PAST AND THE FUTURE 1961

PAST AND THE FUTURE Rev. HUGO LJ. ODHNER 1961

No. 1

VOL. LXXXI
JANUARY, 1961
     A NEW YEAR ADDRESS

     "From eternity men have not heard, nor perceived by ear, neither hath eye seen, O God, besides Thee, what He hath prepared for him that waiteth for Him." (Isaiah 64: 4)

     It was when he had visioned Jerusalem in ruins and the holy temple burned to ashes that the prophet spoke these words of consolation. To all appearance, the world had conquered; the people chosen of God were defeated and scattered. Yet great Babylon fancied itself a protector as well as master. It contained hundreds of temples and shrines of all the cults of the empire. The worship of Jehovah was not forbidden. But continually there was a pressure upon the Jews to fall in with the practices and customs of their pagan neighbors - shocking practices which earned for Babylon the name of "the mother of harlots and of the abominations of the earth."
     But the prophet foretold that Babylon was to release its prey. The old world was doomed. "For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth," said the Lord. "And the former shall not be remembered, nor oppress the heart. . . . For behold, I create Jerusalem a rejoicing, and her people a joy."*
     * Isaiah 65:17,18
     By some of the captives of Babylon, these words of Divine solace may have been taken to predict a great cosmic convulsion - a miraculous remoulding of the world in favor of Israel. But those used to prophetic hyperbole were satisfied to see in them the promise of the restoration of Israel to its homeland, which indeed took place. Yet the literal fulfilment of prophecy is never complete, and always temporary. What the prophet visioned was not of this earth, or, if so, looked far ahead to events which eye had never seen or man imagined: to spiritual states of life which could be the real fulfilment of the ends of the Divine leading, the real burden of prophecy.
     In a sense, every past church has had the same goal - the creation of a new heaven and a new earth. Each has sought to form new ideals and, at the same time, new outward forms to embody and symbolize these ideals. Each has been inspired by a Divine revelation which gave the conditions under which this new heaven and new earth could be attained. All the dispensational churches except that of Israel realized at some time that the state of life for which the Divine leading prepared them was an immortal life in the spiritual world, where indeed there are both heavens and earths, internals and externals, even as here.
     And although, through human weakness and wickedness, each of the churches of the past - named from Adam, Noah, Eber, Israel, and even that which was established by the Lord Jesus Christ - in time forgot its high function and successively declined towards its spiritual vastation and judgment; yet it can be said that in the aspect of eternity none of them have died: for from each there has been born, albeit with travail, a new heaven and a new earth!
     It is through these heavens of the former churches that the Lord channels and accommodates His inflowing life for men of the present age. Their spheres have gifts to bestow: innocence for the infant and the lover and the wise; charity for the child and the adult; loyalty and moral strength for the youth and the gentile. Therefore the Lord said even to Israel: "As the new heavens and the new earth which I will make shall remain before My face, so shall your seed and your name remain."*
     * Isaiah 66: 22
     Even the "new earth" of each dispensation is perpetuated, not only in heaven but in the world. Each church has left its ineradicable impress upon the ages following - a heritage which is everlasting even on earth. Each new church was based on the revelation of its predecessor. The Ancient Church sought in its rituals to represent a return to the idyllic life of paradise. Israel built its tabernacle in the image of the Ancient Church. Christianity saw in itself a fulfilment of Israel's prophetic function. And the New Church of these latter days, which is the New Jerusalem, inherits both the Christian Word and the older Hebrew Scriptures, as the holy ultimates wherein the eternal truth resides swathed in symbols and correspondences. These sacred words of past revelations are recreated in the Writings as a new earth, as lands on which angels can walk with men.
     When John on Patmos saw a new heaven and a new earth, after the first heaven and the first earth were passed away, he saw the New Church as a city coming down from heaven, and heard the words of God saying, "Behold, I make all things new."

And that which makes all things new is the new doctrine through which the evils and falsities of the past could be judged and rejected so that they would "not be remembered nor oppress the heart," while the Word given to previous churches could be seen in a new light and become translucent with the spiritual sense and purpose which they had been given to convey.*
     * Lord 65
     The past is indeed responsible for grave and far-reaching mistakes - for evils to be held in aversion and for errors to be corrected. Still, every good and true thing which we enjoy today has its roots and origins in the past. There are truths of wisdom which have stood the test of time. There are historic traditions which guarantee liberty and order among men. There are old customs and formalities which express the wisdom of experience and embody the respect due from man to man. There are sacred institutions, ordained by God and hallowed by age, such as marriage and the home, and such as the priesthood and civil government. Not only are these all originally derived from heavenly loves, but they are also founded upon natural instincts which, God-given, have made possible the survival of mankind. And all are embodied in the Divine revelations of the past, which, although each is distinct, yet rest one upon another and thus provide a continuity in the religious perceptions of our race and a unity among the heavens derived from the successive churches.
      And from each of the churches founded of old there are remnants of perception which still survive with men. From the celestial "perceptive" of the Most Ancient Church, when the natural order of the human mind was not yet perverted by self-love, the man of today still retains that gift of common perception that enables him to avoid the absurd and to recognize the simple truths of life. From the Ancient Church he can trace the gift of imagination and poetic art by which he can perceive beauty and truth within the symbolism of nature, find hints of higher values in the ordinary and accustomed routines of speech and ordered action, ad sense the correspondence of the natural world to the living world of the heart and mind. And, finally, the Christian Church, in testifying to the actual incarnation of the eternal Word in earthly flesh, gave weight and value to the study of natural truth, and to historical truth and physical fact, as contrasted with legend and prophecy.
     And in His second coming, the Lord brings back these gifts from the past-perceptive truth, symbolic or representative truth, and natural truth-life the gold and frankincense and myrrh which the wise men laid at His feet at Bethlehem: and he offers them now for the use of His church. And this in order that in the New Church they may all be co-ordinated under the form of rational truth. For in the Writings spiritual truths are revealed in rational form, confirmed by perception, by symbol and by science.

     The churches of the past are not dead. Their name remains. Their seed remains. Their heavens remain. What has died beyond hope of resurrection is their function of administering truth and judgment as earthly agents of the Lord. The Word of God which they once received is now for them a closed book. Yet we are still surrounded by the marvels of creation which spoke aloud to the celestial race, but in an angelic language we no longer understand. Still it is there, this book of nature, for anyone whose heart is lifted up to discern its meaning. We have the Word of the Old Testament, to which, when we read, the angels listen to interpret its terse language into the delights of wisdom. And the New Testament still brings the voice and vision of the Lord in His Divine Human to those who have an ear to hear, although its teachings, from the Lord's own mouth, have been twisted and disowned by the world.
     In the New Church of the never ending future, the Lord shall make all things new. And "from eternity men have not heard . . . nor hath eye seen, O God, besides Thee, what He hath prepared for him that hopeth in Him."
     Viewed in the aspect of eternity, the history of mankind, with its years piling up into centuries and millennia, with its fumbling progress, its tragic failures and fearful triumphs, is but as yesterday when it is past and as a watch in the night. In a sense there is nothing on earth that is new, nothing which does not have its roots in the past. The soil of the present, enriched by the life of the past, can become the matrix of new births. And the past always contains the prophecy of future things, even if only the Lord can reveal them.
     But prophecy is always conditional. Its eternal fulfilments are not reached except by the pure in heart. The captives of Babylon eventually rebuilt their Jerusalem. Yet they never entered into the real fulfilment of prophecy, which comes to those that wait for the Lord. This fulfilment is spiritual - beyond mortal eyes to see. It is within time, yet beyond its reach. The Divine prediction is that the New Church, as foreseen from creation, will endure to eternity as the crown of the four previous churches, and this because it will have true faith and true charity.* In it there will be spiritual peace and internal blessedness of life. It is said that the men of that church will not be in the love of self and in the conceit of their own intelligence, thus not in natural lumen only, but in spiritual light from the Divine truth which the Lord reveals.** They will not be in any externals separated from internals.***

"Every Divine truth in the sense of the letter of the Word with the men of that church is translucent" from the spiritual meaning within.**** And, so the promise goes, in this church the life of love truly conjugial will be restored - which in time can unbend the twisted fibrils of evil inheritance and reform the temper of our race, conjoining men to heaven.*****
     * Coronis Sum. LII.
     ** AR 919.
     *** AR 918.
     **** AR 911.
     ***** CL 534, 202.
     Such are the things which the Lord has prepared for them that hope in Him - things which eye hath not seen and words scarcely suggest. For they describe the realization of that final state within the human race for which all former churches have been a preparation.
     Dare we hope that we may taste of that spiritual peace and internal blessedness of life which are possible within the walls of the New Jerusalem, but which come to those only who approach the Lord alone and shun their evils as sins against Him?
     Is our faith firmly placed in these Divine promises for the future? For the Babylon in which we live resounds with a choice of other prophecies, either predictions of calamities to come, or illusive hopes based on an uneasy faith in human ingenuity. The doubt is raised that even God cannot provide for the generations yet unborn. The plea is made that happiness and progress demand our concurrence with the mass opinions, the sensual tastes, the theories and dictates of a world which no longer recognizes the difference between good and evil.
     The Lord said, "Behold, I make all things new." Yet the struggle of the New Church is not against the old. For old falsities and ancient wrongs can parade in ever new forms. With the increase of knowledge the battleground shifts as man blindly grasps toward greater powers. But knowledge is not truth. Truth - in its many veilings - is from everlasting to everlasting. It is that which judges the evils of every age and year, but tenderly preserves the foundations of progress. And it is this imperishable truth, which time has often hidden and men perverted, that the Lord in His second advent opens and makes new for those who are poor in spirit.
     This new truth, which purifies and sanctifies the old, transcends the senses of man. And it can therefore testify of that eternal life of which ear had never heard before, and can display the ends for which we are born and fashioned. This truth is that which shall create for all mankind new heavens and a new earth, and shall make all things new. Amen.

Lessons: Isaiah 48:1-8, 64:1-4, 65:17-25, 66:22. Coronis (Summary) I, VIII, IX- XVII, XLIX-LIV.
Music: Liturgy, pages 458, 604, 500, 468.
Prayers: Liturgy, nos. 103, 123.

PETTY EVILS 1961

PETTY EVILS Rev. ERIK SANDSTROM 1961

     AN ADDRESS

     (Delivered at the 45th British Assembly, London, August 1, 1960)

     Not very long ago, we enjoyed, in the New Church Club, a paper entitled "Human Rights," the burden of which was to prove that, properly speaking, there are none. A little later, we were treated to a discourse on "Chance," and again the central point was that there is no such thing. The present study might well be regarded as completing the trilogy, for one of the points we must try to demonstrate is that in a sense there is no evil act or word that can be called "petty." Yet we have a "human right" to speak of "chance" as if it were something, and of evils as if some of them had little or no bearing on the process of regeneration, thus classifying them as "petty." We speak according to appearances; and it is all right to do so, provided we do not adopt extremist views, asserting that we have a human right to most of the things our proprium lusts for; persuade ourselves that our lives are ultimately ruled by pure chance-forces controlled by none; or lull our consciences into a state of false peace by insisting that a lot of our bad habits or shortcomings are so petty that they simply do not matter. In a word, we are allowed to converse with one another in the language of appearances, as long as we do not mistake them for truths, or confirm them.
     Now, the issue I have set before myself is perhaps, in some ways, not quite so clear-cut as those of my predecessors. They could say, without qualification, that before the Lord man has no human rights whatever, but can only implore His mercy; and that nowhere and never is anything allowed to happen by chance. But I cannot say, without qualification, that there is no such thing as a petty evil. Let us make this matter clear from the outset. There is, on the one hand, no evil of whatever form - affection, thought, act or speech, and whatever our personal view concerning it - that is not, in the final analysis, derived from the lowest hell; thus, for the individual man, from his inmost proprium. It is well for us to realize this. Small evils do not come from nowhere. They are like the smallest twigs of a tree: these, too, spring from the roots of the tree. Nor is any man individually exempt; for the Writings leave us in no doubt as to the actual inborn nature of the lot of us, as witness the following teaching in the work on the Divine Providence:

"Man from his hereditary evil is always panting towards the lowest hell; but the Lord by His providence is continually leading him away and withdrawing him from it, first to a milder hell, then away from hell, and at length to Himself in heaven".*
     * DP 183.
     That must be the inner pulse of our theme; nor must we forget it even when we talk of petty evils from another viewpoint. The angels do not tolerate anything that they see is in itself evil. They cannot bear any form of it, for they hate the stuff. So it must be with us, too: if we see something apparently trivial with ourselves, and know it to be evil, we must not think that it does not matter, for if we see it, it does matter. It matters because of the origin of the thing.
      However, the other viewpoint is this: that notwithstanding man's innate inclination to the lowest hell, he himself is not that inclination, or inclination is not himself, unless he confirms it by choice. The man himself is the affection, or the love, that he appropriates. That is why we have milder hells; and that is why our evil acts are judged according the ruling affection, or motive, from which they spring. The devils in the mildest hell are bad enough, and certainly deserve no pat on the back; but they have no conscious longing to rule the universe, and to subject each and all mercilessly to their whim and fancy. That insane dream is their masters in the lowest hell. So also with individuals in the world: if they can sense no real delight except when they are in the position to suppress others, then it would appear that their spirits are in with the lowest hell; but if their chief delight is, let us say, to spend a leisurely time feasting on food and drink, and if they do not learn any better, then after death they would get away with a milder hell.
      This, however, refers to evils that cannot be called petty; but the point applies to petty evils, too: that is to say, to the small evils we commit from thoughtlessness or carelessness. These have their inner quality, their trivial appearance, from the ruling proprial affection within us. In that sense there are degrees of petty evils, too. In the light of some of these will testify to a vile character; others will mirror a less vile; and others again, though originating in active and as yet unconquered proprial evils, may be touched, mercifully, by that hidden gentle hand that is called the innocence of ignorance. The latter is the case only when the petty evil in which we indulge is not observed by us, and so is not recognized or known by us to be an evil. But if we see then, of course, there is no innocence of ignorance in it. At that point we either leave it alone, excusing it, and saying within ourselves it is small to bother about; or we do something about it, trying to amend our ways. The latter is repentance brought down to the plane of ultimate petty acts. Bad habits are rarely changed with suddenness.

Yet if there is a recurring effort to change them, then in the sight of the Lord the battle is as good as won; for the effort springs from a new love that is being instilled by the Lord, and that He forms out of our conscience; provided, of course, that the effort is made for the sake of the teaching of the Word. Thus petty evils that remain with us may have within them the innocence of ignorance; or, if they have not disappeared altogether despite our endeavor to get rid of them, there may be within them a small beginning of the innocence of wisdom. But if they are recognized, and yet left alone, then there is no innocence in them at all.
     But what, more precisely, are petty evils? Perhaps the following definition would cover the case: They are external evils not punishable by civil law. But a better definition, and one that is all-embracing, evolves from the Lord's own reference to them when He said: "He that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much."*
     * Luke 16: 10.
     Now the Lord does not limit the scope to unrighteousness only outside the jurisdiction of civil or criminal law. He speaks of any evil at all, particularly as manifest in small things, whether recognized in criminal legislation or not. Our present inquiry, however, is especially directed to minor evils that would fall under the heading of moral law rather than civil law. These are often less dramatic, less talked of, and perhaps less interesting than civil offenses. We would not normally read about them in the newspapers. Also, for the most part they would be limited in their immediate scope to our home, or our own friends and associates; that is, unless we are public figures.
     In this context all our undesirable private habits come under review; as, for instance, acts of irritability, sullenness, carelessness, laziness, unpunctuality, discourtesy, talkativeness, superficiality, and so forth.
     Examples, however, could be multiplied without end, for human beings excel in the art of inventing petty evils of all kinds. Let us look at a few, so that we may have them more clearly in the picture. There is the man who thinks so highly, and in such a servile manner, of another, that he cannot speak and act independently from his own judgment. Again, we have the case of thoughtless language, where substitutes for holy names, like "gosh," are used; or when words known to be in the Word, like "hallelujah," are employed lightly as in sensuous songs. There are the many occasions when prayers are said, for instance, grace at table, and the thoughts and affections are far away from the words we say and the empty motions we go through. Insubordination in small ways, in the home when we are young or in our employment later on, is another example; for instance, when we cheat with regard to the execution of useful instructions.

Talk about a person in his absence that we would not be prepared to repeat in his presence, is another; or the repetition of sensuous and improper jokes, or the laughing approval of such-like; or carelessness with regard to things borrowed from others; or telling little lies to cover up personal failures, or improving a story about the fine things we did or said at some certain occasion, and so forth. Things like these, however petty, are evils, and in their way they testify to the presence of the two loves which are the root of all evils, namely, the love of self and the of merely worldly things. The petty evils, too, are to be shunned as against the Lord. We have constructed our examples under the influence of what the True Christian Religion has to say about the natural of the Ten Commandments.
Now the petty evils in which we habitually indulge exist side by side with a lot of good things we do. We have learned these good things our upbringing when we were children, and we have imitated the ways and traditions of our fellow men after growing up. Thus we act with a certain politeness and decorum. We say "How are you?" and we are sorry somebody is not well; we lend a helpful hand from time to time when opportunity offers; we are reasonably faithful in our duties; we go to church with some regularity; and if we have families we try to establish a respectable home. These good things may in due course be infilled with something spiritual; but in the beginning we come into them more or less as a matter of course, and we do them, not from an interior prompting of conscience, but because of environmental influences.
Providence, however, is in these adopted good habits, too, for they are preparatory. Yet by themselves they are not heavenly, and they do not save. They are the goods of Esau, and it was necessary for Jacob to flee from them. Especially are they the wives of Esau, the daughters of the Hittites, being "a grief of mind unto Isaac and to Rebekah."* Jacob is the mind that is being prepared by the Lord for regeneration. To him Isaac said: "Thou shalt not take a wife of the daughters of Canaan. Arise, go to Padan-aram, to the house of Bethuel thy mother's father; and take thee a wife from thence of the daughters of Laban thy mother's brother." This is the beginning of the miracle of salvation. Jacob is, more specifically, the intellectual part of the natural mind. In this mind we sent to "Padan-aram," the land of "knowledges of truth," consequently, the land of doctrine. There we learn many things, and among them the difference between the daughters of Canaan and the daughters of the family of Abraham and Isaac. The good things which the Jacob-mind is now to assimilate are still external, but they are different from the goods of Esau.

They are not done just because the world expects them to be done. They are not daughters of the Hittites. Instead, they are beginning to be done from an awareness of doctrine - Divine doctrine. They are associated with what the Lord has revealed, and not merely with the traditions of men. This is the beginning of the insinuation of a new essence into them: the essence of religion, the essence of what is spiritual, the essence of Divine and eternal things among men.
     * Genesis 26: 35.
     ** Genesis 28: 1, 2.
     *** AC 3664.
     But let no man think that this is a rapid process or a sudden change. Jacob served seven years for Leah, and yet other seven years for Rachel; and in all it was twenty years before he had his flock ready and it was time to depart from Laban.* Throughout this period a man indulges more or less habitually and thoughtlessly in petty evils of various kinds, and at the same time practices many external good things; and these evils and goods are mixed together. There is much self-merit in man at this time. He wants the good things he does to be recognized and praised, for he sees his own cleverness or his own goodness in them; and he laughs off his petty evils, thinking that they are so small that they are of practically no moment. The words, "He that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much," have no particular force with him, for as yet they do not hit him personally. He has a pretty high regard for himself, and is quick to defend himself when criticized, while thinking nothing of passing judgment on others from his own righteous position. He does not doubt that he will get to heaven, and would feel quite insulted if someone else had doubts for him.
     * Genesis 29: 30, 31: 38.
     All of this makes his good external, and not internal. Doctrine is associated with it, but not conjoined with it. He is still only learning and accumulating riches; but his will itself has not come into possession of the things acquired. He is in Padan-aram, he is serving Laban; and he has not yet his own flock, nor is he in the land of the Divine promise, the land of Canaan which the Lord Himself would give him for an inheritance. And few things illustrate the nature of his good while in Padan-aram better than his way of thinking of heaven. He pictures it as a place, a lovely place, and he would like to go there. Everybody will be good to him, and he will live in the marriage of his dreams. He will do his share, too, but it is obscure to him just what he will do, and not quite so important. Consequently he thinks of heaven from happiness, and not from use. He dwells on the result, and not on that which brings the result. And in this there is a good portion of the love of self, and a good portion of self merit.
     Yet it is in this state that the Lord brings salvation. The Lord takes man as he is, with external good things and petty evils mixed together, and with an external knowledge of doctrine and an external respect for it. The salvation is the separation of the flock of Jacob from the flock of Laban.

It is an absolute necessity. Afterwards Jacob can set off on his journey, to be introduced finally into the land of Canaan.
     And this is the separation. "I will pass through all thy flock this day [said Jacob], removing from thence every small cattle that is speckled and spotted, and every black one among the lambs, and the spotted and speckled among the goats, and these shall be my reward."* Concerning this the Arcana says: "'Removing from thence every small cattle that is speckled and spotted,' signifies that all the good that is the Lord's will be separated wherewith there is mingled evil [signified by the 'speckled'], and falsity [signified by the 'spotted']; 'and every black one among the lambs,' signifies an own that is innocent, which belongs to the good signified by 'Laban'; 'and the spotted and speckled among the goats,' signifies that then all the good of truth in which falsity and evil are mingled shall be His."** This is in reference to the Lord and the glorification of the natural He assumed in the world; but the same principle applies in a correspondential way to the regeneration of the natural mind of man; and, incidentally, this is the only mind, or degree of the mind, that is in need of regeneration.
     * Genesis 30: 32.
     ** AC 3988
     We note particularly that Jacob took to himself "the black among the lambs," leaving for Laban the white among them. This is the heart of the matter; and concerning it we have the Divine revealing, as follows: "In the opposite sense 'white' signifies man's own righteousness, or his own merit; for truth without good is attended with such self-merit, because when anyone does good, not from the good of truth, he always desires to be recompensed, because he does it for the sake of himself; whereas when anyone does truth from good, this good is then enlightened by the light that is from the Lord. . . . Innocence is the very essential of love and charity, consequently of good. A proprium [or an own] that is innocent is to know, acknowledge, and believe, not with the mouth but with the heart, that nothing but evil is from one's self, and that all good is from the Lord; and therefore that what is man's own is nothing but blackness; that is to say, not only the own of his will, which is evil, but also the own of his understanding, which is falsity. When man is in this confession and belief from the heart, the Lord flows in with good and truth, and insinuates into him a heavenly own, which is white and lustrous. No one can ever be in true humility unless he is in this acknowledgment and belief from the heart; for he is then in annihilation of self, nay, in the loathing of self, and thus in absence from self; and in this manner he is then in a state capable of receiving the Divine of the Lord. It is by this means that the Lord flows in with good into a humble and contrite heart.

Such is the own that is innocent, which is here signified by the 'black among the lambs' that Jacob chose for himself; but the white among the lambs is the self-merit that is placed in goods."*
     * AC 3993: 5, 3994: 1,2.
     The blackness in which is innocence with man may be likened to a black coal becoming glowing white when transformed by fire.
     The same theme is present with regard to the speckled and spotted; for being speckled and spotted implies the side by side presence of black and white. Black in that context is the proprial things of the man; and white the insinuation of innocence from the Lord amongst those proprial things.
     Now the love of ruling over others from the love of self, and the love of the world for the sake of self-gratification, can never be made white. There can be no innocence insinuated where there is an infernal essence. But the external good things a man has associated with the teachings of revelation can be transformed by their elevation into the sphere of innocence from the Lord. The remarkable thing is that the mixture that exists with man is of a twofold kind. Not only are there the external good things side by side with a lot of petty evils; but, in addition, not only these good things but also some of the petty evils - namely, those we do from habit without having discovered their evil origin and nature - are under the mixed influence of both the native proprium of man and the remains and their conscience implanted by the Lord after birth. The black and the white are present both externally and internally. And salvation comes when man begins to know this, not only with a kind of lip knowledge, but with the knowledge of his heart. Then it is that the flow from the innate proprium is beginning to be turned away by the Lord, so that gradually it is as it were dried up, whereby the inborn proprium becomes quiescent; and instead the flow from conscience has a new channel, so that the trickling flow from that source need be trickling no more. The process involved is what is meant in the reference in the Word to "the new heart and the renewed spirit" in man.
     This is what is a Divine gift. It comes to man, he knows not how. He begins to sense delight in heavenly things. He loves them. He did not invent that delight, for he could have no foreknowledge whatever of its real nature; nor did he make up his mind to start loving things in a new way. The love with its delight is a gift, given absolutely gratis and from total mercy. But it is given, and can be given, because the external things of man's life, which form the receptacle, have been associated with doctrine; that is to say, because the flock of Jacob has been bred in Padan-aram. Doctrine from Divine revelation, now especially the doctrine we see, understand, and receive from the Writings, is the Divine presence with man in his own station in his natural mind, and in his association with things from self and from the traditions of the world.

Without that presence of the Lord as it were from without, He cannot inflow from within. There is nothing white among the speckled and spotted if not from the Word of the Lord. Nor can the black among the lambs, without that presence, be regarded as innocent lambs.
     Now the question is: How does that presence of the Lord become operative? And here we have a simple law - one that is omnipresent in the Writings, and in the inner pulse throughout the Scriptures of old. It is the shunning of evil as sin. There is no other way of receiving innocence from the Lord. And, we may ask further, what evils? The answer is: all the evils of which we are or may become clearly conscious, including the petty ones. Our petty evils are the outward show of our more serious evils. But even the latter are in a sense relatively petty! that is to say, by comparison with the lusts and persuasions themselves of our proprium. These are beyond our reach, and can be removed only by the Lord - in secret. We have His word: "Cleanse first the inside of the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also"* but this is the inside of our external mind, namely the uppermost level of the things that come within our ken, the things that form our conscious affections and thoughts. We cannot change our ruling love. The Lord alone can do that for us: relegating the old love to the side, and substituting a new one born from Him. The law is as follows: "It is a law of the Divine Providence that man should, as from himself, remove evils as sins in the external man; and thus, and not otherwise, the Lord can remove evils in the internal man, and then at the same time in the external."**
     * Matthew 23: 26.
     ** DP 100.
     In this is the co-operation between the Lord and man. The external mind is the "cup" and the "platter." This is what man must cleanse as of himself: both the inside and the outside. The substance itself on the plate, and the fluid in the cup, will then be exchanged by the Lord.
     Pharisees are good about keeping the outside of the cup clean before the world. They would appear virtually free from petty evils. Instead, the inside is the more unclean, wherefore their cup and platter are only fit to contain "extortion and excess." Others, who would repent, worry so much about the big evils they "probably" have that they neglect to do something about the evils they do see with themselves. Are we so afraid of being Pharisees that we pay no attention to the outside of our cup and platter? And can we truly cleanse the inside if we leave the outside alone? Do not the inside and the outside correspond? Must they not be cleansed together? Can we shun a motive - an affection in our natural mind - or a false attitude or concept, without shunning their outward appearance also?

Is not the fact that we do so little about our petty evils, the outside of the cup and platter, a sign that we do equally little about the inside?
     There is another law, which gives an additional aspect of the process of repentance. It might be called "the law of opposites," and reads: "If man shuns an evil as sin, he comes into the good that is opposite to the evil [and] since this good and that evil are opposites, it follows that the latter is removed by the former."* "By the former." We had earlier: "He that is unjust in the least. . . ." But now let us also have the first part of that text: "He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much." This means forming good habits in small things, from a motive of obeying the order of heaven, so that the petty evils which are opposites may be removed. And the motive for doing this will counter and remove the evil motive which is on the inside of the cup and platter.
     * Life 70, 71.
     Thus is constructive repentance carried out. The man as of himself is cleansing both the inside and the outside of his external man of evils, all of which are small in the sight of the Lord, even if only the outside evils are petty in our view. He sees the infernal content itself of that which comes to our awareness in our external man; and He would remove that content, and so prepare the bread of heaven on a clean platter and the wine of salvation in a clean cup. But He can do nothing for the man who is unjust in the least, for such a one will remain unjust in what is much also.
OUR NEW CHURCH VOCABULARY 1961

OUR NEW CHURCH VOCABULARY 1961

Affection. This term is defined in two ways. Philosophically, affection is said to be a change of the state of the organic substances of the mind - an idea fundamental to the concept of affection and thought as substantial. Doctrinally it is defined as "what is continuous of love." What that means is simply this. Man does not perceive his love itself because it is present in all that he wills and thinks, does and says; but in every state, and in every situation he meets, he is continually moved by evil and falsity, or by good and truth. He is constantly acted upon by one or other of these; and his own evil and falsity, or good and truth, become reactive as a result. That is why the Writings speak of the affection of truth, not the affection for truth. "Affections," on the other hand, are derivations from man's love. The outermost affections, which belong to the body, are called appetites and pleasures; those which are more interior belong to the animus and are called natural affections; while those which are internal are of the rational mind and are called spiritual affections. (See DLW 209, 291; DP 279. AC 3938. AR 875; AC 3849.)

CHARTER DAY ADDRESS 1961

Rev. GEOFFREY S. CHILDS 1961

     (Delivered at the Cathedral Service, October 28, 1960.)

     The founders of the Academy were inspired by a great vision - a vision that moved them deeply, and to which they dedicated their lives. This was the vision of the establishment of the New Church upon earth - that wondrous future state when the "holy city, New Jerusalem," shall "come down from God out of heaven";* not just into a few hearts, but universally throughout the earth. This vision, this perception of and hope for the future, led directly to the establishment of the Academy as an educational institution, and to that securing of the charter which we celebrate today.
     * Revelation 21: 2.
     The pageantry and procession with which we mark this day - and, in fact, this very service of commemoration - may be hollow and empty forms, or they may be the ultimates of a growing faith and conviction within our church. It depends on whether or not we have kept faith with the vision that inaugurated the Academy. In one sense, these things that we say are truisms; but in another they express standards by which we may judge our life's motivation, and our lip and external dedication to the Academy concept. How do we "keep faith" with all that was inspiring in the cause of our early church?
     Not by a loyalty to the vision of the truth as they saw it, with a cold, intellectual development as our banner of progress! Such sheer intellectual development has a sweet appeal, flattering as it does the grace of our mental creativity. But in a probing expose of this approach the book of Revelation teaches: "Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write: I know thy works, and thy labor, and thy patience. . . . Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love. Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place."* The danger of falling into intellectualism alone, into faith alone, is so much with us that it is frightening. We have the advantage, however, of knowing the enemy and his power of persuasion; and, also, we have knowledge of that only method which cuts through and disperses his sphere.
     * Revelation 2: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
     This method is the shunning of evils as sins against the Lord. Unless this is done, all that we produce is mere verbiage!

And if it is done, then we are on the path of development and growth, of keeping faith with our "first love." It is the keeping of this first premise of religion, the shunning of evil as sin, that leads to the vitality of the second premise of our movement. This second, vital premise is that each generation must see the vision of truth for itself: that each generation must heed the words of the Lord that the "doctrinals of the church . . . are not true because the leaders of the church have said so, and their followers confirm it."* The truth of the Writings is livingly seen only when we go to them directly and study them from the affection of truth. And then our own vision, our own perception, may come, if we pray to the Lord in humility for this greatest of gifts.
     * AC 6047: 2.
     Once this vision is given, we are at one, in essentials, with the founders of the Academy. Apart from time and space, we have the potential of a "union [with them] in uses Divine." Reflection on this may lead us back, with a strong nostalgia, to the early days of the Academy. The belief of its founders in the vital need for New Church education is still the vision of our lives. But how isolated they must have felt in their beginnings! In moments of discouragement they must have despaired over the smallness of their numbers and the apparent hopelessness of their cause. Their loyalty in adversity gave us what we have today, and for that we owe an inexpressible debt of gratitude.
     Yet, in many ways, are we not still in the same position as the Academy was in its beginning? In numbers we are still very small; and, in a hostile world, our cause at times appears hopeless. When we would be overwhelmed with despair on account of these things, there are certain encouragements that can carry us along in continued dedication to uses.
     The strongest encouragement is from the Lord in His Word. We read: "And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars. And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up to God, and to His throne. And to the woman were given two wings of a great eagle, that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the face of the serpent."*
     * Revelation 12: 1, 5, 14.
     The general meaning of this passage is well known within the church. The "woman clothed with the sun" is the New Church - the final church and the crown of all the churches upon the earth.* Her "man child" is the doctrine of truth, and, firstly, the truths about the Lord now revealed.** That the woman is taken to a wilderness signifies that at first the church will be among a very few.

The encouragement in this is the clear promise of the Lord that He will protect the New Church in its infancy; that in the wilderness she will be safe from "the face of the serpent."
     * AE 707.
     ** Ibid. 724b.
     This Divine protection does not imply a static state in the church; it does not encourage any quiet contentment with the status quo. For in the wilderness the woman is "nourished"; and the taking in of spiritual food and drink means spiritual growth, or the increase of spiritual good. From whence does this good come? Not from ourselves, certainly, for of ourselves we are evil. It must come from the Lord, who alone is the source of all good. But note this: it comes not only directly from the Lord as we shun evils as sins, it comes also indirectly as an influx from the New Heaven. For it is revealed that the church on earth will grow as that heaven grows, that we are dependent on influx from this heavenly source.
     And herein is a second cause of deep encouragement. There is with us, potentially, a tremendous spiritual power. As we shun our basic evils, the New Heaven with its wondrous sphere inflows into our hearts and thoughts, vivifying and bringing warmth. And in this, we may reflect, those whom we have loved in the past generations of the church are not gone. They are with us, surely and fully, protecting those Divine uses which they love. What is finest in the characters of those who have passed on is with us in great strength; all that we have to do is to open our hearts to its influx. The dedication and steadfastness of the early Academy, then, are still with us: they are ours to build with.
     But how does the church build? How does it grow? We have spoken of the influx of good that comes with the shunning of evil. Yet man's ability to shun evil depends on his knowledge of what evil is; and evil, in its interior ramifications, is unbelievably subtle. So also progression into good, into higher goods, calls for a knowledge of higher truths. All this means what the Writings themselves state clearly - the growth of the church depends on its understanding of the Writings. The church can grow only as its knowledge and perception of truth grow. This means that we cannot rest content with past understanding of the doctrines.
     Thus, for instance, the "Academy principles" which mean so much to us as a heritage from the past are not final. They are humanly written, not Divinely written, doctrine. This means inevitably a modifying and refining of these past concepts in the light of a deepening understanding of the Writings. The basic premises of these principles, we believe, will always be true with the New Church on earth: that is, such basic truths as that there is one only Lord, Jesus Christ, and that the Writings are His Divinely authoritative Word. But we will see these truths ever more deeply.

And beyond this, additions will be made to these principles from progressing perceptions; and perhaps certain modifications, where earlier limitations of thinking are clearly seen. But we must remember that true insights come only from the Lord, from the light of His Word. "In Thy light shall we see light."*
     * Psalm 36: 9
     Certainly the first of all duties of the church while she is in the wilderness is the shunning of evil. This alone maintains the influx of the New Heaven into the church on earth. This alone maintains the heartbeat of true civilization on earth, the heartbeat of the grand man of the church universal. But the church is among the few, in its early states, for special and Divine reasons. One of these, we suggest, is the building of the bastions of our doctrine, spiritual and natural, against the great wars that are to come. For once the church becomes widely known, once the Writings are seen as a force to be reckoned with, then attacks will be made against us by enemy intellectuals. It can be prophesied safely that their brilliance and cunning will be of the first order, and that their venom will have all the poison of the infernal serpent. Now, when we have peace, is certainly the time to prepare.
     Such preparation calls for progress in two areas. It calls for interior penetration into the doctrines of the Writings; and it calls for the perceptive, true application of these Divine doctrines to the sciences and the arts. The first work is, fundamentally, that of the priesthood: penetration into deeper truth is the sign of spiritual life in the priesthood. But the application of interior doctrine, that is the work of scholars and educators. It is a work of the Academy. We are told that the Man Child was to "tend all nations with a rod of iron." This signifies, it is revealed, that "by truths from the sense of the letter of the Word, and, at the same time, by rational things from natural light," those in evils and falsities will be "convinced" or "refuted."* The "rod of iron is truth applied to natural things; and this will convince those who are able to be convinced, and refute those who are not.
     * AR 544; AE 726.
     Here is a challenge, then, to the scholars of the church! We have no "rod of iron" unless we develop a true philosophy about the natural sciences; unless we are able, rationally and clearly, to apply the doctrines to the sciences and the arts. One method of seeing true applications is through comparison with the false theories of the world. The negatives of the so-called "educated" uncover almost every pitfall and danger we face, and through contrast they truly educate. We build bastions of defense as we know and can answer the source-philosophies of negative thinking - such as the implications of evolution hinted at by Darwin, but preached baldly by Bergson and a thousand modern, shallow thinkers.

Even those whose names are greatest in philosophy, such men as Spinoza and Francis Bacon and Kant, put forward false premises that can be used to attack the Man Child. These giants of philosophy will have successors even more adroit in misguided theorizing. Our challenge is to meet them on their own plane, and defeat them from the revealed principles given in the final Divine revelation; and, at the same time, to build structures of serene thought, isolated from outside pressures - structures of philosophy built through application of the Writings to expanding scientific and artistic discoveries.
We have stated that the development of interior doctrine is fundamentally the work of the priesthood. Yet such development is the very soul of the Academy, the source of all spiritually powerful education. Penetration into interior doctrine means, above all else, a stress upon the study of the doctrine of the Lord. The glorification must be studied, and reflected upon deeply; for herein is the very Man Child who is to grow into the visibly perceived glorified Human. And it is safe to say that we have just started the study of this celestial doctrine in the church. As our knowledge and perception of it deepen, so will our understanding of regeneration, of conjugial love, and of education. In the development of the Lord's mind from infancy to adulthood, as unfolded in the Arcana, there are worlds of information about true education; worlds we now visualize only vaguely. What a wonder of development awaits us! - leading to the Divine miracles of increasing conjugial love, deepening childhood remains, increasing love for and understanding of the Lord our Maker.
The prophecy is that the Man Child, who was caught up into heaven, will in time rule all nations. The church will be universally established in the hearts and minds of men on earth. And essential to the accomplishment of this will be the Academy in its work of the spiritual education of the young. This was the vision of the founders. It is the vision that we ourselves honor today. And it will not die, as long as our love of the Lord does not die.
SWEDENBORG TESTIFIES 1961

SWEDENBORG TESTIFIES 1961

"The Lord our Savior foretold that He would come again into the world and institute a New Church. . . . But as He cannot come again into the world in person, it was necessary that He should do it by means of a man, who should not only receive the doctrine of that church with his understanding but should also publish it by means of the press; and as the Lord had prepared me for this from my childhood, He manifested Himself in person before me, His servant, and sent me to do this work" (Swedenborg to the Landgrave of Hesse-Darmstadt: Docu. II, p. 387).

INHABITED UNIVERSE 1961

INHABITED UNIVERSE Rev. FREDERICK L. SCHNARR 1961

     (The first in a series of eight articles)

     1. INTRODUCTION

     Perhaps no subject has so stirred the imagination of mankind as the consideration of the great boundless universe which stretches out before man in all directions. Looking into the great sky above, he is awed and mystified at so vast a panorama. In thinking of his own insignificant size in comparison to this infinity of space that seems to have no end, he is grasped by something of fear and terror of the great unknown. "What is man, that Thou art mindful of him?" He tries to form in his mind some idea of the significance of millions and billions of space miles separating planets and solar systems, and is so hopelessly staggered that he can form no clear concept. He tries to number the stars, only to find that with each new examination there are untold multitudes that had not been observed before. He studies the mighty forces of energy observable on earth; and if he is awed by these, what can he think of the fantastic forces and energies that operate throughout the universe to hold it together in perfect order? Before these he is utterly stupified. He is a finite man, limited and bounded - a little created form that seems nothing but a mere speck: and what he sees before him, and what he endeavors to encompass in thought and imagination, is the natural image and reflection of the power and infinity of God, the Almighty Creator, Preserver and Ruler of all things.

     The Idea of God Determines that of the Universe

     What ideas and imaginings affect man when he beholds the created universe depend upon the idea that he has formed about God, His nature, and His purpose in forming creation. The man who makes the forces of nature to be God makes creation, with all its various forms, to be an accident, without intelligence, without purpose. It is a material giant that has no definable beginning and no definable end. Human life is an accident, something that can happen only once in billions of chances; and it must therefore be concluded that it would not be likely that this same accident could occur on other planets, and supposed that the only human life anywhere in the universe is here on this earth.*
     * It is needless to quote from the endless stream of articles advancing these ideas which represent the prevailing attitude of our time. They may be found in magazines for popular consumption and in the erudite articles of supposedly reputable scientists.

     An example of how those who have adopted this attitude reason about the existence of anything that is not material is the endeavors they make to explain the appearance of a star at the time the Lord was born. First, they have to acknowledge that something unusual happened in the way of a light in the sky at the time of the Lord's birth, for there is an abundance of testimony to that effect. But since they deny the existence of God, and that Jesus Christ was God, they will not believe that the star was the appearing of an angelic society. Who believes in angels, anyway? Thus they put forth the following possibilities for the appearance of the star.
     It might have been a bright meteor. Yet they acknowledge that meteors are too transient to light so long a journey as the travelers are supposed to have taken from Persia and Arabia. 2) It might have been a comet - one appeared in 11 B.C., and another in 4 B.C. These dates, unfortunately, do not fit the chronology of the Lord's life; besides, comets viewed by the naked eye are not seen for more than a few months at the most, and very seldom for that long. 3) An old star might suddenly have burst into exceptional brilliance, or an unusual conjunction of planets, namely, Saturn, Jupiter and Mars, might have temporarily hidden Venus, and when Venus reappeared it seemed to them to be a bright new star.*
     * Harper's Bible Dictionary: from a report by the Hayden Planetarium, N.Y., on "The Christmas Star."

     To most religious men who view the universe as the creation of God there is something of fear, terror and mystery, curiously woven together with a feeling of awe, reverence and humility, in their approach to and idea of it. There is a multitude of various conceptions from such mixed feelings, ranging from innocent, simple wonderment to a perverted image that contains only reflections of what is monstrous and infernal. This latter is more increasingly the case as the knowledge of the Lord, His qualities, and His purpose in creation is submerged in the falsities of present-day religions and married to the ruling attitudes of science. From this strange marriage there has arisen, indirectly, the fearsome form of science-fiction, almost entirely presenting human life on other planets as distorted, ugly, evil, and in monstrous perversion of the human form. We may laugh at such forms of literature, and think no more of them than as of something amusing or perhaps temporarily thrilling. But whether we regard them in this manner or not, they nevertheless portray attitudes of religious conviction which have a subtle relationship to the attitude and belief concerning the nature and quality of the Lord. Recall the prank played on the American people the night of Hallowe'en, 1938, when Orson Welles presented a radio broadcast of H. G. Wells' War of the Worlds. The broadcast opened with dance music, which was interrupted by a series of news flashes.

The first of these reported a gas explosion on Mars; the second, an earthquake tremor in New Jersey; and finally there was a report from Grovers Mills, New Jersey, describing a huge, cylindrical spaceship out of which came monsters armed with death rays. Thousands of people who heard this broadcast, apparently believing it to be true, locked their homes, wept and prayed. Phone lines were tied up from coast to coast, with people in utter panic. The greatest hysteria was in the southern states among the more poorly educated; however, it was by no means limited to the poorly educated. Think of the number of educated people during the last decade who have caught the flying saucer craze, including, we might note with sorrow, some members of the New Church.

     Prevailing Attitudes and Some Results

     What is notable in all of these things is the constant insistence on presenting any forms of life, other than those of our own planet, as inhuman, weird, grotesque, brutal, animalistic, and, above all, mysterious and eerie. Wherein in these presentations is there any evidence of a God of intelligence and love with any over-all purpose for the peoples He has created? Wherein is there any idea of what is human in the image of God, of what is beautiful and intelligent, with something of dignity and respect? What is evidenced in the attitudes of both current science and religion concerning the nature and purpose of the great universe is abyssmal ignorance of the Lord, His nature and purpose, and a colossal conceit of our own intelligence and importance in creation. Many, believing that we are the only humans in the universe - the top products of a single evolutionary process on this earth - think of us as supreme forms of intelligence, all humans in the past having been lesser forms. Many who grant that there may be other forms of human life elsewhere in the universe nevertheless cannot seem to help placing us at the top of the ladder, if not in scientific achievement and mental prowess, yet still in the more important aspects of life which make us symbols of humanitarian qualities.
     Do we wonder why the peoples of other planets hold us in such poor respect? Inevitably when Swedenborg approached the spirits from other planets, both in our solar system and out of it, the spirits, observing that he was from the earth, at first either fled from him, or shied away, endeavoring to avoid him. Such was the reputation of earthmen among them. But more of this later.
     The prevailing attitudes of science and religion have so eaten their way into the fabric of our thought that even in the New Church, and sometimes even with those who claim as mature adults to accept the Lord in His second coming, there is somewhat of hesitation about accepting the teachings of Earths in the Universe, and the particular information revealed about the nature and life of the inhabitants of other planets.

Why should this be, unless it is inspired by the influences of our day? Certainly, the feeling is not inspired by the Lord, or by the angels! Sometimes when we are in the presence of those not in the church, and who are, perhaps, well educated, we would feel a sense of embarrassment in bringing forth our teachings on this subject; and while this may be from shyness, or from a plain lack of knowledge about the subject, sometimes it may be also because we really have a doubt about these teachings ourselves - a doubt which is strong enough to verge on denial. Recently the information that has been gathered by science about the moon - which information would seem to confirm that there is not, nor could be, any life on the moon - has tended to raise remarks and statements by some New Church men expressing doubt about, and even denial of, the teachings of Earths in the Universe. If the teachings given about the peoples of the moon are erroneous, how about the rest?

     The Universe a Reflection of the Divine Human

     Now we have noted that there is a very close relationship between man's conception of God as a Divinely-Human God, a Divine Man, and his conception of the nature of the created universe. If we are to understand why it was important for the Lord to reveal to us the nature and life of the inhabitants of other planets, and therefore the use of that knowledge as part of the doctrine of the New Church, we must see the importance of man's being able to regard the universe as a reflected image of the Lord's Divine-Human qualities. The prime purpose of all Divine revelation is to teach man about the nature and quality of the Lord, and the Lord's purpose in forming His creation. This must be first in importance, for on man s conception of the Lord rest the nature and quality of all his thoughts, his conclusions, his affections, his loves, and everything else he considers, whether of natural or spiritual import. This is a profound teaching, and one which our minds do not readily grasp, yet can grasp with study and reflection.
     The major reason, then, that the Lord has revealed in His second coming many things concerning the nature of the inhabited universe is to teach man various things about the Lord and His heavenly kingdom which man cannot otherwise know, but which are important to his concept of the Lord and His creation. We are invited in the Writings to partake of this revealed knowledge of the universe by the statement that this knowledge is for those who are desirous of being instructed by the Lord.*
     * AC 9581
     In contrast to the distorted and lifeless picture of the universe which man has conjured up from his own intelligence, the Writings present a picture of the universe as formed and ordered by the Lord with infinite purpose and intelligence: a universe that teems with a multitude of human life, of different dispositions and temperaments; yet all created to become angels of heaven, each, with his human qualities and abilities, to take his special place in the great and beautifully ordered plan of the Lord's kingdom.

Each man from each earth is a distinct and different form of human life, with his own Divinely given use to perform in the grand scheme of the Lord's creation. The heavens formed from the men of each earth act together with each other in a constant and eternal interplay of communication which serves to bring untold varieties of ever new delights to everyone in heaven.
     We are told that the Lord views the heavens from the entire universe as one Gorand Man - one Gorand Man of related uses, that is, and not of physical form. The heavens formed from a single earth are likened to the uses that a single organ of the body performs in order to keep the other organs healthy and strong. The uses performed by the men of various earths are therefore likened to different organs or parts of the physical body. Our earth, for example, is said to serve the uses relating to the skin and to the external parts of the Gorand Man.
     The Writings tell us that there are many thousands of earths in the universe, and, indeed, many solar systems which are inhabited by human beings.* Swedenborg, in talking to the spirits of Mercury about this, was told by them that they knew of earths in the universe numbering hundreds of thousands which were populated; and they were surprised that we on earth should have so little judgment as to think that ours was the only inhabited earth.** We would note that one passage in the Spiritual Diary mentions that there are 600,000 inhabited earths in the universe.*** This was the number known to the spirits of Mercury. However, other considerations indicate that there are many more inhabited planets than the spirits from Mercury knew about, indeed millions. In another passage, from the Arcana, we read that "where there is an earth, there is man; for man is the end for the sake of which every earth was created; and nothing has been made by the supreme Creator without a purpose. That the end of creation is the human race, that there may be a heaven formed from it, can be seen by everyone who thinks from reason. The angels also say that an earth cannot subsist apart from the human race, because the Divine provides all things on an earth for the sake of man."****
     * AC 6695, 6696
     ** AC 6927
     *** AC 3264
     **** AC 9237

     Why There are so Many Inhabited Earths

     Why should there be so many inhabited solar systems and planets? Can the Lord manage thousands as well as He can manage one?

The Lord's delight is to give His life and love to others, and if He has infinite power and capacity to give these to countless billions of peoples, why should He not do so? Surely a power and intelligence great enough to establish the wide reaches of the physical universe also has the power to rule and govern properly each and every form that He places in the universe? And why limit our thought of that infinite power and intelligence to present creation? How about the formation and government of all the untold multitudes that now exist in heaven and hell from the various earths in the universe for untold years? We cannot begin to grasp in the least degree the capacity and ability of the Lord's infinity when we begin to think of its extensions. We are at a loss, and become utterly frustrated. Nevertheless, we can understand something of the nature and quality of the Lord's infinite powers, and His infinite intelligence, through the forms of truth He has adapted to our comprehension. We can understand enough to acknowledge the reality and the purpose. We do not need to think in terms of space and time to see and acknowledge the nature of use and purpose, or of love and wisdom. And that is why the little, finite mind of man can approach and love the infinite God of heaven and earth.*
     * AC 6697
     We noted previously another reason for there being so many inhabited solar systems and planets, namely, that from the heavens formed out of the different solar systems and planets the Lord is able to perfect the universal heaven, making it possible for an endless variety of different delights to be communicated from one society of heaven to another. We are specifically taught that the Lord could not have formed heaven from the angels of one earth.* To achieve the Divine end of providing men with eternal states of happiness and delight the Lord had to create many earths, and heavens from them. That there are many inhabited earths, therefore, is an essential part of the Divine plan of creation.**
     * See AC 9441.
     ** Ibid.
     Concerning the general relationship of the heavens that are formed from the different earths, we are taught that after death, spirits and angels are separated from each other according to the earths on which they had lived. Indeed we are taught that the heavens and hells from each earth remain in close association with the inhabitants of their own earth. When the Writings say that the angels and spirits of each earth are separated from those of other earths, they mean that these do not have an open and conscious communication with each other. They do not talk together, or even see each other. However, even though they are thus separated, there is a communication of spheres between them which is a means of conveying, unconsciously, innumerable varieties of delight.

Only in the highest heaven do the angels from different earths associate; and this is possible because they have learned to love spiritual things to the degree that all natural things are of no importance to them. Matters of race, genius, and other similar things are blanked out of their lives entirely by love to the Lord and the neighbor.*
     * AC 6710, 7078
     We would note yet one other general teaching before we begin, in our next article, the study of the individual earths; and that is that Swedenborg, in talking to, and learning of, the peoples of other planets, never conversed directly with the earthly inhabitants of the planets, but only with the spirits and angels from them. Mostly he conversed with the spirits of each planet - those passing through the three states of the world of spirits who were not yet angels. We have not found the reason for this given anywhere in the Writings, at least directly; but we would suppose that because much of what Swedenborg learned about the other planets related partly to natural knowledge, and because there is some remembrance of this in the states of the world of spirits, most conversations were with such spirits. Obviously he could not speak openly to the earthly inhabitants themselves for the same reason that no spirits are permitted so to speak to us, namely, that it infringes on our spiritual freedom.

     Use of the Knowledge Revealed

     The knowledge of the inhabited universe which the Lord has revealed to us may do much to develop an understanding of the Lord's power, His infinite nature, His Divine love and wisdom. It may also do much in helping us to humble ourselves; to curb the conceit and self-intelligence that seem to arise, especially from the learning of scientific data, when this is not overruled by the wisdom of spiritual truth. We see the state of our earth in relation to that of other earths, and in so doing we have the means of seeing ourselves in better perspective: not gloriously as the top stratum of human intelligence, but as the lowly foot, which, though needed for the support of the body, tends to run wild in different directions and to kick at the traces of order. We see the great power of evil as it raises its head in many different ways of life and under many different guises.
     What is wonderful, however, is to view the starry heaven stretching in every direction, not as a cold, mysterious abyss wherein there is what is eerie, non-intelligent and non-human, but as a natural paradise of God. What is wonderful is to view it as such a paradise wherein are many humans much like us, of many different qualities, each with a different use, but all our spiritual comrades; learning of, and loving, the same one Lord of the universe as we do.

CHICAGO DISTRICT ASSEMBLY 1961

CHICAGO DISTRICT ASSEMBLY ALEXANDER MCQUEEN 1961

     GLENVIEW, ILLINOIS, OCTOBER 14 - 16, 1960

     The Chicago District Assembly was blessed with fine and mild weather, a fitting external for the sphere of friendship and use which prevailed throughout the meetings and social gatherings. First on the program was a buffet supper in Pendleton Hall on Friday evening, October 14. As people entered the hall, opportunity was given them to shake hands with Bishop and Mrs. George de Charms.

     First Session. By 9:00 p.m., the diners had gathered in the nearby assembly hall, where, after a prayer and a reading from the Spiritual Diary, they were welcomed by the Rev. Elmo C. Acton, who then declared open the first session of the Assembly. Bishop De Charms greeted the members and friends, and then proceeded to deliver the episcopal address: "How Man's Life on Earth Differs from His Life after Death." That the address was received intently and intelligently may be assumed from the fact that when the time came for questions and comments, only a few listeners rose to their feet - and they all had something worthwhile to ask or contribute.

     Second Session. The second session opened at 10:00 a.m., on Saturday with a meeting of the Corporation of the Midwest Academy, the Rev. Elmo C. Acton presiding, with Mr. Ralph Junge as secretary. Mr. Junge read the Minutes of the previous meeting, which were duly accepted, and various committees were then called on to submit their reports. Mr. Ralph Synnestvedt, Jr., reporting on progress, stated that the "Gladish Lane Property" is being purchased by the Midwest Academy, and that the ground should be cleared to remove the property from the tax rolls. A motion authorizing clearing of the land was approved. Mr. Geoffrey S. Blackman, treasurer, then presented the financial report, which was accepted.
     The Rev. Elmo C. Acton, chairman, in the course of his remarks, pointed out that "the new thing we have begun is the support of a school by a district of the church." He explained that the first goal is the establishment of a tenth grade in Glenview in 1963 - 1964. At this point in the meeting, a constructive and encouraging letter from the Rev. Frederick L. Schnarr was read.

Mr. Schnarr, now of Washington, D. C., was formerly active in promoting the uses of the Midwest Academy. Election of officers was next in order, and the three incumbents were unanimously re-elected to the Board of Directors: the Rev. Elmo C. Acton, Messrs. Robert I. Coulter and Kenneth Holmes.
     Secretary Ralph Junge presented a report from his committee and then introduced Mr. Kenneth Holmes, who addressed the meeting on "The True Nature of New Church Education." Building problems and costs were discussed by several speakers, including Mr. John Barry, who had some interesting statistics. Mr. Neil Caldwell, of the banking fraternity, spoke on the budget.
     In the course of remarks by various speakers, the point was made that the Midwest Academy, although a separate organization, is one in spirit with the Academy of the New Church in Bryn Athyn. The Bishop, in closing, stressed the fact that we are all working for the same spiritual and educational end. He thanked the committees, whose presentations at this meeting showed that they had done a great deal of constructive research. The meeting and session then adjourned.

     Third Session. The third session was held at 3:00 p.m., on Saturday afternoon. Bishop De Charms, presiding, opened the meeting with the Lord's Prayer and a reading from the Writings. Some time was devoted to considering whether it would be well for the Detroit Society to affiliate with the Chicago District. The Rev. Norman H. Reuter, of Detroit, spoke in favor of such a move, which seemed to be appropriate for geographic and other reasons. The Rev. Elmo C. Acton offered the following resolution: 'That we receive with delight the Detroit Society as a member of the Chicago District Assembly, and suggest that the name might be changed to Midwestern Assembly." This was passed unanimously. It was understood, however, that the Detroit-Chicago action would await confirmation by the Bishop. Bishop De Charms, in the course of later remarks, expressed the hope that Sharon Church in Chicago might soon again have a resident pastor.
     The address at the third session was by the Rev. Elmo C. Acton. Entitled "Love is Life," it was designed to answer the question: What is love? It was received with appreciation and applause, and was referred to by the Bishop as a "profound and direct explanation of what the Writings teach on the nature of love."

     Banquet. The Assembly banquet, held in Pendleton Hall on Saturday evening, was in every way a success. Toastmaster Alan Childs, introducing the various speakers, used brains and brevity. Two formal speeches were made: by Mr. Kenneth Holmes on "New Church Education as a "Movement," and by the Rev. Jan H. Weiss on "New Church Education as a Practical Challenge."

     Bishop De Charms spoke in appreciation of Glenview hospitality, and votes of thanks were extended to the accommodation committee and the catering committee. The latter, under the able management of Mr. Bert Henderson and his associates, who selected and cooked the food for all meals, received unanimous praise, which applied also to the young men and ladies who waited on table.

     Other Events. After the banquet, the Board of Directors of the Midwestern Academy held a special meeting, and an "open house" for the young people was announced. This brings to mind that there were many informal gatherings during the Assembly, held in the hospitable homes around the Park. Most of the members from a distance were housed with Immanuel Church families.

     Sunday. On Sunday, October 16, there were two services: a family service at 9:45, largely for the children, who thronged the church; and a service for adults at 11:00 am., when the Bishop's sermon was on "The Merit of Righteousness." This second service was followed by an administration of the Holy Supper.
     On Sunday afternoon luncheon was provided at Pendleton Hall. Visitors then began to take their leave of Glenview, to return to their homes with memories of an inspiring and satisfying experience.
     ALEXANDER MCQUEEN
MEETINGS OF CHARITY 1961

MEETINGS OF CHARITY 1961

"Meetings for social intercourse were held in the primitive Church among those calling themselves brethren in Christ. These were meetings of charity because there was a spiritual brotherhood. This social intercourse served further to give consolation in the adversities of the Church, to express joy for its increase, and also as a recreation of mind after study and labor, and an opportunity for conversations on various subjects; and because all these flowed from spiritual love as from a fountain, they were rational and moral from their spiritual origin" (True Christian Religion, 434)

IN OUR CONTEMPORARIES 1961

     Writing in the Glasgow Manual on the phrase "never had it so good," the Rev. Alan Gorange says, in part: "The above phrase, which has so strikingly enriched our literature, implies that the material standard of life has risen spectacularly. Let us accept that most people think that they have never had it so good. Are they flocking to church to thank God for their unprecedented prosperity? Are they careful to ensure that their new mobility does not interfere with church attendance? If they are, then we are having it good, both materially and spiritually. If, on the contrary, people are bent on pleasure-seeking, thoughtless of Divine things, then, though materially it was never so good, spiritually we have never had it so rotten."

     In his address of welcome to Convention delegates, as published in the Journal of the General Convention, the Rev. Immanuel Tafel said: "The Chicago Society consists of all New-Churchmen in the Chicago area who have not withdrawn from the Society to form the Good Shepherd Community Church in Des Plaines." This will be news to those New Church men and women in the Chicago area who belong to the Immanuel Church in Glenview and to the Sharon Church in Chicago. The persistence with which some persons within Convention use the term, New Church, in a manner which implies that Convention is all the New Church there is, at least in North America and continental Europe, may indicate nothing more than thoughtlessness; but it must continue to be a source of real if minor irritation to those who believe they may lay equal claim to the name, although for "other reasons" they are not a part of Convention.

     An editorial in the NEW-CHURCH MESSENGER last summer considered the possibility of biennial or triennial sessions of Convention instead of the present annual session. Points of view both pro and con were presented later in letters to the editor. Commenting on the discussion, the president of Convention, the Rev. David P. Johnson, expresses the belief that when Convention has grown considerably, Association or other regional gatherings will not only be useful but may be essential to provide for the efficient handling of business and the fellowship now found in the comparatively small Convention sessions. He wonders, however, and invites serious consideration of the matter, whether Convention as a church would be willing to delegate more authority to the General Council, the Council of Ministers, and perhaps the General Pastors, which would certainly seem necessary if such a change were to be made.

Mr. Johnson's second point has no application to us, perhaps; but there has been a feeling among us that as the General Church grows, National and District Assemblies will become increasingly important to the development and welfare of our own body.

According to the NEW-CHURCH HERALD there are ministers and laymen in the General Conference who believe that their church is passing through a critical period. In a forthright article the Rev. B. S. Willmott speaks of declining attendances and a very small number of ministers; and a layman, Mr. John R. Sanctuary, alarmed at the dwindling number of young ministers and the reasons for some of these men leaving the full-time work of the ministry, contributes a thoughtful analysis of the spiritual and natural difficulties faced by the clergy. His appeal is for adequate support: not only monetary support, but support of the use of the priesthood, without which the work is onerous indeed. Recent issues have contained equally outspoken articles: one asking seriously, on the basis of performance, whether the societies really want pastors. As might be expected, the crisis believed to exist is faced soberly in these articles, without hysteria or desire to minimize its importance. The facts are faced, but without despondency, and the appeal is for an end of the defeatist attitude which says that there is no future for the church. Such a powerful and reasoned appeal for a re-appraisal of attitudes must surely be productive of good.
NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS 1961

NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS Rev. ORMOND ODHNER 1961

In our notes on the daily readings last month, we did not have space in which to comment on a unique teaching found in the introductory portion of Coronis. Before doing so now, however, we would urge new readers of this part of the Writings to read through the title page of the work, and to follow that with a study of the "translator's note" by the Rev. John Whitehead. That should be done also with the translator's note at the beginning of Invitation to the New Church, which is started this month. This may alleviate the new reader's surprise when he finds Coronis breaking off abruptly in the middle of a section, and may also help to explain the jerky style and apparent lack of continuity in the Invitation.

     In Coronis, Summary LII reads: "This New Church, truly Christian, which at this day is being established by the Lord, will endure to eternity." As far as we know, that is the only place in the Writings where this is flatly stated in just so many words; although it is implied, of course, in such statements as "this New Church is the crown of all the churches that have hitherto existed on earth."*
     * TCR 787.
     The New Church will endure to eternity! It comforting thought. This church does not have to end. In its revelation is truth inexhaustible: truth continuous from the Lord, into which men of all future ages, wiser than we, will penetrate ever more deeply. Divine truth has now been revealed in a form suitable to the rational mind, and man can be conscious on no higher plane of the mind while on earth.
     The New Church will endure to eternity. The fall of the Most Ancient Church was not inevitable, of course; it fell because the men of that church made the origin of evil in themselves. Once that church had fallen, however, the Lord's incarnation and glorification did become inevitable. The Ancient Church, it follows, could never have sufficed to eternity; nor could the Jewish. Something more was needed.
     But might not the Christian Church have been final church, the "crown of all the churches"? No, it not have been. It need not have fallen, of course; but - "I yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now."* It is idle to speculate how further revelation would have been given, had Christianity not fallen; but further was imperative, even from the beginning. Now, at last, that revelation has been given, its external form is sufficient for spiritual wisdom forever.
     * John 16: 12.
     Nevertheless, if we rejoice in the teaching that the New Church will endure to eternity, we must also see in that teaching something of a personal warning. It is as a dispensation that the New Church will endure to eternity. It is never said that any one ecclesiastical body of the church will last forever. Such a body is composed of men, fallible men; and men can fail Heavenly Doctrine, even if the Heavenly Doctrine will never fail them. Let us pray that as individuals and as a church we will not be the ones who fail, lest the true New Church be taken from us and given to others. Let us pray that with Divine help our church will increasingly become the Lord's church; so that it may be even of ourselves that we sing: "Jesus, with Thy church abide. . . . Keep her life and doctrine pure; grant her patience to endure, trusting in Thy promise sure. We beseech Thee, hear us."

REVIEWS 1961

REVIEWS Jr. CHARLES S. COLE 1961

A CONCORDANCE OF SELECTED SUBJECTS TREATED OF IN THE RATIONAL PSYCHOLOGY OF EMANUEL SWEDENBORG. Compiled by Harold F. Pitcairn. Swedenborg Scientific Association, Bryn Athyn, Pa., 1960. Cloth, pp. 337. Price, $2.00.

     The appearance of this volume will surely be welcomed by all those who feel the deep interest in Swedenborg's philosophical writings that led to its compilation. It may even result in some sorely needed additions to their number. Ever since the Swedenborg Concordance was published, the need for a Concordance to all the scientific and philosophic works of Swedenborg has been felt; for while it may never be used safely as a substitute for the texts themselves, nothing else would be so effective in opening them up for systematic study.
     Although this volume does not pretend to be even a complete Concordance of the Rational Psychology, it is an important first step toward meeting that need and the first work of its kind to be made available to students Swedenborg's philosophy. As the title indicates, it is not merely a subject index. Its object is to present the main points of the text; and this is done, usually in Swedenborg's own language, in citations sufficiently complete to be satisfying. No pains have been spared to bring together the essential points bearing upon each topic, and to this end the headings are liberally furnished with subheads, sub-subheads, and cross references. Repetition has not been shunned when it might serve to prevent obscurity.
     Here is a book which, rightly used as a companion volume to the Rational Psychology, may do much to encourage the systematic study of its teachings by making them more readily available. As the Foreword notes: "It is the outgrowth of a card index which [the compiler prepared with patient scholarship for his own use in intervals during his busy life." If the fruits of that labor arouse a sustained interest in the work on which it was expended, the compiler will, we believe, be rewarded in the only way he desired.
     The Concordance, which is bound in cloth to match the 1950 edition of Rational Psychology, is furnished with a Foreword by Hugo U. Odhner, a Preface by the compiler, and a note on how to use the Concordance itself which is a model of brevity and clarity. The typography is clear and logical in arrangement.

Mr. Pitcairn expresses grateful appreciation to the Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner for his encouragement and valuable suggestions, and to Miss Beryl G. Briscoe for her editing of the work which has greatly improved the format.

THE ANIMAL KINGDOM. By Emanuel Swedenborg. Photo offset reproduction of London edition of 1843 - 1844, translated from the Latin by J. G. Garth Wilkinson. The Swedenborg Scientific Association, Bryn Athyn, Pa., 1960. Two volumes. Cloth, 1844 pages. Price, $6.00 per set.

     Swedenborg's Animal Kingdom, a detailed physiological and philosophical analysis of the organs and special senses, was first published in Latin in 1744. It is now back in print again in English for the first time in more than a century, cleanly printed on good paper by offset photography and handsomely bound in two dark-blue volumes. This is an important event to the New Church, for the effective defense of her faith in a skeptical age will depend increasingly upon Swedenborg's system of philosophy, of which the Animal Kingdom is a key part.
     This work was published by Swedenborg after a quarter-century of prodigious research and writing in science and philosophy, shortly before he abandoned them for his inspired theological labors. It was presented as the first part of a proposed series of philosophical treatises - comprehending physiology, psychology and related fields - designed to lead unbelievers to Christianity by inductive arguments demonstrating the existence of the soul and its intercourse with the body. In a sense, the project was a failure: the remaining parts were never completed. Swedenborg, as a philosopher, failed to find the soul, and he certainly did not stop the tide of naturalism.
     Even so, the effort was worthwhile, for it brought into print some of the most profound and significant statements available to us of Swedenborg's philosophy. Notable, for example, is his essay on synthetic and analytic (deductive and inductive) ways of discovering truth, discussed in the Prologue to Part I; and discussed further in the Epilogue to Part II, together with a revealing discussion of the means leading to intelligence, namely, "experience . . . science . . . and the faculty of thinking distinctly" - this latter representing an important advance beyond his similar treatment of "experience, geometry and reason" a decade earlier in the Principia. Many other philosophical "gems" are to be found in the Animal Kingdom: a few of them concise and ready for use; most, rather widely distributed in various physiological applications, and requiring to be collected or abstracted, and perhaps restated for use in connections.

     Much of this philosophical material, together with detailed physiological additions, is located in the voluminous footnotes which, typically, occupy more space on a page than the text. Fortunately, the Animal Kingdom has an extensive index, interesting in itself to browse through and well cross-referenced, by the use of which most of the philosophy can be located without first having to digest a detailed survey of 18th Century medical knowledge concerning the stomach, lungs and skin. Incidentally, this "ancient" medical knowledge of Swedenborg's era is surprisingly up-to-date; and although it contains errors, naturally enough, it also includes some remarkable anticipations by Swedenborg of physiological functions not scientifically confirmed until quite recently. The medical and scientific historian should be fascinated with these technical aspects of the Animal Kingdom which are only of passing interest to the philosopher.
     The real importance of Swedenborg's philosophical system, and of the Animal Kingdom in particular, is their use as a basis for constructing a scholarly defense of the faith. This is true in all fields, but especially today in those relating to the biological sciences; for it is from data and theories in these areas that naturalistic strategists are forging today's most effective anti-religious weapons. A disturbing example which is breeding serious misconceptions and doubts in the minds of men all over the world, including some New Church men, is the widely circulated idea that scientists have produced life out of non-living matter in test tubes. This idea originated in public statements made by world famous scientists attending an international conference concerning evolution. The idea is not true, but to demonstrate this convincingly to someone who is genuinely disturbed by it requires a person not only familiar with the science involved but capable of detecting logical flaws in philosophical arguments: a person, furthermore, who is practised in formulating precise definitions, not reluctant to take issue with famous scientists, and able to put the case for faith convincingly and effectively, particularly to young people in school.
     Such a defender of the faith is more likely to be a team than an individual. In either case, it is the opinion of this reviewer that the serious study of the Animal Kingdom by New Church scholars can help in important ways to equip them with the intellectual weapons needed for the protection and development of the church in a spiritually indifferent world.
     CHARLES S. COLE, JR.

AND OF A GOOD COURAGE 1961

AND OF A GOOD COURAGE Editor 1961

NEW CHURCH LIFE
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Published Monthly By

THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM

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$5.00 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single copy, 50 cents.
     There are two dominant ideas in the inspired story concerning the conquest of Canaan. The Lord would fight for Israel, and this was essential; for Israel, without cavalry or chariots, was not equipped militarily to conquer the land. Yet Joshua was to fight as of himself; using his military genius to work out strategic campaigns, and leading his army by force of character and personal courage. These two ideas combine in a third - that the Lord would give victory to the extent that His commands were faithfully obeyed by Israel.
     These are truths from which we may draw strength, inspiration and encouragement as we enter a new year. If we will the conquest of those evils which stand between us and the possession of the heavenly Canaan, we need not be afraid or dismayed. The Lord will fight for us, and will give us the victory we could not possibly obtain from ourselves. But believing this, we must indeed fight against those evils as of ourselves, planning and carrying out intelligently conceived and vigorously conducted campaigns; knowing that victory will be exactly according to our faithfulness to the Lord's precepts in His Word.
     No reasonable man could ask for more. And if we have faith in the Lord's promise, and confidence in His presence and power, we may go forward into the future with quiet confidence - with the calm certainty of those who have heeded the Lord's words: "Be strong, and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the Lord thy God is with thee whithersoever goest." No evil can withstand the Lord, or those for whom the Lord fights.

OUR NEW CHURCH VOCABULARY 1961

     The New Church has a vocabulary that is entirely its own. Every subject field has its peculiar terminology; and as the Writings were given to convey new truth, ideas never before unfolded to the human mind, and as the communication of ideas requires appropriate language, the Writings contain many distinctive terms. These terms were selected by the Lord with the precision of wisdom. Each one has a very exact meaning, or group of related meanings, and was chosen by the Lord because it, and no other, expressed adequately the idea or ideas to be transmitted.
     Evidently, then, it is of great importance that we should understand correctly what is meant by these terms they are employed in the Writings, and that we should be able to use them accurately in our own thinking, speaking and writing. Some are theological terms which occur frequently, here a facile familiarity may blind us to their profundity few are peculiar to the Writings, and therefore presuppose a considerable amount of specialized knowledge. Others, and these may present difficulties, are terms which have a different meaning in the Writings from that assigned to them by current usage.
     In this issue we begin an occasional department, under the same title as this editorial, which will offer general definitions of some of the terms that make up our New Church vocabulary. That department will not be rightly understood or properly used, however, if the definitions presented are regarded as all-inclusive and exhaustive, or if it is supposed that no others could be valid. It will fail in its purpose unless it is clearly realized that definitions are not meant to confine man's thinking to themselves, but to provide it with a well marked point of departure, in order that the initial idea may be gradually infilled.
HUMILITY OF SWEDENBORG 1961

HUMILITY OF SWEDENBORG Editor 1961

The Divine revelation given through Swedenborg discloses that there are certain preconceptions which make wisdom impossible of attainment. At the same time, it makes known the fundamental condition for reception of wisdom. No man can become wise who fancies that he is already very wise, we are told; still less can he who believes that he has quite enough wisdom for all his needs; and least of all he who imagines that the fountain of wisdom is in man himself. Genuine wisdom consists in a man seeing, in the light of heaven, that the knowledge, intelligence and wisdom he has is but a drop in the ocean compared with what he does not have, and this no matter how much he may seem to have.

