was a reception at the Chapel at which time Mr. Waelchli and Mr. Heinrichs gave accounts of their summer's work. Mr. Waelchli, in speaking of the work of the Visiting Pastor, stated that this, as well as all other work done by the General Church, is our work. He pointed out the necessity of taking the larger view of our relation to the Church; we are primarily members of the General Church, and secondarily members of local Churches; therefore, all the work done by the General Church calls for our sympathetic interest and Support, as well the work among the isolated and in other centers of the Church and in the Academy Schools, as that done in our own society. It is our work.

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With reference to the work which we do in our society We should be careful to acknowledge it as General Church work. If we do our work faithfully, we are building the Church; and when our young people leave us, and our own society declines, we will take satisfaction in having had the privilege of working in the Church, and will be consoled by seeing the fruits of our work elsewhere.

     On Thursday afternoon, Mr. Waelchli addressed the ladies at the home of Mrs. Howland. The subject was "Innocence," based on Luke 18:1-11. His presentation of the subject was illuminating; among other things it discovered very dearly the basis of the New Church doctrine of education in the Letter of the Word. On Friday evening he conducted a doctrinal class, taking the subject of the "Conjunction of the Lord with man, and the reciprocal conjunction of man with the Lord." This conjunction, he showed, takes place in charity, which is love of the neighbor. That there may be conjunction, there must be approach from both sides, and the neighbor is a means through which this mutual approach is made. In love of the neighbor as an actual state in man-a subjective state-the approach of each to the other is completed; the Lord is in man, and man be is in the Lord. In the course of the class he laid a very proper stress on that cardinal doctrine of the New Church,-that the first of charity is the shunning of evils as sins against God, and its corollary that goods which are done before evils have been shunned as sins against the Lord are not goods.

     On Sunday we had the privilege of hearing Mr. Waelchli preach. The subject was David's sin in numbering the people, and the expiation required of him, the first part signifying the evil of ascribing to self what belongs to the Lord the last part showing the effects of this evil, from which we can know how we may recognize this evil in ourselves. Recalling only what we have noted as the high points in his four addresses to us, we have much to thank Mr. Waelchli for, and we hope that in recognition of our obligation to him he will not wait long before he visits us again.
     HENRY HEINRICHS.

     PITTSBURGH, PA.

     The Elementary School is in full swing now in the temporary quarters on Kelly Street, and has an enrollment of eleven children.

     The annual meeting of the Pittsburgh Society was held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. S. S. Lindsay Sr., on September 30th. Mr. Iungerich, in his report, gave a full summary of the pastoral work, and of the society doings for the past year. A complete and comprehensive report of the financial status of the society was given by the Treasurer. Miss Anita Doering reported for the school, and Mr. G. P. Brown gave the statistics of church attendance. Mr. Chas. H. Ebert and Mr. S. S. Lindsay, Sr., were reelected to the offices of Secretary and Treasurer respectively.

     On October 1st, the annual Ladies' Meeting met at the home of Mrs. Grubb. Mr. Iungerich continued his class on the Palace of Wisdom, which we hope to complete this year. The result of the elections: Mrs. A. P. Lindsay, President; Miss Ruth Schoenberger, Vice-President; Mrs. F. L. Doering, Secretary and Mrs. E. G. Horigan, Treasurer.

     Doctrinal classes began on October 4th at the home of Mr. and Mrs. A. O. Lechner and will be held on the first and third Fridays of the month during the year. The first class treated of the Holy Supper, in preparation for the quarterly administration on Sunday, October 6th.

     On October 7th, the members of the society called on the Chas. H. Ebert family, who have moved to a new home at 1031 Penn Avenue, quite near the church.

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After exploring the house carefully, and partaking of delightful refreshments, which we brought with us as our visit was entirely a surprise, Mr. Iungerich called us together in the living room, and there a short service of dedication was held.

     The first meeting of the Pittsburgh Chapter of Theta Alpha was held at the home of Mrs. J. E. Blair on October 8th, and plans made for the coming year. On October 11th, the Philosophy Club held its annual meeting at Mr. J. E. Blair's, and will continue to hold meetings on the second and fourth Fridays of the month during the year.

     As you see, the calendar is quite full, in spite of the fact that we have no permanent quarters, and this is only the beginning of the season. And speaking of "quarters," the roof is on the Community Building, and if we have good luck with weather conditions we should be able to hold services and meetings in the Community Hall by the last of November. In preparation for the dedication service, a copy of the Word, containing the Old Testament in Hebrew, the New Testament in Greek, and Conjugial Love in Latin, has been bound in handsome scarlet morocco. The children of school age defrayed the expense of binding by voluntary contributions. A missionary leaflet, briefly setting forth the history and doctrines of the New Church has been published by the Blair Company in attractive form, and will be distributed in the neighborhood at the time of the dedication of the new buildings.

     Our Pastor has arranged a shorter order of service for worship on Sundays, so that the children may be present, as it is impossible to begin Sunday School at the present time. He is ''delivering a series of sermons on texts from the 14th Chapter of Luke, stressing the feast to which the bidden guests did not come, and to which newcomers had to be brought.

     It is of interest to us all that Mrs. E. E. Iungerich addressed the Rockledge Garden Club, of which Mrs. A. P. Lindsay is President, at its October meeting. She spoke on the subject of Horticulture, taking it from the time of the Garden of Eden to the present day, and giving brief accounts of the discoveries of the Greek, Italian, German and French botanists. She had beautiful plates and interesting specimens for illustration. The club was most enthusiastic in its appreciation of Mrs. Iungerich's address.

     Mrs. M. E. Blair has offered her home for a rhythm class for the children of the society, and this will be conducted by Miss Angella Bergstrom. We have been fortunate in acquiring Miss Florence Roehner's dancing-class pupils as our teachers. Miss Alice Broadbridge did much for the children in that line last year.

     Miss Zoe Iungerich spent several weeks with her parents during September, and a number of parties were held in her honor. One card party at which she jointly shared honors with Miss Bergstrom was held at Miss Helena Schoenberger's. We hope Miss Iungerich will visit us soon again, and our best wishes go with her for a successful final year's work in the Methodist Hospital where she is training for a nurse.     
     E. R. D.

     GLENVIEW, ILL.

     Our Friday suppers were resumed on the evening of October 4th with a large attendance and with great gusto. At table the pastor read a short paper in which he traced the origin and meaning of the "tithe," and dwelt upon the uses of the church and the need of supporting them.

     The supper was followed by the regular semiannual meeting of the Immanuel Church. Reports were received from the various boards and officers. The Treasurer stated that we are raising more than $10,000 a year for our general expenses, over and above the support of the pastor. It is hoped that we shall be able to make progress with the building fund during the coming year, to take care of additional school uses.

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The Recording Secretary reported a membership of 124 in the society, five having joined during the year, and four having passed to the spiritual world, these being: Mrs. G. A. McQueen, Messrs. Louis B. King and Joseph B. Headsten, and Dr. J. B. S. King.

     At this meeting of the society the By-laws were amended to provide an additional member of the Board of Finance, this one to be a member of the Pastor's Council, selected by the pastor. The purpose of this amendment is to bring the two bodies into closer touch.

     The weekly meetings of the ladies who are reading the Arcana Celestia together have been resumed. A class in public speaking has been organized, with a Professor from Northwestern University in charge. This and the young men's class meet on alternate weeks.

     Mr. and Mrs. Hubert Nelson have now established their permanent home in The Park, and a pleasant event recently was a kitchen shower for Mrs. Nelson. We have lately had the pleasure of an over-Sunday visit from Mr. Ray Brown, one of our genial hosts at the Sons' meetings in Toronto last summer.
     J. B. S.

     TORONTO, CANADA.

     The summer months are always quiet from the point of view of society activities, and so we have only routine matters to report. During July,-to be exact, for the Sundays, July 14th and 21st,-the Rev. Norman H. Reuter, of Glenview, substituted for our Pastor whilst he was away on vacation. We thoroughly enjoyed his ministrations and the social contacts with him, as also a short visit of Mrs. Reuter and Mr. Warren Reuter from Glenview.

     The Day School reopened on September 3d, with Miss Dora Brown as teacher and an enrollment of nine pupils, two of whom are new this year. Monthly socials or parties are being held for the girls of the Day School, and for the girls and boys of the Sunday School, twelve years and under.

     Sunday School was resumed on September 8th, with its activities confined to the practice of church music during September the regular classwork starting the first Sunday in October.

     The Forward Club began its tenth season on Thursday, September 19th, when twenty-three men sat down to supper, under the chairmanship of Vice-President A. Sargeant. This year the club slogan is "Thinking from the Writings," which was made the subject for the evening and was ably introduced by President E. Craigie, followed by an active and helpful discussion.

     Theta Alpha opened its season on September 23d, and the Ladies Circle on October 1st, the latter with a well-attended meeting at the home of Mrs. Wilson, when the Pastor gave something of a walk on the History of Religion, and discussed with the ladies the subject for consideration during the season, which we understand is to be a study of Dr. Acton's book, An Introduction to the Word Explained.

     The weekly suppers commenced on September 25th, on which night the quarterly meeting of the society was held, which was prefaced by an instructive paper by the Pastor on "How Can we Promote the Growth of the Church?" From it we quote the following summation: "Therefore, the principal work for us in promoting the growth of the church is ever to live faithfully according to its doctrines, and the two essentials of the church already emphasized (acknowledgment of the Lord in His Divine Human and the Life of Charity), together with the statement in the Spiritual Diary (6053) that 'adulteries, the love of rule, and deceit will be especially shunned by those who will be of the New Church,' show us what the Lord requires of us, in order that He may make the church with us and with our children His living and everlasting kingdom."

     Wednesday class, October 1st, preceding the celebration of the Holy Supper, was devoted to instruction in preparation therefor.

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The Holy Supper was taken by 48 communicants on Sunday, September 6th, and on the evening of that day we had our first Sunday evening service of the season.
     F. W.

     HIGH KILBURN, YORK, ENGLAND.

     Once more the lonely little circle at High Kilburn has had the delight of a visit from their beloved Pastor, Bishop Tilson, and his wife, who had been spending their holidays on the North East coast. A gathering of seven people joined in the morning service on September 1st; and in the evening, when the Holy Supper was celebrated, our numbers were increased to twelve by three who were not members of the New Church who volunteered to join us. Both services were very impressive and deeply interesting and instructive.

     Soon Michael Church will be celebrating Bishop Tilson's jubilee in the ministry. Would that we, who have been closely associated with him in all those years, could be present in person!
     W. COPLEY JUBB.

     BRYN ATHYN.

     Dr. Acton's Foreign Journey.

     Soon after returning from his year abroad, Dr. Alfred Acton gave us an exceedingly interesting sketch of his work in Swedenborgiana during that time. Two successive Sunday evenings (Sept. 22d and 29th) were given to hearing him-he refused to tell us any more-and a large audience listened fascinatedly for about two hours on each occasion. He told of many particular investigations, some of much importance, some illustrating the difficulties of such research work, some leading to nothing, and some with humorous or curious phases.

     At the beginning, Dr. Acton advised us not to expect any startling results, because the field had already been well worked by such New Church students as the Tafels, Alfred Stroh, and Miss Sigrid Odhner (now Mrs. Sigstedt). Nevertheless, some new facts were brought to light, and some new light was thrown upon matters previously known.

     The Doctor made special mention of the great courtesy shown him in many places, especially at Upsala University, at the Royal Library in Stockholm, and at the State Library at Berlin.

     Purchases were made for the Academy Library, amounting to some 500 or 600 books, pamphlets, and papers, including many copies of works by Swedenborg in editions not before possessed by the Academy. The following were mentioned as of special interest:

     1. A printed letter by Swedenborg to Dr. Beyer, dated Oct. 30, 1769, two sheets folio.

     2. The first volume of Dr. Beyer's New Endeavors to Explain the Scriptures, in Swedish, as republished by some New Churchmen a few years after Dr. Beyer's death. This work is exceedingly rare.

     3. A copy of the catalogue of the Hammar Library, which contained about 400 volumes of Swedenborg's works. This library had been offered to the Royal Library in Stockholm for purchase, but was not taken. Some of the items were bought afterwards in the open market by the Royal Library, while others went into private hands, and so are lost, as far as we are concerned.

     4. In a box of loose sheets in the Upsala Library was found a copy of the third printed edition of Swedenborg's speech in the House of Nobles on "Freedom." A photostat was also procured of the fourth edition of the speech which was published in a Swedish periodical in 1824.

     5. A much desired book was General Considerations on the New Church, by C. F. Nordenskjold. Published in Restock in 1821, the book was confiscated, probably because of its amazing frankness in opposing Roman Catholicism, and in upholding freedom of speech and of the press.

     Only one complete copy (or perhaps two) is known to exist, and this was in possession of a descendant of C. F. Nordenskjold now residing in Flensberg, Germany.

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Dr. Acton arranged to meet this Mr. Nordenskjold near Berlin, Germany, and succeeded in purchasing this rare book. Mr. Nordenskjold also brought with him part of C. F. Nordenskjold's letters, namely, those that dealt with New Church matters; and these he kindly lent to Dr. Acton for examination at Bryn Athyn.

     6. A new phototype of Swedenborg's work On Tin was heard of, and after some search the editor of it was found, and a copy obtained from him.

     Dr. Acton was newly impressed with the importance of the photostatic work. Unfortunately, much original matter has been lost, and some of it in comparatively recent years; as, for instance, some of the documents once belonging to Dr. R. L. Tafel. Also, it was noticed that the manuscript Of the Apocalypse Explained in Upsala had been bound recently, and the binder had pasted strips on the edges of the pages in such a way as to cover some of the marginal notes. Our only access to these, now, is in the photolithographic copy.

     In London, Dr. Acton made investigation as to the Shearsmith I house, where Swedenborg lived in 1769, and from 1711 until his death. (See New Church Life for June, 1929, P. 321.) The Moravian Church in Fetter Lane was visited, and a rare published drawing of the chapel, as it was when Swedenborg attended there in 1744, was found.

     In 1766, Swedenborg reprinted his Latin essay on finding the longitude by the moon, which he called "a youthful study." It seems that, many years before, a prize of L10,000 had been offered by the English Crown to anyone finding means of determining the longitude at night. Swedenborg's proposed way of doing this was first published in Swedish in the Daedalus Hyperboreus, then in Latin, and in 1766 it was reprinted in Latin. Ten copies were left with the Admiralty Committee which had the matter in charge, but at the Admiralty Office no trace of these was found, nor any record of how the affair turned out. The next day Dr. Acton went, by appointment, to Greenwich Observatory, and there examined the Minutes of the Longitude Committee. He also had opportunity to examine the correspondence of Flamsteed with Hans Sloane, Newton, Halley, and others,-an exceedingly interesting collection of letters showing Flamsteed as a very human and attractive personality,-but no reference to Swedenborg was discovered. In the Minutes, however, it was found that after two years the Committee reported adversely on Swedenborg's plan. Dr. Acton was invited to dinner by the Astronomer-Royal, Sir F. Dyson, who also kindly presented to him a photograph of Flamsteed's house, which is still the same (though with some additions) as it was when Swedenborg paid his frequent visits to Flamsteed.

     Swedenborg, in his Journal of Dreams for 1744, tells of his attending a lecture on anatomy, and says that he wondered if possibly his name might be mentioned in it,-a thought for which he then reproves himself. Dr. Acton made inquiries at the Royal Medical Society and the Royal College of Surgeons, but with no result. And in the records of the Royal College of Physicians no information could be found concerning the lectures given that year; but in the library, a printed copy of the very lecture that Swedenborg attended was found, identified by the date, and confirmed by examination of the subject matter; for the lecture mentions those who had contributed to the advancement of the science of anatomy. It was one of the Harveyan Lectures, provided by a fund given by Harvey, and these were lectures that only professional and privileged persons could attend. Swedenborg could not have been there except by invitation, and this involved some recognition of him by fellow scientists, even though he was not mentioned in the paper. The Librarian of the Royal College of Physicians very kindly furnished Dr. Acton with a photostat of this document.

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     A great many letters were read more or less closely, such as the correspondence of Boerhaave preserved at Leyden, Pastor Wolf's letters in Hamburg, a collection of 35,000 letters to and by noted men. The Stockholm branch of the Nordenskjold family has many letters bearing on the early history of the New Church. These could not be obtained for the Academy, but nearly all were photostated. Among them was a list of the members of the Philosophic-Exegetic Society, showing many prominent names. Also there were many letters from people outside of Sweden, of special interest being those from C. F. Nordenskjold in 1783-4, when he was living in England, apparently in very poor circumstances. He analyzes the members of the New Church in London, and reveals some interesting facts; for instance, concerning the work and family of Benedict Chastanier, that romantic personality who was so utterly devoted, even to the sacrifice of professional prospects, to the spread of the Doctrines, and to the examination, publication, and translation of Swedenborg's manuscripts. Nordenskjold also states that the wealthy Mr. Wright and the Marquis de Thome desired to join the travelers who wished to find the New Church in Africa; that Mr. Peckitt subscribed L50 toward the printing of the Apocalypse Explained; that John A. Tulk drove twenty miles to attend the meetings of the Church.

     In a Swedish journal was found a report from London showing that the New Church Society there held services twice every Sunday, with a reading meeting after the evening service. At the services, a chapter from Swedenborg was read as one of the lessons from the Word.

     Some new facts were learned about Arvid Mathesius, who told certain stories to show that Swedenborg was insane. As a preacher he was for a time quite popular with the Swedish colony in London, but in 1778 the government received a request from the congregation that he be removed, and charges signed by the leading members were brought against him. C. F. Nordenskjold says in one of his letters: "Mathesius is under a constant melancholia; he imagines everyone is trying to injure him." And Knoss says, in 1778, that Mathesius is afflicted with hypochondria. This would seem to account amply for his endeavor to injure Swedenborg's reputation. Klaas Ekeblad, in 1784, wrote about him: "Mathesius, a good friend of Wesley, says that hell is open for him, and no grace can be given him."

     In these investigations fortune sometimes helps in curious ways. A letter of Swedenborg to Oetinger had been in the possession of an old professor in Tübingen; it was published by Dr. Im. Tafel in his German "Documents," and afterwards was lost. Many years later it turned up in the collection of Mr. Gunter, a wholesale confectioner of Chicago, and a photograph of it was made by Mr. John Forrest, of the Immanuel Church, and presented to the Academy. After Mr. Gunter's death, his collection was sent to New York to be sold, and then all trace of this letter was lost. The auction people gave the names of those who might possibly have gotten it; but though every opening was followed up, no trace of it could be found. Now it has been found, as if by accident, in possession of Dr. Waller of Linkoping. (This letter is mentioned in New Church Life, March, 1929, p. 187. In the list on that page there is an error which Dr. Acton asks to have corrected:-Item 2 was not a letter to Oelrich; it should read, "An original letter, not before known, from Swedenborg to Secretary Estenberg, identical in language with the letter published in 1 Docu. 369.")

