DIVINE PROCEEDING 1937

DIVINE PROCEEDING N. D. PENDLETON 1937

NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. LVII      JANUARY, 1937          No. 1
     "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in the darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not." (John 1:4-5.)

     The Light of Life is called in the Writings the Divine Proceeding. The doctrine is, that there is but one Life, which is from God alone, and that angels, spirits, and men are only recipients of that Life. Moreover, that one Life, in its proceeding from God, is not called God, but Divine. The distinction here made notes an apparent difference between God in His Person and the Divine which goes forth from Him. This Divine, in its proceeding, is creative, but it is not creation; yet it enters into all create forms-composes and sustains them. The distinction made between God in His Person and the Divine proceeding from Him is therefore an appearance; while the difference between the Proceeding and creation is as that between the Infinite and the finite.

     God in His Person does not enter into any create form to dwell therein. If He did so, that form or person would become God. That He did this on one supreme occasion but proves the rule. That He, in His Person, enters into men, was, however, a phantasy of the Ancients. Yet the creative Proceeding is purely Divine. As such, it is an attribute of God. It carries in fullness His Divinity, and in itself is Infinite and Eternal. Yet, in its proceeding to create, it becomes inbound within the entities which it has produced by the process of finition, and therein becomes operative.

     While the Proceeding Divine is distinguished from the Person of God, this distinction is quite unlike that between the Proceeding Divine and the finite forms of creation. These forms are definitive vessels into which the Proceeding inflows. Of these forms, the universe, in all its parts, from highest to lowest, was composed. They are limited vessels, so made that they become receptive of, and reactive to, the inflowing Divine. The Divine Proceeding is therefore the creative Divine. By the process of finition it inscribed areas, set limits, and composed entities, which in turn became not only receptive of, but also reactive to, the influx, and this while, in and of themselves, these forms are passive, or relatively dead. As such, they are set over against the inflowing Divine.

     The Divine created by an enclosing and composing movement, whereby it produced innumerable forms, of high and low degree. The primary of these forms were the firsts of finition. They were finited out of the immediate Divine, that is, out of the Life and Light of God. These primary forms, when so made, stood over against, and as outside of, the immediate Divine; and, as receptive vessels of intimate contact, they served as the primary nexus between the Infinite and the finite. The bridging of this gap was effected by the will of God to create. The intent thereto was the cause of the Divine extension, which was expressed by a mode incomprehensible to man, save as it may be seen that the Divine in its proceeding could end no otherwise than in formed finites, into which the Divine might enter and sustain by ceaseless renewals.

     The supreme end in this primary finition was the form called human, to which immortality was imparted, in nearest image of the Divine. So near was this semblance that in time an illusion began to prevail with men. In their self-estimate they became as gods. They assumed the predicates of Divinity. The Divine indeed inflows into create forms, but it is never, save in phantasy, mingled therewith, being sharply distinguished from its receptive vessels, even as the finite is distinguished from the Infinite. This distinction is contrary to the sense appearance which, with men, insists upon the seeming fact of life as in some degree a predicate of the create human form; yet the truth is that life, though it inflows into man, is no part of man as a vessel.

     The distinction between life and its receiving vessel is such that there is no ratio between them.

This is so entirely the case that death or decomposition is the portion of every create form-high as well as low. The highest forms are characterized as immortal; this because of their ceaseless renewals. The forms so renewed never remain quite the same as before. While the continuance of their individuality is maintained, the states of their life, and even of their forms, are ever being reborn or renewed by the ceaseless inflowing of the creative Divine proceeding from God. Thus all human beings enjoy a never-ending progression from one state of reactive life to another. Hence the teaching that death is the gate of life.

     Even that death which of itself is but a void of darkness serves in opening to the way of life. It was so with our Lord, who, by coming into the world, took upon Himself, by virgin birth, the outward limitations of finite man. Yet He, from within, unlike any other man born of woman, was Life and the Light thereof, and this though He was encumbered by a body of death which insisted that He, in common with all other men, should pass through the gate of death. This is the meaning of the text: "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men, and the light shineth in the darkness, and the darkness comprehended it not."

     II.

     This darkness was His mortal veiling. He, in and of Himself, was the Lord God, who became incarnate to the end that He might stand in the presence of men. In and of Himself He was the Divine Proceeding from God the Father-even that Proceeding which from the beginning infilled the universe with His presence, but which now, by virtue of His assumption and glorification, refilled the universe by a more powerful presence. Also, by virtue of His glorification, He ascended and sat upon the right hand of God the Father, which signifies not only His reunion with the Father, but also an increased power which on the occasion refilled the heavens and thereby extended salvation to many who otherwise would have been lost.

     The statement that His Proceeding Divine is not called God, but Divine, marks a distinction which, however, does not imply a difference, since the Proceeding is ever purely and entirely Divine.

The all-prevailing law is, that that which proceeds is his from whom it proceeds, and not another's. And, as well, that in proceeding it produces. Also, that in and by the thing produced a reactive power is generated. If the thing produced is characterized as a living form, it is not only receptive of, but is also reactive to, the influx of life. By this reactive the Divine power creates an ascending series of forms. In its ascent from ultimates it produces ever higher formations, as if out of the lower. Hence the appearance of an ascending evolution of living forms. In other words, the primary descent of finite forms outlines grades or degrees which are subsequently encompassed by an ascending embodiment.

The degrees which characterize descending creation, and, as well, the subsequent ascent, represent the Divinity which is inmostly within them from God. This representation indeed characterizes creation in all its parts and portions, both high and low. It pictures to our minds the mode of creation under a limited image. We see the Proceeding as if it were a movement from place to place, or, more interiorly, from state to state; yet the Proceeding, in itself, is prior to all placing, and indeed to all states. We, however, can think of it only as veiled, and ultimately as a movement from place to place. In other words, the Divine seen as Proceeding is but an appearance. In highest truth this Divine is omnipresent, both within and without the create realm. Only within creation does it appear to proceed.

The human mind, whether in heaven or on earth, can see only under adjusted veilings. Yet of these, some convey the light, and others darken; some are true, and others false. The true are seen through veilings which accommodate and transmit the light. If these veilings are dense to the point of darkness, then the light shineth in the darkness, but the darkness comprehendeth it not.
The Lord said, "I am the Light of the world; he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life." (John 8:12.) Of no other may this be said. His Light alone is Divine Truth, since He alone was begotten of God the Father. As such He was born into the world-born as man, and by fulfillment of the primal Divine Proceeding in Himself He was enabled to reach and redeem those who could by no other means be saved.

This was effected by a concentration of the Divine Proceeding by conception and birth, which enabled the light passing through the ancient heavens to conform to the needs of men, and with saving power.

     Therefore the Lord said concerning Himself, "I came forth from the Father, and am come into the world. Again I leave the world, and go to the Father." (John 16:28.) In this was the fulfillment of the primal Proceeding, in its descent to find an increase of power equal to the needs of men. The disciples answered Him, saying, "Now speakest Thou plainly, and speakest no proverb. Now are we sure that Thou knowest all things. . . . By this we believe that Thou camest forth from God." (John 16:29-30.)

     He came forth from, and returned to, God. Only for a brief time did He stand in the sight of men, but that time sufficed. His disciples acknowledged His Divinity. Their belief opened to a beginning comprehension, by means of which they, and many after them, were saved. Because of His doctrine and His miracles their acknowledgment became a conviction. They said, "By this we believe." Their belief was enabled by the light of His teaching, and their hearts were moved by the love He inspired into them. To this end He came, that men might both see and love Him. Only by this love of Him could the ancient commandment, " Thou shalt love the Lord thy God," be fulfilled. For this He came out of, and returned to, God. Amen.

     LESSONS: John 1:1-34. John 8:1-32. Athanasian Creed 177-178.
     MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 504, 501, 537. Psalmody, page 54.
     PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 37, 111.
NEW CHURCH SERMONS 1937

NEW CHURCH SERMONS 1937

A pamphlet published monthly, from October to June inclusive, by the General Church of the New Jerusalem. Contents: Sermons and other material suitable for individual reading, family worship, and missionary purposes, reprinted from New Church Life. Sent free of charge on application to Mr. H. Hyatt, Treasurer, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

HOLINESS OF LIFE 1937

HOLINESS OF LIFE Rev. THEODORE PITCAIRN 1937

     "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind." (Luke 10:27.)

     This is the "first and great commandment," and it teaches that love to the Lord is genuine with us to the extent that our lives are moved and carried around the Lord as the central fire of our life, and that among those whose lives are so moved and so carried there exists a harmony which is the origin of all delight, and of all the beauty of life.

     This looking to the only Lord as the center of our life is thus described in the True Christian Religion: "He who in his belief acknowledges and in his heart worships one God is in the communion of saints on earth and in the communion of angels in heaven. These are called 'communions,' and are communions, because such are in the one God, and the one God in them. . . . They are all like the children and descendants of one father, whose dispositions, manners and features are similar, whereby they mutually recognize each other." (T. C. R. 15) From this it may be seen that the Lord, because He is the one and only God, is the union and uniting medium which makes the communion of saints. They are called "saints," Or "holy ones," because their life,-that is, the life of their love, their wisdom, and their use,-is from the only Lord and God, who is the only source of holiness.

     Before regeneration, a member of the New Church may indeed worship the Lord in a state of external holiness,-a holiness of external worship,-but he does so from his natural affections. These natural affections,-the love of his family, his friends, his own society, his own country,-may then be compared to the Earth as remaining unmoved, while the Lord, the Church, and all spiritual things are carried around it.

In such a state, no matter how much one may say that he worships the Lord Jesus Christ as the only God, in reality, or internally regarded, he worships his own family god, his society god, or his national god, even though he call his deity by the name of the one only Lord.

     What we have just cited from the True Christian Religion concerning the communion of saints follows directly the heading: "With men who do not acknowledge one God, but several, there is no coherence in the things of the church." And the passage continues: "He who in his belief acknowledges and in his heart worships one God is in the communion of saints on earth and in the communion of angels in heaven. These are called communions, and are communions, because such are in the one God, and the one God in them." And so it is only those who belong to the communion of the saints that worship one God in heart. All who do not belong to the communion of saints acknowledge several gods, and this, no matter how much they may say with their lips that they worship the Lord Jesus Christ as the God of heaven and earth. To be a saint is not to have the Lord and the church turn around our natural affections, but to have all our natural affections turn and be moved around the Lord as the central fire of our life.

     Since, therefore, what is signified by a "saint" or "holy one" is of such great importance, we will first quote from the Writings concerning it, and then consider what is there said. We read

     "Wherefore the Holy Spirit proceeds from the Lord, and is sent by the Lord; thus it is the Lord's. That holiness with angels and spirits is the Lord's proprium, and that the proprium of angel and spirit is evil and unclean, is evident from many considerations. A man can never be holy unless he acknowledges that all holiness belongs to the Lord, and that it is not his own. He who does not acknowledge this is profane, in least things and in greatest; and this [non-acknowledgment] is the proprium of man, thus of his spirit, and also of an angel. But he who acknowledges this, to him the holiness of the Lord is imputed by faith; nor does faith belong to man, spirit or angel, but to the Lord alone; and when by faith a spirit is said to be holy, and is called sanctified or a saint, it is evident that the holiness of the spirit of the one so called belongs solely to the Lord." (S. D. 1370.)

     "The 'saints' signify those who are in the truths of doctrine from the Word, and in a life according to them." (A. R. 586.)

     "The 'people of holiness' signify those who are in Divine Truths; and, abstractly, Divine Truths." (A. E. 610.)

     "'Blessed and holy is he.' He is said to be holy who has illustration in Divine Truths by conjunction with the Lord." (A. R. 852.)

     "Good from the Lord is holy with them; hence, in proportion as they receive good from Him, they are holy." (A. C. 8806.)

     "'Men of holiness shall ye be to me,!' signifies the state of life then from good.... Men of holiness are those who are led by the Lord; for the Divine which proceeds from the Lord is the Holy Itself. Hence they who receive it in faith, and also in love, are called 'saints.' He who believes that man is holy from any other source, and that anything in him is holy except what is from the Lord, and is received, is greatly mistaken. . . . That in preparation as man can be withheld from his own proprium, the Lord can be present; thus in the same proportion there is what is holy with the man." (A. C. 9229.)

     From all these teachings it is manifest that, in so far as man is led by the Lord, by means of Divine Truths from the Word, and is in illustration from conjunction with the Lord, and in a life thence, he is in the holiness of the Lord, and in the communion of the saints. Such alone "love the Lord their God with all their heart, with all their soul, with all their strength, and with all their mind."

     II.

     It is commonly said, "I am not a saint." This is equivalent to saying, "I do not belong to the communion of saints"; or, what is the same, "I do not live in the Lord." It is true that a man may daily say, in the greatest humility, "I am not a saint." He may say it in a spirit of grieving over the active part that his proprium plays in his life. Usually, however, the opposite of this is meant when a man says that he is not a saint. He says it with a certain pride; it is an excuse for the evils of his life. What he means is, that he does not wish to be a saint; he does not wish to be led by the Lord in all things of his life; but he wishes to lead his own life, and not live in the Lord's life. Because the word "saint" has been abused, and often denotes an externally sanctimonious life without an internal,-a whited sepulchre,-a man makes it an excuse for following the desires of his own heart.

     Yet, in its true meaning, the confession, "I am not a saint," signifies the same as the words of the oft-repeated prayer: "We have turned away from Thee into the paths of error and sin; we have followed the devices of our own hearts; we have transgressed against Thy law in thought, word, and deed; we have wandered from Thy Commandments; we have yielded to the allurements of the world and the flesh; we have neglected the works of repentance; we have rebelled against Thy merciful Providence."

How often these words are repeated as a formality, and yet how terribly true they are! If a man were to say them in a state of spiritual wakefulness and realization, would his proprium not appear to him as something horribly ugly? Would he not stand terrified at beholding it? Indeed, would he not at times be seized with the fear that he is not of the communion of saints!

     In the early days of the Academy, in intimate letters, diaries and conversations, it was common to refer to the members as "saints," and toasts were offered to the "absent saints." On the one hand, the word was thus used in a lighter vein; on the other, it represented something very serious. The early members were certainly not sanctimonious; but they were willing to follow the Lord as He had manifested Himself at His Second Coming in the Word given by means of Swedenborg,-to follow Him even unto death. It was this spirit of faithfulness that, on the serious side, was involved in the word "saint." Who can doubt that in the meetings of the early days the spirit of the communion of saints was present?

     III.

     The natural man delights in an external state of holy worship. The holier the sphere of worship, the more he is delighted; but he does not desire a holy life. We read: "Worship does not consist in prayers and in external devotion, but in a life of charity. This is the essential of worship, and its instrumental is posture and praying; that is, the primary of worship is the life of charity, and the secondary is praying." (A. E. 325:3.) Concerning those who are in a life of evil, we read: "Their holy worship has within it what repels heaven from them, instead of opening heaven to them as they believe; for their holy worship is like a vessel that contains foul things." (A. E. 126:2.)

     If the fear of the Lord does not rule in the things of life, causing life itself to be a holy worship, then the holy worship of the Sabbath Day is but a vessel containing foul things. There can be nothing genuinely holy in the act of worship unless, from the presence of the Lord, it was internally present in a man's life.

All other states of holy worship are merely sanctimoniousness. Yet how eagerly men strive for a holy sphere of worship in the church, and how little for the holy fear of God in the acts of daily life, whether in business or in the life of the family!

     But it may be asked, How is it possible to live an angelic life in a disordered world, particularly when we consider our heredity? The answer is the one given by the Lord to the disciples, "To men this is impossible, but to God all things are possible." Man has no power to order his life; but the Lord has all power. There are no limits to His power, if man will only believe in the Lord, believe in His power, believe in the Divine Providence in the least single things of his life. This must not be a merely intellectual faith in the Divine Providence, but a living belief, which is necessarily accompanied by some perception that the Lord is ever present, ever working.

     We are taught that "The Lord does more things for every man every moment of his life than can be comprehended in any number." To these indefinite things which the Lord does for every man each moment of his life, there should be, on man's part, each moment of his life, some little return, some acknowledgment, some living belief. Not an occasional belief in the Lord, but a continuing belief in the Lord. Even when men's minds are engaged in other things, in their work, or in their recreation, this sustained belief should be present, internally ruling and guiding, at times subconsciously, but nevertheless ever present.

     "The apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith! And the Lord said, If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you." (Luke 17:6.) And again. "Jesus said unto them, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting." (Matthew 17:20.) The removal of the mountain is the removal of the love of self; and the removal of the sycamine tree is the removal of the thoughts that proceed from that love. With the removal of these, man's life is brought into the stream of Providence, in which all things are possible, in which a man can lead a life truly angelic in a most disordered world.

     Man is apt to think that he would like to live a life of the world on earth, and an angelic life after death. But if this spirit rules, he will find after death that he is no more desirous of leading an angelic life than he was while on earth. It is true that the life of heaven is discretely more interior than the life on earth; nevertheless, whatever a man perceives as inappropriate for the angels of heaven should also be seen as inappropriate for the man of the New Church. If this is not so, he can never enter into the still more internal things of the life after death. Whatever a man can perceive as appropriate for the angels, he can and should live. Then those more internal things which he cannot conceive of while on earth will be given him after death.

     We read in the Doctrine of Charity, no. 5: "Concerning Self-examination. If it is only as to the actions, it discovers little, but if it is as to the thoughts and intentions, it discovers more. And if it searches out what the man regards or does not regard as sin, then it discovers [all]. For whatever a man, within himself, regards as allowable, that he does. To regard as allowable is of the will, is endeavor, and is done in spirit." We may therefore ask ourselves: Is it allowable not to lead a life truly angelic? Is it allowable not to live from moment to moment in the communion of the saints?

     In a word, is it allowable for a man not to love the Lord his God with all his heart, with all his soul, with all his strength, and with all his mind? Let a man search into his heart, and see whether he believes it is necessary to keep the first and great commandment, or whether he thinks that it is allowable to depart somewhat from the keeping of it. Amen.

     LESSONS: Jeremiah 4:1-14. Matthew 24:1-25. Canons, Prologue; or A. R. 113.
     MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 509, 583, 612.
     PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 88, 92.

NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS 1937

NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS Rev. HUGO LJ. ODHNER 1937

     The call of Moses to his mission of leading Israel out of oppression, and the enlisting of his brother Aaron as his helper and mouthpiece, are the two outstanding subjects of Exodus, chapters iii and iv. The Arcana interprets these events spiritually as referring to the redemptive work which the Lord accomplished in proportion as His human, assumed in the world, was being glorified.

     Moses before the Burning Bush.

     The events in the life of Moses here represent the states or "degrees of progression in the Lord before He, as to the human, was made the Law Divine itself" (6827). Moses' vision at Mount Horeb, where he saw the angel of Jehovah as a fiery flame in a bramble bush that was not consumed, marks the manner in which the Lord as to His Human came to the realization of what was involved in the glorification of the Human and in the work of redemption. Thus it was clear from the vision that the descending love Divine, which was His soul and esse of life, could never be received except in ultimates that are equally Divine. 'The Divine fire did not consume the bramble,* only because this signified Divine Truth in the natural, or in the scientifics of the sense of the letter of the Word, where the Lord is ultimately present in His Human. The literal sense is likened to briar or bramble, because written in accommodation to a sensual nation, unwilling to learn anything internal (6832, 10453).
     * Compare I Kings xviii. 38. The fire of Jehovah consumed Elijah's altar to signify full acceptance.

     The Divine is indeed present and is received in all finite things (T. C. R. 33), but only through infinite accommodations and successive finite temperings. No angel could endure the presence of the Divine Itself, but must be Protected by a mediating, moderating cloud (6834, 6849). Unless the Human of the Lord were Divine, "it could never be so united to the Divine Itself, which is called the Father, that they may be one" (as is taught in John x. 30 and xiv. 6-11).

For what so receives the Divine must needs be altogether Divine; what is not Divine would be utterly dissipated by such a union, even like a man placed in the furnace of the sun (6849). With the Lord, therefore, "all the prior forms which were from the maternal were completely destroyed and dissipated, and Divine forms were received in their stead " (6872). This process could not be accomplished until the Lord had verily become the Law Divine (6864, 7014), which was represented by Moses' receiving the Law on Mount Sinai (6870-6872).

     But the Lord in His human, as proceeding truth ("Moses"), was in a state not yet ready for such a union. Hence Moses was bidden to take off the shoes from off his feet, and also covered his face before the intense fire; for sensual things-which with man are last to receive the light of heaven, and in the Lord were last to be glorified-had to be removed, and the mind elevated towards interiors where the Divine influx could be received (6844f)

     And when Jehovah reveals that Moses was to lead Israel into the promised land, which represented the redemption of the "spiritual" and their occupation of the regions in heaven (the second heaven) formerly usurped by those in evil and falsities (6854, 6858), Moses, by whom the Lord in His state of humiliation and temptation is here signified, responds, "Who am I, that I should go unto Pharaoh?" (Compare Matthew iv. 1-11.) For as yet the truth in the Lord's human appeared to itself unable to vanquish the falsities that infested the spiritual. These falsities meant all the false knowledge of God, varying according to the conflicting human doctrinals upon which the spiritual rely for salvation (6865). How could the Lord, in a short life-span, extricate mankind from all such human errors? How could the Truth Divine in His human reduce the minds of men and spirits into order and equilibrium, by causing evils to be opposite to goods, and falsities opposite to truths, and thus restore freedom by the contrast?

     It may seem presumptuous to consider these questions as problems which had to be solved in the Lord's mind. Yet the internal sense of the Word lays open the progressive states of the Lord's meditations, which are discernible and at times conceivable because they are rational processes of thought dealing with human life. And in the Arcana the answers are suggested:

     First, the knowledge of God must be restored. "His first quality to be known is that He created the universe, and that the created universe subsists from Him" (6879). On his inquiring the name of God, Moses is therefore told, "I Am Who I Am"-namely, the Esse and Existere. Secondly, the Lord's human, from being the Truth Divine proceeding from God as " the Son," would become the Divine Existere or manifestation of God,-the Word,-one with God (6580, John i. 1, 14), and be received as such. Thirdly, the Divine Itself and the Divine Human are to be known as the same God which the Ancient Church worshipped (6884, 6847). The Divine Human manifested in the world is the actual quality (or "Name") of the Divine Itself (6887), and it was thus God Himself who in Jesus Christ came down with Divine power to redeem the spiritual from their infesters and false doctrines, and to enrich them with knowledges of good and truth, even as the Israelites were to go out from Egypt with borrowed wealth (6895, 6914).

     Three Miracles.

     Hope and faith are essential, if the spiritual are to be liberated. In what Jehovah tells Moses (Exodus iv.) are represented the Divine perceptions of the Lord in His human as the Law Divine before glorification. Foresight is thus given the Lord that the men of a spiritual race would not comprehend how the Lord's Human could be Divine, "unless they are withheld from falsities by the Lord by a mighty force" (6945); even as the Israelites would doubt that Moses had been in the presence of Jehovah unless he was able to perform signs and wonders.

     This "mighty force" was lacking before the Advent, and could not be effective until after the Lord's Human had been made Divine; and therefore the spiritual in the spirit-world could not be released from their prisons in the "lower earth" until after His resurrection (6945). The foreshadowing of this Divine power, however, was possible. Moses' staff was turned into a serpent; this, to signify that its influx would reach into the very sensual degree of man. If the sensual was separated from control by the internal man, it would turn all truth into evasive falsities; but if-as with the good-the sensual was controlled by conscience, then power from the Divine would be communicated. Thus when Moses lifted the serpent by its tail, it became a rod (6954).

     The danger of profanation was also foreseen, and is signified by the sign of the leprous hand. The spiritual church would indeed profane its power of faith, and become as it were leprous, if it commingled truths with the self-intelligence of its own heart or proprium (6959, 6971:2). Yet, by appropriating truth into life, and thus turning it into the good of truth, "what is man's own of his will is made alive by what is of the Lord's Own of His Divine Human,'-that is, spiritual good becomes a heavenly proprium (6868, 3813).

     But if the church did not heed the warnings, on the one hand, against becoming sensual, and, on the other hand, against profaning truth, there would follow a state in which all truth would be falsified,-even as the water poured by Moses from the river would turn into blood; a state which rarely happens to the evil until they are cast into hell; for man while on earth is kept in a state capable of being reformed, while in hell he can be amended only as to exteriors, by fear of punishments (6977f).

     Aaron, the Mouthpiece of Moses.

     But how could the Lord, in respect to the Law Divine, while on earth, make articulate and intelligible this Divine message of redemption? How could the Divine perceptions of His soul find any adequate expression, or be adapted to the comprehension of the men of a spiritual race? This problem, indeed, was like that of Moses, who was "not a man of words," not eloquent, but a stammerer, yet charged with a Divine commission.

     The Divine Truth here signified by "Moses" is the Truth which immediately proceeds from the Divine. This is an influx present with every man; but it is above the understanding of the highest angels, and is inaudible even to the celestials (6982, 7004, 7055, 7270). It enters as an influx into the will of man, for such truth is inwardly a one with the Divine Good itself, and inflows as good, or as an influx of life (7056:2, 6720). The Divine Truth immediately proceeding, sometimes called the Law Divine, does not teach, and is not in the form of doctrine. It certainly could not sway, or even reach, the minds of men who were in hereditary evil, and whose sole hope of restitution lay in the forming anew of their understandings.

What was needed was truth intelligible to men, truth adapted and mediated to their states of apprehension: in other words, doctrine about good and truth. Such mediate truth is contained in the Word, especially in the sense of the letter; and from the Word it proceeds as teaching. For the Word is given when the Divine Truth immediately proceeding takes on a form adapted to human reception as it passes through heaven, where it is first heard as speech or as revelation. By an incomprehensible influx (6996) it puts on a comprehensible form, and through mediations in heaven is finally dictated to the prophets on earth.

     Such mediate truth is necessary as the mouthpiece, the interpreter, of the inmost laws of Divine order. Accordingly, the Lord appointed Aaron, the brother of Moses, as the latter's "mouth."

     But to the Lord on earth was given the Divine perception that the truth mediately proceeding must be conjoined with the truth which proceeds immediately. In His mind, the Divine Word, adapted through heavenly mediations to the states of angels and men, must be conjoined with the instinct Divine order that immediately inflowed as the very life of Divine love into His will. Aaron was called to go to meet Moses in the wilderness, on the mount of God (7055-7058).

     With men also an image of this should take place. Mediate truth enters through the understanding, at first only as truths of persuasion, or historical faith; but after man "has been so far regenerated as to be capable of being elevated from the sensual even towards his rational," and can thus see wherein the doctrinal things of his church are truths in themselves, there is also a conjunction of these mediately imbued truths with truth immediately proceeding from the Divine through the will. This conjunction rarely exists with men, but it does with all in heaven (7055). And from this conjunction there follows an instruction in the details of doctrine, and a seeing of truths of life from good, in a state of perception and illustration. When such a clarity of illustration is felt, together with a delight in good and truth and use, man may hope that he is on the path of repentance and regeneration. (D. L. W. 252.) He may have hope that charity is beginning to be received within him; but he may not know it (D. P. 215 12, 13); nor, if he has charity, does he reflect upon it. (S. D. Min. 4547.)

NOTES AND REVIEWS. 1937

NOTES AND REVIEWS. Various 1937

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.
     BRIEF DAILY READINGS.

     ALL THE YEAR ROUND. Daily Readings for the New Church. Vol. 4. Edited by the Rev. H. Gordon Drummond. London: British New Church Federation, October, 1936. Bible paper; 18mo; pp. 416; Cloth, 1/6; Leather, 3/6.

     Furnishing a new collection of short passages from the Word and the Writings, this fourth volume of the series has been prepared for use in 1937, but may be used in any year. It will be warmly welcomed by the many who have found the previous volumes so valuable in providing for a brief period of devotional reading and meditation each day. We are pleased to note that groups of readings are assigned to the days during certain seasons of the year, thus appropriate to the observances of the church at Easter, June 19th, Thanksgiving, and Christmas.

     As stated in the Foreword, "an endeavor has been made to bring the readings from the Word and the extracts from Swedenborg into close relationship; in practically every day's portion the extracts from the Writings are explanatory of at least one part of the Bible reading."

     Further, we read in the Foreword: "The Editor would again appeal earnestly to all who value the Divine Word to seek daily help and strength from above by a daily reading of the passages chosen. It is apparent from letters received from all parts of the world that an increasing number of readers are following the readings with benefit and joyfulness."

     A WILKINSON MEMOIR.

     JAMES JOHN GARTH WILKINSON. A Memoir. By Frederick H. Evans. London: New-Church Press, Ltd., 1936. Cloth, 16 mo.; PP 96; 2/6.

     First published in 1912, this little work is now reprinted by Dr. Wilkinson's daughter, Mrs. Frank Claughton Mathews. The author aims to interest the world at large in the reading of Wilkinson's books, and to this end he quotes extensively from them in the Memoir. "I am perversely proposing," he writes, "to arouse an interest in the writings of James John Garth Wilkinson, born 1512, died 1899, author of some twenty-five works, all of which are completely neglected by the ordinary reading world, and known to but few among the super-intelligent." In assigning a reason for this neglect, he reveals his own point of view as that of the permeationist when he says: "It must be from the fact that the basis of all Garth Wilkinson's non-medical writings is the message of Swedenborg, and that message has not yet become the fashionable religion. Its lot is slowly to permeate all thought and progress; to be an under current inspiration. Swedenborg himself always deprecated his message being made into a new creed or formula; his work was rather to depose creeds and make his inspired message of the new Truth the mainspring of all forms of religious expression."

     We may well question that Wilkinson held this conception of the function of the New Church message, at least during the last twenty years of his life. For an estimate of his character and work, we turn to the highly informative and appreciative biography by the Rev. C. Th. Odhner, which appeared, with portrait, in NEW CHURCH LIFE for 1900, and is now available in pamphlet form at the Book Room for the nominal Price of ten cents. We quote briefly:

     "The most striking characteristic of Dr. Wilkinson's mind was his intense devotion to the truth for its own sake. The witness of this love is the relative obscurity in which he chose to live and die. The love of this world and its glory must have offered many a sore temptation to a man of his genius, attainments and instincts. The friend and associate of Dickens, Oliphant, Tennyson and Ruskin, admired by Carlyle and flattered by Emerson, what a career could have been his, if he had been willing to compromise his principles or betray his highest ideals! But though the glamor of the literary world long continued to possess a certain fascination for him, yet he never concealed the more unpopular elements of his faith, but continued to the end the uncompromising Swedenborgian scientist and New Church knight of the pen, without fear or reproach"

     "The last twenty years of his life were devoted almost exclusively to the distinctive literary work of the New Church. . . . Towards the end he said to a friend, 'If I had my literary life to begin again, I would not argue about the Doctrines of the New Church at all. I would simply say: These things are Divine truths.'"

     RECEIVED FOR REVIEW.

     ARTHUR EDGAR BEILBY: HIS BOOK. Being a Collection of Forty Essays, Addresses and Reviews by the late Rev. A. E. Beilby, Minister of the New Church. With an Appreciation by Rev. Charles A. Hall, F. R. M. S., Editor of the New-Church Herald. London: New-Church Press, Ltd., 1936. Frontispiece Portrait. Cloth, 16mo; pp. 318; 2/6.

     Publications reviewed in New Church Life may be consulted in the Academy Library, or may be ordered through the Academy Book Room.

DIRECTORY OF THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM 1937

     OFFICIALS AND COUNCILS.

     Acting Bishop.
Right. Rev. George de Charms

     Secretary.
Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner

     Treasurer.
Mr. Hubert Hyatt.

     CONSISTORY.
Acting Bishop George de Charms
Right Rev. Alfred Acton               Rev. E. E. Iungerich
Rev. C. E. Doering, Secretary           Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner
Rev. Homer Synnestvedt               Rev. Theodore Pitcairn
Right Rev. R. T. Tilson               Rev. F. E. Gyllenhaal
Rev. Gilbert H. Smith

     EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE.
Right Rev. George de Charms, Acting President.
Mr. Randolph W. Childs, Secretary.
Mr. Hubert Hyatt, Treasurer.
Mr. Kesniel C. Acton               Mr. Charles G. Merrell
Mr. Edward C. Bostock               Mr. Seymour G. Nelson
Mr. C. Raynor Brown                    Mr. Harold F. Pitcairn
Mr. Geoffrey S. Childs               Mr. Raymond Pitcairn
Mr. Edward H. Davis                    Mr. Colley Pryke
Mr. David Gladish                    Mr. J. Henry Ridgway
Mr. Alexander P. Lindsay           Mr. Rudolph Roschman
Mr. Samuel S. Lindsay               Mr. Paul Synnestvedt
Mr. Nils E. Loven                Mr. Victor Tilson

     Honorary Member.
Mr. Jacob Schoenberger

     THE CLERGY.

     Bishops.

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

     PENDLETON, NATHANIEL DANDRIDGE. Ordained, June 16, 1889; 2d Degree, March 2, 1891; 3d Degree, October 27, 1912. Bishop Emeritus of the General Church. President Emeritus of the Academy of the New Church. Professor of Theology, 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, S. E. 5, London, England.

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

     Pastors.

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

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

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

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

     BJORCK, ALBERT. Ordained, 1st and 2d Degrees, August 17, 1890.

     BOEF, HENDRIK WILLEM. Ordained, June 17, 1928; 2d Degree, September 8, 1929. Pastor of Gabriel Church, Los Angeles, California. Address: 807 North Edinburgh Avenue, Los Angeles, California.

     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. Instructor, Academy of the New Church. Address: Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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

     ELPHICK, FREDERICK WILLIAM. Ordained, February 7, 1926; 2d Degree, June 19, 1926. Superintendent of the South African Mission. Pastor of the Alpha Circle. Address: Care of 125 Musgrave Road, Durban, Natal.

     GILL, ALAN. Ordained, June 11, 1925; 2d Degree, June 19, 1926. Pastor of Carmel Church, Kitchener, Ontario. Address: 20 Willow Street, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada.

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

     GLADISH, WILLIS LENDSAY. Ordained, 1st and 2d Degrees, June 3, 1894. Pastor of Sharon Church, Chicago, Illinois. Address: 5220 Wayne Ave., Chicago, Illinois.

     GYLLENHAAL, FREDERICK EDMUND. Ordained, June 23, 1907; 2d Degree, June 19, 1910. Pastor of Olivet Church, Toronto, Ontario. Address: 2 Elm Grove Ave., Toronto 3, Ontario, Canada.

     HARRIS, THOMAS STARK. Ordained, 1st and 2d Degrees, April 8, 1897. Address: 205 Clifton St., Westfield, New Jersey.

     HEINRICHS, HENRY. Ordained, June 24, 1923; 2d Degree, February 8, 1925. Address: 49 Mary Street, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada.

     HENDERSON, WILLIAM CAIRNS. Ordained, June 19, 1934; 2d Degree, April 14, 1935. Pastor of the Sydney Society. Address: "Westella," Joffre Street, Hurstville, Sydney, N. S. W., Australia.

     IUNGERICH, ELDRED EDWARD. Ordained, June 13, 1909; 2d Degree, May 26, 1912. Pastor of the Paris Society. Address: 66 Boul. de la Republique, St. Cloud, S. et O., France.

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

     LIMA, JOAO DE MENDONCA. Ordained, 1st and 2d Degrees, August 5, 1928. Pastor of the Rio de Janeiro Society. Address: 48 Annita Garibaldi, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

     MORSE, RICHARD. Ordained, 1st and 2d Degrees, October 12, 1919. 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.

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

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

     PFEIFFER, ERNST. Ordained, June 20, 1920; 2d Degree, May 1, 1921. Pastor of the Society at The Hague, Holland. Address: Nassauplein 29, 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.

     REUTER, NORMAN HAROLD. Ordained, June 17, 1928; 2d Degree, June 15, 1930. Pastor of the Wyoming Circle. Visiting Pastor, Detroit Circle. Address: 13 Charlotte Ave., Wyoming, Ohio.

     ROSENQVIST, JOSEPH ELIAS. Ordained, June 19, 1891; 2d Degree, June 23, 1895. Address: Bellmansgatan 5, P. G. N. B., Gothenburg, Sweden.

     SANDSTROM, ERIK. Ordained, June 10, 1934; 2d Degree, August 4, 1935. Pastor of the Jonkoping Society. Address: Villa "Klinten," Jonkoping, Sweden.

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

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

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

     WAELCHLI, FRED EDWIN. Ordained, June 10, 1888; 2d Degree, June 19, 1891. Visiting Pastor of the Arbutus Society. Address: Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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

     Ministers.

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

     ODHNER, VINCENT CARMOND. Ordained, June 17, 1928. Address: Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     Authorized Leader.

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

     SOUTH AFRICAN MISSION.

     Basuto.

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

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

     MPHATSE, JONAS. Ordained, September 29, 1929. Minister to the Qopo Society, Basutoland. Address: Qopo, P. O. Majara, via Maseru, Basutoland, South Africa.

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

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

     ZULU

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

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

     MCANYANA, MOFFAT. Ordained, August 12, 1928; 2d Degree, September 30, 1929. Address: 19 Turner's Avenue, Durban, Natal, South Africa.

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

     STOLE, PHILIP JOHANNES. Ordained, September 29, 1929. Minister to the Turner's Avenue Society. Address: 19 Turner's Avenue, off Berea Road, Durban, Natal, South Africa.

     EDITORIAL NOTE.

     A copy of the present issue of NEW CHURCH LIFE containing this Directory of the Clergy of the General Church of the New Jerusalem has been placed on file with the Clergy Bureaus in the United States.

Church News 1937

Church News Various 1937

     SOUTH AFRICAN MISSION.

     A Native School.

     When the Rev. Philip Odhner recently visited the Mission school at Mayville, three miles from the Durban Church, I accompanied him and was much interested in the work being done there. Most of the pupils are of the New Church, but a few are not, as it is necessary to include the children of the district when a school receives some financial support from the Government

     The Rev. Benjamin Th. Ngiba, minister of the native society, is superintendent of the school and gives the religious instruction. He also teaches the first and second forms (grades), and was giving them a lesson in English when we entered. Mrs. Ngiba is in charge of what they call the kindergarten. The sixty-three children under her care range from four to nine years of age, and they are taught to read and write and also simple arithmetic and English. Mr. R. H. Simelane is in charge of the older pupils and gives instruction in singing to the whole school.

     The society building, in which the school is held, is of corrugated iron and contains three rooms. At one end of the largest room is a platform upon which is the chancel behind red curtains, which are drawn back when the room is used for the opening worship of the school and for the Sunday services of the society. In this room Mrs. Ngiba has the kindergarten. The pupils sit on the floor in about six groups; they were so crowded that it was difficult to distinguish the groups. Five groups work with slates and pencils on various subjects while one group recites to the teacher, standing: in line and reading aloud from their readers. The pupils in the group nearest me were copying figures from the blackboard and adding them up; others were simply putting down the numbers, one to nine. They were all very quiet and well-behaved, only shuffling around a little in their places. The only disturbance, if it could be called that, came from a few babies who ran in and out of the door, being in charge of some of the older girls.

     Many of the pupils were dressed in a school costume of red and white, like the children of the Kainon School at Durban, and some merely attempted it with red and white belts and ties. Most of them, of course, were barefooted. I am sure I couldn't keep that many children as quiet and studious, especially with so little to do it with. Each had a slate and pencil, and there were enough readers (Zulu) to go around the class that was reciting. The teacher had a small blackboard. The roster looked quite complicated. On it I noted: Reading and Writing, both English and Zulu; Hygiene, in which they are taught to keep clean and neat; Geography; Handwork, etc. Hanging on the wall were some baskets and mats which they had made from the grasses growing beside the building. Some of these had been dyed purple with a dye made by boiling the lead of an indelible pencil. The baskets and mats were very nicely made. Some of the pupils had made tea cloths and table runners, doing some very nice embroidery and hemstitching; others had made pillow covers of potato bagging by pulling strips of bright-colored silks through, as we do in making hooked rugs, except that the ends were allowed to hang about three inches.

The Durban chapter of Theta Alpha is assisting them in obtaining some of the materials needed for this kind of work,-cotton embroidery threads, dyes, and beads, as the natives know how to do lovely beadwork.

     After we had visited the classes, we were served tea at Rev. Ngiba's house, and then the children sang for us under Mr. Simelane's direction. All the songs were religious, some of them Zulu translations from our Liturgy, and one was "June the Nineteenth" from the Social Song Book. From the Psalmady they sang part of the 19th Psalm in English. When they sang in English, they stood with their feet together and their arms folded, but when they sang in Zulu, they swung their right arms and hips, and walked several steps forward and back in time with the music. I wish I could convey to you the spirit in which they sang their concluding song of thanks for their New Church School!
     B. C. O.

     SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA.

     Oct. 30, 1936.-At the close of our last report, we mentioned a projected series of Evangelical Services scheduled for commencement at the beginning of July. Four of these services have now been held. At the first three, introductory addresses were given, the subjects being:-Our God, Our Church, and Our Destiny; at the fourth, the topic was Divine Providence. A short service based on the Eighth Office is used, and the arrestingly distinctive Third Lesson is retained. As we expected, there has been little response to this new use, but the services are attracting a few young people who are occasionally of our congregation, and our own members seem to appreciate a restatement of fundamental doctrines in forms and terms more direct and simple, perhaps, than those always used in the regular services.

     The Sunday morning services and the monthly administration of the Holy Supper continue to be well attended. In connection with the latter, the pastor is now preaching a series of sermons on The Beatitudes, last year's series on the Ten Precepts having been concluded in August. In the doctrinal classes, following the series on the Last Judgment, a group of seven classes has been given on the work, The Divine Love and Wisdom; and on Sunday evenings we are now engaged in studying the doctrine of the resurrection and of man's states after death. Our monthly evening service reduces, of course, the number of classes, and another interlude came on August 23, in the form of a Feast of Charity. Mr. Alfred Kirschstein was the essayist on this occasion, and his paper on "The Place, Use, and Value of Scientifics in Regeneration" led to a useful discussion. The program was as before, and the pastor presided over a fairly strong gathering. At the weekly class for young people the general doctrine of the Lord is now being studied, and we hope to finish our treatment of the Supreme Doctrine by the end of the year.

     The Annual General Meeting of the Society was held on August 6. 'The reports presented showed that much work had been done in the past year, and gave cause for hope and encouragement as to the future. There was abundant evidence that the changes made by the society in the administration of its civil affairs had proved their worth, and the Committees then chosen were elected for the ensuing year. Mr. Ossian Heldon was elected Secretary, and Mr. Fred W. Fletcher, Treasurer. Undoubtedly the most important act of the meeting was the appointment of a Representative of the General Church Treasury, for by this act the society showed its unanimous appreciation of the fact that financial support of the uses of the General Church is an essential and ultimate expression of loyalty thereto. Mr. Lindthman Heldon was appointed to this important office, and has since entered upon his duties.

As the numerical strength of our society is possibly almost unknown, perhaps a few extracts from the statistics submitted would be of interest to readers of the Life. The Hurstville Society now has a membership of 23, and a total congregation of approximately 30. The average attendance at public worship during the past twelve months was 19.2; the average number of communicants at the Holy Supper was 14; and the average attendance at doctrinal class 10.2. We believe these figures show considerable devotion to the uses of the society on the part of its members, but we hope that succeeding years will witness an increase in our percentages.

     In connection with the Sunday School the main events have been the prize-giving, on August 9, and the Fancy Dress Party on October 26. For the former, Mr. Morse very kindly came out of his retirement to address the children and present the prizes, while the pastor presided, thus reversing the procedure of a year ago. Our children show considerable ingenuity in preparing their costumes for what is familiarly known as the "Dress Up," and this year saw a marked improvement in their efforts. A program of games was carried through, and a number of prizes awarded for the best costumes.

     The most recent meetings of the Ladies' Guild, of which Mrs. Henderson is now President, have been mostly of a social nature. Several social functions have also been held by the society, among which we recall two meetings of a general social character, and a picnic held on October 5, which is a public holiday in New South Wales. Our thoughts are now centered in preparations for another celebration of the Lord's earthly nativity, and of these we hope to send an account in due course.
     W. C. H.

     COLCHESTER, ENGLAND.

     The general activities of the society recommenced after the summer holidays, and are going steadily on. During August we had the pleasure of a short visit from Miss Dorothy Cooper and Miss Linda Hamm, of Bryn Athyn. Miss Joyce Cooper and Mr. Rey Cooper spent the month of September in Colchester. We held social on August 31 to welcome them, and also to say farewell and bid Godspeed to Mr. Martin Pryke, who was going to Bryn Athyn to study for the Ministry, and to Miss Ruth Pryke, returning to her studies in the Academy. The presence of Miss Mary Waters and the Messrs. Fred and Michael Waters, of London, added to the enjoyment of the occasion.

     Our general doctrinal class was resumed in September, and we are studying the work on the Divine Providence. In the young people's class the Four Leading Doctrines has been chosen for study.

     An open meeting of the Sons of the Academy was held on September 19 at the home of Mrs. Rey Gill, where Mr. James Pryke read his paper on "Some Aspects of the Doctrine concerning Conjugial Love," which he had read at the New Church Club in August. The reading was followed by refreshments and a discussion.

     A Whist Drive on September 29 served the double purpose of aiding the proceeds of the Sale of Work and giving those present the opportunity to bid farewell to Joyce and Rey Cooper.

     Our Harvest Thanksgiving Service was held on October 4, the chancel being very prettily and suitably decorated. Our Pastor's address to the children was based upon the 19th Psalm. Following this, the children brought their fruits and flowers to the altar.

     The annual visit of the Colchester "Sons" to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Colley Pryke, at Chelmsford, took place early in October. The paper, a most interesting one, was given by Mr. Stanley Wainscot, his subject being "The Woman in the Wilderness."

     We feel impelled to mention the Dinner given by the New Church Club at the Old Bell Restaurant, Holborn, on November 20.

It is really London news, but several Colchester friends were present and a very enjoyable evening was spent. Mr. Colley Pryke presented a paper on "The Jews." This was followed by a short discussion, and several toasts were honored and songs sung. The Rev. A. Wynne Acton, the new president of the Club, was toastmaster.

     On October 8, our dear friend, Mrs. Appleton, passed into the spiritual world. We quote from the November Monthly New Letter:-

     "The Colchester Society suffered the loss of the earthly presence of one of their oldest members, when, on October 8, Mrs. Appleton passed into the spiritual world. We can picture the happiness of her reunion with her husband, who died scarcely half a year ago. Mrs. Appleton will long be remembered by her many friends in the Church as a devout New Church woman. Our sympathies go out to her family in their temporal loss. The funeral service was held at the church in Colchester on Monday afternoon, the 12th, when many of her friends came to pay their respects to her memory. The service was conducted by the Rev. V. J. Gladish."

     On November 29, our good friends, the Rev. and Mrs. Albeit Bjorck arrived in Colchester for a short visit. They have been spending some months in Sweden, and do not know when they will be able to return to their home in Majorca.
     M. W.

     BRYN ATHYN.

     One of the outstanding social events of the year was the Fair held on Saturday, November 14, in the Assembly Hall with a very large attendance. These Fairs perform a great use, altogether apart from the profits made from the sale of articles. For weeks beforehand the preparations provide opportunities for many small groups to meet and sew and talk; and practically everyone in the community is called upon to perform some service calculated to aid in the smooth running of the whole. This is all to the good, since it promotes good-fellowship, without which almost any venture would be a flop, we may be permitted to use so indelicate a term in so dignified a periodical as the Life!

     This year the Fair was again under the very able generalship of Mrs. Arthur Synnestvedt, ably seconded by Mr. Harry C. Walter, in charge of finance, and by a host of other enthusiastic committee heads and workers. In addition to the usual booths with many articles for sale, there were two new features in the Arts and Crafts Shop and the Old Book Shop. Both were very interesting and also very successful. An attractive feature of these two new departments was the manner in which they were housed. The usual booths were in the main body of the Assembly Hall, but these two were on the stage, the front of which was gotten up to represent an old-fashioned shop-front with an entrance on either side, displaying a sign "Book Shop" over one, and "Arts and Crafts" over the other. Another delightful innovation was the provision of two official hostesses to preside over the cafeteria supper. And, of course, there were games, competitions, and dancing.

     The Fair netted a profit of about $750.00, part of which, I am reliably informed by one "holding a high position in the councils of the Administration," is to be expended upon the repair and rebinding of the Psalmodies and the acquisition of fifty new ones, while the balance will be used to purchase equipment for a manual training course in the Bryn Athyn Elementary School.

     Doctrinal Classes.

     The Friday evening classes opened with a series by the Rev. Dr. Hugo Lj. Odhner on the subject of the Memorabilia, showing their importance in a study of the Writings. Following these, the Rev. Theodore Pitcairn began a series on the subject of the Divine Providence, giving us particularly practical and keenly interesting talks on the operations of the Divine Providence as manifested in various functions and uses, in one class dealing with its application to the uses of ministers and teachers.

He dwelt at some length upon the undesirability of "tactful" sermons, suggesting that such sermons are apt to lull a man into a false sense of security as to his real state of spiritual life.

     Special Men's Meeting.

     All male members of the Bryn Athyn Society were invited to attend a men's meeting in the Assembly Hall on the evening of December 5. Bishop de Charms, who presided, stated that he had called the meeting for the purpose of considering the state of the Church, and specifically at this time the state of the Bryn Athyn Society. We give herewith a summary of the address in which he placed the subject before the meeting.

     He spoke of the retirement of Bishop Pendleton, and of the changes thereby entailed, both in the General Church and in the Bryn Athyn Church, and called attention to the fact that there had been many discussions among individuals and small groups in regard to some of the vital problems involved. And he felt that it was essential that we should meet in a large group like the present one for a frank and open exchange of thought. He pointed out the necessity for us all to "think together," though this did not necessarily involve thinking alike. There is plenty of opportunity for a wide divergence of opinion upon the matters before the church at this time, but only by "thinking together" can these diverse opinions be consolidated into a harmonious whole which would be to the best advantage of the church. We need to think together in a common sphere of love for the church, and for the uses of the society, to pool our knowledge, and then draw conclusions from facts which we possess in common, and not from partial or inadequate information. Thus can freedom of opinion be preserved, and harmony in variety be produced by means of such counsel

     It is the responsibility of the Acting Pastor, he said, to take the initiative in providing a medium of communication and counsel. Neither regular society meetings nor the Pastor's Council will suffice to meet the present need, but it is hoped that a meeting such as the present one will do so more effectively. This is a recognized mode of taking counsel, which was customary in this society many years ago, and is still a regular agency for that purpose in other societies of the Church.

     In addition to this meeting, it is hoped to increase the effectiveness of the Pastor's Council by providing that every member of the society shall feel free to bring before that body any question which he considers vital, either by presenting it in person by arrangement with the Pastor, or by a written communication at any time. What is needed is not only a forum for the expression of opinion, but machinery for the careful study of any changes proposed, and reports upon the reasons for what has been done in the past, and upon conditions that must be met in the immediate future.

     We do not believe in a binding tradition for the New Church. Every generation must be free to meet its own problems in its own way. Changes must come. They are according to the law of life, and must be faced squarely and met with courage. Yet, while the past is not to be binding, it should not be ignored either. Our forms of church-life and government have not been hastily or thoughtlessly adopted; they are the results of long reflection and of painful experience, and the reasons for them should be carefully considered. Customs and modes are not in themselves essential, and they are bound to change. But they have been adopted to protect or to provide for things which are essential, and which do not change. If customs are discarded, it must be because they no longer perform this use.

If other forms are chosen to replace them, it must be because we believe they will perform this use. In all change we should have clearly before our minds things that are essential, things that must be protected and preserved. As time passes, as one generation takes the place of another, we still see the forms and customs, but the reasons for their adoption are easily forgotten. This is the reason for taking counsel, that we may not unwittingly take a backward step, while supposing that we are going forward.

     When the General Church was organized, council and assembly were made essential elements of church government. In the past they brought harmony out of what seemed to be hopeless diversity, and this without destroying freedom. They are needed now, and we are called upon to make wise use of them for the sake of the Church. Let us bring before this meeting subjects which you think are vital to the welfare of the society, and place them on docket. Then let the meeting call for them in the order of their importance, in the judgment of the meeting. If lengthy discussion arises, and subjects cannot be considered tonight, let us provide for further meetings of this body, in order that there may be full and free opportunity to counsel together.

     Bishop de Charms then presented the following subject for the docket: "Shall the Bishop of the General Church be considered, as in the past, ex-officio Pastor of the Bryn Athyn Society; or shall the society have a pastor in the same relation to the Bishop as are the pastors of other societies? If the present mode is retained, then how shall the need of the Bryn Athyn Society for a pastor of its own choice, and devoting full time to the society work, be provided?"

     This subject, he said, has received much private and group discussion. It is of great importance, and in it are involved essential things which we cannot afford to disregard. The time has come when there should be open and mutual counsel with reference to it. This is the more important now, because such changes as are to be made should be considered this year, prior to the selection of a new Bishop of the General Church.

     Other subjects placed upon the docket by various members were: "Civil and Ecclesiastical Government in the New Church"; "Support of the Church"; "Expansion of the Social Life of the Society "; "Athletics"; "The Club House." The subject proposed by Bishop de Charms was immediately called for, and he was asked to make a statement of the reasons responsible for the adoption of the mode that is at present in effect, and to state his own feeling regarding the best method of procedure at this time. After refreshments had been served, and a toast to "The Church" honored, all singing "Our Glorious Church," he set forth at length the reasons for the adoption of the custom that has prevailed since the beginning of the General Church, and this was followed by an extended discussion. Quite a number expressed a desire for a pastor who would devote his whole time to the work of the Bryn Athyn Society, but at the same time the meeting seemed to be unanimous in its feeling that this should be done by an assistant pastor, the Bishop of the General Church still being ex-officio Pastor of the society.

     A strong sphere of unanimity and concord prevailed, and the meeting was brought to a close at a late hour with the singing of "Here's to our Friend" in honoring toasts to "Bishop de Charms " and "Our Own Academy."
     WM. R. COOPER.

     GLENVIEW, ILL.

     Our pastor recently received from the Woman's Guild a chasuble and stole of a blue color lined with gold. It is a most beautiful vestment. He dedicated it at the Thanksgiving Service, and inaugurated its use on the following Sunday.

     The instruction at the Friday classes includes a variety of subjects, from studies of characters in the Word to general psychology, and topics having to do with creation, worship, etc. Recently there was an excursion into the scientific field in the form of a review of the Address of the President of the Swedenborg Society, London, entitled "Swedenborg and Scientific Ideas."

     Miss Adah Nelson is again getting about after the long period of recovery from the effects of her accident last Spring. She and the Seymour G. Nelson household are about to retire to their Winter retreat at St. Petersburg, Florida. Cedric King and Charles Cole, Jr., busy with their heavy classes at the University of Illinois, found time to spend Thanksgiving here, and they keep in close touch with their old Immanuel Church.

     Now, early in December, with snow and subzero weather, we are beginning to think and plan for the festive Christmas holidays.
     J. B. S.

     PITTSBURGH, PA.

     The Pittsburgh Chapter of Theta Alpha entertained the pupils of the Day and Sunday Schools at a Thanksgiving and Harvest Party in the auditorium on December 14. Various games, favors and prizes made the afternoon an enjoyable one.

     On Thanksgiving morning a special Children's Service was held in the church. The children marched in procession bearing gifts of fruit. The pastor gave a seasonal address, and there were special songs and recitations by the children.

     On Friday evening, December 4, following Friday supper, the members of the society gathered at the home of Dr. and Mrs. Frank Doering for an informal reception and shower for Miss Rose Pijoan and Mr. Roger W. Doering, whom we are happy to welcome as an addition to the society.
     E. R. D.
MINISTERIAL CHANGES. 1937

MINISTERIAL CHANGES. 1937

     Acting Bishop de Charms has announced the following changes, which will be in effect for the period of one year:

     On February 1, 1937, the Rev. Norman H. Reuter, Pastor of the Circle in Wyoming, Ohio, will move to Kitchener, Ontario, to become Assistant to the Rev. Alan Gill, Pastor of Carmel Church. Mr. Reuter will continue as Visiting Pastor of the Detroit Circle.

     On February 1, 1937, the Rev. F. E. Waelchli will move from Bryn Athyn to Wyoming, Ohio, to become Pastor of the Circle there.

     The Rev. F. W. Elphick, Superintendent of the South African Mission, is to take up his residence at Durban, Natal, South Africa. It will be recalled that Mr. Elphick's home at Alpha was destroyed by fire on February 17, 1936.

EQUAL PROVIDENCE 1937

EQUAL PROVIDENCE Rev. W. L. GLADISH 1937

     Announcements.

NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. LVII FEBRUARY, 1937          No. 2
     "The Divine Providence is equally with the evil and the good." (D. P. 285.)

     Every man, evil as well as good, has the faculty of thinking and of understanding. This is called rationality. And every man is able to exercise this faculty freely,-to think as he pleases, and to understand as the facts seem to warrant. Moreover, he is able to speak as he thinks, if he wishes to do so, and to act as he pleases, unless prevented by external considerations. This faculty is called liberty, or free will. An evil man has both of these faculties as abundantly as a good man. They constitute the human; they distinguish man from the beast; they are the image and likeness of God in man, and are never taken away.

     Yet these two faculties are with man from the Lord. They are the Lord's with man. They can never be given to man as his own, but only as if his own, to feel as his own, to use as his own. But the wise man acknowledges that they are the Lord's gift. Only the spiritually delirious and insane claims them as his own. The eye sees by the inflowing light, but the light never becomes the property of the eye. So the mind of man sees by the inflowing light of wisdom from the Lord, but that light is the Lord's with man. For to think and to will from Himself pertains to God alone. To think and will from God, as if of one's self, this is the human, the image and likeness of God in man.

     It is a truth of angelic wisdom, known to all the angels, that man himself is but a created vessel, dust of the earth, having no life of his own, but created to live from the inflowing life of God. This is that eternal covenant which the Divine Love offers to man,-so to impart His Love and Wisdom to man that they may be felt by man as his own, yet acknowledged as God's with him, that so God may be in man, and man in God. Thus the Divine Love and Wisdom are not confined to the one infinite God, but are spread abroad to countless children, who by conjunction with Him are as if gods, not of their own right, but solely from Him. Infinite Divine Love could be satisfied with nothing less. Nor can He ever have enough children, so that He would cease creating, or would, according to the foolish notion of another generation, destroy the earth and cause propagation of angels to cease. To do so would prove the Divine Love not to be infinite, but finite. Divine Love must forever create, or cease to be Divine Love.

     II.

     That the Divine Providence is equally with the evil and the good, is evident from the universal truth that the all of life, the all of thought, the all of delight, all knowledge, intelligence, wisdom, and all freedom, flow into man from God. It is by virtue of this influx that an evil man possesses the faculties of rationality and liberty in equal measure with a good man. The Doctrine further states: "Now because these faculties are with man from the Lord, and are not appropriated to man as his, but can be adjoined to him, and thereby appear as his; and because this Divine with man is in the most singular things of his; it follows that the Lord governs the most Singular things, as well with an evil man as with a good man. And the Lord's government is what is called the Divine Providence." (D. P. 285.)

     Such a statement cannot but astonish the natural man, who will say to himself, "How can it be that the Lord governs every smallest particular in an evil man? Then is not God responsible for his evil deed?" No, the Writings answer, God governs even the smallest particulars of thought with an evil man, yet not as consenting to his evils, but as seeking continually to deliver him from them. God does permit man to do evil, yet only that He may deliver him from the love of evil, and so save him.

For the Lord has granted to man free will and rationality. Therefore, in all His work for man's salvation, although He does govern man in the least particulars, it must be a government which respects that freedom and that rationality.

     Man, of himself, would continually lead himself more deeply into evils, into deeper hells. The Lord continually seeks to lead man into milder evils. Thus the Lord must permit the evil man to think falsity and to do evil; otherwise the man would not have any life. But the Lord is not in the evil; He permits it as the means, and the only means, of saving man from confirming himself in it, of delivering him from it, so that, seeing it in its nakedness, he abhors it.

     Concerning this we read: "The Divine Providence, not only with the good, but also with the evil, is universal in the most singular things, and still it is not in their evils." (D. P. 287.) This follows from the universal truth that all good and all truth is in the Lord, and from Him with man. And yet evil exists. Whence comes evil? From the proprium of man, from hell. There is one only Fountain of Life, that is, God. From Him all live, both the good and the evil. He who looks up to God as the source of his life, seeking to be conjoined with Him, that he may live from Him according to the laws of life, such a man receives good from the Lord; and with good he receives truth and the light of intelligence. As to both his understanding and his will he lives in the light of the Lord, which is wisdom, and in the warmth of His Divine Love. On the other hand, he who, in the exercise of his liberty, does not look up to God, seeking to be guided by His inflowing life, but rather looks to the world about him, seeking pleasure, and then rebels against the law of God, setting up a government of his own caprice, such a man indeed lives, as does the good, from the one Fountain of life-there is no other-yet the water of life is then polluted by the receptacle into which it flows.

     Remember, further, that every man is spiritually in a society in the spiritual world, to which he is joined by his love; that the evil man is internally in a society of hell, through which his life must pass to reach him; and you will see that, although his life in its origin came from the Lord, yet as he receives it, it comes from hell, and takes its quality from his proprium.

Whether you say the proprium of the man himself or the propriums of the infernals, it comes to the same thing; for his proprium agrees in everything with the propriums of the evil society of which he is a member.

     Now the Lord does not forsake the evil man, any more than the sun ceases to shine when clouds intervene. "If I make my bed in hell," says the Psalmist, "behold, Thou art there." (139:8.) Yet the Lord is not in the evil into which His inflowing life is turned.

     That the evil is not from the Lord, may be illustrated by the light and heat of the sun. The same light and heat produce corn and wheat, fruit and vegetables for man's nourishment, and also the deadly poisons which would destroy life. In good seed, the inflowing heat and light produce good fruit; in evil seed, they produce the opposite. Yet the evil is not in the sun, nor in the sunshine, but in the recipient vessel. The same sun that produces delightful odors in flower gardens, or in ripening fruit, produces stenches in dead bodies, in filth, in stagnant waters, poisoning all the air, making it impossible for man to live in their environment. The same heat will hatch the eggs of the owl and the hawk as of the dove or the bird of paradise. Put eggs of both classes under the same hen, and the same heat will hatch them both. The heat is the same; the difference is in the eggs. It is similar with light. In some objects the light clothes itself with brightness and refulgence, shining forth with radiance and glory; in other objects, it is dark and grimy, distasteful and repulsive. The light is the same, but it takes its quality from the objects which receive and reflect it.

     And what is true of the sun's heat and light in this world is also true of the heat and light of the Sun of heaven, which is the Lord. The subjects and objects of the spiritual world are spirits and angels, or men as to their minds. The warmth of the Sun of heaven is love, which produces zeal in its recipients. Its light is intelligence. But both the zeal and the intelligence from the one Fountain take their quality wholly from the quality of the subjects and objects which receive them and are actuated by them. The same warmth of love issues in blessing from the angel, in cruelty and hatred from the devil. The same light which produces wisdom in the one produces but cunning and deceit in the other. The difference is not in the Lord, nor is it in the light and heat, but solely in the quality of the recipient.

"He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust." In the highest spiritual sense, by the "sun" here is meant the Divine Love, and by "rain" the Divine Wisdom.

     III.

     The angelic view concerning will and intelligence in man is, that if there were in any man or angel a grain of will and intelligence of his own, heaven and the human race would perish, and could not be preserved. For they say that all who have ever lived, from the beginning of time, are so conjoined by the Lord that they may be governed as one by the inflowing life of the Lord, in heaven as one beautiful form, in hell as one monstrous form, but that if there were any life of will and intelligence from man or spirit, these forms would be destroyed, and all would perish.

     To those who do not think deeply, there is an appearance that if all thought flows in from others, good being inspired by angels, and evil by infernal spirits, then man is not to blame for evil. But this does not take into account the fact that what a man thinks he thinks freely, choosing for himself what he delights in thinking. If a man sensibly felt that what he thinks inflowed from others, so that he was bound as to his very life, it would be more galling to him than to be bound as to the body. As to this we have the testimony of experience, which is always more valuable than mere theory. In the spiritual world, the Lord's Servant tells us, he has often seen this proven. It was often made apparent to spirits, both by feeling and perception, that what they thought inflowed from others, and they cried out that it was intolerable, that they would rather be kept bound in hell than not to be able to think and to will as they wished. They did not mind so much not being able to say or to do as they pleased, but not being able to think as they pleased was to be bound as to their very life itself.

     Now, since every man has such a desire to choose for himself what he shall think, and it is only what he thinks freely as of himself that seems to him as his; and since he is held free by the Lord to choose what he shall think with delight; it is evident that what he accepts as his own, thinking it with full approval as his own, is attributed to him as his. It makes his proprium.

For whenever man rejects any inflowing thought, turning away from it because he has no delight in it, he is separated from the society which inspired the thought, and is connected with a society that is in the same affection and thus the same delight as himself. Therefore, whatever man thinks of as sin again God is not attributed to him. The society which inspired the evil thought is rejected, and so the evil itself is rejected, even to hell whence it came, and instead the man is conjoined with an angelic society which is in the affection of the truth.

     It is therefore clearly evident that the choice is with the man. Spiritually, he is a center of all kinds of influences, good and bad, from the highest to the lowest. Life is a continual choice. He rejects what he does not like, accepts what suits him. This is according to his ruling love; for his love determines what shall delight him. And it is according to this, his choice, that his mind, his spirit, is built. The lay of its fibres and all its vessels, the very substances and matters which form the body, take their direction and their quality from his delights, turning upward in him who lifts up his eyes toward heaven, and downward in him who regards but himself and the world.

     Evil is never from the Lord. From Him comes life and light, and a continual lifting up of the head toward heaven. From man himself comes the inertia of the delights of the body and the world, which are indeed good when subordinated to spiritual loves, but evil when, by infernal influx, they rebel and refuse to be servants, claiming instead to be masters of the house. We may see how impossible it would be for the Lord instantly to change an evil man into a good one. He has set his face towards hell, toward one of the societies there, from whence he draws his vital breath. Every day, through all his life, that love strengthens itself, and confirms itself by reasons. And after death, when the flesh is removed, and there is nothing left to man but his spirit, which is a unit and the very image of his ruling love, no change is possible.

     IV.

     The Doctrine further teaches: "Now, because all things which an evil man wills and thinks are of permission, the question is, What then is the Divine Providence therein, which is said to be in the most singular things with every man, evil as well as good?

But it consists in this, that it continually permits on account of the end, and permits such things as pertain to the end, and no others. And the evils which go forth by permission it continually surveys, separates, and purifies, sending away those which are not in agreement, and discharging them through unknown ways. These things are done especially in man's interior will, and from this in his interior thought. The Divine Providence is also continual in watching lest what is to be sent away and discharged should be received again by the will, since all things received by the will are appropriated to man, but those which are received by the thought only, and not by the will, are separated and banished. This is the Lord's continual providence with the evil, which is, as said before, a continual permission, to the end that there may be a perpetual withdrawal." (D. P. 296:7.)

Such is the instruction. And now let us see if we can understand a few of the innumerable particulars involved. What is meant is illustrated for us in various ways. Let us take the case of an unjust judge. The ends or purposes which such a judge sets before himself to be served by his judicial office are his own gain in wealth, in reputation, in power. He cares nothing for the law or the rights of others, but finds great delight in studying, meditating, thinking out ingenious reasonings by which he can make it appear that the laws favor the ends he has in view. His interior will and thought are delighted with fraud, craft, deceit, unlawful gains; but these must not appear. What must appear to others is that he is inspired by love of the greatest good to the greatest number. He himself does not know of the abyss of wickedness that constitutes his interior mind. But he reasons out a law of seeming right, satisfying to himself and his followers; and to this he forms his conscience, thus to an apparent good and truth, which are not indeed genuine, but which are better, much better, than the evil loves of his heart. Thus he is saved from the deeper evils to which his will inclines, and turned to those which are milder.

All that can be done for an evil man is to save him in this manner from grievous evils, and turn him to milder evils, to milder hells, and thus to make him useful to evil men. This preserves something of humanity with him, and when not inspected in the light of heaven, his life seems good. But with a good man the case is different.

From the Lord he receives the love of the neighbor, and from this new love he does not seek to hide the secret loves of his heart, but hunts them out, fights against them, prays to the Lord for strength to cast them forth. Therefore he can be purified from them, can be led out of hell, can be conjoined with the Lord and consociated with the angels.

     It might seem that the evil man, from the common light of intelligence and rationality, could change himself. From that light he can see that justice and humanity, as well as the laws of society and of civil life, demand that every man should observe the Golden Rule, doing to others as he would that they should do to him. But this light of rationality does not belong to the evil man. It comes from heaven. It is given to men by the Word; with the heathen, it is derived from an ancient revelation, the Ancient Word. This general light from revelation is provided by the Lord for the sake of man's reformation. But it is the love which makes the man, not his understanding alone. Light in the understanding alone is like the cold light of winter, in which nothing grows. Man's own proper love is sensual and corporeal. It looks to self as its center. When a man is alone, and thinks in himself, he thinks from his proprial love, and his love of self drags his understanding down to its own level.

     As long as man is in the world, he is kept in a state of reformation. As to his external mind, he is ruled by the Lord through societies in the world of spirits; as to his internal mind, before regeneration, he must be ruled through societies in hell. Thus the Lord, through this external enlightenment and leading, seeks constantly to lead the man, as to his internal man and ruling love, into milder hells, preserving with him as much of humanity as possible, and therefore so much more of the possibility of uses to his fellow men, with its joys and delights.

     But so long as a man thinks that he leads himself, regarding human prudence as everything, and Divine Providence as little or nothing, he cannot be led out of hell as to his internal man. Nor can he receive as his own that love of the neighbor as one's self which can come only from the Lord, the Father of all men. This love cannot come from man himself, but only from Him Who is Love Itself.

     LESSONS: Psalm 139. Luke 6:27-45. D. P. 289, 290.

PROMISE OF THE AGES 1937

PROMISE OF THE AGES Rev. WILLARD D. PENDLETON 1937

     "And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new." (Revelation 21:5.)

     For generations the most capable minds of the Christian Church have endeavored to interpret the Book of Revelation, but this portion of Scripture has defied all human understanding. Unlike the Old Testament, it does not rest upon those general truths which are involved in the life-story of a nation. Unlike the New Testament, it does not present a moral philosophy which the human mind can grasp. Instead, it speaks of strange and fearful events which are to take place in some obscure future. Couched in the imagery of dream-life, and dealing with things that seem fantastic to the point of incredibility, this revelation stands forth in Scripture as the book of mysteries. Nevertheless, it is an integral part of the Word of God, and as such, it cannot be dismissed. Thus we find in Christian theology a strange fusion of simple truths and esoteric doctrines-the gentle teachings of the Savior against a foreboding background of mystery and death.

     It is ever so; the mind of man cannot possibly penetrate the mysteries of faith. Except God Himself reveal that which is hidden, man must remain in darkness. The four Gospels were an open revelation to the men of the Christian Church-a revelation designed to meet the spiritual needs of the day. But the Book of Revelation, although given to the Christian Church, was designed to meet the spiritual needs of a Church which was to come. Thus we read in the Preface to the Apocalypse Revealed: "There are many who have labored in the explanation of the Apocalypse; but as the spiritual sense of the Word had been hitherto unknown, they could not see the arcana which lie concealed therein; for the spiritual sense alone discloses these; on which account expositors have conjectured various things, and most of them have applied the things that are therein to the states of empires, intermingling also some things about ecclesiastical affairs." (Preface A. R.)

And again: "Everyone can see that the Apocalypse can by no means be explained but by the Lord alone; for each word therein contains arcana which could never be known without a particular enlightenment, and thus revelation. Wherefore it has pleased the Lord to open the sight of my spirit, and to teach me. Do not believe, therefore, that I have taken anything therein from myself, nor from any angel, but from the Lord alone." (Preface A. R.)

     It is evident from this that the Book of Revelation was not intended for the Christian Church. Indeed, as far as that Church was concerned, it cannot be called a revelation, for its spiritual sense was completely hidden beneath fallacious appearances arising from the letter. That it was the Word of God, is evident. But the Word of God is one thing, and the Word of God revealed is another. For example, the Word of God was given to the Jewish prophets, but the significance of this Word was not revealed until the Lord's Coming, It is ever so; the prophetical Word of the Church which precedes is to serve as a revelation to the Church which follows. Herein is the reason why the Writings cannot stand by themselves as the Word of the Lord's New Church.

     In our effort to establish the fact that the Writings are the Word of the New Church, we are prone to forget that, apart from the Word of the Old and New Testaments, the Writings would lose their significance. For the Writings rest upon these former Revelations as a house upon its foundations. Indeed, the Writings themselves borrow heavily from the former revelations, illustrating the fact that the three Revelations form an inseparable whole. Taken together, they stand as the Word of the Lord's New Church. Each one is absolutely essential to the efficacy of the other. Hence it is that all argument concerning the relative status of the different revelations is meaningless, unless it first be acknowledged that they are in reality an indivisible one. For although it is true that the former revelations were given in order to meet the spiritual needs of ages which belong to the past, they contain spiritual concepts which are essential to a proper appreciation of the Writings.

     But the most vivid illustration of the interdependence of the three revelations is to be found in the portion of Scripture under consideration, namely, the Book of Revelation.

As previously noted, this revelation, although an integral part of the New Testament, has no claim to meaning except as a basis for a future revelation. As such, it is obvious that this portion of the New Testament is an essential part of the Word of the Lord's New Church. Deprive the Writings of the Book of Revelation as written by John on the isle of Patmos, and a large portion of the Writings would not exist. Indeed, we cannot escape the conclusion that the Writings, divorced from the letter, would have no more claim to meaning than the soul apart from the body.

With these thoughts in mind, we turn our attention to the Book of Revelation itself. As previously indicated, this work is the prophetical book of the New Testament, and as such it stands forth in Scripture as the prophecy of the Lord's New Church. Here is to be found a declaration of the Divine intention. Here is to be found the promise of the ages. From the day when God created man after His own image, men have dreamed of the great and wonderful day of Jehovah God-of the day when the kingdom of heaven should be firmly established on earth. But the ways of God are inscrutable; His deeds excel our highest thoughts. Generation after generation passed away, but the kingdom of heaven on earth was not forthcoming. Nevertheless, the Lord God of heaven and earth had not forsaken His people. Thus it was that, when the time was at hand, He called His servant John, and bade him prophesy concerning those things which were revealed unto him. And John, having been carried away in the spirit, testified, saying, "And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain; for the former things are passed away. And He that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new." (Rev. 21:1-5.) Thus it was that John, the prophet of the Second Coming, proclaimed the dawn of a new age.

In the establishment of the New Church, the Divine purpose from the beginning came to its fruition in time. For, as stated in the Writings, the Divine purpose in creation was the establishment of a heaven from the human race, or what is the same, the conjunction of man with God. To this end the Lord created the universe and all things therein. To this end the Lord came into the world and glorified the Human. To this end the Lord raised up his servant Emanuel Swedenborg, and gave unto him a complete and final revelation. Indeed, not one least thing has happened since the beginning of time that has not looked to the establishment of the Crown of the Churches. From the day when God first created man after His own image and likeness, a Divinely inspired Providence has been preparing the way for the descent of the holy city, the New Jerusalem. For by means of the New Church true conjunction between God and man has been made possible. This is why it is called the "Crown of the Churches," and this is why it is said concerning this Church that "the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." (Matt. 16:18.)

In the spiritual history of the world, four great Churches preceded the New Church, namely, the Most Ancient, the Ancient, the Jewish, and the Christian Churches. It is to be noted that the first three were not true Churches in the strict sense of the word. For the Most Ancient, the Ancient, and Jewish Churches were representative Churches,-that is to say, Churches in which the Divine Human was represented in finite things. Prior to the Advent, the Divine Human did not exist in ultimate actuality as after the Advent. And since man cannot conceive of an Infinite God except in the human form, it was necessary that the Divine should be re-presented by means of that which was human. This is why it was that, prior to the Advent, all Divine Revelation was given by means of the angels of heaven. For by means of the human of the angels, the Divine Human was represented. So the Churches which existed before the Advent beheld the Divine in a human form, in that the Divine borrowed the human of the angels, and stood forth therein. But the human which the Divine employed was not Divine in any sense; for the very purpose of the Advent was the glorification, or the making Divine, of that which was human.

Now it is an important point of doctrine that a Church is not a true Church which does not worship the Lord's Divine Human, for this is the very essential of a living faith. Thus the Churches, which existed prior to the Advent were not true Churches, because the Divine Human was not yet a living actuality in ultimates. However, we do not mean to imply by this that these Churches were not sufficient to salvation, for this is not the case. In the days of which we are speaking, the spiritual state of the world was such that a representative Divine Human was all that was required to sustain man's faith in God. But as the human race drew further and further from its state of primitive innocence, it began to question the existence of God. For man had eaten of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, which signifies that man no longer was willing to place his faith in the things of revelation, but began more and more to trust in the things of the senses. Nor need we believe that this teaching presents things too difficult to comprehend, for the same process is mirrored before our eyes in the life of every child born into the world. And just as a child does not remain in that state of innocence which involves an implicit trust in all that he learns concerning God and the other world, so the human race, yielding to an awakening consciousness of its proprial life, began to question the possibility of any life outside of itself.

In brief, the human race had descended to a purely natural state,-the state which characterizes the life of the adolescent child. So, at the time of the Advent, the state of the world was such that man could no longer believe that which was not evident on the natural plane of existence. If the human race was to be saved, it was essential that the Lord God of heaven and earth should "bow the heavens and come down." Thus it was that the Lord assumed the human from the virgin Mary, and by the process of glorification made that human Divine. In so doing, Jehovah, the God from eternity, put on the Divine Natural; and man, having seen God with his eyes, and felt Him with his hands, knew that the Lord was indeed the God of heaven and earth. So Thomas, the doubting disciple, who represents the sensual plane of the mind, when he heard that the Lord had risen from the dead, said, "Except I shall see in His hands the print of the nails . . . and thrust my hand into His side, I will not believe." (John 20:25.) Thus it came to pass that, when the Lord appeared unto Thomas, He spake unto him and said, "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." (John 20:27.)

And Thomas, having reached forth his hand, answered and said, "My Lord and my God." (John 20:28.) The spiritual implication is obvious, for Thomas, who represented the sensual, which is the lowest degree of the natural, identified the Lord Jesus Christ as Jehovah, the God from eternity.

     The acknowledgment of the Lord Jesus Christ by Thomas, the doubting disciple, stands forth in Scripture as the turning point in the spiritual history of the world. For Thomas, who represents the sensual man, had actually seen the Glorified Human. Hence a true Church was for the first time established on earth. Representative worship was no longer necessary, for the Divine Human was now a living actuality in ultimates. The human race was no longer dependent upon the heavens. Jehovah, the God from eternity, had descended into the world, and by so doing had established His Divinity in the very ultimates of nature. Men had seen Him with their eyes, and felt Him with their hands; and having once seen God, no man can deny Him and live.

     But the Divine end in creation was not yet fully accomplished. For, prior to the Second Coming, the Divine Human was not fully revealed. It is true that the disciples had seen the Glorified Human, for their spiritual eyes had been opened, and they beheld the risen Lord. Nevertheless, the revelation given to the disciples was a restricted revelation, because that which they saw and acknowledged was the Divine Natural,-the Glorified Body; but the Divine Spiritual,-the Glorified Rational,-was hidden from their eyes. The reason is obvious. In beholding the Divine Human, the spiritual eyes of the disciples were opened; for that which is not material cannot be seen with natural eyes. But it is to be noted that there are two kinds of spiritual sight-the sight which is common to all spirits, which is the ability to see spiritual phenomena, and the sight which is granted to the angels of heaven, namely, the ability to discriminate between spiritual causes and natural effects. This latter is true spiritual sight.

     The ability to discriminate between spiritual causes and natural effects-this is the sight which is essential to the acknowledgment of the Divine Rational. This is the vision which was not possible in the days of the first Christian Church.

The disciples, when they beheld the Glorified Human, thought that that which they saw was the Mary body, yet that which they saw was not the Mary body, for that which is material cannot rise from the dead. Here, then, is the fundamental reason why the Christian Church could not endure. It was based upon a purely natural acknowledgment of the Lord's Divinity,-an acknowledgment which was sufficient to the spiritual needs of the human race at the time, but an acknowledgment which could not endure to eternity.

The belief that the Lord had risen from the dead with the material body prevailed in the Christian Church for several generations. But as the human race began to develop intellectually, as men began to penetrate the mysteries of nature by means of natural sciences, their faith was shaken. The seed of doubt soon found open expression, and the Christian Church, in the effort to justify its faith in the eyes of men, proclaimed the spurious doctrine of three persons in one God-a doctrine which inmostly involves a denial of the Lord's Divinity. So the Christian Church was "weighed in the balance and found wanting," and a last and final judgment was pronounced, even as foretold in the Book of Revelation. The Church had been broken by the pressure of materialism,-that insidious philosophy which is the heritage of the present-day world.

But the mercy of the Lord endures forever. Regardless of the sin which man has committed, the Lord does not forget His people. The time had come for the fulfillment of the Divine promise from the beginning,-the promise that the kingdom of heaven should be established on earth. By means of his servant, Emanuel Swedenborg, the Lord made a Second Coming, and in so doing He again revealed the Glorified Human. But the revelation of the Second Coming was quite different from the revelation which the disciples witnessed at the time of the resurrection, in that this was a full revelation,-a revelation of the Divine Rational itself. Here is the revelation which defies all materialistic philosophy; "the gates of hell shall not prevail against it." For the Writings of the Lord's New Church unlock the mysteries of faith, even as it is said in Matthew concerning the revelation which was to come, "There is nothing covered that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known." (Matt. 10:26.)

Thus the kingdom of heaven was established on earth, "and the gates of it shall not be shut."

     With these thoughts in mind, the words of our text assume their true spiritual significance. By means of the Second Advent the Lord gave unto man a new vision of the Divine Human, and it is this vision that will "make all things new." Upon this vision a new heaven has been formed in the spiritual world. Upon this vision a new church has been established on earth. And upon this vision a new civilization will, in the Lord's own time, supplant the naturalistic civilization of today. A New Heaven, a New Church, and a new civilization-these are the blessings of the Second Coming. The first two are already given, and the third is in process of being realized. It is true that as yet there are no external signs of a new civilization, but the Word of our God changeth not, and He has said, "Behold, I make all things new." In the Lord's own time the world will be re-created; a new civilization will be given,-a civilization which may not differ in external form from those that preceded, but one that will be based upon the doctrine of use, rather than upon the insidious principle of self-preservation. In that day will the kingdom of heaven be realized in its fulness. And in that day the Lord Jesus Christ will be universally acknowledged as the omnipotent Sovereign of heaven and earth. Amen.

     LESSONS: Isaiah 65. Revelation 21. D. L. W. 233.
     MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 509, 532, 594.
     PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 93, 115.
NEW CHURCH SERMONS 1937

NEW CHURCH SERMONS 1937

ZIONIST MOVEMENT 1937

ZIONIST MOVEMENT Editor 1937

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.
     From the time of the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans in the first century of the Christian era (70 A. D.), the Jews have been a people without a country, scattered throughout the world, sojourners among many nations. But there have always been those among them who desired a repatriation in the land that was promised to Abraham and his posterity for a perpetual possession. This desire, persistent with some, has not been shared by all. It will be recalled that when the Jews were released from captivity in Babylon (535 B. C.), many preferred to remain where they had become prosperous. Not all "wept when they remembered Zion." And the same is true today. But among the more devout and orthodox there is a "longing for Zion" which springs from religious sentiments, and from a conviction that the Jewish people will yet enjoy a fulfilment of the ancient prophecies of a Messiah who was to establish them in the Land of Canaan. Even in the other world they retain this expectation, as we are told in the Writings:

     "More than others, the Jews do not know that they are in the spiritual world, but believe that they are still in the natural world. Wherefore they speak of the Messiah as they did in the world, saying that He will come with David, and will go before them with diadems, and introduce them into the Land of Canaan, and that in the way, by lifting His rod, He will dry up the rivers which they will pass over; also that Christians, whom among themselves they call Gentiles, will then lay hold of the skirts of their garments, and humbly entreat to be allowed to accompany them. . . .

When these spirits are asked whether they believe that they also are to enter the Land of Canaan, they reply that they will then descend into it. When it is said that this land cannot possibly hold them all, they reply that it will then be enlarged. . . ." (Cont. L. J. 82.)

The Zionist Movement, in its modern form, began forty years ago (1896), and its aim is not religious, but charitable, seeking a relief of the Jews from persecution,-"the creation of a home secured by public rights for those Jews who cannot or will not be assimilated by the country of their adoption." There has even been opposition to a religious aim in connection with the movement. We read: "Ever since their dispersion, faithful orthodox Jews have found consolation in the religious hope that the promises of the ancient prophets will finally be realized, that the Messiah will appear to lead the children of Israel back to the Holy Land of their fathers. But the religious nature of this Messianic Zionism has been the ground for strong opposition on the part of leading Jews, who have denounced it as an attempt to forestall Divine Providence." In this they are in agreement with the teachings of the Writings on the subject. After the Advent of the Lord, the Jews were expelled from the Land of Canaan, never to return as a nation and a church, and this for providential reasons which we shall presently note. Yet "the Messianic faith has led to many active attempts at repatriation. Thus Bar-Kokba (117-138 A. D.) based his all but successful revolt against the Romans on the Messianic prophecy, and at later periods a number of Pseudo-Messiahs were created by the restlessness or mysticism of their times, reacting upon the despair of the Jewish people." (See The New International Encyclopedia under "Zionist Movement.")

"Zion" is the Scriptural and poetic name for the whole Land of Canaan or Palestine. Actually it was a hill or mountain in Jerusalem, which, after the capture of the city by David, became the place of the royal residence of the kings, the place of the temple, the center of government, worship, and national life.

When David had carried the ark thither, and had erected the tabernacle there, Zion began to represent the inmost of the church and the celestial heaven. (A. E. 700:26; A. R. 612.) Thus a "Zionist" movement, in the full implications of the term, would mean a restoration of the Jewish Church in Palestine, with its temple worship on Mount Zion at Jerusalem. A central feature of this worship,-the burnt offerings upon the brazen altar,-can be performed in no other place (A. C. 42884), and was therefore terminated when the Romans destroyed the temple, leaving "not one stone upon another." According to the prediction in Daniel 9:27, the "sacrifice and oblation ceased" when the Lord had come, whose passion was foreshadowed and represented in the sacrificial offering; for "the image vanishes when the effigy itself appears." (A. C. 4904.) Then the Jewish representative ritual was abrogated for the Christian Church, and the burnt offerings abolished, never to be resumed. In the Jewish Church they had been merely representative, and if they had continued after the Advent, when the Lord revealed their internal significance, they would have been not only idolatrous, but grievously profane, when performed by those who hated and destroyed the Messiah.

The Land of Canaan, from creation, was peculiarly representative of the Divine and heaven. As the central place of the earlier churches, it was truly representative of the spiritual states of its inhabitants. Because of the ultimate power of correspondence, this land was given to the Sons of Israel as the descendants of Abraham, that the mere form of a church might be instituted with them, but this did not take place until they had become wholly vastated of any spiritual worship of the Lord. (A. C. 4289, 6589:5.) More than any people, they could be in a holy external apart from any internal. And so they were exempt from that mingling which is profanation in its worst form. But this would not be the case after internal things had been revealed at the Advent, on which account their representative worship in Jerusalem was brought to an end.

Now among the places in the Land which had been peculiarly significative from ancient times was the rock upon Zion where the temple was built by Solomon, and where the sacrificial offerings were made. It was the scene of the intended sacrifice of Isaac by Abraham, and of David's atonement for the sin of numbering the people. (II Samuel 24:18-25.)

Concerning this we read:

     Abraham was commanded to go into the land of Moriah, and to offer Isaac for a burnt offering upon one of the mountains there. (Genesis 22.) "This land was a place of temptation. In that land was Jerusalem, where the Lord Himself sustained the last of temptation, as may be evident from this, that David built an altar in Mount Moriah, and there the temple was afterwards erected by Solomon. . . . For the altar upon which the burnt offerings and sacrifices were made was the principal representative of the Lord, and afterwards the temple itself. Therefore, 'Jesus said, Destroy this temple, and in three days I will build it up; He spake of the temple of His body.'" (A. C. 2775, 2777.)

     In the Lord's Providence, this place is now occupied by a Mohammedan mosque, thus preventing both Jews and Christians from initiating any idolatrous worship there. The Emperor Julian, in A. D. 361, gave a permission to the Jews to rebuild their temple, but his brief reign did not allow this project to be carried out. The Mosque of Omar was erected upon the temple site about 700 A. D., and contains the Sacred Rock, formerly looked upon by the Jews as the scene of the intended sacrifice of Isaac. Except for two intervals in the period of the Crusades, it has remained in the possession of the Moslems. The significance of this is manifest from the following teachings:

     "The Mohammedan Religion was raised up by the Divine Providence of the Lord to destroy the idolatries of many nations. Before that the worship of idols was common throughout the world. The reason was, that the churches before the advent of the Lord were all representative churches. Such, also, was the Israelitish Church; . . . the sacrifices and all things belonging to the temple at Jerusalem were representative. . . . That all these idolatries might be extirpated, it came to pass of the Divine Providence of the Lord that a new religion accommodated to the genius of the Orientals was begun, in which there should be something from both Testaments of the Word, and which should teach that the Lord came into the world, and that He was the Greatest Prophet, the Wisest of all, and the Son of God. This was done by means of Mohammed, from whom that religion has been called the Mohammedan Religion." (D. P. 255.)

     "As soon as the Lord came into the world, and revealed Himself, and taught love to and faith in Himself, then the Jewish nation, on hearing those things, began to deny them, and thus could no longer be kept in such ignorance as before. Therefore they were then driven out of the Land of Canaan, lest they should defile and profane internal things by denial in that Land, where all places, from the most ancient times, had become representative of those things which relate to heaven and the church." (A. C. 10500. See A. C. 2180:7, 5136, 6516.)

     "From many passages in the Word, even Christians believe that the Jewish nation will be chosen again and introduced into the Land of Canaan, although they know that that nation expects the Messiah who will introduce them, and yet are aware that this expectation is vain. . . . From all this it is manifest that the Israelitish and Jewish nation was not chosen, and that still less will they be chosen; also that there was not anything of the church with them, neither could be, but only a representative of it; and that its preservation to this day was for the sake of the Old Testament." (A. C. 7051; see also 4547e; A. E. 433:27.)

     "Because, at this day as formerly, the Jews account as holy the rituals which may be observed outside of Jerusalem, and also have a holy veneration for the Word of the Old Testament, and inasmuch as it was foreseen that Christians would almost totally reject that Word, therefore that nation has been preserved." (A. C. 3479.)

     "Lest the Word should be destroyed, it was provided by the Lord that the Jewish nation, which has the Word of the Old Testament in its original tongue, should survive and dwell dispersed throughout a great part of the earth. . . . The reading of the Word by them communicates with certain heavens; for the correspondences communicate, whatever be the quality of the person who reads, if only he acknowledge that the Word is Divine. This is so at the present day, even as of old; for when the Jews adore as divinities Moses, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, David, Elias, and other persons mentioned in the Word, then the heavens perceive the Lord instead of those persons, without being aware of the person in the world from whom proceeds that holy of worship." (De Verbo XVI.)

Church News 1937

Church News Various 1937

     BRITISH GUIANA.

     Our readers will be interested in the following account of the developments in this country under General Church auspices.

     In a letter to Bishop de Charms, dated November 18, 1936, the Rev. Henry Algernon, of Georgetown, Demerara, writes:

     "Great indeed was my joy, and that of our little group, at the authorization to operate in the name of the General Church.

     "I have now to report a beginning of our operations as part of the General Church on Sunday, October 25, with a Children's Service Hour at 9 a.m. When all the parents belonging to our group are able to send their children, this worship and instruction hour will be a New Church Use available to sixteen or seventeen children.

     "Our Reading Circle meets at 4 p.m. on Sundays, but since November 15, when we held a public inaugural service, we are likely to develop a separate hour of Divine Worship, meeting for the Reading Circle sometime later.

     "At the service on November 15, my son Arthur made his confession of faith as a New Churchman, in accordance with the Ritual of the General Church, in the presence of a gathering of 25 persons. Immediately afterwards, Messrs. Edmond Ross and Stephen Alexander were baptized. A Special Hymn Sheet, with the words of seven hymns in the General Church Liturgy, was provided for the use of the worshipers."

     The public inaugural service was announced in the Georgetown Daily Chronicle of November 15 as follows:

     The General Church of the New Jerusalem.

     REV. H. ALGERNON,

     Local Representative.

     The General Church of the New Jerusalem is one of the three great organizations of what will gradually come to be acknowledged as the Lord's New Church upon earth-the other two being the General Convention and the General Conference. The headquarters of the General Church are at Bryn Athyn in the State of Pennsylvania-a purely New Church colony, as it were, with an important educational establishment ranging from the most elementary grades to the university standards. The instruction given prepares New Church children for a practical career, while it secures prominence for the truth that the earthly life is not an end in itself, but a preparation for the life beyond our present mundane existence. This truth is most evident to New Church people, whose organization is due to the recognition of the Second Coming of the Lord in the opening of His Word, and in the gradual opening of the minds of such as are willing to see Him in the inner or spiritual sense of His Word. The revelation of the spiritual sense of the Word in the Bible restores it to a world which today needs, for its renewal and re-making, the Word whose literal sense it has completely violated and rejected. It was always true, but never truer than today, that man cannot live by bread alone, but rather by every word of God-which is the alone creative and preservative force in the universe.

     The New Church organizations bear witness to these truths, and endeavor to call attention to them by spoken and written word, and by the life lived in accordance with the Heavenly Doctrines of the New Jerusalem, that is, in the light of the principles governing the heavenly life as revealed in those doctrines, given (as the New Church believes) that through them all things may be made new.

     The Tabor Mission of the General Church of the New Jerusalem holds special inaugurating services at 3 p.m. on Sunday November 15 at 30 Third Street, Alberttown, when Rev. H. Algernon will admit the charter members of the mission and give an appropriate inaugural address, all interested parties being welcome.

     CHICAGO, ILL.

     Our rooms were appropriately decorated for the Sharon Church celebration on Christmas Eve, with the usual tree, gifts and songs. The society received a lovely present from several of our members in the form of new furnishings and adornments for the chancel. A fine mahogany lectern was made by Dr. Harvey Farrington. A much-needed chancel rail was made by Mr. Renkenberger, who himself felled the black walnut tree used for his beautiful piece of workmanship. The ladies of the society contributed a large piece of gold-colored silk, with fringe, tassels and braid to match. Mrs. Farrington, Miss Bertha Farrington, and Mrs. David F. Gladish worked this lovely material into covers for the altar and lectern, as well as lining for the repository. Miss Farrington's embroidery of the lectern cloth is especially beautiful. On the Sunday following Christmas, our pastor delivered a notable sermon on the names of the Lord in the prophecy of Isaiah 9:6, "Wonderful, Counselor, The Mighty God, Father of Eternity, Prince of Peace."

     December 29th was the forty-third anniversary of the marriage of the Rev. and Mrs. W. L. Gladish, who gave a dinner in celebration of the event, attended by sixty-five persons, including friends from Glenview. Speeches, congratulations and songs were in order. The first song was by the young people of the Junge family. Then Mr. David Gladish read a narrative in rhyme, written by Mr. Richard Gladish, recounting the brave struggles and trials and joys of the married life of their parents. Mr. Harold P. McQueen spoke of the fine New Church family they had trained and influenced; and Dr. Farrington, speaking for Sharon Church, emphasized the state of peace and kindliness reigning in the society, which he attributed to our pastor's excellent instruction in sermons and classes, and also to Mrs. Gladish's affectionate and hospitable sphere.
     E. V. W.

     TORONTO, CANADA.

     The evening of November 27 witnessed the scene of great activity at the Olivet Church. Laughter, fun and the exchange of money for goods proclaimed that a most successful bazaar, sponsored by the Ladies' Circle, was well under way. Promptly at seven, the cafeteria opened its doors to a hungry throng, whose appetites were satisfactorily appeased by selections from a choice menu. Thus reinforced, the diners and others who had wandered in were prepared to see what the bazaar proper had to offer. The first attraction that caught the eye was a Hansel and Gretel confection shop with its candy cones, gumdrop figures, and delicious homemade sweets. Next in line came the sale of home-made cookery, cakes, cookies, pies, pickles and jams, which made many a mouth water, and justly so. Continuing around the room, the would-be purchaser now came to the fancywork booth, where attractive and useful articles of all materials and colors made an interesting display that soon vanished "to the bare walls."

     The main accompaniment of the next attraction was obviously "noise." But when one got past the "noise," it was seen to be "Binge," a game that particularly pleased the children, as also did the next item,-Mickey and Minnie Mouse presiding over a bountiful fishpond!

     An entirely new feature was a delightful marionette show in which Rudyard Kipling's story of "How the Elephant Got His Trunk" was graphically depicted. Young and old enjoyed seeing where the young elephant's "satiable" curiosity led him. When all the excitement was over, and every penny counted, the net results were $150.02, and the enjoyment provided in accumulating it made even the most skeptical of bazaar attenders say, "Not too bad!"

     At the November meeting of the Forward-Sons of the Academy, ten men from the Kitchener Society were guests of the evening. The attendance was well over forty, and created a fine spirit of comradeship. An interesting description of Swedenborg's strenuous college life, by Bishop Acton, was read by the Rev. F. E. Gyllenhaal. Then followed the presentation of a life-membership certificate to Mr. Rudolph Potts, who has moved to Kitchener. The guest speaker, Mr. Harold Kuhl, dealt with the subject of "Filling Our Fathers' Shoes,"-a very capable address, which was much enjoyed, and aroused a discussion that lasted until a late hour.

     A social and dance was held on November 14. The good attendance was very gratifying to the committee, which was under the energetic leadership of Mr. Robert Scott.

     Remembrance Day was duly observed by a suitable Sunday service. In his sermon, the pastor pointed out that wars are permitted that evils may be uncovered, seen, and combated, which could not otherwise be done for the prevention of greater evils and the preservation of freedom with the human race.

     "Unto us a child is born!"-These glad tidings, forming, as they did in silver letters, the predominant part of the chancel decorations at the Olivet Church, again were the center about which all our activity and thought was focused during the month of December. On Sunday, December 20, the Christmas Tableaux once again attracted a large congregation, gathered to see beautiful and vivid pictures of the Nativity. The service opened with the singing of "From the Eastern Mountains," during which all, young and old, went forward, row after row, to offer their gifts. Each of the six tableaux was introduced by a reading from the Word. The scenes were: The Coat of Many Colors; Joseph with the Butler and the Baker; Jacob Blessing Joseph's Sons; The Angel and the Shepherds; The Nativity; The Adoration of the Wise Men. These were interspersed with the singing of Hebrew anthems by the children and Christmas carols by the congregation. At the conclusion of the service each child was presented with a little Christmas package.

     The Christmas Day service was most joyous, as truly befitted this day of days. Beautiful decorations, harmonious music, and many Christmas hymns, together with the Christmas message presented by the pastor in his short but direct sermon, made the service a true celebration of the Lord's Advent.

     All who possibly could assembled on New Year's Eve to bid farewell to the old year and welcome the new. A gayly decorated room, bubbling over with balloons on ceiling and walls, confronted a large gathering, and at once put everyone into a festive mood. Soon everything was in full sway-modern dances, old time dances, skits, and a goodly spread of food. At midnight all was quiet, while the pastor, in a few words, pointed out that some more serious thoughts must come to mind with the passing of the old year and the welcoming of the new. The party lasted till midnight was well past, and everyone went home agreeing that the New Year Party had been a decided success, with many thanks due to Mrs. Ray Brown and her hard-working committee.
     M. S. P.

     OSLO, NORWAY.

     It is now ten years since my first visit to Oslo. At the first public lecture there I had a crowd of 500 people, and could have had many more if there had been room for them. And for a time the lectures continued to be very well attended indeed. I used to visit Oslo twice a year. But many people no doubt came from mere curiosity, and when the curiosity had been satisfied, the attendance naturally began to decrease. On the earlier visits the admission fees paid all my expenses, including traveling costs, and some times even provided a surplus; but later the costs began to be too heavy to permit more than one visit a year. In the Fall of 1929 the attendance at the lectures had fallen as low as 40 and 43; there were no baptisms, and no one joined the General Church.

     But in spite of the low figures and apparent standstill, the work went on. If there were not so many who came, those who did so were seemingly interested, for they came back from one year to another, and bought many books. Though almost all of the books are in the Swedish language, I sell more books in Oslo than at public lectures anywhere in Sweden. And I can now say that there seems to be a considerably increased interest in Oslo. Some very earnest receivers have joined the Circle there. Some in the group meet every Sunday and read a sermon which I have previously delivered in Stockholm. They also meet once a week for the study of the Doctrines. Five adults and three children have been baptized by me. Two adults had already been baptized in America. Four have joined the General Church. This year the group has received several interested new members, among them a whole family which has moved to Oslo from the United States,-a young couple with four little children. And there are signs of internal growth and of increased strength, so far as we can judge.

     Even the prospects of external evangelization now look brighter. The attendance at the public lectures has gradually increased again. Thus in 1934 it was 73 and 96; in 1935, 163 and 104; and in March, 1936, 87 and 125. I have therefore tried once more to visit Oslo twice a year, and last November gave two lectures there, attended by 109 and 93 persons. In March, I sold books to the value of Kr. 123:-(931.00), in November, Kr. 145:-($36.00). On the last three visits we have also held public worship, which was announced al the lectures, but not otherwise advertized. The last time the attendance was about 50 persons. At private services in a family I have administered the Holy Supper. A thing that I have learned, especially in Oslo, is not to give up a work because for a time it does not seem to have any results. It is discouraging to see the attendance go down and the internal state not being developed. Yet, if we consider that it is the Lord who "builds the house," and we remain faithful in the work, trusting in the Lord, there may be a new beginning. For in reality the Lord's work has been going on all the while, and finally we see some results-perhaps when we are tempted to give up the whole thing as hopeless.

     One thing that may be very useful in missionary work of this kind, when there is a group of receivers in a place, is to supply this group with New Church sermons regularly for every Sunday. And there ought to be a library of books which are loaned without charge. At the lectures in Oslo we give every visitor a catalogue of our books, and on that catalogue is stamped the address where books can be borrowed. In Oslo, Miss Anna Boyesen has charge of this library, and she talks with those who come for books. She has been useful in every respect. She is a relative of Mr. Bjorn Boyesen, who is studying for the ministry. Quite a number of Boyesens are among the leading persons in Oslo, and form the nucleus there.

     On the way to and from Oslo, I delivered four lectures at four places in Sweden, attended by an average of 85 persons. I also visited isolated receivers, baptized two persons, of which one is a teacher in a public school, and administered the Holy Supper.

     I believe that, in the Providence of the Lord, the day is not very far off when there will be a New Church society in Oslo, and that from this city as a center the New Church can be spread without great difficulty to places in all parts of Norway. For ten years the seed has been sown throughout the country. In Stavanger, there is already a faithful group, of which three are baptized into the New Church. There resides Mr. Eckhoff, who has translated Heaven and Hell and the New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine into Norwegian. In Bergen, lots of books are sold, and the lectures have been as well attended as in Oslo, sometimes even better. But Bergen is so far from Stockholm that I am unable to go there often.

     And so, let us not give up a work because we do not see results as soon as we have wished and hoped,-ii it is a good work. From lack of strength I may not be able to do very much more, but I trust that, in the Lord's providence, others will do it. We must believe in success, if we are to have any.
     GUSTAF BAECKSTROM.

     GLENVIEW, ILL.

     Our Christmas celebration began on Christmas Eve, when a band of carolers went from house to house, starting at the hospitable Scalbom home, and ending there with a social entertainment.

     Christmas Day was the warmest ever recorded here, and the service in the church was attended by a congregation of 292,-the largest we have ever had. Many were obliged to stand in the doorways, which brought home to us once more the need of enlarging our temple of worship. In fact, there is also pressing need for more room in the assembly hall and the school. At this service, the Rev. Willard D. Pendleton, of Pittsburgh, gave the address to the children, retelling the story of the Annunciation and pointing out the lessons we should derive from it. The second part of the service was held in the assembly hall, where the pastor told the children about the Representation of the Nativity shown upon the stage. Recitations and songs, and the gifts from the church to the children, even to the newest baby, as yet unnamed, completed this splendid service.

     Mr. Pendleton spent the Christmas holidays with us, and on the evening of December 26, at the Alvin E. Nelson home, gave us a talk on the subject of the forthcoming General Assembly, explaining its location, facilities, and the arrangements for visitors. He urged a large attendance from here, and extended a hearty invitation on behalf of the Pittsburgh Society. On Sunday, December 27, he assisted in the service and delivered the sermon, his text being from Revelation 21.

     On New Year's Eve at 9.30, we had a special Short service of song and instrumental music, after which cafe luncheon was served, followed by entertainment, music and dancing-seeing the old year out and the new year in.
     J. B. S.

     PITTSBURGH, PA.

     The Day School closed for Christmas recess with an informal party on Friday afternoon, December 18.

     On Sunday morning, December 20, a special Holy Supper service was held, and in the afternoon the Children's Christmas Festival was held in the auditorium. There were three tableaux: 1. The Annunciation; 2. The Nativity; 3. The Flight into Egypt. The pastor told the story of each tableau, and the children recited the Scriptural passages. A quartette sang suitable selections during the scenes. The tableaux were ably directed by Mr. and Mrs. Roy Jansen, and we are indebted to Mr. Jansen for his fine work on the scenery.

Mr. and Mrs. George P. Brown were again responsible for the Representation, which always means so much to the children. Mrs. Donald H. Shoemaker was chairman of the gifts, which were lovely and useful, and much appreciated by all. She was ably supported in her work by a fine group of helpers.

     A social, featuring Christmas caroling, was held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. A. P. Lindsay on Wednesday evening, December 23, and was well attended and much enjoyed.

     The Children's Christmas service was held on Thursday afternoon, December 24, a novel feature being the procession of children carrying lighted candles and singing. The story of the Nativity was told by the pastor, who Stressed the rejoicing in the spiritual world at the Lord's birth, this being ultimated in the spirit of giving here.

     On Christmas Eve a Service of Praise was held in the church, bringing us more fully into the sphere of the season.

     The music committee is to be congratulated upon its fine work, and we greatly enjoyed the solos by Mr. Joseph A. Thomas, of Tarentum.

     A holiday dance under the management of Mr. and Mrs. John J. Schoenberger was held in the auditorium on Tuesday evening, December 29, various novelty dances and a take-off of "Professor Quizz" providing an entertaining evening.

     In the absence of the pastor during the holidays, we were pleased to have with us the Rev. Homer Synnestvedt, who officiated at the Sunday services and the opening worship of the school, where he also taught the classes in Religion. He also visited Youngstown, Ohio, where he conducted services and attended a social in his honor.

     The society welcomed a visit from Miss Jennie Gaskill, who has recently accepted the position of head teacher of our Day School for next year. We regret the resignation of Mrs. John J. Schoenberger, but feel that Miss Gaskill, with her international experience, will be a fine teacher for our school Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas Sepp have announced the engagement of their daughter, Virginia, to Mr. Charles H. Ebert, Jr. We congratulate Mr. Ebert, and wish them happiness.

     An important event is the hanging of new curtains in the auditorium, which added much to the attractiveness of the room during the holiday activities. These were financed by the Woman's Guild, but were made by the strenuous and much appreciated labor of Mrs. A. P. Lindsay and Mrs. Frank Stein.
     E. R. D.

     WYOMING, OHIO.

     Following the Summer vacation, our Sunday services were resumed on September 13, and have been held regularly, with the exception of those Sundays when our pastor, the Rev. Norman H. Reuter, was making one of his visits to Middleport, Ohio, or Detroit, Michigan.

     On October 13, Bishop Alfred Acton arrived for the first official episcopal visit we have had for several years. In the evening a reception for Bishop Acton was held, and he addressed the society on the subject of "The Holy Spirit." On the following evening we were entertained at the home of Mr. and Mrs. William A. Smith, and after dinner Bishop Acton delivered an excellent address on the subject of "The Holy Supper," which was most delightful and instructive, as we may judge from the enthusiastic comment of our members concerning both of his talks. During his stay, Bishop Acton had several informal talks with the children, and there were several noonday luncheons which afforded the men an opportunity for brief visits with him.

     The annual meeting of the society was held on December 4 at the home of Mr. and Mrs. William A. Smith. It was followed by a discussion of the doctrine regarding Free Will Offerings and the Support of Church Uses.

This subject, which is generally avoided by New Church ministers, because of the close personal relation between the pastor and a small society, was presented in an entirely impersonal and most interesting manner. While some excellent articles on the subject have appeared from time to time in New Church Life, I believe that Mr. Reuter's presentation was sufficiently different from the usual discussion of contributions to make it worthy of occupying some of the limited space in our official publication.

     A service of worship was held on Thanksgiving Day, the following Sunday being devoted to the pastor's visit to Detroit. The same arrangement was made at Christmas time. Our service on Christmas Day was one of the most enjoyable of the year. The beloved story of the Lord's birth, recited by the children as they stood in front of the Christmas Representation, the singing of all the Christmas songs, and the general feeling of happiness and goodwill, stirred our affections deeply.

     During the course of the year, our Sunday services have been attended by the following visitors: Mr. and Mrs. Adolph Reuter, Mr. Warren Reuter, Mrs. Dorothy Peterson, Miss Lottie Williams, and Mrs. Enoch S. Price. Mrs. Edith G. Smith has returned to Los Angeles, after a prolonged visit with her son and daughter. Mr. and Mrs. Philip DeMaine are being congratulated upon the arrival of a baby girl on January 3.
     DONALD MERRELL.

     LOS ANGELES.

     The celebration of our society's eighth year of existence found us gathered at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Peter Klippenstein, following the service on Sunday morning, October 18. After a nourishing buffet lunch, a large cake, decorated in red and white and bearing the date of our society's inception, was cut and served to the tune of many "Happy Birthdays." In the afternoon the semi-annual meeting of the society was held, including the election of officers. Miss Mildred Stoll was reelected secretary, and we loaded the burden of treasurer upon the shoulders of Mr. Edgar Klippenstein.

     Our Sunday Services are held alternately at two ends of the city, as formerly, and the doctrinal classes in two groups at the various members' homes. A Sunday School class for the smaller children is being given by Mrs. Hendrik Boef during the time of the sermon every other week, when the service is held on 48th Street.

     We were fortunate in having a long, very warm Fall, which made it a little easier for our members to drive the long distances to church. Our Winter weather is of short duration, which is a blessing to those who ride in rumble seats.

     The Rev. and Mrs. Boef gave a party to the society on November 28, on which occasion we had the pleasure of welcoming Miss Helen Colley of New York. We have had the good fortune to have Miss Colley play the piano for several of our services. It has also been a pleasure to have Mrs. Clara Staddon, of Chicago, with us again this season. This is her second Winter in "sunny California," and we do hope it will become a habit with her, and with others of our New Church friends. Mr. Charles Davis, of Trona, who is studying at a business college in Los Angeles, has been attending our meetings.

     The Men's Club and the Women's Club both continue to hold monthly meetings. Once a year they hold a joint meeting at which the pastor gives an address.

     A sphere of reverence and great affection pervaded our Christmas celebration. At five o'clock on Sunday afternoon, December 20, a specially prepared Christmas Service was held at the studio on 48th Street. A few simple decorations of cypress trees, poinsettias and candles, did much to transform the studio into a place of Divine Worship. After the service three simple tableaux of the Nativity were presented in an adjoining room, readings from the Sacred Scripture and music filling the intervals between them.

These tableaux were given by the children, ranging in age from four and a half to fifteen years. They were impressive and beautiful, even though reduced to a minimum of properties and embellishments. We feel that the children derived something from this experience which they do not gain by simply looking at a finished production. At seven o'clock, Mr. and Mrs. Peter Klippenstein hospitably opened their doors to us for a buffet supper. A very happy and friendly spirit prevailed during the gathering, in the midst of which Santa Claus arrived with gifts of candy and cookies for the children. The evening ended with the lusty singing of Christmas carols.

     We wish to take this opportunity to wish our friends throughout the Church a very happy and peaceful New Year.
     V. G. B.

     DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

     A romance of Bryn Athyn school days had a happy culmination at Detroit on Saturday evening, December 26, in the marriage of Miss Lilian Macauley, daughter of Mrs. Anne Coombs, to Mr. Bertil Larsson, of Arlington, N. J. Their wedding took place at the home of the bride's mother, the Rev. Norman Reuter officiating. Fifty relatives and friends were present. A most beautiful and artistic setting had been arranged for the ceremony; palms, flowers and lighted candles surrounding an improvised altar, before which the couple pledged their vows in the very impressive and sacred marriage ritual of the General Church.

     Preceding the service, the hymn "O precious sign and seal of heavenly union" was very beautifully sung by Miss Freda Cook. Then, to the thrilling strains of the Lohengrin Bridal Chorus, played by an uncle of the bride, came the wedding procession. First, a young nephew of Lilian's, Jack Macauley, bearing on a white satin pillow the two wedding rings. Next, the maid of honor, Miss June Macauley, most attractive in American Beauty taffeta and carrying an arm bouquet of roses and baby's breath. Then the bride and groom, walking together-Lilian lovely indeed in white lace bridal gown and veil, and carrying a shower bouquet of white rose buds and freesia. Her train bearer was her young cousin, Joyce Robinson. Mr. Arne Larsson, brother of the groom, was best man.

     After the ceremony, Mr. and Mrs. Larsson left for their home in Arlington, New Jersey. We shall miss Lilian very much, but from what we know of her love for the church and its activities, we are sure she will prove a welcome and valuable addition to the group at Newark, and our loss is surely their gain.

     On Sunday, December 27, at noon, our Christmas service was held at our new quarters in the Highland Park Y. W. C. A. Building. The attendance was 36, including 12 children. This was essentially a children's service; their favorite Christmas hymns were sung, and the pastor's address on the Birth of the Lord was adapted to arouse the interest and stimulate the imagination of even the youngest child present. At the conclusion of the service, gifts were presented to the children, each receiving two, one from the group, and one from the pastor and his wife. After the service we all sat down to an enjoyable lunch, each family having come prepared with food and thermos bottles of coffee. In this and other pleasant ways a couple of hours were passed, and then we reconvened to hear an address by our pastor on the subject of "The First Advent Prophecy." The hour for this class had been advanced, in order that the members from Saginaw and Walled Lake might get an early start homeward.

     On Monday afternoon Mr. Reuter again collected his little charges for his children's class, which was held at the Cook residence in Hazel Park. In the evening, the few who were able to meet at the Synnestvedt home heard an excellent lecture by the pastor on the very vital and appropriate subject of the "Virgin Birth," which gave us much food for thought and proved very enlightening indeed.

     Rev. Homer Synnestvedt, always a welcome visitor in Detroit, spent Christmas week at the home of his son and daughter-in-law, Norman and Eloise Synnestvedt, but was unable to remain for the wedding and our Christmas service, which we very much regretted.

     Your reporter gratefully acknowledges the help of his wife in connection with certain details of his account of the wedding.
     W. W. W.

     BRYN ATHYN, PA.

     The celebration of Christmas brought the restoration of the children's festival and tableaux, which have been omitted for several years, owing to the necessity of economy in the use of our Assembly Hall, and in the other incidental expenses. The festival was held on the afternoon of Friday, December 18, which was the day on which the schools closed for the Christmas vacation. Conducted by the Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner, it opened with the singing of a Hymn and a Reading from the Word. Then followed three tableaux, with appropriate readings from the Word and the singing of Christmas Hymns interspersed. The scenes depicted were: 1) The Annunciation to Mary; 2) The Annunciation to the Shepherds; and 3) The Visit of the Shepherds to the Stable. They were very beautifully done, and the effects were most impressive. It is perhaps to be regretted that it had not been planned for a little later in the day owing to the fact that too much light came through the big window at the back of the Assembly Hall, and somewhat spoiled the color effects.

     After the tableaux were finished, and the scenery and effects removed from the stage, the back-drops were raised, and a large lighted Christmas tree was displayed. Around this the children gathered with dancing and singing.

     The Children's Christmas Service was held in the cathedral at 3.30 in the afternoon of December 24th. The children with their leaders entered in procession, preceded by twelve ladies of the Choir in white vestments and carrying candles. The Christmas decorations of evergreens and candles were again augmented by the addition of six tall candlesticks, each holding twenty-five candles arranged in a pyramidal form, and placed on either side of the chancel, two in the back part of the sanctuary, two just inside the communion rail, and two in the outer chancel, a few feet behind the pulpit and lectern. The effect was very pleasing, and added much to the general enjoyment of the service. Bishop de Charms conducted the service, and the theme of his address was the difference between the story of the visit of the Shepherds and that of the Wise Men. He pointed out to the children that, in their own worship of the Lord, there must always be the two ways that are pictured in these two stories. The worship of the shepherds, in their lowly walk in life, represented the worship of the Lord in childhood, while the worship of the wise men, in their exalted station, pictured the worship of the Lord from the intelligence and wisdom that come later in life.

     The service was attended by 662 persons. The Representation was omitted this year, which called forth considerable comment. It is to be hoped that we shall be able next year to augment the customary Representation with some additional scenes, and thus remove whatever justification there may have been for complaints of repetition on Christmas Eve several groups of carolers made their rounds, favored with mild weather; for Winter seems to have forgotten us, and we hope it will keep on forgetting. Our observance of the Advent Season included also a delightful service for adults on Christmas Day, with a fine sermon by the Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner, and on the following Sunday the sacrament of the Holy Supper was administered.
     WM. R. COOPER.

ACADEMY YEAR BOOK 1937

     Announcements.

     Edited and published by a Student Committee under Faculty supervision, this first issue of the Year Book since 1930 will appear in May, and will contain accounts of Academy School activities with photographic illustrations. Advertizing space is still available.

     Subscriptions at $1.00 per copy must be received not later than March 15th. Address all communications to RICHARD A. WALTER, Business Manager, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
CATHEDRAL PICTURES 1937

CATHEDRAL PICTURES 1937

Some Fine New Photographs Showing Eight Different Views of the Cathedral, Council Wall and Choir Hall, Exterior and Interior Post Card Size. The Eight for 30 cents, postpaid
Cathedral Book Room Bryn Athyn, Pa.

VOICE OF CONSCIENCE 1937

VOICE OF CONSCIENCE Rev. GILBERT H. SMITH 1937

NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. LVII          MARCH, 1937           No. 3
     "Give me understanding, and I shall Keep Thy law; yea, I shall observe it with my whole heart." (Psalm 119:34.)

     Some of the most striking things are found in the Spiritual Diary. For example, the following short passage introduces a very important and striking doctrine. Swedenborg explains the reason for his speaking so often with evil spirits in the other life. We can readily see why he should speak with good spirits, but why so often with evil ones? This is what he said:

     "There was a certain spirit with me who wanted to practice craftiness. Because he was an evil spirit, a certain other one inquired of me why it is that I speak with evil spirits. It was granted me to reply that I spoke with him because he possesses the faculty of understanding; thus I speak with this faculty in him when I speak with him; and thus I speak with the Lord. This reply made the inquiring one indignant, and he therefore went away. From this I was instructed that the faculty of understanding with men and spirits is of the Lord." (S. D. 3094.)

     What a train of thought this quotation starts! "The faculty of understanding in all men and angels is of the Lord in them." Even an evil spirit, or evil man, has this faculty of understanding. And this was why Swedenborg had so much to do with evil spirits, as well as with good ones,-because their faculty of understanding is of the Lord, and in speaking to their understanding he was thus speaking to what was of the Lord in them, or to the Lord.

We may well be surprised at this statement; but let us not be offended, as was the spirit who departed from him; for the thing is true.

     What makes a man or a spirit in the other life is the faculty of understanding and the faculty of willing. An evil person is one in whom the will is bad, or is turned against the Lord, and the understanding is interiorly in falsity from that evil. But while his will is perverted, his faculty of understanding apart from the will is preserved, and it can be addressed with some effect.

     Then again, the will being in evil, or being perverted with every one at first, and with most people remaining so, we see the cause of all difficulties and problems in life. Yet the understanding may at all times be spoken to, and appealed to, and instructed, and in this way some good may be done or some improvement made.

     All, therefore, that the ministers and teachers of the church can do, and this includes Swedenborg himself as the original teacher, is to teach the understanding, and try to lead the will by means of the understanding. It is never of any effect to preach good directly; but the thing to be done is to teach truth, because this the understanding can receive; and by truth one may lead himself to good.

     This is the work of the priesthood of the church,-to teach truth to the understandings of men, because that faculty in men is of the Lord. And, having truth, they may bring themselves into good, which is the final goal. But there is no use preaching good without truth.

     Now let us carry the idea a little further, and we see that every man, every person, if he wants to come into any good, must listen to and follow the dictates of his understanding; and so far as he is not willing to live and to do as his understanding tells him he ought to do, he cannot be led by the Lord, and cannot be made any better.

     If I speak to the understanding of another, I am speaking to that which is of the Lord in him,-from that which is of the Lord in me. And no matter how evil my own will may be in the sight of heaven, yet I can speak from my understanding. This faculty is of the Lord in me. Your understanding is of the Lord in you. Thus the Lord is with us all.

     Your understanding of truth, of doctrine, of the Word, is so much the Lord in you, or with you, that unless you follow your understanding, you can never come into any real spiritual good.

And everyone is led by the Lord so far as he is actually obedient to his understanding of truth.

     Most of the time, unfortunately, we do not live according to what our understanding teaches us. If men would only do so, all would be well with human life, and society would be prosperous and happy. Men more often live the life of their will, which is the life of various cupidities; they live the life of emotion, whim, fancy, caprice; not according to that better judgment which their understanding is capable of. In other words, men should live from conscience, which may be formed by the Lord in their understanding. Conscience is made up of what one knows, or thinks he knows, to be right and good. It is the voice of the Lord. If one were always to follow his conscience, he would be continually arriving at good.

     To be led by the Lord is to be obedient to conscience. Whatever anyone does that is not in agreement with conscience is never good, but is always selfish or evil. It is of man's own will, which by nature is never good. Therefore it is that evil spirits are instructed by angels in the other life, so that, by an appeal to their understanding, which is of God in them, they may be amended as far as is possible with them. Swedenborg was permitted to talk often with evil spirits, or with those in states of evil. He addressed in them their faculty of understanding, which is of the Lord in them.

     II.

     It may be clear to us that everything we do, when acting from the conscience of our understanding, is of spiritual value; but there is never anything of spiritual value that we do unless we are acting according to conscience, or when we do things from conscience. Most strikingly it is said in the Spiritual Diary that even the prayers that one makes, when he is asking for something he wants for himself, are of no effect, but only those prayers that a man makes from conscience. Let us ponder what that may mean.

     Our going to church is of no spiritual value to us unless we do it from conscience. Our giving to the church has nothing of a spiritual quality in it unless it is done from conscience. Our prayer, our worship, our duties at home and in business, are not of spiritual quality unless according to conscience.

All that man is required to do in order to be saved, or to be regenerated, is to do or live according to his understanding of truth from the Word, which is his conscience. We should worship the Lord, read the Word and the Doctrine of the Church, from conscience, considering these things as duties faithfully to be done.

     To follow a rational idea, rather than mere whim or cupidity or wishfulness, would bring us something. But a rational idea often runs counter to our wishes. Nevertheless, to follow the rational thought and dictate is the only way to spiritual security. Rational thought is of the Lord in man; and rational thought is from the Doctrine of the Church.

     The statement referred to, concerning prayers which are made from conscience, is as follows: "I perceived in a spiritual idea that prayers to the Lord, if made from conscience as a duty, are then good; but if that thereby one may obtain or merit something, it is not good, yea is even evil." (S. D. 3126.)

     It may be explained that prayers which are made from conscience, or as a duty, are those of a man who wants only to serve the Lord, and not that the Lord should serve him. Such a man knows that he is ever falling short of that service to the Lord, and therefore he prays from conscience that the Lord may lead him and keep him faithful. One does not need to pray for anything but this,-that he may be kept in the way of truth, and may live faithfully according to the conscience which the Lord has put into his understanding,-that he may cease from doing things that are irrational, and do the things which Divine wisdom teaches.

     Whenever any of the ways of life in which we walk are made to appear to us as false, or harmful, or irrational, it is the Lord who tells us so, through the thought of our understanding. The voice of our conscience is the voice of the Lord. To go against that dictate is to do the greatest of the evils that exist among men, because it is the denial of the Lord and of His leading. It is, in fact, to sin against the Holy Spirit. Therefore, to keep the conscience clear is the most important of all the principles of life. It was made by Emanuel Swedenborg one of his four rules of life.

     One of the most important things that we should do from conscience is to read the Writings daily, or at least to study the Doctrine continuously or regularly.

Even those who are quite young can do this, and it is rational that they should. As in the case of prayer, it should be a matter of conscience. Fortunate are they who have formed this habit. Unfortunate are they who have not. Why should anyone neglect the greatest means of Divine blessing?

     The matter of attending worship, and of observing the rites of the church, should also be made a matter of conscience, and so regarded as a sacred duty. Unfortunate are they who have not the habit of worship, and who assume no responsibility in the promotion of the church. But fortunate are they who do

     The giving of offerings should also be from conscience, even though it must always be from free-will. Unless what one gives to the Lord's church is given from conscience, and represents something of free and willing self-sacrifice, it is of no spiritual value to the giver, however useful it may be to the church. Fortunate is he who realizes that giving to the church is giving to the Lord, and thus promoting the greatest possible use to men. He has a good conscience who wishes to make a return to the Lord for all His blessings. Unfortunate are they who give nothing from conscience.

     All the needs of the New Church today can be abundantly supplied by the exercise of that self-sacrifice and that conscience which alone make a gift of spiritual value. But let us remember that the highest service to the New Church is the individual reception and appreciation and love of the Heavenly Doctrine,-the daily or constant reading of the Writings, and this from conscience and the love of truth.

     III.

     Some think that God does not tell man anything-that He does not speak and tell us what to do and what not to do-what is evil and what is good. Ah, but such a belief is highly irrational and foolish. The Lord does speak to man, and every day, too. Conscience has been called the "stern daughter of the mouth of God." The Lord speaks to us daily in the thoughts of our understanding, even if not in the thoughts of our will. And every true thing we come to believe is His voice. The Word is the universal medium of this, His speech, to man, through which He speaks to our faculty of understanding, which is His own in us.

     Of course, men may not recognize the Word as being the voice of the Divine instruction of men. Still it is so; and whatever of true conscience any man has is from the Word, and is the Lord speaking to him.

     Why should it have been that Swedenborg spoke so often to those in the other life who were in evil states? It was because the Lord, through the Revelator's understanding, was thus speaking to their understanding,-the faculty which is of Him in them.

     But why should the Lord speak so often and constantly to us Are not we also in selfish and evil states! Because He can reach us by appealing to our understanding, if we can be reached at all; that through it we may be raised up into better states than those of our own will and preference. We may bring our wills more into accord with the truth that we understand. If we do this, we are wise, and we are fortunate indeed. If we do not, we waste our lives, and to that extent we are among the spiritually worthless, unfitted for the heavenly kingdom.

     It should be our care, above other things, to do truth. The only possible way to do good is by doing truth; for truth makes good. As we fail to do the truth of the New Church, we do no good in the grand economy of things.

     The truth that we ought to do, and according to which we ought to conduct our lives, is that truth which we can get from the Writings of the New Church. That particular truth which alone can make us important to the good of mankind is to be had from no other source. Other people may have their own various consciences, according to what they are willing to believe; but our consciences ought to be formed from the Doctrine of the New Jerusalem. In that Doctrine we read:

     "With the regenerate man there is a conscience of what is good and true. From conscience he does good and thinks truth. The unregenerate man has no conscience, or, if there be any, it is not a conscience of good and truth, but is based upon some love that regards himself or the world, and therefore it is a spurious or false conscience. With the regenerate man there is joy when he acts according to conscience, and there is anxiety when he is forced to do or think anything against conscience. It is not so with the unregenerate man.

He does not know what conscience is, much less what it is to do anything either against conscience or in favor of it. He only knows what it is to do the things that favor his loves. This is what gives him joy, and the contrary brings anxiety. But with the regenerate man there is a new will and a new understanding, and this new will and new understanding are his conscience, or in his conscience, through which the Lord operates the good of charity and the truth of faith. With an unregenerate man there is not will, but in place of will cupidity, and thence a proneness to every evil; neither does he possess understanding, but instead of it mere reasoning. With the regenerate man there is spiritual and celestial life." (A. C. 977.)

     Let us then conclude, and keep in mind, that the Lord is ever speaking to us through the faculty of understanding, and that nothing is more blessed than the formation of a true conscience by receiving the truths of Divine Doctrine, and nothing more fortunate for anyone than to keep that conscience clear. Whatever we do from conscience is done spiritually, and whatever we do that is not from con- science is of no spiritual value. By conscience we may become, and be, and do, that which the Lord would have us. By living according to that which the Lord gives us to understand, we may be regenerated. "Give me understanding, and I will keep thy law; yea, I will observe it with my whole heart." Amen.

     LESSONS: Deuteronomy 6:1-12. Matthew 5:13-26. A. C. 9112-9122.
     MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 508, 638, 551, 656.
     PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 97, 104.
NEW CHURCH SERMONS 1937

NEW CHURCH SERMONS 1937

LAST SUFFER 1937

LAST SUFFER Rev. GEORGE DE CHARMS 1937

     A TALK TO CHILDREN.

     "With desire I have desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer." (Luke 22:15.)

     You remember how, on the night that the Lord delivered the Children of Israel from the bondage of Egypt, He sent a destroying angel to slay the first-born son in every Egyptian family. But on the day before He did this, He commanded each family of the Israelites to kill a lamb, and to mark the lintel and the door posts of their house with the blood. The angel then passed over the houses that were thus marked, without slaying anyone therein. Because of this miracle, Pharaoh, in grief and fear, let the Children of Israel depart out of his land, and they were set free forever from the cruel slavery in which they had been held for many years.

     In memory of this deliverance the Jews ever afterward celebrated a feast each year, which they called the Feast of the Passover. When they came into the Land of Canaan, this feast was held in the city of Jerusalem, where the Temple of the Lord was built. It lasted for eight days, beginning with the fourteenth of the month Nisan. This was the first month of the Jewish calendar, but it came in the spring, about the time of our March or April. To observe this feast, all who could possibly do so came to Jerusalem. They came by families, bringing with them all the children who were twelve years old or over. The occasion was for them very much like what we call an Assembly, when from all parts of the Church people gather together in some Society for the worship of the Lord. Of course, those who came from elsewhere had no home of their own in Jerusalem, but those who lived in that city invited their friends or relatives to stay with them during the time of the feast.

In every house there was at least one guest room, and in this way it was provided that everyone who came might have a place to stay.

     On the first day of the feast, each family would bring a lamb to the Temple, where it would be blessed by the Priests, slain, and roasted in special ovens built for that purpose. In the evening, everyone would be given a portion of the roasted meat sufficient for the members of his family. He would bring it to his own house or guest room, and there, together with his wife and children, would partake of a supper consisting of the lamb, unleavened bread, bitter herbs, a sauce called "harosheth," and wine. The story of the deliverance from Egypt would be read from the Word, and Psalms would be sung in praise of the Lord, giving thanks to Him for all His mercies toward His chosen people.

     After hundreds of years, this feast was still observed at the time when the Lord lived on earth. When the day for its observance arrived, in the third year of the Lord's ministry, the Lord and His disciples were abiding in the little village of Bethany, on the slopes of the Mount of Olives, very near to Jerusalem. The Lord wished to eat the Passover with His twelve Disciples, as if they were a family,-as if He were the father, and the disciples were His children. In order that He might do so, He told Peter and John to go into the city. There, He said, they would see a man carrying on his shoulder a pitcher of water. They were to follow him until he went into a house, and then, going up to this house, they were to ask for the one who lived there, and say unto him, "The Master saith, where is the guestchamber, in where I shall eat the passover with my disciples?" When they did this, the man of the house showed them at once into a large upper room, furnished, and there they made ready the Passover feast.

     In the evening the Lord came with the other disciples, and they all sat down together. As they were eating, the Lord told them that one of their number would betray Him; and when John asked Him, saying, "Who is it, Lord!" He replied, "He to whom I shall give a sop, when I have dipped it." He then took a piece of the unleavened bread, dipped it in the harosheth, and handed it to Judas Iscariot. And when Judas had taken the sop, he arose immediately and went out into the night, in order that he might deliver the Lord into the hands of His enemies.

     After Judas had left, the Lord took bread, blessed it and brake it, and gave to His disciples, and said, "This is my body, which is given for you, this do in remembrance of me." And having taken the cup filled with wine, He gave thanks, and offered it to them, saying, " This is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins."

     Now why did the Lord do this? It was because He knew that the time was at hand when He must depart out of the world, and ascend once more into heaven. He had come into the world in order that men might know that the God of heaven and earth, who alone is to be worshiped, is a Divine Man. In order to do this, He took upon Himself, by birth, a body of flesh and blood,-a body which men could see and feel,-a body altogether like that of other men. Indeed, as He appeared in this body, He was in all respects a man, insomuch that those who came to know Him thought that He was just a man like themselves. They did not know that He was the Lord. Even the Disciples, who beheld His miracles and who received His teaching, thought that He was indeed a great man, a prophet, a man sent from God; but they could not believe that He was God Himself. In order that they might realize that He was not an ordinary man, but was God appearing in a human form, it was necessary that He should put off again the material body, and should show Himself to them as He is seen in heaven.

     This is the reason why He allowed Judas to betray Him, and permitted the Jews to put Him to death upon the cross. He knew that this must be done. He knew that, when it came to pass, His disciples would be plunged into grief and sadness, thinking that the Lord, whom they had learned to love with all their hearts, had been taken away from them. They could no longer see Him on earth. They could indeed be permitted to see Him in the other world, after His resurrection, but only for a time. And this was possible only to those who were closest to Him, whose spiritual eyes might be opened.