That is the first requisite for the attaining of wisdom, and it may be defined as intellectual humility. Such humility does not come easily in youth, or even in the prime of life; and there is evidence that it did not come easily to Swedenborg, whose very intellectual powers perhaps made him peculiarly vulnerable to temptation in that regard. But there is evidence in the Writings that it did come, that he resisted in temptation and did attain to the perception and acknowledgment which are the beginning of all genuine wisdom; and we may not doubt that this was a vital part of his preparation to receive the Heavenly Doctrine with his understanding.
Nor may we doubt that the intellectual humility which we may rightly appreciate and honor in Swedenborg is essential for our reception of the Heavenly Doctrine given through him. When we approach the Writings for the purpose of serious study, we are applying our finite minds to a revelation of infinite Divine truth. We are trying to grasp the operation of the laws of the Divine Providence; trying to understand the dealings of a God of infinite love and wisdom with His people; trying to see the operation in nature of His infinite laws. And our only hope lies in subduing the pride of self-intelligence and humbling our intellects before the Lord, for the humble mind is that into which He can inflow.
ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS 1961

ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS Editor 1961

The annual meetings of the Council of the Clergy and the Board of Directors, which will be held again this month, are of vital importance to the entire General Church. Upon these meetings of the two bodies, separately and in joint session, the continued welfare and further development of that church in large measure depend. With a membership of approximately three thousand, the General Church is established in the United States, Canada and South America; in Great Britain, France, Holland and the Scandinavian countries; in South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Furthermore, only half of its membership, approximately, is in societies under the care of resident pastors. The rest is distributed in circles, groups and individual families, often widely separated from one another, and receiving only occasional ministrations from visiting pastors.
The clergy who minister to this widespread church are a society, the use of which requires that its members be deployed throughout the church; and as priests of the General Church it is their earnest desire that both they and those under their pastoral care shall be led immediately by the Lord in the teaching of the Heavenly Doctrine, and this in matters of worship and education, family and social life, business and community activities.

Yet the very distribution of our membership means that many of the clergy must work alone, enjoying few or limited contacts with their fellow priests, and therefore having little opportunity for consultation and the exchange of doctrinal and practical ideas, together with the aid and stimulus that such an exchange can furnish. In accepting the use they accept also relative isolation.
     It is therefore important that an opportunity should be given each year for as many of the clergy as possible to meet together under the leading of the Bishop of the General Church. It is essential that those pastors and ministers who have been working alone or in small units, and encountering many problems in their efforts to promote the uses of the church, shall be able to come together with their fellow priests to discuss doctrinal matters and practical questions, to submit their studies to their peers, and to benefit from the studies made by their colleagues. From such meetings all who participate may take back new strength and inspiration to their particular fields of work; and at the same time they can take back to their people the information so necessary to a common understanding and to the maintenance of a unity of purpose throughout our widely scattered and diversified membership.
     This is a vital use in a church such as ours. Similarly, the members of the Board of Directors, many of whom live at considerable distances from one another, are afforded an opportunity to meet. They are charged with the heavy responsibility of administering, and administering wisely, the financial affairs of the church; and the annual meetings enable them to consult, among themselves and in joint session with the clergy; to receive reports on uses currently being undertaken; to be advised of uses which await the means of implementation; and to take their part in the discussion of questions affecting the policies of the church.
     The uses of the General Church depend for their performance upon the co-operation of members in various parts of the world, many of whom seldom if ever see one another. For this a common understanding is vital; and one of the most important means of providing for it is the annual Council Meetings. It is not too much to say that without these yearly meetings it would be difficult, if not well-nigh impossible, to maintain the many and varied uses of the church.
     We realize that the Lord alone establishes the church, but we know that He can do so only as men are willing to co-operate with Him, intelligently as well as affectionally. One of the requisites for such co-operation is effective communication. Many of our problems are problems of communication; these meetings make it possible for us to solve some of them.

ONLY AT THE ACADEMY? 1961

ONLY AT THE ACADEMY? ROY H. GRIFFITH 1961

Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE:

Does Mr. John J. Schoenberger really believe, as he said in the Commencement Address, 1960, that: "Only at the Academy of the New Church could you have learned the true meaning and purpose, and thus the real importance, of life in God's world"? (NEW CHURCH LIFE, September, 1960, p. 408) The italics are mine.
ROY H. GRIFFITH
BRYN ATHYN SOCIETY'S BURIAL GROUNDS 1961

BRYN ATHYN SOCIETY'S BURIAL GROUNDS WINFREY GLENN SYNNESTVEDT 1961

Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE:

     For some time I have wanted to try to express the love felt for our burial ground by those of us who have grown up with Bryn Athyn. Soon after I had finally written some notes I read your review of the Rev. Martin Pryke's Our Funeral Customs. I enjoyed reading this publication, as I hope everyone in the church is doing. It fills a need most adequately. However, I hope that these notes may be useful in filling in something of the affectional side of our tradition.
     Here is a place, lovely and unspoiled, dedicated to our faith in life after death as taught in the Writings. It is a fitting ultimate for the sphere that has been built by generations of our congregation as they have come here to burial services in a state of charity, love, and humble trust in the Lord's merciful providence. True, the most important custom we have built up around death is our memorial service in the church. However, I feel that there is an added use in our burial service. "As the natural body is put off, the spiritual body is released and lifted up." We know that angels attend the awakened spirit; and we, standing together here on earth, may be affected by their sphere. The proprium may be quieted and our sense of values heightened.
     The custom of taking our children to burial services, where they will be in the calm sphere of adults, may protect them against any sense of horror regarding death or the grave, especially if they are not personally involved. There is nothing morbid in our customs. Morbidity comes from stressing the body, and is not the same as sadness. The sphere of the burial grounds is beautiful because it awakens tender states of love, charity and sympathy, and, above all, our gratitude to the Lord that here is the gateway to life eternal.
     WINFREY GLENN SYNNESTVEDT

CHURCH NEWS 1961

CHURCH NEWS Various 1961

     TUCSON, ARIZONA

     The year of 1960 has been one of some consequence to the Tucson Circle. Following the time sequence, the very first day of 1960 saw the marriage of Gaynelle Smith to Ebbie Goodfellow of Detroit, Michigan, then of the United States Air Force. The Rev. Harold Cranch came from Glendale, California, to perform the ceremony, which was impressive, and very well attended in spite of a heavy downpour. After the wedding a reception was held at the home of the bride's parents, Mr. and Mrs. Rembert Smith. Previous to the wedding day, a shower for the bride-to-be was given by Dr. and Mrs. E. P. Waddell. After a wedding trip the couple came back to Tucson to live.
     Changes have taken place in the chapel. We formerly had a lectern and a pulpit which did not match in size, finish, or design. The donor of the pulpit returned to Tucson, learned of our problem, and offered to have two matching pieces made in exchange for the rather large pulpit. This was done in time for our Easter service; and their appearance was enhanced by suitably embroidered cloths, skilfully done by Elaine Wilson according to designs made by the Rev. Harold Cranch. Bob Carlson, who had previously supplied carpets for the chancel and the church, now furnished drapes to draw across the chancel, so that the large room might be used for other purposes. Bob's father, Fred Carlson, gave a dignified, high-backed chair for use on the chancel.
     Due to some illnesses in April, services were suspended for three weeks. On June 4, the Rev. Harold Cranch came for his final visit to us as our visiting pastor. Following his accustomed schedule, he gave a class on Saturday evening and held a meeting with the Sunday school teachers. A Holy Supper service on Sunday morning completed the church activities. It was followed by a social gathering at a local restaurant, where luncheon was served. This was to honor our departing pastor and his lady, Jean Cranch, both of them dear to us. Mr. Cranch reviewed the progress made by the Circle since its beginning fourteen years ago, when he made his first visit; mentioning various steps, and giving all the credit to members of the group. We all know, however, that such progress is due to his untiring work, his understanding, his careful planning - even to helping with the actual work of remodeling the former building into our present chapel. Too much cannot be said in praise of his enthusiasm, encouragement and active leadership in all those years. Dan Wilson, on behalf of the Circle, presented him with an honorarium to attempt to express in some measure all that he had meant to us. Tear dampened eyes were hastily blinked dry, for we knew that this change would lessen his manifold responsibilities.
     The Rev. Cairns Henderson came here for three days in mid-August during his visits to church groups in the West. He conducted a service one evening, visited various homes, and gave an interesting and informative account of the conduct of NEW CHURCH LIFE. Mr. Henderson spoke of editorial aims and problems, and hopes for future issues, the whole interspersed with his quiet humor. He suggested a report twice a year - and, "make it short," he advised. After this one we shall try to follow his directive! This talk was given after a well attended supper, where each householder brought his quota of covered dish specials and the Carlson hospitality was more than manifest.

     Mr. and Mrs. Edward Allen came later in August to investigate the flora and fauna of this desert country. They intended to stay only one day, but that was extended to five. So anxious was everyone to make or renew their acquaintance that a burst of entertaining rather kept them from their first objective.
     Our new and first resident minister, the Rev. Douglas Taylor, arrived August 30, to house-hunt and become acquainted with his assignment. His wife, Christine, and three small children followed later. Visiting ministers and their families are usually the house guests of Mr. and Mrs. Dan Wilson, and the Taylors stayed there until their furniture arrived from Bryn Athyn. They were entertained in nearly every home, Such is Mr. Taylor's enthusiasm, his eagerness to go ahead with his mission, that he met everyone with a characteristic joyous aplomb.
     Our new minister has a full schedule: church and Sunday school every Sunday, and doctrinal class every second Wednesday, here in Tucson; monthly mid-week trips to Phoenix and San Diego; a trip every three months to Douglas; and a yearly visit to Prescott. He also teaches the oldest Sunday school class. Barbara Carlson, Marion Hartter and Christine Taylor teach the younger classes in that order. On Mr. Taylor's second Sunday in Tucson, the James Barrys came from Phoenix, the Seid Waddels from Wilcox, the Schweikharts from Douglas - all Arizonans; also Mrs. Vida Schnarr from Miami, Florida, and Mrs. Amy Junge from Glenview, Illinois. After church a box luncheon was served in the main room. Time passed too swiftly for old friends and new ones. The long trek back to the above-mentioned places in Arizona had to begin early in the afternoon.
     So the church work has had a propitious start. Christine Taylor is teaching the children singing, and she alternates with Barbara Carlson in playing the organ for church. Attendance at services has been around thirty-two every Sunday. In October, the infant daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Ebbie Goodfellow was baptized Leslie Gray. Shortly thereafter the Goodfellows moved to Detroit, Michigan, to make their home. A Sunday school room has become the minister's study; and Dan Wilson, cabinet maker by avocation, has made a desk for it.
     A gift of some significance to us was volumes of NEW CHURCH LIFE from 1881 through 1957, most of them bound, from Miss Dorothy Cooper. They constitute an invaluable contribution to our budding library. From the Bryn Athyn Cathedral, Mr. William R. Cooper sent us some blue velvet kneeling pads for the chapel, another most appreciated gift. Should detailed mention of our gifts and appointments seem to be trivia, they are not trivia to us! Fourteen years ago the Tucson group started under the aegis of the Rev. Harold Cranch. We had nothing. Today we believe that we have an attractive building, inside and outside; and everything contributing to its uses, comfort and desert-type beauty is a source of joyous gratitude.
     Many thanks are due to Barbara Carlson, who has at her fingertips the facts, figures and flavor of every church event which was drawn upon to put together this report.
     VIDA P. GYLLENHAAL

     CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

     As we took part in our Thanksgiving service of worship, which began with our children offering their fruit and ended with the Holy Supper, we felt a sphere of thankfulness for the blessings the Lord has given us at Sharon Church. We continue to carry on our society uses under the guidance of the Rev. Elmo C. Acton, and to keep the door open for prospective New Church men in the great city of Chicago. Mr. Acton is still assisted regularly by the Rev. Victor J. Gladish, and by other priests of the church. On the first Sunday of every month a preacher from another society comes to us via a tape-recording.
     During the summer our new chairs arrived. We had to wait for them a long time, during which we patiently endured our old and rather hard and uncomfortable ones. This waiting period increased our appreciation when we finally tried out the new ones.

In fact, the new chairs are so soft and roomy that they inspired Mr. Alexander McQueen, our Sharon Report editor, to become lyrical and write a poem about them. The poem appeared in Sharon Report, which continues to tell some of the rest of the New Church world, in a very interesting and often humorous way, about the activities of Sharon Church in Chicago.
     We felt a sense of pride - perhaps not very good for us, but we couldn't help it - when Mr. Acton informed us that we were more fully represented than any other society or group in the district at the Chicago District Assembly. According to Mr. Acton, our attendance was nearly 100% - which is a good statistic, no matter how you look at it. Mr. Acton also said that our fine attendance showed an interest in the things of the church beyond our own society, and augured well for the success of our local work. "The good of the whole," said Mr. Acton, "is greater than the good of any of its parts. When, then, the parts contribute their good to the good of the whole, they receive in turn, from the whole, what good is needed for their own welfare."
     The Assembly was a most inspiring and enjoyable one. The company of other New Church people, the fine papers which we heard from our Bishop and pastors, and the festive banquet with its speeches by laymen, all served to make the Assembly memorable. Alan Childs, from our society, served as toastmaster at the banquet. Lucy, his wife, confided beforehand that she always felt a little nervous at such times, but she knew Alan would do well. How right she was! Alan was an excellent toastmaster, and Lucy looked decorative, not nervous, sitting beside him.
     We have a new baby at Sharon Church, the daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Roger Echols. The baby's name is Deanna Sharon, and she was baptized on October 23, the Rev. Elmo C. Acton officiating. Deanna, her brother Daniel, and her parents occupy the apartment above our church rooms. This has been the case ever since our resident pastor was called to Washington, D. C. Roger and Corinne do a wonderful job of looking after the interests of Sharon Church in many ways. In addition to the many duties they perform for the church, one might call them the official host and hostess. We all like having them with us.
     Our other baby, Charles Hanna, the second son of Mr. and Mrs. Rudolph Barnitz, was baptized, also by Mr. Acton, on Sunday, September 4, at the Barnitz home. The occasion was made happier by the presence of the Rev. and Mrs. Frederick L. Schnarr, our former pastor and his wife, and their three charming little girls. It was certainly good to see Fred and Edna again and to hear that their work in Washington, D. C., is progressing well.
     It is always interesting for any writer to meet an editor with whom there has been friendly correspondence but no personal contact. Meeting the editor of NEW CHURH LIFE was no exception. Although most General Church people in this area know the Rev. Cairns Henderson, this reporter did not, and during August it was a pleasure to attend a supper in Glenview at which Mr. Henderson was the speaker. He spoke, of course, about NEW CHURCH LIFE, and some of the problems and goals of its editor. Well spiced with Mr. Henderson's delightfully dry sense of humor, the talk yet brought home the serious fact that we, as laymen, have a share and a responsibility, too, in this "voice" of our church. Sometimes it seems to us who write these notes that the "doings" of a society are inclined to repeat themselves, and thus have a certain mundane quality. But if you look at it another way, these doings are the uses that keep each society going. Thinking of them in this way gives them a certain dramatic quality. In any event, Mr. Henderson made us realize that news notes are one good way of communication between New Church men in various parts of the world: New Church men who, although they may not see one another very often, are held together in affection and interest by the truths of the Writings.
     On October 29, Doris Klein passed into the spiritual world. Doris had many friends in Sharon Church, and also in Glenview.

We will miss her, but we also rejoice in the thought that she is now able to enter fully into the uses and delights of the other world without those physical limitations that she bore so courageously during the last year of her life. Some of her friends here saw her in Bryn Athyn a short time before her death and were amazed at her good spirits and her continued interest in the affairs and problems of other people.
     We are happy about the marriage of Mr. Ben Poczatko and Miss Betty Proper, which took place at the home of Mrs. George Mason on the evening before Thanksgiving. Mr. Poczatko has been attending our services for some time and he and Betty attended several services together before their marriage. We hope to see them often in the future, and we wish them happiness - not for time alone but to eternity.
     We had a society party at the home of Dr. and Mrs. Samuel Mayo one Saturday night in November. A late supper took the form of a Bohemian smorgasbord. For those who have always thought that a smorgasbord must necessarily be Swedish, such is not the case. What makes a smorgasbord Bohemian? A large, succulent piece of kosher corned beef is the mainstay. Accompanying delicacies are kosher salami, kosher dill pickles, ripe cheese, and a variety of other tidbits. There was diversity in games as well as food. Various groups played bridge, anagrams, pinochle, scrabble, canasta, and even mah-jongg. Interesting prizes, which little Miss Melissa Mayo was anxious to hand out before they were won, added to the fun.
     In checking back to see when Sharon Church last reported on its activities for NEW CHURCH LIFE, it is evident that it has been indeed a long time. Not since May, 1960, have any news notes appeared for our society. These last notes were written in February, just a month before the other member of this reporting team passed into the spiritual world. To those of us who miss Noel's strength, and indomitable courage and sense of humor in the face of a long illness, the resurrection service by the Rev. Elmo Acton was a great source of comfort. As all New Church services are, it was beautiful. There were many New Church people there, who shared in the feeling that the Lord's providence was all around us, and who knew, too, that death is really entrance into life itself. Because of Noel's writing activities, many who were not New Church men also attended. In fact, most races and creeds were represented, which would have pleased Noel. So it happened that many people who bad never heard a New Church service heard one for the first time. Many of them probably will not hear one again in this world. But surely it was in providence that the truth will not be entirely unknown to these people who came in memory of Noel, and then heard something about the doctrine of the other life - one of the most beautiful teachings of the Writings.
     MILDRED MCQUEEN

     THE CHURCH AT LARGE

     General Convention. The Journal of the General Convention states that in 1960 that body had 5,494 members and 73 societies. There were 64 ministers, 11 outside North America, and 14 licensed lay leaders.
     It has been announced by the president of Convention, the Rev. David P. Johnson, that the Washington Society has invited the Convention to hold its 1961 sessions in Washington, D.C. The business before those sessions will include the election of a new president of Convention.
     The NEW-CHURCH MESSENGER announced recently that the Rev. William F. Wunsch's new translation of Divine Providence is now in the hands of the printer and should be available for distribution early this year.

     General Conference. The Rev. R. A. Preston, formerly of Failsworth, has assumed the joint pastorate of the Newcastle and Sunderland Societies, replacing the Rev. Eustace R. Goldsack, who is now serving as Superintendent of the West African Mission. Mr. Preston will be succeeded in the Failsworth pastorate by the Rev. Leslie Chambers.

     The secretary of Conference announced recently, with regret, that the Rev. Russell K. Howes had resigned from the pastorate of the Radcliffe Society and from the ministry of the General Conference of the New Church. After careful consideration, and full discussion with the Ministerial Advisory Council, Mr. Howes had found himself unable to adhere to the doctrines of the New Church. He had stated his intention to apply for admission into the ministry of the Congregational Church.
     The Rev. Fred Clarkson, who resigned his pastorates last summer to enter a Teachers Training College, retains his recognition by the Conference as a minister. He intends to give some measure of service to the church.

     Australia. The NEW AGE contains an appreciative account of the visit made last summer to Adelaide and Melbourne by the Rev. Douglas Taylor and Dean Charles S. Cole. Mr. Taylor conducted two services in Adelaide, gave a doctrinal class at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Charles Norton, and officiated at the marriage of his brother-in-law, Mr. Erland Brock, to Miss June Davison.

     New Zealand. The Rev. Richard H. Teed has retired from the pastorate of the Auckland Society and with Mrs. Teed has returned to Australia. They will make their home in Albury, N.S.W. Mr. Norman F. Sutton has accepted appointment as Leader of the Society, pending the appointment of a successor to Mr. Teed.

     Formosa. Mr. Charles K. H. Chen, of Taiwan, translator of Heaven and Hell into Chinese, reported recently the completion of printing and distribution among his outlets of 10,000 copies of that work. Copies have gone to Hongkong, Japan, Thailand, the Philippines, Southeast Asia, Kowloon, and direct to colleges, libraries and related educational organizations.

     SWEDENBORG FOUNDATION

     The Swedenborg Foundation announces that the Avon Book edition of Helen Keller's My Religion is selling well. The publishers - Avon Book Division, The Hearst Corporation - informed the Foundation that 90% of the 10,000 copies retained for themselves out of the total issue of 30,000, plus 5,000 repurchased from the Foundation's supply, had been sold already through their outlets. Distribution through New Church outlets has also been active.
     A paperback edition of Heaven and Hell published by Popular Library, Inc., was expected to appear on U.S. news stands before the end of the year.

ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS 1961

     ANNOUNCEMENTS

     JANUARY 23-29, 1961

Monday, January 23
     3:00 p.m.     Meeting of Headmasters
               No Meeting of Pastors this year
     8:00 p.m.     Meeting of Consistory

Tuesday, January 24
     10:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Council of the Clergy

Wednesday, January 25
     10:00 a.m. and 3:30 p.m. Council of the Clergy

Thursday, January 26
     10:00 a.m.     Council of the Clergy
      3:30 p.m.     Committee Meetings

Friday, January 27
     10:00 a.m.     Council of the Clergy
     3:30 p.m.     Board of Directors of the Corporations of the General Church
     7:00 p.m.     Society Supper
     7:45 p.m.     Meeting of the Bryn Athyn Society
               Address by the Rev. Frederick L. Schnarr

Saturday, January 28
     10:00 a.m.     Joint Council of the General Church
     3:30 p.m.     Corporation of the Academy of the New Church

Sunday, January 29
     11:00 a.m.     Divine Worship
ABSALOM 1961

ABSALOM WILLARD D. PENDLETON 1961

Vol. LXXXI
February, 1961
No. 2
     "Would God I had died for thee, O Absalom my son. . . ." (II Samuel 18: 33)

     It is the teaching of the Writings that the letter of the Word contains within itself a continuous spiritual sense. Why was it, therefore, that in the derivation of the spiritual sense from the letter, Swedenborg failed to provide for a continuous exposition of all the books of the Word? The fact is that only the books of Genesis, Exodus and Revelation are considered in full, whereas all the other books of the Word are considered only in part, and in some instances all that we find are a few scattered references. As we understand it, however, there are two reasons for this: the first is that in the span of one lifetime it would not have been possible to expound the spiritual sense of each book of the Word; and the second reason is that where the first and the last of any series are given, that which is intermediate may be understood.
     Our text is a case in point. We note with interest that although the story of Absalom comprises some seven chapters of the second book of Samuel, the Writings provide only two brief references to the text. Nevertheless, by means of these two passages the leading doctrine is established, and when interpreted in the light of this doctrine, as it is developed in the Arcana Coelestia and Apocalypse Revealed, we are in a position to proceed by means of correspondences to the exposition of our text; for, as the Writings state; "If man had a knowledge of correspondences he would understand the spiritual sense of the Word, and from it would be given him to know arcana of which he sees nothing in the letter." *
* HH 114
     Nowhere is the truth of this teaching more apparent than in that portion of Scripture which treats of Israel's kings and prophets.

Here the Divine text is presented to us in the form of history; and as the Writings observe also: The historicals of the letter are of such a nature that the mind of the reader cannot but be held in them; especially at this day, when most persons . . . do not believe that there is an internal sense. . . . Yet that these historicals cannot be the Word they might know from the mere fact that when separated from the internal sense there is no more of the Divine in them than in any other history. [For it is] the internal sense [which] makes the Word to be Divine." *
* AC 1540
     As an illustration of this, take the story of our text. As recounted in Scripture it is the story of a father who refused to be comforted over the loss of a rebellious and wayward son. As king he knew that in lifting up his hand against the Lord's anointed, Absalom must answer with his life, yet as a father his grief knew no bounds. David had many other sons, each one a possible successor to the throne, but of all his sons there was none like unto Absalom; for we are told that "in all Israel there was none to be so much praised . . . for his beauty: From the sole of his foot even to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him." * But the beauty and personality of Absalom belied his character. Driven by a ruthless determination to wrest the kingdom from the hand of his father he ingratiated himself with the discontented, and under the pretext of a vow that he had made to the Lord in Hebron he went unto that city and there proclaimed himself king.
* 11 Samuel 14: 25.
     It was a bewildered and heartbroken father who received the news of his son's defection. But if David was caught unaware, he was yet capable of action. Gathering his household and a loyal remnant of seasoned captains about him, he fled over Jordan, rallying an army as he went. Had Absalom pressed his advantage, there would have been little doubt as to the outcome, but God stirred up fears in the heart of Absalom and his irresolution cost him his life. In biding his time he gave David the opportunity to organize his forces and to determine the scene of battle. This was a fatal mistake. In selecting his ground, David encamped in the wood of Ephraim, whose tangled thickets and rough terrain were unfamiliar to Absalom; and it is recorded that "the wood devoured more people that day than the sword." *
* 11 Samuel 18: 8.
     But if David had saved his kingdom, he had lost his son, and in his distress he cried out, "Would God I had died for thee, O Absalom my son." From an objective point of view it would seem that David was blinded by storge, that is, by the love of his own. Like any other natural affection, this love sometimes takes such a strong hold upon the spirit that the mind is incapable of perceiving the deeper issues involved in the care and education of offspring.

Yet if this love did not come naturally to man, that is, if self did not delight in its progeny, few would be willing to serve that primary use upon which the perpetuation of the race is dependent. In speaking of this love, therefore, the Writings say that it is with the good and the evil alike, and that with the evil "it is sometimes stronger and more ardent." Herein we see a marvelous provision of providence, for this love, although inverted with many, yet serves the Divine end.
     But although in man this love is inverted, its origin is in the Lord, for the teaching is that the love of protecting that which is procreated is a universal love which proceeds from the Lord. But as that which inflows from the Lord is not perceived by man, the appearance is that this love is his own, and is turned by him into the love of his own life. Thus it is that man loves his offspring as himself, for he sees self in them, and them in himself. But if with man this love is natural, the teaching is that it may yet become spiritual, for every love with man derives its quality from the end to which it looks. Had David's primary concern been for his kingdom he would have perceived, as others did, that Absalom was not a man to be trusted. But in this instance David's love of his own was an obsession, and in his blind devotion to this son of his youth he seemed incapable of exercising judgment.
     Now it is interesting to observe that Christian scholars have held that there is a deeper meaning to the text than that which appears in the letter. Many have maintained that it belongs among the more obscure expressions of the Messianic prophecy, for they insist that a true comparison can be drawn here between David's sorrow over Absalom and the Divine sorrow over human sin, which, according to Christian doctrine, took remedial action in the sacrifice of Christ upon the cross. The teaching is that in this, God the Father did what David longed to do; namely, that God the Father, through Christ His Son, laid down His life as an atonement for man's sins. But the Writings reject the doctrine of the vicarious atonement, for they insist that no one can account for the sins of another - not even God.
     In this the Writings break with the theology of the former Christian Church; but it is true that David's grief over Absalom is a reflection of the Divine mercy which will willingly forgive man all manner of sin, if only man will repent and begin a new life. In this, therefore, as in many instances in Scripture, the spiritual sense reverses the meaning of the letter; for if in the letter David's devotion to an ungrateful son appears as a weakness of character, the spiritual sense elevates the thought to reflection upon the Divine love of its own.

By "its own," here, is meant the Word, or faith from the Word, as is evident from one of the two brief references from the Writings already referred to, where it is said: "The Lord as to His Human Essence is called . . . [the] Son of David . . . as also faith may be [said to be] the Son of the Lord's Word, or of its letter . . . although the letter is dead, and [is a rebel], as was Absalom the son of David."*
* SD 2658.
By the Human Essence is meant the Lord as He is revealed in the Word, that is, the Lord as Divine Man. By David, therefore, is signified the Lord as Divine doctrine, for it is by means of doctrine that the Word becomes intelligible, and without doctrine it cannot be understood.* Thus it was that David succeeded Saul, who, like Absalom, also represented the letter of the Word; for the teaching is that doctrine is to be drawn from the sense of the letter, but it is added that it is also to be confirmed thereby** What is meant here is that if men doubt the credibility of the Divine doctrine as revealed in the spiritual sense of the Word, let them go back to the letter and determine for themselves whether these things be true. Thus it is that by Absalom is not meant the letter as seen and understood by the former Christian Church, but the letter as it may now be seen and understood from the spiritual sense of the Word. There is a world of difference between these two approaches to the letter of the Word. It is the difference between the Word as it is seen by the child, and the Word as it may be understood by the adult mind.
* SS 53
** Ibid.
To grasp the significance of this we must know that by Absalom, in the original tongue, is meant father of peace. It is a beautiful representation, and it has reference to the fact that the child's faith in the letter is implicit and is basic to the later acknowledgment and reception of the Divine doctrine. Like Absalom, therefore, this faith is of incomparable beauty as long as it is conjoined with, and subservient to, the Divine doctrine. But as man comes into his own right and his own reason, the faith of the letter is no longer sufficient to the spiritual issues of the day. David must succeed Saul, but in the establishment of the kingdom faith is not yet free from those natural appearances of truth which abound in the letter. David was surrounded by enemies on all sides, but of all the evils and falsities with which man must contend the most subtle are those of his own house. The appearance is that of himself man is good, and that in performing those goods which are of use to the neighbor he merits salvation. It is this sense of self-merit, this endless striving for self, that is here represented by Absalom.

     In infancy and childhood man is incapable of reflection upon self. In all that he does, self seems good. But if man is to be led by Divine doctrine, conflict with self is inevitable. That is the primary issue in the life of regeneration. In this the Writings differ from former revelations. In the Old Testament the appearance is that God governs by means of rewards and punishments. Yet the truth is that God does not punish; neither does he who acts from a genuine affection for others give any thought to reward. Indeed, the Writings say that "good itself is not good when reward is thought of, for then a selfish end instantly adjoins itself."* In this the New Testament does not differ greatly from the Old Testament, for again the emphasis is upon reward. Is it not said of those who are persecuted for Christ's sake: "Great is your reward in heaven"; and of those who give their alms in secret: "Thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly"?** It is this thought of reward to self that is characteristic of the letter, and it is reflected in Christian theology in its insistence upon the imputation of Chris's merit to all who believe in Him.
* AC 3816
** Matthew 5: 12; 6: 4, 6, 18.
     But God does not impute good to man; neither does He impute evil. If He did, man would not be in freedom. Yet in the exercise of his freedom, man can do one of two things: he can acknowledge that all good is from the Lord and that of himself he is evil; or he can attribute the good which he does to himself and thereby justify his evils.
     Of all the evils to which man inclines there is none like self-justification. Like the serpent in the garden of Eden it is "more subtle than any beast of the field which the Lord God had made."* The reason for this is that he who believes that the good which he does is attributable to self is incapable of perceiving that the good which he does is not good because his primary concern is for self. "No man can serve two masters."** Try as we will, it cannot be done. Unless man is motivated by the love of use, that is, by an unselfish concern for the good of others, how can it be said that the good which he does is good? It may appear as good to others, but the appearance may be one thing and the reality another.
* Genesis 3: 1.
** Matthew 6: 24.
     But the love of self is not necessarily evil; it was not so in the beginning. In first states of life, man is held by the Lord in innocence, and evil cannot be predicted of that which is innocent. But like any other love that is from the Lord with man, this love is perverted when it no longer serves the use for which it was intended. The primary purpose of self-love is that man may provide for himself those things which are essential to the performance of use; but when the means becomes the end, when the delight which man finds in self is regarded above the use which self is intended to serve, the order of life is inverted "and sin lieth at the door." *
* Genesis 4: 7.

     Generally speaking, men think of sin as some kind of an overt act against the neighbor. This is but the form it takes. The essence of evil lies in self-seeking; that is, in seeking for self those delights which properly belong to use. The Writings insist that every delight is from use and for the sake of use; but in his preoccupation with self, man is inclined to lose sight of this teaching, which is basic to a true understanding of the meaning and purpose of life. Like Absalom, the son of David, there are times when we resent the government of truth, and in our rebellion against the Divine doctrine we think and act from the appearance that man can determine for himself what is good.
     In the determination of this primary issue, the battle is joined in the wood of Ephraim. By Ephraim is signified the understanding, and by its oak groves, those knowledges out of which the understanding is formed. Without doctrine to guide, the human mind becomes hopelessly enmeshed in the tangled branches of learning, and, as already noted: "The wood devoured more people that day than the sword."* In the final analysis, therefore man must re-submit reason to Divine doctrine; not to doctrine as formulated by creeds and councils, but to that doctrine which is now revealed in the spiritual sense of the Word.
* II Samuel 18: 33.
     But before man can come into the acknowledgment of the Divine doctrine, former states must pass away. Thus it is that wherever death is mentioned in the Scriptures the reference is to the resurrection of the spirit into a new state. This involves a judgment - a judgment upon those illusions of self which adhered to the former state. But in every judgment there is mercy, for God does not permit any man to suffer unless by reason of his suffering man can be brought into a new state. If, then, in the loss of those things in which self finds delight we feel that we have been deprived, we need only have patience, and we will yet come to see that in this, as in all things, there is a providence by which man is led to the things which belong to his peace. It is this abiding faith in the Lord's Divine Providence that is represented in Scripture by Solomon; and it is he, not Absalom, whom the Lord has raised up as the heir to the throne of Israel. Amen.

HOW MAN'S LIFE ON EARTH DIFFERS FROM HIS LIFE AFTER DEATH 1961

HOW MAN'S LIFE ON EARTH DIFFERS FROM HIS LIFE AFTER DEATH GEORGE DE CHARMS 1961

     Delivered at District Assemblies 1960

     "Man has been so created as to be in the spiritual world and in the natural world at the same time."* It cannot be otherwise because all conscious human life consists of two distinctly different things; namely, an affection that has its origin in the spiritual world, and a sensation of form that can be derived only from the world of nature. This applies not only to men on earth but also to spirits and angels. Yet man is said to live for a time in the natural world, and then to be transferred to the spiritual world, where he continues to live to eternity. If, both before and after death, man lives in both worlds at the same time, wherein does the difference really lie?
* HD 36
     The difference arises from the fact that we reflect upon, or pay attention to, different things. As we read in number 4716 of the Spiritual Diary: "The state of spirits relatively to the state of men, appears similar at first glance, but yet it differs greatly. They think indeed similarly, and will similarly, but they are different as to reflections." Reflection alone produces consciousness. We become aware only of those things to which we pay attention, and we pay attention only to the things we love; that is, to things in which we take an interest because they affect our life, and thus appear to be important to our well-being and happiness.

     As long as we live on earth our affections are unavoidably focused upon the needs of the body and upon the requirements of our physical and social environment. As a matter of necessity we must have food to eat, clothes to wear, and a place to sleep. These we must earn by performing some use for which others are willing to pay. Before we can do so we must acquire the necessary knowledges and skills, which, for the most part, are concerned with the material objects and the mechanical forces of nature. By sense experience photographic reproductions of material objects are impressed upon the mind and stored in the memory as material ideas which, taken together, constitute what is called "the external sensuous."

Here are mental pictures of things distinguished by their physical characteristics - by shape, size and color; by sound, taste and odor; by texture, whether rough or smooth, soft or hard, liquid or solid. These are properties that belong solely to the material world, and as long as we focus our attention upon them we may be said to live in that world. Although we are moved at the same time by loves, affections and desires, which are spiritual in origin and utterly distinct from the things of nature, these are so intimately associated in our minds with material things that the two seem to be inseparable. We do not perceive whence these affections come. They seem to arise within ourselves, and to be produced there by the objects about us. Unless we were moved by these spiritual things we would have no conscious sensation whatever, and for this reason we are really living in the spiritual world as well as in the natural world; but of this we are completely unaware.
Now of course we can elevate our minds above the plane of material ideas. From them we can form imaginative pictures which are not photographic reproductions of anything in the physical world, but instead are ideals expressive of our desires, our hopes and aspirations. They are pictures, perhaps of things in our environment which we would like to see changed, improved, made more responsive to our will. They may be ideals of moral or ethical conduct to which we would aspire, and which we would promote in the lives of others. They may be in the nature of abstract laws deduced from our scientific or social experience and reading. They may even be spiritual ideas concerning God, and the life of worship and religion derived from the Word; but as long as we live on earth even these immaterial and spiritual concepts will be intimately bound up with the things of earth. They will be seen in relation to our bodily needs and our worldly ambitions. Our efforts to attain these ideas will be subject to the restrictions of time and space, bodily health and strength, civil laws, and the codes of moral conduct extant in our social environment. However abstract our thought may be, it can never be released completely from these natural bonds. If it were, it would appear as something visionary, impractical, impossible of attainment because out of touch with the obvious necessities with which we are confronted.
The reason we are said to live in the spiritual world even during our life on earth is that the loves and affections which move us really come from spirits and angels who are intimately associated with us. If they did not affect us we would be stirred by no interest, no curiosity, no desire to learn. In consequence we would pay no attention to the sense impulses that strike upon the mind, and so would be quite oblivious of them. We would be completely apathetic, unaware of our surroundings, like one in a swoon. Unless we were living in the spiritual world, that is, unless our minds were sensitive to forces that play upon them from that world, we would have no conscious life whatever.

On the other hand, unless we were living in the natural world, that is, unless our minds were sensitive to the impulses that are carried to the brain by the sensory nerves of the body, angels and spirits could not stir any desire in us, and thus could not awaken us to consciousness. Until they are clothed in some form, presented under some image drawn from nature, loves are intangible and unknowable. We can feel them only in and through a body of physical sensation. Though it may not so appear, mental sight and emotional feeling are inseparable. The one cannot exist without the other. Yet all mental sight originates in the material world, and all emotional feeling arises from the spiritual world.

When the body dies, all direct contact with the material world is cut off because the organs of physical sensation cease to function, but the mind continues to live. The impress upon it of all earthly experiences remains. Furthermore, it continues to receive new sense impulses, not directly from nature, but from ideas pictured in the minds of men still living on earth. When we pass into the other world we retain contact with men in the same way, and by the same means, as spirits and angels previously had made contact with us. The mechanism by which this communication is effected is not revealed; yet we are told that the spirit, when separated from the body, retains a sensitive medium which is called a "cutaneous envelope." It is said to constitute a "limbus" or "border" between the two worlds. We cannot help thinking that in some way this "limbus" acts as a conjoining medium which enables the mind of one living on earth to be moved by the affections of spirits and angels, and after death still causes the mind to be affected by impulses of form from the minds of men. However this may be, the teaching is clear that such a communication does take place, and that without it neither spirits nor men would enjoy any conscious life.
The fact that after death we receive no sensations directly from nature, but instead are moved by the imaginative ideas in the minds of men living in the natural world - this fact makes a tremendous difference in the way we think. We retain, indeed, the memory of material things, but this is now quiescent because there is no impulse from without that could stir it to action. We are not aware of its presence, and therefore pay no attention to it. We reflect only upon what comes to us from the minds of men with whom we are associated. What reaches us from them is not from their corporeal memory but from the plane of their imagination and thought. Wherefore it is said that "man in the world reflects from his corporeal memory, but spirits from the interior memory."* The ideas in this memory are not photographic reproductions of material things.

They are, instead, ideals that embody a love, picture it, and make it tangible. Here material ideas are present only as passive ingredients which have been moulded into a new form.** In this form, the properties characteristic of material things are no longer of any importance and therefore are completely disregarded. The entire emphasis is upon the purpose, the end, the use for which the form is intended, and of which it is the symbol. We are affected by the form, but we see in it only the goal for which we seek. Although the form is that of some material object, we pay no attention to its physical properties, but look upon it solely as a form of use. Therefore our idea of the object differs greatly from that which it had produced in our mind while we were on earth. Then, because we paid attention to its material properties, our thought of it was essentially natural; but now, since we reflect only upon its use, its inner quality, our entire thought of it is essentially spiritual. We see it, not as an earthly object, but as the representation or embodiment of a love.
* SD 4716
** See Rational Psychology 85, 86.
     We may derive some idea of this from our everyday experience. When we read the printed page, although we are looking at individual letters strung together, each of which symbolizes a particular sound, we do not think of the letters or of their sounds, or even of the words, but our attention is fixed upon the ideas expressed. This is so true that we easily pass over a misformed letter, one that is elided, or a word that is misspelled without realizing that they are there, as any one may confirm who has edited a manuscript. It is difficult to do so without a mistake. So, in the spiritual world, as also often in this world, physical properties - the material of which an object is made, the mode of its construction, its size, weight, and color - all these are completely disregarded because we are thinking solely of the love or affection the object symbolizes. We see these material things, but we pay no attention to them, although they do qualify the way we think of the love or affection that is represented. Examples might be official robes, crown and sceptre, any badge of office, a flag or banner.
     So in the spiritual world we see all manner of natural objects, and yet have no conscious idea of their material properties, but think of them entirely in terms of affections and forms of truth.
      We are now affected by the ideas active in the minds of men on earth. These touch us, striking upon the mind even as physical sensations had done while we were in the body. But we are no more aware of whence these impulses come than we were previously aware of the source from which our affections had come. While on earth we were conscious of material sensations, but unconscious of our spiritual associations; but after death we become conscious of our spiritual associates, and unconscious of those from whom our sense impulses arise.

We see the spirits and angels who are present with us, we hear them speak, and we may speak with them in return, shake their hand, and feel a sense of touch as keen as if they were clothed with a material body. Our whole attention is focused upon them, on what they say and do, and on the effect this appears to have upon our surroundings. Because of this we suppose that our sensations come only from them, and this in the same way that while on earth we had supposed that our affections came from the material world. Here, although we are constantly affected by the influx of unseen spirits and angels, perceiving their affections as if they were our own, we are at the same time affected consciously by our contacts with people in this world. In a similar way, although spirits receive sense impulses unwittingly from men on earth, they also receive sensations consciously from other spirits and angels with whom they are associated. Therefore, while both men and spirits actually live in both worlds at the same time, each appears to live entirely in his own world.
The passing over from one world to the other is most carefully guarded. It is under the protection of celestial angels whose function it is to assist in the resuscitation of the dead. They surround the awakening spirit with a sphere of perfect peace, allowing no sense of anxiety or fear to enter his mind. He is like one asleep, enjoying a quiet and pleasant dream wherein he sees a beautiful light and has a feeling of joy and gladness without knowing whence this comes, or why. But before he becomes fully awake, the celestial angels withdraw, and spiritual angels take their place. They cause the spirit to feel as if a veil were being rolled back from his eyes, and then he begins to perceive a dim light, "like what is seen through the eyelids on first waking from sleep." * When he opens his eyes the spirit finds himself in familiar surroundings, and apparently in the presence of those whom he had known in the world, and who had been with him at or near the time of his death. Gradually he realizes that this is not so, and then the angels openly tell him that he is now a spirit in the spiritual world. This he would never know if the angels did not cause him to reflect upon the differences. In doing so they act gently, being careful not to shock the spirit unduly.
* HH 450.
In the Spiritual Diary numbers 2030 to 2039, Swedenborg describes seeing how the angels introduced a newly resuscitated spirit into the other life. They protected him by their heavenly sphere from the assault of evil spirits, and wakened him to conscious life. At first he knew not where he was, supposing that he was still in the body, and in the natural world.

When he was told that he was in the other life, it suddenly dawned upon him that all his possessions had been left behind. He realized that he had no house of his own, no money, and no means of livelihood. He became anxious, wondering where he should live, and what he should do. The angels told him that he should not worry about these things because the Lord Himself provides them for all who are in the spiritual world. Having told him this they left him to his own reflections, merely holding his mind free from the influence of evil spirits. After a time they allowed certain evil spirits to approach and to induce something of fear, caused by a realization of his own helplessness in this strange new world. This they did in order that he might acknowledge the Lord's protection and His merciful care. At the same time, the angels granted his every wish, giving him everything of which he felt a need, making it clear that he was not destitute; and because he was a good spirit, he spontaneously began to think how he could show his gratitude for all this kindness.

Normally, one of the first things that a spirit asks for, when he learns that he is in the other world, is to see loved ones who have preceded him into that higher life. This wish is granted, and he meets his former friends, recognizing them because they appear to him much as he had known them on earth. Because they had loved one another, the meeting is a happy one. They greet each other, inquire as to one another's welfare, and speak of people they had known and of interests they had shared in common, very much as friends do on earth when they meet after having been separated for a time.* Yet, although they do not realize it, the nature of their conversation, if it could be compared with that of friends on earth, would be found to be quite different. We are told that the welcoming spirits ask, "What news from earth?" But this implies no concern with material things. What they wish to know is what men on earth are thinking about spiritual things, what they believe about heaven and the life after death, what they think concerning God and the life of religion.**
* HH 494.
** See 5M II:6.
The difference between the thought of spirits and that of men is described in number 4716 of the Spiritual Diary. When a man on earth meets another, we are told, he "reflects upon all that he had heard and has experienced" in regard to him as a person. He recognizes him as a friend because for various reasons they had been associated with one another, and had been interested in similar things. He reflects upon the dress and manner of one he meets, upon the kind of house he lives in, the way it is furnished, the neighborhood in which he lives, the work he does, and the station in life he occupies.

But spirits, when they meet, acknowledge one another as friends solely because they have similar loves, and this whether they had previously known one another or not. They do not inquire where the other came from. New garments are given to them according to their state; new furniture may suddenly appear in their house; but spirits seldom reflect where these things come from, or why such changes take place. They take these things for granted unless their attention is called to them by others. "The angels," we read, "think and act in a far more excellent manner than men, although they are not so well acquainted with the state of man as to institute a comparison. The principal cause is that they have no memory of the past as regards such things as are external, but only as regards such things as are internal, thus which are of faith and eternal life; but from whence, or how these things are learned they do not remember."*
* Ibid.

     We cannot imagine that any one waking up in the other world would fail to think at once of those who had been close to him on earth. We would naturally suppose that he would feel great anxiety for those who had been dependent upon him, but of this there is not the least indication in the Writings. It would appear that reflection upon those who have been left behind is possible only as it is roused by the instruction of the angels. This instruction is given in such a sphere of trust in providence, with such a clear perception that there is no real or essential separation, and that the spirit is really present still with those he loves on earth, and is able to be of service to them even more fully than before, that there is felt no cause for anxiety.
     This is the inner truth, although those on earth can hardly realize it because it is obscured by so many external things - by the needs of the body, the restrictions of time and space, the sense of responsibility that comes suddenly with the apparent loss of one on whom they had depended. Yet in reality all these things are under the immediate government of the Lord, who permits nothing to happen that permanently injures the spiritual life of those who are bereaved. He has regard, not only to the welfare of the one who is called into the other world, but also to the eternal well-being of those who remain on earth. This truth can be realized by an awakening spirit far more fully than it can by men on earth, because the spirit now thinks only from the internal memory, and in doing so is kept in the protecting sphere of the angels.
     For this reason spirits are not worried about their loved ones on earth in the way we might suppose. Yet this lack of concern about external things is by no means a sign of indifference; The bonds of affection are not broken by death.

The desire of loved ones to be conjoined and to serve one another remains, and is, if anything, increased. But this conjunction and this service are now effected solely by the Lord. Men on earth, being unaware of their spiritual associates, can minister only unconsciously to those in the other world. They do so by a life of love to the Lord and of use to the neighbor here on earth. That this is true we know from revelation, although we seldom reflect upon it. So also spirits unwittingly minister to men on earth by their life of love to the Lord and use to one another in the spiritual world. This they not only know to be true, but they perceive it far more perfectly than we do. They know that the relation between the two worlds is mercifully kept by the Lord in His own hands, because He alone can know the hearts of men and fathom their spiritual needs; He alone can govern the influence of spirits over men, and of men over spirits, in such a way as to promote the eternal welfare of both, while at the same time He preserves the freedom of both. We, like the angels, should rejoice that this is so, and should gladly trust the Lord to direct our relations with those in the other world without wishing in any way to inject into it our ignorant and wilful interference.

We have said that man's life in the spiritual world differs from his life on earth primarily in this, that he no longer has direct contact with material things, but depends for his sense impulses upon imaginative ideas in the minds of men still living in the body. These ideas are not permanent but are merely visual forms of affections and loves that are constantly modified by changes of state. The spirit therefore lacks contact with a fixed environment which is independent of the mind. He would therefore seem to be deprived of any means by which to change his state, or determine the direction of his development. As long as he lives consciously in a material world, man faces a perpetual challenge. He is surrounded by things that are stable and unyielding. They are often out of harmony with his natural desires. They place obstacles in his way which must be overcome if he is to achieve his objectives and make his hopes come true; but at the same time they act as a fulcrum whereby he may deliberately change his ideas and alter the direction in which he seeks to progress.
This no one can do without taking hold of something fixed, outside of himself. This is as true of the mind as it is of the body. We can lift ourselves from the ground only by seizing a branch or a rod that will sustain our weight. We could not walk unless the earth, or the floor on which we stand were solid and immovable. It is similar with our states of mind. By focusing attention upon the fixed objects of the world about us we can learn; we can discover new truths, change our ideas, and give a new direction to our ambitions. This we can do, not only by our personal experience, but also by the sense experience of others with whom we come in contact through conversation and reading.

     The appearance is that in the spiritual world there is no such stable ultimate. The surroundings of the angels are not independent of their minds. They merely reflect, in visual forms, the affections and thoughts of the angels. They are fluid, changing spontaneously and instantaneously as these states of mind are changed. The Writings teach that this is the case, and demonstrate it by many things heard and seen by Swedenborg in the spiritual world. From this teaching we may derive the idea that that world is purely imaginary, unsubstantial, and unreal. Furthermore, the angels are associated in heaven only with others whose loves are similar to their own, and who offer no challenge to their customary modes of thought. This being the case, it would seem that there is no means by which angels can change their state or direct their progress into a new path. For this reason, as the Writings appear to indicate, man must regenerate while on earth, since he cannot do so in the other life. When he dies his destiny there is fixed and cannot be changed to eternity, which is the meaning of the saying, "As the tree falls, so shall it lie."
     Yet this must be more deeply understood, for the very opposite teaching is also given, namely, that the spiritual world is more real, more constant, more stable and substantial than the world of nature; and further, we are assured that the angels are being perfected to eternity. How can this be?
     In the other world there must be a fixed ultimate which performs for the angels the same function of a fulcrum which the material universe performs for men on earth. There must be something that is completely independent of any angelic mind, something that the angels can see, something that they can take hold of to change their states, and thus to progress. This ultimate we believe is the written Word. It acquires its fixity from the fact that it has been written on earth, and at the same time has been written in heaven. It contains Divine truth that is eternal, and it brings that truth within the range of both human and angelic understanding. Without the Word, we are told, there could be no sure knowledge of God, no dependable concept of faith, no reliable understanding of what constitutes a religious life or the way of salvation. Here on earth it is the teaching of the Word alone that can cause us to reflect upon our spiritual states and enable us to appraise them, to judge them, and to modify them; and this is equally true of the angels in the other world. As the doctrine teaches: "The doctrine of faith effects nothing whatever with man except the Lord give him to reflect. Wherefore men learn what is good and true from the Lord's Word in order that they may reflect upon themselves, [and judge] whether they are such [as the Word teaches they ought to be]. This reflection is awakened in them at certain times, especially in times of trouble.

Wherefore to know truths [from the Word] is of the greatest moment; for without the knowledge of [such] truths there can be no reflection, and consequently no reformation.
     Indeed, the whole purpose of the Word is to teach both men and angels the truths and the laws of spiritual life. These are the truths and the laws that obtain in the spiritual world. They are altogether independent of any finite mind; they are eternally fixed and constant. They therefore can act as a fulcrum by which both men and spirits can change their states, and grow in spiritual intelligence and wisdom.
     Even here on earth the Word is remarkable in this, that although it is a material object outwardly similar to all others in our environment, it differs from all others in that it can convey to our minds Divine and heavenly truth. So also, while it appears to the angels similar to the other objects of their world, it differs from all others in the fact that it conveys to them far more than a reflection of their limited thoughts and feelings. It does not change with their shifting states of mind. It remains ever the same, outside of their minds and independent of them, so that by reading it and reflecting upon its teaching, angels and spirits can learn to know and to judge their own states, seeing them in relation to the love and wisdom of the Lord Himself. Without this stable ultimate they could not progress. They could acquire no new knowledge of the Lord, they could not correct their faulty understanding of the Divine law, they could attain to no more accurate perceptions of truth. That the Word does exist in heaven as a fixed ultimate is clear from what is said in number 72 of the Doctrine of the Sacred Scripture: "In every larger society of heaven a copy of the Word, written by angels inspired by the Lord, is kept in its sanctuary, lest being elsewhere, it should be altered in any point." The fact that man cannot regenerate in the other world if he has not begun to do so on earth, or if he has confirmed himself in opposition to the Word and refuses to accept its teaching - this fact does not imply that man cannot progress in that world just so far as he is willing to learn and obey what the Word teaches.
     The Word is the Divine of the Lord that makes heaven. In its essence it is the Divine will and law. Because this does not change, the Word is permanent and unalterable, and because the Word is permanent, so is the entire spiritual world; not indeed as to its representative forms, not as to the objects as they appear to angels and spirits, but as to the essential qualities that these objects represent. What the angels see in their environment are nothing but representations of what they perceive as the truth of the Word. The objects themselves are finite, imperfect, subject to change with the shifting states of the angels. But the truths and goods they picture forth are Divine, eternal, unchanging.

They exist outside of the angels, in the Divine of the Lord which makes heaven. This the angels know, and because they know it they are aware that the world in which they live is real, substantial, and permanent. Indeed, it is far more real and substantial than is the material world.
Of course it is quite otherwise with the surroundings that appear to the evil spirits in the hells. These are appearances that arise from their rejection of the Word, their denial of its teaching, and their insistence upon thinking and willing contrary to it. They are called "mere appearances" because they are purely imaginary, fantastic, like the ravings of a disordered mind. Nevertheless, the truth of the Word reigns even in the hells, and the evil spirits are compelled to recognize it and obey it, just as men in the natural world are compelled to recognize and obey the forces and the laws of nature, whether they will or no.

All natural life, therefore, arises from reflection upon material things, and all spiritual life arises from reflection upon the Word. While we are on earth our thought is unavoidably focused upon physical sensations and upon the corporeal memory which these sensations produce. But after death this memory is quiescent, and our whole attention is directed to what affects our minds from the interior memory of men still living, from that of angels and spirits with whom we then are consciously associated, and from our own interior memory. Because of this, although we are actually in unconscious contact with both worlds, both before and after death, our entire conscious life before death is centered in the natural world, and our entire conscious life after death is centered in the spiritual world.
BOYS WILL BE MEN 1961

BOYS WILL BE MEN KENNETH ROSE 1961

(One of three speeches on "The Education of Boys" delivered at the Charter Day Banquet, Bryn Athyn, Pa., October 29, 1960.)

The whole process of New Church education is dedicated to making New Church adults out of New Church children. The particular tasks of making men of the boys and women of the girls are concentrated in the few years of high school. In earlier grades there is not so much distinction - at least not in school. The basic skills and knowledges must be acquired by boys and girls alike, with little or no difference in content, emphasis or technique. Toward the end of elementary school, when masculinity and femininity are developing most rapidly on all planes, it is appropriate to begin to separate the sexes.

This allows their distinct states to be more richly fed than would be possible in a common environment. In high school the separation becomes almost complete. Male teachers try to develop truly rational thinkers, while the ladies in the Girls School are perfecting the lovely creatures who will exert so much influence in directing the masculine minds toward real uses and true happiness.
     Later, in college, the separation begins to disappear. The crisis of adolescence may not have passed, but it has been under way long enough for people to get used to it; so the boys and girls come back together to continue their education. This apparent inconsistency is not inappropriate, because on the college level education is not the same process. College students continue to develop minds that are masculine or feminine, but they become more independent and aloof. They still show some willingness to listen to teachers, but are more hesitant to respond by discussing or asking questions. Their education becomes more of their own doing, as they choose from what is offered by their professors. They thus adapt the educational process, not only to their gender, but to their individual personalities.
     At the high school level, these differences in learning are more pronounced and are met with differences in teaching. Even courses that are nominally the same in the Girls and Boys Schools are taught differently. I can testify to this from my own experience as a female teacher. Three years a go, unavoidable circumstances deprived sophomore girls of their proper geometry teacher, and I was admitted to the Girls School faculty as an emergency measure. The arrangement was strictly temporary, and has remained so for two more years. After the first year I had made a general observation:

     Girls far excel boys in their ability to recognize
     the fundamental unimportance of mathematics.

In the two subsequent years I have striven to discern more exactly what the differences are in teaching these two kinds of people. I conclude that I would not teach a boys' class the same way as I do the girls.
     There are two aspects to geometry - proving facts, and applying them; and while both are essential to the course, the latter appeals more to girls than the former. They resent it, even more than boys do, when they are obliged to prove something they recognize as obviously true. And of course their resentment turns to indignation when some of the obvious truths they perceive are proved false. Both boys and girls are interested in the difference between truth and falsity, but it takes a masculine mind to appreciate serious and extended study of the mechanics of how to tell the difference.

     It may be correctly concluded that I believe a male teacher can teach girls distinctively. In fact, the presence of both genders in the classroom often lends valuable perspective on any subject. It does not justify the disadvantage of mixing the students, but it compensates for the inconvenience of situations that call for having teachers of the "wrong" sex in either school.
     The distinctions I have observed in teaching girls and boys similar material are summed up in a story I heard before I started. It was a true story, I understand, of a gathering of young people who were being shown one of Mr. Gustav Genzlinger's models of an invention of Swedenborg's. The whole story is that all the boys asked: "How does it work?" and all the girls asked: "What is it for?"
     With girls I emphasize, What It Is For, but I try to give them an appreciation of the other aspect of mathematical thought as well. It is important to them, if for no other reason than that it is important to their future husbands. In boys' classes the situation is reversed. Teachers appeal to their natural inclinations by emphasizing repeatedly How It Works. But they, too, need an appreciation of the other side. They must learn how to apply the truth to their lives, and it is this aspect of their education that can be most distinctively New Church. How It Works is much the same the world over; What It Is For is very controversial. Experts disagree, and in some very important areas their struggle to find who is right is doomed to continue until they find out that all of them are wrong.
     The world misunderstands the difference between the sexes in a fantastically thorough fashion. Even when they approach recognition of what men and women are, most people are a long way from determining what they should be. The New Church has access to the answers to these ancient riddles, and it must work year after year to perfect its understanding of the duality that pervades creation and expresses itself most fully in the creation of human beings in two parts. Even with the Writings to guide us, we cannot complete this study in only a few generations. There will continue to be confusion with the ideas prevalent in the world around us. We are obliged to compete with those ideas for the attention of our students and we ourselves have been subject to their influence throughout our lives. We have been successfully indoctrinated in many of these wrong ideas, and cannot without hard work and serious study distinguish ill-founded prejudices from sound teachings, even in our own minds.
     Let us consider the major areas of application to life, with particular attention to the differences between men and women, and see what implications arise as to how we are to educate New Church boys to be New Church men.

     The first area is marriage, along with all that precedes it. Here we come face to face with the world's worst ideas, because we are concerned with their misunderstanding of women as well as of men. We are trying to prepare our young men for a "legitimate and lovely companionship with one," and for the prerequisite spurning of "wandering lusts as an offense to their nostrils."' The view antithetical to the one we cherish is illustrated in almost any modern magazine with the word "men" on the cover. The implication that magazines of other natures are not for "men" shows the seriousness of widespread misconceptions regarding the nature of men and women. The least desirable features of the male, including his "harsher and less beautiful face, deeper voice, and more robust body,"* are confounded with his true nature, and are thought to comprise his real masculinity.
* CL 49
     This idea would be bad enough if it were confined to a few publications frankly dedicated to wandering lust. But it also extends into casual entertainment of every kind and conveys impressions that are difficult to combat. It is taken for granted by many that man's predatory inclinations toward the opposite sex are reasonable expressions of his manliness, and that he should not be expected to control them.
     One of the proudest duties of a real man is the protection of the sphere of conjugial love. This responsibility begins long before marriage, and usually takes the form of controlling himself rather than of restraining anyone else. And yet there is wide acceptance of the idea that such control is the responsibility of the woman involved. Man has abdicated his rightful place as protector, and left the fair sex not only the responsibility of making decisions they should not have to face, but the task of controlling supposedly stronger beings who would consider it abnormal to control themselves.
     The chaste love of the sex is one of the ideas we would most like to instill in our young men. Its opposite is so repulsive that we would rather not think about it, but we must. The idea that chastity is a strictly feminine virtue is taught so extensively and so subtly that, if we offer no positive leadership in the other direction, we can blame no one but ourselves when we see faulty attitudes toward sex entertained even in our New Church communities.
     The second great area for application of truth to life, closely related to the first, is the establishment of the New Church home. The second sentence of this paper includes an innuendo about New Church education in the home. It can be stated more bluntly: the education of boys as boys, and of girls as girls, takes place almost entirely in the home.

In this particular, and indeed in general, the Academy of the New Church cannot provide a New Church education but can only supplement it. Who is responsible for teaching a boy to be a man? His father, of course. Conjugial Love (no. 176) enjoins fathers to attend to the education of their sons from childhood to marriage. It is the Academy's opportunity to talk to the fathers of the next generation that promises development of our distinctive ideas about men and women. Some of the ideas that are accepted rationally by our students may never succeed in overcoming the persuasions of the will and becoming part of their lives. But there is still hope that they can be imparted to the next generation if the effort is started early enough.
     In this area one of the church's distinctive teachings applies. A father should serve as a priest to his family. It is his responsibility to provide leadership in matters of doctrine, and this affects his whole relationship with his wife and children.
     The man's part in religion extends outside the home to the service of the community, and of the church in general. The great work done by our clergy demands reciprocation and assistance of many kinds from intelligent laymen. Here again, the influence of the world is subtle and strong. In all the depictions of heroic men on stage or screen, or in the printed page, how often is even as simple a religious activity as going to church mentioned? Of course, the explanation is that authors do not dare to single out one religion to talk about, and so avoid the subject entirely. But the implication is just as strong as if it had been made intentionally: that religion has little to do with being a man.
     The modern world tends to consider religion something of a feminine matter. Indeed, it attributes so little responsibility to the male half of the race as to encourage a man to become a perpetual teen-ager who is kept in line only by the valiant efforts of his women folk, who manage him along with the home, the family, the community, and the church.
     There is, however, one area that still belongs primarily to Men - although not exclusively by any means. It is still fashionable for a man to support his family, and to this end be must apply himself to some sort of occupation. But even here the ideas that New Church people consider so obvious are not universally accepted. The idea that a man should serve others justly, faithfully and sincerely, is not given nearly as much emphasis as it needs. Great efforts are being expended today to insure that all workers shall have rights and privileges that only good workers deserve. Honesty has been demoted from a cardinal virtue to a good policy, and as such has been modified by changing traditions. In these times a man could probably win a libel suit against anyone who applied the word "dishonest" to some of the dishonest practices he employs.

The New Church business man is repeatedly faced with dilemmas as to whether he should do something because it is an accepted practice, or not do it because it is wrong.
     This degeneration of what the New Church calls "use" is part of the misunderstanding of masculinity, as is shown by another usage of the word "man." In advertising, when it is desired to picture the epitome of manliness, so that some product can bask in reflected glory, how often is The Man presented as doing a good job on something that will be of use to others? Instead, the scene usually shows vigorous application of his God given energy to some leisure activity, to which he presumably earned the right by weeks of drudgery at the office.
     With these observations and opinions as background, a statement can be made that would be far too blunt to be believed out of context:

     It is a distinctively New Church idea that a man
     should be chaste, responsible, devout and honest.

The distinctiveness is not so much in the general idea as in the meanings given to the key words, and to "man" in particular.
     Unfortunately, it cannot be said that attending the Academy schools makes a man chaste, responsible, devout and honest. It is, after all, the responsibility of each individual man of the church to accept or reject the teachings he is offered, and when a student leaves high school it is too early to tell how he will turn out. That is why the most gratifying sight in the world for an Academy teacher is the one that Charter Day brings - hundreds of men and women who are reciprocating in the Academy's mission, and have acquired a devotion to the cause of New Church education.
     But even among fervent Academicians there is likely to be doubt as to the realism of the ideas that have been discussed here. The accepted fact that boys will be boys seems to have a corollary that men will be boys, too. Perhaps we are being too idealistic, and too unmerciful about the views of the world. Should we not overlook the traces of lasciviousness, irresponsibility, irreverence and selfishness that are to be found in all men, and make the best of men as they are? We cannot regenerate our students, and perhaps our time would be more profitably spent in concentrating on the more tangible aspects of education.
     These suggestions have some truth to them, and they may prevail as expedients for some years to come. But if we abandon the ideals that distinguish us from other schools, our cause is lost. As long as we allow ourselves to entertain the idea that it is not a school's responsibility to teach chastity, responsibility, devout humility and honesty, we must be prepared to admit that New Church education is, at best, still in its experimental stages.

INHABITED UNIVERSE 1961

INHABITED UNIVERSE Rev. FREDERICK L. SCHNARR 1961

     2. THE INHABITANTS OF MERCURY

     In this article we would direct attention to the nature and life of the peoples from the planet Mercury. With that object in mind we shall review some of the general scientific data now available concerning the planet itself, noting some of the conclusions that have been drawn from this data. We shall note certain teachings of the Writings which relate to and bear on the present findings of science; and we shall then examine in some detail what the Writings say about the peoples in the other world who have come from the planet Mercury.

     The Planet Mercury

     Mercury lies closer to the sun of our solar system than any other known planet. It is estimated to be thirty-six million miles from the sun. A small planet, only one twenty-seventh as large as our earth in mass, it has a diameter of 3,100 miles. Since one side of the planet is always turned toward the sun, the other side never facing the sun, and since there is only an extremely thin atmosphere surrounding the entire planet, it is concluded that each side of Mercury remains in extreme temperatures; temperatures so extreme that no human life, if any form of life whatever, could possibly exist there.
     The temperature of the side of Mercury that faces the sun is estimated to average 540 degrees F., while that of the other side is thought to average - 459 degrees F. If we think of the planet as being divided into two hemispheres, with one side of the planet being continually in the broiling heat of the sun and the other continually in icy darkness, we will have a general picture of the description given by most astronomers and physicists. Some observers have actually described the surface of the planet as rocky, jagged and barren, with an appearance much like the surface of our moon, only more wild and rugged. However, it is evident from reputable scientists that such descriptions are mere conclusions and theories, since no one has yet been able actually to observe such formations.

Indeed it is commonly confessed that because of the smallness of Mercury, its distance from us, and its closeness to the sun, comparatively little accurate information has as yet been obtained.*
* Sources: Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1956 edition; Life on Other Worlds, H. Spencer Jones, former Astronomer Royal; The Inhabited Universe, Kenneth W. Gatland; The Secret of Human Life on Other Worlds, A.C. Ferber; current pamphlets and new articles.

     The Spirits of Mercury in the Gorand Man

     With this brief survey before us, let us turn our attention to what Swedenborg learned about the peoples of Mercury through his contacts with them in the other world. It should be remembered, of course, that Swedenborg was never permitted to speak directly with the inhabitants of the planets themselves, but only with the spirits and angels from the planets. And while we are learning of Swedenborg's experiences, and reflecting on the reason for their forming part of the revelation of the Lord's second coming, it should be kept in mind that those experiences were immediately under the Lord's auspices, and that what was written down to form a part of Divine revelation was at the Lord's command.
     It was mentioned in our first article that the Lord sees the heavens and the hells from all the planets in the universe in the form of a Gorand Man - a Gorand Man of uses wherein each individual human being has a specific and distinct function to perform. We noted that the particular nature and genius of the spirits from each planet serve a use in the Gorand Man to which there corresponds an organ of the body, or a faculty or function of the human form. We mentioned that the spirits and angels from this earth, for example, serve those uses to which what is exterior - the skin and the external portions of the body - corresponds. In regard to the spirits and angels of Mercury we are taught that they bear relation in the Gorand Man of heaven to the memory, especially to the memory of things that are abstracted from what is earthly and merely material.* We will see shortly how intimately their function in the Gorand Man relates to the nature of the character and life of these people. It is said that they serve the use of constantly enriching the memory of the Gorand Man, and that in order to perform this function they are allowed to wander about, visiting the different heavens, hells and worlds of spirits from all the earths in the universe.** We would conclude from this that the good spirits and angels of Mercury in their contact with other peoples act as a means of inspiring an orderly delight in the learning of knowledges that are above what is earthly and material; inspiring particularly, therefore, a delight in acquiring knowledges of the Lord and His kingdom.
* See AC 6696, 6808, 6921.
** See AC 6696, 6925.

     Mercurian Characteristics

     Let us turn now to what is said concerning the character of these people from Mercury. They are described as having a constant thirst for acquiring those knowledges that are above the worldly and material planes. In the other world this thirst leads them to wander about into different areas and among different spirits, always striving to learn new things. When they approach a new society, or even an individual angel or spirit, they wish to know everything that he knows - except for any knowledge he may have of material things. Even while they live on their earth, they have this great desire to acquire knowledge - knowledge of what is above and beyond nature, such as the laws and statutes which form the government of human society. The truths which direct and govern the steps of reformation and regeneration, and all the countless things relating to the nature formation and operation of the Lord's kingdom in the other world. The pursuit of such knowledge so occupies their time and attention that they give little thought to the things of bodily life.*
* See AC 6810-6812, 7076; EU 29.
     Swedenborg was permitted to be present with the spirits and angels from Mercury for a number of months. * In one of his experiences with them we are given a good idea of the nature of the knowledges in the learning of which they find delight.
* See AC 6695

     They once came to me and searched the things in my memory. (This spirits can do with the utmost skill; for when they come to a man, they see in his memory everything that he knows.) When therefore the spirits of Mercury searched out various things, and among others the cities and places where I had been, I observed that they did not wish to know about the churches, palaces, houses and streets; but only what I knew to have been done in these places, and also matters relating to the government there, and to the genius and manners of the inhabitants, with other things like these; for such things cling to the places that are in man's memory, and therefore when the places are excited, these other things also come up. I wondered at this character of the spirits of Mercury, and I therefore asked why they passed by the magnificent features of the places, and only searched out the facts and doings there? They said that they have no delight in looking at material, bodily and earthly things, but only at real ones.*
* AC 6809

     In another passage we are taught that the spirits of Mercury have such an aversion to things purely material that they tend to dislike even such things as the external form of verbal speech.* When first told about the use of writing and printing in our world, they were not only unimpressed but thought that such modes of communication were purely external and undesirable, yet in keeping with the nature of the people of this earth; and they even told Swedenborg that they thought the manner in which he was writing was very gross, and that nearly all of the expressions he used appeared as it were material.**

The Mercurians have a saying that "they love what is drawn out from things material, and that they do not desire to look at the sheath, but at things stripped of their sheath, thus at interior things.***
* See AC 6814.
** See EU 28; AC 6929
*** AC 6816, 6928
In spite of the great desire of the Mercurians to learn knowledges abstracted from what is earthly and material they nevertheless manifest very many worldly and non-heavenly states. Many of them appear to be rather immature and to give little evidence of having rational judgment. With the same quickness with which they are able to read the contents of the memories of other spirits and angels they judge concerning the actions and states of others, and this often with poor judgment and little perception.* The Writings explain that while the Mercurians are continually increasing in the knowledge of things, many of them are not inclined to increase in the wisdom which should be formed from knowledges because they devote their entire interest and attention to the means, that is, the acquisition of knowledges, and not to the end, that is, the use of knowledge in their lives.** Because many of them do not think of the reason for their acquiring of knowledge, or, rather, do not pay any attention to it, neither do they care much about drawing conclusions, or reflecting on the knowledges they learn that they might judge wisely. Therefore it is said that they are little distinguished for their judgment. Their lack of reflection and wise judgment is indicated a number of times in Swedenborg's experiences with them. For example, when they were first taught about the use of writing and printing on this planet they made an almost instantaneous judgment about its being merely another external form; but when they were forced to listen to the actual uses that writing and printing could perform they then had to change their minds.*** A number of times they showed a great deal of impatience, even anger, with Swedenborg. Once while he was writing something about the future and was unwilling to read it to them they quickly became indignant, and, contrary to their usual behavior, they wished to inveigh against him, saying that he was one of the worst of men. Another time they became angry because Swedenborg was allowed to have certain knowledges which they did not have; not realizing that this was of the Lord, not of Swedenborg.****
* See AC 6923, 6814.
** See AC 6913, 7073; EU 29.
*** See AC 6814; EU 17, 28.
****See SD 3289; AC 6811; EU 13.

     Because of the knowledges they amass, the spirits of Mercury tend to be conceited and falsely proud. They suppose they know so many things that it is scarcely possible to know anything else. They even tend to despise others in comparison with themselves, to esteem themselves as of superior intelligence. Many of them, when instructed by the spirits and angels of our earth that there are many things, indeed relatively infinite things, which they do not know, were struck with amazement, another indication of their childlike states, and then began to humble themselves. Others, however, when told of their unseemly pride and elation of mind, answered that it was not pride but only a glorying in their faculty of memory, and thus they merely excused their faults.*
* See AC 6813, 70770; SD 3239; EU 16.
     We would note here that it was spirits and angels from our earth who were instructing those from Mercury. The question arises as to why this should have been, considering the external nature of our people and the many terrible references to the people of our earth made by spirits from other earths. There are many things involved here which we would rather enter into when we discuss the nature of this earth in our final article. However, two important facts may be noted at this time. First, the Last Judgment had not yet taken place. Swedenborg's experiences with spirits who had been inhabitants of other planets all occurred prior to the Last Judgment in 1757. They occurred, therefore, while the lower heavens and the world of spirits from our earth had reached the climax of their states of disorder. The truths of the Lord's second coming were just beginning to have an effect in the lower heavens and in the world of spirits, although it would appear that they had already been received in the higher heavens.* Indeed it was from the higher heavens from our earth that these spirits of Mercury were being instructed. Second, apart from a number of years immediately preceding the Last Judgment, there seems to have been little or no communication between the spirits from our earth and the spirits from other earths. The statements and comments about the nature of spirits from our earth made to Swedenborg by other spirits seem to have been based on fairly recent contacts. But we will enter into this more thoroughly in a later article.
* See AC 6928, 7077; EU 27.