     Dr. Acton concluded his second talk with a description of the personalities involved in the trial of Messrs. Beyer and Rosen at Gothenburg, and of the trial itself. Some new facts were added to what was previously known, especially the exact time when Dr. Beyer met Swedenborg, and the description was illustrated and enlarged by hitherto unknown passages found in the contemporary Gothenburg papers.

703




     On October 4th, the first Friday supper of the season was served, followed by the 32d Annual meeting of the Bryn Athyn Church. Bishop de Charms presided in the absence of Bishop Pendleton. In his remarks he pointed out that this year, perhaps more than other years, there will be an opportunity for every one in Bryn Athyn, both members of the Church and the young people, to take part in the active uses of the Society, for the preparation and carrying on of the General Assembly next summer will call for plenty of work and some sacrifices from all. It will now be our privilege, after an interval of several years, to do a special service for the Church at large. The vital life of the Church depends upon individual activities joined in a united effort on the part of all.

     Besides the routine of business, the Building Committee asked Mr. Carswell to report on the new Assembly Hall, and to tell about some changes and further developments of the plans.

     The second Friday supper, on October 11th, was prepared by a committee of men who, coming short in their finances, took up a collection at the table. The supper was very good. The Doctrinal Classes were started that evening, the Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner beginning a series on "Regeneration," treating for the most part of heredity and the various elements and conditions that go into its formation. After the class, the Civic and Social Club gave the first entertainment of the season, with Mr. Morel Leonard in Legerdemain as a special feature.
     L. W. T. D.

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FEEDING THE FIVE THOUSAND 1929

FEEDING THE FIVE THOUSAND       Rev. GEORGE DE CHARMS       1929




     Announcements.



NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. XLIX DECEMBER; 1929 No, 12
     AN ADDRESS TO CHILDREN.

     The Lord takes care of us, and provides for us every day the things that we need. There are many things which the Lord must give us every moment, if we are to live. We need air that we may breathe, light that we may see, heat that we may not freeze; we need water and food to sustain the life of the body; we need houses and clothing to protect the body. We need objects about us, that we may see, and hear, and touch them; we need things that we may learn, in order that our minds also may be fed, and may grow, and may be protected. Where do these things come from? The Lord gives them to us. He knows what we need; He has created everything necessary to our life, and He goes on creating these things every day, that all our needs may be abundantly met. Yet we do not see the Lord. We only see the things that He has made. We are apt to forget that they are gifts from the Lord, signs of His love for us and that we should be thankful unto Him for these benefits.

     At the time the Lord came into the world, all men had forgotten Him. They received all the things He provided, but without giving thanks to Him, without thinking of Him or worshiping Him. Because of this, He was not able to bring them into heaven; for only those can come into heaven Who worship the Lord, and love Him with all their heart and soul. This was the reason why the Lord came on earth,-that men might again come to know Him, to realize how great is His mercy toward them, and so learn once more to worship Him.

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     The lesson read this morning describes how the Lord sought to teach His disciples that the food which supports their life is wonderfully provided by the Heavenly Father. You remember how the Lord, seeking to escape from the great crowds of people who were following Him in Galilee, took ship with His disciples, and crossed over the sea to the barren wastes south of Bethsaida. But the people there so anxious to hear Him that they followed along the shore, walking from Capernaum around the northern end of the sea, until they came to the place where the Lord had landed. There, in the wilderness, they besought Him to teach them. The Lord then told them parables, and taught them wonderful things about heaven, while they gathered round Him, listening eagerly.

     But after a while it grew late. The sun was about to set. Evening was drawing near. Yet these people were far from home. They had walked a long distance. They were weary and hungry, and in this wilderness there was no food for them to eat. The Lord had companion on them, and turning to Philip, He said, "Whence shall we buy bread, that we may eat?" Philip said, "Two hundred penny worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that every one of them may take a little." Andrew also was there, and heard what the Lord had said. He knew as well as Philip that they had not enough bread for so many, and that they could not buy bread in the wilderness. But he believed in the Lord, and wanted to help Him, and so he went to see what he could find. And after a while he came back, and said to the Lord, "There is a lad here who has five barley leaves and two small fishes; but what are they among so many?"

     There were about five thousand people, but the Lord told them to sit down in companies of one hundred, and then He took the five leaves, and the two fishes, and blessed and brake them, and gave to His disciples, and the disciples carried them to the people. And although there had been so little, the Lord kept breaking the bread and the fish, and giving it to the disciples, and it never seemed to be gone. He always had more to give them. They all ate until they were filled, and when they could eat no more, the disciples gathered up twelve baskets full of fragments that were left over. They were all astonished at this miracle, and said among themselves, "This is, of a truth, that Prophet that should come into the world."

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     Now it seems like a very wonderful thing that the Lord, out of five barley leaves and two small fishes, could provide enough food for five thousand people. And yet this is what the Lord is doing all the time. It happens every year, in every country of the world. And unless the Lord performed this miracle, we would all die of hunger. You take a little seed of wheat. You put it in the ground, and care for it, until it sprouts and grows; and in the time of harvest there have been made hundreds of little seeds just like the one you put in the ground. You take a little bag of seeds, which you buy at the store, and you plant them in the garden. And from that little bag of seeds the Lord makes more than you and your whole family can eat, so that you have to give some of it away, lest it should be wasted. Where did all this food come from? The Lord made it.

     He made it in the same way that He made the leaves and fishes, only that He did not do it all at once. It required time. That is the only difference. The miracle of the leaves and the fishes, the Lord is performing every year. Only He does it slowly, because He wants us to see something of how it is done, and also because He wants us to be able to help to do part of the work.

     Why does the Lord make one little seed grow and produce a thousand other seeds like itself? So that we may have the food which is necessary to enable us to grow from a little baby, to become, first a child, then a youth, and then a man. So that the human race may grow. So that the Church may grow, until it fills the whole earth. So that heaven may grow, until it consists of millions and millions of angels, who may all grow in happiness and use forever.

     In order that all this may take place, the Lord must know what we need, and must provide it in great abundance. He must provide by growth what we need, both for our body, which lives in this world, and for our spirit which lives in heaven.

     Sometimes we do not want to eat what the Lord has provided. When good wholesome food is placed before us, we say, "I don't like that. I want candy, and cake, and ice cream." Now candy and cake are all right, but we cannot grow strong and big on these alone. The Lord knows what is necessary for us to have,-bread, and vegetables, and meat, and He has made these things for us because we need them. We should learn to like the things that are good for us, so that we may grow big and strong, and able to serve the Lord in many ways that require a strong body.

     So, also, we may not want to learn the things our parents and teachers give us to study.

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We would rather play than do our lessons. It is all right to play. But play is like the candy and the cake. Our minds will not grow if we play all the time. The things we learn are the food which the Lord has provided so that our minds may grow, so that we may become wise, and may know how to do things that are useful, both on earth and in heaven. We should want to learn all those wonderful things which the Lord has made known in His Word, in order that we may become wise.

     We should remember this. The Lord knows, far better than we can possibly know, what is good for us, what we need, what will make us healthy and strong in body and mind. He tells our parents and our teachers what these things are, and they try, in school and at home, to teach them to us. We should be very thankful to the Lord because He has made all these things for us, and the things He has made we should try very hard to use in the right way. We should ask Him always to give us what He knows is best to make us grow, and we should gladly accept the things He gives us. This is what is meant when we say in the Lord's Prayer, "Give us this day our daily bread." When we say those words we are asking the Lord to give us everything that we need, both for our bodies and for our minds, so that we may become strong men, able to do some important work for the sake of the Lord, and for the sake of our country, here on earth, and so that we may become wise angels, prepared to fulfil some use in heaven after death.

     We ask the Lord to do this, because we ourselves do not know what is best for us; we do not know what will make us strong and wise. And if we did know, we could not create those things for ourselves. Only the Lord can do this. He can do it because He is so wise, and so powerful. And He will do it, if we ask Him, because He loves us so deeply, and wants nothing so much as to make us happy forever.

     But we must accept what He does, with gladness and with thanksgiving. If we refuse it, then the Lord cannot help us. And if we do not give thanks to Him for it, then He cannot bring us into heaven. When we pray, saying, "Give us this day our daily bread," let us think of the miracle which the Lord performed with the five leaves and the two fishes; let us remember that the Lord is performing that miracle for us every year; let us realize that, unless the Lord did this, we could not live, and that we owe to Him, Who loves us as a merciful Heavenly Father, all the many blessings we receive every day.

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And realizing this, let us come to Him with grateful hearts, "entering into His gates with thanksgiving, into His courts with praise, to be thankful unto Him, and to bless His name. For the Lord is good, His mercy is everlasting, and His truth is to all generations."

     Lessons: John 6: 1-15.

     HYMNAL: pp. 143, 186.

     The above is the second of a series of Addresses to Children by Bishop de Charms. The third will appear in the January issue.
RELIGION AND LIFE 1929

RELIGION AND LIFE       Rev. ALBERT BJORCK       1929

     "All religion is of life, and the life of religion is to do good." (Doctrine of Life 1.)

     The first chapter of Isaiah introduces us to a period in the history of the Jewish nation when the conception of religion, and of the duties that religion makes known to men, had become generally corrupted and falsified. Almost the only signs or expressions of religious thought and feeling consisted in external ceremonies and rites. Sacrifices, burnt-offerings of rams, and the fat of fed beasts, the blood of bullocks, of lambs and he-goats, and the punctilious observance of ritualistic oblations, had taken the place of endeavors to cleanse the heart of evil. And the people assembled in solemn meetings for these purposes, not for inquiring into the Lord's will.

     To this people, who, with the exception of a small remnant, had so utterly corrupted the worship of God, came the voice of the Lord through the prophet, denouncing and condemning them, and showing how far they had wandered away from the God of their fathers,-the Lord their God who had carried them out of Egypt, and given them the Law at Sinai, to the end that they, by obedience to His commandments, might live in peace and carry a knowledge of the true God to the nations. The chosen people of the Lord, who should have had in their hearts a love born from His love for the children of men, and thoughts begotten and nourished by the Spirit of wisdom in His Word, had rebelled; and through that rebellion they had lost all knowledge of the God they thought they worshiped.

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They were worse than the ox or the ass, which knew their owner and their master's crib.

     To this people, filled with the ideas of their corrupted religion, constantly offering sacrifices of animals, scrupulously observing feasts and coming together for solemn meetings, came the Prophet of the Lord, filled with the spirit of His Law, telling them that they were a "sinful nation, laden with iniquity, a seed of evildoers, children that are corrupters, having forsaken their Lord." The Lord, he said, cared not for their sacrifices, nor for their vain oblations and the rise of incense, their assemblies and solemn meetings. All that would not help them, nor many prayers. It was all vanity or worse in the sight of the Lord.

     But after the judgment and condemnation of their ways came the promise of a happier future, if they would again turn to the Lord and obey His Law. And the prophet then informs them in what true obedience to that Law consists.

     "Wash you, make you clean!" is the demand, and the condition for the fulfilment of the promise. Not the vain washings of hands in natural water, but the putting away of evil in obedience to the commandments of God. "Cease to do evil; learn to do well; seek judgment, relieve the oppressed, judge the fatherless, plead for the widow.-Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land; but if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured by the sword; for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it."

     The denunciation, promise and warning came at a certain time in the history of a people. That time is past, and the individuals immediately concerned were removed from the face of the earth thousands of years ago. But the teaching contained in them, the spiritual lessons to be drawn from them, are always true, as true today as then, and as applicable. The teaching from the Lord our God is plainly this: "All religion is of life, and the life of religion is to do good."

     The Word of God in its external historical garments shows very clearly the tremendously strong tendency in human nature to corrupt and pervert true religion, and to turn it into something that has nothing to do with the interior life of man.

711




     Changes that occur gradually, and concerning which we do not think or reflect as day passes day, are brought before us with startling reality in the pages of history, where events showing changes wrought during centuries are presented to our minds on pages that we can read in a few hours.

     Some centuries pass, after the prophet Isaiah brings the message of the Lord to the people: "Wash you, make you clean; cease to do evil, learn to do well!" And we read of another period, a period of intense outward religiosity, but even more corrupted, when there was no knowledge of the true teaching of the Law of the Lord left in the Church, "one to whom the Lord could come in such knowledge; none, therefore, who could receive an understanding from Him; no prophet who could Speak from the Lord to the people.

     The fullness of time had come, when the Lord must Himself come into the world to save His people. As a man like us, born of woman, He lived the life of true religion in fulfilment of the Law and the Prophets, and revealed in His human life and teaching the Divine Love and Wisdom which filled the Law and the Prophets, thus manifesting the power of that Love and Wisdom active in a human life victorious over sin and death.

     And He who came, not to destroy but to fulfil the Law and the Prophets, repeats the message of Isaiah, the message of the whole Word or Wisdom of God, proclaiming that religion is of life, and that the life of religion consists in doing good to others. This message we read, not only in His words, but also in His life. His life is one continuous revelation of His Father's will, to which He, as a man, gave perfect obedience.

     His teaching and His life show that true religion is to be found only in love to the Lord our God and to our fellow men, that those two loves are one, and that man's love of God is to be judged by his love to the neighbor, and the earnestness with which he endeavors to help and serve the neighbor. The doing of the will of the Father is the basis of all religion. "If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself." (John 7:17.)

     Our Lord and God is one Lord. He is life itself, and gives life to all men.

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His life is love itself, eternal love for all His children. We cannot receive life from Him in His likeness without feeling that life as love going out toward others to do them good. That love, which is God Himself and eternal life, is revealed in and through the human born by Mary,-the Word made flesh. The wisdom and will of that love is made manifest in His human life and teaching. Therefore He said: "A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another as I have loved you."

     We, who have accepted the Writings as the Word of the Lord,-the revelation of Him as the very Spirit of truth, and therefore the Lord Himself in His promised Second Coming to men on earth,-we can plainly see and recognize that love to the Lord expressed in eagerness to know and understand the truth of life revealed by Him, and love of the neighbor expressed in earnest endeavors to be useful to our fellows in obedience to His commandments, are true religion, the sum total of it, and therefore that "all religion is of life, and that the life of religion is to do good."

     But even with us the common tendency in human nature is at work trying to corrupt our understanding of this great and fundamental truth. For even if we acknowledge that all religion is of life, and that the life of religion is to do good, our understanding of that truth may become corrupted. The influx from the hells, which desire that it should be so, finds an ally in the idea which all men have until they are born again by the Lord's Spirit,-the idea that they have good in themselves, and that they can do good-even the good of religion-from themselves.

     The young man, of whom we have read in our Second Lesson, felt that he was rich in virtues because he had been obedient to the Commandments. It is as if the Lord had read his thoughts when he came and asked what he should do to inherit eternal life. He called the Lord " Good Master," and the Lord said: "Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God; but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments."

     To the question, "Which commandments?" the Lord answered: "Thou shalt do no murder, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Honor thy father and thy mother; and, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself."

     We observe that all these commandments relate to our conduct toward our fellow beings, and that the Lord said nothing about the first three commandments, which should regulate our conduct toward God.

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     This is so, because in the preparatory stage of reformation, which precedes regeneration, the truths from God which tell us how to conduct ourselves in our relations with other men in practical, every-day life are the ones which we must always bear in mind and obey; for without obedience to these we cannot learn to love the Lord our God, but may easily give way to the selfish impulses which lead us to break all commandments of God.

     Although the young man in the Gospel story could answer, "All these things have I kept from my youth up; what lack I yet?" he did not receive the commendation he was expecting. He was not perfect. "If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven; and come and follow me." (Matt. 19:16-21.)

     That answer applies to all of us who are not perfectly ready to give up all thought of having any good in ourselves or any power to do good from ourselves, or that any virtue accrues to us for which we can pride ourselves because we obey what the Lord has commanded us to do. It is good for us to obey, and the obedience prepares us to see the Lord's love for us filling His revealed truth. But before that love-love of Him, admiration and love for the way in which He as a man, born by a human mother like us, inheriting all the evil tendencies of the human race, did the will of God, the will of infinite love-before that love is born in us, we cannot follow Him, and we cannot love our neighbor in accordance with the new commandment which He gave the disciples,-that they love one another as He had loved them.

     No one is good but the Lord alone. He is Life Itself, Love Itself and Good Itself. His Truth proceeds from the Good of His Love, and His Love infills His Truth. Truth apart from that infilling Good of His Love is a cold, soulless thing. Seen as the form and container of His Love, it is living from Him, and brings good from Him to us; but that good is His in us. It is not our own good, though He gives us to feel it and exercise it as if it were our own.

     Knowing this truth, so clearly revealed to us in His Word to His New Church, it should make us humble, as the Lord as a man like us was humble, not doing His own will, but the will of Infinite Love, the Heavenly Father, the Creator and Sustainer of all, Life Itself.

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Reflecting upon that truth, we may realize that it enables us td obey, that is, to live in accordance with His will, in a new way. We may come to obey from love to that Love which is He Himself, the only Source of good,-the love that goes out to others to give of itself.

     Knowing and seeing that this, His love, fills the truth He has revealed to us, we may progress to eternity in perception of that truth. But if we do not want to "sell that we have," and as long as we think that we have any good in ourselves, and can do good from ourselves, that may easily lead us astray and corrupt our understanding of His revelation, filling us with pride.

     Love to the Lord can be given us only by the Lord; and it is given us by means of the truth which makes it possible for us. This truth we are first to learn and understand with our reason; and later, if we follow that truth, which is filled with His love for us, and proceeds from it, we may come to feel that love as if it were our own, and from that love perceive the truth.

     When the first Christian Church had corrupted the revelation given to it by the Lord as a man on earth, and, like the Jewish Church before, by its traditions and dogmas had made the Word of God of no avail; and when, therefore, no good from the Lord was left in the Church; then the Lord came again as the Spirit of truth. He revealed the truth that makes it possible for the human rationality to see how His human life reveals the Divine life through obedience to the love that goes out to give of itself to others. The Word of the Lord to His New Church restores the teaching of the Law, the Prophets and the Gospels, again making clear that "all religion is of life, and that the life of religion is to do good."

     The whole doctrine of the Word is the doctrine of love to the Lord and to the neighbor. It also teaches us clearly how it becomes possible for us to do the good that is of religion and is its life. It is to this end that so much is said about what it is in men that makes them our neighbor,-the good from the Lord in them, or the possibility they have of receiving good from the Lord.

     All the truths of heaven and earth revealed to us are full of the Lord's own life,-the good of His love,-and they guide us to that life and that good, if we are willing to "sell that we have and follow Him." In no other way can love of the Lord and charity to the neighbor be born in us than by obedience to the truths received by Him.

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     But true obedience involves true understanding. Human love is one thing, the Lord's love another. Therefore it is said, as we have read in our Third Lesson from the Word, that "love without understanding is as it were blind." (D. L. W. 406.) That describes human love when not enlightened by Divine Truth. And again: "Affection without thought is as it were in darkness." It is only through thought from the truths revealed to us by the Lord that the affections of our will can be made to reflect something of the Lord's love and have some good in them.