     The Lord did not want them to grieve. He wanted them to know that He had not died on the cross, and that all the fury of the chief priests had not prevailed to do Him any injury. He wanted them to know that, although they did not see Him, still He was present with them, very near to them at all times, protecting them from evil, and providing for them every blessing, with infinite love and tenderness.

     This is the reason why He said, as He sat at meat with them on that last evening of His life on earth: "With desire I have desired to eat this passover with you before I suffer." The Passover was the sign of the Lord's covenant with the Jewish Church. But now the Jewish Church was at an end. The Lord was departing from it, because it had become corrupt. He had come into the world to establish a new church,-a church where there might be the true love and worship of Him from the heart. In this church there was to be a new covenant, and a new sign, by which those who worshiped the Lord might be known.

     When the Lord, therefore, having finished the passover feast, began as it were a new meal with His disciples; when He offered them bread and wine, saying, "This do in remembrance of me," He intended them to understand that they no longer belonged to the Jewish Church. Never again were they to observe the Passover. With them a New Church,-the Christian Church,-was to be established, in which there was to be a new and different feast. After He had departed from them, they were to meet together, and as they took bread, and blessed and brake it, they were to think of the Lord as they had known Him in the world. They were to offer praise and thanksgiving to Him, because He had come into the world and had laid down His life for their salvation. And He promised that, whenever they did this, He would be present with them. He would give them strength to overcome evil spirits. He would teach them by opening their minds to see in His Word the Truth of everlasting life.

     This Holy Supper is observed to this day by all those who believe in the Lord. It is observed in the church service as the most holy thing of worship. The priest breaks unleavened bread, and offers it, together with wine, to the people, saying, as the Lord said, "This do in remembrance of me." When you grow up, you also will partake of that Holy Supper. And by means of it the Lord Himself will draw near, to open for you the way that leads to heaven.

     LESSON: Luke 22:7-20.
     MUSIC: Hymnal, pages 135, 92, 139.
     PRAYERS: Hymnal, no. 8 (page 49), and no. 19 (page 51).

SPHERES 1937

SPHERES Rev. A. WYNNE ACTON 1937

     The doctrine concerning spheres is a universal doctrine. It enters into our understanding of every other doctrine. And since it is universal, it enters into everything of our life. Who among us is not aware of the powerful effect that spheres have upon us? This paper, however, is primarily concerned with the relationship between the Divine sphere of ends and uses and spheres in the spiritual world, and thence also with spheres in the natural world. Indeed, all study of spheres must involve the thought of the Divine acting into both worlds, and therefore, also, the relationship of the two worlds.

     Spheres, in themselves regarded, are spiritual things; but as they are manifested in this world, they have a natural and ultimate correspondential setting forth. Everything in this natural world has a sphere about it. This sphere is derived from the spiritual world,-the world of causes,-and it is then expressed in natural correspondential forms. Thus each natural sphere is an expression and image of a spiritual force; indeed, it is a limited image of the Lord Himself; for the whole of nature is a theatre representative of the Divine uses of His kingdom. These spheres are around all natural, material objects, and they express themselves in various ways: with minerals, in the activity of their particles, as in the case of radium; in the vegetable and animal kingdoms, more in the form of odors; for odor is nothing but a natural sphere expressive of a spiritual force.

     Spheres with Men.

     But we are primarily concerned with the spheres around men; for it is through man that the spiritual and natural worlds are interrelated. Around every man there is a certain sphere. "The sphere is as it were man's image extended outside of himself, and indeed an image of all things which are with him." (A. C. 1505.) This sphere flows forth from man's affections and thoughts.

It is not the man himself, but the sphere of his affections and thoughts expressing themselves outside of him. In this way we may see that the sphere is an image of the man outside of himself. His affection and his thought come forth in every expression and gesture of the body; and a sphere also goes forth and is extended from every least part of the body, carrying with it a complete image of the whole man.

Here we would make a difference between general and particular spheres. The image of a man extended outside of himself is his particular sphere, but his general sphere is occasioned by his spiritual associations. The general sphere is the sphere in which he lives, rather than his own sphere; it is the same as the sphere of the other-world society with which he is associated. Man does not think from himself, but he thinks from societies in the other world. Every moment of his life, through his affection, and thence through his thought, man is associated with some particular society of the other world. Without this association he could have no life. Yet he does not receive his very thoughts and his affections from them, but only a certain general sphere or influence upon his life; and then this general sphere takes form with him as thought and affection, according to the formation of his mind, that is, according to his own particular sphere. Many men may be within the sphere of a certain spiritual society, while each individual will have differing thoughts and varying affections, according to his own sphere. This general sphere will be expressed differently with each one. For this reason there can be human societies on earth, the members of which are in the same general sphere,-all working for the same end, with similar affections,-and yet each member will think and be affected differently. All are in the same general sphere, but the individuals receive it and express it differently, each according to his own sphere, which is built up with himself.

The origin of the particular sphere with each man is in his thought and affection. Be it noted that these are spiritual forces, and that they remain spiritual, although they have ultimate expression through the body. Thus man's sphere is a spiritual thing, intangible and in- visible to natural sensation. It is not the actual expression and gestures of the man, but it is something spiritual which is expressed through them-something which is inwardly in himself expressed outside of himself. How far we can sense the true sphere of any man depends upon our perception of spiritual things.

And realizing how much we are influenced by natural things, we should ever be careful in forming an opinion about the spiritual sphere of another. Often what we sense and think of as the spiritual sphere of another is only the sphere of his natural or acquired external form of thought and expression. This natural sphere is easily sensed in another, because it has to do with natural things; but it is not upon this that man's everlasting abode depends, for it is put off when he enters into his true spiritual sphere. And so we read in the Arcana: "It was many times observed that those who had been gifted in the world with highest dignity could not but attract a sphere of authority to themselves, . . . but with those who had been gifted with faith and charity this was not a sphere of ruling, but only a natural sphere because they were so born, which they put off after a short time, because they are good, and strive to put it off." (A. C. 1508.)

     Man's spiritual sphere is a spiritual thing, built up from his interior thoughts and affections; but it comes down and is expressed through the more exterior things of the mind, and through the body. And so, while man is on earth, these externals also help to compose his sphere. Realizing this, it should be the part of every regenerating man to endeavor to make the external forms of his mind agree with his interiors; he should form his natural mind to harmonize with the sphere inflowing from the spiritual mind. By this a sphere, both external and internal, is gradually formed while man lives on earth. And as the thoughts and affections of his mind are changed according to his reception of Divine Truth, he acquires both a spiritual and an external sphere which enables the angels to be his companions, in this world and in the world to come.

     Spheres with the Angels.

     As there is both a general and a particular sphere about every man, so there is the same about every angel. The state of the society in which an angel is determines his general sphere, and his own state determines his particular sphere. And each angel is dependent upon the general sphere of his society, just as a man is, and indeed even more so. (H. H. 49.) Yet each angel expresses this general sphere in a slightly different way, according to his own state.

Every society of heaven has a sphere distinct from that of every other society. "All consociations in the other life take place according to spheres; those which concord are conjoined according to their concordance; those which discord are repelled according to the discordance. Every province in the Gorand Man, to which the members and organs in the human body correspond, has its own sphere, distinct from the sphere of any other province. Thence is the mutual conjunction of those who pertain to the same province, and the disjunction of those who pertain to another." (A. C. 8630.) And yet these spheres are not disharmonious to each other, but they all join together, distinctly, each in its own way, to compose that general sphere of heaven which is in the form of a Gorand Man, setting forth in a limited manner the Divine Sphere of the Lord Himself.

The sphere of a society is a presentation outside of itself of the thoughts and affections of those who composed the society. At times this sphere can be very distinctly perceived by others when approaching the society. The spiritual sphere of an angel can be far more clearly perceived than the spiritual sphere of man, for it is no longer limited by an expression through the natural things which are with man. This sphere is perceived by other angels in clearness according to their perception. The generals of that sphere are seen in the world of spirits, the particulars in heaven, but the singulars therein are seen by the Lord alone. (A. C. 1505.) This sphere is generally perceived, but it is also expressed through objective spiritual sensations, such as odors and colors, especially in the world of spirits. Thus Swedenborg, when approaching a society, sensated certain odors, and he learned to distinguish from the odors what the sphere of a society was. He speaks of the odors of evil societies in the world of spirits. But it was also granted him to perceive the odors of good societies as the fragrance of flowers. We may also recall his mention of the sweet aromatic odor arising from the presence of the celestial with one who is being resuscitated after death. (H. H. 449.) All these odors, it is pointed out, are spiritual odors, and cannot be perceived or sensated by man, unless his interior sensations are opened so that he can be as one with spirits. (A. C. 1514.)

     It is often said that the state of a society, and of a spirit, can be perceived from the sphere that surrounds them, though this is only granted as often as the Lord permits. This would especially be the case in the world of spirits, where it is desirable for a time that the interiors should remain concealed from the sight of all. "In regard to what has been said concerning the possibility of perceiving the interiors of a spirit by the spheres that are extended and projected outside of himself, as also by odors, it is to be known that these are not always perceptible; and besides, they are tempered in various ways by the Lord, in order that the quality of spirits may not always been exposed before others." (A. C. 1520.) This covering over of the interior sphere of a spirit before his final judgment has come is sometimes necessary and useful. Far more useful is it with men on earth. It is of the Divine mercy that our spheres, both in this world and in the next, are tempered and softened in various ways by the Lord.

     The Divine Sphere of Ends and Uses.

     "All spheres of the affection of good and truth are from the Lord; the more spirits and angels can be reduced so that they can concord with this sphere, the more perfect they are. (S. D. 4280.) The spheres of the angels are reduced into concordance and correspondence with the Lord's Divine sphere, in order that they may receive it. It is the Divine sphere which rules both heaven and hell,-heaven from within, and hell from without. This sphere is received within the angel, and rules him thence, but it remains outside of the devil, and rules him by force. An interesting example of how the Lord rules both the heavens and the hells from His Divine sphere is given in a description of the way in which certain Catholic priests who thought they had dominion over the souls of men were cast down from their imaginary heaven. They had been on a mountain, and had surrounded themselves with the Divine sphere there, but "in their descent the holy spheres, which were of the Lord, which they had had in the mountain, were put off. It was said to them that they had this sphere of the Lord around them, and that they were within that sphere with their own pride, hatreds, revenges, and the like; but that the angels had that sphere of the Lord in themselves, or within themselves, so that they were angels of the Lord." (S. D. 4918.)

     This Divine sphere is a sphere of eternal ends and uses,-a sphere looking to the use and happiness of all in the universe. But it is to be noted that "the proprial sphere of angels and spirits is not commingled with the Lord's sphere, but they are tempered, and are in themselves most distinct. The spheres governing the thoughts of the man who is in faith are the Lord's, and of His Proprium, so far as there is of what is true and good there; and as to the other spheres which are with them, these are of the angels and spirits, who are ruled and ordered by the Lord to uses and ends." (S. D. 2006-7)

     In the Divine Love and Wisdom, where it is illustrating the teaching that "the spiritual sun is not the Lord, but that it is a proceeding from His Divine Love and from His Divine Wisdom," we read: "The angels likened this to the sphere of affections and of thoughts thence which encompasses every angel, whereby his presence is evident to others near and far. But that encompassing sphere (they said), is not the angel himself; it is from each and every thing of his body, from which substances are constantly flowing forth like a stream, and what flows forth encompasses. Also, that these substances, close about his body, as they are constantly moved by his life's two founts of motion, the heart and the lungs, convey their activities to the atmospheres, and thereby produce a perception like that of his presence with others. . . . They said, moreover, that there is such a sphere about every angel, because there is one about the Lord, and that the sphere about the Lord is in like manner from Him, and that that sphere is their sun, that is, the sun of the spiritual world." (D. L. W. 291.) "Because these things which constitute the sun of the spiritual world are from the Lord, and are not the Lord, therefore they are not life in itself, but are devoid of life in itself, just as those things which flow forth from an angel and man, and make the spheres about them, are not the angel or man, but they are from them, devoid of their life. They do not otherwise make one with the angel or man than that they are concordant; and this they are because taken from the forms of their bodies, which in them were forms of their life." (D. L. W. 294.)

     The teaching of this passage is important. The spheres which go forth from the Lord are not the Lord; in themselves, they are not life, but they must continue to receive life from Him.

These are the spheres which the angels receive, and also the devils. They inspire order in the heavens, and they impose order on the hells from without, as the devils have not these spheres within them; on the angels from within, as well as from without, for they have these spheres within themselves. The spheres of Divine Truth appear before the angels, and are received by them, and then they are vivified in them by the Lord. But with the devil, although he may receive the proceeding from that Divine sphere in external form, yet there is nothing within him by which the Lord can vivify him, and so cause him to live. From this we can understand how the angels can dwell with and be in the Lord's Divine sphere,-that is, as they receive the spiritual things which make His sphere, not living in themselves, but vivified in their minds; whereas the devils live in the external of that Divine sphere, without having any part of it in themselves.

     The Lord's Divine sphere fills the universe, and we can rejoice that this sphere is ever present to protect us. In the Memorabilia we are given graphic pictures of the way in which the Lord surrounds with the sphere of His Divine those whom He protects, thus preventing the approach of evil spirits, who cannot bear the Divine sphere as it is present with an angel. The Lord also surrounds those on earth who wish to be so protected from the assaults of hell. In His mercy, however, He permits us to receive this Divine protection or to reject it. His protective sphere is indeed around us all, but it has no power to protect us, except as we are guided by its dictates.

     This sphere is in the Divine Truth which is revealed to us, and it is by this that we may be protected. But with us it is innocence and humility into which this sphere can especially act,-the humility of submitting our lives to God's hands, and worshiping Him. We must all be aware of how powerful a sphere of protection a sincere and regular worship may have in our daily lives. The instruction, prayer, and praise, which comprise the acts of external worship, all conspire to make us appreciative and perceptive of the Lord's presence,-of His encircling sphere around us all.

     We find an example of this in the Lord's Prayer. The revelator says in the Diary: "As often as I prayed the Lord's Prayer, morning and evening, almost as often, and with variety, I was elevated into an interior sphere, and indeed so perceptibly, with a variety, that nothing is more perceptible; and this now for more than two years.

The explanations of the prayer, together with a great variety of its more interior things, were then insinuated. But when the prayer was finished, I was let into an ordinary sphere." (S. D. 258.) Such a conscious perception of the elevation into interiors cannot come to us as it did to Swedenborg, but we likewise may be elevated into interior societies by sincere prayer. The comfort which we derive from prayer is an ultimation of such an elevation into interiors. The comfort is derived from an interior perception of the Lord's presence to aid and protect us, which perception we derive from the sphere of the interior spirits with whom we are then associated. This comes from a sincere acknowledgment that we are nothing of ourselves, and can do nothing without the Lord's help, which we therefore are seeking.

     Spiritual and Natural Spheres.

     In the study of spheres we come to see not only that the Divine is present with angels, devils and men, but further we see the close relationship of the spiritual and natural worlds. This is seen very strikingly in the case of Swedenborg. From the unique position of being in both worlds at the same time, he could see how closely spirits rested in the spheres arising from this world, and also how the spheres descending from the other world affected men. Indeed, in the case of Swedenborg, spirits could see, not only his sphere, but through him the spheres of natural objects. Thus, on one occasion, he was constrained from eating butter on his bread, because butter, corresponding to the celestial, brought about a sphere which the spirits who were with him could not bear. Spirits could be aware of such a corresponding sphere with Swedenborg, because he was in both worlds at the same time; so, through him, the natural world was as it were present with the spiritual world. Ordinarily, however, the sphere of any natural object can only come to the perception of spirits through the spheres of men. Spirits are not aware of the natural object, nor of the natural sphere to which the spiritual sphere corresponds, but rather are they aware of that sphere which arises in man from that object.

     In other words, the spheres of all things in the natural world arise and become active to spirits, not from the things themselves, but through the mediumship of man.

Through man the two worlds are conjoined, and thus through him the spheres of the one world act and react upon the spheres of the other. We speak, for instance, of a certain house having a certain sphere. By this we do not mean the sphere encircling each stone or piece of wood in that house (although there is such a sphere), but rather the sphere which has become associated with that house through the people who have lived there. This sphere is then seen to be expressed in every least part of the house. But this is a spiritual association; for it is the presence of spiritual societies there. In some cases, however, it seems likely that this spiritual sphere persists in a house for some time after the people through whom that sphere was brought about have departed from it. This again illustrates how the spiritual world is dependent upon this world,-not upon the natural objects of this world, but only as those objects are present and living in the mind of man. Even the revealed Word does not effect a conjunction of the two worlds, except as its teaching is present in the mind of man.

     The Sphere of the New Heaven.

     The important lesson to be learned from a study of spheres is that the sphere of the Lord's Divine is ever present with us, and that we may receive its influx as it descends through the spheres of angelic societies. The more we realize that we are but vessels of life, the greater will be our effort so to dispose our receptive minds that the Divine sphere can flow down and through the sphere of angelic societies, and be present there. It will then be our effort, even in everything of our natural life, to come into contact only with those influences which are conducive to our spiritual welfare. We will try to develop a natural life that will be in complete concordance with those spiritual truths which have been revealed to us. And all external aids, such as worship, instruction, and social life, we shall try to form distinctly according to the teaching of the Heavenly Doctrine. Thus our life may be opened to a greater reception of spiritual spheres from heaven, and our spiritual affection of truth and our delight in good may gradually increase.

     It is the hope of the New Church that a greater and more powerful spiritual sphere will be built up in the world.

And this will come about as the New Heaven, established at the time of the Last Judgment, increases in power and strength. It is said in the True Christian Religion that "the spheres of spiritual truth in the world of spirits are few as yet, being only in the New Heaven, and also with those beneath heaven who are separated from draconic spirits; which is the reason why those truths are so little recognized by men in the world today, just as ships in the eastern ocean are invisible to captains and shipmasters who are sailing in the western sea." (T. C. R. 619.) At that time the Last Judgment had just been performed, and the evil who had previously infested the interior spheres of the world of spirits had been cast down. But we may rest confident that the New Heaven is growing, and that from it there will be an increase of the spiritual spheres leading men to good. An increase in the spiritual world must make itself felt in the world, but it can only do this as the knowledges of truth are learned by men,-only as vessels are formed from without in the minds of men,-vessels adequate to appreciate and receive this more powerful spiritual sphere.

We are always surrounded by a Divine sphere which operates from without and from within,-from the revealed Word, and from the influx through angelic societies. Only from the meeting of these two spheres can our own particular sphere be so formed that the Divine can be fully present with us. Thus do we receive the Divine sphere from without, and make it an integral part of our lives, so that upon leaving this world we may rejoice in the blessings of that sphere in a life of heavenly use forever.

NOTES AND REVIEWS. 1937

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.
     REVIEWED BY SPIRITUALISTS.

     Characterizing Louis Pendleton's well-known Tales of the Future Life,-The Wedding Garment and The Invisible Police,-as "two excellent books describing after-death experiences," W. J. Roderick contributes a favorable review to THE GREATER WORLD (London) of December 12, 1936. This weekly is the official organ of the Greater World Christian Spiritualist League, with ramifications in all parts of the world. Citing a number of passages from the works, the reviewer offers some comments that will be of interest to our readers:

     "What sort of a life do people live after 'death,' when they find themselves in a new world, with a different state of consciousness? Louis Pendleton has written two books in an effort to answer this question, the narratives being based upon a careful study of the revelations of Swedenborg, who is said to have lived consciously in two worlds for 27 years, and who recorded his experiences in the well-known book, Heaven and Hell.

     "In many respects, Louis Pendleton's vivid and descriptive style resembles that of Robert James Lees in his famous Through the Mists, written under dictation from a spirit. Everything on the Other Side is treated in a perfectly natural and human way, although to readers who are not familiar with such narratives there will be many surprises.

     "Although the second book, The Invisible Police, also deals with life on the Other Side, it is quite different from the first one, and is more or less a novel. As the story unfolds, it becomes more and more interesting, and, to those who understand something about conditions on the Astral Plane, it shows how Evil is always overruled, silently but unfailingly, by Good."

     Among the "surprises" in store for the spiritualist reader will undoubtedly be the Swedenborgian condemnation of "spirit communication" as disorderly. It will be recalled, however, that Conan Doyle regarded Swedenborg as the greatest "spirit medium" of all, and claimed that New Church people really belonged among the spiritualists!

     BRIEF QUOTATIONS.

     DEATH AND AFTER. A Selected Series of Quotations from the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg. Selected by R. W. Kenyon. London: Swedenborg Society (Incorporated), 1936. Paper, 16 mo.; pp. 40; 6 d.

     The selected passages are grouped under five chapter headings: Here and Hereafter; The Intermediate State; Heaven; Hell; Preparation for Heaven. Pertinent questions are asked, and are answered solely by brief statements from the Writings. For example, "Is it possible, while in this world, to learn from spirits in the other world?"-Properly answered by teachings which point out the danger of spirit communication. The treatment will be of interest to New Church readers, and may also stimulate others to go to the Writings for more complete information.

     This booklet may be considered a companion volume to one by the same compiler, entitled Striking Quotations from Swedenborg's Words, published in 1932, and noted in our pages, February, 1933, p. 69.

Mr. Kenyon has been a reader of the Writings for over sixty years, and seeks in this way to communicate to others the delight he experienced during his own reading. He feels that the quotations "will strike a responsive chord in the heart of any reader."

     DUTCH VERSION OF "DIVINE LOVE AND WISDOM."

     We have received from the Swedenborg Society (Genootschap) at The Hague a copy of its recently published Dutch version of Emanuel Swedenborg's work on the Divine Love and Wisdom (Sapientia Angelica de Divine Amore et de Divina Sapientia, Amstelodarni, 1763). The translation from the original Latin is the work of Mr. Anton Zelling, with the cooperation of the Rev. Ernst Pfeiffer and others. Bearing the date of 1936, the volume is well printed on durable paper, bound in buckram linen, and comprises 252 pages of the conventional octave size. This important work of the Writings is thus made available to the Dutch reader in a worthy form.

     A LAWYER'S TESTIMONY.

     In THE ATLANTIC MONTHLY for December, 1936, John A. Chamberlain, a resident of Cleveland who has practiced law for thirty-five years, contributes a short article on the subject of "Eternal Life." From his mother he learned to love and read the Bible, which he believes to be the Word of God. Yet he was troubled with doubts in regard to a life after death. But he was led by an advertisement to buy a copy of Heaven and Nell, and though skeptical at first he was in the end entranced by it. Giving his reasons for this, he concludes: "As a lawyer, I have had the usual experience of examining written testimony, and of testing the reliability of witnesses. Mr. Swedenborg convinces me that his experiences Were real. He explains many difficult passages of the Bible; he answers my questions about eternal life."

Church News 1937

Church News Various 1937

     COLCHESTER, ENGLAND.

     Our Annual Sale of Work was held on December 3, and was a great success. Mrs. Gladish opened the sale with a short speech, expressing appreciation of the good work done by Mrs. Potter and the other ladies of the society. She was then presented with a bouquet of chrysanthemums by her little daughter Laura, on behalf of the society. Practically everything was sold, and the sale realized over ?20.

     Our celebration of Christmas commenced with a "Festival" on Sunday evening, December 20. The Tableaux were preceded by carol singing and the presentation of little gifts to the children from a prettily decorated and lighted Christmas tree. The lights were then put out, and when the curtains were drawn aside, the Opened Word was seen on the altar. A series of prophecies from the Word concerning the Coming of the Lord were read off stage. The scenes shown were: The Annunciation; The Shepherds; The Adoration of the Wise Men; The Presentation in the Temple; and lastly, The Open Word,-an Angel standing with one of the Writings open in his hands. Between the tableaux our pastor read from the Word, and suitable hymns were sung.

     On the following Tuesday the school "breaking up" party was held, and the work done by the children during the term was on view. After a jolly tea and a few musical games the children gave a pretty little play, which was so well received that, by request, they repeated it, to their great joy.

     On Christmas Day at 10:30 a.m. a short service was held, the offerings being brought to the chancel during the interlude. The address was on "The Appearing and Ministry of Angels at the Time of the Advent." On the following Sunday the Holy Supper was administered.

     For the New Year's social on December 31 the room was very prettily decorated with holly and red and green paper, and the tables with red and green, and also colored candles. A very appetizing supper was followed by a short program of toasts and speeches, Mr. Owen Pryke being toastmaster. Then the tables were cleared away, and games and competitions were enjoyed until nearly midnight, when a short service was held, after which New Year's greetings were exchanged, and we closed with the singing of Auld Lang Syne. We would take this opportunity of sending from the Colchester Society affectionate greetings and all good wishes for the New Year to all our fellow societies in the Church.
     M. W.

     SOUTH AFRICAN MISSION.

     Dedication at Sterkstroom, Cape Province.

     Friday, November 6, 1936, was an eventful day for our group at Sterkstroom. After a year's preparation and work in construction, the Society that is under the leadership of Candidate Johnson Kandisa had its church building dedicated. The ceremony was performed by the Rev. F. W. Elphick, Superintendent of the Mission, who was assisted by the Revs. Twentyman Mofokeng and Jonas Motsi and Leader Johnson Kandisa. About 170 persons attended, most of them being visitors from other Missions.

In the evening a concert was held in a neighboring hall, the proceeds being devoted to the expenses of the dedication.

     A Sunday service was held on the morning of November 8, and a doctrinal class in the afternoon. Mr. W. W. Richards, a member of the General Church who was visiting Cape Province at the time, joined in the celebrations and meetings.

     Now that the Sterkstroom group has better accommodations, and the necessity for meeting in a private house is removed, we trust that the New Church, both in life and in doctrine, will grow among the Xosa people.
     F. W. E.

     ACADEMY SCHOOLS.

     Founders' Day.

     After an interval of several years, the celebration of Founders' Day was revived in noteworthy fashion on the evening of January 12, 1931, when a banquet was given by the General Faculty in the Assembly Hall, attended by about ninety members of the Academy Board and Faculty, with their wives. Professor William Whitehead was master of ceremonies, and his elaborate preparations were highly successful in creating a vivid historical atmosphere, as well as in centering our thoughts upon matters of immediate moment in the work of the Academy.

     As the guests arrived, they enjoyed viewing the large collection of photographs which had been assembled for the occasion. Then all sat down to an appetizing turkey dinner, efficiently served by a number of young ladies who are students in the College.

     Each guest was furnished with a neat 12-page typewritten booklet containing the Toast Program, and featuring among other things, a List of the Professors and Instructors who had served the Academy during the sixty-year period, 1876-1936. Sources of biographical information were appended to the names of the four Founders: William Henry Benade, Walter Cameron Childs, Franklin Ballou, and John Pitcairn. It was noted that Mr. Childs' account of their epochal meeting on January 12, 1874, was printed in New Church Life in 1934, p. 354.

     At the conclusion of the dinner, portraits of the Founders were thrown upon the screen, and Professor Whitehead began an extended historical review, illustrated by many other screen pictures, and accompanied by appropriate comments, all this forming an excellent preparation for the speaking program which followed.

     With suitable songs, toasts were offered to "The Memory of the Founders," "The Memory of Past Teachers," to "Our Lay Allies," and to "The Cause of Distinctive Education." Treating of this subject, Mr. Harold F. Pitcairn spoke on the need of maintaining our distinctive aims and practices, while guarding against the harmful influences of life and education in the world. Bishop Acton emphasized the need of teaching the sciences in the light of the doctrine and philosophy of the New Church, in contrast with the materialistic science and philosophy of the day. Bishop de Charms, responding to a toast to "The Academy and its Future," voiced his belief that the Academy would remain faithful to its responsibilities, and continue to promote the descent of the Holy City among men by an adherence to the guidance of the Heavenly Doctrine in all its work.

     At one point in the program, Mr. Hubert Hyatt, Treasurer of the Academy, made the following announcement:

     Christmas Gifts.

     "The Academy has recently received an unusual Christmas gift, consisting of about twenty acres of vacant land in Philadelphia, between Aramingo Avenue and Unruh Street on the Roosevelt Boulevard. The present value of this land is about $160,000. While this gift now will yield no income, and while there will be taxes to pay on the land each year, nevertheless it consists of highly desirable asset, because of its almost certain rise in value with inflation.

The gift comes to the Academy without any restrictions whatsoever. The present intent is to sell the property at some time in the future, to reinvest the proceeds, and thereby increase the Academy's income. This is a generous and useful gift from Raymond, Theodore and Harold Pitcairn.

     "Another Christmas gift, from Raymond Pitcairn, was $15,000 in securities, the income to be used for general purposes. The present income is about $1,000 a year. Another, from Mrs. Raymond Pitcairn, was $2,000 in securities, the income, about $100 per year, also to be used for general purposes. Still another, from Theodore Pitcairn, was a collection of securities with a value of about $69,000, and at present yielding about $2,300 per year. This gift establishes a new permanent Trust Fund, the income to be used only for the publication of Swedenborg's own writings, their translation and indexing, and the making of concordances thereof. The future usefulness of this generous gift can readily be imagined.

     "On behalf of the Academy, and on behalf of all whose hearts are in the work of the Academy, I say 'Thank you' to these three sons of the Academy, and to their wives, Mildred, Maryke and Clara Pitcairn."

     All present then arose in a toast of grateful acknowledgment.

     MIDDLEPORT, OHIO.

     At the beginning of 1936, the Rev. F. E. Waelchli resigned as Visiting Pastor of the General Church, but no successor in this large field was immediately available. In order to see what could be done to meet the needs of the Middleport Society, Bishop Pendleton asked Mr. Charles G. Merrell, a member of the Executive Committee, and the Rev. Norman H. Reuter to consult with the members. At a meeting held April 22, it was arranged that Mr. Reuter should become the visiting pastor to the Middleport Society. It was planned to have four visits a year, the expense to be met by the society. Preceding this business meeting a doctrinal class was held, the attendance being seven adults and two children. The subject presented was "The Affirmative as the Beginning of Regeneration," which provoked an interested discussion.

     The next morning, after visiting various members of the Society, Mr. Merrell and Mr. Reuter drove to Huntington, West Virginia, to visit the Richard Waelchlis. All four dined out, and spent a pleasant evening talking of things of common interest to New Churchmen.

     On June 26 the Rev. and Mrs. Reuter drove to Middleport for a series of classes and a service to celebrate the Second Advent. On Friday evening, June 26, the subject of "The New Vision for the New Church" was presented to a class of seven adults. This was followed by a class with the children and young people on Saturday afternoon, explaining the meaning of the Nineteenth of June. Seven children and four adults gathered from town and countryside for this class. After the formal part, a most enjoyable visit with the new pastor and his wife followed. At the Sunday service the subject of "The Holy City" again reflected the New Church Festival season, and the sphere of worship was increased by the administration of the Holy Supper. Ten adults and young people were present. On Sunday evening the series of meetings was brought to a close with the explanation of the "Veil of Appearances " under which all revelation is given. All the subjects were based upon the doctrine involved in Revelation 21:1, 2. A business meeting followed, at which Mr. Austin Eblin agreed to assume the duties of custodian and treasurer, Mrs. Skinner continuing as secretary.

     The first autumn visit began with a doctrinal class on Friday evening, September 4. Seven members and a visitor were present to hear the subject of "The Living Word" presented. On the next afternoon group of six adults, young people and children gathered at the home of Mrs. Skinner to study what was involved in the Book of Revelation in general and its first chapter in particular.

The Sunday service included the Holy Supper, administered to six people, and dealt with the idea of the spiritual journeying of the human spirit during the course of life on earth. The evening doctrinal class pointed out what must be involved in "Truly Rational Faith," and showed that the faith of a real New Churchman was of that quality. The attendance included one visitor.

     On November 27, the fourth visit of the year began in the afternoon with an informal class for the young folk. Only two young people and one adult were present, but their interest and delight in hearing read and discussed the first two chapters of Bishop de Charms' unpublished book-"The Life of the Lord"-more than made up for the small attendance. "Man's Ruling Love" was the subject of the evening doctrinal class, attended by five adults and three young people. Two children and four young people gathered again on Saturday afternoon for a continuation of the reading in the "Life of the Lord." A keen interest was shown in this lucid and appealing treatment of the Lord's life on earth. "Spiritual Courage" was the topic of the sermon on Sunday morning, and the Holy Supper was administered to five members at the close of the service. In the evening the doctrine concerning Temptation was presented at the doctrinal class, which was followed by the annual meeting of the Society, at which Mr. Austin Eblin and Mrs. Skinner were reelected trustees, and Mrs. Hart and Mr. Kael Eblin were elected to fill vacancies caused by death.

     It is to be feared that the recent hoods, as on previous occasions, have damaged the church building. As soon as it is feasible, however, the Rev. F. E. Waelchli will go from Wyoming, Ohio, to minister to the Middleport Society.
     NORMAN H. REUTER.

     WASHINGTON, D. C.

     After a recess of two months, we began the second half of the year on September 19, 1936, with a supper at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Rowland Trimble in Laurel, Md. The doctrinal class was omitted, and Beatrice, the baby daughter of the house, was baptized.

     On October 17, we had our second wedding of the year-doing well, don't you think?-when Winifred Allen, of Denver, and David H. Stebbing, of this city, were married at the home of Dr. and Mrs. Philip Stebbing, our pastor, Dr. Alfred Acton officiating. Mrs. Stebbing joined the society in December.

     Later in October it was decided to return to our once-a-month program. This is to be a temporary arrangement, and it is hoped that in time we may resume having our meetings twice a month. Under the arrangement we now have we plan to ask Dr. Acton to come to us for special occasions.

     The Rev. Elmo C. Acton was with us at the beginning of December, and we enjoyed his talk on his experiences as a missionary in South Africa. As a "special occasion" later in the month, our pastor came and helped us celebrate Christmas, making the church service especially for the children, and giving them an inspiring address.

     The society has been deeply saddened by the loss of Major Alan Pendleton, who was one of our most valued members. Mrs. Pendleton and her three children have moved to Bryn Athyn, and it goes without saying that they are all greatly missed by each one of us.

     In order that we might have a celebration of Swedenborg's Birthday, our February meetings were held on January 30-31, instead of February, 6-7. We had a supper at Dr. and Mrs. Stebbing's, and Dr. Acton gave us an interesting and instructive talk on the life and works of Swedenborg. There were the usual toasts and songs, which helped us all to make this occasion a gay and festive one.

     Our Annual Meeting followed. Mrs. Robert Coe was re-elected Secretary-Treasurer; Fred M. Grant was again appointed Custodian of the society's property; and David H. Stebbing was given charge of seating arrangements in the new quarters of the Washington Musical Institute, 1730 16th Street, Northwest, where we are now holding our church services.
     E. G. C.

     OBITUARY.

     Major Alan Pendleton.

     On the afternoon of January 14 a large congregation assembled in the Bryn Athyn Cathedral for the funeral service of Major Alan Pendleton, who, after a brief illness, passed to the spiritual world on January 12 at Washington, D. C., in his forty-fourth year. Bishop de Charms, in his address, dwelt upon that Providence of the Lord which prepares every soul for its use in the eternal world, and spoke of Major Pendleton's steady advancement in his chosen profession.

     Born in Bryn Athyn, July 1, 1893, Alan was the tenth child and only son of the late Bishop and Mrs. W. F. Pendleton. His father's comprehensive knowledge of the Civil War, and his illuminating talks upon the subject, undoubtedly influenced his son in the choice of a career, in the course of which he brought a philosophical mind to the study of military history, tactics and strategy, and made valuable contributions to our army textbooks of instruction. He was a gifted teacher, both in the classroom and in the field.

     After his Academy education, Alan attended the University of Pennsylvania, graduating with a B.A. degree in 1916. As a member of the Pennsylvania National Guard, he saw service on the Mexican border. Later he received an appointment as officer in the United States Regular Army. During the War he trained recruits in California, and was afterwards Judge Advocate at Brest, France. Upon his return to America, he was selected as an instructor in military law at West Point, 1919-1923, and was on duty in Puerto Rico, 1925-1929. After one year's study at the Command School for Army Officers at Fort Leavenworth, he was instructor there for two years. He next studied at the War College in Washington. His last post was on the staff of the Inspector General of the United States.

     Major Pendleton's passing removes an active and devoted member of our Washington Society, and he will be missed by a wide circle of friends in the Church and in army circles, who loved and admired him for his fine personal qualities and his outstanding abilities. He is survived by his wife, Marion Childs Pendleton, two sons and a daughter.

     TORONTO, CANADA.

     Once again we have gathered together to celebrate the birth of "our prophet and seer," this taking the place of the Wednesday evening doctrinal class on January 27. The supper was made somewhat more festive than its wont with ice cream and candy, and an extra large attendance listened to a paper by the Pastor dealing with a number of Swedenborg's lesser known works, which showed the diversity of his interests and knowledge,-Psychological Transactions, Hieroglyphic Key, A Philosopher's Note Beak, and the work on the Five Senses. It made us realize more fully the honor due Swedenborg for the multiplicity of his natural uses, as well as for his service to the Lord. An interesting item on the program was the presentation of copies of the Writings to ten of our young people who have been baptized or confirmed during the past two years.

     The children's party was held on the day itself. Arriving at the church about five o'clock, the little folk were kept busy with suitable games until called to a festively decorated table. After dining well, each child read a short composition of his own making, dealing with a phase of Swedenborg's life.

The program concluded with charades and songs and many thanks to the members of Theta Alpha, who were responsible for the party.

     Saturday, January 30, was the occasion of a most enjoyable bridge at the church, to raise funds for a vacuum cleaner. A sum sufficient to buy this appliance, and also to cover the expenses of the evening, was realized, and "a good time was had by all."

     On December 30, the men of the society welcomed the Rev. Willard D. Pendleton at the home of Brother Frank Wilson, who soon made everyone feel at home. The guest, in a clear and eloquent way, presented a tentative program and plans for the accommodation of visitors at the forthcoming General Assembly. All the gentlemen were very happy in having the pleasure of meeting Mr. Pendleton, and hope to see him again at Pittsburgh.
     M. S. P.

     CHICAGO, ILL.

     Sharon Church celebrated Swedenborg's Birthday on January 29, and fifty-seven sat down to the excellent dinner which had been prepared by two of the ladies. The tables were artistically decorated in red and white, with rows of lighted candles. Dr. Donald G. Gladish was toastmaster, and Mrs. David F. Gladish conducted the singing in her usual brilliant style, besides singing an original song, entitled "A Welcome to Sharon Church."

     The topic of the evening, "Distinctive Features of Swedenborg's Writings," was treated by a number of speakers, with songs interspersed. A paper by Mr. Harold Lindrooth on "Swedenborg's Theory of Creation" gave a thoughtful account of the revelator's development from scientist to philosopher and seer, and made clear the spiritual view of Creation from Divine Love by Divine Wisdom, these being Divine Substance, and not a mere "ghostly mist."

     "Swedenborg's Search for the Soul" was ably presented by Dr. Harvey Farrington, beginning with the true ideas held in the Most Ancient Church, which were lost in succeeding ages. The Egyptian belief was wholly material, and that of Aristotle the least so. Swedenborg was led by the Lord to think more deeply and independently, and his study of all philosophies was illuminated until he was given to see the Divine Truth on the subject.

     Mr. Theodore Gladish read a paper on "The Steps Leading Up to Swedenborg's Illumination," and described the Divine leading, even from infancy, and throughout his life and great use. The Rev. W. L. Gladish spoke on "The Concept of God as a Man," noting that simple people, children, and earnest Christians all think of God as a Man, while the learned in all ages have clouded that concept by false doctrines.

     Dr. Farrington reminded us that the next day, January 30, was the seventieth birthday of our pastor, and also of his "twin," the Rev. Homer Synnestvedt, which event was duly honored with a toast and song.
     E. V. W.

     PITTSBURGH, PA.

     At the Friday Supper on January 15, our pastor announced the resignation of Miss Elizabeth Lechner as assistant teacher in the Day School, and said that Miss Nancy Horigan is taking her place on the teaching staff. A luncheon was held in the school on Friday, January 29, in honor of Swedenborg and in farewell to Miss Lechner. The Rev. Elmo C. Acton, of Bryn Athyn, gave the children an interesting and entertaining talk about his work in South Africa, both in the Durban Society and in the Native Mission.

     The evening of January 29 saw the society assembled in the auditorium to celebrate Swedenborg's Birthday, and to hear a talk by Mr. Acton which would have interested and delighted Swedenborg fully as much as it did our members, who sat spellbound for over an hour. We adjourned to a smborgasbord which was very good, and tried an "old South African custom," introduced by Mr. Acton, and by which the sum of $25 was raised for the building fund in short order.

     The following evening, Mr. Acton met with the Pittsburgh Chapter of the Sons of the Academy at the home of Mr. Walter Horigan, where he gave a paper on "The Visible God." An interesting discussion followed. At the service on Sunday he preached a fine sermon.

     Mr. Walter Rott passed into the spiritual world on Wednesday, January 20, and a memorial service was held in the church following the regular worship on Sunday morning, January 24.

     During the past month, Mr. John E. Lindrooth, of Chicago, Ill., has moved to Cleveland, Ohio and Mr. Ralph Brown, of Toronto, Canada, has taken up his residence in Akron, Ohio, We take this opportunity to welcome the newcomers to the Pittsburgh District.
     E. R. D.

     GLENVIEW, ILL.

     We have lost another of our staunch members by the passing of Mrs. Alfred L. Goerwitz, nee Amanda Falk, on January 18, in her 67th year. Her husband preceded her to the spiritual world about six months ago, on July 9, 1936. Amanda was the daughter of John G. and Sarah Falk, a sister of the late Mrs. Swain Nelson. Her older sisters, Miss Sophie Falk and Mrs. Frank Wiedinger, survive her, and are members of this society. She is also survived by her four children: Richard, a member of the Pittsburgh Society; Mrs. Mildred Boissevain, residing in Bryn Athyn; Mrs. Edith Brooks, living in Puerto Rico; and John, a resident of New York City. Mrs. Goerwitz was of a gentle and unassuming character. Born in the New Church, she was ever faithful in her loyalty to it. And now the friendly Goerwitz home is closed.

     The society celebrated Swedenborg's Birthday on Friday, January 29, with a modest banquet. The pastor acted as toastmaster, and opened the program by reading "flashes" in the form of various opinions of Swedenborg, his writings, and his place in the world. Most of the quotations were the utterances of learned men outside of the Church, but all in terms of praise. Mr. Sidney E. Lee reviewed in a sketchy manner the work entitled Annals of the New Church, by the Rev. C. Th. Odhner; Mr. Marshall Fuller described the recently issued fourth volume of The Word Explained in English; and Mr. Harold McQueen told us about the contents of De Verbo. The three speakers did splendidly with the time allowed them, and the evening passed pleasantly, with other impromptu remarks and the singing of the songs of the Church.

     The School prepared an assembly program in honor of the day. The pupils of the eighth grade read their papers on the life and work of Swedenborg. Two members of the ninth grade gave a Latin dialogue such as Swedenborg might have heard when studying the language in childhood. One class of the primary department danced to Swedish folk tunes, and others sang in celebration of the day. The pastor gave a talk on the reasons for the celebration, and the many parents and friends who were present joined the children in the refreshments.
     J. B. S.

     1937

     ACADEMY YEAR BOOK.

     Edited and published by a Student Committee under Faculty supervision, this first issue of the YEAR BOOK since 1930 will appear in May, and will contain accounts of Academy School activities with photographic illustrations. Advertising space available.

     Subscriptions at 91.00 per copy must be received not later than March 15th. Address all communications to
     RICHARD A. WALTER,
          Business Manager,
               Bryn Athyn, Pa.

ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS 1937

ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS WILLIAM. WHITEHEAD 1937

     Announcements.

     The Annual Sessions of the Council of the Clergy of the General Church will be held on Thursday and Friday, April 1 and 2, 1937, in the Council Hall at Bryn Athyn, Pa., to be followed by a meeting of the Joint Council on Saturday, April 3.

     A Public Session of the Council of the Clergy will be held on Friday evening, April 2, following the Friday Supper of the Bryn Athyn Society.
     WILLIAM. WHITEHEAD,
          Secretary, Council of the Clergy.

OBEDIENCE 1937

OBEDIENCE Rev. NORMAN H. REUTER 1937

NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. LVII          APRIL, 1937           No. 4
     "Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people: and walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you." (Jeremiah 7:23.)

     These words incorporate Jehovah's promise of salvation to the Jewish nation,-a promise given in a manner to appeal to an external, sensuous people such as the Jews were. In effect it says, "You obey me, and you may rest assured it will be well with you." To the idealism of a true Christian there is something disturbing in this apparent bargaining between God and man. The Christian is apt to be more deeply moved by the New Testament promise: "If ye abide in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free." (John 8:31.) And even more the following: "He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me; and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him." (John 14:21.)
     In these three passages there is involved, nevertheless, a fundamental similarity,-a likeness as to the message of hope and salvation. There are also discrete differences, which are evident to that in a man to which each one appeals, which gradation of accommodation is ultimated in the dominant ideas and words.
     In our text, the prominent idea in reference to the Lord is that of commanding, while in respect to man it is that of obeying.

As such, the teaching therein is accommodated to the natural man, clothed in the thought-concepts of his understanding, and adapted to the state of his loves. Indeed, it is addressed to the natural degree of all men, and therefore is suitably expressed to reach that plane of human consciousness, both as to its intellectual and its voluntary parts. This we shall see more clearly later.
     In the second passage,-"If ye abide in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free,"-the ruling idea in reference to the Lord is that of teaching, while in respect to man the emphasis is on the learning of truth, and thus the reception of the Lord's teaching. This is the spiritual quality,-the Divine Spiritual on the part of the Lord, and the finite, human spiritual on man's part. To know, acknowledge, understand, love, and even to do truth appertains to the spiritual and its progressive development.
     In the third passage quoted,-"He that hath my commandments and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me; and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father; and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him,"-the ruling thought involved, the dominant idea expressed, is that of love,-the love of the Lord for man, and the reciprocal love of man for the Lord. Herein love, the celestial element of life, is manifested,-that inmost relation which conjoins the Lord with mankind. For, as obedience to command is the characteristic of the natural, and the understanding and application of truth constitutes the distinctive quality of the spiritual, so the love for good and the doing of it is the identifying attribute of the celestial. To see the relative nature of these three distinct, because discrete, degrees of reception in man, it is necessary to keep the successive and progressive character of the three possible degrees of regeneration in mind. Your special attention is invited to the first of this series, namely, to reception through obedience.
     Many things are said of obedience, both in the Old Testament and the New and in the Heavenly Doctrine. Of all the teachings, the most basic one is that man ought to obey the dictates of truth. Of all Divine exhortations, the most fundamental and universal is that which calls us to obey the commandments of God. The wisdom and necessity of obedience to Divine Truth is everywhere the burden of Revelation.

And if man believes in God, and believes that law and order proceed from Him, he easily sees the broad truth in such teachings, and recognizes the necessity of obedience to law and order, even though his heart rebels at times against the necessity of obedience.
     Yet, while Revelation everywhere calls for obedience as a primary essential of regeneration, we also find in Revelation, and especially in the Heavenly Doctrine, much that seems to belittle obedience as a virtue. What is the reason for these apparently divergent lines of teaching! The answer lies in a proper understanding of the relative importance of obedience in the regenerate man and in angelic life. For while the man who is in obedience to Divine commands is not to be compared with one who disobeys, since the first can become an angel, and the latter cannot, still there are degrees in the heavens? and hence in the human mind, and the quality of obedience is the lowest of all heavenly virtues.
     He who merely brings himself to obey the Divine Truth as he hears it taught or happens to know it, without feeling any genuine affection for the truth which he so hears, or developing any genuine desire to understand it, much less endeavoring to come into a state wherein he finds delight in doing good, such a one, because he recognizes God, and acknowledges the fact of His law and order, comes under the shadow of infinite provision, and finds his eternal home on the outskirts of heaven. No more than this can be effected by simple obedience to Divine command, because the man desires the reward of heaven, and more especially when he is mainly impelled by fear of the penalties of hell. Such obedience renders a man capable of receiving only a minimum of heavenly life.
     The virtue of obedience, merely for the sake of obedience, does not in itself prepare man for the deeper possibilities of heaven. To come into these, man on earth must learn to cultivate higher heavenly loves; first, the love of truth for its own sake, and then the love and delight of actually doing good. These two bring to him the joys of the spiritual and celestial heavens. But he cannot experience such joys without having these loves in himself,-the love of truth for the sake of good, and the love of good for its own sake. When a man's supreme and ruling love is to do good, all of creation presents opportunities to enter into the delights of his love, for the Divine assists him in the celestial desire to do good to others.

100

Because of this, the possibilities of his delight are unbounded.
     It is to be remembered, however, that no man can attain to the celestial love except through the pathway of the natural love of obedience, and then, as he progresses, the spiritual affection of truth. This is why Revelation has so much to say about obedience. It is the gateway to all higher heavenly things. Yet it is only a gateway. They who do not go beyond it reach only the threshold of heavenly joy.
     These facts make us pause and think. How often do we feel that we deserve a great reward if we obey the truth, especially when we do it from self-compulsion without delight! And yet that very lack of delight is what keeps us as spiritual bond servants, and renders us incapable of entering into the interior joys of our Lord. But there is nothing outside of us that prevents our coming into the possession of this heavenly gift of being delighted in the true and the good. What stands in the way is within us,-the delight that we treasure more than heavenly delights.
     To come into the delights of the genuine affection of truth,-to come into that enviable state in which one loves to go to the Word, and to drink often at the Fountain of Wisdom,-we need only to eliminate the delight we feel in our own opposing false opinions. And this we do by not harboring and cherishing these reasoning masks of our evil loves; for that is what they are. If we really want to find delight in truth, we can do so by constantly putting falsity aside, by not loving our own ideas just because they are our own, and by a constant seeking to know and understand and love the truth, even if we find the truth opposed to what we want it to be. As long as we allow the falsity in us to argue against and oppose the truth, we cannot see the truth in truth, much less find delight in that seeing. And if we sometimes yearn to feel joy and delight in doing good for its own sake, with no idea of reward or selfish gain whatsoever, this too we can gain, if we shun the evils which oppose the good that is sought. If we really would come into the delight of the love of the neighbor, for instance, we must shun all that opposes this love,-all spiteful thought, all ill-will, all desire to belittle others, all contempt arising out of conceit and self-intelligence, all domineering over him which takes away his necessary freedom, as well as all the major evils of which the Commandments speak.

101

This is what is meant when the Doctrines so repeatedly state that, if we would come into the delights of heaven, we must shun evils as sins; for these two opposing delights-the delight in what is evil and false, and the delight of heaven-cannot dwell in the same house.
     Let us consider, therefore, what the quality of obedience, and the love of that obedience, can do to prepare the way for the more interior stages of regeneration.
     Love is the life of man, and according to the quality of his ruling love, such is the quality of the man. The end of creation is, that man shall become a living form and expression of some heavenly love. When man is born, he has no love, nor any thought, but the potentiality of both. As he begins life, he comes into an equilibrium between two opposing forces,-the good and truth of heaven, and the evil and falsity of hell,-to the end that, in this balanced condition, he may freely choose his own mode of life, his personally preferred type of delight. During the years before maturity his evil heredity gradually becomes active, and through it he learns to feel a delight in those evil tendencies. But at the same time the growing individual, through the knowledge of truth and the implantation of remains, comes to know of heavenly things, and to feel delight in them. Though he experiences these two opposite delights, and is alternately led by them, neither is as yet really his own; for during this period the rational is not opened, which alone can make the responsible choice between the two.
     But even during minority the gateway to heaven may be opened through obedience. When a child is brought into a state of obedience to truth, he is brought into an external order in which the remains of truth can be implanted by the Lord in his unconscious internal. But when he is led into the love of obedience, more interior remains of good can be imparted to him. The state of obedience also has a softening effect upon his natural, and this is indispensable to his future regeneration. For obedience involves subordination, and regeneration requires the subordination of the natural to the rational, and this in turn to the spiritual and the celestial, and these planes to the Divine.
     With a young child the natural alone is active, and this needs to be ruled by the rational of parents and teachers and adults in general, since his own rational is as yet incapable of the task.

102

If this guidance and ruling is not supplied, his natural evil tendencies will be strengthened, and, when the budding rational comes into being, the natural will assume command over it, and will subordinate it to its passions and pleasure. But because of this very necessity for a rational to govern a natural, it is essential that an adult demand for obedience from children should come from the adult's rational, and not from his own natural; that is, it must be from truth and reason, and not from natural irritation, impatience, or passion, or any of the unbridled loves of the animus. If the latter is the case, even though external obedience is gained, the child is not trained thereby for regeneration, because the subjugation is then that of one natural to another, of a weaker one to a stronger, which can only be achieved through fear, and never from respect, still less from love. And in all obedience the essential thing is to establish the love of it, and not the external appearance apart from the love.
To bring this about, judgment and justice must be present. These qualities, even the undeveloped natural of the child can understand, appreciate, learn to respect, and finally love. And through this appreciation and love of justice, as seen and exemplified in adults, the child or youth can be initiated gradually into the appreciation and love of Divine justice, as revealed in the Word of God. Such governance and leading from judgment and justice ought to be present with parents and teachers. If it is not, and the child is such as the Lord foresees will be regenerated, he will be led to seek and follow such qualities wherever he may find them. He will willingly transfer his obedience to those who can truly nourish his desire to be led by truth presented with justice and from judgment. Throughout the growing period of man the practice and love of obedience, supported by the love of knowing, is that which is Divinely provided to bring the natural into a preliminary order.
After man grows to maturity, and comes into his own freedom and rationality, obedience, and the love of it, continues to be the highest virtue of which he is capable until the spiritual degree of his mind is opened by regeneration. The only difference lies in the fact that then the Lord stands in the place of his father, and the church in the place of his mother. And if the child has not learned the value and habit of obedience to a true leading of parents and teachers, how can he come into a state of obedience to the Lord and the teachings of His church?

103

     When the child comes to maturity, even though the natural be well developed, he has no spiritual or celestial loves to guide him. His spiritual and celestial character is yet to be created and born within him. This is the work of a lifetime, for which all that has preceded has been but a preparation. And the principal tools which man can bring to the task of re-creation, or spiritual rebirth, are the habit of obedience and the knowledge of truth. Through the diligent use of these tools he can prepare himself for the opening of the spiritual mind. But if the man, when he comes into his own, does not use these Divinely provided means for his regeneration, the door is closed to further spiritual progress.
     Now let us see how the love of obedience inaugurates the process of regeneration. Before regeneration begins, man can have no genuine love for, or delight in, anything that is spiritual or celestial. But through the faculty of knowing he call learn from the Word that he must come into spiritual and celestial things if he would become an angel. And the mode of accomplishing this, as laid down in Revelation, is to learn the truth and then obey it. This procedure builds up a basis in the organics of the mind, so that the Lord can flow in and rule the man's life, and eventually impart to him a delight in this ruling. For at first man finds no delight in obeying truths, because his hereditary and actual evils oppose the new order,-the new habit he is trying to establish. Moreover, a man may come to obey truths only from fear of hell, and not from a real desire to become heavenly in character. Or he may even obey truth because it suits his selfish purposes, such as his love of honor and power; or he may find that such actions promote his opportunities for worldly wealth. Herein begin his temptations, even in this natural state. And if he is faithful to the truth, he may know that the only reason he should enter into obedience to the truth is because the Lord so commands,-because in so doing he brings himself into a state of order, and into the possibility of further regeneration.
     He may feel meritorious if he obeys truth; in fact, the natural man always feels so, and demands a reward for his effort. He feels that, if he obeys God, then God should do something for him in return. Therefore the Lord approaches and leads him according to his ideas, and in accommodation to his loves.

104

He puts on the appearance of bargaining with the man. "Obey my voice, and I will be your God; walk ye in all the ways that I have commanded you, that it may be well with you." Thus, and thus only, can the Lord reach man in this first state,-reach his loves so as to move him into action. It is the highest appeal to which man at that time will listen.
But if he obeys truth because God so commands it, the door to heaven is opened. In the carrying out of these commands, new possibilities are presented to him. He may come to recognize that others follow truth and do good from delight, while he does so only from a sense of duty. He can also learn that the former is a more interior state, one that is truly heavenly in its character. And if he sincerely longs for this state, his eyes will be opened as to the way by which he can come into it. He will see that repentance is not only an outward but also an inward thing; that there is obedience of the body, also of the thought, and inmostly of the heart; that it is one thing to have a knowledge of truth, another to desire to understand it and still another to live it. He will see that, in so far as he compels himself to combat falsity and shun evils from a free rational choice, he is doing it from the freedom of his internal man, and thus reducing his natural to a state of order. And he may also know that, if he persists, the Lord can give him a new understanding that will see truth-see and recognize it clearly and easily,-and a new will that loves good,-loves it with an adjoined state of inmost delight.
But before all this can come to pass, a man must examine himself for the evils that obstruct and the falsities that oppose his progress, and come to put them aside and combat them as the enemies of his spiritual life. For by fighting and removing the evil in himself, he makes room for the influx of good, and for the delights of heavenly love and happiness. In this battle he is not alone, as the Lord is ever with him, helping through all the myriad channels provided by His merciful Providence. In this spirit of humble cooperation a deeper realization grows upon him as to how the Lord God circumcises his heart, that he may live. In this spirit he sees the truth of the Word as the Lord's voice speaking directly to him, saying: "For this commandment which I command thee this day is not hidden from thee, neither is it afar off.

105

It is not in heaven, that thou shouldest say, Who shall go up for us to heaven, and bring it unto us, that we may hear it and do it? But the word is very nigh unto thee, in thy mouth and in thy heart, that thou mayest do it. See, I have set before thee this day life and good, and death and evil; therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live; that thou mayest love the Lord thy God, and that thou mayest obey His voice, and that thou mayest cleave unto Him; for He is thy life, and the length of thy days." (Deut. 30:6-20.) Amen.

     LESSONS: Deuteronomy 8. John 15:1-15. A. C. 1937.
     MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 517, 525, 669.
     PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 83, 189.
ANIMALS 1937

ANIMALS Rev. PHILIP N. ODHNER 1937

     A TALK TO CHILDREN.

     Every one of you, I suppose, has known and loved some animal. I doubt if there has ever been a man in the whole world who has not at least seen some kind of animal. And because we have so much to do with these creatures, it is well that we should know how to think about them, how to tell which ones are good and which are bad, and why the Lord created them.
     We read in the story of creation that the Lord made animals before He made man. When He created man, the animals were already there, and the Lord gave man dominion over them all. Why did the Lord first make the animals, and then give them to man?
     As you know, the Lord made man in His own image. The Lord loves all men and all things, and So He made man in the image of His own love, that man might love many things, or have many loves, and be happy in loving others and in loving many things. Because the Lord has infinite love, or numberless loves in Himself, so He gave man to have many loves in himself, that he might be an image of the Lord. But, first of all, the Lord made the animals, and each animal was an image of one of the Lord's loves, or is one of the blessings of the Lord's love clothed in a body.

106

And each animal was created that it might love man, and be of service to man, or do some good to man, and also that man might think of the Lord's love when he looked upon the animals which the Lord had made. When, for example, man saw a lamb, he thought of the Lord's love of innocent little children; for the Lord Himself is called the Lamb of God.
     So, when man had been created, the Lord gave him dominion over all the animals He had created, in order that they might serve man and be of some good to man. There were cows to give milk, sheep to provide wool for man's clothing, and horses to ride on and to help man work. Really it is the Lord who does all these things for man, but He does them through the animals with which He clothed His love. A good animal is one that does some good to man, and a bad animal is one that does harm. At first all the animals were good, but when man himself became evil, then there were animals who were like an evil man, who loved to harm man, and not to do him good.
     You may wonder why it is that animals have so many things that we have,-eyes, nose, mouth, head, and many other things that men have. The reason is that each animal shows something of the Lord to man. And because the Lord is a Man, anything that shows a part of Him must also look something like a man. Besides, animals must have eyes to see, a nose to smell, and feet to walk on, or they cannot be of use to man.
     But though animals in some ways appear to be like man, we must not think they are men. They are very different. The greatest difference is that animals cannot think and speak as men can. And so they cannot know the Lord, and think about Him, and love Him as man can. And so we must not think they are men in any manner. They were made to serve man, and this is their only use. And for all these reasons animals do not become angels after they die. In fact, they do not live after they die. And yet there are animals in the spiritual world. In heaven there are good animals, and in hell there are evil animals. The Writings of the New Church tell us many wonderful things about the animals that are seen in the other world.
     In the spiritual world, animals are not born as they are on earth, but they suddenly appear before the angels already grown up. They are made instantly, in a moment, by the Lord.

107

This seems impossible to us, but we must remember that the angels see with their spiritual eyes, and that the animals which they see are spiritual. The Lord makes spiritual things in an instant, in no time at all, the way He made the fish to feed the multitude when He was in the world.
     In the spiritual world they have many kinds of animals. They have all the kinds we have on earth, and they have many kinds that we have not. Some of the animals in the other world are mixed; that is, their head looks like the head of one kind of animal, and their body like the body of another kind. We read in the Word about these strange mixed or compound animals, when the prophets were given to see into the other world. Daniel saw a beast that was like a lion, but it had eagle's wings; he saw a leopard with four wings on its back.
     Each society of heaven has its own kind of animals, and likewise each society of hell. Swedenborg could tell what kind of people lived in the societies he visited just from the kind of animals he saw as he drew near to them. If he saw lambs grazing in the fields around a heavenly society, he knew that very good people lived there,-celestial angels, who are the best of all, and the most innocent. For lambs and sheep are among the best of all animals, and this is why shepherds were called to the manger where the Lord was born, and why we so often see pictures of the Lord as a Shepherd leading His sheep.
     Sometimes Swedenborg saw all kinds of poisonous snakes, and wolves, and tigers, and then he knew that he was near to a society of hell, where only evil people lived. There are also dragons, and all kinds of fierce and terrible monsters, which come forth from hell and try to hurt good spirits who are on their way to heaven. But the Lord does not allow them to hurt good spirits, but sends angels like Michael to drive away the dragon and other monsters, and make them afraid to come forth again. This is how the Lord protected Daniel when he was put in a den of lions. He sent an angel, who shut the lion's mouths, so that they could do no harm whatsoever to Daniel.
     You may wonder how it is that animals are made in the spiritual world, and how it is that good animals always appear around the angels, and bad ones around the evil spirits.

108

Remember that in the beginning the Lord gave man to rule over all the animals. Now this means that men can control animals and make them work for them here on earth. But it also means that men can control the loves which make animals, so that in the spiritual world the loves of men clothe themselves in animals, just as the Lord's love was clothed in animals in the beginning. When a man becomes a spirit in the other world, if his love is good, then the animals that are made around him are good; but if his loves are bad, then the animals are bad.
     In this world, the loves of man cannot make animals; that is, they cannot make animals outside of themselves, but only inside themselves, in their minds, where no one in this world can see them. In the other world, these animals of the mind appear outside of the angels and devils, in the fields and forests round about them. And if men had their spiritual eyes opened, they could see round about themselves the animals that are made in their minds, because the things in our minds are really in the spiritual world.
     It seems strange to say that we have animals in our minds; but it is this way. If a man loves to be brave, and is brave, we say that he is as brave as a lion, and then we know that he has a spiritual lion in his mind. If a man is terribly hungry, we say that he is as hungry as a wolf; or if he is very clever, we say that he is as clever as a fox. Every love that man has is some spiritual animal in his mind, except two of his loves,-the love of the Lord and the love of the neighbor. These two loves no animal has, but men alone have them, and they are called human loves, because they are what make men to be men. If we had not these two loves we would be just like animals.
     The love of the Lord and the love of our fellowmen are the two loves that make us men. All our other loves, which are like animals in us, should be ruled by those two loves. That is what the Lord meant when He said in the Word that He gave man dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that creepeth upon the earth. For this reason we should seek out and destroy all the evil animals that live in our minds, in order that all our loves may be ruled by our love to the Lord.

     LESSON: Genesis 1: 24-31.
     MUSIC: Hymnal, pages 83, 90, 107.
     PRAYERS: Hymnal, nos. 5 and 8.

109

FORTIETH ANNIVERSARY OF THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM 1937

     REMARKS AT A BANQUET HELD IN THE ASSEMBLY HALL, BRYN ATHYN, PA., FEBRUARY 5, 1937.

     EARLY ORIGINS.

     REV. W. B. CALDWELL, Toastmaster: An account of the event we are commemorating this evening,-the beginning of our Church under its present name,-will be given by one who was present and took part on that occasion. Before hearing that account, I believe it would be useful to recall briefly the earlier history of that movement in the New Church which finally took form in our general body.
     The term "general church" was used nearly a century ago in the Constitution of the Central Convention,-a new and independent body of New Churchmen organized at Philadelphia in October, 1840. The members of that body held certain general principles which have come down to us, and which were in contrast with the belief and practice in the bodies of the New Church existing at the time. Four of these principles may be thus slated:

     1. Acknowledgment of the Divine Authority of the Writings, whose teachings are to be the guide in establishing the New Church.
     2. The New Church to be distinct from the Old in faith, worship, social life, and the education of the young.
     3. Acceptance of the Doctrine concerning the Priesthood, and of the trine in the Priesthood.
     4. The Means of Growth-primarily by internal evangelization, or the education of the young in the home and in New Church schools. External evangelization or missionary work a secondary means of growth.

110

     The Central Convention represented a movement in the United States of which the Rev. Richard de Charms was the chief leader and exponent. He, in turn, represented and further developed those principles of New Church thought and life which had been expounded by the Rev. Robert Hindmarsh at the very beginning of the Church. Mr. de Charms, as a young man, spent two years in England, where he studied the Theology of the New Church under the direction of the Rev. Samuel Noble. We do not know how far he came in contact with Robert Hindmarsh, but it is clear that he was deeply impressed with the theological and ecclesiastical tendencies of that pioneer of sound views in the New Church.
     When the Central Convention was organized in 1840, Mr. de Charms was pastor of the Philadelphia Society. And though he was the founder and leading theologian of the new body, he never occupied any other office than that of "Corresponding Secretary." Its first three Presidents were: Rev. C. I. Doughty, of New York; Condy Raguet, of Philadelphia; and Daniel Lammot, of Delaware County, Pa. Among the many New Churchmen of prominence who signed the Constitution, we may note a few familiar names: Rev. David Powell, Danby, N. Y.; Benjamin F. Glenn and Dr. Constantine Hering, of Philadelphia; Louis C. Iungerich and F. I. Kramph, of Lancaster, Pa.
     The Annual Meeting of the General Convention was made up of delegates from societies in different localities, and some of these societies were grouped geographically under Associations,-New York Association, Illinois Association, Pennsylvania Association, etc. But the Central Convention was to be a "general church" made up of individual receivers of the Doctrines, residing anywhere in the United States, who applied and were received as members by subscribing to the Constitution as finally adopted at the Meeting in New York in 1841. The reasons for the new mode of organization may be gathered from the following brief extracts from the Articles of the Constitution: (Italics ours)

     II. This body shall consist of such receivers in any part of the United States, whether isolated or members of societies, as may be disposed to join the same, and who shall subscribe this instrument.

111

     VII. These individual receivers, while they may form particular societies for more circumscribed and local purposes, are deemed to associate themselves by this instrument in the form and order of a general society, for the performance of general uses; and are to be regarded as a general church, existing at all times, arranged by the bonds of a common faith, united by a common end, and constantly reacting on its central organs in sympathy and co-operation with their functions.
     IX. One chief use of these general meetings shall be to form a common plane and a common sphere of holy divine worship.
     XVII. As "it is well known that, in order to give perfection to any thing, there must be a trine in just order," therefore this convention recognizes the principle of a trine in the ministry.

     After a period of twelve years, the Central Convention was dissolved in 1852. But though the organization died out, the original spirit survived. A generation of young ministers of the Church had been indoctrinated by Mr. de Charms,-men such as David Powell, N. C. Burnham, J. R. Hibbard, J. P. Stuart, Thomas Wilks, and William H. Benade.
     It was while on a visit to Lancaster in October, 1844, that Mr. de Charms became acquainted with the Rev. W. H. Benade, then a minister in the Moravian Church who had become a receiver of the Heavenly Doctrines. An intimate friendship soon was formed between these two men. Mr. Benade now entered upon a course of theological study under Mr. de Charms, who also baptized him, ordained him, and installed him as his successor in the pastorate of the Philadelphia First Society, when Mr. de Charms himself removed to Baltimore.*
     * See Rev. C. Th. Odhner's biography of Richard de Charms (New Church Life, 1903-1904) also his " History of the General Church" in New Church Life, 1904, pp. 403-419; and Journal of the Central Convention.
     In the year 1873, the Rev. W. H. Benade became President of the Pennsylvania Association of the General Convention. The Academy of the New Church was founded in 1874, organized in 1876, and chartered in 1877. The principles and ideals of those who had founded the Central Convention then became known as "Academy Principles."
     On March 17, 1883, at Philadelphia, the Pennsylvania Association adopted a new "Instrument of Organization," recognizing these Academy Principles, and changing its name to " The General Church of Pennsylvania." According to the doctrine of the Trine in the Priesthood, Mr. Benade became Bishop, instead of President.

112

This was in keeping with a new Order for the Ministry adopted the previous year by the General Convention, at the same time recommending its various component Associations "to make such specific rules under the general rules for the regulation of the Ministry as they may consider necessary or desirable."
     It was also in keeping with a Convention ruling that the new General Church of Pennsylvania accepted members who did not reside in Pennsylvania. That ruling was: "The rule of geographical boundary should not be so rigidly applied as to interfere with the freedom of any society to choose, from doctrinal or other internal considerations, to affiliate itself with any Association with which it can conveniently act."
     Most of the societies in the Pennsylvania Association had become imbued with Academy principles,-Allentown, Erie, Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and others. As early as 1878, the society in Greenford, Ohio, had become affiliated. In 1885, the Circle in Concordia, Kansas, the First German Society in Brooklyn, N. Y., and the Immanuel Church, Chicago, joined the General Church of Pennsylvania. There were also friends of the Academy movement in Canada and England who later joined the General Church, but not until 1892, when its name had again been changed.
     Let us bear in mind that the members of the General Church of Pennsylvania were members of the General Convention, though from 1883 to 1890 there was a conflict which finally led to the separation which was voted at Pittsburgh in 1890.
     The following year, 1891, at a meeting of the Joint Councils of the General Church at Knight's Hill (now Cairnwood), another reorganization took place, and the name "General Church of the Advent of the Lord" was adopted, thus further eliminating the idea of geographical boundaries, and making of the General Church a new general body of the New Church, whose members might reside in any part of the world.
     We come now to the day we are celebrating,-February 6, 1897,-when five priests met with Bishop W. F. Pendleton and asked him to be their Bishop, and to form a new priesthood and a new general body. The five ministers were: Revs. Enoch S. Price, Carl Theophilus Odhner, Homer Synnestvedt, N. Dandridge Pendleton, and Charles E. Doering.

113

They had resigned from the General Church of the Advent of the Lord, and at the meeting with Bishop Pendleton a provisional name for the new general body was selected: "The General Church of the New Jerusalem."
An account of this meeting will now be given by the REV. CHARLES E. DOERING:
NEW BEGINNING 1937

NEW BEGINNING 1937

     February 6, 1897.

     Because I was an eyewitness of events in the Church that occurred forty years ago, which resulted in the formation of the General Church of the New Jerusalem, the toastmaster has asked me to speak to you this evening about those times.
     One's memory of events that happened forty years ago is apt to grow dim with the passing of the years. Nevertheless, the estimation of those events, as recorded by one who was present, is bound to be different from that of one who only judges from the record. Yes, even the estimation of different eyewitnesses of the same event will be various, although all may agree in essentials. So I will try to give you a picture of those times as they have appeared to me, and to tell you why it was necessary to start all over again.
     To understand what occurred on the sixth of February, 1897, we need to see it in relation to the events that happened in the Church for a number of years before.
     The toastmaster has given you an outline of the development of the principles of the Academy, and of the various organizations that endeavored to embody those principles in their organic life. All these organizations, each in its turn, tried to embody something new in their organizations in the matter of church government and church polity; that is, there was a recognition of the fact that, if the New Church is to be a spiritual church, it must be governed by spiritual laws.
     Previous New Church organizations largely took on the form of organization that the members were acquainted with in the Old Church, with which they were associated before they came into the New Church, and the General Conference and General Convention are largely congregational today.

114

     It was against this congregational form of organization and government that Mr. de Charms, and later Mr. Benade, fought; and they tried to inaugurate a new kind of government, namely, one based directly on the teaching of the Writings that the spiritual laws revealed in them were to be carried out in the organic life of the church. It was for this reason that these bodies were founded. Particularly the Academy was begun as a movement: in the Church to reform it. I think future history will speak of Mr. Benade as the uncompromising reformer. What are known as the Academy Principles were all so many points of attack or defence, in order to bring to the consciousness of the Church what the Writings taught on those subjects, in contradistinction to the prevailing notions current in the world of their day, and from which most New Churchmen thought in regard to the things of the Church.
     The inculcation of the Academy ideas in the organic life of the Church was a matter of slow growth, even as the growth of the New Church is slow, whether it be with individuals or with it as an organization; and the reasons are given in the Apocalypse Explained, no. 732:1. That the Heavenly Doctrine can be received only by those who are interiorly affected by truths. 2. It cannot be acknowledged and received by those who have confirmed themselves in faith alone, both in doctrine and life. 3. The New Church grows on earth according to its increase in the world of spirits.
     All these reasons agree with the general teaching throughout the Writings, that the internal must be regenerated before the external. However, the Academy did grow; that is, the Academy principles took hold with some, and the fight to sustain them finally resulted in the separation from the Convention and the formation of the General Church of the Advent, whose constitution was perhaps the simplest of any church. It was this: "The General Church of the Advent of the Lord declares its purpose to proclaim and teach the Everlasting Gospel that the Lord Jesus Christ reigneth, as that Gospel is set forth in the Books written by the Lord through His servant Emanuel Swedenborg." (NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1891, p. 150.)
     This Declaration of Principles is simple, and seems all-inclusive; yet the interpretation of that principle of proclaiming and teaching the gospel as set forth in the Writings was limited, and explained in a very narrow way, to mean teaching only those who wished for more doctrinal teaching than the Convention was giving.

115

So, when the Academy had to conform to the legal requirements of holding annual meetings for the election of officers, Bishop Benade formed of those who were its members the "Church of the Academy," separate from the Corporation of the Academy. The latter was under the civil law, the former was not.
     We must keep in mind that most of these members of the "Church of the Academy" were also members of the General Church of the Advent. So there were two churches, composed largely of this same group of people, ministers and laymen. And the anomaly was the subject of many discussions, some favoring and some dissenting, considerable doubt being expressed, both as to the wisdom and the desirability of two churches.
     I remember, as a theological student, calling upon Father Benade to be straightened out in the matter; for I had doubts about the desirability of the same people belonging to two churches. He answered something like this: "There are celestial uses, spiritual uses, and natural uses, and each use must take form. The work of education, being that of entering interiorly into the Doctrines, was a celestial use; that of evangelizing the gospel of the Writings was a spiritual use; and doing missionary work was a natural use. Besides, we have the Academy performing a celestial use, the General Church of the Advent a spiritual use, and the Convention a natural use. These three exist, so what are you going to do about it!" Well, a young student did not argue with Bishop Benade. I felt persuaded, but not convinced. The Rev. C. Th. Odhner, writing of these times in 1904, said: "So strong was the sphere of that masterful mind that, in his presence, doubt and opposition were persuaded, in spite of reason and common sense."
     But although the two- or three-church idea caused some unrest, the disbanding of the old Council of the Academy, which had existed from its first beginning, together with the Councils of the Clergy and Laity in the General Church, caused much more.
     In the Archives there is a letter addressed to Bishop W. F. Pendleton by Bishop Benade, 1893, which touches upon the disbanding of the Council of the Academy. In this letter he attributes the disbanding to the desire of the laymen, who insisted upon having the Academy Corporation organized according to legal requirements, which did not allow of such a council as the Academy formerly had.

116

He took this as an indication of Providence, in that it was not orderly for laymen to direct the ecclesiastical work of the Church; and he proposed forming a council of Bishops, and asked Bishop Pendleton whether he would be the first to accept the appointment. I do not know Bishop Pendleton's answer, or how far this policy was carried out. There were soon other reasons for unrest, namely, the position taken that the Bishop is responsible to the Lord alone, and that if he utterly goes wrong, "the Church has no power to reject him from being their Bishop, but," he added, "let the members of the Church follow their own convictions, and relieve themselves of their connection." Later on, he took the ground that, because of the superior illustration in his use, the Bishop should appoint his successor.
When we look back at the history of the Church, and see how Bishop Benade for years fought in Convention for the freedom of the priesthood, that it might be free to teach the truth, and lead thereby to the good of life, that the Divine might be among men; how the function of the priesthood was a spiritual governing, not a mere management; one cannot but wonder at the departure from this principle,-a principle which he had stressed all his life. And I believe it can only be explained by the infirmities of old age, which led him so to emphasize the doctrine of the freedom of the High Priest that he lost sight of other doctrines which help to place it in its true perspective. Bishop W. F. Pendleton used to say that any truth taken out of its relation to other truths, and over-emphasized, leads to falsities.
All these things kept the Church in a ferment. Then in January, 1897, when Bishop Pendleton was forced to withdraw by an act of violent injustice on Bishop Benade's part, the ministers wondered what to do. All the ministers who could do so met on February 4th, at the home of the Rev. Homer Synnestvedt, to discuss the question as to what could be done to remedy the situation that was so acute in the Church. We had no means of removing the Bishop, for that had been accepted as a policy of church government as stated in 1894, but what was to be done was the question. All those present had been students of Mr. Benade's, and regarded him as their spiritual father, and personally, he was deeply loved by all of them. Five of those present decided that the only thing to do, in order that they might preserve the principles he had formerly taught them, and thus really sustain the church, was to separate from him, hard as this was.

117

And so they left the meeting at Mr. Synnestvedt's house, and went to the Club House, where they wrote their resignation from the General Church and the Academy, and sent it to Bishop Benade.
     Later, they asked Bishop W. F. Pendleton for an interview, and he appointed February sixth. At this meeting, the five ministers told Bishop Pendleton that they were now unconnected with any church organization, and asked him if he would be their leader and bishop.
     In accepting them, he said (I quote from the record of the meeting): "This step is the initiament of a general Church which will differ from the bodies with which we have been lately connected, not in doctrine, but in a modification of policy and method. There are two essential features of church government, and of church life, without which there can be no organized church. These are Council and Assembly. There needs to be in this Church a Council of the Clergy and a Council of the Laity. I now constitute those who are here present into a Council of the Clergy."
     A secretary was then appointed, and the next question was, what name shall we take? A number of names were proposed, but finally the present name was adopted, with the understanding that it was only provisional. It was not finally adopted until the meeting of the General Assembly held in Berlin in 1899.
     At a meeting of the Council held on February 8, 1897, it was agreed to let the members of the New Church know of this organization, and invite them to join us. Mr. Odhner, the secretary, prepared a statement, and on March 1st the Church was circularized, and blanks for application of membership enclosed. Nearly one thousand circulars were sent out, and by June, 287 had been received as members of the General Church.
     At this meeting it was also agreed to call a General Assembly in June. At one of the Council meetings before the Assembly, the subject of the conduct of the Assembly was discussed, and it was decided to place the Assembly in absolute freedom. The Bishop would place his resignation as Bishop in the hands of the Council of the Clergy, and that body agreed to attend the Assembly as members of the Church, and not as a Council, so that the Assembly might take whatever action it wished in regard to government,-free to do what it pleased; for, as Bishop Pendleton remarked, it was better to wait for years for a rational acceptance of the Doctrine of Ecclesiastical Government than to force it, or to persuade people against their will.

118

This also was done, for when the Assembly met in June, Bishop Pendleton called the meeting to order, made a statement of the reasons for calling the meeting, told them that he had been acting provisionally as the Bishop, and that he had placed his resignation in the hands of the Council of the Clergy, and that the first business would be the selection of a chairman of the meeting, thus placing the meeting in freedom. The meeting chose him as chairman, and Mr. Odhner as secretary of the meeting.
     I well remember that Assembly. To me it seemed as if there were present something of anxiety arising from uncertainty as to what would happen; for the feelings of some were pretty strong, and also of wishful thinking, that we might form an organization without losing anything that had been true in the past.
     The speeches and papers on the subject of Government seemed almost interminable. Then, on the afternoon of the fourth day, after all the speeches and the frankest kind of talking, (some of it, in my opinion, almost verging on the point of heckling), the secretary announced that Bishop Pendleton had a paper on "Government," containing some recommendations. The paper was called for, and the very first paragraph seemed to clear the atmosphere. The tenseness that had been manifest for three days and a half seemed to vanish, and the meeting heaved an imperceptible sigh of relief. You could not hear it, but you could feel it.
     Let me read that paragraph: "The quality of a church is according to the quality of its government, or according to the idea of government which rules within it. If a natural idea of government rules, then the church will be natural, but if government is seen under a spiritual idea, this idea reigning in all its parts, then the church will be a spiritual church. A true idea of government, which is a spiritual idea, is, then, of supreme importance to the members of the church."
     He then explained what natural government and spiritual government are, and contrasted them. He enlarged upon the idea which Bishop Benade had expressed in one of the Council of the Academy meetings in 1883, that "the government of the church is a government of reason, but the civil government is one of command."

119

Bishop Pendleton put it: "A spiritual government is one of influx, and natural government is one of command." And he urged that we do not incorporate into the organic life of the church an idea of distrust. After presenting his notes on government (which everyone who has ideas of how the church ought to be governed should read), he suggested a plan of organization, based on the uses, which is essentially the form of government we have today.
     The suggestions met with unqualified approval, and Mr. John Pitcairn offered the following resolution: "That this Assembly request the Council of the Clergy to provide for the administration of the ecclesiastical affairs of this Church until the next meeting of this General Assembly." Later: this was amended by adding, "and that this Assembly also elect an Executive Committee of laymen to conduct the business affairs of this Church until the next meeting of the General Assembly." The resolution was passed unanimously, and later the Council of the Clergy reported that Bishop Pendleton, at the unanimous request of the Council of the Clergy, had withdrawn his resignation of the episcopal office of this Church, which he had tendered to this Council, and they added that "his action is in no way intended to affect the freedom of the Church in making its final choice of a Bishop."
     I might add here that, at the meeting of the General Assembly the following year in Glenview, the Assembly asked the Council of the Clergy to name a Bishop before the Assembly for its recognition, which the Council did, and the Assembly recognized the nomination, and Bishop W. F. Pendleton was elected Bishop of the General Church.
     In thinking of this action, I am filled with amazement at the intrinsic loyalty of the members to the principles of the church, and the confidence they placed in the priesthood as a body, in spite of the distressing times they had been through for so many years. And the further thought comes to me, that each generation, as it comes along, will need to see these principles in their application to the affairs of the church at the time,-see the distinction there is between government by influx and government by command. For the church, if it is to continue to be a spiritual church, must be ruled by the idea of the former, and not the latter.

120

Church News 1937

Church News Various 1937

     SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA.

     In selecting the highlights among our activities during the last quarter of 1836, we go back to a society picnic which was held on October 5. This event stands out, not only because it was held under pleasant conditions and in happy surroundings, but also because it was the most representative gathering of its kind we have had for some time. Our opportunities for corporate social life are neither so many nor so varied as those enjoyed at the larger centers, and we welcome every occasion for developing this important phase of our church life. We must refer also to the children's annual fancy-dress party, which took place on the 26th of the same month. The children eagerly anticipate this event,-the climax of which is, of course, the judging and awarding of prizes,-and it was generally agreed that an unusually high degree of ability had been shown in the designing of costumes.
     Perhaps the most outstanding event in the following month was the Feast of Charity which was held on the 22d, in place of the usual doctrinal class. The meeting took the same form as earlier ones of the same kind, but instead of hearing an original paper we listened with rapt attention to Bishop N. D. Pendleton's address, "The Church Eternal," which was read by Mr. Norman Heldon. This remarkable study, which harmonizes so many doctrines into a unified thought-sequence, led to a most useful and interesting discussion. We are grateful, both to Bishop Pendleton and to New Church Life, for the opportunity of hearing and discussing it. In November, also, Miss Taylor gave an interesting travel-talk to the Ladies' Guild.
     The month of December contained so many events, some of which will live long in our memories, that it seems best to record them strictly in the order of their occurrence. Our last Evangelical Service for the year was held in the evening of Sunday, the 6th, the subject of the address being, "The New Doctrine of the Incarnation." In the course of this service, Miss Dorothy Wellington was received into the Church through the gate of Baptism, and we are looking forward to welcoming her into the society in due course.
     The last social meeting of the year was held on the following Monday, and those who attended found that a bright program of games and competitions, interspersed with dances, had been arranged for their entertainment.
     On the following Thursday, the Young People's Class met for the last time as a class, and concluded its study of the general doctrine concerning the Lord; but on Wednesday, the 16th, the members and a few friends met again at the pastor's home, where a banquet was held to mark the end of the year's work. After a social meal, a series of five short addresses were given by the four Heldon brothers and the pastor on the particulars of faith on man's part. (T. C. R. 3:2, q.v.) The toast to the Church was followed by a number of others, and a most happy climax to the evening was Mr. Ossian Heldon's announcement of his engagement to Miss Dorothy Wellington, who was also present. The meeting of the Ladies' Guild the following afternoon took the form of a Christmas Party which, we understand, was much enjoyed by all who were present.

121

     With the coming of Sunday, the 20th, we commenced our celebration of the Lord's First Advent. The sermon at morning service was on the two genealogies of the Lord (Matthew 1 and Luke 3), and in the afternoon the children's Christmas Service was held. For some weeks previously, Mrs. Fletcher had been training the children in the music used, and so the service,-which included Hebrew, Greek, and Latin,-proceeded very smoothly. The pastor gave an address on the story of the shepherds, which was beautifully illustrated in a representation prepared by Mr. Henderson, and shown to the children as they left the church. At the last doctrinal class of the year, which was held in the evening of the same day, the pastor concluded a series of classes on man's states after death. The nature and process of death, man's resurrection, and his three states in the world of spirits, had been considered in previous classes, and in this final one the subject was the other-world life of those who die in childhood.
     The children's Christmas Party was held on Monday, the 21st, and seemed to give as much pleasure to the adults as to the children. As usual, the proceedings began with a series of three tableaux, prepared this year by Mrs. Henderson and Mrs. Taylor. The subjects represented were: The Shepherds in the Field; The Shepherds at the Manger; and The Wise Men at the Manger. Appropriate hymns were sung, and each tableau was introduced by a reading from the Word.
     When the Christmas tree had been illuminated and admired, Father Christmas made his usual timely appearance, and gave to the little ones their gifts, which were shortly afterwards carried home by the satisfied but rather tired juvenile guests. On Christmas morning a short Service of Praise was held at which the pastor gave a brief address on the Coming of the Wise Men. Morning service on the following Sunday marked the close of the year's activities, but it was an end bearing the promise of a new beginning, which we hope to carry through to a more adequate performance of the high uses which are entrusted to those who are privileged to have some part with the church while on earth.
     In a report from this society published last August it was said that Mrs. Fletcher (nee White) had Been the founder and first teacher of the local school. We are asked to state that the idea of forming a school originated with Miss Taylor, and we are glad to supply this information here.
     W. C. H.

     A Wedding.

     On December 23, just two days before Christmas, we experienced what was for our little society a very unusual thrill, when one of our members, Miss Elida Olivia Heldon, was married to Mr. Roderic Charles Hubbard. The wedding took place at 7.45 p.m., the pastor officiating. Earlier in the day the church had been decorated with various kinds of flowers, the main color-scheme being blue and pink. As the Wedding March from Lohengrin was played, the couple marched unattended to the chancel rail, the fair bride looking very lovely in a pale blue dress, and carrying perfectly beautiful pink gladioli. After the always beautiful and impressive service, everyone helped to transform the church into a reception hall. Tables were brought in and laid, and as if by magic a wedding supper was soon spread before us. The main attraction was, of course, the three-tiered wedding cake, which was beautifully decorated with pink icing, but there were also very nice sandwiches, cakes, and other good things. The usual toasts were proposed and responded to, and a jolly atmosphere and witty remarks prevailed through the evening. At last the newlyweds were accompanied to the car, under shower of rice and confetti, taking with them all our best wishes for their true happiness.
     E. H.

122

     LONDON, ENGLAND.

     Michael Church.

     Our Harvest Thanksgiving Service was held on Sunday October 4. Bishop Tilson preached an instructive sermon from Exodus 23:14-16, and officiated at the Holy Supper, assisted by the Rev. A. Wynne Acton. The chancel had been decorated with corn and vegetables by Mr. Cooper with his well-known skill, and the baskets of fruit offered by nearly every member of the congregation, including the children, were gratefully received the following day by the Homeopathic Hospital.
     On October 11 the first Social Tea after the Summer interval was followed at 6 p.m. by a short service conducted by Bishop Tilson. This was immediately succeeded by meeting for the opening and consideration of the coming session of church work. Mr. Acton presided, and noted the fact that the previous day had seen the completion of fifty seven years of ministerial work on the part of Bishop Tilson, and offered him his affectionate congratulations, which sentiment was heartily endorsed by all present. The Bishop expressed his thanks, and above all his gratitude to the Divine Providence for having been permitted to enjoy so long a period in carrying on the work he loved. Mr. Acton then called upon the Bishop to read a paper on "Worship," which was listened to with great interest. It was followed by one from the President on "One Aspect of Love," namely, "to give rather than to get." Mr. Acton then sketched the program of work which it was hoped to carry out in the present session, and asked for the co-operation of all the members in the spirit indicated in the two papers.
     The Social Committee is to be congratulated on supplying a very good program at the opening social on October 20. There was a full attendance, and the interest of the evening was increased by the presence of Mr. Laurence Odhner, who was on his way home from South Africa to Bryn Athyn, and who entertained us with a Zulu song! Mrs. John Cooper from Colchester was also with us, and kindly assisted at the piano, as were also Miss Joyce Cooper and Mr. Rey Cooper, who were making their final appearance before their return to Bryn Athyn. The program was appropriately concluded by the singing of "Auld Lang Syne," then the National Anthem, and finally the Star Spangled Banner. A very happy occasion!
     At the Social Tea on Sunday, November 8, the Rev. A. Wynne Acton gave an interesting account of the first part of his recent Continental tour in company with Mr. Nathan Pitcairn. This account he completed at the Tea held in January. Many photographs were handed round, and it was obvious that the trip had been very enjoyable, and had included some amusing incidents.
     November 15 was kept as Remembrance Sunday. The Roll of Honor was read by Bishop Tilson, all standing, and Mr. Cooper, himself an ex-service man, had made and given a wreath of laurels and poppies, and placed it beneath the brass tablet, "Lest we forget."
     Under the auspices of the Social Committee, a very pleasant Whist Drive was given by Mrs. and Miss Greenwood on November 17, while on December 15, Mr. Leonard Lewin gave a lantern lecture on Devon and Cornwall, in which he showed a large number of excellent slides. At the Social Tea on December 13, Mr. V. R. Tilson read a thoughtful and somewhat enterprising paper entitled the "Influx of Power," which led to some discussion. The pros and cons were then ably summarized from the New Church standpoint by Mr. Acton.
     On Sunday, December 20, the morning service was adapted to the needs of the children. Mr. Acton addressed them, and a model illustrative of the Christmas Story was a source of additional interest.

123

     It was a matter of deep regret to all that Bishop Tilson, for the first time during his fifty-seven years of ministry, was prevented by serious illness from being present at the service on Christmas Day, but we were thankful to know that, after several weeks, there was considerable improvement in his condition. The Assistant Pastor officiated, gave an appropriate address, and administered the Holy Supper. The Christmas hymns were sung, and there was the usual reception of gifts. The decoration of the chancel, carried out by Mr. Cooper, distinctly added to the sphere of worship.
     On December 31, a Christmas tea, followed by a social, arranged by Mr. Acton and Miss Mary Lewin, was given to the children, of whom, upwards of thirty, of almost every age, were present. There was very audible evidence that the young guests thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
     A New Year Social was held on January 5, and among other visitors we were especially pleased to welcome Mr. and Mrs. Friend from the Kensington Society, both of whom sang for us, and were heartily encored. A clever and amusing charade, well acted by some members of the social committee, was also thoroughly enjoyed.
     On Sunday, January 24, a Feast of Charity was held in honor of Swedenborg's Birthday, and it proved to be quite a "red-letter" occasion. There was a full attendance, and the Rev. A. Wynne Acton presided. In his opening remarks, Mr. Acton voiced the delight of all present that Bishop Tilson was once more able to be with us; and, judging by the sermon from Matthew 18:19, which he had preached at the morning service, he had regained much of his old vigor. A hearty welcome was also extended to the Rev. Victor J. Gladish, to Mr. and Mrs. Colley Pryke, and to other visitors.
     Mr. Acton read a most interesting paper on "The Temptations of Swedenborg." Mr. Gladish dealt comprehensively with the necessity that the instrument of the Crowning Revelation should be conscious in both worlds concurrently. Last of the three priests, rose the venerable Bishop to ask in ringing tones, "What think ye of Emanuel Swedenborg, and the mission he was called upon to perform!" There were various opinions extant, continued the Bishop, but in the Academy and the General Church, Swedenborg was acknowledged as the Servant of the Lord Jesus Christ, and nothing could alter the character of the Revelation of which he had been the instrument. The Address was received with applause and delight, not only for its subject-matter, but also for the eloquence and strength with which it was delivered. After the singing of the "Church Militant," several of those present accepted the invitation to speak on the subject, after which this very enjoyable celebration was concluded by the Benediction.
     We were very glad to receive a message of good-will from Mrs. Jubb and Miss Shaw of High Kilburn, York. The sudden passing into the other world, shortly before Christmas, of that loyal member of the Church, Mr. W. Copley Jubb, evoked our affectionate sympathy.
     K. M. D.

     COLCHESTER, ENGLAND.

     Our Annual Meeting on January 18 was well attended, and after the opening worship and the pastor's address, the business part was carried through so efficiently that we finished in one evening.
     The pastor's address treated of the meaning of the "little book," sweet in the mouth, but bitter in its digestion. (Rev. 10.) "The situation of finding truths revealed by the Lord agreeable and pleasant in their first reception, but bitter in their opposition to the innate desires of self love, continually arises with individuals, and also in groups and societies. There is wont to be a great dependence upon external projects of accomplishment, upon visible or apparent progress; and the slow and difficult matter of interior growth becomes a matter of no great relish.

124

The problem of the internal assimilation of Divine Truths is attended to, but with slackening zeal; in their digestion the things of Revelation are found bitter." He continued: "These meetings are opportunities for discovering whither we are tending as an organization of soldiers in the church militant, as servants in the greatest and most worthy of causes; they are the chief ultimate means for the foundation and adequate protection of our religious life,-the central thing of our lives. Here we see to the clothing and guarding of the worship of the God of heaven and earth among us. Nor do we do this for the sake of ourselves alone, but to fulfill our part, our duty, toward the elevation of mankind-the establishment of the 'City of God.'"
     Our social committee this year is a volunteer committee, its members being Miss Winifred Everett and Messrs. Owen Prkye and Eric Appleton. Volunteer committees generally accomplish a great deal, so we are looking forward to good socials this year.
     We celebrated Swedenborg's Birthday with a banquet on Sunday evening, January 31. We were fortunate in having with us several friends from London, among them the Rev. A. Wynne Acton, who preached for us at the service in the morning. The tables looked very pretty with pots of pink, blue, red, and white hyacinths. Mr. Colley Pryke was toastmaster, and short papers were read on the following subjects: "The Last Judgment," Mr. Philip Motum; "The Establishment of the New Church," Mr. Kenneth Pryke; "Authority and Order in the Church," Rev. A. Wynne Acton; "The Activities of the Church," Rev. Victor J. Gladish. There were informal speeches, toasts and songs, and we closed with the singing of "How good are thy tents, O Jacob."
     At this celebration four of our young people made their entrance into the adult social life of the society: Miss Freda Appleton, and Messrs. Donald Boozer, John Motum, and Brian Appleton. We drank a toast to them, and Freda made a little speech in response, as she saw "that none of the other three would."
     On the following Wednesday the children, seven in number, had their Swedenborg's Birthday celebration at the home of Mrs. Sanfrid Appleton. After a festive tea, each child read an extract of a sentence or two about Swedenborg, and then added something from his own memory, in which they succeeded very well. They also had a competition. Questions about Swedenborg's life were written on slips of paper and placed in a hat, from which each child drew a paper and answered the question, or, if unable to do so, passed it to the next older. They all seemed to have had a very good time.
     In February we resumed the doctrinal classes, taking up the work on The Divine Providence. The Young People's Class is studying The Four Leading Doctrines, meeting in rotation at the homes of the members of the class.
     We are sorry to report that the Rev. and Mrs. Albert Bjorck are both in a Nursing Home at Salisbury. Mr. Bjorck is very ill, and Mrs. Bjorck is suffering from a fractured leg. Our affectionate sympathy goes out to them, and we hope they will soon be well and strong.
     M. W.

     TORONTO, CANADA.

     As a part of the Sunday morning service our Pastor has been addressing the children in short talks on "The Twelve Disciples." These have been most interesting and instructive, the adults finding much of benefit to them, as do the children, for whom they are intended.
     The Forward-Sons of the Academy had a most successful February meeting which produced four new and young speakers,-Messrs. Robert Scott, Orville Carter, Lawrence Izzard and Raymond Carter, who spoke on the subjects of Spain, Germany, Italy and France;-a big program, but very ably handled.
     "Chatterbox" continues its good work under the able editorship of Miss Vera Craigie.

125

At present, there is a competition afoot, for which contributions by the young boys of the society are eligible. Several very interesting articles on widely different subjects have been submitted.
     St. Valentine's birthday yearly affords an excellent excuse for a party, and this year was no exception. Bridge, both scientific and conversational, held sway the first part of the evening, which later on gave way to a dance in a room gay with true Valentine trimmings. A number of skits portraying "The Lovers of History" (of whom "Darby and Joan," as represented by Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Rothermel, seemed to be favorites) provided good entertainment. All this under the animated directorship of Miss Emily Wilson.
     M. S. P.

     OBITUARY.

     Samuel Lewin.

     A beloved member of Michael Church passed from our midst on February 12, when Mr. Samuel Lewin received his call to the higher life. He had recently celebrated his ninetieth birthday, and leaves behind him the memories of a well-spent life and a faithful adherence to the principles enunciated in the Heavenly Doctrines, the study of which was his constant delight. At the last British Assembly he made a never-to-be-forgotten speech, extolling the beauties revealed by the Lord in the making of His Second Advent. He also paid tribute to the work of the Rev. A. Wynne Acton in England, and expressed his indebtedness to the long continued services of Bishop Tilson, whom he "had known almost from a baby" (from the age of nineteen years).
     Several of the family surviving him are active members of the General Church, among whom are Mr. Samuel Lewin, of Bath, Mrs. John Summerhaves, who with her husband belongs to a small group at Street in Somerset, and his daughter Mary, an active member of Michael Church and teacher in the Sunday School. To these may be added other descendants who love the Church and have added largely to his happiness.
     Mr. Lewin will now have the dearest wish of his heart in the reunion with his beloved wife, with whom he enjoyed a lovely association in marriage extending over half a century. To know him was to love him, and all who have really known him rejoice in the well-founded belief that he has heard the welcome of the attendant angel, "My friend, come with me and dwell with us." (T. C. R. 391.)
     R. J. T.

     William Copley Jubb.

     At High Kilburn, York, on December 8, 1936, Mr. William Copley Jubb passed to the other life at the age of seventy-nine years. He was associated with the New Church at York from his childhood, and for many years continued what his father had done in keeping together a small group of people who met regularly for worship. When he retired to High Kilburn, he held daily worship and a service on Sunday with his wife and sister-in-law, and was always deeply delighted when it was possible to have a pastoral visit.
     Perhaps most characteristic of him was that singleness of purpose which leadeth to heaven, that simplicity of mind which is founded on wisdom, and that true innocence which is a willingness to be led by the Lord. He was a student of the Heavenly Doctrine, and from it acquired a deep insight into the Lord's infinite mercy toward all men and a full trust in His over-ruling Providence. We also saw in him a loving husband and a true friend. His gentle disposition and large heart made him desire to help others in any way he could.
     Mr. Jubb is survived by his beloved wife, to whom our deepest feelings of sympathy go forth.
     A. W. A.

126

ELEMENTARY SCHOOL JOURNAL 1937

     Announcements.

     Eight issues of this new periodical in typewritten mimeographed form are being published at Bryn Athyn during the present school-year, November to June inclusive. The Journal contains articles of interest and value to teachers and parents of the General Church.
     The March issue, No. 5, presents the following subjects: Astronomy (illustrated), Wertha Pendleton Cole; Geography, Celia Bellinger; Sixth Grade Arithmetic, Richard Gladish; "The Singer Monk of Whitby," a Play based on the Story of Caedmon, the Saxon Poet, Sigrid O. Sigstedt.
     Five issues, February to June inclusive, will be mailed to any address for 75 cents, upon application to MISS LOIS NELSON, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

127

SIXTEENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1937

     Of the General Church of the New Jerusalem.

     By invitation of the Pittsburgh Society, the Sixteenth General Assembly will be held at the Shady Side Academy, Fox Chapel, Pennsylvania, from Wednesday, June 30, to Sunday, July 4, 1937. Attention is called to the fact that the Assembly will close with a Service of Divine Worship on Sunday Morning, instead of extending to the evening of that day, as announced in the official notice previously sent out by the Assembly Committee. The Program of the Assembly will be published in a later issue of this journal.
     HUGO LJ. ODHNER,
          Secretary of the General Church.

     Accommodations.

     Due to the fact that the entire Assembly will be held on the Shady Side grounds, we recommend to all who can that they take advantage of the accommodations offered by the institution. The dormitories are limited to 200 guests. To augment these facilities, the Pittsburgh Society has offered to provide for as many guests as possible in their homes.
     Reservations should be made well in advance. They will be filed and honored in the order of their receipt. There is the possibility that those late in applying may have to secure sleeping accommodations in private boarding houses or at hotels.
     In making reservations, please state your preference as to place of accommodation. Shady Side's dormitories are arranged for two persons to a room. Separate dormitories will be provided for married couples, for single women and for single men.
     In view of the change in time noted above, the following revised schedule of rates for accommodations has been substituted for that previously published:

128

     SCHEDULE OF RATES.

     Complete charge for room and all meals, beginning after dinner on Tuesday, June 29, through mid-day dinner on Sunday, July 4, and including Banquet-per person $15.00.
     Charges for Meals Only:
Strip of tickets (for those not rooming at Shady Side), which includes 4 lunches, 4 dinners, and the Banquet $7.50
Single Breakfast .50
Single Lunch .75
Single Dinner 1.00
Single Banquet Tickets 1.50
     Note: Dinner will be served in the evening, except on Sunday, when it will be served at noon.
     For those staying over until Monday, July 5, Sunday evening supper and Monday breakfast will be served. The additional charge for this accommodation, including use of room Sunday night, will be $2.00 additional.
     Dormitories open for occupancy after 3:00 p.m., Tuesday, June 29. First meal served will be breakfast on Wednesday morning, June 30.
     Please address all communications as follows: "Assembly Committee," 299 Le Roi Road, Pittsburgh, Pa. Assembly Committee.
     Rev. Willard D. Pendleton, Chairman.
     Walter L. Horigan, Business Manager.
     J. Edmund Blair, Secretary.

139

TAKING THE CROSS 1937

TAKING THE CROSS Rev. F. E. WAELCHLI 1937

NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. LVII          MAY, 1937           No. 5
     "He that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me." (Matthew 10:38.)

     It is the experience of everyone who desires heaven as his eternal abode that he fluctuates between two states. At one time his thoughts and affections center in the Lord and heaven; at another, in himself and the world. The first state pertains to his internal man or mind; the second, to the external. His internal man has been regenerated, at least in a measure; but that regenerate state has not as yet descended into the external, or, if so, not to any great extent. We read in the Heavenly Doctrine: "The internal man is first regenerated by the Lord, and the external afterwards, and the latter by means of the former; for the internal man is regenerated by embracing the things which belong to faith and charity, and the external by a life in accordance with them." (H. D. 181.) "Each must be regenerated, in order that the entire man may be so." (Ibid. 179.) When the internal mind is regenerated, it is man's heaven; the external mind is his earth, and in so far as this is not regenerated, it is not in harmony with his heaven. The desire for this harmony is expressed in the words of the prayer," Thy will be done, as in heaven, so upon the earth."

     The establishment of such a harmony seems an impossibility to many who desire it and yet find themselves making no apparent progress towards its attainment. And indeed it may seem impossible when we consider the nature of the external man; for this man places all his good in voluptuousness, in pain, and in pride; he delights in hatred and revenge, and endeavors to find reasons to justify himself therein.

130

Moreover, he is hostile to the faith and charity which are in the internal man, and is unwilling that they should descend into the external and rule it. The internal mind is heaven; the external, in itself, is hell; thus they are diametrically opposed. So, as we have said, the establishment of harmony between them seems impossible. Yea, it seems impossible that the Lord Himself could provide the means for it. Yet the Lord does so provide, and this in a marvelous manner. He provides certain media by which it can gradually be effected. These media are four in number, operative in successive order. The first is the affirmation of the truth of that which dwells in the internal mind; the second is temptation combat in which man overcomes the resistance which arises from the external man; the third is good works in the external, corresponding to the state of the internal; and the fourth is the delight of the affections of good and truth. When these media have been active, one after another, then there can be a harmony of the external man with the internal.

The first medium is affirmation on the part of the external man that the truth which the internal acknowledges and loves is true; or, to use an ordinary expression, that it is so. The external opposes this affirmation, and seeks to close itself against it. Wherefore something of self-compulsion is necessary, in order that it may exist. For example, the external man does not desire to affirm, or to say within himself positively and firmly, that there is a God who is the All in all, and over all; that evils must be shunned as sins against Him; that there is a Divine Providence, in which he should trust; that he ought daily to go to the Word for the bread of life, that enmity, hatred and revenge are abominable; that lustful affections and thoughts are heinous; that dishonesty of every kind is criminal. So, self-compulsion to such an affirmation of truth is necessary.

This is the first step towards the harmony of the external man with the internal; and it should be evident that, although it calls for self-compulsion, it is not very difficult. It does not involve severe trial, as does temptation combat, which is to follow; yet it prepares the way for that trial.

131

It is entirely within man's power to come into such affirmation of truth, and afterwards to enter into temptation combats and overcome therein. But it would not be in his power, even with the Lord's aid, to meet temptations and be victorious in them without the preceding affirmation of truth. Thus does the Lord provide that the harmony of the external with the internal, which seems an impossibility, may become a possibility by a gradual and orderly progression.

The affirming or affirmative of truth,-namely, that it is so,-is the beginning of regeneration. We have said that man attains unto it by self-compulsion. Yet this is in reality only his co-operation. The whole of regeneration is the Lord's work, man co-operating. The Lord inflows with good into man's inmost, and thence into his internal man, where, as in man's heaven, it manifests itself in love for and acknowledgment of all that pertains to faith and charity. This good seeks to descend from the internal into the external man; and to the end that it may so descend it operates into the external man to bring into existence there the affirmative of truth, which it can do when man co-operates. And when the affirmative is established, then good from the internal inflows into it, and abides in it, as its first dwelling place in the external man. Unless this abode be prepared, good cannot inflow. It cannot inflow into a negative state, into a state where man closes his mind against the firm faith that the truths of heavenly life are true; yea, it cannot inflow into a doubting state. Good from within can inflow only into the affirmative, and when it so inflows, it begins ere long to manifest itself as affection. Man begins to be affected by the truth to which he is affirmative. He begins to be delighted with it. And so there comes the resolve that his life shall be in accordance with it. In this resolve there is strength from the Lord to meet what is now to come,-the temptation combats which are the second medium in regeneration. There is such strength, because of the affirmative of truth and its indwelling affection.

The strength being given, the Lord permits temptations to come, this being in accordance with a law of His Providence that He does not permit a state of temptation unless there be the strength to meet it. In fact, the strength itself brings about the temptation. For when evil spirits perceive that strength,-perceive that man, by the affirmative of truth, has come into the determination to live according to that truth, and acts accordingly,-then they assault that determination and seek to destroy it.

132

This they do by stirring up the evils of the external man. So the good which inflows from the internal man, and which manifests itself in the external as the determination to live according to the truth, enters into combat with evil; and the combat is carried on by means of the truth which constitutes man's affirmative and consequent determination.

     The end, or purpose, of the combat is that evil in the external man may be overcome, and that thus this man may be regenerated, even as is the internal. The overcoming of evil is at the same time the driving away of the evil spirits who assault and infest. And these being driven away, the angels come and dwell in the good which has taken the place of evil. In fact, throughout the temptation the angels have been present with him-present in his affirmation and determination-and they have fought the fight against the evil spirits for him, although it seemed to him to be his own conflict. Yea more, the angels, in waging the combat, do so as ministers of the Lord. He it is that combats for man; and He it is who conquers for him.

     Yet the Lord so preserves man's freedom that the combat shall seem as his own,-his own, but fought with the Lord's sword in hand. "Think not that I am come to send peace on earth; I came not to send peace, but a sword." (Matthew 10:34.) The sword is truth combating. And the combat is to be waged against the evils and falsities of the natural man, even against the things that are dearest to his heart, and which he loves as his very own. "A man's foes," the Lord says, "shall be they of his own household." (10:36.) And having said this, He speaks further the words of our text. "He that taketh not his cross and followeth after me, is not worthy of me." Man must "take his cross," that is, must endure temptations; and in so doing he must "follow after" the Lord, that is, must endure his temptations, even as the Lord endured His.

     By the "cross" which the Lord bore is meant not only His last great temptation at the crucifixion, but His temptations throughout His life on earth, when He fought against the hells and subjugated them, and at the same time glorified His Human, for the redemption of mankind.

133

So, if we would know what we must needs endure in bearing our cross, we must know what it was necessary for the Lord to endure in bearing His. It was necessary that in His temptations He should endure the infestations of hell even to despair. For the trial of infestation must go to the extreme limit of the power of hell to infest; and such intense infestation cannot otherwise than bring despair. Yet, when there is endurance "even unto the end," even to the point where hell is exercising its utmost power, then the victory over it is complete, for there is nothing more that hell can do. That the Lord's temptations were unto despair appears manifestly from that in Gethsemane, and from that on the cross. So with us in our temptations, the infestation cannot but increase until there is despair. Otherwise the final use arising from infestation is not accomplished. The temptations of the Lord are an example to the faithful, just as His glorification is an example or type of the regeneration of man; and regeneration is principally effected by temptations, just as was the glorification.

     No one can take his cross unless in so doing he follow the Lord. In order to do so, it is necessary to know and to acknowledge that the Lord, in enduring His temptations, was making His human Divine, so that He might forever be the Divine Savior. There can be no following of the Lord without the acknowledgment of His Divinity. In fact, to acknowledge it is to follow Him. And, therefore, according to a more interior idea, by "following the Lord" is meant to acknowledge His Human to be Divine; and this acknowledgment can be complete and full when there is the faith that He, in His Divine Human, is the one only God of heaven and earth, the one only Divine Man.

     But this acknowledgment must not be merely intellectual. The heart must be stirred-even as were the hearts of the Lord's disciples-by His wondrous love for men's salvation, and by the marvelous wisdom of His teachings which reveal the path of life. If that love and wisdom move the affections, awakening love for the Divine Savior, who is ever present with everyone, seeking in pure mercy to rescue from hell and to lead to heaven, then there can be a deep-felt longing to follow Him, that is, ever to acknowledge Him as Lord and God. And for the sake of so following Him, there will be a willingness to take up the cross.

     "He that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me."

134

He who takes his cross and follows the Lord will be worthy of Him. There are two states following the bearing of the cross,-two happy states,-which lead to this worthiness, namely, that of good works in the external man, flowing from the heavenly internal, and that of the delight of the affections of good and truth. The worthiness thus attained, wherein is the fulness of happiness, consists in living from the Lord, and not from self; in becoming of His redeemed; in being in conjunction with Him, and thus in living with Him forever in the blessedness of the heavenly life.

     Who should not be willing for the sake of this to take his cross and follow the Lord? And yet how man hesitates! Though heaven be in his internal man, how unwilling man is to have its life descend into the external! He cannot bear the thought of giving up the things that are his own and are dear to him. He fears the trials of the combat. And all the more does he fear them if he has tried and failed, perhaps tried well-nigh to despair, though not to its limit and consequent victory, and then has fallen. And so he lacks courage to take in hand the sword of the Lord's Truth, and wage the conflict. It seems to him impossible that he can succeed.

     But there is that which can assure success, that which will make the seeming impossible possible,-namely, the affirmation of truth. In this he will find strength; in this will the Lord give him strength. Let him affirm the truth, and affirm it and affirm it. Let him say in his heart, and not cease from saying: It is true that there is a God, who is the Lord, and who loves me and seeks to save me, and who has omnipotence to save. It is true that His Providence is ever with me, in all events and circumstances of life, endeavoring in its infinite Love and Wisdom to lead me out of hell and into heaven. It is true that He, present with me in His Word, will give me strength to endure unto the end. It is true that I can bear my cross, even as my Lord bore His, that I can follow Him, and that I can become worthy of Him, and so live with Him, my Lord, God and Savior, forever. Amen.

     LESSONS: Psalm 55. Matthew 10:16-39. A. C. 81593,4
     MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 508, 521, 581.
     PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 52, 124.

135

PRAYER 1937

PRAYER Rev. PHILIP N. ODHNER 1937

     "Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask Him." (Matthew 6:8.)

     In the Sermon on the Mount the Lord instructed men as to the manner in which they should and should not pray. He warned them not to be as the hypocrites, who mouthed their pious prayers in the synagogues or on street corners, that they might be seen of men. He advised them not to use vain repetitions, according to the custom of the heathen, who thought in this way to catch the attention of their gods. In place of these abuses, the Lord gave men a new prayer, a Divine prayer, which contains within itself all the truths and goods of heaven, and is adapted to express every worthy human state and need.

     Obviously, the evils in the use of prayer which the Lord denounced are not limited to the Jews and the heathen. They lie potentially in the heart and mind of every man. Any man may be a hypocrite, and perform the external acts of worship merely for the sake of honor and reputation in his society. All men are somewhat in the ignorance of the heathen, in supposing that by repetition they can make known to God something that He should do for them.

     The abuse of prayer by a hypocrite is plainly evil. No man would defend it, even if guilty of the same thing himself. It is a matter concerning which we have no right to judge other men, but which is clearly seen by anyone who practices it, since it is consciously premeditated. All sincere men acknowledge that hypocritical prayer should be shunned as a sin. It is otherwise with the misuse of prayer through ignorance. In this there is error, but not sin. A man who prays sincerely, even though the object of his supplication be foolish, and his manner gross, is not an evil man. Yet he should be corrected. Men should always stand ready to receive new instruction. Ignorance leads to fallacies, and these are defenseless against the falsities that lead to evil.

136

An ignorant man may pray for things that are not the proper objects of prayer; and because he is not answered, he may fall into doubt, and even denial, of the mercy of God. And this falsity may lead him into open evil. This, indeed, is the interior reason for the existence of the Word of God, and of a true Church founded upon it,-that real truth may be present with men to protect them. It is one thing to say that men may be saved, no matter what faith they hold, and another thing to conclude from this that there is no real faith, or that, if there is, it is of no moment that it should be made known.

     In regard to the use of prayer, there are many current fallacies. Some believe that, if we supplicate the Lord for others, He will hearken to our prayer and help them, merely because of our action. Some think that the Lord hears every prayer, whether it is worthy or not, and will answer in course of time. Men are apt to ask the Lord for anything they happen to desire at the moment, and then feel reproach towards Him because they do not receive it. Others believe that prayer will wipe away their sins, before God. All of these ideas are fallacies arising from the idea that what is internal is affected by what is external, that God is affected by man, and indeed by the external actions of men. Men cannot change God. They cannot add to the infinity of His wisdom and mercy. They cannot by prayer move the operations of His justice. "Your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask."

     If we pray for the salvation of another, can we persuade ourselves that our act will increase the Lord's effort to save him? If we pray for good fortune or health, shall we consider that our limited reasoning will change the course of Providence,-the government of Divine Love and Wisdom? It cannot do so.

     What, then, is the use of our praying unto the Lord? Why does the Lord command us to pray, and teach us how?

     The Doctrines of the New Church tell us that the Lord wishes men to ask of Him, in order that what they receive of Him may appear to be their own, and may be appropriated by them. If we were not able to see a need, and ask for an answer, we could have no part in its fulfillment. We could experience no joy in its accomplishment, because it would be beyond our ken. This is in accord with a great new truth which is destined to reshape the civilization of the world, namely, that although all life is from God, still man lives, and should direct his life, as if of himself.

137

Man receives the Lord's life as if it were his own. The Lord gives man the blessings of His Love as if they were man's own. So, too, the Lord gives man to pray to Him, and answers his prayer with consolation, hope, and inspiration to fulfill the need as of himself.

     Man cannot in any way change the Lord's government, which is called the Divine Providence, but the Lord commands him to pray nevertheless, because, if his prayer is in accord with the stream of Providence, the Lord answers, and gives him the appearance of taking part in that government, imparting to him the blessing of self-government in that appearance.

     This is the inmost use of prayer. And from this we may see why some prayers are not heard. They are not in accord with the stream of the Divine Providence, If man asks something for himself which would be to the detriment of all other men, his petition cannot be heard, for it would close heaven to him, and not open it. Only a prayer for what is good, for what is of order, ascends through heaven to the ear of God.

     When we say that man is in the appearance of entering into the government of the Lord, we do not mean a false appearance. A man thereby becomes an instrument in the hands of the Lord to carry out His will. If a man sees a genuine need, and prays to the Lord for its fulfillment, he thereby becomes an instrument of the Lord in meeting the need. While it cannot be said that he affects the Divine wisdom and power, he does permit the Lord to affect him, and to dispose him for service.

     If we pray for the salvation of men, we do not arouse the Lord to further effort, but we open our minds to His Spirit, and aid His cause, apparently by our own efforts; and in this is our happiness. If we supplicate the Lord for the sake of one whom we love, we become servants of the Lord in aiding that person. In this is the use of prayer. It does not extend beyond ourselves, or beyond that which we can effect as if of ourselves. Its benefits lie totally within the range of the appearance that we live and act as if of ourselves. A prayer for rain, for example, does not produce rain. We have not even the appearance of being able to control the elements of nature. The only thing we can control in that regard is our own attitude concerning the outcome; and we can prepare ourselves to make the best of what comes.

138

For these reasons our prayers must needs be limited to those things in regard to which the Lord grants us the appearance of extending our efforts.

     This view is brought to us by what the Writings teach concerning the relation of external piety to actual piety. External piety consists of all the acts of worship. Actual piety is the shunning of evils as sins, and the doing of good in every work and office. External piety, without actual piety, is of no avail whatsoever, but together they are of avail in all things. So with prayers. If they do not arise within us from actual faith and charity, from the needs of our functions and offices, they are of no use; but if their origin is from faith and charity, they are capable of use. By functions and offices we mean all our duties of life, both to our own spirit, and to those with whom we may come in contact.

     Some believe that if we are in actual piety there is no need for prayer or any other acts of worship. But external things strengthen and contain internals. The body is the external of the soul; yet who in this world could do anything without a body? A seed would perish, if its form were not both contained and strengthened by its shell. So also man's love and faith would weaken and die, if they were not strengthened by the externals of worship.

     The prayer of a man who is in actual piety is said to be his "speech with his God, together with some internal view of the matters of the prayer." To this there is an actual answer in the form of an influx into the perception of his thought. We read in the Arcana: "If the man prays from love and faith, and for only celestial and spiritual things, there then comes forth in the prayer something like a revelation (which is manifested in the affection of him that prays) as to hope, consolation, or a certain inward joy." (A. C. 2535.)

     It is to be noted that the answer is given into the man's affections. That is, the Lord does not speak in so many words, and tell a man what he must do, but inspires him with the affection to do. If the Lord were to tell the man openly, it would take away from him the appearance that he acts from himself, and would destroy the essential use of the prayer. Acting into man's affections does not remove the appearance, but leaves the man free to meet the need as of himself. The disposition of the man to be the servant of the Lord is perceived by him as new hope and inspiration.

139

It is the common experience of mankind, also, that we find relief from worry, consolation, and new life by recourse to prayer.

     The proper objects of our supplications are said to be celestial and spiritual things. These are goods and truths; not goods and truths considered as abstract things, for they are never abstract, but goods and truths as they exist in life,-the affections and thoughts which lead to regeneration, together with the speech and actions which ultimate them. This definition includes everything we can think of, in so far as it is connected in any way with what is good and true. It includes our spiritual welfare, the welfare of the church and the nation, our occupation and family; in fact, any form of the neighbor in a lesser or greater degree. All forms of use, both spiritual and those which are natural from the spiritual, are involved in the celestial and spiritual things for which a man may pray.

     The Lord promises in the Scriptures that every good prayer will be answered. "What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them." (Mark 11:24.) To man this may seldom appear to be fulfilled. The things for which he prays may perish before his eyes. Forces over which he has no control may wipe away every earthly vestige of the object of his supplication. Yet, if that man has acted upon the hope and inspiration given to him in prayer, if he has allowed the inflowing affection to form new thoughts within him, and has directed his life accordingly, then the Lord has kept His promise with him. The thing for which he prayed has been done in him. The Lord has given him the blessing to do, to the best of his ability, that for which he has prayed to the Lord. Other factors, whether they are of Providence or of the perversity of other men, may carry the matter beyond his control. But he may rest assured that God has directed his efforts to the best possible end.

     In the Gospel the Lord warns us not to make a public show of our prayers. For whether they be sincere or not, they will be judged as insincere by those who know not our inner states. Repetition should also be avoided, since it implies a doubt of the Divine omniscience. Prudence should be employed as to the objects of our prayer, to the end that they may be things which the Lord may in some measure bring to pass through our instrumentality.

140

Care should be taken lest we pray for something which we know to be against the Lord's purpose with us. In the combats of temptation, we should not plead to be delivered prematurely, for the anxieties of temptation are for our better lot, and the Lord cannot hearken to our complaints, since it would be to our spiritual detriment.

     In a word, all our prayer should be filled with the acknowledgment of our own nothingness, and of the Lord's almighty power. They should be premised with the confession of our own limitations, and inspired with the humble desire that our wishes may in some measure coincide with His will. Our every supplication should be filled with the affection expressed in the words of the Lord in Gesthemane, "Nevertheless, not my will, but thine, be done." For the Lord, our Father in heaven, "knoweth what things we have need of, before we ask." Amen.

     LESSONS: Psalm 102. Luke 11: 1-13. A. R. 376.
     MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 561, 678, 529.
     PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 158, 160.
DWINDLING CHURCH MEMBERSHIP AND ITS CURE 1937

DWINDLING CHURCH MEMBERSHIP AND ITS CURE ELDRED E. IUNGERICH 1937

The MESSAGER DE LA NOUVELLE EGLISE, official organ of La Federation des Societe's de langue francaise de la. Nouvelle Eglise, in its November-December issue of 1936, publishes copious extracts from an open letter by Mr. O. E. Prince, Secretary of the Board of Foreign Missions of the General Conference of the New Church in England.

"Once more," he writes, "we have to deplore from the statistical side a diminution in our membership and a decrease of interest in the Church." As to its cause, he rejects the idea that this is part of a general decrease of interest in religious matters in the world, on the ground that there is no lack of influx from God into the souls of men; and that never before have there been such instances of an avid desire for a practical Christianity, devoid of a formal and academic nature. He inclines rather to the notion that the religion offered to New Churchmen does not satisfy the needs of most of them, nor appeal to outsiders and make one with them. He feels that no real progress will be made within and without so long as the theological-philosophical basis on which the New Church operates continues, with an appeal solely to the intellectually qualified, and it is not changed to suit those whose needs are primarily religious.

141

"True Christianity," he says, "is not the acceptance of a creed, but the practice of living. . . . It is evil, and not error, which is our greatest enemy."

     As to the cure for the sad conditions noted, he is willing, first of all, to have the Writings remain "as the basis for all our work and teachings. They are to be for our educators and workers what they have always been,-their textbooks,-just as the lawyer has his, and the doctor has his. Let us note, moreover, that when we consult a doctor he does not give us his voluminous works to study, but endeavors from their contents and his experiences to fulfill his mission and make the cure."

     Making it thus clear that he still believes that the Writings can be useful to the Church, he calls attention to contemporary religious movements in which personal testimonies by individuals are coming to the fore, and advocates the formation, in the bosom of the New Church societies, of groups like those in the Oxford Movement in the aim to develop religious character; in which stress is placed on prayer, surrender to God's will, acknowledgment of His power to save, trust in the power of the Word, recognition of a previous leading by Providence, implicit obedience to Divine law, and the will to prove that the example of the Lord can be followed practically. "Be it well understood," he adds modestly, "that I do not consider the propositions I have made as the only possible ones."

     It would appear from this letter that the writer is mainly concerned about the loss of members in Conference, and the fact that in going elsewhere some of the lost members are dissatisfied with the religious attitude maintained in Conference, and prefer what they get in various sections of the Old Church.

     Now, in view of his advocacy of trust in the power of the Word, and of the will to prove that the example of the Lord can be followed practically, his attention should be called to the teaching that the Lord, as his Exemplar, fulfilled all things of the Word, that is, made Himself the practical and living embodiment of everything in the Word. He may not appreciate the fact that the Writings are a Revelation of the Lord in His Glorified Humanity,-the Word of His Second and Final Coming to mankind in this and in all ages to come,-for inrooted prejudices are not easily removed, and the obstinate notion that the Writings are inferior to former great dispensational Revelations persists dourly among many so-called New Churchmen.

142

Yet the fact remains that no angel or spirit interfered with their coming from the mouth of the Lord (D. P. 134; De Verbo 13 at end), that they are the fulfillment of all Scriptural prophecies, and that on them as authority and monitor is to be founded the Crown of all Churches, which will never undergo consummation as previous ones have, and that, according to A. E. 963, "all religion is from revelation, and revelation is with us the Word." The Writings, in these respects, are in no way inferior to the other dispensational revelations that were given by specially prepared seers or prophets; for they were heralded in advance, and were basic to the foundation of a New Dispensational Church. They certainly are not to be denied their proper title as the living Word of the Glorified Savior, just to please a coterie of men and their in observant followers.

Instead of looking outwards to religious movements in the world, which are untouched by the fiery torch of the Lord in His Second Coming. Mr. Prince would do well to look to another branch of the Church to which he belongs, which, in the course of sixty years, has sextupled its membership, overcome obstinate prejudices more difficult than the one to which his group are in bondage, and succeeded in large measure in making its members realize that to read the Writings earnestly and to apply them to life is a duty, and will in time become a pleasure. Success in the increase of members, and in a growing zeal, is possibly explicable by the words of Apocalypse: "Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things that are written therein; for the time is at hand." (Rev. 1:3.)

As to his theory that evil, and not error or falsity, is the opponent, it is an elementary principle in the New Church, set forth early in the work on the Divine Providence, that evil is conjoined to falsity, just as good is inseparable from truth. As a man cannot have any genuine good unless in association with truth, so no evil can be resisted, attacked and removed, unless the falsities in which it entrenches itself are at the same time opposed.

143

The Oxford Group and similar movements, which an emotional lack of discrimination may cause some New Churchmen to applaud, are nothing but Protean forms of the Protestant Prayer Meetings and the Methodist Revivals. Providence may use them, as it does the Catholic confessional, to restrain a world that has been plunging towards anarchy and atheism with alarming strides during the past century, as the average unemotional observer cannot fail to note. But in themselves they are not the standards for those who have the Light to follow. In such efforts to own up to sins that are being combated, and to comment on the observed progress made, there is little if any headway made in shunning those deeper intentions of the internal man which are the real roots of evils, and there is much that savors of the practice of the Pharisee in making long prayers in public places so as to be observed of men. A commendable delicacy also prompts persons of a sensitive refinement not to wash soiled linen in public, and to remember the Lord's injunction to enter into one's closet and to pray to Him in secret.

     That reading the Writings is not the property merely of a small group intellectually qualified, but the means by which all men, equally entitled to be saved, are to come to the goods advocated in them, is clearly intimated in the following passage:

     "The Word is like a garden, which is to be called the heavenly paradise, in which are dainties and deliciousnesses of every kind,-dainties from the fruits, and deliciousnesses from the flowers; in whose middle are trees of life, beside which are springs of living water; but roundabout are forest trees, beside which are rivers. The man who leads himself judges of that paradise which is the Word from its circuit, where are the forest trees; but the man whom the Lord leads judges from its middle, where are trees of life. The man whom the Lord leads is actually in the middle, and looking to the Lord; but the man who leads himself is actually sitting in its circumference, and looking hither to the world." (A. E. 1072.)

     Those who look outwards to the world are under the stricture of "wanting to be led by themselves, and not by the Lord." Movements outwards are also in danger of becoming externalizations like those into which all former Churches have fallen, with a secret worship of the loves of self and the world. It is only by means of the Word-and this, to a genuine New Churchman, includes the Writings-that a resolute advance to the goods of the loves of the Lord and the neighbor can be made.
     ELDRED E. IUNGERICH.

144

REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF THE GENERAL CHURCH. 1937

REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF THE GENERAL CHURCH. HUGO LJ. ODHNER 1937

     ANNUAL REPORTS JANUARY TO DECEMBER, 1936.

     REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF THE GENERAL CHURCH.

     On December 31, 1935, the membership of the General Church of the New Jerusalem comprised 2237 names. The new members who joined during the calendar year of 1936 numbered seventy-one. After deducting the thirty-one deaths and six resignations, there was a net gain of 34, and a total membership of 2271 on December 31, 1936.

     In addition to the above, the South African Native Mission reported an adult membership of 1005 for the year 1936. Fifty-three adults were baptized during the year, and four adults died. Infant baptisms numbered 58, infant deaths 4.

     NEW MEMBERS.

     January 1 to December 31, 1936.

     A. THE UNITED STATES.

     Palo Alto, California.
Mr. Jerome Jack Bundsen

     Corte Madera, California.
Mrs. Marion A. Platt

     Oak Hill, Florida.
Mrs. J. Harry Hilldale (Mollie Elizabeth Deloach)

     Chicago, Illinois.
Mr. John Poland Anderson
Mr. Harold Pearson Anderson
Miss Helen Louise Pollock

     Glenview, Illinois.
Mr. Alan Bradfield Fuller
Mr. Cedric Surbridge King
Miss Priscilla Jane Scalbom

     Ithaca, New York.
Mr. Ernest Alden Cranch

     St. Louis, Missouri.
Mr. Joaquin Chandos Wilson, Jr.

     Brackenridge, Pennsylvania.
Mrs. Thomas Lee Aye (Genevieve Tassey)
Mr. Thomas Lee Aye

     Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania.
Miss Audrey Alden
Mr. Bruce Somerville Cronlund
Mr. Rudolph Andrew Damm
Mrs. Rudolph A. Damm (Claire Bertha Martin)
Miss Aurelle de Charms
Mr. Henry Marvin DeMaine, Jr.
Miss Gretchen Odhner Heilman
Miss Janet Virginia Heilman
Mr. John Hess
Mrs. John Hess (Nellie Beatrice Highfield)
Miss Mary Howard
Miss Lyris Hyatt
Miss Morna Hyatt
Miss Xandree Marie Hyatt
Miss Florence Valerie Potts
Mr. Benjamin Lawrence Powell
Miss Jane Synnestvedt, now Mrs. Bruce S. Cronlund
Mr. Charles van Zyverden

145

Mrs. Charles van Zyverden (Mary Alettha Robinson)

     Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
Miss Elizabeth Brown
Mr. Charles Henry Ebert, Jr.
Mr. Milton Emerson Good
Mrs. M. E. Good (Anna Belies)
Miss Nancy Corinne Horigan
Mr. Frank Adams Stein
Mrs. F. A. Stein (Helen Emelia Vierling)

     B. CANADA.

     Toronto, Ontario.
Miss Helen Virginia Anderson
Miss Margaret Envoil John
Mrs. Robert Lade Raymond (Ethel Victoria Howland)
Mr. Charles Bowman White
Mrs. C. B. White (Grace Mary Barrett)

     C. FRANCE.

     Compiegne.
Capitaine Eugene-Louis Jeunechamp.

     D. GREAT BRITAIN.

     Chelmsford, Essex.
Miss Ruth Pryke

     Brighten, Sussex.
Miss Gwendolen Maud Benwell

     E. HOLLAND.

     The Hague.
Mrs. Johanna de Visser-Semler

     Rijswijk.
Miss Lambertine Pauline Francis Scheveningen.
Mr. Antonius Johannes van der Loos

     F. NORWAY

     Oslo.
Mrs. Hj. G. Backe-Hansen (Bernhardine Maria Horneman)
Miss Anna Boyesen
Mr. Eyvind Andreas Boyesen
Mr. Ragnar Boyesen

     G. SWEDEN.

     Jonkoping.
Mr. Sidney George Louis Dahl
Mrs. Lennart T. Fornander (Waijny Margareta Carlsson)

     Stockholm.
Mr. Harry Baeckstrom
Miss Ane Margrethe Johanne Jakobine Christensen

     H. SOUTH AFRICA.

     Durban, Natal.
Mr. Neville Gane Edley
Mrs. Neville G. Edley (Vivien Douglas Ridgway)
Mr. Edward Ernest Lavarack
Miss Moira Douglas Ridgway
Mr. Rex Douglas Ridgway

     Johannesburg, Transvaal.
Miss Beatrice Bell Taylor

     I. AUSTRALIA.

     Hurstville, N. S. W.
Mr. Sidney Heldon
Miss Nellie Clara Taylor

     J. SOUTH AMERICA.

     Georgetown, British Guiana
Mr. Stephen Augustus Alexander
Mr. Arthur Oliver Swedberg Algernon
Mr. Henry Algernon
Mr. James Patrick Gray
Mr. Edmund Adolphus Ross

     DEATHS.