     Worship among the Mercurians

     Not a great deal is said in the Writings about the nature and form of Divine revelation with the people of Mercury. As is the case with every earth in the universe except ours, there is no written Word. Divine truths are revealed through a communication with spirits and angels similar to that through which the Most Ancient Church on our earth received revelation from the Lord.

This is done according to families, with the head or father of the family unit receiving instruction through conversations with spirits and angels while in sleep, and also through seeing visions of life in the other world while in sleep.*
* See AC 6810, 9358.
     It would seem, however, that everyone receives a certain perception of the truth of a matter and that this perception acts as a means of encouraging them to learn. The elders, who instruct others, do not pour forth everything they know about a certain subject, but skillfully present their information in such a way as to arouse further curiosity on the part of the student. They do this by cleverly holding back certain important parts of the instruction, thus inspiring the student with the desire to learn more of the subject.* It is noted that their associate spirits also deliberately introduce false ideas at times, and that they do this so that truth may afterwards appear in clearer light. This is, of course, in keeping with the general teaching of the Writings that all truth appears relatively to its opposite. Seeing the nature and quality of falsity in contrast to the nature and quality of truth makes the truth more clearly defined and its message more powerful.**
* See EU 35.
** See AC 7975.
     The people of Mercury believe that the Lord is the only God and they think of Him as being in the human form. They did not know until near the time of the Last Judgment that the Lord had been born on our earth and that He had assumed the Human and made it Divine. They told Swedenborg that a promise had once been made to the people of Mercury that they should see the Lord. When Swedenborg inquired as to the specific nature of this promise, they could not provide any details except that it had been given. Some of the spirits of Mercury were permitted to see the Lord as He appeared in the spiritual sun. They first said that this was not the Lord because He had no face. Then they saw a more definite image of the Lord's Human in the sun, and they were assured by spirits from our earth that this really was the Lord.*
* See AC 7173.
     Something more of the Mercurians' inclination to conceit because of their own learning and intelligence, and the relative immaturity of their wisdom, is manifested in their attitude to the peoples of our earth. After they had learned the general character of the spirits from this earth they shunned them, not wanting to have anything to do with them because of their external and worldly nature. They wondered whether any such people could possibly become angels; and then it was told them that although earth-men were so external, nevertheless, because they had the knowledges of the Word, they would actually come into a light higher than that in which the Mercurians were, if they used those knowledges.

The Mercurians found this hard to believe, even after being instructed that it was so by an angel. Finally they had to believe it, however, when they were told that the very angel who had been instructing them was from this earth.*
* See AC 6928, 7077; EU 27.

     Life on the Planet Mercury

     As to their physical form and appearance, the people of Mercury appear to be almost like us. They are about the same height as we are, but their bodies are more slender and their faces somewhat smaller. A Mercurian woman whom Swedenborg saw had a beautiful face and was simply dressed. Her clothing and her headdress, a linen cap, were put on without art and yet in a becoming manner. We would judge from their character, and from this very brief description, that the people of Mercury, while not careless or sloppy about their dress and appearance, pay little heed to anything beyond what is necessary to wellbeing and comfort.*
* See AC 7175.
     They live in families, much as did the ancient people of our earth, in a rural kind of life. It is noted that they have cows and oxen much like those on our earth, only smaller and in some respects resembling a kind of deer.*
* See AC 9793.
     Nothing is said about the nature of their dwellings, nor of their surroundings. Probably their dwellings are rather simple, for such is the case on other planets. Whatever are the details of their physical existence, this much we do know: they do not have the sciences, arts and crafts that are known on this earth. Nor does it seem that they would ever want to have them, for the nature of their character is such as to lead them away from external things. Their only science is the science of knowledges abstracted from what is earthly and material. It would be utterly inconceivable to think of these people building space-ships.* So much do they abhor what is earthly and material that, immediately after death, many of them wish that they did not have a physical body, but could appear as a crystal ball or something else that could be seen through almost as if it did not have substantial form.** Such thoughts, of course, are changed as they are prepared for heaven.
* See AC 9793.
** See AC 7175.
     The Writings do tell us that the natural sun appears much larger from Mercury than it does from our earth. They say also that the inhabitants live in a medium temperature, neither too hot nor too cold.*

How are we to align such a statement with what has been said previously about the temperatures which science believes to exist on Mercury? Nothing unusual is said about these people to indicate that they are given special protection of any kind, such as heat-resistant skin or a heavy layer of blubber. The Writings do, however, make this statement:

     "It was so provided of the Lord in regard to them that they should not be exposed to too much heat by reason of their greater nearness to the sun, inasmuch as heat does not arise from the sun's nearness, but from the altitude and density of the atmosphere, as appears from the cold on high mountains even in hot climates; also that heat is varied according to the direct or oblique incidence of the sun's rays, as is plain from the seasons of summer and winter in every region." **
* See AC 7177.
** EU 45.

     We believe that it might well be concluded, as has been done by A. C. Ferber, that the area on Mercury where people live is the belt where the two extremes of heat and cold meet. In such a belt the rays of the sun would be slanted, as the Writings indicate, thus partially moderating the intensity of the suns heat; and this, coupled with the cooling effect from the cold side of Mercury, could give an area with moderate and livable temperatures. At first scientists thought that such an area would be too small to support human life, and most of them still think this; but in 1889 the now famous Italian astronomer, Giovanni Schiaparelli, noted that this marginal area might be larger than had been thought. He noted that as Mercury moves quickly about the sun it teeters or rocks slowly back and forth. This swaying motion, now called "libration," would provide a livable strip of ground about one-fourth the size of Mercury's total area.

     Conclusion

     Such observations and conclusions are useful, and we have no doubt that they will continually provide more and more evidence to confirm the teachings of the Writings. However, our main purpose in these articles is to examine what the Lord has revealed of the inhabited universe as a reflected image of the Lord's infinite power, infinite wisdom, and infinite love; to see a creation ordered under the government of the Divine love and wisdom, with every part thereof contributing to the universal Divine purpose. In seeing the distinct and individual human qualities of the peoples of Mercury, we enter into something of a new and greater concept of the Lord's creation - a concept that helps us to understand better the relationship of human uses, and how those uses form the basis of all the states of individual angelic life in the Gorand Man.

ROBERT ALDEN, M.D 1961

ROBERT ALDEN, M.D Rev. DAVID SIMONS 1961

     Extracts from a Memorial Address

(Delivered in the Bryn Athyn Cathedral, December 1, 1960.)

     "One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in His temple." (Psalm 27: 4)

     The "house of the Lord," His heavenly kingdom, is a kingdom of uses. It is a living, growing society which, under the auspices of an all-wise and infinitely loving providence, is continually being perfected; for the Lord wills not only to give life but also to give it more abundantly. Thus the eternal heaven revealed to us in intimate detail in the Writings is not, as so many have supposed, a static state of final rest. On the contrary, it is a state of intense and urgent activity, of expanding uses, of progress and delight.
     But nothing grows without food and care. Perfection in the heavens, as on earth, is achieved by means of uses. These are performed by intelligent, talented and skilled angels who love to serve others and are capable of so doing. These wise angels have a compassion for the needs of others: needs to understand better, to perfect modes of communication so that their inner loves may be more fully expressed in life, to perform their work more perfectly. These spiritual necessities are a clear call from the Lord Himself for dedication and service, for a complete laying down of one's life for others. Clearly, those who "dwell in the house of the Lord" continue to "enquire in His temple" and to behold ever more fully the delight of His beauty and love.
     More than this, the internal uses of heaven are not restricted to a few. They are not localized. Such are the mercy, wisdom and order of the Lord that uses there have unbounded extension. Nor are the uses of the angelic heaven perfected only from within by individual angelic growth and development; they are also increased continually from without - by additions from the world of men. The addition of numbers improves the quality even of the heavens; and the Lord enriches His kingdom by calling His children, when they are ready and urgently needed, to their heavenly use.

     The growth of heaven is no haphazard thing. Rather is it a matter of the utmost and immediate concern of the Lord's providence. As the body grows in orderly fashion, adding cells in balanced harmony, and as deviations could lead only to imperfection, so the balance and orderly growth of angelic society is under the constant care of the Lord. Whenever forces fail they are balanced, and of the Lord's providence men are brought thither. It is by this addition of new men, new angels who can perform special functions and fill special needs, that the Lord continually cares for the perfecting of His kingdom; and the Lord alone can perceive these needs and provide for them.
      When we understand these things; when we allow the Lord to lift up our eyes to the mountains of spiritual truth; when, from Him we see that heaven is a living, growing kingdom of uses, that there are human needs to be met, vital and urgent places to be filled; then we can understand why the Lord has seen fit to call one so well qualified into His presence. We can understand why He is even now lifting him up to "behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in His temple."
     Doctor Robert Alden - New Church man, physician, husband, father and friend - was educated through junior college in New Church schools. At the University of Pennsylvania he completed college, and then graduated from medical school in three years. After his internship at Abington Hospital he served in the Army Air Corps. He then taught for a year in the Academy of the New Church. But the uses of academic instruction fell short of his desire and unique qualifications to meet human needs in a more fundamental way. His compassion drove him, at great sacrifice, to acquire the knowledges and develop the skills of psychiatry, so that he could serve others, especially children, more directly in the care of their intimate personal needs.
     Ever solicitous lest he violate the sacred freedom of the individual his God-given, as-of-self power of decision - Dr. Alden's central concern was to help his patients to help themselves. His gentle, sympathetic but firm counsel opened up new outlooks and inspired confidence and hope. With his help others learned to view themselves, their inner conflicts and fears, objectively, and to face squarely their own part in the steps toward health. His underlying compassion and his own deep-seated conviction, born of study both of science and of truths of the Heavenly Doctrine, gave him the insight into human states and the strength of character which are needed to lead others to new states. He possessed a great skill in releasing the inner potentials of those he served. He had a particular interest in communication, in opening up new paths of understanding and trust between husband and wife, parent and child, and the individual and his physical and social environment.

     But above and beyond this work with individuals lies his work for the thought and life of the church. His disciplined scientific approach to life, matched by an understanding of spiritual truth, provides a glimpse of things to come. He pioneered a new kind of psychiatry, a new level of service to mankind; for behind all his work lay the profound acknowledgment of the Lord and His Word, and a humble willingness to subordinate man-made theory to the truth about the spiritual qualities of the human mind and the inner forces which influence it. He was concerned lest New Church men, in lifting their eyes to the lofty ideals of the Writings, stumble in daily life by failing to see the steps by which these ideals are to be achieved - the mercy of Divine accommodation and permission. He dedicated his life to closing the gap between religion and life! Surely such a mind, containing as it did both the internal truths of Divine revelation and the external truths of science, performed the highest of uses distinctive to our earth - uses for which it is said that the Lord has loved our earth more than others.
     As husband and father, Dr. Alden ultimated his principles in life. By his devotion to the needs of his wife and children he established a firm foundation for a New Church home, the uses of which will continue in his name. He has provided a strong sphere of love and understanding to warm and strengthen those with whom he can no longer directly communicate.
     And this we know! This the Lord tells us, adults and children, truly! Dr. Alden's uses to his family, to all of us, have not been stopped. They have not been taken away. They have not come to an end. But rather, in calling our friend, husband and father to His eternal kingdom, the Lord has helped him, has elevated and perfected his uses, has given them a scope and a power beyond our comprehension. The Lord has freed them from the restrictions of time and space and from the inadequacies of earthly communication. Thus we can rejoice for him. We can be happy that the Lord has opened up such wonderful opportunities for him. For now his affection, his ruling love, may be fully expressed; and this, not for the angels alone to enjoy, but for us, for all who know and love him and the uses he served. Now his presence, his thoughtfulness for others, and his affection for use, can inspire each one of us to new heights of devotion and service.
     When we see and acknowledge these things, and the Lord's presence and leading in them, then we can turn to Him and He will be with us to comfort our distress, to heal our sorrow, and to raise our hearts heavenwards in peace and love. Then we can say with the Psalmist: "Teach me Thy way, O Lord, and lead me in a plain path.... I had fainted unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord: be of good courage."

SWEDENBORG: A SPIRITUAL SCIENTIST 1961

SWEDENBORG: A SPIRITUAL SCIENTIST Rev. HAROLD C. CRANCH 1961

     The New Church is firmly founded on the new revelation given by the Lord through Emanuel Swedenborg. This revelation gives a new, beautiful, logical and intensely practical religion. But these are the Lord's works. Swedenborg himself disclaims all credit for the theological Writings. In one place he wrote: "The books written by the Lord through me are to be listed."
     After this he listed by title the books written to that time. The Writings were published anonymously for the most part, and they could be received for the truth they presented and not because of the fame of a man. The last book he put through the press, the True Christian Religion, he signed Emanuel Swedenborg, Servant of the Lord Jesus Christ. He disclaimed any honor for himself, nor did he try to establish a church or persuade others of the truth in the Writings. But he knew that the truth would be established, and that a church would be formed upon this Divine revelation. He was content that the Lord would bring these things in His own time. Thus he was a truly humble man. He dreaded the thought that others might look up to him as the founder of a new religion, or attribute these doctrines to him as their author. Why, then, do we celebrate the anniversary of his birth, and keep his achievements before us?
     The answer is simple. We honor Swedenborg because by his work in the sciences he was prepared to become a revelator; we honor him because he trained himself to a pure love for truth, for clear deductive reasoning, for the high courage to venture where others feared to go, and for the humility to surrender himself to the Lord's leading and guidance when his own wisdom had led him to see the limitations of merely human reason. We honor him because by so doing we can learn much of how we should live and think, for he embodied in a wonderful degree the beautiful teachings given through him by the Lord. Also we recall various aspects of his life at these times to see in them the marvelous workings of the Divine Providence. This can be seen in the lives of all great men, but particularly so in Swedenborg's life, because he was being prepared for such a high use.
     He himself was shown this later, and so he wrote in the Spiritual Diary: "That everything in my previous life has been governed by the Lord could be evident to me from those things which were brought forth concerning my past life."*

In a letter he wrote: "The Lord has prepared me for this, [to be the agent of the Second Coming] from my childhood." **
* No. 3177.
** PTW, Vol. 1 p. 590 Standard Edition.
     We are not to judge from this that his early scientific works are infallible - nor that they are unimportant; preparatory for his use as a revelator, but valueless in themselves. One or another of these two views has been widespread in the church for many years. Dr. Wilkinson, an early New Church scientist, doctor and author refers to this. He wrote: "There are mistaken notions respecting the scientific labors of Swedenborg. Sometimes they were regarded merely as the successful prize essays of one who afterwards distinguished himself in another field. . . . Sometimes, on the other hand, there was a certain exhaustive and impossible universality attributed to them, as though the whole future of the sciences were summed up in Swedenborg; as though he had anticipated everything; had reaped the last harvest of truth from the plains of nature; had left no room for discoveries, but only for commentaries; and was to rule the furthest coming time with a more than Aristotelian sway."
     But the truth is somewhere in between, and to make a true evaluation we must be as honest in our appraisal as he was himself. The principle he adopted was to follow the truth wherever it led, rather than take up a partisan cause. He expressed this in the first volume of his Economy of the Animal Kingdom: "I am resolved to be contrary to no one, but simply to fix my attention upon data and facts, and to follow where I see the truth, or the cause, supported by experience and reason." *
* Econ. Vol. 1 p. 449.
     This is safe ground. We can have the freedom of truth, and not try to defend what is indefensible, and we will not be disillusioned later. He emphasizes this in the Principia: "What need is there for words? Let the thing speak for itself. If what I say be true, why should I be eager to defend it? surely truth can defend itself. If what I have said be false, it would be a degrading and silly task to defend it." *
* Principia 11 p 366.
     But we lose very little, if anything, in our estimate of Swedenborg by objectively seeking a true estimate. He is a giant figure in the field of scientific philosophy, and in the practical science especially needed in his day. It is true that his practical science was limited by the scarcity of facts in the general fund of knowledge at that time, and that it was limited also by the crudity of some of the scientific instruments then in use. Some instruments, such as the mercury air pump, he invented himself to provide greater accuracy in experimentation. But the method of work - the principles that governed him, the keen analysis of function and use in the forms of nature and in the organics of the human body, produced a philosophy of science that is universal, and that will shed light on all future research by New Church scientists.

     This is borne out by the analysis of Dr. Max Neuburger, Prof. of the History of Medicine at Vienna, who said: "The crown of Swedenborg's physiological achievements is formed by his views of the functions of the brain, especially of the cortex cerebri. . . . The deficiencies, the mistakes, the incomplete proofs, are the defects of Swedenborg's time, but the ideas, the prophetic anticipations, reach forward victoriously to the threshold of our own age; they constitute the distinctive mental property of Swedenborg, and their truth has been wonderfully confirmed by the most modern science."
     From this Swedenborg might be considered very modern as a scientist, for several reasons. His method of working agrees in essentials with the requirements for today's scientific researcher, although his background principles are far richer. Professor T. H. Huxley defines natural science as: "The knowledge of the laws of nature obtained by observation, experiment, and reasoning." Swedenborg also defines what he means by "philosophy" which of course is basically the love of wisdom. In the Principia he writes: "By philosophy is here understood the knowledge of the mechanism of our world, or of whatever in the world is subject to the laws of geometry; or which it is possible to unfold to view by experience assisted by geometry and reason."
     Swedenborg has been called one of the four universal geniuses, the others being Aristotle, Leonardo da Vinci, and Bacon; and this estimate is a worthy one if by it we mean the universality of his interests. For he was interested in almost every human skill and in every field of science, and he brought to each not only this lively interest but also his keen powers of observation and deduction, and the will to master something in most fields. So the Rev. J. G. Dufty gathered and documented many references to his activities along these lines. He wrote: "He seized every opportunity of adding to his practical efficiency, and to his knowledge of useful arts. He learnt bookbinding whilst the binder was busy with his father's books. During his travels he changed his lodgings from time to time that perchance thereby he might pick up from the craftsmen with whom he lodged somewhat of their craft. He learnt thus watch-making, cabinet making, and the making of mathematical and scientific instruments, and whilst in Holland, he devoted himself to the art of grinding lenses. Commissioned to purchase globes for his university, when he found the price asked and the dangers of transit a matter of difficulty, he tried to purchase the engraved sheets separately that they might be mounted in Sweden. But when the maker refused to sell these he promptly devoted himself to learning the art of engraving that he might prepare the sheets himself. *
*Documents 42, 43, Vol 1 pp 215, 217
     This sort of information has led to some amazing and superhuman claims about Swedenborg. You have seen, and perhaps used, charts that said something like this: Master of nine languages, Watchmaker, Bookbinder Optician, Engraver, Printer, Geographer, Map Maker, Cabinet Maker, Anatomist, Mathematician, Mining Engineer, Scientist, Philosopher, Psychologist, Physicist, World Traveler, Geologist, Cosmologist, and so on and on and on. There is some basis for most of these claims, although some are just the same things in different words. But to be realistic and truthful, and to be fair to his memory, we must not think that Swedenborg completely mastered all these skills, and all the other sciences he studied and wrote about. He was a genius in many sciences, contributing much to their development, but in many of the skills mentioned by the Rev. Mr. Dufty he was merely an intelligent and able layman. For instance, we are not to think that he could compete with master bookbinders to produce the most beautiful and durable binding, nor that he contributed new developments to the arts of engraving or lens making. He learned sufficient in these fields to use them intelligently to further his own uses, and those of his country and university.

     But his interests were very wide. He had early shown marked ability in debating and poetry. These gave him a rich mastery of language and expression. He was a very capable engineer, and in the sciences his studies ranged from cosmology, including a theory of the creation, geology, and mining practices; algebra, geometry, chemistry, anatomy and psychology. In all these fields his experimentation, observation and reasoning produced wonderful results, but results that in many cases went unnoticed for many years. When they were rediscovered they often had a real contribution to make to modern science. So Professor Nathorst wrote of the work done in his field: "Swedenborg's contributions in the field of geology are of such significance and sweep, that they alone would have been sufficient to have secured him a respected scientific name".*
* Geologica et Epistolae, 1907, p. 49.
     Professor Schleiden said: "We should never be able to finish if we should attempt to enumerate all the improvements which Swedenborg introduced in the working of the mines of his native country. . . ." *
* Quoted in Vie de Swedenborg. p. 40, by M. Matter.
     It was in the field of anatomical research and deduction, particularly as to the brain and its functions, that he has been specially acclaimed. More specialists in this field have paid tribute to Swedenborg than in any other.

     Now we have pointed out that Swedenborg was a humble man, and extremely honest. But he had to work to achieve genuine humility. There are many references in his writings to this effect. We are told that once, passing a display of books, he thought how much more important his books were than those displayed, but he immediately rebuked himself by the thought that the Lord leads men by many ways, and each of those books could be used in providence to advance the common welfare. And he applied genuine humility to his work, as is particularly emphasized in the Economy of the Animal Kingdom. Speaking of the interior study he hopes to make, he wrote: "There are some that seem born for experimental observation, and endowed with a sharper insight than others . . . and some who enjoy a natural faculty for contemplating facts already discovered and eliciting their causes. Both are peculiar gifts, and are seldom united in the same person. Besides I found, when intently occupied in exploring the secrets of the human body, that as soon as I discovered anything that had not been observed before, I began . . . to grow blind to the researches of others, and to originate the whole series of inductive arguments from my peculiar discovery alone. . . . I therefore laid aside my instruments, and restraining my desire for making observations, determined rather to rely on the researches of others than to trust my own.* He thus gained that objective view of facts which contributed so much to his finding a true philosophy.
* Economy of the Animal Kingdom, nos. 17, 18.
     We have shown that Swedenborg could be thought of as a modern scientist in that he was one of the first to use the modern method in the search for truth. But he might be considered modern also because the results he attained are still of great value to the modern world, although this value will be fully realized only by the New Church scientist. Still, we find that many have been strongly influenced. In providence his work was primarily a preparation of his mental outlook, powers of observation, and love of truth, so that he could later become the agent for the giving of a new, rational revelation. If his studies were not widely read, this did not take away from their primary use, and they were also used in providence to influence many of the great thinkers and theorists from that time to the present day.
     When I was pastor of the church in Chicago, I met a doctor from South America who had specialized in brain surgery. He was sent to Chicago on a grant to do advanced research in brain cancer. It was first recommended to him by the research team that he read Swedenborg's volumes on the brain.
     But we must not let these interesting incidents blind us to the truth. Such modern use of his material is rare indeed, outside of New Church circles.

Swedenborg's science is not now widely read. But that it can be used today with profit by the few who have studied his works testifies to their modern quality and to his efficient work and expert deductions from the experiments necessarily limited by the scientific instruments of his time.
     But the most important fact to realize in regard to Swedenborg is not that he was essentially a modern scientist, but rather that he became a spiritual scientist. He was being trained to bring the fruit of the scientific method to his study of the Word, that by it the Lord could lead him, and teach mankind by his means. He accepted fully that the Word was perfect and given by God, as the world was created by God. And both properly studied would reveal ever deeper truths concerning their source and creator.
     Swedenborg was unique among scientists of his time in that his philosophy of science took the infinite Divine Being as its first cause, not from necessity, but from deliberate choice. This was almost unheard of. Almost every philosopher of that day, when cornered in his reasoning, admitted an infinite source; but did so grudgingly, with as few words and as little notice as possible. Swedenborg devoted volumes to this Divine source. He bowed down to it, not as a last expedient, but as the only way of wisdom. He considered the acknowledgment and worship of the Deity as something required by genuine philosophy, although he knew the materialistic science of his day gave but lip-confession to the Deity. This is shown in the work on the Infinite, which was devoted to the task of proving the existence of God, the Final Cause of creation; of proving it to the rational satisfaction of doubting scientists.
     He wished to demonstrate that we must start our investigations of nature with the idea that it is the work of God. The philosophers of that time bowed to custom and public opinion and called the inmost powers of nature, God. Of this type of philosophy we read in the True Christian Religion: "Unless an idea is formed of God as the primal substance and form, and of His form as the verily human form, the human mind may easily involve itself in spectral fancies about God Himself, the origin of man, and the creation of the world. It would then have no other conception of God than as the nature of the universe in its first principles, that is, as its expanse, or else as emptiness or nothingness . . . nor of the creation of the world than that its substances and forms originated in points, and afterwards in geometrical lines, which are essentially nothing, because nothing is predicated of them.*
* No 20.
     Because of the interior Godless quality of learning, Swedenborg further defined his three essentials of philosophy-experience, geometry and reason. He explained that experience was the result of accurate observation of nature and its phenomena.

But geometry included all the laws of mechanism impressed upon the universe by the Creator, and he pointed out that reason must be founded upon the acceptance and worship of God. These three completely put aside the shallow materialism of his day and ours, and offer the starting point for a truly Christian science and philosophy.
Swedenborg was a synthesist in his methods. He used the a priori method of Aristotle, together with the experimental approach of Lord Bacon and Descartes. He would not discard the spiritual axioms that he clearly saw to be true - the fact of a God, of the operation of His law in creating; and as his fund of knowledge increased, he searched for the uniting bond that gives the order and the interrelationship among all the sciences. He knew that the soul, beyond the plane of man's consciousness, governed and interrelated all influences on the physical being. So he searched for the uniting factor used by the soul, as the universal law that applied to all knowledge. He felt that all things had a mathematical ratio and order, and through this could be related one to another. So he sought the science of sciences, or what he termed the universal mathesis or universal science. This concept of a kind of mathematical relationship of all sciences was not understood, and was even laughed at by some of his fellow scientists, but today we know better. In the modern cybernetic or thinking machines, we have this theory in ultimate reality. If questions are properly programmed in mathematical formulae the machines will provide answers for all of the sciences. Mathematics has truly become a universal mathesis, on this natural plane.
But in the work The Hieroglyphic Key Swedenborg used a deeper approach that verged on his later revealed science. In it he used the idea of correspondences, and that all things had relationship to their spiritual sources and these ultimately to the one Divine source. In the science of correspondence we have the deepest application of this universal mathesis. All things are brought into harmony and a law that holds true on one plane will be equally true on a higher plane by correspondence. This vast and beautiful theory opened Swedenborg's mind and prepared it for his later use as a revelator. We can see how he arrived at it. His great search in his later scientific years was for the seat of the soul. He rightly saw that the human being was the culmination of the Divine creation, and that in man all the laws of the universe could be found in an image, as also in an image God Himself was presented. So Swedenborg termed man a microcosm, a little world in which everything of the larger world - all of its substances and all of its laws - was present. As the Lord God is the center and source and prime mover in all things of His greater creation, so the soul which receives life, and images the love and wisdom of God, is the center, source and prime mover of all things of the body.

As man can see and know God from His creation, properly viewed and understood, so Swedenborg taught that we can know the soul from its kingdom the natural organic. To him the soul was present in all the uses of the body. So in his work The Animal Kingdom, which properly translated is "The Kingdom of the Soul," he tried to demonstrate what the soul was and how it was present in the body. But this whole concept and study is nothing else but a study in correspondences. In ascending degrees, the world of nature corresponds to the human form, the human form to the soul, and the soul to its source, the Divine.
     Because Swedenborg had trained his mind to close observation and to keen analytical conclusions he could reduce these vague theories of existing correspondence to an orderly presentation in this new discovery of our most ancient science. He saw the cause and effect relationships which make correspondence a vital and acceptable science. It was because of Swedenborg's early training in such a truly scientific approach that the Lord could call him to become the new revelator of truth to form a new church.
     As a scientist uses observation, experiment and reason to discover the fundamental truths of the world of nature, so Swedenborg was led by the Lord to use these same methods to discover scientifically the true doctrines of the Word. Because of the doctrine of correspondences this became a reasonable task to him. The obvious difficulties and contradictions, and the gross immoralities of parts of the letter of the Word did not disturb him. These were merely part of the letter that killeth, as the Lord had said; and he knew that by correspondences, and careful analysis and reason enlightened by the Lord, he would be led beyond the appearance to the living internal spirit which giveth life.
     In his approach to the universal science of correspondences he drew near to heaven itself - and the Lord could open his eyes that as a spiritual scientist he might study heaven, and hell, and the world of spirits. Because he was faithful in following the truth, it led him to the Lord God Himself. And that truth has been fully revealed to lead us to Him also, in a life of heavenly use. This is the gift the Lord has given to us through Swedenborg.
     One thing unites all who have been led to the New Church - no matter what their background: the vision of a new use, a new purpose, and a new vital religion. This is our heritage from Swedenborg, and for this we honor him.

NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS 1961

NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS Rev. ORMOND ODHNER 1961

     Canons of the New Church, which is begun in February's daily readings, is one of the last of Swedenborg's theological writings. It was written some time after 1768 - for it refers to the work Conjugial Love, which was published in that year - and very probably before 1770, apparently in preparation for the writing of True Christian Religion. In theological terminology, the word, canon, connotes a fixed doctrinal decree or a standard of orthodoxy. Here, in Canons, we find short, weighty statements outlining the "entire theology of the New Church." Almost every sentence is basic to New Church orthodoxy.
      The original manuscript of the work was lost at an early date. The present translation is based on a copy of Swedenborg's Latin made by Christian Johansen, an early Swedish New Church man. At least for a time the manuscript was in England, where it was used by the Rev. Manoah Sibley in making the first English translation of the work. Mr. Sibley noted that even then certain pages were missing from the original, and this will explain for the reader the fragmentary nature of certain portions of the treatise.
     The opening sentence of Canons contains the statement: "At this day nothing else than the self-evidencing reason of love will re-establish [the church] ." The self-evidencing reason of love. What a beautiful phrase - so obvious to any person who believes in God, and so open to the ridicule of any atheist! No logical, rational argument in heaven or on earth can convince the atheist of the truths of religion. He loves not to believe; his love finds its own evidence to support his disbelief; and in his disbelief he will sneer at the self-evidencing reason of love and call it wishful thinking. But no clever ratiocinations of the atheist can shake a devout man's faith in God. He loves to believe, and his love everywhere finds evidence to support his belief. He looks at the world around him - at the wondrous secrets of nature, the marvelous mechanism of the human body, the glory of true love between man and woman - and everywhere finds evidence of the existence of an infinitely loving and all-wise God. To every such man, the true Christian religion that is now revealed in the Heavenly Doctrine will eventually appeal, here on earth or in the world of spirits after death. His love of God will open his eyes to the truth - "the self-evidencing reason of love."

STYLES OF THE WORD 1961

STYLES OF THE WORD Editor 1961

     NEW CHURCH LIFE
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     It is interesting to note that while the Writings speak of four general styles in the Word, the descriptions given refer only to the Old Testament. Thus the first style - that of the Most Ancient Church, in which representatives were formed into factitious historical series - is said to be that of early Genesis. The historical style, in which the record of actual events yet contains a continuous internal sense, is related with the books of Moses, from the time of Abram onward, Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings. The third style mentioned is that of the prophets, which is broken and scarcely ever intelligible except in the internal sense; and the fourth style is described as that of the Psalms: a style intermediate between that which the prophets were inspired to use and common speech. (See AC 66.)
     Yet it is surely possible to discern at least traces of these four styles in the New Testament Word. The historical style can be recognized without difficulty in large portions of the Gospels; as can the prophetical throughout the book of Revelation and in the Gospel prophecies of the Second Coming. The form of the most ancient style can be seen in the Lord's parables, which teach Divine truth representatively under the form of made-up episodes; and the style of the Psalms is at least represented by those inspired utterances which Christians count among their noblest songs: the Magnificat, the Benedictus, the Gloria in Excelsis, and the Nunc Dimittis. (See Luke 1: 46-55, 68-79, 2: 14, 29-32.) Thus these are indeed the four general styles of the Word. To what extent they may be present in the Writings is another question.

APPEARANCES OF HEAVEN 1961

APPEARANCES OF HEAVEN Editor 1961

     Students of the Writings have long known that the spiritual world is not an empty realm. Every type of landscape that may be found on earth is to be seen there. Gardens, orchards, fields and forests flourish, and their fruits and products exist in abundance. There is bird life and there is animal life; and all these things are so much like those on our earth that they cannot be distinguished by the senses. Even Swedenborg was constrained to testify that, having seen and handled them, he could detect no difference whatsoever.
     There, however, the resemblance ends. For the things seen in heaven are from a spiritual origin, and being from such an origin they correspond to states of life as material things do not. The scenery and the objects that surround an angel correspond to and therefore represent his states. For this reason things appear when new states begin, vanish when they end, and are modified as they change; and although it is not to be expected that massive and sweeping changes take place in heaven, where the angels are established in their ruling love, yet the angel's environment always reflects his state faithfully.
     Some who have read superficially, or under the influence of certain philosophic ideas, have concluded that the only reality is therefore the mind of the angel. But that is not so. The things which an angel sees before his eyes indeed correspond to his states, but they are not produced by the angel. They are not projections of his mind but creations of the Lord. The spiritual world, then, is not an imaginary world but a real one; much more real, indeed, than this earth. What the angels see are goods and truths appearing in correspondential forms; and as goods and truths are the only realities, the forms in which they appear are real appearances - appearings of the real.
THOUGHT FROM THE UNDERSTANDING 1961

THOUGHT FROM THE UNDERSTANDING Editor 1961

Among the axioms given in the Writings is this: "Thought from the eye closes the understanding, but thought from the understanding opens the eye" (DLW 46). By thought from the eye is here meant sensuous thought, that is, thought from the senses of the body; and by thought from the understanding is meant thought from uses. The objects of sight in creation are ultimate forms which are containants of uses, and if man thinks from the eye, from these forms alone, he closes his understanding; for nothing of life can then be seen in nature, still less anything of love and wisdom, and therefore nothing of God; and life, love and wisdom become so nebulous in idea as to vanish into nothing.

     But if man thinks from the understanding, if he does not regard nature from its forms but thinks of those forms from their uses, he sees life, love and wisdom as the only realities. He perceives that all things in nature are from them. Everywhere in creation he sees the presence of the Divine, and this all the more as he penetrates interiorly into its secrets. Thinking from uses in their series and order, he sees created things as forms which clothe the Divine love and wisdom and present them as the Divine of use. In so doing he sees the Lord, and such thought from the understanding opens the eye. For the true function of the eye is to assist man to see the universe as the handiwork and the dwelling-place of God, to perceive all things as created for a use, and to glimpse in them a semblance of the Lord's heavenly kingdom.
     Man was created to see God, and the Writings were given to make possible a rational vision of Him that could never before be granted. This is implied in the familiar declaration which so fully characterizes the Divine revelation given for the New Church: "Now it is permitted to enter intellectually into the arcana of faith." These words involve that by means of the Writings men can not only understand the arcana of faith as theological or doctrinal truths but can also comprehend them as they appear and operate on every plane of creation, both spiritual and natural. And they could be spoken, also, because the Writings reveal the spiritual world and the true nature of man - without knowledge of which the arcana of faith are closed to the intellectual mind.
     This declaration means, in a word, that with the giving of the Writings it is possible for men not only to enter with the understanding into theological truths but also to develop a philosophy that is in full accord with those truths because it is animated by them. It means that the revelation of the Divine, the spiritual world and the natural world in terms of ends, causes and effects, respectively, enables men to have a true knowledge of God; to see the Divine love and wisdom at work in creation and in the operations of the Divine Providence; and to perceive that spiritual truth about natural things which unifies experience, science, philosophy and theology.
     Opposed to this rational thought which opens the eye, however, are all the fallacies of the senses which close the understanding. If we are to enter into the glorious promises which the Lord has made in giving the Writings, those fallacies must be dispersed. This is not merely an intellectual process. There must be at least the beginning of spiritual charity; for within this there is life from the Lord which disposes truth so that it is seen and removes fallacies from the understanding.

CHURCH NEWS 1961

CHURCH NEWS Various 1961

     HURSTVILLE, AUSTRALIA

     More frequent visits by New Church men from other countries are removing any feelings of isolation that we have had. England and the U. S. A. are a matter of hours away because of jet- powered aircraft. The visitors bring new information, personal news and photographs. May the trickle of visitors become a flood!
     A sparkling interlude in 1960 for the Hurstville Society was the visit of Mr. Charles S. Cole and the Rev. Douglas Taylor from Bryn Athyn. Both gentlemen gave addresses at a welcoming night, Mr. Taylor speaking on "Gates to the New Jerusalem" and Mr. Cole on education from his copious store of knowledge. Mr. Cole seemed determined to meet and photograph every man, woman and child in Australasia connected with our church, and he seemed to succeed. Mr. Taylor took the service in Hurstville on the Sunday they left for home, and that evening we got together and wished them "au revoir."
     The Sons in Hurstville held an open meeting in September, and for mental exercise a set of questions submitted by Mr. Basil Lazer was discussed. These were such questions as would bother a newcomer to the church, and some were by no means easy to answer.
     Our minister told us that we have had more doctrinal classes this year than any other society, which should prove that we are well indoctrinated people. There is a new lawn behind the church building - quite an achievement, considering what the ground was like before. Its successful growth was largely due to the efforts of the Rev. Donald Rose, who cared for it as if it were a new infant.
     A new infant! That reminds us - the newest Rose to appear on planet Earth arrived shortly before midnight on December 21, 1960. It is said that he is the image of his grandfather, on the paternal side. He is to be known as Greg to his friends.
     The year closed with a most happy Christmas. An evening of carols and slides was most enjoyable, as was a Pre-Christmas party held in the church. In sermons and talks Mr. Rose showed that even the few sad things which are part of the Christmas story are not so, when they are viewed from the standpoint of the spiritual as well as the natural world.
     NORMAN HELDON

     THE CHURCH AT LARGE

     General Convention. At the 99th Annual Meeting of the Maryland Association, held in Baltimore last fall, it was resolved to devote a major part of the next meeting to discussing and effecting the merger of the Maryland and Pennsylvania Associations. That meeting will be held at Wilmington in the spring of 1961.

     Australia. The Rev. Christopher V. A. Hasler has now arrived in Australia to take up the pastorate of the Brisbane Society. According to a recent statement in the NEW AGE, the body known as "The New Church in Australia" has 217 registered members. The number of children, young people and regular visitors who are not members is not given. There are five societies, only one of which, the Adelaide Society, is now under lay leadership.

     New Zealand. The Rev. E. C. Howe, at present Superintendent Minister of the Yorkshire Province of the General Conference, has accepted a call to the pastorate of the Auckland Society, which became vacant with the recent retirement of the Rev. Richard H. Teed.

Mr. Howe will not take up his new duties until early in 1962. Meantime the Auckland Society will continue under the lay leadership of Mr. N. F. Sutton.
BISHOP DE CHARMS TO RETIRE 1961

BISHOP DE CHARMS TO RETIRE 1961

     Announcements

     The Right Reverend George de Charms will retire in June from the office of Bishop of the General Church of the New Jerusalem, thus bringing to a close an episcopate of twenty-four years. This announcement was made at the first session of the Council of the Clergy meetings on Tuesday, January 24, 1961. The process by which a new Bishop of the General Church is chosen will culminate at the next General Assembly, and it was the sentiment of the Council of the Clergy that that Assembly should be held in June, 1962. After the retirement of Bishop De Charms, and until his successor is chosen, the Assistant Bishop of the General Church, the Right Reverend Willard Dandridge Pendleton, will serve as Acting Bishop.
     A statement by Bishop De Charms will appear in a later issue, and all the information that should be in the hands of the church in connection with the choice of a new Bishop will be published in this journal in due course.
TRUTH ALONE JUDGES 1961

TRUTH ALONE JUDGES Rev. VICTOR J. GLADISH 1961

Vol. LXXXI
March, 1961
No. 3
     "If any man hear My words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world. He that rejecteth Me, and receiveth not My words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day." (John 12: 47, 48)

     These words were spoken by the Lord. Elsewhere in the Word. He is called the "Judge of the whole earth." Yet here He says: "If any man hear My words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world"; and in another chapter of the same Gospel the Lord is recorded as having said: "I judge no man."* Throughout the Divine Word many things are said about the judgment of men, and about the Lord in relation to judging. Some of the statements we can readily see as in harmony with one another, one illuminating and clarifying the other. Some, however, seem to be in direct contradiction to others; yet we know that within them all there must he an interior agreement - that in the genuine sense they are different facets of one universal truth.
* John 8: 15.
     If we were to state that universal truth in an all-inclusive manner, it would be expressed somewhat like this: In the Divine good of the Lord is the source of all love and mercy which come forth in the finite realm in His Divine truth is the source of all wisdom and of all judgment. But this universal truth will mean little to us unless we see some of the myriad particular truths which are involved in it.
     First let us note that there are two aspects to judgment or judging: it is the elevation of that which is good, but it is also the putting down of that which is evil. It is this latter function of settling evil men and principles into an environment in keeping with their inner nature that is generally thought of as judgment; and that is the meaning of the word in our text, in its literal or obvious sense, as in most places in the Word where judgment is mentioned.

The primary thought which we should derive from this teaching, therefore, is that judgment in its aspect of condemnation does not apply to the Lord. There is the appearance that the Lord punishes and humiliates the evil, and finally condemns them to hell; but the reality is that He never punishes and never condemns, punishment being the inevitable result of defiance of law, and condemnation being simply the deliberate refusal on man's part to allow himself to be brought into heaven. This is plainly told in these words of the Lord: "This is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil."*
* John 3: 19.
The reason it appears that the Lord punishes and condemns is that even more important than the realization that He condemns no one is the acknowledgment that He is omnipotent: that He is the source of all power, of all life - that nothing is done without Him. This faith is the first of religion and it is to be firmly implanted. Children and simple men, when they know that punishment comes upon those who rebel against the Lord, cannot conceive otherwise than that it is He who punishes. Thus in the Old Testament - where the letter, apart from the spiritual sense, speaks the thoughts of a primitive and a sensual people - we read: "Shall there be evil in a city, and the Lord hath not done it?"* The literal sense of the Old Testament is the great means of implanting with children and the simple such basic truths as that the Lord is one God, who has all power in heaven and on earth, and that to obey Him brings blessings innumerable while disobedience brings grievous retribution. This must be seen by them in the form of the appearance of His anger and revenge upon the wrongdoer; and in the child mind this does not conflict with the teaching to be found in all parts of the Word that the Lord is the Father in heaven who loves, protects and leads all men as His own children. The two conceptions exist side by side until the budding of the rational mind requires the more interior teaching which shall build on the basis of these early fundamentals of religion a harmonious understanding of the living doctrine which lies within the apparent truths.
* Amos 3: 6.
Thus the opening mind begins to learn that although there can be no judgment between good and evil apart from the manifestation of Divine truth, it is nevertheless true that the Lord judges no man. God is the "Judge of all the earth," and yet He condemns no one. His Divine love draws all men toward Himself, but from His Divine wisdom He permits all those who so desire to resist that drawing. In this fact lies the explanation of yet another set of passages which says that the Father judges no one, but has committed all judgment to the Son.

The Father is the Lord as to the Divine love or the Divine good; the Son is the Lord as to the Divine truth. All judgment is committed to the Divine truth, and yet the Divine truth does not judge in the sense of condemning, but only presents to the mind of man that which effects a separation between good and evil. The Divine truth itself does not condemn; man condemns himself when he sees the truth and rejects it. The truth as received into his own mind judges him; condemning him to hell if he rejects it, opening heaven to him if he confirms himself in good. Jesus said: "If any man hear My words, and believe not, I judge him not. . . . He that rejecteth Me, and receiveth not My words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day."
     The "word" which is to judge is not merely the Lord's teaching on some particular occasion. It stands for all that which has been revealed by the Lord through His several instruments of revelation: all Divine truth, the Word which was in the beginning - the Logos or eternal wisdom of God which lies within the finite forms of written Divine revelation at the same time that it flows into the receptive mind, granting a progressive and illimitable enlightenment as to the truths that are interiorly contained. Yet, as we have seen, it is not the Divine Word as it is in itself, the truth in its infinite extense, which performs the actual judgment, but it is the truth that comes into each mind which judges the individual who hears it and yet rejects it. Man is not held responsible for that which has never been within his grasp, but he is responsible for that truth from which he turns away his face - which he sees in spiritual light to be truth, but to which he closes his eyes lest it interfere with worldly or selfish pursuits. "This is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil."
     In the text before us the Lord says: "I came not to judge the world, but to save the world." The purpose of His coming into the world, and of all that which He performed, was the salvation of mankind; yet to effect that redemption and salvation there had to be judgment - separation of the evil from the good. In this world that consisted in the taking away of His church from those who had been unfaithful and the giving of it to others who would cause the vineyard to yield better fruit. In the spiritual world it was the clearing of the intermediate region there of those mixed assemblages of good and evil. The Lord, through the Divine Human which He had made His own, presented Divine truth on a plane whereon all could perceive it; and by means of this presentation those who were confirmed in evil came into a clear sensation of their inner hatred of all that was good and true, of all the things of heaven which they had coveted, and fled to their own evil delights among those of their own kind.
     As it was in the historic "last day" at the Lord's coming in the flesh, and again at His second coming in His crowning revelation, so is it in the last day which comes to every man after the death of the body.

100

Man then judges himself, entering gladly into angelic life if he had led a corresponding life in this world; but if he had "loved darkness rather than light" he flees from the face of "Him that sitteth upon the throne" in order to join his like in hell.
     But just as there is a "last day" or time of judgment for each person as well as for a church, so there are lesser judgments throughout the life of everyone; and here again it is by the Word that judgment is effected, that is, by what comes to one from the Lord's Word. It is by the standard of truth that one is judged, and yet one's self is the sole agent of condemnation, while rejection of the truth is the means. It is rejection of the truth within one's grasp that is the means, whether by an open and contemptuous turning of one's back upon the light which might be seen, or by merely closing one's spiritual sight sufficiently to distort the light. In any case, the personal responsibility cannot be avoided. Step by step we are shaping our own character, and by one self-judgment after another we become either more selfish and worldly or more unselfish and spiritually minded.
     We can easily hide from others what our true state is. We may, less easily, deceive ourselves by refusing to engage in honest self examination. But all the time the process of judgment is going on within us, according to how we use the truth that might be our own; and we can know if we want to whether or not we are shirking responsibility. The acknowledgment that we are far from performing our full duty in all the contacts of life, and that in spiritual matters "our heart is cold and our faith is weak," is a sign that there is hope for our regeneration; but such an acknowledgment is a very different matter from knowing that we shrink from real self-examination, that we put out of our minds as quickly as possible unpleasant thoughts about our spiritual laziness - excusing ourselves, perhaps, by the deficiencies of others. The Lord says: "I judge no man"; and certainly we cannot judge others. But we cannot escape the continual judgment that goes on within, according to what we do with our lives, according to what we make of such opportunities as we have. We are not judged by someone else's abilities, by someone else's knowledge or opportunity to acquire knowledge, but by our own. And what one of us can say that in the growth and elevation of the mind, in the performance of the uses to which we are called, in our family responsibilities, in our mental and physical efforts for the Lord's kingdom upon earth, that in all or any of these we have given all that lies within our power? With some it will be one of these duties, with others another of them which is the difficulty, and this according to temperament and the fortunes of environment; but character is worked out not by the response to one responsibility but by the response to all.
     To other people we can indeed make excuses, and there is probably no one who does not obtain some temporary comfort by making excuses to himself. But this is no adequate substitute for the loss of one's spiritual stature by every neglect of duty, by every sacrifice to selfishness and by every turning away from the Lord.

101

     Much is required of those to whom much is given; and those who, in the Lord's providence, have been led into the New Church, and into the acknowledgment of its Heavenly Doctrine as an all-pervading light, cannot be judged as lightly as those who have not this inestimable treasure, this incomparable light of life. Shall those who have in their hands the unfolding of age-old mysteries of theology, the rational exploration of the spiritual world, the key to all things of life and faith, be less zealous than the surrounding world in which faith is either blind or wanting? Have they not a supreme aid and inspiration to become truly spiritual men, and to educate their children for the inheritance of still greater blessings? To this the mind can give but one answer; but the heart of man is deceitful, and at this day proprial inclinations and hereditary evils weave a dark and devious pattern. It cannot be known what the progress of the Lord's church among us will be; yet we know that it will not lose its foothold upon earth, but will grow in numbers and in spiritual state until it conquers the ignorance of the Gentiles and the infidelity of Christians and covers the earth as no other church has ever done before. But for us who have heard this Word that the Lord has spoken there can be no escape from the judgment by that Word. If we do not both believe and do, we shall stand self-condemned. For the Lord says: "He that rejecteth Me, and receiveth not My words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day." Amen.

Lessons:     Genesis 18: 1-33. Revelation 4:1 - 5:5. AE 297: 1, 2.
Music:     Liturgy, pages 473, 434, 465.
PRAYERS:     Liturgy, nos. 30, 71.

102

INHABITED UNIVERSE 1961

INHABITED UNIVERSE Rev. FREDERICK L. SCHNARR 1961

     3. THE INHABITANTS OF VENUS AND MARS

     In this article we would direct your attention to the two planets which are closest to our earth, Venus and Mars. Apart from the inhabitants of our moon, the people of these two planets are our nearest neighbors. In the minds of those who think in terms of flying saucers coming from other planets, of invasions from outer space, and other such awesome imaginings, Venus and Mars have long been prime suspects. In the pages of science fiction, these two planets have been the breeding grounds of a long array of semi-human monsters. In the realm of science, these two planets have received special attention and study, for it is thought that if human life does exist anywhere in our solar system it is most likely to exist on them.
     We turn our attention first to the planet Venus. In so doing we shall note a few of the general scientific facts concerning it, and what is said in the Writings about the spirits from that planet.

     The Planet Venus

     Because Venus closely resembles our earth in size, weight and density it is often referred to as our "sister planet." Its average distance from the sun is sixty-seven million miles, as compared with thirty-six million miles for Mercury. Its diameter of 7,575 miles is just a few hundred miles less than that of our earth. Apart from these few facts, much of the detailed information that might here be of interest to us is so disputed as to give no clear picture. Venus is veiled in mystery because of a thick atmosphere, or layer of clouds, which surrounds it continually, making any observation of its surface features impossible. Nothing can be known definitely about its temperatures, partly because it is not known definitely how the planet turns on its axis. Many have concluded that Venus turns on its axis much like Mercury, that is, with one side always facing the sun and the other side never facing the sun, but that Venus does not sway on its axis as Mercury does. However, this theory does not agree with the findings of others, that the entire surface of Venus seems to be extremely warm; indicating that Venus turns on its axis as does our earth. We would note that this idea finds approval in the Writings, for specific reference is made to the inhabitants of Venus as having both day and night.

103

     We are struck with amazement, in reviewing the findings of reputable astronomers and physicists, at the different and divergent data which they present. This is the case not only with Venus but also with the other planets. Perhaps no other field of scientific research includes such a care-free jumbling of fact, theory, and mere speculation. We need to examine and compare carefully the data presented in the name of science in this field so that we may see much of it for what it is, and so that we may not become too disturbed at the apparent abundance of evidence which would make us tend to question or deny what the Writings present as being the case. It will be useful, we believe, to consider at least one example of the manner in which many of the facts are presented and what utterly different facts two highly-regarded scholars in this field can bring forth.
      Professor H. Spencer Jones, recently Britain's well-known Astronomer Royal and President of the Royal Astronomical Society, presents us with the following information about Venus.

      "The dryness of the atmosphere of Venus proves that she has no oceans . . . . The arid nature of Venus and the lack of oxygen in her atmosphere are both indications that no life of any sort can exist on her. It is impossible to conceive of the development of life under such conditions. . . . We can draw a picture of Venus that is probably pretty near the truth, despite the fact that we have never seen her surface. Venus is an arid world, whose surface is entirely desert. There are no oceans, lakes, or rivers, and the land is completely devoid of any vegetation. The heat is insufferably great, the temperature being much higher than would be expected on a planet at her distance from the Sun. Great storms, intense cyclones and violent tornados are continually occurring. . . . The dust storms that are raised on Venus are of a size far beyond any that occur on our Earth. Great clouds of yellow dust are swirled to immense heights in her atmosphere. The surface of Venus has the perpetual gloom of a dense pea-soup fog; the Sun can never be seen. Life of any sort -plant life or animal life is quite out of the question." *
* H. Spencer Jones, Life on Other Worlds.

     Compare this presentation with the information recently gathered by two well-known American astronomers, F. L. Whipple and D. H. Menzel. They have been bouncing radio signals off Venus, and in interpreting these they conclude not only that Venus has great electrical storms but also that the entire planet is covered by one great ocean. They conclude that no human life can exist there, but they feel that there is evidence to support the idea of lower forms of life that could live in the water. Others have concluded from this information that Venus has only begun, or perhaps not yet even started, the form of evolutionary development that life underwent on this earth.*

104

Many other conflicting presentations could be brought together, but this will suffice to make the point at which we are getting - that there is not a shred of concrete evidence to challenge or deny what the Writings present about the nature of life on the other planets within or outside of our solar system. Let us be quite clear on this point; and let us not feel, in putting forth the teachings of the Writings about the planets, that we are somehow presenting knowledges which are at odds with accurate scientific data.
* K. W. Gatland, The Inhabited Universe

     The Planet Venus in the Writings

     The Writings do not tell us a great deal about the people of Venus, but they do present us with a summary sketch of their character and way of life. Their place in the Gorand Man relates to the uses of the memory - especially to the memory of material things that corresponds to the memory of immaterial things. It will be recalled that the spirits of Mercury relate to the memory of immaterial things.* What we are to understand by the memory of material things that correspond becomes evident after the death of the body. An ordering then takes place among the interior and immaterial things of the memory, such as the knowledges of civil, moral and spiritual laws, and the material things of the memory taken from the forms and objects of the world. Only those material memories which agree with the interior things, or correspond to them, are retained. Those that are thus retained form the memory with which the spirits of Venus are related. Material memories that have no real connection with man's nature and quality are dispersed.
* AC 7253
     Concerning the character of the inhabitants of Venus the Writings tell us that there are two kinds, of contrary disposition: one savage, approaching the nature of wild beasts, the other gentle and humane.* The savage inhabitants seem to find great delight in plundering the goods of others and in eating the things they steal. In robbing others they sometimes find it necessary to kill them, and this they do mostly by drowning them in water - note the specific reference to water. The Writings say, however that they are not utterly cruel, even though they do such things; for they try not to kill those whom they rob, and if they do kill someone, they make sure that he is properly buried - a sign that they have some humanity. Their nature, the Writings say, is not to be compared to the harsh and cruel nature of the Jews and Israelites, who slaughtered and destroyed others with delight and left their corpses to be devoured by beasts and otherwise mutilated.** These savage people are described as being simple and stupid, expressing no interest in the things of heaven or in the nature of eternal life, but only in worldly and earthly things, especially the care of their lands and cattle. When they come into the other life they are "very much infested by falsities and evils. . . . They who are such that they can be saved are in places of vastation, and are there reduced to the extremity of despair; for evils and falsities of that kind cannot be removed in any other way.

105

When they are in a state of despair they cry out that they are beasts, brutes, abominations and hatreds, and thus that they are damned. Some of them when in such a state, cry out also against heaven, but for this they are excused because it is from despair. The Lord moderates it lest they should break out into reproaches beyond certain fixed limits. When they have suffered to the utmost, as their bodily things are as it were then dead, they are at last saved." *** Swedenborg saw some of these spirits finally being raised into heaven, and he said that when they were received in heaven there was such a tenderness and gladness from them that it drew tears from his eyes.****
* AC 7246.
**AC 7248.
*** AC 7250.
**** AC 7251.

Very little is said of the other inhabitants of Venus except that they are extremely gentle and humane. In contrast to the savage spirits - who at best acknowledged some supreme Creator while on earth, and did not think about or believe in the Lord as a Divine-Human God - the gentle spirits did acknowledge the Lord as God. They said that while on earth they had sometimes seen Him, and that He had walked among them. What the Lord did was to appear to them as a Divine Man through the form of an angelic spirit. That is the way in which He appeared for hundreds of years in this world also, as when He appeared to and talked with Abraham and with Moses. * We would note, in viewing the two types of people on Venus, that the manner of living and the quality of the character of each reflect the idea held, or not held, of the Lord as a Divine-Human God. Wherever this concept is lacking we see what is savage, cruel, inhuman and merely external, while wherever it is present we see just the opposite. We see this reflected on every earth in the universe, as well as in the history of the peoples of our earth. It is, as we have noted before, a most important truth, but one which is not easily understood. It brings home to us, again and again, the importance of learning the truths about the Lord's nature and quality as the foundation of all things of life, even to the most external practices and customs.
* AC 7552
The Writings do not say whether the gentle inhabitants of Venus live in the same area as the savage inhabitants. There is a passage which states that the latter always face our earth; but this passage is speaking of the state of life they represent, namely, what is external, and not of their geographical location.* No detailed descriptions are given of the peoples of Venus.

106

We are taught that for the most part they are giants, being almost twice as tall as the people of our earth. They lead a primitive and rural life, many of them being goatherds or shepherds. Cattle are mentioned, much like ours but with smaller horns. It is said that the people do not associate by day, but only during the night, and that the reason for this is that during the day there is great heat, apparently so great as to make work intolerable. It is said that at night they see in a dusky light, and we take this to mean that they have some kind of reflective light at night, perhaps relating to the great cloud formations surrounding that planet which science has detected.**
* SD 1452, 1453
** AC 7249; SD 1450, 1451

     The Planet Mars

     Unlike Venus, which many scientists believe to be in an early stage of evolution comparable to the one reached by our earth millions of years ago, Mars is thought to be in the last dying stages of its evolution and decline. If there is intelligent human life on Mars, it is thought that such life is in the final death struggle of its existence, and this because of the fact that the life-sustaining elements in the atmosphere have gradually been used up and lost. According to this generally accepted evolutionary theory, this earth also must in time reach such a condition. Percival Lowell, well-known American astronomer and founder of the Lowell Observatory in Arizona, concluded his book, Mars as the Abode of Life, with these words:
     "The process that brought it to its present pass must go on to the bitter end, until the last spark of Martian life goes out. The drying up of the planet is certain to proceed until its surface can support no life at all. Slowly but surely time will snuff it out. When the last ember is thus extinguished, the planet will roll a dead world through space, its evolutionary career forever ended."

     The attitude underlying this conclusion of Mr. Lowell's stems from the manner in which most scientists regard the evolutionary process: a machine-like process of change and growth with little or no guidance from Divine intelligence. Some scientists do indeed give God credit for starting the process, but few give Him credit for controlling and preserving it.
     Mars, often called the "red planet" because of the reddish color of much of its surface, is said to be an average distance of one hundred and forty million miles from the sun. Its diameter of 4,250 miles is a little more than half that of our earth. It rotates on its axis much as our earth does, providing days and nights, seasons and years. The Martian year, however, is estimated to be almost twice as long as ours. Temperatures are thought to range between 80 degrees F. and 95 degrees F.

107

Apart from our moon, scientists are able to observe the planet Mars better than any other earth in the universe. Much data has been accumulated by men who have spent most of their lives studying this planet alone; and of all the earths in the universe, Mars is regarded as the one earth on which life of some kind is generally acknowledged to exist. In spite of this, however, we find little agreement about most of the findings that have been presented. The picture of Mars generally given is this: Its polar caps are covered with ice and snow. In the warm season these melt, forming canals, which are observed to spread out from the polar caps. No natural rivers or other bodies of water are observed. The canals, of various lengths and widths, seem to cut through great arid deserts where terrific dust storms are evident. Because of the manner in which the canals are laid out, and because there is evidence that vegetation grows along the border areas of the canals, and especially the areas - where some of the canals intersect, it is thought that human life might well be present. Indeed many of the foremost astronomers believe the arrangement of the canals indicates that they must have been planned and prepared by human intelligence. Drawings of these canals have been made by many of the leading astronomers: Giovanni Schiaparelli, Albert G. Wilson, Russell H. Morgan of Johns Hopkins University, Percival Lowell, and as recently as 1956, Dr. Michikazu Onishi of Japan. Vague photographs have even been taken. Yet there are many reputable astronomers who have never seen the canals, some who believe that they are merely volcanic ash markings, and others who frankly question their existence. Despite these differences, it is from the study of these supposed canals that much of the current theory about Mars has been constructed.
Before what the Writings teach about the inhabitants of Mars is reviewed, we would draw attention to certain conclusions about them drawn by A. C. Ferber in his book, The Secret of Human Life on Other Planets. He theorizes that the Martians planned and developed a system of canals to bring water to the unproductive desert areas. This must have required certain scientific skills. He notes a reference in the Writings to their knowing how to make "fluid fires." Also, he draws together various unusual occurrences on Mars which some scientists have witnessed. Before the turn of the century, Schiaparelli observed a huge light-colored cross, about 900 miles in diameter, which appeared for a number of months. In 1900, Percival Lowell observed a large, brilliant shaft of light emanating from Mars. It continued for seventy minutes and seemed to be flashing some kind of code. For him to have seen such a beam there would have had to be on Mars a brilliance comparable to that produced by a nuclear explosion.

108

As recently as 1950, Walter Haas, world director of the Association of Lunar and Planetary Observers, received reports from reputable observers that large flashes as from explosions, and with great dust clouds following them, had been seen on Mars, these flashes being sixty miles high and nine hundred miles wide. From all of this the author concludes that the Martians are well advanced scientifically, perhaps to the point of having developed nuclear testing. We do not pretend to have satisfactory answers for the questions raised by these occurrences, but we cannot support the conclusion reached in this book. It does not seem to be in keeping with what is said of the character and state of life of the Martians in the Writings, and it certainly does not agree with the teaching about the non-existence of the sciences on other planets.
     We would not minimize the need for and the use of scientific investigation, and even informed theorizing. The New Church should always support every proper and orderly study of scientific data. But we are cautioned against the all too general habit of accepting theory and speculation as concrete, factual evidence, and we cannot support conclusions that are not sustained by the Writings.

     The Planet Mars in the Writings

     In the Gorand Man of heaven the spirits from Mars serve the uses relating to that part of the brain which lies between the cerebrum and the cerebellum, the longitudinal sinus. Thus their uses relate to something which is intermediate between the intellectual or understanding capacity of man and his capacity of willing; indeed they represent something in which the will and the understanding are conjoined. Some of them represent the thought that comes forth from man's affections and loves; the best of them represent the affection of the thought, that is, a love for thinking of the uses which thought is to perform. *
* AC 7480, 7481
     As to the character of the Martians, the Writings tell us that they are among the best of all from our solar system, being mostly of a celestial nature and not unlike the men of the Most Ancient Church on earth. They are described as being content with their lot and as knowing nothing of hypocrisy, deceit or dissimulation. They hold no one in aversion, much less in hatred, and deem it most honorable to be considered just and lovers of the neighbor. They find great delight in meeting with other members of their society and in discussing the affairs of the society. They find this delight even while living on earth, and it is noted that they particularly enjoy conversing about what is going on in heaven. The humble and gentle nature of many of the Martians was noted by Swedenborg as being especially evident when the Lord's name was mentioned.

109

Because they think of themselves as constantly inclining to the things of hell when led by self, and therefore as being unworthy to look at the Lord, they enter into an inmost and profound state of humiliation when the Lord's name is mentioned; and when they emerge from that state they are full of good and love and are filled with joyousness of heart. *
*AC 7467, 7360, 7363-7364, 7478
     That some of the inhabitants of Mars have fallen from their celestial state into actual evil is evident from a number of passages, although not a great deal is said about the particular nature of the evils that have developed among them. As to how the good protect their children from the influence of evil states we read:

     "Those in their societies who begin to think wrongly, and then to will wrongly, are separated and left to themselves alone, whence they lead a most wretched life out of all society, in rocks or other places, for they are no longer cared for by the rest. Certain societies endeavor to drive such persons to repentance by various methods; but when this fails they separate themselves from them. In this way they take care lest the lust of dominion should subject to itself the society in which they are, and then others, and lest any from the lust of gain should despoil others of their goods."*
* AC 7364

     In this way do the Martians protect and preserve the freedom of their society life. Everything said about these people evidences a great love of freedom. We would note in passing the teaching given in the Writings that it was the perverted love of self and the world which led the men of our earth to organize into kingdoms and empires, and thus to abandon the local society life which the most ancient people had, and which the Martians still have.*
* AC 7364
     More than others, the spirits of Mars acknowledge and adore our Lord. They say that He is the only God, that He rules both heaven and the entire universe, and that everything good comes from Him. They say that it is the Lord who leads them, and that He frequently appears to them on their earth. Since many of these people have open communication with heaven, and this much as did the members of the Most Ancient Church on our earth, we take it that the reference to their seeing the Lord means that they see Him in the form of an angel, and this with their spiritual eyes. While living on earth the Martians know that they are really spirits and that after death they will merely take on another body. Because of this they not only think little of the body, but they have no fear of death. Indeed we are told that when they awake after death they scarcely know that the state of their lives has changed.*
* AC 7477, 7173, 7475
     The inhabitants of Mars are distinguished into larger and smaller societies according to similarities of disposition. They are able to discern the nature and disposition of each other from the expression of the face and the manner of speech, and it is said that they are so accurate in this that they are seldom deceived.

110

Their speech is different from ours. It is not sonorous, but almost silent, approaching the speech of spirits and angels. Much is conveyed through the expression of the eyes and the face. Their thoughts are especially evident in the expression of the eyes, while the affections are evident in that of the face, particularly of the mouth and the lips. They regard it as wicked to think one thing and speak another, and to will one thing and show another in the face.*
* AC 7363, 7360-7362
     Nothing is said as to the size of the Martians, although it may be inferred that it is comparable to ours. Their faces are said to be in the same form as ours, but entirely beardless and somewhat different in color. The lower part of the face is black, up to the lower parts of the ears, while the upper portion of the face is yellowish. We should not think of this color contrast as something grotesque, with half the face pitch black and the other half bright yellow. Indeed the Writings say that the yellowish coloring may be likened to that of certain faces on earth that are not quite white, such as those of the oriental races. The same is undoubtedly true of the black coloring.*
* AC 7483
     The Martians live on the fruits of trees and on legumes, although nothing of what they eat is mentioned by name. They clothe themselves with garments that are made from the dark fibers of certain trees. These fibers have such strength that they can be woven and also glued together, the gum of some tree being used for glue. It is said that on their earth they know how to make fluid fires, and that from these fires they have light in the evenings and at night. From what these fluid fires are made we are not told; some have concluded that there must be great oil wells on Mars and have explained the appearance of lights on Mars as being great oil fires. This would seem a more reasonable supposition than the idea of nuclear testing which we mentioned before. Certainly from what is said of the Martians, their character and their mode of living, it cannot be thought that these people have developed a great and formidable science.*
* AC 7484-7486

     A Representation

     Before we conclude our description of the Martians we would note the description of a representation which Swedenborg saw in the other world, a representation which possibly has some bearing on the uses the peoples of our earth are to perform. While Swedenborg was conversing with some of the spirits from Mars a beautiful crimson flame suddenly appeared, sparkling with various colors but turning to white at the edges.

111

This flame adhered to a hand and played on and about it. Then the hand withdrew and the flame was changed into a bird of many colors. The bird, which first flew around, active and full of life and beauty, gradually changed, its colors becoming, dull and its life dead and hard as a stone, although the bird kept on flying. In explanation of this representation it was said that the quality of the inhabitants of Mars was changing. They were beginning to fall from celestial love with its intelligence and power, represented by the crimson flame and the hand, to spiritual love and knowledge, represented by the beautifully colored bird. Many of them were beginning to love knowledge alone and to make celestial and spiritual life consist in gathering knowledges without using them. These were represented by the bird becoming dull and dark in color and appearing dead and hard as a stone.*
* AC 7620-7622, 7743
In yet another passage it is said that if the inhabitants of Mars did not remain in their state of integrity, "others would succeed from a new earth who would be similar; for when one race perishes, another succeeds."* This falling from celestial love and intelligence is what happened on our earth when the Most Ancient Church fell. The important thing we would note here is that once there has been such a fall on the part of most of the inhabitants of an earth, then the Lord's only approach to them is through the written Word. When the Lord cannot approach, instruct and lead man from within, then He can do so only from without, through Divine revelation in written form. That is what He did on this earth, but it seems evident that He will not formulate such revelations on other earths. The conclusion at which we arrive, and which we will discuss more fully in a later article, is that the Lord may well use the scientific genius of the people of this earth, in time and as He sees that it is needed, to carry the written Word, and the knowledge of the Lord's first and second advents, to the inhabitants of other earths. How this conclusion relates to what is said about the possibility of this earth and others perishing and being replaced by new earths and peoples will be considered in the closing articles. At this time we would merely state that we do not believe that this conclusion is refuted by what is said in that connection.*
* SD 3250.
MINISTERIAL CHANGES 1961

MINISTERIAL CHANGES 1961

The Rev. B. David Holm, who resigned his pastorate last April on account of illness, has now resumed pastoral work at Glendale, Ohio, on a limited basis.

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NEW CHURCH IS THE CROWN OF ALL THE CHURCHES 1961

NEW CHURCH IS THE CROWN OF ALL THE CHURCHES G. A. DE C. DE MOUBRAY 1961

     This article is a study of the succession of churches in this world in respect to their ability to respond to the Lord's love towards humanity. It is concerned especially with the differences in this regard between the Most Ancient Church and the New Church.
     We are told in several places in the Writings that the New Church is to be the crown of the churches: in the heading to True Christian Religion 786, in no. 787 of that work, in Coronis Summary LII, and in the Invitation to the New Church nos. 39 and 53. In the first-mentioned passages the New Church is said to be the crown of all the churches "that have hitherto existed on the earth"; in the Coronis reference, "the crown of the four preceding churches." Now, as the Most Ancient Church was celestial, and as it is implied in the above statements that the New Church is to be superior to the Most Ancient, it follows that the New Church also is to be celestial.

     In an article from my pen entitled "Love between God and Man" published in the Autumn number of the NEW-CHURCH MAGAZINE, the essentially celestial character of the New Church was argued at some length, with reference especially to passages in the Apocalypse Revealed. The most important passage was perhaps this, in connection with the Lord's second coming:
     "Before this she was not married, that is, made the Bride and Wife of the Lamb, as the New Jerusalem is declared to be in the Revelation."*
* TCR 782: 5

     The reasons given for the New Church being the crown of all the churches are:
     "Because it will worship one visible God, in whom is the invisible God, as the soul is in the body."
     "Because it will have true faith and charity."
     "By reason of its conjunction with the Lord, and through Him with God the Father."
     "As we now have in the church one god, who is God-Man and Man God."*
* TCR 787; Coro. LII, LIV; Inv 53e

     It is on the first of these statements that we propose to concentrate in this study - the statement in True Christian Religion that "the New Church is the crown of all the churches . . . because it will worship one visible God, in whom is the invisible God, as the soul is in the body."

113

The Arcana Coelestia tells us what would be the effect of ignoring, or being unaware of, the visible God, and turning directly to the invisible God: "If we think of the Divine itself, the thought falls as it were into a boundless universe, and thus is dissipated, whence there is no conjunction."*
* No 5663: 2

     As it would seem to follow from the statement in True Christian Religion that none of the previous churches worshiped a visible God, it would follow further, from the Arcana statement, that there could be no conjunction, no reciprocal love in them between God and man, no response to the Lord's love towards humanity. Mere consideration of the fact that the Christian Church has worshiped Jesus Christ as Divine is, however, sufficient to show that a visible God has been worshiped. We are at first sight faced with a momentous apparent contradiction.
     Now, a postulate underlying the argument in this article will be that the endeavor to reconcile apparent contradictions in the Writings is not only necessary as a means of arriving at the truth but is a particularly valuable way of arriving there. Wherein its value lies, however, will not be explored.
     Returning to evidence of a visible God having been worshiped by former churches, we find that the three other former churches all worshiped a God who from time to time was visible. Note the following:

     "The Lord could have assumed the Human Essence without birth, as He did sometimes assume it when seen by the Most Ancient Church, and likewise by the prophets."
     "He was Jehovah and God to the Most Ancient Church . . . and was seen by them."
     "Jehovah, or the Lord, appeared as Man to the Most Ancient Church, and afterwards to Abraham and to the prophets."
     "When Jehovah appeared to the men of the Most Ancient Church, and afterwards to the Ancient Church . . . and then again to Abraham and the prophets, He was manifested to them as a man."
     "It was the Divine Human that the Ancient Churches worshiped; and Jehovah also manifested Himself to them in the Divine Human [the Divine Human before the Lord came into the world being the Divine itself in heaven]
     "Before the coming of the Lord the Divine Human was Jehovah in the heavens, for by passing through the heavens He presented Himself as a Divine Man before many on earth."
     "The Lord's Divine Human is also called `Angel' in other places in the Word, as when He appeared to Moses in the bush."
     "Before the coming of the Lord, when Jehovah passed through heaven, He appeared in a human form as an angel . . . before those with whom He spoke."
     "The many angels who appeared before the coming of the Lord into the world were Jehovah Himself in human form, that is, in the form of an angel."

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     "The Divine which was of the Ancient Church was the Lord as to the Divine Human; the Ancient Church had this from the Most Ancient, and also from the fact that Jehovah was seen by them in a human form. When therefore they thought of Jehovah, they did not think of a Universal Entity, of which they could have no idea, but of the Human Divine, into which they could determine their thought; for in this way they could both think of Jehovah and be conjoined with Him by love."*
* AC 1573; 7, 1607; 2, 1894; 2, 1990; 2, 5663; 3, 6000; 7, 6280; 4, 6831, 9315, 6872; 2.