     Of ourselves, we cannot do any real good to our fellow men, that is, we cannot live the life of religion. Nothing but Divine Truth can receive or contain good from the only Source of goodness. "The whole power of good is by means of truth; consequently, good works in truth, and thus by means of truth."

     "Good acts in truth." When we, as of ourselves, think and act from the revealed truths of the Lord, His Divine Good acts upon our will through our knowledge of truth and our obedience to it. His good flows into our obedience, creating affections and thoughts in us which are from Him in us, and are His, though we feel them as if they were our own. So can we have true religion,-a religion that binds our life to the Lord's life. So can we learn to do good and inherit life eternal. Amen.

     Lessons: Isaiah 1:1-20. Matthew 19:16-30. D. L. W. 406.
PROPAGATING THE HEAVENLY DOCTRINE 1929

PROPAGATING THE HEAVENLY DOCTRINE              1929

     "The Lord was born on this earth, and not on some other, because on this earth the doctrine published from heaven can be propagated through the whole globe, and remain for thousands of years. For on this earth, from ancient times, such things have been committed to writing, and at length to type, and so can be propagated through the whole globe, and also be permanent. For on this earth, and not elsewhere, there are such communications and journeys. Elsewhere the inhabitants are distinguished into nations, families and houses, and they do not know how to commit to writing what they know, nor how to communicate it with all. Besides, also, when the heavenly doctrine concerning the Lord is known on one earth, the rest are able to know it when they become spirits and angels." (S. D. 4181.)

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APOSTLES IN THE SPIRITUAL WORLD 1929

APOSTLES IN THE SPIRITUAL WORLD       Rev. HUGO LJ. ODHNER       1929

     It is our unique privilege as New Churchmen to see history as the story, not alone of this world, but also of the spiritual realm,-that unseen country where societies displaced each other or overshadowed each other much like the nations did on earth, where human rivalries expressed themselves, if not as wars of armies, yet in the keener conflicts of antagonistic philosophies of life, and where victory meant, not the gaining of paltry spoil, but the gaining of a wider freedom, a wider influence, a deeper life-delight.

     We cannot understand the development of the Christian Church unless we understand something of the story of the Christian Heaven. Nor can we understand the significance of the spiritual event which we commemorate on the 19th of June, unless we reflect upon the historical significance of those twelve disciples who, in their earth-life, went forth to prepare the world by their preaching for the Last Day and Doom, and for the imminent coming of the Son of Man.

     To me it is vastly strange that when these first evangelizers died-leaving behind them as a broken hope the fervent promise that the Son of Man would come again before that generation should have passed away-the Christian Church did not die along with them. But the Church survived, and was gradually weaned from the expectancy of the immediate return of the Christ, which yet hung as a warning and a looming possibility over the Christian world until the present time, when the faith of the fathers has faded considerably in the artificial light of science.

     The actual function of the Apostolic Church is explained in the Writings when it is said (T. C. R. 674) that the "Christian Church was indeed founded by the Lord when He was in the world, but is now for the first time being built by Him; that true Christianity is now first commencing" with the New Church. (T. C. R. 668e.) It was founded on earth-founded in the historical fact of the incarnate life and work of the Lord, and in the prophetic statement about His spiritual return; but also founded in the obscurities and shadows of earth. It was built in heaven-as a foursquare city of heavenly teachings which descended, and will descend, from heaven with perceptive light of revelation into the minds of men.

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The apostolic function was to assist in building those foundations, upon the cornerstone of faith in the incarnate Lord God.

     We are told that this first Christian age-the Apostolic Church-was like a garden of God, like the dawning of a new day which at the tenth hour turned into clouds and night, although for some the moon arose to shed a faint and reflected light. (T. C. R. 638.) Even then they could have been internal men, and been in fuller light, if they had so chosen; but as it was, the main spread of Christianity was owing to such zeal as the love of self engendered in men of Paul's stamp. The development of Christianity was very soon taken out of the hands of the real apostles, and of their immediate disciples, the apostolic fathers, so-called. And it is interesting to note that when, in the spiritual world, the real Christianity was at last to commence, and the Church, after the Last Judgment, was to be built up again, it was to the Twelve Apostles and their followers that the function of preaching the restoral of the cardinal things of the church was again entrusted.

     As I read the Writings, the apostles, after their death, were not wholly exempt from the general state of arrested development and spiritual coma into which the Christian Church on earth had fallen. Presumably they were, in due time, received into heaven by the Lord and educated there-coming into a fuller perception of the arcana there, and seeing in spiritual light, and thus Partaking in a manner of the heavenly Jerusalem which they had hoped would come. But as that heaven deteriorated by the accessions of hypocrites and merit-seekers from earth, their power to maintain themselves in this heavenly estate, and in these spiritual perceptions, weakened. It became sporadic rather than constant. They fell back at times into their natural minds-into a corporeal state such as obtained with them while they were on earth. That state is one below heaven, and is called, in the early Diary, the "heaven of spirits." It is much the same as what is called "the lower earth" of the world of spirits.

     It must have been rather easy for the disciples to be lured into such a state, in which their literalistic interpretation of the Lord's words to then; would be reawakened. For their heaven was not finally formed before the judgment.

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They had spent their lives foretelling the Last Judgment, but the judgment had not yet come. There was with them an unfulfilled, thwarted state,-a complex, we might call it,-which divided their personality; and this remained just as long as they rested their minds (as those in heaven must rest) upon natural spirits in the "heaven of spirits."

     Let us reflect what manner of spirits these were, who were filling the world of spirits during the long decadent Christian centuries. First-simple Jewish or gentile converts, who were spellbound over the miracles of the apostles, and readily expectant that these intimates of their Divine Master were to rule and judge over the Tribes of Israel, and stand at the gate of heaven to decide who were to be admitted. Then-Christians of a later age, who thought that the martyr's crown, or the cross of poverty, persecution, or ascetic abstinences, were the only effective signs of the heirs of salvation. Still later-the idolatrous-minded relic-worshipers of the Dark Age and subsequent times, whose hero-worship elevated the holy apostles into little gods, and embarrassed them with their persistent adulations to such an extent that some had to be given impersonating spirits as substitutes, so confusingly effective that, in the case of Peter, even Swedenborg at first mistook the mimic for the apostle. (S. D. 281, 421.) And finally-immense crowds of literalists who made the apostles their subjects at times, and attempted to stir even them up against anything of interior truth from the internal sense of the Word which might seem to contradict the letter. (S. D. 1321)

     The very human fact is that the apostles-in these recurrent natural states-were not at all disposed to relinquish their promised power of judgment, nor satisfied to admit latter-day arm-chair Christians to heaven, while they themselves had to travel there by the hard road of persecution and martyrdom. (S. D. 1325-1330.)

     So, with the apostles, there were these periods of being let down from the angelic state of their interiors into their own former thought and affection, until they would admit their errors only with indignant regrets; until, in fact, they temporarily forgot that they had ever been in heaven, and what life there was like; and, when corrected, doubting that they would ever get there! A remarkable state was theirs. Their spiritual minds were in heaven, but their natural minds were not regenerated or wholly unified as yet. After all, the natural mind depends much upon one's neighbors, upon one's environment, one's companionship and stimulus.

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We are not truly or permanently in heaven, unless the natural is subdued and so purged of its affections, and judged as to its ideas, that it invites spirits of light and order as companions, and unless we, as natural minds, and as spirits in the world of spirits, can acquiesce to the full conviction of the internal truth that the internal mind within us may feel and be led by the charity that the new conscience has received.

     The Last Judgment had to come, before the state could be changed. The natural spirits in the world of spirits had to be cast out from their high places, before the arrested development of the apostles could again be resumed towards the New Jerusalem. Even before the Judgment, however, there was one basis of order offered to the disciples. Swedenborg's natural mind, filled by the Lord with true and rational explanations of the letter of the Word, became to them a plane of utmost use, and he was often allowed their presence with him. He relates that angels, through him, instructed the apostles while in their state as spirits, in order to touch and re-order their chaotic natural minds; a thing which could not be done by the angels except through spirits; for angels cannot instruct the natural minds of others. Swedenborg thus took the place of the literalistic and ignorant Spirits who had previously formed a plane for the apostles; and through Swedenborg they were instructed as spirits concerning the interior meaning of the Word, especially as it pertained to their supposed office of judging. And when the Last Judgment had occurred, the old fallacies were readily removed from their minds. Their mission of warning the world of a coming judgment was over, and their minds could now turn to interior things. And finally, on the 19th day of June, 1770, the Lord called His faithful twelve together, that they might preach the fulfilment of the Gospel prophecies and the renewal of the covenant between God and men.

     What had taken place during these twelve and a half years following the Judgment? A new heaven from the simple good, and from those who, like the apostles, had been reserved by the Lord in an intermediate state since early Christian times, had nearly been completed. But, for the apostles especially, it must have been a period of instruction. The Lord caused them to be present, on several occasions, while Swedenborg was writing.

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Undoubtedly it was a period of reorganization for their natural minds, to the end that there might be an agreement between the spiritual perceptions, which they had from the first enjoyed in their heavenly societies, and the natural thought which before had arrested their progress, and caused their heavens to vanish at times.

     Why should these apostles, if their minds had thus lately been raised up from age-long obscuration, have been chosen for the instruments to sound the trumpet call of the New Dispensation in the spiritual world? In their various societies they were held in no greater esteem than many of their fellows. (H. H. 526.) Myriads in heaven were more worthy than the apostles, who are in a relatively external heaven. (S. D. 1330.)

     Again, let us go back to the fact that they were the eye-witnesses of the Lord's life on earth, and of His Resurrection. In the immortal substance of their minds-impressed by the love and awe in which they held Him-was placed the very spiritual cornerstone of all future religion, philosophy, and science of all our universe. Through them-or through the Divine fact which they witnessed and now first fully understood-could the natural-mind plane of the spiritual world be evangelized-in its full scope, for the future upbuilding of the New Jerusalem in the spiritual world of human minds. For the basic fact of their experience, even though they were not necessarily the archangels of heaven-gave universality to their mission. No progress of spiritual life can possibly be made except on the basis of their testimony! Theirs were the ultimates of all truths-the thing which could make all creation see its Lord as Divine Man!

     The moral we wish to have conveyed by these thoughts is the need of instruction. Judgments occur, that there may be freedom for instruction and thus progress. Even as the apostles were sent out only after a period of instruction, so all well-disposed newcomers in the spiritual world must enter heaven through the same kind of gate. They remain in places of instruction in the Northern quarter of the world of spirits near the East, until they become intelligent and worthy of the name of "disciples of the Lord." Then they are sent forth on their missions of use, first to the West, and then, if they do not remain there, to the South; and some are brought through the South into the East!

     Such is the circle of life. And we, in our endeavors as a Church, have sought to become such forecourts of heaven.

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The Academy,-chiefly established as a place to rear worthy, instructed, disciples,-has become a girdle of centers about the earth, where men may learn the way of heaven, that even their natural minds may be furnished with truths seen in spiritual light, and thus not be arrested or delayed in their search for heaven, which comes to man's spirit only when his spiritual and natural minds are united in a common service.

[Insert: Photographs:

1. Rev. E. C. Bostock, Pastor. Colchester History.

2. William Gill and the Gill Studio.]
COLCHESTER SOCIETY RECOLLECTIONS OF THE EARLY DAYS: 1880-1897 1929

COLCHESTER SOCIETY RECOLLECTIONS OF THE EARLY DAYS: 1880-1897       G. A. MCQUEEN       1929

     (Continued from the November issue, p. 652.)

     With the departure of the Rev. Charles Griffiths, who had been minister of the church in nearby Brightlingsea, and also honorary minister of the Colchester Society, it was not long before we realized that we were suffering for the want of a spiritual leader. This was the burden of a sermon of mine that was published in the NEW CHURCH MONTHLY for February, 1890. The following excerpts truly expressed the feeling of the congregation at that time:

     "If you see the truth of the preceding statements, we shall have some idea of the disadvantages under which those societies of the New Church labor which have no regular minister or pastor. This doubtless is the reason why so many flocks are lost to the Church. A congregation without a minister is like a hock without a shepherd. . . However excellent a preacher the so-called missionary may be, he is not a shepherd. He dwells at a distance, and knows not the needs of the flock. The shepherd lives in the midst of the flock, and is ever on the alert lest the wolf enter and destroy the dock. How needful this is! How ready is the infernal, false principle to snatch away those who seek to lead a Christian life! Let us hope that better provision will be made for the protection and nourishment of young societies, so that the New Church may cease to lament because of the loss of so many of its children. May men be appointed over our congregations who, with Divine Authority, will say, 'This is the way; walk ye in it!"-Shepherds who are willing to give their lives for the sheep; that is, those who count their own notions as nothing when compared with the living truths of the Word."

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     During the year, the society had ample opportunity to study the quality of the teaching given under the auspices of the General Conference. There were visits by Mr. G. W. Wall and Mr. J. G. Dufty, Conference students, and the Revs. Redman Goldsack and W. C. Barlow, the latter causing quite an upset with some of our congregation when he spoke of the "mistakes of Swedenborg."

     On July 6, 1890, the Rev. W. F. Pendleton, of Philadelphia, paid us an unexpected visit which greatly pleased our members. His sermon made a deep impression, and even those who looked with suspicion upon anybody connected with the Academy confessed that they enjoyed the service. It was during this visit that the writer was notified that he had been admitted into the membership of the Academy. On the day after the service, I had the pleasure of taking a bicycle ride with Mr. Pendleton and Mr. Ottley. The lovely country scenes at Dedham and East Bergholt, generally called "Constables Country," were visited. It was not long after Mr. Pendleton's visit that the society in Colchester heard the good news that there was every prospect of the establishment of a New Church school in London, and that the Rev. E. C. Bostock had been invited to become its Head Master.

     The Colchester Society was still a Conference society, and the writer was sent to represent it at the 83rd session of Conference, held at Addison Road, Kensington, London, in August, 1890. The Rev. Joseph Deans had just concluded his year of office as President. It was a meeting at which many things that had disturbed the Church for a number of years came to the surface, the final outcome being that a number of friends who had long worked together for the spread of the New Church doctrines were compelled to separate, in order to retain their freedom of thought and action. The demand that the Rev. R. J. Tilson give up the agency of NEW CHURCH LIFE, because of its so-called "pernicious" teaching concerning the Second Part of Conjugial Love, the alternative being that his name would be dropped from the Roll of Ministers, precipitated a painful debate, but further action was postponed, to "give Mr. Tilson an opportunity of fully considering his position." Full reports of the discussion may be seen in the MONTHLY and in NEW CHURCH LIFE.

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     Our own Society came before Conference through a statement in the President's Report to the effect that "Colchester needs to be tended carefully and to be dealt with tenderly, that she may learn the things that belong to her peace." In those apparently charitable expressions, it appeared to its representative, there was an underlying condemnation and judgment of the society. This was the first open criticism of the society, and it could easily suggest to those ignorant of the facts, as most of the members of Conference were, that something very bad was happening to the church in Colchester.

     The writer rose, and proposed that the objectionable comments be struck out of the President's Report, because he considered it unfair to the Colchester Society. He did not think Mr. Deans claimed to be infallible, but had simply made a mistake. He had been sent there to Protest against the many things which had been circulated about the Colchester Society by officials of Conference and the journals of the Church during the past year. Although greatly misunderstood, he did not mind the reference to missionary work remaining in the Report, if the proper meaning was attached to the words.* He challenged Mr. Deans or anyone else to produce a single individual by whom opposition to missionary work had been mentioned, or to name a single meeting at which this had been done. Granting that it was the opinion of some of the members, he still contended that it had no place in the Report. If he was asked what the general position of the members was in regard to missionary work, he would answer that it was the same as the position laid down by the President in his Report, when he advised that for the next twelve months it would be desirable to confine all missionary efforts to existing missions. They were decidedly in favor of missionary work of the right sort, but not the sort which sent out men who preached Unitarian sermons.
     * The Report stated: "I visited Colchester on the 5th, 6th and 7th of November, and was sorry to find a disposition on the part of many of the members to abandon the missionary spirit which brought the society into existence, and to talk and act in a spirit condemnatory of the actions of the members of the Church generally. New Church societies. It may be a society now leading the forlorn hope of the New Church. That may be the truth. I don't think the Conference can sanction a judgment of this character. It is an interference with the freedom of the Colchester Society. It is evident it is a united society; and on whatever lines it may be united, it has a right to be so united." The motion was supported by other speakers, and the phrase objected to was stricken from the Report.

     The Rev. J. F. Potts seconded the motion, saying, "It is quite possible, while apparently speaking kindly, to make use of words which convey a studied insult. A judgment is passed in these words, 'Colchester needs, etc. She does not learn the things that belong to her peace by busybodies going down there.

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I will not say there is a tone of insolence, but I must say there is an arrogant tone in these words. There is too much assumed on the part of the writer of the Report. It may be that the attitude of the Colchester Society is not in harmony with the majority of our New Church societies. It may be a society now leading the forlorn hope of the New Church. That may be the truth. I don't think the Conference can sanction a judgment of this character. It is an interference with the freedom of the Colchester Society. It is evident it is a united society; and on whatever lines it may be united, it has a right to be so united." The motion was supported by other speakers, and the phrase objected to was stricken from the Report.

     It would seem that Conference officials had now come to the conclusion that the Colchester Society was no longer worthy of their support. So it happened that, at the close of a Harvest Thanksgiving Service on Sunday evening, October 5th, Mr. Richard Gunton announced that there would be a meeting to consider the "unpleasantnesses" in the society; and before some of the strangers attending the service had left the room, he commenced a sort of fatherly castigation of the members of the society. As the meeting was not called according to our printed rules, the Secretary proposed that the congregation adjourn. The motion was seconded and carried, and all but two or three people left the room. Mr. Gill remained, but told Mr. Gunton that he had made a great mistake in bringing up the matter on such an occasion. It was soon learned that the society had been taken from the list of those being helped by the Missionary and Tract Society.

     But a new day soon dawned for the Colchester Society. The Rev. E. C. Bostock had resigned from his pastorate of the Immanuel Church in Chicago, and had arrived in London to commence a New Church school. On November 9th, 1890, he came to preach for us at morning service, and in the afternoon met our members at an informal gathering, where he made a statement as to his purpose in coming to England, explaining that his work in London would claim his first attention. At our Annual Meeting which shortly followed, written resignations as members of the Society were received from Mr. and Mrs. Charles Tweed and two other members, and, on the motion of Mr. Alfred Godfrey, were accepted. It was then unanimously decided to invite Mr. Bostock to become our pastor, and to leave with him all arrangements for conducting worship.

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It was also agreed that the weekly offerings be made as an act of worship at the opening of each service.