     Reported in 1936.

Ahrens, Mr. Carl, Toronto, Ont., Febr. 27, 1936.
Allen, Mrs. Percy Bertram (Caroline Kathrine Stoesser), Denver, Colo., Nov. 9, 1936.

146

Appleton, Mr. Arthur Henry, Colchester, England, March 5, 1936.
Appleton, Mrs. A. H. (Maria), Colchester, England, Oct. 8, 1936.
Bancroft, Mrs. Walter Hoyt (Almira Lottie Beach), Bryn Athyn, Pa., Apr. 18, 1936.
Bauman, Mrs. Solomon (Jemima Burton), Milverton, Ont., Sept. 8, 1936.
Boggess, Mrs. J. S. (Lucy Grant), Kansas City, Mo., March 11, 1936.
Borf, Anna Adelaida Sofia, The Hague, Holland, Dec. 22, 1935.
Campbell, Mr. Andrew Graham, St. Petersburg, Fla., May 15, 1936.
Campbell, Mrs. A. G. (Ida Alice), St. Petersburg, Fla., May 21, 1936.
Carswell, Mrs. Robert (Mary Sophie rankish), Toronto, Ont., March 10, 1936.
Carter, Mr. Earl Wilmot, Parry Sound, Ont., July 13, 1936.
Cockerell, John D'Arcy, Durban, Natal, Jan. 14, 1936.
Cranch, Mrs. Edward (Rouette Frances), Cleveland, O., Aug. 21, 1936.
Douglas, Mrs. Mabel Keith, Los Angeles, Cal., Dec. 28, 1935.
Ebert, Mrs. Jacob (Sarah Louise), Huntingdon Valley, Pa., Jan. 18, 1936.
Field, Mrs. Henry George (Mary Wayne Isbell), Southampton, Pa., Sept. 16, 1936.
Fuller, Mr. Edmund Hamilton Sears, Glenview, Ill., July 21, 1936.
Goerwitz, Mr. Alfred L., Glenview, Ill., July 9, 1936.
Gunther, Mrs. Pauline, Arbutus, Maryland, Apr. 17, 1936.
Hart, Mr. Clarence Elmer, Parkersburg, W. Va., Nov. 30, 1935.
Iungerich, Mrs. Edw. C. (Regina Hanan), Bryn Athyn, Pa., July 19, 1936.
Jeanmonod, Miss Madeleine, Geneva, Switzerland, March 26, 1936.
Kintner, Mrs. Joseph Jennings (Florence Kendig), Bryn Athyn, Pa., Nov. 13, 1936.
Larsson, Mr. Gustav Mauritz, Newark, N. J., Oct. 6, 1936.
Larsson, Mrs. Gustav M. (Ingrid Sundberg), Arlington, N. J., May 9, 1936.
Lord, Mrs. Franc Webber, Chicago, Ill., April 9, 1936.
Lyman, Mrs. Addison Franklin (Anna Atherton Foster), Wadesboro, N. C., June 6, 1936.
Raguenet, Mr. Victor, Lille, France, June 29, 1936.
Roy, Mrs. Alexander K. (Annie Emily Russell), Abington, Pa., March 10, 1936.
Sherman, Mrs. Alvin Hobart, Sandoval, Ill., Sept. 4, 1935.

     RESIGNATIONS.

Lewin, Mr. Rupert S., Bath, England, Nov. 29, 1936.
Petersen, Rev. Adolph Christian, Paris, Mo., Jan. 4, 1936.
Roberts, Miss Florence May, London, England, Sept. 30, 1936.
Smart, Mr. Berthold, Stockholm, Sweden.
Smart, Mrs. Berthold, Stockholm, Sweden.
Sunny, Mrs. A. E., New York, N. Y.

     Respectfully submitted,
          HUGO LJ. ODHNER,
               Secretary.

147

REPORT OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CLERGY. 1937

REPORT OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CLERGY. WILLIAM WHITEHEAD 1937

     January 1, 1936, to January 1, 1937.

     The present membership of the Clergy includes four members of the episcopal degree; 36 members in the pastoral degree; 2 members in the first degree; and 1 authorized leader; making a total of 43 members. (See latest Directory, published in New Church Life, January, 1937, pp. 20-24.)

     Changes during the year of 1936 included: (1) the announcement on June 21, 1936, of the retirement of the Rt. Rev. Nathaniel D. Pendleton, as Bishop of the General Church (see Ibid, July, 1936, p. 224); (2) the taking over of the responsibilities of the Episcopal Office by the Assistant Bishop, the Rt. Rev. George de Charms, until the General Assembly shall select and confirm a new Bishop of the General Church; (3) the ordination of the Rev. Dr. Alfred Acton into the third degree of the priesthood of the New Church, on April 5, 1936, at Bryn Athyn, Pa.; (4) the calling of the Rev. W. Cairns Henderson as pastor of the Society at Hurstville, Sydney, Australia, succeeding the Rev. Richard Morse, who has retired from the pastorate of that Society; (5) the calling of the Rev. Elmo C. Acton, former pastor of the Durban Society in South Africa, to teach in the Schools of the Academy of the New Church, and to perform certain ministerial duties in the General Church; (6) the calling of the Rev. Philip N. Odhner, of Bryn Athyn, to the pastorate of the Durban Society.

     Up to March 31, 1937, the Acting Bishop of the General Church has received reports for the year 1936 from all members of the Clergy, except Pastors Albert Bjorck (Woodgreen, Hants., England), T. S. Harris (Westfield, N. J.), Henry Heinrichs (Kitchener, Ont., Can.), Henry Leonardos and J. de M. Lima (South America), and Richard Morse (Australia).

     The RITES AND SACRAMENTS Of the Church have been administered as follows (the figures in parentheses indicating a comparison with the year 1935):

     Baptisms                               114 (+ 10)
Confessions of Faith                          32 (- 4)
Betrothals                               18 (+ 8)
Marriages                                   30 (+ 6)
Funeral services                          33 (-)
Holy Supper:
Quarterly: as Celebrant 81; as Assistant 19           96 (+ 3)
Monthly: as Celebrant 42; as Assistant 15           57 (+11)
Private                               30 (+ 10)
Ordinations                               1(- 1)
Dedications:
Private homes                          2 (- 1)
Ecclesiastical buildings                     1 (- 1)

     Note: The above figures do not include returns from the Pastors in Brazil, nor from the South African Mission (save as to the dedication of an ecclesiastical building).

148

     For the South African Mission, Superintendent F. W. Elphick reports 3 native pastors, 6 ministers, 8 authorized leaders, and 3 Zulu theological students. He also reports some 53 baptisms; and 4 adult deaths.

     From the reports received, the following facts and comments have been selected as of general interest, or for the sake of record:

     The Rt. Rev. Nathaniel Dandridge Pendleton reports that, on June 21, 1936, he retired as Bishop of the General Church. From January to June he presided over the weekly meetings of the Consistory; the regular meetings of the Executive Committee; the Joint Meetings; and the Annual Meetings of the Council of the Clergy, March 30 to April 5.

     During the first half of 1936, he presided over the meetings of the Board of Directors and the Corporation of the Academy. He lectured twice a week from January 7 to May 28 to the first and second year College Women; and twice a week from January 6 to May 27, and from October 5 to December 18, to the Theological Students.

     From January to June, he presided over the regular meetings of the Pastor's Council and the Board of Trustees of the Bryn Athyn Church; and the Spring meeting of the Bryn Athyn Society. He preached in Bryn Athyn ten times, and conducted services up to June 21.

     The Rt. Rev. George de Charms reports that, when the resignation of Bishop N. D. Pendleton took effect on June 21, he became Acting Bishop of the General Church, pending the selection of an executive Bishop at the next General Assembly. In this capacity, he presided at District Assemblies in Kitchener (Canada), and in Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania), preaching and administering the Sacrament at both places. He made episcopal visits to Toronto (Canada), Detroit (Michigan), and Akron (Ohio). In addition to regular duties, he pressed forward the work of revising the Liturgy in preparation for a new edition.

     At a meeting of the Board of Directors, held on October 5, he was elected President of the Academy, since which time he has performed all the duties pertaining to that office. He taught an educational course to the Senior College.

     On becoming Acting Bishop he became also, ex-officio, the Acting Pastor of the Bryn Athyn Church. This was formally recognized by the Society at its Annual Meeting on October 2. During the year he preached nine times, conducted seven Doctrinal Classes, administered the Sacrament eight times, and continued in charge of Children's Services, receiving assistance in this work from other ministers. He also continued to teach Religion to the seventh and eighth grades of the Elementary School.

     The Rt. Rev. Robert James Tilson reports that he presided at the 29th British Assembly, held in London, England, last August; and acted as celebrant at the Holy Supper, 88 persons taking the Sacrament. In addition to duties as Pastor of the Michael Church, Burton Road, Brixton, London, England, he also continued to act as pastor of the little group at Kilburn, Yorkshire.

149

He is acting as a member of the Council of the Swedenborg Society; and as a member of the Advisory and Revision Board of that institution. He is also acting as Chairman of the newly formed British Finance Committee. Owing to increasing age (79 years), he has resigned from being President of the New Church Club, after 16 years in that office.

     The Rt. Rev. Alfred Acton reports that, in April, he was introduced into the third degree of the priesthood by Bishop N. D. Pendleton; and was subsequently asked by Bishop de Charms to take his place in presiding over the District Assembly in Glenview (Illinois), and a Local Assembly in Cincinnati (Ohio).

     As Visiting Pastor of the Washington (D. C.) Society, he reports that, in the fall of 1936, the Society decided to have services only once a month.

     In Bryn Athyn he preached once, and administered the Holy Supper once.

     Rev. Elmo Carman Acton, former Pastor of the Durban (South Africa) Society, and Assistant Superintendent of the South African Native Mission, reports that in December, 1935, he received an invitation from the Bishop to accept a call to Bryn Athyn to take up teaching and pastoral work. He accordingly resigned from the pastorate of the Durban Society on June 30, 1936. Arriving in Bryn Athyn in September, he took up the duties of teacher of Religion in the Academy Schools, and of Pastor to groups in Camden, Philadelphia and Newark. From October to December, he also, at the request of the Bishop, gave a young people's class in Bryn Athyn, which was held every Tuesday evening at different homes.

     Rev. A. Wynne Acton, Assistant Pastor of the Michael Church, London, Eng., reports that he has made visits to many isolated members. He has also been in charge of a small leaflet, "A Monthly News Letter," for the benefit of the isolated; He has been concerned in the formation of the British-Finance Committee; has acted as Secretary of the Advisory and Revision Board of the Swedenborg Society; and, since April, has been the Chairman of the New Church Club.

     Rev. Karl Richardson Alden reports that, in addition to his duties in the Academy, he preached twice in Bryn Athyn, and conducted three Children's Services. He conducted the Whittington Chorus until June, when he resigned. He also preached sixteen times at Lake Wallenpaupack (Penna.).

     Rev. Gustaf Baeckstrom, Pastor of the Stockholm (Sweden) Society (Nya Kyrkans Forsalnling), reports that, in addition to his regular duties, he gave fifteen public lectures in Stockholm and Oslo, attended by an average of 79 persons. He held two public services in Oslo, attended by about 50 persons each. He also conducted two private services and two doctrinal classes in the
Circle at Oslo.

     Rev. William B. Caldwell reports that, in addition to his duties as Editor of New Church Life, and as Professor of Theology in the Academy, he preached twice in the Bryn Athyn Church.

     Rev. L. W. T. David reports that he has preached six times at Bryn Athyn, conducted service once, assisted in services ten times and twice gave the Children's service address.

150

     Rev. Charles E. Doering reports that, in addition to his duties as Dean of Faculties, and as Professor of Mathematics in the Academy, he assisted four times in the administration of the Holy Supper at Bryn Athyn.

     Rev. Frederick W. Elphick, as Superintendent of the General Church Mission in South Africa, reports that, in addition to sustaining, as far as possible, consecutive teaching for the theological students at Alpha, he has visited the following places where we have native societies and day schools: Luka, Basutoland (2), Esididini, Natal (1), Rent Manor, Zululand (1), Mayville, Durban (1), Turner's Avenue, Durban (1), Greylingstad, Transvaal (1), Alexandra Township, Johannesburg (1), Lusitania, N. Natal (1), Mafika, Basutoland (1), Sterkstroom, C. P. (1), Alpha, Ladybrand (2). At these places he conducted Sunday services; and at eight of them he inspected the Day Schools.

     He also visited isolated European receivers at: "Ealing," Nevada Walt, O. F. S.; Thaba Nchu, O. F. S.; Elandslaagte, N. Natal.

     He preached twice in the Durban Society; conducted fortnightly services in the Alpha Circle; and supervised the European School at Alpha, opening the school each morning, and teaching Religion four times a week.

     Rev. Frederick E. Gyllenhaal, Pastor of the Olivet Church, Toronto, Canada, reports that during the year he preached 57 times (Toronto 48, Montreal 5, Glenview 2, Bryn Athyn 1, Pittsburgh 1); continuing teaching in the School all the Religion and Hebrew, also two grades in History, Arithmetic, and Spelling. The envelope system for offerings has proved satisfactory, and the financial position is slowly improving.

     He visited the Circle at Montreal (13 adults and 8 children) five times. On each visit a service, a doctrinal class, and two children's classes are held. The meetings continue in the homes of the members.

     Rev. Willis L. Gladish, Pastor of Sharon Church, Chicago, Ill., reports that, during the summer and fall, the rooms of the church have been decorated. The members have presented a beautiful lectern and altar rail; and the Ladies Aid has given various appointments for the altar and lectern. The church has also installed a coal stoker. Four members have been gained by confirmation of our own children.

     Rev. W. Cairns Henderson, formerly Assistant to the Pastor of the Hurstville (Australia) Society, reports that, at the request of the Rev. Richard Morse, he became Acting Pastor of the Hurstville Society on January 1st, 1936. On January 12th he was chosen Pastor by a meeting of the Society.

     Rev. Eldred E. Iungerich, Pastor of the "Societe Francaise de 1'Eglise Generale de la Nouvelle Jerusalem," Paris (France), reports numerous pastoral activities within the society in Paris, and in Montreuil, St. Cloud, Lille, Brussels, and at the British Assembly in London. He notes that "the translation of Dr. Lamm's book into French, with an introduction by Paul Valery, has led to the thought that Swedenborg's spiritual experiences, as directly recorded by himself, should be translated into French.

151

Messrs. Gailliard and de Mirmandre of Brussels have warmly encouraged me in this; and as a result I am to start translating and Mr. Gailliard is to revise the French. My plan is to begin with the Journal of Dreams, and the indented passages in the Adversaria, accompanied by the references in S. D. Index to them. This will then be followed by the S. D. and its Index."

     Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner, Assistant Pastor of the Bryn Athyn Society, Professor of Theology in the Academy, and Secretary of the General Church, reports that during the year he assisted at or conducted 40 services, preached 13 times, and gave 4 children's addresses, 12 general doctrinal classes, and 3 public addresses (one of these in Pittsburgh). As formerly, the work of the Chancel Guild and the ushers' organization is under his supervision.

     At present, he teaches five courses in Theology, Philosophy and Religion in the Theological School, the College and the secondary schools of the Academy.

     Rev. Philip N. Odhner reports that, since June last, he has been engaged as Pastor of the Durban (Natal, South Africa) Society.

     Rev. Willard D. Pendleton, as Pastor of the Pittsburgh Society, reports that, beside his regular work, he has preached several times in other societies, continued his missionary classes at Tarentum, Pa., and has been actively engaged as Chairman of the committee in charge of the Sixteenth General Assembly.

     Rev. Theodore Pitcairn, in reporting as an Assistant Pastor of the Bryn Athyn Church, notes that previous to September he was on leave of absence, acting as Pastor to the Circle in Seine et Marne, France.

     Rev. Norman H. Reuter reports that, besides his regular duties as Pastor of the Wyoming (Ohio) Circle, he was asked, upon the resignation of the Rev. F. E. Waelchli, to become the Visiting Pastor of the Detroit group and the Middleport Society. Seven visits were made to Detroit and vicinity, and four to Middleport. He also preached twice in Glenview during August; and delivered the Palm Sunday children's address in Bryn Athyn.

     Rev. Erik Sandstrom, in addition to his duties as Pastor of the Jonkoping Circle (Sweden), gave three public missionary lectures, attended by an average of 35 persons. He preached once in the Stockholm Society; and reports an interesting literary contest on doctrinal subjects, arranged for the young people of the Stockholm and Jonkoping groups.

     Rev. Homer Synnestvedt reports that he has carried on the weekly Wednesday classes of the North Side group in connection with the Advent Society in Philadelphia. He also reports pastoral activities in Pittsburgh, Middleport, Detroit, Youngstown, New York, Newark, Yeagertown, Lake Wallenpaupak, and Bryn Athyn.

     Rev. Fred E. Waelcltli, as Visiting Pastor for the Arbutus (Md.) Circle, reports four services, with an average attendance of ten; with seven at the Holy Supper, and five at doctrinal classes.

     He notes: "Although I retired as Visiting Pastor of the General Church at the close of 1935, it was necessary, because of the lack of available ministers, to take over all of my near Middle West work." Thus he continued to visit Renovo, Erie, Cleveland, Akron, Niles, and Youngstown, each twice.

152

More work, he notes, should be done at some of these places, especially at Akron. Also, at Wyoming (Ohio), North Jersey, Allentown, and Saginaw (Mich.), he preached or conducted a class once. At Saginaw, during a four weeks' stay, he also conducted doctrinal class six times, and children's class fifteen times. At Bryn Athyn he preached twice, and once gave the children's address.

     Rev. William Whitehead reports that he conducted services and Holy Communion in the New York Society three times, holding a doctrinal class twice. There are at present 22 members of this society with an average attendance of 21. Owing to adverse temporal circumstances, the society is at present unable to sustain more than a quarterly service, in the rented studio at 149 E. 61st St.

     He preached twice in Bryn Athyn, and once in Pittsburgh, giving also the Swedenborg birthday celebration address in the Pittsburgh Society; and performed the duties of Secretary of the Council of the Clergy.

     In addition to the above, statistical reports without special comment were received from the Revs. Hendrik W. Boef (Los Angeles, Cal.), Reginald W. Brown, Emil R. Cronlund, Alan Gill (Kitchener, Ont., Can.), Victor J. Gladish (Colchester, Eng.), Ernst Pfeiffer (The Hague, Holland), Joseph E. Rosenqvist (Gothenburg, Sweden), Gilbert H. Smith (Glenview, Ill.), George G. Starkey (Glenview, Ill.), Raymond G. Cranch, and Vincent C. Odhner.

     MINISTERS IN THE SOUTH AFRICAN MISSION.

     Reports were received from all of the five Basuto ministers; and from all five of the Zulu ministers, as follows:

     Basuto.

     Rev. Twentyntan Mofokeng reports that he acted as Pastor of Luka's Society to February; and of the Alpha Society from February to December. Rev. Jonas Motsi, as Pastor of the Greylingstad Society, reports, amongst a number of interesting items, that "On the 19th of June, 1936, we had a great celebration at Heidelburg, and the people were many; and it was the first time to have a celebration in that town; and many visitors were very interested to hear about the Four Churches. . . .On the 20th of November we had a terrible storm which destroyed the whole roof of the church; and that accident upset the minds of children as well as parents. . . ."

     Rev. Jonas Mphatse, Minister to the Qopo Society, Rev. Nathaniel Mphatse, Minister at Mafika-Lisiu, and Rev. Sofonia Mosoang, Minister at Khopane, also sent encouraging reports.

     Zulu.

     Rev. John Moses Jiyana, Pastor at Lusitania, forwards statistical reports; and Rev. Julius S. M. Jiyalra, Minister to the Tongaat Society, includes in his report the statement that he visited Mahlabatim, near the Zulu's Royal kraal, in Zululand, where he told the people about the New Church.

153

He says, "They were very interested, although at first they understood me not. I hope the New Church will get a place to them."

     Rev. Moffat Mcanyana reports that for the past four years he has been engaged as a traveling minister, and has not presided over any society. During the year he made nine travels out in the country; of which five were short, while four were about one month's duration each time.

     Rev. Benjamin Thomas Ngiba, Minister to the Mayville Society, reports that he revised two Zulu services, and added chants and antiphons, based on General Church offices. He teaches Religion and Music in the Day School. He made several visits to different societies with the Rev. Elmo C. Acton; and later with the Rev. P. N. Odhner.

     Rev. Philip Johannes Stole, Minister to the Turner's Avenue Society, Durban (and the Spring Field group), reports that, besides his regular duties, he has done visiting work for evangelization in the town and suburbs. He also visited Hilton Road, near Pietermaritzburg, and spent two days "discussing about the Second Coming of the Lord. . . . They listened attentively, wondering that the Lord has made His Second Coming, and promising to come and see me." Visited Verulam twice, "as there is a growing and promising group of New Church members."
     Respectfully submitted,
          WILLIAM WHITEHEAD,
               Secretary, Council of the Clergy.
REPORT OF THE ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS. 1937

REPORT OF THE ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS. EDITOR 1937

     The June issue of NEW CHURCH LIFE Will contain the Report of the proceedings of the Council of the Clergy and the Joint Council, held at Bryn Athyn, Pa., April 1-3, 1937.

     It will include the text of an Address delivered to the Joint Council by the Rev. Dr. Charles E. Doering, setting forth the history of the mode of appointing a Bishop of the General Church of the New Jerusalem, which mode has been followed this year in the selection of the Right Rev. George de Charms for nomination to the Sixteenth General Assembly, to be held at Pittsburgh, Pa., June 30-July 4, 1937.
     EDITOR.

154

Church News 1937

Church News Various 1937

     DURBAN, NATAL.

     The bazaar, held in November, was satisfactory in more ways than one: it made the pleasing sum of ?75, thus enabling the Society to repay a debt of L50, and it brought out a spirit of co-operation, earnest hard work, and enthusiasm for the good of the church. The feeling of happiness and generosity displayed by everyone on the evening of the event proved that bazaars are good things to have.

     We regret to have to say that our Secretary, Mr. R. Melville Ridgway, had another serious heart attack in November, and has been very ill ever since. We sincerely hope to have better news soon. The sympathy of the Society goes out to his family during this time of distress.

     The Society lost a wonderful worker, a much beloved friend, and a very brave woman, when Mrs. Kenneth H. Ridgway left in December. We miss her! We hope she will find happiness and peace in Bryn Athyn, and that she will return before long.

     The School has been unfortunate in losing Sharon and Yone Acton and Floreth and Michael Ridgway. Our numbers were reduced to seven. We gained four other children this year, and still have five widely separated classes. The school closing at the end of the term was impressive. Mr. Odhner gave a sound address, and Mr. Scott Forfar, on behalf of the "Sons," presented a special prize for Religion to Rona Ridgway, and explained to the children the meaning of the "Sons of the Academy." Miss Champion gave her usual full report. Most of the children received class prizes for attaining a final 75 percent or more.

     Theta Alpha gave the children's Christmas party on December 14. The Christmas tree in the middle of the Hall was the chief decoration. Most of the time seemed to be spent eating and drinking at the long table on the stage, and then receiving and opening the presents which Santa
Claus gave them.

     Christmas was a happy one this year. The services and festivities went off smoothly (there was record attendance of 105 at the Christmas morning service); the weather was mild, when it might have been 100 in the shade, as it was for over week a little later. Everybody seemed to receive more presents than ever before.

     January was quiet in the Society, being the holiday month, and many were away. Mr. Odhner went to Kent Manor, Zululand, for a few days on mission work, accompanied by Mr. Scott Forfar and Mr. Martin Buss. Later in the month, Mr. and Mrs. Odhner went to Alpha for two weeks, and Mr. Scott Forfar conducted the services in the absence of the pastor. Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Ridgway are also at Alpha, where they are staying for several months. Mr. and Mrs. J. J. Forfar are at their Summer residence at Botha's Hill for several months. Mr. and Mrs. Schuurman were with them for January. Mrs. W. N. Ridgway has returned to Kent Manor after spending three months in Durban, and is well again. Miss Champion spent January at her beach cottage. Mr. and Mrs. Royston have returned from England after three months absence. Mrs. Royston's treatment was successful, and we are glad to see her so much improved in health.

155

We wish to extend a hearty welcome to Mr. and Mrs. Elphick and family, who have come to live in Durban. We hope they will be happily settled in their new home shortly.

     On February 6, the Hall was crowded to see "Cousin gate," a three-act play very kindly presented for the church's benefit by a local amateur dramatic club. The net proceeds were L6-4-0. The play was under the auspices of the Social Committee, whose aim is to raise funds for the Sinking Fund which is being established to reduce the bond of L2,600 on the church building.
     S. P.

     TORONTO, CANADA.

     Palm Sunday, with its yearly floral offering by the children, was the first of our Easter services, which were simple and dignified. The services on Good Friday evening and on Easter morning brought once again to our minds thoughts of the joy at the wonder of the Lord's Resurrection and Glorification.

     Our Spring Drama Festival has been quite an extensive one. On March 20, a little musical play entitled "Dame Durden's School" was given by the children of the Day School under the leadership of Miss Jennie Gaskell and Mrs. Joseph Pritchett. All who took part were well cast, and the result was a delightful evening's entertainment in which singing, acting and dancing were happily combined.

     The next item of the Drama Festival (and incidentally the last was the adult performance. A double program, consisting of two one-act plays under the direction of Mrs. Ray Brown, gave the "brilliant stars of Olivetdom" an excellent opportunity to display their talents. The first play, "After All Those Years,"-a modern one based upon the depression and its accompanying complications-called for outstanding acting, and got it. The second served to restore a balance, being most mirthful. "He Ain't Done Right By Nell," a melodrama of the most exaggerated variety, brought down the house with hisses, boos, stampings, and all the other appropriate sounds.

     The Ladies' Circle held its March meeting at the home of Mrs. Ted Bellinger, when Mr. Gyllenhaal gave a very fine paper on "Representatives." A former member, Mrs. Mary Cronlund of Bryn Athyn, was welcomed to the meeting.
     M. S. P.

     PITTSBURGH, PA.

     The coming General Assembly is the main topic of conversation in the Society. Judging from the interest shown, the casual observer would think that we had little time for other matters. But such is not the case. During the past two months we have devoted considerable attention to local affairs.

     On Saturday, February 20, Theta Alpha gave a party for the children, and we understand that it was great success. On Friday, March 5, the adults, feeling that they too should have a party, gathered in the auditorium to enjoy an entertainment under the auspices of the Social Committee, and all had a good time.

     The following week the Semi-Annual Meeting of the Society was held. After the usual routine was finished, the Pastor introduced the subject of the coming Assembly. In so doing, he gave a complete report of the activities of the Assembly Committee, and spoke of the responsibility which such an undertaking involves. After some discussion of the various problems connected with the Assembly, the Society offered a vote of thanks to the Assembly Committee for the work which they had done.

     Later in the month, all were invited to attend a "shower" for Miss Ruth Glenn at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Leander Smith. The affair assumed added significance, due to the fact that the prospective husband was present. Yet, despite the delight which we found in entering into the happiness of Ruth and Edmund, we could not help remembering it was only a matter of a few weeks before Ruth would leave us to take up her residence in Philadelphia.

156

It seems trite to say that we will miss her. On Sunday, March 28, we celebrated Easter according to our regular custom. At 9:30 in the morning the children arrived at the church for the special children's service. As in other centers, the children brought an offering of flowers. In his address, the pastor spoke of the fact that the happiness which fills the hearts of men on Easter Day is the happiness of heaven,-the joy which the angels know whenever they think of the Lord's Resurrection. Following the children's service, at 11:00 a.m., the Quarterly Communion Service was held.

     During the past two months we have entertained many visitors from other centers of the Church. In that space does not permit, we cannot mention them by name. However, we might say at this time that we always consider it a great privilege to entertain our friends.
     W. D. P.

     DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

     Our first group of meetings for 1937 were held on Saturday and Sunday, March 6 and 7. The Rev. Norman Reuter drove from his new post at Kitchener, Ontario, where he now is almost one-hundred miles nearer to us than he was at Cincinnati, on which account we may perhaps look forward to more frequent visits.

     The usual class for children was held on Saturday afternoon at the residence of Mr. and Mrs. William Cook. In the evening, nine of us gathered at the Synnestvedt place for a doctrinal class. "Temptation" was the subject of Mr. Reuter's talk. It provoked considerable discussion, especially as to why, if temptation is so necessary to regeneration, the Lord's Prayer embodies the petition, "Lead us not into temptation." Perhaps our pastor had anticipated this question; at any rate, he was ready with a completely satisfactory explanation.

     On Sunday at noon we assembled at the Highland Park Y. W. C. A. for Divine Worship. The attendance was 31, including eight children. We missed the presence of several members of the Geoffrey Childs family, who were visiting in the East. At the conclusion of the sermon the Sacrament of the Holy Supper was administered to eighteen communicants. Following the service, luncheon was served by the ladies, each family having come bountifully prepared with the necessary articles. Afterwards we reconvened for a short doctrinal class, followed by a business session at which plans were made for services to be held during May and June, and other matters were discussed.

     The treasurer reported the receipt of contributions from our two Naval members: Mr. Howells Walker, U. S. S. Cassin, and Mr. Marvin Walker, U. S. S. Lexington. Although rarely able to attend our meetings, these young men maintain their interest in our activities and are liberal in their support. In fact, we are greatly encouraged by the fact that all our members, without exception, are maintaining their subscriptions as provided by the financing plan which was established at the time the group was organized at Saginaw, Michigan, in October of 1935.

     In a previous report mention was made of the lectern and repository for the Word constructed by one of our members. These and a table constitute our chancel furniture. Recently, upon arriving at our place of worship, we were surprised and delighted to find the altar and lectern adorned by handsome, wine-colored Velvet drapes, with gold fringe and gold satin lining. These coverings were made and donated by Mrs. Geoffrey Childs. They are very beautiful, adding just the right touch of richness and dignity to our improvised chancel. Our appreciation of Mrs. Childs' very handsome and useful gift grows with each succeeding service.
     W. W. W.

157

SWEDENBORG SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION 1937

Announcements.

The Fortieth Annual Meeting of the Swedenborg Scientific Association will be held in the chapel of Benade Hall, Bryn Athyn, Pa., on Friday, May 21, 1937, at 8 p.m.
ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH 1937

ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH EDWARD F. ALLEN 1937

     The Annual Joint Meeting of the Corporation and Faculty of the Academy of the New Church will be held in the chapel of Benade Hall, Bryn Athyn, Pa., on Saturday, June 5, 1937, at 8 p.m. The public is cordially invited to attend this meeting.

     After opportunity has been given for the presentation and discussion of the Annual Reports of the officers of the Academy, Principal K. R. Alden will deliver an Address on the subject: "Boys' Academy-Past, Present, and Future."
     EDWARD F. ALLEN,
          Secretary pro tempore.

158

SIXTEENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1937

SIXTEENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY HUGO LJ. ODHNER 1937

     Of the General Church of the New Jerusalem. By invitation of the Pittsburgh Society, the Sixteenth General Assembly will be held at the Shady Side Academy, Fox Chapel, Pennsylvania, from Wednesday, June 30, to Sunday, July 4, 1937. Attention is called to the fact that the Assembly will close with a Service of Divine Worship on Sunday Morning, instead of extending to the evening of that day, as announced in the official notice previously sent out by the Assembly Committee. A Preliminary Program of the Assembly is published in the present issue of NEW CHURCH LIFE.
     HUGO LJ. ODHNER,
          Secretary of the General Church.

     Accommodations.

     Due to the fact that the entire Assembly will be held on the Shady Side grounds, we recommend to all who can that they take advantage of the accommodations offered by the institution. The dormitories are limited to 200 guests. To augment these facilities, the Pittsburgh Society has offered to provide for as many guests as possible in their homes.

     Reservations should be made well in advance. They will be filed and honored in the order of their receipt. There is the possibility that those late in applying may have to secure sleeping accommodations in private boarding houses or at hotels.

     In making reservations, please state your preference as to place of accommodation. Shady Side's dormitories are arranged for two persons to a room. Separate dormitories will be provided for married couples, for single women and for single men.

     In view of the change in time noted above, the following revised schedule of rates for accommodations has been substituted for that previously published:

159

     SCHEDULE OF RATES.

     Complete charge for room and all meals, beginning after dinner on Tuesday, June 29, through mid-day dinner on Sunday, July 4, and including Banquet-per person $15.00.

     Charges for Meals Only:

Strip of tickets (for those not rooming at Shady Side), which includes 4 lunches, 4 dinners, and the Banquet $7.50
Single Breakfast .50
Single Lunch .75
Single Dinner 1.00
Single Banquet Tickets 1.50

     Note: Dinner will be served in the evening, except on Sunday, when it will be served at noon.

     For those staying over until Monday, July 5, Sunday evening supper and Monday breakfast will be served. The additional charge for this accommodation, including use of room Sunday night, will be $2.00 additional.

     Dormitories open for occupancy after 3:00 p.m., Tuesday, June 29. First meal served will be breakfast on Wednesday morning, June 30.

     Please address all communications as follows: "Assembly Committee," 299 Le Roi Road, Pittsburgh, Pa. Assembly Committee.

     Rev. Willard D. Pendleton, Chairman.
     Walter L. Horigan, Business Manager.
     J. Edmund Blair, Secretary.

160

     SIXTEENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

     Preliminary Program.

Wednesday, June 30.
     10.00 a.m.-First Session of the Assembly. Opening Service.
          Selection of a Bishop of the General Church.
          Address by the Right Rev. George de Charms.
     2.15 p.m.-Meeting of the Corporation of the General Church.
     9.00 p.m.-Reception and Dance.

Thursday, July 1.
     10.00 a.m.-Second Session of the Assembly.
          Discussion: The Uses of the General Church.
          Address by the Rev. Karl R. Alden.
          Subject: "Daniel."
     2.15 p.m.-Meeting of the Academy Finance Association.
     4.00 p.m.-ladies' Tea given by Miss Katherine Marshall.
     8.00 p.m.-Third Session of the Assembly.
          Address by the Rev. Gilbert H. Smith
          Subject: "The Terms 'Divine' and 'Holy.'"

Friday, July 2.
     10.00 a.m. Fourth Session of the Assembly.
          Discussion: The Uses of the Academy.
          Address by the Rev. F. E. Gyllenhaal.
          Subject: To be Announced.
     2.15 p.m.-Meetings of Theta Alpha and Sons of the Academy.
     8.00 p.m.-Fifth Session of the Assembly.
          Address by Mr. Fred. J. Cooper.
          Subject: "Cohesion."

Saturday, July 3.
     10.00 a.m.-Sixth Session of the Assembly.
          Discussion: The Support of the General Church.
          Address by the Right Rev. Alfred Acton.
          Subject: "The Holy Spirit."
     2.15 p.m.-Meeting of the Executive Committee.
     7.00 p.m.-Assembly Banquet.
          Toastmaster: Mr. Alexander P. Lindsay.

Sunday, July 4.
     11.00 a.m.-Divine Worship.
          Sermon: Rev. Dr. Hugo Lj. Odhner.
          Administration of the Holy Supper.

161

VIRGIN BIRTH AND THE SUN DIAL OF AHAZ 1937

VIRGIN BIRTH AND THE SUN DIAL OF AHAZ N. D. PENDLETON 1937

NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. LVII          JUNE, 1937           No. 6
     "The Lord spake unto Ahaz, saying, The Lord shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call His name God With Us." (Isaiah 7:10, 14.)

     "Then came the word of the Lord to Isaiah, saying, Go, and say to Hezekiah, . . . This shall be a sign unto thee from the Lord, . . . Behold, I will bring again the shadow of the degrees, which is gone down in the sun dial of Ahaz, ten degrees backward. So the sun returned ten degrees, by which it was gone down." (Isaiah 38: 4, 5, 7, 8.)

     The birth of the Lord into the world was the supreme miracle of all time, and essential to the redemption of the human race. It was given as if in living forecast by the sign of the virgin birth during the reign of Ahaz, King of Judah, and later confirmed by the reversal of the sun's course, or the going down of the shadow on the dial, during the following reign of King Hezekiah. The contrast between these two miracles is obvious, the one being human in its manifestation, and the other cosmic. Both were quite beyond the established laws of nature. They stand as a Divine intervention. Though widely different in outer aspect, yet there is an intimate relation between them. This relation is indicated by the fact that the sun's reversal during Hezekiah's reign was recorded on the dial of Ahaz.

162

     The prophecy of the virgin birth was an open forecast of the Lord's actual Advent, and was accepted by Ahaz as of immediate fulfillment, while the sun's going back on its course in Hezekiah's day signified the providential retarding of the states of the church until the Advent was at hand.

     We note with interest the fact that while the virgin birth actually came to pass in its ordained time, the dial mystery of later date, or the sun's recession, presented a cosmic impossibility. Yet both stand as representations of that which in the fulness of time would surely come to pass. Both foretold the future by realistic signs which involved mysteries of things that were, and were yet to be.

     The virgin birth of prophecy in Ahaz's day was taken by that king as a sign of his own times-as a sign that his enemies should not prevail. Syria and Israel had joined in a coalition against Judah. This threat was conceived with intent to destroy Jerusalem and dethrone its king. Israel, to the north, was then largely gentile. Its inhabitants were not bound by the sacred traditions which prevailed in Judah or in the Holy City, and with its king, who was of the royal line of David, whose throne represented, in the highest sense, the rule of the Lord over His church. Of Providence it was imperative that the house of David should be maintained. A break in the royal line would have signalized the end of the representative church. If we may conceive of this break as taking place in Ahaz's time, the actual coming of the Lord would then have been a necessity, and the virgin birth a fact. Certainly the Advent was then as if pending, so near was the evil state of the church to that which subsequently prevailed when the Lord came-so near, indeed, that an open representation of His Advent was the only means by which the final consummation could be stayed, and His coming delayed until the appointed time.

     Though Ahaz was evil as if beyond measure, his Divine representation was maintained, and so to him an open vision of the virgin birth was granted; yet he, as a man, could not see beyond that which is called the "sign of the times," which sign was at all times an immediate and powerful influence in the day of its giving.

     While there was, in fact, no virgin birth in Ahaz's day, yet the Scriptural manifestation concerning that event was in effect sufficient to moderate the evil of the times, and to make effective in both worlds the required delay.

163

The like may be said of every prophecy and its sign recorded in the Word of God. As understood by the angels of heaven, a prophecy, its sign, and as well its fulfillment, are one, since in the world to come time plays no real part.

     The entire Scripture is infilled from within by that which is known as its internal sense. This sense may now be seen in some part by every believing man. To the end that the Word may be so interpreted, it was allowed that evil men might, in the highest degree, and equally with the good represent the Lord. It was so with the wicked Ahaz, and this for the obvious reason that he was the lawful King of Judah, and of the royal line of David. To him the vision was given and the sign made manifest; yet his mind was altogether fixed on the sign, and he was afraid. "His heart was moved, and the heart of his people, as the trees of the wood are moved by the wind." (Isaiah 7:2.) A choice was allowed. "Jehovah said unto him, Ask thee a sign of the Lord thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above." If he should ask from the depth, the answer would be from hell, but if from the height, the response would come from heaven. The choice appalled the king. Taking refuge in evasion, he said, "I will not ask." And the Lord rebuked him, saying, "Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also? Therefore the Lord Himself shall give you a sign; Behold, a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call His name God With Us. . . . Before the child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good, the land that thou abhorrest shall be forsaken of both her kings." (Isaiah 7:10-16.)

     This was the prophecy, and this the sign. Ahaz refused to inquire, either from heaven or hell. Therefore the Lord Himself foretold the virgin birth, and gave the sign of victory, signifying the conquest of the one so born over all evil, and this even in His childhood, by virtue of the Divine power resident in His soul, which, though but obscurely realized, was not the less Divinely effective.

     It may here be noted that these early conquests of the Lord prepared the way for His entrance into Jerusalem; for there He must go, leave, and return. There He must encounter the death that opened to life. Only in Jerusalem could the central features of the Divine drama be enacted. Also, it may be noted that the alternations between good and evil states involved in His temptations were, in the historic days of Judah and Jerusalem, represented by the change from good to evil kings, and from evil to good.

164

In the text, the evil Ahaz was followed by the good King Hezekiah. It was in the reign of this king that the sign of the sun going back was recorded on the dial, and this as a companion miracle to the sign of the virgin birth.

     Near the end of Hezekiah's reign, a threat of danger from Assyria arose on Judah's horizon. At the time, Hezekiah was near death. Word came from the prophet Isaiah, saying, "Set thine house in order; for thou shalt surely die." Hezekiah prayed to the Lord, protesting that he had "walked in truth and with a perfect heart." The Lord answered him, saying, "I have heard thy prayer; . . . behold, I will add unto thy days fifteen years, and I will deliver thee and this city out of the hand of the King of Assyria. . . . And this shall be a sign unto thee from the Lord, Behold, I will bring again the shadow of the degrees which is gone down on the dial of Ahaz. So the sun returned ten degrees, by which it was gone down." (Isaiah 38:1-8.)

     This text stands over against the miracle of the virgin birth of Ahaz's day. It is not contrary to the order of creation, if understood as having reference to the spiritual sun. It may then be seen that the retarding of states signified by the sun's going back has a like spiritual origin. While the virgin birth was not impossible to God, and was a world event, the retreat of the sun was a spiritual event, and the record of it was apocalyptic, in that as a phenomenon it was significant of an ordered delay of the Judgment which was to take place in the spiritual world, and this while Hezekiah saw in it only an extension of the years of his life, and the deliverance of Jerusalem.

     While the virgin birth was a natural event, and a world necessity, and the source of the Christian religion, it is of interest to note that the Jews were strict in their disbelief. Despite the Jewish origin of the text concerning the virgin birth, they denied that their Messiah was to be born of a virgin. They pointed to the fact that no such birth is to be found in their list of Messianic prophecies. Christians, however, have always appealed to the text from Isaiah as sustaining the New Testament's account of the Lord's birth. But, so far as known, Christians have not closely associated the virgin birth, recorded as if in Ahaz's day, with the after miracle of the dial.

165

However, we may point to the crucial fact that the sun's recession in Hezekiah's day was recorded on Ahaz's dial, thus establishing a fundamental and overruling link between the two miracles.

     The Writings affirm that the mystery of the dial was given in Hezekiah's day because he was a good king, and we may note that only the angels of heaven may see the spiritual sun. They also see its twilight recession. To the evil it is ever veiled in darkness. The ancients, lacking a knowledge of discrete degrees, could hardly distinguish between the natural and the spiritual sun. They invested the sun of this world with godlike powers. Certainly they saw it as a living thing, and as if having a volition of its own.

     Taken together, the two representations complete the Divine significance in joining the human with the cosmic. They invest the virgin-born Child with the Sun of heaven. This may be seen confirmed in the New Testament by the inspired words of Zacharias, who characterized the Child born of Mary as the "dayspring from on high." By this the heart of all ancient prophecies was fulfilled. The Child born of Mary, as His glorification advanced, was successively reborn of God. His birth from Mary was given when the light of heaven was darkened-when the hearts of men were cold, when the sun was low on the horizon, and human need was greatest. Just then He was born, and soon thereafter began His ascent upon the steps of the celestial dial, passing through and above the heavens into an eternal union with the Father. Amen.

     LESSONS: Isaiah 7:1-17. Isaiah 38. A. C. 1414. H. H. 159.
     MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 534, 545, 575. Psalmody, page 82.
     PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 36, 76.
NEW CHURCH SERMONS 1937

NEW CHURCH SERMONS 1937

166

GOD-MAN REVEALED 1937

GOD-MAN REVEALED Rev. GEORGE DE CHARMS 1937

     "I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright and morning star." (Revelation 22:16.)

     The Lord Jesus Christ is the One God of heaven and earth. This is the supreme truth of Christian faith. In its broader aspect, it is the truth that God is a Being Infinitely Human,-a truth without which there can be no salvation. For heaven is a state of conjunction with God, and this conjunction could not take place unless man had been created in His image. This image, from creation, is stamped upon the body and the soul of every man. But it cannot be stamped upon the mind, except as man may be gifted with the perception and the acknowledgment that God, though infinite, is in the human form. This acknowledgment, in heart and life, is the only means by which conjunction with God can be effected.

     No man, however, can possibly discover this truth for himself. Being finite, he can form no least conception of the Infinite. What God is in Himself, He alone can reveal, and this by the greatest of miracles. In the light of natural reason it appears as if the Infinite were the absolute negation of the human; for all that we can know as human, in ourselves and others, is obviously finite, and therefore the antithesis of what is infinite. Every effort to attain from ourselves to an idea of God leads, therefore, in one of two opposite directions; and in neither direction can the truth be found. To think of God as human, from our limited conception of what the human is, leads to the anthropomorphic idolatry of paganism, wherein the imperfect attributes of men are deified, and qualities are ascribed to God which are unworthy of Divinity. On the other hand, if we insist that God is Infinite, we must abstract from our thought every limitation, every conceivable human quality, leaving nothing but an endless void in which the mind becomes completely lost.

167

The idea resulting is that of an invisible, formless, inhuman force at the center of the material universe; and this is tantamount to the denial of God, for it reduces our thought of Him to nothing.

The truth lies in the fact that God is Infinite and at the same time Human,-a truth which can never be seen in natural light. But in spiritual light,-the light of Revelation, the light of the Lord's own teaching,-it can be known, and in some measure understood. As so perceived, it can become the means of conjunction with God, and thus of entrance into the eternal happiness and use of heaven. Man was created to receive spiritual enlightenment. So long as such enlightenment prevailed, men were given to see that every truly human quality, although finite and limited in us, is capable of being as it were extended, and exalted even to the Infinite. They were able to see that God could be-indeed, that He must be-both Infinite and Human, and they could adore and worship Him as God-Man.

But as this light faded from the minds of men; as they progressively fell into thought from natural, nay, at least from sensual, reasoning alone, this vision of God was lost. In consequence, religious faith either declined into idolatry or was completely destroyed in atheism. Where innocence remained in the midst of idolatry, the Lord could still effect salvation. For into the idea of what is human, He could insinuate some dim perception of infinity by Divine teaching, either on earth or in the other world. But as innocence declined, it was necessary that this should be done by ever more external, more sensual, manifestations of the Divine. This could at last be done in no other way than by God Himself weaving, in the womb of Mary, a finite human body, in which an infinite Soul of life abode. Through the body thus put on, He could make manifest the Soul, in the words of infinite wisdom spoken, the deeds of infinite power performed, by the Savior while on earth. As he traversed the road which leads from birth to death, He passed through every state of life that finite man can ever know. But doing so, He removed from each the limitations, the imperfections, which belong to men, that the Divinely Human nature of the Soul might stand revealed. By this process of successive glorification, He made His Human completely one at last with the Eternal Father, becoming visible before the sight of men and angels in that Divine Human which is Immanuel,-God with us.

168

     Yet, so deeply imbedded were the minds of men in external, corporeal ideas derived from the long tradition of the past, that only by a slow and gradual process could they be led to see that the Human of the Lord was in very truth Divine. The disciples who listened to the teachings of the Lord, and who beheld His miracles, perceived therein a strange, unfathomable power. But all their thought of Him was natural, so long as He remained on earth. After He was risen from the grave, indeed, they began to perceive His true Divinity. Yet it appeared but dimly through a haze of long established concepts alien to it. Enough they saw to become the founders of the Christian Church, in which at first the Lord alone was worshipped. But with those who followed them, this vision steadily declined, as from natural reasoning they began to separate in thought the Divine from the Human in the Lord. That this must surely happen, the Lord foresaw, and therefore He prophesied that He must come again.

     This coming was foreshadowed while He was on earth; and after He had risen it was openly foretold in the Apocalypse. That it was to be a revelation of the fact that Jesus Christ was one with the infinite and eternal God, could not have been more plainly stated, and this by the Lord Himself. For the Book is called "The Revelation of Jesus Christ," who says, "I am Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty." "I am He that liveth and was dead, and, behold, I am alive forevermore." "I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, the bright and morning star." The Lord's unqualified Divinity is the burden of the Apocalypse from first to last.

     Plain as this teaching now appears to us, it was never understood in the Christian Church. Its meaning was distorted by false doctrines, which made the Son a separate Person from the Father, and divided between the Divine and the Human natures in the Christ. Only after centuries of preparation could the eyes of men be opened to behold the glory of the Risen Lord. Then first could the Heavenly Doctrine be given, the inner meaning of the Word revealed, the clouds of human error dissipated, and the mists which had gathered through the long night of darkness swept away before the light of heaven's Sun new-risen.

169

     The Writings penetrate the falsities of Christian dogma; they show wherein men have departed from the truth. They reveal the infinite Love and Wisdom of the Lord, the operations of His Providence, the laws that govern His creation. They describe the life to come, the nature of the spiritual world, the kingdom of the heavens. They make known the inner character of man, the laws of life that govern his salvation, and his eternal destiny. And in all of this they universally proclaim the Infinite Humanity of God.

     Before this final revelation had been given, in spite of what the Lord had said to His disciples, obscurity and doubt with reference to this central truth prevailed both on earth and in the spiritual world. To all who were in the other life the Writings brought immediate enlightenment. They effected the Last Judgment. They destroyed the imaginary heavens. They reduced the hells to order, and of all who could receive the truth they formed a New Christian Heaven. They brought illustration to those who had known and loved the Lord on earth, making His Divine Human clear to them with a glory they had not before perceived, so that the twelve apostles, at the Lord's command, were inspired to go forth anew, through the entire spiritual world, to preach the Gospel that the Lord God Jesus Christ doth reign.

     On earth, however, the results of the Lord's Second Coming can be realized but slowly. Our minds are weighted down with false conceptions. They are led astray by external appearances. We are able to elevate them but painfully above the things of earth into that spiritual light which alone can reveal the Divine Human of the Lord. If, in moments of exaltation, or of worship, we catch a glimpse of heaven's truth, we easily fall back into our natural state, and the vision fades from view. Yet the Lord has come indeed. He is present in the Heavenly Doctrine. If, by persistent effort, we will turn our faces to the Light now given, seeking Him where He may be found, He will open our eyes to behold His Human Glorified. He will illumine for us the path of life. He will give us intelligence and wisdom from His Word, and the power thence to obey His Law, that we may come into conjunction with Him, and into consociation with the angels, that His kingdom may be established in our hearts.

170

     Herein lies the hope of the world and the bright promise of the future. This is the faith of the New Church. If we cling to it, and live it, making it the central object of our thought and love, it will sustain us through every trial and temptation, and will bring to eventual fulfilment, both in us and in the world, that Divine end of happiness toward which the Lord in mercy has been leading, even from the dawn of His creation. For the truth that the Lord is the one Infinitely Human God is now restored to earth, and on that truth alone can the kingdom of heaven be founded. This is the "stone which the builders rejected,"-the stone which now; in the New Church, 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." Amen.

     LESSONS: Psalm 118:14-29. Revelation 22. A. C. 8705:4, 5.
     MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 532, 565, 594, 680.
     PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 98, 115.
REPLACING THE BROKEN TABLES 1937

REPLACING THE BROKEN TABLES 1937

"The tables of stone upon which the Ten Commandments were written signified the literal sense of the Word, which is like a table or plane upon which the internal sense is inscribed. An arcanum hitherto unknown is involved in the fact that the tables which were the work of God were broken by Moses when he saw the calf and the dancing, and that at the command of Jehovah other tables were hewn out by Moses, and on them the same words were afterwards inscribed, and consequently that the tables were no longer the work of God, but the work of Moses, whereas the writing was still the work of God. The arcanum is this, that the sense of the letter of the Word would have been different if the Word had been written among a different people, or if this people had not been of such a character. For the sense of the letter of the Word treats of that people, as is evident from both the historical and prophetical parts of the Word; and that people was in evil, because idolatrous at heart; and yet, in order that the internal and external senses might agree, that people had to be praised, and called the people of God, a holy nation, a peculiar possession. . . .

"Since, therefore, the sense of the letter of the Word took this form on account of that people, those tables which were the work of God were broken, and at the command of Jehovah others were hewn out by Moses. But because the same Divine holiness was still within, therefore the same words which had been written on the former tables were inscribed by Jehovah on the second tables." (Arcana Celestia 10453:3.)

171

SEATING A BISHOP 1937

SEATING A BISHOP Rev. CHARLES E. DOERING 1937

     A History of the Mode of Appointing a Bishop of the General Church.

     (An Address delivered to the Joint Council, April 3, 1937.)

     The principles contained in the "Notes on the Government of the Church," and the conclusions drawn therefrom, which Bishop W. F. Pendleton presented to the First General Assembly, have in general determined the mode of selecting a bishop to be the Bishop of the General Church, and also in selecting an Assistant Bishop.

     I shall not in this sketch dwell upon the ordination of a man into the third degree of the priesthood, nor of his recognition by the Bishop as a priest in that degree of the ministry of the General Church, as these are purely episcopal functions. I would only note in regard to this that the governing Bishops have taken counsel of the clergy and others, sometimes in one way and sometimes in another, sometimes more extended, at other times not so extended, but always with a view to testing the wisdom of their step. So I will here confine myself to what has been the mode of appointing a Bishop or an Assistant Bishop of the General Church; and to get the sequence, I need to say a few words about the beginning of the General Church.

     The General Church began with the priesthood. Its initiament dates from the sixth of February, 1597, when five ministers of the New Church met by appointment with the Right Rev. W. F. Pendleton, and formally requested him, as a bishop of the New Church, to act as their leader and Bishop in the performance of church uses.

     Bishop Pendleton, in accepting episcopal relations with the five applicants, constituted these priests a Council of the Clergy, and declared that this step marked the initiament of a new general body of the Lord's New Church. The name, "The General Church of the New Jerusalem," was provisionally adopted, the uses of a general church were defined in outline, and a secretary appointed.

172

At a subsequent meeting, a provisional treasurer was appointed.

     A statement informing New Church people of the new formation was prepared, as were applications for membership, and these were then sent to New Churchmen in the United States, Canada, Great Britain, France, Sweden, South Africa, and Australia.

     At the same meeting it was resolved to call a General Assembly of the General Church, to be held from June 25-29, 1897. Shortly before this date, the Bishop called a meeting of the Council of the Clergy to discuss the program of the Assembly, and it was concluded that, in order to provide for the greatest freedom of action, he would place his resignation as Bishop of the General Church in the hands of the Council of the Clergy, and they with him would withdraw from their collective relation with the Assembly, but retain their individual membership. This was done. So the first order of business was to elect officers of the Assembly, viz., a Chairman and a Secretary. Bishop Pendleton was elected Chairman, and the Rev. C. Th. Odhner Secretary.

     On the afternoon of the fourth day, after eight papers had been read, and many speeches on Church Government had been made, Bishop Pendleton read his "Notes on the Government of the Church," in which he laid down some principles of government, and suggested a plan of organization. I shall quote that part which refers directly to the mode of appointing a Bishop:

     "The recognition of a common head should be a voluntary act of all the parts that constitute the common body; indeed, the internal strength of such a form as is herein proposed rests in the fact that all the parts are free, and thus free to come into order by voluntary act; no restriction imposed upon any member or part, and no pledge required of any one from the highest to the lowest, to observe the laws of order.

     "As to the form and manner of such a recognition or expression of choice, let this begin or be initiated in the house of the clergy, and when the clergy have acted, let them inform the Assembly, which then should act, and finally the executive body. This choice, with the clergy, should take the form of invitation to some one priest to exercise the office of Bishop over this Church; in the other houses it should take the form of recognition of the one so invited by the clergy as Bishop over the Church. And, as has been indicated, these bodies may for cause withdraw that which they have given, and no more; the clergy may withdraw their invitation, and the other houses by vote may cease to recognize. . . .

173

     "Finally, I would make to this Assembly three suggestions:

     "1. That no action be taken upon the question of government, or organization, at this meeting of the General Assembly.

     "2. That this Assembly pass a resolution requesting the Council of the Clergy to provide for the administration of the ecclesiastical affairs of this Church until the next meeting of the General Assembly.

     "3. That this Assembly elect an Executive Committee of laymen to conduct the business affairs of this Church until the next meeting of the General Assembly." (Journal of the First General Assembly, pp. 138, 139; or New Church Life, 1897, p. 109.)

     After the reading of the Notes on Government and the suggestions appended thereto by Bishop Pendleton, and after discussion which was all affirmative, the Assembly unanimously passed the following resolution, offered by Mr. Pitcairn:

     "Resolved, That this Assembly request the Council of the Clergy to provide for the administration of the ecclesiastical affairs of this Church until the next meeting of this General Assembly, and that this General Assembly elect an Executive Committee of laymen to conduct the business affairs of this Church until the next meeting of the General Assembly."

     The Council of the Clergy met, and reported back to the General Assembly, as follows:

     "1. The Council unanimously and gladly assumes the responsibility of providing for the administration of the ecclesiastical affairs of this Church until the next General Assembly.

     "2. In order to effect this, Bishop Pendleton, at the unanimous request of the Council of the Clergy, has withdrawn the resignation of the Episcopal office of this Church, which he had tendered to this Council.

     "3. But this action is in no way intended to affect the freedom of the Church in making its final choice of a Bishop."

     On motion of Mr. Glenn, the Assembly adopted the following resolution:

     "Resolved, That this Assembly hereby expresses its full approval of the action taken by the Council of the Clergy as presented in the communication just read."

     You will note that the Council of the Clergy was asked to provide for the government of the Church for one year, and their invitation to Bishop Pendleton to withdraw his resignation was approved by the Assembly.

174

This provided a provisional government, in order that the Church might consider the subject more fully before final commitment.

     A more complete organization was effected at the next Assembly, held in 1898, with Bishop Pendleton presiding. Early in the meeting of this Second Assembly, the reading of the "Notes on the Government of the Church," by Bishop Pendleton, was called for. (Journal, p. 29.) This was done, and the following resolution was unanimously adopted:

     "Resolved, That this Assembly heartily accepts and endorses the principles of Government laid down in that paper, and the conclusions drawn therefrom." (Minutes, 21b and 33.)

     It is my opinion that, by passing this resolution, the General Assembly prescribed the principles of government, and in general the mode by which the Bishop of the General Church is to be chosen. That this is a correct interpretation of its action, is evident from what followed; for shortly after its adoption the Rev. E. S. Hyatt moved: "That the Assembly consider if they cannot adopt and confirm the choice of a bishop which has already been made by the Council of the Clergy." (Minute 35.)

     The Rev. N. D. Pendleton said the motion was out of order, "because the Council of the Clergy has not, up to the present time, made any recommendations to this body in regard to any one person as Bishop, and the principles laid down in the paper which we have just confirmed involve this idea, as one of the main elements of our order,-that the Council of the Clergy should first make such recommendation. This has not yet been done."

     The Chair ruled the point of order well taken. He said: "You will remember the paper states that the Council of the Clergy should invite some one to be Bishop of the Church, and inform the Assembly of its action; then the Assembly can by vote recognize that one as the Bishop of this Church. This has not yet been done. The Council of the Clergy has not yet informed this body of any such action." (Minute 35.)

     There was no dissent from the ruling of the Chair, and the Rev. Alfred Acton then offered the following resolution: "Resolved, That the Assembly request the Council of the Clergy at its earliest convenience to name a Bishop for recognition of this Assembly." (Minute 36.)

175

     The Council of the Clergy met, and appointed its senior member to convey to the Assembly their message. The Rev. E. C. Bostock announced that he had been appointed to convey a message from the Council of the Clergy. On motion, it was resolved to hear Mr. Bostock's message.

     Mr. Bostock: "Mr. Chairman and Brethren: On Saturday last this Assembly passed the following resolution: 'Resolved, That this Assembly request the Council of the Clergy at its earliest convenience to name a bishop before this Assembly, for its recognition.'

     "The Council of the Clergy met this morning and considered the above resolution in connection with the following in Bishop Pendleton's 'Notes on Government': 'The recognition of a common head should be a voluntary act of all the parts that constitute the common body,' etc. (Journal, 1897, p. 138.) In conformity with this, the Council of the Clergy this morning passed the following resolution:

     "'Resolved, That the Council of the Clergy inform the Assembly of the General Church of the New Jerusalem that this Council has invited the Right Rev. William F. Pendleton to be Bishop of the General Church of the New Jerusalem.'

     "I was thereafter appointed a messenger to convey to the General Assembly the information that the Council of the Clergy has invited the Right Rev. W. F. Pendleton to be Bishop of the General
Church of the New Jerusalem."

     At the conclusion of this message, Mr. Pitcairn said: "I would offer the following resolution to complete the action of the Council of the Clergy: 'Whereas, having heard that the Council of the Clergy has invited the Right Rev. W. F. Pendleton to be the Bishop of the General Church of the New Jerusalem; therefore be it

     'Resolved, That this General Assembly recognizes the Right Rev. W. F. Pendleton as Bishop of this Church.'"

     The resolution was seconded by the Rev. Homer Synnestvedt and Mr. H. Maynard. The Secretary put the question, and the resolution was unanimously adopted. (Journal of the Second Assembly, 1898, pp. 77, 78.)

176

     Thus the Assembly, by its action in not recognizing Mr. Hyatt's motion, and in asking the Council of the Clergy to name a Bishop for its recognition, fixed the mode suggested by Bishop Pendleton, until the Assembly rescinds it.

     II.

     In 1912, the Rev. N. D. Pendleton was ordained by Bishop W. F. Pendleton into the third degree of the priesthood, and moved to Bryn Athyn to become the Bishop's assistant.

     In 1914, the Bishop informed the members of the Consistory that an Assistant Bishop was needed, and the Consistory unanimously concluded that it would be wise to appoint Bishop N. D. Pendleton to that office, and so notified the Council of the Clergy.

     The Council of the Clergy, after considering the communication from the Consistory, unanimously resolved: "That the Right Rev. N. D. Pendleton be hereby chosen as Assistant Bishop of the General Church, and that this action be reported to the Joint Council." It was reported to the Joint Council, because the Bishop had not issued a call for a meeting of the General Assembly, and the Joint Council acted for the Assembly when that body was not in session.

     The Joint Council approved the choice of the Council of the Clergy, but the laity disapproved the mode of appointment, and the question of the mode of appointment of a Bishop of the General Church was by vote referred to the General Council for consideration. (Council of the Clergy Minutes, 1914, p. 244.)

     The mode of appointing a Bishop was considered in many Council meetings, and the question was accentuated by the withdrawal of Bishop W. F. Pendleton from the office of Bishop of the General Church in June, 1915. Bishop N. D: Pendleton, the Assistant Bishop, then automatically became Acting Bishop until a new Bishop could be selected at the next General Assembly. There was no difference of opinion as to the one who should be chosen. The evident qualifications of Bishop N. D. Pendleton were so outstanding that he was regarded as the only possible choice. The difficulty was with the mode of procedure, about which there were differences of opinion for a time. Finally, a way out was suggested in an open letter from Bishop N. D. Pendleton to Mr. Raymond Pitcairn, dated February 16, 1916, and published in NEW CHURCH LIFE for April of that year. (Pages 240-247.)

177

     The point there made was that, since a bishop is a general pastor, the naming of one or more candidates for a bishopric, like the naming of pastoral candidates to a society, was essentially an episcopal function, which normally would belong to a Council of Bishops, when such a council shall have come into existence. In its absence, the naming of a candidate for the episcopal office is an episcopal function belonging to the priesthood as a whole. I will note some of the arguments:

     "It is recognized that the Bishop names the pastors of a society. . . . Is not the naming of the Bishop of a Church an episcopal function?"

     "The priesthood as a whole has episcopal power, and must be able to exercise it on occasion."

     "There is a difference between naming and actual choice. No Bishop can place a pastor whom the people have not chosen. . . . Nor can the whole body of the Clergy seat a Bishop of the General Church without the assent of the Assembly."

     "The choosing of a Bishop is more a process than an election in which there is a counting of votes."

     "The floor of the Assembly is not a fitting place for those intimate consultations which should be interchanged, not only between priests, but also between priests and leading laymen, with reference to the fitness of a candidate."

     "The selective power of societies is limited by the Bishop's nominations. . . . The selective power of the Assembly is limited to the Clergy's nominations."

     The Bishop closed the letter with the following: "The Council of the Clergy say in effect (to the Executive Committee): 'Gentlemen: This is the name of our candidate. What do you say? Is he, in your view, suitable, and is the Church ready to receive this nomination?' If the answer is yes, then we may go forward. If no, then it will be the part of wisdom for the Clergy to withdraw, and either reconsider or await the time when agreement can be reached." (New Church Life, April, 1916, pp. 240-247.)

     This ended the discussion, and the mode suggested was carried out. In my view this letter is clarifying; it is an explanation of the Principles set down in the "Notes on Government" by Bishop W. F. Pendleton, and the two should be read together.

     At the meeting of the Council of the Clergy held prior to the General Assembly in 1916, Bishop N. D. Pendleton was named as its choice, and the same was reported to the Executive Committee.

178

     Later, the Joint Meeting of the two bodies decided how it should be presented to the Assembly, with the agreement that each body would report its action. Then the Rev. C. Th. Odhner, Secretary of the General Church, was to nominate, and Mr. John Pitcairn, of the Executive Committee, was to second it. This was done, and the Assembly, by a rising vote, chose Bishop N. D. Pendleton as Bishop of the General Church, and he was declared to be the Bishop of the General Church.

     III.

     In 1930, Bishop N. D. Pendleton placed the need of an Assistant Bishop before the Joint Council meeting, and the Council passed the following resolutions:

     1. "Resolved, That it is the opinion of this Council that an Assistant Bishop be provided."

     2. "Resolved, That in the opinion of this body the providing of an Assistant Bishop has no reference to a successor to the Bishop."

     3. "Resolved, That in the opinion of this Joint Council, no definition of the uses of the office of Assistant Bishop is necessary or advisable at this time." (NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1930, P. 296.)

     In his opening remarks to the Fourteenth General Assembly, 1930, the Bishop said:

     "I propose at this time to bring before you a need closely adjoined to the Bishop's office, namely, the choice of an Assistant Bishop of the General Church. This subject has been discussed in council, the results of which have been published. The three resolutions passed by the Joint Council, which body stands in the place of the Assembly when not in session, are, I think, self-explanatory.

     "The office of Assistant Bishop of the General Church is now called for, because the need exists, and also because, as I am convinced, we are prepared to provide for it. I may here note that the appointment of an Assistant Bishop of the General Church should be a concurrent action by the governing Bishop and the Assembly. Both are deeply concerned in the choice to be made.

     "It is in accord with our ecclesiastical order that the Executive Bishop should nominate all ecclesiastical officers, whether in the General Church, as such, or in the local societies.

179

With reference to the pastoral office, more than one should, if possible, be named, in order that the society may have a larger freedom of choice. In those cases where it appears to be feasible to nominate only one, there still remains the freedom of acceptance or non-acceptance. There is, however, one unavoidable exception to this rule, namely, the choice by the Assembly of the Bishop of the General Church. It does not appear to be of good order, or to the best interests of the Church, that a presiding Bishop should name his successor in office. In such a case, the priesthood as a whole should, by some acceptable mode, function in place of the Bishop.

     "In the case of an Assistant Bishop, and in view of his close working relation with the Bishop, the customary order should prevail, and this also for the reason that the choice of an Assistant Bishop of the General Church does not carry with it a decision of the future choice of the Bishop of the General Church. It is perhaps better for the freedom of the church, and of all concerned, that this should be clearly understood.

     "The appointment of an Assistant Bishop means that the one so appointed would thereby be accredited before the whole Church, and that he, by virtue of his office, would be enabled to assist in all the executive as well as the third degree uses of the General Church. No broader powers could be given to an Assistant, and no less would fulfill the need.

     "It is therefore my duty at this time to place before you the name of the one who, in my judgment, is prepared to fill this office. I have in mind one with whom I have been intimately associated for many years. . . .I give you the name of Bishop George de Charms." (NEW CHURCH LIFE, August, 1930, pp. 470-471.)

     At the second session of the Assembly, the Rev. Alfred Acton made the following motion:

     "Whereas the Bishop has laid before us the present need of filling the office of Assistant Bishop; and

     "Whereas he has named Bishop George de Charms as eminently suited for this office; be it

     "Resolved that Bishop George de Charms be and he hereby is chosen Assistant Bishop of the General Church." (Ibid., p. 472.)

     The motion was seconded by Mr. Raymond Pitcairn and sixteen others from nearly all parts of the world. The resolution was passed by a rising unanimous vote.

180

You will note the difference there is between the mode of appointing an Assistant Bishop and that of appointing a Bishop of the General Church. In the appointment of an Assistant Bishop, the Bishop of the General Church takes part, nay, a most important part, but he takes no part in the naming of his successor. In this, at present, the Council of the Clergy exercises episcopal functions, initiates the movement, names its choice for that office, and presents the name of their choice to the Executive Committee for their consideration. If they approve, they so notify the Council of the Clergy, and then both bodies, in joint meeting, determine the mode of presenting the name to the General Assembly.
COUNCIL RECORDS 1937

COUNCIL RECORDS WILLIAM WHITEHEAD 1937

     A NOTE BY THE SECRETARY.

     In preparing the following Report of the Council of the Clergy and Joint Council, the Secretary's record of the discussions in the five sessions of April 1st to 3d was afterwards compared with full notes taken independently by the Revs. F. E. Waelchli and Karl R. Alden; and also, as to the session of the Joint Council, with a stenographic record made by Mr. Randolph W. Childs and transcribed by the Rev. Raymond G. Cranch. These accounts are in agreement.
     WILLIAM WHITEHEAD,
          Secretary.

181

ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS 1937

ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS WILLIAM WHITEHEAD 1937

     MINUTES AND PROCEEDINGS

     OF THE

     FORTIETH ANNUAL MEETING

     OF THE

     COUNCIL OF THE CLERGY

     OF THE

     GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM,

     HELD AT THE COUNCIL HALL, BRYN ATHYN, PA.,

     APRIL 1 AND 2, 1937.

     First Session-Thursday, April 1, 10.00 a.m.

     1. After worship, conducted by Bishop George de Charms, the meeting was called into session, the following being present:

     Bishop George de Charms, Chairman (Acting Bishop of the General Church), Bishop N. Dandridge Pendleton, Bishop Alfred Acton; Pastors Elmo C. Acton, Karl R. Alden, Hendrik W. Boef (Los Angeles, California), Reginald W. Brown, William B. Caldwell, Emil R. Cronlund, Llewellyn W. T. David, Charles E. Doering, Alan Gill (Toronto, Canada), Victor J. Gladish (Colchester, England), Willis L. Gladish (Chicago, Illinois), Frederick E. Gyllenhaal (Toronto, Canada), Thomas S. Harris (Westfield, New Jersey), Ernst Pfeiffer (The Hague, Holland), Theodore Pitcairn Norman H. Reuter (Kitchener, Canada), Gilbert H. Smith (Glenview, Illinois), Homer Synnestvedt, Fred E. Waelchli (Wyoming, Ohio), William Whitehead; and Ministers Raymond G. Cranch and Vincent C. Odhner. (Total, 25.)

182

     2. The Minutes being called for, the Secretary moved to dispense with the reading of the Minutes and Proceedings of the Thirty-ninth Annual Meeting, and to accept the resume as printed in NEW CHURCH LIFE, June, 1936, pp. 173-176. Carried.

     3. The Annual Report of the Council of the Clergy was called for, read by the Secretary, accepted, and ordered to be printed in NEW CHURCH LIFE. (See May issue, p. 147.)

     4. Bishop de Charms introduced the subject of "The Initiation of the Choice of a Bishop," pointing out that this was the primary purpose of the meetings this year, owing to the calling of the General Assembly. That the initiation of the choice should be with the Council of the Clergy, was a principle which had been accepted in the General Church, and fully established as part of our regular order. To insure the greatest possible freedom, however, both the Council of the Clergy and the representative lay body had been called to consider the matter, though separately; after which the choice could be jointly indicated in the Joint Council. The freedom of the Church required ample opportunity for discussion of the subject, preparatory to laying the matter before the General Assembly. As every member of the Council of the Clergy should have equal opportunity for an expression of view, he had written to all pastors abroad. Their replies (addressed to the Secretary) should be put before this body; their thought should be a part of our own.

     5. On motion, it was unanimously voted that communications from absent members should now be read. The Secretary therefore read letters from the following:-

Bishop Robert James Tilson, London, England.
Pastor Gustaf Baeckstrom, Stockholm, Sweden.
Pastor Albert Bjorck, Woodgreen, Hants., England.
Pastor Frederick William Elphick, Durban, South Africa.
Pastor William Cairns Henderson, Sydney, Australia.
Pastor Eldred Edward Iungerich, St. Cloud, France.
Pastor Philip N. Odhner, Durban, South Africa.
Pastor Willard D. Pendleton, Pittsburgh, Pa.
Pastor Joseph E. Rosenqvist, Gothenburg, Sweden.
Pastor Erik Sandstrom, Jonkoping, Sweden.

183

     6. Bishop de Charms said that, as he had been named as a candidate for the office of Bishop, a more free and frank discussion could take place if he were not present. He therefore asked the Rev. Charles E. Doering to assume the chair during his absence.

     7. At 10.50 a.m., it was moved that a recess be taken until 11.30 o'clock. Carried unanimously.

     8. After recess, the Rev. Charles E. Doering taking the chair, a discussion, in which most of the ministers present took part, was held on the above subject. The name of the Right Rev. Alfred Acton was also placed in nomination.

     9. On motion, it was unanimously agreed to proceed by secret ballot. The Revs. William B. Caldwell and L. W. T. David were appointed as tellers. The Secretary was instructed to cast ballots for the absent members, in accordance with their expressed desires.

     10. The Secretary announced the following result of the ballot:-

Rt. Rev. George de Charms-26.
Rt. Rev. Alfred Acton-2.
Refrained from voting-4.

     11. Moved, seconded and carried: "That the Secretary of this Council be instructed to inform the Executive Committee that the choice of this Meeting is the Right Reverend George de Charms."

     12. On motion, it was voted unanimously: "That Bishop Alfred Acton be requested to inform Bishop George de Charms of this decision."

     13. Bishop Alfred Acton spoke of his profound appreciation of the eminent services that Bishop N. D. Pendleton had given to the Church. His personal friendship and guidance had been given to us all. Every Bishop of our Church had entered upon his duties during something of a crisis, and had brought the Church into a state of peace. From personal knowledge, he spoke of his gratitude for Bishop Pendleton's wise leadership. He wished Bishop Pendleton would carry away with him the assurance of our continued confidence and affectionate friendship, and our desire that he should spend his remaining days in peace.

     The members of the Council spontaneously rose to indicate their unanimous feeling.

     14. The meeting adjourned at 12.40 p.m.

184

     Second Session-Thursday Afternoon, April 1, 3.30 p.m.

     15. Resuming the chair at 3.35 p.m., Bishop de Charms said that, as to the action taken by the Council in the morning, he deeply appreciated the confidence expressed in the nomination. Be realized the responsibility involved in acting as leader of this body, and the consequences to which it might lead. He felt altogether inadequate to fill the office of Bishop of the General Church. But he was unable to avoid what seemed to be the leading of Providence. He had never sought that office; but had always been willing to do what seemed to be indicated as his duty. Whatever his personal shortcomings might be, the Church was under the leading of the Lord through the indications of Providence. This had been true, he believed, from the beginning of the Academy movement; and we had been blessed with leaders provided in Providence. Our Church was based upon the acknowledgment of the Writings alone as the Doctrine of the Church, and of the Lord present in those Writings. That was the Academy movement that he stood by. He would devote his life to sustain that ideal,-that the Lord, through His immediate presence in His Divine Providence, should govern the Church. This was his deepest desire. He prayed that what he did as a man might not interfere with the Divine leading of the Church. He thanked them from the bottom of his heart for the confidence expressed this morning.

     16. On motion, it was agreed that the paper on "The History of the Mode of Appointing a Bishop of the General Church," by Dr. Doering, should be placed on the docket of the Joint Council, as being equally of interest to the laity.

     17. On motion, it was agreed to hear the Report of the Acting Bishop on "The State of the Church." This Report was then read by Bishop George de Charms, as follows:-

     REPORT OF THE ACTING BISHOP OF THE GENERAL CHURCH.

     With the retirement of Bishop N. D. Pendleton from office, on June 21st last, the responsibility for directing the government of the General Church, until a new executive Bishop might be chosen in accord with the established order of our body, devolved upon me.

185

And it is now my duty to render a report to this Council, as complete and at the same time as brief as possible, of the important developments in the Church since that time. In order to make the record clear, however, it will be necessary to recount events which occurred at least six months prior to that date.

     All the events to which we allude have reference, directly or indirectly, to the doctrinal controversy arising out of the new interpretation of the Writings which originated some years ago in Holland. They have a vital bearing upon the present state of the Church, concerning which I believe it is the duty of this Council to give serious consideration.

     After the Joint Council Meetings of 1933, when the position of the General Church was clearly stated, and, together with the statements of those who supported the Dutch Position, was published in NEW CHURCH LIFE, it was the desire of Bishop Pendleton that the matter might be allowed to rest, with the hope that time might restore a greater measure of understanding. From that time on, nothing further was published in the LIFE of a controversial nature. It was determined to remove the sphere of controversy from our worship, and to give, in public addresses and doctrinal classes, only such teaching as came clearly within the normal uses of the Church, apart from any sphere of direct conflict. As a result of this policy, the emotional stress which had begun to cause disturbance gradually subsided.

     In December, 1935, feeling that the situation was no longer acute, Bishop Pendleton invited the Rev. Theodore Pitcairn to return to Bryn Athyn and resume his work as an Assistant Pastor of that society. This the Bishop did in the hope that, by working together in the regular uses of the Church, a basis of mutual understanding might gradually be re-established. Mr. Pitcairn accepted the invitation, but stated that there were personal reasons why it would not be convenient for him to do so until the Fall of 1936.

     In the meantime, for quite other reasons, Bishop Pendleton recommended to the Board of Directors of the Academy that the Rev. Elmo C. Acton be offered a position as teacher in the Academy Schools, with the idea that he should also give part-time service to the work of the Church, particularly in connection with groups of General Church members at that time being ministered to by the Rev. Philip N. Odhner.

186

He proposed to the Durban Society that a call be extended to Mr. Odhner, to succeed Mr. Acton as Pastor of that Society, in case Mr. Acton should accept the offer of the Academy.

     These steps were all under way when, on the 29th of January, 1936, the Rev. Albert Bjorck sent to Bishop Pendleton a copy of a letter which he had originally addressed, as part of a personal correspondence, to Bishop de Charms. This copy was accompanied by a note, addressed to Bishop Pendleton, in which he explained that further copies had been sent to Bishop Acton, Bishop Tilson, and Mr. Colley Pryke, and in which he asked Bishop Pendleton whether "there was any good reason why, with certain possible changes, it might not be published as an open letter to the Bishops of the General Church."

     You are already acquainted with what followed, up to the time of the Joint Meeting, held in Bryn Athyn on September 20th last, between the Consistory and the members of the Executive Committee. A complete record of the official correspondence bearing upon the action there taken, together with a statement of the action itself, has been sent to all the members of this Council, and to others who have asked for it.

     Up until the time when the matter was acted upon by the Council, the situation raised by Mr. Bjorck's letter was not made public. Concerning this fact, complaints have reached us from a number of Pastors. I wish to make it clear that it was not possible for Bishop Pendleton to give information, even to the Pastors, concerning the matter, until some conclusion had been reached. The same restriction applied to me, after Bishop Pendleton's retirement, until the Council had acted. The reason for this restriction was the fact that Bishop Pendleton had asked Mr. Bjorck not to publish the letter, but instead to withdraw the copies which had already been sent out, lest it should cause a disturbance in the Church. In the face of this fact, he could not assume the responsibility of spreading the knowledge of it himself. Had Mr. Bjorck acceded to the request that the letter be withdrawn, nothing further would have been done, and the incident would have been considered closed. But Mr. Bjorck refused to comply with the Bishop's request, and some of those to whom the letter had been sent, not knowing the stand that the Bishop had taken, spread a knowledge of it to others.

187

This Bishop Pendleton foresaw would be the inevitable result, and it was precisely for this reason that he asked the withdrawal of the letter. Mr. Bjorck himself then sent the letter to others without the Bishop's knowledge or consent.

     Unfortunately, the imperative need for some official action in defense of the Church, which might make it possible to disclose the facts, made it necessary to call a Council meeting for that purpose in September, just at the time when Mr. Pitcairn and Mr. Acton arrived to take up their work in Bryn Athyn. It was inevitable that the feelings, which had largely subsided, should again be aroused thereby. Yet every possible effort was made to give opportunity for these two Pastors to enter upon the uses of the Church, without prejudice, in the hope that the storm of emotional reaction might pass, and a state of mutual confidence might be restored.

     For a time this effort proved, at least externally, successful. But the publication of the correspondence was followed by a series of protests from the friends of Mr. Bjorck in England, charging that I had deliberately sought to "corrupt the evidence" by leaving out two letters vital to an understanding of the matter. The two letters referred to were a continuance of private correspondence between Mr. Bjorck and myself. One was my reply to him on receiving his letter of January 29th; and the other was a subsequent reply to me. Mr. Pitcairn had asked me to include these letters as part of the official record. But on careful reflection I decided not to do so. I was most anxious not to confuse the issue, which I felt would have been the result, had I complied with his request. I did not want to imply, in any way, that action was taken by the Church which was based on private correspondence. Any man is free to express his opinions, however critical they may be, in personal letters or conversation. Only when, by active propaganda, he causes a disturbance does it become imperative that the Church should act in its own defence. The two letters referred to, being regarded as private, were not known to the Council, and had nothing whatever to do with the action taken.

     All this was necessarily discussed in the meetings of the Consistory, at which Mr. Pitcairn was present, and served to keep alive the feelings of distrust which it had been our purpose to allay.

188

Every opportunity was given to Mr. Pitcairn to dissociate himself from the charges which had been made. But this he was unable to do. And at the same time, Mr. Pitcairn so far introduced the controversial element into his teaching and preaching that a feeling of disturbance steadily increased, especially in connection with worship.

     I speak of this, not to bring any accusation against Mr. Pitcairn, but merely to explain why it became clear to us that our efforts to drop the controversy, and give time for the wounds of the Church to heal, were not being successful. This, I sincerely believe, was not due to any attitude which I myself took, but was forced upon us by the attack brought by Mr. Bjorck, and by the effect of that attack upon Mr. Pitcairn, and upon the general state of the Bryn Athyn Society.

     Such was the situation when Mr. Pfeiffer and Mr. Groeneveld came to Bryn Athyn in March. Mr. Pfeiffer said he had come hoping to find a common basis on which we might go forward together, with some degree of unity and cooperation. I responded heartily to this desire, and asked him for some suggestion as to what basis might be found. He said that he thought we might unite on the common ground of the Word, and to this I readily assented. I meant, of course, a mutual recognition of the plain teachings of the Writings as a final court of appeal in all matters of doctrinal differences. If we could unite on this ground I was convinced that the truth would prevail. But it became clear from our conversation that Mr. Pfeiffer meant, not the plain teaching of the Writings, but: the "Word understood" by someone in the Church, holding that this alone could be a common basis. I do not believe that such a basis can be acceptable to the General Church.

     Subsequently, Mr. Pitcairn asked for a meeting of Bishop Acton and myself with the leaders of the Dutch Position. I agreed, stipulating, however, that this should be a meeting of ministers, and should include the available members of the Consistory. This was arranged, and a meeting was held, attended by Mr. Pfeiffer, Mr. Pitcairn, Mr. Boef, Mr. Elmo Acton, Mr. Synnestvedt, Dr. Doering, Bishop Acton, and myself.

189

     At this meeting, Mr. Pfeiffer said he had come to recognize the great difference between the doctrinal view of those holding the Dutch Position and that of those holding the General Church position. He had thought that we might go along together for two or three years more, but his conversations with Bishop Acton and myself since arriving in Bryn Athyn had led him to see that some form of separation was inevitable. Yet he hoped that we might part as friends, and not as enemies. He hoped to avoid the terrible consequences of a sudden and violent break, and the onus of publishing before the world that there was another schism in the New Church. He asked, therefore, if it would not he possible for me to ordain a man (whoever might appear most suitable) into the third degree of the Priesthood, with the purpose of establishing an independent diocese in Holland. This he explained to mean a church body in no way under the government of the General Church, but a church body to which members might belong anywhere in the world. Still, those professing the doctrine of this new church body might retain membership in the General Church; and ministers professing that doctrine must be free to teach and to propagate that doctrine in the General Church.

     I prepared from memory an account of the meeting, which was subsequently submitted to Mr. Pfeiffer, and rewritten by him. In the form in which it was returned to me, it does not contain just what was said at the meeting. But the document is an excellent presentation of Mr. Pfeiffer's view of the situation, and it contains everything essential to an understanding of the proposition which he has made. I am quite milling that this account of the meeting shall be read to this Council if it is called for. Suffice it here to say, that I found it impossible to accept the proposal. Bishop Acton was asked whether he could take a different view, but he fully supported me in the position I had taken.

     I need say nothing further in regard to the matter at this time. What I am now giving is but a report; and the consideration of the question will then be before the Council. My report, however, has to do, not only with the actions taken since I have become Acting Bishop, but with the State of the Church. This, in its more interior aspect, has to do with the faith of the General Church, in its relation to the new doctrine which has arisen in Holland. Concerning this, as affecting the state of the Church, I wish to say a word.

190

     From the very first replies to the printed statements of the Hague Position, we have been met consistently with the declaration: "You do not understand." This has been an outstanding characteristic of the present controversy. When we have asked why this should be so,-why New Churchmen, belonging to the same body and professing the same faith, cannot understand one another,-we are told that the lack of understanding is a sign that the interior degrees of the mind have not yet been opened with us. It follows, as an inevitable corollary, that with those who do understand, the interior degrees of the mind have been opened.

     This answer has not seemed to me to be adequate. At best it creates a distinction between us which is most unfortunate.

     I have my own answer to the question, why there should be such an impassable chasm of misunderstanding between us. I have come to this answer only after long and earnest study and reflection. And I wish to present it here, because I think that in it lies the crux of the problem.

     We are told that the Writings, unless they are understood, can give no light to the Church, and that therefore, without doctrine, they are like a candlestick without a light. I agree with this, but I hold that the doctrine which is to impart the light is plainly stated in the Writings. By doctrine in this sense I mean universal, governing principles which are to direct the thought of the mind in its interpretation of the particulars of Revelation.

     To me, the Academy and the General Church, in essence, mean just one thing, namely, the belief that we shall seek the universal principles which are to guide our thought in the Writings themselves, and shall be faithful to such principles as we find them plainly stated there.

     Now right here lies my difficulty with the Hague Position. I do not believe that the light which causes such a complete misunderstanding, in our reading of the Writings, comes in fact from any state of regeneration. I think it comes from this-that a universal principle has been adopted, in the light of which all else is to be interpreted and understood. This principle, simply stated, is that all spiritual and celestial things received by man, being from the Lord, are to be called "Divine," because they are the Divine Proceeding. They are identified with what the Writings call the "Divine Ex Se," or the Divine present in heaven and in the church.

191

This is the central principle on which all argument of the Hague Position depends.

     I have endeavored to discover whether this principle has been drawn from the Writings. That, once it has been accepted, it can be confirmed by many passages in the Writings, I have not the least doubt. But was it drawn from them? My inescapable conclusion is that it was not, because I find exactly the opposite, given directly and categorically in the Writings themselves, as the universal principle which should give light to the mind, in its effort to understand the particulars of the Lord's presence and operation in heaven and on earth. This principle is stated in D. P. 219, as follows: "Finite cannot proceed from Infinite, and to suppose this is a contradiction; nevertheless, finite can be produced by the Infinite, but this is not to proceed but to be created."

     This means to me that, whatever the superficial appearances to the contrary, nothing finite can be regarded as the Divine Proceeding. And, therefore, those spiritual and celestial things with angels and men which are admittedly finite are not meant when the Writings speak of Divine Good, Divine Truth, Divine Love, and Divine Wisdom, all of which are the Lord. The finite spiritual and celestial things are, however, the image of God, which is called human, the image into which man was created.

     Let us see whether or not this is the plain teaching of the Writings, by citing a few passages for your consideration, and whether there is not a distinction clearly drawn between this spiritual and celestial man, who is an image of God, and the Lord Himself.

     In D. L. W. 287 we are taught: "That love and wisdom are man may also be known from the angels of heaven, who, in the measure in which they are in love and wisdom from the Lord, in the same measure are in beauty men. The same may be known from this, that in the Word it is said of Adam that 'he was created into the likeness and into the image of God,' because into the form of love and wisdom."

     Here it is said categorically that "love and wisdom are man." It necessarily follows, either that the "love and wisdom" here meant are human, or, if Divine, then man also is Divine. Yet the proponents of the Dutch Position deny that they attribute Divinity to man.

192

Furthermore, it is clear from this number that this "love and wisdom" are the "image of God" into which Adam was created. For it is said that he was created into this image, "because into the form of love and wisdom."

     That the love and wisdom which, according to the Dutch Position, are to be called "Divine," are the same as are here called "man," is perfectly clear from the following quotation from page 107 of the Fifth Fascicle of the magazine:

     "When it states in A. C. 49 that 'they did not call themselves men, but only those things in themselves-as all the good of love, and all the truth of faith-which they perceived they had from the Lord,' the reference is not to the goods and truths which flow in with the good and the evil alike, but to substantial forms of good and truth which were created and are continually preserved in them by the Lord."

     Note, it is "substantial forms of good and truth which were created and are continually preserved in them by the Lord" which are said to be Divine.

     That these created forms are called "Divine" because they are said to be the Divine Proceeding, appears evident from the following quotation, found on page 102 and 103 of the Sixth Fascicle:

     "All the good of love, and all the truth of faith which are with man are not man's but the Lord's with him; for it is the Divine Proceeding, which is the Lord in Heaven with the angels and in the
Church with men." (A. E. 460.)

     This passage is quoted by Mr. Pfeiffer in support of the idea that there is no such thing as "human love" and "human wisdom"; and it is applied to the goods and truths which are defined in the Writings as a spiritual creation, and as finite.

     Now note what is said in D. P. 219: "Finite cannot proceed from Infinite, and to suppose this is a contradiction. Nevertheless, the finite can be produced from the Infinite, but this is not to proceed but to be created." If the finite cannot proceed from the infinite, how can finite, created forms of love and wisdom be regarded as a "proceeding"?

     That the terms "love" and "wisdom" are used in the Writings in two distinct senses, will be clear from what follows. They are used with reference to the Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom of the Lord, which proceed from Him, and bring Him immediately present, both in heaven with the angels, and on earth with men.

193

But this Divine Love and Divine Wisdom remain ever Infinite and uncreate, even to the lowest ultimates. But the terms also are applied to "created forms" of love and wisdom, in the minds of men and angels, which are finite, and therefore not a proceeding. The first use is found in A. E. 460, quoted above. The second use is found in the following and other passages:

     "Of things created and finite may be predicated esse and existere, also substance and form, and even life, nay, love and wisdom, but all these are created and finite. The reason why these attributes may be predicated here, is not that these subjects possess anything Divine, but that they are in the Divine, and that the Divine is in them. For all that is created, in itself is inanimate and dead, but things are animated and made alive by the fact that the Divine is in them, and that they are in the Divine." D. L. W. 53.

     That created forms are not the Divine, but present an "image" of Him, appears from the following:

     "The universe, in the greatest and least things, and in the first and last things, is so full of Divine Love and Divine Wisdom that it may be defined as Divine Love and Divine Wisdom in an image. The created universe is an image representative of God-Man, and it is His Love and Wisdom which in the universe are presented in an image. Not that the created universe is God-Man, but that it is from Him; for nothing whatever in the created universe is substance and form in itself, or life in itself, or love and wisdom in itself; nay, neither is a man a man in himself; but all is from God Who is Man, Wisdom, Love, Form, and Substance in Himself. That which is in itself is uncreate and infinite; but that which is from Him, inasmuch as it carries nothing with it which is self-existent, is created and finite, and this represents an image of Him from Whom it is and exists." (D. L. W. 521 end.)

     And finally we are told in D. L. W. 389 that while "the form of love and wisdom, viewed in itself, is Divine," yet "all the determinations of love and wisdom are in it, which are infinite in God-Man, but finite in His image, in man, angel, and spirit."

     Nothing, it seems to me, could be plainer than this. If the finite forms of love and wisdom, which exist as affections and thoughts in the minds of men and angels, are to be called "Divine," then the men and angels also must be so called.

194

For the two are said to be identical. But it is clear that they are not to be called "Divine," because, being finite, they are not a "Proceeding," but a "Production," which is not the Lord, but an "image of Him." If they are not to be called "Divine," then what are they? Surely they are "human," and indeed the only truly human there is, distinct from God. They are called "human love" and "human wisdom" specifically in D. P. 275-6, and D. L. W. 257-8. Yet the proponents of the Dutch Position insist that they must be called a "Divine Proceeding," in direct contradiction to the plain teaching of the Writings to the contrary.

     Having adopted this as a universal principle, they then quote all the passages in the Writings which refer to Divine Love and Divine Wisdom as a "proceeding," and apply these passages to the interpretation of all the statements which refer to the finite and created forms of love and wisdom in the minds of men and angels. Here is the secret of the misunderstanding. And it leads to a tremendous divergence in doctrinal view. To illustrate, let us, in closing, state the opposing views, as to their main points, in order to illustrate the contrast between them.

     According to the Dutch Position, the Writings of the New Church are not the internal sense of the Word; while the General Church, on the authority of many direct statements, teaches that they are.

     The Dutch Position teaches that the Writings are a letter, heavily veiled, from which not a single spiritual truth can be derived by direct cognizance. The General Church, on the other hand, teaches that the only means by which the Writings can ever be understood, either naturally or spiritually, is by a direct approach to their plain statements.

     The Dutch Position teaches that, since the Writings are a veiled letter, an internal sense must be drawn from them, and formulated by regenerating men for the guidance of the Church; while the General Church teaches that since the Writings are the final Revelation of Divine Truth, no internal sense can ever be drawn from them expressible in human language, although such an internal does exist in the heavens.

     The Dutch Position teaches that the Writings, being the Word, are not the Doctrine of the Church.

195

The appearance that they so call themselves is a fallacy. The General Church teaches that the Writings are the any Divine Doctrine of the Church.

     The Dutch Position holds that the Doctrine of Genuine Truth must be made by regenerating men from the Writings, and when so made it is Divine, and has Divine Authority. The General Church teaches that the Doctrine of Genuine Truth, which is indeed Divine, is nothing but the universal principles of the Writings plainly stated in the pages of that Revelation. No doctrine made from the Writings by regenerating men is Divine, or has Divine Authority.

     Could there be a more direct or complete opposition than this? And all this opposition hinges on the belief that "finite forms of good and truth, created in man, and continually preserved in him by the Lord," are the Divine Proceeding, when the Writings say, that "nothing finite can proceed." Our choice is clearly drawn, between interpreting the Writings in their own light,-in the light of the universal principle plainly stated in their letter,-or of interpreting them in the light of a new Doctrine which contradicts this universal principle and substitutes an opposite principle in its place. I believe that the General Church will remain true to the very first principle of the Academy, and will hold to the plain teaching of the Writings, acknowledging no other Authority, and no other law.

     18. Rev. E. Pfeiffer said he had the feeling it would not be profitable to enter in detail into points of doctrinal difference. These points of doctrinal difference had been presented amply in recent years. There were one or two statements made which gave him hope it might be possible to give some light, namely, "at the very starting point of the doctrinal part of your speech. We entirely agree that the Church could never be guided except by the plain teaching of the Writings. You consecrated your argument to D. P. 219. We clearly see that you have misunderstood that point. This seems ridiculous, as we have had this explained a thousand times."

     He proceeded to contrast the opposite interpretations of this passage, adding that it contained their own position, namely," That the Infinite cannot proceed from the finite; but it can proceed through the finite." He saw a certain hope in discussing this number.

196

In the spiritual world the angel knows that his body or his surroundings are not Divine. Yet he knows that his affection and wealth of truth-that this is a Proceeding of the Holy Spirit, which essentially is Divine, and not finite. The element of the Infinite is in all. That is not a created spiritual object. It is the Divine Proceeding through! In the Church-passing through the consciousness of the Church-this is Divine.

     He spoke of the things that "have the essential quality of being His things." These are not human. If these things are not present, the Church will gradually fall to be a merely human institution. "The Infinite can proceed through the finite and remain Infinite." Thus the Divine "proceeds through scientifics."

     (In answer to a question by Bishop de Charms, viz., "Would you say the thoughts and affections of angels are Infinite!"):

     "There are discrete degrees of Infinitude." The answer cannot be given so simply. These things are complex, and involve many things. "The truths and goods have the essential elements of Infinitude." . . . "The consecrated feeling-love-this is the essential which has an Infinite element." . . . "The finite is always adjoined to the Infinite."

     (In answer to a question by the Rev. R. W. Brown: "How can man distinguish between what is of the Lord and what is not of the Lord?"):

     They could spend hundreds of hours over such questions. Man was continually under the necessity of making a choice-a choice from the Lord. We must trust the Lord. Then we should be able to "see that this one thing is pure-from the Lord." . . . "We could get an assurance of seeing the Divine Truth. This was not an intellectual thing."

     In regard to the Divine Proceeding, he pointed out that "in an angel there are three Divine Proceedings, the first, through the internal; the second, through the external; and the third, the actual consciousness of the Holy Spirit."

     This was all he wished to say on the doctrinal side. He took exception to a few other things.

     "It was wrong that I asked you, Bishop de Charms, for ordination. Ordination from you would be impossible. I asked the Church."

197

     Bishop de Charms said he willingly accepted Mr. Pfeiffer's emendation.

     Rev. E. Pfeiffer (addressing Bishop de Charms): "In what you said this afternoon, you suggested that, in the written account of Thursday night's meeting, there were things put down by me that were not said."

     Bishop de Charms (in reply): "I am not particularly concerned about it. I am willing to accept your own account. I can only say there were things I did not hear."

     19. It was moved and seconded: "That we hear the account of the meeting of last Thursday evening, at this time."

     Bishop de Charms suggested that the time was, perhaps, too late (then about 5 p.m.).

     Rev. Karl R. Alden suggested that we adjourn, and meet again this evening.

     Bishop Acton asked if there were any reasons why the paper should not be read now.

     Bishop de Charms said he had only expressed a personal preference, as he felt a little tired. In answer to a question, he said that, if it were read, there would not be time to discuss it.

     Rev. E. Pfeiffer requested that the account be not read now. It would be too tiring.

     Bishop Acton felt we had arrived at a time when there was no further use discussing doctrinal differences. If we did so, the discussion would be interminable. The Bishop's paper had clearly illustrated the fact that there are two vital doctrinal differences between us, viz., (1) that the Letter of the Writings so deeply veils the internal sense, that the internal sense can be drawn out solely in the same way in which it is drawn from the Old and New Testaments. This position is repudiated by a majority of us. (2) That the "Doctrine of the Church" is Divine, and is of Divine Authority. This also we repudiate. We have not time now to discuss further the merits of these doctrines. The Bishop had specifically described two irreconcilable positions in his Report on the State of the Church. The only question was, what were we going to do about it? This was the reason why he wished the report read,-because it was a concrete statement of actual conditions,-a statement approved by Mr. Pfeiffer himself. He believed it the only basis for discussion at this time.

198

     Rev. Karl R. Alden supported the proposal that it be read now.

     Rev. W. L. Gladish said that, as an older man, he objected to an evening session. Some of us were not so young as Bishop Acton.

     Rev. T. Pitcairn said Bishop Acton had spoken as if he did not want to hear the doctrinal side. He had prepared a paper on the doctrinal side which he would like to present.

     Bishop Acton said he hoped nothing he had said would be interpreted as a desire to suppress doctrinal views. But the real question before us was the specific report on the State of the Church.

     20. On motion (5.12 p.m.), it was agreed unanimously that Bishop Acton be asked to read a manuscript, entitled: "Brief Account of a Meeting held March 25, 1937, at Bryn Athyn, Pa.," being an account written by the Rev. Ernst Pfeiffer, and, as to the main points involved, approved by Bishop de Charms.*
     (This account was afterwards published on pages 3-13 of a pamphlet, "Documents Concerning the Separation of the Rev. Ernst Pfeiffer from The General Church of the New Jerusalem. Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania. April 7, 1937," sent to the members of the General Church.)

     Bishop Acton now read this.

     21. On motion, the meeting adjourned at 5.50 p.m.

     Third Session-Friday morning, April 2, 10.00 a.m.

     22. The meeting was opened by Bishop de Charms, by the reading of the Word and prayer.

     23. Bishop de Charms said the proposal that had been made by Mr. Pfeiffer involved primarily a matter of order, and had to do with the doctrine of the Church only in the sense that the doctrine of the Church was drawn from the Writings. He wished to point the discussion in the direction of the subject before us. Mr. Pfeiffer's proposal would vitally change what we had understood to be the order and organization of the General Church. From the beginning, our order and organization had been drawn from the direct teaching of the Writings. We should discuss the grounds on which the new order is to be based. It was proposed that there be a number of separate bishoprics, each independent of the other. This was the proposition as he understood it. If he was mistaken, he could be corrected. The matter was now before them for discussion.

199

     Rev. W. L. Gladish said there seemed no need of further doctrinal discussion. As Mr. Bjorck's letter, read at the first session, dealt with this proposal as to government, he called for the rereading of this letter.

     24. The meeting being in agreement, the following letter from the Rev. Albert Bjorck was read by the Secretary:

     Woodgreen, Fordingbridge,
     Hants., England,
     March 1, 1937.
To the Secretary of the Council of the Clergy:

Dear Mr. Whitehead:
     I have received your circular letter re the annual sessions of the Council, April 1 and 2 this year. Sometime ago I had a letter from Bishop de Charms in which he says that, if I cannot come to the meetings, I can indicate my choice for Bishop of the Church by writing to you as Secretary of the Council.

     I do not want to vote for anyone to become the Bishop of the Church as long as that practically, as it has for many years, means a one man government of the Whole Church. If I could be present I would suggest that the Revs. Ernst Pfeiffer and Theo. Pitcairn both be ordained into the third degree of the priesthood; that the Societies and groups in Holland and France be constituted a diocese, and that such members of the General Church in other European countries who wish to belong to that diocese should be enabled to do so. The members or representatives of the members of the new diocese should then select one of these two men as governing Bishop. The other should automatically become Assistant Bishop.

     If I could be present at the sessions, I would suggest that the consideration of the State of the Church should come before the choosing of a Bishop. My reason for this is, that in a discussion on the state of the Church I would be able to produce evidence showing that none of the two men now in the third degree is worthy of the confidence of the members of the Church, and that they both have disqualified themselves for that office.

     As I cannot be present, I am going to send copies of a letter I am writing to a friend in the U. S. A., to some of the members of the Council and of the Executive Committee, in which letter I am setting forth this evidence.
     Very sincerely,
          (Signed) ALBERT BJORCK.

200

     25. Rev. W. L. Gladish (resuming) said we all believed that the Bishops spoken of were ordained by the Lord. Yet Mr. Bjorck did not believe that these men were even honest or honorable men, and sought to turn our minds against them. As to those who also thought so, he felt we ought to be willing to let them go, and wish them Godspeed. Mr. Bjorck's place was not with us. We had reached an impasse.

     26. Rev. T. Pitcairn said that Mr. Bjorck wrote that letter without their knowledge. He felt regrets that Mr. Bjorck had written and sent it in that form. He thought the letter should not be considered as a basis of discussion. There were two problems before us. First, the difficulty as to a separate diocese in Holland; second, his (Mr. Pitcairn's) position as an Assistant Pastor in Bryn Athyn. These were the two practical difficulties. The General Church had no constitution. The Writings were the Constitution. This implied the right of appeal to the Writings. He had prepared a paper on "Truth and Good in Man after Reception." This paper was such an appeal.

     27. Rev. K. R. Alden moved, Rev. R. G. Cranch seconded, "That the Rev. T. Pitcairn's paper be presented immediately." Carried, with one dissenting vote.

     28. Rev. T. Pitcairn read his paper on "Truth and Good in Man after Reception," as follows:

     "GOOD AND TRUTH WITH MAN AFTER RECEPTION."

     "It has been said that there cannot be opposite teachings concerning the Divine with man in the same Church, on account of the disturbance such opposite teaching causes. The teaching referred to is that good and truth are Divine after reception.

     "It has appeared to me that my sermons and classes have not disturbed the congregation, except a very few; the reason I cannot avoid this subject is that it appears to me to be an essential teaching of the Word.

201

I wish to present a few of the numbers, particularly taken from the Arcana Celestia, so that you may realize my point of view in this matter. I realize that most of you will understand them differently, but yet I believe they are of such a nature that you will be able to realize my point of view in this matter.

     "While some of them may be familiar to you, I believe the majority are not.

     "It appears to me that a man should not be questioned in regard to his preaching and classes as long as he preaches and teaches that which appears to be plainly taught in the Word, even when there are differences of understanding. Due to the shortness of time I will comment very briefly on the passages read."

     The speaker then read the following numbers, or portions of them:-A. E. 34; A. C. 1001, 3712, 109, 933, 1000, 1001, 1594, 1894, 2359, 2751, 2859, 2904, 3061, 3379, 3394, 3700, 3702, 4151, 5114, 6866, 6999, 7000, 7193, 7268, 8472, 8864, 9166, 9503, 9517, 9776, 9946, 10125, 10151, 10359, 10578, 10609, 10618, 10645.

     "In the above passages (concluded the speaker) it is said that 'all good is Divine with man, because it is from the Divine; every truth which is truth is Divine; man can receive the Divine, and not only receive it, but make it his own by acknowledgment and affection, thus by reciprocation; good and truth in heaven are the Lord because from Him; and that all good and truth are from the Lord, insomuch that good and truth with man are the Lord Himself.' Not a single passage has been brought forward from the Writings which teaches that there is human good and truth, or what is the same that good and truth are man's. Yet it is claimed by those opposed to our views that they believe in the plain teaching of the Writings. This is something that we cannot understand."

     29. During the reading of the paper the following questions and answers were given:

     Bishop de Charms-"Are we to understand that the good and truth after reception are finite?"

     Rev. T. Pitcairn-"Good and Truth in itself is infinite, but clothed in appearances."

     Bishop de Charms (commenting): "Both finite and infinite!''

     Bishop Acton-"Is it infinite in its proceeding from man?"

     Rev. T. Pitcairn-"In itself it is infinite."

202

     Bishop Acton-"Is your understanding of it infinite?"

     Rev. T. Pitcairn-"No. But an idea contains infinite truth."

     Several-"Nobody denies that."

     Bishop de Charms-"We wish to know whether your comprehension of it is infinite?"

     Rev. E. Pfeiffer suggested that Mr. Pitcairn continue with his paper.

     30. The paper ending at 10.47 a.m., Rev. K. R. Alden moved, Rev. E. Pfeiffer seconded, and it was unanimously agreed to take a recess until 11 o'clock.

     31. Meeting resuming at 11 o'clock, Bishop de Charms said they had heard the paper which again raised the doctrinal question. We might discuss these doctrinal differences interminably; but great divergence of views remained, as Mr. Pfeiffer admitted. What was immediately before us was the proposal made by Mr. Pfeiffer. What should we do! We should turn our thoughts directly to this, to face and to solve it.

     Rev. K. R. Alden wished to ask a question of Mr. Pfeiffer.

     Bishop N. D. Pendleton asked if we were going to have another doctrinal discussion.

      Rev. K. R. Alden prefaced his question by saying, "You say (addressing Mr. Pfeiffer) that the new position is more different from the General Church than the position of the General Church is from that of Convention. My father felt that he could, in honesty, no longer work in the Convention, so he left it, and came to the General Church. If it is true that this new view is so much more different, how can you, in conscience, desire to receive your support from the General Church! How can that be possible?"

     Rev. E. Pfeiffer-"Do I have to answer that question?"

     Bishop de Charms-"Do just as you please, Mr. Pfeiffer."

     Rev. E. Pfeiffer did not think the comparison with Mr. Alden's father was just the same. Mr. Alden (Sr.) looked to the Lord to find his way. It was a fact-which appeared in a certain way in the account-that "up to our arrival in Bryn Athyn separation did not enter into our thinking. We had hoped that some other way might be found. Even yesterday and this morning the feeling came that doctrinal discussion had not been exhausted. But according to Bishop de Charms' ruling, this was out of order.

203

If the amended account of last Thursday night's meeting be followed carefully, it will be seen that the idea of separation has been forced upon us by circumstances." All this had passed within a few days. It ought to be plain that such a serious thing should be more considered. "It is not true that we have considered separation or have prepared for it." "We are not attempting to destroy the General Church." He felt it a duty to consult the Church in Holland,-to consider what was their feeling. As things stood, it almost looked like separation. But he wished to see that the Lord had made it;

Bishop de Charms (addressing Mr. Pfeiffer): "You have placed the issue very squarely upon myself. I should like to reply to this placing of responsibility for separation on my shoulders. You say that you had never thought of separation until after your arrival in Bryn Athyn this time. I do not question your belief in this But it does not square with things said to me as long ago as 1931, when you spoke with me regarding separation. But the point at issue now is whether you recognize the order and organization of the General Church, and your relation to it as a Pastor in that body. Mr. Beef said that at ordination he did not give his allegiance to the General Church, but only to the Lord. You said much the same thing. This implies that the order and organization of the General Church is something which is contrary to your conscience, and that your conscience cannot be bound by it. Our present order and organization has grown up with us as the order and government of the New Church, as we see it in the Writings. It is true that our body is an external organization in which all our members have agreed, in freedom, to unite. The Writings themselves teach us the necessity for an external organization. Every church has both an internal and an external. Every church has soul, mind, and body. The body is its organization. There must be an ordered body if there is to be an ordered mind. Much is said in, these days as if government is an oppression; and indeed, such it may become. But the prime purpose of government is the preservation of freedom. Without order there can be no freedom. Our order and organization has been freely entered into by all its members. In doing this we give allegiance for the sake of the freedom of the Church.

204

We must be loyal in this, if disorders are not to enter to make the internal freedom of the Church impossible. Your proposition does not recognize this order, but challenges it. It proposes to place another order in its stead. I wish to point out that such an order must be freely accepted by all. If you have another order, you must firstly show that it is derived from the Writings; and secondly, by instruction, you must have that order accepted. For myself, I am not free to sanction such a change as you propose. Why do you make this proposal, Mr. Pfeiffer? Is it because the present order interferes with your freedom? You must have concern for the freedom of others. You cannot, in seeking your own freedom, destroy the freedom of others. This is the issue. It is not Bishop Acton or myself who has brought separation, but your own expressed desire no longer to follow the order and organization of this body. If you are willing to follow it, to recognize its order, and subordination-that is another matter. My duty as Acting Bishop is to protect the order of the Church, not for the sake of subordination, or dominion, but to protect the freedom of the General Church, for its order was established for the sake of freedom. Of course, there may be varieties of government within the New Church. But there cannot be two different forms of government in the same body. There cannot be two centers of government, having two different heads, in the same church. It is not a fair thing to place the responsibility for a separation on me. I have not proposed to change the order of the General Church. I have only asked that that order be observed. This involves that no man is free to use his position, as an ordained and commissioned Pastor, to preach to members of the General Church without sustaining the principles of the General Church. Our members belong to the General Church, and not to the Pastor. Our order imply requires that Pastors shall sustain our general principles,--that is their trust. If you disagree, if you cannot in conscience sustain this order, what can you do? That is not my responsibility. This organization of the General Church is not a tyranny,-it is not a one man government, as charged by Mr. Bjorck. But I am charged with a specific duty. That duty I cannot avoid. This is now challenged by your proposed new order. You claim freedom to use this body without meeting the responsibilities required. In charging that we are responsible for forcing the separation, you are not stating the facts as I understand them."

205

Rev. H. Boef-"I remember very clearly that, when I was ordained, it was stated in the Liturgy that I was ordained as a priest of the New Church, and not of the General Church. My allegiance is to the Lord and His New Church, as I see that taught in the Writings. At my ordination the Bishop said, 'I accept you now as a minister in the General Church.' You speak of the Order and Organization of the General Church as a written constitution, as something that cannot be changed. In my view, it is not a fixed thing that cannot be changed as circumstances require." (Here the speaker quoted remarks by Bishop Acton as to ministers teaching doctrine as they see it to be true. See page 66, Journal of Joint Council, 1915.) "Having given my allegiance to the Lord's New Church, I have taught the people what I believe to be the doctrines of the Lord. The General Church is only an approximation to the Lord's New Church. In working for the New Church I have been working for the General Church. I do not see that Mr. Pfeiffer's proposition means the destruction of the General Church, but a further development of it. If we had a house of Bishops, there would be no such thing as a single head."

Bishop A. Acton said that what Mr. Boef says as to ordination in the New Church was correct. But when he was recognized by the ordaining Bishop as a minister of the General Church, he became an official of the body, bound to carry out its purposes. This is on a different basis. If he feels that he can no longer serve as an instrument, or be in sympathy, this standing in the organization can be taken away, or it can be given up. This involves no inhibition on a minister's freedom, or on his duty to the Lord. This is solely between him and God. But in the meantime he has a duty as an officer to his organization, and cannot work against that organization. It has been said that separation was first uttered within the past few days. It was immaterial as to the date. The truth was that, as Bishop Pendleton saw many years ago, there had been for a long while a real separation-something diametrically in opposition. (Referring to Mr. Pitcairn's paper): This could be avoided if Mr. Pitcairn had said, "We do not believe that what proceeds from man is Divine. Our expression of doctrine is but the expression of a finite understanding. The only Divine thing is the Writings." But Mr. Pitcairn would not say that.

206

There was already an internal separation, as expressed in the concrete thesis of the Dutch Magazine, namely, that the doctrine of the Church is Divine, but that the doctrine of the Church is not the Writings. There was the clear separation. These gentlemen must consider where is their spiritual home,-with the General Church or away from it. They cannot hold two conflicting opinions. They published a journal, many pages of which contained accusations against the General Church. He quoted two passages by way of illustration. It was for every member to decide for himself. We claimed no Divinity for our views, but only our own freedom. They must cease the attacks on the General Church. By emphasizing these attacks a separation was already in process. If they were right as to their doctrine, the Church would be led to see it in time. Separation was not of our doing. The spiritual separation appeared in their bitter words against even the motives of those responsible for order in the General Church. Referring to Mr. Bjorck's letter, he said that he had hoped to hear some words of repudiation of his accusations.

     Rev. E. Pfeiffer (in response to the speech by Bishop Acton) said he would not reply to the main speech. But he thought it his duty before the Lord to make one quotation from the Word. We do not. say the understanding is Divine. . . . We hold that "the Infinite cannot proceed from the finite."

     Bishop Acton-"Will you say the Divine cannot proceed from the finite?"

     Rev. E. Pfeiffer-"It is the same to me." He quoted D. P. 219, which he said involved the point of his speech yesterday.

     Bishop Acton-"Is man's understanding of the Word Divine!"

     Rev. E. Pfeiffer-"Yes-and no."

     Bishop Acton-"Don't blame us when you say that we do not understand."

     Rev. E. Pfeiffer-"Is it not the wonderful thing that men are able to be the sons of God? Is that not the one living thing of the New Church?" He pointed to the teaching of A. C. 1594. He spoke of the "Divine perception with man." They pointed to the plain teaching of the Word.

     Bishop de Charms said that what Mr. Pfeiffer had said merely emphasized the essential differences between us. We all believe in the plain teaching of the Writings. But we had a fundamentally different interpretation of that plain teaching.

207

It was true that the Divine passed through the finite when everything of the proprium was put to sleep. The Lord spoke through prophets in this sense. But there was a clear distinction between this and when men were not so possessed. The things men think and say were not the Divine Proceeding. This teaching had been confused. As to the speech of Mr. Boef-Mr. Boef did not regard our order as fixed, and thought that it might be changed. He agreed with him. But until it was changed we had a duty with respect to it. It was not true that we should disregard order because we personally desired a change. When Mr. Beef was accepted and recognized by the Bishop of the General Church, he assumed certain obligations which should be observed, so long as he accepted his charge. (Addressing the Rev. H. Boef): "In putting the emphasis entirely on ordination into the New Church-regardless of all other considerations-you have not regarded the obligation which you yourself accepted at that time. How can we go forward if every man claims freedom to accept, and yet disregard, obligations at the same time! In this there is disorder. If you remain, then it is right that you should be asked to regard obligations as they stand-until orderly changes might be made. Mr. Pfeiffer proposes a tremendous change,-as he claims, out of charity. My duty is to uphold the order as it stands until it is changed. If I fail in this, I would not be true to my duty. Mr. Pfeiffer would recognize the right of ministers to assume positions of trust, and at the same time to teach principles and doctrines not recognized by the General Church. Thus some priests would be preaching one set of beliefs, and some priests another set."

Rev. E. Pfeiffer-"I don't admit the accuracy of the last two or three sentences."

Bishop de Charms (continuing): "At any rate, the specific proposal is to ordain someone into the third degree to be Bishop of an independent diocese,--such independent body to be recognized in all societies of the General Church. The General Church is not only to recognize, but support, such a body." (Addressing Rev. E. Pfeiffer): "You have said that certain ministers are now working along the lines you believe in; and they must be absolutely free to teach the Hague Position to the members of their societies. Our people, being members of the General Church, presumably recognize the principles of our body, and look to their priests for guidance and instruction therein.

208

They cannot be expected to find guidance in two bodies of diametrically opposite teachings. They cannot follow both. How can we of the General Church, in any orderly way, send priests to people who are definitely opposed to the principles of the General Church, and desire a wholly opposite kind of teaching?"

     (At this point Rev. T. Pitcairn objected to certain of Bishop Acton's doctrinal statements. Bishop Acton replied; and a brief doctrinal discussion ensued.)

     Rev. N. Reuter asked what we should do about the practical aspect of the situation. It seemed agreed that there was an irreconcilable and essential difference as to doctrine. But the opposite side took the position that it was only a development of doctrine. The problem to him was that he could not see how these gentlemen could function within the General Church. The early Academy men felt that, as an honest thing, and to regain their freedom, they had to separate. Was this a divergence of doctrine, or a discrete difference in doctrine? Anyway, it seemed they claimed a discretely different organization. One group claimed to be in the spiritual heaven; the rest of us, apparently, were in the natural heaven. He could not see how they could be satisfied to work with us in the same government and organization. Not one of us looked at separation with joy. We needed patience, and the uninstructed of the Church should be given to understand the situation. Rut he did not see how those who wanted the new order could desire to remain in the General Church.

     Rev. E. Pfeiffer wished to correct one sentence. If they followed the amended account, they would see that "it was our idea that there should be an entirely different organization. Even the name should be different."

     Rev. T. S. Harris said that the question before the Council was that of separation. They had been sidetracking the issue. He had been brought up as a Methodist, and became a Methodist minister. Methodism was very solid on experience. His experience in the Methodist Church had resulted in being introduced to the teachings of the New Church. When he accepted its teaching, he at once preached it. When he was officially asked whether he preached sound doctrine, he said that he could not give an affirmative answer. So he resigned. He was not forced out.

209

He went out in freedom because he had changed his doctrine. Later, as a minister in Convention, he had a similar experience when he changed to the General Church. When he could not honestly remain inside the body, and be in freedom of conscience as to doctrinal teaching, he would get outside the ring and be free to teach it.

     Rev. H. Boef said he could truthfully say that he had not disregarded the present order of the General Church. He had not preached disloyalty to the people. When he came into agreement with the new movement, he wrote to Bishop Pendleton, giving him his full confidence. This letter was not answered. Why was he not separated before? They saw this new view as a development of the General Church. Was it thought that the issue would be disposed of by separating? It would not. It was a living issue. He discussed the disastrous effect of a separation in the General Church. It would result in a stereotyped growth. Immediately a man disagreed with the governing Bishop, out he would go. What would they do with the South Africans when they began to develop new ideas of doctrine? His wish was that members of the General Church should see this new view. Then the General Church would be more living than in the past.

     Rev. Elmo C. Acton said he had come firmly to believe in these new views. But he did not feel compelled to leave the General Church. It was a mistake to say that there was a fundamental difference. There was an essential difference, perhaps. What the General Church believed was contained essentially in Bishop W. F. Pendleton's "Principles of the Academy." He found nothing in this he could not agree with.

     32. On motion the meeting adjourned until 3.30 p.m.

     Fourth Session-Friday afternoon, April 2nd, 3.30 p.m.

     33. In opening the afternoon session, Bishop de Charms felt that we should hear from those who had not yet spoken.

     Rev. F. E. Waelchli said he held the prevailing views of the General Church-not because they were the prevailing views, but because he believed them to be true. These views were set forth in Bishop W. F. Pendleton's Science of Exposition with some slight variations.

210

These views were present in all his work-whether sermons or doctrinal classes. He felt certain that the same must be true of those who held the new views-their vital and guiding principles entered into all their sermons and doctrinal instruction. This was evident to him on listening to those who advanced the new ideas. It had been said that this movement had not caused any disturbance to any, save a few. He questioned this. His experience as a visiting pastor in the General Church had been that there was a great deal of disturbance. He believed that from not a few of the laymen would come something of a protest. He spoke of the series of doctrinal classes conducted in Bryn Athyn by the Rev. Theodore Pitcairn. He mentioned practices such as kneeling before one of the Writings instead of the Word; opening one of the Writings instead of the Word; and not choosing the lessons from the Word. In the other world, they do not open one of the copies of the books of the Writings in worship, but the Word of the Old and New Testaments. As to the sermon he had heard, the whole quality or spirit of the new views was present. It could not well be otherwise. In passing, he mentioned his dislike of the reiterated references to "the Latin Word." Yet we do not speak of "the Hebrew Word" or "the Greek Word." He spoke of attending a service recently just before leaving Bryn Athyn. After the sermon he felt so unpleasantly affected that he left before the Holy Supper. He quoted the young minister who had insisted that his wish was that all the members of the General Church should see the new views. Such work belonged to the De Hemelsche Leer group-it was not the work of the General Church. Another young minister had said, "I have come firmly to believe the new views." What else could he do than teach and preach them? It rested with these persons to determine their course of action for themselves. In the meantime one duty rested with them. When they heard the government of the General Church criticized, it was their duty as ministers of the General Church to rise in defense. If not, they were failing in their duty. They need to have a spirit of full loyalty, and not loyalty to something other than the General Church.

Rev. F. E. Gyllenhaal said we had fully considered the doctrinal position-fairly and patiently. He was not disturbed by the doctrinal position, but by the attitude to order and organization.

211

He knew of none in his own society who were disturbed doctrinally. But many were disturbed by the apparent challenge to the government of the Church, and the apparent weakness in not meeting that challenge, and acting swiftly. Mr. Pfeiffer had made a proposition. This had been heard, discussed, and rejected. The Council could not accept that proposition. We were naturally reluctant for action. He wanted to know what the proponents particularly Mr. Pfeiffer-wanted us to do. The situation was what it was before-but with the more generally expressed view that something must be done. Further doctrinal discussion seemed to result only in further evasions of direct answers. What they seem to want is a continuation of doing what they have been doing in the past. They may have thought of resigning, but they are not ready for that until the time when they are ready. It was natural that they should desire this. When we know that the membership of the Church is disturbed as to the order of the Church, it is our duty to protect our members. It was owing to us to state frankly and openly what it was they wanted to do. We ministers had to go back to our societies; and it looked as if nothing would be done, no proposal would be made by the proponents of the new views. He wished to ask Mr. Pfeiffer if he could tell them-his proposal having been rejected-was there anything that could be done-any action that they proposed to take that would set at rest the disturbance in the Church? Had he any further definite and concrete proposal?

Rev. Elmo C. Acton said he felt that the Rev. F. E. Waelchli was right. For himself, he could not make doctrinal studies, or preach, or give classes, without involving the new ideas. He recounted the history of his own connection with the new movement. He said that after coming to believe in this position he wrote to the Bishop and told him, and offered his loyalty and affection. The new views were not opposed to the doctrine of the General Church as he understood it. He saw an interior view of the Writings as the Word. The Bishop had replied that he noted this, but could not understand how he could arrive at that position. He (the speaker) did nothing consciously, in Durban or Bryn Athyn, to destroy esteem and respect for the General Church and its leaders. He felt he had been furthering the work of the Church. His only consideration had been,-were these new views taught in the Writings!

212

He quoted Bishop W. F. Pendleton as to " seeing the Lord in the Writings." He believed sincerely, however, that the men in charge of the government of the General Church had acted in all sincerity and love. He did not question their motives. He felt that he spoke for the others. He believed the plain teachings of the Writings were a ground for mutual understanding. There were many passages that opposed each other. He had noticed no especial disturbances in South Africa or Bryn Athyn. Some had questioned. But they did not stay away from classes or services. Much of the disturbance was imaginary. At Newark, a member of the Church, raised in our schools, had asked him, "Are they going to throw you out? The General Church should be large enough to admit variety of opinion." He himself remembered the controversy of 1915, when we wanted to throw out Dr. Acton, who was now a Bishop of the Church. He referred to his Young People's Class in Bryn Athyn, and felt satisfied there was no disturbance there. We had had differences of doctrinal views with other Bishops.

Rev. W. B. Caldwell said that the rejection of Mr. Pfeiffer's proposal had his, entire support. The Church must have one head. Even if we agreed with them in doctrine, it would be disorderly to have more than one head. We had been imposing upon ourselves a silence which was misunderstood in the Church. The last Fascicle showed no modification, but was more aggressive than before. He believed the teaching was beginning to infect the children and the simple, and we must protect them. He related an incident in a class in the Academy Schools. He considered it a subtle poison to inject the idea that anything about man could be Divine. We need have no fear as to the intelligent of the Church. But the time had come for protection of those who needed it. To teach that man could be a god-that in any sense he could be Divine-was wholly erroneous. These views did not belong in our Church. He himself had repudiated the movement from the beginning. We had been patient and silent too long.

Rev. Homer Synnestvedt said that he could bear testimony as to the honorable spirit of his young colleague, Rev. Elmo C. Acton. But he spoke of the subtle danger of the movement in undermining what was of the General Church. He spoke of similar situations in the history of the New Church.

213

The time had come to check, and openly to come out against this new movement, which opened the way to an authority that comes through men. It involved the subtle promise of another revelator-that everybody, in a certain sense, would be able to emulate Swedenborg. As to the challenges made regarding the personal honor of the leaders of the General Church, he resented and decried that whole process. This was a condition destructive and intolerable to the order of the New Church. That order required that those who made disturbance must be separated. The time had come for action.

Bishop N. D. Pendleton-"It has ever been my view that the ministers of the Church should be in freedom to preach and teach things in the Writings which they believe to be from the Lord. It has always been my conviction that few, if any, of our ministers teach without committing at some time or other some errors in interpretation. I have never thought that ministers should be held up on the ground of such errors, but encouraged to go forward as to the direct teaching of the Writings. This has been the lawful method of procedure. But when the DE HEMELSCHE LEER doctrine first came forth, I was convinced that it did not belong to that class of mistakes of interpretation. It was not that kind of error-it went deeper. It was universal in its scope. If right, it might prove to be a great blessing; but if wrong, it would prove to be the reverse. Realizing the sweep and importance of the new doctrine, I came to see in it one of the most fundamental heresies the New Church has ever had to deal with. I have never seen any reason coming from that source to change my mind, but everything to confirm it. When the last Fascicle came out, I confess to a little admiration for the ingenuity of some things in it; but it went so far that it seemed to represent the end of any faith in it, so far as a New Churchman could entertain it. We have been very patient, hoping for an amelioration of this state. But now, very definitely, I have lost any hope-even the most vague. Our friends have gone into fields so vague that no loyal New Churchman can follow them. I have had strong personal affection for some of these men. It is a painful thing to break with them. But a time has come at last for judgment. I believe the gentlemen should be put into a greater state of freedom. It would mean freedom as well for ourselves. I want to see us have the freedom that we want and love.

214

Again I would say that I have had a feeling of great personal affection for some of my brethren. I can only say that I think they are very unfortunate in their views. Doubtless they think the same of us. Nevertheless, part-I think-we must."

Rev. T. Pitcairn said that he wished to respond that he had great affection and personal esteem for Bishop Pendleton and other leaders in the Church. It did not alter his personal feelings. He believed that they were acting for the Church according to the light that they were in. He would not wish them to act in any other way. What Mr. Synnestvedt had said as to the authority of men appeared just the opposite to them. The General Church seemed to have a doctrine which was of authority. The Church had set up an authority of doctrine. They did not see where it was in the Word. A doctrine had been set up that was taught nowhere in the Word. They could not subscribe to it. They had hoped all along their doctrine would be considered. "You hold to a doctrine and are satisfied with it, and are not willing to go to the Word with us."

Rev. C. E. Doering said his work brought him into contact with young people and children. He related an incident of a boy who had come to believe that he was regenerated, having read a Fascicle from Holland. It was time for the children to be protected. He referred to Bishop Benade's famous article on "The Nature of Swedenborg's Illumination." In the passages cited from the Writings, Swedenborg nowhere claimed that he was regenerated. Yet the claim was made in the Fascicles that the teaching given out as the genuine doctrine of the Church could only be drawn from the Word by regenerated men. As a mathematician, accustomed to logical thinking, he would say that the logical conclusion of their position was that they were regenerated men. Mr. Pfeiffer had said that they desire a new organization with a new name. This meant separation. Then, for Heaven's sake, why did they not separate? He saw nothing to hold them. Why not do like every other person who has changed his faith, and said good-bye, and gone off in a spirit of charity? He did not see why we could not do that. He related incidents connected with the resignation of Academy members from the Canada Association in 1891. He was in thorough accord with the refusal of Bishop de Charms to accede to the request made.

215

Rev. G. H. Smith said he did not feel very good at expressing deep feelings. He admitted he felt very much disturbed at the possibility of a separation in the General Church. Yet, judging from the history of the Church, it seemed that there might be some advantages in it-especially had it been taken earlier. It ought to be true that doctrinal differences do not separate. Doubtless there had been errors on both sides. There was at present no publication in the Church in which both sides could be presented simultaneously. The General Church was not wealthy enough to do that. The General Church and its governors had been anxious to pursue the policy of toleration, hoping for a solution. Our leaders had been very patient,-perhaps too much so. The movement in Holland deserved one commendation, that it had stimulated students of the Writings. But we had reached a remarkable situation when we were speaking of "the doctrine of the General Church" and "the doctrine of the Dutch Position." He had a simple suggestion, that is, if these gentlemen would resign of their own accord. But it was an absolute fact that the time for doctrinal discussion had gone by. He pictured how the new proposal would be likely to work if accepted, indicating the probable confusion and disorder. If they no longer had confidence in the leadership of the Church, the next step was to withdraw. The Bishop had clearly told us what his duty must be. He hoped that the next step would not have to be to put them out. As to the Bjorck incident, he had felt in the past that it was a case for charity, but Mr. Bjorck was fighting against the Church. Why fight against the Church when it was in such a pitiable position in the world, with so limited a power of expansion? Why not do one's best to protect the Church, instead of attacking it? We had all been under a strain, yet there had only been a small degree of acrimonious talk. He was grateful for that, and also if personal friendships would not be impaired. But no other standpoint seemed possible than to separate; so he asked of these gentlemen, "Why not leave the Church of their own accord, and so part in friendship?"

Rev. Vincent C. Odhner read a written statement to the effect that the problem seemed to be as to whether or not this was a closed matter as to doctrine. He had always held that there should be freedom of thought and speech. But if any believed their view was irrefutable Divine Truth, the time of discussion had passed.

216

     Rev. K. R. Alden spoke as to the relation of the controversy to the schools. He paid a tribute to the ability of the Rev. Elmo Acton as a teacher and leader of the young people. Mr. Acton taught two classes in Religion in the Boys' Academy. We faced a practical situation. Boys in the school were fully aware of the essential doctrinal differences between us. He instanced one student who has, under the leadership of DE HEMELSCHE LEER believers, developed strong convictions that he has an inner light, not shared by all the teachers who have not accepted such teaching. Such dilemmas were a practical problem. The mixed state frustrates our work and robs us of vitality. He agreed with Mr. Smith that the new movement had stimulated the reading of the Writings. But if the gentlemen are correct, and the real power of spiritual growth is with their movement, why do they not feel free to resign?

     Rev. T. Pitcairn said that they had listened to what had been said, and would give it consideration. But he did not think any hasty steps should be taken at this time.

     Bishop A. Acton said reference had been made to the controversy of 1915. It was true there were doctrinal differences, but there was no disturbance of the present kind. Charity had prevailed. He reminded the meeting that the teaching was, that controversies on doctrine did not divide, if charity were present, unless they were on the idea of God, or of the Word. In this case we disagree on our idea of the source of instruction from the Word. It should also be remembered that a Church had the right to preserve its unity. As in a family, differences might occur, but unity overruled in the face of a possible breakup. A church had a right to expect its officials to be in sympathy with its general policy and principles. When our own officers spread opinions known to be fundamentally opposed to our position, it brought a sphere of serious disturbance. It was not a question of suppression, but one of preserving that unity of thought in which we wish our own children to be brought up. He could not see how any amount of charity could dispose of this problem. Our friends claim the possession of a new light in which they say we do not live. We live in two different lights.

     Rev. E. Pfeiffer wanted to say two or three incidental things. It was very regrettable that a side issue had been brought in by the Rev. Homer Synnestvedt,-the fact of expressions of disrespect in the letter from the Rev. Albert Bjorck.