     It follows from these quotations that all the former churches worshiped a potentially visible God - a God in human form who appeared to them physically or quasi-physically. God was therefore sufficiently visible to them for a measure of conjunction to take place. However, we must now draw attention to True Christian Religion 786, which seems to say almost the opposite; the implication therein being that the visibility was inadequate, and the conjunction, as compared to that which will be attained in the New Church, a vanishing quantity. That this is indeed a correct interpretation of the passage seems to be confirmed by the following:

     "Conjunction with an invisible God is like the conjunction of the sight of the eye with the expanse of the universe, the boundary of which it does not see; or like a vision in mid-ocean which sinks down in the air and sea and disappears. But conjunction with a visible God is like the sight of a man in the air or on the sea stretching out his hands and inviting one into his arms. For all conjunction of God with man implies a reciprocal conjunction of man with God; and such reciprocation is possible only with a visible God. That before the Human was assumed God was not visible, the Lord Himself teaches in John: "Ye have at no time heard the voice of the Father, nor seen His form."*
* TCR 767

     We quote now from True Christian Religion 786, the whole of which number could with advantage be carefully studied:

     "As all churches depend on the knowledge and acknowledgment of one God with whom the man of the church can be conjoined, and all four churches were not in that truth, it follows that one church is to succeed these four which will know and acknowledge (cognoscet et agnoscet) one God."

     Let us first consider the clause that has been italicized. The original reads: "et omnes quattuor ecclesiae non in illa veritate fuerunt." We suggest that it can mean only that none of the four were in that truth, and therefore not the Most Ancient Church. We suggest further that our understanding of the passage must turn on the words "knowledge" and "know"; and that although the four previous churches knew of one God, they did not know Him. The suggestion, to be more precise, is that there are three discrete degrees of meaning in the word "know." For example, many people know of the existence of Malays. Fewer people have, either through casual acquaintance or by study, got to know a certain amount about them. This is knowledge on an intellectual level.

115

I myself, however, and a very limited number of others, have lived among them, worked among them, studied their customs and their language, and have indeed had such intimate personal relations with members of the race over a lengthy period as to have developed friendship with them. This is knowledge on an emotional or affectional level. (Note a phrase in True Christian Religion 787: "Conjunction must be in thought and so in affection.") There must be three similar degrees in knowledge of God. With specific reference to the Most Ancient Church as compared with the New Church, it is suggested that the men of that church suffered, in their approach to God, from having had none of the intellectual approach to Him that we can have in the course of our individual regeneration.
     The quotation from True Christian Religion 786 is now continued:

     "The Divine Love of God (Divinus Amor Dei) had no other end in creating the world than to conjoin man to Himself, and Himself to man, and thus to dwell with man. That the former churches were not in [that] truth is because the Most Ancient Church, which was before the flood, worshiped an invisible God, with whom no conjunction can be effected (nulla conjunctio dabilis est)

     We have here a definite statement of the superiority of the New Church to the Most Ancient Church. While the New Church can be conjoined with God, the Most Ancient Church could not. This apparently categorical statement that no conjunction could be effected in the Most Ancient Church poses a tremendous problem; particularly in view of the previous quotation from Arcana Coelestia 6875: 2, telling us that the Ancient Church could be conjoined with Jehovah by love, and even more because of the further statement that in most ancient times the man of the church had immediate revelation, and by means of it conjunction with the Lord.* Our attempt at a reconciliation depends on a suggestion that there are discrete degrees of conjunction, as there are discrete degrees of knowledge of God.
* See AC 10,632: 3
      The further suggestion is made that full reconciliation is impossible without allowing for discrete degrees of visibility and invisibility of God. Accordingly, we interpret the above statement from True Christian Religion as meaning that God was in that degree invisible to the men of the Most Ancient Church that they did not understand Him - understand the nature of His love - sufficiently to enter into His motive in creating the world. Because of that, their conjunction with Him could be only of an external order.
     That there are discrete degrees of visibility seems to follow from this statement:

     Christ "Is God the Father, who is invisible, in a Human which is visible before minds (coram mentibus visibile).*
* Inv. 54: 14.

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     That the Writings do indeed treat of discrete degrees of visibility of God is strongly supported by these words:
     "To see God face to face in the external form and with the bodily sight is not to see Him present. . . . He was not present [with the posterity of Jacob] as with those who are regenerate."*
* AC 4311

     In the New Church, therefore, we are not concerned with a physical, or quasi-physical, visibility of God, such as that of Jesus to His disciples or of Jehovah in the form of an angel to men in earlier churches. It is a visibility before the mind which is to be characteristic of the New Church, and it is therefore this form of visibility that we must explore.
     Leaving aside for the moment the very difficult problem of the Most Ancient Church, let us consider the Ancient and Israelitish churches:
     "Before the incarnation of Jehovah took place, conjunction with Him could not occur except through an angel, thus by means of a representative human; on which account, also, all things of the church of those times were made representative, and consequently men worshiped Jehovah by types affecting the senses of their body, and at the same time corresponding to spiritual things. Hence it was that the men of the Ancient Church, and still more those of the Israelitish Church, were external and natural men; nor could they become internal and spiritual, as men can since the Lord's coming."*
* Coro. 51: 2

     Their mental vision of God was therefore decidedly external. We would ask that there be noted in this connection the importance of the interior truths revealed to the New Church spoken of in the following:
     "Inmost Divine truths were indeed revealed to the men of the Most Ancient Church, but exterior Divine truths to those of the Ancient Church, and ultimate truths to those of the Hebrew Church." But "the interior things of the Word, of the church, and of worship, were revealed by the Lord when He was in the world, and now again things still more interior." *
* AE 948: 3, 641e.

     For a description of the state of affairs in the fourth church, called the Christian, we should turn to the latter part of True Christian Religion 786. It will be sufficient for us to note here that the worship of a divided Trinity, with the resultant idea of three Gods, devastated the vision of God.

     The First Coming

     Let us now endeavor to assess the difference made by the first coming of the Lord on the vision of God possible to men of the Most Ancient Church and the New Church. The First Coming had an effect on the whole order of creation. After the assumption of the Human, the sun of the angelic heaven, which is the first proceeding of His Divine love and wisdom, shone out with more eminent beam and splendor than before the assumption.*

117

So we ourselves, as well as the men of the Most Ancient Church now in heaven, can, if we are receptive, enjoy both a brilliance and a warmth of influx vastly exceeding that which was possible in their time. That must necessarily be correlated with a corresponding brilliance and warmth of vision. The Lord can be correspondingly more visible.
* See DLW 233.
     Furthermore, neither at the dawn nor at the noon of the Most Ancient Church could there have been any knowledge of the coming of the Lord, for the prediction of His coming was first made when that church began to decline.* In contrast, for nearly two millenia something of what the incarnation means to the human race and to ourselves individually has been opened before men in the letter of the Gospels.
* See AC 2661: 2.

     The Second Coming

     The Second Coming has restored the image of one God which the first Christian Church had lost. It has given us a theology, expounded in relation to the literal sense of both Testaments, by means of which it has first become possible to understand the mysteries of the Incarnation. We can at last see through the appearance of two persons in the Gospels to the reality within the finite human assumed through Mary of the indwelling Divinity known as the Father. The vision, accessible to no other church, has been opened of one invisible God in a Human visible before minds. The deepest intellectual questionings of men regenerated to the spiritual degree can now be satisfied.
     But the men of the New Church are intended to develop through the spiritual degree to the celestial. Two points are involved, about which we should be clear. First: "Conjunction must be in thought and hence in affection." It follows that understanding is a pre-condition of reciprocal love. Now, nothing in the Lord's life on earth, on the surface of His life or in its depths, and nothing of the manner of redemption, was available to the men of the Most Ancient Church. In other words, compared to the mental vision of God which is accessible to us, God was nearly invisible to the men of the Most Ancient Church.

     The Nature of Regeneration in the Celestial Degree

     The argument up to this point depends upon certain assumptions, among them that love to the Lord arises as a response to the Lord's love for humanity. If this is so, two questions arise: How is this response related to the knowledge we have each accumulated in our memory, particularly about the Lord?

118

And as there is evidence that love to the Lord is developed through love of the neighbor, or charity: How does charity fit into the composite picture of regeneration in the celestial degree?
     Through the truths of faith man attains charity, which forms the summit of spiritual regeneration. Then:
     "Charity, which was the end, becomes the beginning, and from it new states commence, which proceed in both directions, toward what is still more interior, and also toward what is exterior: towards the former being towards love to the Lord; and towards the latter being towards the truths of faith, and further towards natural truths, and also towards sensual truths, which are then successively reduced into correspondence with the goods of charity and of love in the rational, and this into celestial [?] order."*
* AC 5122: 2.

     The fact of the change of the goal of life from charity to love to the Lord is of the greatest importance; however, we are not told here what determines it. Also of importance is the integration of progressively lower strata of truth into higher systems of order. This phenomenon is touched upon elsewhere. For instance, in the course of the exposition of the internal sense of a passage in Genesis it is said: "As the Lord had implanted rational truth in rational good, so did He implant spiritual truth in celestial good."*
* AC 2574: 2.

     Concerning our own regeneration we read:

     "Good from the Lord is constantly flowing in through man's rational faculty, and it meets and adopts to itself knowledges in his memory (scientifica) and in the measure that it can adopt them and dispose them in due order, so far he becomes rational. The situation is the same with the goods and truths which are said to be of faith; good from the Lord flows into the truths and adopts them to itself; in the measure that it can adopt them to itself, so far does the man become spiritual.*
* AC 2577

     In Arcana Coelestia 1707: 4 we are given a complementary picture. When goods flow from the internal man into the interior man, the former appropriates the interior man to itself, making it its own, without the interior man, however, ceasing to be distinct from the internal man. Similarly, the internal man flows through the interior into the exterior man, with a similar result. In Apocalypse Explained 967: 2 this process is described as vivification of the cognitions of truth and good in the natural man, which thereby become correspondences of the spiritual things in the internal spiritual man. From True Christian Religion 457: 2 we learn that:

     "With every man God enters by influx with an acknowledgment of Himself into such knowledge of Him as the man possesses; and at the same time He flows in with His own love towards all men. . . . The man who receives both kinds of influx receives it in his will and thence in his understanding, and consequently in his whole mind, and has an interior acknowledgment which vivifies his knowledge of God."

119

     This passage is a fitting climax to the previous quotations in that it specifically concerns the man engaged in celestial regeneration who is open to the reception of the Lord's own love towards all men. We note that as regeneration progresses, the influx of love - or of good, which is the same - reaches down eventually to sensual knowledges in the memory of the natural man, adopting those which are in agreement with it and bringing them into correspondence with itself.
     The upshot is that all true knowledge which we have acquired concerning the Lord is, in the final stages of regeneration, completely integrated with and vivified by what is highest in us. Our vision of the Lord is correspondingly amplified and exalted. In particular, nothing is lost of the philosophical and theological picture of the Lord which the New Church man may have acquired during the spiritual stage of his regeneration. But it loses its coldness; it is vivified by the influx of the Lord's own love towards all men which the celestial man receives.
     This philosophical approach to spiritual truth was impossible to the men of the Most Ancient Church. A most exquisite expression of emotions was possible to them. But philosophy depends on words, and words had to be invented. * It is, moreover, a fact of observation that the invention of abstract terms is an exceedingly late development. They are entirely absent from the languages of all the more primitive races. Our own immense debt in this respect it to the philosophers of ancient Greece. Moreover, the development of philosophy is dependent on study, and that again on books. The most ancients had none.
* See AC 8249e.
     In these respects our vision of God can be more clear-cut and detailed. Stated the other way round, God can be correspondingly more visible to us.
     We shall now consider the relation between charity and love toward God. In what follows we shall be largely summarizing arguments developed more fully in the article "Love between God and Man." We need to consider some aspects of the nature of love itself, by which we shall mean heavenly and Divine love, not evil love.
     Love is an impulse to action. Delight and happiness are facets of love in action. As love is at the same time an impulse to give to the utmost, to give what is valued most, Divine love must will to give man unlimited opportunity for expressing the deepest loves in action, in order that he should be able to enjoy the fullest and deepest happiness. The Lord therefore delegates activities to men, and indeed must delegate them.* This explains what may seem the peculiar statement in the passage now to be quoted, that God cannot do good to anyone immediately:

     "Conjunction is effected by means of charity, because God loves every man, and as He cannot do good to anyone immediately, but only mediately through the instrumentality of men, He therefore inspires into them His love (suum amorem) as He inspires into parents love for their children.

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And the man who receives it is conjoined with God, and he loves the neighbor from God's love (ex amore Dei). With him God's love (amor Dei) is within the love of the man towards the neighbor, producing in him both will and ability."**
* See AC 6482, 8719
** TCR 457: 3.

     The contrast between the former spiritual state and this celestial state is now beginning to be clear. In the spiritual state, man's love of truth, and then his love of living the truth, result in an abstract love of goodness itself. His love to the Lord is chiefly a love of Him as the source of all goodness. Now, however, having become receptive, in finite measure, of the Lord's infinite love towards humanity, this love in him necessarily expresses itself in a love towards all men.
     Here we must consider yet another general quality of love. Love implies a desire for conjunction, for only through the spiritual affinity between two persons can the person loved be receptive of the deeper things which the lover wishes to bestow. So there is a mutual yearning for conjunction between the Lord and the celestial man. But there is also a desire for conjunction going out from the Lord towards all men. Now it is the Lord's love towards all humanity, with His desire for conjunction with all men, that is received by the celestial man. The celestial man acts in a way like a rediffusion station, with the difference that the radiation he receives is infinite, while he rediffuses it finitely. So the desire for conjunction which he re-transmits is for conjunction with the Lord. His impulse is not to draw men to himself - though this will be a variable secondary effect - but to draw them to the Lord.
     In this, however, he cannot be acting as a mere passive channel, for his love to the Lord demands an expression in action. It follows that what he does for his neighbor is done for the sake of the Lord. This is a fundamental characteristic of the celestial man. Thus does he become man in the celestial sense. And, moreover, it is thus that he progresses further, for love becomes real only when it is in act. So we find it said:
     "By loving the Lord is meant to perform uses from Him and for the sake of Him. . . . To be in the Lord means to be of use, while to be a man means to perform uses to the neighbor for the sake of the Lord."*
* Love XIII

     Here at last we have got close on to the track of the spiritual hormone which starts a new process of spiritual metabolism; so that spiritual charity, which was an end-product of one stage of regeneration, becomes the starting point of the final stage, in which love toward God develops. Previously we were doing things for those around us. We continue doing things for those around us. But now the motive, the end in view, which becomes dominant in us is the Lord Himself. Why this change? It can only be because of an affectional response to His love towards all men.

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The raw material has been what we have learned of Him through the Scriptures and the Writings. This knowledge has been vivified in the course of spiritual regeneration. We have learned to love goodness in others, to want to further it; thus, in the measure of our poor finite abilities, to help men to attain the deepest and most permanent happiness. At this point we suddenly realize the identity of our aim with the Lord's. But our own knowledge being involved in a further vitalizing process, we realize as never before that of ourselves we are nothing, that He is all. Whereas earlier our appreciation of the Incarnation, of the sufferings of the finite human for the sake of mankind, had been largely intellectual, we now feel for Him. Our allegiance goes utterly to Him. We become His devoted servants, knowing all the things He has made known to us.
The crux of the whole situation seems to lie in that - in the things He has made known to us vivified to the celestial degree, which could not have been made known to the men of the Most Ancient Church. By that much He has become a more visible God, and because of that the New Church is the crown of all the churches.
OUR NEW CHURCH VOCABULARY 1961

OUR NEW CHURCH VOCABULARY 1961

Afflux. This is a rare term, but one which marks an important distinction. Good and truth cannot flow into those who are in a state of hell, but they do flow to them and thus govern them from without. This flowing to, but not into, is what is meant in the Writings by afflux; and the term is used to distinguish clearly between this operation of good and truth and that other whereby they flow into the mind, which is called "influx." The term is therefore used to describe the mode by which the Lord governs the hells; and, under the same general principle, of the flow of evil to the minds of those who are interiorly good but are undergoing vastation. There is another usage which also comes under the same general principle: that which reaches the mind from the natural world is said to do so by an afflux, as distinct from what comes from the spiritual world, which inflows.
A related term, and one which may therefore be noted here, is efflux, which means "to flow out." It is used in two ways. Good and truth from the Lord enter by influx through the internal man, and should then flow out through the external man into the world in the form of the uses of charity. This flowing out is what is meant by efflux, and the universal law is that influx is always according to efflux. The term is used in one passage of what emanates from the hells. (See AC 7955; HH 543; AC 7990. AC 3646. AC 5828; LJ post. 300.)

122

GENUINE FRIENDSHIP 1961

GENUINE FRIENDSHIP Rev. DAVID R. SIMONS 1961

     Expressing His infinite love and mercy towards the whole human race, the Lord came on earth and extended the hand of friendship to mankind. Infinitely wise and infinitely powerful, He clothed Himself for finite comprehension. By birth into the world, the God of heaven and earth presented Himself in the flesh, and in this way introduced mankind into a new relationship with Himself. He whom men, because of evil, could no longer approach, approached men; and this not as a God of command and punishment, of terrible anger and mighty vengeance, but as a friend, saying: "Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth; but I have called you friends; for all things I have heard of My Father I have made known unto you."*
* John 15: 15.
     The Lord said, "Henceforth I call you not servants," indicating that those in the former or Jewish Church had been servants. Indeed, it was because the Jews were internally servants of sin, that is, were internally completely dominated by the loves of self and the world, that they had to be forced and driven externally by command and punishments - by captivities, disasters; threats and miracles - into an external order that could at least serve to represent a church.* We do read in the Old Testament that "the Lord spake unto Moses ... as a man speaketh unto his friend"; and also: "Thou Jacob whom I have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend."** Still, there was no relationship of true friendship between the Lord and that church; for although they acknowledged the true God, Jehovah, as their God, still this was merely a nominal acknowledgment. To the Jews He was just another god such as the gentiles around them worshipped. The Writings tell us that they were idolaters at heart and their religion merely a superstition.*** They had no idea of anything internal about their God or their religion, nor did they desire such knowledge.**** This is why the Jews could only be servants. There was nothing of the sharing of ideas and ideals between them and their God. That is the basis for genuine friendship.
* AC 4208
** Exodus 33: 11; Isaiah 41: 8.
*** Coro. 51
**** AC 4208.
     Friendship is a bond between men - it is an outward manifestation of love. To be a friend implies reciprocation, the sharing of thoughts and ambitions, ideas and intentions.

123

It involves giving and receiving, confidence and trust, the free, intelligent co-operation between persons. When one party betrays this confidence, receives without giving, takes without sharing, and thus ceases to co-operate, then the friendship ceases to have any meaning.
     The quality of friendship is determined by the love from which it springs. Love is the inner sustaining force that brings and holds men together. It is spiritual gravity which attracts and holds one body in relation to another. Yet this gravity, like its counterpart on earth, not only holds things in their proper order but it can also crush and destroy. Love, like gravity, can vivify or consume. That is why friendship, which is the outward expression of love can be good or evil, can be the manifestation of mutual love of heaven or a tool in selfish hands, and even an end in itself. For this reason the Writings teach: "Friendships are not charity, but they are a degree below charity. The more, however, that they derive from charity, the more sincere they are."*
* AC 1158: 2.
     Genuine friendship is a Christian ideal. The quality of genuine friendship and also its limitations are set by the Lord Himself. For although He is in a very real sense the friend of all mankind; although He even calls the wicked friend, saying to him who came to the wedding feast without a garment, "Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment?"* still, He qualifies His friendship. He stipulates the basis on which true friendship must rest: "Ye are My friends," He says. When? "If ye do whatsoever I command you." Clearly the foundation of Christian friendship is doing good from a knowledge of the truth, or living the life of religion, or obeying the Lord. In the Heavenly Doctrine the Lord carries these qualifications to their rational fullness. There, He describes and defines every possible type and degree of friendship from the seeming friendship between those who inwardly burn with hatred towards one another to the most exalted friendship between conjugial partners. By their clear teachings about friendship, the Writings enable the man of the church to evaluate his own life and to strive for the ideals given him by the Lord.
* Matthew 22: 12.
     The universal test of friendship outlined in the Writings is its use. What use does it serve? Friendships between those who are in the same business, profession or situation in life that contribute to some use are to be fostered. New Church men are not to stand externally aloof from the world of men because they internally possess the knowledges of spiritual truth and can thus live a life that is distinct and new. The teaching is that friendships may be formed with any one, "even with the clown who jokes at the table of a nobleman,"* for such friendships belong to civil life.**

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The reason for this is that, "no one is able to explore the interiors of the mind of those with whom he associates or deals."*** External friendships, including the social obligations which are necessary to maintain them, as long as they are for the sake of uses, are good and desirable. For in so far and in the degree in which anyone performs uses he can be befriended, since he is doing the Lord's commandments.
* TCR 446
** SD 4524
*** TCR 449
     Yet such friendships have their limitations. They should not be entered into any more deeply than the use demands, since to do so is spiritually dangerous. External friendships can be formed with any man, but we are warned to guard against forming an interior friendship, or what the Writings call a "friendship of love" with just anyone.* New Church men can love the skill, efficiency and knowledge of their friends in the world, and they can respect them for their effort to live what they mistakenly believe to be the truth. But the men of the church are not to form interior friendships based on personality which ignore the quality of man's religion - his internal standards and ideals. For when the person apart from his internal quality is loved, the good can be linked spiritually to the evil and dragged by them into hell where they suffer terrible things before they can be released and elevated into heaven.**
* TCR 449
** TCR 449
     Interior friendships must be based on ideas and purposes gained from the Word and a mutual desire to express them in life. There will necessarily be a wide variety of such friendships ranging from the mere fact that one is a fellow New Church man to what is called the "friendship of friendships" between conjugial partners.* But when such relationships are founded on uses, they are founded on a rock. Uses are the links which bind a man to his neighbor and to his God.
* CL 334.
     There is, however, in the church, the constant danger that we place person and personality before uses, and that friendships will become an end in themselves. Concerning this we are taught: "There are very many societies in the other life that are called societies of friendship. They are composed of those who in the life of the body preferred to every other delight that of conversation, and who loved those with whom they conversed, not caring whether they were good or evil, provided they were entertaining; and thus who were not friends to good or to truth . . . For wherever they come they take delight away from others . . . and make it their own . . . and as they are on this account troublesome and injurious to those who are in good, they are therefore kept away by the Lord, lest they should come near to the heavenly societies. From this it was given me to know how much injury friendship occasions man as to his spiritual life if the [person] and not [good] is regarded; every one may indeed be friendly to another, but still he should be most friendly to what is good." *
* AC 4805

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     When one regards a friend from good, that is, from what he does and what he thinks that is in keeping with good and truth itself, then there can be a mutual giving and receiving of good and thus mutual love. Mutual love and friendship are distinguished in the Writings, in that "mutual love regards the good which is in a man, and because it is directed to good, it is directed to him who is in good; but friendship regards the man; and this also is mutual love when it regards the man from good, or for the sake of good; but when it does not regard him from good, or for the sake of good, but for the sake of self which it calls good, then friendship is not mutual love, but approaches the love of self."* These statements make it clear that good or use is the neighbor whom we are to befriend, and that we are to form friendships which relate to uses, allowing the depth of the relationship to be determined by the quality of the use.
* AC 3875
     Since the highest uses of all are performed in the genuine marriage state, therefore the inmost and highest form of friendship open to man is the friendship of conjugial love, consequently this is called "the friendship of friendships."* How very important this is to marriage is evident from the following teachings in the Writings: Friendship actually "introduces conjugial love."** And after marriage it is as the face of conjugial love and also its garment; and, most important, the growth, development and perfection of the marriage state relates directly to the development of friendship: For the spiritual conjunction between partners "increases as friendship conjoins itself to love."*** Perfection in marriage goes hand in hand with the growth and perfection of wisdom and the perfection of love, from enlightenment of the understanding and delight of the will. In this way partners grow closer together even to eternity.
* CL 334
** CL 214
*** CL 214
     In order that these inmost states of life may be received, that man may be blessed with this sharing of life, the Lord calls the masculine and feminine minds together and provides for their conjunction. He does this by introducing them into the love of the opposite sex; and of equal importance, by providing what the Writings call "similitudes," that is, similarities of mind, as a basis on which friendships may be established and grow.*
* CL 227
     The ideal to be emphasized with youth, the ideal to be held uppermost in their minds, is the teaching that "the chaste love of the sex regarded in itself is interior spiritual friendship."* The establishment and perfection of genuine friendships is a tangible goal towards which youth may strive.

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It is an ideal provided by the Lord to help men channel their natural loves towards spiritual ends, towards the delight of heaven itself.
* CL 55: 7
     That the natural attraction for the opposite sex may be elevated and purified by the interchange of ideas and ideals, which are the foundation of genuine friendship, there are those born with likenesses of mind which, when recognized and matched, bring harmony, delight, and unity of life. The work concerning conjugial love, declares: "For those who desire love truly conjugial, the Lord provides similitudes; and if not given on earth, He provides them in the heavens."*
* No 229
     Similitudes are interests, tastes, and a sense of values which certain minds have in common. Dissimilitudes are the opposite. In general, we are taught, "similitudes and dissimilitudes take their rise from connate inclinations varied by education, associations, and imbibed persuasions."*
* CL 227
     A connate inclination is the disposition with which we are born. It is the way our minds naturally incline, lean, or bend. The form of mind, from the soul, tends to like and dislike things. This is the cause of individuality. Everyone has both internal and external inclinations; and it is important, vital to future happiness, that these be learned and recognized in self and in others. For on these similitudes, and on them alone, genuine friendships can be formed.
     By introduction into intellectual, cultural and social contact with those of the opposite sex we may learn to distinguish similitudes and dissimilitudes. For the teaching is that "faces do not indicate dissimilitudes, but habits [of life do]" * The intellectual and cultural standards acquired by education have a great influence on the mind and make for compatibility with others who have a similar background and incompatibility with those who do not. It is the wider contacts provided by the group which open up opportunities for the recognition of similitudes. Group discussions, group projects, as well as group social life, promote the free expression of intellectual, cultural and social talents, and in so doing provide a wide basis for experience and for the development of a judgment by which young people are introduced into genuine friendships. Narrow lines of companionship, especially with the opposite sex, inhibit judgment and restrict choices from being made on the basis of similitudes. They are for this reason to be restrained in the early stages of youth for the sake of preparing for genuine internal friendships, which are to follow.
* CL 246
     Another factor mentioned in the Writings which affects our form of mind is our companions. The quality of the social environment has a marked effect on man's individuality. In recognition of this teaching New Church men have, whenever possible, banded together in communities so that they might exercise control over the social environment of their children.

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They have also endeavored to send their children to New Church schools so that education and companionship in the sphere of the church will cultivate the possibility of genuine lasting friendships.
     But the most important and most powerful single influence on the mind is its attitude towards religion. Genuine internal friendship can exist only where partners share the same ideals, where they have the same love of truth and good. Internal similitudes relate to religion. Where there is the willingness to look to the Lord and to live by his Word there is the power, we are taught, to overcome external dissimilitudes and thus to bring harmony, unity and interior friendship. For the teaching is that even those things in the mind of partners which are distant "can in time be conjoined . . . above all by conformity in the things of the church. By means of the things of the church conjunction is effected of similitudes inwardly remote."*
* CL 228
     The Writings speak out forcefully to those of advanced maturity who are approaching the age when they can take on the responsibility of marriage. They urge them not to select a partner on the basis of external affections, as is commonly done in the world. "Such [external] affections, [they say] leave no room for searching into the agreements of internal affections";* that is, to similarities relating to the things of religion and the church. For if internal affections are not present, there can be no genuine friendship and conjunction in the marriage that follows.** This is seen in the spiritual world by the fact that two persons cannot live together in the same house, unless they are similitudes, and by no means married partners, unless they have mutual inclinations."***
* CL 274
** CL 275
*** CL 50
     It is for the purpose of leading men into genuine spiritual relations with each other, especially between husband and wife, that the Lord willed to come again in the Heavenly Doctrine. In this new revelation of spiritual truth, in such a work as the one entitled The Delights of Wisdom Concerning Conjugial Love, He provides the wisdom necessary for true happiness. When we know from Him the importance of friendship, of friendships built on internal grounds, then we can apply this teaching to our own lives. In giving this wisdom, in sharing His thoughts and purposes with us, the Lord acts as our greatest and truest Friend, and speaks so plainly in the Writings. "Ye are My friends," He said in the New Testament, "if ye do whatsoever I command you." In the Heavenly Doctrine this same Lord Jesus Christ says: "But, my friend, go to the God of the Word, thus to the Word itself and so enter through the door into the sheepfold, that is, into the church, and you will be enlightened."*
* TCR 177.

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And in the Apocalypse Revealed He says: "Do thou, therefore, my friend, go to the Lord and shun evils as sins and reject faith alone, and then your understanding will be open and you will see wonderful things and be affected by them."*
* No 914.
GOD, MAN, AND MAMMON 1961

GOD, MAN, AND MAMMON Rev. W. CAIRNS HENDERSON 1961

     It is written in the Gospel that the Lord advised His disciples to "make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness"; then warned them: "Ye cannot serve God and mammon." The reason given was that "no servant can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other."*
*Luke16:9,13.
     Even in the letter there is no inconsistency between the Lord's counsel and His admonition. The term rendered, serve, is not used as we now understand it, but in the closer sense in which he who serves belongs to and obeys the other entirely; and in that sense it is evident that no man can serve more than one master. But as a relation which the Lord urges, friendship is entirely free and is entered into only for the sake of use. In it there is no binding of the spirit, no total domination or complete submission, but a reserve that makes possession impossible. Thus there is no discrepancy here; and the implication is that while God and mammon cannot both be served, friendship with the mammon of unrighteousness is not only compatible with the service of God but is necessary as a part of that service. That this is so is made clear by the internal sense.
     There is no basis for the idea that mammon was the name of a god. The word itself simply means money or riches; and Christians have either taken it literally or regarded it as a symbol of whatever, in their particular view, most strongly diverted men from the kingdom of God. In opposing mammon to God, it is evident that the Lord was contrasting the sources of those things which are in the deepest, most complete and fundamental opposition - good and evil, truth and falsity; and in His warning to the disciples it is equally clear that He is teaching the man of the church that he cannot be in good and evil, in truth and falsity, at one and the same time.
     It is a fallacy of our age that good and evil are entirely relative, and that any decision between them is a value judgment and should not be a matter for theological pronouncement.

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But this is utterly false! There is an absolute good that inflows from the Lord through heaven; and although evil is nothing in relation to good, it is not nothing in itself, but is a real and powerful force that flows from hell into the minds of men. Good and evil are the two masters; and the Lord's warning not only teaches that both cannot be saved, it implies that men have freedom to choose the service of one or the other.
     This is indeed true. There is a sphere of evil and falsity emanating from hell, and a sphere of good and truth inflowing from the Lord through heaven, which affect the minds of men, who are kept by the Lord in equilibrium between them. Because of this, man has the freedom of doing good and the freedom of doing evil, and although these may sometimes appear alike in external form, they are so fundamentally different in internals that man cannot be in both at the same time. The intrinsic nature of good and evil is such that in so far as man approaches one he withdraws from the other; that in so far as he loves evil he hates good in his heart, and in so far as he shuns evils as sins he loves good from the heart. For inherent in all evil there is hatred of good, and inherent in all good there is a love of protecting itself against evil and of separating it from itself.
     When the Lord said, "no servant can serve two masters," therefore, He was not setting an arbitrary rule, but was referring to the fundamental opposition between good and evil that makes a dual service impossible. Yet the fact that He said it implies that man may be foolish enough to try, and that he may misuse his freedom to that end! And it should not surprise us for long that the warning was given to His disciples! For it is only the man who is in the church, but in whom the church has not yet been established, who may be interested in attempting the impossible. The merely natural man has no divided loyalties; he is quite content to devote himself entirely to the service of mammon. It is only the man of the church who may be unwise enough to suppose that he can enjoy the delights of wisdom and the pleasures of insanity, and thus, as he thinks, have the best of both worlds. But this is impossible.
     Good and evil are such that man must be in one or the other; he cannot be in both together. The love of either brings his spirit into conjunction with its source, and the spirit of man must be either in heaven or in hell; it cannot be in both, nor can it alternate between them. He must do what is good for the sake of the Lord and the neighbor, or for the sake of self and the world; he cannot have both motives, or alternate between them. A man cannot be at once in the love of dominion and under the dominion of love, for he cannot simultaneously desire to enslave and destroy others and to set them free and save them.

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The morality which he practices must be from a spiritual motive, or from one not spiritual; it cannot derive something from both. And the fact is, that if man does not do good from a spiritual motive, his good deeds, his piety, his wisdom, are not genuine. They express what is spiritual, and are genuine, only to the extent that he shuns evils as sins.
     In all of this, of course, the reference is to the internal mind, and to the ruling love which is formed in that mind and makes there the very life of man. It is this mind, this love and life, that cannot be in heaven and hell or alternate between them. No man can have a ruling love of good and of evil! A hypocrite is both in evil and in good, but the two are not mingled; for the good is in his external mind and will be separated from him in the judgment after death, and the evil is in his internal mind, where it is his ruling love. Similarly, a regenerating man is in both good and evil, but again the two are not mingled. The evil is in the external mind and is removed by repentance; the good is in his internal mind, where it is his ruling love. In that sense a divided mind is possible on earth, though only one master is served; but in the spiritual world after death everyone must eventually be in good and truth only or entirely in evil and falsity.
     As we understand the term now, a man may render distinguished service under several masters, if only their interests are in harmony and not in conflict. But spiritually this is impossible. No one can belong entirely to two forces that are utterly opposed, and the attempt could result only in total destruction. Thus there is a choice that must be made, one that is inescapable and irrevocable. In order that He may make man blessed and happy, and for no other reason, the Lord wills a total submission of man to Himself; wills that man shall not be partly his own and partly the Lord's. Against His will is opposed the lusts of the hells. But whereas he who decides to serve sin becomes its slave, those who choose to be the Lord's servants He sets free and calls, not servants, but friends. This is the choice that must be made; and there is safety only in assiduous application to uses, that there be no interruption during which the mind may turn aside into all loves and their concupiscenses, and so not only intermit charity but even depart from good.
     But if the Lord's service requires that there be no compromise with evil - that evil itself and all the evil in and of the world be shunned and rejected - it does not demand that we repudiate all the knowledge which the world has amassed. On the contrary, it requires that it, too, be devoted to the service of the Lord. That is what the Lord meant when He said: "Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness." The original is here obscure. It may mean that we are to make the unrighteous mammon our friends, or that they are to be so used that we make friends by means of them.

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Either reading conveys the spiritual sense, and together they bring out different aspects of it.
     "Mammon" means money or riches, and the currency with which the mind trades, and which it stores up in the memory, is knowledge, more especially scientifics - the knowledges of the Word, of nature, and of experience. Money in itself is quite obviously neither good nor evil - it becomes the instrument of one or the other according as it is put to a good or an evil use. Nor is a fact good or evil in itself. Facts have no quality of their own; they are simply vessels to be infilled, and they take their quality from the affection that organizes them into ideas. As instruments of the affection of truth, facts lead to ideas that are true and good; in the hands of the affection of falsity, they lead to ideas that are evil and false. The facts are the same; the difference is in the affection that organizes them. There is not one set of facts that makes the universe a Divine creation, and another that makes it the product of an evolutionary process; the difference is in the way the same facts are interpreted. The factual material used in our lecture rooms is no different from that used in secular and other religious schools, or even in godless universities - the difference is in the affection and belief by which that material is organized.
     Religious extremists have always been suspicious of secular learning, and some have denied validity to all knowledge that was not the product of their cult. But that is extreme. Devotion to the Heavenly Doctrine revealed by the Lord at His second coming does not mean that the New Church must start de novo in all the academic and scientific disciplines; that it must begin to gather all the facts as though no work had been done at all! That is neither its unique function nor its peculiar genius. Insofar as research is a continuing process, the New Church scholar and teacher will certainly engage in it. But the specific use of the church is to take the facts that have been patiently and accurately gathered and observed, even those which have been ignorantly or wilfully misinterpreted, and in the light of the Writings, and from the affection of truth, organize them into ideas that are true and good and useful because they are in accord with the Word of God. It is to do this with facts which, in the hands of evil men, have produced ideas that are false and evil. In the case of the facts of the letter of the Word this is obvious, but it extends to every other field of human inquiry.
     This is what was meant by the command to the sons of Israel, just before their exodus, to borrow jewels of silver and gold from their Egyptian neighbors.* It reflects what happens in the world of spirits after death, where the knowledges of truth and good which were misused by them are taken away from evil spirits, and are given to good spirits who will use them wisely; the process whereof the Lord spoke when He said:

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"For whosoever hath, to him shall be given; and whosoever hath not, from him shall be taken even that which he seemeth to have." And it is in this way that we make friends of the mammon of unrighteousness, and so use them as to make friends who will receive us into everlasting habitations; taking up those knowledges which have been applied to evil and falsity, and reorganizing them so that they now lead to eternal truths and to good which shall not pass away.
* Luke 8: 18.
The Lord's warning and counsel are therefore one. The inherent nature, quality and characteristics of good and evil are such that man can neither love them both simultaneously nor alternate between them. His salvation therefore requires that he shall freely reject evil, and follow his total renunciation of it with a complete submission to the Lord; loving Him with all the heart, soul and mind. And as a vital part of this devotion, he is to lay hold on the treasury of knowledges, neither good nor evil in themselves, which mankind has amassed, and which, under the leading of the affection of truth, may become genuine knowledges of good and truth; set apart, as the minds in which they are, to the service of the one Master, Jesus Christ our Lord.
LOVE OF KNOWING 1961

LOVE OF KNOWING 1961

"The love of knowing is the external of the will, the use on account of which [it is done] is the internal of the will. With infants and boys the external rules, in process of time the internal is formed. Then there is formed the love of knowing for the sake of use; these are formed whether they are good or evil.
"But the love of understanding whether a thing is true or not, and thence the love of being wise, is also the external of the will, originating from the light of heaven and its variegation. This love, because it is the external of the will, can be separated from its internal, and then it is the love of one's own glory, on account of glory and not on account of any use then. Therefore it can be given also with, the evil. Or the external of the will in the understanding is the love of truth on account of glory, thus on account of the external. Use of life makes the internal of the will originating from the sun of heaven. It [that is, the exterior,] is as on the time of winter, and like what is foul shining exteriorly" (LJ post. 285-291).

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THIRD WESTERN DISTRICT ASSEMBLY 1961

THIRD WESTERN DISTRICT ASSEMBLY A. M. NICKEL 1961

     GLENDALE, CALIFORNIA, NOVEMBER 4-6, 1960

     We wish to thank Bishop and Mrs. Willard D. Pendleton and the Rev. and Mrs. Douglas Taylor for their large contributions to the success of our Third District Assembly. The following is a resume of the proceedings.

     First Session. Rain welcomed our visitors to the Assembly, and although it meant that we could not dedicate our new education building, it did not do much to dampen our spirits. The Assembly opened with the episcopal address on Friday night by Bishop Pendleton. This was an inspiring extemporaneous talk on the history of the churches and how the New Church fulfills so many prophecies, and on the place of the New Church man in the world. It was a talk which made one feel proud to be a New Church man, and determined to do all in one's power to help to spread the church.

     Second Session. Saturday morning's session, the second, gave us the pleasure of hearing the Rev. Douglas Taylor on the subject of "Imagination, its Nature and Use." This was a fine study, and on something quite different from what has been dealt with in the doctrinal classes we have had recently. On the plane of the imagination we picture the things that give us delight, which enables us to judge our evil and good affections.

     Luncheons. The men and the ladies gathered separately for the Sons and the Theta Alpha luncheons. The only complaint heard about these was that there was not enough time for the programs. Both luncheons were more informal than the rest of the Assembly and people seemed to enjoy themselves thoroughly.

     Third Session. At 2:30 on Saturday afternoon we met for the third session, at which the Rev. Harold Cranch told us about New Church education and the Sunday school. He illustrated his talk with many teaching aids from his wonderful Egyptian collection, captivating his audience with these models as he has often captivated the children in church. Each of our speakers communicated with us in a different way. Bishop Pendleton spoke extemporaneously because he felt that he could best reach everyone that way.

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Mr. Taylor spoke from a prepared paper because he felt that this was the only way he could reach people. Mr. Cranch commented that his was the most difficult task of all: he was going to speak from notes - in his own handwriting! But all three speakers succeeded in reaching us, and we enjoyed each one.

     Banquet. On Saturday night a large crowd gathered at Hody's restaurant for our banquet. The speeches were very enjoyable, telling about the gates to the New Church - how people became interested in the church. Some were brought up in it; others were led to it by reading; still others came into it through someone else, often by marriage. Walter Cranch, the first speaker, brought down the house with his opening remark: "Well, I can hardly wait to find out what I'm going to say." Other speakers were Bishop Pendleton and Mr. Taylor. Mr. Cranch was the toastmaster.

     Sunday. Sunday saw a good-sized crowd at church, although the dedication had to be cancelled because the rain had pretty thoroughly soaked the new education building. This was a big disappointment to everyone, especially since so many people had worked so diligently to have it ready for dedication. But that service will be held sometime in the future. The children's service was at 10:30, and at 11:15 there was an adult service at which the Holy Supper was administered. Slides were shown to the children during this service.
     Although the picnic scheduled to close the Assembly could not be held in the park because of the rain, the crowd that gathered in the church building for the meal seemed very gay nonetheless. In case any of our visitors went away with the impression that it is always raining in Southern California, we would very much like to correct that impression. That was the first good rain of the season, and we needed it badly; but we still wonder why it had to happen then.
     A. M. NICKEL
IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH 1961

IN SPIRIT AND IN TRUTH 1961

"They who worship the Lord from love worship Him from all the truths of faith; therefore the more the truths the fuller and the more acceptable is the worship. The reason is that love excites all the things which have entered from love into the understanding. When the man is in worship only those things appear before him which he then speaks or prays, but all the rest are in vain and not in their series. When love produces truths, then these latter are disposed by the Lord in the form of heaven, and the man then adores the Lord as it were from heaven" (L J post. 243).

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NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS 1961

NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS Rev. ORMOND ODHNER 1961

     The book of Judges, almost in its entirety, illustrates the teaching of the Writings that when man lives a good life, he comes under the laws of order that are of good, which are such that they bring blessing and happiness; whereas, if he is evil "he casts himself into the rule of the laws of order that are of truth separated from good, which are such that they condemn."* We see this on earth. Both the good man and the criminal live under the same laws; but those same laws bring happiness to the good man and condemnation to the criminal. The latter has removed himself from the good of the law and has come only under its truth. Truth by itself condemns. Logically, cold-bloodedly, judged from truth alone, who is personally worthy of salvation? Fortunately, the Lord is not truth alone: He is also good or love, and love wills to save all men.
* AC 2447: 2.
     Recurrent in the book of Judges is this theme: Israel sinned and came into the rule of the laws of order as to truth separated from good. She was condemned; an enemy attacked and conquered her. She repented and came back into the rule of the laws of order as to good. She conquered her oppressor and once again knew happiness. Oh, that each one of us could learn that lesson faster than Israel did!

     Several points in Judges need comment: the reduction of Gideon's army; Jephthah's vow; and the strange tales concerning Samson.
     Judges 8: 5, 6 appears to contradict itself. All of Gideon's soldiers who lapped of the stream like dogs, "putting their hands to their mouths," were separated from the others, and with these three hundred Gideon conquered the Midianites. The rest of the ten thousand men got down on their knees to drink. It would seem that this latter group "lapped like dogs," but a hunter friend once explained it. Dogs on the chase will not stop at a stream to drink. They run through it; and as they run, they lap of the water with their tongues. It was by the three hundred men who were so anxious to go to battle that they would not stop to drink, but scooped up water as they ran, that the Lord saved Israel.
     Jephthah's rash vow eventuated in the starkest possible Tragedy - the sacrifice of his daughter. But in Israel a vow to Jehovah was not a thing taken lightly; it has to be kept at all cost.

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We today know better than to keep a rash promise the implications of which we did not understand. Do we also know better than to make such a promise?
Samson, the mighty hero of the Old Testament, represents the Lord, or the man of the church, battling against falsity. Yet Samson frequently acted very foolishly. Why the apparent inconsistency? A very careful reading of the letter shows that Samson acted wisely when "the spirit of the Lord came upon him," but acted foolishly when he acted from himself. Samson, because his strength lay in his hair, the hair being the ultimate of life, signifies the letter of the Word - the plain, literal teachings of the Old and New Testaments and the Writings. When interpreted under "the spirit of the Lord," these are a sure defense against all spiritual enemies. But when we try to interpret them from proprial self-intelligence, they can lead to all folly and insanity, as witness the many heretical sects of Christianity today.
IN OUR CONTEMPORARIES 1961

IN OUR CONTEMPORARIES 1961

In the Winter Number of the NEW-CHURCH MAGAZINE the editor analyzes the nature of a society founded on purely natural principles. Such a society, he points out, will depend for its cohesion on the compulsion of superior force. The will to maintain it will spring only from the prospect of advantage to one's self as an individual. However, even the worst of human rulers has to pay lip-service to the spiritual ideals of the common good; and every such ruler is maintained in power partly by the genuine love of the common good that is to be found in perhaps only a small minority of the citizens. The Rev. Charles A. Hall begins a consideration of the mystery of suffering, and the Rev. Clifford Harley contributes a general analysis of the Pauline theology.
Writing in the NEW-CHURCH MESSENGER on the New Church in Europe, Dr. Friedemann Horn states emphatically that in the Writings the term, New Church, never means a new church body. He concludes that "the organized New Church is not an end in itself, but its function is within and for the whole of Christianity, to make it aware of the new spiritual environment, the spiritual sense of the Word, and the second coming of the Lord in the clouds of the Word's letter. Once this function is fulfilled, the special New-Church organizations may, and perhaps should, disappear." That the organized church is not an end in itself would, we believe, be accepted by all New Church men; it is in the conclusions drawn from this that we differ sharply from Dr. Horn.

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SECRET OF RELAXATION 1961

SECRET OF RELAXATION Editor 1961

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

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

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

TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$5.00 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single copy. 50 cents.
     There is, perhaps, no injunction more frequently heard today Than - Relax! This is scarcely surprising. Men have largely forgotten the meaning of patience, the meaning of intelligent waiting. Every hindrance in their work, every stumblingblock in their path, every delay in the completion of their plans brings tension and frustration. Whatever they do, they want to do quickly; wherever they go, they wish to get there speedily. If things do not happen exactly according to schedule they are distressed.
     The secret of true relaxation is to learn to wait, wisely. Such waiting means allowing time for the Divine Providence to do its part. Our minds and our bodies need time, and the situations which trouble us so sorely will, in time, either pass or be resolved. Waiting does not mean that we are to throw up our hands, or await the manifest intervention or leading of the Divine Providence. In the light of the Writings we must do our best to solve our problems; but when the solution eludes us, we must possess our souls in patience.
     Both patience and waiting require faith, however - faith in the Lord and in His unfailing providence. Without such faith we doom ourselves to a life of unhappiness, anxiety and discontent, with all the tensions such a life holds. With that faith man can truly relax, work and hope. He can know the peace of mind which is given to those who wait upon the Lord. Such a man will not be exempt from sickness, sorrow and temptation; but he will know how to conduct himself in them, and rest in the Lord until they have run their course.

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MOON-MEN AND HUMAN FREEDOM 1961

MOON-MEN AND HUMAN FREEDOM Editor 1961

     "If a landing were made on the moon, and if it were found not only that there are people living on it but that they are as Swedenborg described them, that would be a miracle. As such it would take away freedom, and men would be compelled to believe in the Writings." This is an argument heard from time to time, and it needs to be scrutinized closely. It hinges on the assumption that confirmation of what the Writings have revealed would be a miracle. But is this assumption true?
     The disclosure that there is human life on other planets, and the information given about their inhabitants and the spirits therefrom, are integral parts of those Divine revelations of the spiritual sense of the Word and of the spiritual world which the Writings declare are not miracles, but are more excellent than all miracles. A miracle is defined as what is done by the Lord when anything concerns faith in Him, His heaven, or His church; and of that which does concern the Lord, the establishment of the New Church, we are told that it is not established by miracles. By definition, then, confirmation of what the Writings have disclosed about the inhabitants of the moon could not be classed as a miracle, the more so as the revelation itself is not so called.
     It is true that manifest miracles compel men to believe and thereby take away human freedom; although, as the Old and New Testaments show, the belief they induce does not long remain, and they have no power to convince; for which reason the only miracles which occur today are those hidden ones which do not have these results or limitations. But would the discovery that the moon, or any other planet, is inhabited by people exactly like those described by Swedenborg compel men to believe in the Writings? We do not think that it would.
     There is a long history of interest in the probability of the planets being inhabited, and of speculation as to the nature of their inhabitants, that began before Swedenborg's time. Martians in various forms, some bizarre others not, had been imagined by the 17th century writers Christopher Huygens, Bernardin de St. Pierre, and Bernard de Fontenelle. Dean Swift and Voltaire, more or less contemporaneous with Swedenborg, contributed; and in 1736, Samuel Biester, M.D., wrote a well reasoned and affirmative inquiry into the probability of the planets being inhabited. The literature continued to grow, and it would not be difficult for the unbeliever simply to place Swedenborg in it and conclude that he had just come closer to the facts than others. Where this failed to convince, psychological or parapsychological explanations that did not involve acceptance of the Heavenly Doctrine would not be lacking. The acknowledgment of the Divine Human rests on other foundations.

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POSITIVE FUNCTIONS OF DOUBT 1961

POSITIVE FUNCTIONS OF DOUBT Editor 1961

     There is a dangerous assumption in the claim that more faith lies in honest doubt than in half the creeds. Indeed, when we consider the nature of many creeds, the recommendation is itself dubious. Yet the Writings indicate that a certain kind of doubt may play an important part in man's regeneration. When good has been conjoined with truth in the mind, so that heavenly things have the dominion, all doubts are removed. This is prerequisite to introduction into wisdom, and those who are in the faith of charity never suffer anything to lead them into doubt. But these things lie at the end of regeneration, not the beginning, and the right kind of doubt may help to bring a man from one to the other.
     The affirmation of interior truth is indeed the beginning of regeneration; yet doubts can be excited even when a man is being led to it, and they must be dispelled by reasons before affirmation can take place. Thus intellectual doubt about things previously learned is not determinative. It simply means that they have not yet been confirmed or denied, and that one or the other will happen eventually; for there are some who doubt before they affirm and others who do so before they deny. Reasoning against truth is one thing, reasoning about it is another. A man may have doubts in which there is affirmation, and these cannot always be removed in a short time. Indeed we are taught that no one ought to be so persuaded about truth in a moment that there is no doubt left, since the truth so impressed becomes persuasive and is devoid of extension. There should be opportunity to think and consider, to collect reasons, and to bring the truth rationally into the mind, if the truth is to be affirmed and held as something that can be infilled.
     We should not be unduly distressed, therefore, if some of our young people seem at times to question certain things of the church. Their attitude is not necessarily negative, nor are they inevitably on the brink of denial. They may be most affirmative when they are questioning most searchingly; trying to make their own what previously they had accepted on the authority of others, but meeting unexpected difficulties in the course of the new kind of thinking that this requires. They need intellectual help, not shocked dismay or a blind defense of the faith; and we can do far more by entering into calm discussion with them, by offering reasons from the Writings, and by a firm but friendly insistence that he who would search for truth must be willing to accept the discipline which the search imposes: not doubting concerning the things of faith because we do not understand the causes as we may in natural things, and because they are not always according to the appearance, but affirming even where we do not understand because they are from the Lord.

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CHURCH NEWS 1961

CHURCH NEWS Various 1961

     LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA

     Our reporting habits leave much to be desired, so we will outline in brief the activities of our Circle during the past six months.
     We got off to an early start with a much enjoyed visit in August from the Rev. W. Cairns Henderson and his talk on NEW CHURCH LIFE - the trials and tribulations of the editor and the uses of this organ. Mr. Henderson also preached and gave a doctrinal class.
     Ground was broken in mid-August for a building that will eventually house our Sunday school rooms. The building was designed by H. Cole as a simple but pleasing structure to be erected by the men of our Circle as a do-it-yourself project. Progress was quite good until shortly before Christmas we ran into difficulties - loosely translated, lack of funds and time, in that order. These problems have now been solved and we are looking forward to the dedication of this building to its use in the very near future. Mass migration of carpenters, plumbers, electricians, etc., to the Los Angeles area would be very welcome.
     The Third Western District Assembly was held November 4 - 6, 1960, with Bishop Willard D. Pendleton presiding. This occasion made it possible for many of us to meet the Bishop and Mrs. Pendleton, and also the Rev. and Mrs. Douglas Taylor, for the first time.
     Occasions for much joy were six baptisms, three confirmations, three home dedications and two weddings, one in Oregon and one in Arizona, our resident pastor, the Rev. Harold Cranch officiating.
     John Patrick Edgar, the seventeen-year-old son of Mr. and Mrs. Jeff Edgar, passed away while on duty with the Navy. While we know that the Divine Providence governs the time of everyone's death, this seemed very sad because of John Patrick's extreme youth.
     The Rev. Henry Boef passed away on January 8, 1961. Mr. Boef was our first resident General Church pastor, and he had continued to help the Circle in many ways during the time that Mr. Cranch was our visiting pastor out of Chicago.
     A. M. NICKEL

     DENVER, COLORADO

     We were delighted to receive a visit last August from the Rev. W Cairns Henderson. A most interesting meeting was held at the Dan Cole home, at which Mr. Henderson discussed NEW CHURCH LIFE. It was interesting to hear of some of his experiences and problems as editor. Mr. Henderson also conducted Sunday service. His text was John 9: 1-3, and the sermon showed that our misfortunes are not punishments for evils committed, but permissions through which benefits to our spiritual lives can be received, if we so choose. On Sunday afternoon a picnic was held at the Junge home, at which time everyone had an opportunity to visit with our guest. The subject of the doctrinal class given by Mr. Henderson on Monday, August 8, was the Word in the five churches.
     We were honored also with an episcopal visit last fall. Bishop Willard D. Pendleton and his charming wife were entertained at the Junge home. While they were here, Bishop Pendleton gave a most interesting class on the doctrine of correspondence. His sermon on Sunday morning dealt with the seeming contradiction between the literal and the spiritual senses of the Word, and showed that the celestial sense reaffirms the sense of the letter when understood. Matthew 6: 31-34 was used as an illustration.

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     We were very sorry to lose the Dan Cole family, but we know that Bryn Athyn has received a wonderful addition. The Coles were so active, and so generous in giving their time and offering their home, that we miss them very much. The Alan Longstaffs were with us through the summer months, but have since gone East; temporarily, we hope, for we would love to have them with us again.
      The Rev. Robert S. Junge has had a     fine series on the Lord's Prayer recently. He divided the prayer into its several phrases, and each one has been thoroughly and interestingly considered.
      Our year again closed with a lovely Christmas party at the home of our pastor and his wife. This event is looked forward to each year and is thoroughly enjoyed by everyone.

     TORONTO, CANADA

     The Olivet Society tree has a sturdy trunk and many healthy branches. The trunk, of course, is the doctrine of the Church of the New Jerusalem, which can be kept strong and healthy only to the degree that this doctrine is loved and lived by the members of the Society. Working toward this end, we have an average attendance of one hundred and eleven, under the leadership of the Rev. Martin Pryke, assisted by the Rev. Henry Heinrichs. The services are always a source of inspiration, and would be even more beneficial if we could carry their effects through the week. It should he added that many lend aid to these services, including the organists, the ushers, and the chancel guild.
     The Branches. Suppose we commence with the children. The day school of nineteen children is blossoming under the care of the principal, the Rev. Martin Pryke, and the teachers, Miss Joan Kuhl and Miss Sylvia Parker, aided by Mrs. S. R. Parker, Mrs. J. Pritchett, and several mothers who supervise the luncheon hours. We see the fulfillment of each year in the school closing exercises, which they have in prospect at this time. In retrospect, apart from "exam" sessions and healthy progress, the children have participated in exchange visits with the Carmel School of Kitchener, the most recent being on November 24, when the Rev. Geoffrey Childs and Mr. Dirk van Zyverden conducted a visit to Toronto, during which the united group visited the Museum to inspect the American Indian and Eskimo displays and the geology exhibits. Later they enjoyed lunch at the church and a swim in a nearby swimming pool. Another event in the school year was a masquerade party, sponsored by Theta Alpha, to which the small guests came representing the United Nations. This proved to be a happy affair.
     The young people of high school age have a class each week under the instruction of the pastor. On November 19, this group visited the Kitchener young people to join in a class conducted by the Rev. Geoffrey Childs, who spoke on "The people of Jupiter." The meeting was held in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Robert Schnarr, where an excellent dinner was served. The out-of-school young people have formed a group also and meet in various homes. Their evenings wear many guises, all of which seem to lead to discussion on many topics. Sometimes there are party events of various kinds.
     The Ladies' Circle is a very essential branch, and many are its uses. The Circle met on November 8, when Mr. Pryke read one of a series of papers by the Rev. Elmo Acton on "Distinctiveness." This emphasized two things that are distinctive to the New Church, namely, the acceptance of the Writings as the Word of God, and the acceptance of the teaching regarding the Last Judgment. Again, on January 10, the Circle met to hear the third and last paper in this series. This dealt with the application of distinctiveness to life and led to an interesting discussion.
     The Forward-Sons treated themselves to a turkey dinner before Christmas. The evening was devoted to the lighter side and closed with the singing of Christmas carols, which must have sounded very well. At their January 13 meeting they enjoyed another hearty repast, though not turkey, which was followed by an excellent paper by Mr. Robert Scott on "Discipline." We quote from Chatter-box, in which Mr. Alec Craigie reported: "In this Mr. Scott drew our attention to the apparent abdication, at least in North America, by the father of his place as head of the house.

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The movement of women into the economic world, their position in many cases as wage earners, the growing complexity of the business world, absorbing more and more mental energy - all these factors have tempted men to hand over to the mother the discipline and control of their children. Perhaps this cannot entirely be avoided; discipline, particularly with young children, must be administered without delay. But it must always he evident to the child that whichever parent administers discipline, it is the joint responsibility and wish of the parents, and that it is with the object of bringing about order and freedom in life."
     At their monthly meetings the members of Theta Alpha have been listening intently to a series of tape-recordings by Bishop Willard Pendleton on "The Primitive Idea of God," "God and Divine Person," and "The Divine Human." Also they have taken on a new project in giving help to the Religion Lessons Committee and are now responsible for twenty isolated children's lessons. Another landmark was reached in 1960, when the Toronto Chapter arrived at the age of fifty years. In honoring this event the original Minute Book was brought forth to view.
     The social branch is quite an important one. In November the social committee put on a very successful masquerade. This is the type of party which is rather likely to provide fun for those who attend, and this one was no exception. As New Year's Eve approached we were alarmed, as no committee was thought to be forthcoming; but Mr. and Mrs. Keith Frazee nobly stepped forward and gave not only an enjoyable dance but also a supper, indeed a banquet, to precede it. Miss Korene Schnarr was responsible for the meal. The attendance was good, and for the first time in some years this event paid for itself, orchestra included.
     Christmas gilds many of the branches. The tableaux were produced by Mr. Jack McDonald and were viewed by 180 people, including children. The Christmas story was beautifully portrayed in seven scenes from the second chapter of Luke. The tableaux, which included motion and were accompanied by music, commenced with Zacharias in the temple and concluded with the Nativity and the arrival of the shepherds. The whole thing was enacted reverently and colorfully and was very lovely. The young people went caroling just before the 25th, calling at many homes in the district.
     On Christmas morning we had an exceptionally lovely service, which was fully attended. Special decorations, the old familiar and well-loved Christmas hymns sung with special fervor and led by an excellent organ accompaniment, all led up to an inspiring sermon preached by our pastor.
     There were, of course, many parties, large and small. The one to which all were invited was an Open House after church on Christmas Day at the new home of Mr. and Mrs. Ron Smith. The Ladies' Circle gave a Christmas party to all of the ladies.
     We have had new babies, baptisms and engagements. Friends have come and gone. In short, life goes on in the Olivet Society as sunshine and shadow greet a tree.
     VERA CRAIGIE

     THE CHURCH AT LARGE

     General Convention. The Rev. Kenneth W. Knox reports that the Wayfarers' Chapel, although without a permanent congregation, functions as a church with regular Sunday morning and evening services. There is a Sunday school with an enrollment of 75, a boys' choir of 25, and a monthly study group in which twelve people take part. Since the chapel opened in 1950, about six million people have visited it; in the past six years, 250,000 have attended regular and marriage services, and nearly 3,000 couples have come to the chapel to be married or to have their children baptized.
     Writing in the NEW-CHURCH MESSENGER on what is being done to vary the services in the Wilmington, Delaware, church, the pastor, the Rev. David J. Garrett says: "In 1960-61 the congregation will be invited to name hymns they would like to sing and subject-matter for sermons.

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The minister plans more lay participation in the services, such as reading the lessons and preaching. More guest ministers will be invited to preach."

     General Conference. A progress report in the NEW CHURCH HERALD mentions that the use made of Purley Chase has now expanded beyond the August-week Summer School to include schools run by the Midland Young People's Council, Federation Conferences, and Youth Leadership Courses.

     Japan. A recent report states that the Rev. Yonezo Doi's church in Tokyo has a resident membership of about 25 adults, an equal number of non-resident members, and a Sunday school of 40 children. Mr. Doi also makes a number of trips each year to scattered groups and individuals, and publishes a monthly periodical containing sermons, local news, and sometimes news of the General Convention. An independent New Church Mission in Tokyo is ministered to by the Rev. Yoshii Yanase, and the Rev. Shiro Torita has two small congregations, one in Kodaira, the other in Yokohama. His main efforts, like Mr. Yanase's, are directed to translating and the publication of a monthly magazine.

     West Africa. The Rev. E. R. Goldsack, recently appointed Superintendent of the West African Mission, has been traveling extensively since his arrival in Nigeria.

     West Germany. The Rev. Erich L. G. Reissner, pastor of the Berlin Society, reports having visited New Church groups in Bremerhaven, Bochum, Bregenz (Austria), and Stuttgart, where services were held.
BRITISH ACADEMY SUMMER SCHOOL 1961

BRITISH ACADEMY SUMMER SCHOOL 1961

(3rd Season)

All New Church young people from those fourteen years old to those in their thirties are invited to the Third Annual British Academy Summer School, to be held August 12-26, 1961, at Earsham Hall School, near Bungay, Suffolk, England. New Church courses are provided in the mornings, and sports and other activities are available in the afternoons and evenings. The charge is L4.10.0 ($13.00) for the full two weeks or L2.10.0 ($7.00) for a week. Write to the Rev. F. Rose, 41 Ambrose Avenue, Colchester, Essex, England.

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PETER AND JOHN AT THE SEPULCHRE 1961

PETER AND JOHN AT THE SEPULCHRE Rev. JAN H. WEISS 1961

ANNOUNCEMENTS

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Vol. LXXXI April, 1961 No. 4
     "Then arose Peter, and ran unto the sepulchre; and stooping down, he beheld the linen clothes laid by themselves, and departed, wondering in himself at that which was come to pass." (Luke 24: 12)
     "Peter therefore went forth, and that other disciple, and came to the sepulchre. So they both ran together: and the other disciple did outrun Peter and came first to the sepulchre. And he stooping down, and looking in, saw the linen clothes lying; yet went he not in. Then cometh Simon Peter following him, and went into the sepulchre, and seeth the linen clothes lie, and the napkin, that was about His head, not lying with the linen clothes, but wrapped together in a place by itself. Then went in also that other disciple, which came first to the sepulchre, and he saw, and believed. For as yet they knew not the scripture, that He must rise again from the dead." (John 20: 3-9)
     In the morning following the end of the Sabbath, certain women went to the sepulchre to apply spices and ointments to the Lord's body. These women found the sepulchre open and empty. They saw two angels who said that the Lord was risen, but when they reported this to the eleven disciples their report was not believed. Instead, two of the disciples ran to the sepulchre, and found that it was indeed true that the sepulchre was open and empty. Later the Lord joined Cleopas and another disciple on the way to Emmaus, and these were the first to have a vision of the risen Lord. But when they reported this to the disciples they were not believed either; and so it was that when the Lord appeared in the evening to the eleven in Jerusalem, it is said that "He upbraided them with their unbelief and hardness of heart, because they believed not them which had seen Him after He was risen."*
* Mark 16: 14.
     Whatever we read in the Gospels in regard to post-resurrection events deals with appearances of the Lord in His glorified Human; and these appearances took place so that the disciples would be instructed fully in regard to the central theme of the Christian gospel; which is that the Lord is risen, and that those who believe in Him should repent of their sins and thereby receive forgiveness and eternal life.

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After the disciples had been instructed they became apostles, and went out into the world to preach the gospel to all nations.
     So it is that the instruction of the disciples is the focal point or center of the post-resurrection events. The Lord's appearance to the women, and His appearance to the two disciples on the way to Emmaus, were preparatory. Therefore the women and these two disciples returned to the eleven; and the news of the empty sepulchre and the risen Lord prepared them for the Lord's appearance in the evening of the day that followed the Sabbath.
     Before the disciples could be convinced that the Lord had risen, they had first to realize that He had died, and that His body had disappeared from the sepulchre. And as they were not so easily convinced that the reports of the others were true, Peter and John ran to the sepulchre to see for themselves whether these reports were indeed true.
     This event is mentioned only in two gospels, and these records differ as to contents and length. Luke, who wrote from the reports of others, has the shorter account, and mentions only the disciple Peter; but John, who was himself involved in the event, writes a longer and more detailed account, and also shows that he himself ran with Peter to the sepulchre.
     Both gospels intimate that the disciples were convinced that the sepulchre was empty. But they were not yet convinced that the Lord was alive. For we read that "as yet they knew not the scripture, that He must rise again from the dead."
     All the post-resurrection events can be applied to the process by which a New Church man may come to see the Divine Human of the Lord in the Word. The disciples seeing the Lord in His glorified Human represents the full vision of that Human in the Word by the man of the New Church. The vision of the disciples between Jerusalem and Emmaus represents the instruction and the glimpse-like vision that must precede the full vision itself. And the visit that John and Peter made to the empty sepulchre represents a spiritual event that prepares us for that instruction and vision.
     The Lord's material body represents the sense of the letter of the Word, and the linen clothes in which that body was wrapped represent the truths or scientifics of the sense of the letter. The death of the Lord's material body signifies that moment in which man passes from a state that came from the sense of the letter to a state that comes from the spirit of the Word. It is the state this is signified by the words: "God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth."*
* John 4: 24.

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     This passing is represented not only by the death of the Lord's body but also by the sepulchre and by burial. The fact that the sepulchre was empty, or the absence of the Lord's material body, represents the fact that in this new state man has come to realize that the sense of the letter of the Word by itself is dead and entirely devoid of life. It can no more be followed, as it was in previous states.
      How man realizes this is described by Peter and John's visit to the sepulchre. Peter here represents the man who is in the doctrine of genuine truth from the sense of the letter; John's visiting the sepulchre with him represents that in and with this doctrine of genuine truth there is love to the Lord. These two, the doctrine of genuine truth and love to the Lord in the understanding and the will of man, run together; that is, they pass into a new state.
     In the literal sense it is said that John outran Peter. By this is meant that love to the Lord enters more quickly into this new state and perceives more quickly the fact that the sense of the letter by itself is a dead vessel of truth. It was for this reason that John did not enter the sepulchre. It was Peter who went in, and who noted in detail the contents of the sepulchre. For it is the function of man's understanding to see rationally and by means of truth, and by its very nature this seeing is detailed and occurs by steps. Love perceives truth in the complex; that is, love sees the truth in its entirety and at once.
     The linen clothes in which the Lord's body was wrapped represent the scientifics of the sense of the letter, not only those of the Old and New Testaments but also those of the Writings. For, we are taught, "rational truths are like a veil or clothing for spiritual truths."* To see these linen clothes lie by themselves is, spiritually, for man to realize that the scientifics by themselves cannot accompany him any further along the path of regeneration.
* AC 2576: 2.
      The napkin that had been around the Lord's head was not lying together with the linen clothes, but was wrapped together in a place by itself. The linen clothes that had been wrapped around the Lord's body had not been disturbed, which would intimate very strongly that the material body had been dissipated. Also, it was obvious that the Lord's body had not been taken away. The fact that the napkin was folded and had been set down in another place indicated that the Lord was alive, and served to direct the thoughts of the disciples toward the idea of the risen Lord.
      The napkin, as a linen cloth, has the same representation as the other coverings, namely, that of the sense of the letter; but there is a difference in representation because of the fact that the napkin was bound around the head.

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For this reason the napkin represented those truths in the sense of the letter that are called the doctrine of genuine truth. These are the scientifics of the Word that state openly the fundamental truths of religion. The fact that the napkin was folded and set in another place is a representation of what will happen when man is instructed by the Lord "between Jerusalem and Emmaus." For then these open truths will be drawn out of the sense of the letter by the Lord, and will be placed in man s mind separate and apart from the knowledges that come from the more veiled portions of the Divine Word.
     This wrapping and setting apart is, first of all, a prophecy of the giving of the Writings, in which the doctrine of genuine truth from the sense of the letter of the Old and New Testaments has been gathered together and set apart. It is also a prophecy of how the Lord will instruct every New Church man who has reached the state of regeneration in which the sense of the letter has been seen as a dead vessel of truth, considered apart from the internal sense.
     "Then went in also that other disciple." After the understanding has seen, the will observes this state through the understanding. The understanding wonders at that which has come to pass, but the will observes and believes. That is why Peter beheld the linen clothes, and the napkin, and then departed, wondering in himself at that which had come to pass, while John saw and believed.
     After the description of how Peter and John both saw the contents of the sepulchre, we read: "For as yet they knew not the scripture, that He must rise again from the dead." The fact is that the Lord had taught His disciples that He was to die, and that He would rise again on the third day. His teaching, as combined from the Synoptic Gospels, had been: "The Son of Man shall be betrayed into the hands of men, and they shall kill Him, and the third day He shall be raised again." And it is related, in the same sources, of the disciples: "And they were exceeding sorry. And they understood not this saying, and it was hid from them that they perceived it not. And they feared to ask Him of that saying."*
* See Matthew 18: 22, 23. Mark 9: 30-32. Luke 9: 45.
     It is obvious, therefore, that neither at that time nor before it did the disciples see the Lord as the incarnate God. Nor did they understand His sayings in regard to His death and resurrection. Neither did they know the Messianic prophecies, or connect them with the Lord and His sayings concerning His death and resurrection.
     These facts concerning the disciples can also be applied to the regeneration of a New Church man. From the Writings he may see that the sense of the letter of the Old and New Testaments is a dead vessel of truth, but one containing within it a well of spiritual truth.

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But in the beginning of regeneration the New Church man identifies this well of truth with the Writings as given; he does not as yet see that these Writings are in their ultimate form a letter, having within it interior degrees of truth. In the beginning of regeneration it is thought that the Writings are a revelation, mighty in word and deed before God and before all the people. But the Writings are not as yet seen as the "incarnate" God. They are not seen as the second coming of the Lord. They are not seen as the Word of God and as the rational body of the Lord Himself. There are sayings in the Writings concerning the sense of the letter, concerning the fact that "the Word of the Lord is like a body that contains within it a living soul," and that the corporeal things of the sense of the letter "must die before man can be born anew."* But we are first like the disciples. We may hear these things, but we do not understand them and we fear to ask questions. It is also true that in the beginning of regeneration we do not really know the prophecies concerning the Second Coming; while we fail also to connect these prophecies with the Lord's sayings concerning the "death and resurrection" of the sense of the letter.
* AC 1408: 1.
For the New Church man to see the Lord in the Writings truly, to see there truly the Lord's Divine Human, he must first stoop down into the Lord's sepulchre, and there realize that the sense of the letter of the Writings by itself is dead. He must realize that within that sense is the Divine itself. This is meant by the words: "Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into His glory?" But then man must return to the sense of the letter and there seek Divine instruction, and such instruction is given when man journeys from Jerusalem to Emmaus. That man must still cling to the sense of the letter is evident from the fact that the disciples seemed to see the Lord in a material form on the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus, although they were then actually seeing the Divine Human. Then, when the Lord breaks the bread, when He gives good, He will open our eyes. We will not only see the glorified Human but we will also recognize it as such. Then we shall be able to say: The Lord is risen, and has appeared to our understanding. Amen.

Lessons: Luke 24: 1-12. John 20: 1-10. Luke 24: 13-35.
Music: Liturgy, pages 556, 551, 552.
Prayers: Liturgy, nos. 81, 119.