     In due course, a letter was received from Mr. Bostock stating that he would consent to become our pastor, if we did not expect too much from him. On Sunday afternoon, November 30th, a meeting was held to welcome him as pastor of the society. After the opening religious exercises, the Secretary stepped forward, and

     "Dear Mr. Bostock, our pastor, you have already had expressed to you in writing the gratitude of this society for your readiness in accepting the invitation to become our minister. As your engagements are of such a nature as to preclude your visiting us on weekdays-at least for the present-we thought that this time would be the most convenient in which to welcome you in the official capacity you now occupy towards us. As you have already heard, we have adopted the method of making our weekly offerings a part of Divine Worship, and, at the same time, wish the contents of the treasury to be used for the purposes of the priesthood. As you have undertaken the responsibilities of this office in our midst, I think the act of handing you the Key of the Box or Treasury will constitute a suitable ultimate expression of our confidence in your judgment and ability to perform these uses for us. Before doing so, however, I feel I must express, not only my own sentiments, but those of all present, that we have indeed special cause for thankfulness to the Lord for the way in which he has led us up to the present moment. We have undoubtedly made many mistakes, but this one thing we can now see, that, one by one, slowly but surely, the Lord has been preparing the minds of men and women to become true members of His External Church, members who unhesitatingly accept Him at His Second Advent, an Advent not made in Person, but in a Revelation of Interior Divine Truth. Little did we think it possible, or at any rate probable, that these things of which we have read and heard so much as to the doings of our brethren in America, would be so soon in our very midst; yet it is so. 'It is the Lord's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes.' Trusting we shall prove a worthy flock under the guidance of a worthy shepherd, I now, on behalf of this society, place the control of the affairs relating to Divine Worship in your hands."

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     Mr. Bostock, having taken the key from the hands of the Secretary, briefly responded. He expressed the pleasure he had already experienced in visiting the Colchester Society, and would do all in his power to further its highest interests.

     We have quoted the above address from the MONTHLY, because it gives a very clear idea of the situation of the society at that time. The formal act of handing the key of the treasury to the pastor was much more than a mere form. It was really representative of the desire on the part of the society to come into a state of order. The teaching concerning the disorderliness of lay preaching and lay control in the church had gradually been seen and accepted, so that, when the opportunity arrived, the Secretary and the Committee were prepared to relinquish their positions, and leave it to the pastor to appoint his own committee or council. From that time forth the sermons read by laymen when the pastor could not be present were supplied by him.

     It now became evident that it was our duty as a society to withdraw from Conference. This was done in February, 1891, and the writer shortly afterwards sent in his resignation as a member of Conference. This official separation marked the termination of ten years' connection with Conference,-ten years fraught with much sincere effort to further the cause of the New Church on the earth. In spite of many pleasant associations and personal friendships, the step seemed to be best for the ultimate good of all concerned. It produced an entirely new state in the life of the Colchester Society, with a feeling of relief that at last a surer foundation upon which the Church could rest had been found in the acceptance of the Writings as the sole authority on all things relating to the New Church. There could be no real unity until this position was established.

     Nevertheless, it did not necessarily follow that the church would settle down to a perpetual state of peace and calm, as will be seen from the events yet to be recorded. They make a great mistake who expect a time when the church will be free from temptation. There is a remarkable article in Words for the New Church, entitled "The Conflict of the Ages." Its opening words throw great light upon the history of man in his effort to pass from lower to higher degrees of manhood. We quote: "Within the Church and without it there is a conflict irrepressible and perpetual.

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The Church has this grand significance, that it comes marking distinctions where there are differences, not sending peace, but a sword, and setting a man at variance with things within himself, in fact, with his own household. All progress towards better states and conditions involves the discovery, not only of the good that is to be, but also of the evil that has held dominion, and that must be apprehended, condemned, and cast down." The truth contained in this statement may be confirmed by the experiences of men, individually or collectively, who are trying to walk in the path which leads to heaven.

     Our Pastor now began to teach the principles upon which he proposed to guide the society, it being a principle of the Academy to secure practical unanimity before making changes in existing forms. The aim was that the changes be made intelligently. A doctrinal class was formed, and met at the writer's house in Roman Road. The society settled down to its regular program of worship on Sundays, visits from the Rev. R. J. Tilson and friends from Camberwell on special occasions, celebrations of New Church Day, etc.

     On August 9, 1891, our pastor had returned from a brief visit to America, and at a meeting in Mr. Gill's studio gave an account of the doings of the general body, which had now been named "The General Church of the Advent of the Lord." At this meeting it was decided to use the liturgy of the General Church at our services. Mr. John Stephenson, who had come to assist in the school in London, accompanied Mr. Bostock on this occasion. He had studied at the Academy in Philadelphia, and was able to preach at Colchester when our pastor was absent.

     At our Annual Meeting on December 1, 1891, Mr. Alfred Godfrey was chairman, and after the secretary had made his annual report, the following motion was passed: "That three Trustees be appointed to hold the property of the society for the use of the New Church in Colchester as part of the General Church of the Advent of the Lord, and that the Society, as now organized, be dissolved and reorganized by the pastor according to the order of the General Church."

     On February 7, 1892, Mr, Bostock appointed his council as follows: Mr. G. A. McQueen, Secretary; Mr. Wm. Gill, Treasurer; Mr. F. R. Cooper and Mr. Alfred Godfrey. Now began a happy period in the life of the society. We were beginning to have more visits from our fellow members of the General Church in the United States, as well as from London.

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On Good Friday of that year, a social meeting was held in Mr. Gill's studio, when there were present, in addition to our pastor, the Rev. R. J. Tilson, Mr. Ottley and Mr. John Pitcairn. The visits of our friends from across the sea, coming as they did from the center of the Academy movement, always added greatly to the pleasure of these occasions. At this meeting, Mr. Tilson conducted the doctrinal part, giving a resume of a sermon, recently preached in Colchester, on the text, "Thou shalt not put on a mixed garment of wool and cotton together." He then invited questions, and a very interesting discussion followed, in which the Rev. E. C. Bostock and Messrs. Pitcairn, Ottley, Frost, Gill, Cooper and others took part. This portion of the evening was concluded by the pronouncing of the benediction by the presiding minister.

     An interval for social intercourse followed, and wine and cake were served. Mr. Ottley, as toastmaster, first proposed a toast to "The Church." Mr. Bostock, in responding, showed that upon the existence of the Church depended the existence of all things, even the existence of the world itself. Next followed a toast to "The Church in America." Mr. Pitcairn responded, expressing the pleasure he felt at being once more among the New Church friends in Colchester, and speaking of the interest in the work of the society felt by the friends in America. Mr. Tilson proposed "The Church in England," a toast to which Mr. Ottley responded. In the course of his remarks he showed that, while some might regret the painful combats and separations that were taking place, both in England and America, they were in reality signs of progress. In the Church at large, as well as in the individual regenerating man, there could not but be temptations and combats, with their consequent separations. A well-sustained effort was being made to establish the Church on the basis of law, of order, or of the revelation of Divine Truth from heaven in the Writings, and it was vain to expect that this could be done without severe struggles. The spirit abroad was the spirit of anarchy, and it was to be feared that that spirit had gotten into the New Church. Hence the unavoidable conflicts of the moment. But the members of the New Church had nothing to fear. The Lord would prosper their work, if they were faithful to their principles. Mr. Pitcairn then sang the song which had recently been published in the BULLETIN, "Our Glorious Church," all present joining in the refrain.

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The toast to the "Colchester Society " was responded to by Mr. McQueen, who pointed out that it was just ten years since regular public worship was commenced by the society, and that the members, as one man, felt the sincerest gratitude to their brethren in the United States, who had been the instruments in the hands of the Lord in bringing the genuine truths of the New Church within their reach.

     This social meeting may be taken as a sample of many in succeeding years. The drinking of toasts was something quite new to the Colchester members, but its use was soon recognized, and it became an established custom.

     It was at this period that several very enjoyable social meetings were held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Bedwell in Priory Street. At one of these meetings, during supper, the genial hostess said something which made it difficult for Mr. Bostock to control his "sense of humor." The lady was referring to one of her sons, when our pastor asked her what the son did for a living. She said he was a butcher. This reply was received in silence by the questioner. Then, apparently to tone down any unpleasant impression the information might have created, she explained that "from a child he had always been fond of animals."

     Our Sunday School was started anew by Mr. Bostock, who gave the children instruction in reading the Word in Hebrew. He explained to them the cause of their delight when reading the Commandments in Hebrew, namely, that it was because the celestial angels were present at that time. Interest in our church music and singing was growing, and Mr. Cooper was appointed to conduct singing practice.

     In August, 1891, Mr. Alfred Acton was guest of honor at a social meeting of the society. He had been studying at the Academy, and was in England on a vacation. He preached for us, and everyone was glad of the opportunity to meet him. What he has done for the Church since that time is well known to the members of the General Church, as well as to those outside our organization.

     The first House Dedication in the society took Place on November 6th, when our pastor dedicated the house of Mr. Alfred Godfrey in Roman Road. It was a simple but impressive ceremony.

     On Friday, November 25th, our old and esteemed member, Mr. R. J. Frost, was called into the spiritual world. He had been suffering from an attack of influenza for several weeks, but at the last his departure was somewhat sudden.

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The circumstances connected with the disposal of the mortal remains are worthy of notice, because of the fact that the usual arrangements were not carried out. As it was Mr. Frost's express wish that no black should be worn, but that: the burial should be as much in accord with the truths of the New Church as possible, his family, although not all New Church people, decided to leave the matter in the hands of the priest who should officiate. Our pastor being in Scotland, the Rev. R. J. Tilson came to conduct the ceremonies. He preached in the morning a sermon calculated to impress the minds of his hearers with thankfulness to the Lord for His revelation concerning the future life, and spoke of the glorious event which had taken place in the departure of our brother. In the afternoon, a number of our members attended the funeral, and Mr. Tilson made it an occasion for speaking briefly to the strangers present on the subject of death and resurrection in the light of the New Church. In the evening, the society held a memorial meeting, when several of our members told of their affection for Mr. Frost.

     The question of a New Church school for the young children growing up in the society was being seriously considered, but as it did not seem likely that we should be able to support a school for sometime, Messrs. Appleton, Cooper and McQueen decided to advertize for a lady teacher, to give private instruction to their children. There was only one application,-that of a refined young lady who was looking for a position in a private family. She agreed to instruct our young children in the subjects selected by us, and proved to be an excellent teacher. This little school met in the homes of Mr. Cooper and Mr. McQueen and performed a great use. The religious instruction was afterwards taken care of by the Rev. T. F. Robinson, who was sent to Colchester by Bishop Benade, to stay for a while in order to learn whether the society could support a resident pastor. The Bishop had arrived in England on June 28th, and remained for several months, visiting in London and other centers of the General Church.

     On September 2nd, Mr. Bostock addressed a letter to the society, stating that he had ceased to be our pastor, owing to the fact that the circles outside of London were now in charge of Bishop Benade. Although we were not losing the services of Mr. Bostock entirely, his retirement as pastor was felt keenly by the society. On Sunday, September 24th, the Bishop conducted morning worship, and at a social in the evening announced that he had appointed Mr. Robinson to the work in Colchester.

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Mr. Robinson was well known to some of us, as he had preached at Colchester when a minister of Conference, but since then he had studied for several years at the Academy. He continued the work commenced by Mr. Bostock, and it was during his time with us that great interest was taken in the beautiful music for the Psalms composed by Mr. C. J. Whittington. Sunday evenings were set apart for practicing the Psalms under the direction of Mr. F. R. Cooper. The society now made a modest attempt to beautify its place of worship. Mr. Appleton constructed a repository, and two reading desks were obtained, and placed on either side of the platform. These, with a crimson carpet for the floor, produced quite a church like effect, and greatly added to the sphere of worship.

     The induction of Mr. Robinson into the pastoral degree of the priesthood was performed by Bishop Benade on September 14, 1894. Until then, Mr. Tilson and Mr. Bostock paid regular visits to preach and administer the Holy Supper. And we were still having pleasant times with friends, new and old, from across the sea. Mr. C. E. Doering preached in July, and in August the Rev. E. S. Hyatt, of Parkdale, Canada, preached for us, a long interval having elapsed since he first came to Colchester as a Conference student. It may be truly said of the society, during 1895 and 1896, that history was repeating itself. At most of the social meetings, matters of church interest occupied the minds of those present. Much consideration was being given to the subject of church government.

     At the close of the year 1895, Mr. James Pryke was baptized at our morning service. He was a young man who determined to learn for himself the truths of the New Church. He spent nearly the whole of one night discussing the teaching of the Academy with the Rev. C. Th. Odhner, who, accompanied by Mr. Hugh L. Burnham, of Chicago, was visiting the society at the time. That Mr. Pryke made good use of his studies, has been known for a number of years to those who have read his valuable papers in NEW CHURCH LIFE. Another young man who joined the society, and is still a member, was Mr. John Potter. He became greatly interested in astronomy, and ultimately became a member of the Royal Astronomical Society of Great Britain. He also did useful work in teaching the young people part-singing.

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Mr. Walter Locke, a member from the beginning, was the first to be married in the Shaftesbury Hall, where the ceremony was performed in April, 1895. The custom of dedicating a repository for the Word was introduced at the writer's home, where a number of friends met and took part in a short dedicatory service, the Rev. E. C. Bostock officiating.

     In January, 1896, the Rev. T. F. Robinson informed the society that he would have to give up his pastoral work as soon as other arrangements could be made, as the offertory was not sufficient for his support. He had obtained a secular position in Northampton, married, and settled down to a happy life, and has resided there until the present time. For some months he paid regular visits to preach in Colchester, until other arrangements were completed. He never failed in his interest in the progress of the Academy, and was always delighted to talk over the early experiences he had passed through in the effort to further the cause of the New Church. In Northampton, he was occasionally invited to preach for the local Conference society, where also Mr. A. Adcock, mentioned in the beginning of this narrative, was one of the leaders.

     We must now bring these recollections to a close, as the writer left his native town early in 1897 to reside in London, where he became connected with the Burton Road Society.

     The affection always felt by the Colchester people for their first pastor, the Rev. E. C. Bostock, was manifest at a farewell meeting held on Sunday, September 5, 1897, when he was about to leave England to become pastor of the church at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Mr. and Mrs. Bostock had come to Colchester to bid farewell to their friends, and at the close of the meeting, Mr. Wm. Gill, on behalf of the society, presented Mr. Bostock with a gold pencil case, inscribed "E. C. B., Colchester, 1897-128." He asked acceptance of it, not because of its intrinsic value, for that was slight indeed, but as a token, small and imperfect though it was, of the love and affection the Colchester folk bore to its recipient. Mr. Bostock then thanked one and all for the gift, and promised that it would always be treasured by him, and would never fail to excite reciprocal feelings for the friends he had found in Colchester. He also gave utterance to his own thankfulness for the assistance they had afforded him in fulfilling the duties connected with his office. An intelligent laity, he went on to say, was of great value to a priest, inasmuch as teaching received and understood, and questions asked, urged the priest to a deeper and broader study and knowledge of the Doctrines, and led him to inquire more and more of the Lord for the truth he was to give to the people.

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In this respect, he felt that he had much occasion for gratefulness. He would ever watch with the keenest interest the advancement of the church in Colchester, believing that, under the Divine Providence, it had before it a bright and useful future.

     After an interval of about five years, there seemed to be every prospect that Mr. Bostock would again become the pastor of the Colchester Society. He visited England to preside at the First General Assembly of the Church of the New Jerusalem in Great Britain, and later organized the Colchester Society as a society of that body. He was made a Bishop of the General Church, but his health did not permit of his taking up the work in England as had been anticipated, and so it was that, under the Divine Providence, he was not to visit England again.
HEAVEN NEVER CLOSED 1929

HEAVEN NEVER CLOSED              1929

     "It is worthy of mention that the more there are in one society of heaven, and the more they act as one, the more perfect is its human form; for variety disposed into a heavenly form makes perfection, and variety is possible where there are many. Moreover, every society of heaven increases in numbers daily; and as it increases, it becomes more perfect. And not only is the society perfected in this way, but also heaven in general, because the societies constitute heaven. Since heaven is perfected by increasing numbers, it is evident how greatly deceived they are who believe that heaven may be closed by reason of being filled, when yet the contrary is the case, that it is never closed, but is perfected by greater and greater fullness. Wherefore, the angels desire nothing so much as to have new angel guests come to them." (H. H. 71.)

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APOSTOLIC INSPIRATION 1929

APOSTOLIC INSPIRATION       Rev. W. L. GLADISH       1929

     In NEW CHURCH LIFE recently (September, p. 549), Mr. Stanley E. Parker raises the question of the standing and authority of the Epistles of the New Testament. This he does because, although Swedenborg rejects them from the canon of the Divine Word (A. C. 10325), he yet appeals to them in support of the doctrines of the New Church; in several places including the Acts and Epistles among "passages from the Holy Word" (T. C. R. 137, 175, 690). And Mr. Parker asks: "And if they are available for the confirmation of doctrine, are not such portions equally available for its deduction. . . ?"

     The editor answers very logically and convincingly in the negative. He shows that the doctrine of the Church must be drawn from the Word of the Lord, and confirmed thereby; but that it is also allowable to add confirmations from other sources; from creeds, from doctrinal books, from science. He holds that the term "the Holy Word," when made to include the Acts and Epistles, was used in deference to the common belief of Christendom, which used the Word and the Bible as synonymous terms.

     It may be of use, however, to inquire into the nature of the inspiration of the Epistles; for we are taught that they are "useful books for the church," although they have not a concealed spiritual sense, as have the Gospels, through which immediate communication with heaven is given. (A. E. 815.)

     It is said in the Diary "that Paul indeed spoke from inspiration, but not in the same way as the prophets, to whom every single word was dictated." This statement occurs in connection with Swedenborg's report of a conversation with Zinzendorf about the Lord. Zinzendorf said that the Lord spoke in a very simple manner, and not wisely; and that Paul spoke more wisely. "But it was shown to him that the Lord spoke from Divine Wisdom itself by correspondences, exactly as He also spoke by the prophets, consequently from His own Divine; and that Paul indeed spoke from inspiration, but not in the same way as the prophets, to whom every single word was dictated; but that his inspiration was, that he received an influx according to those things which were with him, which is quite a different Inspiration, and has no conjunction with heaven by correspondences." (S. D. 6062.)

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     Again, in the Diary, it is said: "Moreover, he (Paul) has not mentioned in his Epistles the least word of what the Lord taught, nor cited one of His parables, so that he received nothing of the life and discourse of the Lord, . . . when yet in the Evangelists is the very Evangel itself." (S. D. 4412.)

     And further we are taught: "That the Epistles of Paul have not an internal sense, is known in the other life; but it is permitted that they may be in the church, lest those who are of the church should work evil to the Word of the Lord, in which is the internal sense. For if man lives ill, and yet believes in the holy Word, then he works evil to heaven; therefore the Epistles of Paul are permitted, and therefore Paul was not permitted to take one parable, not even a doctrine, from the Lord, and to expound and unfold it; but he took all things from himself. The church indeed explains the Word of the Lord, but by means of the Epistles of Paul; for which reason it everywhere departs from the good of charity, and accepts the truth of faith, which indeed the Lord has taught, but in such wise that the good of charity should be the all." (S. D. 4824.)