217

"When these came up, we rejected them at once as disorderly and regrettable." As to the reports of doubts, etc., among the children-these came from misrepresentations. "We cannot accept that the poison has come from our sphere." In the measure in which man makes progress in regeneration, more and more he comes into doubts. He deeply appreciated the spirit of the Rev. Gilbert Smith's remarks. But it did not appear so simple to them. "I must be sure before the Lord that. I act according to the light I have. There are complications of the issue at this moment. I cannot clearly see my way to act,-about the way or the time when to resign. I grant the possibility and probability of resignation. But I do not see my way clear at this moment. The fundamental thing that divides us especially came up in Bishop de Charms' paper. That I have a different concept of government is true. But do not misunderstand this. In the New Church there will not be anything external apart from the corresponding internal to which it belongs. In this concept the Lord alone is the Church. The specific New Church makes the body of that Church. The government, etc., have a life only as they are in the Lord. The Lord is the All in all-including the things of government and administration. "We are considering that the Church at present is governed in an external way. There will be a separation of the external and the internal. What was his relation to his brethren of this Church? If the externals departed, there was that which made the General Church which he saw twenty years ago. He saw this Church still-in remnants of these states of good and truth. He felt an obligation to these. He wanted to see his way clear. "This issue has been handled by a few men. I am convinced there are still great doubts as to what has happened. I will have to continue to look to the Lord,-to come to a decision as to what I should do. If this is not satisfactory, I cannot help it. We leave further developments to the Providence of the Lord."

Bishop de Charms said he appreciated Mr. Pfeiffer's frankness. He believed it represented his honest conviction. "It is a severe indictment of myself and of the leaders of the General Church. But I also look to the Lord and to the dictate of my conscience; and I am willing to leave the judgment of my character to the future of the Church.

218

Mr. Pfeiffer believes that the General Church has lost its soul-that it has become corrupt-that its leaders have cut themselves off from the light-that it has set up a human authority in place of the Divine. But he believes that some remnant may yet be saved, and so he wishes to continue association. Herein lies his hesitation.

(Addressing Mr. Pfeiffer directly): "Place yourself in my position, Mr. Pfeiffer. Whatever you may think, I stand with a responsibility on my shoulders of directing the policy of the General Church. I also have great concern as to the same simple people and children of whom you speak. Our Pastors are the spiritual fathers and shepherds of their people, and it is their duty to guard them against dangers to their spiritual life. I cannot take an action that says, in effect,' I now have such charity for the Hague principles that I will authorize and promote this teaching to the people.' I cannot do that without proving false to my trust. I do not believe it is true, as you say, that the General Church has separated itself from the Lord. I accept your description of the Church as an external Church in which internal things are to be its soul, but our difference is as to how that life is to come. It is not as to whether the life of the Church is Divine or human, but how that Divine shall rule in the Church. Our position is that the Lord can govern only if we look to the Writings alone to guide our thought. Then the Lord will guide His Church. You also say this. Yet you say that not one single spiritual truth can be derived by direct cognizance. It is to be derived in a different way. The truth derived in that way is not the Lord to me. I believe the Lord speaks to His Church Infinitely or directly in the Writings, rather than in any doctrine which can be drawn by regenerating men. The Writings themselves are the light to me-not any regenerating man's understanding of them. Our fundamental difference is as to how the Lord is to be the light of His Church. When you describe our position, you tell me that I am separating myself from the Lord and seeking to guide the Church by human law and authority. I do not believe that. Because I believe that this new doctrine will draw our people away from the light, I feel it my duty to defend the Church and her people from that doctrine. It is impossible for us together to teach the same people. All people look to their own Pastors for the truths of the Church to which they freely belong.

219

It is the duty of the priests of any church faithfully to instruct in the truth of the church to which they belong. You have no right to use your position to take away from our people that which they seek in their own Church. No church in the world would recognize such a right. Your anxiety is for the remnant. My responsibility is to protect them-if I can. The Lord guides His Church by and through His Priesthood; that is the sacred oath of their ordination. You can see the impasse between us. Nothing of lack of charity can explain this away. I regret that you find it necessary to place me in the position you did in your last speech. For you to say that the leaders of the Church have cut themselves off from the Lord is a spiritual judgment that you have no right to make. The situation is one in which we at last understand each other. First, you acknowledge the difference of fundamental doctrinal beliefs. Second, you have asked for the formation of a separate body. Third, you have asked that its leaders shall be ordained and authorized in order to be free within it to teach the doctrines of the new diocese. I shall leave it to your own conscience as to what you believe you should do. I have nothing more to add at this meeting. I believe for the moment it should rest there."

     Rev. E. Pfeiffer (addressing Bishop de Charms): "I feel impelled to thank you for your last statement. I regret your interpretation of my remarks as to human leaders which have been brought within the sphere of ecclesiastical order, or that I want to bring judgment on you, or on the Church as corrupt. I am deeply convinced you have not separated yourself from the Church."

     34. On motion, the meeting adjourned at 6.30 p.m.

     Public Session-Friday, April 2, 7.45 p.m.

     Following the customary Friday Supper of the Bryn Athyn Society, an Open Session of the Council of the Clergy was held in the Assembly Hall, Bishop de Charms presiding.

     The speaker of the evening was the Rev. Alan Gill (Kitchener, Canada), who delivered a deeply interesting and stimulating address on "The Shortcomings of the Spiritual Man." The address was discussed by the Revs. G. H. Smith, F. E. Gyllenhaal, V. J. Gladish, Mr. O. W. Heilman, and Bishops Acton and De Charms.
     Respectfully submitted,
          WILLIAM WHITEHEAD,
               Secretary, Council of the Clergy.

220

JOINT COUNCIL. 1937

JOINT COUNCIL. Various 1937

     BRYN ATHYN, PA., APRIL 3, 1937, AT 10 A.M.

     1. The Forty-third Annual Meeting of the Joint Council of the Clergy and the Executive Committee of the General Church of the New Jerusalem was opened with a reading from the Word and prayer, conducted by the Acting Bishop, the Right Rev. George de Charms, who presided.

     2. The following members of the COUNCIL OF THE CLERGY were present: Acting Bishop George de Charms, the Rt. Rev. N. Dandridge Pendleton, the Rt. Rev. Alfred Acton; the Rev. Messrs. Elmo C. Acton, Karl R. Alden, H. W. Beef, R. W. Brown, W. B. Caldwell, L. W. T. David, C. E. Doering, A. Gill, V. J. Gladish, W. L. Gladish, F. E. Gyllenhaal, T. S. Harris, E. Pfeiffer, T. Pitcairn, N. H. Reuter, G. H. Smith, H. Synnestvedt, F. E. Waelchli, W. Whitehead, R. G. Cranch, V. C. Odhner.

     The EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE was represented by Messrs. K. C. Acton, E. C. Bostock, R. W. Childs, E. H. Davis, D. Gladish, H. Hyatt, A. P. Lindsay, R. Pitcairn, and P. Synnestvedt.

     3. The Minutes of the last Annual Meeting, which was held on April 4, 1936, were adopted without reading, as published in NEW CHURCH LIFE, June, 1936, pp. 177-182.

     4. The Bishop made a statement as to the leading purpose of this special meeting and its proposed agenda. Owing to the regrettable illness of the Secretary, the Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner, he had asked the Secretary of the Council of the Clergy, the Rev. William Whitehead, to act as Secretary pro tem.

     5. On motion, it was unanimously agreed that the Secretary pro tem. be instructed to send the affectionate greetings of the Council to the Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner, with our hope for his speedy recovery.

     6. The Report of the Secretary of the General Church was read and, on motion, adopted and filed. (See May issue, p. 144.)

     7. The Report of the Secretary of the Council of the Clergy (already read in the Council of the Clergy) was received and filed. (See May issue, p. 147.)

221

     8. The Report of the Executive Committee of the General Church was read by Mr. Randolph W. Childs, and approved, and ordered filed. The Report follows:-

     April 2nd, 1937.

     To the Acting Bishop of the General Church of the New Jerusalem,
          Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania.
DEAR BISHOP DE CHARMS:
     As Secretary of the General Church of the New Jerusalem, a corporation, I submit the following report for the period from the Joint Council Meetings held in 1936 to the present meeting of the Joint Council.

     During this period the Executive Committee has devoted its efforts toward the support of the general uses of the Church. These uses comprise the support of the Bishop's office, New Church Life, the office of visiting pastor, traveling expenses of ministers in various centers, aid for the partial support of the work being done by the Rev. A. W. Acton at London, Rev. Gustav Baeckstrom at Stockholm, Rev. Erik Sandstrom at Jonkoping, Rev. H. W. Beef at Los Angeles, Rev. Victor J. Gladish at Colchester, Rev. Norman Reuter at Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, Rev. Eldred Iungerich at Paris, Rev. Ernst Pfeiffer at the Hague, Rev. W. Cairns Henderson at Sydney, Australia, and pensions.

     The importance of sustaining these uses is great, and it has been and will be the effort of the Executive Committee to co-operate with the Treasurer of the General Church in endeavoring to collect more money, so that we may pass beyond that curtailment of support which of necessity has accompanied the depression. The reduced size of New Church Life is a constant reminder of the unfortunate effects of a policy of curtailment. The past year has witnessed a number of changes.

     Rev. Elmo C. Acton accepted a call to become a teacher in the Academy Schools in Bryn Athyn, and the Rev. Philip C. Odhner accepted a call to succeed Mr. Acton as Pastor of the Durban Society. Rev. Norman Reuter, after becoming visiting pastor of the Detroit Society, left his pastorate at Wyoming, Ohio, to act as assistant pastor at Kitchener, Ontario, and was succeeded as pastor in Wyoming by the Rev. F. E. Waelchli.

     The Committee has encouraged the preparation of the proposed new Liturgy, which involves a more thorough revision than was originally planned.

     The Executive Committee has authorized a contribution to assist in defraying the expenses of the General Assembly to be held this year.

     The outstanding event of the past year was the retirement of Bishop N. Dandridge Pendleton as Executive head of the General Church. It is our hope that we shall long enjoy the benefit of his counsel. His wise and courageous policies of government will always be an inspiration to the members of the Executive Committee, and will strengthen us in our resolution not to be found wanting when the General Church of the New Jerusalem needs support and protection.

222

     Respectfully submitted,
          (signed) RANDOLPH W. CHILDS,
               Secretary of the General Church of the New Jerusalem, a corporation.

     9. The Editor of "New Church Life" and "New Church Sermons" made a brief, oral report, which included a note of the change which allowed flexibility in the size of the "Sermons" pamphlets, ranging: from 8 to 16 pages. This was convenient, as "sermons did not seem to come in standardized lengths."

     10. The Treasurer of the General Church submitted the printed 8-page Annual Report for the year ending December 31, 1936, already sent to all members. This was on motion adopted. The Rt. Rev. Alfred Acton suggested a small additional expenditure, viz., that some means be placed at the disposal of the Bishop to enable him to send full information on important matters to all members of the clergy, perhaps by circular letters. Ministers away from Bryn Athyn, and not members of the Bishop's Consistory, were at a disadvantage in not knowing what was happening. Mr. Hyatt stated that no such fund existed; but he was sure the Executive Committee would approve of going ahead with such a plan.

     11. The following Special Report of the Council of the Clergy was presented by its Secretary:-

     "To the Joint Meeting of the Council of the Clergy and the Executive Committee of the General Church of the New Jerusalem:

     "With reference to the naming of the choice of the Council of the Clergy as to the election and confirmation by the General Assembly of a Bishop of the General Church, it was, at a meeting held on Thursday morning, April 1, 1937, moved, seconded and carried: "'That the choice of this Meeting is the Right Reverend George de Charms.'"
     WILLIAM WHITEHEAD,
          Secretary, Council of the Clergy.

     12. A letter from the Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner, which arrived too late for presentation to the Council of the Clergy, was ordered read.

223

In it he recorded his vote for the choice of Bishop of the General Church.

     13. The following Special Report of the Executive Committee of the General Church, consisting of a letter and enclosure, was presented by its Secretary:-

Bryn Athyn, Pa.,
April 2nd, 1937.

To the Secretary of the Council of the Clergy:

Dear Sir:
     Receipt is acknowledged of your communication of the 1st inst.

     I have the honor to hand you herewith a copy of a resolution passed this day at a meeting of the Executive Committee of the General Church of the New Jerusalem.
     Sincerely yours,
          (signed) RANDOLPH W. CHILDS,
               Secretary of the General Church of the New Jerusalem, a corporation.

     WHEREAS, the Council of the Clergy has transmitted to the Executive Committee the following communication, dated April 1, 1937:

     "With reference to the naming of the choice of the Council of the Clergy as to the election and confirmation by the General Assembly of a Bishop of the General Church, it was this morning moved, seconded, and carried

     'That the Secretary of this Council be instructed to inform the Executive Committee that the choice of this meeting is Bishop George de Charms.'"

     and

     WHEREAS, the Executive Committee has considered the nomination of Bishop de Charms for the office of Bishop of the General Church of the New Jerusalem, now therefore be it RESOLVED that the Executive Committee hereby unanimously records its confidence in Bishop de Charms and in his qualifications to lead our Church and to preserve freedom and order; and be it

     FURTHER RESOLVED that the Executive Committee is in unanimous accord with the action of the Council of the Clergy in nominating Bishop de Charms for the office of Bishop of the General Church; and be it

224

     FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this resolution be transmitted to the Joint Council.

     14. At the end of the reading of the Reports, Bishop de Charms said it was now in order to consider the mode of procedure of presenting the subject last considered to the General Assembly.

     15. On motion, it was unanimously voted that the meeting hear a paper on the subject of "The History of the Mode of Appointing a Bishop of the General Church,"-a paper written by the Rev. Charles E. Doering at the request of the Consistory.

     The paper followed. (See page 171.)

     16. At 11.00 a.m., at the conclusion of the paper, a brief recess was ordered.

     17. The Council reconvened at 11.25 a.m., when Acting Bishop George de Charms stated that he had already expressed to the Council of the Clergy his deep appreciation of the selection made as leader of the Church. He wished to add his sense of appreciation of the trust expressed by the Executive Committee in confirming that choice. It was of the utmost value and importance to the Church that there should be unity in the Church as to its leader. Its prosperity and development depends upon its unity. The outstanding feature in the historical record presented by Ur. Doering was that our past leaders had had first regard to securing the unity of the Church. It had been the purpose of Bishop William Frederic Pendleton to preserve the order of government specifically described in the Writings. Thus we had been able to secure greater freedom in our church government than would have been possible by any purely democratic mode as practiced in secular government.

     It was sometimes charged that our form of government was a restriction on individual freedom. It was his firm conviction that it operated in just the opposite way. It provided time for careful consideration, for full and free discussion in the Council of the Clergy and in the Executive Committee, and in a way impossible on the floor of a mass meeting. It provided for a sensing of the state of the Church before action. Whilst there might be the appearance that the part played by the General Assembly was somewhat perfunctory, yet this was not really so. All our pastors are in touch with the sentiments of the members of their societies and circles.

225

The members of the Executive Committee were scattered throughout the Church. They could and did reflect a knowledge of the general state. They brought to us a knowledge of the mind of the Church. If it was clear that there was not essential unanimity, then opportunity was given for delay.

     Our mode of procedure was somewhat unique in the history of church government. It had been a growth out of the position of the General Church in accepting the Writings as its guide. Certainly it provides for freedom and unanimity as far as is humanly possible.

     He referred to the discussion on "The State of the Church," which had taken place during the last few days in the meetings of the Council of the Clergy,-particularly the states arising out of the new doctrinal views developed at The Hague, Holland, some years ago. This discussion arose out of what transpired at a meeting held about a week ago (Thursday evening, March 25) between the proponents of these views and himself, and available members of the Consistory. He understood that the members of the Executive Committee had read the written account of that meeting, which account had been agreed upon as an authentic record by the Rev. Ernst Pfeiffer and himself.

     The discussion in the Council of the Clergy has made it clear that Mr. Pfeiffer fully recognizes the essential differences of doctrine between himself and the recent leaders of the General Church. In Mr. Pfeiffer's view, the General Church has separated itself from the Lord; and therefore he (Mr. Pfeiffer) no longer feels himself in sympathy with this body, or able to cooperate with it, recognizing that separation is necessary and inevitable.

     Since Mr. Pfeiffer's proposal of a new form of government (made at the meeting above referred to) had not been acceptable to the Council of the Clergy, he has expressed his intention to establish an independent body, under a different name,-in fact, a separate Church. Yet Mr. Pfeiffer does not wish to resign at this time, on the ground that he does not see his way clear, that he wishes to consult the Church in Holland, and that he has concern for the "remnant" in the General Church. Bishop de Charms said that the matter might rest there for the moment. He felt that the time had come when our body should be fully informed as to the facts.

226

     As to the "Mode of Appointing a Bishop of the General Church," Dr. Doering's paper had put before us a plain account of the accepted order of our Church. This order was not a fixed law of the General Church. We have no such immutable laws. We hold ourselves free to make such changes as seem wise. We may accept and continue, or change, the order described. The paper given was not intended as indicating any restriction on action. The meeting was free to suggest any change.

     18. Mr. Randolph W. Childs moved the following resolution:-

     "Resolved, that this Joint Council is of the opinion that the nomination of Bishop George de Charms by the Council of the Clergy, and the concurrence of the Executive Committee in that nomination, be reported to the General Assembly by the Secretary of the Council of the Clergy, and the Secretary of the Executive Committee; and that Bishop George de Charms be then nominated for the office of Bishop of the General Church:

     "Such nomination to be made by the Secretary of the General Church, and seconded by the Secretary of the Corporation of the General Church."

     Mr. Paul Synnestvedt seconded this, remarking that it seemed an ideal arrangement.

     Mr. Raymond Pitcairn said that, at a meeting of the Executive Committee, the statement of the mode of selecting Bishop N. D. Pendleton had been read. (See NEW CHURCH LIFE, July-August, 1917, p. 462.) With reference to the correspondence between Bishop Pendleton and himself (NEW CHURCH LIFE, April, 1916, pp. 230-247), referred to in Dr. Doering's paper, this was many years ago. He was in entire sympathy with an order which provided for the voluntary action of all parts, and preserved the freedom of the laity. He was very happy over the way in which the selection of the Bishop is made. He fully agreed with Bishop Pendleton that the mode is more a process than an election.

     The Rev. F. E. Gyllenhaal pointed out that there was one slight departure from precedent, namely, that the Secretary of the General Church was now to make the nomination.

     This resulted in a discussion, by the Rev. K. R. Alden, Mr. Kesniel C. Acton, and others, ending in a motion, unanimously adopted, to substitute the following in lieu of the second paragraph of the above resolution:-

227

     "Such nomination to be made by the Secretary of the Council of the Clergy, or some other member of the Council of the Clergy selected by him; and to be seconded by the Secretary of the Executive Committee, or some other member of the Executive Committee selected by him."

     The suggestion was made, and on motion adopted:

     "That the Rt. Rev. Alfred Acton be requested to occupy the chair of the General Assembly during the process of Selecting a Bishop of the General Church."

     Mr. Paul Synnestvedt remarked that our general theory and practice of Church Government seemed to afford an exceptional illustration of how both order and freedom could be secured in the same organization. If our citizens could carry out some of these principles on the civil plane, it might make some substantial improvements in democracy.

     19. The Rt. Rev. Alfred Acton moved that Dr. Doering's paper be published in the next issue of NEW CHURCH LIFE. It would be useful to all our people to follow the proceedings of the government of the Church. Mr. E. C. Bostock supported this.

     Bishop de Charms felt it was of importance that all of the meetings should be reported to the Church at an early date. Sometimes our members were not informed as they should be in regard to the course of events.

     On substitute motion by Mr. H. Hyatt, it was unanimously:

     "Resolved, that in the opinion of this Council the Proceedings of the Council of the Clergy and of the Joint Council, as well as Dr. Doering's paper, should be published with the least possible delay."

     After discussion by the Rt. Rev. Alfred Acton, the Revs. K. R Alden, W. B. Caldwell, W. Whitehead, F. E. Gyllenhaal, the Rt. Rev. N. D. Pendleton, and Messrs. R. Pitcairn, H. Hyatt, and R. G. Cranch, it was unanimously agreed, in order to secure an accurate and impartial record, that it be:

     "Resolved, that a Committee on Publication be appointed by the Bishop."

     20. Rev. E. Pfeiffer (addressing Bishop de Charms) said that he wished to make one short remark with reference to his (the Bishop's) earlier remarks as to the proceedings in the Council of the Clergy. As a whole he accepted those remarks as fair.

228

But he had not made the statement that" the Church had separated itself from the Lord." What he said was that "the organization and administration of the General Church had separated itself from the Lord." He saw a very essential difference in that point; therefore he felt impelled to make that statement. Also he wanted to emphasize that he hoped it was actually a fact that all of the members of the Executive Committee had read the account of the meeting of March 25th before coming to this Council.

Bishop de Charms said he was quite willing to accept Mr. Pfeiffer's correction of his remark. It was satisfactory to him.

Mr. Randolph W. Childs said the members of the Executive Committee had read the statement of the meeting referred to. He said it was read to all the members who were present at their meeting yesterday. Mr. Pfeiffer had raised a question as to whether the members of the Executive Committee were familiar with the nature of the Dutch Position. He, for one, could assure him that he had read all the Fascicles except the last one, and that while he had not the theological learning possessed by our priests, he had no difficulty in grasping the fundamentals of the Dutch Position. The Academy has based its position upon the plain sense of the Writings. Mr. Pfeiffer had maintained that our loyalty to the priests of the General Church was a matter of personal loyalty. He wished to assure him that if a Bishop-any Bishop-of the General Church should claim Divine Authority for any interpretation made by him, they would repudiate his teaching immediately. 'There would be a revolution. The laymen were thoroughly familiar with the attack which had been made upon the General Church. They were astonished when they learned that Mr. Pfeiffer had said that there was a greater difference between the Dutch Position and the Academy Position than between the Academy Position and Convention. They were astonished that a priest of the General Church would seek ordination in order to work against its organization. The laymen were shocked to learn that Mr. Pfeiffer had said that there was a young man in Holland who wished to study for the priesthood, but could not be educated in our Theological School, and must have separate facilities in Holland. They were surprised that Mr. Pfeiffer should take the position that his allegiance was to the Lord alone, and that he owed no loyalty to the General Church.

229

We admit there is a Church of which the Lord alone is the head, in which there are no degrees of the priesthood, or any difference between priests and laymen; but that Church was the Church Universal, into which men came after death, and whose membership could not be identified in this world. Our duty of loyalty was to the organization in which we were commissioned to serve, in lesser and greater degree. We had been faithful to the Principles of the Academy. The worst that Mr. Pfeiffer could say of us was that we had remained in externals. He seemed almost to think that we were predestined to do so. To the organization of the General Church we would give our strength and loyalty to the end.

     Rev. E. Pfeiffer made a statement to the effect that he was surprised Mr. Childs should speak of a Bishop who might arise in the Church to claim authority for his own interpretation, and there would come a revolution. He was surprised that this point should have arisen, because they had never claimed authority for the least statement or for any word that had been formulated by them and put before the attention of the Church. They never did that from the beginning.

     Mr. Kesniel Acton: "Do you admit the theoretical possibility that the Dutch Position might be incorrect?"

     Rev. E. Pfeiffer: "Insofar as we see the essentials of the position plainly taught in the letter of the Latin Word, these principles will be Divinely true to all eternity."

     Rev. T. Pitcairn referred to a statement made by Bishop de Charms on the previous day. He wished to say that the indication that the time had come for separation was stated by the older men and by the leaders of the Church. It did not come from us. As to theological students not being sent from Holland, it had been mutually agreed not to have a man come here to Bryn Athyn who already had strong convictions for the new ideas.

     Bishop de Charms: "No statement was made to that effect."

     Rev. T. Pitcairn: "Some sort of statement was made, and not contradicted."

     Mr. Raymond Pitcairn: "I should like to ask Mr. Pfeiffer to repeat the last part of his last remark."

     Rev. E. Pfeiffer: "My reply was that we are firmly convinced that if we saw any of the doctrinal points of the new position-the essential points-plainly taught in the literal statement of the Word, in that measure we were convinced that it was a Divine Truth which would never be proved to be a falsity to all eternity."

230

     Rev. K. R. Alden: "We all agree about that. I want to ask the categorical question: What was meant when it was said in the First Fascicle that 'Now the Lord Himself will speak to us from the pages of this magazine'?"

     Rev. E. Pfeiffer said this question had been asked so many times, and answered just as many times. In the First Fascicle you find numerous statements that no authority may ever be asked for any teaching except in the letter of the Writings. This is the truth. It has been our position from the beginning. When you ask how the Lord teaches through a periodical, it is the same as asking how the Lord teaches truth in a living church. But you will agree that it would take too much time to enter into such a matter now.

     Bishop Acton said that the claim was made that not a single thing stated in the new position was not to be found in the Latin Word,-or the Writings. What internal sense, therefore, was to be found in the Greek Word, or the Hebrew Word?

     Rev. K. R. Alden asked that we continue the discussion in an afternoon session.

     Bishop de Charms remarked that he did not see the use of this. On both sides we have agreed we could go on for years without getting anywhere. We should rest satisfied with this agreement.

     21. On motion, carried unanimously, the meeting adjourned at 12.50 p.m.
     Respectfully submitted,
          WILLIAM WHITEHEAD,
               Secretary, pro tem.

231

Church News 1937

Church News Various 1937

     GLENVIEW, ILLINOIS.

     The pupils of the day school attended the Palm Sunday service in vestments, occupying the front seats of the church. Some bore palm branches and all carried flowers, most of them potted plants. The little children under school age also brought forward offerings of flowers. The school recited and sang with the choir and the congregation, and the choir rendered that splendid anthem by Gounod, "Unfold ye Portals Everlasting." The pastor addressed us on the meaning of the day, and the presence of the little ones added greatly to the sphere. The offertory was carried to the chancel by four of the older boys of the school.

     The Easter service also had the active participation of the entire school but the pupils were not segregated and not in vestments. The flowers from Palm Sunday still decorated the church very beautifully, and with the breath of spring.

     At the March meeting of the Glenview Chapter of the Sons of the Academy, the speaker of the evening, Mr. Sydney E. Lee, delivered a paper on "Preparation," in which he described the work accomplished by the Swedenborg Society of London and the Swedenborg Foundation in this country in translating, publishing, and distributing the Writings. He cited truly amazing figures.

     Through donations alone, the Foundation had distributed 1,047,813 volumes of the Writings, and the total distribution from all sources exceeded 50,000 volumes a year. He also outlined the work of the Evidence Society, spoke of "a machine-gun barrage" of pamphlets issued by the Missionary and Tract Society, and of the Foreign Missions. In an Epilogue, it was made very evident that his purpose was to stimulate and encourage the Sons to an effort worthy of the great cause of New Church Education, and to envisage the unlimited opportunity that lies before them.
     J. B. S.

     JONKOPING, SWEDEN.

     The first more important event in the fall season, outside of regular Sunday services and Thursday study evenings, was our Christmas Bazaar on December 5, at Villa "Klinten." The affair was arranged under the direction of Mrs. Kelfve, and the evening's program consisted of the selling of New Church literature and numerous articles made by our lady members during the previous half-year; serving of coffee; phonograph music; and an auction of those articles that remained unsold. There was also a lottery on a picture and a guessing contest. The proceeds are to be used in part for paying off the remaining installments on the chairs bought by the Circle in its beginning, and for future missionary lectures.

     Our Christmas service was held early Christmas morning at seven o'clock, in accordance with Swedish custom. A candle-lit Christmas tree, and other candles besides the seven on the altar, gave a warm and peaceful sphere to the early morning worship. The sermon was on "When Salvation Begins," treating the beautiful and well-known text from Isaiah, "Unto us a Child is born."

     New Year's service began, as last year, on the Eve of the New Year at 11.15 p.m. The sermon ended a few minutes before twelve.

232

A psalm, the 103rd, was read from the altar, and then, after one minute of perfect silence, a gong announced the stroke of twelve, and the Lord's Prayer was said in unison in the first minutes of the New Year. The service of the Holy Supper followed.

     The sixth of January, called here Trettondagen (literally Thirteenth Day), thirteen days after Christmas, is observed in Sweden as a holiday celebrating the coming of the wise men to Bethlehem. This holiday we honored with an afternoon service for children, the first we have had here. The children were told about the guiding star, and how they, as well as the wise men, could follow a star. After the service a children's party, in charge of Mrs. Fornander, with games, dances, and refreshments, and the Swedish custom of bearing out the denuded Christmas tree to signify the end of the Christmas season, was enjoyed as much by the twenty-four adults as by the twelve children present. Five of the children, as well as three infants under one year not counted in the above twelve, are of New Church parents, the other children being brought in from outside for the children's service by adult members.

     On Swedenborg's Birthday we gathered at Villa "Klinten." After coffee and cakes were served, the pastor first spoke of the value of celebrating Swedenborg the man as a friend and leader, aside from his great service as a revelator, and pointed out some of the qualities of his character worthy of being followed. An interesting account of the unveiling of Swedenborg's sarcophagus in the cathedral of Upsala in the year 1910 was read from a newspaper of that year. Mr. Kelfve gave us the evening's paper, an interesting presentation on unity, or oneness, showing that a oneness alone is a recipient of life, even as the Divine One is Life Itself, and that that which is divided in non-cohering parts is a recipient of sin; also that man in himself is sundered, on which account he must be healed and brought into a oneness, and that this work, done by the Lord with the cooperation of man, necessarily stretches over a long period of time.

     In the beginning of February our pastor was called to Stockholm to serve the society there in the illness of Mr. Baeckstrom. Of the three Sundays during his absence, only one was without a service here, the other two being conducted, as in former days before there was a resident pastor, with one of the laymen reading the lessons and a sermon from Mr. Baeckstrom.

     On February 24, the annual meeting was held. After general business and the selection of minor officers, the subject of "How should the New Church Circle fulfill its purpose of `working for the spreading of the New Church'?" was put up for discussion. Two ideas were suggested, the one involving the ladies, and consisting of preparation and distribution of clothes for poor children with the aim of contacting them for possible instruction, besides preparation for another bazaar; and the other involving the men, and consisting of the distribution of handbills with quotations from the Scriptures and the Writings, leading up to a public missionary lecture or lectures. At a later meeting of the council it was decided that the latter plan would best succeed in the fall season, and a book-selling campaign from door to door was chosen for present activity. This has been started, with promise of some success in arousing interest, or at least making the Church known.-A memorandum, requiring an extra meeting and containing suggestions for activity looking to strengthening our group, spreading knowledge of the Church, and contacting other New Church organizations, was presented by Mr. Lennart Fornander, some of which suggestions can be realized at present, and some may be valuable in the future.

     On February 27, we celebrated at Villa "Klinten" the wedding of our organist, Miss Magda Thorman, and Mr. Ake Sigstedt. Flowers and candies, and a clarinet, violin and organ trio to accompany the singing and play the wedding march, contributed to the festive feeling.

233

A short sermon presented the doctrine that the way to truly conjugial love is the same as the way to regeneration, and that external vows and bonds are meaningless, as far as spiritual things are concerned, unless both shun evils as sins, for it is only the internal of the two that can actually be made one. A very deep and beautiful sphere of the holiness of marriage surrounded the ceremony and added to the gladness afterwards, when a toast was drunk to the couple, and a gift, consisting of a copy of Conjugial Love and some silverware, was presented from the Circle.
     B. S. S.

     SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA.

     In continuance of the arrangements made last year, the tempo of our society life decreased considerably after the Christmas celebrations. During the summer months of January and February our ordinary activities were restricted to the weekly evening service and the usual sessions of the Sunday School. One meeting of the Ladies' Guild was held, and our celebration of Swedenborg's Birthday and the Sunday School picnic also took place in this slack period.
Our second celebration of Swedenborg's Birthday was held on Saturday, January 30, as late trading takes place in most stores in Australia on Friday evening, and a meeting on the 29th would have meant a few enforced absences. As some of our members were on vacation, the arrangements were somewhat simpler than last year, but in general the same procedure was followed. The church was appropriately decorated, and at the close of an appetizing social supper, tastefully prepared and served by the ladies of the Social Committee, and presided over by the pastor as toastmaster,-toasts to "The Church" and "Emanuel Swedenborg" were honored in wine and song, as is the custom of our Church. A series of papers on Swedenborg's "Rules of Life " were then read, that on the first Rule, by the Rev. Richard Morse, being read in his absence by the toastmaster. Messrs. Lindthman and Sydney Heldon and Alfred Kirschstein dealt respectively with the remaining Rules, and the stimulating quality of all four papers ensured an interesting and useful discussion. A Swedish song was sung by the pastor, and as the gathering was thus disposed favorably to the idea of going home, the meeting closed with the singing of "The Brotherhood." Miniature Swedish flags, and copies of the "Rules of Life" printed on postcards, were presented to all the guests as souvenirs of another eventful and inspiring occasion in our society life. We were again favored with fine weather for our Sunday School picnic, which was held on Saturday, February 6, at a nearby pleasure resort. Children and teachers spent an active and happy day together, and all seemed to regard the picnic as a great success.

     What has now become our full program of uses was again taken up at the beginning of March. Morning worship and the monthly Evangelical Service were the first of these uses to be resumed. At the latter, the pastor, preaching on Isaiah 53:3, dealt with the merely human and the Divine in the Lord and the importance of distinguishing between them in thought, especially in relation to the Lord's sufferings. Later in the week the first meeting of the young people's class was held, at which an extended study of the doctrines pertaining to regeneration was commenced. The society Doctrinal Class was resumed the following Sunday evening, and the first of a series of classes on the virtues enumerated in Conjugial Love, no. 164, was given. Towards the end of last year there was a marked increase in attendance at class, and we are happy to record that this appears to have been carried over into the new year.

     Our preparation to enter into the gladness to which the church returns every Eastertide began on the second Sunday in March, on which the subject of the sermon was Mary's act in anointing the Lord, as recorded by Matthew.

234

The topic dealt with on Palm Sunday was the purging of the temple, as described by the same Evangelist, and in the afternoon the story was retold to the children in simpler form. Once again we met in the evening of Good Friday to take part in a service of praise, during which a short address was given on the signification of the rending of the veil of the temple as the Mary-body of our Lord died on the cross. The Holy Supper was administered on Easter Sunday after a sermon on the Walk to Emmaus, and at the always impressive and delightful children's service an address was given on the story and meaning of the Lord's resurrection, with reference to its parallel in human life. The first Feast of Charity to be held this year took place in the evening, and the reading by Mr. Ossian Heldon of Bishop Acton's paper," The Science of Correspondences," opened new horizons of thought before us. We were conscious in all our Easter services and meetings of the presence of a decided sphere of a very high quality which, we feel, has strengthened our hands, and given us a new devotion to our uses. No social functions of a general nature have yet been held this year. The Ladies' Guild has tentatively adopted the practice of designating a hostess for each meeting, and at the March meeting a very interesting program was presented by Mrs. Heldon, who initiated this new order.

     In concluding this report we would like to refer to a very fine bequest which has enriched our modest library by over three hundred volumes of Swedenborgiana. This generous gift, which comprises a complete set of the Writings, the major scientific and philosophical works of Swedenborg, several New Church commentaries and periodicals, and some of the cream of our collateral literature, came to us from the library of the late Mr. William Henry Bannister, who passed into the spiritual world last year. This fine man and earnest New Churchman was never a member of our body, but his clear perception of the fundamentals for which we alone stand in the world led him more and more to associate with the society in Hurstville, and we believe that this bequest indicates surely the bent of his affections.
     W. C. H.

     AUSTRALIA.

     The Story of Noah's Ark Among the Aborigines.

     The Rev. W. Cairns Henderson has kindly sent us the following account, which appeared recently in a Sydney newspaper:

     "Mr. J. B. Gibbs, of St. Vigean's Station, Northern Territory, states that the most remarkable discovery he made in the course of a long study of the Australian aboriginal was that the blacks had handed down through the centuries a tribal tradition which apparently had its origin in the Biblical story of Noah and the Ark. He has lived in one of the loneliest sections of the Gulf country for nearly thirty years, and it was many years before he could understand the language of the aborigines, because he had considered it desirable to insist that they should understand commands given in English.

     "He had often heard parents telling their children a story of big rains, followed by floods that covered the whole earth, and of the good man and his wife who floated off on a big tree, taking with them a pair of each species of animal. The story included a landing on a mountain, and the growth of a new tribe. Careful investigation had convinced him that this legend was of ancient origin, and was not the relic of some garbled fragments of missionary teaching."

     The New Churchman, of course, will agree with this conclusion; for the stories of the Garden of Eden and of the Flood, now found in varying forms as legends among primitive peoples, were in the Ancient Word, and spread from the Ancient Church to all parts of the world, as also in later times from the Hebrew Scriptures.

235

We may recall briefly what we are told in the Writings on this subject:

     "That from the most ancient times there was religion, and the inhabitants of the world everywhere knew concerning God, and something concerning the life after death, was from the Ancient Word, and afterwards from the Israelitish Word. From these two Words, religion emanated into the Indies and their islands, and through Egypt and Ethiopia into the kingdoms of Africa, and from the maritime parts of Asia into Greece, and thence into Italy." (T. C. R. 275.)

     "I have heard from the angels that the first chapters of Genesis, which treat of the creation, of Adam and Eve and the Garden of Eden, and of their sons and posterity till the flood, and likewise concerning Noah and his sons, are also in that Ancient Word, and were copied thence by Moses." (T. C. R. 279.)

     BRYN ATHYN.

     The annual meetings of the Council of the Clergy and of the Joint Council, held April 1 to 3, proved to be of unusual historic importance. The discussions centered round a proposal made by the Rev. Ernst Pfeiffer, that an independent diocese be established in Holland, and they were concerned primarily with the order and government of the General Church. Although the meetings were private, varying reports concerning them spread through the Society, producing a general state of uncertainty and disturbance. When the pamphlet announcing the separation of Mr. Pfeiffer from the General Church was published, there was doubt and confusion in the minds of many as to the real grounds upon which this action was taken.

     In order that all the members might receive accurate information concerning the matter, Bishop de Charms, as Acting Pastor, called a special meeting of the Society, which was held in the Assembly Hall on Friday evening, April 16, following the weekly supper. So universal was the desire to learn the facts, that every available seat was taken, and many were standing about the entrance or sitting on the stage.

     At the suggestion of Bishop de Charms, the regular order of business was dispensed with, and the chairman proceeded at once to give a brief account of the events which led up to the separation of Mr. Pfeiffer. He outlined the history of the Hague controversy since its inception seven years ago, recalling the council meetings held in 1933, at which the doctrinal issue was fully discussed. In the report of these meetings, published in New Church Life for May of that year, both sides were clearly set forth. This having been done, Bishop Pendleton proposed that the matter should be allowed to rest for a time until the state of excitement had passed, in the hope that then a greater degree of mutual understanding might be restored. Nothing further of a controversial nature was published in the Life, and by common agreement the spirit of open conflict was eliminated from sermons and doctrinal classes.

     For several years this policy had appeared to be successful, and there seemed to be prospect that serious disturbances would be avoided. But in 1935, certain proponents of the Hague view launched a new attack, this time directed against the Government of the Church. At the recent meetings of the Council of the Clergy, the Rev. Ernst Pfeiffer had openly repudiated the organization and administration of the General Church, and proposed that someone be ordained into the third degree of the priesthood, in order to establish an independent diocese in Holland. It became clear that what was desired was not a diocese but a separate Church, having no geographic limitations. This proposal was rejected as subversive of all order and destructive of freedom.

236

When it became evident that Mr. Pfeiffer was determined to establish such an independent body of the Church, and to solicit members by active propaganda among the membership of the General Church, without offering his resignation, Bishop de Charms felt compelled to act for the protection of the Church.

     The Rev. Theodore Pitcairn then presented a prepared statement of his position, expressing the view that separation had been forced upon Mr. Pfeiffer, in spite of every effort made by him to avoid a split in the Church, and asking whether it was the desire of the Bryn Athyn Society that he should resign as Assistant Pastor. The points raised by Mr. Pitcairn were discussed by Bishop Acton, Mr. Randolph Childs, Mr. Paul Synnestvedt, Mr. Loyal D. Odhner, Mr. Wilfred Howard, Dr. C. R. Pendleton, and others.

     A resolution of confidence in Bishop de Charms was presented by Mr. Philip Pendleton, but was subsequently withdrawn at the express desire of Bishop de Charms.

     In a closing speech, the Acting Pastor emphasized the fact that separation from the Church for purely doctrinal reasons is not permissible. Only when differences in doctrine lead to disturbances which threaten the order and the freedom of the Church is the Bishop called upon to act in its defense. Separation, he said, involves no spiritual judgment, either upon the individuals, or upon the faith of those who disagree with the accepted doctrines of the General Church. It is merely a step taken to preserve order, and to protect the freedom of both parties. All who can remain in our body without causing a disturbance are free to do so, however divergent their doctrinal views may be; and their freedom to believe according to their own conscience will be fully protected. Those who cannot do this must, in charity, depart and form a separate organization, leaving the members of the General Church free to worship in their own way.

     The meeting closed with the singing of the Alma Mater and "Our Own Academy."

     A meeting of the Men of the Bryn Athyn Church was held on Thursday evening, April 22, where the subject of the relation between the Civic and Social Club and the Bryn Athyn Society was fully discussed. The concensus seemed to be that the Club performed a very definite use to the Society in providing for its social life, and it was felt that this use would be greatly increased if the membership of the Club more nearly approximated the membership of the Society.

     On Friday evening, April 23, Bishop de Charms began a series of Doctrinal Classes in which he will deal directly with the doctrinal issues involved in the Hague controversy. The timely nature of the subject attracted an attendance of 283 at the first class, setting an all-time record. It is planned to make these lectures available in print at an early date.

     The Rev. Victor J. Gladish, who came from Colchester to attend the Council Meetings, delivered the sermon in the cathedral service on Sunday, April 4, his text being from Psalm 43:4. He paid a brief visit to Chicago before returning to England.

     We are pleased to state that the Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner has now returned home from the hospital, having progressed favorably in his recovery from the effects of an operation performed several weeks ago. We hope that a full restoration to health will make it possible for him to resume before long his accustomed place in our activities.

237

ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH 1937

ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH EDWARD F. ALLEN 1937

     Announcements.

     The Annual Joint Meeting of the Corporation and Faculty of the Academy of the New Church will be held in the chapel of Benade Hall, Bryn Athyn, Pa., on Saturday, June 5, 1937, at 8 p.m. The public is cordially invited to attend this meeting.

     After opportunity has been given for the presentation and discussion of the Annual Reports of the officers of the Academy, Principal K. R. Alden will deliver an Address on the subject: "Boys' Academy-Past, Present, and Future."
     EDWARD F. ALLEN,
          Secretary pro tempore.
THIRTIETH BRITISH ASSEMBLY 1937

THIRTIETH BRITISH ASSEMBLY VICTOR J. GLADISH 1937

     Members and friends of the General Church of the New Jerusalem are cordially invited to attend the Thirtieth British Assembly, which will be held at Colchester, Essex, on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, July 31 to August 2, 1937. Those expecting to be present are requested to notify the undersigned as soon as possible, or to write to Miss Doris Potter, 54 Drury Road, Colchester, in regard to accommodations.
     VICTOR J. GLADISH,
          Secretary. 67 Lexden Road, Colchester, England.

238

SIXTEENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1937

SIXTEENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY HUGO LJ. ODHNER 1937

     Of the General Church of the New Jerusalem.

     By invitation of the Pittsburgh Society, the Sixteenth General Assembly will be held at the Shady Side Academy, Fox Chapel, Pennsylvania, from Wednesday, June 30, to Sunday, July 4, 1937. Attention is called to the fact that the Assembly will close with a Service of Divine Worship on Sunday Morning, instead of extending to the evening of that day, as announced in the official notice previously sent out by the Assembly Committee. A Preliminary Program of the Assembly is published in the present issue of NEW CHURCH LIFE.
     HUGO LJ. ODHNER,
          Secretary of the General Church.

     Accommodations.

     Due to the fact that the entire Assembly will be held on the Shady Side grounds, we recommend to all who can that they take advantage of the accommodations offered by the institution. The dormitories are limited to 200 guests. To augment these facilities, the Pittsburgh Society has offered to provide for as many guests as possible in their homes.

     Reservations should be made well in advance. They will be filed and honored in the order of their receipt. There is the possibility that those late in applying may have to secure sleeping accommodations in private boarding houses or at hotels.

     In making reservations, please state your preference as to place of accommodation. Shady Side's dormitories are arranged for two persons to a room. Separate dormitories will be provided for married couples, for single women and for single men.

     In view of the change in time noted above, the following revised schedule of rates for accommodations has been substituted for that previously published:

239

     SCHEDULE OF RATES.

     Complete charge for room and all meals, beginning after dinner on Tuesday, June 29, through mid-day dinner on Sunday, July 4, and including Banquet-per person $15.00

     Charges for Meals Only:
Strip of tickets (for those not rooming at Shady Side), which includes 4 lunches, 4 dinners, and the Banquet $7.50
Single Breakfast .50
Single Lunch .75
Single Dinner 1.00
Single Banquet Tickets 1.50

     Note: Dinner will be served in the evening, except on Sunday, when it will be served at noon.

     For those staying over until Monday, July 5, Sunday evening supper and Monday breakfast will be served. The additional charge for this accommodation, including use of room Sunday night, will be $2.00 additional.

     Dormitories open for occupancy after 3:00 p.m., Tuesday, June 29. First meal served will be breakfast on Wednesday morning, June 30.

     Please address all communications as follows: "Assembly Committee," 299 Le Roi Road, Pittsburgh, Pa.

     Assembly Committee.

Rev. Willard D. Pendleton, Chairman.
Walter L. Horigan, Business Manager.
J. Edmund Blair, Secretary.

240

     SIXTEENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

     Program.

Wednesday, June 30.
     10.00 a.m.-First Session of the Assembly. Opening Service.
          Selection of a Bishop of the General Church.
          Address by the Right Rev. George de Charms.
     2.15 p.m.-Meeting of the Corporation of the General Church.
     2.15 p.m.-Theta Alpha Business Meeting.
     9.00 p.m.-Reception and Dance.

Thursday, July 1.
     10.00 a.m.-Second Session of the Assembly.
          Discussion: The Uses of the General Church.
          Address by the Rev. Karl R. Alden.
          Subject: "Daniel."
     2.15 p.m.-Meeting of the Academy Finance Association.
     4.00 p.m.-Ladies' Tea given by Miss Katherine Marshall.
     8.00 p.m.-Third Session of the Assembly.
          Address by the Rev. Gilbert H. Smith.
          Subject: "The Terms 'Divine' and 'Holy.'"

Friday, July 2.
     10.00 a.m.-Fourth Session of the Assembly.
          Discussion: The Uses of the Academy.
          Address by the Rev. F. E. Gyllenhaal.
          Subject: To be Announced.
     Theta Alpha Luncheon.
     Sons of the Academy Luncheon and Meeting.
     8.00 p.m.-Fifth Session of the Assembly.
          Address by Mr. Fred. J. Cooper.
          Subject: "Cohesion."

Saturday, July 3.
     10.00 a.m.-Sixth Session of the Assembly.
          Discussion: The Support of the General Church.
          Address by the Right Rev. Alfred Acton.
          Subject: "The Holy Spirit."
     2.15 p.m.-Meeting of the Executive Committee.
     7.00 p.m.-Assembly Banquet.
          Toastmaster: Mr. Alexander P. Lindsay.

Sunday, July 4.
     11.00 a.m.-Divine Worship.
          Sermon: Rev. Dr. Hugo Lj. Odhner.
          Administration of the Holy Supper.
          Visitors are asked to bring their Liturgies.

241

HAGUE VIEWS EXAMINED 1937

HAGUE VIEWS EXAMINED Rev. GEORGE DE CHARMS 1937

NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. LVII          JUNE, 1937           No. 6
     Supplement.

     Three Papers.

     (Presented as Doctrinal Classes of the Bryn Athyn Society on April 23 and 30 and May 7, 1937. In these papers Bishop de Charms enlarges upon his brief statement of the doctrinal issues in his "Report of the Acting Bishop of the General Church" to the Council of the Clergy. (See June issue, pages 190-195.)-EDITOR.)

     DIVINE CREATION AND DIVINE PROCEEDING.

     A careful study and analysis of the doctrinal difference which has given rise to the "Hague controversy" has led us to the conclusion that those who hold this new position have failed to observe the clear distinction drawn in the Writings between Divine Creation and Divine Proceeding. It has seemed useful, therefore, to bring forward at this time the passages directly bearing upon this subject.

     There are two lines of teaching to be found in the Heavenly Doctrine, one treating specifically of Divine Creation, and the other of Divine Proceeding. In certain vitally important respects, the statements in one of these series, when superficially viewed, would appear directly to contradict the statements in the other series. Yet all the teachings of the Writings are true. If our understanding of one statement is found to invalidate another, we can be sure that our concept is wrong. If we would rightly understand the teaching given in any particular passage, we must see it in the light of those universals of truth which alone can bring apparent contradictions into harmony.

242

     Such universal principles, however, cannot originate in any human mind. They must be openly revealed in the pages of the Writings. There we must seek for them, by a simple and direct approach to the Lord in His Word. Such principles, indeed, plainly stated, and thus Divinely provided as a necessary guide to the correct understanding of the Word, are collectively spoken of in the Writings as "the doctrine of genuine truth." This doctrine is Divine, because it is the Lord's own teaching, given in unmistakable language, of which we may say, "Thus saith the Lord."

     This Divine Doctrine is the Light, by which the naturally erring and fallible human mind may find its way through the mass of particulars, which otherwise would appear confused and mutually contradictory. Without this light, the Writings cannot rightly be understood. Without it, we are sure to draw from particular passages a false conclusion. It is therefore of the utmost importance that, in seeking to interpret any given number or set of numbers in the Heavenly Doctrine, we be acquainted with the universal principles, clearly stated elsewhere, from which we must begin our thinking. In no other way can we be protected against drawing from one set of passages a conclusion contrary to the plain teaching given in another set of passages.

     In the present case, those who support the Hague view quote many passages which treat of the Divine Proceeding. These direct statements of Revelation are Divinely true. We accept them wholly and without reserve. They are the immediate instruction of the Lord Himself to His church, and they cannot be called into question. Among such statements are the following:

     "All truth which is a truth is Divine." (A. E. 34.)

     "The things of the internal man are the Lord's so that it may be said that the internal man is the Lord." (A. C. 1594.)

     "The new will which a man receives from the Lord is the Lord's, and not man's." (A. C. 933.)

     "All innocence, peace, love, charity, and mercy are from the Lord, and all conjugial love also; and from Him are all good and truth; all of which things are Divine." (A. C. 2751.)

243

     "In the church there is no other truth than that which is the Lord's. Truth which is not from Him is not truth." (A. C. 2904.)

     "The regenerate spiritual man, through regeneration from the Lord, receives Divine Good in a new will, and Divine Truth in a new understanding." (A. C. 10151.)

     "All good is Divine with man, because it is from the Divine." (A. C. 10618.)

     We would not in any way deny or invalidate these teachings. Yet: we cannot confirm an interpretation of them which clearly contradicts other plain teachings found in the Writings. The true understanding of them must be one that embraces all other statements, in such a way as to resolve their apparent contradictions. This is not the case, however, with the conclusions which have been drawn from these passages by the proponents of the new view. The conclusions to which we refer, in brief are these:

     1. All good and truth with man is Divine, because it is a Divine Proceeding.

     2. Since, as we are taught, "that which proceeds from the Lord is the Lord," therefore all good and truth received by man, not only are from the Lord, but also are the Lord.

     3. Nothing rightly to be called "good and truth" can exist with man which is not such a Divine Proceeding.

     Now here we come at once into direct opposition to other statements in the Writings. For elsewhere "good and truth" are spoken of as a "creation." They are distinctly said to be "finite." And we are given the universal principle that nothing finite can proceed from the Infinite. But let us examine a few of these teachings.

     "Of things created and finite may be predicated esse and existere, also substance and form, and even life, nay, love and wisdom; but all these are created and finite. The reason why these attributes may be predicated here is not that these subjects possess anything Divine, but that they are in the Divine, and the Divine is in them. For all that is created is in itself inanimate and dead, but things are animated and made alive by the fact that the Divine is in them, and that they are in the Divine." (D. L. W. 53.)

     Note here that "love and wisdom," which are the same as "good and truth," are said to be "created and finite."

244

It is said of them that they possess not "anything Divine." Being created, they are said to be "inanimate and dead," but to be "animated and made alive" by the fact that "the Divine is in them, and that they are in the Divine." Obviously, the "love and wisdom" here meant are not the Lord, Who is Infinite, and is Life Itself.

     "Regarded in themselves, good and truth have no life, but they derive their life from love or affection. They are only instrumentalities of life." (A. C. 1904.) Here again, the good and truth referred to, clearly cannot be called a Divine Proceeding; for this is said to remain infinite and uncreate, and thus to be Life Itself, while these are said to have no life, and to be but "instrumentalities" thereof.

     The universal principle which must guide our thought is found stated in Divine Providence 219, as follows: "Finite cannot proceed from infinite, and to suppose this is a contradiction; yet finite can be produced by infinite, but this is not to proceed but to be created." Here a clear distinction is made between "creation" and "proceeding." Finite things do not "proceed" from the Infinite. The statement is all-inclusive. It means that wherever the Writings refer to anything finite, whether on earth or in the spiritual world, that finite thing cannot be regarded as a "proceeding." Everything that "proceeds " from the Lord remains infinite, even though it proceed to the very ultimates of nature; while finite things are all "produced" or "created" by the Infinite. This is distinctly different from "proceeding," and the number quoted is a warning lest we confuse the two.

     But let us make clear what is the difference between "proceeding" and "creation." The Lord created the universe, together with all things in it, not out of nothing, but out of His own Divine Substance. He did this by "finiting His infinity," that is, by producing limitations. Only by virtue of its limitations is one thing distinguished from another. The Lord produced from Himself limitations, and thus created finite forms, in a descending series of discrete degrees, from the primitives of the spiritual sun, even down to "substances at rest such as are in the earths." From these "substances at rest," He then built up finite organic forms in an ascending series,-mineral, vegetable, animal, and finally human.

245

And through man this ascending series of creation was extended through three degrees in the spiritual world, which degrees are called "natural," "spiritual," and "celestial," respectively.

     Concerning this we read in the Writings as follows: "There are three degrees of ascent in the natural world, and there are three degrees of ascent in the spiritual world. . . . Man is the recipient of the life, not only of the three degrees of the natural world, but also of the three degrees of the spiritual world." (D. L. W. 66.) Let it be noted that all these finite, created things are "from God."

     They are made by Him. They are continually preserved by Him, and they owe to Him all their being, and all their existence, so that they may be said to belong to the Lord alone. So true is this, that it is said in the Writings that "the Lord is, the All-in-all of His creation," and, in the Letter of the Word, that "The earth is the Lord's, and the fulness thereof; the world, and they that dwell therein." (Ps. 24:1.) Yet, although the finite forms are "from God," they are not God. Not one least thing of the created universe is God, we are told.

     "The universe, in the greatest and least things, is so full of the Divine Love and Divine Wisdom that it may be defined as Divine Love and Divine Wisdom in an image. The created universe is an image representative of God Man; and it is His Love and Wisdom which in the universe are presented in an image. Not that the created universe is God Man, but that it is from Him; for nothing whatever in the created universe is substance and form in itself, or life in itself, or love and wisdom in itself; nay, neither is a man a man in himself; but all is from God, Who is Man, Wisdom, Love, and Form and Substance in Himself. That which is in itself is uncreate and infinite; but that which is from Him, inasmuch as it carries nothing with it which is self-existent, is created and finite, and this represents an image of Him from whom it is and exists." (D. L. W. 52.)

     It is evident from this that wherever the Writings say of anything that it not only is "from the Lord," but also that it "is the Lord," they cannot rightly be interpreted as referring to anything created or finite. Created things are indeed "from the Lord," but they cannot for this reason be said to "be the Lord." We find described in the Writings a universe consisting of finite forms, created by God, in descending degrees from God even to the ultimates of nature, and in ascending degrees from the ultimates of nature back to God.

246

And in these created things are included goods and truths which man receives from the Lord. These are "from the Lord." They are made by Him, and belong to Him alone. They are in no sense produced by man; and while they appear to him as if they were his, he cannot rightly claim them as his own, but must, in acknowledgment of heart, ascribe them wholly to the Lord as their Creator. Yet, in spite of this, not the least of these goods and truths is God. The reason is that God is infinite, while these are finite, and between the infinite and the finite there is no ratio.

     Now into this universe of finite forms, all of which are dead, the Lord "proceeds." His life, that is, His Divine Love and Divine Wisdom, inflow, and interpenetrate the whole, causing the dead forms to be made alive. By this influx, the Lord Himself moves them, animates them, affects them, each one in a different way, according to its own finite form. In so animating finite forms, the Divine Life does not become finite. It remains infinite and uncreate. Yet it is immediately present, and manifests that presence, even down to the lowest things of nature, by the motion and activity which it produces. Without this influx, nothing in the created universe could have any motion, or any life. All would be utterly inert and dead. It is this influx of life, manifested on every plane of created forms, that is called "the Divine Proceeding."

     But let this be particularly noted: When finite forms, as organic vessels, are animated by the Divine Life, the activities produced in them are finite. These activities are just as finite as are the organic vessels which are moved. Every created thing has its own distinguishing form, whereby it is set apart from every other created thing. When it is affected, or animated, by the Divine Life, it can be moved only in accord with that form, thus only in a finite way. The Divine Life, being infinite, is everywhere the same. But it is differently received. In every different receiving form it produces different results. And for this reason the Divine Life, by reception, becomes finite.

     We often think of reception as a mere pouring in, as of water into a glass, in which case the water remains the same in the glass as it was before. This is not, however, what is meant in the Writings by "reception."

247

The term there means the reaction of an organic vessel to an influx of life. It refers to the activity produced in the vessel when it is animated by Divine Influx. In this case, the motions produced in the vessel are not life. They merely present a more or less perfect image of life. To illustrate. The soul inflows into the body, and it moves the heart, the lungs, and the other internal organs, so that they may be said to "live." Yet the motion of each organ is different from that of every other. It is strictly according to the form of each. It is limited and finite. It is not "life," but merely an image of life. Again, life from the Lord inflows into a seed and produces a plant, with leaves, flowers and fruit. From these proceed a sphere which we perceive as an odor. Yet this sphere is not "life." It is a finite activity produced by the influx of Life. It differs according to the form of the seed. The seed of a thistle cannot produce a rose; nor can the seed of a grass grow into a tree. Yet the life inflowing into all these is infinite, and hence the same everywhere. So, also, this Infinite Life animates the mind of man, and produces therein affections and thoughts, which are called "goods and truths." These differ with every man according to the form of his mind. They cannot be the same in any two minds. They are motions or activities which are just as finite as the mind itself, possessing all its limitations. They are not life. They are not Divine Love and Divine Wisdom, or Divine Good and Divine Truth. Yet each is a more or less perfect image of the Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom. Into this "image" man is created, by regeneration, and as to this image, if he comes into heaven, he is continually perfected, even to eternity. But let us quote directly from the Writings on these points:

"The human mind, organized in accordance with these three degrees, is a receptacle of Divine Influx; nevertheless, the Divine flows into it no further than man prepares the way and opens the door. If man does this as far as to the highest or celestial degree, he becomes truly an image of God, and after death an angel of the highest heaven; but if he prepares the way and opens the door only to the middle or spiritual degree, he becomes an image of God, but not in the same perfection; and after death he becomes an angel of the middle heaven.

248

But if man prepares the way and opens the door only to the lowest or natural degree, in case he acknowledge God and worships Him in actual piety, he becomes an image of God in the lowest degree, and after death an angel of the lowest heaven." (T. C. R. 34.)

     "A man is a recipient, and the recipient or receptacle is various. A wise man is more adequately, and therefore more fully, a recipient of the Divine Love and the Divine Wisdom than a simple man; and an old man who is also wise, more than a child or youth; yet the Divine is the same in the one as in the other." (D. L. W. 78.)

     "The good of one person, although it may appear precisely similar to that of another, is yet not the same; and with all persons whatsoever in the universe the good of one is different from that of another." (A. C. 3804.)

     "As regards influx, it is continuous from the Lord through the rational into the natural, and through this into the exterior; but that which flows in is changed and turned according to reception. With the unregenerate, goods and truths are turned into evils and falsities; but with the regenerate, goods and truths are there presented as in a mirror." (A. C. 5118.)

     "Each angel is his own love and his own wisdom; and love, together with its wisdom, in its own form is a man, because God, who is Love Itself and Wisdom Itself, is a Man." (D. L. W. 179.)

     "It call be said of every regenerate man that he is his own truth and his own good, since the thought which belongs to his understanding is from truths, and the affection which belongs to his will is from goods. Whether you say, therefore, that a man is his own understanding and his own will, or that he is his own truth and his own good, it amounts to the same thing." (A. E. 1071.)

     From this teaching it is evident that the terms "good" and "truth" are used in the Writings in two distinctly different ways. They are used as referring to the Divine Good and the Divine Truth, which together are the Divine Life that inflows with all men. This life remains infinite and uncreate and, even in the lowest ultimates of nature, it is the immediate presence of this Life which is the cause of all motion, of all activity, wherever it may be found in the entire universe. This Divine Good and Divine Truth are said to "proceed," and because they proceed they are said to be not only "from the Lord," but also to "be the Lord."

249

Their operation is what we call Divine Providence, according to which the Lord Himself governs the universe of His Creation, from the greatests thereof even to the leasts. These are what are called "the Divine of the Lord" which makes heaven, and which makes the church. They are called "the Divine ex se," or the Divine as it were outside of Itself, the Infinite in and with the finite.

     But the same terms, "good" and "truth," are used also to denominate the activities produced by this influx of life in the minds of men and angels. These activities are not a "proceeding," but a "production." They are not infinite, but finite. They are indeed "from the Lord," and in no sense from man. They are wholly and completely the Lord's, since He alone produces them, and perpetually sustains them in being and existence. Yet of these it cannot be said that they "are the Lord." To do this is to ascribe their finite limitations to the Divine.

     That the truths which man receives from the Lord, and which form his conscious thought, are of this character, is plain from the following:

     "It is known that the Divine is infinite as to esse, and eternal as to manifestation, and that the finite is not capable of comprehending the infinite, nor indeed the eternal, for the eternal is the infinite as to manifestation. And as the Divine Itself is infinite and eternal, all things which are from the Divine are also infinite and eternal, and, being infinite, cannot possibly be comprehended by angels, because these are finite. For this reason the things which are infinite and eternal are presented before the angels in appearances which are finite; but still in such appearances as are very far above the sphere of man's comprehension." (A. C. 3404.)

     "As everything that is in the Lord is Divine, and the Divine cannot be comprehended by any created being, therefore, insofar as they appear before created beings, the doctrinal things that are from the Lord are not truths purely Divine, but are appearances of truth; nevertheless, within such appearances there are truths Divine, and because they have these truths within them, the appearances also are called truths." (A. C. 3364.)

     "Goods and truths are indeed changes and variations of state in the forms of the mind." (D. P. 195.)

250

     With reference to the last number quoted, such changes, as we have pointed out, cannot be infinite, and thus cannot be a proceeding, but must be regarded as a production, which, although from God, is not God, but only in some degree an image of Him. Such changes of state in the forms of the mind are what we have spoken of as "human good" and "human truth." They are so called, not because they are from man, for it is fully acknowledged that they are from the Lord. But they are said to be "human" because they are finite, and therefore not a "proceeding" from the Infinite. Thus while they are from the Lord, they are not the Lord, and for this reason cannot be called "Divine."

     It has been said that the terms "human truth" and "human good" are nowhere found in the Writings. For our own part, we would not be particularly concerned even if this were a fact. For so much is said indicating that they are finite that the point we have been making concerning them is fully sustained by many passages. But the expressions do occur in the Writings, and it was from the Writings that they were originally derived. That this is so, will appear from the following examples:

     "Truths angelic and human are of three degrees." (A. C. 3362.)

     "Before truth has been initiated and rightly conjoined, it is indeed with man, but it had not yet been made as it were of him, or as his own; but as soon as it is being initiated into his good, it is appropriated to him; and it then . . . puts on the very man, and makes his human, that is, his quality as to the human." (A. C. 3108.)

     "Natural good which is acquired, or which is given to man by the Lord, contains in it what is spiritual, so that it is spiritual good in natural. This good is real natural human good." (A. C. 3408.)

     "Truths, Or appearances of truth, are given to man to the intent that Divine Good may be able to form his understanding, and thus the man himself. For truths exist to the end that good may flow in; for without vessels or receptacles good finds no place, because it finds no state corresponding to itself; and therefore, where there are no truths, or where they are not received, there is no rational or human good, consequently the man has no spiritual life." (A. C. 3387.)

     "The good whereby man surpasses the animals is love to God and love towards the neighbor; all human good is from this." (A. C. 3175.)

251

"The lusts of the flesh, the eye, and the other senses, separated from the lusts, that is, from the affections, the desires, and the delights of the spirit, are wholly like the lusts of beasts, and consequently are in themselves beast-like. But the affections of the spirit are such as the angels have, and therefore are to be called truly human." (T. C. R. 328.)

It is plain, therefore to sum up what has been here presented,-that there are two ways in which the terms "good" and "truth" are used in the Writings. One way refers to the Divine Good and Divine Truth which proceed from the Lord, and which remain infinite and uncreate even on the plane of human life. Thus they are not only "from the Lord," but also "are the Lord" with man. The other way refers to the finite activities produced in human minds by the influx and operation of the Divine. These, although they are "from the Lord," are not "the Lord." They are a "production," and not a "proceeding." They are "human" because they are that which makes man to be man, that is, an image of the Lord. To confuse these two distinct uses of the terms; to hold that all good and all truth, wherever mentioned in the Writings, is Divine because it is a "proceeding," and thus to deny that there is such a thing as finite good and truth with man, is an error of doctrine. And this error leads to very serious consequences, because it leaves out of account, or denies and invalidates, plain and definite teachings given in the Writings.

252

DIVINE ACCOMMODATION AND DIVINE PROVIDENCE 1937

In the preceding article, the universal principle given in No. 219 of the Divine Providence was cited, to the effect that "finite cannot proceed from infinite." On the basis of this principle, it was demonstrated directly from the Writings that the goods and truths which take conscious form in the minds of men and angels, being finite, cannot be regarded as a Divine Proceeding. In the same number, however, and indeed in the sentence immediately preceding the one quoted above, another teaching is given, as follows: "Infinite cannot proceed from finite, and to suppose that it can is a contradiction; nevertheless, infinite can proceed from finite, yet not from finite itself, but from infinite through it." By some this has been taken to mean that, while the finite goods and truths in human minds are not themselves a Divine Proceeding, yet they can rightly be called "Divine," because the infinite proceeds through them. Does not the Lord inflow and operate through the angelic heaven? Does He not operate through the church on earth, and indeed through the individual men of the church? Does this not involve His operation through the goods and truths in the minds of men? And if that influx and operation is Divine, can we not, in some sense, speak of the goods and truths as Divine, since they serve as the medium through which the Infinite proceeds? Have we not a plain indication that this can be done,-in the case of the Word, which, although in outward form it consists of human thoughts and ideas, of finite words describing objects, places, and persons, yet is said to be Divine?

In all this there is a truth; but we must be sure that we understand it correctly. If we are led to draw from this teaching a conclusion which contradicts what is said elsewhere in the Writings, then we call be sure that our conclusion is wrong. Certain distinctions must here be carefully observed. What applies to the Word does not apply to the goods and truths received by man from the Lord in the process of regeneration.

253

The fact that there is a difference becomes strikingly apparent when we reflect that, while the Word is called "Divine," other books, written by men, and containing similar thoughts and ideas, are not so called. No matter how regenerate he may be, no man can write a Divine book. Even in the heavens among the angels there are books which are not the Word, and which are not called "Divine." We must, therefore, consider more particularly what is meant by the teaching that the "infinite proceeds through the finite."

     There are two ways in which this takes place. The first is called "Divine Accommodation," and the second, "Divine Providence." Accommodation does indeed take place through an angel, or through a man, but not in his ordinary states of life. It is an occasional thing, effected by an unusual influx of the Divine; and effected only for one purpose, namely, the giving of the Word. In order that it may take place, the normal reaction of the human mind,-what we call it's "as-of-itself life,"-must temporarily be withdrawn. Both the will and the understanding must be laid asleep. The faculties of liberty and rationality must be taken away. The Lord then takes full possession of the mind, and, immediately from Himself, orders all things therein according to His infinite Divine Love and Wisdom. Only then can the Infinite proceed through the man to produce the Word.

     Concerning this process by which the Word is given, we read as follows:

     "It was an angel who appeared to Moses as a flame in the bush, and he spoke as Jehovah because the Lord or Jehovah spoke through him. For in order that the speaking may come to man by words of articulate sound and in ultimate nature, the Lord makes use of the ministry of angels, filling them with the Divine, and lulling the things which are their own; so that at the time they do not know but that they themselves are Jehovah. In this way the Divine of Jehovah, which is in the highest things, passes down into the lowest things of nature, in which lowest is man in respect to hearing and sight." (A. C. 1925.)

     That this was an unusual state, and not something effected during the ordinary thinking and willing of the angels, is clear from the context, and becomes even more evident from what is further said in the same number:

254

     "Angels were sent to men who spoke through the prophets; yet what they spoke was not from the angels, but through them; for the state of the latter was then such that they knew not but that they were Jehovah, that is, the Lord. But as soon as they had done speaking, they returned into their former state, and spoke as from themselves. This was the case with the angels who spoke the Word of the Lord."

     What angels speak in this state is called "Divine"; but what they speak at other times is not so called. And the reason is, that when they are filled with the Divine, the Infinite proceeds through them, while in their ordinary states of life it does not so proceed. But referring again to the Writings: "The prophets through whom the Word was written wrote as the Spirit from the Divine dictated, for the very words which they wrote were uttered in their ears." (A. C. 7055.) This refers specifically to the Prophets of the Old Testament. The case was somewhat different with the Evangelists, and it was still more different with Swedenborg. With both of these there was a greater appearance of autonomy. This appearance was far stronger with Swedenborg than it was with any other Revelator. He did not write from obvious dictation. Yet the higher faculties of his mind were so filled with the Divine that, while he seemed to choose the words from himself, yet he knew that he was writing from the Lord. He solemnly avers that, from the first day of his call, he did not receive anything relating to the Doctrine of the New Church from himself, or from any angel or spirit, but from the Lord alone. With him, dictation by the Angel of Jehovah was not necessary, because the Lord operated immediately through him to write the Word. This was not true in his ordinary states of life, but only when he was under Divine inspiration, and was engaged in writing the Doctrine of the New Church.

     As to the way in which the Word was written, we have this further teaching:

     "I have been told how the Lord spoke with the prophets through whom the Word was given. He did not speak with them as He did with the ancients, by an influx into their interiors, but through spirits who were sent to them, whom He filled with His aspect, and thus inspired the words which they dictated to the prophets; so that it was not influx but dictation.

255

And as the words came forth directly from the Lord, each one of them was filled with the Divine, and contains within it an internal sense, which is such that the angels of heaven understand the words in a heavenly and spiritual sense, while men understand them in a natural sense . . . How the Lord fills spirits with the Divine by His aspect, has also been made clear. A spirit who has been filled by the Lord with the Divine does not know otherwise than that he is the Lord, and that it is the Divine that is speaking; and this continues until he has finished speaking. After that he perceives and acknowledges that he is a spirit, and that he spoke from the Lord, and not from himself." (H. H. 254.)

     The state of Swedenborg was similar to that of the angel here described, rather than to that of the prophets who received verbal dictation from such an angel. Yet Swedenborg was at the same time a prophet, as that term is defined in the Arcana Coelestia, No. 7268, where it is said: "A prophet is one who utters, in a form adapted to the understanding, the Divine Truth which proceeds immediately from the Lord, and which transcends all understanding." For Swedenborg wrote the "truth which proceeds immediately from the Lord." And since, as is said, that truth " transcends all understanding," it follows that it also transcended Swedenborg's understanding.

     This being the case, in writing it, Swedenborg was guided, not by his own rational faculty, but by the Lord immediately. This guidance was a more interior kind of dictation, by virtue of which alone that which was written could contain and express Infinite Wisdom, far beyond the comprehension of the human instrument through whom it was given.

     But just what is it that happens in the mind of a prophet, or of an angel, when he is thus filled with the Presence of the Lord? In ordinary states of life, all things in a human mind are ordered by what is called the "ruling love." This love is finite. It is different with every man. In no two individuals can there be a ruling love that is identical. It is the love of a particular use in the Gorand Man of heaven, and this love, inmostly, is what distinguishes one man from another. Every man looks at all things from his own love, or from his own use, as a center. This center determines what we call his "point of view." He cannot regard anything from any other "point of view." And this fact imparts a distinguishing characteristic to all things of his mind.

256

It imposes a finite limitation upon everything he thinks, speaks, and does. It imparts to them a quality all their own.

Human speech and action, then, are but the inmost love, which is the man himself, proceeding from him. They serve to set forth that love to view. They present it before the sight and hearing of others as in an image. Thus we come to know a man, to understand him, by means of what he says and does. In the other world, this presentation of the inner quality of the man is more perfectly effected. For there the sphere which proceeds from a spirit determines the character of his surroundings, so that an angel can tell at once, from the nature of his environment, what is the quality of his love. This is true even on earth, though in a more limited sense. For every man, by his mode of life, reveals his character in some measure; that is, so far as external circumstances or a desire for dissimulation do not interfere. He stamps an image of himself upon his surroundings. And certainly he reveals his character in what he writes, so that we may learn to know an author by reading his books.

But when the Lord fills a prophet with His Divine Presence, the ruling love is removed. The limited point of view which had given quality to all his thought is dissipated. The knowledges and ideas stored in the memory are indeed utilized, but they are now re-ordered by the Infinite Love of God,-the love of forming a heaven from the human race. This love, embracing as it does the whole of creation, having regard to the Gorand Man of heaven, composed of all the angels from every earth in the starry heaven, reaches far beyond the horizon of any human mind. It regards all things from the Lord Himself as the only Center. It is characterized by no particular "point of view," but includes the point of view of every finite human being, and infinitely more than this. When the knowledges and ideas, which in themselves are indeed finite, are thus taken on by the Divine Love, and ordered by the Lord Himself, they no longer present an image of the man, but instead they reveal the Infinite Love and the Infinite Wisdom of God. They set forth the attributes and qualities of Divinity. Then first do they become the Word. And when we read the Word, we no longer think of the personal characteristics of the human instrument through whom it was written, but solely of the Lord, Who is the real Author. This is the reason why the finite things taken from the mind of the prophet can now be called "Divine," whereas, before they had been immediately ordered by the Lord, they could not be so called.

257

With reference to this we read as follows:

"The entire Holy Scripture teaches that there is a God, because in its inmosts it is nothing but God; that is, it is nothing but the Divine that goes forth from God; for it was dictated by God, and from God nothing can proceed except what is God, and is called Divine. This the Holy Scripture is in its inmosts. But in its derivatives, which are below and from these inmosts, the Holy Scripture is accommodated to the perception of angels and men. The Divine is likewise in these, but in another form, in which it is called the celestial, spiritual, and natural Divine. These are simply the draperies of God; for God Himself, such as He is in the inmosts of the Word, cannot be seen by any creature. . . . This is equally true of the inmosts of the Word, where God is in His very Being and Essence. Nevertheless, the Divine which forms the inmosts, and is draped by things accommodated to the perceptions of angels and men, beams forth like light through crystalline forms, although variously in accordance with the state of mind which man has formed for himself, either from God or from himself. Before everyone who has formed the state of his mind from God, the Holy Scripture stands like a mirror wherein he sees God, but everyone in his own way. This mirror is made up of those truths which man learns from the Word, and which he imbues by living in accordance with them. From all this it is evident, in the first place, that the Holy Scripture is the fulness of God." (T. C. R. 6.)

Note here that the human language of the Word itself is called the "drapery of God." This is because these finite things which are adjoined to the Divine serve to veil, and at the same time to reveal, the Infinite. And note also that the understanding of the Word,-the truths drawn from the Word by regenerating men,-are called a "mirror" or an "image" of God. The distinction is an important one, and it arises from the fact that, as soon as the truth of the Word enters the mind of a man by reception, it can only be ordered, and thus understood, according to his ruling love. It can only be seen from that love as a center, thus finitely, and in a different manner with every man. It ceases at once to be the Word, and becomes a human concept, which cannot rightly be called "Divine."

258

It is no longer a "proceeding" but a "production." On the other hand, the truth as it appears in the Word, in its own Divinely ordered context, is a "proceeding," insomuch that the very words and ideas with which it is clothed can be called "Divine." This for the reason that then they are the finite "through which" the Infinite "proceeds." Such a Proceeding through the finite is what is called "Divine Accommodation."

     It should be realized, however, that the Infinite also proceeds through the finite in another and distinctly different way. It proceeds through the spiritual atmospheres from the Sun of heaven, and also through the natural atmospheres from the sun of the world. It proceeds through all created forms in both worlds,-the forms of the three kingdoms of nature, and the forms of good and truth in human minds. This proceeding is not occasional, but perpetual and unceasing. It is not for the purpose of giving the Word, but for the purpose of perfecting the Gorand Man of heaven as an image of God. It does not depend for its operation upon the withdrawal of man's God-given faculties of liberty and rationality, nor does it suspend his as-of-itself life. In consequence, it does not remove the limitations of his thought, or re-order the things of his mind in accord with Infinite Love and Wisdom. This proceeding, therefore, does not, by its operation, give any warrant for calling the goods and truths with man "Divine." Its function is merely what is called in the Writings "the government of the Divine Providence."

     This government is a secret current by which every man is carried unconsciously toward the attainment of his appointed destiny,-toward the place and the use in the Gorand Man for which he was created. No man knows what his ruling love is; it lies deeply buried in the subconscious mind. No man knows what use he will perform in the after-death life. He thinks and acts from what appears to him, in the light of a very limited knowledge and experience, to be in accord with his truest happiness. From such an imperfect concept of his happiness he forms his ambitions, which constitute the force that drives him to action and directs his choice of possible alternatives. He is always striving for some goal which lies within the range of his human vision. Whatever furthers the attainment of that goal, this he cherishes, and regards as a "use."

     But the Lord foresees for him another goal, another end, another use.

259

He knows the inmost quality of the man's love, and the gifts which that love, in its exercise, can bestow upon the race. He knows that society of heaven, and the place in that Society, where such a love can come into its fullest freedom, and can attain its highest perfection. Unless, from His Divine Love, He were perpetually inflowing to bend what the man is thinking and what he is doing toward the attainment of that genuine goal, no man could be saved. Unless He were operating continually through the finite, to over-rule man's mistaken choice, and to lead him, as it were blindly, to his appointed place, the end of creation,-the formation of a heaven from the human race,-could never be accomplished. But of this Divine Proceeding through the finite, man is altogether unconscious. In some small measure, we are told, he can see Providence in the back, but he cannot see it in the face. This of the Lord's mercy, that his freedom of choice may be preserved. In no sense can this Divine operation be identified with the goods and truths which man consciously receives from the Word, and which he necessarily understands in accordance with his own finite form of mind. Because the Infinite proceeds in this way, even through those goods and truths, they cannot be called "Divine."

To sum up, then, what has here been demonstrated: That Divine Proceeding through the finite which is called "Accommodation," is an occasional influx, which cannot take place unless the finite limitations of the human mind are first removed. When this takes place, the knowledges, thoughts, and ideas taken from the mind of a prophet are so re-ordered by the Lord that they become the "draperies of God," and the outward clothing of the Word. These outward draperies can then be called "Divine," because they serve to reveal the Lord Himself, in His Own Infinite Divine Quality. But that Proceeding which is called "Providence" does not so adjoin the things in any human mind to the Lord. It merely orders them into a more perfect "image" of the Lord, and bends them secretly toward the attainment of a particular use and place in the Gorand Man of heaven. Wherefore, the teaching that the "Infinite can proceed through the finite," except in the case of the Word, does not alter in the least the universal principle that the "finite cannot proceed from the Infinite," and that therefore nothing finite can be called "Divine."

260

INTERIOR DEGREES OF TRUTH IN THE WRITINGS 1937

     Much has been said, in connection with the Hague controversy, about an "internal sense" of the Writings. Surely, if they are the Word, they must contain infinite truth,-truth sufficient to meet the needs of all future ages. Whatever we may now receive from our reading of the Heavenly Doctrine must be very little indeed, when compared to the vast realm of unseen truth into which the Church, as it grows in spiritual wisdom and intelligence, will progressively enter. This being the case, there must be an illimitable store of heavenly riches which do not lie open on the surface of the Writings, to be clearly seen there by every casual reader.

     All this is perfectly true; and the idea of interior things deeply hidden in the Writings has had a strong appeal to the minds of many in the Church. The recent discussions have led some to read and study the Writings with a renewed spirit of interest and inquiry. Doing so, they have experienced what they felt to be the opening of a more interior vision of truth. And this deeper vision they have attributed to the new mode of approach which has been advocated by the proponents of the Hague position. The fact that they discovered teachings quite new to them, and derived therefrom a new delight, has contributed, perhaps more than any other one thing, to a growing conviction that, by means of the Hague doctrines, a store of spiritual riches has for the first time been opened to the Church.

     We have no doubt as to the sincerity of this conviction, nor do we question for a moment the reality of the experience on which it is based. No one sincerely searching for the truth can reverently study the Writings without discovering things new and wonderful there. Often, such a discovery on the part of an individual gives him the impression that he has come to see something which has never before been known in the Church. We ourselves have had this experience, only to find, upon further investigation, that what had been new to us was already well known to others. Yet, as the result of individual studies, new discoveries are being made continually. And this is especially true in times of controversy, because active discussion stimulates such studies.

261

It brings into question concepts established by teaching and tradition, and causes them to be re-examined. In this process a wealth of particulars are brought to light, the bearing of which upon a question under consideration has not previously been realized. It leads to clearer distinctions, to more exact definitions, and thus to a sharpening in outline of things before seen rather vaguely. That all this has happened in connection with the Hague controversy, is a matter of common experience.

     The important question, however, in the present case, is not whether individuals have discovered things new to themselves, or new even to the Church. So far as this is the case, it is a matter of congratulation, regardless of who has made the discovery. That which it is important for us to know is, whether in fact such discoveries have been due to a mode of approach to the Writings which was not before known. If this is so, it is indeed a matter of far-reaching significance.

     Heretofore, the General Church has known nothing but a simple and direct approach to the Writings. In accord with their own teaching, they have been regarded as a Divine Revelation of the internal sense of the Old and New Testaments. For this reason we have made a distinction between the "Writings" and the "Letter of the Word." We have sought no more than a rational understanding of their teaching, seeking at the same time to remove from our thought the limitations of time and space, and thus to elevate our minds into spiritual light.

     We are now told that this mode of approach can produce nothing but natural truth. It is a mistake to suppose that the Writings are the "internal sense of the Word," and the teaching to this effect is an appearance. The Writings, being expressed in natural language, are in fact nothing but a new "Letter of the Word." No spiritual truth can be derived from them by "direct cognizance." They contain an "internal sense" which must be drawn from them in exactly the same way as from the Old and New Testaments. The doctrine of the Sacred Scripture, as given in the Writings, must be applied to them just as it is applied to the former Scriptures, "without reserve or difference." If this is done, by regenerating men, then, in the degree of their regeneration, they will be enabled to formulate from the Writings an "internal sense," and thus to enter into the possession of spiritual truth.

262

For such a formulation, three things are said in the Writings to be necessary, namely, "the science of correspondences," "the Doctrine of Genuine Truth," and "illustration from the Lord." "Illustration from the Lord" is present only with him who is regenerating. When, in the light of this illustration, the "science of correspondences" is applied to the teaching of the Writings, then the "Doctrine of Genuine Truth" is formed in the mind, and this doctrine is the same as the "internal sense of the Word." Only in the degree that regenerating men understand the Writings can this "internal sense" come into existence. It is said to be given as "a revelation from perception" to every individual whose mind is interiorly opened, and as such it is said to be "Divine."

     The need for such a translation of the Writings by correspondences is emphasized by pointing out that they contain references to many worldly matters. We find in them the names of cities, and countries, and persons. They speak of historic incidents and dates. They describe experiences in the spiritual world, in which natural objects are seen. These things obviously cannot be regarded as the internal sense of the Word. Unless they are interpreted according to correspondences they can have no meaning to the angels. It is held that the same thing is true, in a deeper sense, of those parts of the Writings which are addressed to the rational plane of the mind. If we would understand these parts also as the angels do, we must translate them by means of correspondences. Without doing this, we cannot understand them spiritually.

     That the Writings do contain natural ideas, and sensual imagery, to which correspondences may be applied, has been acknowledged in the General Church from its beginning. But is it possible, by this means, to produce an "internal sense" of the Writings? Every effort to do so has merely resulted in the production of rational expressions of truth such as we find plainly stated elsewhere in the Writings. Every attempt to apply correspondences to these rational statements has produced nothing, save perhaps variations of the same thing. This leads us to inquire what is meant by the "Internal sense of the Word."

     We gather from our reading that this term is used in the Writings two distinctly different ways.

263

In the first place, it is used to mean a new Word, given by the Lord at the end of one church for the purpose of establishing a new church. Every Revelation in the history of the world has been a Divine unfolding of truth which had lain concealed in the previous Scripture. In each case, the Lord has clothed His Word in new forms of human language adapted to a more interior plane of the mind. The Old Testament is expressed almost entirely in sensual imagery. When, in the New Testament, the Lord "opened unto them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself," He explained the Truth in parables, and in spiritual moral teaching. What had been hidden under the representative ceremonies of Jewish ritual, and under the historic narrative, was set forth to the natural understanding as prophetic of the Messiah who was to come; and the fulfilment of this prophecy by the Lord Himself was disclosed in terms which the Disciples could comprehend. At His Second Coming, the Lord has revealed the spiritual import, not only of the sensual imagery found in the Old Testament, but also of the moral truth given in the New Testament, making manifest thereby, to the rational plane of the mind, the process of the Lord's Glorification and the mode of man's regeneration. To this end the laws of Divine operation have been set forth,-the laws governing the creation of the universe, the redemption of the race, the nature of the life after death, and the relation between the two worlds. Everything necessary to a rational understanding of Divine Truth is given in the Writings, and this presentation to the rational mind is what is called "The Internal Sense" of the former Scriptures.

As thus defined, the "internal sense of the Word" is nothing less than a new Divine Revelation. It is a new accommodation of Divine Truth to men. Such an accommodation can be made by the Lord alone. It must be made through the medium of a Prophet; and thus only under the conditions laid down in the previous article can it be given. Such an "internal sense" is never derived from its own Scripture, by the regenerating men of any Church. Nor will it be done again, even by the Lord. For we are told that the Writings are the final Revelation, and that the New Church, to be established by that Revelation, is to have no end. The obvious reason is, that no higher form of Revelation is possible to man, because the rational is the highest degree of the natural mind. There is no more interior form of expression in human language, into which the Truth of the Writings can be translated by correspondences.

264

It follows that, defined in this way, an "internal sense of the Writings" is impossible. In many passages of the Writings, however, the term "internal sense of the Word" is used with reference to the Word as it exists in heaven. There the Word is written in the language of the angels, which language is said to be utterly inexpressible on earth. It is written in each of the three heavens, presenting thus three discrete degrees of the "internal sense." Between these degrees, we are taught, there is no relation save that of correspondences. The Word, as it is written on earth, contains all these degrees of the internal sense within it. And while man reads it in the natural world, deriving from it human ideas associated with space and time, the angels of each heaven read it and understand it spiritually, each in his own degree. It is by virtue of this fact that the Word is said to be the medium of conjunction between heaven and earth.

Regarded in this way, the Writings certainly have an "internal sense." They, together with the Old and the New 'Testaments, exist in heaven as well as on earth. They are accommodated by the Lord to the angels, as well as to men. All who come into heaven after death will enter into this internal sense, according to the degree of their regeneration. But this sense can never be expressed in any form of earthly language. When it descends to the plane of man's thought, it falls necessarily into those very rational terms with which the Lord Himself has clothed it, through the mind of Emanuel Swedenborg.

Such is our understanding of what the Writings say concerning the "internal sense of the Word." If by that term is meant a new Divine Revelation, then the Writings themselves, according to their own declaration, are the internal sense of the former Scriptures. But if by that term is meant the Word as it exists in heaven, then the Writings on earth are indeed a "letter." Yet they are a letter which contains within itself, in threefold degree, an internal sense which can be objectively seen only in heaven. Because man possesses a dual mind; because, as to his internal mind, he is in association with the angels, even while on earth; therefore it is possible for him to perceive something of that heavenly truth which lies enshrined in the ultimate expressions of the Writings, and this even during his life in the body.

265

But so long as he lives on earth, such a perceptive understanding is necessarily clothed with natural ideas. It can be rather felt than seen, and this but vaguely, as through a covering. Only when the body dies can this covering be removed, and the internal sense itself come directly into view. Only then can the Writings, as they are written in heaven, be seen objectively.

Very different is the concept of the "internal sense of the Writings" which is presented by the proponents of the Hague view. They tell us that, when the Writings were given through Swedenborg, they were "laid down in the natural" as a mere "letter." At that time, the "internal sense of the Writings" was not given. It was present only as the invisible Infinite, which is God above the heavens. It was not present visibly in the heavens. It comes into being gradually, as it is formulated in the minds of regenerating men. As men read the "letter" of the Writings; as, by regeneration, they come into illustration from the Lord; as, in that illustration they apply the science of correspondences to the Writings; the "Doctrine of Genuine Truth," which is said to be the same as the "internal sense of the Writings," is "born" in their minds. By means of man's reception, therefore, the truth of the Writings is accommodated to the angels. By this means the Divine Human of the Lord progressively appears, and comes into existence in the heavens. Apart from this reception, the Divine Human does not exist.

It is supposed that the Church at its beginning is in a purely natural state. Only the natural truth of the Writings is seen, and men, by living according to that truth, regenerate to the natural degree. When they come into the other world, they enter into the natural heaven; and so far as they do this, the Divine Human is there revealed. The development of this natural understanding of the Writings advances by a continuous process until it has reached a certain fulness. And then first is there an opening of the spiritual degree of the mind. When this takes place, spiritual truth is seen for the first time, and the Church undergoes a discrete advance. It is declared that this is the stage to which the New Church, in its historic development, has attained. Having been heretofore in a purely natural state, the spiritual degree of the mind in the Church has been opened by the discovery of the new doctrine. From now on there will be, in the minds of those who accept this new doctrine, a gradual formulation of the spiritual sense of the Writings, by which the Divine Human comes into existence in the spiritual heaven.

266

At some future time, when this plane has been sufficiently developed, there may be expected a similar opening of the celestial degree, and then first will the celestial sense of the Writings begin to be revealed, and the Divine Human will become present in the celestial heaven.

Now let us consider which of these two concepts is in accord with the plain teaching of the Writings. The Hague concept is based largely on what is said in the Writings about "revelations by perception." Such "revelation" is interpreted to mean the giving of the Word as to its "internal sense" to every individual regenerating man, in some way similar to the giving of the "letter" of the Word by means of a Prophet. The two uses of the term in the Writings, however, are entirely distinct. Revelation through a Prophet is the accommodation of Divine Truth by the Lord Himself; while revelation to a regenerating man is defined as "illustration when the Word is read, and perception then." (A. C. 8694.) There can be no such illustration until the word has first been given. Illustration is possible only because the Word has been given, not only on earth, but also in heaven. It comes through the heavens, by influx from the angels there. It is possible only because the angels already have the Word, and are in illustration thence from the Lord. Thus we read: "The angels who are with the man perceive the Word according to the internal sense: this is communicated to the man who is in good, and who reads the Word and longs for truth from affection." (A. C. 8694.) The "revelation from perception" which results is said to be "a certain consent and approval from within that the thing is true, or disapproval if it is not true." (Ibid. See also A. C. 8780.)

That the Word on every plane must be given in objective, visible reality, before it can be received by man, and before he can have illustration from it, is evident from the following teaching: "That which cannot be seen and heard cannot enter into any idea of thought, nor into any affection of love. That which is to be comprehended by faith and love must be an accommodated objective." (A. C. 10267.) What is here called an "accommodated objective" is the Word produced through a prophet, or through the "Angel of Jehovah." Nothing infinite can be comprehended, either on earth or in heaven, until the Word has ill this way been given.

267

For this reason, Divine accommodation must precede reception by men and angels.

     Again we are taught: "There are three things that follow in order: accommodation, application, and conjunction. There must he accommodation before there can be application; and there must be accommodation and application both together before there can be conjunction. Accommodation on God's part was that He became Man; application on God's part is perpetual, so far as man applies himself in return; and so far as this is done, conjunction is effected also."
(T. C. R. 370.) By "accommodation" here is meant again the giving of the Word. Through this, God becomes Man; that is, He reveals Himself under human and angelic veilings to the understanding of men and angels. As man "applies" himself to this Word, that is, as he reads it, reflects upon it, understands it, and obeys its teachings, conjunction is effected.

     That such accommodation takes place in all the heavens, at the same time as it takes place on earth, is evident from the following numbers: "When Truth Divine descends through the heavens to men, as the Word has descended, it is on the way accommodated to all, both those who are in the heavens and those who are on the earth." (A. C. 8920.) "The Divine Truth that proceeds from the Divine Human of the Lord passes through the heavens down to man, and on the way is accommodated to each heaven, and lastly to man himself." (A. C. 9400.) "That which is from the Divine descends through the heavens down to man, and therefore in the heavens it has been accommodated to the wisdom of the angels who are there. Therefore, in the Word there is an internal sense for the angels which is spiritual, and an external sense for men which is natural." (A. C. 10322.) Here it is to be noted that the Word is accommodated "on the way" as it descends. This teaching does not violate the universal law that the Divine operates "from primes to ultimates, and through ultimates to intermediates," because it descends by means of a man on earth, that is, by a Prophet. Without such an ultimate medium, it could not be given in the heavens. Note especially what is said in the last number, namely, that it is because the Word "has been accommodated to the wisdom of the angels" that "there is an internal sense for the angels which is spiritual."

     That the Word is written in heaven at the same time as it is written on earth, is also clearly taught.

268

"The existence of writings in heaven is a provision of the Lord for the sake of the Word; for the Word in its essence is Divine Truth, and from it is all heavenly wisdom, both with men and angels; for the Word was dictated by the Lord, and what is dictated by the Lord passes through all the heavens in order and terminates with man. Thereby it is adapted both to the wisdom of the angels and the intelligence of men. Thereby, too, the angels have a Word, and read it the same as men do on the earth, and also draw 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.) Speaking of the angels, it is said: "They have the entire Word, from beginning to end, so written that every one can read it. The preachers there preach on it, and the rest read it." (S. D. 5603; see also S. S. 71, and De Verbo xiv: 4.)

     The Writings also were thus written in heaven, at the same time as they were written on earth. For Swedenborg says: "As I withdrew, I saw under a green olive tree, around which a vine had entwined itself, a cedar table on which there was a book. I looked, and lo, it was a book written by me, entitled Arcana Coelestia." (T. C. R. 461.) And elsewhere: "The books about heaven and about the Last Judgment were given to a certain spirit to read through and examine as to whether what is therein is such that it can be printed in Holland and sold at a profit; as I believe he was one who had held such a post in Holland when he lived in the world. . . .He read them through, and said that he found in them such things as could be printed with every advantage; but after some interval he read them again, and said that they had no merit at all, and would be accepted by nobody." (S. D. 5908.) Again, in the "Ecclesiastical History of the New Church," nos. 7, 8, Swedenborg says:

     "When the Brief Exposition was published, the angelic heaven, from the east to the west, and from the south to the north, appeared of a deep scarlet color with the most beautiful flowers. This took place before myself, and before the kings of Denmark and others. "

     "At another time it appeared flamy, most beautiful.

     "In the spiritual world there was inscribed on all these books: 'The Advent of the Lord.'

269

The same I also wrote by command on two copies in Holland."

That the Writings were given in heaven at the same time as they were given on earth, is further evident from the following considerations: By means of that Revelation, the Last Judgment was effected in the year 1757. It caused the destruction of the imaginary heavens, and by means of it the Lord subjugated the hells and reordered the heavens. By it, also, He formed the Christian Heaven, from which the New Jerusalem is now descending to the earth. None of these things could have happened in the other world during Swedenborg's life-time, and before there was any Church on earth, if the Writings had not been accommodated to the angels at the same time as they were accommodated to men.

We conclude, then, that the Writings, as they exist in the three heavens in objective reality, are the "internal sense" of the Writings as they exist on earth. This sense is just as infinite as is the Letter. It is a Divine accommodation effected by the Lord through Swedenborg. It is not the "understanding" of the Writings, either by men or angels, but is the Lord's own expression of Truth, containing the Infinite Understanding of His Divine Mind. This internal sense, while it exists in the heavens, cannot be produced on earth, for it is clothed in language which is inexpressible on the plane of human life. When it descends to that plane, it falls necessarily into the language of the Writings themselves,-into the Lord's own formulation of it in rational terms. It cannot be formulated on earth by regenerating men. It cannot be produced by translating the Writings according to correspondences. Yet men can see something of that sense, even while they live in the body; and by virtue of this fact they can be in consociation with the angels. They can see it, however, only as through a veil until after the body has been laid aside. But when they come into the other world, then, in the degree of their regeneration, they enter into the full enjoyment of this "internal sense," and are introduced thereby into all angelic intelligence and wisdom, and this with ever increasing perfection to eternity.

270

EXTRACTS FROM MINUTES OF MEETINGS OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM 1937

EXTRACTS FROM MINUTES OF MEETINGS OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE OF THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM Various 1937

     Meeting held Friday, April 2, 1937, at 5.15 p.m.

     Present: Messrs. Paul Synnestvedt (Chairman), Randolph W. Childs (Secretary), Kesniel C. Acton, Edward C. Bostock, Edward H. Davis, David Gladish, Hubert Hyatt, Alexander P. Lindsay and Raymond Pitcairn.

     Nomination of Bishop. The Secretary read the following letter:

     Bryn Athyn, Pa.,
April 1, 1937.
Randolph W. Childs, Esq., Secretary, Executive Committee, General Church, Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania.
Dear Mr. Childs:
     With reference to the naming of the choice of the Council of the Clergy as to the election and confirmation by the General Assembly of a Bishop of the General Church, it was this morning moved, seconded, and carried

     "That the Secretary of this Council be instructed to inform the Executive Committee that the choice of this meeting is Bishop George de Charms."
     Your respectfully,
          (Sgd.) WILLIAM WHITEHEAD,
               Secretary, Council of the Clergy.

     This letter was discussed. During the discussion, Executive Committee Minute No. 4 of November 6, 1936, was read. Also read were certain extracts from a letter dated February 17, 1916, by Bishop N. D. Pendleton to Mr. Raymond Pitcairn, as published in NEW CHURCH LIFE for April, 1916, page 240.

271

It was moved by Mr. Raymond Pitcairn, and seconded by Mr. Edward C. Bostock, that the Resolution generally as below be adopted. The Chairman called for comment on the proposed Resolution by each of those present. In their comments, all concurred with the Resolution. Also, the Secretary read a letter dated March 25, 1937, from Mr. Seymour G. Nelson, requesting that he be recorded as favoring the nomination of George de Charms as Bishop. After certain minor amendments, the proposed Resolution was unanimously adopted, namely:

     WHEREAS the Council of the Clergy has transmitted to the Executive Committee the following communication dated April 1, 1937: "With reference to the naming of the choice of the Council of the Clergy as to the election and confirmation by the General Assembly of a Bishop of the General Church, it was this morning moved, seconded, and carried 'That the Secretary of this Council be instructed to inform the Executive Committee that the choice of this meeting is Bishop de Charms.'"

     AND WHEREAS the Executive Committee has considered the nomination of Bishop de Charms for the office of Bishop of The General Church of the New Jerusalem, now therefore be it

     RESOLVED that the Executive Committee hereby unanimously records its confidence in Bishop de Charms and in his qualifications to lead our Church and to preserve freedom and order. And be it further

     RESOLVED that the Executive Committee is in unanimous accord with the action of the Council of the Clergy in nominating Bishop de Charms for the office of Bishop of the General Church. And be it further

     RESOLVED that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the Joint Council.

     State of the Church. There was read an account of a meeting held March 25, 1937, attended by those members of the Consistory in Bryn Athyn at the time, namely, Bishops de Charms and Acton, and Revs. C. E. Doering and Homer Synnestvedt, together with Revs. Ernst Pfeiffer, Theodore Pitcairn, Elmo C. Acton and Hendrik W. Boef. This account had been prepared by Mr. Pfeiffer. The account was discussed at length.

     Meeting held Saturday, April 3, 1937, at 5.00 p.m.

     Present: Bishop de Charms (Chairman), and Messrs. Randolph W. Childs (Secretary), Kesniel C. Acton, Edward C. Bostock, Edward H. Davis, David Gladish, Hubert Hyatt, Alexander P. Lindsay, Raymond Pitcairn and Paul Synnestvedt.

272

     Publication of Council Proceedings. The Joint Council, at its Session of April 3, 1937, had adopted a resolution recommending the publication, by the General Church under the supervision of Bishop de Charms, of the proceedings of the 1937 Sessions of the Council of the Clergy and of the Joint Council, and including the paper by Dr. C. E. Doering giving an account of the previous procedure in the election of a Bishop of the General Church, the recommendation to be referred to the Executive Committee. Upon motion, duly made and seconded, it was unanimously

     RESOLVED that the necessary funds be appropriated whereby to defray the cost of the recommended publication.

     State of the Church. Bishop de Charms presented to the Meeting the account of the meeting held March 25, 1937, as per Executive Committee Minute No. 5 of April 2, 1937. Bishop de Charms also referred to the April 3, 1937, proceedings of the Joint Council. The account and the proceedings were discussed at length. During the discussion, the following, among other remarks, were made:

     The General Church of the New Jerusalem is a Church with an established form of order and organization by which it is governed. As a member of this Church, and as a commissioned Pastor thereof, Mr. Pfeiffer is subject to that order and organization. It is considered that the position taken by Mr. Pfeiffer is one of insubordination to this established order. This state of insubordination is evidenced, among other things, by the position and statements of Mr. Pfeiffer at the meeting with the members of the Consistory held on March 25, 1937, as reported in his account of the meeting which was read at the Executive Committee Meeting held April 2, 1937. In the meeting of March 25, 1937, Mr. Pfeiffer stated:

     That in view of the opposition "in such fundamental and essential principles, he foresaw that it would be unavoidable that similar statements, as those to which Bishop de Charms objected so much, would continue to be made, and would rather increase than diminish." That "separation" was "the only solution." That he asked "for the completest freedom and complete independence." That "the doctrinal differences between us were very great, and indeed essential." That "the principles of the new position were altogether different from that held by the present leaders of the General Church.

273

That there is even a greater difference between the new position and that of those leaders than exists between the position of the General Church and that of Convention." That he requested of the Acting Bishop of the General Church a separate diocese based on doctrinal grounds. That he requested an ordination of a member of the Dutch Group into the third degree of the ministry. That when these requests were denied by the Acting Bishop, he made a request of Bishop Acton for ordination of one of their group into the third degree. That the need of an ordination of a minister in The Hague into the third degree was urgent because Mr. Pfeiffer had a candidate for the ministry in The Hague, and that "since he fully accepts the new position," it was "impossible for him to attend the Theological School in Bryn Athyn."

     It was evident, from Mr. Pfeiffer's account of the meeting of March 25, 1937, that he confused the idea of the Church Universal with The General Church of the New Jerusalem, and therefore recognized no ecclesiastical order of the General Church as binding upon him.

     At the opening of the Session of the Joint Council held today, Bishop de Charms had stated that Mr. Pfeiffer had said:

     That the General Church had separated itself from the Lord. That he no longer feels himself in sympathy with this body or able to cooperate with it. That he recognizes that a separation is inevitable. That since the proposition which was made at the meeting was not acceptable to the Council of the Clergy, as evidenced by the meetings of the Council of the Clergy, he desires an independent and separate body with a different name that shall be in fact another Church.

     In response to Bishop de Charms' statement, Mr. Pfeiffer had said that as a whole he accepted the statement as fair. Mr. Pfeiffer said that, with reference to the report that he had said that the Church had separated itself from the Lord, he wanted to go on record that what he said was that the Church organization and the administration of the Church had separated itself from the Lord.

     It was the unanimous opinion of those present that the avowed intention of Mr. Pfeiffer to proselytize the membership of the General Church in support of principles which he agrees are at great variance to those taught by the General Church, and his announced intention to set up a new government in opposition to that established by the General Church, independent of and subversive to that Church, while still a Pastor of the General Church, are acts of insubordination to the established form and order of the General Church, and, as such, cannot be countenanced nor tolerated.

274

According to his own words, Mr. Pfeiffer intends separation. If he has separated, he has every right to proselytize among those he regards as a remnant for his new church organization. From within, and as a member and Pastor, he has no such right.

     Bishop de Charms then stated that the situation in which the Church now finds itself is one in which it is the prime duty of the Acting Bishop to take such steps as may be necessary to protect the members of our Church from further active propaganda by Mr. Pfeiffer, while he is a member of our body, to spread The Hague position. Upon motion, duly made, seconded and carried, it was

     RESOLVED that the Executive Committee of the General Church declares its unanimous support of the position taken by the Acting Bishop, and agrees with the Acting Bishop that the position taken by Mr. Pfeiffer constitutes insubordination to the established form and order of government of the General Church, and as such cannot be countenanced.

     Meeting held Friday, April 30, 1937, at 5.15 p.m.

     Present: Bishop de Charms (Chairman), and Messrs. Randolph W. Childs (Secretary), Kesniel C. Acton, Edward C. Bostock, Edward H. Davis, Hubert Hyatt, Harold F. Pitcairn, Raymond Pitcairn and Paul Synnestvedt.

     Minutes of the Executive Committee Meetings held April 2, 1937, and April 3, 1937, were read. Upon motion, duly made and seconded, it was unanimously

     RESOLVED that the Minutes of April 2, 1937, and of April 3, 1937, be approved as read, and it was further

     RESOLVED that, under the direction of Bishop de Charms, those portions of said Minutes which deal with "Nomination of Bishop," "State of the Church," and "Publication of Council Proceedings," be published.

275

Church News 1937

Church News Various 1937

     BRAZIL.

     On a recent trip to South America, Mr. Harold F. Pitcairn and Mr. Nathan Pitcairn visited Rio de Janeiro and had the opportunity to meet the members of the General Church Society when, on Sunday, March 7, they attended the service held in the Society's place of worship, located in a central part of the city,-a room which has been furnished and adorned to serve the purposes of a chapel

     The congregation numbered between forty and fifty persons, including children, this being about half the usual attendance, owing to the absence of members during the summer months. The Rev. Joao de Mendonca Lima conducted the service and delivered the sermon, speaking extemporaneously in the Portuguese language. Our friends in Brazil read the Writings mainly in the French versions, but progress is being made in translating some of the works into Portuguese.

     The following Tuesday evening, the Messrs. Pitcairn had the pleasure of dining with Captain and Mrs. Silva Lima, the Rev. and Mrs. Henry Leonardos, Mr. and Mrs. Hammond, and Mr. Henry Leonardos, Jr. Mrs. Lima and Mrs. Hammond are daughters of the Rev. and Mrs. Leonardos. It will be recalled that Captain and Mrs. Silva Lima were present at the 1930 General Assembly in Bryn Athyn, and that Henry Leonardos attended the Academy Schools in 1928-1929.

     There is a possibility that one of the members of the Rio Society will come to Bryn Athyn to study for the ministry, in order that he may devote himself to the pastoral uses of the Society.

     BRITISH GUIANA.

     An account of the Tabor Mission of the General Church of the New Jerusalem was given in the issue of New Church Life for February, 1937, and we now quote from a letter recently received by Bishop de Charms from the Rev. Henry Algernon, Georgetown, Demerara, who is Leader of the Mission:

     "10th April, 1937.
"Dear Bishop de Charms:
     "Your very encouraging letter, dated 20th January, came in due course, as also the book packet enclosing the Social Song Book and the Topics from the Writings. The latter I have given a first reading at the rate of one instalment on an average per day, and I have found it very helpful and refreshing and instructive; but it will now be necessary to give it a more deliberate reading with a close study of the references to the Writings, which I hope my circumstances in the near future will leave me free to do.

     "I read your letter to those present at one of our Sunday afternoon meetings, and it was highly valued, Mr. Stephen Alexander moving that the deep appreciation and gratitude of the group be communicated to the Bishop for the spiritual instruction contained in his letter, and asking that the Bishop be assured of the desire of individuals composing the group to imbibe from the Lord through the Writings the genuine truth of the Word for their enlightenment in the path of regeneration.

     In the columns of a Georgetown newspaper of December 20, 1936, appeared this announcement:

276

     Rev. Algernon Tells "The Reason Why." Today's Inspiring Lecture.
The following is the synopsis of the lecture entitled "Why was Our Lord Born on Earth as Man?" which will be delivered by the Rev. H. Algernon at the Tabor Mission, Third Street, Albertown, this afternoon at 7 o'clock:

     "Without Him we can do nothing-Historicity of Jesus Christ-In Him dwelt all the fulness of the Godhead bodily-Does it accord with reason that the Lard should be born Man?-If so, why has this happened so late, comparatively speaking, in Man's history,-The Adamic Age, or Golden Age-The Age immediately succeeding-The rise of Idolatry-The Israelitsh Representative of a Church-Conjunction by its means-limited duration of this temporary and inadequate provision-vastation-Human Helplessness-The Ages-long Degeneration process had been slowed down by Divine over-rule-This process was consummated in Israel, leaving the human universe without any means of conjunction with Heaven and the Lord-The Lord Jehovah alone could effect conjunction, and now this had to be by a NEW WAY-The Advent coincided with imminent destruction of the human universe consequent on disjunction-The Eternal Endeavor always towards securing a state of conjunction-The eventual and everlasting method of effecting this-The need for the expression of Divine Truth in outmosts, in order to states of conjunction-Jehovah Himself therefore became Man in outmosts-Genuine worship of an Unknowable God impossible-For this reason the Lord is Human as well as Divine and Infinite

     And Man is able to receive from God a revelation of God as Divine Man-The most precious Divine gift to humankind is the perception of the Divine Human of the Lord-This perception has been made a permanent and universal human potentiality by the Advent-By means of His Own (i.e., Divine) Human, Jehovah has wrought Redemption, effects Regeneration, and establishes Conjunction."

     CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

     An enjoyable masquerade party was given by Miss Jean Headsten on February 19. Some of the costumes were beautiful, and others were grotesque and very amusing.

     Following the Friday supper on March 26, a service in preparation for Easter was held. On Easter Sunday there were fifty-two present, and the service was impressive and uplifting.

     The monthly meetings of the Ladies have been entertained by Mrs. W. L. Gladish, Mrs. John Pollock and Mrs. Headsten. On one occasion the Pastor gave a full account of the birth of the General Church of the New Jerusalem in 1897, and reviewed the laws which are to be our guide. At another meeting he gave an interesting account of the life of Michael Servetus.

     At our Friday classes of late we have heard a clear and comprehensive account of the controversy between the General Church position and that of the Hague, in respect to both doctrine and government.

     Early in April we had the pleasure of a visit from the Rev. Victor J. Gladish, of Colchester, England, who preached at our Sunday service on the subject of Mediate and Immediate Influx.

     One of our oldest members, Mrs. Kate H. Nicholl, passed to the spiritual world on March 27 at the age of eighty four, and the funeral service was held on Easter Sunday, the Rev. Gilbert H. Smith officiating, as our Pastor was unable to attend, though both were asked to take part in the service. She was a devoted member of the General Church for many years. During her long illness, our Pastor had visited her regularly, and had administered the sacrament of the Holy
Supper a few days before her death.

     By removal to other localities we have lost a number of our good and faithful members during the last two years.

277

Mr. Jack Lindrooth, who has gone to Cleveland, Ohio, is missed by us all. A faithful worker, Mrs. Kate Doering, went to Toronto, and five of our young people have married and settled in other centers of the Church.

     On May 14, the ladies of our society gave their annual luncheon to the ladies of the Immanuel Church, Glenview. After the refreshments were served, we had an enjoyable program of music and drama. Mrs. David F. Gladish gave us some delightful music; Miss Bertha Farrington and Mrs. Neville Wright provided the drama. Bertha made a sweet little New England lady in her quaint costume, and sang an account of her pleasures in younger days. Mrs. Wright was most amusing in her personation of a Pennsylvania Dutch lady who recounted her experiences at a school entertainment.
     E. V. W.

     KITCHENER, CANADA.

     Early in the year, the Rev. Norman Reuter came to Kitchener to assist our Pastor. Mrs. Reuter and their little daughter, and Mrs. Fuller, joined him later. We are very fortunate in having them with us. Mr. Reuter has certainly taken hold and found a great field for his usefulness. He has taken over the headmastership of the school, relieving Mr. Gill in no small way. He also conducts the Young People's Classes and assists with the Sunday services.

     Special Communion Service was held the evening of Good Friday and Easter services for both children and adults on Sunday morning.

     On Easter Monday Re had a supper and social. The school room was bright with Easter yellow and purple. Card tables with colored paper covers and novelty dollies of cut paper, centered with flowers and pussy willows, made the room Ray. Supper was on the serve-yourself plan. About ninety people were present.

     On April 14, the "Antiques" were entertained by Mr. and Mrs. Maurice Schnarr in Burlington, Ont. Although it meant a 40-mile drive, we had a splendid turnout. Guests from Toronto and Hamilton swelled our number to forty-four, but the Schnarr home held us all very nicely and we had a grand time.

     On April 16, the society gathered for supper at the church and to hear Mr. Gill and Mr. Reuter tell us about the meetings of the Council of the Clergy. After the ministers had given us an outline, the talk became more informal, and questions were asked and comments made by various members of the society.

     Supper and the regular monthly social were held on April 30. We were highly entertained by a fashion show-seeing ourselves as others saw us from the beginning of the 20th century to the present time. There were also songs and dances.

     Our great event, the Coronation, was celebrated, with proper ceremony and acclaim. On Sunday, May 9, Mr. Gill preached a sermon on the Love of King and Country, using as his text, II Kings 11:12, "And he brought forth the king's son, and put the crown upon him, and gave him the testimony; and they made him king, and anointed him; and they clapped their hands, and said, God save the king!"

     On the day, May 11, the school children held a special out-door ceremony. They gathered around the flagpole and were presented with coronation medals, a gift from the city. The Mayor was present and addressed the school. Songs were sung, the flag raised, and Mr. Rudolph Schnarr then talked to the children on the subject of "Citizenship." Earlier in the afternoon, the children had planted an oak and a maple tree in commemoration of the Coronation of King George VI.

     In the evening a dance was held in the school room, which was gay with flags and red, white and blue pennants. A booth had been constructed representing the Imperial Crown. This was certainly a masterpiece in decorations. By the use of lights every jewel in the crown twinkled and glowed. Lights at the sides of the room were shaded in gilt coaches.

278

The dancing was interspersed by dances and songs representing various parts of the British Empire. Toasts were sung to the Church, and to our King and Queen. We were glad to have with us a number of Toronto young folks. On this occasion we were at last able to give a real welcome to Mrs. Reuter, who is just out, having been quarantined ever since coming to Kitchener.

     TORONTO, CANADA.

     On Sunday, April 18, the Olivet Society had the pleasure of welcoming for a short visit the Rev. Alan Gill, who conducted the Sunday morning service. We hope he will return again soon. Our Pastor, thus relieved of his duties at home, went to Montreal, where the Montreal Circle very much enjoyed its first Sunday morning service, held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Ernest Izzard, with an attendance of 15 adults and 7 children. In the evening, a doctrinal class was held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Felix DuQuesne.

     The Ladies of our Society had a wonderful opportunity of being waited upon-for a change-when the Gentlemen of the Society entertained them on the evening of April 17. An excellent supper was served, followed by a sing-song. At this point a serious note was introduced when Mr. Thomas Smith presented an excellent paper on distinctiveness of uses, masculine and feminine. This, in turn, was followed by a varied entertainment of songs, recitations and a radio intelligence test. On this, as on previous similar occasions, the ladies "turned out" to the very last one.

     On April 24, fifteen of the "boys" from Toronto were guests of the Men's Club at Kitchener. A bounteous supper was served upon their arrival, and opportunity was afforded for conversation, jokes and every thing that contributes toward good fellowship. The meeting was called to order by the chairman, Mr. Rudolph Potts, and Sir John Daniel presented a masterly paper on "What's Wrong with the World?" The subject, as might well be expected, evoked much discussion. The Toronto men had a fine time, and hope the Kitchener men will invite them again.
     M. S. P.

     GLENVIEW, ILLINOIS.

     The first meeting of a new Doctrinal Class was held on April 25, with an attendance of some thirty-five. The object of this class or Sunday evening meeting is to study more intensively the Doctrine of the Church, and especially, at the beginning, the Principles of the Academy. The group has met every Sunday evening since its inception. It is hoped that it will prove an enjoyable and profitable addition to our study groups, conducted informally, as it is, and in the character of a kind of Forum. The membership is not too large for free discussion.

     The Doctrinal Classes at Friday Supper have been well attended this year. The subjects chosen have recently been those that relate to the nature of the Writings, and what is meant by the Doctrine of the Church.

     The Committee appointed for the purpose of raising funds for the repair of The Manse by August reports progress. Success attended the recent presentation of a play "Paul Pry" by Poole, directed mainly by Miss Volita Wells and Mrs. David Gladish, and well supported by a large cast of local talent, which was pronounced excellent. This was one feature of a Saturday evening affair given to swell the Manse Fund.
     J. B. S.

279

THIRTIETH BRITISH ASSEMBLY 1937

THIRTIETH BRITISH ASSEMBLY VICTOR J. GLADISH 1937

GENERAL ASSEMBLY REPORT 1937

By invitation of the Pittsburgh Society, the Sixteenth General Assembly of the General Church of the New Jerusalem is to be held at the Shady Side Academy Fox Chapel, Pa., from Wednesday, June 30, to Sunday, July 4, 1937.

A full Report of the Proceedings will be published in the July, August and September issues of New Church Life. The July number will be mailed to subscribers as soon as possible after the close of the meetings.

280

SIXTEENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1937

     Program.

Wednesday, June 30.
     10.00 a.m.-First Session of the Assembly. Opening Service.
          Selection of a Bishop of the General Church.
          Address by the Right Rev. George de Charms.
      2.15 p.m.-Meeting of the Corporation of the General Church.
      2.15 p.m.-Theta Alpha Business Meeting.
      9.00 p.m.-Reception and Dance.

Thursday, July 1.
     10.00 a.m.-Second Session of the Assembly.
          Discussion: The Uses of the General Church.
          Address by the Rev. Karl R. Alden.
          Subject: "Daniel."
     2.15 p.m.-Meeting of the Academy Finance Association.
     4.00 p.m.-Ladies' Tea given by Miss Katherine Marshall.
     8.00 p.m.-Third Session of the Assembly.
          Address by the Rev. Gilbert H. Smith.
          Subject: "The Terms 'Divine' and 'Holy.'"

Friday, July 2.
     10.00 a.m.-Fourth Session of the Assembly.
          Discussion: The Uses of the Academy.
          Address by the Rev. F. E. Gyllenhaal.
          Subject: To be Announced.
     Theta Alpha Luncheon.
     Sons of the Academy Luncheon and Meeting.
     8.00 p.m.-Fifth Session of the Assembly.
          Address by Mr. Fred. J. Cooper. Subject: "Cohesion."

Saturday, July 3.
     10.00 a.m.-Sixth Session of the Assembly.
          Discussion: The Support of the General Church.
          Address by the Right Rev. Alfred Acton.
          Subject: "The Holy Spirit."
     2.15 p.m.-Meeting of the Executive Committee.
     7.00 p.m.-Assembly Banquet.
          Toastmaster: Mr. Alexander P. Lindsay.

Sunday, July 4.
     11.00 a.m.-Divine Worship.
          Sermon: Rev. Dr. Hugo Lj. Odhner.
          Administration of the Holy Supper.
Visitors are asked to bring their Liturgies.

281

ADDRESS TO THE SIXTEENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1937

ADDRESS TO THE SIXTEENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY GEORGE DE CHARMS 1937

NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. LVII          JULY, 1937           No. 7
     (Delivered at the First Session, June 30, 1937.)

     The General Church, at this Assembly, enters upon a new administration. For this reason it stands at the borderline between two distinct periods in its history. Regarded from its human side, there is in this fact an element of sadness. The retirement of Bishop N. D. Pendleton involves a loss to the Church which will be deeply felt by all of us. While, happily, we shall continue to enjoy his presence with us, and to receive with welcome his wise teaching and friendly counsel, yet we shall be deprived of that relationship with him in his official capacity which through the years has bound him ever closer to us by ties of affection. We shall miss the sense of security which we had come to feel in his proved ability as a leader-as one, in the wisdom of whose decisions and the maturity of whose judgments, we had learned to place complete and justifiable confidence. The transfer to other hands of the executive responsibility long exercised by him, in ways to which we had become affectionately accustomed, cannot but involve changes calling for more or less difficult adjustments. However fully men may be united in the fundamentals of their faith, they differ in personality, in temperament, and in form of mind. Such differences impart to their interests a variant focus, and to their work a divergent quality. For this reason, although the functions of an office may be passed from man to man, those highly valuable gifts belonging to the individuality of one cannot be imparted by another.

282

When, therefore, one who has exerted so profound an influence upon the life of the Church as has Bishop Pendleton withdraws his hand from the helm, a loss is sustained for which there can be no human compensation.

There is much in this that we cannot understand. We only know that whatever befalls under the stress of necessity is in fact of Providential leading. Incomprehensible as it may appear to us, we cannot question the Infinite Wisdom which directs the destiny of the Church. We can only submit to the indications of Providence, with trust in the Lord, and confidence that He will ever be mindful of His own. We cannot know the future; but our faith in the Lord's protection finds confirmation in the testimony of the past. We gain courage to face the uncertainties that confront us by contemplating with gratitude the unbroken thread of Divine guidance which we find so manifestly revealed in the history of the Academy movement. There we see that it is indeed the Lord alone who has been the Master Builder of His Church. Men have been but instruments in His hands for the accomplishment of ends foreseen by Him alone. As the Church has undergone successive changes, He has provided for the continuity of spiritual life. Through violent judgments, He has provided that a simple faith in the Divine teaching of the Writings, and a spirit of loyal obedience to them, might be kindled anew in each succeeding state. In spite of human frailty, this faith and this obedience have sustained the Church through all its many trials.

In the overruling Providence of the Lord, leaders endowed with the abilities and gifts required for their task have been raised up repeatedly, according to the need of the times. There have been three such leaders in our history, by whose administrations the span of sixty years, which marks the development of the Academy, has, curiously enough, been divided into three periods of almost exactly equal length. Each period is intimately associated in our thought with its chosen leader. Each forms a distinct unit possessing notable characteristics of its own. Each made a distinctly different contribution to the progress of the Church. Yet each was so inbound with the one preceding, and with the one following, as to form but a single link in a continuous chain. This we clearly see to be true, although we can give to the particular quality of each such link but an imperfect definition.

283

     The period from 1876 to 1897 was one of first beginnings. In it fundamental principles were formulated. Above all, through bitter conflict, an acknowledgment of the complete Divinity and the sole authority of the Writings was established as the corner stone of New Church faith. The sincere endeavor to give this supreme doctrine ultimate form and application, through travail of spirit, brought the Academy to birth. Despite trials and sacrifices, its infancy was blessed with an exalted vision, an unbounded hope, and a joy of first love to which all succeeding generations have looked back with a certain envy. Yet it was a time that called for rugged powers of resistance, for strength of character and dominance of will. These qualities were remarkably exemplified in Bishop W. H. Benade, who gathered about him younger men, and with patriarchal leadership welded them into a united band of pioneers. And although, in his latter days, the very qualities which had equipped him for his task became exaggerated because of illness, and produced disturbances that engulfed the movement in seemingly irretrievable ruin, yet the essential task was done. The faith of the Academy had been deeply implanted, and its roots could not be destroyed.

     To this living soul of faith in the Divinity and authority of the Writings, Bishop W. F. Pendleton appealed with simple eloquence. His plea met with a unanimous response, and out of the ashes of the former organization arose the General Church. A new day now dawned, wherein the conditions to be met were notably different from those obtaining in the early Academy. The separation from Convention was complete. The need for external conflict was over. But a radical reconstruction was called for. Father Pendleton was endowed with just the qualities requisite to the task. We were early impressed with his strength of internal resistance, combined with wonderful patience, gentleness, and ability to yield wisely in externals. He possessed a profound humility, a simple clarity of thought and of expression, and great kindliness of manner. Above all, he had an abiding love of human freedom. This love characterized his work. It was the determining factor in his reorganization of the Church.

     The broad lines of ecclesiastical order and government laid down by him provided for a free and unlimited development. As to all their essential features, they have remained intact to the present day.

284

They were drawn directly from the Writings, being but a formulation into practical principles of the universal laws revealed therein concerning the Divine Government of the Lord's Kingdom. It was primarily because this was so obviously the case that they inspired the unanimous acceptance of all in whom the love of the Academy was paramount.

The establishment of this order opened the way for a period of expansion and consolidation. Societies sprang up in various parts of the world. By means of Assemblies,-general, national, district and local,-these widely scattered groups were held in bonds of spiritual unity, and a life stream of purifying and sustaining truth was kept in continual circulation through the body of the Church. By frequent counsel, and a free interchange of thought, mutual confidence between the priesthood and the laity was restored. Emphasis was laid upon the use of worship, and a distinctive Liturgy was produced. The Academy was organized as an educational arm of the Church, and local schools were established in various societies. A period of active intellectual development resulted. It led to a study of the Philosophical Works of Swedenborg, and to an enthusiastic attempt to correlate these with the Writings. In this, however, was found a wide range for differences of interpretation, giving rise at last to a controversy that threatened the peace and unity of the Church. And the administration came to an end in the midst of a gathering storm.

Yet, in spite of the existing state of anxiety and disturbance, the transition to a new leadership demonstrated that the foundations of the Church had been well and firmly laid. Orderly modes had been devised to provide for succession to the episcopal office. By a peaceful process, with the free consent and unanimous approbation of the Church, Bishop N. D. Pendleton took over the reins of government. With prompt decision he faced the impending dangers. Again he appealed to the fundamental faith of the Academy. He expressed complete confidence in the power of a sincere acknowledgment of the supreme authority of the Writings to restore internal harmony, if only men would exercise patience and mutual charity toward one another. While recognizing that variety of philosophical interpretation, together with full freedom of discussion, were vital to the progress of the Church, he stressed the point that so long as we regard the teaching of the Writings as the one reliable source of truth, and as a common meeting ground on which all are confessedly united, no matter how divergent our opinions may be, our differences will gradually be resolved, and the truth will at last prevail.

285

The acceptance of truth by the Church requires preparation. This is of the Lord's own provision. It cannot be forced by blind human insistence. Even if our individual opinion is correct, we should be willing, after stating our view, to wait until the Lord, in His own time, may prepare for its reception. If our opinion is wrong, we will be glad that we did not insist upon it. This plea to rely upon the leading of Providence won the day. By tacit agreement not to stress the points at issue, but to wait, exercising self-restraint out of regard for the unity of the Church, the passions of controversy were allayed. By a concentration of thought and energy upon the practical uses which presented themselves, the state was changed, order was restored, and the process of normal development resumed.

We are too close to the events of this period justly to appraise its quality. In general it appears to us that what Bishop W. F. Pendleton had done for the General Church, his successor accomplished for the Academy Schools. These he reorganized on a permanent basis, providing for almost unlimited expansion. The school divisions, with their appropriate faculties, were more clearly demarked. Departments of instruction, running the gamut of the educational system, and providing for continuity throughout, were established. Scholastic standards were raised, and the work of the institution was brought to a high point of efficiency, even while the central aim of a
distinctive New Church teaching was kept continually in view. In order that the benefits of our education might be more widely extended, the Working Scholarship Plan was devised, and gradually perfected.

Meanwhile, times were changing with unprecedented rapidity. The World War shocked our western civilization out of a complacent belief in its own infallibility. Men had carefully worked out, with scientific precision, the inevitable lines of social progress, when suddenly they discovered that their calculations were all wrong. The rising generation lost faith, not only in the conclusions advanced by their fathers, but also in the laws upon which those conclusions had been based.

286

They adopted the extreme view that the past had nothing reliable to impart. They endeavored to begin de novo, and to discover for themselves, by their own experimentation, the road to prosperity and happiness. In this attitude of intellectual revolt, many of their disappointed elders acquiesced, feeling that, because the foundations of their own philosophy had so unexpectedly collapsed, they could not trust themselves to build securely for their children. The result was the era of "flaming youth," and of unrestrained speculation, which characterized the "twenties," and led inevitably to that economic reaction out of which we are only now emerging. The Church could not fail to be profoundly affected by these disturbed conditions in the world. Yet we marvel at the way in which it has been protected by the Lord.

The period has seen a steady, if slow, development. It has seen the building of the Cathedral, as a powerful ultimate of influx from the other world. In the face of international unrest, our societies in other lands have been maintained. The wave of economic prosperity made possible a General Assembly in London, where many were brought for the first time into the sphere of such a gathering, and received a stronger sense of the internal unity of the Church. Through the years of depression the very sacrifices required to maintain (without serious impairment) the uses of our societies, and of the Academy, served to strengthen the spirit of our faith. In all this we see, with deep gratitude, the merciful leading of the Lord. And not the least among the indications of His Divine protection is the provision of leadership so perfectly adapted to the requirements of the time.

You all know Bishop Pendleton personally. You are familiar with the qualities that have endeared him to the Church. For our own part, we are particularly impressed with the fact that, in addition to the organizing work he so ably accomplished, there has been a steady development in the interpretation of doctrine throughout his administration. Stress has been laid upon the duty of the Church to interpret the teaching of the Writings ever anew, in rationally balanced application to the uses of the time. The freedom of thought and of discussion essential to the performance of this duty has been regarded as the most precious possession of the Church. In defense of such freedom, as well as in doctrinal studies of the Writings, Bishop Pendleton has taken the lead.

287

His keenly analytical mind, his perception of spiritual values, his breadth of view and profound devotion to the literal teaching of Revelation, have been a continual inspiration to those who have labored with him in the work of the Church. It is the more surprising, therefore, that the close of the period should see a new conflict arise, and, in fact, over the interpretation of doctrine-a conflict more severe than any experienced since the days of Bishop Benade, and one that strikes at the very heart of the Academy.

This is not the place to enter into a discussion of the present controversy, with its many ramifications. To do so would be merely to repeat what has been fully set forth in the pages of NEW CHURCH LIFE. It is cause for profound regret that serious disturbance should have arisen, culminating in separation, and in the withdrawal of a number of our members, that they might organize a new body of the Church. The internal cause of this separation lay in the fundamental nature of the doctrinal differences between us. But the ultimate necessity which gave occasion to it came only when those differences threatened an imminent disruption of order. Against this, nothing less than a decisive judgment could protect the Church.

The first requisite of spiritual life is freedom. Without this, there can be no reformation, and no regeneration for any man. The primary end of the Lord's Providence, which in all things looks to human salvation, is that there may be freedom. A spiritual church, therefore, must seek to provide, above all things, the free opportunity to will, to think, to speak, and to act in accord with the dictates of individual conscience. But this freedom cannot exist without order. The Lord is Order itself. The Laws of His Providence are nothing but the laws of order, by which alone freedom can be given; We are told in the Writings that all things in the universe are maintained in order by a universal influx from the Lord, and that the consistence-nay, the very existence-of all things depends upon the continuity of this influx, and of the order produced by it. This operation by the Lord to preserve order, and by it to provide freedom, is infinite. It is invisible to man, who sees only the superficial appearance of its effects. But the laws by which it operates are revealed to man in the Word. Every truth of the Word is a law of order, and he who understands this truth, acknowledges it, and lives according to it, receives this order into himself.

288

"To receive order into one's self is to be saved, and this is effected solely by living according to the Lord's Commandments. Man is regenerated to the end that he may receive into himself the order of heaven, . . . and he who has order in himself is in heaven, and also is heaven in a certain image." (A. C. 10659.)

     The order which makes heaven in the individual must extend itself into human society. It must find ultimation in the Church as an organization. Only in the measure that this is accomplished can there be genuine freedom. Indeed, organization is for no other purpose than to establish that order in which alone freedom can exist. And the end of all ecclesiastical government is to preserve that order for the sake of freedom. So vital to the spiritual life of the Church is the protection of this order, that when it is placed in jeopardy the Writings specifically enjoin upon the governing priesthood the power and the duty of separation. (H. D. 318.)

     Inmostly, that which produces an organization of the Church is an acknowledgment of the laws of order set forth in the Word. If these laws are to be freely accepted, there must be mutual agreement with reference to them. The common recognition of them is the fundamental ground of organic unity. Only where this exists can such unity, in freedom, be established, or long maintained. Charity can exist between separate organizations of the Church, even when there are fundamental differences of faith. But in this case, freedom and order can be preserved only if the requisite distinctions are observed.

     It is clearly taught in the Writings that doctrinal differences alone, even though they be fundamental in character, should not divide the Church. If they arise from errors of ignorance, from fallacies and appearances, they may for a time exist between individuals in the same organization, provided charity reigns therein. Charity, however, in its essence, is a deep regard for the freedom of others, and for the order upon which freedom rests. So far as differences exist, charity dictates self-restraint, patience, and mutual confidence. While providing for a frank discussion of individual views, and for a clear presentation of divergent concepts for the consideration of the Church, it calls, when this has been done, for a willingness to wait, for a disposition not to force one's own opinion upon others for acceptance, and, above all, for an abiding trust that the Lord, by the secret operation of His Providence, will lead the Church in time to see and receive the Truth.

289

This is the charity that makes for unity. As our brief survey of its past history bears testimony, it is the charity which has preserved the unity of our organized body of the Church in every time of stress. To all the provisions of this charity we subscribe with complete acknowledgment. But when there is insistence upon fundamental differences of faith, with such pressure for their acceptance as undermines confidence, raises doubts, brings distress of mind, and at last threatens the destruction of the order upon which freedom depends, then that same charity calls for separation. There is then no other means by which the primary essentials of spiritual life may be protected; and to the protection of these ill the first place, true charity must have regard.