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PALM SUNDAY 1961

PALM SUNDAY Rev. ORMOND ODHNER 1961

     A Talk to Children

     Palm Sunday is the name of the day on which the Lord made His triumphal entry into Jerusalem, riding into the city as an ancient Jewish king would have done, riding on the colt of an ass. Crowds of His disciples hailed Him, casting down their cloaks for Him to ride over and paving His way with palm leaves. They shouted as He came: "Hosanna! Blessed be the King that cometh in the name of the Lord: peace in heaven, and glory in the highest!" It was a day of triumph indeed - that last Sunday that the Lord would spend on earth.
     But did you notice in the story several things very much like what happened at the first Christmas, when the Lord was born on earth? You remember how the wise men came from the east to Jerusalem, saying, "Where is He that is born King of the Jews?" - and now the Lord's disciples were proclaiming Him their King. You remember what the angels sang to the shepherds: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace"? - and now His disciples were saying: "Peace in heaven, and glory to God in the highest." Very, very much alike these things were, and it was right that they should have been, for what happened on Palm Sunday meant that the Lord had finished the work for which He had been born that first Christmas Day.
     What the angels sang to the shepherds contained a wonderful promise: the Lord Himself had been born on earth to conquer the hells that were trying to keep men out of heaven; He had been born to teach men about heaven and what men have to do to get there; He had been born to make it possible again for men to have spiritual or heavenly peace, even while they lived on earth, if only they would first give glory to God in the highest. And now the disciples were telling the angels that the Lord's work was done. He had conquered the hells and had taught those who followed Him about heaven, and they had accepted Him as their King. Only after this had been done could the angels know peace of mind and happiness. So now at last the disciples could say: "Peace in heaven, and glory in the highest!"
     Yes, the disciples had accepted the Lord as their King; although it is true that they still did not know what kind of a king He would be.

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They did not understand that His was a heavenly kingdom, even though He had said to them: "My kingdom is not of this world"; and even though now, as He entered Jerusalem, He went, not to the palace, but to the temple. He would be no earthly king; for earthly kings die, and that is the end of their kingship. The Lord would be the King of glory, the King of all angels and of all good men forever. No palace doors on earth, but rather the everlasting doors of heaven, would open to receive Him. Evil men were still to kill His body; but He would rise from the grave to become, not just an ordinary king, but King of kings and Lord of lords, the one only God of heaven and earth.
     Yes, evil men would take the Lord and put Him to death during the week after Palm Sunday; but for the disciples who loved Him and proclaimed Him King, He would still be King forever, even as He was that day. And that is why they could even then truly say to the angels: "Peace in heaven." They were telling the angels that they need not worry any longer. A few men had already made the Lord their King, and more men on earth would do so forever.
     But you may wonder how the Lord becomes your King, and so, in the Writings, the Lord has told us how. We will not see the Lord on this earth, sitting on a throne, dressed in royal robes. But still He can become King of our hearts, and He does this through His law, His truths. He becomes our King when we obey His law, His Word, and all of the Palm Sunday story tells us how this is done. Just as the disciples took their clothing and paved His way with it, so we must take the clothing of our minds and put it into His service. In other words, we must take everything good and true that we know and let Him rule over it; for when the teachings of His Word rule our hearts, then is He our King indeed.
     Now, there is an interesting thing about the Lord our King. In some countries, kingship is what is called hereditary: the oldest son becomes king just because his father was. That is a good kind of government. In other countries we elect our ruler; we choose him. He is not a king, but a president or prime minister. That is a good kind of government, too. But as far as the Lord is concerned, we have to choose Him to be our King, not our president or prime minister, but our King. We have to turn to Him, and ask Him to rule over us; for only when we ask Him will He do so.
     Let us, then, choose the Lord to be our King by finding out the teachings of His Word and letting those teachings rule our lives. The angels the Lord sends to lead and guide us are constantly trying to get us to do that, for they know that only if we do so can we have real peace and happiness. That is what they mean when they say: "Peace on earth."

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And since the angels can have peace and happiness only when they can make us happy, therefore, when we choose the Lord to be our King, we can turn to them and say: "Peace in heaven." Amen.

Lesson: Luke 19: 29-48.
Music: Liturgy, pages 544, 549, 546, 547.
PRAYER: Liturgy, no. C4.
FREDERICK EMANUEL DOERING TRUST 1961

FREDERICK EMANUEL DOERING TRUST 1961

     Applications for assistance from the above fund, to enable Canadian male students to attend "The Academy of the New Church," Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, U. S. A., for the school year 1961-1962 should be received by one of the undermentioned pastors (who will be glad to give any further information that may be required) before April 30, 1961.
     Before filing their applications, students should first obtain their acceptance as students for the forthcoming year from the Academy. This should be done immediately, as dormitory space is limited.
     Students will be required to pay their own Comprehensive Fees, which amount to $100.00 in the College and $70.00 in the High School. They will also be required to contribute eight hours of "student work" each week towards the cost of their fees.

Rev. Martin Pryke
2 Lorraine Gardens
Islington, Toronto
Ontario

Rev. Geoffrey S. Childs
178 Bristol Street
Waterloo, Ontario

Rev. Roy Franson
1108, 96th Avenue
Dawson Creek
British Columbia

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BISHOP'S STATEMENT 1961

BISHOP'S STATEMENT GEORGE DE CHARMS 1961

     As announced in NEW CHURCH LIFE for February 1961, page 96, I have decided to retire as Bishop of the General Church on June 30th next. It seems appropriate that I should make a brief public statement of my reasons for doing so.
     As is well known, for the past two years I have been calling attention to the need for more effective assistance to the episcopal office. The uses of the General Church, the Academy, and the Bryn Athyn Society have expanded to such a degree that it is no longer possible for the Executive Bishop to serve them all effectively without adequate assistance from others in the third degree of the priesthood. If I should introduce the changes which are required to provide for this assistance, I could not avoid binding the future of the church and causing some embarrassment to the next administration. These changes should be made by the church under the leadership of my successor, and in the light of the situation existing at the time.
     According to our order, the Bishop of the General Church must be elected by the General Assembly. Prior to this, he must be selected and named by the Council of the Clergy, and the choice of that body must be submitted to the Board of Directors for their consideration. When a candidate has been approved by both these bodies, the Joint Council determines the procedure by which the nomination is to be placed before the General Assembly.
     The normal time for holding the next General Assembly would be June, 1962. If a change in administration is not effected at that time it would have to be postponed for at least three more years, or until 1965. I am convinced that the provision for necessary assistance to the episcopal office cannot be so long delayed without placing severe restrictions upon the uses of the church. On the other hand, if a new Bishop is to be selected and installed at the next General Assembly, all available time between now and then will be needed for necessary preparations. These are the leading considerations that have impelled me to announce my pending retirement at this time.
     According to the order which the church has followed in the past, as soon as my retirement becomes effective, the Assistant Bishop will assume the responsibility of Acting Bishop, and will serve in that capacity during the year that intervenes before the meeting of the General Assembly.
     GEORGE DE CHARMS

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RESPONSIBILITY FOR MENTAL STATES 1961

RESPONSIBILITY FOR MENTAL STATES Rev. FREDERICK L. SCHNARR 1961

     AN ADDRESS

     (Delivered to the Bryn Athyn Society, January 27, 1961)

     We live in an age of tumult and disorder, of chaos and war. In the local environs of our daily lives, and in those wider reaches which are of political and national concern, we rub shoulders constantly with an endless variety of strife and conflict, tensions and pressures, anxieties and sorrows. Indeed, who is able to list the many facets of hell which are displayed variously in the bodies, in the minds, and in the lives of the peoples of our earth? But such conditions are not new in our age; they have existed since the fall of the Most Ancient Church. We are not unique, therefore, in the burdens placed upon us through the perversions of heredity and environment. Yet, although the perversions of hell have existed with man through so many thousands of years, it would seem essential that each new generation should carefully examine and take note of the falsities and evils which are particularly prominent in any one age.
     The basic falsities and evils of hell do not change from one generation to another; the loves of self and the world, with all their main branches, are the heritage of each man born into the world. What change are the mode of their extension into man's thoughts and the means of their expression in man's affections. As the Lord has revealed new and deeper truths to man's mind through Divine revelation, and this that man might have the means to shun evils and falsities in affection and in thought, so at the same time there have come into existence the means for man to pervert and profane the new truths that have been given. As this takes place - and it has happened in the history of every church - old falsities and old evils take on new disguises; more clever, more subtle, more complex, and seemingly more erudite, than those which had been assumed formerly. These new disguises are composed in part of the learned yet utterly godless theories and philosophies which would affect and control man's concept of the meaning and purpose of human life, and of the qualities and values that he is to regard as of primary importance. But how does all of this relate to our subject, mental responsibility?

     The Spheres of Falsity

     The fact is that the hells, present with us through the perverted forms of our heredity, find the means to infest partially our conscious thought and delight when falsities have been taken in and impressed on the memory.

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Such falsities are hell's gateway to the mind, just as the truths of the Word are heaven's gateway. In the New Church the knowledge of this truth has caused us to make every effort not only to nourish the formative states of our children with the truths of the Word but also to protect them, through New Church activities and social life, from those spheres and states of the world which are impregnated with falsities. But even with such efforts, the life of our planet is such that through rapid and easy means of communication the spheres of the world flow in from every direction.
What are these spheres that are so dangerous, that bring to us in the church as well as to those outside of it states of mental confusion and unrest? If we look at individual acquaintances, and examine as best we can their characters and personalities, we will not find them. We must look to the general thinking of our time - to the philosophies, the theories, the attitudes and the sense of values that obtain. Therein we will find those prevailing concepts which the Writings refer to as "the insanity of our age."* They include the belief that all life is from nature, and that spiritual and celestial things are nothing; that man is merely an animal, and that there are no internal distinctions between the brute and the human; and that nothing is to be believed except what can be apprehended by the senses, that is, that sense experience is the only valid source of truth.** There is, therefore, no absolute good or truth: all is relative, and that which is of value is that which is workable. The doing of good is necessary for the preservation of society and is therefore of prime importance; but man can still do good no matter what his religious convictions are. This last idea is evident in the current propaganda to get America to go to church. It does not matter what church you attend - just go! The eternity of the hells in becoming an outmoded doctrine; evil, as a real power and influence from hell, is thought to be a medieval fantasy. In the fields of sociology, psychology and psychiatry the words "evil" and "sin" are generally deplored; for if man is entirely the product of his environment, how can he be said to sin or to commit evil? He may make mistakes, he may err in judgment; but perhaps he is not really responsible even for these, since he may merely be reacting in a spontaneous way to the things formerly impressed upon him by his environment.
* AC 1630, 3646: 3, 5116: 5.
** See AC 5116: 5, 3646: 3, 1630
Are we being too harsh, or unjust, in examining the trends and the thinking of our day? We think not. For how else are we to understand the Writings when they refer to such concepts as the prevailing attitudes of our day, and label them insanities?

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Let us not fool ourselves with the wandering thought that because the Writings were written two hundred years ago, what was said then may no longer be true. If anything, the situation is probably worse because of the rapidly deteriorating influence of the Christian sects - a deterioration acknowledged by them openly in witnessing to the continuing moral decay among our young adults and youths.
     Not too many years ago the attitude still prevailed in the Christian religions that all physical diseases, and also all mental disturbances, were punishments sent by God upon the evil states of men - as punishments either for one's own evils or for the evils of one's ancestors. This belief still persists today, though with a small minority. But as one falsity has passed, another has taken its place; and this is at once more subtle and more serious than the former one because it has its roots in the denial of God. If evil is non-existent as a real influx and power, then physical diseases and mental disturbances have their origin entirely in the things of this world: in material substances and organisms, in man's lack of natural knowledge, in his mistakes and errors of judgment. Mental frustrations and pressures arise from man's inability to find a socially adjusted place in society. Since one's state and attitude at any given time are only the results of environment, can it be said that man is responsible, or that he can control the complex passions that have been instilled into him by his environment? Should not all disorders - including such things as drunkenness, drug addiction, sexual perversion, theft, and even murder - be regarded as sicknesses in which sin and evil have no real meaning?*
     * Note the papers presented to the Annual Meeting of the American Psychiatric Association last spring, reviewed briefly in Time, May 23, 1960.
     We mention these things at some length because we feel that the current tendency is to make man an irresponsible animal. We believe that the old evils and falsities of self and the world have taken on a new disguise, and that the operation of the hells behind this new disguise in assailing in many extremely subtle ways even the states of those in the New Church, contributing much to mental states of unrest, confusion and breakdown. We believe that where there is little or no knowledge of the truths of the Writings, such states of the world, with its false sense of values, will lead us astray. We believe that where there is some knowledge, but not knowledge surely and properly understood, the states of the world will lead to confusion and doubt. We believe that where there is a sure knowledge and a clear understanding the states of the world will lead to a war, in which, if we have the will to win, the Lord will grant something of the spiritual peace He has promised man through His second coming.

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     The Corrective Doctrine

     In the study of mental disorder and its relation to physical disorder the New Church is as yet in its infancy. Here is a whole new and complex field which awaits the attention in days to come of theologians and medical scholars working together. In endeavoring to determine what mental responsibility should be recognized in various diseases and sicknesses, we meet many fine lines of distinction, the understanding of which must await the enlightened labors of dedicated scholars. The same is true of the endeavor to distinguish between states of temptation and states of partial insanity. Yet, while this is so, and while we must therefore walk with a certain caution in this field, the Writings nevertheless abound in a wealth of instruction. They do provide us with important truths which will give us some means of establishing accurately, at least concerning ourselves, wherein we are responsible for our mental states and what we can do to improve them.
     The Writings tell us that all diseases and deformities had their origin in man's committing sin and doing evil.* Diseases correspond to the cupidities and passions of man's proprium, such as intemperance, merely corporeal pleasure, envy, hatred, lasciviousness and the like. When man entered into these cupidities and passions, they destroyed his interiors, whereupon the exteriors suffered and finally drew man into diseases.** We read: "Evil closes the very smallest and most invisible vessels, of which are composed the next larger ones, also invisible; for the vessels which are smallest of all and wholly invisible are continued from man's interiors. Hence comes the first and inmost obstruction, and hence the first and inmost vitiation into the blood. When this vitiation increases, it causes diseases and finally death."*** That diseases and deformities came into being from man's interior states of evil and falsity is according to the universal law of influx, which states that all influx from the spiritual world "varies in accordance with reception, that is, in accordance with the forms into which it flows."**** Thus when the light of heaven flows into the truths of good with man, it imparts intelligence and wisdom: when it flows into the falsities of evil it is turned into insanities, fantasies and diseases.*****
* See AC 8364: 3.
** See AC 5712.
*** AC 5726. Cf. SD 4592, SD min. 4747, 4742.
**** HH 569. Cf. AC 5828: 3.
***** Ibid.
     Is it possible for man to contract physical diseases and deformities today in such a manner? It would seem that it is not; for we read that "the hells are not permitted to flow in so far as the solid parts themselves of the body, or into the parts of which man's viscera, organs and members consist, but only into cupidities and falsities."*

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We believe there is substantial evidence to show that the relation between man's interiors and exteriors which would make possible the emergence of disease and deformity from sin and evil could have existed only in the Most Ancient Church, and that disease and deformity actually came into being in the fall of that church. Once they had found ultimate existence, they were then passed on to succeeding ages through the order of the natural laws governing the universe.** Certainly the Writings make it clear that now, and indeed from the time of the Lord's first advent, the diseases and sicknesses contracted by a person are not at all indicative of his interior state, and may, indeed, have nothing to do with that state. The rain falls on the just and on the unjust. The sun shines on the honest and the dishonest. And diseases and natural calamities burden both the good and the evil according to the fixed order of natural law.***
* AC 5713
** See SD min. 4648; AC 6713-5715
*** See John 9: 3.
It is true that, prior to the Lord's first advent, certain spirits could obsess man even as to his body; but we are taught that such ultimate possessions were a different thing from the original formation of disease and deformity through correspondences. In bodily possession, certain spirits able to use man's exterior memory would inflow into his corporeal things, especially into the chambers of the brain, and would completely possess him. With the prophets, this was done by good spirits according to order, and at the Lord's direction. No harm was done to the prophet, and he did not even realize at the time that he was possessed.* Evil spirits, however, would inflict harm on the man they possessed. They would inspire terror, together with such a madness that those thus possessed would kill each other. The Writings tell us that this is how whole armies were occasionally destroyed in Old Testament times.** In such external possessions the man was powerless to control his actions, even if he realized his state. The story will be recalled of the man with an unclean spirit who lived in the tombs and in the mountains, and who cried and cut himself with stones. When he saw the Lord, "he ran and worshipped Him, and cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with Thee, Jesus, Thou Son of the Most High God?" Then the Lord sent the evil spirits into a herd of swine, and the man was restored to his senses.***
* See 5717, 2477: 2, 5862: 2, 5990, 6212: 4; HH 257; SD 2273, 2279.
** See AC 5717; SD 2278.
*** Mark 5: 1-19. See AE 659: 6, 7; SD 2279, 2659.
The Writings make it clear beyond question that such forms of external possession, wherein man has no control over his bodily actions, are not permitted at this day.*

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If man therefore loses self-control temporarily, or if he is born with such a physical deformity as to make the operation of his faculties of liberty and rationality impossible, we must look somewhere else for the cause of his condition than to possession by evil spirits.
* See AC 1983: 4, 4793, 5990, 5717; HH 257.
It is obvious, as we have already noted, that diseases often bear no relation to the interior states of the person attacked by them. While this is true, however, the Writings also make it clear that there is an area in which man is responsible for the sicknesses that affect him. The disorderly states of his mind and the disorderly actions of his body over which he does have control do have an effect upon the welfare of his body. Abuse and over-indulgence of the senses have their obvious reactions in the body, as do mental tensions, anxieties and pressures. Such conditions, especially if prolonged, disrupt the well-being of the body and cause it to be that much more susceptible to other diseases. The implication of man's responsibility for such diseases as are contracted through the disorders of his life, especially the disorders of the senses, is so evident that we need scarcely comment on it. From the truths of the Word we know what the order of our life should be, and generally we are quite aware of those occasions on which we abuse or overindulge the senses. Our mental states may not be so easily determined, but this will be considered shortly.
Because every disease corresponds to some particular cupidity and passion of hell, once a disease is contracted an unclean sphere corresponding to it inflows into such unclean things as belong to the disease, attaches itself thereto, and is present as a fomenting cause.* What effects such spheres from hell have upon the body and the mind depends on the nature of the sickness, and therefore on the nature of the evil spirits present - and this is a major study in itself. Certainly states of anxiety, fear and melancholy, to name but a few, are introduced: states over the introduction of which the patient has little or no control. Because such states are introduced into the mind when the body is sick, the Writings state that "when the body is sick the mind also is sick." ** When both the body and the mind are sick, the function of the rational faculty is disturbed and subjected to pressure, sometimes making the process of reformation impossible. Indeed the Writings frankly state that "no one is reformed in states that do not spring from rationality and liberty"; and they list conditions in which no one is reformed, such as states of fear and misfortune, unhealthy mental states, bodily diseases, ignorance, and blindness of the understanding. *
* See AC 5713-5715; SD 4571-4572; SD min. 4648-4649.
** DP 142.
*** DP 138-144.

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     Some Problems, Teachings and Reflections

     Here we come to a series of knotty problems that have disturbed many in the church, the solutions of which are not entirely obvious. What constitutes "being sick"? Does not nearly everyone seem to be plagued with some sickness or deformity, to a greater or lesser degree? Can one determine accurately when he is sick in such a manner that reformation cannot take place? If it is often impossible for reformation to take place during sickness, then what use is served in such states to the one who is sick? Do we not experience something of a feeling of futility, a feeling that encourages a sense of irresponsibility as far as our states and actions are concerned? If the hells inflow even more into man when he is sick, why is it that some who are sick nevertheless certainly evidence heavenly and inspiring spheres?
     We do not pretend to have all the answers to these questions, but we would bring forth certain teachings, and certain reflections concerning them, which we feel should be considered. The Writings could lead us to believe that it is neither useful nor possible to determine accurately when we are in such a state that reformation cannot take place. There are many things about our states that we cannot determine, such as when we are in a state of enlightenment or to what degree we have been reformed or regenerated. There may be certain signs and indications that our state is thus or so, such as the presence of a disease, but we cannot be sure. Besides, the very idea of looking around and trying to be sure would indicate a mind searching for an excuse to get away with a few things by conveniently labeling itself as not in a responsible state!
     We believe it is of order that we should feel entirely responsible for our states, for our thoughts and actions, even when we are sick, and even if there is a chance that we may not be reforming at the time. For one thing, we know that the Lord performs uses in every state of our lives. He uses states of disorder, such as all sicknesses are, to establish something of heavenly order both with the one who is sick and with those associated with him. For example, we are taught that if a man is in such a state that he cannot be reformed in sickness, still, the states he endures in sickness are used to prepare him for entrance into reformation when the sickness is past; that is, if he wills to be reformed. Besides, it is essential that external order be preserved in human society. The Lord works to establish and maintain such order in countless ways. Thus when the body is sick and the mind is inclined to be irritable, filled with melancholy and self-pity, the fear of death and of one's lot after death are introduced into the mind; and these inspire, perhaps, something of an effort to prepare one's self anew for the things of heavenly life, and therefore to control one's self, to be more gentle and kind.

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The Lord uses even our selfish and false feelings to preserve external order in sickness: feelings such as undue pride in our beauty, appearance and decorum, or the thought that enduring the states of sickness is a challenge to our natural pride in courage and bravery. It is the unusual thoughts and activities and pressures in the mind which sometimes make reformation impossible during many forms of sickness; for these influence the rational thought processes perhaps to think and act otherwise than would be the case in a state of normal health.
     There is one other consideration that we would mention before Proceeding to a different aspect of our subject. It concerns the uses that might be carried on during states of illness. We are taught that while states of reformation cannot begin while man is sick, if he was reformed before he became sick, the work of reformation can be strengthened.* What is to be understood by such strengthening is evident from the teaching that man can endure spiritual temptations while in bodily sickness - which indicates that man can be responsible even when the rational is under various pressures. A spiritual temptation occurs, we are told, "when the truths of faith which a man believes in his heart, and according to which he loves to live, are assaulted within him, especially when the good of love, in which he places his spiritual life, is assaulted. [These assaults] are effected by evil spirits who are present with man; and when they take place, they appear under the form of interior anxieties and pains of conscience; for they affect and torment man's spiritual life, because he supposes that they proceed, not from evil spirits, but from his own interiors. . . . These temptations are most grievous when they are accompanied by bodily pains; and still more so when those pains are of long continuance, and no deliverance is granted, even although the Divine mercy is implored. Hence results despair, which is the end."** Other passages make it clear that spiritual temptations often accompany natural temptations, such as disease, grief, loss of wealth and honor, and the like.***
     * See DP 142.
     ** HD 196, 197.
     *** See AC 8164: 2.
     From this instruction we conclude that the work of Regeneration - the formation of a new will in man through the trials of spiritual temptation - can take place during sickness, when reformation has occurred previously. We should be very careful, therefore, that we do not encourage apathetic and passive attitudes on the part of those who are sick and that when we ourselves are attacked by illness, we should feel a full sense of responsibility for the control and order not only of our bodies but also of our mental states.

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     The Areas of Responsibility

     But what of our mental states, and what are the areas of our responsibility? We noted earlier some of the popular theories of our day: theories which the Writings refer to as insanities; theories which deny God and deny that man is anything but an animal, a mere product of his environment; theories which therefore tend to make man not responsible for the nature of his thoughts, his passions, his pleasures, and in many instances for his actions.
     What a different picture the Writings hold before us! - the picture of a human being created in the image and likeness of an all-wise and all merciful God; a human with Divinely endowed faculties of liberty and rationality; a human with the responsibility of exercising these faculties in freely determining the eternal nature of his character; a human influenced by environment, yes, but influenced also by heredity, by the distinct nature of the soul, by the spheres of men and of angels and of devils, and above all by the presence of the Lord's love and wisdom through the truths of His Word. Is it any wonder that the description of our mental states given in the Writings bears practically no relationship to the description proffered by modern man?
     In what has been said so far, and in what follows, it should be clearly understood that the writer is in no way criticizing or minimizing the great efforts and work of dedicated men in the various fields to which reference has been made. Whatever has been done to relieve human suffering and disease can receive nothing but our gratitude, respect and support. What we are concerned with here is not a judgment upon men, but upon concepts that are contrary to revealed truths and poisonous as far as man's spiritual life is concerned.
     The terminology employed in the Writings to reveal our mental states is often the same as that used by the world, but the meaning is seldom similar. For example, the term, insanity, generally refers to an unsound mind that is not responsible and that requires supervision and control by others. The Writings occasionally use the term in this way, as when they refer to those mental disorders for which man has no individual responsibility - disorders resulting from severe shock, and from physical diseases and deformities whereby the brain is damaged. But while the term, insanity, is sometimes used in this way, its principal reference is to those things which constitute the life of hell, thus to spiritual insanity. Thus we read: "By insanity is meant derangement or delirium of mind from falsities, and the chief derangement is derangement of mind from truths falsified until they are believed to be wisdom"; or, as it is put in another passage: spiritual insanity "is to call falsities truths and truths falsities."*
* CL 294. AE 652: 5, cf. AE 690:2

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     Because spiritual insanity refers to that which is of hell, and because hell is with man through the perverted forms of his native will, that part of man is said to be insane.* Also, pleasures which have their roots in the loves of hell are called "pleasures of insanity." Thus the second part of the work Conjugial Love is subtitled "The Pleasures of Insanity Pertaining to Scortatory Love.**
* See DP 83; AC 3341
** See CL 294.
     We have used the word, insanity, not merely as an example of how the terminology of the Writings differs from that commonly employed in the world but also because the subject of spiritual insanity is pertinent to our topic of mental responsibility. The Writings make it clear that those states of mental stress, confusion and disorder for which we are responsible spring from the hells, and are actually forms of spiritual insanity with us. For spiritual insanity, it should be noted, is not just the presence of falsities; it is the falsification of truth to justify, allow and confirm what is evil.*
* See AE 1035.
     The Writings have a great deal to say about those things which lead man into states of spiritual insanity. Space permits us to mention only a few. Various falsities in the current thought of the world concerning the nature of man have already been mentioned. We believe that these are of paramount concern, for they are part and parcel of a general principle which the Writings tell us leads to all folly and insanity. It is that negative principle which the Writings make so familiar to us. It is the principle which denies all things, or which causes men to say in their hearts that they cannot believe until they are convinced by what they can apprehend or perceive by the senses. That such a principle never leads to the acceptance of the Lord in His Word is the manifest testimony of all Divine revelation.*
* See AC 2568, 2584: 3, 2588
     Another source of unhealthy mental states, which can in time lead to spiritual insanity, is too much reflection upon self and upon one's own problems. The Writings tell us that such undue reflection causes evil spirits to flow in, fomenting troublesome, fanciful and evil suggestion, together with a certain confirmation of cupidities. This is the source of many anxieties, fears, worries and other such disturbing states. The longer such reflection is continued, the more are we infested by evil spirits. The Writings warn us that people who live solitary lives are especially prone to fall into such states.*
* See SD 3624, 3625.

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     Differently from the spiritual world, where all externals must agree and make one with internals, in this world the Lord has provided that our internals and externals need not agree and make one. Here a man may be spiritually insane, and yet appear perfectly intelligent and sane in thought and act. For the sake of order among men, the Lord has provided that those who are interiorly in the insanities of evil and falsity should yet strive - from external fears of the law, and of the loss of life, honor or reputation - to remain in something of external order.*
* See AC 4217: 3, 5145: 6; CL 267.
     But what we would note particularly about the states of spiritual insanity is that man is entirely responsible for them. Truly, states of spiritual insanity are thrust upon him, time and time again, in many different ways before and during reformation and regeneration. But man is still responsible for the effect they have upon him, and for whether he comes to shun them or associates his loves with them and makes them his own.* We read that "the ability to elevate the understanding even to the intelligence in which the angels of heaven are is inherent by creation in every man. . . . It is also evident from this that the first stage of the new birth is the reception of truths in the understanding, and that the second is a willingness to act according to them, and at length to practise them"; and we read also that "in the whole spiritual world there is not one example of anyone being removed from evils except by combat or resistance as if of himself."**
* See SD 230, 231; AC 8403; SD 3624-3628.
** TCR 589; AE 1164.
     The thing is, we must learn to think from religion about the evils and falsities that plague us, and learn to fight them according to the Lord's instructions.* The hells do impose their insanities upon us in a seemingly endless array and variety. We do enter into terrible states such as that depicted in the words of the Psalmist: "My soul is full of troubles: and my life draweth nigh unto the grave. I am counted with them that go down into the pit: I am as a man that hath no strength. . . . Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the deeps."** Still, the understanding is not attached to the will. From the knowledges of the truth of the Word in it the understanding can look down on the spiritual insanities which infest, label them for what they are, and set in motion the means for their removal.*** The resulting fight between the understanding of truth and the evils of the native will is one which must be entered into by man. It is a fierce fight, for it is for his very life. We read: "He who thinks from enlightened reason can see and perceive . . . that no one can be regenerated without a fight, that is, without spiritual temptation; and also that he is not regenerated by one temptation, but by many.

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For very many kinds of evil have made the delight of his former life; and it is impossible for all of these evils to be suddenly and simultaneously mastered.****
* See CL 267.
** Psalm 88: 3, 4, 6.
*** See HH 508: 5, 7; SD 3624-3628.
**** AC 8403.

     The Way, The Hope and the Promise

     What man today can be profoundly thankful for is that the Lord in His second coming has given so much to aid him in his states of combat. He tells us that no one can be sane in spirit except from the Lord through the life of regeneration. He forewarns us of the combats we must expect to endure, so that we may bear them intelligently and with courage and patience; and He promises that if we believe in Him, He will liberate us from the spheres of hell, no matter how much we may be infested by them.*
* See CL 269; SD 3628. Cf. Ezekiel 37: 12.
     Besides these things, the Lord also gives us some concrete suggestions. He warns us not to reflect too much on ourselves and on our own problems, and to break such states by seeking social contacts with others and by engaging in a variety of activities. He instructs us to cultivate an affection of uses, for that affection will keep the mind from straying during periods of stress and disturbance. We are not to fold our hands and fret about our states, but are to go forward, actively applying ourselves to work and play. The Lord commands that we shall have no care for the morrow.*
* Love XV; AE 1170: 4; Life 97; SD 3628.
     The Lord has promised that in the New Church there will be spiritual peace: a peace which, flowing from the Lord into man's inmosts, "descends and flows down into the lower faculties, producing a sense of rest in the mind, tranquillity of disposition, and joy therefrom."*
* HH 290. Cf. Coro. Summ. LVIII; AC 3170, 5662.
     Many who have sincerely made the effort to do the work of reformation and regeneration may be somewhat discouraged, perhaps, because they do not feel the delights and happiness of heaven as the rewards of their strife. But concerning even this we receive clear instruction from the Divine, an instruction to elevate our understandings which may give us a sure and abiding trust in the Lord's merciful provisions. We close with the following quotation. Man cannot perceive and feel the delights and happinesses of heaven while on earth, "but a certain delight in their stead. The reason of this is that while in the body he is in worldly cares and consequent anxieties that prevent the happiness of eternal life which is deep within him from being manifested in any other ways.

166

For when this happiness inflows from within into the cares and anxieties that are with the man outwardly, it sinks down among the cares and anxieties there, and becomes a kind of obscure delight; but still it is a delight within which there is blessedness; and within this, happiness. Such is the happiness of being content in God."*
* AC 3938.

[EDITORIAL NOTE: Publication of "The Inhabited Universe" will be resumed next month.]
IN OUR CONTEMPORARIES 1961

IN OUR CONTEMPORARIES 1961

The Literary Number of the ACADEMY JOURNAL which was published last month is an outstanding production. Reflected in its pages are the thinking of the Academy's teaching staff, the literary and scholarly output of its members, and even the activities which absorb the leisure time of some of them. Included among the articles are a critical examination of proof, sketches of three prominent figures in the Academy of the past, and accounts of such diverse activities as a student tour of Europe, satellite tracking and landscape painting. Reports of works written by faculty members round out an interesting composite of the activities and thoughts of staff members in the several academic fields as well as in the uses that go to make up the Academy schools. Professor Allen, the editor of the Literary Number, is certainly to be warmly congratulated on a production that will, we hope, be equalled, but that is not likely to be surpassed.
In a recent issue of the NEW-CHURCH MESSENGER the desire was expressed editorially to see depth psychology explore the question of whether the innate tendencies of man are towards evil rather than good. The writer of an article which seeks to compare Swedenborg's psychology and depth psychology concludes: "In the two hundred years since Swedenborg's time, mankind has evolved to the point where many men are now spontaneously experiencing regeneration, and where the scientific exploration and utilization of the process in depth psychology is now beginning." If this is a fair sample it would scarcely seem that depth psychology can be relied on to throw any certain light upon our problems. In the past we have had to consider the question of spontaneous generation; now it would seem that we must learn to cope also with the idea of spontaneous regeneration.

167

OUR NEW CHURCH VOCABULARY 1961

     Appearance. This is a term which has in the Writings a meaning different from that which is generally given to it. In common speech, appearance is frequently used to describe an illusion, or that which is other than the reality, but the Writings employ two different usages.

     1) The Divine as it is in itself cannot be comprehended by any finite mind. Pure truth never exists with angel or man. Therefore Divine truth is presented in the Word, not as it is in itself, but as it seems to angels and men to be from their different but finite viewpoints; in the case of man, according to his state and even to the fallacies of the senses, and thus in forms from a sensuous and human origin which induce the idea that Divine things are the same as human ones. These accommodated presentations of Divine truth are what are called "appearances"; and they are so called, not because they are illusions, but because they cause genuine truths to appear. In other words, they are appearings of the truth.
     2) In the other world spirits sometimes seem to change their situation and to traverse distances when they do not. These seeming changes are called appearances because they are not real.
     Related terms are "real appearances" and "appearances not real." The phenomena of heaven are real appearances because they actually exist, correspond to the states of the angels, and are as constant as those states are; are, in fact, appearings of the real. But the phenomena of hell are "appearances not real" because they are seen to be entirely different when the light of heaven enters. (See AC 3207, 1376, 4623.)

     Appropriate. To appropriate is to make one's own from freedom according to reason. The relation of the term to eating and drinking gives us the essential idea. By these processes man, from appetite, takes in, prepares, absorbs, assimilates, and builds into the structure of his body the nutritious elements in what he swallows. Spiritually, he appropriates whatever he absorbs from love and builds into the structure of his mind and life. Thus whatever he wills, thinks, does and says from love he appropriates, both good and evil, and those things are said to be appropriated by him. However, that only which is appropriated in freedom remains. (See BE 69; DP 138.)

168

NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS 1961

NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS Rev. ORMOND ODHNER 1961

The tragedy of Saul, except for its very end, is traced in the Old Testament daily readings for April; and tragedy it is, as stark today as when it happened three thousand years ago. A promising young man, apparently humble at first and thoughtful of others, Saul was anointed king by Samuel entirely by surprise to himself. As soon as he was officially proclaimed king, however, signs appeared in him of resentment toward those who did not support him. For a while he bided his time with these non-loyal Israelites, however, and turned instead to war against his country's enemies. Chief among these were the Philistines, who were pushing in from the sea coast at the same time that Israel was thrusting into Canaan from across the Jordan. In one great battle after another, Saul forced them back, enlarging his kingdom. But it was in connection with his wars that Saul first openly defied the Lord. Against the Lord's command, he showed pity toward a vanquished king; and against the express Deuteronomic command that laymen must not themselves offer burnt sacrifices, Saul, impatient, did so. Samuel twice denounced him. Things went from bad to worse. Fits of madness came upon him, in which he turned against his own supporters. At last, utterly defeated in battle, wounded and bereft of his sons, he took his own life.
In the Arcana we read: "The Lord provides for the good . . . riches and honors for those to whom they would not be hurtful, and no riches and honors for those to whom they would be hurtful; but still to the latter He grants . . . instead . . . to be glad with a few things, and to be more content than the rich and honored." * This by no means teaches that all rich people are good, anymore than it teaches that all poor people are evil. What it teaches is simply that the Lord will not allow a person to gain riches if he is of such a character that riches by themselves would hurt him. A good man, not of that character, would be given riches; and so might an evil man, if he were already so evil that riches could hurt him no further. The Lord does not allow external circumstances to drag a man to hell. So must it have been with Saul. His kingship did not make him evil; it simply gave him opportunity to bring his evil into the open.
* AC 8717.

169

ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS 1961

ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS W. CAIRNS HENDERSON 1961

     COUNCIL OF THE CLERGY

     The Annual Meetings of the Council of the Clergy of the General Church of the New Jerusalem were held in the Council Chamber of the Bryn Athyn Cathedral-Church, January 24-27, 1961, with Bishop De Charms presiding.
     In addition to the Bishop of the General Church there were present one member of the episcopal degree, twenty members of the pastoral degree, and three members of the ministerial degree, namely: Bishop. Willard D. Pendleton; the Rev. Messrs. Elmo C. Acton, Karl R. Alden, Geoffrey S. Childs, Harold C. Cranch, Roy Franson, Henry Heinrichs, W. Cairns Henderson (secretary), Robert S. Junge, Louis B. King, Hugo Lj. Odhner, Ormond Odhner, Dandridge Pendleton, Martin Pryke, Norman H. Reuter, Morley D. Rich, Norbert H. Rogers, Frederick L. Schnarr, David R. Simons, Kenneth O. Stroh, Jan H. Weiss; Kurt H. Asplundh, Raymond G. Cranch, Douglas McL. Taylor. Candidates Gudmund Boolsen and Geoffrey H. Howard were present by invitation.
     A meeting of the Bishop's Consistory was held on Monday evening, January 23rd. There were six regular sessions of the Council, four in the morning and two in the afternoon, and one joint session with the Board of Directors of the General Church. No meeting of pastors was held this year, but on Monday afternoon, January 23, the headmasters of local schools met as usual with the Bishop. The Church Extension Committee met on Thursday afternoon, January 26, and the General Church Publication Committee held its annual meeting on Monday, January 30th.
     Bishop De Charms, in opening the first session, announced that he would retire from the office of Bishop of the General Church at the end of June, 1961. The Assistant Bishop, the Right Rev. Willard D. Pendleton, would then automatically become Acting Bishop, and would serve in that capacity until the choice of a new Bishop had been confirmed by the next General Assembly. It was the consensus that the Bishop's announcement, while not entirely unexpected, was not one to which an adequate response could be made immediately; time would be needed for full realization of its significance and to be able to express what was in the hearts and minds of the clergy.

170

It was the sentiment of the Council that the next General Assembly should be held in June, 1962, and that in order to insure the largest possible attendance it should be held in Bryn Athyn, if the Bryn Athyn Church is willing to be the host society.
     Standing reports made during the week were those of the Liturgy Committee, the Liturgy Music Committee, and the Church Extension Committee. The first of these committees invited and received comments on a revised Marriage Service which had been circulated in advance of the meetings; the second stressed in its report the need for societies and circles to make their requirements known to the committee; the third reported through its chairman considerable activity in the three areas of church extension with which its sub-committees are concerned: the collection and study of available missionary literature, the analysis of advertising programs, and the development of material for the training of Sunday school teachers. Reports were heard also from the General Church Publication Committee and the Academy Publication Committee, the latter reviewing the work done in recent years; and the Secretary of the General Church spoke briefly on points in his report to the Joint Council of particular interest to his colleagues.
     Six addresses were given at the regular sessions. The Rev. Ormond Odhner spoke on "The Proper Affectional Approach to the Intellect of Adolescence and Early Youth," and the Rev. Dandridge Pendleton on "The Sense of Touch before Marriage." The program committee, under the chairmanship of the Rev. Roy Franson, presented four papers on various aspects of marriage and preparation therefor to which the entire sessions on Wednesday morning and afternoon were devoted. The Rev. Jan H. Weiss summarized his study, "Sex Education for the Young," which had been distributed before the meetings; the Rev. David R. Simons offered two papers, on "Preparation for Marriage" and "Similitudes," respectively; and the Rev. Roy Franson read a paper on "The Preservation of the Conjugial in Marriage." While the connection of subject-matter was noted, it was even more remarkable that all the addresses delivered this year were concerned with the interpretation of doctrine and its application to vital matters; and all were received with appreciation of both their content and their approach.
     Messages of greeting from the Rev. Daniel W. Heinrichs and the clergy of the South African Mission assembled in their annual meetings were received with applause. Several resolutions were adopted during the regular sessions. The Bishop was again requested to appoint a program committee for the following year's meetings; and the secretary was instructed to convey to the Rev. William Whitehead the Council's regret at his enforced absence, and to express the thanks and appreciation of the Council to the ladies who provided refreshments during the morning recesses.

171

     During the week there were, as always, several organized social functions, as well as many private ones to which various members of the clergy were invited. Bishop and Mrs. De Charms entertained at a delightful luncheon on Wednesday, and in the evening the members of the Council dined and enjoyed an evening of social intercourse and serious discussion at the home of Bishop and Mrs. Pendleton. Mr. Raymond Pitcairn was host at luncheons on Friday and Saturday to members of the Joint Council and others; and on Friday evening, after a meeting of the Bryn Athyn Society which was addressed by the Rev. Frederick L. Schnarr, members of the Council and their wives were once more guests of the Civic and Social Club at an Open House in the Club House - a pleasant opportunity for the clergy and the laity to meet and mingle socially. These social occasions are happy interludes in a busy and often exacting week, affording as they do opportunity for relaxation and for the renewing of friendships, and it is always a pleasure to mention them in this report as a means of expressing the thanks of Council members for the hospitality so generously shown to them during their meetings.
     Respectfully submitted,
     W. CAIRNS HENDERSON,
     Secretary of the Council of the Clergy
JOINT COUNCIL 1961

JOINT COUNCIL HUGO LJ. ODHNER 1961

     ANUARY 28, 1961

     1. The 67th regular joint meeting of the Council of the Clergy and the Directors of the Corporations of the General Church of the New Jerusalem was convened by Bishop George de Charms on January 28, 1961, at 10 a.m. in the Council Chamber of the Bryn Athyn Church.
     2. Bishop de Charms led in prayer and read from Revelation 19: 6-16.
     3. The following persons were present:

     OF THE CLERGY: Rt. Rev. George de Charms (presiding), Rt. Rev. W. D. Pendleton, Rev. Messrs. E. C. Acton, K. R. Alden, G. S. Childs, H. C. Cranch, Roy Franson, Henry Heinrichs, W. C. Henderson, R. S. Junge, H. L. Odhner (Secretary), O. de C. Odhner, D. Pendleton, M. Pryke, N. H. Reuter, M. D. Rich, N. H. Rogers, F. L. Schnarr, D. R. Simons, K. 0. Stroh, K. H. Asplundh, R. G. Cranch, D. M. Taylor, and by invitation, Candidates Gudmund Boolsen and G. H. Howard. (25) OF THE LAITY: Messrs. D. E. Acton, K. C. Acton, Esq., E. T. Asplundh, Lester Asplundh, R. G. Barnitz, G. E. Blackman, R. W. Childs, Esq., E. H. Davis, Esq., E. H. Kitzelman, Robert Leeper, G. C. Doering, Esq., H. K. Morley, P. C. Pendleton, Esq., Raymond Pitcairn, Esq., G. M. Smith, Arthur Synnestvedt, Esq., and Messrs. Stephen Pitcairn (Secretary of the Corporation) and L. E. Gyllenhaal (Treasurer). (18)

172

     4. The Minutes of the 66th meeting were approved as printed in NEW CHURCH LIFE, 1960, pages 177-190.
     5. Rev. W. C. Henderson gave a brief summation of his report as SECRETARY OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CLERGY, which is printed in this issue, pages 180-186. He noted that there are now thirty-three active priests out of a total of thirty-seven. No statistical report has been received from the ministers of the South African Mission.
     6. Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner submitted his report as SECRETARY OF THE GENERAL CHURCH. (See pages 177-180.) He pointed out that the net increase of the membership in the United States was less than the net increase in the Bryn Athyn district.
     7. THE TREASURER OF THE GENERAL CHURCH, Mr. L. E. Gyllenhaal, gave a summary of the report printed on pages 188-189.
     8.THE EDITOR OF THE NEW CHURCH LIFE, Rev. W. C. Henderson, whose report is printed herewith, pages 192-193, took the occasion to express to the Joint Council his appreciation for the policy which had allowed him last summer to pay a brief visit to the West Coast and various societies on this continent with a view to establishing personal contacts with readers and correspondents, most of whom he had never seen. He felt that this policy accorded with the view that the editor of the official journal had certain pastoral relations with the whole church, and he hoped that from time to time such a trip could be repeated. Rev. E. C. Acton and others confirmed the usefulness of the editor's visits.
     9. Mr. Philip Pendleton reported briefly for the COMMITTEE ON SALARIES OF MINISTERS AND TEACHERS. He called attention to the Pennsylvania law which allows no difference in teachers' salaries where the same work is involved, irrespective of sex or marital status. There was need of further study of the problem.
     10. The Report of the GENERAL CHURCH PUBLICATION COMMITTEE was read by the Rev. H. L. Odhner. (See page 194.)
     11. The Bishop mentioned three developments in the SOUTH AFRICAN MISSION. An African minister, the Rev. B. I. Nzimande, had been appointed as an assistant to the Superintendent. The Rev. A. W. Acton had taken him on a tour over the mission to establish him in this new relationship. Secondly, it was proposed to re-open the Theological School in February. There was a need to replace three ministers. One of them, the Rev. J. Lunga, had died. Rev. P. H. Sabela had become blind. Another had been dropped for personal reasons. Several men had made application to enter the Theological School. Thirdly, there had been instituted a system of small, regular annual contributions by the members of the Mission to the church, apart from their contributions to the local work.

173

     The discussion brought out the difficulty of getting the African ministers, who "do not live in time and space," to give more than imaginary statistics. The Rev. D. W. Heinrichs had for three years tried to verify the statistics of the Mission. Rev. M. Pryke welcomed the fact that the Africans themselves were taking increased leadership. It was, however, to be remembered that by South African law no church can be recognized without white supervision and sponsorship.
     12. The Rev. K. R. Alden gave his report as Director of the GENERAL CHURCH RELIGION LESSONS. (See page 194.) Mr. Arthur Synnestvedt and Bishop Pendleton expressed appreciation of various phases of Mr. Alden's work. The latter especially congratulated Mr. Alden on the efficiency of his office and on its remarkable output.
     13. Rev. W. C. Henderson gave an informal report for the SOUND RECORDING COMMITTEE in which he paid a special tribute to Mr. Boyd Asplundh as executive officer of the organization.
     14. Bishop Pendleton reported that the LITURGY COMMITTEE, now in its tenth year, had made slow but steady progress. The program called for a complete revision of the Liturgy. Changes had been made in many of the Rites and Sacraments, some of which were published a year ago in pamphlet form. The General Offices were next to be taken up. But the most difficult aspect of the work was that of the Music Committee, under the Rev. K. O. Stroh. It had been advisable to set a time limit for this work, which ought to be completed by 1965-1966. We must, if possible, give the church adequate notice when the date comes near. In the meantime the 1939 version has been reprinted from plates to serve our current needs.
     15. The Report of the COMMITTEE ON BROADENING THE BASE OP CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE GENERAL CHURCH was called for. (See page 193.) Through a misunderstanding, Mr. James Junge, the chairman, was not present, and the report was not read.

     Bishop De Charms noted that the problem had become increasingly acute how to provide ministrations for our scattered groups without an exhausting program of traveling by visiting pastors. It was necessary to guard lest the health of our priests be broken. The General Church was also hard put to find the funds for exhaustive travels. Although in some places the local support for such work had been increased very remarkably, those in other areas found it impossible to give any substantial amounts.
     In the Northwestern area of the United States several groups have been more definitely brought together by meetings with Mr. Franson, and would like to have more services and, if possible, a pastor living in the district; but the groups are scattered and there is little assurance that a "shift in population" may not affect the situation. Yet it is more than Mr. Franson can do to carry on this work in addition to his promising work in Dawson Creek, B.C., where he has his home. The question is: Can the General Church afford to place a man in the Washington-Oregon area, for example, or should we begin to limit our efforts to minister to scattered families where there are no real prospects that will lead to stable societies?

174

Under our circumstances it would be a mistake to measure the effectiveness of a minister by the increase of members in his area. Rather should we judge by how our children and young people are being instructed and led towards the church.
     Rev. Dandridge Pendleton (speaking after a fifteen minute recess for refreshments kindly provided by the Women's Guild) emphasized how exhausting the work of visiting the isolated groups and families could be. For seven years, before taking up his present duties in the Academy, he had sought to combine his work as a pastor of a society with travelling, but had found that such circuits, when one is expected always to be giving out, left one enthusiastic indeed, but drained of energy.
     He was also concerned with the fact that while in theory the pressing of the various financial needs of the General Church, of the societies, and of the Academy, do not affect each other, yet in reality they do conflict; and they might certainly interfere with the necessity of keeping up ministerial salaries commensurate with the rising costs of living. Noting that the Bryn Athyn Society had a deficit despite recent appeals for increased contributions, and that the Academy must have a great increase in income to cope with the future, he asked the Treasurer whether this was not bound to affect the effort to keep the salaries up to the proper level.
     Mr. Gyllenhaal, in reply, said that he did not feel particularly disturbed or discouraged. He admitted some conflicting effects of different contribution programs, but was convinced that each "drive" caused some members to realize the needs who had not had the habit of contributing before. Each year some were brought into a higher contribution bracket when the real need was shown.
     Rev. R. S. Junge spoke to the importance of work among the isolated. Especially did the children need the contact with our priesthood. It is easier, he said, to keep a New Church man and help him grow, than to make a new one. Ministers are torn between the priestly love to go out and feed people at all costs, and the practicalities which must limit the work.
     Since our people are moving so frequently from one district to another, the more flexible we can keep the various territories the better, for we can then alleviate the pressure on ministers who otherwise would be overworked. He suggested that the ministers who mainly devote themselves to visiting groups and circles should annually discuss with the Bishop, perhaps with lay counselors present, and thus plan how to divide the areas.
     It often happens that when a territory has been established and becomes relatively self-supporting, it is again divided. We need to know how to develop a circle into a society. There is, of course, the work with the children, which should lead to a New Church education. But only a few of those who go to Bryn Athyn are apt to settle in their home region. Missionary work (unless we develop a new program) cannot be counted on to turn our circles into stable societies; for a minister, on the average, converts at most three persons per year. If we turn to our graduates, we find that about 53 per cent of our new members come from General Church families.
     The Academy was set up to educate for the General Church. We must study to find out where our young people are moving to. The work with the isolated is only a holding action unless we find a successful program.
     Rev. K. O. Stroh pointed out that there are eleven ministers connected with Bryn Athyn, yet that society is unable to have regular "pastoral calling". For all are engaged in General Church work, in education, etc.

175

He wished to put in a claim for Bryn Athyn which has to care for a congregation of nearly 1600 souls.
     Rev. Roy Franson said that under present arrangements we can only hold our own in the Northwest district. A minister devoting full time to it might show some progress. In reply to questions, he estimated that the three groups in Seattle, Portland, and Spokane averaged about eighteen persons each. He ministered to about eighty outside of Dawson Creek, in quarterly circuits of about five thousand miles, being home for two months between trips.
     Rev. M. Rich agreed that a committee might help in evaluating the needs of the various districts. In the Southeast, apart from southern Florida, there are more people than in the Northwest.
     Mr. Lester Asplundh noted that the amount of work which we can expend on these outlying districts is almost automatically set for us some seven years before. We cannot foretell how many men will be going into the ministry. Some indicate such a desire while in college, but change their minds later. Some years we have several ordinations. The policy has to be set early, when we accept these men as candidates who can be expected to be qualified for this work when they have gone through the Theological School. Some place can be found for them and as younger men they can do more travelling. He felt that if accepted in the Theological School we would have to back up the Bishop and see that they are used, even in areas which are not financially solvent. And if we find that we are undertaking too much we must start earlier to make a selection.
     Rev. H. L. Odhner believed that the growth of the church depends on ministers being available for the work. It is important that we have a sufficient number. This does not mean that we should accept any applicant of whom we have serious doubt, but those who seem fitted as future servants of the church. Unless we have enough men, the church may not have a choice of the best men. The clergy is not different from other professions: it is not exempt from competition. Neither Faculty, Bishop or Board have any sure way of foretelling what candidate may in the future prove a valuable worker.
     Moreover, the Academy should be free to give a theological education to other applicants who may not be needed for work within the General Church. It should be possible to educate men without saddling the General Church with their future support or with underwriting some new mission field. The Academy charter features the use of educating young men for the ministry of the New Church. But we cannot take the attitude that these shall necessarily forever after be supported by the General Church. We cannot undertake to maintain missions all over the world. There are limits to what we can do. Our first objective is of course to train men for the General Church. If, in Providence, there are more men prepared, beyond the demands of the General Church, the responsibility should be taken by the individuals whose free choice has led them into the work.
     Mr. Edwin Asplundh concurred in this but addressed his remarks to Mr. Junge's problem. He suggested the need of a fund set aside for the care of isolated groups who could perhaps contribute half of the support of a minister. If such groups as in the Northwest, groups of eighteen or more, showed the ability to make such contributions, more ministers could be assigned to the work, although we could not guarantee to find continued work for all. There would be hope for progress if young people moved to the districts thus formed.

176

     Rev. H. C. Cranch observed that the initial enthusiastic growth in a new district is usually followed by a settling down to a more quiet internal progress. In this work the extension program is intended to help ministers and people by offering visual aids and instruction in doctrine, principles and techniques. We need also to see the financial aspect of the task more clearly. There is sometimes the appearance of a financial loss when a district is divided. But actually this may not be so. On the West Coast, Glendale and San Francisco now alone make up the accruing loss.
The Bishop noted that the formal contribution which a district makes to the General Church is only part of what it gives to the uses of the General Church. The Dawson Creek group was referred to.
     Rev. N. H. Reuter voiced the general principle that the support of an effort towards prospective growth does not in the long run fail in results. Yet the growth of members may lead to increased costs. In the Academy, the more pupils there are, the more expense. There is a kind of growth which does not appear on the books. We need to analyse where our prospects lie. How does a circle become a stable society? Every new couple who come into a new center or circle, have an opportunity to participate in various ways which count, while in a large society they may contribute nothing, either emotionally, spiritually, or financially.
     In answer to a question, Mr. L. E. Gyllenhaal said that our financial statements are often misleading, since it is not sure what the figures imply. Societies use different fiscal years. Our books close Dec. 31. Some reports come in late. A few years ago we stopped publishing the list of contributions according to districts, because this gave a wrong picture.
     Mr. Keith Morley noted that some districts are capable of contributing more, some less, and they should be judged only by their efforts.
Rev. H. C. Cranch thought that a close study of the treasury reports do give a fair idea. But he noted that the addition to the net worth of the General Church holdings in Glendale, Cal., of the church and the education building there, valued at twenty or thirty thousand dollars, does not show on any treasury report.
     Rev. F. L. Schnarr stressed the use of having a representative of the treasury visit a society to meet with that society's board of directors before changes are proposed in salary floors, etc. This establishes a new relationship of the General Church to the societies.
     Mr. P. C. Pendleton said that whenever such a change is made, ripples spread out all over the church. We have tried to keep ahead of the inflationary spiral, but problems continually arise. We are limited by what the societies involved can do. Some ministers (and their wives) also have a better ability to get along economically than others. But more consideration needs to be given to the problem.
     Rev. F. L. Schnarr felt that it would assist the General Church if a minister carried social security, medical insurance and a large life insurance; but as the charges increase, the tendency is to let some lapse. 16. On motion, the Council accepted all submitted Reports. 17. The meeting adjourned at 12:30 p.m. Respectfully submitted,
     HUGO LJ. ODHNER,
     Secretary.

177

ANNUAL REPORTS 1961

ANNUAL REPORTS Various 1961

     SECRETARY OF THE GENERAL CHURCH

     During the calendar year of 1960 seventy-seven persons joined the General Church, forty-four deaths and five resignations were recorded, and the net increase: was twenty-eight.

     Membership, Jan. 1, 1960                          2914
          (U.S.A.-1832, Other countries-1082)

     Deaths (U.S.A.-30, Others-14)                    44

     Resignations (U.S.A.-4, Others-l)                5

     Loss                                         49

     New Members (Cert. 4796-4872)                7
          (U.S.A.-47, Others-30)

     Net gain (U.S.A.-13, Others-15)                     28

     Membership, Jan. 1, 1961                          2942
          (U.S.A.-1845, Others-1097)

NEW MEMBERS

January 1, 1960 to December 31, 1960

THE UNITED STATES

California:     East Palo Alto
Mr. Ray James Wyland

California:     San Diego
Miss Sharon Lee Betz

Florida:     Daytona Beach
Mrs. James Bertram Farrell (Audrey Aldan Anderson)

Florida:     Fort Lauderdale
Mr. James Earle Howard
Mrs. James Earle Howard (Claire Lucille Plymale)

Florida:      Hollywood
Mr. Jefferson Gurney

Florida:     Key West
Mr. Kent Alan Queman
Mrs. Kent A. Queman (Rosalyn Victoria Krejcar)

Florida:     Miami
Mrs. Robert Wendell Gauzens (Effie Mae Waters)

Illinois:     Glenview
Mrs. Robert Otto Brickman (Gail Field Walkemeyer)
Miss Cora Price

Michigan:     Clawson
Mr. Claude Lavern Baugher
Mrs. Claude L. Baugher (Bonita Jewel Conely)

178

Michigan:     Grosse Pointe Farms
Mr. Daniel Webster Goodenough, Jr.

Washington: Bellevue
Mr. George Michael Ridgway

Missouri:     Kansas City
Mr. Stephen Geoffrey Gladish

New Jersey: Union
Mr. Malcolm Murray Cronlund

Oregon: Roseburg
Miss Katherine Duff Doering

Pennsylvania:     Bryn Athyn and district
Miss Leslie Grace Asplundh
Miss Patricia Mardete Black
Miss Susan Linda Brown
Mr. David Burnham
Miss Mildred Cadwallader
Miss Barbara Jean Charles
Mrs. Robert Hudson P. Cole (Janet Louise Boone)
Mr. Thomas Reginald Cooper
Miss Carolyn Doering
Mr. Marlin J Ebert
Miss Nancy Marie Gladish
Miss Gloria Janice Glenn
Miss Lynne Halterman
Mr. Bruce Malcolm Henderson
Mr. Ian Keith Henderson
Mrs. Benjamin Francis Mitchell (Josephine Theresa Kaffel)
Mr. Brent Pendleton
Miss Kerry Pendleton
Mrs. Aldwin Carter Smith (Josina Johanna de Bruin)
Mr. David William Woodard

Pennsylvania:      Elkins Park
Miss Kathryn Joan Schefer

Pennsylvania:     Philadelphia
Mrs. Joseph A. Maddock (Carole Renn)

Pennsylvania:      Pittsburgh
Miss Gretchen Myra Schoenberger

BRAZIL:     Rio de Janeiro
Mrs. Alba Sarmanho Arraes
Mr. Lauro Sarmanho Arraes
Mrs. Anaia Corrha (de Padua) Barros Estevez
Mr. Alberto Carlos de Mendonca Lima (Filho)
Mr. Alvara Brandao de Mendonca
Mrs. Oswaldo Tolipan (Elca de Mendonca Lima)

CANADA:

Ontario:     Downsview
Mr. Hilary Patrick Walker
Mrs. Hilary Patrick Walker (Marion Elizabeth Ferdinand)

Ontario:     Kitchener
Miss Luella Jean May Eby
Mr. Robert Lawrence Heinrichs

Ontario:     Toronto district
Mr. Walter Harold Bellinger
Miss Sheila Elizabeth Brown
Mr. John Healdon Starkey

SOUTH AFRICA

Natal:     Durban
Mr. William Frederick Ajtken
Mrs. William. Frederick Aitken (Maureen Thelma Hurst)
Mrs. Stanley Desmond Jolliffe (Eve Olive Moore Carfrae Clease)
Miss Sydelle Daphne Piggott
Mr. Rex Douglas Ridgway
Mrs. Rex D. Ridgway (Betty Mary Lavender Findlay)
Miss Kathryn Joan Schefer

AUSTRALIA

Canberra
Mr. Graeme Douglas McLeay

New South Wales: Hurstville
Mr. Brian Keith Heldon

179

South Australia: Mitcham
Mr. Rex Alfred Mundy
Mrs. Rex Alfred Mundy (Evelyn Alberta)

EUROPE

Austria:     Vienna
Mrs. Gerhard Felix Emmanuel Prochaska (Luise Melanie Josefine Schmidt)

England:     Beckenham, Kent
Mr. Frederick Charles Elphick

England:     Colchester
Mr. John Harold Wyncoll

England:     London
Mr. Harald Michael Sandstrom

Holland:      Bilthoven
Mrs. Johanna Maria Dokkum-Bruijns

Denmark:     Copenhagen
Mrs. Jytte Inge Eva Margrethe Leistad

Sweden:      Bromma Miss Eva Monica Liden

DEATHS Reported during 1960

Alan, Mr. John Douglas, July 10, 1960, Glenview, III. (34)
Alden, Dr. Robert, Nov. 29, 1960, Huntingdon Valley, Pa. (41)
Algernon, Mr. Arthur O. Swedberg, Oct. 13, 1957, Georgetown, Brit. Guiana. (39)
Anderson, Miss Aifrida Eugenia, Sept. 2, 1960, Stockholm, Sweden. (74)
Bostock, Mr. Edward Crary, Sept. 13, 1960, Bryn Athyn, Pa. (76)
Boyesen, Mrs. Einar F. (Ebba Adolfina Lindh), Mar. 22, 1960, Stockholm, Sweden. (85)
Brickman, Mrs. Walter E. (Anna Katherine Schoenberger), Oct. 1, 1960, Evanston, Ill. (84)
Burnham, Miss Dorothy, Jan. 24, 1960, Warrington, Pa. (74)
Carpenter, Mrs. Paul (Venita Pendleton), Nov. 29, 1960, Abington, Pa. (83)
Cole, Mrs. Louis Snowden (Lena Berth Rauch), Feb. 20, 1960, Glenview, Ill. (83)
Coombs, Mrs. Elizabeth Anne (Walker), Oct. 5, 1960, Royal Oak, Mich. (85)
Da Silva, Mrs. Jose Augusto (Beatrix Macedo), Nov. 14, 1959, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (67)
De Padua, Mr. Mario, Nov. 16, 1960, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. (56)
Detrow, Mrs. Lotta G. (Renkenberger), Jan. 22, 1960, Salem, O. (90)
Ebert, Mr. Eric Eugene, Mar. 7, 1960, Arlington, N. J. (71)
Francis, Mrs. Emanuel (Clara Paulina Maria Gijsberti Hodenpijl), Dec. 17, 1959, Rijswijk, Holland. (79)
Glody, Mrs. Peter John (Ruth Marie Curtis), June 10, 1960, Evanston, III. (54)
Gloster, Mrs. Herman Farland (Ruth Penney), Oct. 22, 1960, Upper Darby, Pa. (54)
Grubb, Mrs. William L. (Lucy Robinson), Mar. 6, 1959, Pasadena, Cal. (85)
Gyllenhaal, Mrs. Leonard Ephraim (Virginia Phiola Pendleton), Sept. 21, 1960, Norristown, Pa. (73)
Hafstrom, Mr. Arvid Abraham, Aug. 17, 1960, Jamestown, N. Y. (88)
Harrison, Mrs. Anna (Olson), Oct. 21, 1960, Lindsborg, Kan. (86)
Hicks, Mr. Kenneth Forbes, June 13, 1960, Philadelphia, Pa. (70)
Hyatt, Mr. Hubert, Mar. 22, 1960, Bryn Athyn, Pa. (73)
Jeunechamp, Col. Eugene Louis, Jan. 22, 1960, St. Cloud, France. (65)
Klein, Miss Doris Amy, Oct. 28, 1960, Bryn Athyn, Pa. (54)
Leisted, Mrs. Karen Margrethe Zeuthen (Hansen), Apr. 23, 1960, Copenhagen, Denmark. (72)
Longley, Mr. Charles William, July 1960, Toronto, Ont. (75)

180

Loven, Mr. Niis Emil, Aug. 18, 1960, Stockholm, Sweden. (76)
Maynard, Miss Helen, Sept. 9, 1960, Evanston, Ill. (76)
McQueen, Mr. Noel Pendleton, Mar. 26, 1960, Chicago, Ill. (57)
Morris, Mr. Edward Bachlor, Sept. 18, 1960, Taunton, England. (82)
Norman, Mr. Franklin Parker, Dec. 4, 1960, Cleveland, O. (60)
Pendleton, Mrs. N. Dandridge (Beatrice Walton Childs), Jan. 31, 1960, Abington, Pa. (80)
Pitcairn, Mr. Harold Frederick, Apr. 23, 1960, Bryn Athyn, Pa. (63)
Ridgway, Mr. Durham, Jan. 23, 1960, Durban, Natal. (52)
Sherzinger, Mr. Lucas, Jan. 1960 (?), Philadelphia. (96?)
Smith, Mr. Willard Owen, Oct. 31, 1960, Norristown, Pa. (55)
Smith, Mr. William Allen, July 2, l960, Richmond, Va. (65)
Steen, Mr. Frederick William, Mar. 13, 1960, Detroit, Mich. (70)
Stroh, Mrs. Fred. E. (Mabel Clarke), Dec. 18, 1959, Kitchener, Ont. (63)
Synnestvedt, Mrs. Norman P. (Dorothy Eloise Walker), June 10, 1960, Manistee, Mich. (56)
Wahistrom, Mrs. Fritz Hedvig Sofia Amelia Kuylenstierna), Feb. 7, 1960, Stockholm, Sweden. (92)
White, Mr. Charles Frederick, July 15, 1960, Huntingdon Valley, Pa. (64)

RESIGNATIONS

Johnson, Mr. Stanley Smith, Gorand Forks, North Dakota.
Rothermel, Mr. Louis E., Jacksonville, Fla.
Soderberg, Mrs. C. J. (Emily P. Mainwaring), Philadelphia, Pa.
Stager, Mr. Alan Dirck, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Wilson, Mrs. Jack (Leona J. Miller), Dawson Creek, B.C.

     Respectfully submitted,
     HUGO LJ. ODHNER,
     Secretary.

     COUNCIL OF THE CLERGY

     January 1, 1960 to January 1, 1961

     MEMBERSHIP

     With two inaugurations into the priesthood, and no deaths or resignations, the membership of the Council increased during the year by two to thirty-seven. Included in this total are two priests of the episcopal degree, thirty-one of the pastoral degree, and four of the ministerial degree. The active membership is thirty-three; and four members of the Council are retired or in secular work, although some of them still give assistance to the pastoral office.
     There are two Authorized Candidates in the Academy of the New Church Theological School and one Authorized Candidate in Brazil; the British Guiana Mission has one priest of the pastoral degree; and in the South African Mission there are seven priests of the pastoral degree and two of the ministerial degree, a decrease of one in each of these degrees. An Authorized Leader is still appointed to the Circle at The Hague in the Netherlands. A list of the clergy of the General Church and its Missions appears in NEW CHURCH LIFE for December, 1960, pp. 565-568.

181

     STATISTICS

     Statistics concerning the Sacraments and Rites of the Church administered in 1960, compiled from 34 reports received up to the end of February, 1961, together with the final though still incomplete figures for 1959, are as follows:
                                             1960     1959
     Baptisms (Children 154; Adults 33)               187     211 (-24)
     Holy Supper: Administrations                    178     207 (-29)
          Communicants                         4988     4566 (+422)
     Confessions of Faith                          45     25 (+20)
     Betrothals                                   21     21
     Marriages                                   41     26 (+15)
     Funerals or Memorial Services                    47     49 (-2)
     Ordinations                                   2     0 (+2)
     Dedications:     Homes                         8     12 (-4)

     The above figures do not include administration of Sacraments and Rites in the South African Mission. As well as the homes mentioned there was a dedication in a hospital room, and there was one blessing on a civil marriage which is not included in the total. Attention is drawn to the decided increase in Confessions of Faith, and to the fact that the proportion of adult to child baptisms is well maintained. Some of the decreases shown would probably be wiped out if all the reports were available.

     REPORTS OF MEMBERS OF THE CLERGY

     The Rt. Rev. George de Charms, Bishop of the General Church of the New Jerusalem, Pastor of the Bryn Athyn Church, and President Emeritus of the Academy of the New Church, reports as follows:

     BISHOP OF THE GENERAL CHURCH

     INAUGURATIONS: On June 19, 1960, he officiated at the inauguration into the first degree of the priesthood of Candidate Kurt Horigan Asplundh and Candidate Douglas McLeod Taylor.

     ASSEMBLIES: He presided over the Forty-fifth British Assembly, held in London, July 20 - August 1; the Eastern Canada District Assembly, held in Toronto, Ontario, October 8-10, inclusive; and the Chicago District Assembly, held in Glenview, Illinois, October 14-16, inclusive.

     EPISCOPAL VISITS: Over the weekend of March 12 he visited the Detroit Society, and he visited the North Jersey Circle, April 30-May 1. This gathering included members from New York, New England and Philadelphia. Between July 1 and August 24, he visited The Hague, Holland; Copenhagen, Denmark; Stockholm and Jonkoping, Sweden; Paris, France; and London and Colchester, England. In connection with District Assemblies he visited Kitchener, Canada; Detroit, Michigan - in addition to the visit on March 12; Urbana, Ohio; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, last October.

     OTHER ACTIVITIES: He presided over the Annual Council Meetings of the General Church of the New Jerusalem, held in Bryn Athyn, January 25 - 30; and over the meetings of the Corporations of the General Church and their Board of Directors held during the year.

182

     PASTORAL CHARGES: For reasons of health, the Rev. Harold C. Cranch resigned as Visiting Pastor to the Tucson Circle, Tucson, Arizona, and to the group in San Diego, California. In August, 1960, the Rev. Douglas McL. Taylor was appointed Resident Minister to the Tucson Circle and Visiting Minister to the group in San Diego and to other groups and families in Arizona.
     On August 1, the Rev. Kurt H. Asplundh accepted appointment as Assistant to the Pastor of the Pittsburgh Society.
     Because of illness, the Rev. B. David Holm resigned his pastorate on April 20, and the Circles in North and South Ohio, and in Erie, Pennsylvania, were unavoidably left without ministrations until September. At that time, through the co-operation of pastors in Bryn Athyn and Pittsburgh, we were able to arrange for monthly visits to the South Ohio and Erie Circles and for occasional visits to the North Ohio Circle. Mr. Holm has now so far recovered his health that he hopes to resume at least part of his former pastoral duties. We would express our appreciation for the assistance of the Rev. Messrs. Hugo Lj. Odhner, Karl R. Alden, W. Cairns Henderson, Dandridge Pendleton and Louis B. King in meeting the emergency caused by Mr. Holm's illness.
     It became necessary to relieve the Rev. Norbert H. Rogers temporarily of his visits to the New York Circle because of illness in his family, and the Rev. Ormond de C. Odhner kindly agreed to make those visits between the period from last September to next June.

     COMMITTEE APPOINTMENT: On September 14, Mr. Raymond B. David of Glendale, California, accepted appointment as chairman of the committee to co-operate with the Young People's League of the General Convention in promoting the "Open Gate Plan." This appointment was to fill the vacancy caused by the resignation of the Rev. B. David Holm.

     PASTOR OF THE BRYN ATHYN CHURCH

     As Pastor of the Bryn Athyn Church he preached eight times during the year, conducted services regularly, administered the sacraments and rites, delivered a series of doctrinal lectures, and presided over the meetings of the Society, the Board of Trustees and the Pastor's Council.
     He is deeply indebted to the Rev. Messrs Hugo Lj. Odhner, Karl R. Alden, W. Cairns Henderson, Ormond de C. Odhner and Dandridge Pendleton for their voluntary assistance on the chancel, in the pulpit, and in the conduct of doctrinal lectures during the year.
     He wished also to express appreciation to the Right Rev. Willard D. Pendleton and to the Rev. Messrs. David R. Simons and Kenneth 0. Stroh for their co-operation in the uses of the pastoral office.

     PRESIDENT EMERITUS OF THE ACADEMY

     During the year he taught one course in education to the Senior College, and one course in the Theological School, each two periods a week. Since September, 1960, he has conducted a seminar for teachers on the philosophy of New Church education.

183

     The Rt. Rev. Willard D. Pendleton, Assistant Bishop of the General Church of the New Jerusalem, President of the Academy of the New Church, and a Professor of Theology in the Academy, reports as follows:
     As Assistant Bishop of the General Church he continued to serve as President of the Academy of the New Church; assisted in the work of the Bryn Athyn Society; presided over the Western District Assembly held in Glendale, California, November 4 - 6; and visited several Societies and Circles of the General Church.
     He also continued to serve as Chairman of the Liturgy Committee; as Vice President of the General Church, Incorporated; and as Vice President of the Bryn Athyn Church.

     Rev. A. Wynne Acton continued to serve as Pastor of the Durban Society and as Superintendent of the South African Mission.

     Rev. Elmo C. Acton, Pastor of the Immanuel Church in Glenview, Illinois, and Headmaster of the Immanuel Church School, again served as Acting Pastor of Sharon Church, Chicago.

     Rev. Karl R. Alden, Director of General Church Religion Lessons and Editor of NEW CHURCH EDUCATION, in addition to his regular duties preached in Bryn Athyn, Pittsburgh, Toronto, Morristown, N. J., and Paupack, Pa. He also held a biweekly class at his home.

     Rev. Gustaf Baeckstrom, retired, reported one official act during the year.

     Rev. Bjorn A. H. Boyesen, was engaged as Pastor of the Stockholm Society; as Visiting Pastor to the Jonkoping, Oslo and Copenhagen Circles and the group in Goteborg; and as Editor of NOVA ECCLESIA.

     Rev. Geoffrey S. Childs, continued to be engaged as Pastor of the Carmel Church, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada, and as Headmaster of the Carmel Church School.