     We shall return to this point later, but in the meantime let me say that here seems to be the very essential reason why the Epistles were permitted to be bound up with the Gospels, and to be read and expounded much more than were the Gospels themselves. It was foreseen from the beginning that the Christian Church could not be held in charity, but would fall away to faith alone, and become a church in name only, perverting and falsifying every doctrine that the Lord taught. Therefore it was a permission of Providence that the Church might have the Pauline Epistles, and found all her doctrine upon them; for so she would not so deeply injure the Divine Word, nor heaven. For the Lord Himself and heaven rest in the Word; but there is no such holiness, nor direct communication with heaven, in the Epistles. The imaginary heavens, which served their purpose, and passed away at the Last Judgment, may be thought of as resting upon the Pauline Epistles.

     Let it be said, however, in justice to Paul, that he never taught salvation by faith alone.

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That doctrine is based upon a single expression of his, torn away from its context, misapplied and willfully misunderstood. When Paul writes to the Galatians, "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ" (Gal. 2:16), it is evident to anyone from the context that by "the works of the law" which justifies no Christian, he is referring to the Jewish ceremonial law.

     Concerning the inspiration of the Apostles in general we have the following teaching in the True Christian Religion:

     "It is known that the apostles, after they had received the gift of the Holy Spirit from the Lord, preached the Gospel through much of the world, and that they promulgated it by speaking and writings; and they did this out of themselves from the Lord; for Peter taught and wrote in one manner; James in another, John in another, and Paul in another, each according to his own intelligence. The Lord filled them all with His Spirit, but each took of it a measure according to the quality of his perception, and they exercised it according to the quality of their ability. All the angels in the heavens are filled by the Lord, for they are in the Lord and the Lord in them, but still each speaks and acts according to the state of his mind, some in simplicity, some in wisdom, thus with infinite variety; and yet everyone speaks out of himself from the Lord. It is similar with every minister of the church, whether he be in truths or in falsities; each has his own mouth and his own intelligence, and each speaks out of his own mind, that is, out of his spirit which he possesses." (T. C. R. 154.)

     From its being said that the apostles spoke from the Holy Spirit, it might be thought that they spoke from immediate Divine inspiration, so that what they spoke was the holy Word of God. But that this is not meant, is evident from the illustrations or examples which follow the statement. "It is similar with every minister of the church, whether he be in truths or in falsities." Then the ministers of the church, like the angels of heaven, speak from the Holy Spirit; and this whether they be in truths or in falsities. This inspiration by the Holy Spirit is a common or general inspiration which inflows through heaven into the truths of the Word in man's mind, and enlightens him and inspires him with zeal according to the state of his mind, both as to understanding and affection. Especially is this true of ministers who preach the Word. This is also evident from what is said of Paul's inspiration, already quoted: "Paul indeed spoke from inspiration, but not in the same way as the prophets, to whom every single word was dictated; but that his inspiration was, that he received an influx according to the things which were with him, which is quite a different inspiration, and has no conjunction with heaven by correspondences." (S. D. 6062.)

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     THE INSPIRATION OF THE WORD.

     It is a doctrine familiar to the New Churchman that the inspiration by which the Word of God is given is different from this. But it may not be amiss to consider just how and why it differs. The unique, immediate, Divine inspiration of the Word by the Lord Himself through heaven is declared in the following, as also in a thousand places in the Writings:

     "The Word in the sense of the letter appears very simple, and yet there is stored up in it the wisdom of the three heavens, for each particular of it contains interior and more interior senses; an interior sense such as exists in the first heaven, a still more interior sense such as exists in the second heaven, and an inmost sense such as exists in the third heaven. These senses are in the sense of the letter, one within the other, and are evolved therefrom, one after the other, each from its own heaven, when the Word is read by a man who is led by the Lord. These interior senses differ in a degree of light and wisdom according to the heavens, and yet they make one by influx, and thus by correspondences. . . . All this makes clear how the Word was inspired by the Divine, and that it was written from an inspiration to which nothing else in the world can in any wise be compared." (A. E. 1079e.)

     And in Heaven and Hell, it is taught how the Word was given that it might contain all this angelic and Divine wisdom:

     "I have been informed how the Lord spoke with the prophets through whom the Word was given. He did not speak with them as with the ancients, by an influx into their interiors, but through spirits who were sent to them whom be filled with His look, and thus inspired with words Which they dictated to the prophets; so that it was not influx but dictation. And because the words came forth immediately from the Lord, they are each filled with the Divine, and contain Within an internal sense, which is such that the angels of heaven perceive them in a heavenly and spiritual sense when men perceive them in a natural sense.

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In this manner the Lord has conjoined heaven and the world by the Word. How spirits are filled with the Divine from the Lord by His look has been shown. The spirit filled with the Divine knows no otherwise than that he is the Lord, and that it is the Divine that speaks, and this even until he has done speaking; afterward he perceives and acknowledges that he is a spirit, and that he did not speak from himself, but from the Lord. Because such was the state of the spirits who spoke with the prophets, therefore it is also said by them that Jehovah spoke; the spirits also called themselves Jehovah, as may be manifest both from the prophetic and from the historical "parts of the Word." (H. H. 254.)          
                                   
It might be asked how the wisdom of the angelic heavens enters into what is dictated to a spirit by the Lord Who has filled the spirit with His look. It appears as if the Lord and the spirit were the only ones concerned. But it is to be remembered that the Lord lives in the angelic heavens as man's soul lives in his body, and that He acts through the heavens, and by no means apart from them. (D. P. 162.) All Divine influx passes in order through the higher heavens into the lower ones, and in its descent clothes itself with the affection and the intelligence of the angels.

     The manner of this Divine influx, inspiration and dictate by which, the holy Word was given can be known only from the Lord's Servant in His Second Advent, to whom, and through whom, it was revealed, that it might be known in the church on earth as it is known in heaven.

     In the Word Explained he writes: "The angel who inspires the words into a prophet, or into those who speak inspired things, as here into Moses, is only in spiritual things, and thus acts into the mind of him who is inspired. He thus excites his thought, by which (the spiritual things) fall into words in the wonted manner. The words are such as are in the prophet, thus are according to his apprehension, and according to the form in which they are seated in him, which is the cause of the very diverse styles of the prophets. But this I can sacredly asseverate-who am inspired-that there is not the least of a word, there is not a jot, which is not inspired; but it is varied a little according to the gift of him who sets the thing forth; but still so that even then there is not a jot which is not inspired." (W. E. 3/6965.)

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     Also from the Diary: "They (certain ones raised up into heaven) especially observed what is the inspiration of those things that are written in the Word of the Lord. For now it appeared to them how and what faculty flowed into those things which were written by me; yea, not only into the sense, but even into the single words and ideas of words. Indeed, it seemed to them as if certain ones held my hand and wrote, deeming that it was they who wrote. This was also granted me to perceive by a spiritual idea, yea, as it feel beforehand what was in the most single idea of every little letter which was written. Hence it is as in clear light that the Word of the Lord is inspired as to every letter." (S. D. 2270.)

     This experimental proof was given that it might be known, both to angels and men, how the Word has been given; that it is by immediate Divine influx of the Lord Himself, acting through the three heavens, filling the writer with His Spirit, choosing from his mind such things as will set forth by correspondence the Divine and angelic wisdom to be expressed.

     That all that is here said applies equally to the theological Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg, the servant of the Lord in His Second Coming, is evident both from his writings being used as an illustration, and from his direct statement: "But this I can sacredly asseverate,-who am inspired."

     That this is true of the Writings, even as it is true of the Old and New Testaments, though of each in a different way, is evident from Swedenborg's statement in the True Christian Religion, that the Lord appeared to him in Person, and "filled him with His Spirit to teach the Doctrine of the New Church from Him," and that from the day of his call be had received nothing pertaining to the doctrine of that Church from the mouth of any spirit or angel, but from the mouth of the Lord alone. (T. C. R. 779.)

     Many passages in the Writings show that this Divine dictate was variously received by different sacred writers; that in the Old Testament it rested in the very words and even the letters, while with Swedenborg the dictate Was into his interior thought. But still, the essential thing in all Divine Revelation is the same: it is given by the immediate act of the Lord Himself, acting through all the heavens; thus the truths are continuous from the Lord, and there is correspondence even to ultimates, whether the ultimate be the letters, or, as with Swedenborg, the natural and rational truths to be opened from the Word.

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     What the Lord thus gives, acting in person immediately through heaven, opens by correspondence through all the heavens when it is read, and brings the reader face to face with the Lord. The Divine Spirit inflows afresh into the Word which He has spoken, and as it were speaks it anew, not only to man in the world, but at the same time to all those societies of spirits and angels who are intermediate between man and the Lord Himself.

     When the Church on earth is in evils and falses, this gives pain to the heavens, and they withdraw farther from man. In the symbolic Israelitish Church, this danger was obviated by the closing of the internal man during worship, so that their evils did not appear. This could not be done in the Christian Church, because the Lord had opened and taught the genuine truths of the Word, and had established the Church upon such truths, and not merely upon symbolic representations of truths.

     And yet, as He foresaw, the Church could not pass from the Jewish state of mere representation of heavenly and Divine things to the state of a genuine Church in correspondence with the angelic life of the heavens, excepting through an intermediate state, corresponding to that of man's reformation, preceding his regeneration,-when there is the outward form of righteousness without as yet the substance; the truth, but not as yet the genuine affection of truth.

     Therefore, lest the heavens be injured by the evil state of the Church on earth, and, withdrawing, leave the Church dead without hope of resurrection, the Lord permitted the Epistles to be written, and the doctrine and life of the Church to be founded upon them; thus producing an imaginary heaven, which both tempered the influx from the Lord to the Church on earth and prevented the passing of the evils of the Church into heaven. This, until such time as a sufficient number of regenerate Christians could be provided to occupy the region of the lower heaven, when the Last Judgment occurred and the imaginary heavens were swept away.

     Now the man of the New Church is to be taught and led immediately by the Lord alone. Therefore, all the doctrine of this Church must be drawn from the Word, which is the Lord Himself present in the Church. But there can be no harm in confirming the Doctrine by the Epistles when addressing those who esteem them as sacred books. In the First Christian Church they were useful books.

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But they were not dictated by the Lord Himself; they are not written in correspondence with heaven; they have no concealed internal sense. Therefore, they do not open heaven in the same way as the Word, nor do they operate to insert the spirit of man into an angelic society, nor bring man face to face with the Lord.
PURPOSES OF THE ACADEMY 1929

PURPOSES OF THE ACADEMY       Rev. W. B. CALDWELL       1929

     (At a Service in celebration of Charter Day, November 1, 1929.)

     It is our belief that those who sought and obtained the Charter of the Academy were inspired by the Lord to undertake the uses stated as the purposes of the Charter. For we know that they were men filled with an enthusiasm and zeal for the establishment of the Lord's New Church, and these could come only as a gift from heaven, granting them a vision of the future growth of the Church, and initiating that blossom-time which gave promise of an abundant fruit-bearing in time to come. In acknowledging today that this was from the Lord, we seek His continued presence to protect and prosper the uses in which it is our privilege now to have a part, looking to Him for renewed zeal and courage, that we may abide steadfastly in pursuance of the aims and purposes of the early days.

     Article II of the Charter reads: "The Academy of the New Church shall be for the purpose of propagating the Heavenly Doctrines of the New Jerusalem, and establishing the New Church signified in the Apocalypse by the New Jerusalem, promoting Education in all of its various forms, Educating Young Men for the Ministry, publishing Beaks, Pamphlets, and other printed matter, and establishing a Library."

     The framers of the Charter used the term "propagate" advisedly, as it occurs a number of times in the Writings in the sense of extending the light of doctrine in both worlds. (S. D. 4781; H. H. 308; A. E. 351c) But the main purpose, as stated, is twofold,-to propagate the Heavenly Doctrines, and to establish the New Church; contemplating, we believe, not only a propaganda and the imparting of a knowledge of the Doctrines to men, but also a reception of ,the Doctrines in faith and life, to the end that the Lord in His Second Coming might be actually received by regenerating men and women, spiritually formed into a living Church by Him,-a Church having also its ultimate organization in the world, established through the priesthood, according.

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So the order revealed in the Heavenly Doctrines. All of the instrumentalities of the Academy were to be devoted to the promoting of this main, twofold purpose,-the teaching of the Heavenly Doctrines and the establishing of the New Church.

     The charter members and their associates were men and women whose hearts God had touched. They loved the New Church and its teachings, and wished to see its blessings extended, that others might enjoy the spiritual benefits which they enjoyed. They were not satisfied with what was being done to this end by the organized New Church of that time. The Church was not growing, but diminishing. And the real reason for this was that New Churchmen had not remained faithful to the plain teachings of the Writings; they were not teaching the pure truth diligently to their children, or else there was something wrong with the way in which they were doing it, because many of the young born in the Church, when they grew up, were not interested in the New Church, and did not love it, but went away from it, preferring to live in the world, either affiliated with the Old Church or apart from any religious influence.

     But those who founded the Academy were a few among the New Churchmen of that time, over fifty years ago, who saw this condition and decided to do something about it. They saw that the attempts being made to propagate the Heavenly Doctrines in the world were meeting with little success, and so they decided that the best way to build up the Church was to try to interest the children, even from an early age in the home, and to have schools for them to attend when they were old enough,-to have not only primary schools, but also a high school, a college, and a theological school, all under the banner of the New Church, and pervaded with its spirit and sphere. In this way they hoped that boys and girls, young men and women, would learn the Doctrines of the New Church, in connection with all other courses of study, and find those Doctrines delightful to know, to understand, and to live.

     More than this, those who instituted the Academy hoped that those who came after them would understand the Doctrines much better than they themselves did.

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Swedenborg was a man of great learning, and the Lord prepared him to know and understand many things, to the end that he might receive the wonderful things revealed to him by the Lord in the spiritual world,-the marvels of Divine Wisdom, heavenly wisdom,-all of which are based upon the wisdom and science of this world of nature. The men of the Academy realized that, without a wide knowledge of natural things, and without an opening of the intellect by means of a true philosophy and theology, full grasp and appreciation of the Heavenly Doctrines, and thus a full reception of the Lord as He has revealed Himself at His Second Coming, is not possible. And so they wished to establish a churchly school that might prepare for a scholarly church,-not for the sake of mere learning and culture, but that the Heavenly Doctrine might be fully received. For they knew also that the Doctrine was given to open the mind even to the soul-the love-the love of God, the love of heaven, the love of the fellow man, so that all attainments of the intellect might become servants to the spiritual love of use,-the love of serving the Lord in His kingdom of uses.

     With all this in mind, the men who obtained the Charter looked forward to the day when the Academy might have a university,-a school providing all the essentials of a liberal education, and preparing men and women to understand the Writings as the great doorway to a true life in this world and the next. Graduates would then go forth as New Church men and women to seek further technical training for their chosen vacations, and finally enter the field of uses in the world as New Church men and women furnished with an interior light of intelligence and a spiritual zeal in their work, which could come only from the Lord in the Church, and knowing that all uses have a much wider extension in spiritual spheres than the results that appear on the natural plane.

     We can see that the object of such a school was not that the students should merely know and understand the Heavenly Doctrines, but that they should also wish to live according to them, that the New Church might really be established, not as an organization only, but as a spiritual force in the world, and that its members might perform uses, not only with skill, but also with spiritual intelligence and wisdom, and so be prepared to perform uses in heaven among the angels forever. For, after all, it matters little what our work may be in this world; it is the way we do it, the spirit in which it is done, that prepares us for heaven or for hell-for hell, if we do our work from selfish purpose; for heaven, if we fight against self-love and all its evils.

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And it is by obedience to the Lord and His teaching in the Church that we are able to overcome selfishness, and to learn to be unselfish in all that we do to become as the angels, who are so unselfish that they would gladly give up their places in heaven, if by so doing they could save a devil from hell.

     And so we may say that the chief object in the New Church school, and of all its instruction and training, is the molding of character, of that quality of mind and spirit whose chief attribute in after-life will be a humility before God and a modesty before men,-the self-suppression of the ego, the proprium, its pride and ambition, whereby a finer individuality is born through a heavenly proprium from the Lord, whereby man becomes a willing form of use in the Lord's hands. Those who pass through such a school, and fulfill its object, will become more and more intelligent in the uses they perform, and more and more wise in performing them-and more and more happy,-a gift from the Lord, a gift which selfish and worldly men cannot receive; they cannot be truly happy, although they think they are happy when they attain their selfish desires.

     To put all this in another way, let us say that we would not be following the first Principles of the Academy if we made it our object to prepare the young for life in the world, with a little sprinkling of New Church teaching thrown in, or with Religion made an optional study. But while we shall ever aim to Provide an education that equips for life in the world, and to do this ever more efficiently, our primary end and purpose is to prepare the young for the life of regeneration,-the life of the church as the stepping stone to heaven,-if they choose to enter that life. This end and purpose is not incidental to our undertaking, but is the dominating, governing, all-pervading motive, entering from within into every least part, and never to be compromised under any circumstances whatsoever,-unless we are willing to prove unworthy of the responsibility that has been handed down to us, to yield and surrender to the enemies of the Lord, to those vulture-like spirits who are ever at hand to devour the body from which the soul has departed.

     We hold that a system of education in which spiritual interests are paramount also furnishes the chief means for a successful life in the world, which also has for its principal object a preparation for life in heaven.

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For if regeneration is not going forward within a man's earthly activities, he is not promoting his own eternal welfare, however much he may accomplish in the works of this world. And if he is not promoting his own eternal welfare by his work in the world, he is contributing nothing to the spiritual establishment of the New Church, thus nothing toward the salvation of the human race, which is to be effected by the Lord through those New Church men and women who carry the spirit and life of the Church into all their activities, whether in the home, in the church, or in the world.

     When we say that our system of education may also furnish the means for a useful and successful life in the world, we mean that a school which deals primarily with the heart and mind of the child, endeavoring to instill piety and morality, to make rational and intelligent, is providing an equipment of the spirit which is the vital element in every truly successful accomplishment in the held of uses. The success of a work is not to be measured by its earthly consequences alone; a very simple act, an inconspicuous deed, a work little known to the world, may have widely extended spiritual uses, if the qualities of spiritual love and intelligence are in the mind of the one who performs it. The man who has no religion is not intelligent, however smart he may appear to be; and he who is not intelligent, who has not good judgment, is not interiorly successful in any undertaking; his works of use have little spiritual extension. What is more, he who is not overcoming his faults and evils cannot be successful either in his work or in his regeneration. These two go together with the man of the New Church, that he may remove evils as sins against God, and also as barriers to an efficient performance of uses to the neighbor.