The present order and organization of the General Church is in all essential respects the same today as when it was first established by Bishop W. F. Pendleton. It was drawn from the clear teaching of Revelation. It represents, in practical application, the common acknowledgment that exists among us, of those Divine Laws of Order, according to which the Lord governs His Kingdom in heaven and on earth. It was not imposed upon the Church from without. That its acceptance might be altogether free, Bishop Pendleton, after it was first proposed, wisely advised that the adoption of it should be delayed a full year. As we have already noted, it was devised with the supreme end in view of establishing and protecting the freedom of the Church, and this purpose it has achieved with notable success. It has never been regarded as fixed or static. It was intended merely to meet the needs and uses of the time, and to undergo gradual adaptations, as unforeseen conditions might arise. Such adjustments have been made from time to time in the past, and they will continue to be made in the future. Orderly modes have been provided, by which, as this is done, we may have assurance, not only that the changes are required by the needs of the day, but also that they are in accord with the principles of revealed truth, and, for this reason, are freely accepted by the Church. It is the recognized duty of government to see that these requirements of change are duly observed.

290

     It is important to realize that, in the General Church, the eventual existence of distinct divisions, each presided over by an episcopal governor exercising complete independence in his diocese, has been contemplated from the beginning. For the establishment of these, no fundamental alteration in our form of government will be necessary. It will come as a natural development, when and So far as the use may appear. But each such diocese would have its own separate jurisdiction, demarked by geographic limitations. And between them all would be a bond of spiritual unity, based upon a common faith.

     The recent proposal that a diocese be formed at this time, however, was not based upon any need for local autonomy rising out of geographic isolation. It was based upon essential doctrinal differences. It was understood that the jurisdiction of the new diocese would interpenetrate the General Church everywhere in the world. Members in all our societies, and Pastors receiving authorization and support from the General Church, would be free to join it, and in consequence would find themselves owing allegiance to two distinct governments at the same time.

     With the rejection of this proposal, but two possible alternatives remained,-either to recognize the accepted order of the General Church, or to form a separate organization. Separation, and a parting with friends, for whom, through years of association in the work of the Church, we have come to feel deep personal affection, is hard. yet, if the order of the General Church, which to us is a prized instrument of freedom, has become oppressive to some among us, we would not bind them to it. We wish them to be free. We acknowledge the sincerity of their faith, although we believe it to be mistaken. By the establishment of a new organization, the way will be opened for the development of their faith; and if indeed they possess a higher light, it will, in the Lord's own time, prevail. But, for our part, we cannot relinquish the faith which has not only been received as a heritage from the past, but has become a profound conviction,-the faith that the Lord, in His Second Coming, speaks directly to His Church in the pages of the Writings, and that the plain teachings there given are the only Divine Authority to which the Church should be asked to give unquestioning allegiance.

     This faith is more precious to us than life. We must defend the freedom and the order essential to its growth. This is the faith that has established the Academy.

291

It has been the guiding star of her destiny from the beginning. It has sustained and repeatedly renewed her life, through all the trials of her history. By means of it the Lord has been present, to pour out untold blessings, for which we offer perpetual thanksgiving from grateful hearts. We profoundly believe in the power of the Writings, if their sole Divinity is acknowledged from the heart, to give in the future, as in the past, the enlightenment essential to the upbuilding of the Church. Resting in this acknowledgment, we face with confidence the unseen morrow, praying that the Lord, despite human weakness and the recurrence of proprial states, may bless our labors in His name, and provide each day, out of the storehouse of His Word, what is needful to our spiritual life.

And now may this Assembly be one of rejoicing in the abundant evidences that the Lord, with lovingkindness, has watched over His Church, and may it serve to renew our trust in the continued provisions of His mercy.
DANIEL 1937

DANIEL Rev. K. R. ALDEN 1937

(Delivered at the Sixteenth General Assembly, July 1, 1937.)

On the flyleaf of the True Christian Religion we read: "The True Christian Religion, containing the Universal Theology of the New Church foretold in Daniel VII:13, 14 and in Revelation XXI:1, 2." We are all familiar with the glorious vision of the New Jerusalem descending from God out of heaven as it is described by John in Revelation, but we are not so familiar with the prophet Daniel, whose vision likewise is memorialized on the flyleaf of the True Christian Religion, containing The Universal Theology of the New Church, foretold in Daniel VII:13, 14. There we read: "I 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."

292

     Our Church,-the Church of the New Jerusalem,-is dedicated to the worship of the Lord Jesus Christ in His Second Coming. It is builded on earth to carry forward the work of the twelve apostles whom the Lord called together on the Nineteenth of June and sent throughout the whole spiritual world to preach the gospel that the Lord God Jesus Christ reigneth, and of His kingdom there shall be no end. The New Church, which was established in the spiritual world on the Nineteenth of June in the year 1770, was unlike any of the former churches that had existed upon the earth, in that they were all destined to have an end, but the reign of the Son of man was the reign of the Lord Jesus Christ whom He foreshadowed, and His reign is to be an everlasting dominion, one that shall not pass away.

     Let us then study Daniel the prophet, that we may be better able to enter into the Universal Theology of the New Church which he foretold, that the vision of an unending, undying church, in whose vineyard we are privileged to labor and to serve, may become clearer before our eyes. For the Lord makes His Second Coming in the clouds of heaven, and the clouds of heaven are the letter of His Word,-a letter which has been veiled and accommodated to the state of the church in the day and age in which it was given, but a letter which today is revealed in its internal glory and brightness.

     Among Swedenborg's letters was found this note about reading the Summary Exposition of the Prophets and Psalms: "Once when I was reading this book, celestial angels were present with me, who rejoiced greatly at heart over my intention of publishing it for the common good of the New Church of the Lord Jesus Christ." (Preface.)

     In Heaven and Hell we read: "If man knew that there is an internal sense, and would think from some knowledge of it when he is reading the Word, he would come into interior wisdom, and would be still more conjoined with heaven, because he would thereby enter into ideas like the angelic ones." (310)

     If Swedenborg gave joy to the celestial angels by reading the Summary Exposition of the Prophets and Psalms, and if we ourselves will be aided in coming into more interior wisdom by thinking somewhat from the internal sense as we read the letter, then it should be of profit to us to see as in a bird's eye view the internal sense of the Book of Daniel.

293

     Let us first gain some knowledge of the background over against which his prophecy was cast. He appeared at the darkest moment of Israel's national history. More than a century before, the northern kingdom of Israel had been taken away into captivity by the Assyrians, and now Judah found herself between two powerful forces-Babylon on the east, Egypt on the southwest. Jehoiakim her king had disregarded the voice of the prophets and had made alliance with Egypt. Not long afterward, Nebuchadnezzar swept down from the northeast and met Pharaoh Necho of Egypt at Carchemish. Here they fought one of the great decisive battles of world-history. Nebuchadnezzar was completely victorious; and when he entered into his spoils, he naturally entered into Judah and besieged and took Jerusalem. Jehoiakim, many captives, and part of the vessels of gold and silver that belonged to the temple, he took back with him to Babylon, and it is with this episode that the Book of Daniel commences.

     Of the parentage and ancestry of Daniel, the man, we know practically nothing, except that he seems to be of royal or noble blood, and that he was perceived to be a young man of exceptional ability; for he was among that selected group whom Nebuchadnezzar chose to bring to court, and to educate in the ways of the kingdom of Babylon.

     Here we must pause to note two characteristics of Daniel which should be of utmost inspiration to every New Churchman, because in one place in the Writings he is said to represent those of the New Church. Daniel's strength lay in the fact that he was unwilling to give up his personal obligations to the God whom he worshiped. First of all, he would not defile himself with the king's meat, and secondly he would not give up his private obligation to pray to his God three times a day. If the New Church is to remain strong and prosper, we, too, must jealously guard these two principles. We must make them strong within the conscience of the Church, and we must do all that is within our power to teach them, and to inculcate them in the minds and hearts of our children. Our "daily meat" is the reading of the Writings; we cannot rest content living from the "food of the king's table."

294

All the wisdom of the world will never raise a Daniel within us. "The judgment of God" can only come from that daily reading of the Heavenly Doctrines which so fills our minds with food that, when decisions have to be made, the power and efficacy of the truth from which we think cannot but be felt in our lives.

     Then too, like Daniel, we have the duty of daily prayer. That is the custom of family worship. It has been jealously guarded by the Academy from the beginning of its mission, and with its continuance will come courage and strength to meet the sternest temptations in life.

     II.

     The Book of Daniel is written, curiously enough, in two halves. The first six chapters are related in the third person, and tell about the happenings in Babylon during the time of Daniel. The last six chapters are written in the first person, and record the prophetic visions which Daniel had. This is an interesting combination, showing how the internal sense of the Word can be contained either in its historical or its prophetical utterances. It is like the two parts of man's life. Behind him is his history,-the facts of his life, the record of the fabric which he has woven; and in that fabric the rulings of the Divine Providence can be seen. But before him stretches the future; and this is always a vision, whose reality cannot be seen until it has come to pass.

     The historical portion of Daniel treats of the manner in which certain Jews were raised, and how four of them,-Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah,-refused the king's meat. The next episode is Nebuchadnezzar's dream of the great image of gold, silver, brass, iron, and iron mingled with miry clay. Nebuchadnezzar then sets up the golden image, and commands all to worship it, with the result that the three faithful Jews are cast into the fiery furnace. Subsequently he dreams of the great tree that was hewn down. Belshazzar then holds his impious feast, and last of the historical portion, Daniel is cast into the lions' den for refusing to obey Darius's decree.

     The prophetical visions open with the four beasts coming up out of the sea. This is followed by the fight between the ram and the he-goat. Daniel then makes confession for his own sins and the sins of his people.

295

He is rewarded by the vision of the man clothed in linen. Michael then relates to him the story of the war between the king of the north and the king of the south, and finally strengthens him with the promise of the second coming of the Lord.

     But let us enter into the study of the internal sense of this story and vision, that we may be inspired by it, and so form a closer plane for the influx of heavenly societies with us.

     The Lord said to His disciples that they must be in the world, but should not be of the world. It is the task of the New Church to raise up a new and glorious world-religion, which shall alter men's lives through the performance of its precepts, and thus gradually bring down to earth a new form of life,-the life of the kingdom of heaven, the answer to the daily prayer: "Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done, as in heaven, so also upon the earth."

     Babylon is the symbol of the love of dominion. From the time of the tower of Babel on down, Babylon was the image of this love, sometimes in a good sense, but more frequently in a bad sense. Now Daniel was carried away captive into a great country that represented this love. How often has the church in the past been destroyed by this love! How jealously must we guard the church in the present, lest, yet again, it manifest itself!

     Babylon had carried men, and the vessels of gold and silver from the temple, away from Jerusalem. Even so does the love of dominion seek, for its own purposes, to make use of everything that is powerful in the remnant of the Church,-its men, its temple vessels. The temple vessels correspond to the knowledges of good and truth which the man of the church acquires through the faculties of liberty and rationality, which faculties the Lord has given man as the inmost image of Himself. Such vessels form the God-like image, the truly human essence that raises man above the beasts. These vessels, and these alone, made it possible for man to fall, and by these and these alone can man be saved. For by the exercise of freedom man has been enabled to take all of God's gifts, which are plentifully bestowed about him, and turn them to himself. Thus he has been able to choose the world before heaven, and his own proprium before the Lord. But by the very same gifts he is able to regenerate.

     Amid these circumstances, Daniel's life was molded. He was one of the king's seed or princes whom Nebuchadnezzar chose to educate in the court.

296

And here we see the first strong principle in which Daniel's life is an inspiration to us. Daniel was to be educated in the king's house; he was to be fed with the king's portion of meat and drink. But he refused to accept. He could live in the king's palace, even as every New Churchman must live in the world, but he could not be nourished by the king's food. Live in the world we must. But we cannot be fed by its precepts, nor accept its ideal of good as the real goal of our lives. As Daniel thrived on the pulse,-a despised food to the Babylonians,-so shall we thrive spiritually as we enter in, ever more fully, into the knowledge and the application of the Doctrines, which are the very presence of the Lord with us. "I am that bread which came down from heaven. Except ye eat my flesh, and drink my blood, ye have no part in me."

     So Daniel grew to maturity in the king's house, but was not of it. All the while he was being prepared for the spiritual mission which was to make him a power in the affairs of Babylon.

     Nebuchadnezzar had dreamed a dream. He had forgotten its details, but the haunting memory of its power made him long to recapture it and learn its meaning. The wise men of Babylon, one and all, had failed. The decree had gone forth that they should be slain. Then came Daniel's chance,-a chance not unlike that afforded Joseph in days gone by; for Joseph had first gained the confidence and respect of Potiphar, and then, through interpreting the dreams of the baker and butler, had finally come to the notice of Pharaoh himself. By his act of interpreting the dreams of the wheat and the kine, he had been raised from obscurity to the very pinnacle of the kingdom. In this position he had been able to store grain during the seven years of plenty, which should save the land in the seven years of famine that followed; the story plainly teaching us to store up remains during childhood and youth which shall carry us through the temptations of mature years.

     Daniel first gained the favor of his guardian, Ashpenaz, the master of the eunuchs, and by him he was assigned to the direct care of Melzar. The latter learned to love Daniel, and when Nebuchadnezzar's baffling dream came, he was in a position to make his voice heard. Daniel's chance, like Joseph's, came with the dream of his king.

297

Daniel told the king his dream and the interpretation thereof. "Then the king made Daniel a great man, and gave him many great gifts, and made him ruler over the whole province of Babylon, and chief of the governors over all the wise men of Babylon. Then Daniel requested of the king, and he set Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego over the affairs of the province of Babylon; but Daniel sat in the gate of the king." (Daniel 2:48, 49.)

The dream was of the great image with head of gold, breast of silver, belly and thighs of brass, legs of iron, feet of iron mingled with clay. He beheld until a great stone was hewn out without hands, and destroyed the image, and grew until it filled the whole earth. In the interpretation of this dream, as given us in the Writings, we see an illustration of the doctrine that universal laws are the same in the greatests and in the leasts. In the periods of time we have a succession of states: morning, noon, evening, and night; spring, summer, autumn and winter. In the ages of man we have infancy, youth, manhood, and old age. Turning to world-history, with its center in the Church specific, we have the succession of the churches: the Most Ancient, Ancient, Israelitish, and Christian,-the gold of celestial perception, the silver of spiritual truth, the brass of natural good, the iron of ultimate truth. When Swedenborg was to be instructed that the state of the church is such as is the state of conjugial love with it, he visited married couples in the heavens in the order here described, the golden, silver, brass, and iron, until at length he came to the very iron mingled with miry clay where began its opposite.

But such dreams apply not alone to universals; they also have a specific application to the rise, progress and decay of each of the four churches, but most particularly to the successive states of the Christian Church which gave rise to the necessity for the Second Coming of the Lord. In the beginning, the rulers in the Church taught the goods and truths of heaven and the church, and this for more than three hundred years, but gradually they began to seek power for themselves. Retrogression set in, until finally they had sunk to the condition of iron mingled with miry clay. The Second Coming of the Lord could no longer be delayed. The "great stone" of a new Divine Revelation, "hewn without hands," began to take shape and grow, and in the world of spirits this was seen to the very life by Swedenborg in connection with the Last Judgment of 1757.

298

The imaginary heavens were crushed and shattered by the "stone which the builders rejected."

     But those who called themselves New Church, those who had seen the vision of the new doctrine, had fiery trials before them, for the New Church must of necessity be born in the midst of the Old. Not Daniel, but his subordinates, bore the shock of the next trial. For a living church will make its religion of its life, and it is in the application of doctrine to life that the real temptation comes. Nebuchadnezzar, drunk with his power, set up an image of gold, and commanded all to worship it; but Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who had been raised, not on the king's meat, but upon their own food, refused. So, by New Church education, we seek to build a new conscience in the hearts and minds of our children, and when this conscience has been built, we cannot worship the idol set up by the king.

     This idol of gold represents the temptation to make the world's standards our standards. To oppose this sphere will, of itself, bring fiery temptations. All the heat of self love will be sent forth to consume the love of the Lord and the love of the church in our hearts, and we will feel ourselves bound hand and foot, and cast into these flames. Yet the flames will be powerless to consume us, if we call upon the Lord for help, if we seek Him where He may be found, as the Son of man,-the Divine Truth revealed for the help of the Church. The men who cast these servants of the Most High God into the flames were themselves slain; for the fires of selfishness will surely destroy those hearts where selfishness reigns supreme,-the mightiest men of Nebuchadnezzar's army. But those who trust in the Lord will be delivered from the ravages of selfishness, like Israel marching to freedom between the walls of restrained water,-the waters of the Red Sea, which but a few moments later broke forth to engulf forever the Egyptians who pursued them.

     Nebuchadnezzar again dreamed a dream,-a dream of warning and instruction. A mighty tree grew up, and spread over the whole earth; the beasts sheltered under it, and the birds of the air lodged in its branches. In its universal sense, the tree represented the Most Ancient Church with its complete perceptions,-perceptions which sheltered all its affections,-the beasts,-and furnished a home for all its thoughts,-the birds.

299

The tree was covered with leaves for the healing of the nations, and bore fruit for its sustenance. In the beginning it represented the princely office in the heavens, going forth and ministering to all, becoming the servant of all. And in the Christian Church it represented that happy time when its rulers were really its servants, when they led their flocks like true shepherds, when the good shepherd gave his life willingly for his sheep. But in process of time men began to love the gift and forget the giver. The great tree was hewn down. Only the stump was left, bound with iron and brass.

The Writings declare that this stump represented the letter of the Word bound in the hearts of the simple by natural affections, and inspired by the simple, natural recital of the Lord's life upon earth,-the fact that He made the lame to walk, the deaf to hear, and the blind to see. Among this simple remnant, where the Word was still loved, the seeds of the new dispensation were sown, and the New Church was seen rising from the ashes of the past. Nebuchadnezzar, who had been cast out to wander with the beasts until seven times had past over his head, was restored to his kingdom, and again he praised the God of Daniel.

Notwithstanding this, the restoral was not for long. Belshazzar forgot the lessons learned by Nebuchadnezzar. He overleaped the bounds of the mere love of dominion, and added to it the worst of all evils,-profanation, In the midst of a drunken feast, he called for the vessels of gold and silver which had been taken from the temple at Jerusalem. These precious vessels, which held the wine of libation and the shewbread, represented God's holiest gifts to man,-vessels of the mind that are capable of receiving the Divine Truth, and of being elevated thereby to the contemplation and adoration of our Divine Lord. Such vessels are the priceless human gift that raises man above the beasts, and gives him the ability to become the image and likeness of God. To take these gifts, these vessels, and to fill them with the wine of Babylon, and then to drink to the idols of gold, of silver, of brass, of wood, and of stone,-this is the deepest profanation. It is taking the holy things of the church, and pressing them into the service of self. For such, the only reward is death. The handwriting appeared upon the wall: Mene, mene, tekel, upharsin.

300

The kingdom was numbered, weighed in the balance, and divided, because, as Daniel said to Belshazzar, "Thou hast lifted up thyself against the Lord of heaven; and they have brought the vessels of His house before thee, and thou and thy lords, thy wives and thy concubines, have drunk wine in them; and thou hast praised the gods of silver, and gold, of brass, iron, wood, and stone, which see not, nor hear, nor know; and the God in whose hand thy breath is, and whose are all thy ways, thou hast not glorified." (Daniel 5:23.) So Belshazzar was slain that night, and Darius the Median took the kingdom.
     Daniel was now to be put to his severest test. Because of his integrity, because the of the very principles of his religion, he had gone forward in the affairs of Babylon until he became first of the three princes who were over the affairs of the whole kingdom. He represents the New Churchman fighting his lone battle in the world; and the test that will be made of him is his faithfulness to the principles which he espouses. These principles themselves will be attacked, for it was only there that it was felt that Daniel could be defeated. Daniel was faithful in the matter of his daily prayers. He let nothing interfere with them. So his enemies had the king make a decree that anyone who asked any petition from any God or man for thirty days, save of the king, should be cast into the den of lions. This is, indeed, an ever-present temptation to the New Church. Our daily worship,-how easy it is for us to forget it! How often the enticements of the world would draw us from it! Yet Daniel as strong in his resolution, being willing to endure the terrors of the lion's den, rather than forsake his daily contact with God in prayer. And he very resolution saved him. When he was cast into the den, the lions became his friends; for in the good sense lions represent the power derived from the understanding of truth, and in this sense the Lord Himself is called the "Lion of the Tribe of Judah." But in the evil sense they represent the destructive power of falsity tearing the church limb from limb; and so it was that those who had accused Daniel were themselves destroyed by the very death they had prepared for him.

     III.

     So ends the historical portion of Daniel. From the interpreter of other men's dreams he now becomes the seer of visions.

301

Again and again in the Writings we are told that the prophets had two states,-one in which Jehovah dictated the Word to them, the other when He opened their eyes to behold visions in the spiritual world. Daniel now became the seer. He entered into the second state of the prophets. And what shall we say of the nature of his visions? We are taught that when angels of the higher heavens discourse together, their ideas appear as representatives in the lower heavens and in the world of spirits, the soul of these appearances being the discourse from above. Daniel's visions must have been produced by the Divine sphere of ends proceeding into the heavens, and taking on ideas in the minds of the angels which Daniel saw as visions. But at this point the New Churchman is translated into the spiritual world through the experiences granted to Swedenborg in that world; for as John and Daniel saw representatives of the Last Judgment that was to come, Swedenborg saw the actual judgment. Thither we too must go, if we would follow the reality that was foreshadowed by the vision.

     Daniel first saw four beasts ascending from the sea,-the lion, the bear, the leopard, and the dreadful and terrible beast. In the universal sense these beasts represent the procession of the great churches, but in the particular sense with which we are now especially concerned they represent the successive states of the Christian Church leading up to the necessity of the coming of the Lord.

     In a paper by the Rev. Dr. E. E. Iungerich we find the following excellent summary of the meaning of this portion of Daniel:

     "By the lion is meant the love of knowing Divine things. In the infant Christian Church this continued genuine for a time. But soon its 'eagle wings' were stripped, and it was deflected into a love of knowing Divine things for the sake of honor and dominion. `A man's heart was given to it.' To prevent profanation, the nascent knowledge of the internal sense of the Word was withdrawn, and the knowledges prized and sought for became more and more external.

     "Finally, the mere letter of the Word was alone studied; all glimmering of there being a sense more internal vanished. It is this which is meant by the bear, namely, intense study of the mere letter, with repugnance for the internal things of the church, and, of course, the denial of the jurisdiction of the internal over the external. But the letter of the Word cannot be understood without genuine doctrine. It becomes meaningless, or else confirmatory of distortions or falses.

302

     "By the leopard which succeeded the bear is meant that the study of the mere letter, by those who despised genuine doctrine and sought to establish power, falsified all its statements into confirmations of their false reasonings and evil designs. Those who enter upon this stage come at length to find their main pleasure in such falsifications, and their zeal for the corrupted church reckons nothing as too holy to be used in defense of its iniquity. The Christian Church came quite generally into this stage within the first three hundred years of its existence. The following falsities were adopted as the palladium of its faith.

     "1. That Peter and his successors held the keys to heaven and hell.

     "2. That there are no marriages in heaven, because heaven is pure, and marriage is impure as compared with celibacy. Consequently, the monastic life is the true religious life.

     "3. That Divine favor is won through sufferings, just as the innocent Second Person, as they falsely supposed, could only by a bloody atonement win the favor of another God. Consequently, suffering and martyrdom is a thing to be courted as a means to win heaven. To such insanity did their belief that the passion of the cross was redemption itself lead them.

     "4. That the prayers of those who have suffered have a special efficacy, and may be used as a means of intercession for those less saintly. . . ."

     Three of the four stages of a consummating church were present by the end of the 4th century, and if the fourth condition, that of faith alone, had been present, the Lord would have had to make His Second Coming earlier. . . . But Providence took the following means to stem the tide. From the north swept down the Barbarian invasions, and in the south the Mohammedan conquests. The rest of Christendom was overrun by Goths, Huns, and Vandals, who destroyed learning and culture, and the church came into such ignorance and darkness that further intellectual falsification was impossible. (New Church Life, 1910, pp. 145, 146.)

     So the ravages of the fourth beast, who represented faith alone, were stayed for many centuries, during which time the Babylonians built up a vast empire in the world of spirits. There, through the power of their false dogmas, grounded in the literal sense of the Word, they held the simple under obedience to themselves. They had persuaded them that they had brought them into heaven. This was an easy task, for every man imagines a heaven into which he would like to come. And the nature of these imagined heavens is disclosed to us in the opening numbers of Conjugial Love, where it is shown that even in Swedenborg's time, after the Last Judgment, many thought of heaven as a place of perpetual feasting, others as a place of eternally sweet conversations and companionships, others that it consisted of paradisaical delights, games and sports, others that it afforded boundless dominion and countless wealth, while still others thought of it as a place of perpetual praise of the Lord.

303

     The Babylonish crew made use of these natural human yearnings to form a vast fantastical kingdom, which had gradually arisen like a gigantic, black, storm-cloud, until it had darkened the sun, and the moon could no longer give its light. Even the stars of noble perceptions had fallen from heaven. The pathway of normal influx from heaven into the world of spirits, and thence into the church, had well-nigh been cut off. But, with the Second Coming of the Lord, the Last Judgment was inevitable. Swedenborg saw these imaginary heavens which had been builded by the power of the modern Babylon. He saw them raising their towers to the heavens, and exalting their dominion to the ends of the earth. Upon these, it was written, the judgment should first fall.

     On the top of a certain mountain they had placed one with an unsound mind. They gave out that he was the god of heaven and earth. There also appeared some who were building a temple and a tower which should reach to heaven. Swedenborg says: "Inasmuch as the Babylonish nation was settled in and extended over so many tracts in the spiritual world, and had formed to itself societies in all the quarters there, I will describe how they were destroyed separately." (Last Judgment 60.)

     Visitation first took place, which was the gradual influx of light from heaven. This was made possible by virtue of the fact that the ultimate of the Writings upon earth had been provided, and as soon as this took place, a return sphere of light into the spiritual world began to penetrate, which exposed the evil designs of the rulers of the imaginary heavens. As long as the letter of the Word, without genuine doctrine, was the basis for religious thought, imaginary heavens could be built up and sustained from fallacies drawn from the letter of the Word. But as soon as the internal sense had been revealed, and the doctrine of genuine truth drawn from the letter, then the very foundations for the imaginary heavens were destroyed. By the end of the year 1757, Swedenborg had completed the writing of the Arcana Coelestia, wherein so much of the universal theology of the New Church is contained. It was this ultimate revelation that now made possible in the world of spirits the influx and visitation, which commenced and sustained the Last Judgment. As soon as the light of visitation began pouring into the imaginary heavens, those of the Babylonish Council, who had delighted to keep people in ignorance and under their power, were cast into a great gulf which opened itself, wide and deep, beneath and around them.

304

The judgment in the western quarter, where another city stood, was effected by earthquakes, which rent everything in those quarters to the very foundations. The whole was destroyed and consumed in a sulphurous smoke. The judgment on those who were in the east upon the mountains was effected by their mountains sinking down into the deep, and he whom they had proclaimed their god became, first black, then fiery, and finally was drowned in the sea. Those who were situated more remotely in the west were seen to have their mountains opened. Great chasms yawned and whirled about into a spiral, into which they were cast. Other mountains were torn up by their foundations and turned upside down. (L. J. 62.) But those of them who were in the affection of truth from good were preserved, and were taken to the western quarter toward the north, where they were instructed and prepared for heaven. (L. J. 63.)

Thus did Swedenborg see the actual fulfilment of the vision seen by Daniel. Yet all was not dark despair in that vision. For it was now that he beheld the appearance of the Son of man, who was brought before the Ancient of days, "whose dominion should be an everlasting dominion which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that should not be destroyed." To Swedenborg, witnessing with horror, as he must, the sad and direful plight of these false leaders, there was also granted a vision of consolation. He was permitted to view a spectacle of almost overwhelming power and beauty. The whole heavens were revealed before him, throbbing with a united glorification of the Lord's Divine Human. Concerning this we read:

"Once, when I was meditating about the Lord's second coming, there suddenly appeared a flash of light which forcibly struck my eyes. I therefore looked up, and lo, the whole heaven above me appeared luminous, and from the east to the west a continual strain of glorification was heard. And an angel stood near, who said, 'That is a glorification of the Lord on account of His coming. It comes from the angels of the eastern and western heavens.' From the northern and southern heavens only a gentle murmur was heard. And because all these were heard by the angel, he first said to me that these glorifications and celebrations of the Lord are made from the Word.

305

Presently he said, `Now they are glorifying and celebrating the Lord especially by these words, which are spoken in the prophecy of Daniel: Thou sawest iron mixed with miry clay, but they shall not cohere. But in those days the God of the heavens shall make a kingdom to arise which shall not perish for ages; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, but itself shall stand for ages (2:43, 44).

     After this I heard the sound of singing, and more deeply in the east I saw a hashing of light more brilliant than the former; and I asked the angel what the glorification there was. He said it was these words in Daniel: I saw in the night visions, and behold, one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and there was given Him dominion, and a kingdom; and all people and nations shall worship Him; His dominion is the dominion of an age, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed (7:13, 14)." (T. C. R. 625.)

     But the struggle of the fourth beast of faith alone was yet to come. When the Protestant Church separated from the Catholic church it was in such great zeal to remove the evil of meritorious good works that it went to the opposite extreme of declaring that man is saved by the act of faith, alone. This did not at first appear in the history of the Reformation, but the future struggle was foreseen in the next vision of Daniel.

     First, he beheld a ram, which signified those who sought at the time of the Reformation to bring back the charity of the primitive Christian Church. In the beginning it was victorious, and all seemed to fall before it. But e'er long a he-goat raised his head and made war on the ram. The he-goat represented the rise of the doctrine of faith alone, terrible in its destructive power over the life of the church. That Swedenborg might be instructed as to the way in which these visions were produced, he was given to see for himself, in the spiritual world, a war between rams and he-goats: "There appeared two flocks, one of goats and the other of sheep; but when they were viewed closely, in place of goats and sheep men were seen; and it was perceived that the flock of goats was composed of those who make faith alone saving, and the flock of sheep of those who make charity and faith together saving. That which at a distance had appeared as a war between them, he now learned was caused by a sharp dispute about faith alone, and about charity conjoined with faith." (T. C. R. 506.)

306

     IV.

     We now come to a beautiful and touching passage in the prophecy of Daniel. Weighed down by his own sins and the sins of his people, he pours forth his heart in a prayer of contrition. He confesses that his people have sinned, committed iniquity, done wickedly, rebelled, departed from God's precepts and judgments, have not hearkened to the voice of the prophets, and that the confusion of faces covered them. For these sins the curse had been poured out upon them.

     Here he portrays the New Churchman, searching his soul for secret faults, examining his life for particular evils, that he may shun them as sins against God. Swedenborg, too, underwent the states of extreme humiliation and vastation, as when he was seized with a grievous disease, from the smoke that came in from the Jerusalem which is called Sodom and Egypt, and he says, "I was seen by those who were in the city as one who is dead; and they said, one to another, that I was not worthy of burial; meanwhile I heard blasphemies in abundance from the citizens, on account of my having preached repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. But as a judgment came upon them I saw that the whole city fell down, and was overflowed with waters." (T. C. R. 567.)

     Thus was Swedenborg brought into the greatest distress, because of his part in the Last Judgment.

     Daniel's prayer and cry is to the Lord God who brought Israel out of Egypt, and concludes with these beautiful words: "We do not present our supplications before thee for our righteousness, but for thy great mercies. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; O Lord, hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God; for thy city and thy people are called by thy name." (Daniel 9:19.) Then appears to Daniel the angel Gabriel, touching and comforting him, and announcing to him the meaning of the vision. Now it is that we first come upon that angelic society whose office it was to proclaim the coming of the Lord. It was the same Gabriel who, years later, said unto Zacharias, "I am Gabriel, that stand in the presence of God, and am sent to speak unto thee these glad tidings." (Luke 1:19.) And of whom it is further recorded that, "in the sixth month, the angel Gabriel was sent from God unto a city of Galilee, named Nazareth, to a virgin espoused to a man whose name was Joseph, of the house of David; and the virgin's name was Mary.

307

And the angel came in unto her, and said, Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women. . . . Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favor with God. And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus." (Luke 1:26, 7, 8, 30.)

     Now there is an interlude in the great drama, as we read in Daniel 9:27, "He shall confirm the covenant for one week." The Writings openly declare that this represents the auspicious start of the Protestant Reformation. The curve of vastation downward was for the time being checked. Men like Luther and Michael Servetus fought boldly for a pure religion, wherein charity and faith could be conjoined. For a time progress was upward; for many the covenant was "confirmed for one week."

     Daniel now beholds another vision, and this time a vision of beauty and encouragement. He sees the man clothed in linen, standing upon the waters. This man, like the Son of man brought before the Ancient of days, represents the Lord in His Second Coming, when He should appear in the clouds of heaven, or upon the waters of the great river, both of which represent the truths of the literal sense of the Word. And Michael, who particularly represents the New Church, is sent to Daniel to instruct and comfort him, even as the revelation which is given to the New Church enters into the mysteries of faith, and brings forth from them the light of understanding, brings forth the great truths that there is one God in one Person, a Word with a Divine Spirit within it, a real life after death, conjugial love, salvation by the conjunction of faith with charity.

     But the end of the old dispensation was approaching. For a time it had been sustained by ignorance and simple good, by the new light of the Reformation; but gradually a great battle was staged between the determined faith-alone-ists and those who sought to keep the church in charity, because they were in faith from charity. The angel Michael informs Daniel of this strife that was to take place between the king of the north,-who represented those who were in knowledges from the Word, but not in a life according to them,-and the king of the south, who represented those who were in intelligence from the Word, because they are in charity.

308

Here is described the very last time of the Church. Everything of salvation is placed in scientifics from the Word, and nothing in life, as the Jewish Church had made the Word of none effect through their traditions, with which they had falsified it. The truths of the Word become traditions when there is no life of charity; and the truths of the Word also become falsities when faith is separated from charity. Finally, the king of the north shall destroy the king of the south, but at the last "he shall come to his end, and none shall help him."

Once Swedenborg saw represented the delights of the dragonists, who were those who were in faith alone. "One of the spirits of the dragon," he says, "invited me to see the delight of his love; and he led me to something like an amphitheater, upon the seats of which sat satyrs and harlots. And then he said, 'Now you shall see our sports.' And he opened a door, and let in as it were calves, rams, kids, and lambs; and presently through another door he let in lions, panthers, tigers, and wolves, which rushed upon the flock, tearing them and slaughtering them. But all of these things which were seen were induced by means of fantasies. Having seen this, I said to the dragonist, 'After a while you will see this theater turned into a lake of fire and brimstone.' The sport being finished, the dragonist went out, attended by his satyrs and harlots, and saw a flock of sheep; from which he inferred that one of the Jerusalemite cities was nearby; on seeing which, he was seized with the desire to take it and cast out the inhabitants; but because it was surrounded by a wall, he planned to take it by stratagem. And then he sent one skilled in incantation, who, being admitted, spoke craftily with one of the citizens about faith and charity, especially as to which was primary, and whether charity contributes anything to salvation. But the dragonist, enraged at the answer, went out and gathered together many of his crew, and began to besiege the city; but when he was endeavoring to reach and invade it, fire out of heaven consumed them, according to what is foretold in the Apocalypse." (T. C. R. 388.)

In the final episode of the prophecy, Michael proclaimed to Daniel the Last Judgment. Everyone shall be saved whose name is written in the book of life. Those that sleep in the dust shall awake, some to life, some to everlasting death. The judgment on the Reformed in the world of spirits commences. Their imaginary heavens are broken up; their leaders are cast down; and those simple good who had been bound under the altar are released, and lifted up into heaven. With the completion of the judgment on the Reformed, the Last Judgment was ended.

309

A New Heaven was formed and from it gradually a New Earth. The New Jerusalem began to be builded upon the earth. Slowly at first, with a few at the beginning, "nourished for a time, and times and half a time" in the wilderness, lest the dragon snatch up the man child of its new doctrine, e'er it had grown to maturity.

The Book of Daniel ends with these words: "But go thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days." (12, 13) That end has now come, and the prophecy of Daniel has been fulfilled. To the upbuilding of this New Jerusalem we have dedicated our lives; and we are here gathered together that we may mutually inspire one another in the faith of our fathers. That there will be many struggles before us, we know; but in these struggles and temptations let us draw inspiration from the Word; for wherever we open its pages, we shall find a new message of inspiration waiting for us. Whether we search the historical portions, the Psalms, or the Prophets, its spiritual glory is always waiting to guide us.

Let us, with Daniel, refuse to eat the king's meat. Let us, with Daniel, refuse to abandon our daily prayers. And in the spirit of his prophecy, let us turn hungrily to the Writings, that through the new truths there revealed the Church may be raised to ever more exalted and deeper states of wisdom and love, ever striving to represent more perfectly on earth that New Jerusalem which John saw descending from God out of heaven, adorned as a bride prepared for her husband.

310

REPORT OF THE ASSEMBLY 1937

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 Sixteenth General Assembly was fully carried out according to program, and has left most delightful memories with the more than four hundred who were so fortunate as to be able to attend. The record of this memorable meeting will be placed before our readers as soon as possible. A beginning is made in the present issue with the publication of two of the many notable Addresses that were heard with such keen attention and enjoyment at the sessions of the Assembly.

     The Episcopal Address, delivered by Bishop de Charms at the opening session, followed the Assembly's unanimous and enthusiastic confirmation of his nomination to the office of Bishop of the General Church. The Address by the Rev. Karl R. Alden was delivered on the morning of the second day.

     The text of the remaining Addresses will appear in our August and September numbers, together with the Journal of the Proceedings, the Reports of General Church and Academy uses, the Messages to the Assembly, and Accounts of other features of the program.

311

COUNCIL RECORDS 1937

COUNCIL RECORDS ALFRED ACTON 1937

     A CORRECTION

Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE:
     In the Report of the Joint Council Meeting, as printed in the LIFE for last June, some remarks are attributed to me which are meaningless. (Page 230.) What I actually said was: "Mr. Pfeiffer holds that what the Writings say concerning the Word is applicable without reserve to the Writings. He also holds that the Writings have an internal sense which is to be drawn forth in the same way as in the case of the Old and New Testaments, and that when it has been drawn forth it will be found that it is plainly stated in the Writings in so many words. Would Mr. Pfeiffer say this of the Old and New Testaments?"
     ALFRED ACTON.
LETTER FROM MR. MORSE 1937

LETTER FROM MR. MORSE WILLIAM WHITEHEAD 1937

     Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE:
     After the close of the Annual Council Meetings, I received a communication from the Rev. Richard Morse, retired Pastor of the Society at Hurstviile, Australia, stating that his choice for the nomination of Bishop of the General Church was the Right Rev. George de Charms. As this letter would have been read at the session of the Council of the Clergy on April 1, along with the others listed in your June issue, page 182, I would ask that its receipt be made a matter of public record.
     WILLIAM WHITEHEAD,
          Secretary.

312

Church News 1937

Church News Various 1937

     ACADEMY SCHOOLS.

     General Faculty.

     At the monthly meetings of the General Faculty of the Academy, attended by all the teachers, the subjects presented and discussed this year were as follows:

     "The Teaching of Arithmetic in Our Elementary Schools," Rev. Dr. C. E. Doering. (October.) "The Relation of Magnetism to the Higher Auras," Mr. Edward F. Allen. (November.) "Comparative Education-A Study of the School Systems of France, England, Holland and Belgium," Miss Dorothy Cooper. (December.) "Recreational Activities of Boys," Rev. Karl R. Alden. (January.) "The Activity Viewpoint in Arithmetic," Mr. Richard R. Gladish. (February.) "Our New Church Language," Rev. Dr. Hugo Lj. Odhner. (March 2.) "Swedenborg's Fifth Finites and Their Identification," Rev. Dr. Reginald W. Brown. (March 30.) "Education in History in New Church Schools," Rev. William Whitehead. (May.)

     Joint Meeting.

     Among the signs of the closing scholastic year is the annual joint meeting of the Corporation and Faculties of the Academy, held this time on June 5 at 8.00 p.m. in the chapel of Benade Hall, with President George de Charms in the chair. Members and visitors were present in good numbers, but it is to be regretted that more of the parents and friends do not avail themselves of this opportunity each year to hear the discussion of subjects of vital interest and importance in the field of New Church education.

     As Mr. Eldric S. Klein had asked to be relieved of the duties of Secretary, Mr. Edward F. Allen was elected to the office. After giving several definitions of the word "digest," Mr. Allen proceeded to give a digest of the Reports of the various departments, presenting the outstanding features of the work of the Academy during the year.

     Principal Karl R. Alden then delivered an Address on "The Boys' Academy-Past, Present, and Future," in which he traced the history of this department, described some of its present activities and problems, and forecast some possible developments in the future. His suggestion of an occasional substitution of vocational undertakings for academic courses was illustrated by the model of an airplane recently constructed by some of the students, forming Exhibit A at the meeting. This led to a lively exchange of views, some speakers approving vocational courses in typewriting, carpentry, etc., others expressing a misgiving as to any abandoning of our high academic ideals. President de Charms explained that the suggestion involved no real departure from our academic standards, but simply a way to meet difficulties in exceptional cases,-students who come to us for the benefits of a New Church education, but who are unprepared for some of the courses in the regular curriculum.

     Commencement.

     A large audience, which included a number of visitors from other centers of the Church, gathered in the Assembly Hall for the Commencement Exercises on the morning of June 11.

313

When the students and officials of the Academy had entered in procession, Bishop de Charms conducted the opening worship, and the service which followed included the student singing of the 21st and 29th Psalms from the Psalmody, beautifully rendered and very delightful to hear. Dean Doering read the Lessons: Matthew 25:14-31, and Doctrine of Charity 126-132, on the Common Good. He then introduced, as the "baby member" of the Board of Directors, Mr. Kesniel C. Acton, who delivered the Commencement Address, in which he dealt in a broad but searching manner with the subject of "Order in Government." He pictured the troubled state of the world since the Great War, the varieties of view as to forms of government, and brought the light of the New Church to bear upon such matters, with apt quotations from the Writings on Civil and Ecclesiastical Government. As counsel to the graduates he said: "The greatest heritage you can receive from this school is the rational preparation it has given you from the Writings to combat the evils of the love of dominion and greed, both as individuals and among men as citizens. Only in this way can you truly play your part in helping to bring to the world the internal and external peace and order revealed by the Lord B the Writings." We shall hope to see the text of this excellent Address in print.

     Bishop de Charms then announced the graduations and honors, and as he presented diplomas to the graduates, a suitable acknowledgment was made by a valedictorian of each class. The following were the awards:

     Degrees.

     BACHELOR OF SCIENCE: Catherine Emilie Aye.

     Graduations.

     JUNIOR COLLEGE: Richard Alvin Walter.
     BOYS' ACADEMY: Theodore Starkey Alden, Roger Brewer Barnitz, Walter Cameron Childs, William Pendleton Cole, Robert Edward Lee de Maine, John Clark Echols, Charles Pendleton Gyllenhaal, Harvey Joseph Holmes, Michael Pitcairn, David Restyn Simons.

     GIRLS' SEMINARY: Shirley Elizabeth Cracraft, Althea Louise Ebert, Patricia Edmonds, Virginia Heaton, Alice Margaret Henderson, Anne Pitcairn Lindsay, Sarah Evangeline Powell, Ruth Pryke, Sylvia Nadine Stevens.

     Honors.

Alpha Kappa Mu Merit Bar: Alice Henderson.
Honorable Mention: Anne Lindsay.
Theta Alpha Scholarships: Nancy Corinne Horigan, Marion Cranch, honor scholarships. Five were granted part-scholarships.

     Oratorical Contest Silver Cup: Harry Wilson Barnitz, best speech.

     Sons of the Academy Silver Medal: William Pendleton Cole for willing and capable assumption of responsibilities of student leadership, and Second Honor standard in school work; Theodore Starkey Alden for faithfulness in his work throughout four years, and Second Honor. Standard in that work.

     COLCHESTER, ENGLAND.

     During the month of April our Pastor was away on a visit to Bryn Athyn, to attend the meetings of the Council of the Clergy.

     The Rev. A. Wynne Acton preached for us on three occasions. Bishop Tilson was to have been with us on the remaining two Sundays, but he was unable to come on April 11, and Mr. Colley Pryke conducted the service. Bishop and Mrs. Tilson were with us on April 25, and the Bishop preached on the meaning of the Coronation, taking his text from I Samuel 8:6, 22. In the afternoon all the friends were invited to a tea at the home of Mrs. Rey Gill, to meet the Bishop and Mrs. Tilson, and as he had recently celebrated his eightieth birthday, a large birthday cake was presented to him, and all wished him good health and a continuing of his uses.

314

Afterwards Bishop Tilson told us of many of his experiences during his long years in the ministry, and also said how much he and Mrs. Tilson had enjoyed their visit.

     Our Pastor returned from Bryn Athyn on April 26, and we had two social gatherings to hear all about the meetings of the Council of the Clergy, and about his trip.

     Of course, May the 12th, Coronation Day, was celebrated all over England and the Empire. The wonderful religious service and ceremony in Westminster Abbey was broadcast, that all might hear and in a measure enter into the spirit of worship and thanksgiving.

     On May 13 we had a Coronation Social. The flowers and decorations were red, white, and blue, and the games and competitions were all flavored with coronation and patriotic sentiments. During the social the society took the opportunity to give Mrs. Gladish a "shower," and to wish her a very happy holiday on her visit to America.

     After the refreshments, toasts were proposed and honored to: The Church; The King and Queen; The Royal Family; and England. Our Pastor spoke to the first toast, and reminded us of the correspondential meaning of the various ceremonies and regalia in connection with the crowning of the King and Queen. Mr. Fred Waters had the honor of proposing the toast to the King and Queen. He spoke of the ceremony in the Abbey, and of how one felt that the whole country had been affected by the religious aspect of the Coronation. Mr. Colley Pryke, in proposing the toast to the Royal Family, reminded us of the Queen Mother, and also of our good fortune in having a noble Scottish Lady for our Queen. We concluded this memorable social by singing "Land of Hope and Glory."

     On Sunday, May 16th, our Pastor preached on "The Significance of 'Crown' in the Word," the text being from Revelation 3:11. This concluded our observance of Coronation Week.

     An open meeting of the Sons of the Academy was held on May 20 at our Pastor's home, the church being in the hands of the cleaners and decorators. About thirty friends were present, and Bishop Tilson came from London to give the paper, which dealt with the correspondence of the various rituals and regalia used in the Coronation. After the refreshments, there was a very appreciative discussion, and Bishop Tilson was thanked very heartily for his address. We were very glad that Mrs. Tilson could accompany him. At this gathering we had the pleasure of meeting Miss Francis from Holland, who spent a couple of days in Colchester.

     In concluding this report we would mention the good news that our society has been enriched by the moving to Colchester of Mr. and Mrs. Alan Waters and family.
     M. W.

     ST. LOUIS, MO.

     For the past eleven years I have been making pastoral visits at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Joaquin C. Wilson, 5350 Lansdowne Ave., St. Louis, Mo., conducting worship, preaching, administering the Lord's Supper, instructing their children. These visits have been at least once a year, sometimes oftener, but have not been reported in the Life because they were pastoral calls upon one family.

     Although St. Louis is a large and growing city, and the New Church has been established there for many years, yet, so far as we knew, Mr. Wilson and his family were the only ones who cared for the distinctive doctrines of the Academy. But now we are cheered by the prospect of another Academy couple, when Mr. and Mrs. Stuart Nicholson (Mary Scalbom) join us in the near future.

     We shall make another visit in the Fall, and we invite anyone interested, either living in or near St. Louis, or contemplating a visit there, to write to Mr. Wilson or to me. The time will be October or November.

315

     On my last trip I arrived in St. Louis on Monday, May 24, and while there held two classes for the instruction of two children, and on Tuesday night we had a service consisting of a sermon and the Holy Supper, at which there were four communicants. Both Mr. Wilson and his oldest son, Joaquin junior, who was confirmed last fall, are "movie" operators, working seven nights a week all the year round, except when they ask to be relieved. There are two other sons, twins, twenty-one years old, who are in the Navy. Mr. Wilson has the keenest interest in the Academy doctrine and its establishment, and the recent disturbance in the Church provided much to talk of, night and day. He had already noted this as a renewal of an attack of Pseudo-Celestialism, so well described in "Words for the New Church," vol. 12, p. 186.

     My sermon was one of a series comparing the successive states of the Church in the individual man with the successive Churches which have been in the world, namely, the Most Ancient, the Ancient, the Israelitish, the Christian, and the New Jerusalem. This sermon was the third of the series, and was concerning the Most Ancient or the Church of the Golden Age.

     Mr. Wilson is the grandson of Dr. Porter, formerly of Clinton, Ill., who was converted to the New Church in the 1850's by finding a copy of Heaven and Hell floating on the waters of the Mississippi River. (See New Church Life, 1926, p. 380.) He has all the zeal of his grandparents for sound doctrine, and while Mrs. Wilson is not quite so keen a doctrinaire, yet she loves the Church, and together they make a warm, hospitable New Church home in which it is always pleasant to visit.
     WILLIS L. GLADISH.

     DURBAN, NATAL.

     May-Recently the Woman's Guild organized a small sale of work in order to sell the remnants from the big Bazaar in November. Augmented by a few new things, and competitions and refreshments, it raised the sum of ?10. It was held in the evening under Mrs. Odhner's large tree, prettily lit up and arranged like a tea garden. It proved an enjoyable sociable evening, in spite of the intense heat.

     Theta Alpha is endeavoring to raise funds for a school cupboard, the whole width of the Hall, as the accommodation is very limited. Two successful bridge drives have been held, at the home of Mrs. D'Arcy Cockerell and Mrs. Lowe respectively. Progressive auction and contract were played and small prizes presented.

     Theta Alpha also entertained the children at a party at Easter. They were to have gone to the Mitchell Park and the Zoo, but it rained; nevertheless, games were played in the Hall and an Easter-egg hunt was enjoyed in Mrs. Odhner's garden between showers.

     The Sons are keeping up their good work. Mr. Colin Ridgway read a paper at the last, well-attended meeting. It dealt with the native social question, and very aptly pointed out the necessity of amusement grounds and halls for natives. An interesting discussion followed.

     Everyone was delighted to know that Mr. R. Melville Ridgway returned to his home from hospital a few weeks ago, and that he at once improved in health after being in a very critical condition. He is steadily gaining his normal strength, and has even resumed some of his former
duties in the Church.

     The Society was very grieved to hear of Mrs. de Carcenac's passing into the spiritual world on April 5. She had been ailing with malaria on and off for the last two years, and passed away after five days in the Nursing Home, suffering with severe throat trouble. A beautiful memorial service was held in the church the following day, and nearly the whole congregation followed the funeral to the cemetery. Mrs. de Carcenac's sweet nature and gentleness will be sadly missed by her numerous friends.

     Once more the Woman's Guild is busy working for a Bazaar, to be held on June 12. Sewing meetings art arranged once a week at either Mrs. J. J. Forfar's home or Mrs. Odhner's.

316

Mrs. Schuurman, at her home, is starting a young girl's sewing afternoon on Mondays, with Mrs. Odhner's assistance.

     On May 8th there was a dance in the Hall under the auspices of the social committee. An orchestra was engaged, and there were enough refreshments for twenty-five couples. Alas, only fourteen turned up. The world is too alluring for our young people. Nevertheless those who came
said the dance was one of the best. S. P.

     SWEDENBORG SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION.

     With a record attendance of 102 members and friends, the Fortieth Annual Meeting of the Swedenborg Scientific Association was held in Bryn Athyn on Friday, May 21, at 8 p.m., the President, Dr. Reginald W. Brown, presiding.

     Dr. C. E. Doering's Report as Treasurer showed a balance for the year. He urged that contributions be made for the publication of The Celebrum in book form. The text has appeared serially in The New Philosophy and the type has been held for use in the book. The present membership of the Association is 168. In answer to questions, the Treasurer gave a brief history of the McKallip and Cunningham bequests to the Association.

     In the course of his Report as Literary Editor, Dr. Alfred Acton stated that the approximate cost of publishing The Celebrum would be $2400.00. He suggested that it include illustrative plates in commemoration of the 250th anniversary of Swedenborg's birth nest year. Discussing this Report, the Rev. Homer Synnestvedt spoke warmly of the value of Dr. Acton's work to the Church, and expressed the conviction that in the future there would be a greater appreciation of this work on the part of other bodies of the New Church.

     Dr. Reginald W. Brown was re-elected President of the Association, and the following were elected members of the Board of Directors: Dr. Alfred Acton, Mr. Gideon Boericke, Mr. Harold F. Pitcairn, Dr. C. E. Doering, Mr. Ezra Hyde Alden, Rev. Leonard Tafel, Mr. Raymond Synnestvedt, Mr. Wilfred Howard, and the Rev. Lewis F. Hite, Honorary Member.

     The Annual Address was delivered by Dr. Acton on "Swedenborg's Philosophy of the Brain," which in general dealt with the following principles: The brain is in motion; the brain has more to do than to function as the seat of the will; it circulates the blood in some way, and the blood receives new life from the brain; to function properly, the brain must be free from the cares of the body; Swedenborg always saw the brain as the living organism of the soul.

     The audience listened to this Address with keen attention and interest. There was not time for an extended discussion, but the Rev. John W. Stockwell voiced the sense of the meeting when he expressed his profound admiration for the clarity and simplicity of manner in which Dr. Acton had dealt with the subject. The Address will be published in the July issue of The New Philosophy, which will also contain the Reports and a Record of the Proceedings of the Annual Meeting.
     WILFRED HOWARD.

     DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

     The children's class in the afternoon of Saturday, May 1, opened the tenth series of meetings held by the Detroit group under the leadership of the Rev. Norman Reuter. In the evening, tell members met with Mr. and Mrs. Walker to hear a lecture by Mr. Reuter on the subject of "Conscience," in the course of which the errors of modern psychology were contrasted with the truth as revealed in the Writings. It brought out very forcibly the importance to the regenerating man of the development of a conscience based upon a rational understanding of revealed truth.

317

     The families comprising our group are so scattered, some of them living a considerable distance from Detroit, it is not to be expected that our high average of attendance can always be maintained. Yet in spite of the fact that two entire families were absent, the attendance at the service on Sunday, May 2, totaled 23, including five children. On this occasion we were pleased to have with us Mrs. Philip Cooper, of Merchantville, N. J., who, with her two children, was visiting her parents, Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Cook.

     The sermon was on Luke 3:10-13, where the people, the publicans and the soldiers in turn ask of John, "Master what shall we do!" The sermon dealt with the first two groups, leaving the explanation of John's answer to the soldiers' query for the doctrinal class held later in the afternoon. The pastor's treatment of this theme was very well summed up in one telling sentence: "The battleground of regeneration is the field of use." The sacrament of the Holy Supper concluded this service.

     The customary luncheon was then served, or rather, "self-served," followed by the always enjoyable social hour. At 3:00 o'clock we reconvened and listened to a continuation of Mr. Reuter's sermon theme, this time dealing with John's answer to the soldiers who asked, "What shall we do?" This and other subjects proved of such unusual interest that questions and discussion prolonged the meeting until 5.20 p.m., when it was time for Mr. Reuter to start on his long drive home.

     Our next meetings will probably be held on July 10 and 11, the Sunday service to be combined with a summer outing held at Walled Lake, Mich., the home of the French's, where a similar meeting last year proved to be a very enjoyable affair, and we all are looking forward to another good time.

     Early June visitors in our midst:-Miss Edith Pedersen of Philadelphia, a guest at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Norman P. Synnestvedt; Mr. Wm. Howells Walker, U. S. S. Cassin, home on leave and visiting his parents, Mr. and Mrs. Wm. W. Walker.
     W. W. W.

     A PASTORAL TOUR.

     Going from Cincinnati, where I am at present located, the first place visited was ERIE., PA., Where doctrinal classes were held on April 29 and May 1, each with an attendance or eight. At these classes, as also at those in other places afterwards, the subject was "Extension of Thought into the Spiritual World," begun on previous visits. On Sunday, May 2, a service was held, at which seventeen were present. Of these, seven are General Church members; six, other regular attendants; and four children. There was manifested a desire that regular meetings of the Circle for services under a leader be resumed. Also there was expressed the wish for more frequent visits by ministers, now that mine have been reduced from four to two per year.

     At CLEVELAND, May 3 to 5, the child of Mr. and Mrs. Franklin Norman was instructed three times. A doctrinal class was also held, attendance eight, including Mr. John Lindrooth, formerly of Chicago, and now living there. Of those present, five are General Church members, and three of Convention. Here I first heard of the endeavor that is being made to have the circles in northern Ohio-Cleveland, Akron, Niles, and Youngstown-unite for fuller church life.

     On May 5, Mrs. Edwin Asplundh came to Cleveland and took me by car to their home at AKRON, where I remained for several days, and afterwards for some days in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Wiedinger. During my stay until May 11, the four Asplundh children were instructed three times, and the three Randolph Norris children once. There were four doctrinal classes, attendance six each time.

318

Here also there has been the addition of young man, Mr. Ralph Brown, formerly of Toronto.

     On Sunday, the 9th, a service was held in a hotel room. The attendance indicated that the plan for the unity of the circles was being put into effect. There were present: from Akron, fifteen adults and eight children (five adults and one child of Convention); from Cleveland, four adults and one child; from Youngstown and vicinity, nine adults and two children; from Niles, two adults and one child; total, thirty adults and twelve children, in all forty-two. Of the thirty adults, twenty-one are General Church members; of the twelve children, nine are of General Church families. I would estimate, though perhaps not quite accurately, that in these circles there are thirty General Church members, ten other persons regularly attending, and ten children; total, fifty. After the service, there was a delightful social time, giving opportunity for all to become well acquainted, and this was afterwards continued by all having dinner together at a long table in the dining room. Both the securing of the room for services and the entertainment at dinner were the kindness of Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Asplundh. It was all a splendid time.

     In the evening there was a Sons of the Academy meeting at the Wiedinger home, though it rather took on the quality of a General Church gathering,-planning for the future life of the church in this northern Ohio area. There were present five men from Akron, two from Cleveland, one from Youngstown; total, including myself, nine. With the deliberations there was combined social enjoyment, provision for which was made by Mr. and Mrs. Wiedinger. What is desired is more ministerial visits, other ministers to supplement my two per year. Suggestions were made as to how this might perhaps be done, and I was requested to inform the Bishop fully as to the importance of this field, and of its possibilities. A treasury was started, from which to meet the travelling expenses of ministers to the extent possible, and also those for hiring a place for services. It was mentioned that contributions to the General Church would need to be made by individuals direct to its treasurer. The support of Academy scholarships was also spoken of. After these deliberations I read the address I am to give shortly at the banquet of the Glenview Chapter of the Sons, and a good discussion followed.

     On May 11, Mr. and Mrs. Wiedinger took me to the Williamson home at NILES, Where I remained until the 14th. I instructed their child three limes. In the evening of the 13th we had doctrinal class, to which four persons came from Youngstown.

     At YOUNGSTOWN, a class was held on the 14th, with fourteen present, representing Youngstown, Columbiana and Niles. At the service on Sunday the 16th, there were twenty-three present, including three from Akron and five from Cleveland. At the Holy Supper there were twenty communicants. During the afternoon, plans for the cooperation of the circles were further considered. In the evening a doctrinal class was held. By way of postscript I may mention that since writing the above I have learned that a Glenview family, consisting of husband and wife and two children, and also a young man from the same place, will shortly make their home at Cleveland.

     After an interval of two years, during which the Rev. Norman Reuter was visiting pastor for MIDDLEFORT, OHIO, I again visited this place. There were several faces I missed, some members having moved to other localities, and others having passed to the spiritual world. Also, I found that some who had been children were now young people. The contents of the church building had been greatly damaged by the January flood; but there had been sufficient restoration to enable us to have our meeting there. On Friday evening, June 4, a doctrinal class was held, at which seven were present. On Saturday afternoon instruction was given to two children.

319

On Sunday, a service was held with an attendance of eleven, including five young people. At the Holy Supper there were five communicants. In the evening another class was held, followed by an informal business meeting.
     F. E. WAELCHLI.

     PITTSBURGH, PA.

     Since our last report, many things of interest have taken place in the society. However, time and space do not permit a detailed account. Nevertheless, we readily recall certain occasions which should be mentioned, and foremost of all is our recent wedding. On Saturday evening, May 1, Mr. Edmund Glenn and Miss Ruth Glenn were united in marriage by the Rev. Willard D. Pendleton. The church was especially beautiful, in that it was decorated with taste, and was lighted by candles. After the ceremony, the society gathered in the church auditorium for the reception. It was indeed a happy occasion.

     Another event of interest was the shower which was given by Mrs. Gilbert M. Smith for Miss Virginia Sepp. Miss Sepp and Mr. Charles Ebert, Jr. were set upon a raised throne, and crowned queen and king of the evening. Following this ceremony, they were presented with gifts by small ladies in waiting. Under other circumstances, the small ladies in waiting are known as Miss Miriam Smith and Miss Rita Smith.

     At a special meeting of the Pittsburgh Society, held on Friday, May 21, the society approved the suggestion that we substitute a mortgage for the present note which is held against the church buildings. This action is a source of much satisfaction to all concerned, for it means that in the future we may enjoy a greater sense of security.

     On Sunday, May 9, funeral services were held for Mrs. Sarah Rott, who passed into the spiritual world in her ninety-third year. In her passing we have found great joy, for her years were many and her life was complete. Truly, in her case, it is more than evident that death came as a Divine benediction.

     At this time we would like to extend our sympathy to Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Thomas of Tarentum, for on May 15 their fourteen year old son, Arthur, was called to the other world. Arthur had looked forward with great anticipation to the day when he would go to the Academy Schools, and in this he will not be denied. For in the other world he will be trained in the things of the Church, in that heavenly Academy which is the spiritual counterpart of the Academy on earth.

     As already indicated there are many other events which might be considered here, but as most of them are connected with the coming General Assembly we shall let them pass. We would prefer to have the Assembly speak for itself.
     W. D. P.

     GLENVIEW, ILL.

     The annual banquet of the Sons of the Academy, local chapter, was held on May 16, with E. Crebert Burnham in the chair as toastmaster. At this meeting the newly elected officers were installed, which included George S. Alan as President and Archibald Price as Treasurer, both re-elected. The guest speaker of the evening was the Rev. F. E. Waelchli, who gave us a well-considered and interesting paper on the subject of "Conservation and Progress."

     The cost per person at this banquet was fixed high to allow a margin of profit for the M. B. A.-Manse Before August-a local project to raise money for the repair and rehabilitation of the pastor's residence. One week later, another project for this purpose took the form of a bazaar, at which the various money-making features netted over $200.00. The fund now has over four hundred dollars to the credit of the use, and with more events to come we shall have enough for much needed work on the old Manse.

     The formal closing of our school took place June 16, and at the conclusion of the service Messrs. Seymour G. Nelson and George A. McQueen spoke briefly to the children.

320

The pupils of the ninth grade expressed their affection and appreciation for the school by presenting their teachers with red and white flowers. The eighth grade had prepared a program of speeches and songs, and the pupils, teachers and parents found it very delightful to celebrate the uses of New Church education together. On the previous evening, the school and the school committee had entertained the members of the 8th and 9th grades with a theatre party and supper. In the evening of the 16th, the older pupils presented a pageant as a Nineteenth of June celebration, enacting upon the stage a simple version of the story of the sending out of the apostles into the spiritual world.

     Another outstanding banquet celebration of the "9th"! Our pastor, the Rev. Gilbert H. Smith, was toastmaster, supported by Harold McQueen, David Gladish and Sydney E. Lee, with the subject,-"The Future of the Church,"-poetically presented by Harold, intellectually described by David, and practically discussed by Mr. Smith. A moving picture of Colchester friends, with comment by Mrs. Victor Gladish, was shown and greatly appreciated. Toward the end of the meeting, the engagement of Miss Kathleen Lee, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Sydney E. Lee, to Mr. Alan Fuller was announced, and both received the best wishes of their many friends present.

     Three other engagements in the society are disclosed: Miss Alice Smith, daughter of the Rev. and Mrs. Gilbert H. Smith, to our popular young doctor, Donald Gladish; Miss Adrienne Starkey, daughter of the Rev. and Mrs. George G. Starkey, to Mr. Cecil James, of Kitchener, Ont.; and Miss Eunice Nelson, daughter of the late Mr. Alvin Nelson and Mrs. Nelson, to Mr. John Howard, of Bryn Athyn. Three other prospective weddings in the immediate future lend great local interest to this important feature of our social life.

     At the current Sons chapter meeting, held June 20, Mr. Seymour G. Nelson presented a paper on the history and mutations of our New Church Societies in Chicago. It was especially appreciated by the few oldsters present who were around when the changes were taking place, but also by those of the later generation as a matter of interesting church history.
     J. B. S.

     BRUSSELS, BELGIUM.

     The Brussels Le Sair of May 25 announced the sudden death, on May 18, of Maurice de Miomandre, Homme de Lettres, Chevalier de l'ordre de Leopold, Chevalier de la Couronne, Officier de l'ordre de Leepold II, etc., at the age of sixty-one. He had specialized in military matters, and had once been on the staff of Le Soiu.

     Mr. J. J. Gailliard writes: "If, on the one hand, I rejoice in the happy event of the birth of your second son [Louis Christian Iungerich], on the other I was astounded to hear of the death of our dear friend, Mr. Maurice de Miomandre. A few days previously I had given him your French translation of the Journal of Durams, and he returned the manuscript of the passages from the Adversaria and the Index of the Spiritual Diary. The latter was returned to me by his wife when I called, and she told me that her husband had often spoken about his meetings with us, and of Swedenborg, to whom he was becoming more and more attached."

     My first meeting with Mr. de Miomandre was in May, 1936, and during the preceding six months he had read five books of the Writings which Mr. Gailliard had loaned him. He attended all the services I conducted in Brussels,-November, 1936, January and March, 1937. On my last visit he lunched with me and returned the first volume of the Diary in English, which I had loaned him, and was looking forward to my visit in June, when he was to receive the second volume. It was his warm encouragement, added to Mr. Gailliard's offer to supervise my French, that led me to embark upon the French translations of Swedenborg's Spiritual Experiences from 1743 to 1767, beginning with the Journal of Dreams and the Adversaria, and terminating with the Spiritual Diary, in which each passage will be supplemented by the summaries that are given in the Index.

321

     After our luncheon in March we repaired to Mr. Gailliard's home, where for three hours he plied me with the most eager questions as to the nature and topography of the spiritual world. It is with poignant regret that I think of coming visits to Brussels, when I shall miss the warm and magnetic personality of this brilliant student.
     ELDRED E. IUNGERICH.

     BRYN ATHYN, PA.

     A delightful entertainment for the parents and friends of the pupils of the Elementary School was provided on Friday afternoon, June 4, in the form of a play, "Robin Hood," given by the fifth grade under the able leadership of Miss Anna Hamm. The concrete terrace at the rear of the building formed the stage, and everything was in readiness the day before when a heavy rain made postponement necessary. The scenery and staging were under the direction of Miss Francis Schaill, assisted by the manual training classes of the seventh and eighth grades. A fine orchestra from among the pupils had been trained by Mr. Frank Bostock, the members of the cast knew their parts exceptionally well, and the production was much enjoyed by a large audience. The girls of the sixth and seventh grades danced the Maypole dance, though the apparatus went somewhat askew, owing to the soaking it had received the day before. After the Mother's Committee of the Women's Guild had served refreshments, the schoolrooms were open for the inspection of the annual display of work.

     The closing exercises of the school were held in the Assembly Hall on Thursday, June 10, and after the opening worship Mr. Wilfred Howard addressed the pupils, speaking first of the happiness they must feel on completing a year's work and advancing to higher grades and schools. Life is really just one school after another, in all of which we are learning whatever may be necessary for the next higher step. But, important as learning is, a far more important thing is the doing of what we have learned. He contrasted the growth of the body with that of the mind. The body reaches its full development in eighteen or twenty years, but the mind may grow forever; it may grow up or grow down, as we choose. This school, having the Writings as a guide, has taught the pupils how they may grow forever in knowing what to do and doing it.

     Principal Heilman also addressed a few remarks to the school, and then he presented diplomas to a graduating of class of twenty-three boys and girls of the eighth grade.

     A distinct step forward was made in our society celebration of the 19th of June, in that we devoted a day to it,-something that we have talked of doing for years,-though some of us felt that it was a step backwards to celebrate on the 18th instead of the 19th. There was a service in the cathedral at 11 a.m., at which we were privileged to hear a very fine sermon from Bishop Emeritus N. D. Pendleton. In the afternoon the children and a representative few of the parents assembled at the church for a further celebration. With a group of leaders under the direction of Mrs. Simons, the children met in the Undercroft and were given little bows of red and while ribbon to pin on, and then marched in procession around the cathedral to the East lawn. After the singing of an anthem, they listened to an interesting address by the Rev. Elmo Acton on the Sending Forth of the Apostles in the Spiritual World, and this was followed by the singing of "City Strong and Mighty" and the School Song. Refreshments in the form of red-and-white blocks of ice cream brought this Dart of our celebration to a close. The Bryn Athyn Boy's Club, under the direction of Mr. Harry Walter, did excellent service in providing the chairs on the lawn.

322

     A banquet in the evening proved a very enjoyable climax to the day's program. Mr. Arthur Synnestvedt, as toastmaster, provided some novel features in his conduct of the ceremonies. He began by asking us all to arise and sing "City Strong and Mighty," and to remain standing while Bishop de Charms led in the Blessing. After a delightful repast, a toast and song were offered to "June 19th," and the Rev. Hugo L.J. Odhner spoke on the choosing of the Apostles for the mission of "the first 19th." We were especially glad to have him with us once more, as this was the first time we had been privileged to hear him in a public meeting since his recent illness. The second and last speech was by Bishop Acton, who dealt effectively with the theme," The 19th of June the Sign of a Spiritual Church."

     Then followed the presentation of two tableaux on the stage, the first depicting "The Souls Bound Under the Altar," with the taskmasters afflicting them, and the second "The Sending Forth of the Apostles." They were beautifully done, and, with appropriate music rendered by the Cathedral Choir, were very touching. For the preparation of this feature we are especially indebted to the Rev. Vincent Odhner, Mr. Winfred Hyatt and Mr. Frank Bostock.
     WM. R. COOPER.

     250TH ANNIVERSARY.

     Plans are taking definite form for the commemoration, on January 29, 1938, of the 250th anniversary of the birth of Emanuel Swedenborg.

     During the last half year, committees of the General Convention, the Swedenborg Foundation, and the Swedenborg Publishing Association have been holding separate meetings and several joint conferences. In the latter, Bishop Acton of the General Church has also participated. These committees finally organized an Executive Committee, comprised as follows: Ezra Hyde Alden, Philadelphia, Chairman; Hen. Forster W. Freeman, Paterson, N. J.; Rev. Leslie Marshall, Sawthorne, N. J.; Rev. John W. Stockwell, Philadelphia; and Rev. William F. Wunsch, Cambridge, Mass.

     Mr. Dwight Anderson, of the Brooklyn Society, has been employed as Executive Secretary. His office is at 2 East 103d Street, New York. He attended the General Convention at Chicago, June 19-22, to explain the plans which are in progress.

     TORONTO, CANADA.

     The activities of the Olivet Church during May and June have been quite extensive in their nature. Of first importance among the "non-annual" activities was the marriage of Miss Doris Stuart and Mr. Robert Brown. During the months preceding, Doris was feted at many showers, chief among them being a miscellaneous one given by the Ladies' Circle. Bob was also guest of honor at a "stag" held at the convivial home of Mr. Ted Bellinger. June 16 was the wedding day, when many relatives and friends of the happy couple came to witness a lovely wedding, and to join him wishing the bride and the groom best wishes for a happy future at a reception held in the assembly hall after the ceremony. The parents of the bride, Mr. and Mrs. J. Stuart, and of the groom, Mr. and Mrs. Ray Brown, also received the guests. The best wishes follow Bob and Doris in their lovely task of establishing a New Church home. "May there be a blessing!"

     In order to augment the local scholarship fund, two social events were held under the auspices of Theta Alpha. A lively bridge at the home of Mrs. Reginald Anderson brought in a substantial sum which was augmented by the sale of a needlework bag, a sample of the beautiful work of Mrs. Nellie Carson. A musicale, given on May 2, in which the artists were mainly children, proved most enjoy able and highly successful financially. Miss Penelope and Mrs. Clara Sargeant arranged this delightful little entertainment.

     The closing exercises of the Olivet Day School were very simple, but were perhaps all the more impressive on that account.

323

Each member of the school recited, played or sang, and then joined in chorus for singing, which, under the splendid teaching of Mrs. Joseph Pritchett, has shown excellent results. Dr. R. W. Brown gave a short talk to the children which was much enjoyed by all. There was a feeling of sorrow when we realized we must say good-bye to Miss Jennie Gaskill who has been a loved and faithful teacher for three years, and to five of our pupils, who will be attending other schools in the Fall. We wish them all joy in their new environments.

     The June 19 celebrations were "spread" over two days. On the Saturday, the children and young people took part in a pleasant celebration. There were games and races and an enjoyable supper at which songs were sung. Four young people,-Norma Carter, Hayden John, Marguerite Izzard and Gordon Anderson,-gave excellent papers on various aspects of this Day of days. After an exciting peanut hunt the party closed with the singing of "O Canada" and "God Save the King."

     The adult celebration took the form of a banquet on Sunday evening. After a tasty meal served on attractively set tables, Mr. Desmond McMaster took charge of a well-prepared program. Three addresses were given. Mr. Frank Wilson presented a paper on "How to Apply Doctrine to Life." Mr. Alec Craigie's paper reminded us that the Writings were the final Revelation. Mr. Lawrence Izzard gave his audience a brief history of June 19. With closing remarks by Rev. F. E. Gyllenhaal, our celebrations came to a conclusion.

     June brings a three months' lull in group activities. Theta Alpha had a very successful "pot-luck" supper at the home of Miss Edina Carswell, followed by a little shower for our president, Miss Jennie Gaskill, whose presence will be missed in our little group. A delicious supper comprised the major part of the Ladies' Circle closing meeting. A "lilac-time" shower for Miss Doris Stuart brought the season's activities to a happy close. The offices of "Chatterbox" are also closed for a well-earned summer vacation.
     M. S. P.


     LONDON, ENGLAND.

     Michael Church.

     At the monthly Social Tea on February 14 a paper by Mr. W. D. Pike on "Freedom and its Necessity in Regeneration" was read by the Rev. A. W. Acton, owing to the absence through illness of the writer of this thoughtful and interesting paper.

     On the evening of Wednesday, February 17, Bishop Tilson, assisted by Mr. Acton, officiated at a Memorial Service for our dear old friend, Mr. Samuel Lewin, who on the previous Friday had passed to the higher life at the advanced age of ninety years. Mr. Lewin's favorite hymns were sung, and the Bishop, in his Address, made affectionate reference to our friend's many years of loyal devotion to the church. Many members of the family were present, and there was a very warm and affectionate sphere. He who had gone from us did not seem far away.

     On March 2, a Whist Drive given by Miss Dowling in connection with the Social Committee seemed to be much enjoyed by all present.

     At the Social Tea on March 14, Bishop Tilson provided a lesson in elocution for his hearers by his beautiful reading of selections from Hiller's Pleasures of Religion, which led to a very interesting discussion on the subject of Poetry and its uses.

     The Holy Supper was administered on Palm Sunday and again on Easter Day. There were good congregations on the latter occasion, Bishop Tilson was assisted by the Rev. W. H. Acton, the Assistant Pastor being at Colchester taking duty for the Rev. V. J. Gladish, who had left for Bryn Athyn.

     A very pleasant Whist Drive was given by the Social Committee on April 27, and was well attended. This concluded the social program for the session, and the Committee is to be congratulated upon having supplied a very good one, in spite of some discouragement on account of small attendances.

324

     On April 3, Bishop Tilson had attained the age of eighty years, and on the following Wednesday nearly a hundred members and friends, including his children and grandchildren, assembled to do him honor. He had received a great number of letters, cards and telegrams of greeting, including a cable from Bryn Athyn which said: "Congratulations, eighty milestones." A handsome cake had been made by Mrs. Tilson, and this was cut with all due ceremony at the appropriate moment. A cheque was Presented to the Bishop on behalf of the Board by its Chairman, Mr. Priest, as a memento of the occasion, and Mr. Jesseman asked his acceptance of what proved to be a beautifully executed and symbolic piece of work. We may perhaps call it an "illuminated testimonial," though it was more than that, and it showed clearly the "Jesseman touch."

     An interesting musical program was followed by refreshments and toasts, the first being "The Church," introduced by the Rev. A. Wynne Acton, and responded to by the hearty singing of "Our Glorious Church." The toast of the evening to "The revered Pastor of the Church, Bishop R. J. Tilson "was proposed by his old friend. the Rev. W. H. Acton, who recalled the fact that their acquaintance dated from 1819, and paid a high tribute to the Bishop's teaching. "All that I have that is worth having," said Mr. Acton, "has come to me through the instrumentality of Bishop Tilson." The toast was received with the singing by the assembled guests of "Happy may he be!", "For he's a jolly good fellow," and "May he live to be a hundred," after which there was "march past" Bishop and Mrs. Tilson and a hearty shaking of hands. When all had resumed their seats, the Bishop rose to reply. In impressive tones he expressed his gratitude to the Lord for having given him his work, which had been the greatest blessing of his life. The two main objects of his ministry had been the recognition of the Divinity of the Heavenly Doctrines, and life according to doctrine. He was thoroughly persuaded of the distinctiveness of the Lord's New Church and of the priest's duty to teach this, and the duty of entrance to it by the appointed gate of baptism. He had himself had the privilege of baptizing four hundred and eighty children and adults. He wished also to express his sense of gratitude to his teachers of former days, Dr. Tafel and Bishop Benade, to his wife and family, and to all those who had supported and assisted him through the years of varied experiences. The Bishop concluded his impressive and affectionate address by quoting from a favorite hymn, "O send me light to do Thy work," and added, "My love to one and all, and hearty thanks for all your kindness!" He sat down amid great applause. Shortly after, farewells were said, and this happy and memorable occasion was brought to a close.

     On the morning of Sunday, May 2, the service was specially adapted to the children present, and in view of the nearness of the Coronation the Rev. A. Wynne Acton gave them a simple and appropriate address on "Kingship." May 9 was Coronation Sunday. At the morning service prayers and hymns were chosen with reference to the coming great event, and Psalm XX was sung. Bishop Tilson's impressive discourse was based on I Samuel 10:24. A new flag was dedicated during the service. It was brought up by Mr. Cooper (an ex-service man) and after dedication was placed in position at the side of the chancel. Mr. Cooper had also decorated the chancel most artistically with "red, white and blue" flowers appropriate' to the occasion. The service concluded with the National Anthem. In the afternoon a Social Tea was held, at which the Rev. A. Wynne Acton read an excellent paper on "Kingship."

     Owing to a variety of circumstances our New Church Day celebrations this year have had to be somewhat divided.

325

The society outing to Oxshott took place on June 12 under the leadership of Mr. Acton, and proved very enjoyable, though the numbers were few. On Sunday, the 13th, Bishop Tilson preached in the morning, and there was a large attendance at the Feast of Charity held at 6 p.m., when Mr. Acton read an interesting paper on "Three Events in the Spiritual World Connected with New Church Day," which led to useful comments and questions.

     The Annual Meeting followed immediately, the Assistant Pastor being in the chair. He invited Bishop Tilson to address the meeting, and in the course of his remarks the Bishop said that the chief report of pastoral work this year was to be made by the Assistant Pastor, who, among many other things, had made the journeys which he himself was not now able to undertake. Mr. Acton then presented a full and detailed account of his work during the year, which left no doubt that he had been fully occupied. In reviewing the various activities the speaker said the most discouraging item of his work was the poor attendance at the Theological Class each week, and he hoped some means might be found to improve this when the next session began. The reports of the various officers of the church followed, and were on the whole of a satisfactory character.

     It is a matter of regret to all concerned that Mr. Victor Cooper, Secretary of the Social Committee, has, for business reasons, removed to the North of England. All wish him well in his new position, but his work for the church will be much missed.

     The administration of the Holy Supper in connection with New Church Day was to have taken place on June 20, but owing to the illness of Bishop Tilson and the absence of Mr. Acton it was postponed. Happily, the Bishop has made a quick recovery, and the celebration is to be held on July 4. Our thoughts are now beginning to turn to the British Assembly in Colchester. Vivat Nova Ecclesia!
     K. M. D.

     PARIS, FRANCE.

     The fact that no news from here has appeared in the Life for a year does not indicate that the society is not alive and performing its round of uses. Services have been held regularly on the first and third Sundays of every month, except on Christmas and Easter. Slight alterations had to be made on those two occasions, when the Holy Supper is customarily administered.

     The Wednesday evening doctrinal class at Montreuil has been held with fair regularity, with an average attendance of seven or eight persons; but the Friday class in St. Cloud has not as yet been resumed, on account of the poor health of Mrs. Stephanie Hussenet.

     The relatives of Jean Daly, oldest grandchild of the late Rev. Ferdinand Hussenet, much appreciate the Academy's generous offer of a working scholarship to enable him to attend the Boys' Academy the coming school year, and hope that conditions may make it possible for him to avail himself of the opportunity.

     In March, on the Monday after a bimonthly visit to Brussels, I had the pleasure of alighting at the medieval town of Compiegne, thirty miles due north of Paris, and of spending twelve hours with Captain Jeunechamp and his wife and three children, as well as Jean Daly, who was spending his Easter holidays there. The captain's department is cavalry. His regiment, and the half dozen others quartered in that city, are for the most part made up of Algerian and Moroccan Mohammedans. During my visit I was taken through the barracks and stables, and was allowed to have a look into the room consecrated as a mosque. I also had a two hours' auto ride in the extensive forest of Compiegne. I loaned the captain my copy of the French translation of Lamm's book on Swedenborg, which he has since read with great interest.

     On Sunday, June 20, twenty people met in the morning for a service in commemoration of June 19th, and among them were Mme. de Rochecouste, Mr. Sevin and Mile. Daniels, who belong to the Rev. N. Mayer's group, there being no service there on account of Mr. Mayer's absence in Sweden.

326

At one p.m., twenty people were in attendance at the banquet held at the Restaurant de la Rampe at Stvres, and among them were Mr. Paul Flon and Mr. Sevin of the other society, as well as the infant son of the undersigned, twenty-six days old. The pastor read the second of the Five Memorable Relations, making a viva voce translation into French. And then, in a speech which held the audience in suspense until the end, he prepared all for its climax, which was a presentation to Mr. Louis Lucas of a silver fountain pen, engraved with his initials and the date, June 19, 1937, as a token of appreciation on the part of the society for his faithful services as organist, and for his two years of leadership in worship during the interim between the death of the Rev. Ferdinand Hussenet and the installation of the present pastor.

     Speeches were made by Mr. Lucas, Mr. Elisee Hussenet, and Mr. Paul Flon, who suggested that it was now up to his group to stage the next 19th of June celebration, and to invite us to meet with them on that occasion. Several of the young people recited pieces, and a paper was passed around and signed by all present (and afterwards by some who had been unable to attend), expressing their affection and loyalty towards the new Bishop of the General Church, and their hope for a successful General Assembly in the one to be held at Pittsburgh.
     E. E. IUNGERICH.

     GLENVIEW, ILL.

     Three weddings have recently been solemnized in the society. On June 23, Gwendolyn King, granddaughter of our good old friends, the late Dr. and Mrs. J. B. S. King, was married to Russell Stevens, son of Professor and Mrs. Jesse Stevens. On June 26, the wedding of Mary Scalbom, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Oscar Scalbom, to Mr. Stuart Nicholson, of St. Louis, Mo., took place. They will reside in St. Louis, but we are glad to welcome Mr. Nicholson into the fellowship of the Church. Then, on July 6, Alice Burnham, youngest of the Hugh L. Burnham family, was united in marriage with Eldred Coffin, son of Mr. and Mrs. James P. Coffin, of Bryn Athyn. These weddings were truly gala events, the large attendance testing the capacity of our church and parish hall.

     On Monday, July 5, we held our annual patriotic celebration with a children's parade in costume, races, cafeteria luncheon, and an informal dance in the evening.

     Candidate Morley Rich is to assist our pastor during the summer, after preaching twice in Sharon Church, Chicago.

     The arrival of Mr. and Mrs. Oswald Asplundh and family to take up their residence in Glenview is a welcome addition to our society. Among recent visitors we note Mrs. James P. Coffin and Mrs. A. A. Spangler, of Bryn Athyn, and Mrs. J. R. Kendig, of Renovo, Pa.

     Forty of our members attended the General Assembly in Pittsburgh, and have returned full of enthusiasm.
     J. B. S.

327

THIRTIETH BRITISH ASSEMBLY 1937

THIRTIETH BRITISH ASSEMBLY VICTOR J. GLADISH 1937

     Announcements.

     Members and friends of the General Church of the New Jerusalem are cordially invited to attend the Thirtieth British Assembly, which will be held at Colchester, Essex, on Saturday, Sunday and Monday, July 31 to August 2, 1937. Those expecting to be present are requested to notify the undersigned as soon as possible, or to write to Miss Doris Potter, 54 Drury Road, Colchester, in regard to accommodations.
     VICTOR J. GLADISH,
          Secretary. 67 Lexden Road, Colchester, England.

     Program.

Friday, July 30.

     Gentlemen attending the Assembly are invited to participate in a meeting of the New Church Club, to be held at the Old Bell Restaurant, 123 Holborn, London, E. C. 1, at 7.00 p.m. An Address will be delivered by Mr. Wilfred Howard, of Bryn Athyn.

Saturday, July 31.
     7.30 p.m.-First Session. Presidential Address by Bishop Alfred Acton.

Sunday, August 1.
     11.00 a.m.-Divine Worship. Sermon by Bishop R. J. Tilson.
     4.00 p.m.-Holy Supper Service.
     7.00 p.m.-Second Session. Address by the Rev. Victor J. Gladish.

Monday, August 2.
     11.00 a.m.-Third Session. Brief Business Meeting, followed by an Account of the Sixteenth General Assembly, to be given by the Rev. A. Wynne Acton.
     3.00 p.m.-British Chapter of the Sons of the Academy.
7.30 p.m.-The Assembly Social.

329

Title Unspecified 1937

[Frontispiece: Photo of View of Shady Side Academy . . . site of 1937 General Assembly.]
DIVINITY AND HOLINESS 1937

DIVINITY AND HOLINESS Rev. GILBERT H. SMITH 1937

NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. LVII          AUGUST, 1937           No. 8
     Distinction between What is Divine and What is Holy.

     (Delivered al the Sixteenth General Assembly, July 1, 1937.)

     I. The Terms "Divine" and "Holy."

     The two terms "Divine" and "holy" have distinct connotation or meaning. In the Lord, and in His Word, Divinity and holiness are equal to each other. We are not attempting to make distinction between Divine and Holy in the Lord; for in His Human are all things Divine and all things Holy. But so far as man is concerned, distinction may be made, and it should be enlightening to do so. There must be a reason why the two terms are used in the Writings of the New Church. We shall first present a collection of quotations from the Doctrine of the New Church. Consider this from the Arcana:
     "Since the ephod of Aaron represents the outmost of the Lord's spiritual kingdom, it was more holy than the rest of his garments. . . . That which is most external is more holy than the internal things, for the reason that the external holds all the interior things in their order, form, and connection; so much so, that if the external were to be removed, the interior things would be dispersed. . . . Since, then, the internal things are presented simultaneously in the ultimate, it follows that, if the order is perfect, the ultimate is accounted more holy than the internal things; for in them is complete the holiness of the internal things. . . .

330

From this it is evident, also, why the external or ultimate, which is in perfect order, is more holy than the internal things regarded singly; for when the Lord is in the ultimate, He is simultaneously in all things; and when He is in this, the interior things are held together in their order, connection, and form, and under supervision and guidance at His pleasure." (A. C. 9824.)
     "The external and bodily sense is the ultimate into which the interior things of life come to a close, and in which they rest as in their common receptacle. The case is similar with Truth Divine in the letter. which is called 'The Word,' and which for this reason also has been given on this earth, and not on another." (A. C. 9360.)
     "Divine Truth is what is called holy; but it is not holy until it is in its ultimate, which is the Word in the sense of the letter. There Divine Truth is holy, and may be called the sanctuary, because that sense contains and includes all the sanctities of heaven and the church." It might be supposed that Divine Truths in the heavens are holy above the Divine Truths in the letter of the Word. But celestial and spiritual truths in heaven, and thus the interior truths of the Word, are like the heart and lungs in a man, which, unless encompassed with the ribs, pleura, and diaphragm, would not make the breast. Moreover, the holy things in the tabernacle cannot be called holy until they are covered with the various veils of the tabernacle. (A. E. 1088.)

     It would seem from these several quotations that the letter of the Word, as in the Old and New Testaments, is to be accounted more holy than any of the Divine Truths within them, regarded singly. It is also indicated that Divine Truths in the heavens are not so holy as those which are in the letter of the Word, written exclusively on our earth. Also, it would seem to be taught here that interior truths, separately regarded, are less holy than external ones. I wish to express the opinion, however, that while this is so, still interior truths are more Divine.
     The truths of the letter of the Old and New Testaments are more holy, but at the same time they are less Divine, than the interior truths that lie within the letter. By this I mean that the Divinity of the interior truths of the Word is more apparent to men.

331

Also, it would appear that Divine Truths such as they are in the heavens are less holy than the letter of the Word as given upon our earth. If this is so, then the Writings, being truths in a more interior form than those in the letter of the two Testaments, are less holy but more Divine than they. Truths appearing in the letter of the Old and New Testaments are more holy than those appearing in the Writings; but, on the other hand, the truths appearing in the Writings are more Divine.
     Natural and finite things, we may conclude, may be help; but never can they be Divine. Angels are called holy; but never are they to be called "Divine." The prophets are called "holy." Men are called "holy," and therefore we have the term "saint." Natural and finite things may be made holy, but only by reason of their reception of what is Divine by contact, or contiguity; only by reason of their enclosing, or covering, or containing what is Divine. Therefore truths are said to be Divine; but they are not to Be called holy until they are enclosed or veiled in such things as compose the letter of the Word.
     It is notably said in regard to the Lord that "He made His Human holy first of all, and then made it Divine." (A. C. 4559.) Here it is explained that "what is Divine is Jehovah Himself I-what is Holy is from Him." The Lord making Himself Holy means that He received all Divine Truth that was from Jehovah into His human mind. Afterward He united with this Truth the Divine Life, which was Jehovah. His making Himself Holy means that He made His Human first a form of Divine Truth. For holiness is spoken principally of Truth.
     We wish to quote this notable passage also: "What is truly good, what is truly spiritual and celestial, that is, what is Divine; for true happiness, true peace, true innocence, are entirely Divine." (S. D. 342; see Div. Wis. I.)
     We wish to draw the general conclusion that the distinction between what is Divine and what is holy is similar to the distinction between what is spiritual and what is natural: also that holy things are those that contain what is Divine; and the more fully, entirely, and completely they contain what is Divine, the more holy they are. The Old and New Testaments contain Divine things more fully, entirely, and completely than the Writings of the New Church do; and therefore these Testaments are to be accounted more holy than the Writings.

332

But at the same time the truths that appear in the letter of the Writings are more Divine than those that appear in the letter of the two Testaments. We say they are more Divine because their Divinity is more apparent to men.
     We may also say that things Divine flow in from the Lord through the human internal, and that these things are spiritual, and not natural; as previously said of true happiness, true peace, true innocence, all of which are Divine. Those things are to be called "holy," however, which are natural, and which receive what flows in from the Lord. These things that receive are called "truths"; and those truths are the most holy which receive the most of what is Divine. For the Divine is received only in what is holy.
     Man can make his life to be holy, but he can never make it to be Divine. If we succeed in making our lives holy, through obedience to truth, then we may receive Divine things by contiguity into what is holy, that is, we may receive true peace, innocence, and happiness.
     As already suggested, in the Lord Holiness and Divinity are one. They are equal to each other. Hence He is called the First and the Last. But in relation to human beings and the Divine accommodation to them, it may be said that the more first a thing is, the more Divine it is; and the more last a thing is, the more holy. What is from the Lord is more or less holy. Things which are nearer the Lord are more evidently Divine; and things remote from Him, if they receive the Divine, are holy according to their remoteness. The greatest holiness is in the most ultimate things, when the order is perfect.
     So, in the work on the Divine Love and Wisdom, we are told: "Things simple are more perfect; things composite less perfect. Prior things are more naked, less covered with substances and matters devoid of life. They are, as it were, more Divine. Consequently, they are nearer the spiritual sun, where the Lord is. For perfection itself is in the Lord, and from Him in that sun; and from that sun perfection is in the things which flow immediately after, and thus in order down to the things which are lowest. These are less perfect as they are farther removed." (D. L. W. 204.)
     Therefore it appears that things nearer the Lord and the spiritual sun are to be accounted more Divine, and things more remote are less Divine.

333

But still the farther they are removed, or the more ultimate they are, the more of holiness there is in them. What is said in the letter of our Writings is nearer the light of the spiritual sun, and hence is more Divine; or the Divine more readily appears to men in them. But the things said in the two Testaments are more remote from that light of heaven, and therefore are more holy. For holiness applies to natural forms. Life in those forms is Divine. Forms in themselves are never Divine, save only in the Human of our Lord. And men are made holy as they receive the Divine into their forms. But men are never Divine, nor take any part in Divinity.
     There is a heading in The Word of the Lord, from Experience which may here be quoted: "All the holiness of the Word is in the sense of its letter, and there is no holiness in its spiritual sense without the sense of the letter." (XX.)
     Yet, as we are taught in the Arcana, all the holiness of the letter is from the presence of the spiritual sense within it. For "what is holy is from what is Divine." (A. C. 4727.) Holiness is attributed to the vessels which receive what is Divine. Therefore there are degrees of holiness, but not of Divinity. A thing may be more or less holy; but the Divine is everywhere the same, and cannot be spoken of as more or less, except when speaking according to the appearance. And those things are less holy which contain the Divine less fully.
     The Divine is Substantial and Infinite. The holy is phenomenal and finite. Holiness is that which represents, covers, and contains, like the sense of the letter of the Word. That which is Substantial and Infinite, flowing into man, is Divine; but that which with man is natural, phenomenal, and finite, is holy. The relation between Divine and holy is the relation between something contained and the form that contains it. Divinity is the cause; holiness is the effect.
     Divine things, in their order, are more full and perfect in the literal sense of the Scriptures; hence this sense is Holiness Itself. But the particular things of Doctrine expressed in the letter of the Writings, when regarded singly, are not so holy as the letter of the two Testaments.

334

In fact, the two Testaments are to be called "Testaments" because they are generals of Divine Truth, containing myriads of particulars. In these two Testaments are contained the particulars and singulars of all the Divine Truth it is possible for man to know; and hence they are holy.
     The Writings are not like these two Testaments. They reveal on the surface the particulars of Divine Truth, and therefore are less holy, although appearing more Divine. I am not saying that there is not any holiness in the Writings, but only that their holiness is less than the Testaments, while at the same time their Divinity is more apparent. For we have seen in the quotations given that the particulars of Divine Truth, as in the internal sense of the Word, or as they are known in the heavens, are less holy than the general things that make the letter of the Old and New Testaments. "Interior truths, taken singly, are less holy than those in the letter of the Word."

     2. The Writings Are Doctrine.

     The Writings of the New Church are Divine Truth in the form of Doctrine, accompanied with many illustrations, Scriptural, rational, and scientific. And if it is true that they are primarily and principally Doctrine, then they cannot be considered as being the Word in ultimates. For the Word in its letter is not Doctrine, pure and simple. The Writings may be called "the Word," however, because Doctrine is the essential of the Word. But while they may be called "the Word," they cannot be called the "Word in Ultimates." For the same reason they are to be accounted Divine; but they cannot be called "Holy" in the same degree as the letter of the two Testaments are. Indeed, the letter of the New Testament cannot be accounted as holy as that of the Old. For the more Divine Truth descends to ultimates, the holier it is.
     One of the principal arguments of DE HEMELSCHE LEER is that doctrine must be drawn from the sense of the letter of the Word. And secondly, that the letter of the Word is not the Doctrine of the Church. If, then, the Writings are Doctrine, they cannot be considered to be the letter of the Word, or they cannot be called "the Word in Ultimates." For all New Churchmen agree that Doctrine is not the same as the letter of the Word.

335

     Therefore, in saying that the Writings are Doctrine, we mean that they are not the same, in nature, as the Old and New Testaments. The only question to be settled is as to whether they are Doctrine or not. We claim that they are not only Doctrine, but that they are THE DOCTRINE Of the New Church. Fundamentally, they are Doctrine, and nothing else. And being Doctrine, they are the Word; but they are not the Word in ultimates. They are not a part of the letter of the Word in the same way that the Two Testaments are.
     In the "Principles of the Academy," it is declared as the belief of the Academy that the Writings are the Doctrine of the New Church. How, then, can the adherents of DE HEMELSCHE LEER say that they agree entirely with the "Principles of the Academy"; for they teach that the Writings are the letter of the Word, and not the Doctrine of the Church!
     "The reason the Lord was born on this earth," we read, "was that on this earth the doctrine published from heaven can be propagated through the entire globe, and remain for thousands of years." (S. D. 4781.) To say, therefore, that what we read in the Writings is, after all, only the sense of the letter of the Word, or the Word in ultimates, is equivalent to saying that the Doctrine of the New Church has never been revealed and published from heaven. For the sense of the letter of the Word cannot be the same as the Doctrine of the Church.

     3. Further Illustration of Divine and Holy.

     The relation between Divine and Holy is similar to that between Love and Wisdom, or Good and Truth. Love and charity with man are Divine, but "holy" is spoken of truth in which is love and charity. The relation may also be compared to that between the terms "Flesh" and "Blood," when spoken of the Lord, or between the Bread and Wine of the Holy Supper. A quotation in confirmation is the following: "Flesh and blood signify the Divine celestial and the Divine spiritual which are from the Lord's Divine Human, or the Divine Good and the Divine Truth of His Love. . . .As blood, in the celestial sense, signifies the Divine Spiritual or the Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord's Divine Human, it therefore signifies the Holy Proceeding; for Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord's Human is the Holy Itself. Holiness is nothing else, nor from any other source.

336

The blood signifies this Holy. (A. C. 4735.)
     The Divine flows into man through the human internal; but the holy with man is derived from truth; or it is the ultimation of truth in life. When a man ultimates the precepts of truth in life, then the Divine flows in. The influx is only into and through that which is holy. Good inflows through truth. And since man's reception of the Divine is altogether according to his reception of truth, and since man's reception of truth is limited and finite, therefore the Divine with man is also a finite reception. Man receives the Divine only as he receives what is holy, that is, only as he lives a life according to Divine Truth.
     In the Writings it is said that man can receive the Divine, and that he can sensibly perceive that he receives it. Yet in reality a man can never receive the Divine by continuity, but only by contact with the Divine. It can never be in him a continuation of the Divine. Man can receive it only by contiguity, and not by the appropriation of it to himself. What a man can receive, and appropriate to himself as his Own, is truth; and truth is accommodated to him in the form of doctrine. One may receive doctrine from the Lord, but only by living according to it for the Lord's sake. This actual reception of doctrine in the life is what is meant by holiness. The Divine is received only in what is holy. It is in a state of holiness that a man can receive; and it is only because the Divine flows into this state of holiness that a man can be said to receive the Divine.
     Truth is said to be Divine, only because the Divine flows into it. But it is only truth that a man receives by continuity. Truth continuous from the Lord, down to the sense of the letter of the Word, is in the letter holy. So that what a man really receives as his own is not the Divine but the holy. It is the Holy of the Lord's Spirit. It is the Holy Spirit. The Holy of the Lord's Spirit a man can receive, because this is truth; but the Divine of His Spirit a man can never receive, because this is the Divine Itself,-Divine Good. Man can receive the Divine only by contiguity. The Divine flows in and contacts that only which is from the Divine in man; and that which is from the Divine in man is the Holy; it is Divine Truth.

337

     Let us quote from the Arcana: "Truths in the Word are called holy; for the reason that truths which become truths of faith with man are from good; and because that which proceeds from the Divine Human of the Lord is Divine Truth from Divine Good. Hence the Holy Spirit is the Holy which proceeds from the Lord. The Spirit Itself does not proceed, but only the Holy which the Spirit speaks. . ." (A. C. 6788.)
     Man can make himself holy by the reception of truth from the Lord into his life; but man cannot make himself Divine. The Divine is said to be received by man, and to proceed from the Lord; but in reality the Divine only flows in and conjoins Itself with the man's holiness, and, this only by contact or contiguity.
     The Writings are the Doctrine of the New Church, as we read them in their letter. This Doctrine is more evidently Divine than anything in the Old or New Testament. Its Divinity can be seen by man more clearly. And this Doctrine is also holy. But it is not so holy as the letter of the Old or the New Testament. The letter of the New Testament is not so holy as the letter of the Old. All three of these revelations are the Word, and are from the Divine, because the Divine is in them all. And yet they are not equally holy. The Old Testament is the holiest of them all, because its letter contains all Divine Truth in greatest fulness, and in a most general form. For there is no truth expressed in the Writings which is not contained in the Old Testament,-not a single arcanum concerning the Lord, the church, or the salvation of men.
     But the New Testament is not so holy as the Old, because its letter expresses Divine Truth in a more interior form. And the more interior the truth is, the less holy does it become, and at the same time the more Divine.
     And the Writings are not so holy as the New Testament is, because their letter expresses Divine Truth in a still more interior form. But although the Writings are less holy than either the Old or the New Testament, they are by that very fact more Divine than either. This means that their Divinity is more clearly perceived by men. And yet there is no arcanum of heaven expressed in the Writings that is not contained in the New Testament; and no truth in the New Testament that is not contained in the Old.

338

The three revelations differ from each other in the degree of their holiness; but they do not differ as to their Divinity. For the Divinity of the Word does not mean anything except as men can clearly see what they should believe and how they should live. And there can be no question that in the Writings, more than in either of the Testaments, the things to believe and the way to live are far more explicitly revealed. Therefore the Divinity of the Writings is more apparent to men than that of the former Revelations.

     4. Order in Externals of Life is Holiness.

     As the Word is the most holy in its ultimate sense, so life attains its greatest holiness in its external forms of expression. When the externals of human life are in the order of truth, the Divine flows in with power. For except in externals there is no holiness. Holiness in externals can receive the Divine in internals. For this reason the Holy Supper is the most holy of all the acts of worship, and this because it is the most ultimate expression of worship. In it there is actual eating and drinking; there is something ultimate to touch and taste. This, by correspondence, is the one act of worship most full of spiritual and Divine meaning. And because this is the most ultimate act of worship, it is the most holy act.
     In the same way, the ultimate things we do in life generally, if they are in perfect order, receive the Divine more fully than do the things we merely think about or wish. Therefore, in certain uses there is holiness; for example, the use of the priesthood, the use of civil government, the use of marriage, or of conjugial love. All these uses are holy. And the more ultimate the use, the more holy it is. Thus the support of the church, the support of the government, and the support of the home, each according to its need, are examples of the holiest use; and the more ultimate this support is, the holier it becomes. It is the ultimate things of life that are capable of receiving and manifesting the greatest degree of holiness. It is the things that people do outwardly which, if they are according to order, or truth, or wisdom, are holy. And into that which is holy the Divine inflows.
     It is in ultimates that there is full power. And this leads our imagination somewhat afield.

339

For instance, we know there is power in the spoken word and in the actual deed, when the things in the mind and heart are ultimated. When love, between lovers, is spoken, it then comes into its holiness. When the words of confession are spoken, worship enters into its holiness. When things are actually done that spring from love of the Lord and love of the neighbor, or the love of truth, then there is holiness, into which the Divine can enter by touch or contact. But the Divinity belongs to the Lord, though holiness may be bestowed upon man. It is holiness we want in the New Church, in order to receive power from the Divine of the Lord.
     Holiness is in orderly external things. For example, it is in the sacraments and rites of the church, the reading of the Scriptures, the study of the Doctrine, and the honest performance of one's appointed work in life. These must be done with order and from conscience, if there is to be any holiness with us.
     What, then, is required of us, if we are to become a "holy people" unto the Lord? Only that we should live lives of truth, in external things orderly. To do this we have to resort, in many things, to the principle of "make-believe." We must believe in many things that do not appear to us as real. We need to put confidence in doing many things, the necessity and value of which we do not clearly see. We must believe many things because they are true, or because it is so said in the Word of Divine Truth.
     To illustrate this point, let us ask, "What was the necessity or great value, recently, for all the elaborate ceremony, pomp and circumstance over the crowning of a king!" If we use our imagination, we can see that there was reason in it. It is because the use of a king is a holy use. There is holiness in the use of civil government, and in the office of a king. And to make much of this office by outward demonstration, and ritual, and pageantry, is worthy of all the effort that it takes to glorify the kingly use.
     But even much more is it of value and of good reason to make much of the office and function of the priesthood, and to build up and glorify the services of divine worship which it is the priest's use to administer. It is the office of the priesthood that should be so exalted, and not the man in the office, except for the sake of the office. If we do not fully realize the necessity of this glorification of worship itself, let us make-believe to ourselves, as the truth really is, that the public worship of the New Church is more than worthy of our highest endeavor.

340

It is worth more than all the money, all the effort, all the talent and art, all the zeal, we are ever likely to put into it. And this is in order that holy states may be produced in the minds of the worshippers,-states which we can by no means fully realize or evaluate. We cannot set the value of external worship too high,-at least in this day and age, when externals of life are so disorderly, and holiness so little sought after. To support the uses of the priesthood is a holy use.
     In the life of marriage also we must apply the principle of make-believe. Things that we know from the Writings to be true and good in the life of marriage, but which we do not clearly perceive to be true, we must nevertheless affirm and act upon. We must assume virtues we do not yet sincerely feel. For the uses of marriage are holy uses, because they are ultimate uses. We must follow the truth from the Lord about the uses of marriage and conjugial love, about the relations of man and wife, and of children and parents.
     What the heavenly uses of conjugial love are, we are fully instructed in our Doctrine. To act according to this information is to enter into what is holy. It makes possible the presence and operation of the Divine. In the ultimate uses of marriage there is the greatest degree of holiness; for instance, in the use of propagating sons and daughters, and rearing them so that what is spiritual and heavenly may be engendered in them. The holiest uses in marriage are the most ultimate uses of it. And the Divine is present in it according to the holiness that married partners bring upon themselves by their willingness to fulfill the Divine ends in their marriage. Conjugial love is in its fulness, and in its greatest holiness, when it goes forth into the love of infants, and in faithful parenthood, as well as in the mutual love of the partners.
     In the ultimates of life, when there is perfect order, is the greatest holiness. But ultimate things are holy only from the Divine things within them.

341

HUMAN 1937

HUMAN Rev. F. E. GYLLENHAAL 1937

     (Delivered at the Sixteenth General Assembly, July 2, 1937.)

     The Lord said, "The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath." (Mark 2:27.) Obviously He meant that man is of greater importance than the sabbath day, even considering the purposes for which that day has been Divinely set apart from the other days of the week. It is equally true that words and terms are made to serve man. Therefore the proper use of them should be observed, but they should never be exalted to an eminence inviting even an appearance of idolatry.
     Swedenborg was well aware of the importance of adequate terms in setting forth Divine Revelation. Writing the internal sense of Genesis, he stated: "Nevertheless, as they (the subjects treated of) are such things as are contained in the internal sense of the Word, and these cannot be explained without adequate terms, and we have no terms more adequate for expressing exterior things than the term natural, for interior things than the term rational, for those things which are of truth the term spiritual, and those which are of good the term celestial, it can only be done by making use of those words; for without words adapted to the subject nothing can be described." (A. C. 4585:4.)
     The words "Divine" and "human" are adequate to the use made of them throughout the Writings, and it is highly important that we should know this use, and be guided in all our thought by the distinction made between the two words.
     Respecting the "Divine," the Writings teach that "all the Divine, taken together universally and singularly, is God " (T. C. R. 8), but "that which is from God is not called God, but is called Divine" (A. R. 961:3), or that "the Divine itself is in the Lord, but the Divine from itself is the Divine from the Lord in created things." (D. P. 52e.)

342

The word "Divine," therefore, expresses both what is God and what is from God in created things.
     The Divine that is God, or the Divine Itself, cannot be comprehended by any created being. (A. C. 3364.) But the Divine that is from God in created things, because it is Divinely accommodated by correspondences, representatives, and significatives, and is revealed to man by Divine Truths, can be comprehended from the finite things into which it flows, with which it is present by contiguity, and by which it is manifested. (See A. C. 3938, 9946; D. P. 57; S. D. 5811.) The finite receptacle by which the accommodation and manifestation of the Divine is made is not itself Divine; yet the product is sometimes called "Divine," because of its use, and to make known the presence and operation of the Divine Itself, and so to make known the source and origin of the symbol or representative, and the supreme agency of the work done.
     Therefore we have such terms as Divine worship (H. H. 221); Divine celestial and Divine spiritual, of which it is stated, "The Divine celestial and the Divine spiritual are so called relatively to the receptions" (A. C. 6417); Divine doctrine, of which it is said, "Divine doctrine is also the Word in the literal sense, in which the things that are in the world and on earth are treated of" (A. C. 3712); and that "at first spiritual truth is received because it is called Divine; and afterwards because the Divine is in it" (A. C. 3392). But in no instance is there any room for doubt as to what it is that is Divine, and that the receptacle is finite, and not Divine. That is, the finite receptacle, clothing and yet revealing to man's finite mind what is Divine, is not a Divine proceeding, but is called "Divine" because of its special use.

     II.

     The word "human" means belonging to man or mankind; having the qualities or attributes of a man; of or pertaining to man or to the race of man. (Webster.) But the origin of the human is not the created man; nor are the qualities of the truly human derived from the created man or Produced by him of himself. The Writings repeatedly state that the Lord alone is Man (A. C. 477, 4219; H. H. 80); that He created man in His image and after His likeness; that man is man from the Lord; and that every one is a man in proportion as he receives the Lord.

343

The "human," therefore, has its origin and its qualities from the Lord; or the "human" is derived from the Lord; or, again, the "human" is the product of the Divine proceeding when received and appropriated by man and made as his own.
     A comprehensive statement of what the human is, reads: "The human itself, as before repeatedly stated, consists of the rational, which is the same as the internal man, and of the natural, which is the same as the external man, and also of the body, which serves the natural as a means or outermost organ for living in the world, and through the natural serves the rational, and moreover through the rational serves the Divine." (A. C. 3737.) Comprehensive though this statement is, the complete span of the human itself call be perceived only when it is also known that in man the very first receptacle of life from God is the human soul, which is a superior spiritual substance receiving influx immediately from God. This inmost receptacle is called "the human internal," and its form is said to be "fully and perfectly the human form." The human internals of the whole human race, of the evil as well as of the good, of the inhabitants of hell as well as of heaven, are said to be in a heaven "above even the inmost angelic heaven; and therefore these internals belong to the Lord Himself." (Influx 8; T. C. R. 697e; A. C. 1999; H. H. 39; L. J. 25.) Note that, although it is said that "these internals belong to the Lord Himself," they are created and finite; for it is added, "These internals of man have not life in themselves, but are forms recipient of the Lord's life."
     The complete span of the human itself, therefore, is from the human internal to the human body, inclusive of all the intermediates; thus it is of several discrete degrees, all taken together constituting the "human itself." Yet none of these discrete degrees is life in itself, but each one is a recipient of life from God; and all taken together are a recipient of life from God which is called "man."
     When we think of the human itself as a composite of discrete forms, none of which is life in itself, we may also, perhaps, think of it as something merely passive, as something like a material vessel.

344

We are apt to become confirmed in such an opinion by statements in the Writings such as this: "Regarded in itself, the human is nothing but a form receptive of life from the Divine." (A. C. 5256.) "Nothing but a form" does not mean only substance of a certain shape. Form is finition and determination; or it is qualities of what is finite; therefore it has activity. The human itself, constituted of several discrete degrees of substances and forms, from the human internal to the body, is a composite of forms ranging from that which is highly active to that which is least active and even inert. The purpose for which it was created, also the order, arrangement, and determination to uses, makes this composite form "human." But it is called "human," not only from its structure and intended use, but also from what it receives, or from that which flows into it and actuates it, and from the resultant activity which seemingly is the man's own effort. The following quotations make this clearly evident:
"The esse itself from which man is, is the Divine, consequently the celestial and the spiritual. Without the Divine celestial and spiritual there is nothing human in man, but only a sort of animal nature, such as there is in beasts. It is from the Esse of Jehovah, or of the Lord, that every man is man; and from this also he is called man. The celestial which makes the man is that he loves the Lord and loves the neighbor; in this way is he man, because he is an image of the Lord, and because he has this from the Lord; otherwise he is a wild beast." (A. C. 1894.) Truth, as soon as it is being initiated into man's good, is appropriated to him. It then vanishes from the natural or external man, and passes into the rational or internal man, and puts on the very man, and makes his human, that is, his quality as to the human. (A. C. 3108.) Man has the human from the perception and sensation that he lives, thinks, wills, speaks, and acts as if from himself. (D. P. 210.) "The human itself, and therefore the angelic, is to think from truth; and this truth is, that man does not think from himself, but that it is granted him by the Lord to think to all appearance as if from himself." (D. P. 321:6.) "The Divine itself is to think and to will from itself, while the human itself is to think and to will from God; and the Divine itself cannot be appropriated to any man, for if it were, man would be God." (D. P. 293e.) "Two partners in heaven are not two, but one angel.

345

Wherefore, by conjugial union they fill themselves with the human, which consists in willing to be wise and in loving that which is wisdom." (C. L. 52e.) "The conjugial of good and truth . . . inflows into man and makes his human life." (C. L. 203.) The truly human, in itself and from itself, is only from God, and only when the Divine is in it. The truly human is what is from order and according to order, and what is from sound reason; and God is order, and sound reason is from God. (A. E. 9484.)
     It should be evident now that the term "the human" means: 1) the innumerable recipient vessels of which man is composed, especially when taken all together as man; 2) the goods and truths of several degrees and innumerable kinds that are instrumentals in making the human; these goods and truths, as we shall show, are finite and therefore created; 3) the reaction on the part of man, or that which he produces as of himself, all of which also is finite, and which is truly human in so far as it is from God and has the Divine in it. Indeed, the span of "the human" is so extensive that man is called a "little world" and a "little heaven."
     It should also be evident now that "the human" is predicated of the angels equally as of man, though man has more than the angels, for he has exteriors conformed to the image of the world; and, so far as he is in good, he has the world in him subordinated to heaven and made to serve heaven. (H. H. 57.) The truly human with the angels is usually called "the angelic," but the Writings repeatedly state that the angels are in the human form, and attribute to them truly human qualities, even though these usually are termed "angelic," to distinguish between angels and men. For example, we read, "The human itself, and therefore the angelic, is to think from truth." (D. P. 321:5.) In other words, "the human" and "the angelic" are the same, but the human with men includes lower degrees than the angels have; but the angels also had those lower degrees when they were men.

     III.

     Now what is it that makes "the human"! We find the answer to this question succinctly given in the following quotation from the Apocalypse Explained: "There are two things that can be predicated only of Jehovah, that is, the Lord, namely, infinity and eternity; infinity of His Esse, which is the Divine Good of His Divine Love; eternity of His Existere from that Esse, which is the Divine Truth of His Divine Wisdom.

346

These two are Divine in themselves, and out of these the universe was created; consequently, all things in the universe are referable to good and to truth, and good everywhere is the esse of a thing, and truth is the existere therefrom; but these two in all things in the universe are finite." (A. E. 286.)
The universe, not only as to its material things, but also inclusive of all things in it and belonging to it,-therefore inclusive of men and angels and of their lives, their activities of all kinds,-was created out of Divine Good and Divine Truth, which are Divine in themselves; but the created things are called "good and truth," and in fact are good and truth; and because they are the created substances and forms of the universe, all things in the universe are referable to good and to truth. For this reason, the Writings declare that nothing is more necessary for man to know than what good is and what truth is. (N. 12.) It is necessary for man to know that good and truth are finite in all things of the universe, and that they are to be distinguished from the Divine Proceeding. It is necessary for man to know that they are substance and form,-created things. The thought of them only abstractly may lead to the erroneous thought that they are always and everywhere only Divine, which produces confusion respecting God and man.
Therefore the Writings repeatedly warn us against thinking of love and wisdom, of good and truth, of civil, moral, and spiritual things, of all human attributes and qualities, as abstracted from substance. (D. L. W. 40, 209.) The Writings also constantly remind us that all goods and truths, in their origin, are Divine, for as finite vessels, they are created by God out of His substance; and, as Divine Good and Divine Truth,-infinite and uncreate on every plane of the universe, from firsts to lasts, from inmosts to outmosts,-they proceed from God to animate created forms, to give life to man and to teach and govern him. Thus, in respect to man as created substances and forms, spiritually and naturally organized, they make his human; and as uncreate, infinite, Divine life, they animate man's human, and enable man, by reception and consequent co-operations, to produce a finite life which is commonly called "human life" and "angelic life."

347

     There is in the Arcana Celestia a statement concerning goods and truths which shows clearly their finite and human qualities, and also that the human qualities may be either truly human, thus celestial and spiritual, or else merely human and infernal. We read:
     "Goods and truths are either of the Lord or not of the Lord. Those which are of the Lord are those which man does for the sake of his neighbor, for the sake of his country, for the sake of the church, and for the sake of the Lord's kingdom, thus for the sake of truth and good itself, and especially for the sake of the Lord. These goods and truths are those which are of the Lord. But the truths and goods which are not of the Lord are those which a man does for the sake of himself as the end, and for the sake of the world as the end. These latter sometimes appear like the former in the outward form, but in the inward form they are quite different; for the latter lead to self, but the former away from self. The truths and goods which are not of the Lord are also for the most part those which a man does in a state of misfortune, of sickness, of grief, and of fear, and not in a free state, for these also are for the sake of self. All truths and goods do indeed flow in from the Lord; but when the goods and truths of the Lord are bent with a man to himself, they then become man's, and belong to him to whom they are bent, for they become goods of the love of self and of the world. Such are the goods of all the evil among themselves. From all this it is evident what goods and truths are meant by those which are of the Lord, and by those which are not of the Lord." (A. C. 7564.)
     From the whole doctrine of the Writings in respect to the human it is plainly evident that the innumerable things making and constituting the human are themselves finite, and so may properly be called "human." This appears, too, when we approach the subject along the lines of that which is appropriated to man. We note that it is said throughout the Writings that good and truth of many kinds are appropriated to man. But it is also repeatedly said that what is Divine cannot be appropriated to man as his, but can be adjoined to him, and thereby appear as if it were his. (D. P. 285.) In other words, what is infinite cannot be appropriated to man, but what is finite can be appropriated to him.

348

Therefore, goods and truths, to be appropriated to man, must be finite. Accordingly we read:
"It is said that they are recipients of Divine Good and Divine Truth from the Lord, but it is to be observed that they are perpetually receiving them; for Divine Good and Divine Truth cannot be appropriated by any angel or man, so as to be his own, but only to appear to be his, because they are Divine; wherefore so angel or man can produce from himself anything good and true which is really good and true in itself; from which circumstance it is evident that they are kept in good and truth by the Lord, and this continually; for which reason, if anyone comes into heaven, and thinks that good and truth are appropriated to him as his own, he is immediately let down from heaven, and instructed." (A. R. 854.)
The human, then, has its origin in God; and God Himself alone actually is completely and perfectly Human, and therefore is alone Man, and alone Divinely Human. Man never becomes Divinely human, but he can become angel-man, or angelically human. And this is possible only because all that which makes the human itself, and the truly human, is derived from the Divine Itself, and is capable of receiving the Divine Proceeding. The human itself, let us note well in conclusion, is good and true, heavenly and spiritual as well as natural, the noblest creation and production of the Lord our Creator.
COHESION 1937

COHESION FRED J. COOPER 1937

(Delivered at the Sixteenth General Assembly, July 2, 1937.)

Twenty-five years ago, in a small General Church society in America, the Finance Board of six men included two Germans, one Swiss, a Dane, one American, and an Englishman. These men, of ages varying from twenty-eight to sixty-five, inheriting vastly different racial temperaments, were banded together under the leadership of a minister who had just been ordained into the First Degree of the Priesthood. Of these six men, only two had been born into the organized New Church, the other four having entered the church by adult baptism.

349

No power on earth but a love for our church could have welded these men together in a determination to uphold the hands of this minister in his effort to lead this society into a deeper love of the church. The struggle of this small society in Philadelphia, under the leadership of the Rev. George de Charms, was typical of the history of all those societies where, in the Providence of the Lord, people of many kinds are welded together in a common love of the Writings.
     If our Church is to grow, its members must together love to read the Writings for the sustenance of their spiritual bodies, and for the light to guide every motive in their dealings with their neighbors and their uses in the world. In every lesser unit of the Church, family worship must keep alive a looking to the Lord for guidance every day of our lives. And every new generation of New Church men and women must together find in conjugial love the ideal of a New Church family, which ideal is the only means of "cohesion," leading to eternal joy. The world does not know that the human race is the seminary of heaven; but the priesthood of the General Church is able to teach men the true way to heaven, and so to lead them into these high ideals of a common New Church life.
     Now it is the work of the laity to provide the ultimate support of the uses of the church. It is the custom and order of this Church to put this responsibility squarely on the shoulders of the laity. In so far as this responsibility is fully met, there will exist an orderly action and reaction between the priests and the laymen. This, then, will be "cohesion" in ultimates, and effective building of the church on earth.
     At the last General Assembly, held in 1935, we were impressed by two outstanding facts. One was that only 25 percent of the membership of the General Church contributed to the support of the organization. The other was that, out of a membership of 2200, one thousand were isolated. It may be pointed out that, in 1936, we had just emerged from a world-wide depression, and yet, in spite of a decided economic improvement, the treasurer's report of January, 1937, shows an increase of only 3 percent in the support of the uses of the General Church. Whatever our political opinions may be, surely we have had more than a 3 percent increase in prosperity.

350

It is almost unbelievable that a body can exist and perform its uses with only 28 percent of its membership giving financial support.
     When we are gathered together in a General Assembly, a District Assembly, or in a society of the General Church, and speak of our loyalty and our love for our Church, we certainly have more than 28 percent cooperation in the sphere of these meetings. We are all moved as one choir or as a great army, with a deep resolve to give up our lives, if need be, in the cause of the Church. And yet the fact remains that, when we return home into the practical life, we find at the end of the year only 28 percent of our membership contributing a free-will offering to the support of the General Church. I am convinced beyond the shadow of a doubt that this 28 percent support is not a true barometer of the state of loyalty and affection among the members of the General Church.
     A little over half of our members, and a small percentage of isolated receivers, regularly support one of the General Church societies; and they may say that "charity begins at home," and that they cannot afford to contribute to the support of the general body also. The trouble with "the charity begins at home" theory is that it stays at home. Charity is not complete until it meets its full responsibility. If we pay our debts to our local creditor, we are not excused from obligations to other creditors. And we must not overlook the fact that, if it were not for an active central body, no other societies could exist, for it is from the Academy and the General Church that all our priests and teachers must come.
     It is the order of our church that a member must join the General Church before he can become a member of a local society. In view of this principle, the support of the General Church should come first in our hearts. This is the ultimate bond of union between the isolated members and the members of a local society. The Bishop of the General Church is their Bishop and our Bishop, and true cohesion comes when every member of the General Church, whether he be isolated or a member of a local society, gives something, however small, for the support of our common uses.
     Loyalty, enthusiasm, and moral support, without the ultimate freewill offering, lack the fullest power of connection with the Lord's church in the heavens. The Writings are full of teaching that implies our positive duty towards the external church.

351

Just as one of our chief doctrines relates to the necessity of an external church, so this implies the necessity of ultimate support of this external church. Consider all that is involved in the following brief passages from the Writings: "When heaven is mentioned, the church is also meant, for the Lord's heaven on earth is the church; and everyone in whom the church is, in him also is heaven. The church also makes one with heaven, for the one depends upon the other." (A. C. 10130.) "As a house rests upon its foundation, so does heaven upon the church. This is why it is always provided by the Lord that there be a church upon the earth." (A. C. 9430.)
     We live in a world of effects or ultimates; and in so far as our affection and understanding of the church remains on the plane of the intellect and good intentions, without any ultimate support, it lacks a power of cohesion with the New Church in the heavens. An ultimate act in this world resolves the sphere of influx from the heavens into a permanent resting place of a living foundation on the earth. "Where your heart is, there will your treasure be also." Until our treasures are given with a willing heart, the church is a vision without a foundation. Moreover, when a member of the General Church gives a free-will offering to the support of his organization, he comes into a fuller state of union. In the last analysis, the external support of the General Church is the furnishing of sufficient food to keep the body alive. Suppose the 28 percent of contributors should join the 72 percent of the members who have not yet given! If this took place, there would be no General Church.
     Any organization in the world can be likened to the human body. Every organ must freely contribute something towards the life of the body, if it is to receive the stream of animal spirit and life-giving blood. Yea, every least cell and pore in the skin must do its part, and contribute something towards the general life of the body. In so far as all the least parts of the human body contribute their mite or token of support, the body can perform uses to heaven and the church. A human body is very sick if only 28 percent of its organs are functioning. How long would you live, if your rations were cut 52 percent!

     II.

     One answer to this problem of the lack of support is to get a clearer idea of the difference between a free-will support of a church and the compulsory tax support of the civil state.

352

We belong to a country, town, or village, and pay taxes. We are not free not to pay, because the benefits will be taken away. We pay for our electricity, gas, and telephone regularly, because we know the penalty that follows. The contrasting principle in paying to support a spiritual church is that of free, voluntary giving of tokens of our love and affection toward the building of a heaven on earth,-in other words, the church. This is the difference between a compulsory system, based on civil needs, and a voluntary system that also meets spiritual needs. That in meeting these spiritual needs we have to use actual worldly money, and even civil forms of collection and distribution, does not change the distinctive end in view or the actual use performed. It would be possible, of course, to organize in the church a committee of high-pressure salesmen to contact everyone, and some external results would come; but we believe that such a policy would destroy the spirit of a free-will offering, with all that should be involved in it.
Bishop Benade once said that the church should present its uses and needs, and the means would be provided according to the affection of its members. We make it a part of our worship to sing, "What shall I render to the Lord for all His benefits toward me?" This surely should be our spirit in considering a regular contribution to the General Church. Regularity in the contribution does not take away the free-will nature of the offering, but indicates that the free-will spirit is functioning 100 percent.
It is our belief that the General Church should, in some more specific way, present its uses and needs to every member. Our members are not in freedom to the fullest degree until they know the actual uses and needs of the Church. For example, what proportion of our members who are connected with a local society, and enjoy the privilege of Divine worship, doctrinal classes and society suppers, a school for their children, and distinctive social life, realize that half the church membership do not enjoy any of these blessings? On the other hand, how many of the thousand isolated members realize that it is within their power to enjoy more of the blessings that the Church has to offer, if they will make a more active contact with the nearest society or their Bishop, and ultimate this act with a regular contribution towards the uses of the Church?

353

It is true that the General Church owes important duties to the isolated, but the isolated also owe important duties to the General Church. "Where there is a will, there is a way," is true on every plane of life.
     The story of the needs of the General Church, to be effective, must be told again and again, and in a way that will in time reach every member. At the present time, the entire membership of the General Church receives an annual printed financial statement from the treasurer, and this gives an excellent presentation for those members who are interested in financial statements. But we venture to express the opinion that many of our young members, and perhaps a majority of our members, cannot thus form a clear picture of the urgency for the need of more general interest in the work of the General Church.
     It is true that NEW CHURCH LIFE, our official organ, is the most valuable medium in uniting the thought of the Church, and it supplies the need for news of society activities, and some news of isolated members visited by our ministers. But unless the LIFE is read in every home of the Church, whether they be isolated or connected with a society, we have not a hundred percent contact with our membership.
     We feel there is need for a "General Church Letter" that will contact every member at least four times a year. This should be a publicity sheet or pamphlet advertizing and stressing General Church uses, bringing out especially the fact that members of local societies are first members of the General Church, and should give some thought and time to contacting their less fortunate brothers in smaller circles or entirely isolated. The isolated members should also feel that this "General Church Letter" is a place where they are on an equal footing with everybody else.

     III.

     Another very valuable contact, which would carry a personal appeal, and stir considerable interest, would be the publication, once a year, of a list of the contributing members of the General Church, arranged according to societies, states, and countries. This was the practice in the early days of the General Church, and it created a general interest in the work, giving a vivid picture of all those enrolled in the building up of the Church.

354

It had a particular appeal to the younger members. Many of us can recall the early days, when we applied to the Bishop for membership, and, after being received as a member, received this list of contributing members, and found that our names were conspicuous by their absence. It quickly dawned upon us that membership in a body carried with it a definite financial responsibility. When the next report arrived (and in those days they were sent out quarterly) we found our names recorded on the roll of honor alongside those of our parents and other leading laymen. It brought a thrill to a youth; and though it was an external matter, it was a handmaiden to a more interior viewpoint of giving a free-will offering. Some such plan today would help our young people to accept their share of responsibility. Good habits formed in youth build sound foundation stones upon which the future of our church can rest.
     Such a list of contributing members would tell the story more thoroughly and completely than three or four letters from the treasurer asking for a contribution. Actions speak louder than words.
     The practice of publishing these lists was finally discontinued, because of the objection to publishing the amount of the contribution of each member. If we return once more to this valuable custom of publishing a list of the contributing members, we suggest that, instead of the amount of each individual contribution, the treasurer might present a schedule showing the number of members contributing amounts within certain brackets. A study of last year's contributions reveals the fact that there were:

4 members contributing      $500.00 or more.
7     "                    "               $100.00 to $500.00.
47     "                "                    $25.00 to $100.00.
144 "                    "          $5.00 to $25.00.
238 "                "           $4.00 or less.
1,106 non-contributing members.

     It is a schedule such as this that we suggest might be published. Under this system everyone would know exactly where his contribution fitted into the plan of support; and when moved to give more, he would join a higher group. At least, it would demonstrate to everyone that no amount is too humble to make a start with.

355

This system is not only of good practical value in giving every member a bird's eye view of the number who are registered on the roll, but it is of great value to the members of the General Church to meet each other in print. You will recall with what interest you read the names of new members in the Secretary's Annual Report. This pleasure would grow an hundredfold, if the entire contributing membership had not only an opportunity to read and reread the names of the new members, but also to renew a contact with those who have been members years without end. "Thought brings presence."
Another point. When a District Assembly is to be held, all those who read NEW CHURCH LIFE know that they are invited to attend; but if there was a General Church Letter, these most vital meetings could be advertized with more direct warmth and cordiality from headquarters, and I am sure that more would attend. You and I, who are fortunate enough to be identified with a society, know in our hearts that we ought to go out to these outposts of our Church, and that we would receive in return more than we give. But we do not make the grade. We all need just a little more practical vigor added to our abstract loyalty. Imagine the interest and feeling of fellowship that would warm the heart of the isolated member when he, too, received at least four vital contacts a year, instead of a single treasurer's statement. He would be prompted to make a bigger effort to attend the nearest District Assembly, and would call for a member of the Church who, he had learned for the first time, lived only a few miles away!
Do not let these members, who are the outposts of our Church, feel their isolation! Let the General Church Letter shorten the miles. And with the information of their whereabouts before the eyes of the Church, their homes will receive more visits than they do now. Furthermore, the General Church Letter would reveal many surprises as to the location of our members; and a larger attendance. and other forms of cooperation with our local societies, would result. In addition, several isolated members who are too far away from a society could organize a rally several times a year, and a new circle might be started. This work of contacting the members of our body all over the world is not alone the responsibility of the priesthood. It is said in the Writings that laymen can help ill the building of the church.

356

     At the present time we have a number of very active society publications that hold the members in active cohesion. Such are the Toronto "Chatter Box," the "Monthly Letter" in England, the "Bryn Athyn Post," and others. Everyone agrees that the discontinuance of these papers would be a serious loss. Theta Alpha contacts their members one hundred percent, and every member of the Sons of the Academy receives a copy of The Bulletin. And yet the most important general body of our Church, from which all our activities flow, has not an active one hundred percent contact with its membership.
     The story of General Church uses, to be effective, must be told again and again, year in and year out, in a way that will inspire more active cooperation, and the willingness of its members to support from a principle of conscience. The priests of our Church are pointing the way and leading, but there is a need for a fuller and more concrete support which is the responsibility of the laymen of the Church.
     When we attend weekly worship in our societies, it is the custom for everyone to make a free-will offering upon entering the church. Can we not work out some plan whereby the entire membership of the General Church may make a special offering four times a year,-Christmas, Easter, June 19th, and Thanksgiving Day,-associating our offerings with the four great Festivals of the New Church year? There is a value in contributing to the General Church four times a year instead of once a year. This is illustrated by the comment of one of the large, early supporters of the Church who changed his habit of one contribution a year into four, because he "wanted to be
reminded more often of the blessings he had received"! Some might favor having each society vote a certain sum each year to the General Church; but this would take away from the individual member his feeling of personal cooperation. A society might vote that its treasurer pay a certain sum each week to the pastor, instead of the offering given by the worshiper as an individual act. Would we approve of that?
     Members often wonder how much they should give to the General Church. They can afford so little, and the uses seem to be going along, others already contributing as they have for many years. Unless the Church has more specific information as to who is carrying the burden and why, we cannot give as intelligently as we should.