     Rev. Harold C. Cranch was engaged as Visiting Pastor to California and Arizona until the end of August. Since September he has served as Visiting Pastor to California only, the group in San Diego excepted. In addition to his regular duties he served as Chairman of the Church Extension Committee and of the Sunday school sub-committee, and as a member of the General Church Publication Committee and the sub committee on New Church literature. He reports that the further division of the Western District has been beneficial to all the members. There has been increased activity and attendance at Glendale, and a Sunday school building is now nearly ready for use.

     Rev. Roy Franson served as Pastor of the Dawson Creek (British Columbia) Group; and as Visiting Pastor to the groups in Fort St. John, and Vancouver, B. C., Seattle and Spokane, Wash., and Portland, Oregon.

     Rev. Victor J. Gladish, in secular work, assisted in the maintaining of services at Sharon Church, Chicago, where he preached 21 times. He also conducted three Sunday services in the Immanuel Church, Glenview.

     Rev. Daniel W. Heinrichs continued to serve as Assistant to the Pastor of the Durban Society and Assistant to the Superintendent of the South African Mission. In addition to his regular duties he held ten introductory classes during the year.

184

     Rev. Henry Heinrichs was appointed part-time Assistant to the Pastors of the Kitchener and Toronto societies, effective April 1 and September 1, respectively. Before his appointment he preached three times in Kitchener and four times in Toronto. In addition to his duties he preached in Detroit and visited some isolated families in Ontario.

     Rev. W. Cairns Henderson, Secretary of the Council of the Clergy, Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE, Visiting Pastor to New England, Chairman of the General Church Sound Recording Committee, and a Professor of Theology in the Academy of the New Church, in addition to monthly visits to New England, preached and/or gave classes in Bryn Athyn, Glen Tonche, Northern New Jersey, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. In his editorial capacity he visited Denver, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Tucson, Fort Worth, Glenview and Toronto. He conducted two private classes, each meeting biweekly. In the Academy he taught one course in the Theological School and one course each in the Senior and the Junior Colleges.

     Rev. Robert S. Junge continued to serve as Resident Pastor in Denver, Colorado, and Visiting Pastor throughout the Central-Western States, including the Fort Worth Circle.

     Rev. Louis B. King, in addition to his duties as Pastor of the Pittsburgh Society and Headmaster of the Pittsburgh New Church School, visited Cleveland, Ohio, and Erie Pa.

     Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner, Secretary of the General Church, a Professor of Theology in the Academy of the New Church and Dean of the Theological School, preached six times in Bryn Athyn and five times elsewhere, gave several doctrinal classes, and lectured on two occasions to audiences not of the General Church. In the Theological School and the College of the Academy he taught five courses in Theology, Philosophy and Religion.

     Rev. Ormond Odhner, an Instructor in Religion and History in the Academy of the New Church, served as a visiting pastor to the New York Circle since October. He also preached and gave doctrinal classes in Bryn Athyn, and at Shokan, Ashokan, and Syracuse New York.

     Rev. Dandridge Pendleton, an Instructor in Religion in the Academy of the New Church preached four times in Bryn Athyn and once each in Cincinnati and Pittsburgh.

     Rev. Martin Pryke continued to serve as Pastor of the Olivet Church, Toronto, Canada, and as Visiting Pastor of the Montreal Circle. At the Eastern Canada District Assembly he was appointed by the Bishop as Chairman of the newly formed Eastern Canada Executive Committee of the General Church of the New Jerusalem.

     Rev. Norman H. Reuter, in addition to his duties as Pastor of the Detroit Society, preached and gave a doctrinal class in Cleveland, Ohio and made two pastoral visits to Manistee, Michigan.

     Rev. Morley D. Rich was engaged as Resident Pastor of the Miami Circle and as Visiting Pastor to the East-central Florida and Atlanta, Ga., groups, Southeast Florida, Georgia and Alabama.

185

     Rev. Norbert H. Rogers continued to serve as Pastor of the Advent Church, Philadelphia, Pa., as Visiting Pastor to the New York and Northern New Jersey Circles, and as an Instructor in the Academy. In the course of his pastoral duties he preached 57 times, delivered 40 doctrinal classes, and drove approximately 12,000 miles. He expresses indebtedness to the Rev. Ormond Odhner, who took over the pastoral visits to New York for one year, and to those who filled the Philadelphia pulpit while he was ministering in his other pastorates.

     Rev. Frank S. Rose served as Visiting Pastor to the isolated in Great Britain, Holland, Belgium and France, and to the Circles in Paris and The Hague. In addition to his regular duties he preached twice in London and five times in Colchester, conducted weekly the senior young people's class in Colchester, acted as Headmaster of the second British Academy Summer School, and gave three series of missionary lectures.

     Rev. Erik Sandstrom, in addition to his duties as Pastor of Michael Church, London, England, continued to serve as Chairman of the British Academy and President of the New Church Club, and as a member of the Swedenborg Society's Advisory and Revision Board. He accepted appointment as Chairman of an editorial board charged with completing the third Latin edition of Arcana Coelestia. He preached in Colchester and other areas, addressed the British Assembly, and taught at the British Academy Summer School.

     Rev. Frederick L. Schnarr, Pastor of the Washington, D. C., Society and Visiting Pastor to North and South Carolina and Virginia, expresses delight at the growth in the Washington area and at the manner in which new uses have been assumed and maintained.

     Rev. David R. Simons continued to serve as an Assistant Pastor of the Bryn Athyn Church and as Principal of the Bryn Athyn Elementary School. He preached eight times in Bryn Athyn and once each in Cincinnati and Pittsburgh, conducted a two-week summer school course at the time of the Educational Council meetings, and taught one course in the Academy of the New Church College.

     Rev. Jan H. Weiss was engaged as Assistant to the Pastor of the Immanuel Church, Glenview, Illinois, and as Visiting Pastor to the Madison and St. Paul Circles and the group in St. Louis.

     Rev. William Whitehead, Professor Emeritus of History, Academy of the New Church, gave seven addresses to various groups, one in Pittsburgh, and gave three doctrinal classes to a group in Bryn Athyn.

     Rev. Kurt H. Asplundh began to serve on August 1 as Assistant to the Pastor of the Pittsburgh Society and as Instructor in Religion in the Pittsburgh New Church School. He made three trips to the Erie, Pa., Circle to conduct services and doctrinal classes.

     Rev. Donald L. Rose continued to serve as Minister of the Hurstvile (Australia) Society. He made a two-week visit to New Zealand, and also sent tape-recorded sermons and classes to General Church members in New Zealand and in Adelaide, South Australia.

186

     Rev. Douglas McL. Taylor was engaged, since August, as Resident Minister of the Tucson (Arizona) Circle, and as Visiting Minister to the group in San Diego, California, and the isolated in Arizona. In July, 1960, he performed certain official acts while traveling in Australia and New Zealand.
     Respectfully submitted,
          W. CAIRNS HENDERSON,
               Secretary.

     GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM
     (A Pennsylvania Corporation)
     and
     THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM
     (An Illinois Corporation)
     REPORT OF THE SECRETARY
     FOR THE
     YEAR ENDING DECEMBER 31, 1960

     MEMBERSHIP

     During the year 1960, the number of persons comprising the membership of both Corporations increased by 11 from 270 to 281 in accordance with the following tabulation:
      Members of                Date of          Net          Date of
                              12/31/1959          Change     12/31/1960 Illinois Corporation only          8               None          8
Both Corporations                    262               Add 11          273

Total Persons                    270               Add 11          281

Total Members of
Illinois Corporation               270          Add 11          281 Pennsylvania Corporation          262          Add 11          273

     The several Net Changes consisted of:

     18 New Members of both Corporations:

Anderson Robert Paul
Asplundh, Kurt H.
Boericke, John J.
Cole, Robert H. P.
Hasen, Alfred H.
Hasen, John S.
Heinrichs, Hubert H.
Hill, Murray E.

187

Horigan, Daniel L.
James, Cecil John
Knechtel, Robert G.
Kuhl, Roger B.
Longstaff, Fred M.
Raymond, John R.
Scott, Bruce H.
Scott, Ivan R.
Sellner, Jerome V.
Smith, Ronald A.

7 Deaths of members of both Corporations:
Alden, Robert
Bostock, Edward C.
Hyatt, Hubert
Norman, Franklin P.
Pitcairn, Harold F.
Smith, Willard O.
Smith, William Allen

     DIRECTORS

     The By-Laws of both Corporations are identical in making provisions for election of thirty Directors, ten of whom are elected each year for terms of three years. The members of both Boards are the same, and presently consist of twenty-nine Directors. At the 1960 Annual Meeting eleven Directors were elected, one for a term expiring in 1962, and ten for terms expiring in 1963.

1961 Acton Daric E.
1962 Acton, Kesniel C.
1963 Anderson, Reginald S.
1963 Asplundh, Carl Hj.
1961 Asplundh, Edwin T.
1961 Asplundh, Lester
1963 Barnitz, Robert G.
1961 Blackman, Geoffrey E.
1961 Childs, Randolph W.
1962 Cockerell, Gordon D
1963 Coulter, Robert I.
1962 Davis, Edward H.
1962 De Charms, George
1963 Doering, George C.
1961 Glenn, Theodore N.
1962 Hilldale, Robert C.
1961 Howard, John
1962 Junge, James F.
1963 Kitzelman, Edward
1961 Kuhl, John E.
1963 Leeper, Robert
1961 Loven, Tore E.
1963 Morley, H. Keith
1961 Pendleton, Philip C.
1962 Pendleton, Willard D.
1960 Pitcairn, Raymond
1961 Pryke, F. G. Colley
1963 Smith, Gilbert M.
1963 Synnestvedt, Arthur

     The Honorary Directors are Marlin W. Heilman and Sydney E. Lee.

     OFFICERS
     The two Corporations each also have the same four Officers, each of whom is elected for a term of one year. Those elected at the Board Meetings of June 18, 1960, were:

President Vice President          De Charms, George
Vice-President                    Pendleton, Willard D.
Secretary                         Pitcairn, Stephen
Treasurer                         Gyllenhaal, Leonard E.

     CORPORATION MEETINGS

     The 1960 Annual Corporation Meetings were held at Bryn Athyn, Pa., on June 18, these being the only Corporation Meetings held during the year. The President, Bishop De Charms, presided, and the attendance numbered 41 persons, each a member of both Corporations. Reports were received from the President, the Secretary, and the Treasurer, and from the Committees on: Audit of Securities, Nominations of Directors, and Salaries.

188

     BOARD MEETINGS

     The Board of Directors held four meetings during 1960, the President presiding at each of them. The average attendance of Directors was 17, with a maximum of 24 and a minimum of 10.
     The business of the Board of Directors transacted during the first half of the year was covered in a report submitted to the Annual Corporation Meeting held in June 1960.
     Since that time the organization meeting and one regular meeting have been held. At the organization meeting Officers of the Corporations were elected, and members were appointed to the various standing committees. During the fall meeting a Joint Salary Committee was established to determine the primary employer for those employed by more than one church body. The publication of a Portuguese translation of Conjugial Love by the Rev. Joao de Mendonca Lima was approved, the financing to come from a fund established for this purpose by the late John Pitcairn many years ago. The President reported on his visit to England and changes in the territorial responsibilities of certain pastors. Funds were appropriated for ministers' travel expenses to the Council Meeting in January and for a yearly visit to New Zealand by the pastor of the Society in Australia. Other various minor appropriations were made.
     Respectfully submitted,
          STEPHEN PITCAIRN,
               Secretary

     TREASURER OF THE GENERAL CHURCH

     REPORT FOR 1960

     The year 1960 brought a reversal in the financial upswing enjoyed by the General Church during the previous three years.
     As was anticipated, expenses started a new climb, due largely to greater salary commitments which made up 65% of the budget. Disregarding an unusual expense item of Assembly travel in 1959, normal operating costs were up by approximately $6,000.
     On the other hand, income available to support operations slumped by over $6,000. For the first time in many years investment income, because of the economic slow down, produced only a nominal gain of $1,700. Even this was primarily due to additions to capital during the previous year. The slight increase, however, was more than offset by a drop of $7,700 in contribution income.
     It is encouraging to note, however, that throughout the church support generally increased. The apparent loss was caused by two non recurring gifts totaling $8,375 received in 1959.
     In spite of the reversal, operating results for the year were satisfactory, ending with a surplus of approximately $16,000. From this amount the Board of Directors appropriated $1,000 to be added to the reserve for republishing the Liturgy and $5,000 to the reserve for ministerial moving.
     In the area of capital funds a somewhat brighter picture developed. To provide future operating income, the General Church gratefully received capital gifts from members of the Pitcairn families in excess of $70,000. In addition, bequests for specific purposes were received of $10,000 from the estate of Mr. T. O. Rhodes and $2,000 from the estate of Mrs. Helen Lundborg.

189

     In the following pages comparative statements are presented, giving the financial condition of the General Church and its sources and disposition of operating income.
     The overall picture, considering last year's adverse circumstances, justifies confidence in the future.
     Respectfully submitted,
          L. E. GYLLENHAAL
               Treasurer

     OPERATING INCOME

     ...............Where it came from
                                        December 31
                                        1960               1959
Contributions
     Individual Gifts                         $39,458.91     $ 47,213.51
     Special Endowment Income               26,655.64      26,588.03
     South African Mission gifts                1,565.97          1,540.54

     TOTAL                                   $67,680.52     $ 75,342.08

Investment Income
     From General Fund                         30,020.80     30,477.12
     From Endowment Fund                    22,286.46     20,991.40
New Church Life Sales                         4,787.33     3,939.67
Sundry Sources                              76.97          142.96

     TOTAL INCOME                         $124,851.08     $130,893.23

     ............What is was spent for

Administration
     Episcopal Office                    $11,629.81     $11,867.25
     Financial & Corporate Affairs          8,818.95     7,673.21
     New Church Life                    12,572.75     12,318.28
     Religion Lessons                    3,246.00     3,246.00
     Committees & Councils               1,291.95     1,269.73

     TOTAL                              $37,339.46     $36,374.47

Pastoral Extension Work                    36,961.95     35,529.88
Support of Salary Plans                    16,576.09     14,559.36
South African Mission                    12,070.54     12,077.30
Assembly Travel                         -          3,236.21
Other                                   5,391.40     4,113.06

     TOTAL EXPENSES                    $108,579.44     $105,890.28

Special Appropriation for
     Liturgy Reserve                    1,000.00     2,000.00
     Moving Expense Reserve               5,000.00     10,000.00

     BALANCE TO NET WORTH               $10,271.64     $13,002.95

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     COMPARATIVE STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL CONDITIONS

     ASSETS

                                        December 31, 1960
GENERAL FUND                         1960          1959
     Cash                         $4,710.10     $13,295.27
     Accounts Receivable          3,095.38     3,714.17
     Investments:
          U.S.A Bonds               1,000.00     1,000.00
          Group holdings          389,043.99     375,111.80
          Other Securities          22,696.00     22,696.00
     Real Estate                    37,635.04     37,635.04
     Prepaid Expense               5,423.19     4,563.58
     Due from Other Funds          2,563.18     -
          TOTAL                    $466,166.88     $458,015.86

LOAN FUND
     Cash                         $1,421.52     $12,426.25
     Investments - Group Holdings     11,010.95     -
          TOTAL                    $12,432,47     $12,426.25

ENDOWMENT AND TRUST FUND
     Cash                         $115,532.12     $85,895.85
     Investments:
          U.S.A Bonds               47,975.50     47,975.50
          Group Holdings          1,039,491.95     937,338.32
          Other Securities          1,325,849.14     1,289,849.14
     Real Estate                    11,000.00     11,000.00
     Assets in South Africa          43,030.28     42,312.23
          TOTAL                    $2,582,878.99     $2,414,371.04
          TOTAL ASSETS          $3,061,478.34     $2,884,813.15

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     LIABILITIES

                              December 31, 1960
GENERAL FUND                    1960          1959
Accounts Payable                    $10,379.43     $8,166.22
Special Contributions for:
     Future Expenditure          37,730.56     43,346.87
Reserve for Liturgy               5,241.99     4,669.99
Reserve for Moving Expenses          21,444.27     19,379.21
Reserve for Publications          1,817.64     1,327.50
Net Worth Balance                    390,522.99     381,126.07
     TOTAL                         $466,166.80     $458,015.86

LOAN FUNDS
     Building Revolving Fund          $12,432.47     $12,426.25
          TOTAL                    $12,432.47     $12,426.25

ENDOWMENT & TRUST FUNDS
     General Endowment               $205,658.63     $181,658.63
     Specific Endowments:
          Income Restricted          450,708.38     419,289.77
          Income Unrestricted     277,641.05     229,575.77
     Special Endowment               1,530,410.59     1,467,983.43
     Trust Funds                    118,460.34     115,863.44
          TOTAL                    $2,582,878.99     $2,414,371.04
TOTAL LIABILITIES                    $2,582,878.99     $2,414,371.04

192

     EDITOR OF "NEW CHURCH LIFE"

     A significant innovation in 1960 was the series of visits the editor was enabled to make to five circles in the West, in none of which he had been before, one large society in the Midwest, and the Eastern Canada District Assembly. These journeys were planned to increase his knowledge of the church, and to enable him to discuss the journal, explain some of its features and problems, and invite reaction to its policies and content - all most desirable things in the case of a churchwide magazine. The enabling action of the Board of Directors is appreciated.
     Although the report of the Annual Council Meetings took more space than usual, the extra pages used were recovered in July and August and the normal total of 576 pages was not exceeded. In order of space used, the total was made up as follows: Pages
     Articles               306
     Sermons                74
     Church News                52
     Reports                43
     Editorials                34
     Announcements           27
     Reviews                    9
     Miscellaneous               9
     Directories                    8
     Communications               7
     Talks to Children               7
                          576
     These figures follow the normal pattern, and the few variations they contain are minor. Excluding editorials, news notes and reports, the contents of NEW CHURCH LIFE in 1960 came from 33 contributors - 22 ministerial and 11 lay, the latter including two ladies. It is always a pleasure to express thanks and appreciation to those whose literary contributions have filled the pages of the journal and have given variety to its contents; and in this we would include the correspondents who send news from societies and circles all around the world.

     CIRCULATION

     Figures as of December 31, 1960, supplied by the Business Manager show that paid subscriptions decreased by 28, from 1014 to 986. This decrease, the first in a number of years, is not regarded as significant. Total circulation is shown in the following tabulation:

                                        1959     1960
     Paid subscriptions                    1014     986
     Free to our Clergy, Public Libraries,
          New Church Book Rooms, Exchanges, etc      163     162

                                        1177     1148

193

     The Business Manager reports that there were very few cancellations due to the increase in the subscription price.
     Respectfully submitted,
          W. CAIRNS HENDERSON,
               Editor.

     CHURCH CONTRIBUTIONS COMMITTEE

     As everyone is painfully aware, there is each year increasing pressure for contributions from all quarters. New civic, medical and educational campaigns for our dollars are launched daily. Within the church, each contributor also has the opportunity and responsibility to support his local church uses, the Academy, and the General Church.
     Several have asked our committee for a philosophy to guide them in dividing funds among the three church uses. While it is essential that the freedom of the individual be preserved in matters of charitable giving, it is equally true that one cannot be in freedom without the facts. Ideally, each New Church man should study the uses of the various organizations, review the financial statements of the organizations, question the treasurers as to future prospects for income, and finally make a division of the funds he has available that is based upon his affection for the uses and the needs of the organization. Since so few are able to employ this approach, it may be useful to cite some general principles.
     1) Local church uses in societies, circles and groups depend primarily for support upon people living in the area, and should be given high priority.
     2) If the Academy, which performs a great educational use for the General Church, is to provide facilities and teaching staff for the rapidly expanding student body, substantial new contributions must be made to it.
     3) The General Church may be looked upon as the central organization to which the other uses look, and upon which the societies, circles, groups and individuals depend for those uses which they are unable to perform for themselves. Among others, these include the episcopal office, extension work of various kinds, pastoral support, publication of NEW CHURCH LIFE and other material, and the treasurer's office. Unfortunately, the treasurer of the General Church receives contributions from only 37% of the potential contributors.
     Without detracting from the importance of other uses, it is evident that the uses of the General Church should receive wide support because of their wide nature. Hence our appeal continues to be, not for large dollar increases from present contributors, but for at least a token contribution from all members. The word "token" is used as an acknowledgment of our debt to the General Church. A second meaning of the Word is "nominal." Rest assured that no gift is too small to be appreciated.
     Respectfully submitted,
          JAMES F. JUNGE
               Chairman

194

     GENERAL CHURCH PUBLICATION COMMITTEE

     The visible accomplishments of the committee this year are modest. The first of the proposed series of "pastoral pamphlets" was published. This was Our Funeral Customs, written by the Rev. Martin Pryke, five hundred copies of which were printed in Jenkintown, Pa., in the format and style which are proposed for the series.
     The next proposed brochure is a radically revised and rearranged form of the compilation by the late C. T. Odhner (1902), and is called What the Writings Testify concerning Themselves. This is now in press, having received the financial approval of the Board of Directors.
     The manuscript of a brochure on the Holy Supper, consisting of an article by Bishop De Charms and extensive notes - questions and answers - by the Rev. Robert S. Junge, has been circulated among the clergy and will be printed, if it meets with approval and after some editorial treatment.
     Another pamphlet, New Church Baptism, is in process of preparation. A new edition of Mr. Alden's City of God has been made necessary, from the extant type.
     A book of children's stories, In the King's Service, by Miss Gertrude Nelson (now Mrs. Diem), is ready for printing and has been offered to a publisher in New York for the general market. It is illustrated by Mr. Ken Hultgren.
     The committee has held six meetings, once with full attendance.
Respectfully submitted,
     HUGO LJ. ODHNER,
          Chairman.

     RELIGION LESSONS COMMITTEE

     We send lessons to 209 families with 465 children from the cradle roll to the twelfth grade. The lessons go to the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Sweden, Norway, Denmark and England. There are eighty counselors and teachers, and the lessons are corrected by teachers in Bryn Athyn, Detroit, Pittsburgh, Glenview, Kitchener and Toronto.
     NEW CHURCH EDUCATION now has a paid subscription list of 485 names. Ten issues a year are published from September to June, both inclusive. The "Explorer" section published for children has been increased from four pages a month to six.
     In addition to the above uses, the General Church Religion Lessons office performs the following: the Academian, a monthly high school paper, and the Commoner, a monthly college paper, are published; society banquet programs and school dance cards are printed; the Minutes of the Council of the Clergy, papers delivered to the Council, and books used as college texts are reproduced. We have also mimeographed and delivered to the Academy Book Room a 768-page Fifty-one Year Index to New Church Life.
     All of this extra work was made possible by 457 hours of voluntary assistance by a corps of dedicated women, whose help has made it possible for us to operate in the black on the appropriation granted to us by the Board of Directors of the General Church.
     I would like to express the appreciation of our entire office force for the beautiful and adequate facilities which have been granted to us in the Asplundh Field House.
     Respectfully submitted,
          KARL R ALDEN
               Director

195

     SOUND RECORDING COMMITTEE

     The committee is happy to report that the situation mentioned last year has corrected itself. Borrowings recovered from last year's slump and for the twelve-month period under review were over one thousand, as in previous years. Another encouraging feature was the increase in activity of recording centers outside Bryn Athyn. Chicago (3), Glendale (2), Kitchener (12), Pittsburgh (18), Toronto (2), and Washington (1), sent in a total of 38 recordings. This effort, which is much appreciated, brings the committee closer to its long-held goal, the diversification of its offerings.
     An 18-page supplement to the catalog, covering 246 new titles, was issued. It is believed that several more supplements can be issued before an entirely new catalog will be needed. Because current commitments and projects have the members fully occupied, the long range planning committee has not yet begun operations. It hopes, however, to begin operations shortly, and will probably begin by investigating the possibility of providing more material suitable for young people.
     The chairman would express appreciation of the many hours of devoted work done voluntarily by committee members and associates; this with special reference to those who make recordings in the societies. He is particularly indebted to Mr. E. Boyd Asplundh, whose work as executive officer keeps the committee functioning smoothly.
     Respectfully submitted.
          W. CAIRNS HENDERSON,
               Chairman.

     VISUAL EDUCATION COMMITTEE

     RECEIPTS

Cash on hand January 1, 1960                               $314.26
Rental on slides, etc.                         $32.85
One set of Tabernacle slides sold                15.00
Refund on unused checks in old check book           1.74     49.59
                                                  $363.85

     EXPENDITURES

Six sets of new Tabernacle slides               $72.00
25 - other new slides for our library          6.25
Additional trays and boxes for slides          9.31
New check book                              4.07
Postage stamps                              5.00
                                                  96.63
Balance on hand December 31, 1960                         $267.22

196

     While in Europe last summer I visited a number of publishing houses in search of new pictures that could be made into slides for our library. I bought one rather interesting film-strip of the Christmas story, which subsequently I made into slides.
     Respectfully submitted,
          WILLIAM R. COOPER
               Director.

     ACADEMY PUBLICATION COMMITTEE

     At a meeting of the Academy Publication Committee on May 8, 1956, it was decided that the committee should hold regular monthly meetings the following year. Before this time, meetings had been held only sporadically - usually not more than once a year - to consider specific manuscripts or other immediate business. It was now felt that, with a regular fund established by the Board of Directors, more submission of manuscripts for publication on the part of scholars in the General Church should be encouraged by regular meetings of the committee, and also by advertisement of its work in NEW CHURCH LIFE.
     Accordingly, an announcement of the committee's readiness to receive manuscripts was printed in NEW CHURCH LIFE, September, 1956 (p. 400). During that school year, 1956 - 1957, the committee met each month - eight meetings in all. In 1957 - 1958, seven meetings were held. During that year it was concluded that "while regular meetings of the committee are needed, they need not be called every month" (Minutes of December 10, 1957). Thus, in the two ensuing years, 1958 - 1959, 1959 - 1960, four meetings were held each year, or one every two months. This arrangement has been found entirely satisfactory. Two meetings have been held this year to date. The total for the span of four and a half years is 25 meetings.
     The usefulness of this step toward greater activity can be readily seen in the number of publications issued by the Academy Book Room during the period, including new works, new editions of works earlier published, and reprints:

NEW WORKS:     H. L. Odhner, Spirits and Men
          W. D. Pendleton, Foundations of New Church Education
          J. Gaskill, Primer of the Hebrew Word
          G. de Charms, Principles of Government

REVISED EDITIONS:     Odhner, The Moral Life
          Pendleton, Foundations of New Church Education
          Index to New Church Life (mimeographed)

REPRINTS:     Odhner, Spirits and Men

     During this period, two manuscripts were considered by the committee And rejected as unsuitable for publication by the Academy Book Room. In addition to the above list, six other manuscripts are under present consideration by the committee or have been recommended by it to the Board of Directors for publication. Those recommended and awaiting publication are:
     W. Whitehead, Annals of the New Church, Vol. II.
     W. C. Henderson, "Introduction to the Study of the Writings"
     W. B. Caldwell, Notes on the Letter of the Word (mimeographed)
     W. C. Henderson, Survey of the New Testament (mimeographed)

197

     The last two items are to be published in mimeographed form as of specific value for students in courses given regularly in the Academy College.
     It may be noted that a number of other manuscripts brought to the committee's attention were subsequently published under the aegis of other bodies. The General Church Publication Committee, formed in 1956, has published several works which, had that committee not been formed, would likely have been brought out through the Academy's committee. Such other bodies, with whom we keep in touch informally, are the Swedenborg Foundation, the Swedenborg Society, the Swedenborg Scientific Association and the General Church Religion Lessons office.
     Activities undertaken by the committee during the past four years in connection with its main work are the following:
     1) The establishment of promotion and dissemination practices for new works, to encourage their greater sale and use. In this we have had excellent co-operation from the Academy Book Room and similar agencies in various societies of the General Church.
     2) The development and distribution of a standard style sheet for use in preparation of manuscripts, especially with regard to New Church terminology and documentation.
     3) The appointment of a committee member as editorial consultant in the final preparation for the press of every new manuscript.
     4) The periodic consideration for possible republication of New Church works reported by the Academy Book Room as out of print or close to that status.
     Respectfully submitted,
          E. BRUCE GLENN,
               Secretary.
BRITISH ACADEMY SUMMER SCHOOL (3rd Season) 1961

BRITISH ACADEMY SUMMER SCHOOL (3rd Season) 1961

All New Church young people from those fourteen years old to those in their thirties are invited to the Third Annual British Academy Summer School, to be held August 12.46, 1961, at Earsham Hall School, near Bungay, Suffolk, England. New Church courses are provided in the mornings, and sports and other activities are available in the afternoons and evenings. The charge is L4.10.O ($13.00) for the full two weeks or L2.10.0 ($7.00) for a week. Write to the Rev. F. Rose, 41 Ambrose Avenue, Colchester, Essex, England.

198

PRESERVATION OF INNOCENCE 1961

PRESERVATION OF INNOCENCE Editor 1961

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

TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION $5.00 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single copy, 50 cents.
     Ignorance has long been regarded by some as an essential condition of innocence. In this there is a certain truth. There are evils that the average person does not need to know about, and experiential knowledge of evil is surely to be avoided. But when it comes to the perversions and disorders that press upon the men and women and young people of the church, the question arises: Is innocence better preserved by enveloping evil in a cloak of silence or by focusing upon it the clear light of Divine revelation?
     We have known of New Church men and women whose reading of Conjugial Love has been confined to the first part of the book. Knowing by hearsay of the topics with which the second part deals, they have concluded that it is too unpalatable for their taste. But surely there is confusion here? The things dealt with are in themselves distasteful; but what the Divine has revealed concerning them should never be so regarded, and still less the Divine mercy of the Lord in providing for man a way of repentance which may be seen within the truth that is taught.
     Certainly, in the case of children and the young, we should carefully avoid any advancing of states - any giving of instruction which goes far beyond their present or foreseeable needs. But it would surely seem that in instruction, wisely adapted, lies the hope of preservation. Not for nothing is Divine truth likened in the Word to protective armor and to the weapons of defense. The innocent in heart are not those who are ignorant of evil. They are those who, knowing evil, and knowing what the Lord teaches about it, have chosen to follow His leading.

199

EMPHASES IN PREPARATION FOR MARRIAGE 1961

EMPHASES IN PREPARATION FOR MARRIAGE Editor 1961

     It is a teaching of the Writings that the Lord provides conjugial marriages, even on earth, for those who from early youth have loved, wished for, and asked them of Him, and who have spurned and detested wandering lusts. The power of this promise to inspire and sustain a high idealism has long been recognized; and this teaching forms the basis of much of the instruction given that looks to the preparation of our children and young people for marriage. Yet most parents, teachers and priests would probably agree that such instruction alone, or overemphasized, would result in a serious lack of balance.
     The nature of the love of the sex is such that its proper control is indeed vital, but that is far from being the only factor involved in preparation for conjugial marriages. The Writings advise, for example, that deceit and the love of dominion, in either partner, are destructive of the conjugial, and they warn the men of the church especially against the conceit of self-intelligence as having the same deadly effect. Positively, they instruct that conjugial love is given to those only who approach the Lord, love the truths of the church, and do its goods - to those who love wisdom and are affected spiritually by uses.
     Preparation for marriage, then, cannot be isolated from preparation for regeneration, nor can the instruction that is given concerning it. And it would surely seem that if such instruction is to be effective, it must not be limited to the consideration of proper sex attitudes and behavior, or give to them an emphasis that is not placed equally upon the other things mentioned. In the world that is where the main emphasis lies; and it is not enough to leave it there, simply substituting a higher motive for so doing. The obstacles to conjugial love are such that preparation for it takes in the entire mind and life.
MALE AND FEMALE CREATED HE THEM 1961

MALE AND FEMALE CREATED HE THEM Editor 1961

The teachings of the Writings concerning the essential nature of man and woman, and concerning conjugial love, have led us as a church to put great emphasis upon marriage and preparation for marriage. Yet there are among us those who have not found marriage within the church, but whose affections are so deeply involved in its uses that they have not sought marriage elsewhere. This dichotomy places upon teachers and priests, and indeed upon the membership of the church in its social relations, a responsibility that is not always recognized; less, perhaps, from intent than from unawareness of what is implied in what is said.

200

This is the responsibility of being faithful to what the Writings teach about marriage, yet not emphasizing or interpreting it in such a way as to convey to the unmarried - by assertion, innuendo or condescension - that their lives are incomplete and without use or purpose. Male and female are in themselves forms of use, and it is possible to live a life of use that will enrich the church and society without a partner. The most striking example is Swedenborg himself. His, the most exalted use ever performed by man to men, was done by one for whom marriage had to await entrance into the spiritual world.
There can be no doubt that the influence of a truly feminine mind is great, as is that of the truly masculine mind; or that this is so in whatever spheres they act, and not only in the obvious ones of teaching, nursing and the priesthood. We believe that this is well understood by many of the unmarried in the church, and that for this reason they have been and are of distinguished service in their fields of use. But the church itself needs to have a conviction about this; a conviction that will not arouse self-consciousness because it will be expressed unselfconsciously. Despite the emphasis rightly placed upon it, the church needs to realize that marriage is not the only use the Lord can bless.
WE HAVE SEEN THE LORD! 1961

WE HAVE SEEN THE LORD! Editor 1961

     It is noteworthy that the Lord's post-resurrection appearances were only to His apostles and to some drawn from the larger company of disciples. He neither showed Himself to the multitude nor confronted His judges in the Sanhedrin or the Praetorium. It was only some among His followers who could say: "We have seen the Lord!" Others, who would have been compelled by direct sight of Him, were free to believe or not the testimony of the apostles, according to what was in their hearts.
     Agnostic critics have been quick to exploit this. They have alleged that the Lord's resurrection is not an historical event but a "faith experience," and that it is simply therefore not the kind of thing with which the historian can deal. Yet the reluctant belief that would have been forced by objective sight of the Lord would not have prepared for reception of genuine faith those who were not already disposed to receive it. Such faith is grounded in the interior sight of truth which love imparts, and it alone receives eternal life. As the Lord said to Thomas: "Because thou hast seen Me, thou hast believed: blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have believed."
     So is it also at this day. It is our belief that the Divine Human - the Human which the Lord fully glorified on the cross, and in and with which He rose the first Easter morning - has come again into the world in the Heavenly Doctrine.

201

Of this, the Second Coming, there is no tangible proof whatsoever - no evidence that would satisfy the sensual mind. Yet it is not on palpable proof that the faith of the New Church is built. The Second Coming has taken place in time, even if it cannot be authenticated as can other historical events, and even though it must take place with every individual who is to be regenerated. In the Writings the Divine Human is with men. It is true that it can be seen only with the eyes of love and faith; that the fact can be believed only on the testimony of the self evidencing reason of love and of truth. But in this is preserved the freedom of men: that freedom which must qualify the consent which is the essential of conjunction with the Lord.
SOUTH AFRICAN MISSION'S JOURNAL 1961

SOUTH AFRICAN MISSION'S JOURNAL WYNNE ACTON 1961

Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE:

Umchazi, which you have been kind enough to review from time to time, is the official organ of the General Church Mission in South Africa. It is published twice a year in separate English and Zulu editions. Each edition contains a sermon, a talk to children, doctrinal articles, notes by the superintendent, and an account of any special church events. It is designed to give a full picture of the state and activities of the church among the Africans. Most of the material is written by them.
No set charge is made for this magazine, but the editor will gladly send it to anyone who indicates his desire to receive it and is willing to contribute something toward its cost. A contribution equivalent to an American dollar a year would cover the extra cost and help support the work of the Mission. Contributions can be sent to the editor, the Rev. A. Wynne Acton, or to the General Church treasurer, Mr. L. E. Gyllenhaal, Bryn Athyn, Pa. A. WYNNE ACTON
SUNDAY SCHOOL WORK IN CALIFORNIA 1961

SUNDAY SCHOOL WORK IN CALIFORNIA RAYMOND B. DAVID 1961

Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE:

Are we in the General Church doing all we can for the education of our children? It is true that for a group our size we do a lot: seven elementary schools, the Academy, the Religion Lessons Committee. But in small groups such as ours in Glendale which cannot support a day school there is still an opportunity for consecutive instruction.

202

A look at the back cover of this magazine will show sixteen societies, groups or circles, having regular weekly services but not having schools. Most of them probably have an opportunity similar to ours - a group of children needing regular instruction in the letter of the Word and the doctrines.
     Glendale's answer to this opportunity is a Sunday school. We have at present five grades, ranging from babies to high school age. All grades participate in the early part of the regular Sunday service. This includes, right after the first lesson, a talk directed to the children. The children and teachers then move to the pastor's home and classes begin. The very young ones have supervised play, the older preschoolers have stories from the Word. The school-age classes base their work on the religion lessons sent from Bryn Athyn. These are supplemented by teaching aids such as the flannelgraph, sand table, slides, film strips, and even a small museum of archeological artifacts from biblical times. The year is divided into about forty regular sessions. There are three teachers for each class, one for each of the three quarters in which the school operates. We have also instituted teacher training classes which are taught by our pastor, the Rev. Harold Cranch. He has taken us through studies of the doctrine of the formation of the spiritual mind, of the internal sense of the Word, of teaching techniques and use of materials, and others. We are thus developing a more and more qualified staff.

     We have found several advantages to having a Sunday school:
     1) The children get regular instruction.
     2) The teachers learn more about the Word and about the doctrines, and learn it more thoroughly.
     3) Parents and children alike attend church more regularly.
     4) The teachers are able to participate in advancing New Church education.

     The school here has grown each year, so that we have had to build a separate education building to house it. The manse has become too small. This is both gratifying and challenging. It shows potential becoming reality, but at the same time it shows the magnitude of the task ahead of us.
     The Sunday school is basically a layman's effort. It should, of course, be directed by the priesthood, but the lay men and women of the society must do the work. In this way each and every one of us can contribute his skills to the use of New Church education.
     RAYMOND B. DAVID

203

CHURCH NEWS 1961

CHURCH NEWS Various 1961

     KITCHENER, ONTARIO

     Building committees have been busy during the past year planning for our requirements in a new building. Many long hours have been spent working out the details of the proposed move, and now the architect is on the job. As soon as our present building is sold we can go ahead. The house built by the men of the Society is completed, and here also we are looking for a buyer to boost our building fund.
     Our church activities have been greatly helped by the appointment of the Rev. Henry Heinrichs as assistant to the pastors in Toronto and Kitchener. This takes part of the heavy load off the Rev. Geoffrey Childs and has allowed for a fuller schedule of Society activities.
     We have also enjoyed many visits from friends in other Societies. The Rev. and Mrs. Elmo C. Acton were here in February, and Mr. Acton gave a most interesting paper on "Spiritual Thought" to the men and addressed the Society at our Swedenborg's birthday celebration. Mr. Lawson Pendleton talked to the Society in April, the occasion being the Sons' Ladies Night. Candidate Geoffrey Howard and his wife Nadine spent several weeks here during the summer. Mr. Howard preached three times and addressed the Men's Assembly and the Women's Guild. Through this, as well as through informal gatherings, we were given opportunity to meet and know them both.
     At our New Church Day banquet Mr. Harry Tins gave a very thorough paper pointing out that in order for the New Church to become the Lord's church on earth, we must provide for our church societies to be formed from within, and that this must begin with every constituent component of each society, which is the individual. That same evening a silver tea service was presented to Mrs. Erwin Brueckman for her contribution to New Church education in Kitchener.
     Lake Conestoga became a summer resort for the Society last summer, with at least 25 or 30 of our people there every weekend. During the summer also we were happy to witness the marriage of Eudora Heinrichs and Hugo Odhner, which took place on August 6. Earlier in the summer we welcomed Mr. and Mrs. Deryck van Rij from Durban, who came to Kitchener to live. Unfortunately for us they moved to Toronto in November for business reasons. In September we said goodbye to Mr. Reinhold Kauk, who left for France to spend a year studying and travelling.
     In September our day school opened with an enrolment of 36, the largest in many years. We are fortunate in that Miss Venita Roschman volunteered to teach kindergarten two mornings a week this year.
     Several interesting socials have been enjoyed. The Epsilon Society put on a box social and a dinner dance featuring French cuisine. We also had a United Nations party which brought out costumes from many lands, and on New Year's Eve we visited China for an entire evening - Chinese dinner, music and decorations.
     In the fall Mr. Childs began a series of doctrinal classes on the seven days of creation. These classes led to a great deal of interesting and useful discussion.
     The Christmas season was welcomed again with beautiful and simple tableaux on the Sunday before Christmas. Although the familiar scenes are shown every year in one form or another they are always a delight to behold.

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On the following Thursday night a Christmas sing was held at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Robert G. Schnarr; and with 195 adults and children present, the Christmas Eve service packed our building.
     GILBERT NIALL

     STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN

     As these news notes have been considerably delayed it might be well to go rather far back in time, for in the month of July last year Bishop and Mrs. De Charms arrived on a visit to Denmark and Sweden. This was very much appreciated. The members here had hardly dared to hope that the Bishop would undertake another strenuous European tour.
     The first stopping place was Copenhagen, where the distinguished guests stayed for three days. On the first evening some thirty persons gathered in the worship hall to attend the Bishop's doctrinal class on the two kinds of wisdom that may exist with men. To facilitate understanding a mimeographed Danish translation was distributed. A lively discussion ensued, and the interest in the doctrines proved so great that the following evening spent at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Strobaek was devoted largely to asking questions. On the last day of the Bishop's stay in Copenhagen a service was held in the hall, and no fewer than three languages were used. The Rev. Bjorn Boyesen conducted the service in Swedish, Candidate Gudmund Boolsen read the lessons in Danish, and the Bishop delivered his sermon in English. Finally the Holy Supper was administered, and it was partaken of in a sphere of deep devotion.
     On July 15, the Bishop and his wife joined Mr. and Mrs. Boyesen and traveled in their car to Jonkoping. It was the first time the members of the circle in that town had had the honor and pleasure of welcoming the leader of the General Church. The little group has a nice meeting place at its disposal. A service was held there, at which the Bishop preached; and afterwards he met the people socially on a very friendly footing, giving answers to a good many questions concerning New Church doctrines.
     Two days later, July 17, it was the turn of the Stockholm Society to renew acquaintance with Bishop and Mrs. De Charms. They have been here many times before and have a number of good friends. There was a Sunday service at the pastor's home as well as a banquet, and a meeting under the auspices of the Providentia Foundation. After the banquet the Bishop gave an inspiring speech on the doctrine of merit, and at the meeting he explained the philosophy of New Church education. The gatherings were informal and enjoyable. Our visitors also met old friends at private parties, and Mr. and Mrs. Lars Liden gave a fine dinner to celebrate their daughter Monica's confirmation.
     As Mr. Boyesen ministers to three different centers besides Stockholm, recorded services have been of great use in Scandinavia. There is in Stockholm a tape recorder that belongs to the General Church Sound Recording Committee. Five others are owned by the church in Scandinavia and are placed as follows: one each in Oslo, Copenhagen and Jonkoping, and two in circulation among isolated families. There are also four privately owned machines. Every service is recorded and circulated from one place to the next. When the tapes finally return they are reused. Several times music has been recorded by our organist, Mr. Rydvall, to be used when Mr. Boyesen visits centers where there is no organist; and when Mr. Boyesen is absent from Stockholm, the Society has a service in which the ritual, lessons and sermon have been recorded and the music is sung to a live piano accompaniment.
     The Women's Guild had no regular bazaar last fall. Instead a small sale was organized shortly before Christmas, and in spite of the simple arrangements the financial result was quite encouraging.
     The traditional Christmas tableaux were much enjoyed by a numerous audience. They showed Balaam prophesying the Lord's coming; the Wise Men reading the prophecy when the star appeared; and the Wise Men offering their gifts to the infant Lord.

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Mrs. Boyesen and Mrs. Bengt Carlsson, who assisted her, once more proved how skilled they are in the staging of tableaux.
      Swedenborg's birthday was celebrated in the "parsonage." That is the name by which we often refer to the Boyesen home as so many of our activities take place in that spacious house. On this occasion we had the fine opportunity of listening to Dr. Hugo Odhner's paper on Swedenborg's antecedents, which had been recorded in Swedish. We felt thankful to him for having taken the trouble to read it in his not yet forgotten mother tongue; so that everyone could follow and appreciate his highly interesting point of view on the subject, as well as the great amount of work involved.
     SENTA CENTERVAIL

     DAWSON CREEK, B. C.

     The season got off to a beautiful start with a lovely June wedding. Mr. Wilfred Lempky and Miss Margaret Reimer, both of Gorand Prairie, Alberta, were united in marriage, the Rev. Roy Franson officiating. The Dawson Creek ladies arranged a supper and reception to follow the simple but moving service.
     A social gathering was held in June also to welcome home Miss Viola Friesen, Miss Lavina Lempky, and Mr. Hans Franson from Bryn Athyn. These young people had given up many an evening previous to the social to prepare papers on what school in Bryn Athyn had meant to them. Miss Lempky was unable to be present, but nevertheless sent in a most interesting paper which was read by Mr. Franson.
     The church picnic planned for the Nineteenth of June was postponed because of the weather. It was held the following Sunday at Swan Lake, where most of the members tried their hand at water skiing - with various results which proved quite entertaining to the spectators.
      We were sorry to see Mrs. Mabel Barrett leave us to make her home in Edmonton. She is greatly missed in many ways, and especially since she was our organist for many years. Also missed in many ways is Loraine Carbury. Loraine and her husband John left early in the year to make their home in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho. The Cornelius Friesens have moved back to Fort St. John, but as it is a mere fifty mile drive they quite often attend Sunday morning services.
     The series of doctrinal classes being given at present by Mr. Franson is on the natural mind. It might be mentioned that the same class is given three times; the pastor journeying to Fort St. John every other week as well as holding a class in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Dube for those who are not able to attend class at the church on Friday night. These classes on the natural mind taught us many things which it is rather hard to put into a few words; but it might be sufficient to say that we learned how the Lord first stores up remains in our infancy, and how these remains later aid man to make use of his faculties of liberty and rationality.
     The ladies group meets on alternate Thursdays for a reading class. At present we are reading Conjugial Love. A lively discussion usually takes place during the evening. It might be added that the ladies' latest fund raising project was a very successful rummage sale.
     Our Assembly was held on August 7, 1960. A joint morning service followed by the Holy Supper started off the full day; a buffet luncheon was served by the ladies, after which a couple of hours were spent in visiting and renewing acquaintances; and a business meeting rounded off the afternoon activities. In the evening a banquet was held in the Park Hotel. Mr. Erdman Hendricks, acting as toastmaster, before introducing the speakers entertained the guests by reminiscing about old times in the Peace River District - the early 30's. The first speaker was Mr. Cornelius Friesen, who gave an interesting talk on "What is a Christian?" Dr. Fred Hendricks spoke on "The Nature of Evil in the Successive Churches," and Mr. Franson then gave a paper on "The Spiritual and the Celestial."

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After hearing all three papers we realized how great a responsibility New Church people have. One could not but feel how wonderful it is that of the Lord's mercy, through His second coming, we have the marvelous opportunity of learning the truth that we may be regenerated.
     Guests at the Assembly were Mr. and Mrs. Eddie Friesen from Roblin, Manitoba. Other visitors during the summer were Mr. and Mrs. Bill Remple of Renata, B. C. These two families are hoping to move here in the near future; the welcome mat will be out for them if they do! Mr. and Mrs. Jake Friesen were up from Roblin; Mrs. Mackenzie, a sister-in-law of Mrs. Annie Friesen, came for a short visit from Vancouver, B. C.; and from Toronto we had John Starkey as a visitor. John had lived here as a youngster and many old friends were glad to see him back.
     The Christmas party saw fifty-one children and thirty-one adults in attendance. The church had been nicely decorated and a short concert prepared. Two tableaux were presented, the children taking part doing, a splendid job; many carols were sung; and an accordion solo was played by one of our young boys. To end the evening, Santa Claus put in an appearance and was greeted with much applause by the youngsters. While the children were busy with their candy and gifts the parents enjoyed a cup of coffee.
     TINA WILKINSON

     LONDON, ENGLAND

     The coming of autumn saw the re-commencement of the London Society's many and varied doctrinal classes. Because of its size, it is understandable that this great metropolis cannot be served by one class, but your reporter was surprised to find, on reflection, that we have no fewer than six such classes: the North London Reading Group, the South London Reading Group, the Chadwell Heath Group, the Swedenborg Hall bi-monthly class, the young people's class, and the monthly Sunday doctrinal class, all of which are maintained by the stamina and erudition of the Rev. Erik Sandstrom. It is the measure of his stature that he is able to take these classes month after month without allowing our interest to flag.
     On December 3, the Women's Guild held its annual Sale of Work. This was a cheerful, bustling affair which opened with refreshments at 5:00 p.m. to give everyone an opportunity for a friendly exchange of chitchat before the real business of the evening began. By 7:30 the stalls were practically empty, and the entertainment commenced with Edith Elphick presenting a sketch, "Alice and the Two Queens," from Alice Through the Looking Glass. Jane Gill made an attractive Alice, and Edith herself a real zany White Queen, while yours truly did her best, or worst, with the bad tempered Red Queen. The evening was rounded off by Geoffrey Dawson projecting some quite lovely slides of a recent holiday in Wales, together with some interesting ones of the British Academy Summer School. The Summer School, by the way, was held August 10-20 at Earsham Hall School, near Bungay, Suffolk, and was attended by over twenty students ranging between fourteen and thirty years of age, three ministers and their wives, and one or two adults. To quote from a report by one of the students: the school was "an unqualified success, fun and instructive from beginning to end." A decision has been taken to make it an annual event.
     In October there was an innovation in the monthly News Letter edited by the Rev. Frank Rose at Colchester - a pull-out supplement entitled "New Church Education in the Home," by the Rev. Erik Sandstrom. This is directed primarily to parents with young children, and has so far dealt with such subjects as "Education in the Spirit of Baptism," "Family Worship" and "Order"; but this reader feels that its directness and simplicity cannot fail to be beneficial and instructive to all who read it.
     On Sunday, December 18, the Society held its Christmas celebration. The church was decorated in a simple but dignified way with lighted candles gleaming on the window ledges and tables, making the red holly berries to glisten even brighter, and throwing out a warm glow against the sullen wintry sky outside.

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Our Christmas luncheon was a happy affair attended by over fifty guests, and it ended with the serving of mince pies by two Lucias dressed in white robes, each with a crown of lighted candles encircling her head. When all was cleared away the pastor read the Bishop's Christmas message, and this was followed by musical items and a very moving reading by Miss Mary Lewin of the Memorable Relation dealing with the Lord as the Redeemer (TCR 111). The main item of the afternoon was the showing of colored slides of the Nativity story to the accompaniment of the appropriate texts from the Word, read by the pastor, and background music from Handel's Messiah. It may be of interest to relate that the projector used was presented by Mr. W. R. Cooper when he was in England last summer, and that the screen was purchased out of the Yolande Briscoe legacy. We are happy to report that there have been many overseas visitors and, what is even more pleasant, that quite a few are sojourning in England for some time. We recall Mr. David Finley from Montreal, who arrived early in August and remained until September 21 - a great and unexpected pleasure for his two aunts, the Misses Janet and Edith Elphick; Miss Miep Braam from Holland, who came for the Summer School and has popped up several times since then; Mr. Lawrence Rinaldo on Christmas leave from Germany, and Miss Karen Doering from Grenoble, France; Mr. and Mrs. Hubert Synnestvedt from Bryn Athyn passing through London and attending a Sunday service; Mr. and Mrs. Lyal Ridgway from South Africa and Miss Amity Doering from Bryn Athyn, who are all resident in London for the time being; and finally, but by no means least, young Harald Sandstrom back from Bryn Athyn to the bosom of his family for what will be, we all hope, a very long stay. ISABEL ROBERTSON

     GLENVIEW, ILLINOIS

     Here we are again, trying to squeeze a year's events into a limited space. Like Mrs. Gyllenhaal, the reporter from Tucson, we resolve each time to write less, more often. Somehow the months have a habit of slipping by.
     One of the things this reporter most enjoys is the news from other societies. Often the activities in one's own society fall into a pattern that scarcely seems worth mentioning. Reading of the occurrences in other centers opens doors to new ideas, bringing in new light and a better perspective on life at home.
     In Glenview it is no longer possible to attend every affair. In September a meeting was held to fix the calendar for the year. By the time every committee and organization of the Society had chosen its time, scarcely a free day was left in any given week. To give you some idea, here is what you might expect if you came to scenic Glenview during the winter.
     Sunday. Church at eleven o'clock, and, if you have children, a family service at 9:30 on twenty-six Sundays of the fifty-two. You might also attend a Son's Meeting once a month, if you are a Son, or a meeting of the Pastor's Council, if you were invited.
     Monday. If you have studied your assignment in the Writings, and if you are a man, you could attend one of the Rev. Jan Weiss' discussion groups. Two or three of these groups are now operating efficiently, each with a lay moderator. Mr. Weiss tries to keep out of the conversation unless things get out of hand.
     Tuesday. This might be a good night to play bridge or see a movie. Reserved as a date for special classes, it has so far escaped unnoticed except for an occasional committee meeting, or one of the Monday groups held over.
     Wednesday. Ladies' choice. You may dash over to Pendleton Hall dressed in slacks and keds for a wild game of volley ball, only to find your friends in stockings and heels attending Women's Guild. These two events are interchangeable, but sometimes people don't get the message.

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Wednesdays are also PTA nights. Sometimes the entire Society is invited to an education night, featuring a very fine paper by one of our faculty. Or perhaps the teacher of one or two grades will meet with the parents of his or her students. These meetings are most valuable, but you must keep watching the calendar for last minute changes.
     If you attend a local high school, you may attend a special class at Mr. Weiss' home, designed to keep you in touch with what your classmates are learning in Bryn Athyn.
     Thursday. For men only. Volley ball, badminton, billiards and ping pong are available for physical culture at Pendleton Hall. If you prefer armchair gymnastics, you may choose instead the philosophy class, which studies Swedenborg's earlier works.
     Friday. For only 75 cents you may dine with your friends, and enjoy light exercise afterwards while clearing tables. After a short singing practice you will hear, at no extra charge, a doctrinal class, sometimes illustrated with slides - in black and white only. After this, you may leave quietly if you do not belong to the finance board.
     Saturday. Except for an occasional party planned by the Social Club this one is free, too, unless one of your children is a member of the Boys Club, in which case he may be attending or running a movie for all the children, and the adults, too. In fact, this is often children's night out, and there may be a party for the 7-Up Club - the children from 7th through 9th grades plus miscellaneous high-schoolers. This neatly takes care of all the babysitters.
     This calendar is only for regular times. It makes no mention of the banquets, bazaars, and festival services which occur now and then.
     The Immanuel Church School had a teacher crisis last September. Miss Thelma Pike had been engaged to fill the place of Miss Mary Best, now Mrs. Roger Murdoch. All seemed serene, when Miss Grace Hotson, vacationing with her parents in the West, air-mailed her intention of becoming Mrs. Robert Shields. In a co-operative spirit, Miss Grace offered to return until someone could be trained in to replace her. When finally she was able to return to her husband's side, after showers and gifts from a fond society, there were left in her place three teachers.
     Mrs. Edgar Holm, formerly known as Miss Sue to other kindergarten children, returned to a formidable class of thirteen boys and three girls. Mrs. Warren Reuter became primary teacher no. 1, assisted, while her health permitted, by Mrs. Ralph Junge. At this writing, teacher no. 2 is Mrs. Stuart Nicholson, another expert returning to the fray after raising a family. This may be our best solution to the teacher problem in the future, since single teachers are hard to keep single.
     Several years ago Mr. and Mrs. Sydney Lee undertook to sell New Church books to those who need them. Beginning with a few standard volumes of the Writings, Liturgies, and such, their undertaking has blossomed in a way undreamed of by anyone. Mr. Lee has a small office in his home at 55 Park Drive which is now fitted out as a very complete book room. It has its own entrance, and is always available for browsing. If you are lucky enough to find the Lees at home, they will show you their large collection of books, pamphlets, and little-known New Church works which they have industriously sought from all over the world. Their displays will be remembered by those who attended the 22nd General Assembly or the Chicago District Assemblies. They also have a folding screen which is set up in the lobby after church services, where one may select books or pamphlets, or perhaps a plaque with a picture of the Cathedral. At Christmas time business is brisk, and even the little children derive great satisfaction from saving up their money to buy a Liturgy or a bookmark. In addition, our book room sends out book lists in various categories, with short but excellent reviews. Mr. Lee occasionally reviews a book at Friday Supper, bringing his fine talent as a speaker into play. Best of all, the Lees seem to be enjoying themselves, taking a great pride in spreading the literature of a growing church.

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     Last July we had the pleasure of entertaining Candidate Geoffrey Howard and his wife Nadine. Mr. Howard preached several times and gave some fine classes. In August the Rev. Cairns Henderson paused briefly here after a trip to societies and circles in the West. His purpose was to aid in establishing better communication between NEW CHURCH LIFE and its subscribers. That he accomplished this objective is evident from the affectionate reports of his visits from those groups. To this may we add only our admiration for his gift with words.
     Dr. William Whitehead, was our revered speaker at the celebration of Swedenborg's birthday. He filled in some of the historical background of Swedenborg's time, showing how the great thinkers of the day were not in the universities, which were dominated by the church. Comparing the scholars of European countries with the man whom the Lord chose to be the revelator, Dr. Whitehead showed that Swedenborg was the only possible choice. In his sermon on the following Sunday, Dr. Whitehead also brought out the historical details in a lesser-known story from the prophet Zechariah. A history teacher in the congregation observed that this wonderful man should sit beside a tape recorder for the remainder of his days, so that his wisdom may be preserved for the rest of us.
     More recently, the Rev. Harold Cranch, accompanied by his wife, stopped here on his way out West to give us an address on the work of the Church Extension Committee, which meets every year in Bryn Athyn during the Annual Council Meetings. There are three ways in which it seeks to extend the church: by evaluating and using the literature we have, by advertising and lecturing, and by teaching in Sunday schools. Mr. Cranch devoted his time to the third approach, showing the effective ways in which he uses all the materials available.
     Without the follow through of a day school, the Sunday school lesson must capture the imagination of a child by appealing to all his senses. Sight and hearing are the most commonly used. But the children may also taste and smell the "fruits of Canaan" brought back by the scouts who came back from the land. They may also touch many things: the shepherd's pipes, by which the sheep were called in the land of Canaan; a replica of the Torah; the coins that were Caesar's; the strange little books called phylacteries by which the Jews bound the Law to their foreheads. Along with these are maps of the Holy Land, showing in a continuous series where each event took place; flannelboards with pictures of the people in the stories; and things to make, like a model of a ship that sailed the Mediterranean. Combined with the General Church Religion Lessons, these methods should have a real impact on the child, bringing to life the stories in the Word.
     In closing, may we express our regret at losing the Stanford Lehne family, who moved to Toronto in January. Their cheerful support of church uses will be appreciated in their new society as much as it is missed in ours.
     GLORIA BARRY

     MINISTERIAL CHANGES

     The Rev. Frank S. Rose has been appointed Assistant to the Pastor of the Colchester Society, England, effective March 28, 1961. Mr. Rose will devote two-thirds of his time to the Colchester Society, and one-third to the Open Road and the Continent.

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GENERAL CHURCH CORPORATIONS 1961

GENERAL CHURCH CORPORATIONS STEPHEN PITCAIRN 1961

     ANNOUNCEMENTS
     The 1961 Annual Corporation Meetings of the General Church of the New Jerusalem will be held in the Benade Hall Auditorium, Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, on Saturday afternoon, June 17, at 3:30 p.m., D.S.T. Notices will be mailed.
     STEPHEN PITCAIRN, Secretary
ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH 1961

ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH 1961

     SCHOOL CALENDAR: 1961 - 1962

     Eighty-fifth School Year

     1961

Sept.     7 Thur.     Faculty Meetings
     8 Fri.     Dormitory open
     9 Sat.     8:00 a.m. Student workers report to supervisors
               3:00 p.m. Opening Exercises
               3:30 p.m. Lawn Party
               8:00 p.m. President's Reception
     11 Mon.      Secondary Schools registration College registration
     13 Wed.     Chapel and classes begin in College
Oct.     20 Fri.     Charter Day
     21 Sat.     Annual Meeting of Corporation
Nov.     23 - 26     Thanksgiving recess
Dec.     21 Thur.     Christmas recess starts at 12:30 p.m.

     1962

Jan.     4 Thur.     School exercises resumed
22 - 26     Semester examinations
29 Mon.          Second semester begins
Feb. 12 Mon.     Lincoln's Birthday holiday
Mar. 24 - Apr. 1     Spring recess
Apr. 2 Mon.          School exercises resumed
May 25 Fri.          Annual Joint Meeting of Corporation and Faculty
May 30 Wed.          Memorial Day. School dismissed in time to attend civic ceremonies.
June 14 Thur.     8:00 p.m. President's Reception.
June 15 Fri.     10:30 a.m. Commencement Exercises.
WANTED 1961

WANTED 1961

The Brain. By Emanuel Swedenborg.

The Swedenborg Society, London, will be glad to purchase sets of this two-volume work, or copies of vol. II only, price according to condition. Write to the Honorary Secretaries, Swedenborg Society, 20 - 21 Bloomsbury Way, London, W. C. 1, England.

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INVITATION TO A SPIRITUAL FEAST 1961

INVITATION TO A SPIRITUAL FEAST Rev. DANIEL W. HEINRICHS 1961

Vol. LXXXI
May, 1961
No. 5
     "A certain man made a great supper, and bade many: and sent his servants at supper time to say to them that were bidden, Come; for all things are now ready. And they all with one consent began to make excuse. The first said unto him, I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused. And another said, I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come. . . . I say unto you: That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper." (Luke 14: 16-20, 24)

     The most basic and universal truth of human life is that the Lord's purpose in creation is a heaven from the human race. This truth is as it were the hub of religion, and all other truths are related to it as the spokes of a wheel are to the hub. This truth proclaims the reason that each one of us exists; it tells us what the sole purpose of life is. Each one of us has been created by the Lord to live to eternity in heaven in a state of ever increasing joy and happiness.
     While a man lives in the world he forms for himself, as it were, a soul; and such after death does his life become. Every desire or affection which a man cherishes and encourages forms part of the life of his will, and every principle which he favors becomes part of the life of his understanding. Since this is the case, the Writings therefore ask: "What should a man have more at heart than his life to eternity? If in the life of the body he destroys his soul, does he not destroy it to eternity?" *
* AC 794
     Reflect upon that question for a moment. What should we have more at heart than our life to eternity? If we acknowledge and believe that we were created by the Lord to live to eternity in heaven, and that this earthly life is for our preparation, then nothing is of greater importance to us.

214

And yet, how many of us regard all the pleasures and delights of this world as means to an eternal end, and not as ends in themselves? How many of us subordinate temporal things to eternal ends? Perhaps it is time that we sat down and took stock of ourselves! We might well ask ourselves if it is the characteristic of intelligent and responsible men and women consistently to act contrary to what they acknowledge and believe to be true.
     In its historical setting, our text is part of a parable addressed to the Jewish Church, for it was the Jewish Church to which the Scriptures were given by the Lord. Also, it was to the men of that church that the Lord ministered when He was on earth. They were the ones who were bidden to partake of the great supper of spiritual good and truth prepared for them by the Lord. But they declined the invitation issued to them. Therefore the Lord's church passed from them to the Gentiles - the poor, the maimed, the halt and the blind; and so began the Christian Church.*
* See AC 4314: 2, 9320.
     For a time, the men of that church thrived on the spiritual nourishment provided for them by the Lord in His Word. But eventually they, too, begged to be excused from the feast to which they had been invited. So the Lord again prepared a great supper and sent His servant, Emanuel Swedenborg, to invite the spiritually poor, halt, maimed and blind to the great supper of spiritual good and truth which He had prepared.
     We are taught that suppers, considered spiritually, are consociations by love and the communications of delight, thus heaven and the church in regard to spiritual nourishment or instruction.* Those who are bidden to the feast are they who have the Word, and who are members of the church in which the interior truths of the Word are known and taught, thus those who know the Lord through His Word.**
* See AE 252: 2, 548: 5.
** See AE 252: 2; HH 365.

     We have the supreme privilege of being invited by the Lord to a "great supper.' In the Heavenly Doctrine He has provided a spiritual feast for us. He has prepared an abundant and palatable feast of good and truth to nourish our minds and souls. "To be nourished spiritually," we read, "is to be instructed and imbued, consequently to know, to understand, and to be wise. Unless a man enjoys this nourishment together with the nourishment of the body, he is not a man but a beast . . . therefore after death they live a life that is beastlike rather than human, for instead of intelligence and wisdom they have insanity and folly. This has been said to make known that . . . 'to devour or eat up the little book' signifies to read, to perceive, and to explore the Word; for the 'little book' that was in the hand of the angel coming down from heaven means the Word . . . . Moreover, one cannot eat or devour a book naturally.

215

This makes [it] evidently clear that to 'eat' signifies to be spiritually nourished."* This the Lord also taught, saying: "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." **
* AE 617: 2. [Italics added.]
** Matthew 4: 4. Cf. Deuteronomy 8: 3.

     The body lives by food and drink. If it does not receive these in sufficient quantities the health and strength of the body deteriorate. If the quality of the food we receive is inferior, that is detrimental to our health. By the same token, if our spirit or mind does not receive sufficient nourishment from the Word, our spiritual health deteriorates; and if the quality of the food taken into the mind is inferior - if we are instructed only in natural truth - our spiritual health suffers. It should be noted also that absence of appetite, which is known as anorexia, is a symptom of poor health. The same is true of our mind or spirit. If we do not have an appetite for instruction in spiritual things, if we do not hunger and thirst for the spiritual goods and truths of the Word, this is a symptom of poor spiritual and mental health.
     The Writings tell us that those who made excuses for not attending the supper represent those who delight in worldly things separated from heavenly things. They do not know what internal satisfactions are because they do not read the Word or look to the Lord. They are entirely engrossed in natural satisfactions, and in these only do they delight.* The excuse makers are, therefore, those who are nominally but not actually in the church. They have a natural affection for it because they were born and raised in it, but they care little for interior truths or for the goods of spiritual life. They are not receptive of internal satisfactions.**
* See AE 1162.
** See AC 9320
     It is a law of the Divine Providence that the Lord never compels a man to believe and love the things of the church and of heaven. He prepares a feast for us, and invites us to it. He has given us the Writings - clear, lucid, rational truths to quench a healthy spiritual thirst. He has established a church in which those truths are known, loved and taught, so that men may be led thereby to the good of life. The revealed truths of spiritual life are the only means of attaining eternal happiness. Therefore the Writings state: "Nothing . . . is of more importance to a man than to know what is true. When he knows what is true, and knows it so well that it cannot be perverted, then it cannot be so much immersed in cupidities and have such a deadly effect."*
* AC 794: 2. [Italics added]
     How do we come to know what is true, and to know it so well that it cannot be perverted by sensual reasonings? There is only one way: and that is to read the Writings regularly and faithfully, and to avail ourselves regularly and faithfully of the instruction offered to us by the Lord through His church.

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     It would sometimes appear that when we are invited to partake of spiritual nourishment, we all with one consent begin to make excuse. One says: "I have bought a piece of ground, and I must needs go and see it: I pray thee have me excused." Another says: "I have bought five yoke of oxen, and I go to prove them: I pray thee have me excused." And yet another says: "I have married a wife, and therefore I cannot come." There are many external circumstances which arise that make it inconvenient for us to respond to the invitation to nourish our spirits. But we only delude ourselves if we think that we can avoid the consequences of our refusals by making excuses and apologies. No one else is permanently hurt by our failure to respond to the invitation; it is we ourselves who suffer. By not accepting the Lord's invitation to sup we deprive ourselves of nourishment which is vital to our spiritual life-nourishment without which our spirit cannot survive. Therefore the Lord said of those who offered excuses: "I say unto you: That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper."
     It is not that the Lord seeks to punish those who refuse His invitation. Such spite may be attributed to unregenerate men, but never to the Lord. He declares that they shall not taste of His supper hereafter because, by their refusal to partake of the supper while on earth, their spiritual life has perished for lack of nourishment. Their spirits have died from malnutrition.
     It is needful that we sit down from time to time and appraise ourselves honestly. "For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?"* We, too, must sit down and count the cost of eternal happiness. We must see what is involved in living the life that leads to heaven. We must determine exactly what responsibilities are entailed in sustaining the spiritual uses of the church-worship and instruction-and decide whether or not we wish to fulfill our obligations. The decision is ours, and ours alone. The Lord compels no one. He invites. It is for us to accept! He has prepared for us a great supper: a feast that will delight and satisfy the appetite of every man who loves spiritual truth and good. He has prepared spiritual food and drink that will nourish and preserve our souls unto everlasting life. "Blessed is he that shall eat bread in the kingdom of God." Amen.
* Luke 14: 28

LESSONS:     Luke 14: 16-35. Revelation 10: 1-4, 8-11.
MUSIC:      Liturgy, pages 485, 482, 442.
PRAYERS:     Liturgy, nos. 89, 97.

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INHABITED UNIVERSE 1961

INHABITED UNIVERSE Rev. FREDERICK L. SCHNARR 1961

     4. THE INHABITANTS OF JUPITER

     If we think of our earth as a rather large place - which we can still do, in spite of modern modes of transportation and communication - what can we think of the great planet Jupiter, the largest planet in our solar system? With a diameter of 88,700 miles and a surface area one hundred and twenty times that of our earth, the planet Jupiter certainly staggers the imagination. Orbiting the sun at a distance close to 500 million miles, five times farther than our earth is from the sun, this giant has long attracted the attention and interest of every astronomer. With its twelve moons, two of which are larger than the planet Mercury, Jupiter has been likened to a solar system within the solar system.

     The Planet Jupiter

     Jupiter, like Venus, seems to be surrounded by dense cloud formations, which makes it impossible for the planet's surface to be viewed through the telescope. Certain atmospheric belts and colored zones or spots are observable with a telescope, but there seems to be little common agreement as to what causes these bright zones or colored spots. Not more than three decades ago, scientists generally thought that Jupiter was red-hot - a molten, lifeless mass, giving off glowing vapors into the atmosphere. Today, we believe it is fair to say, most astronomers think of Jupiter as a frozen, barren, uninhabited and lifeless world. Its surface temperature is estimated to be 220 degrees F., and its atmospheres are thought to be filled with poisonous methane and ammonia gases. Dr. Rupert Wildt, whose name is well known in the field of astronomical studies, estimates that Jupiter is covered by a coating of ice 16,000 miles thick.
     Even those scientists who concede the possibility of human life existing on other planets give little thought to there being any possibility of life on Jupiter. The attitude generally expressed is summed up in the following statement by Professor H. Spencer Jones in his book, Life on Other Planets. Professor Jones, having presented the known findings concerning Jupiter and Saturn, concludes with this paragraph:

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     "The giant planets are worlds in strange contrast to our own with their enormously deep coatings of ammoniated ice, covered to a depth of thousands of miles with solid or liquid gases, over which are atmospheres devoid of oxygen or water-vapor but containing large quantities of poisonous marsh-gas. These dreary, remote, frozen wastes of the solar system are not worlds where we can hope to find life of any sort. Great cold may not by itself make life impossible, even though it may make its development extremely improbable; nor by itself may great pressure. But when these conditions are combined with absence of oxygen and of moisture and with abundance of poisonous gases, we have such a combination of unfavourable circumstances that we are compelled to turn elsewhere in our quest for life in the universe.

     The Spirits of Jupiter in the Gorand Man

     When one has reviewed many such learned conclusions as to the lifeless nature of the planet Jupiter, one cannot but be amazed when he turns to the Writings and finds a detailed description of a Jupiter that is teeming with multitudes of human inhabitants living, not in a frozen wasteland, but in a beautiful tropical paradise. Once again we would note a truth that is repeated many times in the Writings - that man inclines to interpret all things of his experience and observation in a way that accords with those principles which form the core and center of all his thought. This means primarily that he will interpret all things according to his conception of God, even if that involves a total denial of God. We noted in a previous article that this is a most important truth to understand, and one that is not easily seen without study and reflection. It is the denial of God, or a false conception of His qualities and attributes, that has led many scientists and others to reach the conclusions they have drawn about the nature of the universe.
     Swedenborg had communication with the inhabitants of Jupiter for longer than with those of any other planet.* Much more is revealed, therefore, about the character of the inhabitants of Jupiter, their religion, their customs, their appearance and way of life, than is revealed about any other people, save the people of our own earth.
* See AC 7799
     In the Gorand Man of heaven, the spirits from Jupiter relate to "the imaginative of thought." They relate especially to the activity of the imagination in regard to rational ideas. Because of this, it is characteristic of this people that they think much but speak little. It is interesting to note that so far in our consideration of the inhabitants of our solar system, all of them have relation to something in the Gorand Man which pertains to thought and the memory. But this will be discussed further in our final article.*
* See AC 8630, 8733; SD unnumbered entry following no. 1558

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     Spiritual Characteristics of Jupiter's People

     The inhabitants of Jupiter are in a state somewhat like that of the Most Ancient Church on our earth when it was partially in process of decline. At the time when Swedenborg communicated with them, they were of a genius intermediate between the spiritual and the celestial. Many teachings indicate that while some have fallen into evil, the dominant state is still one of good. The Writings tell us that, on the whole, the spirits of Jupiter are better disposed than those of some other earths, and that in the other world there is a gentleness and sweetness about them. Some are said to be taken into heaven immediately after death. These people abhor hypocrisy and deceit and emphasize the importance of one's face being an accurate image of his mind. Something of their nature is evidenced in the fact that their presence is said to inspire states of tranquillity and peace and a removal of the desires and anxieties connected with future things. Swedenborg noted, in his conversations with the spirits and angels from Jupiter, that nearly all of their faces were happy, cheerful and smiling because of the states of tranquillity and peace in which they were. Indeed he was told that the faces of nearly all of the people on that earth were also such.*
* See AC 8733, 8111-8113, 8025, 8113, 8242
     The people of Jupiter make wisdom consist in thinking well and justly about the occurrences in life. Children learn this wisdom from their parents, who in turn are instructed by spirits and angels. They love to think about and reflect on the things of heaven, and to see how heavenly truths relate to the daily life of their earthly existence. Because of their delight in thinking about rational things that are at the same time spiritual, they give little thought to merely natural things. They told Swedenborg that they did not have any of the natural sciences that we have on this earth. They stated further that from the contact they had had with some of the spirits from our earth, which apparently was most unpleasant, they did not wish to have anything to do with the sciences; in fact, they did not wish to have anything to do with us! However, it was pointed out to them that the sciences are actually "spiritual riches" when properly used and governed by heavenly things; and that they were not to blame the sciences for the attitudes evidenced by most of the people from our earth. The sciences were not at fault, but the intent of the loves that used them. After some reflection they granted that this was true.*
See AC 8627, 8628, 7802, 8380, 8628, 8031, 8115, 8633.
     The concern for what is open, honest and just, combined with what is cheerful, gentle and peaceful, presents us with a description of a people that is at once delightful and lovable. The Writings tell us that they never desire the possessions of others, and that still less would they ever attack and plunder them.