     We are not among those who think that a man can keep his New Church training and knowledge in a closed compartment of his mind, while he goes out into the world and follows the ways of the world in its deceit and dishonesty, its selfish and ungodly pursuit of natural objects. Such a thing, with a New Churchman, would be a form of the faith-alone state which we all share by inheritance,-a state that would be content with a mere knowledge of the Heavenly Doctrines, without the effort and struggle to ultimate them in life,-a state which contributes nothing vital to the real establishment of the New Church among men.

746




     Let me now speak briefly of two things which the Academy, from the beginning, has considered essential to the carrying out of its two primary purposes,-the teaching of the Doctrines, and the establishment of the New Church. (1) That it should have separate schools and develop an educational system of its own. (2) That instruction in the Doctrines should be given in an atmosphere of faith, but also of freedom.

     The first requirement was made possible by the granting of the Charter, and up to the present has been protected by the laws of our Country and the decisions of its courts. The Academy Schools are distinct from all others, even as the New Church is distinct from the Old. They are withdrawn from the world, to the end that there may be protection from the evils and falsities of the world, and that the young in the Church, like children educated in heaven, may be given full opportunity to see and love the Truth, and thus be prepared to judge rationally of the state of the world in adult age. They are protected until they can protect themselves; are kept from the hour of spiritual temptation until furnished with weapons for the combat.

     Many New Churchmen today, as they look out upon the world, find it fair to look upon. "Surely," they say, "the New Church is at work there, and men know it not." The Academy took issue with this view in the beginning, and saw in it the cause of the decline of the Church and the loss of the young. Is it any different today? Is there less need of protecting ourselves from the fair appearances of things! Are we to judge by the outward advance in natural goods, or, in the light of Revelation, to look beneath the surface to the moral and spiritual state of mankind,-the evils of men, their indifference to religion, the false theology of the churches, the atheistic philosophy and science of the schools? Against these, we believe, there is even greater need of protection today, for the world was never more alluring to the natural man, and it is easy to grow soft and yielding to the varying customs and opinions of the day without stopping to consider that many of them are contrary to the truth of the Writings, which is not for a day, but eternal and unchangeable, given to lead the New Church onward and upward to better things.

     Of the many good and useful things in the world which the New Church has need of,-treasures of knowledge, literature, of art and industry,-these we must appropriate to our uses, with discrimination, having a care that these jewels of silver and gold acquired from the Egyptians are employed in the building of the tabernacle of the New Church, and not in rearing the molten calf of a love of the world.

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     The second requirement,-that instruction in the Doctrines be given in an atmosphere of faith and of freedom,-this is observed when the Doctrines are taught by those who love them and believe them to be the Lord's Truth; when they are taught in a sphere of holy faith, but also in a sphere of affection, and without a sphere of compulsion to believe, to the end that they may be received in freedom, that is, in affectionate interest of the heart and a glad delight in the truth of heaven. Otherwise they are not really appropriated, and do not remain. This provision is vital to the purpose of the Academy to be instrumental in establishing the New Church, which is to be a spiritual church, founded in the individual love and faith, spontaneous and free,-founded in that internal bond of conscience which cannot be imposed upon the individual from without, but which must come to him from the Lord his God, who knocks at the inner door of his heart and mind, longing to be received. "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.)

     Lessons: Isaiah 60. C. L. 163, 164.
DOCTRINE AND THE LITERAL SENSE 1929

DOCTRINE AND THE LITERAL SENSE              1929

     Among priests and men of the church, there are those who teach and learn the truths of the church from the literal sense of the Word, and there are those who teach and learn them from doctrine out of the Word, which is called the doctrine of the faith of the church. The latter differ greatly from the former in perception, but they cannot be distinguished by people in general, since they speak from the Word nearly in like manner. But the former, who teach and learn only the literal sense of the Word, without the doctrine of the church to guide them, comprehend only those things which relate to the natural or external man, whereas those who teach and learn from true doctrine out of the Word understand also the things which relate to the spiritual or internal man. The reason of this is, because the Word in the external or literal sense is natural, but in the internal sense it is spiritual; the former sense in the Word is called a 'cloud,' and the latter 'glory' in the cloud." (A. C. 9025.)

748


SOUTH AFRICA 1929

SOUTH AFRICA              1929


NEW CHURCH LIFE
Office a Publication, Lancaster, Pa.
Published Monthly By
THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM
BRYN ATHYN, PA.
Editor                    Rev. W. B. Caldwell, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager          Mr. H. Hyatt, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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

     TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$3.00 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single Copy, 30 cents
     With the return of the Bishop of the General Church from his episcopal visit to South Africa, we shall hope to publish in an early issue the official reports of the First District Assembly of South Africa, held at Durban, and of the Assembly of the Native Mission, held at Alpha, Orange Free State. In addition, we are promised an account from the pen of Mrs. Pendleton, vividly recording her impressions of the visit.
NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS 1929

NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS              1929

     We are pleased to state that the Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner will continue during 1930 his monthly "Notes on the Calendar Readings," which have been a valuable feature during the present year. The installment in our next issue will include comment upon the December and January readings.

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DIRECTORY OF THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM 1929

DIRECTORY OF THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM              1929

     OFFICIALS AND COUNCILS.

     Bishop.

     Right Rev. N. D. Pendleton

     Secretary.

     Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner

     Treasurer.

     Mr. H. Hyatt

     Consistory.

     Bishop N. D. Pendleton

Rev. Alfred Acton                Rev. F. E. Waelchli
Rev. C. E. Doering Secretary           Rev. E. E. Iungerich
Rev. Homer Synnestvedt           Rt. Rev. George de Charms
Rt. Rev. R. J. Tilson                Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner
Rev. Theodore Pitcairn

     Executive Committee.
     Bishop N. D. Pendleton, President
     Mr. Raymond Pitcairn, Vice President
     Mr. Geoffrey S. Childs, Secretary
     Mr. Hubert Hyatt, Treasurer

Mr. Edward C. Bostock           Mr. Alvin E. Nelson
Mr. C. Raynor Brown           Mr. Seymour G. Nelson
Mr. Paul Carpenter                Mr. Harold F. Pitcairn
Mr. Randolph W. Childs           Mr. Colley Pryke
Mr. Alexander P. Lindsay           Mr. J. H. Ridgway
Mr. Samuel S. Lindsay           Mr. Rudolph Roschman
Mr. Nils E. Loven                Mr. Paul Synnestvedt
Mr. Charles G. Merrell           Mr. Victor Tilson

     Honorary Members.
Mr. Walter C. Childs                Mr. Richard Roschman
Mr. Jacob Schoenberger

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     THE CLERGY.

     Bishops.

     PENDLETON, NATHANIEL DANDRIDGE. Ordained, June 16, 1889; 2d Degree, March 2, 1891; 3d Degree, October 27, 1912. Bishop of the General Church. Pastor of the Bryn Athyn Church. President of the Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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

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

     Pastors.

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

     ACTON, ELMO CARMAN. Ordained, June 14, 1925; 2d Degree, August 5, 1928. Pastor of the Durban Society. Address: 125 Musgrave Road, Durban, Natal, South Africa.

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

     ALDEN, WILLIAM HYDE. Ordained, 1st and 2d Degrees, May 30, 1886. Instructor; Academy of the New Church. Manager of the Academy Book Room, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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

     BJORCK, ALBERT. Ordained, 1st and 2d Degrees, August 17, 1890. Address: The Birches, Woodgreen, Salisbury, England.

     BOEF, HENDRIK WILLEM. Ordained, June 17, 1928; 2d Degree, September 8, 1929. Pastor of the Los Angeles Society. Address: 8471 Blackburn Ave., Los Angeles, California.

751




     BOWERS, JOHN EBY. Ordained, 1st and 2d Degrees, May 11, 1873. Address: 37 Lowther Ave. Toronto, Canada.

     BRICKMAN, WALTER EDWARD. Ordained, 1st and 2d Degrees, January 7, 1900. Address: Edinburgh, Texas.

     BROWN, REGINALD WILLIAM. Ordained, October 21, 1900; 2d Degree, October 12, 1919. Professor and Librarian, Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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

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

     DAVID, LLEWELLYN WARREN TOWNE. Ordained, June 28, 1914; 2d Degree, June 19, 1916. Address: Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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

     ELPHICK, FREDERICK WILLIAM. Ordained, February 7, 1926; 2d Degree, June 19, 1926. Superintendent of the South African Mission. Address: P. O. Box 78, Ladybrand, Orange Free State.

     GILL, ALAN. Ordained, June 14, 1925; 2d Degree, June 19, 1926. Pastor of Carmel Church, Kitchener, Ont. Address: 316 Park St., Kitchener, Ont., Canada.

     GLADISH, VICTOR JEREMIAH. Ordained, June 17, 1928; 2d Degree, August 5, 1928. Pastor of the Colchester Society. Address: 43 Lexden Road, Colchester, England.

     GLADISH, WILLIS LENDSAY. Ordained, 1st and 2d Degrees, June 3,1894. Pastor of Sharon Church, Chicago, Ill. Address: 5220 Wayne Ave., Chicago, Ill.

     GYLLENHAAL, FREDERICK EDMUND. Ordained, June 23, 1907; 2d Degree, June 19, 1910. Pastor of Olivet Church, Toronto, Ont. Address: 2 Elm Grove Ave., Toronto, 3, Ont., Canada.

     HARRIS, THOMAS STARK. Ordained, 1st and 2d Degrees, April 8, 1897. Pastor of the Society in Arbutus, Maryland; Visiting Pastor of the Abington, Mass., and Meriden, Conn., Circles. Address: Halethorpe P. O., Maryland.

     HEINRICHS, HENRY. Ordained, June 24, 1923; 2d Degree, February 8, 1925. Pastor of the Society in Denver, Colorado. Address: 543 Delaware Street.

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     HUSSENET, FERNAND. Ordained, 1st and 2d Degree, October 10,1909. Pastor of the Society in Paris, 84 Avenue de Breteuil. Address: 31 Rue Henri Regnault, St. Cloud, Seine et Oise, France.

     IUNGERICH ELDRED EDWARD. Ordained, June 13, 1909; 2d Degree, May 26, 1912. Pastor of the Pittsburgh Society. Address: 7437 Ben Hur St., Pittsburgh, Pa.

     LEONARDOS, HENRY. Ordained, 1st and 2d Degrees, August 5, 1928. Pastor of the Rio de Janeiro Society. Address: 25 rua Sachet, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

     LIMA, JOAO DE MENDONCA. Ordained, 1st and 2d Degrees, August 5, 1928. Pastor of the Rio de Janeiro Society. Address: 25 rua Sachet, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

     MORSE, RICHARD. Ordained, 1st and 2d Degrees, October 12, 1919. Pastor of the Sydney Society. Address: Dudley Street, Hurstville, Sydney, N. S. W., Australia.

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

     PFEIFFER, ERNST. Ordained, June 20, 1920; 2d Degree, May 1, 1921. Pastor of the Society at The Hague, Holland. Address: Laan van Meerdervoort 229, The Hague, Holland.

     PITCAIRN, THEODORE. Ordained, June 19, 1917; 2d Degree, October 12, 1919. Assistant Pastor of the Bryn Athyn Church. Instructor, Academy of the New Church. Address: Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     PRICE ENOCH SPRADLING. Ordained, June 10, 1888; 2d Degree, June 19, 1891. Professor, Academy of the New Church. Address: Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     ROSENQVIST, JOSEPH ELTAS. Ordained, June 19, 1891; 2d Degree, June 23, 1895. Address: Skanstorget 7, Gothenburg, Sweden.

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

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

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

     WAELCHLI, FRED. EDWIN. Ordained, June 10, 1888; 2d Degree, June 19, 1891.

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Visiting Pastor, General Church. Address: 232 Worthington Ave., Wyoming, Ohio.

     WHITEHEAD, WILLIAM. Ordained, June 19, 1922; 2d Degree, June 19, 1926. Professor, Academy of the New Church. Address: Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     Ministers.

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

     ODHNER, VINCENT CARMOND. Ordained, June 17, 1928. Address: Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     REUTER, NORMAN HAROLD. Ordained, June 17, 1928. Assistant to the Pastor of the Immanuel Church, Glenview, Ill. Address: Glenview, Ill.

     Ministers in the South African Mission.

     BASUTO.

     MAQELEPO, BERRY. Ordained, September 29, 1929; 2d Degree, September 30, 1929. Leader at Greylingstad, Transvaal. Address: P. O. Box 13, Greylingstad, Transvaal.

     MOTST, JONAS. Ordained, September 29, 1929; 2d Degree, September 30, 1929. Leader at Quthing. Address: Phahameng, P. O. Quthing, Basutoland.

     MOFOKENG, TWENTYMAN. Ordained, September 29, 1929; 2d Degree, October 6, 1929. Leader at Alpha, Ladybrand, O. F. S. Address: P. O, Box 78, Ladybrand, O. F. S.

     MPHATSE, JONAS. Ordained, September 29, 1929. Leader at Lukas' Village, Basutoland. Address: P. O. Upper Qeme, Maseru, Basutoland.

     XIPHATSE, NATHANIEL. Ordained, September 29, 1929. Leader at Mafika-Lisiu, Basutoland. Address: P. O. Thaba Bosiu, Maseru, Basutoland.

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

     ZULU.

     JIYANA, JOHN MOSES. Ordained, September 29, 1929; 2d Degree, September 30, 1929. Leader at Cundycleugh, Natal. Address: P. O. Cundycleugh, Besters Rail, Natal.

754




     JIYANA, JULIUS. Ordained, September 29, 1929. Leader at Newcastle, Natal. Address: 17, Patterson Street, Newcastle, Natal.

     MCANYANA, MOFFAT. Ordained, August 12, 1928; 2d Degree, September 30, 1929. Leader at Mayville, Durban; Missionary in Zululand. Address: Mission House, Oakleigh Drive, off Ridge Road, Durban, Natal.

     NGIBA, BENJAMIN THOMAS. Ordained, October 6, 1929. Leader at Tongaat, Natal. Address: P. O. Tongaat, Natal.

     STOLE, PHILIP. Ordained, September 29, 1929. Leader at Springfield, Natal. Address: Mission House, Oakleigh Drive, off Ridge Road, Durban, Natal.
NEW CHURCH SERMONS 1929

NEW CHURCH SERMONS              1929

     Expounding the Scriptures in the Light of the Heavenly Doctrine of the New Jerusalem.

     Selected Discourses by Ministers of the General Church suitable for individual reading and for use in family worship and other services, as well as for missionary purposes. "Stories from Revelation" for Children.

     A PAMPHLET ISSUED MONTHLY FROM OCTOBER TO JUNE INCLUSIVE

     Sent free of charge to any address on application to Mr. H. Hyatt, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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Church News 1929

Church News       Various       1929

     LONDON, MICHAEL CHURCH.

     A Jubilee.

     Thursday, October 10th, being the fiftieth anniversary of the entrance of our beloved Pastor, Bishop Tilson, upon his ministerial labors, our celebration of this Jubilee began with a service held in the church at 7:30 p.m. There was a good congregation, and the Pastor was assisted by the Rev. Victor J. Gladish, of Colchester, who gave a most telling and entirely appropriate address based upon the "Jubile" of Leviticus 25; 8-13 and its significations.

     The culminating point of the service was reached in the presentation and dedication of some clerical vestments. These consisted of a silk velvet chasuble lined with gold satin, and two golden brocade stoles. The color of the chasuble, which is similar to those used by the other Bishops, was decided upon from instruction kindly furnished by Bishop de Charms:-"It is the nearest possible reproduction of the royal purple of ancient times-the purpura mentioned and described in the Writings. This is said to be "halfway between scarlet and sky-blue." (W. E. 3/1291.) In A. C. 946f, it is said to represent the celestial love of good, and this because the red color signifies the good of celestial love. It represents the perfect conjunction of good and truth, such as is characteristic of the celestial heaven. For the conjunction of good and truth becomes more perfect as regeneration advances. (See A. C. 4353.) Experiments have demonstrated that if scarlet and sky-blue be mingled in equal proportions (not by pigments, but by lights) the color which results is a shade very near to that of the chasuble." The color of the stoles matches the lining of the chasuble; one is handsomely embroidered with the fig, the vine and the olive in three panels; and on both, the velvet of the chasuble is introduced, the significations of the numbers two and three being observed throughout the designs.

     Very impressive was the sphere, as the folded vestments, with their gleaming colors, were reverently borne by Mr. W. Priest to the chancel rail, where the Pastor was waiting to receive them. In a voice resonant with feeling, and audible to the whole congregation, he said:

     "Dear Bishop and Pastor, In the name of the members of the congregation worshiping in this church, and certain other friends, I offer you these vestments, and ask you to accept them, and to dedicate them to the uses of your holy office." Receiving the vestments, the Pastor replied: "The blessing of the Lord be upon you, upon this people, and upon all who have taken part in the offering of these gifts." Then, turning to the altar, he continued: "Accept, we beseech Thee, O Lord, these free-will offerings of Thy people, and give strength to Thy servant so to use them as shall be acceptable in Thy sight." "Thou hast revealed in Thine Opened Word, that 'gifts given to the Lord. . .are the Lord's, not from any gift, but from possession, since everything holy or Divine with man is not of man, but is of the Lord with him.' (A. C. 10093.) These gifts, therefore, are Thine. Fulfill now, O Lord, the promise of Thy Word, 'They shall come up with acceptance upon mine altar, and I will glorify the house of my glory.' (Isaiah 60:7.)"

     Placing the vestments upon the altar with the words, "The Lord thy God accept thee," the Pastor turned again to the congregation, and declared:

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"These priestly vestments have now been dedicated in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ, the One and Only God of heaven and earth, for the uses of the priestly offices, and to that end ale received with a thankful heart by the Pastor of this church. 'Not Unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy Name give glory, because of Thy mercy and because of Thy truth.' (Ps. 115:1.) "

     The congregation then sang the 47th Psalm, and the reception of the offertory and the benediction brought this unique and most memorable service to a close, the Pastor lifting the vestments from the altar and bearing them out as the priests left the chancel.

     The keynote of the worship had been "Service," which had been led up to by the teaching, given on three previous Sundays, on "I am among you as He that serveth," and "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity." All, priests and laity alike, are servants, not of the proprium of man, but of the Lord in His Revealed Truth.

     Immediately after the service, all adjourned to Longfield Hall to take part in a Conversazione. Upwards of eighty seated themselves at tables on which were refreshments, and Mr. Archie Stebbing, as master of ceremonies, proposed the toast to "The Church," which was responded to by the singing of " Our Glorious Church." This was followed by a toast to "The Priesthood" and the singing of "Then together let us stand," after which the Rev. Victor J. Gladish replied in pleasant and appropriate fashion. Now came the toast, proposed in happy terms, to "The Guest of the evening,-Bishop Tilson." Before this was honored, it was supported by three speakers. First, the Rev. W. H. Acton, who, as an old friend of our Pastor, interested us with some early reminiscences of himself and his brother, Dr. Acton, and some others of the early days. Mr. Acton was followed by Mr. Victor Cooper, our young Vestry Deacon, who spoke appreciatively of the benefit he receives from the Pastor's counsel and guidance in the things of the Church, as they meet Sunday by Sunday, especially with regard to the idea and effort to make each service a unit-a perfect whole. Last of the three, our dear friend, Mr. Lewin, who is eighty-three years of age, rose to congratulate his Pastor and old friend, which he did in affectionate terms. He then asked his acceptance of a handsome solid silver tankard upon which was the inscription:

     Presented to the Right Rev. R. J. Tilson, as a mark of affection and appreciation, by the members end friends of Michael Church, Burton Road, Brixton, London, on his completion of Fifty Years of Ministerial Work. October 10th, 1879-1929. "Jucundi acti labores."