357

This applies both to the 72 percent who give nothing and the 28 percent who give all.
The difficulty caused by the lack of clear and adequate information may be illustrated from the history of one of the societies of our Church. In the early days of this particular society, a new minister took charge, and instructed its members in a new principle of support of the priesthood. He was not to have a salary, but the free-will offering on Sunday would be his sole support. It was soon evident that the congregation understood the principle, but no one knew how much he should really give to meet the needs. After a few weeks, the minister called the entire society together, and, gave a very simple object lesson which all could understand. He stated the total attendance at church for four Sundays, and said that the average contribution had been 14 cents per person. The principle of the free-will offering had been preserved, but the congregation had learned a valuable lesson. To this very day, this traditional story is often recalled in the society when the support falls off.
To sum up, a vital need confronts us today-namely, to secure and maintain a stronger bond of cohesion in the economic uses of the Church. The needs of our Church were never so great or more pressing than they are today. Our spiritual leaders must be supported. The ranks of the ministry are being sadly depleted. More ministers and teachers, adequately trained, are needed. Groups of isolated members must be forged into circles; circles must be helped to the position of fully organized societies. And our societies must be encouraged, not merely to hold what they have, and carry on traditions, but to become stronger regiments, both internally and externally, in the army of the Militant Church, ever pressing onward in the Providence of the Lord.

358

JOURNAL OF THE SIXTEENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE GENERAL CHURCH THE NEW JERUSALEM 1937

JOURNAL OF THE SIXTEENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE GENERAL CHURCH THE NEW JERUSALEM Various 1937

     HELD AT THE SHADY SIDE ACADEMY, FOX CHAPEL ROAD,
     PITTSBURGH, PA., JUNE 30 TO JULY 4, 1937.

     First Session-Wednesday, June 30, 10.00 a.m.

     1. After a short service, conducted by the Rev. Willard D. Pendleton, the Assembly was called to order by the Acting Bishop, the Right Reverend George de Charms.
     2. It was moved that the MINUTES of the Fifteenth General Assembly be approved, without reading, as printed in NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1935, pp. 226-229. Seconded and Carried.
     3. Messrs. Norbert Rogers and Morley Rich were appointed a COMMITTEE ON THE ROLL OF ATTENDANCE.
     4. The Right Rev. George de Charms reported that he had performed the functions of ACTING BISHOP since June 21, 1936, when Bishop N. Dandridge Pendleton had announced his retirement; and he enumerated his official acts in that capacity. (See Reports.)
     5. The Report of the Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner as SECRETARY OF THE GENERAL CHURCH was read by him, accepted and filed. (See Reports.)
     6. The Secretary of the COUNCIL OF THE CLERGY, the Rev. William Whitehead, read his Report, which was approved and filed. (See Reports.)

359

     7. The Acting Bishop, having announced that the urgent business before the Assembly was the election of an executive Bishop of the General Church, to succeed the Right Reverend N. Dandridge Pendleton, asked Bishop Alfred Acton to take the chair, and withdrew from the room.
8. Bishop Acton, presiding, called for a SPECIAL REPORT OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CLERGY, which was read by the Rev. William Whitehead:

     Special Report of the Council of the Clergy.

     At the 40th Annual Meeting of the Council of the Clergy of the General Church of the New Jerusalem, held on Thursday morning, April 1st, 1937. after a full discussion on the subject of "The Initiation of the Choice of a Bishop" (during which communications were read from absent ministers in England, Sweden, South Africa, Australia, France, and the United States), a secret ballot was taken, and it was then moved, seconded and carried, that the Secretary of this Council be instructed to inform the Executive Committee that the choice of this Meeting is the Right Reverend George de Charms.
     Respectfully submitted,
          WILLIAM WHITEHEAD,
               Secretary, Council of the Clergy.

     9. Mr. Randolph W. Childs, as SECRETARY OF THE EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE of the General Church, read the following:

     Special Report of the Executive Committee.

     I have the honor to report that at a meeting of the Executive Committee of the General Church of the New Jerusalem, held on April 2nd, 1937, the following Resolutions were passed unanimously:
     "Whereas the Council of the Clergy has transmitted to the Executive Committee the following communication, dated April 1st, 1937:
     "With reference to the naming of the choice of the Council of the Clergy as to the election and confirmation by the General Assembly of a Bishop of the General Church, it was this morning moved, seconded and carried, that the Secretary of this Council be instructed to inform the Executive Committee that the choice of this Meeting is Bishop de Charms.
     "And whereas the Executive Committee has considered the nomination of Bishop de Charms for the office of Bishop of the General Church of the New Jerusalem, now therefore be it
     "Resolved, that the Executive Committee hereby unanimously records its confidence in Bishop de Charms and in his qualifications to lead our Church and to preserve freedom and order; and be it further

360

     "Resolved, that the Executive Committee is in unanimous accord with the action of the Council of the Clergy in nominating Bishop de Charms for the office of Bishop of the General Church; and be it further
     "Resolved, that a copy of this Resolution be transmitted to the Joint Council.
     "RANDOLPH W. CHILDS,
          Secretary."

     10. The Rev. William Whitehead: "Following the principle and custom of the General Church of the New Jerusalem in the initiation of the choice of a Bishop; and acting on a Resolution passed by the Council of the Clergy, in their 40th Annual Meeting, at Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania; it is my privilege, as Secretary of that body, to place before this Assembly the name of the Right Reverend George de Charms, and to move that he be selected as Bishop of the General Church of the New Jerusalem."
     Mr. Randolph W. Childs: "As Secretary of The General Church of the New Jerusalem, a Corporation, and acting under authority of a resolution of the Joint Council, I second the nomination.
     "The Academy tradition has always recognized the principle that the Church is to be governed by the Priesthood. At the same time, one of the things which have made our body powerful is the fact that this power is exercised in consultation with the laymen of the Church; and therefore one of our maxims is, 'Council and Assembly.' That has been true of the government of this body since 1897,-a policy carried out by Bishop William F. Pendleton and Bishop N. Dandridge Pendleton; a policy which we know will also be carried out by Bishop George de Charms.
     "The nomination of Bishop de Charms by the Council of the Clergy, joined in by the Executive Committee, was an action taken after long years of thought. He has the qualifications, we all know, that make a leader, and a leader in the General Church. He has simplicity and clarity of mind; he is a great theologian; one of our leading educators; and he has the ability to rule-that rare gift of executive ability which few possess. He has friendliness; the capacity and habit of taking counsel; and yet the decision which he will make in any important matter will not be the decision of some other man or group of men, but it will be his own decision. So it was with Bishop W. F. Pendleton and with Bishop N. D. Pendleton. They made their own decisions; and we know that this priest will do likewise.

361

     "I mentioned clarity. When he makes a statement, and we paraphrase it, he does not say we do not understand. He does not answer, 'Yes, and no.' Not since 1897 has there been such a disturbance as has occurred in the past few months, and it has been handled, not by one who has been chosen Bishop by the Assembly, but by the Acting Bishop, a man who had to assume the duties of leadership in the Church. I do not refer to this as a 'crisis'; it does not rise to that dignity. But it was a disturbance. This disturbance was handled by him in a masterly manner: there was intelligence, no showing of rancor, a comprehensive exposition of the doctrine involved, and a plea for freedom. It was not until the leader of the 'Hague movement' asserted the right to an independent and self-ruling group, with its own name, and with rights to proselyte members within the confines of our borders, that something was effected which-after all-marks the essence of leadership: that is, the establishment of order in a very ultimate way; because leadership, no matter how brilliant or wise, if it does not descend to the point of requiring order and, if needs be, separation, would leave an organization powerless, even as a nation would be, if it permanently disbanded its army and sunk its navy.
     "In speaking of the years to come, I know I express the feelings of everyone in voicing confidence in Bishop de Charms-that he will lead us on towards more interior things, and that he will do it in the old Academy way. This is an organization that certainly cannot represent the greatest or most interior development that our glorious Church will ever know. Ours is a young organization in the New Church. Its members are pitifully few. And so, as we look into the future, there is little we can say of the importance of this body in the history of the New Church which shall have no end: but there are certain things about the Academy principles that we will stake everything on. Academy men do not dwell on their states of good or of regeneration; they are rather concerned about their own evils. They are not so much concerned as to whether the goods which they have are from themselves or from the Lord; they are worried as to whether they have any goods at all.
     "We are a practical group of people. We are plain speaking, and clear speaking, relying, not on traditions from generation to generation, but on the plain teaching of the Writings.

362

We will stand or fall on one principle-that we acknowledge no authority of man, no interpretations by the Bishop or his Consistory, no interpretations whatsoever, because they are human. And we will go forward on the principle that our only authority is the Word of the Lord as revealed in the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg."
     Mr. Raymond Pitcairn: "The solemn and final act of choice of a Bishop of the General Church by this Assembly will be taken in the knowledge and full sense that the choice is of the Divine Providence, and not of men.
     "Bishop de Charms is endowed with the inborn gift of leadership of men and ecclesiastic affairs; and he is a leader of spiritual thought in the church. In him are combined both of these essential qualities for the high priestly office of executive Bishop of the General Church. The church has increasingly recognized these qualities in him. The church is well prepared for the action which this Assembly is about to take.
     "My mind goes back to the period of his elevation into the third degree. Bishop N. D. Pendleton had taken counsel of his priests and also of laymen. Every member of the Executive Committee received a personal letter from Bishop Pendleton, seeking counsel from the recipients of those letters as to Bishop de Charms and his qualifications-having in mind beyond a doubt the possibility, or rather, the likelihood, of the crowning event of this hour. Bishop Pendleton told me he was much touched by the testimony of confidence contained in those letters.
     "The Bishop did not wish to bind the future, but he saw-and most of us saw-the destiny of the young man whom he then ordained.
     "The period was relatively a tranquil one. Neither he, nor Bishop de Charms, nor the Church, could foresee the period of grievous trials through which we would pass at the time of Bishop N. D. Pendleton's retirement, and in the succeeding days of ecclesiastical insubordination that culminated in the charge that "the organization and administration of the Church had separated itself from the Lord"!
     "In this period of temptation, of bitter conflict of views in doctrine, and of doubts and differences as to the proper and wise course of action to meet existing states, Bishop de Charms was confronted with the difficult task of upholding order as well as freedom. We well know the confusion of thought, the spirit of intolerance, the conflict of emotions and of personal loyalties, which surrounded him.

363

We recognized the need for charity and wisdom, and saw how weak and small-individually and collectively-we are.
     "But in this crisis Bishop de Charms' born gift of leadership has been recognized by the great majority of the members of the General Church. We have confidence that, under his guidance, freedom and order will be restored to the General Church. We have faith in his love of justice. We have witnessed his tolerance and known his patience and his wisdom in striving for that order and freedom which are essential to the life of our church."
     (The speaker then referred to the attitude of charity and tolerance displayed by the Acting Bishop as Pastor of the Bryn Athyn Society at the meeting on May 16th, and to the evidence of spiritual leadership which was shown by him in the doctrinal classes subsequently given.)
     "Some of us have been privileged to see him and know him in the intimate work of administration in church councils. We know that he takes counsel, that he weighs the opinions of his counselors, and we know also that he makes his own decisions, unafraid, in states of great stress and bitter trial and conflict. He inspires us with confidence and affection. And today, with full hearts, we thank the Lord for this, our leader."
     Rev. Elmo C. Acton also "seconded" the nomination, speaking of Bishop de Charms' outstanding ability; and added:
     "As my name has been associated with those who have resigned from the General Church, during the late disturbance, I wish to take this opportunity of setting forth the reasons why I have not followed them.
     "I have not found it necessary to resign because I believe, in common with the General Church, that the Writings are the Word of the Lord in His Second Coming, the only authority in the Church, and that, so long as men faithfully look to them, the truth therein will prevail.
     "There is another requirement for spiritual growth, and that is intellectual and doctrinal freedom,-freedom for the Priesthood, and freedom for the Laity, to develop and bring forth the truth of the Writings as it is given them to see it.

364

At one time it seemed to me that the General Church was taking away this freedom, but I am now convinced that I was mistaken-that it was and is far from the wish of the General Church to do this.
     "These things being so, I wish to continue as a priest of the General Church, giving her and those appointed to direct her affairs my affection, loyalty and support; and I pray with you all that the Lord, in and through her, may firmly establish His Church upon earth."
     Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner, in warmly supporting the Council's nomination, spoke of the fact that in Providence a man is tested before his full entrance into a use. One of the indications to look for in the choice of a Bishop is doctrinal clarity, which will give testimony that his teaching is teaching from the Writings themselves. In the recent classes of Bishop de Charms, the doctrine rang out as clear as a bell-even like the bells on the fringe of Aaron's garment, as he went about ministering unseen in the holy places of the temple. We delight to hear the sound of the Writings themselves-which alone have authority-in the voice of the leader of our Church. For as long as this is the case, there is every assurance that there will be both freedom and order in the government of the Church.
     Rev. Homer Synnestvedt, deeply moved by the proceedings, said that no progress comes without attendant temptations, especially the temptation of being satisfied with accomplished states. His own long work in the field of education qualified him to recognize that through Bishop de Charms' labors a new light had again been shed on our New Church education, which reminded him of the days of Bishop Benade, and gave great promise for progress in that use.
     Rev. William B. Caldwell: The ministers have already spoken in the Council of the Clergy in approval of this nomination, and this Assembly affords an opportunity for an expression on the part of others; but I feel moved to repeat briefly what I said in the Council. We look to our Bishops for spiritual leadership, and this involves, in general, three things: 1. Pastoral care of the whole Church-what is called "the cure of souls." 2. Theological leadership,-a clear and sound understanding and teaching of doctrine; with us this means also a leadership in the field of education. 3. Administrative ability. I believe that Bishop de Charms fully meets these qualifications, and that we may look to the future with confidence under his administration.

365

     Mr. Harold McQueen, speaking for the mass of lay members, said that the sentiments already expressed had but been "confirmations of our good judgment." He felt that we should not dwell on the past, but on the future. (Facetiously, in his inimitable style, he offered at any time to read us a paper which he had written, containing all there is to be known about the Future.) He wondered whether the recent disturbances had not been a blessing in disguise, since they had brought us some wonderful speeches, papers, and articles in the LIFE, and occasioned much that had but brought us more closely together. Now we were ready to go ahead. We all knew what a good man Bishop de Charms was.
     Mr. Francis Wilson believed he spoke for the whole Toronto Society in stressing that Bishop de Charms had already shown the qualities which will guarantee both freedom and order to the Church, and commended him for his recent actions, every step having been taken according to required order.
     Rev. A. Wynne Acton (London, England) assured the meeting that the confidence of the General Church in England was placed in Bishop de Charms. Be had been asked by the Pastors in England to express to him their loyalty and their appreciation of his wise leadership. To belong to the General Church caused a great thank fulness in the members.
     11. Bishop Acton: "The Right Reverend George de Charms has, in accord with the order of the General Church, been nominated by the Council of the Clergy to become the Bishop of the General Church. The nomination has been seconded by the Executive Committee, and is now before this Assembly to be confirmed or rejected. I call upon all those who would confirm this nomination to give assent by rising." (All those present rose.)
     "I will ask the Rev. Dr. Doering and Mr. Raymond Pitcairn to notify the Bishop of his election, and to escort him to the platform.''
     Bishop Acton then added: "In every past selection of a Bishop, as now, there has been no competition, but one man only has stood out as clearly indicated for the office. I believe this to be a sign of the Divine Providence guiding the Church."
     12. As the Bishop of the General Church now entered the hall, he was greeted by a spontaneous outburst of song. He then spoke as follows:

366

     "Friends: I can only say that my heart is full of gratitude to you for the confidence that your action implies. I am keenly aware of the grave responsibilities which you have by this action placed upon me. I am also aware of my own shortcomings. But I believe that what you have done, through the mode that has been adopted by the General Church, expresses the leading of the Divine Providence, which is a call to a duty which I cannot refuse to accept. I only pray that the Lord may give me the strength and the wisdom to meet the requirements of the great use which is involved in this office."
     13. Bishop de Charms then delivered his Address to the Assembly. (See July issue, p. 281.)
14. At the end of the Address, the Assembly sang "Our Glorious Church" and Our Own Academy," and adjourned.

     Second Session-Thursday, July 1, 10.00 a.m.

     15. After worship conducted by the Rev. Homer Synnestvedt, the Bishop, presiding, called for the Report of the EDITOR OF NEW CHURCH LIFE AND NEW CHURCH SERMONS, which was read by the Rev. W. B. Caldwell. (See Reports.)
     16. The Rev. F. E. Waelchli addressed the Assembly on the uses of the VISITING PASTOR. (See Reports.)
     Rev. F. E. Gyllenhaal told of the work in Montreal, which he visits five or six times a year, and mentioned that there are numbers of isolated members in Ontario not reached by such visits. In an earlier period there were New Church people in thirty or more places in Ontario. Isolated families might become centers for future growth. There was need for correspondence with them, and he suggested that there ought to be a Corresponding Secretary who could devote time to this.
     17. At 11.00 o'clock, the Rev. Karl R. Alden delivered an Address on the subject of "Daniel." (See July issue, p. 291.) A brief discussion followed. Rev. Gilbert H. Smith, congratulating the writer, held the paper to be most valuable, in that it gathered together the doctrine of the church and presented it in the forms of the letter of the Word, thus illustrating the principle that the Divine Truth is in its greatest holiness and power when in ultimates.

367

     The meeting adjourned at 12.16 p.m.

     Third Session-Thursday, July 1, 8.00 p.m.

     18. After prayers and reading conducted by the Rev. Willis L. Gladish, the Rev. Dr. C. E. Doering, presiding, called the meeting into session.
     19. On motion of Bishop Acton, and by rising vote, the Assembly unanimously adopted the following Resolution:
     "With heartfelt appreciation of the wise leadership by which Bishop N. Dandridge Pendleton has guided our Church for many years past, and of the rich contribution which he has made to a deeper understanding of the Heavenly Doctrine, this Assembly sends to Bishop and Mrs. Pendleton its loving greetings, and its prayers that they may enjoy peace and prosperity."
     A song was then sung as a pledge of affection. (The message was communicated to the Bishop at his summer residence, Indian Lake, N. Y.)
     20. On motion of the Rev. Fred E. Gyllenhaal, it was unanimously resolved to send greetings of confidence, appreciation, and encouragement to the Pastors of the Church abroad. A committee was entrusted with sending these messages.
     21. Rev. F. E. Gyllenhaal: Twenty years ago, the General Church took over the ecclesiastical government of the Native Mission in South Africa. There are among the native leaders and ministers some of remarkable abilities. He reminded the Assembly of the life-story and work of the blind minister, Berry Maqelepo.
     On motion, it was unanimously resolved to send a message of confidence and encouragement to the Native Mission in South Africa, and a committee was appointed to formulate the message.
     22. The Rev. Gilbert H. Smith delivered an Address on "The Terms 'Divine' and 'Holy.'" (See page 329.)

     Rev. Homer Synnestvedt called attention to the use of ultimate symbols. The use of holy emblems and robes had been accepted early in the Academy. He suggested that, even as at a coronation of a king, the transfer of the government of the Church to other hands might be symbolized in some ultimate ritual.

368

Father Benade had worn a scarlet stole and large medallion as Chancellor of the Academy, and his successor a smaller medallion. Holiness and power lay in ultimates. and these were of special use in impressing the children.
     Bishop Acton wished for the kind of tact that would enable him first to flatter the speaker, and then show him to be altogether wrong! He found himself at variance with Mr. Smith, except as to the last part of the paper, when he felt Mr. Smith had reversed himself.
     If what is obscure and merely ultimate were the signs of holiness, we ought to return to representative worship, and have a tabernacle and sacrifices. Yet the Lord abrogated the Jewish rites. and He substituted the Holy Supper and Baptism, because in the latter, holiness showed forth as the holiness of the Lord's Divine, which proceeds in fulness and power and holiness in ultimates. Holiness is predicable only of the Lord, and of the Lord revealed. He is revealed in His holiness in the Writings.
     Holiness proceeds, not from ultimates, but from internals; but it reveals internals in ultimates. On earth He sent out the Holy Spirit-a revelation of Himself. Is the Lord, revealed in Jewish garb, more holy than as He stands forth in the Writings! Are the veiled parts of the Old 'Testament more holy than the clearer teachings of the New!
     Doctrine is not confined to the Writings, but the internal sense also shines forth in the Old and New Testaments. Yet in the Writings the angelic doctrine is revealed in its greatest holiness. They are the most full revelation ever given to mankind.
     Rev. F. E. Waelchli spoke of the relations of the three forms of Divine Revelation-the Old Testament, the New Testament, and the Writings. It is said that we draw our doctrine from the Writings. But is this all we need to do! Do we not also need to see that what we draw from the Writings is also the teaching of the New Testament? Do not the Writings themselves frequently say, "This is true because the Lord says in the Gospel. Similarly. the Gospel teaching rests on the Old Testament as we admit in the training of our children. We could not have the Writings without the Old and New Testaments: the Arcana is an opening of Genesis and Exodus, the Apocalypse Revealed an opening of the Book of Revelation.
     From this it is evident that the Word of the Old Testament is more ultimate than the following revelations, since it contains in fulness the other two. The speaker advocated our reading Bishop W. F. Pendleton's Science of Exposition, which gives clear doctrine on this point. Why do we select texts for sermons from the Word in the letter, if exposition is not a drawing forth of something from within the Old Testament or from within the New?
     The Old and New Testaments are holy, not only in the places where naked truths shine forth, but everywhere. Why else is ritual drawn from the Testaments, except for the holiness attached to the ultimate language? And this especially applied to the Hebrew!
     Rev. W. L. Gladish (Chicago) did not wish to call the Writings "more Divine" than the Old and New Testaments; for this had the same error in it as did the Convention idea that the Writings were "not so Divine" as the Biblical Word.

369

     Mr. Edward C. Bostock believed the paper was very useful, and deserved careful reflection. even though all might not agree with all of it. In the Writings, the sense of terms changes with the series of the doctrinal presentation; as may be evident from the phrase, "the internal sense," which is applied variously to mean the spiritual sense which is adapted only for angels, or to the spiritual sense as it stands revealed to men in the Writings. The writer of the paper had, he believed, been careful to define his usage of the terms "holy" and "Divine."
     Mr. Harold McQueen sustained with equanimity the criticism which had been leveled from Bryn Athyn at Mr. Smith's presentation, but when Chicago-which was in Glenview's own backyard-"took a poke" at the paper, he felt really worried. As far as the Glenview people were concerned . . . After all, they had to live with Mr. Smith! Personally, he thought it a pretty good paper. (Solemnly, he then shook Mr. Smith's hand.)
     Mr. Randolph W. Childs declared himself incompetent to decide theological questions, but had some difficulty in seeing Bishop Acton's position. Still, it gave joy to his heart to see the freedom with which the ministers could disagree among themselves. He expressed indignation at the charge of "papacy" which had recently been leveled at the General Church-as if we enforced doctrinal opinions.
     Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner commented that more attention may be necessary to the various usages of the term "holy." As this term was used in the leading passages cited in the paper, however, it was clearly applicable especially to the Divine Truth in ultimates, or to the letter of the Word, wherein alone there is fulness. The holiness and power of the correspondential imagery of the literal sense did not depend on how clearly we saw the internal truths that were involved, but depended on the actual presence of that internal sense which had organized the objective imagery of the literal sense into a basis and focus for all Divine and spiritual truths and goods. And so long as man, in acknowledgment, dwells in these holy ultimates, angels are present, not teaching him, but conjoining themselves with his affections. The inmost angels see celestial truths ill the very curves of the Hebrew letters, the meaning of which is still covered to us; but the tact that such truth is covered to us does not lessen the holiness of the Divine ultimates. Indeed, the holy things of the tabernacle "could not be called holy" until they had been covered by curtains and veils. (A. E. 1088.)
     Referring to the second part of the paper, Dr. Odhner did not hesitate to apply the title "the Word" to the Writings, albeit they were Doctrine; for the Word is Divine Doctrine for each dispensation. The Academy, in its "Principles," had been careful, however, to call the Writings "the essential Word"-to denote that they possessed the Divine qualities which all past Divine revelations had had in common! viz., that they were infinite truth proceeding from the Lord's own mouth; and this, although, in outward form and style and appeal they differed widely, being doctrinal.

370

     In the Old and New Testaments, the truths of the Writings,-whether men see them or not-dwell in their holiness, and as in their embodiment. After all, there is but one Divine Revelation, not three; certainly not three more or less Divine! The one inseparable Divine had been gradually revealed, so far as men had been made ready to see this Divine more fully.
     Bishop Acton observed that the letter of the Word on the table was not holy, but only the Word as it stood forth to the minds of men.
     Rev. Gilbert H. Smith, regretting with a smile "that a Bishop of the Church was not able to follow his-simple logic," reiterated in conclusion his main line of thought,-that the nearer to the Lord a thing was, the "more Divine" it could appear and that the further the Divine descended into ultimates, the more could holiness be predicated of it. He agreed that the Word and the
Writings made an inseparable One, the most ultimate phase of which-in the Hebrew Word-was the most holy.
     23. After the singing of a hymn, the meeting, at 10:15 p.m., adjourned with the Benediction.

     Fourth Session-Friday, July 2, 10.00 a.m.

     24. Worship was conducted by the Rev. F. E. Waelchli, and the meeting was opened by Bishop Acton, who presided.
     25. The REPORT OF THE ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH was given by its Dean of Faculties, the Rev. Dr. C. E. Doering. (See Reports.)
     26. Mr. Hubert Hyatt gave a Report as TREASURER OF THE ACADEMY. (For a condensed version, see Reports.)
     27. The Rev. Frederick E. Gyllenhaal delivered an Address on "The Human." (See page 341.)
     Rev. Homer Synnestvedt spoke of the paper as a masterpiece and an interior study on the subject. The Hague position's recent contentions reminded him of the old "New England" position of a century ago, that man could teach only from regenerate good, and could then serve as an Angel of Jehovah or as a lesser source of Divine light. He also noted one of their claims-that the regenerate minds of the angels "are formed and organized . . . to become integral parts of the Gorand Man which is the Divine Human body of the Lord." Such claims were entirely disposed of by the paper.
     In regard to Mr. Hyatt's masterly report, it brought down the problems of the Academy to the comprehension of those in "the lower brackets" of financial wisdom. In view of Mr. Hyatt's remark, that the angels departed from Swedenborg when he had to think about money matters, he wondered what bankers will find to do in the next world! Their use has to do with ultimates-a maternal function, to clothe uses. A wise treasurer, who loves uses and foresees the needs ahead, is performing an eminent spiritual use.

371

     What Swedenborg notes in the Diary (nos. 1166 and 3624) about money worries which caused the injection of troublesome thoughts, and the absence of spiritual intercourse, was-he thought-written at a time when Swedenborg's family was involved in a lawsuit.
     Mr. Randolph W. Childs-as an attorney-took exception to the possible inference that the angels would leave us when we get to legal matters!
     Rev. W. B. Caldwell said it would be a pleasure to see Mr. Gyllenhaal's Address in print, and also Mr. Smith's of last evening, which was not only a theological masterpiece, but also the work of an artist in the use of the English language.-As he recalled it, Swedenborg had said that when he had "cares for ready money," it brought troublesome spirits about, but not for long periods when he had no such cares. Presumably he would then be spending the money.
     Rev. Raymond G. Cranch welcomed the thought that the ultimate field of finance also may become "distinctively New Church." As to Mr. Gyllenhaal's Address, it had shown that there can be human good and truth, not perverted; yet that this does not detract from the fact that all good and truth is from the Divine itself. He also echoed Dr. Doering's emphasis on the distinctive New Church viewpoint in education, which Bishop de Charms has brought to the fore in the Schools of the Academy. All the lower uses of life can be just as distinctive as those of the higher planes.
     Mr. Francis Wilson (Toronto) paid tribute to his pastor for having cleared up for him the distinction between the human and the Divine with man. He wanted also to study Mr. Smith's paper. He deprecated any tendency to detract from the use of the Old and New Testaments and using the Writings alone. As Dr. Odhner had said, Divine Revelation was a complete whole, albeit adapted to different planes. The Dutch fascicles-he referred to statement in Fascicle I, p. 94-appeared to him as not being sound doctrine, and in Toronto they had made no impression.

     28. Mr. Philip C. Pendleton gave an account of the work of the ACADEMY FINANCE ASSOCIATION, which had been formed in 1919 with the purpose of attempting to raise an endowment fund of a million dollars for the Academy. The sum of $93,000 was raised with this in view, but afterwards urgent needs compelled the diversion of funds later collected to the current expenses of the Academy. In nineteen years the Association had collected over $136,000. He expressed a fear that our next Assembly would see a further curtailment of uses unless new effort was made to make up large contributions which had now been stopped. The young men should learn to take up part of the burden.
     Bishop de Charms was moved to appeal for a wider interest in the basic financial matters of the church.

372

He rejoiced that there was a certain angelic quality about General Church members, in that their interest centers in the development of doctrinal thought,-a preference for interior things. But we are organized together to perform uses. The first function of the Assembly was to learn to see more clearly, and with more deep affection, the spiritual truths which the Lord has given for the establishment of His Kingdom. 'The second function was to bring down the vision into actual realization, by financial and moral support of the living uses of the church.
     Bishop Acton, in connection with Mr. Waelchli's appeal on behalf of the isolated, cited the remarks of the late Bishop W. F. Pendleton, to the effect that our hearts are easily filled with pity for the sufferings of the widow and the orphan, but are more tardy to realize the spiritual sufferings of those who are spiritually orphaned and isolated from the ministrations of the Church. The Church must be enabled to exercise its charity to those fellow men who have no means to educate their children except in the home, and no regular spiritual support from the sphere of the Church. Giving, viewed spiritually, is but the external of a man's love of seeing the Church established. Therefore we often say that the test of interest in the Church is a willingness to give to her uses.
     29. A hymn was sung, followed by the Benediction, and the session adjourned at 12.20 p.m.

     Fifth Session-Friday, July 2, 8.00 p.m.

     30. The Rev. William Whitehead opened the meeting with prayers and reading. The Rev. F. E. Gyllenhaal, presiding, called for an Address by Mr. Fred J. Cooper on the subject of "COHESION." (See page 348.)
     Rev. Norman H. Reuter spoke of the tendency to go home after the exaltation experienced at such an Assembly as this, and fall into the indifference and inertia of our natural states. Often too vague an understanding of the needs of the church is responsible for this. Yet every healthy organization has to be supported by its members, and there is no one who cannot do something. We must not be content to be on spiritual "relief," but must gain our spiritual food by our own efforts. The youth should be led to set aside something for the church from the first check he earns.
     Those who are uncertain about how to give-how to distribute their giving among the uses of the church-can do no better than consult Mr. W. H. Junge's article in the Life (1936, page 85).

373

The highest delight of heaven lies in giving. If this must start as self-compulsion, yet in it lies freedom and happiness.
     The "widow's mite"-the only instance of church-finances in the New Testament-should be an encouragement to children as to the value of their small offerings. The question of how much to give must be one between the individual and the Lord, and the idea of comparisons with others is to be avoided. Someone has calculated that the money spent on "smokes" in a year would double the income of the church, if applied to that use. Do we love these pleasures more than we love the church? The speaker was convinced that if our people only came to realize the needs, seventy-two percent rather than merely twenty-eight, would be contributors.
     Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner, to fill a pause in the discussion, surmised that the angels do not flee from the thought of money when this is regarded ad the medium of spiritual uses. The angels do not see the idea of "money"-which, though ultimate enough, has certainly no holiness in it-but they see the man's love of use, and when we love the uses of the church, the money becomes merely a symbol. Indeed, what is money, except a medium,-a common standard artificially chosen to facilitate the exchange of uses. Actually, what we really give, in the eyes of the angels, is service, time, energy, thought! Life is a continual giving, a sacrifice of one thing for another which we regard of higher value. What one man can do, another cannot, except through others. In the church, we must exchange our varying talents of wealth or intelligence for the better perfecting of the uses of worship, instruction, and evangelization. But when we, from self-righteousness, reflect on the gifts we offer, then we are apt to come under the condemnation of the Gospel injunction, "Let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth." And then the angels may indeed flee from us.
     Mr. Donald F. Rose observed that the alternative was "cohesion or coercion." He admitted that the love of money was the cause of much evil, but felt that the lack of money was pretty bad, too. With regard to the young people, he suggested that other gifts than money ark given to the church-labors of love, such as those of ushers and chancel-guild members, etc.,-work which is of immense benefit to them, important in forming a habit of giving of their service, more important as a means of cohesion in the church.
     Mr. Walter Horigan suggested that perhaps the publication of the list of contributors might be a good thing. It was surprising that out or so sincere a group of people, who undoubtedly had love for the church, only a quarter were contributors. But the General Church was in most minds a vague idea, not a concrete use.
     Mr. R. W. Childs honored the Treasurer for his magnificent effort to convert the "seventy percent." Whatever happened, he believed the "old guard" would carry on. At this time, what was necessary was to increase our contributions by at least ten percent. While we may prudently attempt to arouse the non-contributors, yet as long as we have anything left we must hold it for the support of the General Church.

374

     Rev. Homer Synnestvedt reminded the meeting of the "College Letter," and later the "General Church Letter," which had been published as a means of acquainting the members of happenings of concern to the church. Perhaps some sort of "Episcopal Letter" might now be useful.
     Mr. K. C. Acton said that the publication of the names of contributors had been stopped because of objections. However, it need not be regarded as an undue compulsion. Certainly the publication of the number of contributors in various "brackets" might be an aid to many.
     Mr. Lester Asplundh felt that a challenge had been laid down to those not of the "old guard." He knew, of course, that at least seventy-five percent of the members contribute to some church use. He suggested that a lump sum might be given to the treasurer for allocation among the various uses. "Put aside your church contribution at the beginning of the month, on top of the pile!"
     Mr. J. R. Kintner suggested that a budget, with percentage quotas for each use, would be useful to small contributors. He called attention to the surprising results where the "envelope system" had stabilized contributions.
     Mr. Francis Wilson confirmed this by citing the success in Toronto of this system: fifty-two envelopes being supplied yearly to each member of the congregation. Offerings had increased forty percent, and ninety percent of the promises had been redeemed. The sense of freedom was not encroached upon.
     Mr. Fred. J. Cooper concluded the discussion by the thought that cohesion comes by partaking in the living uses of the church. Those fortified in organized societies would be selfish if they thought only of their local needs, and were averse to the support of extension work among the isolated. He pleaded for many more candidates for the ministry, and said that the priesthood should be drawn from the flower of our youth.
     31. The meeting adjourned at 10 p.m., after the singing of a hymn, and the Benediction.

     Sixth Session-Saturday, July 3, 10.00 a.m.

     32. Worship was conducted by the Rev. Norman H. Reuter, of Kitchener.
     33. Bishop de Charms opened the meeting by calling attention to the vote of greetings which the 115th Session of the General Convention of the New Jerusalem had sent, last year, to Bishop Pendleton.
     Mr. David Gladish, by request, read this greeting.
     On motion, it was unanimously "Resolved, that our Secretary be instructed to send the greetings of this Assembly of the General Church of the New Jerusalem to our sister body, the General Convention of the New Jerusalem."

375

     Reference was also made to the remarks of Bishop Acton before the General Convention on June 21 this year, when he spoke of the cooperation of the two bodies in uses such as that of the Swedenborg Scientific Association. A passage then cited was read: "I have heard that churches which are in different goods and truths, provided that their goods have relation to the love of the Lord, and their truths to faith in Him, are like so many jewels in the King's crown." (T. C. R. 763.) (See New Philosophy, July, 1937, page 340.)
     34. Mr. Morley Rich reported on the status of the mimeographed Elementary School Journal, a monthly begun last year on the initiative of Miss Lois Nelson, and asked for subscriptions at one dollar per annum.
     35. The Report of "THE GENERAL CHURCH, A CORPORATION" was read by its Secretary, Mr. Randolph W. Childs. On motion, the report was approved by the General Assembly, and filed. (See Reports.)
     36. Mr. Hubert Hyatt, as TREASURER OF THE GENERAL CHURCH, reported that, since the 1935 General Assembly, he had mailed, to all members of the General Church, printed copies of two Annual Treasurer's Reports, viz., those for the years ending December 31, 1935 and 1936, respectively. He submitted these two Reports as his Treasurer's Report to this 1937 General Assembly. In view of the extensive discussion of both the uses and the support of the General Church at the second and fifth sessions, he proposed not to add anything thereto at this time, except merely to state that any and all efforts to extend the usefulness of the General Church, and also to increase the number of those who support these uses, are at all times favorably to be considered. Each and every member of the General Church should assume his own individual responsibility in this regard. It is in this way only that the General Church can grow and prosper as Providence intends.
     On motion, the two Reports were accepted and filed.
     37. A recess of five minutes was declared. When the meeting was reconvened, the Right Rev. Alfred Acton delivered an Address on "The Holy Spirit." (See September issue.)
     Mr. Otho W. Heilman expressed gratitude for the clear doctrine of the paper.

376

In it there was no trace of any such mysterious operation of the Holy Spirit as we have been threatened with for some time. The Holy Spirit was the influence of the Word upon men. He also thanked the men who for seven years past had given us profound and enlightened studies, safeguarding the church from vagaries on the two questions: "What is the authority of doctrine drawn from Divine Revelation?" "What is the relation of man to God!" These studies were of perennial value as preserved in the NEW CHURCH LIFE. This official organ is worthy of our support.
     38. It was resolved, by unanimous rising vote, that the Secretary convey to the Pittsburgh Society, its Pastor and its members, the cordial thanks of the Assembly for the exceptional hospitality of the Pittsburgh people and the notable efficiency displayed by their various committees in making the arrangements for these our meetings.
     39. Appreciation of Dr. Acton's instruction was expressed by Rev. Messrs. Willard D. Pendleton and Karl R. Alden, as former pupils. Mr. Alden had for the last seven years attended the special lectures on "Swedenborg's Life," given by Dr. Acton, and these had so far brought Swedenborg up to the age of fifty-five. He hoped that Dr. Acton would live at least long enough to complete this his "life-course."
     Rev. Gilbert H. Smith, imitating Bishop Acton's example, "hoped the high heavens would endow him with the kind of tact that would enable him to make the right comment on the paper!" (His comments proved innocuous).
     40. On motion, variously worded, it was unanimously resolved to send the greetings of the Assembly to Dr. Thomas Lee Aye, Mr. Jacob Schoenberger, Mrs. William Frederic Pendleton, and Mrs. Cara S. Glenn. A message was also sent to Mrs. Charles S. Smith.
     41. Resolutions of thanks were also voted unanimously to the Allegheny Cemetery, for their generous courtesy in preparing a beautiful flower display for the Assembly hall, and to the Shady Side academy for the unfailing hospitality and courteous service, as well as the excellent cuisine, provided for the Assembly guests.
     42. After the singing of a hymn, the session closed with the Benediction.
     Respectfully submitted,
          HUGO LJ. ODHNER,
               Secretary.

377

ROLL OF ATTENDANCE. 1937

     The Committee on the Roll reports that 420 persons registered as attending the Sixteenth General Assembly, from the following localities:

CANADA                     19
ENGLAND                         5
SOUTH AFRICA                1
SWEDEN                     4
UNITED STATES: Alabama 1; Colorado 4; District of Columbia 2; Florida 1; Georgia 1; Illinois 54; Michigan 5; New Jersey 3; New York 6; Ohio 18; Pennsylvania 294; Virginia 1; West Virginia 1. Total           391
Gorand Total                     420
     Pittsburgh 106; Visitors 314.
Members of the General Church 314; Young People and Non-members 106.

     ATTENDANCE AT MEETINGS.

Wednesday, June 30           First Session, A.M                          290
                               Corporation Meeting, P.M.                     64
                               Reception Ball, P.M. (Estimate)                465
Thursday, July 1           Second Session, A.M.                     272
                               Academy Finance Meeting, P.M.               76
                               Third Session, P.M.                          284
Friday, July 2           Fourth Session, A.M.                         274
                               Sons of the Academy, P.M.                    131
                               Fifth Session, P.M.                         322
Saturday, July 3           Sixth Session, A.M.                          370
                               Assembly Banquet, P.M.                     403
Sunday, July 4           Communion Service, A.M.                     348
                    Communicants                          229

378

MESSAGES TO THE ASSEMBLY. 1937

MESSAGES TO THE ASSEMBLY. Various 1937

     A number of messages from various societies and groups were received during the Assembly. Some of these were spoken by representatives from the floor of the Assembly. Others were cabled or sent by letter, and were read at the Banquet. Of these we record the following:

     INDIAN LAKE, NEW YORK.-"To the Right Reverend George de Charms: Heartfelt congratulations to the Church and to you. May the Divine blessing be upon your administration!"
     N. D. PENDLETON.

     COLCHESTER, ENGLAND.-"To Bishop de Charms: Colchester Society thinking of great Assembly, and sends hearty greetings. 'May there be a Blessing'!"

     PARIS, FRANCE.-"On the occasion of the annual commemoration of the sending out of the twelve apostles in the spiritual world on the 19th of June, 1770, to preach the sole Divinity of our Savior Jesus Christ, the undersigned send to the new Bishop of the General Church, the Right Reverend George de Charms, and to the General Assembly gathered in Pittsburgh, this expression of their affection and loyalty."-Signed by fifteen members and a number of miners.

     JONKOPING, SWEDEN.-"May the chief use of Assembly-that of strengthening the unity of the Church-be the spirit of all your gatherings! And may the Assembly's selection of a Bishop of the General Church be the Lord's selection!"
     BERNICE AND ERIK SANDSTROM.

     STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN.-From the Stockholm Society two messages were received. One was addressed to the Assembly itself. The other-sent after a gathering on the 19th of June-was addressed to the Bishop, and said in part: "I was requested to tell you that we all of us, unanimously and wholeheartedly, are with you, and send you our most affectionate greetings and love. We have all of us no other desire than to remain loyal to the General Church as an organization, as well as to what it stands for, and express our full and grateful confidence in its government and leadership, which we believe to be given in the Divine Providence of the Lord. It is a great pleasure to me to convey this message to you." This was signed by the Rev. Gustaf Baeckstrom.

     RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL.-The Rev. Henry Leonardos, on behalf of his brother priest, the Rev. Joao Mendonca Lima, and the members in Rio, sent a message asking the Divine protection and guidance for those assembled in Pittsburgh, pledging loyalty to the principles and the enlightened leaders of the Academy, and calling attention to the daily demonstration of the death of the old Christian churches and the upbuilding of the New Church prophesied in Scripture.

379

In this chaotic epoch of the world, when old civilizations are being ruined and swamped in a new deluge of evils and falsities, it was their comfort to see the sacred Ark of the new Covenant upheld by the General Church.
     In another message, they voiced their wish that the position of Bishop of the General Church should be filled by the Right Reverend George de Charms, "Who, we believe, will prove to be an excellent successor for the continuance of the work of the two great Bishops we have had, namely, William and Nathaniel Pendleton."

     GEORGETOWN, BRITISH GUIANA.-In a letter to Bishop de Charms: "May I ask, dear Bishop, that the heartfelt greetings of the Tabor Mission, and of its authorized missionary leader, be duly conveyed to the Assembly. I shall be glad, too, if you will associate me, personally and as representing Tabor, in any affectionate appreciation of the Assembly expressed to and concerning our Bishop Emeritus N. D. Pendleton."-(Signed) Henry Algernon.

     HURSTVLLLE, N. S. W., AUSTRALIA.-In a letter to the Secretary: "My wife and I would like you to convey our most affectionate greetings to the Bishop-Nominate, and to the General Assembly of the General Church. We would that we could enter into the sphere of your meetings, but we can at least anticipate their spirit, and we will be with you in affection and also in thought.
     It is our hope that the spirit engendered in this most important Assembly will again set the face of the Church in an upward and forward direction; and in that hope we offer to the Assembly, through you, our heartfelt good wishes.
     "Sincerely yours,
          W. CAIRNS HENDERSON."

     PEACE RIVER DISTRICT, B. C., CANADA.-Mr. Healdon Starkey forwarded a message to the Assembly from the group of New Church people in this district. The message was read at the Banquet.

     TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA.-To Bishop de Charms: "The members of the Olivet Society send cordial greetings to the Sixteenth General Assembly, and the sincere wish that all who attend may be spiritually enlightened, and that great good to the Church may be the result of your deliberations."
     JOHN A. WHITE,
          SECRETARY."

     KITCHENER, ONTARIO, CANADA.-To Alexander P. Lindsay, Toastmaster: "Greetings and best wishes to all at Assembly banquet! May it prove an inspiring climax to what we trust was an Assembly of outstanding usefulness!
     "YOUR FRIENDS IN KITCHENER."

380

REPORT OF THE ACTING BISHOP. 1937

REPORT OF THE ACTING BISHOP. GEORGE DE CHARMS 1937

     REPORTS TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

     REPORT OF THE ACTING BISHOP.

     During the Fall of 1935, as Assistant Bishop of the General Church, I presided at the District Assembly in Glenview, and made episcopal visits to Sharon Church, Chicago, and to circles of New Church people in Saginaw and Detroit, Michigan, in Akron, Ohio, and in Palmyra and Newark, New Jersey.
     Throughout the School Year 1935-1936, I served as supervisor of the Academy Schools, Bishop Pendleton having withdrawn from the active administration of the educational work.
     With the retirement of Bishop Pendleton from the episcopal office on June 21, 1936, I became Acting Bishop of the General Church until a new Executive Bishop should be selected. In this capacity, on September 20, I called a meeting of the Consistory and the Executive Committee, to receive counsel with reference to the attack made on the General Church by the Rev. Albert Bjorck. The action which resulted was circularized, in the form of a mimeographed pamphlet, among all the members of the Church who desired information concerning it.
     On October 2, I was formally recognized as Acting Pastor of the Bryn Athyn Church at the Annual Meeting of that Society.
     At a meeting of the Board of Directors of the Academy, held on October 5, I was elected President, and since that time have performed all the duties pertaining to that office.
     During the same month I presided at District Assemblies in Kitchener, Canada, and in Pittsburgh, Penna.
     On April 1, I called a special meeting of the Council of the Clergy, and on April 3 a meeting of the Joint Council, in Bryn Athyn, to initiate the choice of a Bishop, and to consider the State of the Church. The situation which developed immediately following these meetings led to the separation of the Rev. Ernst Pfeiffer as a member and a recognized Pastor of the General Church. The circumstances which rendered this action necessary are set forth in a pamphlet sent to all members of the General Church, except those in Sweden and South America. More complete information is contained in the June issue of New Church Life, and in a Supplement thereto, both of which have been widely distributed throughout the Church.
     GEORGE DE CHARMS,
          Acting Bishop.

381

REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF THE GENERAL CHURCH. 1937

REPORT OF THE SECRETARY OF THE GENERAL CHURCH. HUGO LJ. ODHNER 1937

     The Secretary of the General Church is required to make a report concerning the membership of the Church, since he is nominally responsible for the records and statistics. Actually it is the Bishop's Secretary who does the current work connected with the files and the new applications for membership.
     This is an age of statistics. Half a dozen sources, with unbounded enthusiasm, inquire annually into our status: How many members? How many in the United States? How distributed? How much endowment? What value the buildings? What salaries for ministers and lay staff? What our social or missionary activities? The questions-groups of fifty, sometimes-could not be answered without a larger staff to categorize our information more elaborately. Most of the questions apply to us not at all. And so these inconvenient inquiries often land in the waste-paper basket, or are buried in the Secretary's files, unless their demands are reasonable, or unless they are backed by the government's authority.
     The kind of vital statistics which we would like to gather is quite different. Whence comes our increase? From what denominations of the Old Church? From New Church homes? From our schools? What proportion of our people read the Writings with regular interest? How many of our homes keep up their daily worship? Is there any decrease in our marriages within the church?
     Such intimate statistics are of a living concern; and if the time and the cooperation from pastors and laymen were given, your Secretary would like to prepare himself to answer some of these questions. One difficulty is that very many, with the best of intentions, put off answering form-letters. Out of certain letters of information and inquiry concerning membership status which I, as Assistant Pastor at Bryn Athyn, recently sent out to 171 persons, only ten percent replied. Some, however, acted on the information given, so that on the whole I felt some encouragement.
     Another phase of the Secretary's work should be the carrying on of an active correspondence with all parts of the church. The late Rev. C. T. Odhner, one of my predecessors, performed a great use in that field. There is need for a greater exchange of thought and affection between the many parts of the church, and this need will become greater as the church grows in numbers. Let us realize that the ministrations of the General Church are carried on now in five European and two Bantu languages. All but two-Portuguese and French-have their own magazines. It may increasingly become a problem to maintain active contact with different language-groups within the Church. We have in Brazil an encouraging movement which in Rio de Janeiro claims an average church attendance of 80, and a membership of some 120; and in Brazil as a whole there are 35 members more, according to inquiries kindly made for me by Mr. Harold Pitcairn on a recent visit to Rio. Yet since 1928 we have not had any statistical report, and know officially of only 70 members in Brazil.

382

     The movement at The Hague may perhaps serve as an instance of the total lack of real contact. The Hague Society has practically been independent of the General Church from the first, and the language barrier undoubtedly has contributed to their isolation.
     The separation of the Rev. Ernst Pfeiffer has had a sequence which caused the slight upward curve of increase in our membership to waver for the first time. In the six months since January 1, there have been 32 accessions to our membership roll. In protest against Mr. Pfeiffer's separation, 29 former members have, up to the present, resigned; 10 of these are from Bryn Athyn, 10 from Los Angeles, California (the society entrusted to the Rev. Hendrik Boef's charge), and 9 from Great Britain-the Rev. Albert Bjorck and partisans. The Los Angeles Society lists 28 members. The First Dutch Society at The Hague reports 74 members. Nothing is yet known about any action taken by the latter society; but the "Gabriel Church" in Los Angeles declared itself dissolved without the benefit of Bishop's sanction.
     Besides the loss of 30 names from the General Church roll in connection with the Pfeiffer disturbances, three other resignations and eight deaths are recorded this half year; leaving us with a net loss of nine members, the total membership standing at 2262, ninety more than at the last General Assembly two years ago.
     A new mission field has been opened to the Church since the last Assembly. This-which is in its infancy-is in Georgetown, Demerara, British Guiana. The Rev. Henry Algernon is the leader of the movement.
     HUGO LJ. ODHNER,
          Secretary.
REPORT OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CLERGY. 1937

REPORT OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CLERGY. WILLIAM WHITEHEAD 1937

     Since the last General Assembly, in 1935, the Council of the Clergy has held its annual meetings early in April each year,-two months later than heretofore. Its proceedings have been more or less fully reported to all members of the General Church, in the pages of New Church Life. (See reports in issues for May, 1936, pp. 144-151; June, 1936, pp. 173-176; May, 1937, pp. 147-153; June, 1937, pp. 181-230.) This year, a fifty-page account of its minutes and proceedings was published in your official organ, New Church Life. Since the last Assembly the following Episcopal Changes have taken place:
     1. The announcement, on June 21, 1936, of the retirement of the Right Rev. Nathaniel Dandridge Pendleton as Bishop of the General Church.
     2. The taking over of the responsibilities of the Episcopal Office by the Assistant Bishop, the Right Rev. George de Charms, until the General Assembly shall select and confirm a new Bishop of the General Church.
     The following Pastoral Changes have also transpired:
     In 1935, the Rev. F. F. Waelchli resigned as Visiting Pastor of the General Church.

383

     In 1936, the Rev. W. Cairns Henderson was called to be assistant pastor and afterwards pastor of the Hurstville Society (Sydney, Australia), succeeding the Rev. Richard Morse, who had retired from the pastorate of that society; the Rev. Elmo C. Acton, former pastor of the Durban Society in South Africa, was called to teach in the Academy Schools, and to perform certain ministerial duties in the General Church; the Rev. Philip N. Odhner, formerly of Bryn Athyn, was called to the pastorate of the Durban Society; the Rev. Norman Reuter was called to assist the pastor in Kitchener; and the Rev. F. E. Waelchli was called to the Cincinnati Circle.
     In 1937, the Rev. Ernst Pfeiffer, formerly the Pastor of the Society at The Hague, Holland, was separated from the Priesthood of the General Church; the Rev. Theodore Pitcairn resigned from the membership of the General Church; the Rev. Hendrik W. Boef, formerly Pastor of the Gabriel Church, Los Angeles, California, resigned from the membership of the General Church;
and the Rev. Albert Bjorck resigned from the membership of the General Church.
     Since 1935, the following Ordinations have taken place:
     In 1935, the Revs. William Cairns Henderson and Erik Sandstrom were ordained into the Second Degree.
     In 1936, the Rev. Dr. Alfred Acton was ordained into the Third Degree.
     Summarized reports of the work of our ministers for the years 1935 and 1936 have already appeared in the pages of New Church Life; but some things of possible general interest may here be added:
     During the two years ending January 1, 1937, the RITES AND SACRAMENTS of the Church have been administered as follows:

Ordinations                3
Baptisms                218
Confessions of Faith           68
Betrothals                28
Marriages                54
Funeral services           66
Holy Supper                346
(Public administrations, 296; Private administrations, 50)

     The statistics as to Morning Public Worship, during 1936, show a total average attendance of 1043,-not quite as many as were reported two years ago (1070). This represents the 21 societies and circles reporting. The actual membership of these 21 societies is 1324. However, it should be remembered that there are many non-members,-adult, young people and children,-who regularly attend both morning worship and doctrinal classes, who are included in the above total average attendances.
     Evening Services are held in only 7 places in the General Church, usually monthly or quarterly (in only one instance weekly). The total average attendance is 247.
     Doctrinal Classes are held in 22 centers. The total average attendance last rear was 583, just 5 more than was reported two years ago.

384

     It is interesting to note that some form of "social supper" is provided in all centers, except four circles. In four societies these are held weekly, in 3 fortnightly, in 4 monthly, in 3 every two months, in 2 quarterly, and in two places it is a semi-annual event. Our English friends, in London, gravely report that "the English equivalent for social supper is Sunday tea." Lest some sanctity be given in the General Church to the words "Friday" or "supper," let it therefore be seriously noted here that, in spite of all temptations, a "social supper," in England, remains a Sunday tea.
     Only 8 Pastors report holding Children's Services, as against 13 two years ago. The total average attendance, outside Bryn Athyn, is 212. The Bryn Athyn average attendance is 225. Children, therefore, to the number of 437, attend their own services in our Church, for the most part every week.
     There are also 6 regular Sunday Schools reported (3 less than last time); with a total of 68 pupils (average attendance 44), and 13 teachers. The Sunday Schools appear to be declining.
     Elementary Schools have been continued in 7 societies and 1 circle, as follows:
     Alpha, South Africa: 2 teachers; and 3 pupils. (Sub-standards to IV.) Bryn Athyn, Pa.: 9 regular and 2 special teachers; and 196 pupils (Kindergarten and 8 grades).
Colchester, England: 1 regular and 1 special teacher; and 13 to 17 pupils (5 to 9 years).
Durban, South Africa: No report received.
Glenview, Ill.: 4 teachers and 67 pupils (9 grades).
Kitchener, Ont., Canada: 4 teachers and 52 pupils (10 grades).
Pittsburgh, Pa.: 4 teachers and 18 pupils (8 grades, omitting 5th in 1936).
Toronto, Ont., Canada: 2 teachers and 11 pupils (5 grades).
     The promising school at Hurstville, Australia, has been discontinued. In these Schools, outside of Bryn Athyn, there are 18 regular, part-time and special teachers,-a number of whom give their voluntary services,-and 164 pupils. The local pastors invariably act as headmasters, and do considerable teaching. The Bryn Athyn Elementary School has 9 regular and 2 special teachers; and 196 pupils.
     In all, some 360 children in the General Church are at present receiving an elementary school education on the responsibility of local societies. The importance of this work to the future of the General Church and of the Academy cannot be overestimated.
     Respectfully submitted,
          WILLIAM WHITEHEAD,
               Secretary, Council of the Clergy.

385

REPORT OF THE EDITOR OF "NEW CHURCH LIFE" AND "NEW CHURCH SERMONS." 1937

REPORT OF THE EDITOR OF "NEW CHURCH LIFE" AND "NEW CHURCH SERMONS." W. B. CALDWELL 1937

     The members of the General Church realize the circumstances under which these uses have been performed in recent years, and I believe it is their wish to do all in their power to remove the limitations under which we have been operating, and to make it possible for us to function in full measure once more.
     As to the proper function of New Church Life, the cover states that it is "devoted to the teachings revealed through Emanuel Swedenborg." This is a restricted area, but it is ample, and there is no need to go far afield. Primarily our function is the instruction and information of the members of the General Church. The monthly issue goes forth like a visiting pastor with his wares of spiritual instruction for those who care to hear. The magazine has always been a useful instrument in promoting unity of thought and action in the General Church. In addition, it has long been influential with New Churchmen everywhere in upholding the standards of sound doctrine and practice in accordance with the teachings revealed in the Writings.
     The printed page provides one way in which the ministers of the church perform their function of teaching the Lord's Truth and leading by it to the good of life,-the way of enlightenment and regeneration for the upbuilding of the New Jerusalem upon the earth. The printed page also provides a forum for all in the church,-an opportunity for both priests and laymen to express their views and sentiments, that we may approximate in this world that free communication of ideas which prevails in the spiritual world, where it is of the Divine will that there should be a sharing of all good things. (A. C. 1388.)
     During the past five years these various functions have been impaired; and while we have endeavored to maintain the standards of quality within the limitations as to quantity, our journal does not now represent the real strength of the General Church. I know that you agree with me in this statement, and that you share my desire to remedy the condition as soon as possible. We have been passing through a period of economic contraction, and we seem to be on the threshold of a period of expansion. If so, it will undoubtedly be reflected in our church uses.
     As to the effects of such a contraction, we are told in the Doctrine that "when liberty of speaking and writing are restricted, the liberty of thinking-that is, of perceiving things in their amplitude-is held in restraint." (T. C. R. 814.) To a considerable extent this has been the effect upon the writers who contribute the fruits of their thought to our pages. While most of them have opportunities to speak from the pulpit and in public gatherings, they do not feel encouraged to place their ideas upon paper, or to prepare articles and send them to the Life, when there is so little prospect of publication.
     Our readers, too, have felt more and more the limited quantity of reading matter provided in our monthly issues, in comparison with the abundance and variety placed before them every month for over thirty years. With an appetite for a full-course dinner, they are obliged to content themselves with a light luncheon.

386

In spite of this, however, most of our subscribers have loyally supported the use, though the list has necessarily decreased under the stress of the times. Since 1929 the subscription list has declined from 580 to 430,-a loss of 150. And it is not easy to appeal for new subscriptions when we are obliged to apologize for the size of the issue, and when one-third to one-half of each number of the Life can be obtained for nothing in the Sermons pamphlets.
     As one useful effect of the period of contraction, it has brought home to our members how much the General Church has done in the past in providing our periodicals on such a limited subscription list, which furnishes only one-third of the cost. The general fund has been a Life preserver in times of storm and stress.
     But what of the future? An ideal monthly issue of New Church Life would be broadly representative of the best thought of the Church, with a well-balanced variety of subject and treatment. It would bring abundant news of the activities throughout the Church, illustrated with photographs of persons and places. Every number should provide something for everybody in the Church, old and young. Such an ideal has always been our aim, though not easy of fulfilment, owing to our limitations of space and of available material.
     We have provided something for the little ones in the "Talks to Children," and it would be a good thing if we could provide suitable short stories for them. Those "Talks to Children" are enjoyed by many adults.
     Of course, most of the doctrinal articles, both learned and not so learned, are for the adult mind. Yet I believe that our young people of the high-school age and older will usually find something to interest them in a number of the Life, if encouraged to read it. The "Gleanings from New Church History," which we have featured from time to time, have presented concrete pictures to their minds. The need for information of the new generation in this field of New Church history is realized in the Academy, and steps have been taken to meet it by talks to the student body.
     I trust, however, that we shall not make the mistake of trying to "write down" to the supposed limitations of our young people. An education in our homes and schools prepares them to appreciate any article or sermon that appears in the Life. We meet this problem of the young people on all fronts. The hope is that, in their freedom, they will gradually find it delightful to go to church, to attend doctrinal classes and other public meetings, to support the uses of the church in various ways, and perchance to read New Church Life. I can now recall that, in attending church as a boy, the service and sermon were not as prominent in my mind as the prospect of meeting the other boys and girls after church. It has been said that "the love of the church with the young begins in the love of pleasure"-the pleasure of social life. I am sure that many of our young people find pleasure in scanning the news columns of the Life, if only to see whether a new engagement is announced therein. By degrees, through the love of pleasure as a beginning, they enter into the delight of the higher uses of the church.

387

Pastors in their societies and parents in the homes can do much in this matter. As in all things of the church, an interest in reading its periodical literature can be encouraged and cultivated by a tactful leading. In my high-school and college classes in Religion I have occasionally referred the students to an article in the Life. And I have had them say to me: "I didn't know that there were such interesting things in the Life."
     In general, we need more room in our monthly issue for doctrinal articles on a great variety of subjects. If more space can be provided, I am sure that our writers will feel encouraged to provide such articles in the old-time abundance. I think, also, that the period of contraction has taught us the virtue of brevity. When Mr. Mencken discovered an article of his condensed in The Reader's Digest, he was surprised to find that it not only had not suffered in the process, but had been "palpably improved."
     We ought to have more about the work of the Academy in our pages. For one thing, a number of valuable papers are read at the meetings of the Genera! Faculty during the school-year, and some of these might well be printed in the Life, seeing that the Journal of Education is not at present in a position to publish them.
     It seems likely that we shall need more room for articles that will further clarify the doctrinal issues involved in the Hague controversy. After this doctrinal issue had been fully placed before our readers in the record of the Council discussions of 1933 and 1934, our limited space did not allow for the publication of papers that were afterwards offered by both sides. In addition, it was thought best to allow time for a possible modification of view on the part of the Hague proponents. We are now free to abandon this so-called "policy of silence" to such an extent as may be deemed useful and our space permits.
     Several periodicals of the New Church open their pages to an exchange of views on subjects of interest; but when, in the opinion of the editor, the discussion has gone far enough, or threatens to become acrimonious, he brings it to an end with the statement, "This discussion is now closed." We have never adopted that rule of cloture, as we like to hold matters open for the possible contribution of some new phase of the subject under discussion. Yet there comes a time in every discussion when a continuance would no longer be useful, the usual indication being that the readers are tired of it. Such discussions of live topics, carried on with amenity on both sides of the question at issue, and in a spirit of seeking for the truth, are stimulating and instructive. I wish we had the space to make the Life more of a forum than it is.
     The editor of a New Church periodical keeps informed of the trends of thought and action in the New Church by scanning the many publications that come to his desk. For a small body, the New Church publishes an astonishing number of magazines and books. An editor also keeps informed of the trends in the world at large. We should have more comment and review in our pages.
     The fact is that the editorial drawer is overflowing with topics awaiting presentation in print.

388

No magazine can perform an up-to-the-minute service on an editorial habit of waiting for something to turn up. Many articles you read in the secular magazines have been projected months or even years before appearing in print, and meanwhile have been in course of careful and painstaking preparation. An editor has fishing lines out for new writers and new topics, the lines being baited with a definite prospect of publication.
     While our central purpose is the expounding of the doctrines of the New Church, and their application in the works and worship of the Church, there are collateral fields that need continual treatment. The lessons of history are important, and we should have more about the history of doctrine and practice in the New Church. One writer is at work on a History of the Primitive Christian Church,-a subject that needs presentation in the light of what the Writings reveal. Material is ready in the engaging field of Scripture commentary, dealing with the historical text in the light of the Writings and the internal historical sense, and in contrast with modern Biblical interpretation, which has seduced so many New Church students. There is an immense field lying between our Revelation and modern development in learning, and it needs continuing treatment by the thinkers and writers of the New Church. In the choice of subjects we are confronted with an embarrassment of riches, not only in the Doctrines themselves, but in their application to every phase of human thought and life.
     I have indicated briefly what we could do if we had more space. There can be no question that more of what is thought and said and preached in the General Church ought to be given a wider circulation through the medium of the printed page, for the spiritual benefit of our own members and New Churchmen everywhere. If the members can provide the means of enlarging our monthly issue, by increased contributions and subscriptions, I believe we shall enter upon a new period of expanding usefulness in this field of our church uses.
     In closing this report I wish to express my gratitude for the fine way in which Bishop Pendleton has counselled and supported me in my performance of this function for the Church. Since his retirement a year ago, I have had the same experience with Acting Bishop de Charms, and I shall endeavor to work closely with him until the time comes when he desires to select another for the office.

     NEW CHURCH SERMONS.

     During recent years the General Church has maintained this publication by reprinting in pamphlet form the Sermons and Talks to Children which have appeared in New Church Life. From October to June inclusive, or nine months of the year, they are sent free of charge to 360 addresses in all parts of the world, and we have reason to believe that they are performing an
important use.
     It would be ideal, I think, if the General Church could provide a sermon every week for the use of the isolated members, as is done by the weekly periodicals of Convention and Conference.

389

Until that becomes feasible, the next best thing would be a monthly pamphlet, twelve months in the year instead of nine as at present, containing two or three sermons and something for the children.
     I estimate that about 750 sermons are delivered each year by the ministers of the General Church. Less than twenty are published. Sermons represent the best fruits of the thought and study of our ministry, bringing both instruction and inspiration to our members. The Church would greatly benefit if more of them could be published.
     Respectfully submitted,
          W. B. CALDWELL.
REPORT OF THE VISITING PASTOR. 1937

REPORT OF THE VISITING PASTOR. F. E. WAELCHLI 1937

     During many years, visiting pastor work has been done in our Church under its successive names,-the Pennsylvania Association, the General Church of Pennsylvania, the General Church of the Advent, and the General Church of the New Jerusalem. In the last named, about twenty-five years ago, an Extension Fund was established by Mr. John Pitcairn from which this work might be done, and from which also there might be assistance given to pastors of financially weak societies.
     A number of our ministers are today doing visiting pastor work, though not all supported therein by General Church funds. From Bryn Athyn several ministers visit societies or circles in the Pennsylvania District; also, from Pittsburgh, Chicago, Kitchener and Toronto, visits are made; and the same is being done in Europe and in South Africa.
     Soon after the establishment of the Extension Fund it was seen to be desirable that some minister give most of his time to this work. And so, in 1915, I was appointed Visiting Pastor of the General Church. My fields of work were Western Canada, the Pacific Coast, the South, and the Near Middle West. After nine years, Western Canada passed to the care of the Rev. Henry Heinrichs; and later California to that of the Rev. Hendrik Boef; I retaining Oregon and Washington.
     Six years ago, when the depression came, all long-distance visits were discontinued, including, besides those mentioned, the visits of Mr. Harris to New England. For me there remained only the Near Middle West.
     At the end of 1935, desiring to retire, I resigned as Visiting Pastor. The care of Detroit and Middleport passed to the Rev. Norman Reuter. But as no minister was available for Erie, Cleveland, Akron, Niles and Youngstown, it was necessary that I continue to care for these places by visits twice a year, instead of four times a year, as before.
     Last February, because of our shortage of ministers, I was appointed pastor at Cincinnati for one year, succeeding Mr. Reuter, who went to Kitchener. Thus Middleport also again came under my care. From Cincinnati I have been visiting the circles in Northern Ohio and at Erie.

390

     The purpose of visiting pastor work is to bring the ministrations of the church to our small groups, with the hope that, in their development, a resident minister may some day be placed there,-a hope that was realized some years ago at Los Angeles, and which promises realization today at Detroit and in Northern Ohio.
     The development in Northern Ohio is interesting. There has come a united endeavor of the circles at Cleveland, Akron, Niles and Youngstown for a fuller church life. Recently, on a pastoral visit, members from all the places joined for worship at one place, with an attendance of over forty, including children. In this region, conservatively estimated, about fifty persons, old and young, are affiliated with the General Church. They are deeply in earnest. Besides the few visits that the Rev. Willard Pendleton and I can give them, they desire that other ministers also shall come.
     In Western Canada, and in Washington and Oregon, there are in each field a number of localities in which work has been done. In some of them, ground has been lost during the six years of suspended work. To what extent such is the case can be learned only if and when visits are resumed. In California there may now be the need of General Church visits. In the South, at all places formerly visited, the good state remains.
     Perhaps it may be asked: What can be accomplished by one visit a year to a far distant field? Aside from the ministrations of the church in worship and instruction, there is brought to the people a fuller realization that the General Church, of which they are members, has at heart their spiritual welfare, and seeks to do all it can for them. Their loyalty, interest and devotion are strengthened. And for the children, the fact of the coming of a minister, aside from the instruction he gives them, impresses upon them that there is a church which is that of their parents, and which is to be theirs.
     Is evidence of this desired? During the years that I, and afterwards Mr. Heinrichs, visited Western Canada, each trip occupying about six weeks, twelve pupils came directly from there to the Academy; and, after the removal of some to California, three from there; a total of fifteen. Since then there has been but one. From Oregon, during the depression period, we have had two pupils; and from the South, several.
     Yet it is not merely for the sake of students that visits should be made. It rests with the church to care for its people, wherever they may be. There are, indeed, only a few in each place, the "two or three to gather in the Lord's name"; yet their total throughout the church is great.
     The Lord's command to His church is, "Go ye, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit." (Matthew 28:20.) "Teach all nations!" Our "nations" are, in the first place, those who are of our Church, and their children. "Baptizing them"-Quite many are the children in the fields we have mentioned whose baptism their parents are awaiting; yet we have not been able to respond to the desire for this so important sacrament of the church. You know the doctrine concerning the infestation to which unbaptized children may be subject.-Then, too, there if the other sacrament,-the Holy Supper.

391

Need we dwell upon the importance of providing this, to the fullest extent, for all our people? Indeed, it is the administration of the two sacraments that is the most important part of the visiting pastor work.
     I wish you could read the appeals for spiritual help that have come to me, especially from the far-north Peace River Country of Canada and from the South. Your hearts would be deeply touched. And if you and your children were similarly situated, would not such an appeal to the church come from you?
     Perhaps others may tell of the financial support necessary for this use. At present, however, our Church is facing another problem more serious than the need of the financial means for its uses. It is the lack of ministers to perform the uses. And ere long this condition will become more acute; for quite a large number of our ministers are of the age when their labors on earth are nearing their close. Yet, apart from this, there is the present lack of men. May the Lord move the hearts of young men capable for this use to prepare for it! And to this end, may it not be needful that all of the church manifest more fully an attitude that would give encouragement!
     As conditions are at present, it will be necessary, if the visiting pastor use is to be somewhat efficiently done, that something of a sacrifice be made, in that some uses regularly performed be occasionally interrupted, in order that ministers may do this work, sometimes for some days, and sometimes for several weeks.
     The visiting pastor work might, to a considerable extent, be termed church "follow-up" work,-that is, following up and caring for those who leave our larger societies to make their homes elsewhere. The building up of the Los Angeles Society was such follow-up work, all persons coming from Western Canada, Ontario, and the Eastern States. Detroit, for the most part, was the same, being formed of persons from Kitchener and Bryn Athyn. Northern Ohio, so far as concerns Cleveland, Akron and Niles, is entirely so.
     Dear friends, you who have boys and girls growing up who may very likely go to make their homes elsewhere, do you wish that the church should follow them up? Or it may be that some are married and have children, and have gone or may go; and do you wish that the church should follow them up and care for them? And of those of you who are not too old to make a change, and this comes about, as it may, and you need to leave the Society in which you are, and go where there are no New Church people, or only a few, I would ask, "Would it not be your most earnest desire that the church follow you up?"
     Great is the work of Church Extension that is to be done, both in aiding ministers of financially weak societies and in sending out visiting pastors. We need the men and the means. We can and should have faith that the Lord will provide both as He sees to be best. Yet there is a part for us to do in co-operation with Him. We give that co-operation by a prayer which the Lord Himself tells us to pray,-a prayer, however, that is not only of the lips, but also of the earnest endeavor towards its fulfilment.

392

That prayer is in these words: "The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that He will send forth laborers into His harvest." (Matthew 9:37, 38.)
Respectfully submitted,
F. E. WAELCHLI.
REPORT OF THE ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH. 1937

REPORT OF THE ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH. C. E. DOERING 1937

     In this report I shall not attempt to describe to you the many uses the Academy is performing. An account of these uses will be published in the forthcoming Journal of Education, which will include the reports of the officers of the institution, its schools and departments, and will be sent to anyone sufficiently interested to ask for it. Here I shall confine myself to two phases of our work. First, I shall try to convey to you something of what we are trying to do in the way of developing distinctive New Church education; and second, the matter of scholarships.
     In 1932, Bishop de Charms, in response to an urgent call of many interested in New Church education, published his work on the Growth of the Mind, which was a condensation of his course in Education given to the senior students of the college.
     The following year, the principal of the Boys' Academy arranged special faculty meetings to consider the work of the Boys' Academy, with particular attention to developing New Church methods and procedure in teaching.
     For a number of years, Bishop de Charms has been holding special meetings of the faculties of the Elementary School and Girls' Seminary, for the purpose of studying the curriculum in the light of our educational philosophy; but these meetings had to be discontinued this year, because of the press of other duties. In place of these, however, a series of meetings of the President's Council has been devoted to the consideration of the interior development of our educational work. The idea was to begin by an informal discussion of the central problems involved in this development, with the hope that the way would be paved for a wider cooperation in the General Faculty.
     At the first of these meetings, President de Charms presented a plan to initiate a study of the interior development of education, and proposed the first question to be considered: "What do we mean by distinctive New Church education?" He pointed out that this involves a retrospect and a reexamination of the foundations upon which the Academy rests, because the reexamination of the foundations will help to clarify our own ideas, formulate clearer definitions of our aim, which should be of practical value to us in the application of our theory, and in helping new teachers to build upon what has already been accomplished.
     He mentioned three elements essential to a distinctive New Church education,-elements upon which we are all agreed, and which we may take for granted:
     "1. A school in which New Church baptism is held as a prerequisite to entrance.

393

     "2. A school in which the teaching staff is drawn from the membership of the New Church.
     "3. A school in which the required work includes specific courses in religion and in New Church philosophy.
     "The real question is: What more than this may be said to be essential to distinctive New Church education! Shall secular subjects be taught in a different way, and wherein does the difference lie?"
     He noted that "conversations with the members of the Church, and discussions with members of the faculty, showed that the thought on this question is by no means unanimous. For there are:
     "1. Those who consider affirmatively the idea of a distinctive mode of teaching, but who in practice are very much at a loss as to how it is to be done.
     "2. Those who, believing in such a mode, have been consistently endeavoring to find a way, and who have developed various applications of the idea to their own courses.
     "3. Those who regard such an attempt as visionary, believing that the three elements above listed are all that is necessary or possible to attain, and that, given these, our efforts should be directed toward efficient teaching of secular subjects in accord with the standards of the educational world about us.
     His own opinion was that "secular subjects are to be taught in a different way, and that the difference will become greater and greater as the philosophy of New Church education grows with us." He said: "We believe that this difference does not arise from references to the Writings, or the introduction of philosophic principles in the course of regular instruction, but in a complete reorganization of material, and the presentation of the subject from a basically different point of view, and for the sake of a totally different end or purpose."
     He summed up the differences in these words: "Modern education seeks to impart facts and an understanding of their application to the practical uses of human society. New Church education should seek to impart truth,-the truth of any subject in such a way as to inspire the love of truth for its own sake, that is, for the sake of use."
     The plan outlined proved most stimulating, and gave direction to discussions throughout the year; and this has given the faculty a new sense of unity in the common task of promoting the universal end of the Academy, inspiring the hope that there will be in the Academy not only a new education, but also a new culture that will serve as the matrix or vessel in which the spiritual of the Church may be received. For this can be received only in those things in the natural which are correspondent to itself. It was this vision-that the truth of a subject is to be insinuated in all teaching-that inspired the founders of the Academy; and only the development and application of this principle, in theory and in practice, can keep it a living New Church institution of education.

394

     SCHOLARSHIPS.

     The scholarship problem is a perennial one, and yet, if there were no scholarships, we could do without our dormitories, and house all our boarding students who are not on scholarships in one relatively small building. Of the 39 boarding students this year, only 7 paid the board and tuition charge. The other 32 received either stipends, scholarships, or part-scholarships.
     Yet we did not award scholarships to all who applied last year. There were 43 applications for scholarships to live in the dormitories, and only 29 of these were granted. Fourteen were refused, because we had neither the money nor the work. In addition, there were 33 applications for full or
part tuition, and none of these were refused; but the taking on of all of them added considerably to the cost of janitor work. In fact, it really meant that the Academy contributed part of the tuition charge.
     Reverting to the dormitory scholarships, the total board and tuition charge for these was 914,250. The payment of this was divided as follows:

Parents paid nearly 22% or                              $3,125.25
Students worked for 28% or                               4,047.25
Sons of the Academy contributed 14% or                     2,000.00
Theta Alpha contributed a little over 40% or                600.00
The Academy, from its scholarship trust funds, gave 17% or      2,452.50
The Academy, in addition, remitted 14% or                     2,025.00

     The last item has increased the Academy's deficit by just that amount,-$2,025.00. Add this contribution to the work it furnished, and it means that the Academy provided 42% of the charge of these students. And if the Academy's trust funds are counted in, we find that 59% of the charges was provided by the Academy.
     For the coming year we have an even more difficult problem. There are 46 applications for working scholarships. The Scholarship Award Committee, in considering the list, has rated them all A. Some were rated AA, but there were no Bs. In other words, every one of the 46 is considered a good risk.
     This does not include the applications for tuition or part tuition from Bryn Athyn students. Of these, there are now 26. Realizing that there were more applications than we could grant, and yet wishing to grant as many as possible, I sent out the following letter to the parents of every applicant:

Dear Friend:
     It is the goal of the Academy each year to provide the advantage of its facilities to as many qualified and deserving students as possible. The fee for tuition is $100, and for board and lodging, $400.
     Cash and working scholarships are of assistance in reaching this goal, which can be more nearly attained if parents and guardians pay the maximum possible amount in cash towards such scholarships, because the number and extent of scholarships is strictly limited in two directions: first, the total amount of cash funds available; and second, the volume of suitable work which the Academy can utilize.

395

Also, the maximum value of work done by a day student is $100, and by a dormitory student, $145. The number and extent of applications for the year 1937-1938 is greater than the funds or work available.
     This circular is being sent to all applicants for working scholarships, to find out the greatest amount in cash which parents can pay towards a scholarship, providing the Scholarship Award Committee grants the applicant a working scholarship for 1937-1938. If the greatest amount has already been stated, then a reply to this effect will be appreciated; but if it is practical for you to increase the amount, then a reply to this effect is requested on or before June 5th. On the basis of these replies the awards will be made as soon thereafter as practical.
     Yours sincerely,
          DEAN OF FACULTIES.

     I have received responses from about 60 per cent. Of these, 2546 promised to do more than their original statement. And many of them gave a frank statement of their financial condition as to income and normal expenditures, showing that they were doing all they could, and promised to do more if their income increased. Some mentioned drawing on their savings account to increase their amount. The increase in promises from boarding students is around $900. But this is not enough to give every applicant a scholarship. As I said, we are limited in awarding scholarships in two directions,-funds and work.
     Let me put the matter in another way. The charge for 46 boarding students is $23,000.00. Parents have promised $4,540.00. The fund available from Theta Alpha, Sons of the Academy, and Trust Funds of the Academy, is $5,425.00. Thus there is $9,965.00 available cash to pay $23,000.00. We need $13,035.00 more. We can furnish about $4,500.00 worth of work. That leaves $8,535.00 still to be raised. This means that we need, on an average, a little over $200. more for each pupil. This is more than the Academy can do without seriously crippling other uses.
     I hope I have made the situation clear, and I want to assure you that the Academy is doing all it can to educate as many of the Church's children as possible. But the responsibility of doing so is not hers alone. Primarily the parents have a responsibility, in that the Lord has given the children to them; and providing for their proper education may serve as a means for their own spiritual development. And the Church as a whole has a responsibility, in that thereby it provides for its own preservation and continuance.
     C. E. DOERING,
          Dean of Faculties.

396

REPORT OF THE TREASURER OF THE ACADEMY. 1937

REPORT OF THE TREASURER OF THE ACADEMY. HUBERT HYATT 1937

     A DISCUSSION OF TUITION CHARGES.

     At the Fourth Session, Mr. Hubert Hyatt, Treasurer of the Academy, spoke as follows, in connection with the business affairs of the Academy:
     It is expected that the recent Annual Reports of the Treasurer of the Academy will be printed for distribution in the not distant future. Therefore, it is not proposed now to submit any such report, but rather to try to clarify something which generally does not seem to be clear about the work of the Academy.
     The Academy makes certain charges against its Students, or against those responsible for its Students. These charges are to be distinguished from payments, which often are not the same. Both the charges and the payments are also to be distinguished from the costs, which never are the same.
     It is proposed to discuss these charges, and payments, and costs, in an effort to show something about them,-something which, apparently, is not generally known and is not generally appreciated, but which should be known, and should be appreciated, by all of us who are interested in the functions of the Academy as a servant of the General Church,-a very useful servant.
     The discussion will involve several figures, but as few as possible for the purpose. These figures can be given exactly, but it will be simpler to use round amounts instead, the round amounts used giving essentially the correct ideas and comparisons. It is necessary, also, to mention several averages. About these averages, it is emphasized that most averages may be misleading, unless, at the same time, it be recalled that, ordinarily, no single case actually is an average case.
     The Academy makes certain charges per year for each of its Students. Again it is emphasized that these are not to be confused with either Payments or costs. These charges are: First, $100 for tuition, applying to all Students; Second, about $12 for certain minor fees, also applying to all Students; and Third, $400 for Board and Lodging in the Academy Dining Hall and Dormitories, applying only to Dormitory Students.
     The Academy year ends June 30. The accounting is not yet completed for the year ending June 30, 1937. Therefore the year is taken which ended twelve months ago,-June 30, 1936. For the Academy, that year was typical of the present and recent years, so far as this discussion is concerned.
     For that year, the Academy had a total of 108 Students:-35 Dormitory Students; 73 Day Students. Almost all of the 73 Day Students are the children of Bryn Athyn parents. Almost all of the 35 Dormitory Students are the children of those living elsewhere. Almost all of the 108 Students are our children,-children of the General Church.
     For that year, the Academy had an income of $142,000. Such an income will impress some as being so large as practically to preclude most, if not all, financial difficulties. Such an impression is a mistaken one. If you or I had an income of $142,000 per year, we would experience many difficulties: some we might expect, and others we might not.

397

Any individual or institution, with an income of $142,000 a year for a term of years, necessarily undertakes many obligations, becomes party to many contracts, and is very likely to lose at least some capital. After a few more years, sooner or later, with such an income, questions arise. Where does all the money go? Why is it, with so much money, there are things one wants, things one really ought to have, things one needs, and even things one practically must have, but cannot afford? There are many persons, and many institutions such as the Academy, with large incomes, and a great proportion of them are asking these questions. This is mentioned because they are questions with which the Academy is confronted. Five or ten years ago, the income of the Academy was substantially greater, say $180,000, with obligations of equal amount. Suddenly, within a year or two, a number of good investments reduced or discontinued their income; mortgage interest was unpaid; a stock paying $10.00 reduced to 60 cents, and so on. But the obligations, the needs, the necessities remained.
     When one is spending all one's income, and maybe a trifle more, it is just as difficult to meet a cut of from $180,000 to $142,000 as it is from $1,800 to $1,420, if not more difficult. When one is spending all one's income, and maybe a trifle more, it is just as much of a problem to get along with $142,000 as with 81,420, or as with any other small amount, if not more of a problem.
     Undoubtedly, there are real difficulties with an income of $142,000, and they are just as real and just as actual as with a small income. A little less, or a little more, makes a great deal of difference.
     For the Academy, for the year being considered, two-thirds of the $142,000 was income from investments; $16,000 was from contributions; $26,000 was from charges,-not payments, nor costs, but charges for Tuition, Dining Hall, Dormitory, and Sundry Fees; and $4,000 consisted of a deficit, and therefore was an expenditure of the Academy's capital.
     The entire $142,000 was spent, and there remained many unfilled needs, and at least some necessities, which the Academy could not afford.
     The sum of $66,000, or a little less than half the total, went to pay the Teachers,-29 Teachers, one Teacher for every 33/4 Students,-an average salary, some more, some less, of slightly less than $2,300 per year, $190 per month, $45.00 per week.
     Another item, of 82,400, consisted of those fees which were first charged, and therefore were part of the income, and were then canceled, and therefore were part of the expense.
     There were many other expenses, such as those for heat, light, water, sewage, telephone, taxes, fire insurance, repairs, janitor's labor, library salaries and upkeep, secretarial work, office work, food and cooking for 35 dormitory students, laundry, grass to cut, snow to shovel, six fairly large buildings to operate and maintain.
     The total of all the expense was $142,000, and still there were many needs, and at least some necessities, not provided.
     Both the total income of $142,000, and the total expense of $142,000, have been carefully analyzed in detail, to discover the few figures which will appear, and with which we should be acquainted.

398

     This analysis is not, entirely, simple arithmetic. In some small part it is a matter of judgment. But it represents no effort at emphasis in any one direction. Any accountant would reach substantially the same results. There are only two or three variations possible, and all three would not make any substantial difference.
     The first step in the analysis is to deduct $8,000 from the total of $142,009. This deduction represents the cost of those Academy activities which were not exercised directly on behalf of the then present Students, but rather on behalf of those of the future. The remaining $134,000, during the year under consideration, was expended entirely for the purposes of teaching the 108 Students, and of feeding and housing the 35 Dormitory Students.
     The next step is to divide the $134,000 into two items. The first item consists of the cost of teaching the 108 Students at exactly $929.32 (say $929) each, giving a total of $100,000. The second item consists of the cost of the Dining Hall and Dormitories for the 35 Dormitory Students at exactly $942.26 (say $942) each, giving a total of $34,000. Thus we have a cost of $929 for each Day Student, and a cost of $1,871 for each Dormitory Student, resulting in the total cost to the Academy of $134,000 for all 108 Students. Again it is noted that these amounts are neither charges, nor payments of charges, but costs.
     Note three comparisons: First, the Tuition charge per Student of $100, compared with the Tuition cast per Student of $929; Second, the Dining Hall and Dormitory charge per Student of $400, compared with the Dining Hall and Dormitory cost per Student of $942; and Third, the total charge per Dormitory Student of $500, compared with the total cost per Dormitory Student of $1,871.
     These comparisons, by no means, are anything whatsoever of complaints by the Academy, but exactly the contrary. The Academy was and is given its funds and its equipment for no other purpose than that they be spent and employed to train as many as possible of our children,-the children of the General Church,-to become New Churchmen, to become useful, and therefore valuable, members, thinkers, teachers, and Ministers of the General Church. The above figures indicate the endeavor of the Academy to do just this. In the past, the endeavors of the Academy in this direction have met with at least some success. The Academy "points with pride" to at least some of its products. We all know some. The Academy continually is trying, and will continue to try, to improve its methods, to increase its efficiency, to spend its funds, to employ its equipment, so as to make its work for the General Church of ever greater real value.
     In comparing these charges and costs, the point to be made is this: The greater the proportion of the charges which can be paid on behalf of or by the students, the greater can be the usefulness of the Academy the more students it can accommodate, the better for the General Church, for our children, and for us. That is the point which is emphasized. It is not a matter of complaint by the Academy.

399

     There are other points which the analysis brings out. Four amounts will be recalled: First, two amounts for charges, including the sundry fees,-namely, $112 each for Day Students, and $512 each for Dormitory Students; and Second, two amounts for costs, namely, $929 each for Day Students, and $1,871 for Dormitory Students.
     The next point is with regard to the payments of these charges.
     The $112 charged for each Day Student was paid, on the average, as follows:

Cash by or for the Student                $65.
Work by the Student                     32.
Contributed by Theta Alpha                2.
Paid by the Academy                     13.
Total                               $112.

     The $512 charged for each Dormitory Student was paid, on the average, as follows:

Cash for the Student                     $119.
Work by the Student                     141.
Contributed by Theta Alpha                17.
Contributed by Sons of the Academy      51.
Paid by the Academy                     121.
Total                               $512.

     The next point is with regard to the costs,-not the charges, but the costs. How were the costs paid?
     The $929 cost for each Day Student was paid, on the average, as follows:

                                             Percent
Cash for the Student                     5.0
Work by the Student                     3.0
Contributed by Theta Alpha                0.2
Contributed by Academy Finance Ass'n.      2.0
Contributed by Individuals Direct           9.0
Paid by the Academy                     80.8
Total                               100.0

     There were 73 of these Day Students, costing $929 each, making a total cost of $68,000. Of this total, the Academy paid $55,000, Contributors gave $8,000, and, for the 73 Students themselves, there was given in cash or work, $5,000.
     The $1,871 cost for each Dormitory Student was paid, on the average, as follows:

400

                                             Percent
Cash for the Student                     9
Work by the Student                     8
Contributed by Theta Alpha                1
Contributed by Sons of the Academy      3
Contributed by Academy Finance Ass'n.      2
Contributed by Individuals Direct           9
Paid by the Academy                     68
Total                               100

     There were 35 of these Dormitory Students, costing $1,871 each, making a total cost of $66,000. Of this total, the Academy paid $45,000, Contributors gave $10,000, and, for the 35 Students themselves, there was given in cash or work, $11,000.
     The final point summarizes the foregoing for the $134,000 total cost of Tuition, Board, and Lodging for the total of 108 Students,-both Day Students and Dormitory Students. This $134,000 total cost was paid as follows:

                                             Percent      Amount
Cash for the Student                     7.0           $9,700.
Work by the Student                     5.0           6,900.
Contributed by Theta Alpha                0.5           700.
Contributed by Sons of the Academy      1.5           1,800.
Contributed by Academy Finance Ass'n.      2.5           2,900.
Contributed by Individuals Direct           9.0           12,000.
Paid by the Academy                     74.5           100,000.
Total                               100.0           $134,000.

     Thus, of the $134,000 cost of Tuition, Board, and Lodging for the total of 108 Students,-both Day Students and Dormitory Students,-the Academy paid 74 %, or $100,000, Contributors gave 13 1/2%, or $17,400, and, for the 108 Students themselves, there was given, in cash or work, 12%, or $16,600.
     That concludes the results of the analysis. It is trusted the figures are not too many, or too confusing. Again it is emphasized, the figures and comparisons do not constitute the slightest sort of complaint by the Academy. They are merely useful facts to have before us.
     It is noted, with appreciation, that the Academy receives substantial help for its work from members of the General Church, by means of contributions through Theta Alpha, through the Sons of the Academy, through the Academy Finance Association, and direct, and by the payment of Fees. The Academy appreciates this help, uses it to the best advantage it can devise, and hopes the hell, will continue and increase as the General Church continues and increases.
     Likewise, it should be noted, also with appreciation, that the Academy, in its turn, is contributing substantially to the welfare of the General Church, by spending its energies and all its funds, and by employing all its equipment and facilities, for the one purpose for which it was organized.

401

The work of the Academy is far from perfect. All its work is done by human effort, and, by no means, is above reproach or beyond improvement. It is, and can be, justly criticized for this and for that. But its foundation is sure. Its principles are right. Its aim is proper. It is doing real work. It is good work for the General Church.
HUBERT HYATT.
CORPORATION OF THE GENERAL CHURCH. 1937

CORPORATION OF THE GENERAL CHURCH. RANDOPH W. CHILDS 1937

     REPORT TO THE SIXTEENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY.

     July 3, 1937.

To the Bishop of the General Church of the New Jerusalem:
     As secretary of The General Church of the New Jerusalem, a corporation, I submit the following report for the period from the last General Assembly, held in 1935, to the present Session of the General Assembly.
     Throughout long years of financial depression, the Executive Committee has labored to support the uses of the Church in the face of a severely reduced income, arising from a decrease in the income from securities and from reduced contributions.
     A study of the comprehensive annual reports submitted to the members of the General Church by our capable Treasurer indicates that this corporation is engaged in the supporting of the uses of the General Church, among which are the following: The Office of the Bishop of the General Church, including salaries, secretarial expenses, and episcopal visits; New Church Life; the partial support of the Rev. W. C. Henderson's going to Australia, the Rev. Philip Odhner's going to Durban, Africa, the Rev. Elmo C. Acton's return to Bryn Athyn, the Rev. Norman Reuter's work in Kitchener, Canada, the Rev. Gustaf Baeckstrom's work in Stockholm, Sweden, and the Rev. Erik Sandstrom's work in Sweden; also pensions to retired ministers.
     Most of the funds of the General Church are used in the support of ministers, and it has been the effort of the Executive Committee to cut contributions to ministers as little as possible, and to bring about the necessary economies by decrease in the expenses of New Church Life, and by discontinuing the publication of New Church Sermons as formerly issued.
     The reduction in the appropriation to New Church Life is most unfortunate, and there is an urgent need for the increase of the size of the monthly issue of the Life.
     The Executive Committee has approved the support of a project for the revision of the present Hymnal and Liturgy, and for the publication of a volume combining the revisions in both the Hymnal and the Liturgy.
     Referring to membership in this corporation, the situation, up to the time of the meeting of the Corporation held on June 30, 1937, was as follows:

402

Total Registrations                          192
Less Deaths                          61
Registrations duplicated;
Nos. 106 by 150, 156 by 168, 87 by 157      3      64
                                                       128
     The By-laws of this Corporation contain the following provision as to membership:

     Article II: Membership.

     "Section I. Any male member of the Church known as the General Church of the New Jerusalem, who is above the age of twenty-one years, and who has been a member of said Church for at least five years, is and shall be eligible to become a member of this corporation, and shall become such member upon signing the register described in Article XIV hereof.
     "Section II. Any member of the corporation may be dropped from membership by the affirmative vote of three-fourths of all the members of the corporation present at any annual meeting or at any special meeting of the corporation called for that purpose, provided, however, that at such annual or special meeting at least fifty votes are cast in favor of the dropping of such member, and that thirty days' written notice of such proposed action shall be given by mail to each member at his last known address."
     At a meeting of the Corporation held on June 30, 1937, the Bishop of the General Church, who is the President of this Corporation, reported that the Rev. Ernst Pfeiffer had been separated from the General Church under date of April 7, 1937, and that subsequent to this action the following members of this Corporation had resigned from membership in the General Church of the New Jerusalem, unincorporated:
     Rev. Theodore Pitcairn,
     Rev. Albert Bjorck.
     At the meeting held on June 30, 1937, and pursuant to notice duly sent to all members of the corporation, the following named gentlemen were dropped from membership in this corporation:
     Rev. Ernst Pfeiffer
     Rev. Theodore Pitcairn
     Rev. Albert Bjorck
     This reduction in the membership of this corporation involves a substantial loss in contributions, and it will be the duty of the members of the General Church to do their part to make good this loss of income.
     At the meeting of the Corporation, held on June 30, 1937, the following gentlemen were elected members of the Executive Committee:

403

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

     Honorary Members.
Rt. Rev. N. D. Pendleton, President Emeritus
Jacob Schoenberger
Samuel S. Lindsay

     The Executive Committee of this corporation has unanimously supported Bishop de Charms in his handling of the situation arising out of the activities of those espousing the so-called Dutch Position; and on behalf of the Executive Committee I wish to express to Bishop de Charms the confidence which the Executive Committee has in his ability to preserve freedom and order in
the General Church.
     Respectfully submitted,
          RANDOPH W. CHILDS,
               Secretary of The General Church of the New Jerusalem (a corporation).

404

PHILOSOPHY OF LOVE 1937

405

     "I am sure you would all be disappointed," Professor Hite says at the opening of the Address, "if I should content myself with merely reciting Swedenborg's familiar doctrines about the nature of God and the world. . . . If we note that the point of this doctrine is, philosophically, that substance and form are love and wisdom, rather than that love and wisdom are substance and form, we see that it presents a new view of substance and form. So, too, if we affirm that God is love, we merely repeat Christian tradition, but if we assert that love is God, we announce the fundamental thesis of a new revelation-a thesis which gives new significance to the word 'love,' and transforms the theological doctrine that God is the ultimate reality to the philosophical statement that the ultimate reality is love. It seems inevitable, then, that I must, with what light I have from our doctrines and from history in general, undertake to say what ultimate reality is as I conceive it. First, then, let us glance at history."
     "From the days of the early Greeks, all down through the ages to the present time, the intellectual energies of the master minds of our race have been directed to the underlying problems of existence and of life." He then traces the various concepts of "reality," from those of the Greek philosophers to those of Swedenborg's time, comparing and contrasting them with the teachings of our Doctrine, and concludes: "Speaking, then, in the light of history and of doctrine, we may affirm that Ultimate Reality is Love."
     In the Supplementary Essay, noting that in his previous "metaphysical treatment of Love as an end-cause-effect process," he had to neglect very many important features of the Philosophy of Love, he proceeds to give an outline of the doctrine of creation from the spiritual sun,-the "self-projected, self-representative, and self-realizing state of Infinite Love, which the Lord Himself is. This means that the spiritual sun is that projected state of Infinite Love which is the love of creating, and the perpetual love of the created universe." In the development of this theme, several statements are of special interest:
     "This philosophy of love gives us not only a new metaphysics, but a new theology,-a theology which is both Christian and rational. That God is Love is a familiar Christian doctrine, but this doctrine has always been taken to mean in strictness that love is an attribute of God. The same thought is expressed by the phrase 'the love of God,' which is equivalent to saying that God loves.

406

     But none of these expressions go further than the general acknowledgment which all religions imply. None of the them go so far as to identify love with God. When, however, we think of love as the Ultimate Reality, the phrase 'God is Love' means that love, all-comprehensive, infinite love, is God." (Page 53.)
     "The omnipresence and omniscience of God, though uniformly ascribed to Him by Christian doctrine from the beginning, are really unintelligible for the natural thought which has been characteristic of Christian thought of God. . . . When, however, we think of the Lord Jesus Christ glorified as the Person of Divine Love, then we have an intelligible community between the love which man is and the Divine Love which the Lord is. . . . We can then feel and understand real personal relations with the Lord, look to Him for life and all its blessings, and pray to Him as the all-wise, ever-present, and all-powerful Giver of all good." (Pages 55, 56.)
     "According to Swedenborg's scale of the 'degrees of the neighbor,-bearing in mind that real love of the neighbor is the Lord's love of others received and transmitted by us, with knowledge and acknowledgment of its source and quality,-we have, first, and in the narrowest sense, one's own body, when it is cared for to secure the welfare of the mind. The mind is the neighbor in the next degree and in a larger sense, when its welfare is cherished for the sake of a useful life. So also one's immediate family and household is the neighbor in a larger degree when its use in the community is kept in view. As still larger and higher degrees of the neighbor, we have the circle of relatives and friends, the community in which we live, the city, the state, humanity at large, the Church as a whole, the Lord's universal kingdom, and, highest of all, the Lord Himself. Whose love constitutes all degrees of the neighbor, and Who is the supreme object of human love." (Page 60.)
     Publications reviewed in our pages may be ordered through the Academy Book Room or consulted in the Academy Library.

407

Church News 1937

Church News W. C. H 1937

     SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA.

     Apart from the recent celebrations centering in the Nineteenth of June, it is probable that the most noteworthy event in our society life since Easter was a meeting of male members held on April 27th. This meeting followed discussions in the Pastor's Council, and after explaining that it had been called as an extension of that body, the Pastor dealt with the distinctive uses of men and women in promoting the interior growth of the church, stressed the responsibility of the men toward the women of the church in the matter of their uses, and spoke of the necessity of liberally furnishing the mind with those doctrinals, without which the Lord cannot impart the wisdom for reception of which it is the specific duty of the men of the church to prepare themselves. He then described the incalculable benefits the Academy and the General Church had derived in this use from regular men's meetings for the study and discussion of doctrinal subjects, and closed by offering some practical suggestions on studying out subjects and writing papers on them. The address was freely discussed, and it was unanimously resolved to hold a men's meeting every month, commencing in July. We believe that this use,-providing as it does a stimulus to ordered study, reflection, and expression,-will be a potent means of evangelization within the society itself; and that the social sphere the church has introduced into such meetings will bind us yet more closely together.
     Another important meeting, this time with the young people of the society, was held on June 3rd. While the young people participate freely in the social life of the society, they have had no social life they could feel to be their own, and it was felt the time had now come when some provision could be made. Hence this meeting, which resolved on the formation of a Young People's Club.
     The Pastor was elected President of the Club for the ensuing year, and Miss Nellie Taylor Secretary-Treasurer. The Club will meet two Thursdays in each month for instruction as a Young People's Class, and at least once a month for a social evening; and it is possible that the tennis club, which meets on Saturday afternoons, will seek affiliation; thus bringing all our young people's activities within the compass of one organization. While this involves an apparent loss
in the sacrifice of a number of classes, we believe there will be compensating gains if we can give our young people a social life within the sphere of the church.
     It will be seen from this that we are still feeling our way gradually into a full program of uses. Meanwhile our ordinary uses have continued as usual. At the three Evangelical Services held since Easter, addresses have been given on "The Resurrection," "Washed in the Blood of the Lamb," and, "A Rational Conception of Prayer." The series of doctrinal classes on the "Virtues" was concluded in May; and on the last Sunday evening in that month the Pastor addressed an open meeting of the society, instead of a doctrinal class, on the subject of the Rev. Ernst Pfeiffer's separation from our body. A new series of classes on the "Life in a Heavenly Society" has now been commenced in which the purpose is to present a cross-section of everyday life in the heavens.

408

In Young People's Class we are still engaged in studying the doctrines that have to do with regeneration. The Ladies' Guild has held its usual monthly meetings, two mainly of a
social nature, and one, in April, at which the Pastor addressed the ladies on "The Lord's Divine Names." The practice of designating a hostess for each meeting has proved very successful, and Mrs. Kirschstein, Mrs. Adams, and Mrs. Stevenson acted in that capacity at these meetings. Two successful hikes have been held, and we have had an enjoyable social and a card party.
     It was unfortunate that the weekend of June 19th and 20th was one of the wettest Hurstville has experienced for some time. Incessant heavy rain, accompanied on the Sunday by a driving wind, made conditions very unpleasant, and prevented some of our friends from taking a full part in the program arranged. As the storm was at its worst on Sunday afternoon, it was necessary to postpone the children's service to the following Sunday. Fortunately, no other curtailments were necessary. As usual, our preparation for entering the sphere of the Nineteenth began on the preceding Sunday, when the subject of the sermon was "The New Doctrine of the Lord." (Rev. 1:1-3.) In revival of a custom that had lapsed we gave a little banquet for the children on the afternoon of the 19th. Mrs. Fletcher was in charge of catering and decorating, and provided an attractive meal in a most appropriate setting. A few songs of the Church were sung by the children, and at the close of the meal the Pastor said a few words on the meaning of the day and the reason for the gathering, finally explaining to the children the representation which had been prepared by Mrs. Henderson. A Service of Praise was held in the evening, in the course of which an address was given on Matthew 24:31. At service on the Sunday morning the subject was "The Marriage of the lamb." (Rev.19:7.)
     Our Nineteenth of June Banquet on the Sunday evening was, as usual, the highlight in our church year. Mrs. Henderson, assisted by willing helpers, provided us with a splendid banquet and most attractive decorations; and Mr. Alfred Kirschstein as toastmaster presided ably over a gathering which, despite the inclemency of the weather, numbered twenty-four. We were privileged this year to receive a warmly affectionate greeting from our Acting Bishop, whose letter did much to emphasize our essential unity with the rest of the Church. After this episcopal greeting had been discussed the Pastor was requested to convey to Bishop de Charms the society's appreciation, and to assure him of its love and loyalty. Toasts to "The Church," "Our Friends in the General Church," and "The Nineteenth of June," were proposed by the Rev. Richard Morse and Messrs. Ossian and Lindthman Heldon, and were duly honored in wine and song. The Pastor then read a paper on "The Lord's Two Advents" which led to a short but interesting discussion. A number of impromptu toasts were then proposed, of which we refer to one only,-that to our Pastor Emeritus, whose affection in responding was most touching. Our gathering, which seemed to bring a most inspiring sphere, then closed with the singing of "The Brotherhood," and we go on now into a new year, with the hope that it may mean a new state.
     W. C. H.

409

HOLY SPIRIT 1937

HOLY SPIRIT Rev. ALFRED ACTON 1937

NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. LVII      SEPTEMBER, 1937          No. 9
     (Delivered at the Sixteenth General Assembly, July 3, 1937.)

     It is revealed to us as an arcanum of angelic wisdom that the Lord acts from inmosts and from ultimates simultaneously, and that only thus can all things be held in connection. (D. P. 124.) It is from this law that we have in the universe the operation of Divine Creating, the ultimate of which is matter, and the operation of the Divine Proceeding, the ultimate of which is use; the two being, as it were, the cardiac and pulmonic motions of the universe. In what follows I propose to show that the Divine Proceeding is that which, before the Lord's Advent, is called the "Spirit of Holiness," and after the Advent the "Holy Spirit."

     Creation commences with the finition of the Infinite. From this first finition, by a series of compoundings, are produced other and lower finites, and from these are formed atmospheres which finally come to an end in substances and matters at rest such as exist on the earth. Of these finites and their ultimate forms of substances and matters, it must be observed that they are actual creations; that is to say, that, while they have been created by the Divine, yet there is nothing of the Divine in them. Perhaps we can have some rational comprehension of this self-evident truth by considering that created substance is eternally held in finite form by the will of the Infinite; thus, that its essence is finite, while its origin is the Infinite.

     Yet created substances are not separated from the Infinite, for this would involve non-existence.

410

The Divine is still present in their inmosts, and this presence is manifested as a conatus or striving to clothe uses. In itself, this conatus is quiescent, but when created substance is acted upon by a force whose end is the production of use, it manifests itself by the spontaneous clothing of that force, that the use intended may so stand forth in finite form. In this sense, created substances may be likened to an egg, all the potentialities of which are concealed and unknown until it is impregnated; then its innate power or conatus is at once aroused, and it eagerly runs forward, as it were, to bring forth its riches for the embodiment and manifestation of the living use of the seed.

     Thus the creation of finite substances and matters would not of itself satisfy the Divine Love, which wills to give to others outside itself. In addition to these substances and matters, which by virtue of the conatus within them are reactive potencies, there must also be an active potency which shall act upon them, and, clothing itself with them, shall present the end of Divine Love in finite form as uses-uses which, in an ascending series, look to the giving of earthly and heavenly delights to man.

     This active potency is the Divine Proceeding, the Spirit of God, the Spirit of Holiness, and, after the Advent, the Holy Spirit. This Divine Proceeding is not creation; it is the imparting of life, and thus of form, to created substances. It is the Divine of Love, the Divine of Wisdom, and the Divine of Use, proceeding by means of atmospheres, both spiritual and natural. But though it thus proceeds, it does not cease to be Divine; just as, to use a simple illustration, the life of the soul does not cease to be the life of the soul when it operates by means of the motor fibers and muscles of the body.

     This Divine Proceeding is represented in nature by heat, light, and atmosphere,-the Divine of Love by heat, the Divine of Wisdom by light, and the Divine of Use by atmosphere. Strictly speaking, however, the Divine Proceeding is the proceeding of Divine Truth or Wisdom from Divine Good or Love. Divine Love and Wisdom are substance itself and form itself, and this can never proceed. It does indeed create by the finiting motion of the Divine Will, but this is not proceeding. What proceeds is the creative activity of the Divine Love; and in created substances, from first to last, this activity is manifested as motion.

411

     When motion is mentioned, one thinks of lifeless or merely mechanical motion, though even mechanical motion comes from design. But it is not merely mechanical motion that is meant when it is said that the Divine Love manifests itself in the created universe by creative activity. What is meant is the motion by which proceeding Divine Love operates upon created substances for the production of uses. We see an image of this in man; for man's love proceeds into his body, not as love or as substance, but as motion-but a living purposeful motion designed to secure in ultimates the fulfilment of the love. Thus, taking a very ultimate illustration, if one's love is to secure a dwelling place, the first activity of that love contains in itself all the operations which will subsequently come into view, as that activity descends,-the planning of the house, consultation with others, the provision of means, the purchase of materials, and so on. All these separate operations are actually presented before our mind as accomplished facts.

     So the Divine Love, which has for its end the formation of an angelic heaven. Proceeding as the heat and light of the spiritual sun, it passes through successive atmospheres even to the substances and matters of earth, and, there clothing itself, produces the uses which are the ends of creation.

     This Divine Proceeding is Divine Love proceeding as Divine Truth, that is to say, as creative motion. In ultimates, this motion or proceeding is revealed to us as mathematical or geometrical truth, or as the laws of motion; the truths of mathematics being nothing else than the formulation of the laws of ultimate motion as observed by man. The laws themselves are wholly independent of human observation. So in the field of botany and anatomy. The truths which we learn in these fields are the formulation of our observations of the forms of organic parts, and of the end for the securing of which these forms came into being. It is the same in the more abstract sciences, as in economics, the mental sciences, and even in theology, though here revelation is necessary. Man cannot make truth; he can merely see it, understand it, and acknowledge it. Truth itself is Divine, and it is the Divine Proceeding in the universe.

     "The Divine Proceeding (we read in the Athanasian Creed) is that which is extended in the universe, and it is the Divine Truth and the light of the spiritual sun.

412

Hence the inmost of the spiritual world is this proceeding, and this it is from which nature has drawn her origin; and this is extended in the created universe. It is afterwards formed successively into spheres, the last of which is the atmosphere of the natural world " (n. 191).

     This Divine Proceeding does not create substances and matters, but it clothes itself with them (W. 317), and so presents itself in finite forms of uses which are the gifts of Divine Love to man. These forms are created in an ever-ascending series, each lower series furnishing the means for higher forms of uses, from the mineral kingdom to man; and in man the process is continued by the successive formation of organic forms, from which, when acted upon by the heat and light of the spiritual sun, can be raised those spiritual creations or spiritual forms of uses which are called intelligence and wisdom, with the myriad things pertaining thereto. The giving of these to men is the supreme end of Divine Love.

     The operation of the Divine Proceeding is the Spirit of God. This Spirit proceeds from the spiritual sun as the heat and light of heaven, and, by the mediation of the natural sun, as the heat and light of the world. And it proceeds that uses may be clothed with forms, and so may be given to man in the natural world. In the natural world the forms are provided by substances and matters such as are on earth, and the uses they clothe and bring into manifestation are natural uses for the sustenance and recreation of the body. In the spiritual world, the forms are provided by the interior organic substances in man, and the uses they clothe and bring into manifestation are spiritual uses for the sustenance and recreation of the spirit. But in both cases, the uses that are brought forth are the operation of the Divine Proceeding, the Spirit of God. To quote the words of the Writings, It is the same with spiritual heat and light, that is, with the truth of faith and the good of charity, as it is with natural heat and light. "As from the conjunction of the latter all things on earth flourish, so from the conjunction of the former all things in the mind flourish," and this flourishing is wisdom and intelligence (T. 392).

     This creation of the kingdom of uses, both spiritual and natural, is what is meant in the Old Testament by the work of the speech or spirit of God.

413

Thus we read in Genesis: "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth; and the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the faces of the deep." And then follow the words: "And the Spirit of God moved upon the faces of the waters, and God said, Let there be light." And so each following stage of creation is introduced by the words "And God said," and by the speech or word of God is meant the Divine Love proceeding as Divine Truth. Again, we read in the Psalms: "By the word of the Lord were the heavens made, and all the host of them by the spirit of His mouth" (Ps. 33:6; A. 6880). So likewise in the New Testament: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. All things were made by Him, and without Him was not anything made that was made" (John 1:1, 3). By "things" are here meant forms of uses, or uses in form.

     In a preceding part of this paper, it was said that in created substances and matters there is a conatus or effort to the clothing of uses. We now return to this point, in order to show that, according as substances and matters are organized into higher forms, so the conatus within such forms is a conatus to the clothing of higher uses; and also to show that when substances, from the conatus within them, clothe inflowing uses, they feel those uses as their own, and in them they feel the delight of their life. This, indeed, is a law impressed on creation, whereby the Lord gives His creatures to perceive that which they receive from Him as though it were their own.

     In the mineral kingdom the conatus to the clothing of uses is merely a conatus to the supplying of a clothing for organic forms. In the vegetable kingdom it is a conatus which leads plants to turn to the sun, to receive its light and heat, and eagerly to take in nourishment from the earth; and plants manifest their resultant life and delight in their odors, their colors, and their fruits. In the animal kingdom there is, in addition, a conatus to receive what is called in the Writings "the spiritual in the ultimate degree" (W. 346), that is to say, a conatus to receive the natural and living uses of life; and this reception brings to animals natural joys and delights almost as in man.

     But in man is a conatus to the reception of spiritual life. This conatus is not at once manifest; nevertheless, it is interiorly within every human being at birth.

414

In the new-born babe it is manifested by that suction of the lips which is acquired in the womb, and without which the application of the infant lips to the breast would be of no avail for its nourishment. It is also manifested in the connate grasping of the hand around any object with which the hand comes in contact, and in the carrying of all things to the mouth. All this is from the soul, which gives to the body a conatus to the reception of nourishment, and to all the motions which make nourishment possible. Later, in the child, this conatus is more interiorly manifested in an incessant curiosity, without which education would be impossible; and still later, in youth, by a desire to learn the reasons of things, and afterwards to receive a deeper understanding of them. And as this conatus is exercised, whether by the reception of earthly uses or of heavenly, so man enters into a life and delight which he feels as his own.

     But though this conatus exists in every man as a necessary precursor to his reception of the creating Spirit of God, yet, since the Fall, it is greatly obscured, and its fruits interfered with by accumulated hereditary evil. The child has the natural desire to learn; yet how often is this desire overwhelmed and almost defeated by that laziness, that seeking after its own desires, which is inspired by the love of self! And with actual evil, when steadily confirmed, the conatus may seem to be altogether destroyed, or to remain only as an occasional 'willingness to elevate the understanding into the light of heaven.

     The case was otherwise before the Fall of man. To the primitive man the Word or the Divine Proceeding appeared ultimately in the representative forms of nature. By the way of the senses these representations were implanted in the ground of man's mind, there to be vivified by "the Spirit of God moving over the faces of the waters," to the end that the organic vessels of the mind might be formed to be receptive of the Spirit of God, and so perceptive of the interior things contained in the representatives of nature, and inmostly of the presence of God-Man as the Lord of creation. This was then the operation of the Spirit of Holiness acting upon the ground of the mind and raising up therefrom a Spiritual Paradise the work of the Sower.

     To us in our age, when we can learn nothing save by way of external knowledges or scientifics gradually implanted in the mind by the gateway of sight and hearing, it is difficult to understand any other way of approach to God.

415

Yet, that another way did exist in the primitive days of the race, when man lived in the golden age, is manifest. For men then loved God, lived in chaste conjugial love, and in love to each other. These loves cannot come from man, that is to say, from man as a being composed of substances and matters drawn from the dust of the earth. They can come only by the inspiration of the Spirit of God, the Divine Proceeding from Divine Love. This Proceeding is a power; and when received into the organic vessels of man's mind, that power reforms those vessels and vivifies them, enabling them to turn to the Lord, and to feel as their own the delights which the Lord wills to give to others outside Himself. This spiritual operation is in entire correspondence with the natural operation whereby the Divine Proceeding, clothed with the heat and light of the natural sun, molds the substances and matters of the earth into organic forms receptive of the Divine of Use, and manifesting the delights of that reception by the beauties, the joys, and the sports of nature.

We know also that, in primitive times, men had revelation in dreams and visions just before their waking moments. In those visions, the representatives of nature stored up in their memory became visible before the sight of their spirit, and in that state they were instructed by the Lord Himself (D. 2591); even as the eyes and ears, if I may use a lowly illustration, are instructed in the things of nature by her beauties and harmonies, provided evil loves do not interfere by turning all things to the service of self.

With the coming of evil came also an obstacle to this mode of revelation. The vessels of man's mind were gradually disfigured, so that the representatives of nature were no longer seen therein as the theater displaying the wonder of Divine Love and Wisdom, but were turned by the love of self into scenes subservient to that love. Vessels thus distorted were dulled in respect to that conatus which had led the men of the Golden Age to receive the Spirit of God spontaneously; and for this no remedy could be provided in the then existing mode of revelation. It is true that by means of such revelation the men of the Golden Age had gathered together a store of doctrines by which they instructed their children and others, and that in the course of time these doctrines were greatly increased (D. M. 4636); yet they were in the nature of oral traditions, and, with the disappearance of the innocence which perceived and perpetuated them, they would also soon be forgotten.

416

Another medium was needed whereby the Spirit of God might operate upon the minds of men and turn them to Himself-a medium, the preservation and permanence of which would not be dependent upon the perception of innocence.

Such a medium was furnished by the gathering together of the lessons of the fathers, and their reduction to written form. And this was added to from time to time by revelations made by means of men who, by association with angelic societies, were for the time being inspired with the Spirit of God. Sometimes the Lord also appeared to such men by means of an angel who was filled with His presence. But, however given, the revelations made in this way could be clothed only with the ideas and images which lay in the mind and memory of the ultimate medium of revelation. In the period immediately succeeding the Golden Age, these ideas and images consisted mainly of correspondences remote from any literal meaning; for such was the language of the times, borrowed from the men of an earlier and purer age. But later, as the knowledge of correspondences was forgotten, and men were concerned merely with earthly events, the ideas and images with which revelation was clothed became more material, more concerned with the deeds of men, and more remote from the truths of heaven. Here we have the difference between the Ancient Word, a part of which is preserved in the first chapters of Genesis, and the Jewish Word, which commences with the story of Abram. Yet throughout both Words were the maxims of charity wherein the truths of heaven shone forth in clear light; for throughout the ages, something of charity and of love to God has ever been preserved.

And now it was no longer on the basis of the representations of nature, supplemented by heavenly visions, that the Spirit of God could move men's minds, and reform and enlighten them, but on the basis of a written Word, which was to be heard, and, so far as may be, was to be understood, to the end that it might mold the mind to serve as a vessel for the reception and operation of the Spirit of God The representations of this Word in the human mind, and the effect on that mind produced by the reverent enactment of the rituals enjoined in the Word, were the basis for the operation of the Spirit of God, and for the reformation and enlightenment of man, though in measured degree.

417

But such a Word could not enlighten men to see spiritual truths in natural light, for the human minds whereby it was given were in obscurity. In the words of the
Prophet Isaiah: "I looked, and there was none to help; and I wondered that there was none to uphold. Therefore mine own arm brought salvation unto me" (Is. 63:5).

     It was for this reason that, from the very beginning of written revelation, the central truth was the prophecy that God would become Man. From the time of the Golden Age, all churches lived in the hope and expectation of the fulfilment of this prophecy of a Messiah who was to appear in the flesh, and, as told in wistful tones by the woman of Samaria, "will tell us all things" (John 4:25). This prophecy was fulfilled by the coming of the Lord. Henceforth He Himself was the ultimate,-the Last as well as the First. On earth the Lord took to Himself the whole of nature, and by the Spirit of His mouth taught men, and operated on their minds immediately.

     With the Advent of the Lord, the means by which the Spirit of God could operate on men, to open their minds to the truths of heaven, and their hearts to the worship of God, were no longer the representative things of nature seen by the eyes of innocence; nor the solemn rituals of the church performed or witnessed in the spirit of humble adoration; but they were spiritual truths made comprehensible to the natural mind by the Lord incarnate; truths, the words of which furnished to that mind the Divinely given basis for the operation of the Spirit of Truth, proceeding now from God made visible.

     This operation is the operation of the Holy Spirit as distinguished from the Spirit of Holiness, the latter being the operation of the Divine Proceeding before the Advent,-an operation by means of representations drawn from nature, or from the minds of men who themselves were in obscurity. But now the Lord operated from His own Divine Natural, and taught spiritual truths in natural light. This operation is called the operation of the Holy Spirit, because it is whole and complete, enabling men to see the Lord as God-Man, not representatively, but actually.

418

Prior to the Advent, this was not possible.

     This distinction between the churches prior to the Advent and those after it is a matter of revelation, but it is abundantly confirmed by the facts of history. During the countless ages prior to the Lord's Advent, civilization was practically unchanged, and while men were skilled in the science of correspondences, and also acquired the technical arts, there was no insight into the mysteries and truths of nature. But after the Advent came an immense change, which had its origin in the Christian world, and which is continually outspreading therefrom. With the revelation of the Lord as a Man, enlightening the natural mind, men came into a freedom of thought never before experienced. No longer was theology a mystic science to be entered into by the initiate, but it was open to the study of all men. From this grew also in the minds of men the desire to search out the mysteries of nature,-a desire which has resulted in the marvelous store of knowledges concerning the secrets of nature which enrich the world today-and all this in the course of a few centuries.

     It is true that when the Lord was in the world He spoke in parables, but these parables were not the dark sayings of old. They were parables whereby the Divine Truth was presented before the natural mind in light. This was seen also by the people, for when the Lord had ended the Sermon on the Mount, "the people were astonished at His doctrine, for He taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes."

     Even so, the Lord's teachings prior to His resurrection were not the operation of the Holy Spirit, for we read in John: "The Holy Spirit was not yet, because Jesus was not yet glorified" (chap. 7:39).* The reason is, because, although the Lord spoke the truth from His own mouth, and although the people were thereby enlightened, they could not be spiritually enlightened to see God as Man until they acknowledged Jesus Christ, not as an earthly Messiah, but as the Son of God.

419

There were indeed times when this was seen, as when Peter exclaimed, "Thou art Christ, the Son of the living God," a confession which was doubtless due to the operation of the Holy Spirit. This, however, was only temporary. But after the resurrection, when the Lord had opened the eyes of the Disciples, so that they knew Him in the breaking of bread, "He breathed on them, and said, Receive ye the Holy Spirit " (John 20:22).
     * It is interesting to note that, despite this saying, the theologians of the Christian Church have taken the Holy Spirit not only as being a separate Person in the Divinity, but also as existing from eternity, and as spoken of in the Old Testament. Nor, so far as I know, has it been noticed, except by Swedenborg, that the term "Holy Spirit" does not occur in the Old Testament, but only "the Spirit of Holiness "-though in the A. V. this is translated "the Holy Spirit."

     We may here note that though "the Holy Spirit was not yet, because Jesus was not yet glorified," it is nevertheless said that Mary conceived of the Holy Spirit, and that Elizabeth, Zacharias, and others were filled with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit here referred to was the Spirit of Holiness, the Spirit of Jehovah, which affected Mary and Elizabeth by means of angelic societies filled with the presence of God (T. 140); but it is called the Holy Spirit because Jesus was already in the world (T. 158), and also because, when the Gospels were written, He was already glorified.

     But though the Lord, after His resurrection, gave to the Disciples the gift of the Holy Spirit, yet that gift could not be fully operative. The Holy Spirit was indeed in the world; that is to say, the Divine Proceeding was ultimately present as the proceeding from God Incarnate; but its operation could not be full and complete until further preparation had been made; until, in the light of the new Gospel, men had entered into a state of freedom in natural thought. Hence we have the apparent contradiction, that though Jesus breathed on His Disciples, and said, "Receive ye the Holy Spirit," yet He also told them that the Holy Spirit was still to come. Thus the Lord says: "I will pray the Father, and He shall send you another Comforter, that He may abide with you, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive. These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you; but the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you" (John 14:12, 25-26).

     As already noted, by the Advent of the Lord a new state dawned upon the Christian world, the result of which was the opening up of the science of nature. This science was received in Swedenborg's mind, and, in the light of the New Testament, it was the means whereby he was led to formulate a true philosophy of nature, and so was prepared to become the Divinely appointed means by which the Lord could fully reveal spiritual truths in natural light-a revelation which would not be possible, save in the language of a rational philosophy, resting on the basis of a knowledge of nature.

420

     In the Writings of the New Church it is the Lord Himself who is revealed as God-Man. It is true that the words in which those Writings are clothed are taken from Swedenborg's mind, as also are the illustrations and the natural science. But for this Swedenborg was Divinely prepared; and the fact that the clothing of the Writings is drawn from his mind no more detracts from their Divinity than the muscles of the mouth by which ideas are expressed detract from the fact that it is the ideas themselves that thereby become visible.

     In the Writings, the Lord speaks to man immediately. In place of the representative images of nature, and of the later representations drawn from human minds, we have now the Lord Himself appearing in the Divine Natural Glorified; and the operation of the Lord in the Writings is the operation of the Holy Spirit. Hence we are told that the Lord operates "out of Himself from the Father, and not the reverse" (T. 153); that is to say, the Father, the invisible God, does not operate on man through the Lord, but the Lord operates "out of Himself," that is, immediately out of the Writings, where alone He is revealed in the fullness of His Glorified Human. Were this not so -were it the invisible God who operated through the Lord,-man could not be in freedom of choice and cooperation. Indeed, so important, so illuminating, is the truth that the Lord now operates "out of Himself," that it is given to us "as an arcanum from the Lord Himself for those who will be of His New Church " (T. 154).

     The Lord, as now revealed in the Writings, is the only object of our worship, the only source to which we can look for the power of the Divine Truth from Divine Good whereby alone man can be reformed, regenerated, enlightened, and can be conjoined to God and receive the delights which Divine Love wills to impart. In the Writings the Lord operates upon man immediately. There He is the Mediator and Savior.

     The operation of the Lord upon man is called the "virtue" or power of the Holy Spirit, because Divine Truth from Divine Good is an actual power or force reducing all things into order.

421

This we can experience in ourselves. For who does not feel the power of truth upon his own mind when it exposes his evil? And who is not then aware of an instinctive desire to escape from the rays of truth? The love of self resists the operation of the Holy Spirit, because the first fruit of that operation is the revelation of the true nature of this love. But with the revelation comes also a powerful urging to the shunning of speech and deeds to which the love impels. If this urging is received, a new form, being the form of Divine Truth, is impressed on the mind, a form which is opposed to the natural form into which the love of self brings it, and which therefore is first felt as pain and anguish. To the man belongs the choice whether he will retain this form by inhibiting the love of self from rushing forth into thought and deed, or whether he will reject it. If he retains it, then gradually the very form and disposition of the organic vessels of his mind are changed, so that they turn to heaven, as it were spontaneously. Prior to this, man does good from truth, but afterwards he sees truth from good. This is the work of regeneration wrought by the Holy Spirit. To man belongs the choice, but the power to reform the mind is the Lord's; it is the power of the Divine Proceeding, the virtue of the Holy Spirit.

Hence we are told, and reason at once assents, that the preacher and teacher can indeed preach the Word, and bring the knowledge of it to the understanding of men, but the Lord alone can touch the heart. Thus man is led and taught by the Lord alone, and this immediately from Himself when from His Word (P. 172). The fact that the actual teaching is done by preachers and others does not take away the fact that it is the Lord alone who teaches and leads, and this from His Word. Every faithful priest acknowledges this; for he wills that men shall be led by the Lord, and not by his own persuasion and eloquence; that their gaze shall be directed to the Lord in His Word, and not to the glory and honor of the preacher.

Therefore we have the teaching that the Holy Spirit passes "through men to men, and in the church chiefly through the clergy to the laity" (Canons IV. 5). And because the clergy are the principal medium for the passing of the Holy Spirit, therefore the clergy are to be inaugurated by the promise of the Holy Spirit.

422

With them its specific operation is enlightenment and instruction in the duties of their office (T. 146), but this enlightenment and instruction is received according to the state of the mind of the priest as formed by doctrinals, and according to its disposition as formed by the love (T. 155; A. 3704, 6982; L. J. 46). The Holy Spirit also passes to man through angelic societies, though of this man is not conscious; for we read that the Holy Spirit "is the Lord speaking through angels and spirits" (J. Post. 222). But whatever the medium, that medium is not the source of the Holy Spirit. That Spirit proceeds from the Lord alone as the Word, and this into the angels of heaven and the men of the Church (Canons IV. iii).

If, then, man denies the Lord, that is, denies Him in his heart, by confirming himself in evils, he closes himself entirely against the operation of the Holy Spirit, for he entirely rejects the Word. The power of the Divine Truth then surrounds him, as it were, and compels him by fear, but it does not enter into him to remold the organic vessels of his mind. For such a man there is no remedy save to be held in bonds of order, for he sins against the Holy Spirit. As we read: "Whosoever speaketh against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whosoever speaketh against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come" (Matt. 12:32). To speak against the Son of Man is to deny this or that truth drawn from the Word; but to speak against the Holy Spirit is to deny the Word itself, and thus to close the mind to the operation of the Lord from and as the Word (Canons IV 5: 9, Lord 50).

This teaching concerning the Holy Spirit directs our eyes to the Lord alone now revealed in His Word. There is no looking to an invisible God, to some occult influence or mysterious force operating from within. The gaze is directed to the Lord teaching in His Word. Therefore we read: "The Holy Spirit, which proceeds solely from the Lord, operates on man perceptibly, and enables him to comprehend spiritual truths in a natural manner" (Nine Ques. 5). This operation is a perpetual operation, even as the operation of natural heat and light on the organic forms of earth is perpetual; but it is ever the Lord's alone. As we read in the Writings: "The Holy Spirit never becomes man's, but is constantly the Lord's with him. Therefore it does not inhere; nor does it remain, except so long as the man who receives it believes in the Lord and, at the same time, is in the doctrine of truth from the Word, and in a life according to it.

423

It is not transferred from man to man, but from the Lord through man to man " (Canons IV:iv). And we further read: "The Lord acts out of Himself, or out of the Word, in man and upon him, but not through him; for the man acts and operates freely from the Lord when he acts and speaks from the Word" (T. 154).

     Indeed, the Lord in His Word and the Holy Spirit are one and the same. "By the Holy Spirit (we read) is properly signified the Divine Truth, thus also the, Word; and in this sense the Lord Himself is also the Holy Spirit" (T. 139). The term "Holy Spirit," however, is predicated, not of the Word itself, but of its operation on man, just as we speak of man's spirit, sometimes as meaning the man himself, and sometimes as meaning his influence on others (T. 156).

     When, from acknowledgment of the Lord, man reads or hears His Word; when he reflects on its teaching with the end and purpose of removing the obstacles to its reception which are raised up by evil loves; and especially when he is engaged in actual resistance to evil; then does he admit the operation of the Holy Spirit to reform, regenerate, enlighten, and save. The Holy Spirit also operates "by the Sacrament of the Holy Supper, according to the preceding repentance" of the partaker (Canons IV. iv).

     This teaching concerning the Holy Spirit leads us to the Lord in His Word, and gives us the firm assurance that, as men acknowledge Him there, they will be reformed and regenerated, and enlightened in ever greater measure to behold the arcana of heaven as so many mirrors of the Lord.

424

ASSEMBLY SERVICE OF WORSHIP 1937

     SUNDAY, JULY 4, 1937.

     The General Assembly came to a fitting conclusion in the solemn and uplifting sphere of worship on Sunday morning, when a congregation of 348 persons gathered in the hall of assembly for the Service with Communion. The commodious stage had been suitably arranged with the chancel furniture of the Pittsburgh Church, and the communion rails were on the floor in front. Two ladies of the chancel guild, in becoming vestments, assisted in the preparations.

     The service was conducted by Bishop de Charms, according to the order of the Fifth General Office. The Lessons were read by the Rev. C. E. Doering, and the Sermon was delivered by the Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner, his text being from John 13:12, "So after He had washed their feet, and had taken His garments, and was set down again, He said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you!"

     After an Interlude, the Sacrament of the Holy Supper was administered to 229 communicants. Bishop Acton was celebrant, and was assisted in the administration by the Revs. A. Wynne Acton, Reginald W. Brown, W. B. Caldwell, L. W. T. David, C. E. Doering, F. E. Gyllenhaal, Hugo Lj. Odhner, and Norman H. Reuter.

     The worship was enriched by the music of a string orchestra, which accompanied the singing and also played a number of beautiful selections from the works of the great masters. The members of the group were: Mrs. Frank Bostock, piano; Messrs. Frank Bostock, Raymond Pitcairn, Karl R. Alden, and Michael Pitcairn; the Misses Creda Glenn, Esther Grote, Christine Grote, and Karen Pitcairn.
AT THE SESSIONS. 1937

AT THE SESSIONS. 1937

Each Session of the Assembly began with worship, different ministers conducting the service, which included the Reading of Lessons from the Word and the Writings, the Lord's Prayer, and the singing of a Hymn at the opening and closing. Mrs. Besse E. Smith accompanied at the piano, and played a suitable Prelude and Postlude each day.

425

AFTER THE SUPPER 1937

AFTER THE SUPPER Rev. HUGO LJ. ODHNER 1937

     (Delivered at the Assembly Service, Sunday, July 4, 1937.)

     "So after He had washed their feet, and had taken His garments, and was set. down again, He said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you?" (John 13:12.)

     The Word had become flesh and dwelt among men. The Gospels all testify of His Human aspect, but in none of them do we more clearly behold His Glory-the glory as of the only-begotten of the Father, full of grace and of Divine Truth-than in the last Gospel, that of John. In the description of His Divine qualities, His Humanity is not sacrificed. But for the first time it is made clear that God is God-Man, that the essential Divinity is Love and Wisdom, and that God is made manifest only through His Divinely Human attributes. He stands forth to our view as fully conscious of His Divinity, as teaching with Divine Authority and from Divine Wisdom. Yet He walks and talks with men, and partakes with them of food and drink.

     The other three Gospels tell of the institution of the Holy Supper as a sacrament perpetually to be observed in the church in remembrance of the Lord. But the Gospel of John omits the description of the rites of this sacrament-already well known-and instead devotes five chapters to record the more intimate events and the more interior teachings which marked that occasion,-the last natural communion of the Lord with His disciples; which in a manner became also the first spiritual communion of the Lord with the Christian Church. The synoptic Gospels give the ultimate forms of this sacrament, by which-the Writings now reveal-a conjunction of the church with the Lord is effected (T. C. R. 725); but the Gospel of John stresses the qualities of that conjunction itself, and the truths by which it is made possible. It tells of things which are involved in the covenant of love that must bind the church together and conjoin the church with the Lord; it tells of the unity of the Son with the Father, of the Spirit of Truth and of enlightenment, of the Glorification and its effects with men. (John 13:34; 14, 15, 16, 17.)

426

And through its veiled words the Divine glory-the spiritual sense of the Divine teachings-shines out with a steady brilliance as never else in Scripture.