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They regard such things as horrible crimes, contrary to all truly human qualities. When they were told about the wars waged and the crimes committed on this earth they could not bear to listen, but turned away. Something of the nature of their conscience was made evident to Swedenborg when he encountered a spirit from Jupiter newly arrived from that earth. He said that he wanted to go to heaven, but could not because of the evil he had done. When asked what he had done, he said that he had taken something that was of little value, and that he thought his companion was going to give him anyway: but he had not waited for him to give it, he had taken it. This lay heavily on his conscience. We could hardly say that such a form of conscience is common among the peoples of our earth at this day.*
* See AC 8117, 8849.
Not all the inhabitants of Jupiter are good, however, nor are they all of the same character. Besides those who are intelligent and wise in heavenly things, Swedenborg conversed with, or witnessed the actions of, three other kinds of spirits from Jupiter: those who were in open evils and falsities; those who perform the use of chastising others; and those who perform the use of instructing. That evil exists with the inhabitants of Jupiter, and that hells have been formed from those who have confirmed themselves in evil, cannot be doubted. We are taught that there are some on the planet Jupiter who desire as their greatest delight to be led by the love of self, to seek pleasure, and to have dominion over others. They pretend to acknowledge the Lord, and they induce their followers to believe that He dwells in the natural sun. Because of this they are called sun worshipers. They tell others that while the Lord is the supreme Lord, they are His mediators and are to be thought of as saints or lesser lords. In this way they lead others to worship them. However, it is noted that most people are quite aware of their nature, and that when no signs of repentance and reformation are evidenced they are banished from society and held in aversion. It is from such spirits, after they have died, that the inhabitants of the planet receive inclinations and persuasions to what is evil and false and thus are tempted. Because these people know where such inclinations and persuasions come from, and what is their quality, they normally pay them little heed. With most, indeed, the fact that they see the quality of good and the quality of evil side by side helps to strengthen them even more in what is good.*
* See AC 8701-8704, 8735-8737, 8712.
The spirits and angels from Jupiter have a much more intimate relationship with their earthly companions than the spirits and angels from our earth have with us. The Writings note, for example, that it is a common thing for spirits from Jupiter to speak with the inhabitants of the planet, and also to chastise them if they have done something evil.*
* See AC 7803

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     In another passage we read:

     "Spirits there speak with man, but not conversely man with spirits, except these words, when he is instructed, that 'he will do so no more.' Nor is he allowed to tell any of his companions that a spirit has spoken to him; and if he does, he is severely punished. These spirits of Jupiter at first supposed that when they were with me, they were with a man of their own earth; but when in my turn I spoke to them, and also when I thought that I would publish such things, and they were not allowed to chastise, or to instruct me, they noticed that they were with another."*
* AC 7809

     Those spirits from Jupiter who are called "chastisers" seem, for the most part, to be evil spirits who are in process of passing through the states of the world of spirits. It is said that they are continually desirous of coming into heaven, this apparently from the thought that they merit heaven because they punish those who do evil. However, it is noted that their actions are condemned by the angels.* Before instructing spirits or angels are sent to the men of that earth, chastising spirits are permitted to prepare the way. These spirits are able to examine the man's memory and to note all his evil thoughts and all the evil deeds he has committed. Because they then punish him for these, and this even to the point of causing bodily suffering, a preparation is effected whereby the man listens more attentively to instruction from good spirits and angels. A man of Jupiter is aware when these chastising spirits approach him, for their presence excites horror and fear. To one who is beginning to meditate on a falsity or to find delight in an evil, admonition is offered in a first attempt at dissuasion. If this is not sufficient, the chastising spirits begin to threaten various things, such as bodily pain. If this does not work, they induce pain; and the Writings note that they are particularly adept at causing pain in the joints and the stomach. Finally, as a last resort, they threaten the man with the loss of his life and deprivation of the joy from consort, children and companions, which would bring him great grief. If nothing avails, the man is banished from society and the chastising and instructing spirits leave him alone. During all forms of chastisement and instruction the angels are present, exercising a kind of judicature, constantly moderating and restraining according to uses. They prevent the chastising spirits from doing worse things to the man than is permitted by the Lord, and they continually enjoin the instructing spirits to speak only what is true.**
* See AC 7801.
** See AC 7803, 7805, 7808, 7810, 7811, 8021, 8022, 8028, 8542.
     Not a great deal is said about the nature of the instructing spirits. Some of the work they perform is much like that which is done by the chastising spirits, although the instructing spirits seem to do their work from good intentions.

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They also reprove and admonish those who begin to turn to what is evil and false, but their manner of doing this is more gentle and has an eye to introducing instruction as to what is good and true.*
* See AC 7804.
     We have likened the state in which the people of Jupiter now are to that of the Most Ancient Church in the beginning of its decline. Undoubtedly we can learn much concerning the state of that church by examining the various teachings given concerning the state of the people of Jupiter. One important thing to note is the close connection and communication between the spiritual and the natural worlds that still exists with that people. Spirits and angels are still able to speak with the men of their earth; they are even able to cause pain in the physical body. Indeed it is said concerning those who confirm themselves in evil, their death is brought about, not by punishments inflicted by chastising spirits, but by "deprivation of breathing."* There is a type of suffocation from an inability to breathe which arises from the corresponding suffocating effect of their evils. The Writings indicate that the men of the Most Ancient Church had an internal form of breathing which was much like that of the angels, but that this was changed after the fall of that church. We note also the statement that "with their descendents, this inward breathing vanished little by little, and with those who were taken possession of by direful persuasions and phantasies, it became of such a character that they could no longer present any idea of thought except a most odious one, the result of which was that they could not survive, but all became extinct."**
* See AC 8542.
** AC 607: 3. Cf. AC 805: 2.

     Religious Beliefs on Jupiter

     When we examine the religious beliefs of the inhabitants of Jupiter, we find further confirmation of how closely these people are connected with the spiritual world, and, again, we find light thrown on the state of the Most Ancient Church. In conversation with the spirits of Jupiter, Swedenborg was told that they worshiped the Lord as the one only Lord; that they knew He was a Divine Man; and that He had been seen by them as a Divine Man and had instructed them in the truths which are necessary for eternal life. They said further that the Lord had revealed to the people of Jupiter - apparently over a period of time - how they were to live and what they were to believe, and that this knowledge was handed down from family to family. So confident are the people of Jupiter that there is a life after death that they have no fear whatsoever of dying; indeed they do not speak of dying, but of being "heaven made."

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Their only grief in dying arises from the fact that they will be separated temporarily from their loved ones. In the very mode of their death we see their close connection with the spiritual world. For the good do not die violently, nor from disease or with suffering. At the age of thirty or thereabouts they are warned in a dream or vision that they will die within a year. They then put their various concerns in order, and die tranquilly in their sleep. We would simply note in passing that the reason given for death at such an early age is that there would otherwise be a danger of their numbers increasing beyond what the planet Jupiter can support.*
* See AC 8541; cf. 7173, 8850, 7803, 8850, 8113, 8851
Although the good spirits and angels from Jupiter had received sufficient knowledge for regeneration, many things indicate that their wisdom, even that of the angels, needed to be infilled. We believe that the truths revealed by the Lord in His second coming provided the means of this infilling, and this not only with them but also with good spirits and angels throughout the entire universe. How else are we to understand many of the remarks they made to Swedenborg and the instruction by him that usually followed? For example, Swedenborg told the angels from Jupiter who ruled over the chastising and instructing spirits that they should not think that they have any power to judge and rule such things, but that the Lord alone has such power and that they only receive their power from Him. He also taught them many things about the Word; for instance, how man becomes an image and likeness of God - with which they were delighted. Some of them, in this case good spirits, had the idea that the Lord does evil to those who are in disorders and desires to punish them; but after Swedenborg had instructed them they changed their minds. In another instance, when Swedenborg told them about the Lord having been born on our earth, they said that it was of no concern to them to know this. Little did they realize how much it did concern them! Again, through Swedenborg, some spirits from our earth introduced a doubt concerning their belief in the Lord. This caused them to doubt for a moment themselves, and then they were utterly ashamed and asked Swedenborg not to publish the incident. Indeed, they did not want him to publish anything he had heard about them. They did not think that this was fair, since they were not allowed to publish what they knew about us. Like the inhabitants of the other earths we have studied, the people of Jupiter have no knowledge of writing or of printing. Swedenborg instructed them, showing them how ideas can be written down, and even told them something about the process of printing and publishing. He described also how the Word had been written and published. At first the spirits from Jupiter were skeptical, and somewhat uninterested in all this knowledge, for they regarded it as merely external natural knowledge; but as they commenced to see some of the uses involved, they began to marvel and to express amazement.*
* See AC 7811; 8545-8547, 8543, 8544, 8385; SD 3045.

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     Characteristics of the People of Jupiter

     As to their physical features, the people of Jupiter are very similar to us, both in size and in general appearance. Their faces are more beautiful than most of the faces on our earth, since sincerity, modesty and happiness shine forth from them. They emphasize the importance of the face, because they think of it as an image or form of the mind; and indeed with them it is. Whatever they feel for another shows itself immediately in the expression of the face, as does also whatever state of virtue or wisdom they are in. For this reason they take great care of their faces, washing and cleansing them, and protecting them from the sun. They even have a covering made of blue-colored bark or rind which they bind about their heads to protect their faces from the sun. It may be noted in passing that many of the things which they do indicate that Jupiter is a very warm planet and that most life there exists in a semi-tropical climate. Even though evil exists on Jupiter, it apparently has not caused deformities or disfigurements of the human body, as is the case on our earth. When certain of the inhabitants saw the warty, pimply and disfigured faces of some of the men of our earth they were saddened and dismayed. However, they were pleased with some others, especially those which were cheerful and smiling.*
* See AC 8242, 8234, 8245-8247.
     As the thoughts and loves which are active with them are evident in their faces, particularly in the eyes, so are they evident in their speech. Thus they cannot think in one way and speak in another, but they must say what they are thinking. They do not speak sonorously, by means of words, as we do, but through ideas which manifest themselves in the expressions of the face, especially those of the lips and the area around the mouth.*
* See AC 8022, 8248, 8383
     The Writings tell us that the people of Jupiter do not walk erect as we and the inhabitants of many other earths do. They do not in any way creep in the manner of animals, but assist themselves with the palms of their hands when they walk, and alternately half raise themselves on their feet. They keep their faces forward and somewhat upward, only turning to look sideways and backward at every third step or so. One passage likens their motion to that of a swimmer who helps himself with his hands while looking from side to side. They look around often because when they approach or meet someone they desire to be looked at in the face, and not from behind. To look downward while walking they believe to be a damnable thing, because it indicates that one's thoughts are focused on evil; and such as look downward are banished from society.

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They delight in looking upward to the starry heaven, for this they call the "abode of the angels." For this reason also they love the color azure blue more than any other and use it in their tents and houses. When they sit down, they look just as we do, except that they cross their feet - though this would not change the resemblance as far as some of us are concerned! It is noted that they do not sit on chairs, benches or couches, or even right on the grass, but on leaves from the fig tree. This latter fact they were somewhat hesitant about divulging to Swedenborg.*
* See AC 8371-8374, 8030, 7801, 8373, 8377.
     In the warm zones of Jupiter the people go about naked, with only a covering about the loins. The minds of most of them are chaste; they love none except their partners and abhor adulteries. Because of this they are not ashamed of their nakedness. They were very much surprised that when spirits from our earth saw them walking as they do, and saw them naked, they ridiculed them and also thought lasciviously; and that these spirits paid no attention to their heavenly life, but only to such things. They said that this is a sign that they care more for bodily and earthly things than for heavenly ones, and that indecencies possess their minds. They were told that nakedness does not cause either shame or scandal to those who live in chastity and in a state of innocence, but only to those who live in lasciviousness and shamelessness.* Once again we note how the spirits from our earth make themselves popular with the spirits from other earths! Can we wonder at the awful reputation this earth has achieved throughout the universe?
* See AC 8375.

     Life on Jupiter

     The inhabitants of Jupiter are distinguished into nations, families and houses. The families seem to live grouped together into one house, but set apart from other family units. It is noted that their associations are mostly with the members and relatives of their own family unit. Apart from their concern with finding the necessaries of life - food, clothing and shelter - they show little interest in details concerning other natural things, unless they see something representing heaven therein. For example, they take great care with the coloring of the ceilings in their homes, making them look like the sky filled with stars. They do this because they associate the starry heaven with the abode of the angels.*
* See AC 8117, 8380, 8379.
     Some of the inhabitants live in houses and some in tents. The houses are low and are made of wood. On the inside, they are lined with an azure colored bark or rind which, on the ceilings, is dotted with golden stars.

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The tents are long, but rounded at the top, and decorated with the same azure-colored, star-dotted material as that used in the houses. We are not told from what material their tents are made. The people take great care in making their dwellings, and they spend much time in keeping them clean. Because of the heat, which seems to be great in the daytime, they mostly stay indoors. Their meals are eaten indoors also; and it is said that they delight in prolonging their periods of eating; not so much for the enjoyment of the food as for the conversations which they then have. Little is said as to the kinds of food they eat, except for vegetables, fruits, and seeds which they grind into flour; but it is mentioned that they prepare their food chiefly for the use it will serve the body and not so much for the taste. They say that there must be a good body for there to be a good mind. When they go to bed, they lie facing into the room and never towards the wall, believing that they thus turn more towards the Lord. Swedenborg mentioned that he had sometimes had this feeling also, but that he could not explain it until he had talked with these people.*
* See AC 8377-8379; SD 631; AC 8376.
Some of the spirits who talked to Swedenborg told him that the area of Jupiter from which they came was densely populated and could scarcely support a greater population. They said that the planet was fertile and abounded in all kinds of growth. The only animal they mentioned was the horse, which they said was much larger than ours. Their horses run wild in the forests, and when they are seen the inhabitants are terrified. They fear the horse because, although he does them no harm, they know that he represents an understanding formed from scientifics, and this they dread and abhor.*
* See AC 8116, 8381.
The life of the inhabitants of Jupiter seems to be happy and active, yet peaceful and innocent. This is evidenced in many things, but especially in their manner of worshiping the Lord. Every morning at sunrise, and every evening at sunset, the families meet in their dwellings to worship Him. At these times they also sing songs. They do not seem to be wrapped up in following calendars and in rushing hither and thither according to fixed times. Indeed they do not have any holidays; they do not need them. The main concern of parents is the education of their children, whom they love tenderly. Children mature much more rapidly than they do on our earth and marry at an earlier age. This would have to be the case since, as we noted earlier, their life-span is only some thirty years.*
* See AC 8633, 8380, 8851.

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Conclusion

The spirits of Jupiter had various things to say about the nature of the people of our earth, few of which are even vaguely complimentary! But we would leave the consideration of these remarks to a later article in which the nature of the inhabitants of our earth will be discussed. In concluding our review of the inhabitants of Jupiter we would again draw attention to the observation that we see imaged in their state, character and customs; an obvious, intimate communication and connection with the life and laws of the spiritual world, the like of which has not existed on this earth since the time of the Most Ancient Church. Understanding the relationship between heaven and earth, between spiritual law and natural law, is a means of bringing us into greater wisdom; and this we must consider to be one of the great uses of the revelation of such knowledges as we have been considering.
JOY IS A LANGUAGE 1961

JOY IS A LANGUAGE EDITH ELPHICK 1961

In heaven joy is a language-
Expressed, communicated, shared, given
Angel to angel, delight to delight,
Use unto use, flaming as light to light.
In the eternal unreflecting Now
No barriers blind the translucent will's perception
Of His will. Ardent it runs to obey,
Humble, selfless and wise,
And joy speaks its living language of love.
O! rarely is that language heard on earth,
Where hearts are dumb and cannot speak joy
Neighbour to neighbour, use to use.
For hearts are dumb, dwell silent and alone,
When self-respecting, self-esteeming will,
Imprisoned, puts barriers between.
Our hearts are dumb and only learn to speak
By unrelenting struggle, inward war.

Yet sometimes in that combat comes a peace
Distilled from Doctrine in the Open Word;
And sometimes in a thought, a word, a deed,
We stammer broken language only angels speak.

EDITH ELPHICK

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JOSEPH'S VISION 1961

JOSEPH'S VISION Rev. GEOFFREY S. CHILDS 1961

The well-known story of Pharaoh's butler and baker* - their imprisonment, dreams, and final destinies - would seem of farthest import from the problems of our personal lives. Yet it is a story of the Word and has a Divine implication within it. Nor, in the spiritual sense, is its application abstract, for it deals with crucial evils that plague each human spirit. These are evils of the sensual plane, evils concerned directly with the body and its thought. These lusts are the serpent, of whom it was prophesied: "I [the Lord God] will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; He shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel."** The "woman" is the affection of truth, the essential quality of the church; the serpent is the evils of the sensual plane. These bodily evils are so strong that they "bruised" the Lord's heel! They are spoken of again in prophecy, in the book of Revelation: "And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him."***
* Genesis 40.
** Genesis 3: 15.
*** Revelation 12: 9.
In the spiritual sense, the story of the butler and the baker deals with the sensual plane of the human mind - its basic inversion through heredity, and the possibility of its rebirth through the power of remains and the shunning of evil as sin. Concerning the chapter which deals with these two court-ministers of Pharaoh we are taught: "In the internal sense the subject of this chapter is . . . a state of temptations, by which even bodily things might be brought into correspondence [or into order]. Bodily things properly so called are sensuous things, which are of two kinds, some being subordinate to the intellectual, and some to the will. Those which are subordinate to the intellectual are represented by the butler of the king of Egypt, and those which are subordinate to the will are represented by the baker. That the former are . . . retained, but the latter cast out, is represented by the butler returning to his place and the baker being hanged.* Sensual impressions continually impinge upon the mind through the agency of the five senses. Certain of these impressions invoke orderly affections; others almost spontaneously invoke what is foul and of hell.

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In the spiritual sense, the chapter discriminates carefully between impressions that are of order and that are of serious disorder. In this the Achilles heel of the human spirit is directly pointed out, and man is given a clear forewarning of a deep danger to the human soul. The serpent has found a resting place in each human spirit. Here he is exposed, so that he may be watched and, with the Lord's infinite help, defeated.
* AC 5072.
     The story unfolds the danger. Each of the officials had a dream. Joseph's interpretation of the butler's dream was one of return to honor and prestige; but in explaining the baker's dream, in foretelling its promise, Joseph said: "In yet three days shall Pharaoh lift off thy head from upon thee, and shall hang thee upon wood; and the birds shall eat thy flesh from upon thee."* It is those sensuous things symbolized by the baker, then, that have spiritual death within them.** What are they? How are they distinguished from other sensuous delights and ideas? We are taught that there are "sensuous things which are subject to man's intellectual, and there are those which are subject to his will. That sensuous which is especially subject to the intellectual is the sight; that which is subject to the intellectual and secondarily to the will is the hearing; that which is subject to both together is the sense of smell, and still more the taste; but that which is subject to the will is the touch."***
* Genesis 40: 19
** See AC 5139.
*** AC 5077: 3
     Reflection brings out confirmation of this truth. Things of visual beauty - the varied scenery of nature, the finest works of art in painting, sculpture and architecture; these stimulate and please the intellect. There is a pristine cleanness in their appeal to the mind, and fresh and untainted beauty. The sense of hearing, too, strikes upon the intellect, but more forcibly; for music in its height uplifts, inspires the intellect. But it also stirs the will, the higher parts of the will, and this most movingly. The senses of smell and taste we naturally think of as more earthy, as more sensuous and of the body. This, it is revealed, is because their power is to stir the will as well as the thought; and in this lies the beginning of what is purely animal in man, and worse than animal.
     For man has two wills - the native will which is his by inheritance, and the new will which is implanted through remains and nourished through the shunning of evil as sin. Childhood affections and innocence, the remains of childhood, are powerful; and they must needs be, for their enemy is hell itself, the inherited proprium in man which is truly the serpent. Before regeneration, even during most of that spiritual process, the proprium has an active power that good has not. Remains have Divine power, yes; but their influx is into internals, and through internals quietly into externals. And in the external man there is still a loud and boastful enemy.

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For the proprium is, as it were, in its own in the external of every man; remains operate there only through man's self-compulsion against self.
     Sensuous things that appeal to the will, therefore, appeal most actively to the hereditary will; in a word, they appeal to the proprium. Such sensuous things are felt primarily through the sense of touch; to a lesser degree through taste and smell; and to a degree through hearing. It must be remembered that the new will is built up in the intellect, in Man's understanding. Therefore the senses that are subordinate to the intellect have this sense of cleanness about them; that is, sight and hearing, and in lesser degrees the other senses.
     Now the baker represents those sensuous things which are subject to man's will. He symbolizes those bodily delights which are stirred through the sense of touch, and also through taste and smell; and it is evident from the explanation given in the Arcana that it is here that the danger of perversion lies. The proprium and the senses of touch, taste and smell are particularly allied; and therein, in the ultimates of life, and perhaps most unexpectedly, is the Achilles' heel of the human spirit. The New Church man tends to think of temptation as basically an interior thing, as having to do with inmost intentions and ends rather than with the realm of effects, the realm of the senses. However, temptations are on both planes, and it is vital that both be purified. In many instances, interior evil finds sensuous clothing; and the Writings make clear that the final battle of regeneration, the great Armageddon, is on the sensuous plane. There the evil will makes its last stand, and there it must be beaten: this in early regeneration, often in mid-regeneration, and particularly in the final battles. Interior cleansing is primary; but unless it is accompanied by external cleansing, heaven cannot descend to ultimates. What is heavenly in man is imprisoned in interiors.
     What are the sensuous temptations that strike through the senses of touch, taste and smell? In the last stages of regeneration they are subtle, and difficult to understand and explain by unrefined analysis. They center, we suggest, in the illusion of the body that it lives of itself; that it has self-life independent of the Lord. This is the illusion that the native will particularly loves, and it is an illusion that is fortified especially by the senses of touch, smell and taste. The instinct for self-preservation has much of its root in this bodily illusion of self-life. It was this final illusion that the Lord overcame upon the cross. His bodily senses were conquered, and then glorified, as is testified to by His words: "Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit."* This, with man, is the last of temptation, and there are but few who attain such heights.
* Luke 23: 46.

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     But earlier temptations through the senses are not so subtle. They are, in fact, starkly obvious. The most powerful delights of touch are those which belong to the conjugial, or its opposite. The delights of smell and taste center around the nourishers and stimulators of the body. It is here that the worst perversions of the human race lie, and the evident external temptations of every human spirit. In connection with the nourishing of the body, gluttony is an obvious, animal evil; but with man it is un-animal, because it is the proprium's desire for excessive self-delight. More subtle than gluttony, far more dangerous because of the deceit it involves, is alcoholism. New Church men know that food and drink are nourishers and proper stimulators of the body, and that in this alcoholic drinks have a legitimate use of uplifting the spirit. But discretely beyond this uplifting there is the degradation of overindulgence. It remains undetected to a degree, because it is covered over by a thousand deceits - particularly the deceit that alcoholism is an external and therefore a very secondary evil. Yet this is not true. Alcoholism is but the ultimate for interior despair and an interior defeat that man will not recognize. In this perversion of the physical senses, interior and powerful evils have an anchor. When the perversion is removed, then simultaneously the inner evils are shunned; when the perversion abides, the interior evil abides. Now this teaching in no sense denies the valuable use of an orderly stimulant. But it condemns abuse of that use: abuse that goes beyond moderation; abuse in which, although man is afraid to admit it, lies spiritual despair.
     The perversion of the sense of touch is one that man recognizes most obviously, yet has the most difficulty in defeating. Conjugial love is the most powerful of good loves; its opposite is, in certain ways, the most powerful of evils. Adultery, obscenity and lasciviousness are the age-old enemies of the regenerating spirit. The attraction of lust is powerful for two basic reasons: it is the perversion of a celestial love, and therefore has exceptional power of attraction; and it operates through the sense of touch, which is the sense that is particularly under the domination of the fallen will. The hereditary will, and touch, are all too powerfully allied. Yet to the degree that man yields to the attraction of lust, to that degree his soul is destroyed.
     We have spoken of the most obvious perversions of the three senses allied with the fallen will. There are others that are more removed, that have less impact. Thus there is the love of pleasing the senses with the world's graces, and this with no higher end in view; a love of luxury that is without an interior soul. There are other perversions, too, that could be named. But the question arises: What real harm do these exterior evils do? After all, they are only of the senses, and therefore somewhat removed from the true interior battles of the spirit.

232

This, however, is the appearance. The truth is, that until the sensuous plane is truly ordered, man cannot know what heaven is. This is testified to by the fact that Joseph was in prison along with the butler and the baker - and Joseph's representation is that of the highest remains of childhood! Joseph, then, is the potential angel in man; he symbolizes what is heavenly in man's interiors. This is present, powerfully, in each human heart; but it is imprisoned, locked in, as long as there are perversions on the sensuous plane. If the Joseph in each man were released, if but for a moment we could feel this celestial essence, we would be utterly moved, transformed, lifted into a world of delights powerfully beyond all death and all human hardness.
     How is Joseph released? First, by the shunning of interior evil motives. But along with this must be the shunning of those specific evils that pervert the senses. This means, above all, keeping the conjugial pure. Second, but still vital, it means shunning the un-mild evils of overindulgence. Such a rejection of sensual perversions is represented by the baker's being rejected, hanged. This does not bring an immediate release of the celestial, or Joseph; but it allows an influx from the celestial into the senses, an influx that cannot be present where there are external perversions. The senses are as it were interiorly opened by this shunning of evil loves, whereas otherwise they are turned downwards and closed. This opening of the senses to heavenly influx is depicted first by the butler's being restored to honor.
     What the future then has in store is involved in the story. Both the butler and the baker said that they had dreamed, but there was no interpreter of their dreams. The lack of an interpreter signifies that no one knows the true potential, the heavenly destiny, of the five senses.* Joseph responded: "Do not interpretations belong to God?" This signifies, the Arcana reveals, that "the Divine is in" the five senses; that is, they were formed in each man by the Lord. And where there is order they have the highest uses. Why? It is because in each sensuous delight that is in order there is a ladder of delights - moral, rational, spiritual and celestial - leading up to the Lord Himself. All degrees are connected by direct correspondence, and they rest and are in their fullness in the sensuous ultimate.
* See AC 5105.
     The last test, before Joseph is freed, is the allying of the sense of touch particularly, but also of the other senses, with the new will. The old will is rejected as the baker was rejected, and the new will is allied with those senses through the power of growing good.*

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Finally all the senses are subordinated to heavenly love. Then Joseph is released, to become ruler; and joy floods the heart - heavenly joy and heavenly uses - that no words can describe.
* See AC 5168: 2.
IN OUR CONTEMPORARIES 1961

IN OUR CONTEMPORARIES 1961

In a challenging report published recently, Miss Helen E. Saul, field secretary of the American New-Church League, expressed concern that in the societies she had attended, the majority of each congregation knew little about the difference between the New Church and traditional Protestantism, and recorded being told that she "must realize that many people in the Church are not very interested in the Teachings." In regard to young people, she had been told that they need, "not the Teachings, but the techniques of leadership, that the Teachings are too complicated and impractical, that leadership training will

provide them with interest in the Church and maybe in 10 or 15 years they will turn to the Teachings, and that our teenagers don't have deep problems which can be helped by the Teachings." Miss Saul concludes that faith without knowledge is no faith at all, and that the need is to produce, not just leaders, but New Church men.
Writing in the NEW-CHURCH MESSENGER (March 1, 1961, pp. 75, 76) the Rev. Richard H. Tafel pleads for a rejection of the "tradition and prejudice" which have resulted in the "very strange attitude of our church towards the Acts and Epistles." One is given to understand, he says, that they are not part of God's Holy Word, are not inspired. Mr. Tafel finds the causes of this "weird situation" in semantics and in prejudice resulting from identification of the source of traditional Christianity with that Christianity itself. His amazing thesis is that all the books of the Bible are books of the Word; and the fact that some have the internal sense while others do not is only a functional difference distinguishing one type of inspiration in the Bible from another, not an essential which discriminates the books of the Word from those which are not of the Word. In some of the biblical books, he says, Swedenborg "found that God's message streams forth from the words as one customarily reads them." In others, however, he "discovered that in addition to this literal meaning there were deeper and further reaches of truth, which he calls the 'inner' or 'spiritual' meaning." To distinguish this latter group of books, and to set it off from the other, he used the same term, "Word." To this Mr. Tafel attributes much of the "confusion and misunderstanding" he deplores. Editorial comment appears elsewhere.

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CONSCIENCE 1961

CONSCIENCE Rev. AARON ZUNGU 1961

     Delivered at the Ministers' Meetings, Alexandra Township, Johannesburg, January 11, 1961

     The Lord, having foreseen in His Divine wisdom that man would jeopardize his eternal life in the exercise of his free choice, provided that there should be other means whereby he could be led to life eternal. The man of the Most Ancient Church, in his celestial state, had been created into one mind. It is said, into one mind, because when the understanding is ruled by the will the two together constitute one, thus one life; for then that which man wills and thinks he intends and does. But when the understanding is dissident from the will the one mind is torn asunder into two. The one may think to betake itself to heaven, but the other inclines to hell. In Eden it was the will that fell; and as the will is the sole agent, the whole man would rush toward hell unless the Lord performed acts of mercy toward him.* The evils of the Most Ancient Church sprang from the will, from free-will.** They came from the free will of the men of that church because freedom is the fundamental upon which man's spiritual life is based by the Lord.
* See AC 35.
** See AC 209.
     By the free exercise of his liberty man began to desire that which was his own, and this in course of time to such an extent that he loved it above all else. About this proprium we read: "Nothing evil and false is ever possible which is not man's own, for the proprium of man is evil itself, and consequently man is nothing but evil and falsity. This has been made evident to me from the fact that when the things of man's proprium are presented to view in the world of spirits they appear so deformed that it is impossible to depict anything more ugly; yet with a difference according to the nature of the proprium, so that he to whom the things of the proprium are visibly exhibited is struck with horror, and desires to flee from himself as from a devil.* Thus did man sink down gradually, until eventually he would have perished utterly. He had lost love to the Lord and the celestial love of good, and he could no longer have knowledge of truth flowing in from that love. That would now have to be something apart from the love, for the love finally became utterly corrupt and evil.
* AC 154
     The influx of good from the Lord into truths received in the understanding apart from the started a new thing in man - conscience.

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Whereas man had lived before by influx from the Lord into his will; and whereas his will was then one with his understanding, so that his truth was in good and his wisdom in love; what now happened was that the same influx from the Lord was not through the will into the understanding, but directly into the understanding separated from the will. Changes in effects do not take place because of any change in the substance itself from the Divine. The quality and essence of the substance from the Divine remain the same; a change in the form of the receptacle results in a change in the effect. So the Lord's influx into man's will which resulted in perception before the fall was the same influx that produced conscience when it was into the understanding after the fall. Thus we are taught that the things of the will were separated, and as it were covered over and reserved, lest anything should touch them; for if the things of the will had been excited, the man would have perished.* This separation was an act of the Lord's mercy. The two parts of the mind, the will and the understanding, are now so distinct in man that nothing could be more distinct; for the things of the understanding of spirits and angels flow into the left part of the head, and those of the will into the right.
* See AC 641
     But what is conscience? The Writings define conscience thus. "Conscience is all that internal sensation which is felt when a man acts contrary to good and truth. . . . It is [also] a perception given by the Lord, by virtue of which one is affected with pain that he has done anything that is contrary to good and truth, and with contrition, so that he as it were sheds tears." * The perception mentioned here should not be confused with that of the most ancients. The latter was true perception; the former is essentially conscience.
* SD 4036
     We read: "Those have conscience who have received a new will from the Lord. This will is itself the conscience. . . . And as the good of charity makes the new will, the good of charity also makes the conscience." * In another passage we read: "There succeeded conscience, acquired through faith joined to charity, which dictated not what is true, but that it is true, and this because the Lord has so said in the Word. The churches after the flood were for the most part of this character, as also was the primitive or first church after the Lord's advent, and by this the spiritual angels are distinguished from the celestial."**
* AC 9115.
** AC 393e.
     What we are dealing with here is really the formation of a new will, of a new proprium from the Lord - of conscience. Freedom is that in which conscience is formed by the Lord. The case is, that in the effort to resist evil, in the conatus of his thought, man is gifted by the Lord with a heavenly proprium.

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The gift follows that effort. This must be carefully noted. If a man does not maintain the effort by seemingly compelling himself he cannot maintain it otherwise. This is because in all self-compulsion against evil there is a certain freedom, which is not discerned as such while man is compelling himself, but is still within it. There is a willingness within, and thus a freedom from which and for the sake of which he compels himself. That is, he does so for the sake of obedience to what the Lord has commanded, and for the Lord Himself. This is even more so in temptation; for in this, when the man compels himself to resist evil and falsity, there is more of freedom than is possible in any state out of temptation, although at the time the man cannot comprehend this; for there is an interior freedom from which he wills to subjugate evil, and which is so great as to equal the strength and force of the evil that is assailing him. This freedom is from the Lord, who insinuates it into the man's conscience and by means of it causes him to overcome the evil as if of himself. Through this freedom man acquires a proprium in which the Lord can work what is good. Without a proprium acquired, that is, given, through freedom no man can possibly be reformed, because he cannot receive the new will which is conscience.
     In all freedom there is man's life because there is his love. Whatever a man does from his love appears to him to be free. But in this freedom, when a man is compelling himself to resist evil and falsity and to do what is good, there is a heavenly love which the Lord then insinuates, and through which He creates the man's new proprium. Arcana Coelestia 1937 is an important number on this point.
     In short, freedom is fundamental to love, within which, or based upon which, there is a willingness to resist evil and falsity and to do good. Here is the Lord's miraculous act of mercy. There and then, in the very resistance which stems from that willingness, the Lord creates a new will, and from and by means of it a new proprium.
     It will be seen that the resistance itself in temptation is the free doing of the Lord's truths in the Word, and that the new will is in agreement with those truths. But not even at this stage is the conscience of the spiritual man formed. It is formed at the coming together of two things: the truths of faith which are acceptable to the new will, and the stream of charity which descends from the Lord. When these two come together, conscience results. The Writings speak of a new will that began to operate as soon as the depraved voluntary of the most ancients was closed, and they speak of charity as a permanent influx from the Lord. In between man's effort to resist evil and the influx of the life that is called charity the Lord bestows a new will or proprium, and the new thing that results from this is conscience.

237

We read: "The Lord conjoins Himself with man in these impure truths, for He animates and vivifies them with innocence and charity, and thereby forms conscience."* Another passage puts it this way: "No one can be tempted, that is, undergo any spiritual temptation, except him who has conscience; for spiritual temptation is nothing else but the torment of conscience . . . for the truths of faith are the very abode of the new will, in which the Lord in charity conjoins Himself with man."** These truths are themselves the presence of the Lord, and this is a close presence in proportion as man is in the affection of good and truth.
* AC 2053: 2.
** AC 4299.
     If we reverse the case, we come to see directly the truth of another doctrine, namely, that evil from the falsity of evil is of such a nature as to close off all access to the internal man, so that nothing of conscience can be formed in it.* This is so because the essential thing upon which man's being endowed with the new will depends - that within which is given the new will in which the conjunction of the Lord with man takes place - is the truth of faith; and the whole of this arrangement is heaven with the spiritual man, and must therefore be protected and separated from the external man in whom evil and the falsity of evil have dominion. Therefore heaven is shut out where such dominion exists.
* See AC 4818: 3.
     There is said to be such a thing as the peace of conscience. There is. For charity constitutes the spiritual man's voluntary and faith his intellect, and both constitute conscience.* As, therefore, to act against conscience is to act against his new will, against charity, and against the truths of faith, and thus against the life which man has from the Lord, it is evident that man is in the tranquillity of peace and in eternal bliss when he acts according to conscience, and that he is in intranquillity and pain when he acts against it. This pain is what is called the stings of conscience.** By virtue of the mode of the Lord's presence and conjunction by means of the truths of conjugial love there is the inmost of conscience.
* See AC 10,296.
** See AC 9118.
     We have previously referred to a kind of spiritual perception other than that of the Most Ancient Church. Concerning this we read: "The perception of the spiritual angels is a kind of conscience which is vivified by the Lord, and which indeed appears like celestial perception, yet is not so but is only spiritual perception."* It must therefore be formed like any other kind of conscience.
* AC 203e.
     Looked at more broadly, conscience can be seen as the accumulation of the things that are the result of the victory of the angels from the Lord over the evil spirits in the battle for man's life. In a natural combat of opposing factions, the state after the victory of one over the other is manifestly different from that before the combat and victory.

238

In a spiritual victory it is similar; and the more absolute the victory over the hells, the stronger, the more continuous, the clearer and the more sensitive the conscience.*
* See AC 227.
     And so, in conscience, we have the conjunction of the Lord with the human race by means of the Word, whereas the Most Ancient Church had conjunction with the Lord immediately, that is, by means of love to Him. Thus the Lord's Word, which provides the truths of faith, is all-important for the salvation of the spiritual man, and the Lord sees to it that the human race is never without the Word in one form or another. For the regenerate man it is a horrible thing to act against conscience. He feels fear and terror in relation to those things which are against conscience. The reason is that when the angels rule, as is the case with the regenerating man, the attendant evil spirits dare not do anything contrary to what is good and true because they are in bonds. On their attempting to do anything evil or to speak what is false, that is, to excite it, they are instantly seized with a kind of infernal fear and terror, which are perceived by the man as a fear and terror of what is contrary to conscience. Therefore as soon as he does or says anything contrary to conscience he comes into temptation, and into the pangs of conscience, that is, into a kind of infernal torment.*
* See AC 986.
     This brings us to the question: Has an unregenerate man no conscience? Yes, he has; but it is another kind of conscience. For just as the conscience of the regenerate is formed by the truths of faith interiorly received, so a different conscience is formed by truths not genuine, that is, by the falsities of ignorance. In these the Lord can insinuate innocence and charity; and when innocence and charity are in conscience, those who have it easily suffer themselves to be imbued with the truths of faith from good in the other life, and can there receive a true conscience. But while he lives in the world, a man in this state has what is called spurious conscience.* However, a man who is in the loves of self and the world has still another kind of conscience. His conscience is formed not from internal but from external things, that is to say, not from charity but from the loves of self and the world, and it is called false conscience.
* See AC 1032: 3.
     In the Arcana Coelestia we have this remarkable teaching: "What the men of the [corrupt] church then become is evident from the fact that they can have no conscience; for conscience that is really conscience cannot possibly exist except from charity. Charity is what makes conscience, that is, the Lord through charity. . . . Thus conscience belongs to charity, and never to faith separated from charity. If such persons have any conscience, it is a false conscience."*
* AC 1076.

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The question may be posed: When man's evil is excited and becomes active, is not that closed will active? As the following teaching makes clear, it could not be. "As this man of the church must be reformed as to that part of man which is called the understanding, before he could be reformed as to that other part which is called the will, it is here described how the things of the will were separated from those of the understanding, and were as it were covered over and reserved, lest any thing should touch that will." * So nothing can touch that will now. The fact that the church after the celestial one was a spiritual church means that the will with which a man is born plays no part in his salvation; for it ever remains closed, and the things of the new will are acquired through the understanding by means of the truths of faith from the Word. It is by the removal of falsities that man finds a new life by means of a life according to those truths. The evils excited in temptation abide in the external man, and if he does not regenerate he remains external; whereas man's original will that was closed was in the internal, and its cupidities were therefore things of the internal, whence they were derived into the external. This makes it plain that the original will can no longer enter into the life of temptation and into the exciting of evil in the mind.
* AC 641.
BUSINESS AS A GOOD OF USE 1961

BUSINESS AS A GOOD OF USE 1961

"It is the same with riches or possessions, which may also be natural and temporal or spiritual and eternal. They are natural and temporal with those who look solely to them, and to themselves in them, finding in these their sole pleasure and delight. But these same things are spiritual and eternal with those who look to good uses in them, and find in these uses interior pleasure and delight. With such, moreover, the outward pleasure and delight become spiritual, and the temporal becomes the eternal. . . . By uses are not meant merely the necessaries of life, which have relation to food, clothing and habitation for the individual and those dependent on him, but also the good of one's country, of society, and of the fellow citizen. Business is such a good when that is the final love, and money is a mediate and subservient love, provided the business man shuns and turns away from frauds and evil devices as sins. It is otherwise when money is the final love, and the business is the mediate and subservient love; for this is avarice, which is the root of evil" (Divine Providence 220: 10, 11).

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POWER OF PROVIDENCE 1961

POWER OF PROVIDENCE SYDNEY B. CHILDS 1961

     Reflection on the infinite power of the Lord exercised through His Divine Providence opens our eyes toward heaven in an almost overwhelming awe: we glimpse the power and mercy of Almighty God. We know of the controversies among the learned as to whether heredity or environment has the greater influence. Both are manifestly of great power; and if environment does not always, like heredity, originate with our ancestors, it has yet been built up through many generations. Thus the newborn infant enters into a little world of his own, but into a heredity and environment not of his choosing or formation. The kind of world into which he enters has been determined largely by the lives and fortunes of his forefathers and others who have gone before him. Under normal conditions the infant, while still helpless, will be given care and sustenance; and this will be continued until finally, when he reaches early manhood, he has learned to meet the rather intricate requirements of our modern civilization.
     Along with the burdens of hereditary evil, however, which fortunately may not be recognized until adult life, there is usually, in free nations opportunity for education and the means to qualify for a specific use in the world in accordance with the individual's health, ability, and latent or manifest genius. Here success may crown his aspirations and efforts, or he may be destined for a life of worldly failure. The effort to perform a use to the best of his ability may serve to disclose the interior spheres of a man's ruling love for either good or evil. In fact, a war in miniature will then take place in the man's mind, and this spiritual struggle cannot be ended finally until after death man enters heaven or hell.
     One of the founding fathers of our church remarked that the criterion of a man's success on earth was not his apparent life in the world, but was determined by whether or not he entered heaven in the after life. This was expressed sublimely in the Lord's words: "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?"*
* Matthew 16: 26.
     Providence enters in a unique way into a man's whole life from the cradle to the grave. The Lord's providence is with each man in the great events of his life; it guides him in the least.

241

It is the recognition of providence even in the least things that fills us, His human creatures, with awe and wonder as we seek to discover the meaning and mystery of life.
     We know that physical suffering and mental trial can tear a man apart, and that such states, if prolonged, may lead to temporary loss of reason and rationality. While we know that misfortune, temptation and trial are the lot of nearly all men who aspire to salvation, it is difficult for us to accept such calamities with calm assurance. Where such tribulations become grievous, the man may even long for death in the hope of final deliverance. Such states of profound despair are depicted frequently in the Word, as in Deuteronomy: "And among these nations shalt thou find no ease, neither shall the sole of thy foot have rest: but the Lord shall give thee a trembling heart, and failing of eyes, and sorrow of mind: and thy life shall hang in doubt before thee; and thou shalt have fear day and night, and thou shalt have none assurance of thy life: in the morning thou shalt say, Would God it were even! and at even thou shalt say, Would God it were morning! for the fear of thine heart, and for the sight of thine eyes which thou shalt see."*
* Deuteronomy 28: 65-76.
     There is no relief from such acute states of despair without prayer and supplication to God. Apart from the Lord's anguished appeal to the Father at the crucifixion, the language of despair is displayed in Solomon's wonderful prayer at the dedication of the Temple: "What prayer and supplication so ever be made by any man, or by all Thy people Israel, which shall know every man the plague of his own heart."* These words are of deep wisdom. Their truth may be established by anyone who finds the way of regeneration difficult. No one knows the plague of a man's heart except the man himself, and God. Reflection on a man's past life may lead to temptation and its despair. The man may be brought under the shadow of death both spiritual and natural. Such states may be particularly painful to the aged, since they are no longer able to perform the use of their calling. A man in the active performance of his use is protected by responsibilities and association with others. In active states of use and occupation there is little time for grieving over the mistakes of the past. In old age there is the absence of such responsibility, and increasing frailty of body and perhaps of mind. Its states call for prayer to the Lord for deliverance, and, above all, for an ever increasing trust in the merciful provisions of the Divine Providence. There may also be an increased longing for death that may serve as a preparation for eternal life.
* I Kings 8: 38.
     The power of the Divine Providence is depicted throughout the Old and New Testaments; in the book of Revelation especially in the Lord's second coming. Swedenborg was inspired to write an entire book Wholly on the Divine Providence.

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The Divine wisdom revealed in that book applies to the eventualities of every man's life. While it is difficult to accept Divine providence in the misfortunes of this world, we can and must pray for a willingness to accept the Lord's leading, whether our path be one of gladness or sorrow. While the latter so often prevails in this world, we know that our Redeemer liveth. Thus whatever the trials, tribulations and tragedies of this world, the states they induce will be wholly forgotten after death, provided we look to the Lord and follow His precepts before death.
     Instead of yielding to despair and self-pity we should offer thanks to God at the end of each day for life and for His mercy towards us. Most of all we should be grateful for the opportunity while in this world to choose the Lord in the Sacred Scripture and in the Writings. If we endeavor to follow the Lord's precepts as they are revealed to us, we shall attain to the blessings of heaven on our resurrection after death. To choose freely between good and evil we must be rational. This choice is between spiritual life and spiritual death. The choice is a free gift from the Lord. Even with His omnipotence, however, the Lord cannot force a man to choose good in preference to evil; but when a man is determined to shun evil as the fires of hell, he will be given power to find good through the Lord's leading. After death such a man will enter heaven and come into its everlasting joys.
     We may attain our own salvation through devoted thought and concern to the salvation and welfare of others. Such thought, together with its affections, may be with us almost continually in our social or business associations with others. It is in such relationships that charity can be practised. Our contact with others has been almost miraculously broadened by the wonders of science in the field of communications. Of course, these same achievements of science have increased the danger of our being annihilated in the event of another world war!
     The power of providence is from the Lord. We may reflect on a brief selection from the work Divine Providence. "These and innumerable others are the secret operations of the soul in the body. . . . And yet similar things take place in the interiors of man's mind; for nothing can take place in the body except from the mind; for man's mind is his spirit. . . . From all this it is evident that the Divine Providence works in every man in a thousand ways, even to the most secret, and that its unceasing end is to purify him, because its end is to save him; and that nothing is incumbent on man except to remove evils in the external man. All the rest the Lord provides if He is appealed to."*
* DP 296: 15 [Italics added].
     While we know that a man must act as of himself in freedom and in accordance with reason, we know also that he should on occasion ponder the wonderful leading of providence.

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In this connection the following prayer may serve to illuminate the mind and to sustain us in temptation: "O Lord God, the Father, Creator and Savior of all mankind, grant Thy forgiveness for the sins and frailties of our lives, and above all, deliver us from evil. Grant, 0 Lord, that in the tragedies and misfortunes of this world we may have courage and be sustained by an ever-abiding faith in the merciful dispensations of Thy Divine Providence, which we know looks toward our eternal welfare and our salvation, rather than to temporal ends."
     The primary purpose of the New Church is the salvation of human souls. This is one with the Lord's love, and His Divine Providence works unceasingly for our salvation and for the salvation of the entire human race. This gift of salvation, however, must be chosen in accordance with a man's freedom. The choice must be made in this world. If a man chooses the way of salvation, and remains faithful to that choice until death, he will enter after death into the bliss of a heavenly life to eternity. But if the man is determined to be governed by self-intelligence and evil, his lot after death will be a sad one in hell. While the power of providence is ever striving toward our salvation, every man must endeavor while on earth to be guided by the Lord if he hopes to enter heaven. May the Lord grant to each and all the right choice!
     Since life in our world is manifestly full of hazards we must daily turn to the Lord in prayer and supplication, that He may enter into our minds and hearts and lead us toward the gates of salvation. Provided we are willing to be led by the Lord, and to choose good rather than evil, we shall enter into the threshold of heaven while still living in this world; and at the resurrection which immediately follows death we may see the Lord's providence fulfilled, as it is written in the prophet: "In that day shall the Lord of hosts be for a crown of glory, and for a diadem of beauty, unto the residue of His people, and for a spirit of judgment to him that sitteth in judgment, and for strength to them that turn the battle to the gate."*
* Isaiah 28: 5, 6.
     While we are called upon to act with prudence, to act as of ourselves in the various eventualities of life, a good man becomes more and more aware that his prudence is as nothing in comparison with the Divine Providence. In fact, the ability to exercise prudence, without the inflowing life of God, would lead to self-destruction and an absolute void. The worship of God, together with love of and obedience to His precepts, will effect in the regenerating man a purification of the mind and spirit, and will introduce him into the affection of truth for its own sake. This is the dawn of a heavenly state, and it can be received by man as a most precious gift from the Lord, and this while man is still living on earth.

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It may be concluded that spiritual thought derived from and inspired by revealed truth is of transcendent importance. Such thought radiates far beyond the confines of our immediate environment, and in unknown ways may contribute to the salvation of human souls. This uplifting of the mind by the regenerating man is beautifully depicted in the Scriptures in these words: "Thus saith the Lord, Let not the wise glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty glory in his might, let not the rich glory in his riches: but let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth Me, that I am the Lord which exercise lovingkindness, judgment and justice in the earth: for in these I delight, saith the Lord."*
* Jeremiah 9: 23, 24.
Thus a good man will welcome all of the dispensations of providence, whether they bring gladness or sorrow into his life. Such a man will not fear death. He will realize that the leading of providence is a manifestation of the Lord's love for him. He will trust in God. In the after life such a man will enter into an angelic society suited to his genius. His state then will be that of the delight of dawn, ushered in by the "Dayspring from on high."
OUR NEW CHURCH VOCABULARY 1961

OUR NEW CHURCH VOCABULARY 1961

As of Self. This is one of the most distinctive terms in our New Church vocabulary. It refers to a faculty of willing and acting, not implanted in man but continually adjoined with him, which is Divine in origin, inspiration and power, but human in use. The exercise of this faculty consists in acting entirely as of one's self, but acknowledging that any good and truth resulting are from the Lord. The faculty is given in order that man may not be an automaton, but many have freedom and thus love God; and the disclosure of its existence shows how man can be responsible for his regeneration although he cannot do any good of himself. (See BE 69.)
Bonds. By these are meant man's affections; not because they are fetters, but because they bind man to what he loves and restrain him from what is contrary, thus keeping him within their bounds. There are said in the Writings to be three kinds of bonds. External bonds are those of civil society - fear of the law and of the loss of reputation, possessions and life; exterior bonds are those which come from knowing the truths of faith; internal bonds, which are called also the "bonds of conscience," are affections of good and its truth. The celestial alone have no bonds; they enjoy living perceptions. (See AC 3835, 81.)

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REVIEW 1961

FROM SWEDENBORG. An Outline of Emanuel Swedenborg's Latin Testament. By R. Newton Mahin. Greenwich Book Publishers, N. Y., 1959. Cloth, pp. 120. Price, $2.75.

     The author of this book, which recently came to our attention, is unknown to us. According to the publishers, Mr. Mahin comes from a long line of Methodist clergymen, four of his great-uncles having been preachers in that denomination. He himself, rejecting his Methodist background, eventually came to share the belief of one of them, that Emanuel Swedenborg was far closer to the spiritual meaning of the Word than any other Christian thinker, and that without an understanding of the spiritual sense, the natural sense of the Bible cannot be adequately comprehended. Believing that Swedenborg was inspired by the Lord, he prepared this outline so that many other Christians might be granted the truths which the Lord revealed through His servant.
     What is here offered to the reader is a digest rather than an outline, and a surprising amount of material has been packed into one small book. In twelve short chapters the author attempts to set forth the main teachings of the Writings concerning the Lord, creation and man; heaven, the world of spirits and hell; the church, judgment and the New Church; the Second Coming, Emanuel Swedenborg and marriage. There will always be variety of opinion among students as to what should be included in such a digest and what left out; but Mr. Mahin has evidently studied the Writings both comprehensively and carefully, and we think that he has succeeded well in a formidable task. The doctrines selected are presented clearly and on the whole accurately; and the reader is left in no doubt as to the Writings being from the Lord alone, as to the nature of the Second Coming, or as to the consummated state of the Christian Church. The book is, in fact, much more forthright than some that have been written in the name of the New Church. This reviewer found only one doctrinal error, albeit a serious one. The writer is evidently under the impression (page 10) that the infirm human which the Lord took on from the mother is the Human that was glorified.
     It is unusual to find such a book as this, written, as far as we know, by one unconnected with the organized New Church and concerned only to present what he believes to be the truth about the meaning of current events and a way to overcome present-day evils.

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It is interesting also to speculate on what the effect of such a book may be, offered as it is to the general public without any "label." The style is familiar, even colloquial; but the book, although compact, is very readable. One point aroused our curiosity. It is understandable that a digest of this nature should have been left undocumented, for the documentation would have been considerable and would have changed the style of the book, but one would have expected the author to lead his readers in some way to what is being outlined. As it is, there is no bibliography; only two of the Writings are mentioned by name; and Swedenborg is referred to only as "the son of a Lutheran bishop of Sweden." But perhaps it is a good idea to test the reader's interest by challenging his initiative in thus leaving him responsible for tracking down the source.
NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS 1961

NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS Rev. ORMOND ODHNER 1961

     The Writings frequently teach that in representatives such as those in the letter of the Word, there is no reflection upon the quality of the person who represents something holy, but only upon the holy thing he represents. It is well to keep this in mind when we read this month the story of David. David was a mighty warrior and a clever politician, in the better sense of that term; he also had moments of mercy and was willing to accept hard dispensations of Providence. But his other qualities hardly seem to make him a fit representative of the Lord as to Divine truth, of the Lord's royalty, and of the Lord about to come.
     This month's Old Testament readings begin with David sparing the life of his arch-enemy, Saul, and then cleverly allying himself with the Philistines and, as their vassal, gaining from them the city of Ziklag. From Ziklag, David made raids on various towns in the south of Judah and then began building himself a kingdom, meantime sending reports to the Philistines that he was raiding his brother Jews. Fortunately for David, however, some of the Philistines did not trust him enough to let him accompany them in their great and victorious battle against Israel, in which Saul and three of his sons were killed.
     By presents and promises, David now rather quickly established his kingship over the south of the land; and although there was a desultory civil war for a while between him and another of Saul's sons, nevertheless, when Saul's son was finally murdered, David, by beheading his assassins, won the support of many of Saul's followers in the north.

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At Hebron, his capital for seven years, they pledged him their loyalty.
     The Hebrew of II Samuel 5: 8, containing the account of David's capture of the fortress of Zion (Jerusalem), actually cannot be translated; translators have simply done the best they could with it. The city was believed to be impregnable; somehow David captured it, and to do so was the masterstroke of a military and political genius. David and his successors defended it successfully for centuries. From Jerusalem, David's fame began to spread to other nations, and suddenly the Philistines realized that their "vassal" had declared his independence. They attacked, and David defeated them. They attacked again; this time David defeated them decisively.
     David now had the ark of the covenant of the Lord moved into Jerusalem, great pomp and pageantry accompanying it. Thus was Jerusalem made the religious center of the country as well as its political capital. David, however, was not allowed by the Lord to build a temple for the ark; that would be the work of his son, Solomon. More of David's military victories are then recounted, though the story of these campaigns is interrupted by the terrible tale of David's adultery with Bathsheba and his (indirect) murder of her husband, Uriah. In Syria, far to the north, David enriched himself by the capture of certain copper mines. He also took many horses and chariots from the Syrians; but either because he did not know how to use them, or because such cavalry was unsuitable to the hills of Judea, he destroyed all but a few of them.
     At the close of II Samuel 12 comes the horrifying statement that David took the Ammonites captured by his armies and put them under saws, harrows and axes, and also made them pass through the brick-kiln. Recent versions of the Bible translate the Hebrew here to make it read that he put them to work at saw, harrow, axe and kiln. It is a permissible translation; but the Writings use the older version to illustrate the cruelty of the Jews to their enemies. (See AC 5057.)
     As prophesied, David and Bathsheba's son died. While the child was sick, David wept and fasted, hoping the Lord would restore his health. When the child died, David at once arose, went into the house of the Lord to worship, returned home, and again ate food. Chided for this, he replied with words that we should all remember in times of bereavement: "Now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not return to me."
     The month's readings end on an unpleasant note as evil - incest, murder and insurrection - breaks loose in David's own household. But at the close, David welcomes back his rebellious son, Absalom. It was a mistake. He should never have done so.

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CHANGELESS WORD 1961

CHANGELESS WORD Editor 1961

NEW CHURCH LIFE
Office of Publication, Lancaster, Pa.
Published Monthly By

THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM

BRYN ATHYN. PA.
Editor . . . Rev. W. Cairns Henderson, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager . . . Mr. L. E. Gyllenhaal, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
All literary contributions should be sent to the Editor. Subscriptions, change of address, and business communications, should be sent to the Business Manager. Notifications of address changes should be received by the 15th of the month.

TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$5.00 a year to any address, payable In advance. Single copy. 50 cents.
     A special issue of a contemporary came out recently under the title "In a Changing World the Bible Changes." This statement will bear careful examination. The Word of the Lord itself does not change, for it is infinite Divine truth. But since it is accommodated to finite minds there are certain things that change - the opinions men hold as to the nature and quality of the Word, their understanding of its teachings, even the clarity and accuracy with which it is presented to them in successive versions and translations. These things change, the Word itself does not.
     However successful a new translation may be in clarifying and sharpening the meaning of the original; however much it may seem to infuse new life by updating the language of earlier versions; it is only most superficially that the result can be called a new Bible. Only the Lord can give what is new in His Word, and this He has done in the Heavenly Doctrine. There He has revealed with unmistakable clearness, and in a manner that should permit of no equivocation, which books of the Bible are of the Word, and which books are not. There He has made the Word new by enabling the church to see the spiritual sense within the letter, so that the letter is as it were glorified.
     The recently published "New English Bible" will be reviewed in this journal shortly. It is felt, however, that a hastily produced review based largely on a comparison of some favorite or even key passages would neither be fair to the translators nor useful to our readers. More than a sampling is called for, and time is needed.

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WRITINGS OF THE APOSTLES 1961

WRITINGS OF THE APOSTLES Editor 1961

     In this issue a correspondent calls for a knowledge and Understanding of the Acts of the Apostles and the Epistles which have certainly been lacking in our body. His thesis is valid, as are the reasons advanced in support of it. As our correspondent is well aware, these apostolic writings are not books of the Word because they do not have within them the spiritual sense by which there is immediate communication with heaven. But this does not mean that we may exclude them as of no interest or value. They are described in the Writings as useful books for the church, and elsewhere as good books of the church, as our correspondent has not failed to note.
     Although they are not in the style of the Word, but are doctrinal writings, they were written for the purpose of establishing the Christian Church, and they do teach the general truths of Christianity, often in a most powerful manner. They are the earliest and most trustworthy source books in the history of the Christian Church and of doctrine; and, as Swedenborg observed, they insist upon the doctrine of charity and its faith as strongly as the Lord Himself in the Gospels and the Apocalypse.
     These writings - the Acts of the Apostles and the twenty-one Letters - are therefore well worth our attention. The Pauline Epistles especially, with their close reasoning, may not appeal to the average reader, though they contain many truths expressed in language of arresting beauty. The Epistles are, perhaps, better read in a good modern English version rather than in the language of the King James Version, for then they can be better savored as the letters they were. But the effort to grasp their teaching is well worth making; not only because it enables us to communicate more effectively with Christians whose thought has been formed by the Epistles, but also because the teachings of the Epistles have not always been correctly understood by the Christian churches.
     But there need be no such difficulty with the Acts of the Apostles. As the Gospels describe the Lord's life on earth, the Acts records the continuation of His work after the Ascension through the operation of the Holy Spirit as manifested in the preaching and miracles of the apostles. The compiler, who was also the inspired writer of the third Gospel, was led, as his preface shows, to regard the acts of the apostles as a continuation of the Lord's work; to think of the risen and ascended Lord continuing by the influx through the apostles of the Holy Spirit the work which He began when on earth - an idea for which there is support in the Writings. Here we have a fascinating book of beginnings: the first apostolic sermon and miracle, the first organization of the church, the first persecution and the first Christian martyrdom.

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BY WHAT AUTHORITY? 1961

BY WHAT AUTHORITY? Editor 1961

     Very different from our correspondent's plea is the argument, noted elsewhere in these pages, that only tradition, prejudice and a semantic confusion have kept the New Church from receiving the Acts and the Epistles as part of the Divine Word, equally but differently inspired. If prejudice is indeed a factor in the exclusion of the apostolic writings from the New Church canon of the Word, it is rather a prejudice in favor of believing what the Writings teach and not forcing their plain statements to yield a special meaning.
     In Arcana Coelestia 10,235 we read: "The books of the Word are all those that have an internal sense; and those which have not an internal sense are not the Word." The passage then proceeds to enumerate the books of the Word in the Old Testament and in the New Testament, and states that in the latter these are Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and the book of Revelation. The Acts and the Epistles are excluded by omission as not having an internal sense. This teaching is so clear, and so well known in the New Church, that we can only ask: By what authority does the protagonist of the apostolic writings set it aside, and allege that the internal sense is not the criterion of canonicity but merely a special function? Here is no question of shades of meaning. The statement in the Arcana and the claim made for the apostolic writings by the writer of the article simply cannot be reconciled. One or the other must be false
     It is true that Swedenborg, in referring to Scripture, sometimes uses the term, the Word, to include the non-canonical books; though no great mental dexterity is required to avoid confusion. But it is also true that in the few instances in which the status of the Acts and the Epistles is mentioned it is specifically said that they are not the Word because they do not have the internal sense by which there is immediate communication with heaven. It is neither useful nor truthful to invest these books with a status the Writings deny them in order to emphasize their undoubted value and rescue them from unwarranted neglect.
     The writer of the article is on shaky ground when he quotes a colleague as asking: "Do we realize that Swedenborg went oftener to the Pauline Epistles than to all four Gospels for confirmation?" The reference here is not, as the reader might be entitled to suppose, to the Writings as a whole, but to the editorially titled Dicta Probantia (Scripture Confirmations); a little work containing no doctrine whatsoever and consisting entirely of Scripture passages under convenient headings. A truer picture is presented, perhaps, by Searle's General Index to Swedenborg's Scripture Quotations. There the places in the Writings where passages from the books of the Word are quoted occupy 300 pages, as against 21 pages for the non-canonical books in both Testaments; and many of the quotations there are in Dicta Probantia.

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We agree that it may be time to take a saner and more realistic attitude to the Epistles; but we can only protest strongly at an attempt at reappraisal which violates the plain teaching of the Writings, for that is to threaten the very foundations of the church. One question remains. The writer asserts, truly, that the Word is all the revelation mankind has received from God, and he pleads that we use "all of God's Holy Word," thus putting on the whole armor of God. Would he accept the Writings as Divine revelation, and therefore by definition as part of the whole Word we should use? Or would he deny them the status he is so eager to give to the Acts and the Epistles? It would be of some interest to know the answers.
APOSTOLIC WRITINGS 1961

APOSTOLIC WRITINGS BOYD ASPLUNDH 1961

Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE:

     In the Apocalypse Explained, no. 815: 2, the works of the apostles are described as "useful books for the church." Elsewhere, Swedenborg calls them "good books of the church" (Docu. 224).
     Despite these clear statements - one of them from the Writings - I venture to say that many New Church laymen know little about the Acts and the Epistles, and most of that bad. Yet, if they are to be "good" and "useful" for the church, their study must be encouraged.
     Those with whom we would discuss religion will, in many cases, cite Paul as their authority. Even when they do not, their arguments are likely to be colored by ideas and even terminology traceable to Pauline theology.
     To tell such people that these works are not a part of the Word, that they form the basis for a false church, and that Paul went to hell, anyhow, does not seem to be a very constructive approach to the problem; though we should not hesitate to give a direct answer to direct questions on these matters.
     New Church men prepared to do so could, instead, stress the truths of the Acts and the Epistles - as that Paul taught the doctrine of charity, and not faith alone.
     In this way it may be possible to lead sincere Christians to the point from which they can see for themselves the true nature of this man and the proper place of his books.
     BOYD ASPLUNDH

252

PREADAMITES 1961

PREADAMITES ERIK SANDSTROM 1961

Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE:

     In your October issue, 1960, there appeared a thoughtful communication by Mr. Geoffrey P. Dawson on the Preadamites. So far there has been no reply. I feel that there ought to be, and wish to address myself chiefly to the following point made by Mr. Dawson. "'Good,' properly, is spiritual and celestial, and is received by men only in so far as they permit the Lord to create in them each a new man by regeneration. . . . . . Prior to this all men are, and always have been, corporeal and sensual; in which condition it is possible to say only that they are then in evils of life and falsities of understanding. . . . Preadamites could not have been in good. They were infested by evils. . . . [Man] never was, nor will be, born without hereditary evil."
     The matter is important because it concerns the origin of evil. What is necessary is to avoid the impression or conclusion that evil can in any sense be said to come from the Lord. Mr. Dawson would certainly resist that idea; yet the logic of his quoted statements would inevitably take him where he does not want to go. If the first men were born with hereditary evil, whence was that heredity of theirs?
     More than one statement has been quoted, because the context seems to indicate that Mr. Dawson thinks of anything not spiritual and celestial as being evil. He is apparently equating the corporeal and sensual with evil. This, however, is a truth that needs qualifying. The corporeal-sensual is evil if separated from what is spiritual and celestial, but not otherwise. Similarly, the love of self is not evil in all conditions, but only when it rebels and refuses to serve; when it separates itself from heavenly loves. In other words, there is a state which is neither spiritual nor celestial, and yet is not evil.
     Even in our day we cannot say that a child is evil, although that can be said of his heredity. The child himself, later the man, is not the same as his heredity. He is whatever he appropriates. The child is in states that are not evil - normally so, if his proprium is not given free sway; yet he is not spiritual, still less celestial. This is possible because there are spiritual and celestial remains within him, and his external state is not separated from these, if properly controlled. He is influenced by his proprium, too, but he is not to be identified with it or with his remains. Identity with one or the other is only by choice, and that comes in maturity. It is then his separation from the influence of the remains within him, thus from his conscience, that makes him to be evil.
     All this would hold true of the Preadamites, except for hereditary evil. They, too, had remains implanted within them; if not, they would not have been men.

253

Consequently their external state was influenced by remains, and it was not evil as long as it did not separate itself from that influence. Their remains must have been few and meager in quality, because their external mind, the basis for influx, was so poorly developed. But the point is that they had them, and did not have hereditary evil. Consequently their external mind differed in quality from that of a child of our day. Hereditary evil developed only after they had willfully chosen self-life in preference to whatever of Divine guidance they were capable of perceiving; thus after they had willfully separated themselves from the Divine. That their state was not evil was not of their doing: the Divine mercy is such that it is present from within as well as from without whenever that right is not denied by human folly.
     As to their natural minds, children today are sometimes in evil states; sometimes, perhaps mostly, in states that are not of evil. But with the Preadamites the ignorance of innocence would be within all natural states until, having learned to distinguish between life from the Lord and life from self, they willfully preferred the latter.
     I do not disagree that Preadamites may have fallen, as later did the Adamites. Allowance must be made for this possibility since they, like later generations, must have had the faculty of choice. My objection is only to the idea that from the beginning they were born with hereditary evil, and that in so far as they had it, it did not develop solely from themselves.
     This I find taught not only generally in the doctrines bearing on the subject but also particularly in such passages as the following. "By the fall the natural man began to exalt himself above the spiritual man, and thus inverted Divine order itself; hence the natural man separated itself from the spiritual." "Man himself is the origin of evil; not that that origin was implanted in man from creation, but that he, by turning from God to himself, implanted it in himself." "The origin of evil lies in the abuse of the faculties which are proper to man, and which are called liberty and rationality." And, speaking of a spirit who presented the Preadamites in the other life: "He was an external man, yet one in whom internals were within the externals, but little of the internals, so that he has not become such an external man as those of our day (quales nostri), in whom the externals are separated from the internals; but the internals with him were within, but little. . . . It was insinuated or said that such were the Preadamites, thus not evil." "This and the preceding chapters, down to the verses now under consideration [Genesis 1-3: 9], treat of the most ancient people and of their regeneration: first of those who lived like wild animals (ferae), but at length became spiritual men." In connection with the following . . . . "And God made the beast of the earth (feram terrae) after his kind . . . . and God saw that it was good" - I would suggest that this refers, in the spiritual-historical sense, directly to the Preadamites, the spiritual sense itself having a much wider application: this for the reason that feram terrae, together with other living souls, or creatures, were created on the sixth day, just prior to God's saying: "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness."*
* AC 3167: 2. CL 444: 4. DLW 264. SD 3390. AC 286. Genesis 1: 25 [Italics added]

254

     Mr. Dawson might like to ask: "If the Preadamites were not born with hereditary evil, from what were they to be regenerated? The answer seems to be in Arcana nos. 17, 18, which speak of "void" as denoting "nothing of good"; "emptiness, nothing of truth"; "thick darkness, stupidity and an ignorance of all things belonging to faith in the Lord, and consequently of all things belonging to spiritual and celestial life" and of the "faces of the deep" as denoting "the cupidities of the unregenerate man, and the falsities thence originating, of which he wholly consists, and in which he is totally immersed." Such were the things from which the Preadamite was called out through the gradual process of regeneration. No heavenly good had yet been implanted in his natural mind; in heavenly things he was stupid and ignorant; and he was full of cupidities, these being the affections of the natural mind. But he was not evil - not by birth.
     Let us note that when the Writings refer to the Preadamites it is not said that they were in "good"; for, as Mr. Dawson observes, good, properly, is spiritual or celestial. The terms used are "not evil" or "without good and truth."*
* SD 3390; AE 294 15
     However, if the things mentioned in Arcana 17 and 18 were "not evil" in the Preadamites, the same cannot be said of us. Their cupidities must have been somewhat like those of a gentle animal; with us they contain the loves of hell. As for the falsities of the first humans, let us recall the careful distinction made in the Writings between "falsities of evil" and "falsities not of evil." Of course the Preadamite was in falsities! He lived in the appearances of the senses while the "Spirit of God was brooding upon the faces of the waters." The words, "Let there be light," had not yet been spoken; and even after they had been, there must have been a long struggle between the light of heaven and those appearances - one described by means of the six days of creation.
     So the Preadamite had plenty from which to regenerate. He had only a small residue of life, so that he was an external man; yet "one in whom internals were within the externals, but little of the internals. Thus he had only a little of the human with him. He was lowly and undeveloped, but "not evil."
     ERIK SANDSTROM

255

CHURCH NEWS 1961

CHURCH NEWS Various 1961

     THE HAGUE, HOLLAND

     The first visit of our pastor, the Rev. Frank Rose, in 1960 was on May 19. There was a gathering of the Bruil family at Arnhem which was attended by a very interested group. The subject that evening was The Temporal and the Eternal" (Luke 12: 13-21; DP 211). Isolated members were visited the next day, and at my home on Saturday evening we had slides illustrating Luke 2: 41-45, Mark 10: 17-20 and Luke 7: 36-50. On Sunday morning Mr. Rose conducted a service, the sermon being on "Numbering the People" (Exodus 30: 14, 15). This service was attended by ten adults and two children, and the Holy Supper was administered to eight adults. After lunch a class was given on the same subject as that presented at Arnhem.
     The celebration of New Church Day took place on June 29. A sermon by the Rev. Cairns Henderson was read, on "The Spirit of Prophecy" (Revelation 19: 10). There was a toast to the church, after which the minutes were read and approved and an account of the last year was given.
     Mr. Rose's second visit was October 20-23. On Saturday night we had slides and a very interesting talk on "The Tabernacle." At the service on Sunday morning our pastor preached on "The Marriage Feast at Cana" (John 2: 10). There were fourteen adults and five children present on that occasion, and the Holy Supper was administered to ten communicants. Mrs. Johanna Dokkum-Bruyns, a friend of the church for some years, was baptized. After refreshments had been served there was a children's class, followed by a class on "God and Evil" (Psalm 139) which led to a lively discussion.
     The Christmas celebration was at my home. A sermon by Bishop De Charms, "Why the Lord was Born in Bethlehem" was read. The service was followed by a candle-lit luncheon. The children were delighted with the nice presents they received.
     The highlight of our church year was the visit of Bishop and Mrs. De Charms in July. After docking in Rotterdam, Bishop and Mrs. De Charms arrived at The Hague on July 8. After a little sightseeing they had supper at our home. In the evening some friends came in and we had an interesting discussion. On Sunday morning the Bishop preached on "Peace" (Luke 19: 42). The service was attended by twenty-two persons, among whom were nine American friends. Refreshments followed, and the Bishop then gave a class on "Why the Divine Providence Acts only in Secret" which led to a very animated discussion. It was a beautiful day. The Bishop and his wife stayed for supper and a nice quiet evening, during which they showed pictures of their home and of America, and on Monday morning they left by air for Denmark.
     New attendants at our services are Mr. Theodore Fiedler and his son from Denver, Colorado, who will be living at Rotterdam for the next two years. They are very welcome additions to our Circle.
     At the end of June we met Mr. and Mrs. Stanley. Ebert, Mrs. Richard Goerwitz, and seventeen students at their hotel in Scheveningen. They were sightseeing in our country and we spent a delightful evening with them. It was too bad that they had cold, stormy weather.
     Other visitors were Mrs. Orida Hamm and Miss Saloma Olds from Glenview, who made a trip with their caravan through Europe. They stayed in Holland for a week and we have very pleasant recollections of their visit. They, too, were able and happy to attend the service conducted by Bishop De Charms.