     At this point, Mr. Lewin's strength failed, and he had to sit down, but the master of ceremonies rose valiantly to the occasion, the cup was charged, and as the Bishop took the first draught, cheers and hurrahs rang out from the standing company. It was a great moment! It was then announced that within the cup, when presented, had been a cheque for fifty guineas, together with a list of the subscribers. More cheers! Mrs. Lauriston Shaw now presented Mrs. Tilson with a bowl of golden roses.

     Quiet having been restored, Bishop Tilson rose and expressed his hearty thanks to all those who had subscribed towards the gifts, including the beautiful vestments. He then went on to recall a few "landmarks" of his clerical career. During his fifty years of priestly labor, he had been connected with three organizations of the New Church, and had gained a reputation as a "Fighting Parson"-a fact he by no means regretted, as he had enjoyed the fighting! His first ordination, by the Rev. Dr. Bayley, was in connection with the Conference, and he was glad to see that body represented at our gathering. Under that ordination, he worked in Liverpool and London (Flodden Road) until what had become known as the "Black Conference" of 1890. Yet surely that was only the "dark hour before the dawn,"-the brilliant dawn that came with his ordination, on June 19, 1892, into the Second Degree of the Priesthood of the Academy of the New Church, by Bishop W. H. Benade, of ever-blessed memory.

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As time went on, more fighting had to be done, more dark days came, but again the light dawned, and on August 5, 1928, he was ordained into the Third Degree of the Priesthood of the General Church of the New Jerusalem, by its present beloved Bishop, the Right Rev. N. D. Pendleton. He thought he might say with Paul of old, "I have fought a good fight, I have kept the faith," though he hoped he had not yet finished his course.

     When Bishop Tilson had resumed his seat, amid great applause, various letters were read from friends at home and abroad expressing congratulations in enthusiastic terms on the achievement of his fifty years' of strenuous labor, several voicing personal gratitude for help and guidance received in times of doubt and difficulty.

     The meeting was now open for other speeches, and the Right Rev. J. F. Buss, a very welcome guest, was the first to rise, and in a speech full of interest and vigor, expressed his appreciation of Bishop Tilson's long and arduous labors, and emphasized the fact that, while there were certain points upon which they did not see "eye to eye," yet they were one on the foundation fact of the Divine authority of the Writings of the New Church.

     Mr. Buss was followed by the Rev. W. H. Claxton, Mr. S. Lewin, of Bath, Mr. Priest, and Mr. Anderson, all of whom spoke in a strain of appreciation, the last-named urging the need of our showing appreciation in practical form by supporting the Pastor as far as possible in his work, which support he would value even more than our gifts. The Secretary then proposed the health of Mrs. Tilson, and with this the Jubilee Celebration came to a happy dose.

     On the following Sunday, October 13th, the Harvest Thanksgiving Service was held. The pulpit, lectern and chancel rail had been tastefully decorated with corn by Mr. Cooper, and many offerings of choice fruit were received and taken next day to the Homeopathic Hospital. The golden embroidered stole, which the Pastor wore for the first time, looked very beautiful, and seemed peculiarly appropriate to this part of the service. After the Address, which was based upon Exodus 23:14, he retired to the vestry to exchange the stole, and to assume the chasuble for the administration of the Holy Supper, at which there were forty-nine communicants. Thus all the new vestments were put to their holy use at this opening service of the new session, and added greatly to the sphere of worship.

     At 6 p.m., a Feast of Charity was held, at which the Pastor presided, and after the singing of a hymn, he read some further letters of congratulation in connection with his Jubilee, and of regret at inability to be present, notably from the Rev. Albert Bjorck, and Miss Shaw of York, who, together with her sister, Mrs. Jubb, was among his "original" members at Liverpool. Miss Dowling, who had acted as Treasurer for the Jubilee, then rose to explain that the cheque already given to the Bishop did not represent all the money that had been received, and she therefore had the pleasure of asking Mr. Lewin to hand to him a further one for the balance of thirty guineas. This our old friend did in affectionate terms, and concluded his remarks by quoting some lines which were used in 1829 at a presentation to the Rev. Samuel Noble, which he said seemed equally appropriate in their application to our beloved Pastor. The lines were as follows:

"Accept, dear Sir, the fervent wish
For health, long life, and future bliss;
And, when on earth your race is run,
Your ministerial duties done,
And age the thread has finely spun,
May angels waft you to the goal,
Where joys celestial fill the soul;
Then may your noblest powers prepare
To be our minist'ring angel there."

     This evoked hearty applause, which was continued as the Bishop rose to express his thanks for the continuation of what he had supposed to be already complete!

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He then intimated his earnest desire to have a "heart-to-heart" talk with those present as to the best means of continuing the work of the Church under the serious and increasing difficulties, caused largely by the distances at which so many now lived. We were in an altered world. There was never a greater need for a strong center, for the spirit of unity, for all to try to serve the Church.-He asked for constructive criticism, and for suggestions. Several of those present responded to this request, and we hope to cope successfully with the difficult conditions, which prevail. "Where there's a will, there's a way." Let us cultivate the will-and go forth conquering and to conquer!

     The Feast dosed with the singing of "Vivat Nova Ecclesia" and the Benediction.
     K. M. D.

     REPORT OF THE VISITING PASTOR.

     A service was held at DETROIT, in the studio of Miss Dorothy Pearse, on Sunday afternoon, October 20th, with an attendance of twenty-five persons. Included in the service was the administration of the sacrament of baptism for Miss Lilian Macauley. Most of those present then availed themselves of an invitation from Mr. and Mrs. William Walker to a social supper in their home, an event greatly enjoyed by all. A doctrinal class followed, at which the subject was the teaching that "when the Lord appears in heaven, which often occurs, He does not appear encompassed with a sun, but in the form of an angel, yet distinguished from the angels by the Divine shining through from His face, since He is not there in person, for in person the Lord is constantly encompassed by the sun; but He is present by aspect." (H. H. 121.) The attendance was nearly equal to that at the service, twenty-three being present.-On Monday afternoon, at EAST WINDSOR, ONT., in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Harold Bellinger, instruction was given to the young son of the family, and in the evening a doctrinal class was held, with four present. The subject was the same as that of the previous evening at Detroit.-Tuesday evening there was again class at Detroit, in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Steen. Notwithstanding exceedingly bad and stormy weather, twelve persons came to the meeting. There was presented the doctrine that "the church is from the Word, and its quality is such as is its understanding of the Word." (S. S. 76.)-The Detroit New Church Life Club has resumed its monthly meetings.

     On Wednesday evening, the 23d, I arrived at CLEVELAND, and went directly to the home of Mr. and Mrs. William Parker and their daughter. Goon, in response to a dinner invitation, there appeared Mr. and Mrs. Franklin Norman, Mr. and Mrs. William Zeppenfeld, and Miss Edith Cranch, all "Academy folks." After a delightful hour at table, and then something of an interval, we had a doctrinal class, at which two additional persons were present, making an attendance of ten. Again, there was presented the teaching concerning the Lord's appearance in heaven "by aspect." The class being concluded, Mr. and Mrs. Norman took me with them to their home. Next morning, Mrs. Norman and I went to call on Mrs. Rouette Cranch and Miss Edith, and to have lunch with them. Mrs. Cranch's state of health does not permit her to attend meetings. It is ever a great pleasure to me to see her. During many years, on my visits to Erie, my stay was nearly always made with Doctor and Mrs. Cranch.

     I arrived at ERIE On Thursday afternoon, the 24th. Doctrinal classes were held that evening and the two following evenings, and the subjects were first, the Lord's presence in heaven; second, the fulness, holiness, and power of Divine Truth in the sense of the letter of the Word; third, the three infinite and uncreate degrees in the Lord. On Sunday morning there were services, including the Holy Supper; and in the evening we had another doctrinal class, when there was given the signification of the precious stones, and of the Urim and Thummim, in the breastplate of Aaron.

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The meetings was held alternately in the homes of Mr. C. E. Cranch and Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Johnson, and the attendance ranged from seven to nine. We had with us Miss Ruby Evans, just returned from a visit to Bryn Athyn; also Dr. E. G. Weibel, of the Cleveland Convention Society.

     Monday and Tuesday, the 28th and 29th, were spent at NILES, OHIO, With the former Middleport members, Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Williamson and Mrs. Ada Stevens. The second evening a class was held, to which members and friends of the General Church came from Youngstown and Leetonia, making an attendance of eight. Our subject was the Lord's Omnipresence.

     On this trip, the total number of persons to receive the ministrations of the church was fifty-five.

     May I add the mention of something I observed in a house where I visited. This house is the only one in the neighborhood having a telephone. So, the people from other houses come to use it, and often they must be called when someone wishes to speak to them. Our friends consider that this service should be recognized; so they have placed the General Church Orphanage box on the telephone table; and the neighbors have been doing in accordance with the suggestion. The reason why I relate this is, that perhaps some of our members may be reminded that in some out of the way place in their house they have an orphanage box that might be given a location where the family-not to mention the neighbors-would be more constantly aware of this important use of our church.
     F. E. WAELCHLI.

     CANADIAN NORTHWEST.

     During the months of July and August I again visited the isolated members of the General Church in the Canadian Northwest. First, as it was on my route, I made a mil at Sunny Slope in response to the cordial invitation of Mr. David Reddekopp and family, and spent several days with them.

Removals among our members called me to an entirely new territory, the great Peace River valley, four hundred miles north and west of Edmonton, which has been opened for settlement within recent years by the Canadian Government, and is the last large and really desirable farming territory on this continent available for homesteading. Since my last trip, two years ago, three families have moved into this country:-the Lemkys from Rosthern to Gorande Prairie, Alta.; the Healdon Starkeys from Toronto to Pouce Coupe, B. C., ninety miles beyond Gorande Prairie; and the E. Marshall Millers from Didsbury, Alta., to Dawson Creek, B. C., twenty miles beyond Pouce Coupe. I visited these families in the order named. At the Lemkys I stayed four days, during which time I conducted three doctrinal classes and two services. At one of the latter the Holy Supper was celebrated, and the rite of Confirmation was administered for Mr. Edward Lemky. There were also conversations, extending late into the night, with the three young men of the family on points of New Church doctrine and philosophy, and I also had the privilege of presenting an outline of our fundamental doctrines to a young man who had recently manifested an interest in our teachings.

     The homestead of Mr. and Mrs. Starkey is situated about forty miles beyond the end of the railroad, and eight miles from Pouce Coupe, which is a town without a railroad. Such a thing hardly seems possible nowadays; in an earlier day it meant pioneering of the most strenuous sort. Yet this town and those beyond it have all the resources and conveniences of those of a similar size situated on a railroad; the reason for this is the excellent highway from Hythe, the end of the line, and large high-powered trucks. All the latest and improved farm machinery is found in this district, considerably lightening the labors of pioneering.

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To illustrate: the timber, which in an earlier day was cut down tree by tree with an axe, is now largely and expeditiously cleared away by means of a tractor hitched to a brush-cutter and brush-plow; and where the timber is light, only a brush-plow is used. Mr. and Mrs. Healdon Starkey (Gladys Brown) are ex-students of the Academy Schools, and imbued with the best that our societies and schools can give in instruction and traditions, and it was a real delight to come into contact with their informed love of the Church. Equally pleasant was it to observe their love of their new home. They have a log cabin of modest dimensions, snugly and conveniently furnished. It is the kind of retreat which the city man dreams of, and has often been described in novels. Mr. and Mrs. Starkey cannot understand why all the people of the Church do not come out there and homestead: Their state of mind and heart recalls two articles published some time ago in New Church Life, one by Mr. Philip Oyler and the other by Mr. Horace Howard, discussing what advantage there might be in rural life for the development and growth of the New Church. (May, 1925, p. 307; July, 1925, p. 435.) If these two British gentlemen have any compatriots who think as they do, they may be assured that they have fellow spirits in Mr. and Mrs. Starkey-ones who are willing to strive to realize them, and who would welcome others to join them. They hope to see a New Church community spring up in that country, and they may see it. Three more New Church families and two young men are locating near them the Erdman and John Heinrichs families, of Morden, Manitoba; and Mr. and Mrs. William Hamm, Mr. Ben Hamm, and Mr. Cleo Starkey, of Glenview.

     At the time of my visit, Mrs. Charles Brown, mother of Mrs. Starkey, was there, and the three of them, at their own request, were given the strenuous diet of two doctrinal classes a day, one immediately after breakfast, and one during the afternoon. There were also two services; at the first, their infant daughter was baptized, and at the second, the Holy Supper was administered.

     On a Saturday, Mr. Starkey took me to Pouce Coupe with his wagon and ponies, where I met Mr. Miller and rode with him to his home at Dawson Creek. It was planned that the Starkeys and Mrs. Brown were to come there for Sunday, and that on Sunday night I was to return with them. As illustrative of the newness of the country, I may say that the trails off the main highway are not always passable with a car, and they are so new that a little use makes a big difference; this was the case with the road to the Starkey homestead. It was arranged that the Starkeys should drive with their team to a point where a car from the Millers could meet them, and they were to drive the rest of the way by automobile. But the automobile that was to meet them was sidetracked on another trail, which, through recent use, had become more prominent than the one to the homestead, and so they did not meet. At length the car returned to Pouce Coupe, and we were forced to eat the chicken dinner without the Starkeys.

     In the afternoon we had the service. I was to have returned Sunday evening with the Starkeys, but since this had fallen through, Mr. Miller took me the next morning to the point on the main highway where the trail to the homestead branches off, and I walked the remaining six miles. I followed the path of the car and got lost. Fortunately, the sun shone brightly, and by taking my direction from it, I was able to strike the correct trail, and arrived at noon. In the afternoon of this day we had the service, which was followed by the celebration of the Holy Supper. The next morning, Mr. Starkey drove me to Pouce Coupe, where I again met Mr. Miller and rode with him to Hythe, thence by train to Edmonton, a day and a night journey; from Edmonton to Calgary, a day's journey; from Calgary to Oyen, a half night's journey.

     At Oyen, I spent five days with the Messrs. Nelson and William Evens and their families. In the afternoons I met four times with the children of Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Evens, relating to them stories of the Old and New Testaments, dwelling upon and explaining facts of the spiritual world for which the stories provided a basis.

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I also gave informal instruction twice to Norman, the seven-year old son of Mr. and Mrs. Nelson Evens. In the evenings there were three doctrinal classes, and on Sunday a service at which the infant daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Evens was baptized.

     One of the doctrinal classes was in the nature of a semi-public lecture. Mr. and Mrs. Nelson Evens had invited some of their neighbors, and there were about seventeen or eighteen present, among them a Union Church minister. The subject was regeneration. Early in the presentation I made the statement that "man's first state is one of damnation, the second one of reformation, and the third a state of regeneration." At the conclusion there was a lively argument in which the Union Church minister and I were the principals. It seemed he had violent objections to the characterization of man's first state as one of damnation. He was an advanced modernist in his repudiation of the Divinity of the Word and the Divinity of the Lord. It was soon apparent that there was nothing to be gained by prolonging the argument, as he refused to recognize my premises. Afterwards, I heard him in conversation, admitting, as if it were a novel piece of information, that historical research seemed to prove that there really had been such a person as Jesus Christ at the time claimed.

     A gratifying bit of news that I learned on arriving at Oyen was that arrangements had been made for Miss Rita, the eldest daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Evens, to attend the Academy Schools at Bryn Athyn. At this household, of course, the Academy Schools and Bryn Athyn were recurrent topics.

     Rosthern, Sask., was the next place visited. As noted above, the John Lemky family had removed from this place to the Peace River country, leaving only the two families of Mr. John Hamm and Mr. John Bech. If was so much the more pleasant, therefore, to have with us Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Evens, who had taken me there in their car and remained throughout my stay. We left early in the morning and arrived at 3:45 p.m.

     It is always a delight to minister to the ready appetite for instruction that is met with in our isolated members, and so it was here. On learning that I could remain only four days, they asked to have a class the first evening, and there was one every evening thereafter. Classes for children were held three afternoons, and on Sunday there was a service, with the administration of the Holy Supper. I was entertained at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Hamm, and as one of this household, Miss Adelaide, was also leaving for the schools in Bryn Athyn, the conversation frequently turned to that subject. The days were fully occupied in Rosthern. In addition to the activities already noted, I called, in company with Mr. Evens, upon several friends of the General Convention. There were also three outings, for swimming, berry-picking and fishing.

     On Monday morning, Mr. Evens took me to Saskatoon, and en route we made a call of several hours on Mr. and Mrs. John Nickel at Waldhelm.

     At Davidson, I had the misfortune to miss Mr. and Mrs. John Schnarr and Mr. and Mrs. Clarence Schnarr, of Kitchener, who were touring the West and had spent a week or so here as the guests of Mr. and Mrs. George Pagon. They had waited several days for me, but were obliged to leave early in the morning of the day that I arrived. The Pagons had had other visitors from the East whom it would have been a pleasure to meet,-Mr. George Schnarr, Colonel Nelson Schnarr and Miss Finkbeiner. I crossed the paths of these two gentlemen, as also those of Mr. J. Edward Hill and Mr. Alfred Hasen, in other parts of the West without meeting them. I spent three days in Davidson giving daily instruction to the children of Mr. and Mrs. Pagon, and conducted one doctrinal class and one service.

     Mr. and Mrs. Fred Roschman, whom I regularly visit at Winnipeg, have located at Regina, but they were out of town, and I was unable to see them.

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At Winnipeg, I called upon Mr. Morden Carter, formerly of Toronto and Bryn Athyn, and had a most enjoyable evening with him. I also called upon Mr. and Mrs. J. Peppier, but found them absent on a vacation in the East.

     Morden, Manitoba, was the last point on my itinerary, and there I spent six days in the homes of my parents, Mr. and Mrs. John Heinrichs and of my brother Erdman. Miss Anna Heinrichs, who is a teacher in the Carmel Church School at Kitchener, was home at the same time. Within the family circle I conducted three doctrinal classes and two services, administered the Holy Supper and officiated at the baptism of the infant daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Erdman Heinrichs.
     HENRY HEINRICHS.

     KITCHENER, ONT.