     This spiritual teaching was given after the Supper, as an internal unfolding of its significance. For the eating of that which the Lord has blessed bears such a promise within it. At the Lord's pleasure, spiritual food-which is the good and truth which the Lord provides for the nourishment of souls-can by influx be converted into natural food, as was the case with the manna that fell in the desert, the wine in the wine pots of Cana, and the leaves and fishes in the feeding of the five thousand. (Additions to T. C. R., n. 695.) At the Lord's pleasure, also, natural food can be used to confirm and strengthen man's spiritual usefulness, to yield its inner meaning, and lay an ultimate answering plane for spiritual energies and spiritual perceptions. Do we not realize this with delight when, as brethren, we meet in unity to eat from the same table? Do we not, from an instinctive perception, recognize the truth of the doctrine that material food and drink "nourish the body better and more suitably when a man is at the same time in the delight of conversation with others about the things he loves"? (A. C. 8352.)

     The ancients perceived the power of this correspondence. It led to the ritual use of feasts and sacrificial eating together. The Passover of the Jews contained interiorly the same spiritual law. And in the New Testament we find abounding instances when the Lord sat a guest at table and gave His teaching or His blessing. In the Holy Supper this idea of a spiritual conjunction by such ultimate correspondence reaches its culmination. And its purpose was made clear when, in the Apocalyptic vision, John heard angels speak of "the marriage supper of the Lamb," and of the celestial Jerusalem,-the virgin bride and wife who was made ready, arrayed in the garments of faith!

     Conjunction is from love.-The responsive love which the Church as Bride can offer is described in the Writings as "love to the Lord from the Lord."

427

For no love can come from man, since the affections of our hearts natively turn towards self. It is the love that is inspired by another that is true love. Love which will not acknowledge itself as inspired by others-by their virtue, their goodness, their uses-can be nothing but selfish and possessive, nothing but a complacent stirring of one's own sense of power or self-conscious goodness. Love to the Lord is from the Lord, when man acknowledges it to be possible only because the Lord's mercy and wisdom have no limitations, no taint of fault. This is what makes the Lord "the Lord" to our minds,-that what we think, and will, and do, is only possible by His provision, His allowance, or His permission.

     The Lord's conjunctive love of the human race is not a love of self, not a love of Himself in man. Love is directed to others, outside of itself. What the Lord loves in man is the human freedom, the human consent, which is the kernel of life in man. That is the Bride, the Church, the responsive reciprocal of human and angelic life.

     The Lord preserves with man this finite reality of freedom by holding man in the intricate networks of His Divine laws. The Lord chooses the circumstances and the elements which make up the borrowed vessels of man's life, the crucible in which man-the individual-miraculously arises to give spontaneous, finite consent to good or to evil. The Lord chooses our tasks, and prepares our ways before us. If man's liberty were not thus limited, he could never be free, but would straightway perish.

     The Lord, as the Divine Bridegroom, chooses. Yet the Lord does not choose for man. The Lord cannot be the Bridegroom and also the Bride,-the Giver and Himself receive! He cannot be Love, and love Himself in return! The Bride also chooses-by her consent. The human choice, or reception, is the only esse-the only reality-of man's life. Everything not of his consent will be felt as foreign to himself-as a bond which he desires to shake off. The Lord will not compel the human consent to the marriage.

     This reciprocal conjunction,-this marriage of the Lord and the Church with man,-is meant by the Supper which takes place in fulfilment of the words, "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."

     And now we learn from the Gospel of John that the Lord, in the full consciousness that He came from God, and went to God, rose from supper, and laid aside His garments, and girded Himself with a towel; then, pouring water into a basin, He proceeded to wash the feet of the disciples.

428

     It was a menial task, an act-outwardly viewed-of utter humiliation. Yet the Lord here was not properly in a state of humiliation, but in a state of glorification-in conscious unity with the Father. And in His actions is seen that which the Lord accomplishes with man in the Holy Supper, if man approaches it worthily, and thus receives the Lord in His glorified Human, whereby the Lord conjoins Himself to man.

     But when can man dare to consider himself "worthy" to come to the Lord's table? Doctrine answers: Only in a state of repentance, of shunning his evils because they are contrary to the commandments of God. No "good" which man regards as his own, or as originating from himself, can possibly invite the Lord's presence, but only that good which is formed within his understanding when he-from a sense of spiritual duty or obedience-puts truths into act. Only such good is acknowledged by man as not his own, but the result of the Lord's truth and command and revealed order. This good is called "the good of truth"; and of its formation we are taught: "Act precedes, man's willing follows; for what one does from understanding he at length does from will, and at last takes it on as a habit; and it is then implanted in his rational or internal man...." (A. C. 4353.)

     Repentance, or the good of truth, cannot regenerate the natural man and its affections. It cannot create a new natural. Man, by taking thought, cannot add a cubit to his stature. The good of truth can, indeed, reform man's outward life, and control his actions, and induce self-restraints against many rebellious moods and clearly selfish impulses. It can and does provide a plane in the rational degree of the mind in which successively more interior truths can be received; and through these the rational, or-what is much the same-the interior natural degree of the mind, can become regenerated.

     The Writings give it as a leading doctrine that the rational is first regenerated, and only later-by a more difficult and protracted process-the natural. (A. C. 3469.) And the Lord therefore said, "Cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also." (Matthew 23:26.)

429

It is man's work to repent, and to purify the interiors of his natural mind -cleanse his thoughts and intentions in deliberate cooperation with the Lord, by self-examination, and by acting from revealed truth.

     It is in the spirit of such repentance that we are to approach the table of the Lord. By membership in the communion of the church, we, like the apostle Peter, make a public acknowledgment of the Lord, and a profession that we are in need of His salvation, that we now endeavor to learn His will and do His truth. This it is that makes the fellowship of the church-a mutual support, a consciousness of a common goal. We profess, and hopefully believe, that so far as we sincerely seek truth to do it, so far we are in the process, or on the road, of repentance. We believe that our rational mind, as to its interiors, will become rational by the conatus-interiorly in the thought-to resist evils as sins against the Lord, and by the formation of principles of truth from His Word. How deeply, or how permanently, these states are rooted in his mind, no professing man can know. Yet, despite the discouraging recurrence of his native evils, and of self-delusive reasonings, no repentance is possible, nor any effort to do the truth he has accepted, apart from a conscious consent to the Lord's will, a free awareness that he is at least offering his obedience, imperfect as it may be. If we-in thought-dispute this free consent, we turn our faces away from the Lord; for we cannot act sincerely except as if of ourselves, though we acknowledge that the truth and the power are the Lord's.

     Conscious repentance-the cleansing of the inside of the cup and platter of conscious life-is man's part; and it allows the Lord to reform the understanding and to regenerate the rational. But it is the Lord's work to make the outside clean also. Man, as it were, washes his face; but the Lord washes man's feet. The Lord alone can regenerate and renew man's natural affections.

     For regeneration is a new birth, a new creation; and it is of the Lord alone. It is not deliberate on man's part, not a conscious process. It involves the formation of new spontaneous affections and perceptions which, like an organic web of fibers, spread out to become a new body for his spirit (Div. Wis. iv); that is, until the natural mind becomes restored to an order responsive and affirmatively reactive to the spiritual mind, which the Lord at the time secretly develops in the unconscious depths within him, and which drives to the sides and renders inactive the native evils of man, and the spontaneous delights of the natural mind come to correspond with the spiritual mind.

430

The natural man then comes to love to serve the affections of the spiritual, and is conjoined with the spiritual, and through it with the Lord.

But this work of cleansing or reconstructing the outward affections is not possible except by a long process, marked by deep temptations and by fluctuations of state. The Lord has power in the natural only so far as the rational, in its good of truth, receives new and more interior truths. Therefore we read that the Lord, arising from supper, "laid aside His garments" before He began to wash the feet of His disciples. He was ready to reveal Himself interiorly before His church, apart from external appearances of glory and magnificence. He was ready to give them truths more profound, to make possible a more interior conjunction. The more interior the truths in which He could be presented, the more universally could He act to purify and recreate the natural, and the more ultimately could the effect be felt. Thus He laid aside His garments, and girded Himself only with a towel, and it was with this that He wiped the disciples' feet. But let us note that it was a linen towel, selected to represent that the interior truths through which the
natural is purified by the Lord are yet truths of man's faith,-truths derived and learned from the Word of Revelation.

The Lord is seen and received, and can act upon man's natural, only according to the quality of the truths which man knows. Sensual men apprehend sensually the things which are from the Lord and in Him; and it is so that gentiles who live in simple charity from something of religion may have in their worship of idols a certain gross sense of holiness which conjoins them with the Lord's Divine Sensual. (A. C. 4715, 4211.) The same may be said of many simple Christians so far as they-in the Holy Supper-regard the bread and wine as in themselves holy. Those who are natural, and apprehend Divine things naturally, are in less gross ideas, and may be conjoined with the Divine Natural. But they who are in the most holy idea of the Lord are they who apprehend the Lord through rational ideas, being in the knowledges and affections of good and truth, as those can be who are of the Church.

431

These can be conjoined with the Lord as to His Divine Rational. For conjunction is of the mind; it is effected through thought and affection, and is such as one's ideas are.

     When, therefore, interior truths have been revealed to the Church, as was the case at the Lord's Advent, and again in the Revelation given for the use of the New Church, a new possibility of interior conjunction was opened for men. (A. E. 641e, 670:2; J. 73.) Because more interior things are now revealed, man can now become wiser ..." (A. E. 641e); yet not apart from such appropriation of goods and truths in the regenerate life, which is represented by eating the bread and drinking the wine of the Holy Supper. "Conjunction becomes successively more interior as more interior truths are implanted in good." (A. C. 4353.)

     But although man's truths of faith and understanding are needed in purifying the exterior natural for conjunction with the Lord, this purification is not a conscious act. The Revelator is therefore permitted to write: "As often as a man reflects within himself that he thinks good or does good, it comes from his proprium, thus from a certain self-love, cupidity and appetite....The good which is imparted by the Lord is wrought within him while he does not reflect from himself upon it; that is, while man remains ignorant of it; according to the Lord's word that man is born again, he himself being unaware." (S. D. 1561.)

     The man of faith, like Peter, may doubt that this is so. He may cry out to the Lord, "Thou shalt never wash my feet!" He may feel that regeneration, like confession and repentance, can be achieved by conscious effort, can be measured by man's reflection upon his states. The answer of Jesus was, "If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with me." But it was softened by His later words: "If I, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, ye also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example. . . ." Here, then, is something for man to do: yet the significance is clearly different. Man, who cannot regenerate his own natural, certainly cannot make the natural of other men purified or born again! Still, in spirit with the Lord's words, the man of the church can also apply the cleansing water of truth. He can, through the uses of education and instruction, minister to the Master's work, applying it humbly for the use of such states as may arise.

432

Surely this does not mean any assumption of an attitude of judgment upon other men, or any carping upon or aggravation of their mistakes. It involves no pretense of knowing the spiritual states of our fellows, but only a spirit which recognizes that, as fellow travelers in the world, we all must needs be sullied by the dust and the grime of the road; so that we, in charity, must forgive one another, and protect our fellows from condemnation-rather than to charge them with spiritual guilt.

     Man cannot regenerate himself. Yet the Lord provides the means by which man may dispose himself so that the Lord can cleanse his very feet. "Worship," we read, "is for the sake of purification." (A. C. 6730.) The dust of natural appearances, the filth of the ingrained cupidities of the senses and the inherited flesh, which no man, however regenerate, can avoid in this life, are cleansed by the Lord through the holy spheres of worship, and especially in the acts of sacramental obedience, when man's external thought is turned to the Divine Human, and is bound up with holy affections.

     How imperatively needful is worship! From birth onward, the ideas which accumulate to form man's external of thought enter at the bidding of impure affections. Each natural idea is associated from its start with some sensual delight or some idle current of affection that springs, at least in part, out of pride and selfish love. Our natural thought becomes rooted in a field of pervert lusts. Every bodily appetite of touch or taste or sight-in itself so innocent-is enslaved to please some unclean yearning, which, by the subtle connecting threads of association, enmesh the entire network of our natural thought. And nothing can break the mutual bonds of such corporeal ideas, nothing can change the state of the natural man, except the powerful introduction of new ideas by means of sensation,-new ideas organized in the image of the Lord, and associated, not with self, but with the Lord and His Word,-new sensory tides of hearing, sight and touch, yea, nutritive tides of taste and smell, which in their virgin purity are sanctified to the Lord's use, and are bound up, at their first entrance, with love to the Lord.

     This is the reason why the sacrament of the Supper must appeal to the very senses of man, and involve the motive reactions of the body, in order that it may have ultimate power to create new paths for influx and enlightenment in the organics of the natural mind; power to extend the Lord's presence and operation into the realm of man's conscious thought; power to break down the false pride of man, break up the foul gyres of man's sensual imagination, and replace them with a truer order which shall invite the influx of the heavens, and thus build up a plane of thought and inclination which shall confirm and consolidate the gains acquired in spiritual life.

433

This Divine provision for His sacramental presence is neither magical nor arbitrary. It follows the law that wherever two or three are gathered in His name-in charity, in faith, and in the uses of the church-there He, by His Word, by His Divine order, is in the midst of them. Amen.
ASSEMBLY BANQUET 1937

ASSEMBLY BANQUET 1937

     SATURDAY EVENING, JULY 3, 1937.

     In the ancient feasts of charity, brethren in the faith met together in a sphere of love to the Lord and mutual love, that they might rejoice over the increase of the church and strengthen one another to meet its adversities. Such a blended sphere of thankfulness to the Lord for past blessings and a courageous looking to the future pervaded the sessions of the Sixteenth General Assembly, and was felt in quickened measure at the Banquet. In the quiet of a lovely summer twilight, four hundred persons sat down to a bountiful supper, served upon tables that extended the full length of the spacious hall, with the speakers' table at the end. The floral decorations combined with feminine finery to make a beautiful color-setting for this festive feature of the Assembly, with its reigning spirit of renewed fealty to our common cause, voiced in speech and song.

     Alexander P. Lindsay, as Toastmaster, conducted the proceedings in an earnest and capable manner. Opening the program with a welcome to the guests, he expressed the sentiments of all present when he thanked the Shady Side Academy for its splendid cooperation in the arrangements for the meetings. As a token of our appreciation, he then presented a gift to Mr. Don R. Conner, General Manager, who spoke briefly and said he hoped we would all "come again some time."

434

     The Rev. Willard D. Pendleton was then asked to come forward, and the Toastmaster said: During the Assembly, many of you have asked about the unseen hand which has guided the workings of this Assembly. Allow me to present the individual who, more than anyone else, is responsible for the mechanics of these fine meetings. And now, Mr. Pendleton, on behalf of the General Assembly, and of the Pittsburgh Society, which claims you as its very own, I have the honor to present to you a little token of our love and affection, in recognition of the excellent work you have done in connection with these meetings. By your untiring labors, your mature judgment, and your vision and foresight, you have made a great contribution to this use in the Church. You have performed a signal service, and we, who are your friends, desire to take this means of expressing in a simple way our deep appreciation for all that you have done. (Prolonged Applause.)

     The Messages to the Assembly were then read by the Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner, and each was received with hearty applause. (See August issue, pages 378-379.)

     PROGRAM OF TOASTS AND RESPONSES.

     Toastmaster: Bishop and Guests of the Sixteenth General Assembly: How good it seems to us all to be together again! Just two years have passed since the last General Assembly, and yet it seems much longer. During this period of time much has taken place. Another crisis has come and gone. Old states have passed away. Old problems have been solved, and new problems have confronted us. A revered and beloved leader has retired. A new one has taken his place. Many of our friends have joined those on the other side. Others have taken their places in the ranks. But through it all we have made substantial progress. We are a united Church, and one thing stands out-The love of spiritual truth still holds the foremost place in our hearts and minds. Through all our trials and temptations, our Church has emerged triumphant. I propose a toast to "The Church."

     This was honored with the singing of "Our Glorious Church."

     Toastmaster: In these closing days of the Assembly we, in Pittsburgh, have been very happy,-happy in the thought that we have been able to render some slight service toward the growth and development of the General Church.

435

For it was here in Pittsburgh, and in this great valley of the Ohio River, that the New Church first secured a firm footing in this Country. It was here that the Academy was conceived, and here in the early days that the heroes of the Academy and the Church labored so earnestly for the upbuilding of that which we are here gathered together to promote and celebrate. As we look back over the history of the Church, and as we become better acquainted with the lives of the people who, in the Providence of the Lord, were delegated to build it, we are impressed by their earnestness, by the seriousness of their purpose and effort, by their great humility, and by their zeal for spiritual truth. And as we turn the pages of history, and approach our own time, we find these same virtues in those who have followed in the footsteps of the men and women of the earlier period. To all of them we owe a debt of gratitude-a debt we cannot pay, but a debt which we can acknowledge.

     At a recent meeting of the Philadelphia District Assembly, Bishop N. D. Pendleton said that in his opinion there was no finer or more expressive word in the English language than the word "Gratitude." The thought underlying that expression is not that men desire personal praise and gratitude for what they do, but that an understanding heart gives strength and encouragement to those who, in the Providence of the Lord, have been given the responsibility of directing our course in the upbuilding of the Lord's New Church. As a theme for the evening, therefore, I have chosen the subject of "Gratitude." And I propose a toast to the men and women of the past who have labored so earnestly for the upbuilding of the Church.

     This was honored by the singing of "Academia, Queenly, Peerless," and the speech in response was as follows:

     Gratitude for Our Responsibilities.-Donald F. Rose.

     It has been observed before that a successful Assembly is one which is dedicated to a single spiritual theme and dominant idea. In spite of differences of opinions, and the varied interests of Assembly speakers, a General Assembly almost invariably finds its focus in some universal article of faith, or special sphere of affection and fellowship, which we may reasonably believe represents a blessing from heaven on its meetings and purposes.

436

     As Fred Cooper might have said last evening, had he not had other matters on his mind, the Academy and the New Church are dedicated to the principle of cohesion without coercion, of unity in freedom, which unity may be visibly demonstrated at an Assembly by the drift of discussion toward a single outstanding topic and idea.

     At the last General Assembly, held in Bryn Athyn two years ago, the meetings began with a dramatic representation by the young people of the Academy Schools, many of them now become old folks of family, and ended at the banquet with a tribute to the apostleship of youth and the privilege of our young people in proclaiming the eternal message of the Nineteenth of June. There was unity, with variety, in that program. And on this present occasion, I would prefer to seek a similar identity of theme and purpose in the entire Assembly. To this the toastmaster has given the clue in his reference to Bishop N. D. Pendleton's remarks on Gratitude.

     At the opening session last Wednesday, Bishop George de Charms emerged from temporary retirement in the back room, where he had anxiously awaited the verdict of the Assembly, to mount the platform and make acknowledgment of his election as Bishop of the General Church. It was simply done, as is his custom. The Bishop briefly expressed his gratitude. Immediately after, he spoke of the grave and heavy responsibilities belonging to the office to which he had been appointed. It seemed at the moment remarkable that the Bishop should be grateful for the burdens of government and the responsibilities of high office in the Church. Yet it occurred to me then, and has come to mind many times during this Assembly, that for nothing else should we be so truly grateful as for our responsibilities, whether they be lesser or larger in the labors and life of the New Church. And for all other responsibilities, for that matter, which life gives us to carry.

     For without responsibilities, life is literally not worth living. Idleness and lack of responsibility are the devil's mischief-makers, and their reward is weariness of body and spirit. Much of the world's unhappiness must be due to the dodging of responsibility, and the shifting of duties and burdens to somebody else's shoulders. The world about us is crowded with discontent, not for lack of material possessions and privileges, but because so many men have lost the spirit of thankfulness for the blessings of work and duty and responsibility.

437

     If there were no responsibilities, anxieties, and difficulties in life, it would be profoundly necessary to invent some, if only to create an illusion of accomplishment and happiness. For excellent example, may I quote the alleged game of golf? We are acquainted with golf addicts, otherwise reasonable creatures, who deliberately burden themselves with problems and miseries for the doubtful privilege of meeting and mastering them. They do so by perpetually striving to put a small white ball into a none-too-large hole in the ground with a singularly inconvenient and expensive kind of stick, or club. There is the Rev. Gilbert Smith, for instance, who feels he must play golf in a drenching rainstorm, as though life were not complicated enough already. Possibly the peace and quiet of the Glenview society leave something in his restless soul unsatisfied. Obviously golf is not a game, though something less than a disease, so it must be a symbol of a human need. I hope, of course, that I shall never need to be grateful for golf. I hope I shall never need to make trouble for myself by building a boat, like Karl Alden, and then face the further responsibility of making a sail for it. I hope I shall never need to go fishing in the middle of an Assembly, like Otho Heilman, because life at Shady Side is too simple to satisfy.

     But the principle remains,-that the pursuit of happiness is altogether involved with the acceptance of difficulties and responsibilities, and that our deepest gratitude is due for the responsibilities that life and the Lord's Providence may lay upon us.

     I have a dozen other good reasons for thinking so,-four of them present at this Assembly. Every parent knows, or will soon find out, how sharper than a serpent's thanks it is to have a toothless child. Yet for every responsibility of New Church family life, including these minor responsibilities that are so plentifully present this evening, we are deeply grateful, or ought to be. Undoubtedly the duties of the home do much to keep us out of mischief, possibly out of jail, and discipline us much more effectively than we are able to discipline our children. The pains and troubles of family life give a sharp edge to its pleasures and privileges. Its daily duties are antidote to many spiritual ills that flesh is heir to.

438

Its responsibilities, in fact, are its greatest blessings, and we learn at last to be humbly grateful for them.

     By various departments of the treasury we have been warned this week of more mundane responsibilities, measured in financial figures and reports which are said to be tiresome to the angels and to some New Churchmen. It may seem like stretching a point to suggest that for these responsibilities we should also be grateful. Yet the mood of Mr. Lester Asplundh's remarks, at last evening's meeting, was exactly to that effect. Speaking for the submerged seventy-five percent, he argued that it is a privilege to shoulder the burdens of the church's financial support, and so it is. Sometimes a painful privilege, but something to be grateful for. For good reasons beyond our knowledge, the ultimate life of the church depends on our contributions, little or large, and we should be thankful it is so.

     If time allowed I could elaborate on this theme at length. After all, we need not be ashamed to admit that much of the fun in life consists in making money and spending it, and especially so as we can never make quite so much as we might spend, with the possible exceptions of Ed Bostock and a couple of other fellows whose names momentarily escape me. And there is a rather special satisfaction in finding something to spare for Hubert Hyatt and the local church treasurer. If we accept it as a responsibility, the satisfaction is so much the greater.

     Possibly our Pittsburgh friends would not understand, but in Bryn Athyn some of us are even grateful for our debts. If an avalanche of unexpected prosperity should wipe mine out altogether, I should certainly miss them. I should miss their gentle but stubborn insistence that I work a good deal harder than is my natural bent. I should miss their regular appearance in the monthly mail, reminding me that life is real, life is earnest, and not merely a mess of beer and skittles.

     Take, for instance, the Cairnwood Dairy milk bill. I don't think a proper public tribute has ever been paid to the Cairnwood Dairy and its monumental milk bills. I know for a fact that they have kept some families in the church when they were tempted to leave Bryn Athyn for more worldly pastures. They have been a steadying influence in the community life of Bryn Athyn, as well as a notable encouragement to New Church family life and New Church education.

439

They have been a symbol of practical charity and neighborly forbearance in the church, when other disagreements have seemed to threaten dissolution and disaster. And they represent, in extremely ultimate degree, a host of responsibilities bestowed upon us in return for the privileges of New Church life and membership.

     It is unnecessary to recount these privileges, or the many responsibilities attached to them. It has been said many times before that membership in the New Church is the gravest of all responsibilities, as well as the greatest of privileges. After all, there are much more comfortable churches,-churches which offer an easy peace with God, an easy compromise with conscience. There are larger churches, with more bishops, providing much better business opportunities and prospects of advancement. There are faiths that can be easily accepted by formula, not by long study and searching of the heart. And it may be said that we still prefer New Church doctrine, because its responsibilities are tough to take.

     At this Assembly's end, let us humbly confess our thankfulness for the New Church, the General Church, the Academy of the New Church, acknowledging all the responsibilities they bestow upon us. And may I suggest that this Assembly, in notable degree, has reviewed these responsibilities and inspired our gratitude for them. It has turned our thoughts to the tasks of the future,-not a remote future, but one which begins today. It has reminded us of trials and troubles past. It has awakened old affections, some of them founded in school days which seem far away, but which are renewed by these meetings and their memories. Above all, it has opened our hearts to recognition of our responsibilities and to gratitude for them.

     Thankfulness is not a theme for eloquence. Bishop N. D. Pendleton spoke with utmost simplicity when he said that "Gratitude" is the greatest word in human speech. Bishop de Charms spoke of his gratitude in simple sincerity on Wednesday morning, thereby sounding the keynote of our meetings. It may be that the more deeply grateful we are the less we can say about it. It is easier to talk of our responsibilities, which are the reasons for our gratitude.

     But the speaker who fires the opening gun at an Assembly Banquet may confess his gratitude, possibly shared by his audience, that his speech is over, and that he is now privileged to sit down and listen, peacefully and without responsibility, to the rest of the program.

440

     As a contribution to the banquet program, Mr. W. H. Junge, of Glenview, Ill., had composed the words of a song which all now joined in singing, as follows:

     TO OUR CONJUGIAL PARTNERS.

All the joys of this world
Are but faint when compared
To the joy I have found loving you;
And our true love shall reign
While on earth we remain,
And shall blossom in heaven anew.

This all sacred love,
Now accorded to those
Who have longed for it all of their lives,
Is pervading and sweet,
In all manner complete,
'Tis the love of true husbands and wives.

     (June-"Believe Me If All Those Endearing Young Charms.")

     Toastmaster: All too frequently out proximity to an object blurs our vision, and it is with difficulty that we appreciate its true value. So it is with the times in which we live. So it is when we think of the men and women who are a part of our own times. Seldom does the living generation appreciate the breadth of vision and the bigness of heart of their leaders. Not until long years have passed is their true greatness recognized, or are their undertakings and labors appreciated. Our closeness to the little things of life seems to cloud our vision. Yet it is desirable that we make some appraisal of the labors of those who are moving across the stage of life, carrying the responsibilities of this generation; for a sympathetic and appreciative understanding of the tasks of those who are carrying the load is necessary, if we are to do our part and lighten their burdens. I therefore propose a toast in appreciation of the work that is being done by those now living for the upbuilding of the Church.

     This was honored by the singing of the song, "May they live in peace and clover 'til the time comes to pass over." In response, the following address was delivered:

441

     Gratitude for Our Leaders.-Rev. William Whitehead.

     Having imbibed the Don Rose "cocktail," which seems to have produced the effect intended by the toastmaster, the duty has been given to me to serve a little plain but nourishing "spinach" on the subject of Gratitude. However, it is easy to feel grateful tonight. The serenity and calm of this place, girt about by green hills, bordered and crossed by streams of flowers; the hospitality of our hosts; the meeting of old friends; the wise words of authentic spiritual leadership, from the first session to the last;-for these things I am but speaking for you all when I say that I am grateful from my heart. I am grateful, not only for my own sake, but for the sake of these, our young people, who seem to have come spontaneously to this Assembly to share their spirit of life with us.

     I have been asked by the toastmaster to speak on our gratitude for the heritage given to us by the great leaders of our General Church. Such a review of past administrations was made at the historic opening session of this Assembly, in that penetrating, incisive and balanced paper by our new Bishop, and it would be both poor taste and folly tonight for me to cover the same ground.

     However, I am moved to recall that, whilst each chapter of the history of our Church has had its own reigning qualities, each leader his outstanding use and individuality in the service of his generation, yet Bishop William Henry Benade, Bishop William Frederic Pendleton, and Bishop Nathaniel Dandridge Pendleton had certain things in common. And in these there is a remarkable unanimity, as I shall briefly point out.

     First, each of these three men insisted on seeing the facts and facing the facts as they actually existed in the Church of his own day. Perhaps it is our habit to think of the leaders of our Church as theologians and philosophers firstly, and men of affairs only in a secondary sense; but this is only because the affairs in which they are absorbed were the affairs of the Church. On these they concentrated, with a view to ascertaining what the indications of Providence really were; and one of the most interesting and valuable parts of our heritage is to study how these men reconciled idealism and realism in particular problems and uses. Bishop William Frederic Pendleton once wrote a significant comment on this matter of how to read the signs of Providence, and it seems especially appropriate at this time.

442

He said:

     "The Divine Providence reveals itself to man in ultimate things,-the things which are lowest and last in the Divine Order; not so much in the things which man does himself,-the products of his own will and his own intelligence,-as in the things which are not done by him,-the things over which he has no control, . . . which he does not foresee or provide, still coming to him in such a manner that his liberty is preserved, and he is left free to reject that which is of the Divine Providence. The things which so come to man are such as appear in the operations and conditions of nature, in the actions of other men, in the teachings of written Revelation, in the perceptions and thoughts which are given to him without any effort of his own. The Divine operation makes itself appear in the ultimates that are around or within man, or in what is called 'environment.' That a man's character is according to his environment, is true when it is seen and acknowledged that the Divine Providence forms the environment; for this is nothing else than the ultimate sphere with which the Lord surrounds and encompasses man, and his circumstances are the doings of the Lord in his environment."

     It is this fidelity to the principle of endeavoring to read the Lord's will in their environment, particularly as to the needs of use, that makes the statesmanship of these three men surprisingly similar. Looked at from almost any point of view, their far-sightedness and their ability to lead others can be attributed to this cause more than to any other factors. They were realists of the most definite, and in some respects the most uncompromising, kind, but serving the great spiritual ideals of the Church.

     Second, each of the three men of whom we are speaking understood changes when they saw them. Few men have the ability to see changes until they have occurred, and especially until they begin to be disturbing in the ultimate things of one's own life. Real leaders see them, and prepare to deal with their effects. No man has a right to be a leader, or even a teacher, unless he is sensitive to change,-to changes that promise more life, or changes which threaten disintegration or harm.

     Every one of our Bishops has demonstrated his understanding of the fact that every generation in the Church has to meet a dual and ever changing environment,-its own natural environment, and its own spiritual environment,-an environment peculiar to itself.

443

For each generation has to face its own questions, its own temptations, in the light of its own ideals of faith and life. It must make its own programs of thought and conduct, directed to its own circumstances. This is a thing of freedom, without which there can be no spiritual progress. The fathers are to raise and teach, but not to possess or dominate. This is why great attention has ever been given in our Church to an understanding of, and a sympathy with, the new generation-that its interpretations, even of doctrine, shall not be made under the weight of a dead hand,-that its freedom shall be as wide as is consonant with order and the security of the uses of the Church.

     And this to the end that the life of the Church may grow-that change shall not be inhibited,-that, just as the new generation may profit by the wealth of counsel and experience gathered by the old, so the whole may benefit from the vigor, the unselfish zeal, the apostolic fervor, which youth alone can give. I have never in my life seen a more exquisite sensibility to the essential freedom of others than was displayed day by day and year by year during the last thirty years by our last two Bishops. And I have never seen a clearer sign of ability to govern than was given when they decided that another could better govern changes that had occurred.

     Thirdly, these three men are singularly alike in their willingness to do battle when battle was necessary for the protection of the Church. In medieval annals we find many instances of bishops who took off the robes of their sacred office to put on the helmet and sword of war. But where these men were too often moved by worldly pride, by greed of land, by rival lusts for power, our Bishops have moved only to fight for the cause of spiritual truth, and to defend the right of the simple and the children to a free and uninterrupted access to the Word of God.

     There is still much misconception of the part played by William Henry Benade in this regard. The impression is sometimes given of a brilliant powerful mind, lacking patience or diplomacy, intent upon his own way and his own rule at the expense of charity and peace. There were those in his day, as there always are, who wished natural harmony at any price; and these misunderstood our first Bishop, both as to his spirit and his aims.

444

The fact is, that the records submitted by both parties prove to any fair-minded student that, for over ten years before 1876, William Henry Benade, with patience, with fair-minded approach, with a desire for rational reformation, but without false diplomacy or subterranean methods, tried to halt the steady decay in the quality of the faith and charity of the New Church, in this country and in England. In matters of doctrine, education, worship and government, he tried to have the Church meet its plain duties in the circumstances of its day, and especially to halt the general retreat in favor of lesser goods at the expense of the very citadel of the New Jerusalem.

This is always a hard decision for the leaders of a Church or the statesmen of a country,-to know when it is just to take up arms in war, especially when spiritual pacifism suggests that it is always wrong to fight, that it is always better to procrastinate, to remain in the ease of peace. But there come times when churches and peoples must resist an environment which is being thrust upon them against their will, their convictions, and their very freedom. There is no spiritual merit in moral cowardice. The General Church is a Michael Church,-a militant Church,-a Church for men and women who are not afraid of judgment. William Henry Benade simply refused to pull down the standard of Divine Revelation. He insisted that all men must be free to see that standard,-that it was the standard of the Church of the Lord in His Second Coming, and that it was the ensign of a new culture, a new education, a new worship, and a new standard of spiritual government. And he found enough young New Churchmen in Pittsburgh to ensure that that standard should still, after sixty years, be flying today, and with not one single instance on record of the unwillingness of our leaders to defend the welfare of this Church.

All who know the annals of our last two Bishops know how they strove for peace, in patience, with consummate tact, in several major crises of our Church. And they know also that when war could not be avoided, they never turned back in the day of battle. Why is this! Because they knew that the Divine Providence provides for our salvation through conflict,-through wrestling with adverse spiritual environments,-even as pioneers in a new country make character and progress through wrestling with the environment of Nature.

445

They know that it is a harder thing to be a spiritual pioneer than a natural pioneer, and that it cannot be done without fighting.

     There is no just cause for anxiety in the fact that the history of our General Church, from the beginning to recent days, is marked and scarred with the signs of conflict. Overanxiety on this account is a weakness of the soul, a distrust of the Divine Providence in its wonderful guidance and protection of the New Church. We may be grateful for the inspiration of the lives of our soldier-Bishops-for their deeds as well as for their thoughts.

     And to the roster of this Michael Church we may now, in this Assembly, add the name of De Charms. I do not know what loyalty to the New Church means, if it does not involve loyalty to the leaders of the Church Specific, which means an essentially defensive loyalty on behalf of the states of actual faith and charity struggling for their foothold and very life in the face of a hostile environment. Certainly, one of the most valuable parts of our heritage is this record of struggle and conflict. Here and there a period of peace,-a few years, even a decade or so,-of quiet, of steady consolidation and building,-but even these only for recuperation,-the gathering of reserves forces, the massing of internal strength, for still further tests in conflict.

     Finally, I draw your attention to the fact that our three Bishops were engrossed in the purity and integrity of the understanding of doctrine. The mere external prosperity of the Church as an ecclesiastical organization concerned them but little. They were concerned with the cure of souls,-with leadership, yes,-but in spiritual things.

     After all, history judges every church by its attitude to the Revelation given to it. The external relations of a church,-the thickness of its buttresses, its material supports, its powerful friends and allies in the natural world,-will not justify it when the trumpets of history summon it to judgment. If its internal life, its internal relations, are corrupt, it is already condemned to die. The mere verbal acknowledgment of one God, the physical possession of a book or set of books called the Word of God; the mere possession, by inheritance or tradition, of a body of doctrines drawn, however scientifically and profoundly, from the Word; the building up of many churches and schools;-none of these things will sustain a church, if its attitude towards its own Revelation is anything less than the unreserved devotion of a single heart and mind.

446

     Mr. Smith, in his Address the other evening, was right. There must be integrity and purity of faith of doctrine, not as a scientific quality, but as actually living and producing spiritual uses in the ultimate things of man's life. There must be both a genuine affection of Divine Truth and a genuine affection applying that Truth to the actual uses which Providence plainly puts before us in the times and places in which we live. Doubtless we are an external church. Doubtless we are not yet regenerated men and women. Doubtless we are far from the rudiments of a spiritual civilization. Doubtless our societies and schools and uses are but the feeble beginnings of a people that has not yet found its stride and its destiny in the world. Doubtless we are but a tiny sect,-a small band of idealists trying to keep our feet on the ground and our eyes on far-off worlds. But how can we measure a church, save by the record of its living devotion and loyalty to its own highest standards?-the record written in uses, not dreams, in deeds rather than words? The spiritual standard of judgment for a church is nothing but its own Revelation and its fidelity to it. Varieties of interpretation, yes; but no blurring or eclipsing of the central sun.

     This is our greatest heritage. To It, three great men have devoted their lives, and now another,-and many more in the days to come. May the Lord make us worthy of that heritage! At this Assembly, at the beginning of (perhaps) a new great chapter in our history, let us subordinate everything,-our self-interests, our pride of mind, our desire even for peace,-to the love of Divine Truth, that we may follow it, and find it, and carry it to others, even to the little people whose lives can be better and happier than our own.

     Toastmaster: Once more our minds have been lifted up, and we are again inspired to put forth a greater effort in the upbuilding of the Lord's New Church. Once more our emotions have been stirred by the spirit of sacrifice manifested by those who have labored in the vineyard of the Lord. Their work will surely live, bear fruit, and inspire the generations yet unborn. At a time like this I like to think of those who have gone to their reward as beyond the pain and suffering, the sacrifice, the sorrow, and the avarice of a selfish and sordid world.

447

I like to think of them as a part of God's Great Army, employed in carrying out His will and His purpose here. I like to think of this great host of men and women standing side by side with us, encouraging us to carry on, that His Divine purpose may be fulfilled. And what is this Divine purpose but to give each and all of us an opportunity to perform our use in this life and in the life to come? To such a life of usefulness the Lord has called us all. And those who are on the other side extend to us their helping hands, that we may fulfill in greater measure His Divine will and purpose. This entails a responsibility, if we are to emulate the spirit of self-sacrifice, of earnestness, of humility, of zeal for truth, which prompted them in their time, and which they have left as a heritage to us. That heritage is a sacred trust. It is placed in the hands of each generation by Almighty God, that it may be preserved, added to, and worthily used. What shall we do with it?

     All arose, and sang "Our Own Academy" with fervor. Mr. Childs then spoke as follows:

     Gratitude for Our Heritage.-Geoffrey S. Childs.

     Many times during this Assembly our hearts have been deeply moved with gratitude. We have seen the blessing of the Lord upon the selection of our Bishop. We have listened to addresses that have given us spiritual delight and new visions of our faith. We have heard reports on the various uses of the Church that emphasize the loyal service and the encouraging progress that is being made by those who are directing these various activities. We have seen many evidences of the devotion of the priesthood and laity to the Church. And as we approach the end of this week of many blessings there come to mind the words of the Psalmist: "What shall I render unto the Lord for all His benefits toward me?"

     We know that we "render unto the Lord" by doing His will. We know that we "render unto the Lord" by the performance of uses in the light of our faith, and inspired by love to the Lord and love to the neighbor. It is not my thought to enter into particulars. I would simply remind you that many avenues of use to the Church have been presented during the course of this Assembly.

448

Rather would I stress the foundation stone of our ability to "render unto the Lord." That foundation stone is our willingness to go daily to the Word of God for light and guidance. We pray: "Give us this day our daily bread." The Lord has made it evident to us that we cannot live on the natural plane without our daily bread. He has left us in freedom on the spiritual plane, but He has taught us the consequences of neglecting the proper use of that freedom. How better can we evidence our gratitude for all the Lord's benefits than to enter into a solemn covenant that we will stand firm in our determination to read the Writings daily, and to be guided by the instruction we receive?

     In the spirit of this Assembly it seems easy to most of us to carry out this resolve. But states change, and we know that we must come into periods of darkness and obscurity. It is in these states that a solemn covenant to read the Writings daily can keep us from turning away from the one sure source of help and the ultimate return of light to us.

     The Church cannot prosper through a strong priesthood alone. There must be an equally strong laity. The strength of both lies in looking daily to the Lord for light and life.

     Tonight it is fitting that we express our gratitude for what we feel so deeply. We are grateful to the Lord for the spirit of confidence in the future that has characterized this Assembly. We are grateful to the Lord for our priests and teachers, who carry on this work among us with constant evidence of unselfish devotion.

     And at this time we are most grateful to the Lord for His selection of you, Bishop de Charms, to lead and guide our Church. You have our devotion. You have our loyalty. You have our determination to aid your administration in every way within our power. In all humility, I speak the prayer that is in the hearts of every one of us: "The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make His face to shine upon you, and be gracious unto you; the Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace!"

     Toastmaster: I would ask Bishop de Charms if he will speak to us in formally closing this Banquet and the Assembly.

449

     Closing Remarks.-Bishop de Charms.

     It is a symbolic fact that on this occasion there should have been a link between the past and the future in the use which the speakers have made of the thought by which-in a sense-Bishop N. D. Pendleton brought his administration to a close,-the thought of Gratitude. It is indeed of order that the remains of a former state become an inspiration for the states that follow, and be as it were incorporated in, and serve as a keynote for, the future.

     Before going forward, it is well to take pause and look back, that we may recognize the Lord's protection in the past; not that we should dwell in the past, but that we may gain the courage necessary to face the future. Thus we have dwelt upon the great things of the past, and on its great men, who served the church according to the qualities which the Lord gave them. But we are also impressed by our human weakness-how small we are, as a church body and in our individual human abilities. And when we think of what lies before us, if we think of our smallness, our hearts surely must fail.

     The one answer to that is to realize that, whatever the appearance, the church is not built upon our abilities or numbers. Nothing human, nothing that belongs to man, can build our church. Our conviction of this has been emphasized in the last three months during events which have turned us to the only refuge of our souls. The church lives today, because it has repeatedly turned away from the weaknesses of men, and turned to the Lord Jesus Christ. He, in fulfilment of His promise, has come to us in the opening of His Word, and now stands before us more livingly than He did before His disciples while He was upon the earth. More than a faith, it is a vision of Him in mercy turned towards us. If we turn to Him as He is revealed in the pages of Revelation, and fix our eyes upon Him, then we can find strength, courage, and hope, enabling us to go forward to a future which He alone can know.

     Let us realize that, whatever changes may come, whatever trials and temptations await us, the promise of the Lord,-that He will establish His kingdom among those who in heart believe and keep His commandments,-cannot fail. Though we may fall again and again, yet if we rise again, and keep this vision before us, the church will go on from generation to generation with the power to meet the needs that may arise.

450

I believe that, at the end of this Assembly, we shall have gained a hope and a new trust that we may carry back into the life of our homes and our uses, to remold our lives from day to day. If this be our determination, all the power of heaven will be present with us, to uphold our hands, despite our human weakness; and a Divine blessing will come upon the Church. Allow me now to pronounce the words of this blessing:

"The Lord bless you, and keep you. The Lord make His face to shine upon you, and be gracious unto you. The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace. Amen."
ASSEMBLY NOTES 1937

ASSEMBLY NOTES RICHARD R. GLADISH 1937

     In the spacious setting of the Shady Side Academy grounds, charmingly situated on a high spot among the hills of suburban Pittsburgh, the Sixteenth General Assembly made an auspicious start with the unanimous confirmation of the choice of the Right Rev. George de Charms as Bishop of the General Church, and came to an impressive close with the Divine Worship on Sunday. Between these outstanding events were packed five days of vigorous sessions and discussions, social affairs, visiting and sports. Most of the visitors, as well as our Pittsburgh hosts and hostesses, traveled at great velocity in getting things done. The weather was cool for the time of year, but the occasional rain failed to dampen the spirits of those who had come from far and near to enjoy what proved to be one of the happiest of our Assemblies.

     THE PLACE OF MEETING.

     The delightful surroundings contributed much to the pleasure of the occasion. The meetings were held in the gymnasium, a building similar to the Assembly Hall at Bryn Athyn, but of larger dimensions. The visitors were comfortably housed in the various dormitories, and the meals-superlatively good-were served in the dining hall. We are greatly indebted to the authorities and staff of the Shady Side Academy for their fine cooperation. Special thanks are due Mr. Don R. Conner, Secretary-Treasurer and General Manager, Mr. Alfred Stubbs, Auditor, and Mrs. Evelyn H. Crosland, Matron of the Dining Hall and Dormitories.

451

They made us feel very much at home, and ministered to our needs with unfailing courtesy and kindness.

     OUR HOSTS.

     It was the unanimous opinion of the visitors that the plans made by the Pittsburgh Society for the entertainment of the Assembly were as nearly complete and perfect as could be imagined. The entire membership of the society took part in the thoroughgoing preparations for holding the meetings and entertaining the guests, and the event demonstrated that they had organized themselves with great efficiency, for there was nothing overlooked, so far as anyone could see. Pastor Pendleton had devoted many months to the task, and had written over five hundred letters to prospective visitors; and his was the "unseen hand" directing the carrying out of the plans from day to day during the meetings. In this he was ably supported by the members of the society, and especially by the other members of the Assembly Committee,-Mr. Walter Horigan, Business Manager, and Mr. J. Edmund Blair, Secretary.

     RECEPTION AND DANCE.

     On Wednesday evening, about 465 persons passed in line, and were greeted by Bishop and Mrs. George de Charms, the Rev. and Mrs. Willard D. Pendleton, Mr. and Mrs. Charles H. Ebert, and Mr. and Mrs. Walter L. Horigan, who received.

     The ceiling of the auditorium was transformed by some 10,000 yards of blue and white streamers. At one end of the hall was a beautiful rock garden; at the other, an eleven-piece orchestral bowered in a floral setting, played rhythmic music for the dancing, which was mainly indulged in by the young folk, while the older assemblyites looked on from the chairs on the sidelines. The business of renewing old acquaintance went on apace, not without some confusion as school-day memories of faces and names refused to shake off the cobwebs of time. There were few who did not find themselves calling the right people by the wrong names, or being so called themselves. But a spirit of good will reigned, and no one was offended by the errors of identification.

452

     OTHER FEATURES.

     On Thursday afternoon a Ladies' Tea was given by Miss Katherine Marshall in the parlors of one of the women's dormitories, and this social gathering was very much enjoyed by the many who attended.

     The scheduled Luncheon and Business Meeting of Theta Alpha, and the similar functions of the Sons of the Academy, were held according to program, and were very successful affairs which will be duly reported in their official publications,-Theta Alpha Journal, and the Bulletin of the Sons of the Academy.

     If some eyes were not as bright as usual, and stifled yawns struggled for expression at some of the morning meetings, the cause lay in the excellent entertainment furnished by a number of Pittsburgh homes the night before. There were many of these informal gatherings during the relatively short period of the Assembly, and they were so useful and enjoyable that it was difficult to terminate them at a reasonable hour. At few Assemblies has the social phase dovetailed so fully with the other functions. The young people of the Church attended in large numbers, and they had a grand time.

     There was also much activity on the golf course and tennis courts, generously placed at our disposal by the Shady Side Academy. A "Kickers" golf tournament was held one day-a handicap event-and the Rev. Karl Alden, for one, was seen carrying away a prize. The winner of the women's tennis tournament, not announced at the banquet, was Miss Muriel Rose, of Bryn Athyn.
     RICHARD R. GLADISH.
CAUGHT BY THE CANDID CAMERA. 1937

CAUGHT BY THE CANDID CAMERA. 1937

The snapshots on the opposite page were taken by Messrs. Donald F. Rose and Edward F. Allen. In order from the top, left to right: Rev. Willard D. Pendleton; Alexander P. Lindsay, Esq., and Bishop George de Charms. Rev. and Mrs. Gilbert H. Smith; Revs. Karl R. Alden and Fred E. Gyllenhaal. Mr. Fred J. Cooper; Bishops Acton and De Charms. Mr. and Mrs. Donald F. Rose and One-third of the Family; Group of Young People-writing to the folks at home.

453

[Photographs caught by the candid camera.]

454

ORDER IN GOVERNMENT 1937

ORDER IN GOVERNMENT KESNIEL C. ACTON 1937

     (Academy Commencement Address, 1937.)

     In June, 1914, just twenty-three years ago, I stead as you seniors stand today. Happy and enthusiastic, we had not the slightest concern then as to the true state of the world's government, which in less than two months was to be revealed in all its stark and ghastly reality. All seemed peaceful, and I sailed shortly after graduation for a tour of Europe. But while I was in London the calamity of the Great War struck the world. Since then the world has never fully recovered. Wars, disorders, and rumors of wars have followed one another with distressing rapidity, until today we stand teetering on the edge of what may prove to be the most frightful holocaust of all.

     Now, while we know that everything happens in the Lord's Divine Providence, that everything is turned to the good of man, it is nevertheless the duty of all, and more than ever at this time, to seek the cause of the distress and suffering which so afflict the world. Statesmen, scholars and agitators have come forward with many explanations of the causes of the disorder-economic injustice, corruption in government; even the lack of religion has been suggested. All of these include some of the truth, no doubt, and each one of us inclines externally toward one panacea or another, as also does the rest of mankind. But if we think only of external effects, then to us, as well as to the rest of mankind, the true cause of the world's grievous ills will remain hidden.

     Many times you, as students, have heard the obvious cause for the state of the world-that men have not lived according to Divine order; that they have perverted the love of ruling and the love of wealth to their own selfish ends. Even to the point of weariness you may have heard this, although, perhaps, its reality may Seem to have touched your lives so little as yet. But, believe me, it cannot be taken lightly; and the greatest heritage you can receive from this school is the rational preparation it has given you from the Writings to combat these evils of the love of dominion and greed, both as individuals and among men as citizens.

455

Only in this way, as you will find, can you truly play your part in helping to bring to the world the internal and external peace and order revealed by the Lord in the Writings. Only in this way will you come to see clearly the principles of true order laid down in the Writings, and from them judge wisely in the development of civil and moral affairs.

     "This is all very well," you may say, "but how can we apply these general truths to the governments about us?" Primarily in this is the answer: Since we know that on the natural plane we must look to government to preserve freedom among men, and thereby to avoid the calamities which have been afflicting us, it is our responsibility to discern and support that type of government by law which is most fully in accord with Divine order. This we cannot do save in the light of Divine teaching.

     Throughout recorded history man has struggled with the problems of government. There have been many types. Those which history records have ranged from the simple type of tribal organization to that of the modern state.

     Briefly, governments have been classified as Monarchy, where sovereignty resides in one person; Aristocracy, where it resides in a small minority of the best of the population; and Democracy, where it resides in a large portion of the population. This classification, however, is of little practical value at present, because our modern governments combine the characteristics of more than one form.

     In this hemisphere, for the most part, governments have been modeled upon the form of the government of the United States. On reading the debates in the Constitutional Convention, held in Philadelphia just 150 years ago this summer, one cannot but be impressed by the earnest purpose of the delegates to preserve freedom. As a result, our form of government is one of the best that the world has known.

     In Europe there is a wide variety in the forms of government. In England and France, and also in some of the smaller countries, representative democracy still exists, although in different forms. In Russia, Italy, and Germany, dictators rule. Russia has recently adopted a Constitution, granting more power to the people, but it is too early to tell what the result will be.

456

In all three of the dictator countries, freedom, as we know it, does not exist. The law of the State is the will of the dictator.

     As to the respective merits or demerits of the various types of government mentioned, it will suffice here to say that, in Providence, all types, evil and good, must perform a use. When they cease to do so they die. Let us here concern ourselves with some principles of order as seen in the Writings.

     It is a cardinal truth that the human form is the perfect form of order, since it is an image and likeness of God-Man, who is Order and Form in Himself. As God created man in this form,-soul, mind and body,-so also are governments raised up, in Providence, which in the sight of God are as one man; as, finally, is the whole human race, or the Gorand Man of heaven. An analogy of this we find in our representations of a government or a nation as a man or a certain character.

     Now, what has just been said of heaven and good government is equally true of the grand monster of hell and bad government. For we are taught that the laws which govern heaven are the same laws that govern hell, just as the law that governs the good citizen also governs the criminal. It is from this cause that men, in ignorance of true order, are so often, and sometimes so long, deceived by evil men. until the wickedness of the latter bursts forth. Those coming into the world of spirits, until they receive the light of truth from heaven, cannot discern who are devils and who are not. And on earth, what tyrant and demagogue does not win his followers by high-sounding promises and flattery, and by apparently noble and righteous acts and phrases, crushing all opposition, and thus for a time winning great acclaim as a redeemer of the nation?

     How, then, you may ask, are men to know when they are being deceived? I would answer unhesitatingly: When government is no longer a government of law, but of men; for then the human form of order has already been perverted in that body. Within this truly human form reside the two great faculties of liberty and rationality, that man may live in freedom according to reason in the sight of God. Just as the wonderful anatomical laws of the body and the brain, and their marvelous construction, all conspire to the upbuilding and preservation of man's mind, so it is the function of all good government to provide for the preservation of these two great faculties on the plane of man's natural life, that he may be truly free.

457

When these are threatened, tyranny rides the sky.

     In the case of the individual, it is easy to see that true freedom lies in a life lived in accordance with Divine law. The Writings say, "When man is regenerated, he then for the first time comes into a state of freedom." He who compels himself does this from freedom whereas to be compelled by evil is the opposite of freedom. A man who is led by evil loves is not free, for his loves compel him, even against his reason or common sense, and he cannot help following them. This can also be seen in large groups of men. We know how a mob can be led by its passions to do things which the individual members would repudiate.

     Checks are absolutely necessary. If there were no check upon man, his evil loves would soon destroy him. Here again true order follows the human form. In the brain and body, check on check is provided to guard the life of the mind, to keep it in health, and to prevent the states of anger, the passions of the animus, from destroying the body itself. So in the case of governments, there must be checks. All governments which have been able to survive have had these checks. A written constitution is in itself a check, for it prevents mob rule. The check commonly takes the form of a division of the powers of government. In our Federal Constitution, the framers wisely distributed the powers of government between the federal and state governments; and in the case of the federal government they divided its powers among the executive, legislative and judicial branches. These checks were all provided so that we might have a government of law where men are free, and where the passions of an individual or a group of men cannot destroy the entire country. Therefore, another great danger signal to good government comes with the breakdown of the divisions of power-the check of one branch upon another.

     The powers and functions of government must necessarily vary at different times of the world's history. A government in a simple state will not be the same in a complex state of society, such as ours. To preserve order in a complex state, more power is needed. Yet the broad general principles of preserving order for the sake of freedom are the same in each case.

458

     One of the great problems of government is the division of power so as to preserve the rule of law as against the rule of human will. A government must have enough power to preserve order, but it must not have so much power that it can make slaves of its lesser divisions and of its individual citizens. In other words, the power must reside in the law, and not in the will of men. For true government must be a government of law, and not of men. Of course, laws cannot be enforced except through men. On this account, governors are necessary, who will govern according to the law of the land. The Lord Himself does not will to act contrary to His own Divine Law.

     On the general subject the Writings say:

     "Order cannot be kept in the world without rulers, who are to observe all things that are done according to order, and all that are done contrary to order; and who are to reward those who live according to order, and punish those who live contrary to order. If this be not done, the human race must perish; for it is inborn in everyone by inheritance to wish to rule over others and to possess the goods of others; and from these come enmities, envyings, hatreds, revenge, deceits, cruelties, and many other evils. Wherefore, unless they are kept in bounds by the laws, and by rewards agreeing with their loves, which are honors and gains for those who do good things, and by punishments contrary to their loves, which are the loss of honors, possessions, and life for those who do evil, the human race would perish.

     "There must, therefore, be rulers to keep communities in order, who are skilled in the laws, wise, and fearing God. Among the rulers also there must be order, lest anyone from caprice or from ignorance should permit evils that are contrary to order, and thus destroy it; which is guarded against when there are rulers higher and lower, and subordination among them.

     "The rulers over the things of heaven among men, or over ecclesiastical affairs, are called priests, and their office the priesthood. But the rulers over the things of the world among men, or over civil affairs, are called magistrates; and the highest of them, where such a government prevails, is called a king." (N. J. H. D. 312-314.)

459

     The same principles which apply to the government of the state apply to all associations of men. There must be separate governors in the uses of men. Our demand for the fruits of invention is increasing. These fruits can be produced and distributed only by large associations of men, and in these organizations many of you will find your use in life.. Such organizations should also be in the human form. What we have said about government applies equally to them. They have the same problem of preserving the freedom of the individual. Their soul is the use they perform, their mind consists of their directing heads, and their body is the whole group of men that make up the organization.

     It is often said to a graduating class, "You are about to go out into the world to earn your living." Instead, I would rather say to you, "You are now about to go out into the church and the world, there to make your places in various offices and uses."

     In the church, again, is a field of government and order, calling, in a very high sense, for discernment on your part. The General Church of the New Jerusalem "is organized for the worship of the Lord Jesus Christ as manifested in His Second Coming, and for the performance of those ecclesiastical uses which have in view the teaching of men the way to heaven and leading them therein." This, our Church, being an association of men on earth, must have laws-a form of government. We have such a form of government, based directly upon the teachings of the Writings.

     The General Church is composed of individual members, residing in all parts of the world. It is divided into self-governing societies, circles, and groups. The governors of our Church are our bishops and priests. We have councils, both of priests and of laymen. We have our assemblies, where lies the power of choosing our Bishop, and also of withdrawing the choice. These forms can be changed, if future conditions, and a clearer understanding of what the Writings teach, demand it. We have not a written or binding constitution, but we have the precedents of the past to guide us in the problems of the present; always in the light of a growing understanding of the Writings.

     Thus a foremost purpose in our Church has been to preserve freedom. And as this can be attained only through order, the guiding principle has been to follow the teaching of the Writings in such matters, that our Church may emulate the human form and strive toward that perfection, "It is a living body, developing under the leading of Providence, to the end that it may more fully serve the use for which it was established."

460

During your school-life you have discovered some of your powers and abilities. We hope you will address yourself to the task of disciplining those powers and abilities, and that each of you will today register a resolve to consecrate those disciplined powers and abilities to the service of your church and country-each of you according to his own ability. And, as time goes on, it will be your honor and high trust, as New Churchmen, to contribute to the growth of our Church in the light of the Writings, for which development our order provides.
IDLENESS AND RECREATION 1937

IDLENESS AND RECREATION 1937

"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 happiness never consists in being at rest; for in this way 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; and yet there is no happiness of life without activity; and the idleness of life is only for the sake of recreation, to the end that one may return with greater alacrity to the activity of his life." (H. H. 403.)

461

NOTES AND REVIEWS. 1937

NOTES AND REVIEWS. Various 1937

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.
     NEW VERSION OF "DIVINE LOVE AND WISDOM."

     DIVINE LOVE AND WISDOM. From the Latin of Emanuel Swedenborg. London: The Swedenborg Society (Incorporated), 1937. 18mo; pp. 322. Paper, 6d; cloth, 1/6; leather, 3/6.

     Uniform in size with the volumes of the Everyman's Library, this edition adds one more to the Popular Series that is being published by the Swedenborg Society in convenient pocket size, and which now includes two volumes of the Arcana Celestia, as well as Heaven and Hell, Divine Providence and the Four Doctrines.

     This version of the Divine Love and Wisdom is "a new translation by Mr. H. Goyder Smith, with the Rev. Charles Newall, B.A., as Consultant, from the Latin, edited from the author's original edition, published at Amsterdam, 1763." The English style does not differ greatly from other versions in which the translators have made rather free renderings of the Latin terms. In many passages the strict meaning of the original is sacrificed, presumably to make smooth reading for the novitiate, or perhaps from the fear that a literal translation would not be understood.

462

We believe, however, that a more exact adherence to the original Latin terms would have been no stumblingblock to the new reader, but instead would have had the effect of arresting his attention and gaining his interest.

     In the Writings we find frequent mention of the need of using the Latin words with a definitely new meaning, to express the new spiritual ideas revealed by the Lord at His Second Coming. We may here note one statement of this kind: "Since the subjects contained in the internal sense of the Word are such, and cannot be explained without adequate terms, and there are no terms more adequate to express exteriors than by 'natural,' interiors by 'rational,' the things which are of truth by 'spiritual,' and the things which are of good by 'celestial,' it can only be done by making use of those expressions; for nothing can be described without expressions adequate to the subject." (A. C. 45854.)

     Great care should therefore be exercised in selecting English equivalents for the Latin terms of the Writings, lest violence be done to the meaning. This is of no little importance in the case of such a work as the Divine Love and Wisdom, which reveals a new doctrinal philosophy of creation, and in doing so often defines the meaning of the terms employed to convey those new ideas. Thus we read: "The heat and light which proceed from the Lord as a Sun are what by eminence are called 'the spiritual,' and they are called 'the spiritual' in the singular, because they are one; wherefore, where the spiritual is spoken of in what follows, both together are meant. It is from that spiritual that the whole of that world is called 'spiritual'; all things of that world derive their origin through that spiritual, and hence also their denomination. That heat and that light are called 'the spiritual' because God is called a Spirit, and God as a Spirit is that Proceeding. . . ." (D. L. W. 100.)

     We would not wish to claim that this new translation might seriously mislead a new reader, who at best can gain but a general idea of the Heavenly Doctrine upon a first reading. What we claim is that he might as well be given an accurate rendering, and in good English terms which he is quite capable of understanding.

     As a few examples of loose translation in the version before us, let us note some of the phrases in nos. 184, 185.

     "Degrees are of a twofold kind (generis)" is rendered "Degrees are of a twofold order."

463

In the original they are called "degrees of altitude and degrees of latitude." We see no good reason to call them "degrees of height and degrees of breadth."

     "Scientia graduum est sicut clavis ad aperiundum causas rerum, et ad intrandum in illas" is here rendered, "A knowledge of degrees is like a key for uncovering and penetrating into the causes of things." One does not use a key to uncover and penetrate, bat to open and enter. A better version reads: "A knowledge of degrees is like a key to lay open the causes of things, and to give entrance into them." (New York Edition, 1885, which we have found to be the most satisfactory translation of the Divine Love and Wisdom.)

     Further, in no. 185, "The dimension established by discrete degrees" should be "the dimension which consists of discrete degrees." And "the atmospheres which encompass and preserve them'' should be "the atmospheres which surround and contain (ambiunt et continent) them."

     Such departures from the real meaning of the original Latin are all too common in English versions of the Writings. They involve a labored and unnecessary adaptation, and at times an interpretation. They tend to obscure rather than to illuminate the real meaning. A newcomer, as we have said, may not be seriously misled by such loose renderings, but he will miss the fine points of distinction which belong to a rational revelation,-a revelation of Divine Truth given by the Lora Himself in the Divinely chosen terms of the Latin language.

     CORONATION BOOKLET.

     KINGSHIP. Selections from the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg. Compiled by Rev. C. A. Hall, F.R.M.S. London: Swedenborg Society (Incorporated), 1937. 32-page booklet, 6d.

     A timely and valuable collection of short passages on "Kingship" and allied subjects, grouped under the following topics: The Coronation of a King; Homage to Royalty; Love of Country; Good Citizenship; The Exercise of Rule; The Reigning Love; The Government of the King of kings; Homage to the King of kings.

     In an interesting Foreword the compiler lifts the thought of the reader to the "great spiritual principle of Royalty" as depicted in the Writings, and closes with remarks on patriotism as "assessed from a similar spiritual viewpoint." To quote:

464

"The country is a neighbor to be loved and served, and its welfare is to be deemed of far greater importance than personal welfare. But, in the last issue, the neighbor to be loved is what is of God in man-goodness, truth, justice, righteousness and goodwill. A man's behavior is determined by his ruling love, and where the love of self dominates, even moral conduct has a selfish tone. In such case there is no true charity or neighborliness. But in men in whom neighborly love is enthroned, conduct will always be neighborly, and the good of all will be deemed of greater importance than personal advantage. Really valuable service to the country is rendered only when personal recompense is not sought."
NEW CHURCH DAY 1937

NEW CHURCH DAY G. A. MCQUEEN 1937

Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE:
     I have greatly enjoyed reading the interesting news reports in your August issue. I have noticed an increasing tendency to refer to New Church Day as "19th of June," "the 19th," "Celebration of the 19th," and the like. But I was relieved when reading those reports which referred to "New Church Day," because I believe that this title more fully describes what is involved in our annual celebration of the Second Advent of the Lord.

     It is the event-not the date-that we celebrate. For so we commemorate the Lord's First Advent on Christmas Day, not the date,-December 25th.

     With the cooperation of your news reporters you could easily bring about the time when "New Church Day " will be habitually used in the New Church.
     G. A. MCQUEEN.
          Glenview, Ill., August 3, 1937.

465

Church News 1937

Church News Various 1937

     PITTSBURGH, PA.

     The society welcomed Candidate Norbert H. Rogers early in June. He was present at the Day School Closing on June 9, and gave a fine address to the children. The formal exercises were followed by a supper in charge of the Pittsburgh Chapter of Theta Alpha in honor of "Jimmie" Blair, the graduate.

     During the month the pastor visited the Akron, Ohio, group, and conducted a service and a doctrinal class.

     There were two society suppers in June. Following the first, the series of doctrinal classes on The Divine Love and Wisdom was completed. After the second, there was a brief meeting to discuss final plans and arrangements for the General Assembly. As hosts, we feel gratified at the reports of its success.

     On June 19, the pastor officiated at the marriage of Mr. Charles H. Ebert, Jr., and Miss Virginia Sepp in the church. The service was impressive and the bride beautiful. A delightful reception followed at the Penn Lincoln Hotel.

     Rev. and Mrs. Pendleton will be absent on vacation until September. Meanwhile Candidate Rogers has ably carried on the uses, officiating at the Sunday services, at which he has preached on the following subjects: The Last Judgment; The New Heaven; The New Church; Adam in the Garden of Eden; The Lord Preaching; The House Built on a Rock; The Healing of the Sick; The Glory of God. We regret Mr. Roger's departure for Toronto, and our best wishes go with him for continued success in his summer's work.
     E. R. D.

     RIJSWIJK, HOLLAND.

     At the request of members of the General Church in Holland I paid them a visit early in July. Leaving Paris at midnight, reaching the Belgian frontier at six in the morning of Saturday, July 10, and the Dutch frontier at eight, I arrived at The Hague at half past ten. Here I was met by Mr. Emanuel Francis, who took me to his home in Rijswijk, which is contiguous with The Hague, there to meet Mrs. Francis and their daughter, Miss Lambertine, who had just returned from a two months' visit with General Church friends in London and Colchester. In the afternoon, Mr. Francis, his daughter, and I spent several hours on the beach at Scheveningen.

     In the evening a doctrinal class was held in the Francis home. Additional persons present were: Mr. W. Beyerinck, Mrs. Bulthuis, and Miss Emma Helderman, who are members of the General Church; also Miss van Trigt, and Mr. and Mrs. J. Rasch, who are friends that are reading the Writings-thus ten in all. The Engeltjes family of three were away on their vacation. The subject of the class was my Address on "The Apocalypse," given at the last British Assembly, illustrated with the twenty-two water-color sketches made by Mrs. Iungerich. The class lasted until eleven o'clock, on account of the discussion it provoked, and also because it was necessary for Mr. Francis to translate my remarks into the Dutch language.

     On Sunday, July 11, at 11.00 a.m., a service of worship was held in the same place.

466

The same persons were present, with the exception of Miss Helderman, and with the addition of Mr. Bulthuis and his three children, Hendrik, 16, Vita, 14, and Anna, 9, and Mr. Rykee;-thus 14 in all. Miss Francis had previously coached me as to the various ascriptions in the service so that I could say them in Dutch. The first lesson, Apocalypse 22, was read in Dutch by me; but the second lesson, A. R. 932, and the sermon on the last chapter of the Apocalypse, delivered very slowly, were in English. The points stressed were that " the pure river of water of life, clear as crystal," was, according to A. R. 932, the Apocalypse Explained, and therefore the rest of the Writings; that "taking away from this prophecy" meant denying any part of them as Divine; and that "adding to the words of this prophecy," which is equally forbidden, meant ascribing Divinity to other agencies, as, for instance, to contemporaneous movements in the world, and also to the perceptions and thought-formulations of individual men.

     Mr. and Mrs. Rasch dined at the Francis home, and this afforded an opportunity to discuss at length the objective phenomena of the spiritual world and the subject of marriages in heaven.

     In the afternoon, by appointment, I called upon the Rev. Ernst Pfeiffer in the church quarters at Nassauplein 29. He had received the card announcing my visit to The Hague, and telephoned me on my arrival, giving me a cordial invitation to visit him on Sunday afternoon. He received me in the small reception room, and introduced me to his private secretary, Mr. Verstraate. On the other side of the hallway is a large room extending from the front to the back of the house, where the windows afford a view of a well-kept garden, at this season rich with flowers of vivid colors. Curtains are drawn when there is a service, and on the altar is a copy of a large volume bound in white vellum,-the photolithograghed edition of the Apocalypse Explained. A number of framed paintings hang on the walls, and the general effect of the room is colorful, airy, and altogether pleasing. On the opposite side of the hallway is a handsome bookroom, with shelves that rise to the ceiling on every side, and curtains that are drawn before them.

     The arrangement is, that the vertical dimension is the smallest at the top, and increases by a few inches with each shelf until the lowest is reached. This causes the books on each to present a uniform size, which is pleasing to the eye. Mr. Pfeiffer smilingly stated that this arrangement was superior to that in the Academy Library, and suggested that I apprize Dr. Brown of this fact. As we left the library he presented to me a copy of the Dutch version of Heaven and Hell, inscribing on the title-page: "To Dr. E. E. Iungerich, in remembrance of his visit, July 11th, 1937, E. Pfeiffer."

     Mr. Pfeiffer and his family at one time occupied the two upper stories of the house, but he now has a separate home. The janitor's family now occupies the third floor, and the second floor provides separate studies for Mr. Pfeiffer and Mr. Verstraate, a room for social gatherings, a kitchen where suppers are prepared, and a front room with a blackboard where the theological school is to be held.

     After this tour of inspection we three sat in Mr. Pfeiffer's study and spoke for two hours. Among other things, he introduced the subject of Divinum Verum Fidei apud Hominem, which led to some discussion. We found ourselves in general agreement as to the fact that the Scientific Works are an integral part of the work the Lord has performed by Swedenborg excepting Mr. Pfeiffer's view that only the celestial, by their perception, could utilize this relation. He held that Bishop Benade had freed the clergy from domination by the laity; and that it was now necessary that the laity of the Church should be freed from domination by the clergy. He advanced besides the novel view, that to draw the Heavenly Doctrines from the Writings was the special function of the laity, and not of the clergy.

467

Asked how errors in so doing should be corrected, he said that this should be done in a meeting of all the Church members called together for that purpose.

     After a cordial handshake I took leave of my former pupil and recent opponent in a lengthy theological correspondence by letter, with the hope expressed on both sides that a friendly amity might reign.
     E. E. IUNGERICH.

     SOUTH AFRICAN MISSION.

     New Church Day.

     There can be little doubt that the importance of celebrating the Birthday of the New Church has become deeply inrooted among the African people. We have received a number of reports of interesting meetings, and from these a glimpse may be had of the nature of these festal gatherings.

     The Transvaal. Alexandra Township, Johannesburg.-The Rev. Jonas Motsi writes:

     "The celebration of the 19th of June was held on that day at ten o'clock in the evening, with an attendance of 58 people. Members from Greylingstad and Heidelberg were unable to attend, on account of illness and farming. Nevertheless we proceeded to open the ceremony of the 19th June with singing a short prayer. After that, while the people were in the banquet, and listening in attentively to what is going to come out from us, we read the Greeting which was sent by our Superintendent. It greatly attracts the minds of the people to hear that the Lord Jesus Christ has commissioned His Twelve Disciples to preach the Gospel in the Spiritual World.

     "A paper was then read by Leader Timothy Matshinini on the subject of the woman clothed with the sun, the moon under her feel, and with a crown of twelve stars.' He stated that 'the woman' is the New Church in the heavens, which is of those who acknowledge the Lord Jesus Christ and live according to His Commandments, and to follow the teaching of the New Church. The 'sun' is the Divine Truth, or Divine Wisdom proceeding from Divine Love. 'Stars' were the knowledge of truths and goods."

     The Rev. J. Motsi then spoke on The New Heaven and the New Earth, and among other things said: "The former heaven is the falsities and the wrong ideas of God and heaven and hell; The 'earth' which was 'former' is the men of the church who are in falsities of evils from life.... The correct idea of God forms a true heaven and a true church on earth. To apply the Doctrines of the New Church to life is to apply the Second Coming of the Lord to a new life leading to regeneration. The difference between the Old Church and the New Church is that we believe this Second Coming of the Lord has already been made; while the Old Church is still waiting for this Coming, like the Jews, who are waiting for the Messiah to come." There were many questions, and answered very well.

     Then spoke a young man, Aaron Twala, who, when he was a boy, used to lead poor Blind Berry Maqelepo when he visited Maseru from Greylingstad in the early days of the Mission. He said:

     "I am Aaron of 1923, in this church, and I am still a member in full of this church. My friends, I would like to tell you that your Old Church is dead, because you believe that Adam was a man, that Noah was a man. Again, you believe that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, who interpreted before God that you may enter heaven through Him. We, the New Church people, believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is the God of heaven and earth. He has made His Second Coming through Emanuel Swedenborg. This is why you see us celebrating this Second Coming of our Lord; and yourselves (meaning the non-members present) do not celebrate this day. This is a sign that you are still waiting for the Messiah to come. I would like to advise you that you go and buy the Writings of the New Church, and you will know better than we can tell you.

468

You will be proud if you have them. You have heard many people read before you. There are many things for you to learn in this New Church-even in the other life you still going to learn."

     The reporter concludes: "There were many questions which were answered. At last we found that it was morning, six o'clock, and our celebration stops for another ceremony on the 20th. We start our service at ten o'clock." (The reader should note this. It is often the custom for Natives to spend a whole night at their feasts. It is the time for their recreation,-while the white man sleeps!)

     Mayville.-On Sunday, June 20, the two Societies of Mayville and Turners Avenue (both of Durban) met together for their celebration. The Rev. Ngiba arranged the program. In the afternoon, Divine Service was held at which the Revs. F. W. Elphick, Philip N. Odhner, B. Ngiba, P. Stole and Julius Jiyana took part. Mr. Odhner delivered an appropriate sermon on the "City and the Pride" (Rev. 21:2) which was interpreted by Rev. B. Ngiba. The Holy Supper was administered. At the open meeting which followed, Rev. Elphick, by request, Rave a short account of the Rise and Progress of the New Church in Sweden, England, United States, and South Africa, noting how the Doctrines of the New Church were, in the first instance, found by the natives of South Africa themselves. The Greeting of the Durban Society of the General Church was conveyed to the meeting.

     Esididini, near Dannhause, North Natal.-On June 26 and 27 the members at Esididini and a few visiting members from Cundycleugh-a Mission Station about 40 miles away-met together for the 19th of June celebration. The Rev. and Mrs. F. W. Elphick attended. The proceedings opened on Saturday afternoon at three o'clock, the Superintendent giving a suitable opening address. Leader Johannes Lunga then gave an address on "The Four Churches," which led to the theme of New Church Day. Rev. John Jiyana followed with a paper concerning the reception of the Doctrines among the Africans. It was written in English, read in that language, and then in Zulu. From it we would quote as follows:

     "It is not so easy with the Africans to see the truths of the New Church as it has been supposed. The reasons are: (1) The falsities of the former churches, which have come to Africa from Europe. (2) The life of polygamy, which is still loved. (3) The lack of reading and meditating on what one reads.

     "They that read seem to take anything written about the Bible to be true without searching deeply into matters with reasons. Again, they still believe in collective prayers as the only true worship of the Lord; that being the teaching of the churches at this day. They have a great fear to investigate the arcana of the Word, fearing that they will be provoking the Lord by so doing. Still there are signs that the New Church of the New Jerusalem will be established in this Continent, among the Africans, to favor the following statement: 'The Africans are more receptive of the Heavenly Doctrine than others on this earth.... They are of a celestial nature.' (S. D. 4783.) The Heavenly Doctrine of the New Jerusalem is not yet established among the Africans of this world, but we have a hope that, above all the other gentiles of our Earth, it will be received in Africa better than in other gentile countries. Again, the Doctrines of the New Church will prosper in Africa through the instrumentality of the Europeans, who form the center in educational activities in this world, and also form the center in the other life or heaven. The growth of this Doctrine will gradually increase in the world, and build the nations of the world to be one nation before the sight of God, though they will ever differ in language and natural custom. In faith and in the understanding of the Word of the Lord they will be one."

     On Sunday, June 27, morning service was held, including the sacraments of Baptism and the Holy Supper.

469

The sermon by the Superintendent, interpreted by Rev. John Jiyana, dealt with "The Holy City." In the afternoon a class was held, followed by a talk to the mothers by Mrs. Elphick. Greetings were also conveyed from the Durban Society, as formulated at their banquet on the 19th of June.

     Indulinde, Zululand.-In addition to our headquarters at "Kent Manor," a small circle is developing in this district. Leader W. Mkize is in charge. He is an ex-student of the Native Theological School, but is still working on probation. Mkize writes:-" Seeing that June 19th was quite unknown, we took a short service with a sermon on Matthew 24:31, where it deals with the 'Elect,' and also some passages from Revelation 21. After this, tables were settled for a feast. When the people were seated, Aaron Mgenge gave a lecture on the Nicean Council and the Athanasian Creed. I also gave a lecture about 'The Art of Getting on in the Christian Life,' explaining June 19th as well." At the end of the report the writer states: "I wish the Divine Providence would help us in devoting all our time in the Writings of the New Church, for in that way the whole world would be brought together into quiet, unpretentious homes, and truths of this new light become the centre of happiness, wisdom and refinement."

     Basutoland.-The Rev. Twentyman Mofokeng writes: This year the societies of Basutoland and that of Alpha, O. F. S., celebrated New Church Day at Qopo on Sunday, June 20. The service was conducted by Mr. Aaron Mphatse of Luka's; the lessons were read by Rev. Jonas Mphatse of Qopo; and the sermon was given by Rev. Twentyman Mofokeng of Alpha. After this there were baptisms. These were administered by Revs. Jonas Mphatse and Sofonia Mosoang; Rev. Mosoang taking the infants, and Rev. Mphatse the adults. Then followed the blessing of the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. M. Mphatse according to General Church rites, the Rev. Twentyman Mofokeng officiating. Out of gathering of 235, including visitors, 44 members approached the Holy Supper.

     In the afternoon, short speeches on the New Church Doctrines, with particular reference to New Church Day, were given by the following:-Teacher S. Kojoana, of Mafika, took for his subject, "The Fall of the Four Churches"; Mr. G. Nteso spoke on "The Heavenly Doctrine"; Teacher E. Sematlane on "The Institution of the New Church and its Baptism"; Rev. S. Mosdang on "The New Church and the One God"; Rev. Jonas Mphatse on "The States Morning and Evening"; and Rev. T. Mofokeng on "As it Were a New Song." Very searching questions were asked by some of the visitors, and these mere answered by the speakers.

     The feast took place later on with much rejoicing; and further questions were placed to the Leaders.-T. MOFOKENG.

     But here we must conclude. Our gleanings are more than we first intended. Yet it is useful to try to realize the hopes and aspirations of others who rejoice in their way at the return of the "Day of days," and to remember that the "leaves of the Tree of Life are for the healing of the nations."
     F. W. ELPHICK.
          July 9, 1937.

     DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

     Rev. Norman Reuter, en route to Detroit for the postponed June meeting of our group, stopped off at the Bellinger home, Riverside, Ontario, on Friday, July 16. During the afternoon of that day he gave instruction to the Bellinger children, and in the evening conducted a class for the members of the family and two visitors.

     On Saturday afternoon, at Detroit, Mr. Reuter held his usual class for the children of the Bellinger, Cook and Steen families. Mrs. Fred Steen was hostess to the little ones on this occasion.

470

     In the evening, nine of us gathered at the home of Norman and Eloise Synnestvedt for a doctrinal class, which turned out to be a discussion of the doctrinal differences which brought about the recent separation from the General Church of those holding the so-called "Dutch Position." Mr. Reuter outlined some of the opposing views, and then read Bishop de Charms' article in the June Supplement of New Church Life, entitled "Divine Creation and Divine Proceeding," which clearly and convincingly pointed out the fallacies connected with the doctrinal interpretations of those holding the new position. While our group has not been disturbed by this controversy, it was most useful and interesting to have the matter so thoroughly and completely explained as to leave no room for doubt.

     The Bishop's article served to show us that certain statements in the Writings which apparently conflict may be brought into harmony and seen to be true when properly understood, which is achieved, not by a merely casual reading of the Writings, but through deep and sincere study.

     Our service on Sunday, July 18, was held at the home of the French family near Walled Lake, Mich., a resort section situated about 20 miles northwest of Detroit. The attendance almost equaled the record for our group, totalling 35, including seven children and eight visitors. This latter is indeed a record for Detroit, and worthy of special mention. Therefore we list the names of our visiting friends: Mrs. I. Deppisch and Mrs. F. Lange of Kitchener; Mrs. Alf. Steen of Guelph, Ont.; Miss June Macauley of Bryn Athyn; Miss Edith Cook of Merchantville, N. J.; Mr. Leo B. Bradin of Detroit; Mr. F. Longstaff of Windsor, Ont.; and Mr. I. B. Steen of Kitchener.

     Mr. Reuter's sermon was based upon the Twenty-Third Psalm, and his text was the second verse: "He maketh me to lie down in green pastures." It seemed particularly appropriate to the tranquil, rural setting in which we were holding our meeting, and for that reason all the more impressive. The usual basket lunch followed the service, after which most of us took advantage of the delightful weather and attractive scenery to spend a pleasant hour out of doors. Shortly after three o'clock we reconvened to hear Mr. Reuter's very comprehensive and interesting account of the Sixteenth General Assembly. This proved to be what radio announcers term a "vivid word-picture" of the proceedings, and it served to whet our appetites for the complete reports and papers when they appear in the pages of New Church Life.

     Mr. F. Longstaff of Windsor, Ontario, who attended these meetings as a visitor, has signified his intention of becoming a member of our group. Our pastor will be with us again for another series of meetings, on Saturday and Sunday, September 18 and 19.
     W. W. W.

     KITCHENER, ONT.

     Luck attended us this year on our annual 24th of May picnic. The scare of epidemics had passed, and the day was fine and quite warm for the time of year. In consequence we had a very fine attendance, and everyone found something to do about the grounds. Later in the evening, around the bonfire, the crowd still showed plenty of enthusiasm in singing patriotic and popular songs.

     Formal closing exercises of the Day School took place on June 19th at 10 o'clock in the morning. A class of eight pupils graduated this year from our elementary school, and on this occasion they were presented with a copy of Conjugial Love. After the service the children enjoyed a luncheon party.

     The 19th of June banquet was held in the evening for the adults of the society. The program included various toasts and songs and several very interesting papers.

     We have enjoyed visits from quite a number of friends from other centers during the summer.

471

While Mrs. Colley Pryke and Mr. Martin Pryke and the Rev. Dr. Reginald W. Brown were guests in Kitchener, Mr. and Mrs. Gill entertained at a tea on the church grounds on Sunday afternoon to meet with the visitors. This was a very pleasant occasion and much enjoyed.

     On June 27 Rev. Dr. Brown Preached at the morning service.

     On July 16, at a society supper, we heard echoes of the General Assembly. It was a treat to us all to have Mr. Reuter tell us about the meetings, formal and otherwise. Mrs. Reuter assisted him by giving details about the women's gatherings.

     The society's activities are at rather low ebb during the summer months, although quite a gathering picnicked on the school grounds on a recent holiday.
     D. K.

     GLENVIEW, ILL.

     In furtherance of the big drive to raise money for the rehabilitation of the Church's Manse, or the M. B. A. (Money Before August), a grand carnival was held on July 31. This took the place of the annual event staged by the residents of the Subdivision, and this time it was staged at the north end of the lake, which proved an ideal location for the event, affording plenty of space, a lake beach, tall trees, water sports. Starting at 3.30 p.m., the children were entertained by contests, games and other sports. A grand cafeteria provided eats for all under the big trees, a mounted telegraph pole seated twenty kids on one ride, and a crazy auto acted like a bucking broncho. A special feature was a "Sky Ride" on which passengers were shot over the lake in a gondola slung from a steel cable. Many catch-penny games and contests added to the fun and increased the revenue. Our neighbor, the great B. B. M. radio station, loaned us a grand broadcasting machine that dispensed loud music and talks heard all over the countryside, and gave a truly carnival tone to the doings. Financial results were good, and the M. B. A. committee has already started spending the accumulated sum of about $800 on its useful object of improving the parsonage.

     Including out-of-towners, our church attendance continues at about the yearly average. Our Pastor, the Rev. Gilbert H. Smith, is getting some vacation, and we are having the pleasure of listening to sermons by Candidate Morley Rich, and by the Rev. Fred. E. Gyllenhaal, who is visiting his relatives here.

     We are delighted to hear that the Glenview boosters succeeded in having the next annual meeting of the Sons of the Academy assigned to this place, and we are looking forward to entertaining as many of the members as can get here.
     J. B. S.

     DURBAN, NATAL.

     A New Weekly.

     The local chapter of the Sons of the Academy has recently begun the publication of a weekly mimeographed periodical called the Durban Society Adviser. We have received copies of the first three numbers, for June 11, 18, and 25, in each of which we find a calendar of meetings for the ensuing week, accounts of various society gatherings, personal news, and other information. The announcement of a June Bazaar is adorned with sketchy illustrations.

     The Durban Sons are to be congratulated upon this useful venture, and we wish the Adviser a long and successful career.

472

DISTRICT ASSEMBLIES 1937

     Announcements.

     Preliminary Notices.

     The Twenty-fourth Ontario District Assembly will be held at the Olivet Church, Toronto, on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, October 9th to 11th, 1937.

     The Thirty-second Chicago District Assembly will be held at the Immanuel Church, Glenview, Ill., October 15th to 17th, 1937.
CHARTER DAY 1937

1937

All ex-students of the Academy of the New Church are cordially invited to attend the Charter Day Exercises, to be held at Bryn Athyn, Pa., on October 22 and 23, 1937.

473

CARE FOR THE MORROW 1937

CARE FOR THE MORROW Rev. W. CAIRNS HENDERSON 1937

NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. LVII      OCTOBER, 1937          No. 10
     "And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning. Notwithstanding they hearkened not unto Moses; but some of them left of it until the morning, and it bred worms, and stand; and Moses was worth with them. And they gathered it every morning, every man according to his eating; and when the sun waxed hot, it melted." (Exodus 16:19-21.)

     The text is an exhortation to trust in the Lord's Providence, and a record of recession therefrom through lack of faith, whereby good is abused and truth is turned aside.

     Manna was given to the Israelites every morning, and worms were bred in the residue. Therein was involved a high representation,-that the Lord daily provides the necessaries of life, and therefore that men ought not to be solicitous about acquiring them for themselves. This is also meant by the "daily bread" in the Lord's Prayer (Matt. 6:11), and by the Gospel teaching wherein men are urged to seek first the kingdom of God-being assured that in concentration upon this single quest they will suffer no lack of all else that is needful. (Matt. 6:25-34.) Similar also is the meaning of the promise to Solomon when he chose wisdom from among the gifts offered for his acceptance. (I Kings 3:5-14.) All these passages teach that the necessaries of life, like life itself, are the gifts of the Lord.

     The application of this teaching to the ultimate realm of human life must be wisely made, for in that realm its truth, while genuine, is ideal.

474

On that plane there are conditions imposed for the motivating of effort which set up an opposite appearance, and man must conform to the appearance while acknowledging the indwelling reality.

     But man is a citizen of two kingdoms. He does not live by bread alone, but by every word that falls from the mouth of God. (Luke 4:4.) Necessaries in the ultimate realm are the basis of all human life; but they are incidental, and are indeed taken for granted, except in states of poverty, in which, if concentration upon them is too severe, something of human quality is temporarily lost. Because of his dual nature, man's real life is the life of his spirit, which, in this world, is his mental life, his intellectual and affectional activity; for all life is activity. On this, the spiritual realm, the truth actually is, that the necessaries of life are provided by the Lord. For the life of man's spirit is life only if it is being formed for heaven. Otherwise it is death.

     And the necessaries of this, the true life of man, are the provision of the Lord alone:-the house, a tabernacle of the Lord, in which the mind lives; the good upon which it is nourished; the truth with which it slakes its deep thirst; the intelligence that provides graceful clothing; and the knowledges it may spend in generous abundance to possess the things of heaven. These things are the bread of heaven, which, in the widest sense, is not alone angel's food; men also are sustained by it, and it is also the food of hell, though there it is seemingly dry and unappetizing bread. All receive it as the food of immortality; but only by the good is it received as the food of eternal life. 'The law involved in the text is, therefore, that the necessaries of eternal life are daily provided by the Lord, for which reason man is not to be solicitous about acquiring them for himself, or to engage his thought in constant anxiety about his future states.

     Care for the future, qualified by anxiety and solicitude, is therefore the subject of the text, and the teaching concerning it is that it is forbidden and condemned. Prohibition is implicit in the command to the Israelites not to gather the daily manna in excess quantity with the purpose of leaving a residue for the next morning; condemnation in the testimony that when a residue was left through lack of faith, signified by their hearkening not to Moses, worms were bred in it, and it putrefied. The deep consequence of disobedience, through weakness of faith, is disclosed in the record of Moses' anger, which means that to disobey this teaching is to divert all truth from life, and misuse all good, which is then dissipated, even as the manna was melted by the heat of the sun.

475

     Natural thought cannot but view the application of this teaching to life as a difficult, if not indeed an impossible, thing. To have care for the future with anxiety and solicitude is natural to man, especially in states of sickness, domestic crisis, or economic stress. Yet by the law unfolded in the text this is forbidden and condemned. Spiritual thought alone can see the eminent reasonableness of the law, and the mode of its operation in both kingdoms of human life, the natural and the spiritual. And the center around which such a view can be constructed is a correct understanding of the import of the law in the realm of effects. The governing principle is that everything of spiritual and natural use comes from the Lord, but that for the sake of his salvation it is given to man to receive them, and so to appear to earn them, as of himself.

     So this law, binding on man a faith in the Lord's Providence for the provision of the necessaries of spiritual and natural life, does not free man from the urgent need of engaging in active and unremitting labor for the gaining of these necessaries. They are indeed the gift of the Lord, but man cannot expect to receive them by folding his hands and waiting for them to descend upon him from heaven by a series of miracles. For the Lord provides that the necessaries of life in both kingdoms shall be earned in the performance of uses. That is the law for men, and it is recognized on the ultimate plane, though failure to apply it to the spiritual realm led to the doom of the Protestant Church, whose dogma is that man is passive in salvation, which is by capricious election. It is also the law of heaven, but as the angels perform their uses from affection, it is not felt as a law. And it is the law of compulsion in hell, and with evil men, who are kept in a state of some external order by the realization that unless they work they will starve and be without the means to indulge their pleasures.

     Indeed, the Writings teach that the first duty of charity for man is to make wise provision, to the best of his ability, for the economic welfare and security of himself and his family, which calls for the exercise of care and forethought. And it is a most familiar teaching that man is also to provide for his future welfare by following the Lord in the regeneration, and this as of himself.

476

Everything human that comes to man from the Lord comes through action and reaction; action from the Lord, and reaction from man. Against passivity in man the Divine activity is helpless, and its ends, which are for the security and happiness of man on all planes of life, are frustrated.

     So the exercise of care and forethought is not vetoed unreservedly by this law. Rightly to understand what is forbidden and condemned, it is necessary to probe deeply the nature of anxiety for the future, and to discover its inmost quality. The essence of all anxiety is uncertainty as to the future. It is born of chronic discontent with one's lot, whatever that lot may be; discontent deep rooted in envy, and in a firm conviction that the lot of others possessing things lacked by the subject is happier. And it takes form because the subject, tacitly assuming his ability to determine what is good, believes his present state not to be for his benefit, though he doubts the possibility of betterment, because, in his self-sufficiency, he regards himself as the only source of happiness and the only agent of improvement, and at the same time cannot see his way clear to the achievement of what he regards as a more beneficial state. With some this is a disease, produced by neurosis. For them the state of happiness will always be any state but that in which they are. And they are hardly responsible; but with most men it can be disciplined.

     And disciplined it must be. For this is the form of care for the future that is forbidden and condemned in the text. Why this is so can be clearly seen from our analysis of its quality. It is the translation into life of a vicious doctrine of self-sufficiency, the arcane principle of which is disbelief in a Divine Providence overruling the affairs of men; an introverting of the mind upon the things of self and the world, away from the light of heaven. It is the deification of the human mind, a concentration of worship before the altars of human prudence.

     And to sweep away this modern idolatry, which holds the mass of men today in bondage, comes the wholesome teaching of the Writings that human prudence is nothing, and the Divine Providence, which alone governs from universals to least particulars, is everything. This teaching is indeed contrary to appearance. It seems that human prudence accomplishes all things, because the quality of man's interior affection, that is, of his ruling love, is concealed from him, and he is conscious only of his thought, in which his prudence is formed.

477

The appearance is of order, for man should exercise forethought as part of his reaction to the Divine; but he should do so acknowledging that it is an appearance. This the good do; but the evil confuse the appearance with the reality, and so recede from the Divine Providence, in greater degree if in self-love, and in lesser degree if in love of the world. Nevertheless, without this appearance, man would not be man.

Genuine prudence is the exercise of wisdom from love, which is not proper to man, but is the Lord's with him. Man's own prudence is from evil and falsity, and is therefore nothing; for only that which is from the Lord is. Prudence derives its quality from the nature of the ends it visualizes and seeks to obtain by its exercise. And man's own prudence is not qualified to encompass ends that are for his final good, because the ends it sees as desirable are dictated by a perverted mind. Only by the Lord can the true end of man be seen, and provision made for it; for He alone knows man's affections. Man, not knowing his own affections, is not competent to determine what things are for his good. Indeed, he is most likely to select as his ideal mental and physical environment the things that would most quickly draw him down to hell. Entire reliance on human prudence, therefore, is a denial of Divine Providence, and the untempered exercise of it a fighting against Divine Providence. And since both of these things manifest themselves in anxious care for the future, it is forbidden and condemned.

The sin against trust in Divine Providence is not confined to those who do not know of its existence, or of the laws of its operation. Acknowledgment is of the life, and not of the lips; and the signs of guilt of this sin are not hard to discern. Constant and racking anxiety, restlessness, discontent, envy, sullenness, surging ambition, and egomania; inability ever to experience happiness, whatever the state, because the mind does not consciously savor its subtle pleasures-since it is ever pressing onward to something new in which happiness is supposed to lie, and so living in a mental world of non-reality, out of touch with its objective environment;-these are the symptoms of this unhappy disease. Its victims grieve if they do not obtain the objects of their heart's desire, and are racked with anguish if they lose them.

478

Nor, in bereavement, is there any consolation for them, for their anger is inmostly against the Lord. They reject Him in their poverty of faith; and the promise of consolation becomes the realization of a curse.

     Very different are those who trust in Providence. They indeed have care for the future-for without it there is fatalism, which is forbidden-but they are without that anxiety and solicitude which chafe and fret the very fibers of man's being, and distort in him the human form. They exert themselves actively for the betterment of their natural and spiritual life; but, because the prudence they exercise is formed from truth received in affection, they are of tranquil mind whether they achieve their desires or not, and do not grieve if they lose what has been achieved through hard labor. While striving for improvement, they are content with their lot, and are neither ruined by wealth nor beggared by poverty. For they look beyond material things, believing that to those who trust in Providence all things conduce to eternal happiness, and that all the circumstances of their lives are provided that they may be used to that end.

     For this faith the men of the New Church are to strive. It is faith indeed, for the particulars of Providence cannot be seen. The Lord's footsteps are not known. (Ps. 77: 19.) But the circumstances of life are to be accepted, not in the belief that if hard they must lead to heaven, but that they are the only conditions through which men, in their freedom, can be led to their self-appointed end. Care and self-nurturing doubt as to one's future state are to give place to serene confidence in an overruling, indwelling Providence that brings all men to their fullest happiness.

     This living faith is the way to heaven. They who possess it put themselves in the stream of Providence, and are carried to happiness, whatever the means may be. They are distinguished by ascribing all things to the Lord, and their blessedness is a state of peace, the gift of the Lord to all who, in approaching Him, sink care in love and faith. "Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." (John 14:27.) Amen.

     LESSONS: Exodus 16:1-21. Matthew 6:22-34. D. P. 191.
     MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 583, 593, 550.
     PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 20, 49.

479

ANOINTING A KING 1937

ANOINTING A KING Rev. F. E. GYLLENHAAL 1937

     "And Zadok the priest took a horn of oil out of the tabernacle, and anointed Solomon. And they blew the trumpet; and all the people said, Let King Solomon live!" (I Kings 1:39.)

     This chapter gives an account of the ritual of making Solomon king of Israel and Judah. What was done was natural and worldly, but represented that which is spiritual and Divine. Supremely, the whole of the pageantry represented the Lord's government of mankind, in particular of His church, and also the voluntary consent to the Lord's government by man and by the church. The Lord's part, which He actually performs by revealing His will and inspiring men to carry it into effect, is represented and signified by David's commands in respect to Solomon, and by the doing of his commands by Zadok the priest and Nathan the prophet. For David represented the Lord, and Zadok and Nathan the priesthood by which the Divine of the Lord is actively present among men, teaching the truth and leading by it to the good of life, thereby governing mankind, and in particular His church, even to the extent of providing for order and uses among men in their several kinds of association and organization. The people's part, or the voluntary consent of the people to the making of Solomon king, thus representatively to the Lord's government, is expressed by their shouting, "Let king Solomon live!" Also by the words immediately following, "And all the people came up after him, and the people piped with pipes, and rejoiced with great joy, so that the earth rent with the sound of them."

     Recognition of the Divine origin of human government, and of the Divine provision for its order and adoption by men, is important be cause the mind is thereby disposed to accept a true order in both natural and spiritual government, and is instructed in the reasons for maintaining all government by representative ritual. Government by conscience, which is the internal form of the Lord's government of men, is given a necessary basis and support in external forms of government, especially in those which have a known representation and signification.

480

Truly representative and significative rituals are necessary means for producing and preserving veneration for what is Divine and spiritual, and also that humility without which order and co-operation in uses are impossible. Rituals serve the same purpose in national affairs; for when known and understood, they are the means of raising the thought to the principles involved, and to the Divine Providence. The mind, to be truly rational and charitable in doing uses, thus in serving the neighbor for the sake of what is good and true, needs what is supplied by rituals of various kinds. Even when the true meaning of the ritual is unknown, if there is a commonly accepted emblematical meaning which teaches a higher natural purpose and a Divine origin, a use is served by the ritual. (A. C. 4581.) A semblance of order on the natural plane is preserved by ritual.

The Writings contain much teaching relating to the rituals of coronations, or of the anointing of kings. They repeatedly state that every king can represent the Lord, because the royalty itself is what is represented, and is merely adjoined to the person. The royalty is the law, which is from Divine Truth, and is to be adored in the king in so far as he is the custodian of it. (A. C. 1361, 5323:2.) Therefore every ritual of a king's coronation, and of his reign afterwards, looks beyond the person to the law, and beyond the law to the Divine Truth, from which it should be derived as to its essential principles, and from which the laws of nations were originally derived in most ancient times.

In the kingdoms of Judah and Israel, anointing with oil was the principal part of the ritual of making a king, and signified inauguration to represent, especially to represent the Lord as to the good of love. For this reason many things were anointed,-stones erected for pillars, the altar and all its vessels, the tabernacle and all things therein,-as well as priests, prophets and kings, who from this solemn and holy ritual were called "the anointed of Jehovah." The king was anointed that he might represent the Lord in respect to judgment from Divine Truth. (A. C. 9954.) It is evident, therefore, that the anointing with holy oil,-an oil especially made and reserved for such anointings,-was the chief ritual in the making of a king. We read in the Doctrine:

481

"That kings were anointed, and therefore called `the anointed,' was because the oil with which they were anointed signified good, denoting that the truth signified by a 'king' was from good, consequently was the truth of good; and thus that the royal office with kings might represent the Lord as to the Divine Truth which is from Divine Good." (A. C. 3009.) "Anointing was instituted for the reason that the oil with which the anointing was done signified the good of love; for they knew that the good of love was that essential thing from which all things of the church and of worship live, because it is the esse of life. For the Divine flows in with a man through the good of love, and makes his life,-indeed, that heavenly life in which truths are received in good." (A. C. 9954.) Anointing kings with oil from a horn represented truths from good in their power, for "horns" signify truths in their power. (A. C. 10182:11.) At the anointing of Solomon, the horn of oil was taken from the tabernacle, to represent the Divine origin of the truth and its power; for Solomon represented the Lord after He had come,-indeed, the glorified Divine Human that had all power in heaven and on earth. (D. P. 245.) The anointing was on the forehead, because the human understanding is in the brain there (Influx 13), and this ritual represents the imparting or bestowing of wisdom by the Lord, and its voluntary reception by man. The anointing was also on the wrists or hands, because they represent the exercise of power.

The crowning of a king is described once in the Word, in the case of seven-year-old Joash (2 Kings 11:12); and the crown of thorns was part of the mockery of the Lord before His crucifixion. There is, however, frequent mention of crowns in both the Word and the Writings. Because a king represented the Lord in respect to Divine Truth, therefore a crown of gold was placed upon his head, and a scepter in his hand. Government from Divine Good was represented
by the crown, and government from Divine Truth by the scepter. A crown also represents the Divine Good from which is wisdom, and from which is the Lord's government. (A. C. 9930:4.) At all times, therefore, it is a fitting symbol for a king; and when the chief priest of the church places it upon the king's head in the solemn ceremony of coronation, it represents the acknowledgment of the Lord's government of goodness and mercy, as well as the fact of that government. Concerning the scepter, we read: "Because a staff represented the power of truth, that is, the power of good through truth, therefore kings had scepters, which were made like short staffs; for by kings the Lord is represented as to truth, the Divine Truth being the Royalty Itself. The scepter signifies the power belonging to them, not by dignity, but by the truth which should rule, and no other truth than that which is from good; thus principally the Divine Truth, and with Christians the Lord, from whom is all Divine Truth." (A. C. 4876:10.)

482

Much is said in the Writings about thrones. The throne of David, and Solomon's throne, as well as other thrones mentioned in the Word, are interpreted in relation to the Lord. "In many passages of the Word," we read, "the word 'throne' is used, and in reference to the Lord it signifies in general heaven, in particular the spiritual heaven, and in the abstract Divine Truth proceeding from the Lord, since this is what makes heaven. For this reason 'throne' is also predicated of judgment, since all judgment is effected by truths." (A. E. 253:2; cf. A. C. 5313.) A throne also signifies government. (A. E. 575e.) The enthroning of a king, therefore, would represent his endowment with the whole of the government of the kingdom, also the exercise of that government by truths proceeding from the Divine Truth. The throne also, in an eminent sense, would represent the kingdom of heaven, which, by means of the truth proceeding from the Lord, should be within and throughout the natural kingdom.

When Solomon had been anointed, the trumpet was blown. The trumpet was used on many occasions, but chiefly to announce a triumph or to sound an alarm. Therefore a trumpet signifies Divine Truth manifested and revealed from heaven, or the influx of Divine Truth from the Lord through heaven; also the protection of the angels by the Lord, and the exploration and disclosure of the state of the church. The blowing of the trumpet after Solomon had been anointed represented the manifestation of Divine Truth, which makes both an end and a beginning, but more especially a beginning, by gathering together from the old the elements that are to form the beginning of the new. The sound of the trumpet after the anointing was the signal for the people to shout, "Let king Solomon live!" This is usually translated " God save the king," but the Hebrew is, "Let the king live!" and signifies the eternity of the Divine Truth, and of all truth thence derived. The simultaneous cry or shout of the people represented the consent of all the common affections and thoughts to the government of the truth which Solomon represented, which was the truth of wisdom. Even today this acclaim involves a consent to the government of the truth of the law, also the eternity of truth, which therefore must finally prevail.

483

     From the few things we have brought forth from Divine Revelation we may realize that many of the rituals practiced today in the coronation of a king are of ancient origin, and were instituted by Divine inspiration in correspondence with what is spiritual and Divine, to the end that they might provide for the solemn veneration of the Divine Truth, as exercised in the government of peoples and nations, thus that the power of truth from good might be effective with men in making them truly prosperous, contented, and happy.

     The following statement in the Writings will direct our thought to what is essential, and make possible a fuller understanding of the meaning of the ritual of a coronation, especially of its higher significance, disposing the affections and thoughts of a people to the government of the Lord by means of duly appointed and chosen men, as well as by the conscience of every man.

     "In the making of a king, holy things were signified and involved in the placing of a crown upon his head, anointing him upon his forehead and on his wrists with oil from a horn, putting into his hand a scepter, a sword and keys, investing him with a crimson robe, and then seating him upon a throne of silver; and afterwards in his riding upon a horse in royal trappings, and being served at table by those of highest rank, not to mention other formalities. Unless all these ceremonies represented holy things, and were sanctified through their correspondence with the things of heaven, and thence of the church, they would be nothing else than sports like those of little children, but in a greater form, or like plays on the stage. Nevertheless, all these rituals derived their origin from the most ancient times, when rituals were holy from their representing holy things, and from their correspondence with the holy things in heaven and thence in the church. Moreover, at the present day they are regarded as holy, not because it is known what they represent, or to what they correspond, but by an interpretation as of emblems that are in use. But if it were known what each of these things represents, and to what holy things it corresponds, men would think of them with much more reverence. But this they do not know, and, astonishing to say, do not desire to know; to such a degree have the representatives and significatives which are contained in such things, and everywhere in the Word, been destroyed in the minds of men at the present day." (A. C. 4581 2.)

     The evident purpose of this teaching, and of all the doctrine concerning government and its administration, is to show plainly that in reality all government belongs to the Lord alone; that He provides for its extension and operation among men by means of men; and that, by Divinely revealed Doctrine, He instructs men concerning the purposes of government and its orderly administration.

484

He leaves men free to make their own government whatever they please. But men who exercise their freedom wisely will be instructed and guided by His Word and its doctrine, and by so doing will come ever more fully and perfectly into order, and at the same time into genuine charity.

     Whatever may be the nature of governments among the nations today, we who have the Heavenly Doctrine can know the highest and most perfect forms, and our thought should be from that Doctrine, even though we can do nothing at present toward having it applied in any country. We ourselves can apply the doctrine in Our own thinking, in our own attitude toward government, in compelling ourselves to respect the office of a governor, whatever may be the character of the man who fills it. We ourselves can apply the doctrine in endeavoring to produce and maintain a heavenly order in our own lives and in our own homes. For the Divine government is the same in greatests and in leasts. By precept and example, also, we can instruct and train our children in these things, so that they will be able to think, speak, and act rationally in respect to them when they attain manhood and womanhood, and take upon themselves the duties and responsibilities of citizenship. By this we may nourish with them that love of country which is inscribed as a law upon every human heart.

     And assuredly we should pray to the Lord for His blessing upon our sovereign, that his reign may be just and merciful, prosperous and happy, and that it may be marked by an ever-increasing enlightenment of the people, and by the spread and acknowledgment of truth from the Lord, and thus the coming of the Lord's kingdom among men on the earth. Amen.

     LESSONS: I Kings 1:32-53. Revelation 19. A. C. 5323.
     MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 549, 548, 760, 750.
     PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 77, 198.
NEW CHURCH SERMONS 1937

NEW CHURCH SERMONS 1937

485

APPEARANCES OF TRUTH 1937

APPEARANCES OF TRUTH Rev. ERIK SANDSTROM 1937

     SOME REFLECTIONS ON A REMARKABLE SET OF TEACHINGS.

     The term "appearance" is one we frequently meet in the pages of the Writings. Unfortunately, however, the popular meaning of the term often differs from the idea conveyed thereby in the Writings, the result being that a correct understanding of such treatments in the Heavenly Doctrines, where the term is employed, is hampered. It is true that in the Writings themselves the term is used with various shades of meaning. Yet, once it is realized what is the general difference between those shades of meaning, it is not difficult to keep them apart; and the general difference is that between "real appearances" and "appearances not real." What these expressions involve is clear from the following statement: "What is real is actually such as it appears, and what is not real is actually not such as it appears." (A. C. 4623.)-In regard to the phrase "appearance of truth," when it occurs in the Writings, it is-possibly with a few exceptions-simply used in the sense of "truth appearing." Thus, when in our reading we are confronted with that phrase, we should not permit it to arouse the idea in us of something that merely appears to be true, but which is not true; for it means that which is true, because it testifies of truth itself.

     With this in mind, we may consider the following teaching: "It is to be known that never are any truths pure with man, not even with an angel, that is, without appearances; each and all are appearances of truth; but still they are received by the Lord for truths if there is good in them." (A. C. 3207:3.) The very wording of this passage shows that it is one of universal application; that is to say, it is a principal teaching, in the light of which other teachings on the same and like subjects are to be regarded. Consequently, any truth whatever which man or angel may ever see, even if he be regenerated to the degree of the highest heaven, is in fact an "appearance of truth."

486

This obviously involves that there is a limitation as to man's progress in the way of truth,-the limitation, namely, that he may not pass beyond the truth's appearing. Yet, in another way there is no limitation. For though man may not enter with his mind into Truth Itself, he may-and if he goes to heaven he will-be perfected in the appearance of truth to all eternity. In all creation there is a semblance of the Infinite; and this in respect to "the three infinite and uncreated degrees of altitude in the Lord" (D. L. W. 230), as well as to "the infinite things which in God Man are distinctly one" (D. L. W. 17); that is to say, in respect to degrees of height as well as to degrees of breadth. In other words, creation is of three degrees-celestial, spiritual, and natural-and on each degree there is displayed an ever changing, ever perfecting image of the corresponding degree in the Infinite Lord. The way of perfection is the way of truth, which means the way of appearances of truth.

Appearances of truth are created things-finite forms, in which may dwell the Divine Truth proceeding. Concerning this we read: "Appearances are acknowledged as truths, because they are such that Divine things can be in them" (A. C. 3387:2); "When Divine truth flows in by rational things, it presents appearances of truth" (A. C. 3376): "The things which are infinite and eternal are presented before the angels in appearances which are finite." (A. C. 3404:2.) These things, which "are presented before the angels," are spiritual objects, perceptible to the angelic understanding, even as natural objects are perceptible to the eye. The one and the other perception is sensation, spiritual and natural. They are objects on the same plane of creation as the receptive organ-natural objects when the receptive organ is the eye, and spiritual objects of one degree or other when the receptive organ is the understanding of one degree or other. Sensation is contact. Nor is there any perception aside from sensation, spiritual or natural; for the lower can in no way perceive the higher, even as the eye cannot sense spiritual things. Thus natural angels cannot perceive the things which belong to the spiritual angels, nor these the celestial things, nor the celestial angels the Divine things. Yet, with each angel and man, perception, or sensation, is from higher things flowing in. In a word, there is no sensation of what flows in, but there is sensation of things on the same plane as the receptive organ, from, or by the power of, what flows in.

487

Thus the Lord reveals Himself to angels and men by means of things finite and created, all of which things carry the image of the Divine inflowing.

     In the Heavenly Doctrines the phrase "appearances of truth" is usually superseded simply by the term "truth"; or, to express it the other way about, when the Writings speak of truths, such as are comprehensible to men or angels, appearances of truth are meant; the reason why these two expressions are used interchangeably being that "appearances of truth are received by the Lord for truths if there is good in them." (A. C. 3207:3.) The synonymity of the two expressions may be further confirmed and illustrated by the following statements:

     "All appearances of truth that have what is Divine in them belong to the rational, insomuch that rational truths and appearances of truth are the same" (A. C. 3368); "Whether you say rational things enlightened by the Divine, or appearances of truth, or of celestial and spiritual truths such as are in the Lord's kingdom in the heavens, or in heaven, and such as are in His kingdom on the earths, or in the church, comes to the same thing" (A. C. 3368:2); and in A. C. 3374, "spiritual things," "rational things," "appearances of truth," and "truths," are identified.-These things are also called "truths angelic and human," as in A. C. 3362, to contrast them with "truths Divine themselves, which are such that they can never be comprehended by any angel, still less by any man, because they surpass every faculty of their understanding." (Ibid.)

     From all that has been observed so far it would follow that there are degrees of appearances of truth. This is also directly stated in a good many places, from which we may bring forward these few: "Appearances, that is, truths angelic and human, are of three degrees" (A. C. 3362); "In what follows, the appearances of truth of a lower degree are treated of in their order, even as they are adapted to mankind" (A. C. 3404e); "With appearances of truth, or with truths from the Divine, the case is, that such as are of a higher degree immeasurably surpass those which are of a lower degree, both in abundance and in perfection." (A. C. 3405.)

     It is known that the three heavens communicate with each other by means of correspondences, that is to say, by means of influx.

488

Manifestly, then, the three degrees of appearances of truth also communicate with each other by correspondences, or by influx. This involves that the appearances of truth are by no means static things, or objects comparable to earthly forms. Rather, appearances of truth are apparently life. They are receptacles of life, for they are "such that Divine things can be in them." (A. C. 3387:2.) Life being in them, they bring the Lord to man; thus "the Lord conjoins man with Himself by means of appearances." (D. P. 219:4.) Also, life being in each degree of appearance, the Lord proceeds by means of the appearances through the heavens, from the higher step-by-step to the lower, and at last to men on earth. The thoughts of the angels, then, as also the thoughts of regenerate men, are appearances of truth; which thoughts are not life, but receptacles of life; nor are they static things, but active forms of life, inflowing within the range of creation from things highest to things lowest; in so doing they conjoin God and man, as well as the degrees of the human kingdom with each other. They testify of the Lord, because He, proceeding, is in them.

Perhaps it should be noted here that the phrase "appearances of truth" is sometimes contrasted with such expressions as "genuine truths" and "naked truths." To illustrate how the case is with this, we may take the following statement for example: "The truths of the sense of the letter of the Word are, in part, not naked truths, but appearances of truth, and as it were similitudes and comparisons taken from such things as are in nature." (S. S. 40.) This passage illustrates its own statement by quoting the Lord's teaching concerning first cleansing the inside of the cup and platter (Matt. 23:25, 26), and His parable of the rich man in purple and fine linen and the poor man at the entrance-court. (Luke 16:19, 20.) With references to these quotations it is said: "Here the Lord speaks by ultimate things which are containants, and by natural things, which are correspondences, and contain spiritual things." (Ibid.)

From this it is clear that the phrase "appearances of truth," when used in contradistinction to "naked truths" or "genuine truths," means "similitudes and comparisons taken from such things as are in nature," "ultimate things which are containants," or "natural things which are correspondences."

489

Evidently, then, "naked truths" or "genuine truths" are those which are not "similitudes" or "comparisons," but are those that state things which are directly applicable to human life, thus which need no translation from a correspondential language. Naked truths, therefore, are so called because they are divested of their correspondential clothing; and genuine truths are so termed because they openly point to life-thus in comparison with truths clothed and truths distorted. All this, however, does not alter the fact that "naked truths" and "genuine truths" are themselves appearances of truth. The difference is simply that the former "appearances of truth" are comparatively not real, whereas the latter are comparatively real-and the more so the higher they ascend on the scale of degrees.

At last we may note that the Lord Himself, while on earth, was in appearances of truth, and this although He was born a "spiritual celestial man." (A. C. 4594.) But this was before His glorification. For the human not glorified, which He had, was from Mary, and was finite and created. But this He put off; and as He did, so He ascended above all appearances, and entered into Pure Truth, or Truth Itself, and became that Truth. This we find in A. C. 3405, where we read: "The Lord too, when in the maternal human, was in appearances of truth; but as He put off this human, He put off the appearances also, and put on the infinite and eternal Divine Itself."

In coming to earth, vesting Himself in the ultimates of creation, the Lord as it were reached out for the appearances of truth of the lowest degree. He took them to Himself, in order that, when He again discarded them, His Divine might yet remain in them. Thus His descent to men was a stretching forth of immediate influx-an influx which had formerly been mediated by the celestial heaven. (See A. C. 6307.) By this act, the Lord took to Himself the immediate rule over all men, and over all spirits in hell, whom He had previously governed mediately. His Divine Human was ever the Divine, dwelling within and proceeding through the appearances of truth; but the Divine Human He assumed by His sojourn on earth reached to the appearances of the very ultimate degree. Thus He became the Last, as He had ever been the First. His Divine Human, then, is not the appearances of truth, but it is the Divine, dwelling within each and all of them as their Soul, and appearing through them.

490

WHAT OF THE FUTURE? 1937

WHAT OF THE FUTURE? HAROLD P. MCQUEEN 1937

     (Remarks at a Banquet on June 19, 1937.)

     You ask me to speak of the future-that period of time ever beyond our reach. For as the future, day by day, tumbles into our laps, it becomes the present, and in a few short hours, or even moments, it becomes a thing of the past. History is but a record of innumerable futures brought to an end by that intangible thing we call TIME. This it is that makes the history of our lives; this it is that makes the history of the General Church.

     As to our futures, they'll be as bright as we make our Todays bright-and as happy as we make our Todays happy.

     We experience strife, and friction, and wars, and crises; and each, as it looms on the horizon of our daily lives, seems to be fraught with danger. And yet the danger lies only in our foolish willingness to be led astray by signs other than that "still small voice." There will be dark days, which Time, in Providence, wrests from our passing grasp. But mingled with the ups and downs of life come Happy Days-days when engagements and weddings are announced-days of feasts of charity-days when new-born babes bring spheres of innocence to young and old, and admiring friends say, "What a perfect child!"-thinking not of the walkings of the night! Babes who make an ever-changing world! Joyous days these-bright spots in the always moving picture of life.

     Let's open the book of history, and, as we flip its pages, let's glance at the utterances of priest and layman as they speak of their futures, long since turned to history. Let's see whether the things they said and did brought about the kind of futures they dreamed of. Let's see if we can learn from the experience of others what to do, and also what not to do!

     It's June, 1897: Priests and laymen are speaking of the future-of hopes and aspirations; of warnings against luckwarmness towards the things of the church; also words of cheerful encouragement.

491

     Says a noted layman: "For some time past, various utterances throughout the church have seemed to indicate a growing impression that the transitional character of the still infantile New Church is about to be marked by the development of a state distinct from what has gone before. To us that state seems to promise to be one of greater freedom and individuality of thought. The hope that the resultant freedom may prove genuine-because derived from the truth, not from the license of self-intelligence-is strengthened by the apparently increasing study of the Writings."

     "Consider not the Church as established," preaches the Rev. Enoch S. Price, " but as being established; for nothing that is good and true will ever be finished to eternity; but will go on, ever becoming more and more perfect. So let not the New Churchman say, 'Now the Church is established; let the conflict cease, and let us sit at home and enjoy tranquillity.' The conflict must go on, for real tranquillity is the resultant of battles won and evils overcome."

     Articles entitled, "A Paster's Limitations," "A Danger to Europe," "Pastoral Duties." Notices of Births, Marriages and Deaths-of names familiar and otherwise.

     Twenty years pass-years of successes, tinged in spots with unimportant failures-years of wise leadership by a clergy who look daily to the Lord for guidance.

     Comes June, 1917: The World War inspires a sermon on "Patience and Patriotism," by the Rev. Gilbert H. Smith. A layman writes on "The Church and the War." The Bishop, talking to his flocks, and saying in Philadelphia: "I could wish that every member of our church was always ready, when occasion offered, to testify to his faith. If we read the Writings, and live them ourselves, so that they are actively in our hearts and minds, then the mouth will speak the things of the mind." And in Pittsburgh, reminding us of our increasing tendency to keep our beliefs to ourselves, and not doing all in our power to spread them to others.

     Comments on the 8th Commandment, in part reading as follows: "The evil of slander usually begins by indulging in the pleasures of gossip,-small talk, thoughtless and idle, about acquaintances and friends,-without any deliberate intention to harm them, but slightly derogatory to them, and pleasant to the love of self, because it belittles the neighbor in comparison with one's self."

492

     Charles Francis Browne-that benign artist and loving father-speaking in Chicago on the subject of "The Future," to the effect that it should be made synonymous with Hope, and should be divorced from anxiety, so long as there is charity, and a will to do what lies immediately ahead.

     More Births, Marriages, and Deaths,-the outcome of twenty years of past futures.

     Twenty more years of building-of growth-of progress-and somewhat of strife. Twenty more years of wise leading and patient forbearance by a clergy still looking daily to the Lord for guidance. Twenty more years, bringing us to the time we choose to call Today.

     June, 1937: Sermons by Bishops and Priests. Changes, developments, preparations for great events. A short History of the Mode of Appointing a Bishop of the General Church. Notice of the Sixteenth General Assembly of the General Church. Three papers setting forth, in simple language, truths which to some in recent years have been overshadowed with the clouds of uncertainty and apprehension. Children bringing to life in pageantry the wonders of the Second Coming of the Lord. Happy days, as of the sunshine of Spring, glistening on the water drops of a storm that has passed. Births, Marriages, Deaths. Happy births, happy marriages, and, if we see wisely, happy deaths.

     Thus have the futures of forty years passed, and we ask: What of the Future? And the answer comes like an echo-from Tomorrow to Today-The future will be as bright as we make our Todays bright, and as happy as we make our Todays happy.

493

NOTES AND REVIEWS. 1937

NOTES AND REVIEWS. Various 1937

494

     As might be expected from this writer, the booklet gives a very satisfactory answer, in general terms, to the false concept of reincarnation, which "flourishes in the East, and has invaded Western thought." "Stated briefly," he says, "it suggests that the soul of a person now living on earth is not a new creation; it may have existed here before in different bodies, and will probably exist here in many future incarnations. . . . As to its final destiny, there seems to be divergence of opinion among teachers of the theory. Hindu reincarnationists, millions in number, seem to hold that the soul ultimately finds Nirvana, which, as the writer understands it, implies mergence into the Divine, and which involves loss of individuality. Others teach that individuality persists, but the form in which it persists is left very much to the imagination." (Pages 18, 19.)

     We are wondering, however, just what the writer means in his opening paragraph, when he asserts that man's "spirit is formed from the non-molecular substance of the spiritual world." To us the term "non-molecular" here implies that spiritual substance does not consist of finite entities, thus that the human spirit or mind is formed of substances which are not finite and organic. That the "substance of the spiritual world" may not improperly be called "molecular," is evident from this passage in the Doctrines:

     "It was shown by living experience how angelic ideas inflow into the ideas of spirits who are below. The abundance of the ideas from the angelic heaven was presented visible as a bright cloud distinguished into molecules; each molecule, which consisted of innumerable [others], produced one simple idea with a spirit; and it was afterwards shown that there were thousands and thousands within it." (A. C. 6614.)

     From the wealth of teaching in regard to the structure of the substance of the spiritual world, and of the human mind or spirit, we may recall briefly the following:

     "The spiritual atmospheres are discrete substances, or least forms, arising from the sun of that world. . . . The natural atmospheres are also discrete substances and least forms arising from the sun of the natural world." (D. L. W. 174.) "As concerns the spirit of man, that also was created from finite things. . . . The finite things of which it is composed are spiritual substances which are in the spiritual world. . . ." (T. C. R. 470:3.)

495

"Since the mind of man is his spirit, therefore the angels, who also are spirits, are called minds." (D. L. W. 386.) "Since the will and the understanding are receptacles of love and wisdom, therefore also those two are organic forms, or forms organized of the purest substances, . . . though that organization is not patent to the eye, even when aided by the microscope." (D. L. W. 373.) Of the purely organic substances of the mind, whose changes of state and form are affections and thoughts, we are told: "The changes and variations are infinitely more perfect in the organics of the mind than the organics of the body." (D. P. 2790.) Concerning the spiritual organism of the mind in the brain, see D. L. W. 42; T. C. R. 224, 351, 577, etc.

We think, therefore, that the use of the term "non-molecular," as descriptive of the substance of man's spirit, is unfortunate, especially in a treatise which undertakes to oppose the idea of his being "absorbed into the Infinite" or "merged into the Divine." The fact that the substance of the spiritual world is finite, consisting of discrete entities, is the very ground of man's individual existence after death. And such a finite world is essential to the fulfilment of the ends of Divine Love in a heaven distinct from the Divine, but receptive and responsive to the Divine in every least and greatest part of that heaven. Let us recall another statement bearing upon the subject:

"The common opinion concerning the state of souls after death, and thence also of angels and spirits, is that they are not in any extense, consequently not in space and time; from which idea it is said of souls after death that they are in Pu or Ubi, and that spirits and angels are pneumata, of which nothing else is thought than of ether, air, breath or wind; when, nevertheless, they are substantial men, and live together like men of the natural world, upon spaces and in times, which are determined according to the states of their minds. If it were otherwise, that is, if there were no spaces and times there, that whole world into which souls are gathered after death, and where angels and spirits dwell, might be drawn through the eye of a needle, or concentrated upon the point of a single hair. This would be possible if there were no substantial extense there; but since this is there, the angels dwell as discretely and distinctly from each other as men, yea, more distinctly than men, who have a material extense between them." (T. C. R. 29:2.)

496

     The writer of the pamphlet would also apply the term "non-molecular " to the Limbus, or to the inmost substances of nature. In the course of his editorial in THE NEW-CHURCH HERALD of June 5, commenting upon the Christian belief in the resurrection of the material body, he writes: "The body which survives death is already ours, being composed of undying substance; it is our spiritual body, by which we are related to the environment of the spiritual world. The grosser physical body, relating us to the material world, is disintegrated after death. But we must not forget the teaching of Swedenborg to the effect that in our enduring psychic body there is a contribution from the realm of nature. The reader will remember the reference to the 'purer substances of the world' which contribute to man's spiritual form. (D. L. W. 388.) We may take it, however, that these 'purer substances' are non-molecular."

     In passing we may note that what is called, in D. L. W. 388, a "certain fixed containant of spiritual things derived from the purer substances of the world" is elsewhere called a "cutaneous envelope of the spiritual body" (D. L. W. 257:6), a "medium from the inmosts of nature" (Div. Wis. VIII: 5), a "limbus (border) from the purest things of nature." (T. C. R. 103.)

     Later on in the editorial, Mr. Hall indicates the origin of his use of the term "non-molecular," which he has applied both to the substance of man's spirit and to the form which man retains after death from the "purer substances of the world." He says:

     "Doubtless the dispelling of the old notion of the resurrection of the grosser elements of the physical body has been considerably assisted by the scientific recognition of non-molecular matter and the demonstration that atomic matter is, as it were, the shadow of invisible substance. The atom is now visaged as an electronic planetary system, and solid matter owes its appearance to something underlying and basic. Those who rightly argue that the soul must have a body have now justification for thinking of the enduring integument as being composed of a substance of which atomic matter is phenomenal."

     And so it becomes the duty of the New Churchman to set forth the revealed teaching concerning the organized nature of "non-molecular" substance, the existence of which science is said to admit. The truth is that neither spiritual substance nor the substance of inmost nature is "non-molecular" in the sense that it is an unorganized mass-indigesta moles.

497

We find much in the Writings about the interior organic forms of the universe and of man. But the Writings treat-more specifically of the living properties and attributes of those organic forms, the structure and operation of which is described at length in the earlier philosophical works of Swedenborg. The two together have been provided to meet the needs of the open and inquiring mind of today, to bring the scientific investigator to something of an acknowledgment of the reality of the spiritual world, to enlighten and confirm the rational faith of the man of the church.


     PROVIDENCE AND THE UNBORN.

     THE SOUL AND ITS REPRESENTATIONS. By Eldred Edward Iungerich. Published by the Author, 1936, and to be had at the Academy Book Room, Bryn Athyn, Pa. Buckram, 16mo; pp. 269; $1.50.

     The title of this work does not prepare the reader for its actual contents, though one can well understand that what the author intended to convey was that the work treats of the representations of the soul in the work of regeneration. The work itself might more properly be called a treatise on the operations of Divine Providence.

     Nominally it is divided into two parts: (1) Divine Providence in Marriage, and (2) Divine Mercy Toward the Unborn. In reality, however, it consists of three parts, namely: The Laws of Providence, being an analysis of the work on Divine Providence; an analysis of the work on Conjugial Love; and a treatise on the Commencement of Human Life.

     The analyses of the Laws of Providence and of the work on Conjugial Love are valuable contributions to the literature of the New Church. In addition to Doctor Iungerich's originality of presentation, we are struck with the remarkable and illuminating use he has made of the New Testament, and particularly of the parables. Indeed, were it merely for the, clear explanations of the latter, the work would richly deserve attentive perusal.

     The second Part, Divine Mercy Toward the Unborn, is an argument for the hypothesis, espoused by Doctor Iungerich some years ago, that human individuality commences at the moment of conception.

498

The subject is presented in the form of a discussion conducted in the spiritual world under the chairmanship of "Mirabilis," by whom is evidently meant Swedenborg. The two opponents are "Gulielmus" and "Garland," Gulielmus but thinly disguising a prominent New Church worker of the last generation. Into the mouth of "Gulielmus" are put all the arguments that have been advanced from the Writings to show that human individuality commences with the opening of the lungs. In the running discussion, these are skillfully overthrown by "Garland" from both the Writings and the Scientific Works, The scene ends dramatically by the entrance into the hall of no less a person than Emerentia, the youthful love and now the wife of "Mirabilis." Then, with the consent of the latter, Garland's girl-wife enters, whom he had left a widow after two months of happy married life; and in her arms is a tiny babe. One gets the impression that this babe had been born without the opening of the lungs, for at sight of it "Gulielmus" utters his final speech, implying his complete acceptance of "Garland's" views.

     It is unnecessary for us to enter into any discussion of the position which, by the mouth of Garland, Doctor Iungerich here presents with a wealth of quotations which testifies to his thorough knowledge of the whole of Swedenborg's Writings. The reader may know something of these arguments from an article by Doctor Iungerich printed in the NEW PHILOSOPHY for April, 1931, p. 344. In the present work, however, they are presented in such great detail, and accompanied by a consideration of all opposing arguments, that this part will serve as an invaluable aid to all who wish more closely to study this question.

     What appears to be the central argument on which "Garland" relies is the teaching, many times referred to, and which forms the closing passage of the book, that "the Lord conjoins Himself to man in the mother's womb from first conception, and forms him." (Divine Wisdom III:1.) Garland fails, however, to explain how there can be conjunction without reciprocation, or reciprocation without consciousness. (See Div. Wis. III: 5 and L). L. W. 407.)
     ALFRED ACTON.

     [From The New Philosophy, April, 1937.]

499

Church News 1937

Church News Various 1937

     NEW MOSTON, MANCHESTER, ENGLAND.

     Bishop and Mrs. Alfred Acton came to pay their first visit here on August 19, and stayed until the morning of the 22d. They were accompanied by the ever welcome Mr. and Mrs. Eldin Acton of London. Thus was fulfilled a desire that has long been present in our minds. The news that Dr. Acton was expected in the district was passed on to such friends as were known to be home (August is a holiday month) and apart from exceptions due to sickness all the invitations issued were accepted. Arrangements were made to hold two meetings, the first on Thursday, August 19, and the second on the following day.

     Thursday's meeting was attended by fifteen people, and Dr. Acton spoke on "What the General Church Stands For." The interest excited by the address was manifest in the many questions asked and answered. On Friday, nineteen people were present, and an address on "The Holy Spirit" occupied about an hour, and was heard with delight by those present, the discussion continuing even during the serving of refreshments. In all, twenty-three people enjoyed what we
believe will be remembered as memorable occasion.

     Among those present we were glad to welcome Mr. Victor Cooper, of Burton Road Society, London, who has lately come to reside in Warrington. Mrs. Cooper was unable to attend. Friends from Heywood and Kearsley, in addition to those from the immediate vicinity, completed the number.

     The sphere of the meetings derived much from the genial presence of the Bishop and his wife, and the singing of "In our Church, while ages roll, true friendship we'll find" was entered into with vigor. This was followed by "Our Glorious Church" and "Our Own Academy," the Bishop explaining that "The Academy" was to be regarded, not solely as an institution, but as an ideal, embodying the principles of the Divine Authority of the Writings, New Church Education, Conjugial Love, and the Acknowledgment of the Lord in His Second Advent. Expressions of gratitude to the Bishop were heard from all present, and future visits are looked forward to with pleasure.

     Saturday was devoted to a tour of the district with the special purpose of enabling Bishop and Mrs. Acton to revisit the scenes of his boyhood. In Blackburn the New Church was visited, and in the roll of members of that Society was seen the entry, in 1874, which marked the' receiving into membership of the father and mother of the Bishop. The address given in this membership roll enabled us to trace the house in which the family had resided, and we next went to inspect it. Later, in Liverpool, we saw the house where the Bishop was born, and also saw the Bedford Street New Church place of worship which was associated with his very early years.

     Sunday morning and the departure of our guests came too quickly. We were loath to let them go. And instead of allowing them to proceed unattended, an escort was arranged through the glorious country of Derbyshire, the last adieux being said at a junction of roads near Castleton, not far from the ancient feudal stronghold of "Peveril Castle."

500

     So we welcomed Bishop Acton's return to his native soil, trusting that he and his wife may have experienced a little of the delight which their own presence gave to the friends who were privileged to meet them.

     The recording of this visit calls to mind a former record, which may be found in the Life for June, 1929. On that occasion, Bishop and Mrs. Tilson paid us a visit; and in the intervening years we have also been visited by the Rev. and Mrs. W. Cairns Henderson and the Rev. A. Wynne Acton. Only one sad memory is associated with these occasions, commenced by Bishop Tilson, namely, that the Rev. Victor J. Gladish met with an accident on his way here in 1935. We hope some day to have the pleasure of a visit from him undisturbed by any such mishap.
     P. D.

     DURBAN, NATAL.

     August 20.-After our summer recess the commencement of the church activities was a joy to all. The first big function was a Bazaar, held in the church hall on June 12 under the auspices of the Woman's Guild. It was well attended, and the activity around the numerous stalls gave proof of the amount of work which had been done in preparation. Many of the women had worked untiringly for weeks, the result being that the proceeds were most gratifying.

     Early in June the Durban Chapter of the Sons of the Academy began the publication of a weekly mimeographed paper, called "The Durban Society Adviser," which has proven useful and welcome, not only to our members in Durban; but also to those living in outlying districts, who have found it difficult to keep in touch with church activities. The Durban Society has now taken over this publication, bearing the expense, although it is still under the same editorial management. Good work, Sons!

     The 19th of June Banquet was a very happy and beneficial evening. Our pastor was toastmaster, and conveyed to us the greetings of Bishop de Charms, as well as other greetings he had received by telegraph. The subject chosen for the theme of the evening was "Instruction," and all the papers were most interesting. Mr. Lumsden spoke on Baptism and the obligations assumed at the time of baptism in regard to instruction in spiritual things. Mr. Garth Pemberton spoke on Family Worship and Home Instruction, showing how the aim in the upbringing of our children should be through a state of affection and obedience. Speaking on Social Obligations, Mr. Neville Edley noted that the spiritual instruction given us by our pastor, and that gained by our reading of the Writings, should be examined by the individual, if it is to be more than scientifics with us. In conclusion, Mr. R. M. Ridgway read a paper in which he showed how we are to avoid the danger to the church when it is only of the understanding, and not of the life also. Toasts were honored to the Church, to Bishop Emeritus N. D. Pendleton, Bishop George de Charms, Mr. Norbert Rogers, the King and Queen, and to many absent friends. And there were the usual little quips on various members of the society, ably sung by the toastmaster, Mr. J. J. Forfar, and Mr. J. H. Ridgway.

     The following evening, the Children's Banquet was held under the auspices of Theta Alpha. Twenty-seven children and eleven adults sat down to supper, and very much enjoyed the occasion. The Rev. and Mrs. F. W. Elphick were most welcome guests. After the toast to the Church, there was a program of recitations and papers by the children, beginning with the younger ones, who recited, and followed by the older ones, who gave very interesting papers. Mr. Elphick then proposed a toast to the Teachers, and told the children how fortunate they were to have a New Church School. He also briefly described the work of the Native Mission, and their celebrations of the 19th of June.

501

This banquet was a great success, and all present were thrilled by the lovely sphere that prevailed.

     Owing to the limited space in our hall, the Tableaux prepared for this occasion were given on June 30, as part of the school closing, under the auspices of the Sons of the Academy and the direction of the pastor. The scenes portrayed were: Swedenborg's Call; The Inscription on the Brief Exposition in the Spiritual World; The Sending Forth of the Twelve Apostles; and a Representation of The New Church as the Holy City, and as the Bride of the Lord. We all hope these beautiful Tableaux will be repeated.

     Kainon School opened for the new term on August 3, when two new pupils were enrolled,-Clive and Barry Parker, sons of Mr. and Mrs. Fred Parker, who came to reside in Durban on July 1, and we hope will be with us for a long time.

     Mr. and Mrs. Norman Ridgway and family have been visiting Mr. and Mrs. J. H. Ridgway for some time. Norman has returned to Alpha, but the family will remain in Durban to recuperate after a severe attack of pneumonia. The society is happy to welcome Mr. and Mrs. Robert Mansfield on their return from a sojourn at Margate. Mr. Mansfield has recently accepted a position as Health Inspector at Westville, a position similar to the one he held at Margate.

     The Rev. and Mrs. Elphick and family spent the month of July at Alpha, where Mr. Elphick was engaged in Mission duties, and where Mr. Odhner joined him for a week on the occasion of the Ministers' Meetings and District Assembly.

     We have recently enjoyed a visit from the Rev. and Mrs. Edwin Fieldhouse, of Johannesburg, where he is in charge of the Conference Native Mission. They attended our service on Sunday, and the following week Mr. Fieldhouse officiated in our worship and delivered the sermon, which was much enjoyed.

     Mr. and Mrs. W. G. Lowe plan to leave early in September on a tour of England, Scotland, and Canada, prior to a visit to Bryn Athyn. We re wish them a most enjoyable holiday and a safe return.

     Since the beginning of the year an evening service has been held in our church on the first Sunday of each month. The attendance has been good, and the services have been much enjoyed.

     It is with a very deep feeling of regret that we report the passing into the spiritual world, on August 18, of our dear friend, Llewellyn Morgan. He was a lover of the Writings, and since joining the Church some years ago was always a willing worker and a tremendous supporter of church uses. A very beautiful memorial service was conducted by our pastor prior to the interment.
     B. R. F.

     GLENVIEW, ILL.

     The August meeting of the Sons was the largest of the season, and we had the pleasure of listening to a paper by the Rev. F. E. Gyllenhaal, on "Religion and Life," in which he showed that religion, which alone renews and regenerates man, relates to everything of human life. The New Church has the true Christian religion, produced by a complete Divine Revelation, and therefore its life should correspond to its pre-eminently sound and pure religion. The essayist quoted A. C. 4468, which states that two things, life and doctrine, join together the people of the church, and suggested that our association is due rather to a common, intellectual interest in doctrine than to a common, truly religious Christian life. He concluded with the challenging words, "The life of the world today may require us to make many adjustments, even in our life of religion, or our church life, but it may also be true that the inventions and conveniences and incomes of our modern life may be simply making possible the gratification of selfish and worldly loves, and that in gratifying them we are giving up, however slowly it may be, the life of the true Christian religion."

502

     Summer is drawing to a close, and visitors from Bryn Athyn and other points are leaving for home. School teachers and students are gathering in preparation for the fall term.

     The floors of our church and school buildings have been re-oiled, and everything has been cleaned and put in good shape. In addition to the improvements at the Manse, the old Maynard home is being remodeled, better to serve its occupants,-Miss Helen, and Messrs. Arthur and Henry Maynard.
     J. B. S.

     EPISCOPAL TOUR.

     In the course of his automobile trip through the West during July and August, Bishop de Charms, in company with Mr. Otho W. Heilman, traveled about 12,000 miles in six weeks, and visited General Church members and groups in many localities,-St. Louis and Denver, the Northwestern States, British Columbia, and California. The return journey was made through Texas and the South, and a meeting of Ohio members was held at Youngstown on August 22.

     A graphic account of the tour was given by the Bishop to the men of the Bryn Athyn Society on September 17, and will be repeated at the October meeting of the Women's Guild.

     TORONTO, CANADA.

     Few of our members were so fortunate as to be able to attend the General Assembly, held amid very lovely surroundings at Pittsburgh, but they returned with such glowing reports that those who stayed at home were able to bask in the reflected glow, and to catch at least a glimpse of the good fellowship and inspiration engendered there.

     During the month of August the Olivet Society had the opportunity of making the acquaintance of Candidate Norbert H. Rogers. He conducted three Sunday services during the absence of our pastor, who was thus enabled to have a good vacation, and on two other Sundays he assisted the pastor in the worship. These summer substituting arrangements serve excellent uses in many obvious ways.

     We have had the pleasure of the company of many tourist holiday makers,-from Bryn Athyn, Pittsburgh, Youngstown, Chicago, Kitchener and Montreal. We have also been able to "check up" on our B. A. school girls, Zoe Gyllenhaal and Helen Anderson,-and have found improvements! These two girls are returning to Bryn Athyn to further their New Church education, and will be accompanied by a new student, Marguerite Izzard.
     M. S. P.

     ACADEMY SCHOOLS.

     Teachers, students, parents and friends gathered in the Assembly Hall on Wednesday, September 15, for the Opening Exercises, first of the Elementary School at 9.30 a.m., and later for the Higher Schools at 11 o'clock. On the latter occasion, Mr. Eldric S. Klein gave the address of welcome to the students, telling them that the truths of the Second Coming are our ideals, and that the purposes of our school are fulfilled when these truths are ultimated and confirmed in good habits, which prepare for regeneration and remain after death in the heavenly life. Enlarging upon this theme, he drew lessons from the teaching in A. C. 3603, concerning the priority of truth when it is only a conscious knowledge in the memory, and the later priority of good when the truth has become involuntary, subconscious, and habitual.

     The President's Reception in the evening provided a happy social reunion at this beginning of a new school-year.

503

DISTRICT ASSEMBLIES 1937

DISTRICT ASSEMBLIES Various 1937

     Announcements.

     Members and friends of the General Church of the New Jerusalem are cordially invited to attend the following District Assemblies:

     Ontario District Assembly.

     The Twenty-fourth Ontario District Assembly will be held at the Olivet Church, Toronto, on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, October 9-11, 1937. Visitors are requested to communicate with Mrs. S. R. Parker, 18 Tyndall Avenue, Toronto, in order that arrangements may be made for their entertainment.
     REV. ALAN GILL,
          Secretary.

     Chicago District Assembly.

     The Thirty-second Chicago District Assembly will be held at the Immanuel Church, Glenview, Illinois, on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, October 15-17, 1937. Visitors are requested to notify the undersigned.
     REV. GILBERT H. SMITH,
          Secretary.

     Pittsburgh District Assembly.

     The Pittsburgh District Assembly will be held at the Church of the Pittsburgh Society, 299 Le Roi Road, on Saturday and Sunday, November 13 and 14, 1937. Visitors are requested to notify the undersigned.
     REV. WILLARD D. PENDLETON,
          Secretary.
CHARTER DAY 1937

1937

     All ex-students of the Academy of the New Church are cordially invited to attend the Charter Day Exercises, to be held at Bryn Athyn, Pa., on October 22 and 23, 1937.

     On Friday, October 22, at 11 a.m., there will be a Service in the Cathedral, with an Address by the Rev. Willard D. Pendleton. In the afternoon there will be a Football Game, and in the evening, at 7 p.m., a Banquet in the Assembly Hall.

     On Saturday, October 23, in the afternoon, a Tea will be given by the Faculty in Benade Hall, and in the evening, at 8 p.m., there will be a Dance in the Assembly Hall. Those expecting to attend are requested to notify Mrs. Viola Rennels, Bryn Athyn, Pa., in order that arrangements may be made for their entertainment.

505

OBEDIENCE 1937

OBEDIENCE GEORGE DE CHARMS 1937

NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. LVII NOVEMBER, 1937          No. 11
     A TALK TO CHILDREN.

     One day, as the Lord was entering the city of Capernaum with His disciples, certain friends of a Roman centurion met Him. A centurion was the name given to an officer in the Roman army. He was like a captain in our army, being in command of one hundred men. This centurion was a gentile; that is, he did not belong to the Jewish nation. Pet he was a good man, who was kind and friendly to the conquered Jews. He had shown his kindness by building a synagogue for them. And although he was not a Jew, he had heard about the Lord, and about the miracles He had performed and the wonderful teachings He had given. And the centurion had come to believe in the Lord. For this reason, when he was in trouble, he turned to the Lord for help.

     Now this centurion had a servant whom he loved, and this servant had been taken with a serious illness. No physician was able to heal him. Everyone thought that he must surely die. But when the centurion, his master, heard that the Lord was coming to that city, he believed that He had power to make the servant well. Yet, so great was his humility, that he did not think himself worthy to have the Lord come into his house. He did not think that he was worthy even to meet the Lord and speak with Him. And so he sent friends to tell the Lord about the trouble that had come upon him, saying that the Lord needed only to say the word, and the servant would be healed.

506

For he said, "I am a man set under authority, and I say to this man, Go, and he goeth; and to another, Come, and he cometh; and to my servant, Do this, and he doeth it." And if he, a mere soldier, a captain over a hundred men, could have things done in places where he could not go himself, surely the Lord, the Ruler of all the world, could restore his servant to health without even entering into his house. When the Lord heard this, He said: "I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel." And at once He healed the servant, so that those who had come to Him, when they returned to the centurion's house, found the man well who had been sick.

     One thing especially is to be noted about this story. The centurion had learned the lesson of obedience, and it is extremely important that we should all learn that lesson, if the Lord is to protect us from evil and heal us of our spiritual diseases.

     The centurion was a soldier, and the first thing that every soldier learns is that he must obey quickly, willingly, and without question, any command that may be given by his superior officer. In an army the private soldiers can see very little of what is happening around them. They can know very little about what the enemy is doing. In modern warfare, they must live in long trenches, dug deep into the ground, that they may be protected from shot and shell. They cannot even raise their heads above the top of the trench without immediate danger of being killed. Shut in by the narrow walls of protecting earth, they cannot see the enemy. They cannot know where an attack may be made, or what it is best to do in order to resist such an attack.

     But the superior officers,-the generals who are beyond reach of the guns, and who can learn about the movements of the enemy, from scouts, and spies, and from airplanes sent out over the enemy lines,-only these higher officers can know when troops are being gathered for an attack against a certain part of the line. Only they can know where their own soldiers are needed in the greatest numbers, to protect their positions.

     It is most important, therefore, when the troops in the trenches receive an order to go to a certain place, that the soldiers should go there at once, even though they do not know why they are told to do so.

507

If they should say, "No, I do not see an enemy over there; I know that he is right in front of me, and I shall stay where I am," then they would be taken by surprise, and would be defeated. For the protection of the country, they must be ready to obey, even though they do not understand the reason why.

     It is the same with us all. We are soldiers in the army of the Lord, Who alone is the Divine Commander. Even the angels are soldiers serving the Lord, and for this reason the angels are called the heavenly host, that is, an army. Like all soldiers, we know very little. We can see very little. Whenever we do what we want to do, rather than what the Lord tells us to do, we make mistakes, and expose ourselves to the attacks of evil spirits. But the Lord knows all things. He sees our spiritual enemies. He knows the dangers that threaten us, and can help us to meet them, if only we will obey His commands. In His Word He tells us what we are to fight against. He tells us where and how the attack of the hells will come. If we learn His commandments, and obey them without question-quickly, and gladly-then the Lord can help us to overcome the evil spirits, and drive them away. But if we are proud; if we think that we know better than the Lord; if we insist upon doing what we want to do, even though it is against the teaching of the Word, then will the enemy surprise us, bringing punishment and suffering upon us, and in time will destroy our spiritual life.

     So long as you are children you cannot understand the teachings of the Lord's Word without the help of grown-up people. This is why the Lord has given you parents and teachers to care for you, to tell you what is right and what is wrong, and to explain the commandments of the Lord. And if you learn first to obey your parents and teachers, who stand in the place of the Lord to you, then, when you have grown up, you will be able to obey the Lord.

     I know that this is a hard lesson to learn. We think we know a great deal, because we cannot realize the many things that are beyond our sight and knowledge. We think there is no danger because we do not see the evil spirits who are about us in the spiritual world. We often want to do things that are wrong, and that give evil spirits power over us, and we cannot understand why we should not do these things. But the Lord knows the danger. Parents and teachers go to His Word, and learn from Him where the danger lies.

508

And if we would win in the battle,-if we would come to know true happiness on earth, and the joy of heaven after death,-then we must, like the soldiers in the trenches, obey their commands.

     Children always want to grow up, because they think that then they can do as they please. They think they will not have to obey their parents any more, and thus that they will be free. But remember this: Everyone in the world, whether he be a president or a common citizen, whether he be a king or a private soldier, is the servant of the Lord. However wise we may become, there are still many, many things that we do not know. If we do not obey the Lord, we will be sure to do what is wrong, and thus will come under the power of the hells. For a host of evil spirits is all around us in the spiritual world, seeking to bring pain, and suffering, and punishment upon us. This is their delight, because they love to compel men to serve their evil purposes. No one but the Lord can protect us against their power. He has conquered all the hells, and no evil spirit can do the least harm to anyone who is under the protection of His mighty arm.

     But even the Lord cannot save us from the hells unless we obey His Commandments. After you are grown up, this will be just as true as it is while you are children. The only difference is, that then you will be able to go to the Word for yourself, and understand what the Lord there teaches, without depending upon parents and teachers to explain it to you. This is why it is so important that you learn, even as little children, to do what your parents and teachers want you to do. For in no other way can you learn, when you have become men and women, to look to the Lord as your Heavenly Father, and obey the commandments of His Word.

     LESSON: Luke 7:1-10.
     MUSIC: Hymnal, pages 84, 90, 168.

509

HARVEST OF WORKS 1937

HARVEST OF WORKS Rev. GILBERT H. SMITH 1937

     "And thou shalt keep the feast of ingathering, in the going out of the year, when thou gatherest in thy works out of the field." (Exodus 23:16.)

     The three feasts or festivals of the Jewish Church were primarily occasions for the worship of the Lord and thanksgiving for His Divine blessings. In the outward form they were a thanksgiving for the natural benefits produced by the soil of the earth, the fruits of which were offered at the tabernacle. But these fruits were representative of the spiritual benefits received from the Lord in the life of the church,-the fruits of the life of regeneration, for which, above all things, the man of the spiritual church gives thanks in heart and in worship. He indeed acknowledges that all natural and material blessings are gifts of the Lord's Providence, but he also raises his mind above the thought of earthly things, and gives thanks for those blessings which transcend the life of the body, which belong to the eternal life of the spirit,-the goods and truths of the spiritual life, with their power in uses or works,-received in ever greater measure according to his progress in the life of regeneration.

     This progress in the regenerate life, whereby man is delivered from hell and introduced into heaven, is depicted in the three successive feasts, in their internal meaning; for they were first observed on the liberation of the Israelites from Egypt, and on their journey toward the Promised Land. The Feast of the Passover, kept at the time of planting in the spring of the year, represented the first implantation of truth with man, and also his deliverance from falsity, on which account it was also called the feast of unleavened bread, signifying this purification from falsity. The Feast of Firstfruits was observed fifty days after the Exodus as the Israelites came to Mount Sinai, where the Commandments were given as the firstfruits of the Jewish Church.

510

And so this second feast represented the second stage of regeneration, when the truth is implanted in good, and, rings forth its firstfruits in affection and good intention. The third feast was kept at the time of the harvest, or at the end of the growing time in the field -the "feast of ingathering, in the going out of the year, when thou gatherest in thy works out of the field,"-the third stage of regenerate progress, when goods are implanted in the will of man, and are brought forth in good works. And as this third feast was observed by the Israelites when they first erected the tabernacle and entered into the prescribed worship of the Lord, it was also called the Feast of Tabernacles.

     At each stage of his progress in the regenerate life, the man of the church is moved with thankfulness to the Lord for the blessings of the spiritual life. For regeneration is nothing but a succession of states whereby man is liberated from hell by the Lord and introduced into heaven. He is first purified from falsities by learning the truth; then these truths begin to be implanted in the good of charity; finally the good of charity itself is implanted, and comes forth spontaneously in good works of use.

     The feast of ingathering, as we have seen, represented worship of the Lord from a grateful mind because of the implantation of good,-the good of love towards the neighbor, or charity. The "going out of the year" signifies the end of the state when truths are being implanted in good, and the beginning of the state when good itself is implanted in the mind-when one feels the delight of love towards the neighbor, and acts altogether from the delight of this love in the uses of life.

     Thus the genuine cause for thanksgiving is the implanting of charity in the man of the church-the fruit of the field gathered at the harvest. The Lord flows in through remains of innocence into the truths of the church with man, and calls forth from his memory such things as will be of service to his life. He implants the truth of doctrine in the good which He has already imparted through the innocence of childhood. To men who will accept it, the Lord thus gives a new will, in which He dwells, and from that new will He forms a new understanding. It is through the tabernacle of the new will in the thought of man that the Lord is said to "come in and go out."

511

For a tabernacle or tent is the intellect of man through which the Lord comes into him, and through which He goes forth in the uses that belong to a man's life.

     The appearing and presence of the Lord with man is in the truths of his faith-the doctrines of the church from the Word. These are the seed planted in the field of the mind. And these truths of the church are planted in good when man begins to be affected by them, and desires to live them. It is like the work of the farmer in tending and cultivating, bringing forth the firstfruits of his toil, and afterwards all the fruits of it. But the final harvest is the full implantation of good by means of the truths of the church. For then a new will is born in man from the Lord Himself, and a harvest of good works is brought forth in the uses of life, with a sense of continual thanksgiving to the Lord.

     The truths of the church amount to nothing unless they are implanted in good. And that which is gathered from this planting is a spiritual harvest only when Divine seed from the Lord has taken root, and grown, and produced the fruits of use. The truth of the church is such seed; but if not taken into the will, and acted upon, it is never implanted in good, and never produces a harvest for eternal life. Therefore what should chiefly gladden the heart of a spiritual man is this: the appreciation of progress in the church in applying its doctrine to life. If there is seen to be action from an implanted good; if life is lived as a direct result of the inflowing life of the Lord; if life on the civic and social plane is felt to be of the Lord's own leading, and has nothing of the motive of self-love and self-intelligence in it;-if such a state can be seen in the church, then we have genuine reason to give thanks. For this is the only real Divine blessing. If we are willing to live as the Lord alone directs us through the revealed truths of the church, there will be among us the delight of heaven. And then it will be possible for the Lord to confer natural benefits as well, which add happiness to life in greater measure, and promote our spiritual welfare.

     If, then, we see men whose principal aim in life is to learn from the Lord's Word the truths that they ought to believe, or those who, having learned them in general, are striving to live according to them because it is the Lord's will that they should, thus bringing to the Lord the firstfruits of the harvest that is to come later; and finally, if we see men whom we believe to have come to the state in which all their deeds are the fruit of charity fully implanted; then we may know that there is a spiritual harvest to rejoice over,-an "ingathering of works from the field."

512

     Such fruits are the gifts that alone are acceptable to the Lord in festivals of worship and thanksgiving,-gifts represented in the Word by the offerings at the tabernacle on the feast days. For it was commanded that none should "appear before the Lord empty." Those gifts are, first, the desire and intention to learn from the Lord; then the intention of bringing the truths learned to bear upon the conduct of our lives and uses; and, lastly, the will to do nothing that is not in accord with the Lord's Word to His New Church-in short, the life of repentance, by which there is deliverance from earthly and selfish loves, and introduction to the genuine love of the Lord and the neighbor, which bring forth their fruits in the works of spiritual charity,-the "ingathering, in the going out of the year, when thou gatherest in thy works out of the field." Amen.

     LESSONS: Deuteronomy 16:1-17. Revelation 4. A. C. 9286.
     MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 504, 535, 596.
     PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 201, 205.
NEW CHURCH SERMONS 1937

NEW CHURCH SERMONS 1937

513

CONSERVATION AND PROGRESS 1937

CONSERVATION AND PROGRESS Rev. F. E. WAELCHLI 1937

     (Delivered at the Annual Banquet of the Glenview Chapter of the Sons of the Academy, May 28, 1937.)

     Conservation and progress are two elements in human nature. Conservation would hold fast to what is established. Progress desires modification and change. The two are in every person; and everyone finds pleasure in believing that in himself they are well balanced. Yet in everyone the tendency to one of them is stronger than to the other. Consequently, there are in the church two classes of disposition or temperament, the one more conservative, the other more progressive; and an equilibrium of these essential qualities in the life of the church can be maintained.

     It should be known in the church what conservation and progress are, and how intimately they are interrelated, so that neither can have a true quality without the other. Let us, therefore, turn to the Writings for teachings relative thereto.

     But first let me say something concerning the word "conservation." It is to be found scarcely anywhere in English translations of the Writings. This is because the Latin conservare is almost always rendered "to preserve," although there is a Latin word used in the Writings for "preserve," namely, praeservare. In ordinary English use, preservation and conservation are almost synonymous, Yet, as used in the Writings, there is a distinction; namely, that preservation is to observe and watch over beforehand, while conservation is to observe and watch over that which has come to be. In the Potts Concordance, both conservare and praeservare are translated preserve, or preservation. But each is listed separately. Under conservare there are seventy-six references, and under praeservare only eight, all of these having reference to preservation against threatening evils.

     The first thought to be drawn from the Writings on the subject is concerning the LORD AS THE CONSERVATOR. Of this We read:

514

     "The universe has been so created that God can be omnipresent, and keep each and all things under His auspices, and hold them together as one forever, which is to conserve." (T. C. R. 13.)

     "The Divine infills all things, and by its infilling conserves all things in their created state." (Influx 5.)

     "There are many spheres which proceed from the Lord; such as the sphere of the conservation of the created universe. . . . The conjugial sphere is the supereminent sphere of the conservation of the created universe by successive generations." (C. L. 222.)

     The teaching last quoted indicates that the conservation is progressive, being by generation after generation, and so suggests the second part of our subject, "Conservation and Progress." But here we are on ground where we must tread carefully. To the Lord Himself no progress can be attributed. He is ever the same. From eternity to eternity He is the "I am." To Him pertains no past, no future, but only the Eternal Now. Yet He has a relation to things of time; for the Doctrine is that "He is in all time apart from time." (D. L. W. 73.) Likewise in the other world, where, instead of time, there is succession of state, He is in those successions, without there being successions in Him.

     The Lord's contact with time, as also with successions of state, is by the Divine sphere proceeding from Him, which is Divine Truth conjoined with Divine Good. This sphere is the Lord present in heaven. As such, it is in itself ever the same. It is unchanging, never varying. (A. C. 9498 to 9503.) Yet from it there is an influx into created forms (C. L. 86), to which pertain progressions of time and progressions of state, and they receive according to the form, thus according to state and ability. The Lord is in His created universe, not by continuity, but by contiguity. (D. L. W. 56.) By that contiguity the Divine is in all time apart from time.

     Concerning the origin of time, we read: "The world was created by God, not in time, but times were introduced by God together with creation." (T. C. R. 31.) And again: "It is impossible to think that nature is from eternity, or that it is in time from itself; but it is possible to think that God is from eternity, and that nature, together with time, is from God." (A. E. 1130.) Ever since the introduction of time by God at creation there has been progression of time.

515

Also, there has been progression of events, conditions and circumstances in time, or, what is the same, progression of states. Especially is this true of mankind. Throughout history, state has followed state. The same applies to each person, for in the times of life, from infancy to old age, he progresses through states of life. These successive states should be a progression towards heaven. If so, then in heaven, where there are no times, there will be progressions of state eternally.

     Concerning Successions and progressions of states in heaven, we read:

     "Although all things in heaven have their successions and progressions as in the world, still the angels have no notion or idea of time. They do not know what time is, although all things move onward with them as in the world, because in heaven there are not years and days, but changes of state." (H. H. 162, 163.) "By changes of state with the angels are meant their changes as to love and wisdom, and thus as to states of their life. Angels are not constantly in the same state as to love and thence of wisdom. Sometimes they are in a state of intense love, and sometimes in a state of love not so intense. The state decreases by degrees from its greatest to its least intensity, from which they return again to the first, and so on. These states succeed one another with variety." (H. H. 154, 155.) "In this way they are perfected." (H. H. 159.) For the angels are perfected to eternity, which takes place by a continual purification, and, so to speak, a new creation. (A. C. 4803, 6648.) In this perpetual perfecting, one state is never exactly like another. (A. C. 10200.) And all this takes place, as with men in the world, by the knowledges of truth and good from the Word. (H. H. 469.) For "the Word is in all the heavens, and angelic wisdom is from it." (S. S. 70.)

     As is the progress in heaven, such it should be in the church, as a whole and with the individual,-progress in love, and faith, and life amidst alternations of their intensity; a constant purifying and perfecting; and this by the Word of the Lord.

     The mutual relation of conservation and progress, which are from God in His created universe, is expressed in the frequently stated words of Doctrine: "Conservation is perpetual creation, as subsistence is perpetual existence." (Existence means going forth, or proceeding; and subsistence means standing firm.) We read:

     "'To create' signifies not only to cause to be, but also perpetually to be, by holding what is created together and sustaining it through the Divine which proceeds." (A. E. 609.)-The "holding together and sustaining" is by a perpetual creation of things new, as is evident from these words: "Fructifications, propagations, and prolifications are a continual creation, and thence are in all created things; but, in created subjects, are according to the form of each." (C. L. 183.)-

516

By these fructifications, propagations, and prolifications, in all created things, things new, things which were not before, are created. Again, it is said: "Two universal spheres proceed from the Lord to conserve the universe in its created state,-the sphere of procreating, and the sphere of protecting the things procreated." (C. L. 386.)-The sphere of procreation (pro-creation) is a sphere of creating, and the sphere of protecting the things procreated is their constant creation anew. That conservation is perpetual creation, is further taught in the following: "As the universe was created by the Word, so also it is conserved by it." (T. C. R. 224.) "From the Divine Truth the heavens are being perpetually created, that is, conserved." (A. C. 10076.) "The salvation of man is a continuation of creation." (T. C. R. 773. See also A. C. 4322; T. C. R. 46.)

     In the Lord's care of the universe, conservation and perpetual creation cannot be separated, the one from the other; or, what is the same, conservation and progress, by the perpetual creation of things new, cannot be separated. But we are taught that, "without some sort of free-will in all created things, no creation could have taken place." (T. C. R. 449.) And without it, we may add, creation cannot continue to take place. It is also said: "In everything created by God there is reaction. This reaction appears to belong to the created thing." (D. L. W. 68.)-Especially is this true of men and of angels. And in the exercise of this free-will and its reaction, there can be departure from the Lord's end of progress. There can be retrogression instead of progression. Yet even when this is so, the Lord's end of progress remains; for it is said: "God, by His omnipotence, created the universe, and introduced order into all and every part thereof. God, also, by His omnipotence, conserves the universe, and watches perpetually over the order established in it, with all its laws; and when anything departs from order, He brings it back, and restores it again." (T. C. R. 74.)

     THE CHURCH AND ITS DOCTRINE.

     The internal history of mankind, as given in the Heavenly Doctrines, reveals progressions and retrogressions. In each of the four successive churches there was progression in the beginning. Then followed retrogression, even to devastation and consummation, ending in a judgment. By the judgment and its consequences, there could be a restoration of order, and therein the creation of a new church. The last such judgment was that upon the Christian Church, which took place in the world of spirits in the year 1757.

517

After it, a New Heaven in the spiritual world and a New Church on earth were created. But though the great general judgment took place in 1757, minor judgments continue; for on earth the devastated and consummated state of the Christian Church continues, and in the world of spirits the same state continues with spirits from that Church.

     Because of the general judgment, however, the New Church could be created. This Church is to endure to eternity, ever progressing into spiritual peace, glory, and internal blessedness of life. The Lord will eternally conserve it by perpetually creating it. Such is to be the progress of the New Church; but departures from that progression ale possible, and thence retrogressions, both in organizations and individuals of that church. It rests with those who are of the church to cooperate with the Lord, that His conservation by perpetual creation may operate through them.

     That the establishment of the New Church is a creation by the Lord, is frequently taught, as in these words: "'Behold, I make all things new, signifies that the Lord creates a New Heaven and a New Earth and a New Church, together with each and all things in them." (A. R. 886.)-This creation is perpetual; for only by its being perpetual is the church conserved.

     We are given another signification of the words, "Behold, I make all things new," namely, "that in the church now to be unsaturated by the Lord there will be new doctrine." (D. Lord 65.)-The new doctrine is the Heavenly Doctrine of the New Jerusalem, given in the Writings of the New Church. That Doctrine the Lord who gives it, will conserve. But it rests with those of the New Church to cooperate with the Lord in its conservation, by looking to it,-the Opened Word,-as Divine Authority, and the only source of spiritual truth for the church.

     Whence have we, who are here gathered, and others with whom we are associated, this commission of cooperation? How has it come to us? It has come from the Lord through His chosen instruments,-the Fathers of the Academy. Their fulfilment of that to which they were called is presented in the publication, Words for the New Church. What those volumes contain stands today as the reason why the Academy must continue to exist.

518

To the generation, or perhaps the generations, younger than my own, I would say, that you have no full and complete grasp as to why the Academy exists, and why its offspring, the General Church, exists, until you have read Words for the New Church, from beginning to end. What is there set forth has been re-presented, in summary, with some things added, though in harmony with it, in the tract, "The Principles of the Academy," by Bishop W. F. Pendleton.

     As with the fathers, so with us, that which must rule and be ever present as our conservation is the firm conviction that the Writings are Divine Truth, and for us the only source of truth. Yet, as with the fathers, so also with us, that conservation must have progression consociated with it. This progression is the desire and endeavor to see things ever new in the Writings. And those new things are new creations. "Conservation is Perpetual Creation." With us, as with the angels of heaven, there must be constant progress in knowledge, intelligence and wisdom.

     In regard to seeing things ever new in the Writings, much has been said of late concerning the letter and the spirit of the Writings. It is a fact that they have a letter and a spirit, and it cannot be otherwise. For nothing can be written, whether sacred or profane, but what has its letter and its spirit. It is common to speak of the letter and the spirit of the civil law. And this must be more eminently true of that Divine Law, which is the Divine Truth, as written in the Heavenly Doctrines. But, let it be borne in mind, the Writings are a revelation to the rational, and as such the letter and the spirit are one. That is, they are one for him who goes to the Writings, that he may there learn to know the Lord and what is His will that is to be done.

     It is true, indeed, that for one who goes to those Writings in a negative attitude, they will be but a dead letter. But for one who goes to them believing that there is Light from the Lord there, the letter is not dead, but living, and its light is the spirit shining forth. In the reading of any given passage at intervals, something new is seen. Yet the new thing was ever there. I am reminded that on my calling on Mr. Walter Childs not long before he passed on, he said to me, "I am reading Heaven and Hell again, and I came across something Yesterday that I am sure was not there at any time I read it before."

519

Yet it-was there, there in what is written. What true reader of the Writings has not had the same experience of "seeing what was not there before," and yet was there?

     But it may be asked: Are there not many portions of the Writings that are obscure? True. Yet even out of the obscurity some light shines forth. And in time that light will increase. On the other hand, how much there is-how very, very much, to which pertains no obscurity,-genuine truths plainly, clearly, openly given. Who would attempt to count them? They are infinite in number and each has infinity in it. And the clearer the light of these truths becomes, the more will the light shine forth from those portions which may have been regarded as obscure, or in a measure so.

     Again it may be asked: May not that which one believes to be the spirit of what is written be erroneous? Yes, it may be so. What is written is of Divine Authority, but what anyone draws from it is not so. We may believe what is drawn forth to be genuine truth, because of confidence in him who presents it; and, so far as concerns the teaching ministers of the church, there should be such confidence, unless there are circumstances which prevent one's having it. It may occur, more or less frequently, that there is dissent from what is taught. This happens even in heaven; for we are told that, at worship in the temples there, if anyone dissents from what the preacher says, he turns away his face. (H. H. 223.) Then, too, besides confidence in a teaching minister, there may be confidence in one's self as one drawing forth from what is written. So, what is drawn forth from the Writings cannot be termed anything else than interpretation and conclusion.

     In our own organization of the church, there have been changes of interpretation from time to time. And everyone knows that, in the course of his life, there have been changes in his doctrinal views; and the older he is, the more he recognizes this. These changes are not necessarily from error to truth. They may be, and frequently are, a progress from appearance to what is less and less appearance indeed, there is such progress with the angels of heaven. This being so, we can believe that interpretations ever new are progressions,-new creations coming successively when the time for them is at hand, and pertaining to that progress which the New Church is to make eternally.

520

     But may there not be retrogression instead of progression? Yes; for man is free. It can come in various ways. It can come when there is the desire to see some preconceived notion in the Writings. And such a notion can be seen there, and can be confirmed by selected passages. Also, there can be notions intruding from the world, on the natural, civil and moral planes, which one desires to harmonize with the Writings. And great is the danger that can come from the sciences and philosophies prevailing in the world. These should indeed be studied, for in them things useful for the confirmation of spiritual truth can be found. But when they are not used in this manner, but instead lead to a twisting, perverting and rejecting of plainly given spiritual truth, retrogression is at hand; and this, if not checked, can go to the extreme of devastation and consummation. Interiorly, what can bring such a state is the love of dominion and the pride of self-intelligence.

     The dangers of retrogression are real. This is because it often seems to be progress. Yet its quality can be known; for it can be seen that it is dissociated from conservation, which alone can give true quality to progress. And so, let there ever be with us that conservation which looks to the Writings alone to guide in the way of truth, praying, "In Thy light may we see light."

     LIFE AND USES OF THE CHURCH.

     As there must be both conservation and progress in what pertains to the doctrine of the church, so must there be the same in what pertains to its life. The life of the church is its uses. Their conservation requires that there be an established and recognized order in them. Their progress requires freedom. In both the conservation and the progress, in both the order and the freedom, the church must look to the Lord for guidance in His Revelation. The truths of that Revelation must be the conscience of the church.

     The uses of the church are, in general, three: Instruction, Worship, and Government.

     Concerning Instruction in the church, we read: "Priests are to teach men the way to heaven, and likewise to lead them. They are to teach them according to the doctrine of their church from the Word, and to lead them to live according to it.

521

Priests who teach truths, and by them lead to the good of life, and so to the Lord, are good shepherds of the sheep; but they who teach, and do not lead to good of life, and so to the Lord, are evil shepherds. . . . He who believes otherwise than the priest, and does not make disturbance, is to be left in peace." (N. D. 315, 318.)

     Conservation in teaching, as we are here told, means that what is presented be "according to the doctrine of the church from the Word." The priest presents his interpretation of that doctrine. Those who hear are in freedom to receive or not to receive what is given; and when there is non-reception, there must not be disturbance. The interpretations by the priest, when they are such that they can be affirmatively received, should bring progress. There can be progress into more and more interior truth, and also progress in the methods of presentation.

     It is interesting to go through the pages of NEW CHURCH LIFE from the beginning, and to note a gradual change in the nature of the sermons. The progress that seems evident is, that there has been more and more of the leading by truth to the good of life, and this by things new brought forth from the Doctrines. Yet, let us be mindful that there can be retrogression instead of progression. There can be a standstill,-a lack of the presentation of what is new; and standstill brings retrogression. And, what is more serious, there can be teaching of what is not true, or falsity, which, with those who receive, is retrogression; and, if received by many, a threatening general retrogression. So, let the church be watchful that, in the teaching given, conservation and progress ever go hand in hand.

     As to Worship, we are taught that "it is prescribed by doctrine, and is to be performed according to it." (H. D. 6.) These words tell us what must be the conservation of our New Church worship. Yet, in this conservation there must be progress by an increasing enlightenment as to what "doctrine prescribes,"-an increasing enlightenment which can make the worship more and more distinctly New Church, less and less clothed in forms, borrowed from former churches, that do not express, or do not well express, the New Church doctrine according to which our worship "is to be performed."

     Ever since the early days of the Academy there have been successive changes in our ritual of worship.

522

And now, at this time, we are about to have a new Liturgy, in which there will be considerable revision of the present one. After a time there will again be a need for revision, and repeatedly thereafter.

     We are told in the Heavenly Doctrines that "the good of worship is ever new." (A. C. 9299.) This progressive newness requires new forms to express it. Yet here, too, there can be retrogression. This can come if there be departure from that conservation whereby the worship of the church is that "prescribed in doctrine and performed according to it." It can come if a state arises in which the delight be merely in the forms of ritual, and not in that which they should express, which would lead to a merely external, empty formalism. Such worship would be dead, and a church having it would be dead.

     As to what should be the Government of the church, teachings are given in the Heavenly Doctrines. It ought not to be necessary to quote them, as they should be familiar, at least in their general form, to all members of the General Church. With us, in the Academy and the General Church, there have been interpretations of those teachings, varying somewhat from time to time. The teachings given are our conservation. The interpretations we can believe to be our successive progress. There has been published "A Statement of the Order and Organization of the General Church of the New Jerusalem," prepared by Bishop N. D. Pendleton in 1925. We shall not dwell upon what is there stated, but only quote the Postscript, which reads:

     "The foregoing is not a written constitution. It is simply a statement of the usages and customs of the General Church at the present time, as interpreted by the Bishop. It will be noted that several changes have been made since Bishop W. F. Pendleton wrote a like statement, which was published in NEW CHURCH LIFE in 1914. The plan of that statement has here been followed. It is anticipated that at some future time another statement may be called for, since the General Church is a living body, developing under the leading of Providence, to the end that it may ever more fully serve those spiritual uses for which it was established. Nothing in this statement, therefore, is intended to bind the future. The statement is written primarily as a chronicle, lest something of value should be forgotten. It is published for the sake of information as to the present status of government in the General Church."

523

     From a reading of the publication it may be clearly evident that the Doctrines of the Church are looked to as the authority for the government, order, and organization of the General Church. This is the conservation. Yet it is frankly stated that what is presented is interpretation, as also adaptation to the state of the church. And this is progress. Similar conservation and progress exist in the Societies of the General Church. Yet, in the matter of government, as in those of worship and instruction, there is the possibility of retrogression. The only safety is, that the conservation, which is a continual looking to the Lord in His Revelation for guidance, be present in all endeavors toward progress.

     THE NEW CHURCH HOME AND SCHOOL.

     As in the church as a whole there must be conservation and progress in the life of its uses of instruction, worship and government, so must there be the same in that unit of the church which is the home. As is the quality of the church in the home, such is its quality as a whole. Every home within our church should be a church. To this end there must be in it the uses of instruction, worship and government. The instruction is the reading of the Word and the Doctrines, and conversation concerning their teachings by husband and wife; also the instruction of children, largely by conversation. The worship is family worship, which may be various in adaptation to conditions, including the ages of the children. The government is the order of the home. More than this, it is the sphere of the home,-the sphere of its quality as a New Church home, wherein the Lord and the angels are present; a home upon which rests the Divine blessing. In such a home there will be the conservation of all that the Lord bestows, and also progress in that which is bestowed. And may it ever be the prayer, and with the prayer the endeavor, that from this there may be no departure, and thus a retrogression, in which the Lord's blessing will no longer abide!

     The first essential of a New Church home is that there be in it conjugial love, or, shall we not rather say, the constant endeavor to be in that love,-the love concerning which there is the Divine promise that it is to be the most precious gift of the Lord to His New Church, and concerning which He gives that Church most wonderful teaching.

524

     The second essential, making a one with the preceding, is that there be in the home that love of children which regards, not only their natural welfare, but also and pre-eminently their spiritual welfare, and the promotion of both in accordance with abundant teaching that has been drawn forth from the Heavenly Doctrines. These two loves,-conjugial love and the true love of children,-will give to the home a quality far different from that prevailing in the homes in the world around us. They will cause it to be a home distinctive from those other homes, distinctive as a New Church home, distinctive even as the New Church is from the former Church.

     The promotion of the natural and the spiritual welfare of children in the home should have cooperation in the same in a school. Therefore, wherever possible, there are schools in societies of the General Church so cooperating, and with which the home in turn cooperates; also schools for higher grades in the Academy. To this audience, organized for sustaining and furthering this use, it is not necessary that I should speak concerning what is being done to make this educational work truly New Church. So I shall only say something along the line of thought we have been following. In the school, as in the home, there are the three uses of instruction, worship, and government. Instruction is given in things both natural and spiritual; natural, preparatory to a life of use in the world in accordance with New Church ideals; spiritual, looking to a preparation for being truly of the church, and for finding therein a preparation for heaven. Worship takes place daily. Government centers in the development of character.

     Throughout our educational work, during the many years in which it has been carried on, there has been both conservation and progress; and we may believe that they exist today, and will continue hereafter. Briefly stated, the conservation is our holding firm to all that which is the reason for having New Church schools. The progress has been in our seeing more and more clearly why we must have these schools, and in our putting that which we see into practice.

     There has been, and there now is, progress in our educational methods. Not infrequently there are criticisms to the effect that these methods are not in all respects what they should be.

525

It is said, for example, that there are many things that are good in the schools about us that are not in ours. This may be true. Yet we should ever consider whether these things fit into what is our conservation and our line of progress. Also there is the fact that conditions, financial and otherwise, may prevent our doing all we would like to do. Whatever may be the shortcomings-and we may admit that they exist-they cannot, or should not, lessen our devotion to the use. By them no harm can be done to the use, such as it essentially is. Harm that is serious can come from other sources, bringing not progress but retrogression. Harm can come if, for example, ideals and methods existing in the educational world around us, having their roots in a godless psychology, gain a foothold in our work. Harm can also come, especially in our higher schools, from a source to which we have already alluded, namely, if the science of the world, instead of being handmaid, be made the mistress-and we use that word in its evil sense-alluring away from paradise into the jungles and swamps where the dragon lurks to destroy the church. Yet, if we remain faithful to the use before the Lord, who has given it to us to do, there will be protection from these and all other dangers.

A use of the church, related to those of which we have spoken, and necessary to their maintenance, is one that is the ultimate of the unity, mutual love, charity and good-will which should be in the church,-namely, social life. From the beginning of the Academy it has been with us. In it have been present high ideals, originating in teachings drawn from the Writings as to what our: social life should be. Conservation is the conserving of those ideals; progress in their being continually created anew. Among those ideals is that this social life must be distinctive. The distinctiveness must be conserved, and must progress. We may ask whether, in some respects, there has been a retrogression in this church use? There are some who so believe. If it should appear that such belief is well founded, there should be examination as to what are the causes of such a misfortune, so that they may be removed from the path of progress.

526

     CONCLUSION.

     What has been said concerning the fact that the conservation of the church is its perpetual creation applies to every individual of the church. In regard to this, it may suffice to adduce, in brief form, a few of the many passages of the Writings which treat of the new creation of man, which must perpetually take place.

     "Regeneration is the new creation of man." (A. C. 16.)

     "Love to the Lord and charity to the neighbor make man new." (A. C. 4727.)

     "Unless, as to spiritual life, man from the Lord is conceived anew, born anew, and educated anew, that is, created anew, he is condemned." (A. C. 8552.)

     "Those of the church are led successively to new states." (A. C. 6645.)

     "The old man, which is the love of self and the world, must be put off, and the new man, which is love to the Lord and to the neighbor, put on." (A. C. 4904.)

     "The new man is altogether different from the old." (A. C. 4063.)

     "Progression towards interior things is progression towards heaven and the Lord, through the knowledges of truth implanted in the affection thereof. (A. C. 4598.)

     The theme of this address has been the expression, "Conservation is perpetual creation," and we have interpreted "perpetual creation" to be a perpetual creation of what is new, of what was not before, thus as perpetual progress. As has been pointed out, conservation and progress cannot be separated. Each is of the other. Yet, in a measure, they can be separated in thought, and also in a measure they are separated when the one or the other is for a time the more active quality.

     It was said at the outset that the ideal is that the two be well balanced; but also, that in most, if not all, persons, the one or the other predominates, whence result as it were two classes of dispositions. It is well that it should be so. It is well that it should be so in the church. Consequently, from the mutual counsel and cooperation of the two forms of disposition, there will be a balancing of the two qualities in each individual, and thus in the whole. There will be in the church that spirit of conservation which heeds the words, "Hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown" (Rev. 3:11); and which also warns that there may not come to the church that which is said in the words, "I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love; remember therefore whence thou hast fallen, and repent, and do the first works." (Rev. 2: 4, 5.)

527

Yet there will also be that progression which, looking hopefully to the ever fuller entrance of the church into the blessings which are of Divine Promise, hears with joy the words, "Behold, I have set before thee an open door, and no man can shut it; for thou hast a little strength, and hast kept my word, and hast not denied my name." (Rev. 3:8.)
CENTENNIAL OF A USE 1937

CENTENNIAL OF A USE ALEXANDER MCQUEEN 1937

     SIR ISAAC PITMAN'S FAITH AND WORKS.

     November 1937 brings a centennial of interest to stenographers, and also to New Churchmen. For it was on the 15th day of this month, in 1837, that Isaac Pitman gave to the world his system of phonetic shorthand, in an unpretentious pamphlet entitled "Stenographic Sound-Hand."

     Among the "examples" in this pamphlet, beautifully lithographed by Pitman himself, were the One Hundredth Psalm, The Lord's Prayer, and Swedenborg's Rules of Life. It was not by chance that these examples were used. They typified the religious fervor of a young man who, already well familiar with the Word of God in its letter, had just been led to accept joyfully the doctrine of the Internal Sense of that Word, and was eager to ultimate its truths in his daily life. And during sixty more long years, Isaac Pitman, acknowledging that all religion is of life, strove to confirm his faith by good works.

     As to his success in this world, it is easy to judge. He lived to see his shorthand in daily use in virtually every land; the sun never sets upon it. In 1894, Queen Victoria conferred upon him the honor of knighthood; and a great British newspaper, hastening to greet him as Sir Isaac Pitman, remarked that "knighthood becomes more and more an order of merit as it takes account of the services of such men."

     As to success in the other world, we can say that he seems to have taken pains to prepare for it. To him the Rules of Life came not merely as precepts; they were more like blessings on an order of living which he had already made his own.

528

He had "read often and meditated well on the Word of God"; from his twentieth year on he had formed the habit of reading the Scriptures both morning and evening. He had "always been content under the dispensations of Providence"; and he acknowledged gladly the Guiding Hand which had led him, in the same series of events, first to the gates of the New Jerusalem, and then to the invention of a new, rational, mode of writing. He had, thanks to the good influence of his parents, learned "to observe a propriety of behavior, and to preserve a conscience clear and void of offence"; he was careful to keep holy the things of heaven and the church; and to this day the Pitman memorial window in the New Church in Bath, England, shows a symbolic figure guarding the Open Word from profanation. He was "faithful in the discharge of the duties of his employment," and he did "everything in his power to make himself as useful as possible." The fulfilment of this fourth rule is the story of his life,-a long story, in which religion and shorthand are strangely related.

For years he gave lessons in stenography, gratis, to all who asked for them. And for more than half a century, "in season and out of season," if that be possible, he proclaimed the Gospel of the Second Advent. He published three different editions of Heaven and Hell, as well as many selections from the Writings and from collateral works. He gave liberal financial aid to New Church uses of all kinds. Hundreds of thousands of New Church publications were distributed by him, some in shorthand, some in ordinary type, some in phonetic spelling many of these entirely at his own expense. In his conversation and his public addresses he "could not refrain," one of his friends informs us, from "throwing in" some illustrations drawn from the doctrines of the New Church. In 1885, in a lecture sponsored by the Y. M. C. A. in London, he caused a stir by quoting what the Writings say about the correspondences of vowels and consonants; and it is said that in some details of the shorthand system itself he tried to be guided by spiritual principles.

Through the instrumentality of Sir Isaac Pitman, news of the Second Coming reached men and women in all parts of the English-speaking world. In time, many of these became members of the New Church, and their descendants are still to be found among the faithful.

529

But not all of Sir Isaac's missionary work was directed at his neighbors; a goodly proportion of it was aimed at himself. His thirst for spiritual truth was never quenched, and every day for sixty years he rose early in the morning to devote his first half-hour to the reading of the Writings.

     In his shorthand lessons, this earnest New Churchman often quoted the proverb, "To save time is to lengthen life." According to his brother Benn, he saved time only to use it; one of his favorite expressions was "the love of use."

     Isaac Pitman seems to have been of the opinion that, if a use is genuine, it is lasting; and when, at the age of eighty-five, he was preparing to depart this life, and his heart-action was weakening, he spoke cheerfully of the time soon to come, when "the angelic messengers who wait on the dying will draw out the spiritual body from this one. Then I shall have a sound heart, and get to work in my new sphere of life." The prospect of work in this new sphere was to him doubly delightful; for he was to learn at first hand how the angels can express a complete idea "with one letter only"; how a single letter might mean to them "horses harnessed to a chariot," or, as they elevated their minds, "the understanding of doctrine." He had been pleased when men called his shorthand "the winged art"; and now perhaps he would be privileged to hear what in the Spiritual Diary is called " winged speech."

     And so for a little while he waited, reading, studying, and-even after sixty years-still eagerly preparing himself for his work in the Kingdom of Uses,-a kingdom toward which he had journeyed far since a memorable November day in 1837.
     ALEXANDER MCQUEEN.

530

REGINALD W. BROWN 1937

REGINALD W. BROWN DE CHARMS 1937

To our earthbound sight, the passing of our friend and co-worker, Dr. Brown, appears as a catastrophe. For thirty-two years he has served the Academy in many capacities, laboring side by side with us in the common cause of New Church education. An indefatigable worker, his scholarly abilities were focused upon the development of scientific knowledge, to the end that men might more clearly see the Providence of God and the spiritual truth of His Word in the wonders of nature. In his office as librarian, he labored constantly to gather and make available for future students the most comprehensive collection of New Church literature in the world. At the same time he sought to develop the educational facilities of the library, to the end that it might most fully serve the teaching needs of the Academy Schools. His mind was always active, always reaching out along new avenues of investigation, always inspired by the vision of new objectives to be attained. In the course of his varied studies he gathered a mass of notes, and produced a large number of papers and addresses, and these remain a permanent contribution to the developing thought of the Church. But, to all human appearance, his work was far from finished, and the sudden deprivation of his active participation in the uses of the Academy involves a serious loss to the institution which nothing can replace. I speak for all the fellow workers of Dr. Brown when I say that the Academy deeply appreciates the services he so ably rendered.

In the deeper sense, however, the real work that he was doing will go on. His mind, with all its powers and abilities, will continue to perform the use which he had learned to love. That use lies primarily in the spiritual world to which he has now gone, and there it can be performed far more perfectly and effectively than was possible on earth. What he will do there will further the work of the Academy, promoting its true welfare in ways known only to the Lord; but in ways none the less real and potent.

531

And in the doing, our friend will know the blessedness of use, the delight of accomplishment, the joy of seeing new truth, and of advancing into wisdom, which the Lord foresaw, and toward which the Lord was leading through the years of his earthly sojourn. And because we know this to be true, although he will be greatly missed, and although the obvious work he was doing can only in part be supplied by others, yet we would not hold him back from the attainment of his Divinely appointed destiny. "To God the Lord belong the issues of death."

     O Lord, "Blessed is the man whom Thou choosest, and causest to approach unto Thee, that he may dwell in Thy courts."

     BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH.

     Reginald William Brown was born near Dorset, Muskoka, Canada, on May 25, 1877, the son of Charles and Elizabeth Morgan Brown. The family moved to Toronto in 1884, affiliating with the Elm Street New Church Society and later (1888) with the Parkdale Society under the pastorate of the Rev. Edward S. Hyatt.

     Reginald was a pupil in the Toronto Public Schools from 1884 to 1891, when he left high school to attend a private school conducted by Mr. Hyatt. In the Fall of 1892 he became a student in the Academy of the New Church at Philadelphia, graduating with B.A. degree in 1897 and B.Th. in 1899. He was ordained in 1900, and was pastor at Pittsburgh until 1903, when he began studies at Chicago University, where he was Instructor in Physiography, 1904-1905. He also took summer courses at other universities, and received an M.A. degree at Columbia.

     In 1905, he became a member of the Faculty of the Academy of the New Church, and in 1909 was appointed Professor of Physical Science, teaching Chemistry, Geology and other subjects in this field until the present year. He was also Dean of the College 1914-1917, and Librarian, 1918-1937. In addition to these functions, he served the Academy, the Church, and the community in many capacities. For many years he was an active member of the Swedenborg Scientific Association, becoming President of that organization in 1935. He had journeyed to many parts of the world, and devoted two years to the work of the South African Mission, 1919-1921.

     In 1912, Dr. Brown married Mrs. Augusta Pendleton Cooper, who survives him, together with a daughter, Rosamond (Mrs. Edward Spicer), and four step-children.

     This very brief record will serve to recall the outlines of a notable career of usefulness in the New Church,-the career of one who was held in affection and esteem for his personal qualities, and for his accomplishments in so many different fields of activity.
     W. R. C

532

Church News 1937

Church News Various 1937

     OBITUARY.

     Ellen V. Wallenberg.

     In the passing of Miss Ellen Valerie Wallenberg at Chicago, Ill., on September 2, 1937, Sharon Church lost the earthly presence of one of its most valued members. She became a charter member of that society in 1903, when it was formed of those in the city of Chicago who had been affiliated with the Immanuel Church, to which she had given her devoted allegiance from her youth. The pastors and people of those societies will recall with gratitude her zealous cooperation in all the uses of the church, and her intelligent appreciation of its spiritual instruction.

     Miss Wallenberg was a teacher in the Public Schools of Chicago for over forty years. She traveled extensively, and was a welcome visitor at centers of the General Church in this country and abroad. Her many friends will miss her fine, genial spirit and her whole-hearted interest in everything of the church. And readers of these columns will miss her news accounts, which she faithfully contributed for so many years.
     W. B. C.

     KITCHENER, ONTARIO.

     The various activities of our society have been taken up again with renewed interest for the coming year.

     The school opened on September 7 with an enrollment of 43,-a decrease from last year. But while we lose in one place, we gain in another; for our Young People's group has increased to 27.

     Young People's classes are being conducted by Mr. Gill and Mr. Reuter in three groups this year. The older young men and young women will have separate classes on Conjugial Love, and the younger mixed group will have instruction in the general doctrines of the church.

     Sunday services for the children were resumed on September 26, and will be held each Sunday, preceding the regular Sunday service. On October 3, the children had their Thanksgiving Service, with an attendance of 61 children and a few adults. On this occasion, as is our custom, the children brought a fruit offering. It was necessary to have the service a week early on account of the District Assembly, which is to be held in Toronto over the Thanksgiving weekend.

     At the Friday classes, Mr. Gill is continuing the subject of the Rational Psychology, commenced last season.

     Early in September a picnic was arranged for the school children. School was dismissed early on the Friday afternoon, and the children walked to an ideal woody spot on the outskirts of the city, where they spent the afternoon in sports and games. The teachers and some of the ladies of the society presided, and afterwards they served the children a simple, though much enjoyed, picnic lunch. Some of the fathers arrived with cars in time to take the children home.

     Candidate Norbert H. Rogers visited our society in the summer for a few days. While here we had the pleasure of hearing him preach the sermon at Sunday service. We were very glad to have had this opportunity of meeting Mr. Rogers.

     Two of our young ladies are attending school in Bryn Athyn this year,-Miss Joyce Day, the Girls' Seminary, and Miss Phyllis Schnarr, the College.

533

     The chief interest at the moment of writing is the Ontario District Assembly, to be held in Toronto, October 9-11. These Assemblies are the highlights of the year. We look forward to them with pleasure, and look back on them with happy satisfaction. Such a general exodus takes place from one society to the other that it is hardly worth while holding any other meetings at the time of the Assembly.
     D. K.

     DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

     The Rev. Norman Reuter arrived on Friday, September 3, for our first meeting of the Fall. On his way from Kitchener, Mr. Reuter visited the Bellinger family at Riverside, Ontario. During the afternoon he gave instruction to the children, and in the evening conducted a doctrinal class, his subject being the Doctrine of Charity. In addition to the Bellingers, Mrs. Deppisch and her son Reynold, of Kitchener, and Mrs. Steen of Guelph, were present.

     The next day, Saturday, Mr. Reuter held the class for children at the Cook home in Detroit, the attendance being five, including one little visitor. In the evening a doctrinal class was held at the same place, the subject again being the Doctrine of Charity. The attendance was eight, including one visitor.

     The Sunday service was held at our meeting place in the Highland Park Y. W. C. A., with an attendance of 30, including 11 children and one visitor,-Mrs. Adolph Reuter of Glenview, our pastor's mother. The sermon was on "Human Spheres," the text being from Luke 12:2, 3, "There is nothing covered that shall not be revealed," etc.

     Following this service luncheon was served, and later in the afternoon Mr. Reuter conducted another class, his subject this time being "Self-Compulsion," the basis of instruction being Divine Providence nos. 129, 145-149 The attendance was l6. At the conclusion of the class a short business session was held, at which it was voted to accept the invitation of Mr. and Mrs. Geoffrey Childs to hold our next service at their home in Saginaw on Sunday, November 14. And preliminary arrangements were made for our third district assembly, which is scheduled for the evening of Wednesday, October 13, when we are to have the honor of an episcopal visit by Bishop de Charms, who will be accompanied by Mrs. de Charms. We all are looking forward to the pleasure of again having them as our guests.

     A Wedding.

     We have the pleasure of recording another marriage in our group, that of Mr. William Howells Walker to Miss Edith Pedersen of Philadelphia, which was solemnized on Wednesday evening, September 8, in the Bryn Athyn cathedral, the Rev. Homer Synnestvedt officiating. The chancel had been decorated with clematis by Mrs. Robert Synnestvedt and Mrs. Ariel Gunther, and was illumined by the glow of many candles, making a beautiful setting.

     The bride, lovely in a white satin wedding gown and veil, and carrying a bouquet of white rosebuds and valley lilies, was escorted up the aisle by her brother, Olaf. Her sister Victoria, attractively gowned in peach taffeta, carried an arm bouquet of Talisman roses, and was the bride's only attendant.

     The groom and his best man, Mr. Robert Klingelhofer, of Johnstown, Pa., wore dress white Naval uniforms, which lent a military touch to the occasion. The ushers were the groom's brother-in-law, Mr. Norman Synnestvedt, and the Messrs. Robert Synnestvedt, Ariel Gunther and Stuart Synnestvedt. After the ceremony an informal reception was held in the undercroft, and the wedding reception took place in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Ariel Gunther, to which the bride's mother, Mrs. Kaia Pedersen, had invited the relatives and intimate friends of both families.

534

The parents of the groom, Mr. and Mrs. William Wayne Walker, and his sister and brother-in-law, Mr. and Mrs. Norman Synnestvedt, motored from Detroit to attend the ceremony. The happy couple expect to live for a year or so in San Diego, California, where the Destroyer Cassin is scheduled to join the Pacific fleet.
     W. W. W.

     TORONTO, CANADA.

     As the autumn leaves begin to fall, the society enters a new season of church activity with renewed vigor and zeal. The Wednesday suppers and doctrinal classes have been resumed, the annual meeting held, our Bryn Athyn students shipped off to school, and the ladies' and mens' organizations are back on the job.

     To touch lightly on a few of these events, we feel moved to comment upon the pastor's address at the annual meeting, in which he expressed the opinion that the New Church is not an inconsequential body in the world because of the small number of its members, but because of their lack of sustained enthusiasm and zeal. It was felt at the meeting that publication of this paper would serve a very useful purpose in helping us to realize just how much or how little we individually are working for the church.

     Dr. Reginald W. Brown was one of the first pupils of our school of forty-seven years ago, and by coincidence, while in Toronto last June, he was prevailed upon to address the children at the school closing. So his earliest and latest activities were connected with our school. He accomplished much in the intervening years, and while the abrupt cessation of his work in the Church will be keenly felt, we must rejoice that he has graduated to serve a still higher use.

     Of special interest among our scholarship students is Miss Marguerite Izzard, in that this is her first year at B. A. A shower was given in her honor, and she carried away the good wishes of a large group of the ladies of the society, together with a miscellany of presents.

     On account of a local epidemic, our school has not yet been reopened, thus conforming with the public schools of the city. We are glad that the epidemic has abated somewhat, and the school is expected to start on October 12.

     Considerable activity is afoot preparing for our guests at the Ontario District Assembly, October 9-11, which promises to be well attended. An enjoyable and beneficial time is anticipated by everyone.
     M. S. P.

     ACADEMY SCHOOLS.

     Enrollment.

     The numbers registered for the present school-year represent an increase of 16 students over last year's total of 308, as follows:

     Theological School           5
     College                     32
     Boys Academy                48
     Girls Seminary                50
     Elementary School           189
     Total                     324

     GLENVIEW, ILL.

     The newly instituted Sunday evening class has resumed meetings each Sunday in the Library, the Pastor presiding. This is an informal class or discussion group, meeting for an hour and a half each week to discuss Academy principles and other things of current interest connected with New Churchmanship.

     The meetings for the reading and study of New Church Life, under the leadership of Mr. George A. McQueen, have been resumed, being held each Tuesday evening at the home of Mr. Louis S. Cole.

     At the September meeting of the Sons of the Academy, Mr. Alvin Gyllenhaal lectured very interestingly upon the history of Glenview and the Park therein. Our settlement of the Park has been flourishing here for 44 years, and we bought it from a farmer who was born more than one hundred years ago, or while the Indians were still hereabouts.

535

     Friday class opened October 1 with the flourish of a large attendance, the regular suppers being started, and this one being followed by the semi-annual meeting of the Society, which is devoted mainly to the hearing of reports. It was with considerable satisfaction that we learned from the treasurer that we had come through the year "in the black," or solvent. Our pleasure was somewhat dimmed, however, when he told us that we are expected to raise an additional thousand dollars for the current year. Our only outstanding obligation appears to be $600, borrowed money, and this we can take care of soon. The Manse has been repainted and repaired through the efforts of the Society in raising funds by carnivals and other entertainments.

     The Friday suppers are under the care of seven committees of the ladies, with Mrs. Ruth Headsten at the head, and to these unselfish women we are deeply indebted for the enjoyment of this, the primary social function of our society. The charge is only twenty-five cents per person, and for this a fine, hot supper is served.

     The pastor has appointed a Social Committee for the coming season, and from the list of names we are assured that this use of planning and promoting social affairs for the Church will be well taken care of.

     As a precaution against the spread of infantile paralysis, our school followed the example of the Chicago and neighborhood schools by opening late. Seventy-one children and many adults attended the opening service on September 20. Miss Lois Nelson has returned to join the teaching staff consisting of the Misses Gladys Blackman, Venita Roschman and Agathea Starkey in the nine grades. Ten active little ones start in kindergarten. Last year's high-school class of seven will be missed. Five are now in Bryn Athyn. The school also loses two children of the Frank Day's, who have moved to Cleveland, Ohio, but gains two daughters of the Oswald Asplundh's. In Bryn Athyn for the first time are: Renee Smith (College), Shirley Blackman, Helena Junge, Roy Burnham, James Junge, and Cedric Lee.

     Miss Caryl Wells has come here to be with her sister, Volita, and the Society welcomes her.
     J. B. S.

     PUBLICATIONS.

     Parent-Teacher Journal.

     This is the new name for the Elementary School Journal, published during the last school-year under the management of Miss Lois Nelson, who has now returned to Glenview to teach in the Immanuel Church School. The Editors are: Mrs. Besse E. Smith, Miss Celia Bellinger, and Mr. Morley D. Rich. It is their purpose to devote some pages to the pre-school age, and to enlist the interest of parents as well as teachers. Hence the new title. We have received a copy of the October, 1937, issue, and the contents of its 52 mimeographed pages are as follows:

     An Address on "The Cultivation of Courtesy," by the Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner. A Paper on "The Development of the Mental Hygiene of the Pupil," by Miss Dorothy Cooper. "Some Comments on the Beginning of Education," Anonymous. Extracts on Obedience" from Bishop Benade's Conversations on Education. Also a "Question and Answer Department."

     The Subscription Price is $1.00 for the school-year of 1937-1938, to be sent in the form of check or money order to Miss Marion Cranch, Business Manager, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     All The Year Round.

     The Fifth Volume of this valuable little book will be ready in December, with Readings from the Word and the Writings for every day in the year 1938. Cloth, about 400 pages, 60 cents. Orders may be sent to the Academy Book Room, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

536

PITTSBURGH DISTRICT ASSEMBLY 1937

PITTSBURGH DISTRICT ASSEMBLY Rev. WILLARD D. PENDLETON 1937

     Announcements.

     Members and friends of the General Church of the New Jerusalem are cordially invited to attend the Pittsburgh District Assembly, to be held at the Church of the Pittsburgh Society, 299 Le Roi Road, on Saturday and Sunday, November 13 and 14, 1937. Those expecting to attend are requested to notify the undersigned.
     REV. WILLARD D. PENDLETON,
          Secretary.

537

DIVINE NATIVITY 1937

DIVINE NATIVITY N. D. PENDLETON 1937

NEW CHURCH LIFE
VOL. LVII DECEMBER, 1937
     "And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid. And the angel said unto them, Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger." (Luke 2:9-12.)

     Each of the four Gospels opens with different yet interrelated accounts of the Nativity. By the spiritual sense their concordance is revealed.

     Matthew begins with the generation of Jesus Christ, from Abraham to Joseph. This "generation," in its sequence, represents the Divine passing down through the heavens to conception and birth in the world. In this descent Joseph was the ultimate link. It was imperative that a man bearing that name should be betrothed to Mary. At the completion of this lineal record, Joseph so stood in relation to Mary; but immediately the representation of the Divine in the heavens was taken on by the angel who appears to Joseph in a dream, giving assurance that the one to be born of Mary was conceived of the Holy Spirit, and that the power of salvation would reside in Him, in fulfillment of the prophecy: "Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call His name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God With Us."

     Of Joseph it is recorded that "he took unto him his wife," but that "he knew her not till she brought forth her firstborn son"; this, of Joseph the man.

538

In compliance with the angel's command, he called the one so born, Jesus. This account in Matthew of the Divine descent to conception and birth is paralleled in the first chapter of John by the Word which became flesh-even the Word which, in the beginning was with God, and was God.

     The Divine Nativity in its ascending series is given in Mark and Luke. Mark gives no account of the virgin birth. Instead, his opening chapter tells of the Lord's baptism. This sacred ceremony was, however, significant of the rebirth of the Lord into His essential Divinity. Therefore, on the occasion, the heavens opened, and the Spirit like a dove descended upon Him, and a voice was heard from heaven, saying, "Thou art my beloved Son."

     The doctrine is clear that the Lord was not only conceived by the Divine descending through the heavens, but also that by His ascent He was reborn into unity with the Father.

     His purely Divine rebirth was representatively recorded in the third chapter of Luke. Like Matthew, Luke also gives the parental lineage of Joseph, but he speaks of Jesus as the "supposed" (or presumed) son of Joseph, which is significant of the fact that the heavenly Joseph, or the heavens, was the medium of the Divine descent to conception, but here in Luke the medium of the Lord's ascension through heaven is also pictured. While the Matthew lineage goes down from Abraham to Joseph, that of Luke passes up from Joseph to God. We note that in Luke the ascending lineage of Jesus Christ from Joseph to God follows immediately after the Lord's baptism, and in fulfillment thereof. Yet, unlike Mark, Luke records the virgin birth, even in greater detail than Matthew. He begins with the account of John the Baptist, who was born of Zacharias and Elisabeth,-born to be a prophet of the Most High. Then follows the account of the coming of the angel to Mary and the Annunciation; of the meeting between Mary and Elisabeth; of Mary's salutation; and of the going of Joseph and Mary to Bethlehem, where the Child was born and laid in a manger, because there was no room in the inn. This last was given in forecast of the rejection of the Lord by His own people.

     Lowly indeed was this manger; yet it was not chosen because of its humility. Its service was significant of the after growth of the Lord and His rational development as His Divinity was successively opened.

539

     Following the account of the Child's placement in the manger, Luke tells of the shepherds keeping watch over their flocks by night. This story of the shepherds is in striking contrast with the corresponding account in Matthew, which tells of the birth of the Lord in Bethlehem, followed by the story of the Wise Men and the Star. Matthew's account of the Wise Men is a clear sequence of his record concerning the descending generation of Jesus Christ; for that the
Lord should be born into the world was known of old. It was a part of the ancient wisdom, still lingering in the East, which enabled the Wise Men from Syria to see and follow the Star to Jerusalem, and from thence to Bethlehem.

     The Matthew record covers a broader region. It tells not only of the Wise Men from the East, but also of the carrying of the Child down into Egypt, and the return thence to Nazareth, in avoidance of Judea; while in Luke there is no departure from Israel. Luke's record is, that the Child, soon after birth, was carried to Jerusalem and there presented to the Lord in the temple, where He was recognized and confessed by Simeon and Anna the prophetess.

     In place of the Matthew account of the coming of the Wise Men, we have in Luke the story of the shepherds of Israel. The difference is striking, and of spiritual import. The Wise Men from the East, because of their ancient wisdom, were enabled to follow the Star. They could see the guiding light, while the nearby shepherds watched their flock by night. Unlike the East, there was darkness over Judea. The untutored shepherds were Israel's remnant. Their minds were veiled in ignorance; yet of mercy a light was at the time given to them. The glory of the Lord shone round about them, and the angel of the Lord told them of the birth of the Savior, and gave them a sign by which they should know Him. The angel said, "Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger."

     Two notable things are here recorded, both having; reference to the state of the Lord at birth. First, that He was born in the "city of David," and second, that He might be known to the shepherds by the sign given them. The Lord's state at birth, signified by Bethlehem, and by the sign, was most arcane.

540

It was not like that of any other man ever born, and this because the Divine was in Him from conception; that is, His soul was Divine. Only His infantile body was taken from the virgin mother. This was as the body of other men. Yet even His body differed from that of other men, since it was formed interiorly from His soul. His body and blood were vivified by the immediate presence of His soul. He was, as to His body, like other men only in that He was born of woman. Being so born, He drew from her blood the inheritance of her race, with all its involvements. The result of this, His Divine conception and virgin birth, was that He was like, yet unlike, other men.

     Hence the teaching that He was born a spiritual-celestial man. While in this He was highly born, above all men, yet He was born into the ignorance of infancy. Being at birth neither rational nor merely natural, His state was intermediate between the two, called spiritual-celestial. One quotation will suffice: "The Lord was born a spiritual-celestial man, for this is intermediate between the rational or internal man and the natural or external Man; thus below it was the natural, and above it the rational. He who cannot apprehend these things cannot possibly by any revelation comprehend why the Lord was born in Bethlehem." (A. C. 4594.)

     Because of this, His unique state at birth, He was born in Bethlehem. The angel said to the shepherds, "Unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord." The city of David was Bethlehem, and Bethlehem was originally called Ephratah. Ephratah was ordained from the beginning to be the place of the Lord's birth, and it signified the spiritual-celestial . Not elsewhere could the Lord be born.

     "I will not come into the tabernacle of my house, . . . nor give sleep to mine eyes, . . . until I find a place for the Lord. . . . Lo, we heard of Him in Ephratah; we found Him in the fields of the forest." (Psalm 132:3, 4, 5.)

     "Thou Bethlehem Ephratah, it is little thou be among the thousands of Juda; out of thee one cometh forth unto me who shall be ruler in Israel, whose goings forth are from of old, from the days of eternity." (Matthew 2:6)

     Because David was born in Bethlehem, and was there anointed king, that place, in the time of our Lord, wag called "the city of David." (Luke 2:4, 11. John 7:42.) Its prior significance from the beginning was, however, retained until its primitive meaning was fulfilled.

541

As a spiritual-celestial man at birth, the Lord was born, as noted above, into a state intermediate between the rational and the natural. The quality of this state, though most arcane, may now come to view in some degree from the sign given the shepherds, by which they were to know Him, namely, that they would find the babe "wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger."

     While the Divine conception and virgin birth surpassed all miracles, yet the sign of it here given was not, in itself, a miracle. His being wrapped in swaddling clothes was customary, and His lying in a manger a fact. Every miracle recorded in the Word was indeed a sign, but every sign was not a miracle; yet the meaning of this sign was beyond all miracles, since it signified the profound qualification of the state of the babe of Bethlehem. This qualification is called in the Writings "spiritual-celestial," and its sign was a testification to the shepherds that they might believe that the babe of Bethlehem was to be the Savior of the world.

     The manger in which He was placed signifies truth from the Word, now become flesh. And the horses there fed signify the understanding of the Word. The Child was placed in a manger because there was no room in the inn. An inn is a place where men lodge and are supplied with food; in this case, the men of Israel. Eating signifies instruction, and, in the highest sense, instruction in Divine things. But because the Jews were then in falsities through adulterations of the Word, the Israelitish inn, as such, was an impossible place for the Lord to be born. Because of this it is said, "there was no room in the inn."

     The Lord "might have been born," we are told, "in a palace, and laid in a bed adorned with precious stones," but if born in a Jewish inn, He would have been environed by those who were not in the doctrine of truth, and this would have broken the heavenly representation. But this representation was provided for by His exclusion from the inn and His placement in a manger. He was born, therefore, not among the Jews, but in a refuge significant of the lowly who could receive Him.

     This was one part of the sign. The other was that He was wrapped in swaddling clothes. This sign is even more revealing as to the Lord's state at birth. Swaddling clothes signify the primary truths of innocence, and also the truths of Divine Love.

542

Into these the Lord was interiorly born because of His Divine soul, and by virtue of His spiritual-celestial accommodation. He was born into the primary truths of innocence because He descended into the world as the Truth-or the Truths of Divine Love in innocency. Yet, by His so descending, He did not separate the Divine Love.

     Since in Him at birth there was an inmost union of Divine Truth with Divine Love, therefore throughout His life in the world this prevailed increasingly from inmosts to outmosts. This progressive union was His true Divine Nativity. It was His ascending rebirth into God.

     When this came to pass, He was no longer a spiritual-celestial man as at first, but a purely Divine Man and Only God. He was born spiritual-celestial by virtue of His transit through heaven to conception. By His ascending glorification this spiritual-celestial was put off, even as the heavens were put aside by His ascent through and above the heavens. In so doing He became more one with the Divine above the heavens than was the case with the former Divine in the heavens. In this we may perceive the distinction between the Divine descending to conception and birth, and the Divine in its ascent to unity with God.

     Since by virtue of His descent through the heavens He was born a spiritual-celestial man, His Divine thus humanized is said to be the only Human in which the Divine could be. It was therefore His Heavenly Human which mediated between His supreme Divinity and the human taken on from the mother. But as to this human from the mother He was born, like other men, into a state of entire ignorance, so that He must of need advance in the acquirement of knowledge, to the end that He might attain, through successive Divine rebirths, entire unity with God. The intent, therefore, was that He might come into the world, and go therefrom, by the way of men. Therefore He followed in the way of man's birth and regeneration, and this to the end that, by humanizing His Divine, He might take to Himself the finality of power to enable those who otherwise could not be saved. Amen.

     LESSONS: Psalm l32. Luke 2:1-20. A. E. 654:18, 19
     MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 591, 708, 515, 637.
     PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 51, 96.

543

COUNCIL IN HEAVEN 1937

COUNCIL IN HEAVEN Rev. W. CAIRNS HENDERSON 1937

     A TALK TO CHILDREN.

     Many wonderful things were seen by Swedenborg in the Lord's other world. He saw them with his spiritual eyes, and the Lord commanded him to write them down. This was done from the Lord's great love for all His people. It was done so that we, when we are children, may learn something about the angels from these heavenly pictures, may understand what angels and good spirits are, and so may love them, and wish to become like them. For if we make this wish the main thing in our lives when we are children, and stay in it when we grow up, the Lord can give us the love of doing the things that will make us like the angels, and bring us into heaven.

     Once Swedenborg saw a great council that was called together by the Lord in His other world. First he saw a magnificent palace, more splendid than that of any king in our world. In the very center of this palace was a temple, and in the very center of the temple was a golden table, upon which lay a copy of the Word. And beside this table stood two angels. So the Word was the center. And around the Word, with its golden table and its angel guardians, were three rows of seats, so placed that all faced the center and could see the Word before their eyes. These seats were covered with a beautiful silken cloth which was of a different color in each row. The seats of the first row were covered with silken cloth of a crimson color, the seats of the second row with silken cloth of a blue color, and the seats of the third with white cloth. Below the roof, high above the golden table on which lay the Word, was a wide curtain, glittering with precious stones, from the splendid and many-colored lights of which shone a beautiful rainbow.

     As Swedenborg looked at this beautiful council chamber, the seats were suddenly filled with spirits.

544

These spirits had all been priests; or ministers when they lived in our world, and they came to this council meeting dressed in garments like those they had worn in the world when they were performing their duties as priests and ministers. On one side of the council chamber there was a wardrobe, beside which there stood another angel who had charge of it; and inside the wardrobe were rich garments in beautiful order.

     These spirits had been called together to think about the Lord, to talk about Him, and finally to say what they believed about Him. That is why their meeting is called a council. So when they had taken their places, they asked what they were to think about. And they were told that they were to think about the Lord the Savior, and about the Holy Spirit. But when they tried to do so, they found that they could not think at all. Their minds were in complete darkness. So, first of all, they prayed to the Lord, and light from heaven came down into their minds, and enabled them to see and to think.

     Four questions about the Lord and the Holy Spirit were then put before them, and we should notice very carefully how they set about answering them. Before they began to think about each question, one of the angels who stood beside the golden table read to them out of the Word what the Lord teaches about that thing. Only when they had listened to the teaching of the Word did they begin to think. And they thought from what had been read to them, not from their own ideas. For this reason they were able to give answers that were true. When they had talked about the subject for some time, they were able to see that the Lord Jesus Christ is the one only God of heaven and earth, that He is the Father, and that He is also the Holy Spirit. And because they could see that this is the truth, they also loved it.

     Then, when they had finished their discussions in that magnificent council, they rose from their seats to go away. But something still more wonderful was in store for them. The angel who had charge of the wardrobe came up to them, and gave to all of them splendid garments interwoven with threads of gold, and said to them, "Accept these wedding garments." And when they had put on these beautiful garments, which had been given to them by the Lord because they had answered wisely, they were led into the New Heaven, where they became angels.

545

     This is indeed a beautiful story. And the Lord commanded Swedenborg to write it down so i-hat we may be delighted by it, and may learn from it something that will help us to become like those spirits, and come into the New Heaven when we die.

     The spirits who sat in that great council were good spirits. They loved to think about the Lord, and to talk about Him. But they did not wish to think wrongly about Him. So they humbled themselves before Him, and prayed that He would give them what to think, say, and believe. And then they listened patiently and eagerly to the teaching of the Word, and took all their belief from the Word. Because they were such, the Lord could lead them to see and believe that He is the only God. That is why each spirit received his wedding garment, and why they all became angels. For the wedding garment, without which no one can enter heaven is truth from the Lord's Word, and especially the truth that He is the only God.

     And you also, if you become like those good spirits, will receive your wedding garment, and be led into heaven. You may never attend such a great council. But if you begin now, in childhood, to love the Lord, to love to think and talk about Him, and continue in that love all through your life; if you pray daily to the Lord for light, and go daily to the Lord in His Word for instruction, forming all your thoughts about Him from the Word; then He will give you also to see and love Him as the one only God. And some day, when you have come into the spiritual world, you too will be given an opportunity to show that you truly believe in Him. Then an angel will come to you. He will give you your wedding garment,-garment more splendid than anything you can imagine now. You will take it, and put it on, and then you will be led into the New Heaven, to live forever with the Lord as one of His angels.

     LESSON: Psalm 119:91-112, or Matthew 22:1-14. (See A. R. 962.)
     MUSIC: Hymnal, pages 135, 168, 152.
     PRAYERS: Hymnal, no. 12 (page 49), and no. 14 (page 50).
NEW CHURCH SERMONS 1937

NEW CHURCH SERMONS 1937

546

PROGRESS OF THE CHURCH 1937

PROGRESS OF THE CHURCH GEORGE DE CHARMS 1937

      (Delivered at Fall District Assemblies, 1937.)

     In the heart of every sincere member of the Church there is a desire to promote its progress. Yet it is not always clearly seen wherein the true progress of the Church lies, or by what means it may best be promoted. We are prone to think of the Church from its external form as a human organization, and of its growth as an increase in numbers, in wealth and possessions, in the efficiency with which it performs its functions, and in the extension of its power and influence. This growth can be seen and measured. It can make a direct appeal to our natural affections. All those things which contribute to this obvious development we regard as the uses of the Church, and by taking part in these uses we give expression to our love of the Church and our desire to promote its progress.

     It is of order that it should be so. Such external uses are necessary. The Church could not be established without them; for then it would be like a house without a foundation, like a mind without a body. Yet, just as the body exists for the sake of the mind, so the uses of an ecclesiastical organization exist for the sake of the inner spirit of the Church. In themselves they do not constitute the Church, nor do they measure its progress. The true spirit of the Church is often stirred most deeply in times of stress, when its external uses are restricted, and especially when their continuance is endangered. On the other hand, the greatest external prosperity, when the outward signs of growth are most encouraging, is not infrequently accompanied by an internal decline. This is well for us to realize when we are tempted to become discouraged by the slow growth of the Church, and by the appearance of failure when years of devoted labor seem to yield no tangible results. And the realization of it is equally important when our endeavors are apparently crowned with success, lest we become self-satisfied, and oblivious to the danger of internal regression.

547

That to which we should look as the criterion of progress,-that which we should continually hold before our minds as the goal of our endeavors, in times of struggle against discouraging odds, and in those rarer states of glad rejoicing in the achievement of our hopes,-is what the Writings call an "advancement toward interior things." Aside from this there is no genuine progress.

     "What advancement toward interior things is," we read, "is little known in the world. It is not an advancement in scientific knowledge, for this frequently exists without any advancement toward interior things, and very frequently with a departure from them. Neither is it an advancement into the judgment of manhood, for this also sometimes exists together with a departure from interior things. Nor is it an advancement into the knowledges of interior truth, for these knowledges avail nothing unless the man is affected by them. An advancement toward interior things is an advancement toward heaven and the Lord by means of the knowledges of truth implanted in the affection of them, thus by means of affections." (A. C. 4598.)

     This passage treats specifically of the spiritual growth of the individual, but it applies with equal force to the Church as a greater man, and to its internal development. When so applied, we may learn from it that the progress of the Church is not to be measured by an increase of scientific knowledge,-that is, of knowledge looking merely to external efficiency as its objective. Nor is it to be measured by the development of that "judgment of manhood" which we recognize as worldly wisdom in the conduct of ecclesiastical affairs, These are both necessary. They will surely grow as the Church progresses. The demand for them increases as the Church grows in numbers and in the complexity of its organized uses. But they may exist, and may produce excellent results, while the inner life of the Church is on the decline; and they may continue long after that life has departed, sustaining and perpetuating the organized body.

     Genuine progress is not even measured by "advancement into the knowledges of interior truth," that is, by an intellectual development in the understanding of doctrine. Such a development will indeed accompany the true growth of the Church. Nay, it must do so But it may take place without it. If we see such an advancement, we cannot rest assured that the Church is progressing.

548

True progress takes place only if there is, together with intellectual growth, "an advancement toward interior things." This is the progress for which we should continually strive. If this is absent, all apparent growth is in vain; but if it is present, every seeming failure is turned into a blessing. But what is meant, with reference to the Church, by "an advancement toward interior things"?

     II.

     We must realize in the first place that the growth of the Church, as seen by the Lord, extends far beyond the uses of any ecclesiastical body. There may be many such bodies. They may pass through varying states of decline and of renewal. They may flourish for a time and pass away, contributing to the ultimate establishment of the Church only by preparing the ground for a new beginning of the Church with others. All this lies concealed from our view. It is far beyond our finite comprehension. It is under the immediate guidance of the Lord, calling for infinite knowledge and infinite wisdom, such as can exist only in the secret counsels of the Most High.

     In the deepest sense, the growth of the Church is a continuous process. In the Lord's sight there is no such thing as regression. Every operation of His Providence has in view the establishment of His Kingdom, both in heaven and on earth, and even the failures of men are turned into means for the attainment of this end. Providence embraces the whole human race. It controls every event of human history. Beneath all the welter of selfish loves, of greed for power and for wealth, which from time to time threaten to engulf the nations in a destructive conflagration, Providence works silently to overrule man's folly, to mitigate the worst effects of his insane passions, and, in spite of his continual opposition, to prepare the way gradually for the reception of the Church. This is a ceaseless work, rendered slow by the necessity of preserving human freedom, but nevertheless it progresses steadily. Because of it, the Church, in the Lord's sight, is being carried along, as it were on a hidden but irresistible current, toward the fulfilment of its prophetic destiny. Without this universal operation of Providence, all human effort to establish the Church would indeed be vain. "This is the Lord's doing, wonderful in our eyes."

549

In this sense, not only does the Lord alone build the Church, but man can have no conscious part in that work.

Yet this we also know,-that while there must be continual Divine preparation for the establishment of the Church, concerning which we can have no knowledge, still nothing of the Church can actually be built without man's cooperation. This, because the Church is nothing but the conscious reception of the Lord in human minds. It is for this that all the work of secret preparation is intended. In this the unseen operation of the Lord's Providence finds fulfilment. But such a reception requires free choice on the part of man. It calls for the rejection of those evils and falsities which close the mind against the reception of the Lord. And this involves conscious resistance and the conflict of temptation. For this reception the Lord can prepare in a thousand secret ways. He can lead man to the gates of the Holy City, inviting him, and empowering him to enter in. But he cannot compel anyone to pass through those portals. Man must freely accept the invitation. He must undertake the struggle involved in the departure which this implies "from his own country, and from his father's house." This he must do consciously, and as of himself, before anything of the Church can be established in actuality with him.

Man cannot thus receive the Lord unless he is first given to see Him. He can be moved to accept only that which he knows. And since the Lord can make Himself known only by means of the Word, therefore we are told that the Church can exist only "where the Word is, and where by it the Lord is known and worshiped." The Word of the Old and New Testaments exists throughout the Christian world, and some remnants of truth from the Ancient Word are to be found among all gentile peoples; but the Lord is no longer known by means of them. Their meaning has been so completely falsified, through centuries of accumulating human traditions, that they no longer impart a true vision of Him. With many, indeed, there remains a simple faith in the Sacred Scriptures, even though their teachings are erroneously understood, and by this faith there is preserved an acknowledgment of God and a willingness to obey whatever is believed to be His Law. This is sufficient to keep the mind open, so that after death, when angelic instruction is given, the truth may be received with gladness.

550

     But until the truth is known, until it is received in heart and faith, the Church cannot be established. That which is called the "Church Universal"-that invisible communion of all men, everywhere, in whom there is preserved a simple faith in God,-may be called the Church in potency, but it is not such in actuality. At this day, the only Word through which the Lord can actually be seen and known by men on earth is the Heavenly Doctrine. Through this, and by no means apart from it, can He again be seen in the former Scriptures. For this reason the Church in the true sense can now come into being only where the Writings are known, and where their Divine teachings are received with sincere acknowledgment.

     This acknowledgment is the first thing of the Church. It opens the door of the mind to the reception of spiritual truth and good from the Word. These are the Church with man, and its progress is according to the increase of their reception. Herein lies the advancement of the Church toward interior things, toward heaven and the Lord, which advancement is said to be brought about "by means of the knowledges of truth implanted in the affection of them."

     III.

     From this it becomes evident at once that the establishment of the Church, and its progression, is of necessity an individual matter. The Church must come into being independently, in every individual mind. It arises from an inner vision of the truth now set forth in the Heavenly Doctrine, and such a vision is an immediate gift of the Lord. It cannot be passed from man to man. It cannot be transmitted from one generation to another. With each generation it must make a new beginning and undergo a new progression.

     All who are raised in the organized Church are taught from earliest childhood to acknowledge the Writings as the Word, as the Source of all Divine Truth and of all Divine Good. By instruction they receive a knowledge of the teachings to be found in the Writings. This instruction they receive with affirmation and simple faith. The Lord is present in this faith of childhood and youth, even as He is present with the Gentiles throughout the world, secretly preparing the way for the establishment of the Church. But before adult age is reached an inner vision of the truth contained within the teaching given cannot be imparted.

551

The faith of childhood is a faith in a truth seen by others in whom there is confidence. It is what the Writings call a "persuasive" or an "historical" faith. Nothing more than this can be given through the instrumentality of men. Even this cannot be so imparted as to prepare the mind for a living faith unless there be a perpetual operation of the Lord in secret, guiding the affections and ordering the thoughts in all the formative states. This Divine preparation may not be completed at adult age. A persuasive faith may continue long after youth has passed; indeed, it may continue to the end of life on earth.

     Education within the Church is far from perfect; but even if it were highly developed it would constitute no guarantee that the Church would be livingly established with our children, though it might hold them in the organized body by external bonds. For this reason there is in the Church an ever-present danger of spiritual decline, a continual tendency to depart from its first love. "Every Church at its beginning," we are told, "respects goods of life in the first place, and truths of doctrine in the second; but as the Church declines it begins to respect the truths of doctrine in the first place, and goods of life in the second; and at length, in the end, it respects faith alone; and then it not only separates the goods of charity from faith, but also omits them." (A. R. 82.)

     To "respect goods of life in the first place" is to acknowledge truths with a perceptive understanding of their use, and to love them for the sake of that use. But the truths learned by instruction during childhood and youth are seen only as to their outer form. The end for which they exist is not yet perceived. Thus they are accepted blindly, and if this acceptance continues in adult age, the inner life of faith is lacking, even though the form remains. Perception can be given only from within, only by the Lord operating immediately upon the individual mind. There is, therefore, no human means whereby the spiritually living Church can be continued from one generation to another. "Except the Lord build the house, they labor in vain that build it."

     How, then, can we speak of the progress of the Church as an organized body,-its progress from generation to generation? And what can we do to promote that progress?

552

     The answer is given in the Heavenly Doctrine, as follows: "The case with the church in man is, that it successively undergoes new states; for as a man is strengthened in the truth of faith and the good of charity, so he is introduced into other states, the former state then serving as a plane for the following state, and so on continually. Thus the man who is a church, or who is being regenerated, is continually led toward more interior things, thus more interiorly into heaven." (A. C. 6645.)

     As it is with a man, so also it is with an ecclesiastical organization. If the Church is living, if its members are regenerating, it is continually being "strengthened in the truth of faith and the good of charity." As men advance in age and experience, as they acquire intelligence and wisdom through the performance of their uses, there is a gradual progress, a continuous development in spiritual things, which characterizes each generation, and stamps with a certain quality its vital contribution to the growth of the Church. And this finds ultimation in the development of all the varied uses of the Church, according to the special gifts and talents of those who undertake the responsibility of those uses. The quality of affection and thought, the focus of interest, which determines the center of activity in the work of the Church, constitutes the state of the time.

     But as men are removed to the other world, though the external functions they were performing remain, the human quality associated with the personality of those engaged in them is withdrawn. Gradually, subtly, without our realizing it, the state is changed by this withdrawal. Other minds, possessing different faculties and a divergent orientation, are called upon to undertake the work which has been laid down. This happens, not only in the Church, but throughout the world; and because of it, new conditions arise to be met, new problems to be solved. Established modes are found inadequate to changing needs. There comes what appears to be a breaking down of things which men had come to take for granted. A new approach is called for, with its demand for original thinking, and for initiative. Yet for this the teaching given and the record of experience kept become as a plane upon which thinking may build, and upon which a new initiative may be founded.

     Such a change of state is of Providence. It is the means by which the Church may progress It offers opportunity for development and further internal growth.

553

But whether this takes place or not depends upon whether the flame or love for interior things is kindled anew in the minds of those who come after, with its perceptive enlightenment from the Lord, or whether they merely "carry on," perpetuating in external form the traditions of the elders. In the first case, the Church will progress from state to state toward interior things. In the second case, it will decline therefrom. Between these two there is free choice, the sole responsibility of which rests with the individual determination of those who undertake the uses of the Church. The tendency of human nature,-the entire weight of proprial affections,-gravitates toward decline. It is by far the easier road to follow. The choice of the other road leads inevitably to conflict and temptation.

Wherever a love of the Church has been instilled into our hearts, it prompts us to pursue the path of genuine progress. Let us remember that this is nothing but an advancement toward interior things. It is "an advancement toward heaven and the Lord by means of the knowledges of truth implanted in the affection of them." If we have been raised in the Church, our minds have been stored with knowledges from the Word. These are held in the memory, whence they may be called forth at will. But for the most part they are not interiorly understood. Though accepted affirmatively, and acknowledged with affection, their deeper implications are not realized, their application to the solution of our life problems is not seen. They have not yet been made truly our own, that we may see them for ourselves, in the light of our own minds. Our concept of them is general and vague, rather than specific and sharply defined. And this leads us to another teaching of the Writings concerning the progress of the Church.

"Every Church in its beginning knows only the generals of doctrine, for it is then in its simplicity, and as it were in its childhood; but in the course of time it adds particulars, which in part are confirmations of the generals, and in part additions, and also explanations to reconcile plain contradictions, and to avoid violence to the dictates of common sense." (A. C. 4720.) As the Church advances, as its uses are more distinctly differentiated, as its organization becomes larger and more complex, the generals of doctrine which served an earlier day become inadequate. Every generation needs to advance into particulars, partly that the generals already learned may be individually confirmed, and partly that the knowledge already possessed may be adapted to the requirements of new conditions and focused upon the solution of new problems.

554

For this we must go directly to the source of Truth, directly to the Writings, where an inexhaustible store of Truth awaits us. From the Fountain Head Itself we must draw forth that Truth which is needed to answer the questions which arise in a new state of the Church.

We often hear the specious argument, "We have enough truth already. Indeed, we have far more than we are able to live up to. What we need is not further entrance into the truth of doctrine, but greater concentration upon the good of life." Nothing could be more fallacious. We should indeed concentrate upon the good of life; but so soon as we undertake this task, we find that, however vast our theoretical knowledge of the truth may be, our understanding of it is insufficient, It is full of appearances and fallacies, which, if not removed, render it powerless to attain our end. It needs to be purified. Wherefore we read: "With the church in man the case is this: while it is being set up anew, the man is in truths, and by means of these good increases." (A. C. 6648.) What we have learned from others, and accepted in blind faith, as children do, will not serve as a means td the "good of life." It is truth which we have received immediately from the Lord, out of His Word, by study and reflection in a sincere effort to attain the good of life. This truth, received from the Lord, is the seed from which the Church can grow with us. The instruction of childhood and youth provides but the ground in which this seed may germinate and grow, and from which it draws its nourishment. The richer the soil, the more luxuriant the growth which can be produced from it. But the growth is ever a new formation, a re-ordering, by the soul of life in a new seed.

The progress of the Church, therefore, depends upon the degree in which each generation goes to the Word to receive instruction directly from the mouth of the Lord. If this is done in sincerity of heart, from love to the Lord, and from a desire to promote the spiritual uses of the Church, there will be an advancement toward interior things. By no other means can there be a renewal of the life of the Church by the Lord. In no other way can the interior perception of the Lord in the Church be perpetuated, so that, by means of the Word, He may continue to be known and loved, and from love may continue to be worshipped in spirit and in truth.

555

     The Lord is indeed fully present in the Writings; His Glorified Human is there made manifest in terms adequate to our human understanding; yet it is just as possible in the New Church as it was in former dispensations to lose this inner vision of the Lord. This is possible in every generation, and with those who have been raised within the Church. "It does not follow," we read, "that they are of the church who are born where the Word is, and where the Lord is known; but they who, by means of truths from the Word, are regenerated by the Lord, who are they who live according to the truths therein, consequently who lead a life of love and faith." (W. H. 6.) And again we read: "It is one thing for the church to be with a people, and another for the church to be in a people;-as, for example, the Christian Church is with those who have the Word, and from doctrine preach the Lord; but still there is nothing of the church in them unless they are in the marriage of good and truth, that is, unless they are in charity toward the neighbor and thence in faith." (A. C. 4899.) If we are to be "of the church," we must lead a life of regeneration "by means of truths from the Word." If the church is to be "in us," we must seek "the marriage of truth and good," by appropriating to our own minds the truth of the Word, and using that truth as the Divine Law for the conduct of our lives.

     Our understanding of Divine Truth is woefully inadequate to solve the problems that confront the Church,-the new problems which, in Divine Providence, have been brought about by Changes of state, both in the Church and in the world. And although an infinite fund of truth has been provided in the Heavenly Doctrine, it becomes available only as it is drawn forth thence, by conscious effort, by study and reflection. If we are impelled to such a study by a deep desire to serve the Church, to promote its progress, to discharge faithfully the responsibilities that its ultimate uses place upon us, then, as our understanding of truth expands and deepens, our love of the Church will thereby be perfected. This is the only means of advancement toward interior things. It is this that brings conjunction with the Lord and consociation with the angels.

     While the Divine promise is given that the Church, under the Lord's secret protection, will be preserved; while we know that it will progress continually, and will endure forever, according to the prophecy given after the Flood, that "during all the days of the earth, seed-time and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night, shall not cease;" yet there is no assurance that the Church will remain with us.

556

There is no assurance that it will abide with our children, or that the General Church of the New Jerusalem will continue, spiritually alive. This depends upon our own conscious reception of the Lord as He comes to us in the Heavenly Doctrine. It depends upon each generation and its own response to the teaching there given. But this we know,-that wherever there is a longing for spiritual truth, and a search for it in the Writings, inspired by a sincere desire to perform any genuine use to the Church, the understanding of truth requisite to spiritual life will not be withheld. It is freely offered, in all abundance, to those who ask for it from the heart. It is this for which the Lord teaches us to pray to our Heavenly Father, "Give us this day our daily bread,"-a prayer which the Lord answers with enlightenment and illustration out of heaven, to each according to his need.

So long as this prayer expresses the inner spirit of its members, the Lord will abide with the organized body of the Church. He will renew the life of the Church from state to state. He will re-establish it with every generation. He will provide that there may be a successive advancement toward interior things. So long as this is the case, the external organization of the Church, regardless of the vicissitudes through which it may be called upon to pass, cannot but remain a living body, in which spiritual charity and internal faith find ultimate expression. And within these the Lord Himself cannot but be present as the Infinite Soul of Life, causing both mind and body to grow, protecting them from all evil, and leading them into all good. For to establish His Kingdom in the hearts of men is the supreme end of His Divine mercy. "O send out Thy light and Thy truth: let them lead me. Let them bring me unto Thy holy hill, and to Thy tabernacles. Then will I go unto the altar of God, unto God, my exceeding joy: yea, upon the harp will I praise Thee, O God, my God."

557

Church News 1937

Church News Various 1937

     BRITISH ASSEMBLY.

     Marked by a record attendance, the 30th British Assembly opened at Colchester on Saturday evening, July 31, 1937, the Right Rev. Alfred Acton presiding as representative of the Bishop of the General Church. A number of visitors from America included, besides Bishop and Mrs. Acton, Mr. Wilfred Howard, Mr. Ernest Stebbing, Dr. Philip Stebbing and Miss Lois Stebbing, Mrs. Oliver Sloan Haines, Miss Beryl Briscoe, Miss Creda Glenn, Mr. Michael Pitcairn, Miss Karen Pitcairn and Miss Morna Hyatt.

     After the reading of Messages of Greeting, which were received with applause, Bishop Acton delivered the Presidential Address, the text of which appears in the September issue of the Monthly News Letter, together with Impressions of the Assembly by the Rev. A. Wynne Acton, from which we gather some of the outstanding features of the Assembly.

     The Bishop's Address dealt frankly with the doctrinal differences which led to the separation of those holding the Hague views. "While I voice the feelings of all of us," he said, "when saying that we wish to live in charity and good will toward those who differ from us, I think it useful on this occasion very briefly to recite the crux of the differences, which I can sum up in two words, namely, 'direct cognizance.'" He then treated at length of the difference in the mode of approach to the Writings and their interpretation. "In the discussion that followed many varying views were expressed, but all centered upon the thought that the Writings themselves can be our only authority and the only means of advancement into the interior understanding of spiritual truths. It was emphasized that, although we may have differing understandings of the nature of the Writings, we should all look to their direct statements as our guide. Upon this we can all be united."

     On Sunday morning there was an impressive service, conducted by Bishop Acton, assisted by the Rev. Victor J. Gladish, and Bishop Tilson delivered a most interesting sermon on "The Gathering of the Elect," the text being from Matthew 24:31. "The attendance was 140, including children. At the Holy Supper Service in the afternoon there were 85 communicants.

     The session of the Assembly on Sunday evening heard an instructive and helpful paper by the Rev. Victor J. Gladish on "The Precious Pearl of Human Life,"-a new and forceful presentation of the subject of Conjugial Love, with many interesting points brought out in the discussion which followed.

     On Monday morning a brief business session heard a report of the British Finance Committee from the Treasurer, Mr. Colley Pryke, supplemented by remarks from the Chairman, Bishop Tilson, the Secretary, the Rev. Victor J. Gladish, and the Editor of the Monthly News Letter, the Rev. A. Wynne Acton. The main function of this Committee was seen to be the support of the following uses: British Assemblies, Visiting the Isolated, and Publication of the News Letter. This year, in addition, the Committee made it possible for Mr. Gladish to attend the Council Meetings at Bryn Athyn in April, and Mr. Acton to attend the General Assembly.

558

Following the business session, Mr. Acton gave an account of the General Assembly, and Bishop Acton gave a summary of his Address on "The Holy Spirit," delivered at the General Assembly.

     In the afternoon an open meeting of the Sons of the Academy was held at the home of Mrs. Rey Gill, with Mr. James Pryke, President of the British Chapter, in the chair. Mr. Wilfred Howard gave an interesting account of the formation and use of the Sons' organization.

     The Assembly concluded with a delightful Social on Monday evening. After a supper served on the church grounds, Mr. Colley Pryke took charge as toastmaster, and the program of toasts and songs included speeches on "New Church Education," by Mr. Wilfred Pike; "The Church Militant," by Mr. Norman Williams; and "Conjugial Love," by Bishop Acton. Then came a program of entertainment under the supervision of Miss Winifred Everett and Mr. Owen Pryke, including recitations, a song, and a play; also some moving pictures of Colchester members, taken by Mr. Donald Rose during his last visit. The evening closed with the National Anthem.

     Prior to the Assembly, a meeting of the New Church Club in London was attended by thirty-four men, a large proportion of whom took part in an appreciative discussion of the Address on "The Value of Science" by Mr. Wilfred Howard.

     The Monthly News Letter is on file in the Academy Library.
     W. B. C.

     SOUTH AFRICAN MISSION.

     Annual Meetings.

     It has been our custom to hold Annual Meetings of the Ministers of the Mission, and at the same time a joint meeting of the Ministers and Teachers, as a means of coordinating the two uses. After an interval of four years, during which no Annual Meeting has been held, two were held this year, the first at Alpha, Ladybrand, O. F. S., July 25-28, and the second at Kent Manor, Impapala, Zululand, September 2-5. At Alpha, the Ministers, Leaders, and School Teachers assembled from Basutoland, Transvaal, and Cape Province; at Rent Manor, those from Natal, Durban, and Zululand.

     Alpha-July 26-28.

     Ten Ministers and Leaders signed the Roll for the Morning Sessions, and some idea of the nature of the proceedings may be gathered from the following Agenda:

     1. Opening Service.

     2. Election of the Rev. Philip N. Odhner as Secretary, succeeding the Rev. Elmo C. Acton.

     3. Minutes.

     4. Superintendent's Report.

     5. Address by the Rev. F. W. Elphick, Superintendent, on "Freedom, Order and Compulsion."

     6. "The Two Essentials of the New Church," by Rev. T. Mofokeng.

     7. "The Crown of All the Churches," Rev. Jonas Motsi.

     8. "Good and Truth," Candidate George Nteso.

     9. "What is Meant by the New Jerusalem?" Rev. N. Mphatse.

     10. The Mission and the Future of Basutoland.

     11. The Theological School.

     12. The 19th of June.

     13. Should New Church Ministers Visit Homes?

     14. The Mission Journal.

     15. What is Freedom in Heaven and on Earth?

     Certainly a formidable program! Yet all but one of the prepared papers were read, and other subjects on the docket considered.

     Nineteen signed the Roll for the afternoon sessions, which were joint meetings of Ministers, Leaders and School Teachers. The Agenda:

     1. Opening Service.

     2. Minutes.

     3. Statement by Superintendent.

     4. Address by the Rev. Philip N. Odhner on "Mission Schools and New Church Schools."

     5. "How to Teach English as a Second Language," Mr. C. H. Mofokeng.

559

     6. "Bad Fortune for Basutoland Teachers," Mr. S. Kojoana.

     7. "Children in the New Church," Mr. Silas Mote.

     8. "The Second Coming," Mr. Aaron Bohloko.

     All of these subjects were presented and usefully discussed. Everyone seemed satisfied with the meetings, both morning and afternoon sessions proving thought-provoking and inspiring.

     On Sunday, July 25, Divine Service was held in the Alpha Mission Church, the congregation numbering 150, of whom 50 partook of the Holy Supper. The Rev. Philip N. Odhner delivered the sermon, and the Revs. Jonas Mphatse, Jonas Motsi and Twentyman Mofokeng assisted the Revs. Elphick and Odhner in the administrations.

     Zululand.

     Fourteen Ministers and Leaders attended the morning sessions at Kent Manor, Impapala, September 2-4, where another formidable array of topics was presented. The Superintendent again delivered his Address on "Freedom, Order and Compulsion," this paper being based upon direct quotations from the Writings, and dealing with local situations which arise in a Mission, the administration of which is essentially based upon the theology revealed to the New Church, and not, as in many Missions, upon set rules of conduct devised by men. The address noted the difficult task of establishing on earth a better and fuller idea of freedom, to be brought about by self-compulsion, while order is continually to be observed.

     Two other papers were read: "The Order of Influx," by Rev. P. J. Stole, and "Regeneration," by Student B. Nzimande. Omitted for lack of time were papers on "The Kingdom of the Lord," by Leader Johannes Lunga; "The Cultivation of Self-respect with the Freedom given in the New Church," by Leader W. Mkize; "How Marriage Originates from the Divine Providence," by Rev. Julius Jiyana; "How God Created the Universe," by Leader A. Mgenge; and "When the Church is Created by the Lord," by Leader S. Buthelezi. Among other subjects considered was the Zulu translation of Heaven and Hell.

     The afternoon joint sessions were attended by twenty-one Ministers, Leaders and Teachers. The Rev. Philip N. Odhner again delivered his Address on "Mission Schools and New Church Schools." New to the Mission field, but with Academy tradition behind him, he presented a searching analysis of the problem of distinctiveness involved in his subject, and noted the results in America and England where Baptism had not been firmly applied in the formation of New Church schools. Like other Mission schools in South Africa, ours have been open to children with varying religious backgrounds, but the question is now arising, even in the mind of the Bantu, as to whether Baptism should not be made requisite for entrance to our schools; also the question: Why not limit our schools to the children of those who have been baptized? We have not yet arrived at a decision, believing that the change should come by means of instruction as a preparation, and thus from the desire of the Native people themselves.

     "The Problem of New Church Education in our Schools" was presented by Mr. Aaron B. Zungu with blackboard illustrations, sketching the scheme of standards from the primary grade to matriculation, and noting the proportion of New Church doctrine to be given in each grade. His premises were: 1) That all children were taken as baptized into the New Church Faith, and 2) That the aim of both teachers and parents was that provision be made for a good natural education as well as a good spiritual education. An appreciative discussion ensued, and it was agreed that such an ideal school must be kept before our minds in all our work.

     On Sunday, September 5, Divine Worship was held in the church building, with an attendance of about 200.

560

The Revs. John Jiyana and Philip Stole assisted the Revs. Elphick and Odhner. Mr. Elphick delivered the sermon, and the Holy Supper was administered to over 60 communicants. In the afternoon an Open Meeting was held, at which Mr. Odhner spoke on the Doctrine of Baptism.

     Reginald W. Brown.

     The Mission has heard with regret the news of the death of the Rev. Dr. Reginald W. Brown. A few of the older members had the privilege of meeting Dr. and Mrs. Brown when they were at the Mission in Maseru, Basutoland (1920-1921), and one heritage abides in affectionate memory,-the Sesuto Service which Dr. Brown compiled for the Basuto people, which they use to this day. He had a great and sympathetic interest in the work of the General Church Mission, and also established amicable relations with the British Conference Mission in matters of organization. He worked intimately with the late Rev. J. F. Buss, and with him made extensive researches into the respective claims of Revs. D. W. Mooki and S. M. Mofokeng, the Native founders of the two New Church Missions. As Academy Librarian, Dr. Brown was in constant touch with our Mission and its expansion. And many in South Africa recall with gratitude the help they derived from him in his many contributions to the upbuilding of the New Church. Our sympathies are extended to Mrs. Brown and her family.
     F. W. ELPHICK.

     THE HAGUE, HOLLAND.

     A New Society.

     On Sunday September 5, 1937, at 3 p.m., in the home of Mr. and Mrs. E. Francis, Emmastraat 26, Rijswijk (Z. H.), a meeting of the following old, loyal members of the General Church of the New Jerusalem was held, in order to institute a new congregation of said Church, in the chair the Right Reverend Alfred Acton, who, paying a visit to The Hague on his journey from England to Sweden, represented the Executive Bishop of the Church:

     Mr. W. Beijerinck, Mr. and Mrs. H. W. Bulthuis, Sr. (J. Gerritse), Mr. H. C. Engeltjes, Miss H. Engeltjes, Mr. and Mrs. E. Francis (C. P. M. Gijsberti Hodenpijl), Miss L. P. Francis, and Miss E. Helderman.

     Also present: Two friends of our Church, and two minor children of Mr. and Mrs. H. W. Bulthuis, Sr. (J. Gerritse).

     After some discussions under the leading of the Bishop, the above members unanimously agreeing on establishing the new Society, confirmed their joining by signing a roll of attendance and declaration. Afterwards this was also signed by Mrs. H. G. Engeltjes (J. J. Maat).

     The Bishop now declared the Hague Society to be instituted. In the Dutch language it is called De Gemeente s'Gravenhages' de Algemeene Kelk van het Nieuwe Jeruzalem. The Bishop then proceeded to take a vote on the election of the Directors. By common consent these were chosen: President, Mr. E. Francis; Secretary-Treasurer, Mr. W. Beijerinck.

     After the Society and its Direction had been established, all present joined in a service of worship conducted by the Bishop, the Lessons read being John XV:1-17 and The True Christian Religion 538 and 539. In close relation to those Lessons, the Bishop delivered a sermon, summarily showing that the Writings, being the Second Coming of the Lord Jesus Christ in His Glorified Human, are the only way for approaching Him, and laying stress upon the necessity of reading them, that man may be conjoined with the Lord, and so led, redeemed, regenerated, and finally saved by Him.

     After having clearly explained the deep sense of the Holy Supper according to the Gospels and the Writings, the Bishop administered that Sacrament to eleven communicants.

561

The uplifting worship concluded with the Benediction.

     Finally a short social gathering took place. Before parting, the Bishop expressed his good wishes far the prosperous growth of our little circle, recommending her to the protection of the Lord's Providence. The President, Mr. E. Francis, answering for us, expressed thanks for the Bishop's having led and instituted our Society, and uttered our hope that this young group, under the auspices of the General Church of the New Jerusalem, may be blest by Divine Providence.

     At a later meeting, held at the same home on September 18, 1937, by a unanimous vote the functions of Secretary and Treasurer were separated. Mr. H. G. Engeltjes was chosen Treasurer; and Mr. W. Beijerinck, willingly resigning as such, continued as Secretary only. Both gentlemen accepted the responsibilities belonging to the offices to which they had been appointed. In addition, some private matters of the Society were discussed.
     W. B.

     A PASTORAL TOUR.

     Doctrinal Classes were held at ERIE, PA., on Friday and Saturday evenings, September 24 and 25, the attendance being five and four. The subject was the teaching in A. E. 1120, reading: "The Lord is the Only Man, and all are men according to the reception of Divine Good and Divine Truth from Him. The reason why the Lord is the Only Man is that He is Life Itself; but all others, because they are men from Him, are recipients of life." The same subject was presented at the places afterwards visited, at one or more classes, sometimes continuing into the next number, A. E. 1121.

     At CLEVELAND, the attendance at class was five, and during the three days' stay instruction was given three times to the child of Mr. and Mrs. Franklin Norman.

     A class was held at AKRON on Thursday evening, September 30, at which nine were present; and later there were three more classes. Instruction was given three times to the four children of Mr. and Mrs. Edwin Asplundh, and once to the three children of Mr. and Mrs. Randolph Norris. On Sunday, October 3, a service for the united Northern Ohio General Church circles was held in a large hotel room. There were present: From Akron, 7 adults and 8 children; from Cleveland, 3 adults and one child; from Niles, one adult and one child; from Youngstown, 7 adults; a total of 18 adults and 10 children. A number of persons were unable to attend.

     All were invited to the home of Mr. and Mrs. Asplundh for dinner, which was followed by a social time, including toasts and speeches,-the third gathering of this kind since my visit last May. The Rev. Willard D. Pendleton paid a visit in June, when there were services, classes for young and old, and a social time. The second meeting was held at Youngstown in August, when Bishop de Charms and Mr. Otho Heilman arrived there at the conclusion of their grand summer tour, when again a service was held, followed by a picnic in the park,-a happy time for all. At this third Akron social time there was also a consideration of business matters of the group. A treasury has been established to meet the traveling expenses of visiting ministers; and the group desires as many visits as the General Church can provide for them. Let it be known that there is a promising prospect of General Church development in this district.

     At NILES, OHIO, a class was held on Thursday evening, October 7, attendance eight, of whom six were from Youngstown. Instruction was given three times to the child of Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Williamson. On Friday evening there was a class at YOUNGSTOWN, With thirteen present. On Sunday, October 10, another service of the united circles was held, members attending from Youngstown. Columbiana, Niles, Akron and Cleveland,-a total of 15 adults and 5 children.

562

At the Holy Supper there were 15 communicants. Present on this occasion was an addition to our group,-the Frank Day family, who have recently come from Glenview and settled at Cleveland. After the service all assembled for a picnic dinner in a large cabin that had been secured in the park. Here, as at Akron, there were toasts and speeches, and a delightful and merry time. The fact that the group had the two "feasts of charity" indicates that here, as elsewhere, there is the recognition of the great value of the same in the strengthening of the mutual love essential to the life and progress of the church. In the evening, at a residence, another doctrinal class was held, attendance eight, when, departing from our regular subject, we considered the question, asked by one present, as to why hell must needs be the eternal abode of those who go there, no elevation to heaven being possible.
     F. E. WAELCHLI.

     WYOMING, OHIO.

     Episcopal Visit.

     The Cincinnati Circle of the General Church was privileged to be included in the recent trip made by Bishop de Charms for the holding of District and Local Assemblies. On Tuesday afternoon, October 19, he and Mrs. de Charms arrived from Glenview; and with them came Mr. Seymour Nelson and Mr. Louis Cole of that place, as well as Mrs. Viola Ridgway of Bryn Athyn.

     A banquet was held in the evening at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Merrell, and there were present, besides the visitors, twelve members of our Circle. Two of our men were unable to be with us. There were toasts and responses. After some time spent socially, the Bishop gave an address on "The Progress of the Church," which was followed by a discussion of the subject by the Messrs. Charles Merrell, Seymour Nelson, Louis Cole, Richard Waelchli, and the Rev. F. E. Waelchli, and closed by a stirring speech by the Bishop, which deeply moved the affections of all. Later there were shown moving pictures of the Pittsburgh General Assembly, which had been brought by the Bishop, and were of great interest to those who had not attended it, and also to those who had. The entire meeting was most useful and enjoyable, and brought a fuller realization of how much the General Church and the Academy should mean to us.

     As some time has passed since news from here has appeared in the Life, it may be said that our uses are carried on regularly, except when the pastor is away visiting other circles. On Sunday morning Sunday School is held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Donald Merrell, with an attendance of sixteen pupils. Then a service is held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Merrell. On Wednesday evening there is a doctrinal class, and on two afternoons each week instruction is given the children.
     F. E. W.

     SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA.

     Since the events recorded in our last report the society has been quietly engaged in its usual activities. The series of sermons on The Ten Blessings was concluded in July, and in August a new series on The Seven Churches was commenced. At the monthly evangelical services a series of addresses on the five particulars of faith on man's part is now being given. A few weeks ago we finished our doctrinal classes on "Life in a Heavenly Society," and then devoted three Sunday evenings to the reading of Bishop de Charms' articles on the Hague Views. Until the end of the year our classes will deal with the story of Israel's journey from Egypt to Canaan. An always welcome diversion was provided by the quarterly Feast of Charity on August 15, at which a paper on " Tragedy and Regeneration," by Mr. Norman Williams, was received with much appreciation and interest.

563

     The Annual General Meeting was held on August 5, and it is to be regretted that less than half of the members were present to hear the interesting and stimulating reports submitted. The Secretary's report showed that our membership has increased to 25. All the officers were reappointed, and there were few changes in the personnel of committees. An important step, bringing us further into line with the practice of the Church, was the unanimous adoption of a resolution recognizing the pastor as chairman, ex officio, of the business committee.

     On the following Sunday, August 8, Sunday School prize-giving was held. Mr. William Purl, Leader of the Conference Society in Sydney and President of the Conference, gave a delightful address to the children and then presented the prizes. On Wednesday, September 1, a splendid entertainment was provided by the children of the Sunday School aided by a few of the young people. Two short pantomimes prepared the way for a charming little musical play,-the main item on the program, which was followed by a series of four tableaux illustrating various aspects of Australian life, and a Swedish folk dance. All the children acquitted themselves very well, and we are grateful to them, to the lady teachers who worked hard to prepare them, and to the parents who cooperated, for a delightful evening which augmented our funds.

     During this period the young people's club has continued to meet as usual, both for doctrinal study and for recreation. The monthly meeting of the Ladies' Guild now commences with a short reading meeting conducted by the pastor, and The Earths in the Universe is being studied. The men of the society have now held three of their monthly meetings. Papers on "Temptation," "The Glorification," and "The Proprium," have been given by the pastor and Messrs. Sydney and Norman Heldon, respectively. The response has been very good, and we have every reason to expect great benefits from this new use. On the social side we have to report only one social, held in July, at which games, competitions, and dancing blended into a happy evening.
     W. C. H.

     DETROIT, MICHIGAN.

     Episcopal Visit.

     The third annual visit of Bishop George de Charms to our group occurred on Wednesday evening, October 13, 1937. On the place-cards at the banquet table the affair was dignified by the title, " Third Michigan District Assembly of the General Church." This imposing appellation, bestowed upon the meeting by our enthusiastic secretary, Mr. Norman Synnestvedt, gave us a feeling of importance out of all proportion to our numerical strength and influence in the Church.

     The banquet was held in our meeting hall at the Highland Park Y. W. C. A. Twenty-nine of us sat down to a splendid dinner, prepared and served by the restaurant staff of the "U," and it proved to be a very successful and enjoyable affair. Our pastor, Rev. Norman Reuter, acted as toastmaster, and after expressing our very great pleasure in having the Bishop and Mrs. de Charms with us, he welcomed our other visitors,-Rev. Alan Gill and Miss Korene Schnarr from Kitchener; Mr. E. C. Bostock and Mrs. Viola Heath Ridgway from Bryn Athyn; and Mr. Marvin Walker, who arrived home on leave from his ship, the U. S. S. Lexington, at Long Beach, Cal., just in time to attend this meeting.

     Following the singing of "Academia" and "Our Own Academy," Bishop de Charms delivered an out standing and thought-provoking address on "The Progress of the Church," in which he pointed out that the measure of real progress is "advancement toward interior things." This can be achieved only by the members of the Church going to the Word to receive enlightenment from the Lord.

564

The Lord cannot be known except from the Writings. And this love for the Word must be born anew with each succeeding generation in the Church.

     Responses were made by the Rev. Norman Reuter, Mr. E. C. Bostock, Rev. Alan Gill, Mr. Norman Synnestvedt and Mr. Geoffrey S. Childs. The Bishop then gave a rousing extemporaneous speech which had us all sitting on the edges of our chairs. Following the rendition of another Academy song, the Bishop pronounced the Benediction.

     We were then entertained with motion pictures taken at the last General Assembly. Mr. Norman Synnestvedt, who had borrowed a projection machine for the evening, undertook to operate the same, and, with the aid of numerous volunteer assistants, finally succeeded in giving a very creditable performance. This highly interesting and often amusing feature brought to a close what all agreed had been a stimulating and very much worthwhile meeting of our group.

     Just before mailing this report we learned with sorrow of the death of little Jimmie Bellinger, son of Mr. and Mrs. Harold Bellinger of Riverside, Ontario. Jimmie, although only seven years old, was a regular attendant with his parents at our meetings, and we shall miss him greatly. Diphtheria was the cause of his death, which occurred on November 1st.
     W. W. W.

     MIDDLEPORT, OHIO.

     On Friday evening, October 29, a doctrinal class was held in the church building at which four persons were present. Our subject was the Lord, the Divine Man from eternity, before the creation of the universe. There was then no space and time, yet there was the Divine Man, Divine Substance and Divine Form, Divine Esse and Divine Existere concerning which we are taught in the first chapter of the Trite Christian Religion.-On Saturday afternoon instruction was given to two young people and a child, first in adaptation to all, and then more especially for the young people.

     On Sunday morning the service was attended by six adults and six young people and children. At the Holy Supper there were six communicants.-In the evening another doctrinal class was held, when we presented the doctrine concerning the shunning of evil companions in both worlds, according to the words of the first verse of the first Psalm: "Blessed is the man who walketh not in the counsel of the wicked, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of scoffers."-After both of the evening classes, business meetings were held, at which it was determined to repair fully the damage done to the church building and its contents by the great Ohio River flood of last January. The Society, with deep affection for the place, desires that the same shall continue as its home, as long as there are the indications of Providence that it shall so be.
     F. E. WAELCHLI.

     CHICAGO DISTRICT ASSEMBLY.

     The Thirty-second Chicago District Assembly, held at Glenview, Ill., October 15-17, 1937, with Bishop George de Charms presiding, may be rated as one of the most successful in years. The Assembly opened with a banquet on Friday evening which seated a few less than 200 persons. Toastmaster, the Rev. Gilbert H. Smith; Music Master, Mr. Marvin Stevens, substituting for Mr. Russell Stevens, who planned the musical part of the program, but was unable to be present; Speakers: Messrs. Harold P. McQueen, Warren Reuter. George Fiske, Sydney Lee, and finally Bishop de Charms.

     Mr. McQueen made a unique speech of welcome to Bishop and Mrs. de Charms. Mr. Reuter proposed and discussed interesting phases of the problem of the isolated. Mr. Fiske presented a paper on the value of New Church Life as the official organ of the Church, the excellence of the numbers during the last year, and on possible ways of making the publication more effective.

565

Mr. Lee gave a talk, based upon an alleged dream, involving a suit of armor in his studio. The purport of the dream was to offer a solution of the problem of organizing the isolated and binding all New Church people together, charting and tabulating them so as to provide most fully for ministration to them with the means already at hand. This was very interestingly and artistically presented. Old Sir Galahad came to life and offered excellent advice in the matter of organization among the scattered New Church people.

     The Bishop's speech on the state of the Church was most inspiring. He spoke of his realization of the great need to unify the scattered members of the Church. This may be considered a second great use of charity, next to the education of the young which New Churchmen in established centers may undertake to perform toward the groups that are isolated. It would benefit them as much as they hope to benefit those who live away from the regular ministrations of the Church.

     On Saturday afternoon the Bishop was entertained at Tea by the ladies; and later in the afternoon the gentlemen were invited to drop in and hear him relate the main events of his recent tour of the West, when he visited many centers and isolated receivers. He spoke for over an hour in the most interesting manner.

     The Episcopal Address on "The Progress of the Church" was given at a full session of the Assembly on Saturday evening. (See elsewhere in this issue.) It was followed by appreciative remarks, and then a recess was taken to enjoy refreshments, and to see several films of the last General Assembly, taken by Mr. Alexander P. Lindsay, Jr. The moving pictures of our Church notables were admirable and those present found great enjoyment in identifying their friends and themselves. It was a delight, and not a little affecting, to see among other faces that of the late Dr. Reginald Brown.

     The Service of Worship on Sunday morning, concluding with the Holy Supper, was attended by a capacity congregation. Several people were now in attendance from the extremes of our district:-Mr. and Mrs. Eklund and daughter from Rockford; Mr. and Mrs. Stuart Nicholson from St. Louis; and other visitors from outside our district, such as Mrs. Viola Heath Ridgway, of Bryn Athyn, and Mr. Raymond Bostock, of Upper Montclair, New Jersey. The sermon delivered by Bishop de Charms was on the subject of the "Delight of Spiritual Truth." As the old Jerusalem was known as a refuge, so the New Jerusalem is to be the spiritual refuge of all men who are capable of receiving the delight of spiritual truth.

     On Sunday at 6:30 p.m. there was a Symposium for the Men of the Assembly, the appointed stewards of the Sons of the Academy supplying the rations. A few songs, a funny record from the loud-speaker overhead, skit by Mr. Alec McQueen in review and appraisal of the Assembly, and a humorous imaginary letter by Mr. Harold P. McQueen, filled the first part of the evening. Then, at eight o'clock, the Women of the Assembly were ushered in to join the men in listening to a further talk by Bishop de Charms on the state of the Church, and particularly on the situations in Los Angeles, England, and Holland. After a brief discussion this final meeting of the Assembly came to a close with the feeling on the part of those present that the Bishop had taken us into his confidence in a very gratifying way, and that we had been given a much more intelligent understanding of the situation with which the episcopal office has had to deal. There was a spontaneous reaction to his talk which brought forth the singing of "Our Own Academy."
     GILBERT H. SMITH,
          Secretary.

     OBITUARY.

     Miss Susan M. Junge.

     Another staunch member of the Immanuel Church,-Miss Susan Minot Junge,-passed into the other life on October 31 at the age of seventy-six years.

566

She was born in the city of Chicago, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Carl F. W. Junge, two of the considerable number of New Church people who formed a prominent church group in those early days. Miss Junge was the first woman teacher in the Immanuel Church School of nearly fifty years ago, and afterwards taught in the Girls School of the Academy of the New Church in Philadelphia. Later she returned to Chicago to assist her father in his business, and maintained it after his death until her last illness. She is survived by her brother, Mr. William H. Junge, of Glenview, a sister, Mrs. Edward C. Bostock, Sr., of Bryn Athyn, and her nieces,-Mrs. David Gladish (nee Eleanor Lindrooth), and Miss Janet Lindrooth. A kindly and gentle soul has left us, and she will be greatly missed.
     J. B. S.

     PITTSBURGH, PA.

     The passing of Mr. Jacob Schoenberger into the spiritual world on August 22, in his eighty-fifth year, was deeply felt by us all, but we know he is happy in his heavenly home and reunited with his dear ones there.

     The Society has resumed its regular activities for the season with vim and vigor. Sunday services began on September 12, and the Day School on September 15. The teaching staff assisting the pastor is: Miss Jennie Gaskill, Mrs. G. P. Brown, Mrs. Bert Nemitz, Mrs. A. P. Lindsay and Miss Betty Brown. A kindergarten this year, the first in four years, is Miss Brown's chief responsibility.

     The marriage of Miss Elizabeth Lechner to Mr. Daniel Laughlin Conn was solemnized at the church on Thursday morning, September 23, the pastor officiating. Mr. and Mrs. Chas. H. Ebert, Sr., entertained the society at tea and a shower for the couple on Sunday afternoon, September 12. This was a delightful occasion, affording us an opportunity to meet Mr. Conn, who has recently been baptized.

     The Friday suppers began on September 24, the first one being followed by the Annual Meeting of the Society which was interesting and instructive. The study of the Arcana Celestia is the subject for the doctrinal classes this year.

     Hallowe'en was the first dance of the season, ushering it in in "farm style," costumes, square dances and games, plus a real farm orchestra and caller, furnishing an unusual evening and lots of fun. Mr. and Mrs. F. A. Stein and Mr. and Mrs. G. P. Brown were in charge.

     The music committee has been active, and a group of ten sang a special selection at the Holy Supper service on November 7.

     We are pleased to welcome Dr. and Mrs. Philip Cronlund to the Pittsburgh District. They live in Tarentum, where Dr. Cronlund is assisting Dr. Aye.
     E. R. D.

     ST. LOUIS, MO.

     On my visit to this city last May (reported in the July Life), it was planned that I should go there again in the Fall. This has been carried out, and on Tuesday, November 2, conducted a service at the home of Mr. and Mrs. J. C. Wilson, attended by eight persons, all of whom partook of the Lord's Supper administered at the close. The next evening a doctrinal class was held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Curtis S. Owen, six persons being present. The subject of Marriage in Heaven (C. L. 27, et seq.) was presented. Among those present at both meetings were Mr. and Mrs. Stuart Nicholson (Mary Scalbom) and Mrs. Josephine Anger of Clinton, Ill., one of the Porter family. The General Church now has three families in St. Louis, instead of one.

     There were also two classes for the instruction of four children,-two Wilsons and two Owens. Mrs. Owen (Edith Lind of Denver) has been accustomed to hold a Sunday school for her two children, and this is now to be enlarged to include the two Wilson children.

567

There is also a hope that the adults will arrange to meet once a month for a doctrinal class feel greatly encouraged by the prospect of a live circle of the General Church in St. Louis.

     On October 22, I visited the circle at ROCKFORD, ILL., preaching on "The Ministry of Blessing," and dedicating the home of Mr. and Mrs. Theodore Gladish. There were fourteen persons present.
     WILLIS L. GLADISH.

     ACADEMY SCHOOLS.

     Miss Freda Pendleton, who has been an Assistant Librarian in the Academy Library since 1929, has been appointed Acting Librarian.

     Miss Berith Schroder, of Denver, Colo., has joined the Faculty of the Elementary School, teaching the 2d Grade and also Physical Education to 7th and 8th Grade girls.

     Charter Day.

     In a setting of fine weather our observance of Charter Day this year was exceptionally interesting and enjoyable. Classes from the early days to the present carried banners in the procession to the cathedral on Friday morning. The Address on "The Academy's Mission," by the Rev. Willard D. Pendleton, emphasized in graphic terms the essential purpose of the Charter,-to promote the establishment of the New Church in a world largely paganized by a spiritual devastation.

     On the return to Benade Hall, the schools rendered the Academy songs with spirit and unity, and this feeling was heightened by the victory of our football cohorts in the afternoon. Score: 20-7.

     A very happy sphere prevailed at the banquet in the evening. Mr. Ariel Gunther, as toastmaster, had prepared an excellent program, and presided in an eminently satisfying manner. First, the photographs of many ex-students were shown on the screen, and their activities in the work of the Church were described by Mr. Eldric S. Klein. The theme for the speaking program was "The Support and Development of the Academy," treated by three speakers,-a layman, a teacher, and a priest.

     Mr. Andrew K. Klein, from the point of view of the layman, modestly but spicily offered ideas on three forms of support: (1) Moral and Intellectual, (2) Financial, (3) Cooperation with the Working Scholarship Plan,-providing work in the homes and during the summer.

     Professor Finkeldey "started something" when, in the course of his speech, he hesitatingly suggested a Five Dollar Fund-to provide each teacher with $5.00 per annum for his needs in the way of books and other equipment. He was as much surprised as anyone to find that a "passing of the hat" during his remarks had started his Five Dollar Fund with the sum of $80.00.

     Bishop de Charms, speaking for the clergy, defined the relations of priest, teacher, and layman in our educational uses. In a school whose chief aims are spiritual, the leadership is necessarily vested in the priesthood, but calls for close cooperation on the part of all concerned.

     With songs at intervals, the speeches engendered an enthusiastic sense of united effort in our common cause. The program closed with a showing of the motion pictures taken at the General Assembly in June, Mr. Alexander P. Lindsay, Jr., conducting this feature, which was much enjoyed by all present.

     The Tea and Dance on Saturday were delightful social occasions concluding a highly successful Charter Day celebration.
     W. B. C.

568

ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS 1937

ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS WILLIAM WHITEHEAD 1937

     Announcements.

     The Annual Meetings of the Councils of the General Church of the New Jerusalem will be held at Bryn Athyn, Pa., March 28 to April 2, 1938.
     WILLIAM WHITEHEAD,
          Secretary, Council of the Clergy.