     The most important event in the last two months was the fire which seriously damaged our church building in the early hours of Friday morning, October 18th. It started in a pile of logs under a wooden fire escape at the back of the building. Climbing to the eaves, it spread to the interior and raged between the roof and the ceiling of the Hall of Worship on the second floor. About half of the ceiling and practically all of the mansard at the back of the building were burned out, while the roof timbers and sheeting were reduced to charcoal. The pews and the chancel furniture were badly damaged by water, and all the Liturgies and Psalmodies were ruined. The woodwork throughout the building was also seriously injured by water. But the Library was saved, and there was little loss in the vestry, where the pastor has his study. How the fire started we do not know. It is expected that the damage will be covered by insurance. As regards reconstruction, no plans have been made as yet.

     A week after the fire we were able to resume, the sessions of the Day School, and Sunday Services are being held in the schoolroom. For the present, Friday suppers are held weekly, and we hope to continue them in this way throughout the winter.

     An especially successful social was held on October 14th, the Young People's Class providing the entertainment. They had quite a variety and plenty of it. Now that we know what they can do, we hope that they will do it again in the near future.

     A new feature has been added to our Men's Club meetings, this being a "New Church Life" Class, which is held from 8.00 to 8.30 p.m.

     The Forward Club of the Olivet Church, Toronto, invited our Men's Club to a banquet on October 26th. About twelve members motored down in the afternoon and returned the same night. The subject of the evening was "Sportsmanship," being ably presented by Messrs. Percy Izzard, Nathaniel Stroh and Alec Sargeant. A Hallowe'en Party was enjoyed to the full by the pupils of our school, who ducked for apples and did all the other regular "stunts."
     C. R.

     BRYN ATHYN, PA.

     Charter Day Celebration.

     November 1-2, 1929.

     Though cold and rainy weather had prevailed during the week, Charter Day came upon us with bright sunshine and a warmth that was almost uncomfortable. The morning was ideal for the procession to the Cathedral and the return to the School. The fourth grade of the Elementary School led the way, followed by the higher grades in order, then the Seminary and Academy, the College classes and Theological School. After these came the ex-students carrying the banners of their classes, and finally the Faculty and Corporation. Going two and two, the long line reached about half the distance between Benade Hall and the Church, and was gay with color.

     In the Cathedral, the Corporation and Faculty sat in the choir stalls, while the elementary and higher schools, ex-students and visitors were ranged in order from front to back in the nave, with banners on the center and side aisles.

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Bishop de Charms conducted the service, Dean Doering read the Lessons, and Prof. Caldwell delivered an inspiring and thought provoking address. Returning to the School, the Faculty led the procession and then reviewed the student body in front of Benade Hall, the exercises closing with the singing of school songs.

     The feature of Friday afternoon was the football game,-an unusual game, unusually well attended. The traditional opponent for this day is George School, and ever since the Charter Day games have been played with that school the victory has gone to our rivals. This time Bryn Athyn won, with a score of 7 to 6. The teams were closely matched, and it was a good clean game all through, displaying splendid sportsmanship. Our boys fought hard and with much earnestness and intensity, and the strain showed plainly after the game. The whole team won the admiration of the onlookers, but we feel that special mention is due to White, Gladish and Captain Kintner. (A week later, by the way, we defeated Germantown Academy, 33-0.)

     A Faculty Tea on Saturday afternoon was crowded with guests, many from other centers of the Church, and gave opportunity to renew old friendships and make new ones, for parents to talk with the faculty of the School and for ex-students to converse familiarly with professors who a few years back were regarded with great awe, or as enemies of youthful enterprise.

     Charter Day Banquet.

     On Friday evening, November 1st, after an inspiring morning of worship and revival of school ideals and memories, and an afternoon of successful sport, a large and very happy company of people sat down to an excellent supper and the usual busy talkfest. During the supper, at the request of Mr. Donald Rose, who seemed to be master of ceremonies, Bishop de Charms, speaking for the President and School, graciously welcomed all present as guests of the School on this fifty-second anniversary of the granting of the Academy's Charter, and voiced our pleasure in the return of the Rev. Homer Synnestvedt and Miss Celia Bellinger after their recent very serious illnesses. Rev. Karl Alden then called attention to a stranger that was with us, one never before present at any of our celebrations, who ought to be heartily received and accepted as a friend, namely, the Football of Victory, won for the first time that afternoon in the Charter Day game with George School. This newcomer was greeted with cheers.

     Presently Mr. Rose again arose, seemingly to some point of personal privilege, and told us of a letter he had received from an irate author, sarcastically berating him for one of his book criticisms, and closing with the words: "Who are you, Mr. Rose; just who are you?" And to this the reply was made, "You'd be surprised!"

     Dean Doering was then asked to read a document of historical importance. This was the address of Bishop Benade at the organization meeting of the founders of the Academy held on June 19th, 1876, and was in fact a draft of their statement of purpose in asking for a Charter of incorporation from the State of Pennsylvania. Passing over the quotations of Doctrine concerning the New Church, Dr. Doering read that part of the paper which stated the purposes of the proposed Academy, as showing the spiritual aims dominating these men in their undertaking, and as furnishing a scale of measurement for the accomplishments of the institution in the years since. We notice that the name then suggested was "The Academy of the New Jerusalem." The statement follows:

     "In the full and rational acknowledgment of the Lord Jesus Christ, who is Jehovah in His Divine Humanity, of His Second Coming into the world in the revelation of the spiritual sense of the Word, of the spiritual things of Heaven, of Hell, and of the World of Spirits, made through the instrumentality of Emanuel Swedenborg; in the full and rational acknowledgment of the spiritual sense of the Word, thus revealed as the Lord's Divine Doctrine for the New Church; and knowing no other law, and no other authority, except the Lord Himself in this His Second Coming; we who have hereunto subscribed our names, devoutly praying that the Lord's will may be done, as in heaven so on the earth, do hereby covenant together and constitute ourselves into a body of the Lord's New Church, to be styled, 'The Academy of the New Jerusalem,' to the end that, by mutual counsel and assistance, and by united action, we may be the better prepared and provided, in spirit and in life, to see the Lord's will in the interior revelations of His Truth, at this day given, and to do it; to cultivate and promulgate a knowledge of those Divine revelations in their spiritual purity, and to engage in those uses of spiritual charity which have respect primarily to the growth and development of the Spiritual Church.

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     "And, of these uses of spiritual charity do we name specifically, as ends proposed by our Union: the instruction and preparation of young men for the Office of the Priesthood; the Education, publication and preservation of the manuscripts and of the original editions of those Writings, which constitute the Second Advent of the Lord; the preparation and publication of works treating more particularly of the spiritual doctrines revealed by the Lord, and having for their end the building up of the Church in an ever more rational and intelligent reception of its Heavenly Truths, and leading to an ever more interior love of the Lord and the Neighbor; so that the Lord in His Coming may be received by His own, and the New Jerusalem may be established as His Celestial and Spiritual Kingdom on the earth."

     Finally, Mr. Doering solved the mystery of the evening by telling us that Mr. Rose was the Toastmaster! The subject of the addresses that followed was that of the "Benefits of a Return to the School, to gain Strength to carry on through the Difficulties of Life in the World," or The Problems of the Ex-Student." In introducing the subject, the toastmaster said that what was to come would be an experience meeting of a sort, a consideration arising out of the difficulties that had been faced, and a suggestion of solutions that had been found useful. He went on to tell of his own contact with the literati and intelligentsia of the world, with whom prevailed a sphere of question, doubt, and denial as to the essentials of religion and morality,-a sphere filled with the pursuit of phantoms and with disillusionment, the only aim being that of self-advancement and the winning of fame. Eventually the ideals gotten at the School draw strongly upon us and bring us back to a new contact with the spiritual standards of life, and this contact refreshes and renews the spirit in the midst of the temptations of the world. Above all, we must heed the words: "Hold fast that thou hast, that no man take thy crown!"

     The next speaker, Mr. Loyal Odhner, presented the problem of the man in the business world. Here is found an almost complete trust in self, and none in Providence. Both purposes and practices are filled with questionable ethics. There is no thought of a future life, or of any responsibility to a Divine Power. The young man just out of school finds himself loose, and usually drifts around quite a while before he finds a use that he can enjoy and devote himself to; but when he has found this, he recalls what he has been taught about the love of use and its very important function in regeneration, and consequently gives himself wholeheartedly to his secular work. There is a grave danger in this,-that he become so much absorbed in the work of the world as to neglect and forget his relation to the Church. Let him find also some use in the Church, or with the people of the Church, however small and humble it may be, and cherish it. Such a use, even an external one, makes a contact with the Church and with its spiritual life, and will be found of the greatest value in the temptations that attend his use in the world.

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     Mr. Geoffrey Childs then spoke of the power of the School to draw back the ex-students, to develop in them a deep and lasting loyalty, not only to the School as an institution, but also, what is more important, to the ideals of the Church. Reverting to his school days, he told of certain pranks and the disciplinary consequences which profoundly affected his outlook on life. In the course of his reminiscences, he paid tribute particularly to the Rev. Homer Synnestvedt, who was then Housemaster, and to the Rev. C. E. Doering, then Principal of the Boys' School, for their wise counsel and effective imparting of high ideals of life and action.

     Next on the program was Mr. Morel Leonard, who dealt with the problems of the home and the children, and showed the danger of too great an absorption in outside uses as tending to a neglect in this important relation. We should maintain a close contact with our children, and try in every way to enter into their states and understand them sympathetically. We should be ready to meet their troubles, and do this by being at home with them as much as possible. We can do much for them by faithfully keeping up family worship, which brings the Church right into the home, and is also a great help to parents in meeting the problems of life at home and abroad.

     Rev. K. R. Alden then gave us an eloquent address on the need and the duty of cherishing the ideals given us by the Academy. Referring to the words in Genesis, "And Isaac digged again the wells of water which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father; for the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham" (26:18), he compared the "days of Abraham" to the days of childhood and youth in school, when the Word is opened and Divine Truth drawn thence for our instruction and the sustenance of the spirit. Then comes the time for leaving school and going out into the world, when the Philistines appear to repossess the land after the death of Abraham; the science and reasonings of the world cast dust and stones into the wells of spiritual truth, and a sphere of doubt or indifference infests us and causes the spirit to languish. Isaac represents the new rational given by the Lord,-the more mature rational development of the sincere New Churchman; this digs again the wells of Abraham and finds therein the living water. So we come back to what the Academy has given us, and gain new spiritual strength as we open up the stores of truth and ideals of life first imparted by our institution. It is really an opening of living spiritual affection which makes us loyal to her, and to the Doctrines of the New Church which she has taught so faithfully.

     Rt. Rev. George de Charms gave the final address of the formal program, and earnestly besought us not to become ex-students of the Academy; for if we are real New Churchmen, we never leave behind us the work begun in the Academy. The Academy was founded with the chief purpose of studying and teaching the Divine Doctrine revealed by the Lord in His Second Advent, as was called to our attention in the statement read by Dr. Doering; and this work goes on after we leave the School to enter a use in the world, and to take part in the spiritual work of the Church. If we love the Heavenly Doctrines, and are loyal to their teachings, trying our best to become intelligent New Churchmen, we have the most real of all bonds, incorporating us spiritually into the Academy. This bond does not diminish, but is increased as we go through life, and our work in and with the Academy in propagating the Gospel of the Second Advent will continue through this life and forever in the world to come.

     Other speakers who made brief remarks from the floor were: Revs. W. B. Caldwell and Homer Synnestvedt; Messrs. Nathaniel Stroh, Richard Roschman, S. S. Lindsay, Alexander Lindsay, and Edmund Blair. Among the many songs interspersed, special mention should be made of the mixed quartet of the class of 1910, which so beautifully sang one of their class songs, "The Red and White," which deserves more frequent use at our Academy gatherings.

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The Toastmaster is to be congratulated upon the success of his work in providing an inspiring celebration of Charter Day.

     The Bishop's Return.

     Bishop and Mrs. N. D. Pendleton returned from their foreign journey on November 7th, and it was arranged that there should be a general reception for them after the Friday Supper on the 8th. Bishop de Charms spoke for the congregation in welcoming them home, and, as a token of the Church's affection, presented Mrs. Pendleton with a magnificent basket of chrysanthemums. The Bishop then rose to tell of their happiness in returning home, and their appreciation of this affectionate reception. He went on to give an account of his visit to the society at The Hague, and to speak of the work in South Africa and of some experiences there. In both places the work of the Church is being well done, and there is promise of good results in the future. In closing, he asked Mrs. Pendleton to add to his remarks whatever she wished, and she told of the gifts presented by several delegations of natives at the Assembly at Alpha, and of her meeting the native women. Mrs. Pendleton has written an account of the journey and this, we believe, is to appear in an early issue of New Church Life.     
     L. W. T. D.

     TORONTO, CANADA.

     Every once in a while, as we sit down, pen in hand, to perform our "monthly dozen," we ask ourselves, "Now what is there worth-while to write about this month? "If we do not so write, we are almost sure to receive a mild castigation from the Editor, and if we do so write, then equally true it is that we get a nice letter of appreciation, with "a request for more." It is only on comparatively rare occasions that matters of outstanding interest arise in our societies, making the chronicler's task much more simple and interesting. For then it is that we feel we have something to write about that will be "news" to our reading friends, and that will justify our taking up perfectly good space in the columns of the Life. However, it may well be that ordinary routine society matters are of some interest to others, and so we take heart of grace and comply with our Editor's request.

     To begin with, then, after this lengthy preamble, and taking events in sequential order, the Forward Club held its regular monthly meeting at the church on Thursday, October 17th, with Mr. Rudolph Potts presiding. Immediately after supper a request was preferred by the local chapter of the Sons of the Academy for a period of time to discuss a matter that they (the Sons, as a Chapter) had been asked by the Society to take hold of, viz., the increased financial support of the Local Day School. Needless to say, the request was immediately granted, and the meeting proceeded forthwith to take satisfactory preliminary steps toward achieving the desired end.

     After resumption of Club affairs, the subject for the evening, "The Ways of Knowing," was presented in a paper by our Pastor, the Rev. F. E. Gyllenhaal. The question the speaker set himself to answer was, "How does the mind work to reach a state of knowing?" and he went on to demonstrate that there is only one (universal) way, namely, "by the conjunction of an influx from the Lord through the spiritual world and an afflux from the world through the senses; this being none other than the conjunction or marriage of good and truth, or of love and wisdom." This simple idea of a single way of knowing is only the universal process. It is like making the blood, which "derives its spirit, consequently its life, from the brain and its fibers; consequently its material existence from the stomach and food; for all parts and forms in the organic system, greatest as well as least, have both a soul and body of their own." (A. K. I, 108e.)

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Similarly our ideas and knowledges derive their life, substance and form, or have a soul and body. There are innumerable instrumentalities at the service of a man's soul for making ideas and knowledges, but the point emphasized by the speaker was, that whilst the work is done by the man as of himself, yet in reality it is done by influx from the Lord through the spiritual world. Man can do the work because he has rationality and liberty, will and understanding, has been created to do it, and his faculty of doing it is preserved by the Lord. Doctrinal references were given as follows:-On sensation and perception, A. C. 5779; about influx and afflux, and the senses as instruments of knowledge, or by which man learns to Know, A. E. 349:4; that man (homo) is born a faculty for knowing, etc., C. L. 122; also that he learns things in infancy and childhood as a means to learning things more useful, A. C. 3982. Space forbids a further outlining of the subject here. The discussion and questions showed a keen appreciation of the paper the consensus being that it had been instructive and interesting to a degree.

     On Saturday, October 26th, the Forward Club entertained the men of the Carmel Church, Kitchener, thirteen of whom made the journey to Toronto, and, together with some twenty-eight or thirty men of the Olivet Church, sat down to a hot repast which contributed to the jovial sphere that characterized the meeting throughout. We had a radio there, and tuned in on "N. C. B. A.," and "heard" messages from two of our former pastors and life-members,-the Rev. K. R. Alden and the Rev. H. Lj. Odhner, and although it was something of a strain to catch the full quality of these two well-known voices-due no doubt to some "fault" in transmission or relay-still it was good to hear their greetings and contributions to the subject of "Sportsmanship." Speeches by Messrs. H. P. Izzard, Nathaniel Stroh, and Alec Sargent introduced the subject, and many contributed to the discussion, all the remarks giving evidence strongly of the attitude we are seeking to cultivate,-"thinking from the Writings." The remainder of the evening was spent in a convivial way, with many songs, but also with a sympathetic reference to the loss by fire sustained by our sister society at Kitchener.

     Of recent years in Canada, Thanksgiving and Armistice Day celebrations have been observed jointly on the Monday nearest to November 11th, but in our society we have felt that they were deserving of separate observance. And so, on November 3d we had a special Thanksgiving Service, and on November 10th Armistice or Remembrance Day was suitably recognized. To the first service the children brought offerings of fruit and flowers which were afterwards sent to the Home for Incurables. On both occasions the Pastor, in his sermons, dwelt upon the spiritual aspects of the events commemorated. "Love Rules the Universe" was the subject of the Armistice Day sermon, bringing out especially "the desirability of remembering the good, the true, the brave, the enduring, the dead, the wounded, the bereaved, the ones still suffering, the promises we made to men and the vows we made to the Lord. This day we remember not the hatred, malice, cunning, deceit, cruelty, suffering,-all the wickedness that ran riot during, four terrible years of war, but the love, service, kindness and goodness which came to the surface and gave assurance that Lord's coming, and His great redemption, had not been in vain. This day we do not worship the dead or the living among men, but Him who is Life Itself."

     On the evening of Armistice Day itself, November 11th, we had a "Military Euchre" and Ball, with Mr. T. P. Bellinger as Master of Ceremonies carrying everything through with true military style and precision. During the evening the Pastor gave a short address, a response to which was made by Mr. Frank Wilson on behalf of the returned soldiers of the society. It was a most enjoyable social occasion, closing about midnight with the singing of the National Anthem.
     F. W.

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ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS 1929

ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS       WILLIAM WHITEHEAD       1929




     Announcements.


     The Annual Council Meetings of the General Church of the New Jerusalem and the Philadelphia District Assembly, will be held at Bryn Athyn, Pa., from February 3rd to 9th, 1930.

     Visitors

     Those who expect to attend these meetings are requested to notify Miss Florence Roehner, Bryn Athyn, Pa., in order that provision may be made for their entertainment.
     WILLIAM WHITEHEAD,
          Secretary, Council of the Clergy.
DAILY READINGS,FROM THE WORD AND FROM THE WRITINGS 1929

DAILY READINGS,FROM THE WORD AND FROM THE WRITINGS       HUGO L. ODHNER       1929

     1930.

     A Calendar for individual Daily Readings for 1930 has been sent to every member of the General Church. The readings from the Writings are from the first two volumes of the Arcana Celestia, nos. 1-1180.

     Copies of the Calendar will be sent to others who apply to Mr. H. Hyatt, Treasurer, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     A Department of Notes on the Calendar Readings will be carried monthly in New Church Life.
     HUGO L. ODHNER,
          Secretary, General Church of the New Jerusalem.