     HERMAN G. ENGELTJES

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     THE CHURCH AT LARGE

     General Convention. The 1961 sessions of the General Convention will be held in Washington, D. C., from Thursday, June 22 through Sunday, June 25. The Council of Ministers will meet in Baltimore, Md., from Monday, June 19, through Wednesday, June 21. Most of the meetings in Washington will be held at the National Church. It has been announced that Convention's theme for 1961 is: "A Changing Church in a Changing World."
     The NEW-CHURCH MESSENGER reported recently that a meeting was held last January in St. Petersburg, Florida, at the request of the Board of Conciliation of the General Convention. A joint statement released at the conclusion of the meeting said that a solution had been reached to the difficulties and differences which previously had existed in the area. It was felt that this meeting was the first step toward a new working arrangement in which all concerned could co-operate. Plans were laid for the orderly development of Convention's work in the area.
     The mid-winter institute of the Council of Ministers was held last February at Palos Park, Illinois, and was attended by twenty-one ministers. The program included a concentrated workshop on stewardship which lasted an entire day; reviews of new books in the field of religion, including some in the library of the Theological School; panel discussions on the NEW-CHURCH MESSENGER, Leadership Education Institutes, and the Writers' Workshop of 1960; a lecture on the subject of the Trinity by the Rev. Bjorn Johannson; and a report by the Rev. Owen Turley on his recent study of the Convention churches and their membership. The Rev. Edwin G. Capon, chairman, presided at the business meetings.
     The NEW-CHURCH MESSENGER reports the entrance into the Theological School at Cambridge, Mass., as a student of Pastor Raghib Kahlil Rizq, who, with his wife, arrived recently from Egypt. Pastor Rizq ministers to a small New Church group in Port Said. His enrollment means that the school now has seven students in residence, the largest number for some years.

     General Conference. On February 8, 1961, the centenary of the first service of New Church worship in Northampton, England, was celebrated by the Northampton Society which has been in continuous existence since that time. The celebration took the form of a service of worship and re-dedication. The president of Conference, the Rev. James V. Ayre, and the pastor, the Rev. H. G. Mongredien, took part.

     Australia. A New Church Summer School was held from December 27, 1960, to January 2, 1961, at Woori Yallock, Victoria, thirty-five miles from Melbourne. The forty-two persons resident at the camp included visitors from New Zealand and Mr. Ossian Heldon and his daughter Pat from the General Church Society in Hurstville, N.S.W. The Rev. B. L. Bennett instructed the adults, the Rev. R. H. Teed taught the intermediate group, and the juniors received instruction from various members of the adult and intermediate groups. Morning service on New Year's Day was conducted by the Rev. R. H. Teed, the congregation numbering sixty.

SWEDENBORG SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION

     It was resolved by the Board of Directors that the Association should avail itself of an invitation to have a display of its publications at the General Convention in Washington, D. C. The Rev. David Garrett, pastor of the Wilmington Society and a member of the Board of Directors of the Association, will be in charge of the display.

     SWEDENBORG SOCIETY INC.

     Swedenborg's Birthday Meeting

     The Swedenborg Society held its celebration of the two hundred and seventy-third anniversary of the birth of Emanuel Swedenborg on Saturday, January 28, 1961, in Swedenborg Hall. The meeting was of the happy and informal character expected at a birthday party and was attended by just over a hundred members and friends.

257

     After a prolonged tea-time which gave everyone an opportunity to converse with everyone else, the president, Mr. Roy H. Griffith, opened the more formal part of the meeting. He began by wishing everyone many happy returns of the day, and then introduced the speaker, the Rev. Dennis Duckworth, whose subject was "Swedenborg the Traveler" (from the Itinerarium of 1736-1739).
     Mr. Duckworth began his talk with some general observations on Swedenborg's modes of travel and the things which interested him, with sidelights on eighteenth century conditions in general. He then showed on a large map of Europe which he had prepared, the route which Swedenborg had followed, leaving Stockholm in 1736 and going through Denmark, North Germany, Holland, Flanders to Paris, then through France across the Alps to Milan, Venice, Florence and Rome. After this first half of Mr. Duckworth's address, the audience was charmed with a delightful oboe recital by Mr. William Grant, accompanied at the piano by Mr. Reginald Thompson. Mr. Grant played first a sonata by Handel, then some shorter pieces both old and modern.
     In the second half of his talk, Mr. Duckworth described what were the purposes of Swedenborg's journey: how in Paris he attended the school of surgery and made anatomical studies, particularly of the brain, and then in Venice probably started to write his first treatise on the brain, which he continued in Rome. The talk ended with the showing of some 20th century slides of the cities and countryside through which Swedenborg had passed in the 18th century.
     Mr. Grant then gave more oboe solos, concluding with "Le Cygne" by Saint Saens.
     The president expressed the thanks of the audience for the most interesting address and for the delightful music, saying that he thought Mr. Duckworth had whetted the appetite of the meeting for more.
     FREDA G. GRIFFITH

     SWEDENBORG FOUNDATION, INC.

     Early in March the Foundation announced the retirement at the turn of the year of its former manager, Mr. Henry W. Helmke, and his assistant, Mrs. Josephine Greene. The management of the office has been entrusted to Mrs. Anne Mariner, who has occasionally assisted Mr. Helmke in the past. At the same time, the Board of Directors announced the appointment of Mr. Thomas Hoskins Spiers as executive secretary. Mr. Spiers retired two years ago from the service of the First National City Bank of New York after a career of forty years spent largely in overseas Posts - Europe, South America and the Orient. He is a member of a well known New Church family and serves the General Convention in several capacities. Mr. and Mrs. Spiers live in Trenton, New Jersey, and are members of the Philadelphia Society.

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GENERAL CHURCH CORPORATIONS 1961

GENERAL CHURCH CORPORATIONS STEPHEN PITCAIRN 1961

ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH E. BRUCE GLENN 1961

     Annual Joint Meeting

     The Annual Joint Meeting of the Corporation and Faculty of the Academy of the New Church will be held on Friday evening, May 19, 1961, in the Assembly Hall, Bryn Athyn, Pa., at 7:45 p.m., preceded by a supper at 7:00 p.m.
     All friends of the Academy are invited to both the supper and the meeting, at which a presidential address will be delivered, together with administrative reports of the year's work.
     E. BRUCE GLENN,
          Secretary
SWEDENBORG SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION 1961

SWEDENBORG SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION MORNA HYATT 1961

     The Sixty-Fourth Annual Meeting of the Swedenborg Scientific Association will be held in Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, in the Auditorium of Benade Hall, at 8:00 p.m., Wednesday, May 17, 1961.
     There will be reports and election of officers, after which the Rev. George F. Dole of Cambridge, Massachusetts, will deliver an address comparing Swedenborg's principles of biblical study with those used by contemporary scholars.

     All interested persons are welcome.

     MORNA HYATT,
          Secretary
VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN 1961

VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN 1961

People coming to Bryn Athyn who need assistance in finding accommodation will please communicate with the Hostess Committee. Please address letters to: The Hostess Committee, do Mrs. Harris S. Campbell, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH 1961

     SCHOOL CALENDAR: 1961-1962

     Eighty-fifth School Year

     1961
Sept.     7 Thur.     Faculty Meetings
     8 Fri.     Dormitories open
     9 Sat.     8:00 am. Student workers report to supervisors
               3:00 p.m. Opening Exercises
               3:30 p.m. Lawn Party
               8:00 p.m. President's Reception
     11 Mon.      Secondary Schools registration College registration
     12 Tues.     Chapel and classes begin in Secondary Schools College registration
     13 Wed.     Chapel and classes begin in College
Oct.     20 Fri.     Charter Day
     21 Sat.     Annual Meeting of Corporation
Nov.     23-26          Thanksgiving recess
Dec.     21 Thur.     Christmas recess starts at 12:30 p.m.

1962

Jan.     4 Thur.     School exercises resumed
     22-26     Semester examinations
     29 Mon.     Second semester begins

Feb.     12 Mon.     Lincoln's Birthday holiday
Mar.     24-Apr. 1     Spring recess
Apr.     2 Mon.     School exercises resumed
May     25 Fri.     Annual Joint Meeting of Corporation and Faculty
May     30 Wed.     Memorial Day. School dismissed in time to attend civic ceremonies
June     14 Thur.     8:00 p.m. President's Reception
     15 Fri.     10:30 p.m. Commencement Exercises
WANTED 1961

WANTED 1961

The Brain. By Emanuel Swedenborg.

The Swedenborg Society, London, will be glad to purchase sets of
this two volume work, or copies of vol. II only, price according to
condition. Write to the Honorary Secretaries, Swedenborg Society, 20-21

Bloomsbury Way, London, W.C.l, England.

[Photograph of the Right Reverend George DeCharms, Bishop of the General Church of the New Jerusalem, 1937-1963.]
FUNCTION OF THE CHURCH 1961

FUNCTION OF THE CHURCH GEORGE DE CHARMS 1961

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VOL. LXXXI
June, 1961
No. 6
     "And I heard the number of them that were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel." (Revelation 7: 4)

     As seen in the prophetic visions of John, the risen Lord had come again, in glory. His throne had been set in heaven, and the day of judgment was at hand. Up to this time the good and the evil had been indistinguishably mingled. The "tares" were growing together with the wheat"; nor could they be separated lest both be destroyed. But now the time had come for the Lord to say to the reapers, "Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into My barn."*
* Matthew 13: 30.
      It is clear that even before the judgment, although they were in bondage to the evil, the good were nevertheless under the constant protection of the Lord; for John saw "four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree." And he saw another angel "ascending from the rising of the sun, having the seal of the living God; and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom its was given to hurt the earth and the sea, saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads." Then John "heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel."
      By the "seal of the living God" is meant new truth revealed by the Lord out of heaven. By the "hundred and forty and four thousand" that were sealed, were represented all throughout the world who were prepared to receive this revelation of truth.

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These were to be separated, set apart, and organized into a New Church. They were described as "twelve thousand from each of the twelve tribes of Israel" because those tribes represented every possible variety of human reception, and thus all in the whole world who could be brought by the Lord into the church.
The establishment of the church is indeed to the end that there may be a judgment; that is, a separation of the good from the evil. It does not follow, however, that those who belong to the church are the good, while those who are not prepared to receive the truth are the evil. Those that were sealed were by no means all who could be saved. For John saw others - even a "great multitude which no man could number, of all the nations and kindred and people, and tongues" - that stood before the throne and before the Lamb, "clothed with white robes and palms in their hands; and cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb." By these are meant all men everywhere who live sincerely according to their own religion. To these the Lord referred when He said: "Other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must bring, and they shall hear My voice; and there shall be one fold and one shepherd." They are those Who cannot come into the church on earth, because they mistakenly accept the teachings of their own religion as true. At heart they love the truth; and they cling with deep affection to the teachings received in childhood, believing them to be the truth. Because they are satisfied with them, and have full confidence in them, they do not examine the teachings of their religion to see for themselves whether they are true, accepting them on the authority of the church, or because of faith in the parents or teachers from whom they have been learned. With these the harvest is not yet ripe. They cannot be separated from their religion - however false it may be. But such are under the protection of the Lord, who holds back the winds of influx; who restrains the hells, saying to the angels on the four corners of the earth: "Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads."
"The Lord is ever mindful of His own"; and to guard these "other sheep" from spiritual injury He delays the judgment. It is permitted to advance but slowly, through many generations. And for this reason, long after the New Church is first established it remains, of necessity, among the few. For it cannot increase in numbers and in power except so far as the judgment can be accomplished, so far as men may be prepared to come into the church while they are still in the natural world. Meanwhile a "great multitude which no man could number" is being secretly prepared by the Lord for a reception of the truth in the life after death.

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In that life it is provided that all who love the truth - all whose minds have not been willfully closed against the truth - can be brought to see it, to receive it gladly, and thus to repudiate the errors of their former faith. But even in the spiritual world those ideas which have been imbibed from childhood, with innocent affection, cannot easily be relinquished. Release can be effected only through suffering and temptation. Wherefore the angel said of them: "These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." Yet the sure promise is given that after their trials are over, "the Lamb which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them, and shall lead them unto living fountains of waters: and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes."
     In view of the teaching that the only requirement for salvation is that men should live from conscience according to their own religion, perhaps we may wonder why a New Church should be necessary. Of what advantage is it to belong to the hundred and forty and four thousand that were sealed, since the great multitude who did not receive the seal also come into heaven?
     One reason why a New Church must be established is that for some the time of judgment comes while they are still in the life of the body. There are some who become utterly dissatisfied with the traditional doctrines of their church. For these it is impossible to believe in doctrines merely because parents, or ancestors, or learned men have declared them to be true. The mind is urgent to understand. It insists upon inquiry. And if its anxious questioning is not met by rational instruction that kindles an inner perception of the truth, the flickering lamp of faith goes out, leaving the mind in Egyptian darkness with reference to all spiritual things. When faith dies, all desire for the truth, and all internal resistance to evil, perishes with it. And when this comes to pass it is all over with the man - for then his mind is willfully closed against the entrance of the Lord.
     Such can be saved only by a new advent of the Lord - a new revelation of truth capable of answering their questions, removing their doubts, and kindling their faith anew. Without this "they wander in the wilderness in a solitary way; they find no city to dwell in. Hungry and thirsty, their soul fainteth within them." * For these the only hope lies in the existence of a New Church wherein they may find a spiritual home - a church whose Divine teachings "satisfy the longing soul, and fill the hungry soul with good." These are brought into the church, not because they are better than others; not because they can be saved and others cannot; but because, unlike others, they desperately need the church.

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Unlike others, they cannot be saved without it. They need it here, while they are still on earth; and their reception of it cannot be delayed until after death.
* Psalm 107: 4, 5.
Entrance into the church through the gate of baptism is not itself a separation from the evil. It is merely an intellectual acknowledgment of the truth. It is a recognition that the Lord is present in His new revelation, and that here is the only source of Divine instruction that can answer our questions and remove our doubts. It is a testimony to our realization that we need this Divine teaching, and that we desire above all things to sit at the Lord's feet, and hear His Word. Our first vision of the truth is very general. It is a vision in the early dawn of a new day, full of hope and promise, but still vague and uncertain. We bring with us into the church many of the fallacies and falsities of our former faith, which, like morning mists, obscure the light and dim our vision. These cannot be removed in an instant. Only in time - only through reading and study and prayerful thought - can the difficulties that confront us be gradually resolved, that the mists may be rolled away before the rising sun. To enter into the church is to look toward the east; that is, toward the opened Word, where the Lord is. It is to "lift our eyes unto the mountains, whence cometh our help." It is to "lift up the gates of our mind that the King of Glory may come in.
The church as an organized body is an association of those who recognize their need of Divine teaching; who see in the Heavenly Doctrine the means provided by the Lord whereby that instruction can be given; who wish above all things to "hear what God the Lord doth speak," and who band together for the purpose of helping one another to increase their knowledge and understanding of His Word. But only in the degree that they do this from love to the Lord, from charity toward the neighbor, from a sincere desire to serve the Lord and the neighbor by keeping the Divine commandments, that they may gradually become in heart and in life what the truth teaches - only in that degree can they be said to receive the "seal of the living God" in their foreheads. Only to this extent does the judgment actually take place within them, as falsities are removed from their thought, and evils are rooted out of their intention and will by the slow process of regeneration. The church as an organization merely provides the opportunity for instruction to be received, and offers the means whereby the judgment may take place. It carries with it no guarantee of salvation. Its establishment does not imply that those who enter into it are better, or less prone to evil, than others. But it does imply that for these the time of judgment has come, and that for them the only hope of salvation lies in the faithful endeavor to learn and to live the new truth the Lord has given them to see.

265

The church, therefore, is a vital necessity to all who cannot be held in a simple faith by a blind acceptance of traditional doctrines. But more than this - it is a vital necessity to those who can be so held. These, because their minds are confused by fallacies and falsities which they mistake for truth, have no power to discern between truth and falsity, or between good and evil. Because of this they cannot interiorly resist evil. They are helpless in the hands of designing men who seek to dominate them for their own selfish ends, and to turn their innocent belief to their own advantage. They are "bound in affliction and iron." Such faith is represented by Peter, to whom the Lord said: "When thou wast young, thou girdedst thyself and walkedst whither thou wouldest; but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not."* When the church grows old, when its eyes are dim, when the light of truth fails in the temple of the Lord, the evil enter and make of the Lord's house a den of thieves. Unless the simple were then protected by the Lord, who in secret ways moderates the influx of the hells - restraining the winds that would sweep away the last remnants of spiritual faith and love - no man could be saved. And the Lord's power to do this depends upon the presence, somewhere in the world, of a church wherein the Word is preserved in its holiness, and where by it the Lord is known and worshiped. This protection of the innocent is a Divine work, possible to the Lord alone. For He only can know who is in simple faith. He only can search the heart and judge of the inner loves and motives of men. What He does through the New Church to guard every remnant of innocent faith everywhere; to hold men in every religion in a teachable state, keeping their minds open so that they may at last be prepared to receive the truth in the other world, and at the same time to prepare the way gradually for the final establishment of His kingdom on the earth - all this is done without man's knowledge. It is done by an unseen influx from heaven, made possible by the inner spirit of the church, the spirit of love to the Lord and charity, of love for the spiritual truth of the Word, of humble obedience to that truth. Into this spirit the heavens can inflow to inspire and rekindle faith in the hearts of men wherever innocence is found; and this under the Lord's immediate leading. But the special function of the church - the work that can be done only by those who at heart belong to the church - is to receive the "seal of the living God in their foreheads" by learning, loving, and living the truth of the Heavenly Doctrine. To do this humbly, daily, with persistent endeavor, from no worldly motive but simply because the Lord has so commanded - this is what will build the New Church, and help more than all else to restore the genuine spirit of religion to the world.

266

For this is "more than all burnt offerings and sacrifices." Amen.
* John 21: 18.
LESSONS:     Revelation 7: 1-4, 9-17. AC 6637. HH 308.
MUSIC:      Liturgy, pages 480, 474, 484. Psalmody, page 107.
PRAYERS:     Liturgy, nos. 50, 81.
STORY OF NEW CHURCH DAY 1961

STORY OF NEW CHURCH DAY Rev. W. CAIRNS HENDERSON 1961

     A New Church Day Talk to Children

     Every child knows the story of the first Christmas Day. Some of you may even know it by heart. Yet you never tire of hearing it again; for each Christmas you are a little older and can understand the story better, and in this way your love for it grows year by year. So should it be also with the story of the first New Church Day; for on that day the Lord's New Church was born, not on earth, but in the world of spirits.
     That story begins a long time ago and in a place across the sea. The time is one hundred and ninety-one years ago - the month of June in the year 1770; the place is a summerhouse in Emanuel Swedenborg's garden in Stockholm. On the eighteenth day of that long past June, Swedenborg was sitting quietly in that summerhouse before his writing table, the sounds and scents and warmth of early summer coming in through the open windows. But he was not thinking about these things. On the table before him lay a neat pile of sheets filled with closely written Latin, the pages of a great book called True Christian Religion which he had just finished writing, and his mind was filled with the wonderful things that were written in it. Swedenborg was an old man now. He had been eighty-two on his last birthday, and for many years - the Lord guiding his thought and his pen - he had been writing down in the books of a new Word all that the Lord had told him to say. But when the True Christian Religion was finished, his work on earth was nearly ended.
     And now we must leave Swedenborg for a moment, because the story moves to the spiritual world. While the Lord was on earth He had told His twelve disciples that He had yet many things to say to them which they could not bear then; and that a time was coming when He would no longer speak to them in parables, but would show them plainly of the Father. And when, one by one, the disciples entered the spiritual world by death, these promises began to be fulfilled.

267

They were received by the Lord, who gradually taught them many things about Himself and His kingdom that they had been unable to understand on earth, and showed them as they could not have seen here that He is the one and only God.
     When the disciples understood and believed these new things they became angels and were given homes in heaven, and for hundreds of years of our time they lived in their heavenly homes. But on that eighteenth day of June, 1770, because the True Christian Religion had been finished, the Lord called them to Him in heaven, as once before He had called them in Galilee. They came at once, leaving their homes in heaven as they had left their earthly homes at His call. All that day they were with the Lord; and on the next day, the Nineteenth of June, the Lord again sent them out as apostles. When they were men, the Lord had sent them to preach the gospel in many lands; now as angels, they were sent to preach a new gospel throughout the world of spirits - to teach that the Lord God Jesus Christ reigns, whose kingdom shall be for ever and ever.
     This was done on that day because, with the finishing of True Christian Religion, the Lord's Word for the New Church had been given. A king reigns when His law goes forth, and the Lord then began to reign because in that Word written through Emanuel Swedenborg all the laws of His heavenly kingdom had been made known. And the connection between this sending out of the apostles and the summerhouse in Stockholm is that Swedenborg saw these things being done. The Lord again opened the eyes of his spirit, and allowed him to see the calling and sending of the apostles; and when he was again in the body, he took up the last sheet of True Christian Religion, dipped his pen in the ink, and wrote a note called a memorandum in which he told what had just happened in heaven.
     When Swedenborg copied his manuscript, he was allowed to tell a little more about it in two other places. The apostles had been chosen because on earth they had known the Lord whose glory they had seen in heaven, and they, more than others, knew Him to be the same God. Each was given his own district by the Lord, and they went to their tasks with zeal and diligence, filled with the love of preaching. The spirits to whom they were sent had come from many countries and religions. Some had been Christians, some Mohammedans, some Gentiles; but they were all good, for thirteen years before a great judgment had taken evil spirits away from them. Only they had not known that the Lord Jesus Christ is the one God of heaven and earth, and until they knew and believed this, they could not come into heaven. Because they were good they wanted to know. That is why the new gospel was preached to them; and that is why the new gospel was received with joy wherever the apostles preached it.

268

These good spirits at once believed and loved the new gospel, and they were formed by the Lord into a new church in which they worshiped the Lord alone, and learned to put away all that they had not before known to be unwise. And when they had learned more about the Lord's kingdom they became angels of the New Heaven.
That is the story of the first New Church Day, the story which tells how the church we love was born. And in honoring that day we honor the Lord, because His was the wonderful work that was done on it. He alone inspired Swedenborg to write and finish True Christian Religion; He alone sent out the twelve apostles, and gave them what to say; and He alone had prepared the hearts and minds of the spirits to whom they were sent, so that they believed and loved all that they heard from the apostles. So the New Church was formed by the Lord alone. The day of all days on which it was born is one of glad thanksgiving to the Lord. And it is also a day on which we may learn how the church can be born within us: by our believing that the Lord is the one only God and that what has been written for the New Church is His Word, and then living as that Word teaches from love to the Lord and His kingdom. Amen.

LESSON: Revelation 19: 1-12.
MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 437, 476, 438.
PRAYER: Liturgy, no. C12.
LORD GOD JESUS CHRIST DOTH REIGN 1961

LORD GOD JESUS CHRIST DOTH REIGN 1961

     "Several months ago the Lord called together His twelve disciples, now angels, and sent them forth into the whole of the spiritual world, commanding them to preach the Gospel there anew, since the church He had established through their labors has today so nearly reached its consummation that scarcely anything of it remains.
     "Some months ago the Lord called together the twelve apostles, and sent them forth throughout the whole spiritual world, just as He had formerly sent them into the natural world, with the command to preach this gospel [that the Divine Trinity is united in the Lord J. Each apostle has, his own province assigned to him, and they are now executing this command with great zeal and industry.
     "After this work was finished, the Lord called together His twelve disciples, who followed Him in the world; and the next day He sent them forth into the whole spiritual world to preach the gospel that the Lord God Jesus Christ reigns, whose kingdom shall be forever" (TCR 4, 108, 791).

269

PASTORAL OFFICE IN AN EPISCOPAL SOCIETY 1961

PASTORAL OFFICE IN AN EPISCOPAL SOCIETY WILLARD D. PENDLETON 1961

     Office of Dean Proposed

     On June 30, 1961, the Rt. Rev. George de Charms will retire from the office of Bishop of the General Church. As the Bishop of the General Church is also ex officio the Pastor of the Bryn Athyn Society, his retirement involves the relinquishing of the responsibilities of the pastoral office. According to our order, the Assistant Bishop of the General Church will then serve as Acting Bishop of the General Church until the next General Assembly, and by virtue of his office will also serve as Acting Pastor of the Bryn Athyn Society. The reason for this is that the Bryn Athyn Society is the episcopal center of the General Church.
     If the requirements of the General Church and the Bryn Athyn Society were all that is involved in the present situation it might not be necessary for me to seek a solution to the problem with which I shall be confronted during the next twelve months; but by action of the Board of Directors of the Academy, the Bishop, or Acting Bishop, of the General Church has been called upon to serve as the President of the Academy. This office involves a large degree of responsibility, and when it is taken together with the demands that are made upon the episcopal office by the General Church and the Bryn Athyn Society, more is required than can be done effectively by one man. Yet it is of vital importance that the uses of these three organizations be co-ordinated in such a way that they continue to serve the same end. Were they to come under separate leadership the result would be divisive. This, at least, has been the thinking of the past, and it accounts for the order of government that we have today.
     It is quite apparent, therefore, that I shall need some temporary assistance during the interim between administrations. In considering this matter it has seemed to me that the obvious solution is to turn to the man who has so ably served as the Pastor of this society for the past twenty-five years. What I am proposing, therefore, is that we ask Bishop De Charms to serve as Dean of the Bryn Athyn Society until after the next Bishop of the General Church has taken office. I believe that he would be willing to do this.

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     The reason I am recommending that we ask Bishop De Charms to serve as Dean is that I have in mind an office which carries with it a greater degree of responsibility and recognition than is accorded to an Assistant Pastor.
     I would observe that this office is not without precedent in ecclesiastical circles. It is used to denote a priest who assists a Bishop in the administrative affairs of a diocese. Our use of the title, however, would differ in that it would have reference to a priest who would be responsible to the Bishop in the conduct of the affairs of an episcopal society. Do not think from this that I have any desire to pattern the General Church after the order of other churches. The order of the priesthood of the General Church is directly derived from the Writings. This proposal does not interfere with that order in any way. It is merely intended to meet an organizational need and can be discontinued at any time.
     If a definition of the responsibilities which would accrue to the office of Dean is desired at this time, I can say that I would ask Bishop De Charms to assume the responsibility for all those society uses which can properly be placed under his direction. There are certain responsibilities, such as the presidency of the Bryn Athyn Church and the chairmanship of the Board of Trustees, which, according to our order, must remain with the Pastor or Acting Pastor. In all other areas the nature and degree of the responsibility he would assume can be a matter of agreement between us. These things cannot be determined in advance, but must be dictated by existing needs.
MINISTERIAL CHANGES 1961

MINISTERIAL CHANGES 1961

     The above statement was made to the Semi-Annual Meeting of the Bryn Athyn Society on May 12, 1961. Unanimous assent was given by the meeting to Bishop Pendleton's proposal that he invite Bishop De Charms to serve as Dean of the Bryn Athyn Society until after the next Bishop of the General Church has taken office, and Bishop De Charms has since accepted appointment to that office. On July 1,1961, therefore, the Right Rev. George de Charms will become Dean of the Bryn Athyn Society.
     Candidate Gudmund Boolsen has accepted appointment, effective after his ordination in June, as assistant to the Rev. Bjorn A. H. Boyesen and resident minister in Copenhagen, Denmark.
     Candidate Geoffrey Horace Howard has accepted appointment, effective after his ordination in June, as assistant to the pastor of the Immanuel Church, Glenview, Illinois. He will succeed the Rev. Jan H. Weiss, whose appointment terminates on June 20, 1961.

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INHABITED UNIVERSE 1961

INHABITED UNIVERSE Rev. FREDERICK L. SCHNARR 1961

     5. THE INHABITANTS OF SATURN AND THE MOON

     The farthest planet in our solar system to be mentioned by name is Saturn. Uranus, Neptune and Pluto are not referred to in the Writings. Some have speculated that the six earths in the starry heavens which are treated of in the Writings are these three planets and the moons of Jupiter and Saturn. However, such speculation cannot be supported, for the Writings speak of these six earths in the starry heavens as being outside of our solar system.*
* See AC 9582, 9693

     The Planet Saturn

     Saturn, the second-largest planet in our solar system, is estimated to have a diameter of 75,000 miles, about 13,000 miles less than that of Jupiter. It is nearly twice as far from the sun as Jupiter - 886 million miles away. Many of the conditions thought to exist on Jupiter are thought to exist also on Saturn. Saturn, too, is thought to be a barren, frozen, uninhabited earth, its atmospheres filled with various poisonous gasses. Like Jupiter also, it is thought to have a covering of ice thousands of miles thick. Certain spots, colored zones, and belts can be seen through the telescope, but even less is known of the cause and meaning of these than is known of similar phenomena on Jupiter, if that is possible. Perhaps the most notable phenomenon is the great belt or ring which girds Saturn and is apparently thousands of miles from the planet. This ring is thought to be composed of dust or rock particles all traveling in the same plane and orbit, possibly the debris of satellites smashed by the planet's powerful gravitation. Nine satellites are observable, one of which, named Titan, is 3,500 miles in diameter.* So little is actually known about Saturn that no attempt is made to estimate the surface temperatures. The minimum temperature is thought to be much lower than Jupiter's, - 200 degrees F.
* K. W. Gatland, The Inhabited Universe (1959 edition).

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     Saturn in the Gorand Man

     In the Gorand Man of heaven the inhabitants of Saturn bear relation to that in man which is in the middle between the spiritual sense and the natural sense, but which looks and inclines more to the spiritual than to the natural. They represent the function of reason, especially reason which is elevated into spiritual light - the light of spiritual truth - but which does not and cannot remain in that light unless the will also is raised up with it. * Spiritual truths give to man's understanding the means for him to elevate his thoughts through his reasoning capacities. That is how we learn to understand heavenly things. But if we do not endeavor to use that which the understanding perceives to be true, we gradually lose the ability even to reason rationally and thus to elevate our thoughts. Note once again that which we mentioned in a previous article, that the inhabitants of our solar system seem to bear relation in the Gorand Man especially to the understanding and its various functions. But we will come back to this in a later article.
* See AC 8953; SD 1516, 1527, 1528

     Life on Saturn

     The Writings describe only briefly the character and life of the inhabitants of Saturn. Generally, they are said to be upright, modest and humble, giving little thought to natural things and much thought to spiritual things. So humble are these people that they think of themselves as being small in comparison to others. Because of this, they not only appear small after death, but are small while living on earth. They are described as being dwarf-like, robust but short, reaching only to our loins.* Something more of their character may be seen in what is said of their experiences when they come into the world of spirits.
* See AC 8948, 8949; SD 1519.

     "When any wish to lead astray the spirits of that earth, and draw them away from faith in the Lord, or from humility toward Him, and from uprightness of life, they say that they wish to die. Then little knives are seen in their hands, by which they seem to wish to pierce their breasts. When they are asked why they do so, they say that they would rather die than be led away from the Lord. Sometimes the spirits of our earth laugh at these things, and infest them with questions why they do so. But they answer that they know very well that they are not going to kill themselves, and that this is only an appearance proceeding from the will of their mind, showing that they would rather die than be drawn away from the worship of the Lord."*
* AC 9050.

     That some of the inhabitants of Saturn are in evil and falsity cannot be doubted. Reference is made to those who worship the bright light which they have at night as the Lord.

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These moon worshippers are separated from others and are not tolerated among them.*
* See AC 8951.
     The peoples of Saturn worship the Lord and acknowledge Him as the only God. As we have noted is the case with peoples of other planets, the Lord sometimes appears to them in an angelic form, and they thus learn to think of the Lord as a Divine Man. When the inhabitants become of age, they speak with spirits in dreams and visions and are thus instructed concerning the Lord: how He is to be worshiped, and how they are to live. Everyone there knows that he will live after death, and because of this they are very little concerned with natural things. They make no account of their bodies, except what is necessary for cleanliness and survival. They do not bury the bodies of the dead, but place them in the forests and cover them over with branches.*
* See AC 8949, 8955.
     In physical appearance the inhabitants of Saturn differ from us not only as to size but also as to the texture of the skin. They have a thick natural skin which wards off cold. This reference to cold should not be taken to confirm the suggestion of science that the planet is a frozen and barren land. This certainly is not the case, although it would seem that their climate is colder than the tropical temperatures of Jupiter. The people of Saturn wear little or no clothing.*
* See AC 8956; SD 1522
     Very little is said concerning the speech of the Saturnians. From what is stated, we would judge that it is much like the kind of speech which the inhabitants of other planets have - almost silent, conveyed mostly by the expression of the eyes and the mouth.*
* See SD 1524.
     The people of Saturn live a quiet and rural existence, with none of the humdrum and confusion which surround most of the peoples of our earth. There are no cities or kingdoms, but the people live distinguished into families, each family apart from the others; thus a man and wife, together with their children. This is a different arrangement from that which is found on some other planets, such as Jupiter, where the families live more closely together in one great house. On Saturn, when the children become of age and marry, they separate from their parents and seem to have little further contact with them. The cause of this segregation does not lie in thoughtlessness or cruelty, but rather in the desire of each couple to live by themselves. From what is said about the appearance of the people of Saturn after death, namely, that they are seen two and two, we would judge that the states of conjugial love are present with them. The full existence of such states may well be one of the main reasons that couples live apart from each other, for that is much the manner of living in the celestial heaven.*
* See AC 8954.

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     The Saturnians live on fruits and vegetables of various kinds. They do not cultivate these, but find them growing wild. In spite of there being forests and trees, the Saturnians told Swedenborg that they never saw any wild animals. Whether or not they have domestic animals is not mentioned.*
* See AC 8956; SD 1521
     The Writings mention the great lunar belt girding Saturn and state that the inhabitants receive much reflected nocturnal light because of it.     Swedenborg told some of the spirits of Saturn that we on our earth see a belt around their earth. They told Swedenborg that to the people of Saturn it does not appear as a belt, but only as a snowy light in the heavens in various directions. The Writings state that the satellites of Saturn are inhabited, though nothing is said about the inhabitants.*
* See AC 8951, 8952, 6697, 9237.
     Before ending our examination of the inhabitants of Saturn, we would note a few of the comments made by the spirits of that planet concerning their contact with the spirits from our earth, and one deplorable incident. They told Swedenborg that they "wondered that spirits from this earth so often come to them and ask them what God they worship. Whenever they observe that the spirits of this earth make such inquiries they answer that they are insane; for there cannot be a greater insanity than to ask what God anyone worships, seeing that there is only one God for all in the universe; and they said that they are still more insane in this, that they did not know that the Lord is the only God, and that He rules the universal heaven and consequently the universal world."*
* AC 9105.
     Something of the nature of the spirits from our earth, and of the reason they are disliked and shunned by other spirits, is evident from the following incident which Swedenborg witnessed:

     "The spirits of the earth Saturn came into view from afar, and there were then present many spirits from our earth who, on seeing those from Saturn, became as if insane, and began to infest them by infusing things unworthy respecting faith, and also about the Lord. And while they were full of invective, they also threw themselves into the midst of them, and from the insanity in which they were endeavored to injure them. But the spirits of Saturn feared nothing, because they were safe and were also in tranquillity; whereas those from our earth, being in the midst of them, began to breathe with difficulty, and consequently to be in anguish; and so they cast themselves out, one in this way, and another in that, and disappeared."*
* AC 9108.

     We will comment more fully on this and similar incidents in a later article, but we would draw attention once again to the truth that the knowledge and acknowledgment of the Lord as God is the cornerstone of all thinking, all standards and principles, all conscience, and even of the manners and customs of life.

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The fact that this is so is evidenced in the above incident, in that it is the concept of God which the evil spirits first try to bring into doubt and then destroy; and if that fails, they finally resort to open persecution and enmity. They know that if the cornerstone can be destroyed all else will follow.

     The Moon

     Coming back from the farther reaches of our solar system, we would now turn our attention to our nearest neighbors, the inhabitants of the Moon. Here we come to an area of consideration that presently holds the key interest of our age. Certainly it seems likely that if interplanetary travel becomes possible, the Moon will be the first area to be visited.
     Because of its size, 2,160 miles in diameter, and its relatively close proximity to us, 238,000 miles away, much data has been gathered by science about the Moon. Its surface area is estimated to be about that of North and South America put together. Since we see only about 59 per cent of the Moon's surface from our earth because of the manner of its rotation, we do not yet know how the other part appears. The recent Russian photographs from the satellite which they sent into orbit around the Moon give some indication that it appears much the same on one side as on the other. However, it must be noted that the satellite was 10,000 miles, approximately, from the Moon's surface when the pictures were taken. Through the telescope the Moon appears to be a land of large contrasts. There are large mountain ranges ascending to dizzy heights, and often formed in the shape of a ring, appearing much like a crater. So numerous are these rings of mountains in some areas that the surface of the Moon has a pockmarked appearance.
     No final agreement has been reached as to how these craters were formed, although three main theories have been advanced. The oldest of these is that the Moon was once bombarded with meteors; another has the craters formed from great gas bubbles which developed when the Moon, a molten mass, was cooling off; but perhaps the most widely accepted theory is that they are of volcanic origin, for many prominent astronomers have seen volcanic action on the Moon. Besides the mountainous areas there are great plains, seemingly formed at one time from seas of rippling hot lava. Cutting across the plains and into the mountain ranges are deep cracks or crevasses. No oceans, seas or rivers are observed anywhere. Most scientists declare the Moon to be a waterless world, although some believe that they have seen small jets of steam issuing from certain craters or cracks and forming small local clouds.
     Because there are no cloud formations to be seen over the Moon's surface, and no water on the surface, and because many experiments indicate that there is no atmosphere around the Moon, many scientists state that the gasses needed to support life are completely lacking.

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Oxygen, nitrogen, water-vapor, helium and hydrogen, they say, are not to be found there.
     When all of this evidence is taken together with the fact that no signs of life have been observed on the Moon, the conclusion of many scientists becomes obvious. Here is what Professor H. Spencer Jones states:
     "From what we have learnt of the Moon, and in particular from its lack of oxygen and water and from its extreme variations of temperature, we should naturally conclude that it is a world where life of any sort is entirely out of the question. The Moon is the only world where we would expect to see clear evidence of life, if any existed. There is no doubt that if there were a lunar inhabitant equipped with a powerful telescope, he would be able to see many signs of human activity of the Earth. He would be able to watch the growth of greater London; he would see the cities like New York, Sydney, Johannesburg and Ottawa springing up. He would be able to watch the formation of new lakes by the impounding of water in dams. . . . In the course of a few years he would undoubtedly obtain clear evidence not only of plant life on the. Earth but also of human activity.
     So, in a similar way, if the Moon were inhabited by intelligent beings, we would expect to find plenty of evidence of their existence. We can find none. The Moon shows no signs of change. There are not even seasonal changes of coloration, such as might be attributed to the growth of vegetation. Some astronomers have claimed, indeed, to have seen slight changes in certain regions, changes mainly of tint, such as might be produced by the growth of lichens on rocks. But such changes have not been confirmed and are generally discredited. It seems that the observers have been misled by changes in the appearance of the surface detail with changing altitude of the Sun. No! it is not possible to admit that t here is life of any sort on the Moon. It is a world that is completely and utterly dead, a sterile mountainous waste on which during the heat of the day the Sun blazes down with relentless fury, but where during the long night the cold is so intense that it far surpasses anything ever experienced on the Earth."*
* H. Spencer Jones, Life on Other Worlds.

     Some have endeavored to moderate and refute such findings and attitudes as Professor Jones here evidences. A. C. Ferber in his book, The Secret of Human Life on Other Planets, has gathered together the observations of notable astronomers that would indicate a possibility of life on the Moon. But we believe it is fair to say that however worthy such an endeavor may be, the opinion that the Moon is lifeless still pervades most thinking. In the last edition of the Encyclopedia Britannica there is no mention whatsoever of even a possibility of there being life on the Moon, and the same may be said about most other authoritative works of reference.
     Even to the most complete amateur in this field, as the writer is, it may appear that many of the findings mentioned here need to be compared carefully and then sifted out from theory and speculation. We have mentioned this before, but would do so again.

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For example, is the fact that no cities are seen evidence that there is no life? No, it is not! We have seen that on all the planets so far studied the inhabitants live in small groups or families, and most of the time in separate family units. They lead a rural existence, and have none of the sciences known and developed on earth. There is some question whether a building the size of the largest cathedral on earth could be seen on the Moon through our telescopes; how, then, would humble cottages, animals, or even vegetation, be seen? Indeed, one astronomer stated last year that we could not see anything less than a mile in diameter on the Moon. Does the fact that there are no color changes prove that there is no vegetation on the Moon? No! As we have seen, a number of planets have a year-round vegetation, a perpetual springtime and harvest; and this from a distance would not show any color change. Does the fact that there is little or no atmosphere on the Moon mean that there is no life there? It might, although that is still theory. We will see from what is said of the Moon people that their atmosphere is somewhat different from ours, though not such as Professor Jones would have it.

     The Moon in the Writings

     The main question that confronts us in comparing the scientific evidence with the knowledge revealed in the Writings is this: Does that knowledge stand in opposition to concrete scientific evidence? We have seen, in examining the planets, that it does not, but that it often stands in opposition to theories and conclusions that have been drawn from scientific data. We believe that this is the case also with the Moon. We find no concrete evidence which utterly denies the possibility of life on the Moon; and we would counsel those New Church men who tend to become upset about the apparent conflict between the Writings and science to take another look at both. But let us turn now to what the Writings say about the people of the Moon.
     Very little is said about them. They are described as being a dwarf-like people about the size of a seven-year-old boy, but stouter. Their general physical form is much like ours, although their faces are smaller and longer than ours. Perhaps the most remarkable thing about them is their speech. They have loud, thunderous voices which proceed like something of a belching forth from the abdomen. It is said that they do not speak from the lungs, like the inhabitants of other earths, but from the abdomen, thus from some air that has collected there. It is noteworthy that the reason given in the Writings for this manner of speaking is that the atmosphere of the Moon is different from the atmospheres of other earths.*
* See AC 9233; SD 3242; AC 9235.

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     In the Spiritual Diary, Swedenborg says:

     "I am ignorant what atmosphere they have around them; but still ... the human race was there, because there is nothing without an end; thus nothing without the human race, to be a bond between terrestrial and natural things, and celestial things; for otherwise never can an earth, whether planet, or moon, or satellite, exist."*
* SD 3244.

     In the world of spirits the newly arrived spirits from the Moon use their big, booming voices to terrify other spirits who wish to do them harm, among whom are spirits from our earth who laugh at and make fun of these little people. When spirits from the Moon approached to converse with him, Swedenborg saw that one carried another on his back, but nothing is said as to why this was done.*
* See AC 9232-9234; SD 3241.

     A Tentative Conclusion

     Apart from this brief account, little is said about the people of the Moon. A number of references speak of the inhabitants as living in the Moon, and we might conclude from the findings of science so far that perhaps these people do indeed live in large caves in the mountains, or even in subterranean caverns. If there is as much volcanic action on the Moon as some scientists contend, this may well be a means of moderating the temperature at the Moon's surface, making it quite livable. Certainly the Lord has created their physical form to suit the various conditions that obtain on the Moon. This is evident from the way in which these people breathe and speak. No New Church man can doubt the truth that whatever the true facts of science are, the Writings will match them in perfect harmony. If the Lord created both, this must be so!
DESTINY AND PROMISE 1961

DESTINY AND PROMISE 1961

"This New Church, truly Christian, which at this day is being established by the Lord, will endure to eternity, as is proved from the Word of both Testaments; also it was foreseen from the creation of the world; and it will be the crown of the four preceding churches, because it will have true faith and true charity. In this New Church there will be spiritual peace, glory, and internal blessedness of life. . . . These things will be in the New Church for the sake of conjunction with the Lord, and through Him with God the Father" (Coro. Summ. LII-LIV).

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SELF-EXAMINATION 1961

SELF-EXAMINATION Rev. KURT H. ASPLUNDH 1961

     The subject of evil is an unpopular and distressing one. This is not to say that we do not enjoy our evils! We pursue them with great energy, and would be led on by them into deeper and deeper perversions of delight if nothing stopped us. But no one likes to focus attention on his own evils or view them objectively for what they are; for evils ensnare us with a guise of good. Herein lies the power of evil; for of itself it has no power, and its grip on the human mind lasts only as long as that mind is deceived by its apparent good. If evils did not seem good to us we would not follow their call; and if the falsities that accompanied them did not seem true to us we could not so easily be led astray.
     It is no wonder, then, that the Writings emphasize as one of the "primary things on man's part of the Christian religion" the exploration of self for the discovery and confession of evil. Just as repentance is the first thing of the church in man, so self-examination and the search for individual evils is the first thing of repentance. For this is the starting point in man's endeavor to shun evils as sins. Before a single evil can be shunned it must be seen, recognized and confessed. This is a new doctrine of salvation, one to be found only in the teachings of the New Church. It bears slight resemblance to the Roman Catholic practice of confession and absolution; less to the Protestant dogma of contrition and salvation through Christ's merit; and still less to the modern philosophies which encourage a kind of self-analysis, not to establish a sense of guilt, but rather to do away with it. If there is some external similarity between these practices and what the Writings call for in self-examination there are some very basic differences as well; and these differences stem from the underlying concepts of evil or sin.
     The Roman Catholic Church and the Protestant churches, in so far as they hold to their stated beliefs, proclaim the doctrine of "original sin." According to this doctrine, a corrupt and evil nature has been transmitted to every man by heredity from Adam, and all men thus stand condemned because of the original sin of Adam. Original sin is said to have effected such a total corruption of man's nature that he has no spiritual soundness whatsoever and his only hope of salvation is by the merit of Jesus Christ, who reconciled God to mankind by His death on the cross. Such merit is received by men by baptism, according to Roman Catholic belief; by belief or faith, according to Protestant doctrine.

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Roman Catholic doctrine also provides a sacrament of repentance whereby merit is applied to those who lapse after baptism. This involves the examination of self for sins, their confession before a priest, and the forgiving of those sins by the priest. But in the Reformed or Protestant churches only a universal confession that one is a sinner in all things, called "lip-confession," is encouraged. For man's co-operation of himself, or as of himself, in salvation is taught to be useless, and even an obstacle to salvation. The doctrine of original sin leaves man no practical approach to his evils. It is as if by the flick of a switch, on the occasion of the first sin by Adam, the whole of mankind was removed from the sweetness of light and plunged into total darkness.
     It is the doctrine of the New Church that evil is a disjunction from God brought about gradually from generation to generation by a cumulative process in which man attributed to himself the life God gave him to feel as his own. In both views, the evil nature is passed on hereditarily, but even here there is a difference. According to New Church doctrine, the evil built up cumulatively with mankind is not passed on actually, but as a tendency or an inclination to evils. In itself this heredity does not condemn; man is condemned by what of it he allows to become actual. In the doctrine of original sin, however, the inheritance itself is condemnatory. Thus it is thought that infants who die without benefit of baptism cannot be saved. However, it is not the sacraments themselves, nor a mere faith in the Lord, that save a man, but acts of repentance. These are all such things as cause man not to will and consequently not to commit evils, which are sins against God.
     How much more reasonable this doctrine is than any other! For Evils - being the accumulated disorders brought about by man through the appearance of self-life - must be expunged, and their tendency thwarted by the reverse process. True order, as it is presented in Divine revelation, must be seen, and the disorders of our lives must then be compared with it. We must then remove our disorders by confession of them, and by imploring the Lord's aid in shunning them as sins.
     A distinction must here be seen between the terms "evil" and "sin." Evil refers to all that is contrary to order, to all that separates man from God. All evils are harmful to order and hurtful to society; still, we may be innocent of unknown evils. Although they will most certainly harm us to a greater or lesser extent, they will not condemn us spiritually. Sin does condemn us, since this we do against the Divine and against the neighbor; for "sin" refers to those evils and falsities which we do and think intentionally and from the will. * It is the evil held in thought and will that is credited against us, even if we do not effect it in ultimates.*
* See AC 8925.

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It is the task of a man, in self-examination, to search out primarily his active sins, and then to wage his daily combat against them. Many evils will remain hidden from our view, even in the most searching examination, and this is of Providence. For man is unable to bear the whole weight of accumulated hereditary evil at once. Rather he is brought face to face with the evils with which he can cope, and by the conquest of these he is given the spiritual strength to see more subtle and hidden wrongs: for "sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof."*
* Matthew 6: 34.
     Self-examination must never lapse into the despair engendered by a useless review of past evils, for as such it feeds the delights of our tempters and opens our minds to their tortures. That is not true self-examination, but the working of an unbalanced and sick mind. Self-examination is rather a task for a healthy and strong mind, for it should be a calm and rational evaluation of our vital intentions and purposes as measured against the standard of revealed truth. In this way our evils are brought to light.
     If evils were not so exposed, we could not be rid of them. It is a spiritual law that evils cannot be removed unless they appear.* This law would reduce the world to a battlefield of continual warfare and bloodshed were it not for the provision of self-examination. A man need not do evils in order that they may appear! He may discover them by examining himself. For this purpose he has been given an understanding, and this separated from his will, so that he may know, understand and acknowledge what is good and what is evil; also that he may see what his will is, that is, what he loves and what he longs for. When a man knows what sin is, and when he sees it in himself, he is able, if he implores the Lord for help, to cease willing it, to shun it, and afterwards to act against it; and if he cannot do this freely, he is still able to coerce it by combat, and finally to turn away from it and hate it.**
* See DP 278a
** Ibid.
     The process of self-examination in the New Church man, then, is to be a far different thing from the universal self-condemnation of lip-confession, and a far different thing, also, from the loosening of our emotions in a rambling, pseudo-psychological search for some key to our personality. It is to be an honest and careful appraisal of our thoughts and intentions, to be undertaken in our most rational states. It requires unusual objectivity, for in our exploration we must isolate our intentions from the external forces which inhibit their ultimation. We must free ourselves, in thought, from the fears of punishment and of the loss of honor, reputation and gain which restrain most outward expressions of evil.

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We must not be fooled by our natural disposition to be timid, or even to be good, which may normally cloak our inner intent. Nor must we be overly influenced by temporary states of fatigue, anxiety or other unusual states, at the time of exploration; "for the states themselves very much vary the perception" of our evils.* We must also withdraw as far as possible from our evils when we are examining them. When we are actively involved, we are not able to recognize evils for what they are. And we must, of course, call to our aid in the inspecting of evils an array of knowledges from Divine revelation and our best understanding of doctrine, for by these means evils are seen.
* AC 3796: 3.
Admittedly, this is hard and exacting work. It may seem to be coldly analytical and far afield from the fullbodied and wholehearted worship of the Lord. Perhaps that is why we are not asked to explore ourselves more than once or twice a year, or at "recurring seasons . . . as often, for instance, as a man prepares himself for the communion of the Holy Supper."* That is why there are many who are unable to examine themselves, including "infants, boys and girls before they arrive at the age at which they are capable . . . also the simpleminded, who are not capable of reflection; and again, all those who have no fear of God, and besides these some who are sick in mind and body; and above all those who are confirmed in the doctrine of justification by faith alone . . . and who have persuaded themselves that by such examination and repentance something of man would enter, which would destroy faith. . . ." To all such, we are told, lip-confession, or the confession that they have evils although they have not searched them out in themselves, is serviceable.**
* TCR 530. Cf. TCR 567: 5; AR 224; CL 529.
** TCR 527.
Also, because actual repentance, which includes self-examination, is very difficult for those who have not practiced it, there has been provided an "easier kind of repentance," which may be practiced. This does not involve deep, occasional self-examination, but rather depends for its effectiveness on a day to day prompting of conscience. Thus "when anyone is giving thought to any evil and intending it, he should say: 'Although I am thinking about this and intending it, I will not do it because it is a sin.'"* By this means the temptation injected from hell is checked, and its further entrance prevented. This easier kind of repentance differs from actual repentance in the depth to which it goes. Many evils would elude this simple check because we would not be aware of our deeper motives. We will be much more wary of evils, and far more effective against them, when we have searched out the key underlying motives that produce them. We will more easily see our motives working in the activities of daily life when we have once examined them.
* TCR 535.

283

     The fact that deep self-examination is to be made only occasionally does not mean that we are to forget our evils in the interim. Rather are we to be enabled to see them more clearly whenever they affect our lives. We read that "he who leads a life of faith does repentance daily, for he reflects upon the evils that are in him, guards himself against them, and supplicates the Lord for aid."* He does not perform self-examination daily, but daily applies the findings of his previous examination.
* AC 8391.
     As to the actual exploration, we are warned, first of all, that if it is only as to actions "it discovers little, and this not enough. 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 sins, then it discovers all."* "It is therefore the part of a wise man to know the ends that are in him," we are taught. The Writings go even further and give us certain practical tests to apply to our examination of ourselves. For instance, "if anyone desires to know the ends that are within him, let him merely pay attention to the delight he perceives in himself from the praise and glory of self, and to the delight he perceives from use separate from self; if he perceives this latter delight, he is in genuine affection."**
* Char. 5, marginal note.
** AC 3796: 3.
     Again, we are taught: "Everyone may see what kind of life he has, if he will only search out what his end is; not what all his ends are, for he has numberless ones . . . but let him search out the end he prefers to all the rest. . . . If he has for his end himself and the world, let him know that his life is infernal; but if he has for his end the good of the neighbor, the common good, the Lord's kingdom, and especially the Lord Himself, let him know that his life is heavenly."*
* AC 1909: 2.
     We are taught also that while "it is impossible for those who are in the love of self to know what their ruling love is . . . yet, if they were willing, they might know it from others who are wise, and who see what they themselves do not see";* and it is said as well that if a man desires to know his ruling love, let him observe his delights."**
* HH 487.
**HH 487e
     Another test by which we may evaluate our lives is mentioned in the Writings. This is couched in a form which makes it useful to those who are capable only of the easier kind of repentance as well as those who are able to examine themselves. For it is said that if, "when a man betakes himself to evils, as is the case with many in youth, he feels any anxiety when he reflects upon having done what is evil, it is a sign that he will still receive influx through the angels from heaven, and it is also a sign that he will afterwards suffer himself to be reformed; but if when he reflects upon his having done what is evil, he has no anxious feeling, it is a sign that he is no longer willing to receive influx through the angels from heaven, and it is also a sign that he will not afterward suffer himself to be reformed."*

284

However, it is not enough to be satisfied with a mere feeling of anxiety at our having committed evils; for unless we support that anxiety with a real effort to shun those evils in the future, the anxious feelings we once had about them will gradually diminish until they disappear.
* AC 5470: 2.
For the real end of any test of self-examination is amendment of life. The examination is not an end in itself, but is a means to the initiating of further acts of repentance. Only in so far as it does this can it be considered useful. Without this end, exploration is apt to lead man only into useless and enervating condemnation for the guilt of past deeds. To protect ourselves from this hurtful self-examination, and put some bounds to the exploration of motives that lie deep below our consciousness, it is perhaps wise to channel our search toward those intentions and purposes which are most destructive of our particular usefulness as citizens of the Lord's kingdom of uses. Let us ask ourselves which evils are most destructive of our specific uses, and by what means the hells are trying most urgently to pervert the uses of life that have been entrusted to us - those uses which, in their purity, would lead to the upbuilding of the church and heaven. Even in this we are not left without some guide, for the Writings state that there are three evils which will be "especially shunned" by those who will be of the New Jerusalem: adultery, the love of dominion, and deceit. *
* See SD 6053
We should, indeed, beware of all evils, but especially of these three. Yet even they may be repented of, and be shunned as sins against the Lord that we may be forgiven; for that is the will of the Lord, who came, not to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
TRULY CHRISTIAN CHURCH 1961

TRULY CHRISTIAN CHURCH 1961

"By His first coming and the redemption then effected, the Lord could not form a new heaven of Christians, and from them a new church, because there were no Christians as yet, but they became Christians gradually through the preachings and writings of the apostles. Neither could He afterwards, since from the beginning so many heresies broke forth.
Because the Lord foresaw these things, therefore, owing to its necessity in order that man might be saved, He promised that He would come again into the world, and would accomplish a redemption, and would establish the New Church, which would be a truly Christian Church" (Coronis, Summary.XXXI, XXXII, XXXV).

285

FUNCTION AND IMPORTANCE OF FORM 1961

FUNCTION AND IMPORTANCE OF FORM E. BRUCE GLENN 1961

     (Adapted from a talk to the General Faculty of the Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa., November 1, 1960.)

     The Writings have much to say about form; but the concept is presented in many different contexts throughout the Heavenly Doctrine, and with the emphasis frequently placed on another subject. It is the purpose of this article to develop two points about form: 1) that it has a vital function in human activity, and thus in the life of the church and its institutions; and 2) that, for specific reasons, we tend in the church to neglect the importance of form.
     What is the function of form? Simply expressed, it is to embody substance. Dictionaries describe it as "definite shape," "a body," "a particular structural character or mode," "a manner of arranging for effective result," and - speaking philosophically - "the structure, pattern, organization, or essential nature of anything."
     This last seems confusing. The essential nature of anything would seem to be its substance. We speak, for example, of love as the life of man, his essential character; and love is substance. But we cannot experience substance except in a form. And this is the function of form, to enable man to experience the realities that lie hidden within all forms and which he can never experience in themselves. Form is all we experience of substance.
      Let the last statement not be misunderstood. It is not that we experience substance only through form. We never, I believe, experience see, feel, know, understand - substance at all. We experience only its form, on whatever plane we may consider: physical, psychological, or spiritual. Hence the great importance of form.
     Test this concept on the physical plane by experience. Think of wood. Think of it, if you can, apart from form. It is impossible. Wood is tree, or lumber, or table. It is hickory or pine. It is a "hard, fibrous substance" - but when we say "hard" and "fibrous" we are talking of form. The substance we cannot know except as form. We can know an immense range of levels of form; but no matter how far we penetrate beyond gross physical appearance, we are still in the realm of form, even when we reduce water to H20.

286

     But this is only the evidence of the senses, however refined and generalized. What do we find in turning to the spiritual concepts of Divine revelation?
     At a glance, the Writings seem to relegate form to a secondary position, that of mere effect from prior cause and serving further effects of use. Form is only the form of substance. Thus "truth is only the form of good; and faith is only the form of love. Truth is formed from good according to the quality of the good, and faith is formed from love according to the quality of the love or charity."* Again, with regard to those who judge only from the things of nature: "Nature [must be] regarded, not from some of its forms, which are merely objects of sight, but from uses in their succession and order. For uses are from life alone . . . while forms are only containants of uses. Consequently, if forms alone are regarded, nothing of life, still less anything of love and wisdom, thus nothing of God, can be seen in nature."**
* AC 668.
** DLW 46.
     Form, in short, stems from substance and looks to uses; it is a mere bridge from purpose to effect. Its apparent insignificance is seen in the words that recurrently qualify it - "only," "merely," "alone."
     Concentration upon form is wrong. And yet if it is all that man experiences of reality, it is inevitable that he dwell upon it. Swedenborg observed, in emphatic generalization: "Of all who pass from the natural world into the spiritual world, thus far I have not found one who had known that he was an affection; few even knew what affection is. . They know what thought is, because they perceive it; but not what affection is, because no one perceives this. . . . I said to them that thought is nothing whatever by itself, but is something by affection . . . because thought is from affection, as a thing is formed by that which forms it; also that thought is perceived, and not affection, because the thing formed is perceived and not what forms it."*
* Love, XVI
     Psychologically, then, form is all that we experience of substance; and this human reaction, to which men testify in both worlds, is a true appearance. For if it is true that form exists only from substance, it is equally true that substance cannot come into being without form. In creation, as in the Creator, the two are inseparable. "By substance is also meant form, for substance is not possible apart from form."* "Esse is not esse unless it exists, because until then it is not in a form; and if not in a form it has no quality; and what has no quality is not anything. That which exists from esse, for the reason that it is from esse, makes one with it."**
* DLW 209
** DLW 15.

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     The last passage is in reference to the nature of God, in whom substance and form, esse and existere, are inseparably one. And they are one also in His creation; otherwise creation could not he. However, man, too, creates, in a reciprocal sense; and in his imperfect response to the Divine order, he may split asunder the unity of substance and form, of good and truth, charity and faith, life and thought, ideal and accomplishment. We are specifically warned of the spiritual consequences of this separation. "When there is no genuine truth no genuine good is possible, since every quality of good is formed by means of truths; for good is the essence of truth, and truth is the form of good, and without form there can be no quality. Good and truth can no more be separated than will and understanding, or what is the same thing, than love's affection and the thought therefrom."*
* TCR 753.
     Man may strive to separate them; but the inevitable law of unity will close them back in upon him. If he seeks faith and neglects charity, his faith turns to dust. If he exercises charity without faith, his love, evanescent, is dispersed. The law is inevitable: substance and form cannot remain apart and be.
     But men and institutions are not simply bound to the law; they can freely respond to it. They can seek the truths by which goods are made tangible in the mind, and the activities by which the same goods are brought to fruition in use. They can and must seek to establish the forms by which alone substances - loves, goods, ideals - can be experienced and enacted.
     The failure to do this spells the death of ideals and of institutions. Neglect of forms by which human ideals - the inner substances of man's spiritual life - can be ultimated in uses is a constant threat to every institution of human society. Specifically, I believe that we in the New Church face the danger of such neglect, and for specific reasons. First, as noted earlier, we have the clear teaching that in God and in His creation, form makes one with substance. It is quite easy to transfer this concept to our own reciprocal activities, and to suppose that if we hold an ideal, it will somehow find its own form. Second, in observing the doctrinal injunction against faith separated from charity, we may tend to avoid emphasis on external forms, lest we, like the Pharisees, become "whited sepulchres." Third, the church in its still early states strives to cast off the forms associated with previous institutions. This, coupled with the vision of a new ideal and distinctive viewpoint, tends to create a hiatus between the old, discarded forms and the creation of new ones.
     But our new wine needs new bottles. We need, consciously and with effort, to create new forms.

288

We need specific modes of behavior, so that our social life and that of our children will bring the new vision of charity into actuality - not simply reflect it, but make it actual. Only form can do this. We need to develop specific curricular programs throughout our schools to implement the new vision of the mind and its true development. It is not enough to have New Church schools and to think from the Writings; we must find forms that will carry thought into act, else the vision remains unrealized and the institutions mere forms indeed.
Much is being done, individually and organizationally, in the church. If we realize the vital importance of form we will do much more, that the church may truly come into existence among us. For "whatever has existence derives from form that which is called quality, and that which is called predicate, also that which is called change of state . . . consequently that which is not in a form has no power to affect; and what has no power to affect has no reality. It is the form that gives all these things."*
* DP 4.
IN OUR CONTEMPORARIES 1961

IN OUR CONTEMPORARIES 1961

The English edition of UMCHAZI published last March arrived recently, and as usual contains much interesting material. There is a sermon by the Rev. B. I. Nzimande, "A Place for the Lord to Lay His Head"; a paper, "Actual Repentance is Examining One's Self," given by the Rev. Paulus Mbedzi at the Annual Ministers' Meetings; and a talk to children and an address on the power of the Holy Supper by the Assistant Superintendent. The Superintendent summarizes his report, in which discouraging signs and grounds for encouragement are noted frankly; and in his notes comments on the recent meetings, on the re-opening of the Theological School, though with only one student, and on the Winter School to be held again at Hambrook. The Rev. B. I. Nzimande, recently appointed African Assistant to the Superintendent, submits an interesting report of his first visit with the Superintendent to Basutoland and the Cape Province.
A recent issue of the NEW-CHURCH MESSENGER contains a thoughtful article, "The Letter or Language of the Word," by Carolyn A. Blackmer. After noting the symbolic character of language, and noting certain teachings of the Writings concerning the nature of the Word, the author distinguishes between the sense of the letter as formed from material ideas in the Jewish culture and as the meaning of the language into which the internal sense falls.

289

WINIFRED S. HYATT 1961

WINIFRED S. HYATT CHARLES J. KINTNER 1961

     Eminent New Church Artist

     AN APPRECIATION

     Winfred Hyatt was by nature somewhat shy and retiring. Considering this disposition of his, it is perhaps not strange that no special notice was taken of his passing into the spiritual world, which occurred on December 9, 1959. Maybe that is the way Winfred would have preferred it! Yet his qualities and accomplishments were so considerable that it is fitting that some mention be made of them for the records.
     In the memorial address delivered by the Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner, his character was most aptly described in the following manner. "The intense interest which Winfred Hyatt always showed in any doctrinal issues which were current, testified to an active, honest and philosophical mind; patient and modest, bowing to revealed doctrine, yet careful to analyze fairly, and persistent in the search for truth. He showed a staunch love of principles and an attitude of charity towards all men. Slow to condemn, he was kindly and friendly, pacific. Often withdrawn in his art and his music, he was yet a genial companion. . .
     These are some of the things we remember about Winfred Hyatt, whether as friends or as members of his devoted family. While none of us can know the final abode of any man, we can hope that these will still be leading qualities of his in the other life.
     Because of the very nature of his artistic accomplishments, his memory will live on in this world for a long time to come. What were some of Winfred's concepts of the place of art in the New Church and with the individual? His various views could hardly be expressed adequately in this brief account, but a glimpse is given in his introductory lecture to a Fine Arts class in the Academy of the New Church College, and published in New Church Life for July, 1948, entitled "The Philosophy of Art."
     After reviewing various passages from the Writings, Winfred remarks:
     "What conclusions can be drawn from these passages? As to those from the Writings: first, that art belongs to the natural mind, and is intrinsically exterior, not interior. It is essential as recreation and in providing an ultimate plane for interior delights, but it is not an end in itself.

290

Art is an ultimate power, and may powerfully affect the mind, and image interior things; but it is not in itself the independent source of anything spiritual. This teaching has its practical application in counteracting the school of thought that looks to science and art for the salvation of civilization. Frequently, also, we come across the expression of ideas which in various ways exaggerate the importance of art, seeing in it the very essence of all spiritual values, and the artist as above and free from any moral responsibility. We should be on guard against the infiltration of such ideas into our thought. The true importance of art is in its perfection of the ultimate sensuous plane of the mind, and its true end that this plane should be in full correspondence with the rational and the spiritual."
     It may be mentioned here that a great many of Winfred's views on art were recently written up by a member of his family. Someday, it is hoped, this paper may be published in its entirety; in the meantime, we can borrow from its substance.
     Winfred Sumner Hyatt was born on November 19, 1891, to the Rev. and Mrs. Edward S. Hyatt, in Toronto, Canada, where his father was an outstanding minister of the General Church and his mother a New Church teacher of exceptional ability. By the time he was ten years of age, he had begun to show some signs of artistic talent by taking first prize at a fair. Then, when he was fifteen years old, he entered the Toronto Technical School for two years. There his art teacher, Mrs. Hine, took quite an interest in him. She had studied in France, and was probably his greatest encouragement in art up to that stage in his life.
     In 1908, Winfred entered the Academy of the New Church, from which he graduated two years later. Instead of taking a proferred position as a teacher of English in the Academy, he accepted an offer from John Pitcairn to help him through the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts at Philadelphia. During the summer of 1911 he entered some exhibits at the Canadian National Exhibition and took most of the first prizes. Continuing his studies at the Academy of Fine Arts, Winfred won the competitive Cresson Scholarship in June 1913, thus gaining the opportunity to study art in Europe. In the following year he won his second Cresson Scholarship; but with the war on in Europe he confined his traveling to Great Britain, visiting cathedrals and studying stained glass windows.
     In 1915 he began work on the Bryn Athyn Cathedral windows. Under the Trust Fund for the Bryn Athyn Church set up by John Pitcairn, he continued this work until his death. As it turned out, Winfred's decision to work on the Cathedral was a fortunate one for the development of art in the New Church, even though it was, no doubt, a sacrifice of the fame and fortune he might have gained from the world, had he so desired.

291

     This background sketch of Winfred Hyatt's training and work does not bring out his amazing perseverance in applying himself in other fields of interest until he became proficient. Who, having heard him play the piano, would have suspected that he became the accomplished pianist he was without the aid of formal training? Likewise, those who saw him play tennis in his early forties would hardly have suspected that he had taken up the game only a few years previously.
     But to return to his main love and use, one must marvel at the many reminders he has left to us and to our posterity in the church. As we sit in the cathedral in Bryn Athyn, we are all affected by the beauty of form and color of the stained glass windows, conveying to each of us something of the message the artist intended. These portrayals, and the message, are foremost, as they should be; but we can also be glad that we had in Winfred Hyatt the artist capable of executing this work with such understanding and affection. Another religious work of outstanding beauty is to be found in the chapel at Glencairn, done in mosaics under the direction of Raymond Pitcairn.
     Winfred loved to work in both pastels and oils. In the Academy we find his portraits of Bishop N. D. Pendleton, Bishop E. C. Bostock, the Rev. Enoch Price, and the Rev. Homer Synnestvedt, and Mr. Edward C. Bostock. Some of his outstanding privately held portraits include those of Bishop and Mrs. Alfred Acton, Professor Camile Vinet, Alvin Nelson, Raymond Pitcairn, Clarence Brown, Dr. Mike Dorizas, and many others which some of us individually cherish.
     For many years it was Winfred Hyatt who prepared the Christmas tableaux for the Bryn Athyn Society. He also worked on the scenery for many of the plays put on by the Civic and Social Club.
     As noted previously, he initiated, at the instigation of Dean Eldric S. Klein, a series of lectures in the Academy's College on art appreciation. These informative lectures continued until the time of his death.
     Painter, craftsman, musician, student, teacher, husband, father and friend - Winfred Hyatt was all of these. As Dr. Odhner said of him in the memorial address: "Such talents as are his are rare and will endure beyond death."
SURPASSING ALL MIRACLES 1961

SURPASSING ALL MIRACLES 1961

"This New Christian Church is not being established through miracles as the former was. But, instead of them, the spiritual sense of the Word is revealed, and the spiritual world disclosed, and the nature of both heaven and hell manifested; also that man lives a man after death; which things surpass all miracles" (Coronis, Summary L-LI).

292

NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS 1961

NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS Rev. ORMOND ODHNER 1961

     The Second Book of Samuel closes with a strange story, which, until it is explained in the light of the Writings, seems to be lacking in even elementary justice. Toward the close of David's life, the Lord's "anger" was kindled against the people of Israel, they having committed some unspecified sin. The Lord therefore inspired David to command his general, Joab, to "number the people," that is, to take a census. Joab protested, but to no avail. After the census, the prophet Gad denounced David, offering him choice among three punishments for this sin: seven years of famine, three months of flight before his enemies, or three days of pestilence upon the people. David chose the last; and before the plague was stayed, seventy thousand Israelites had died.
     The whole thing seems eminently unfair. Why did the Lord inspire David to commit a sin? What was sinful about taking a census? And why, for David's sin, did the people die? Surely it was not their fault that they were numbered. The Writings do not specifically comment on the statement that it was the Lord who inspired David to sin. They do teach, however, that no evil comes from the Lord, but that since the ancient Jews attributed both good and evil to God, it is frequently said in the letter of the Old Testament that God does evil. As to the people suffering apparently for David's sin, the Writings state categorically that such was not the case. They were punished, not for David's sin, but for their own, as is intimated in the first verse of the chapter, in which it is said: "The anger of the Lord was kindled against Israel." Only sin on their part could have stirred the Lord's "anger" against them.*
* See DP 244.
     "Numbering the people," we are told, represents knowing, disposing, and setting in order all the goods and truths of the church - for Judah and Israel together represent all its goods and truths - and only the Lord can do that. Only the Lord, that is, can see all truth and good as one. (This seems to be involved in the teaching that while an angel can sometimes see a whole heavenly society as one man, only the Lord can see the whole of heaven in a single human form.) Only the Lord can know the exact quality of all the goods and truths in the church at large; only He can connect, order and dispose them into a perfect form. Only the Lord can know the exact quality of the church in the individual mind and dispose it into its proper form.

293

Man cannot make such a final spiritual judgment upon anyone else, not even upon himself. To seek to do so is a sin, and it was this which was signified by David's numbering the people.
David, of course, did not know this; but it was known in Israel that it should not be done. Hence Joab's protest. He knew that when Moses had been commanded by the Lord Himself to number the people, Moses did this from the Lord, not from himself, as David did, and that the people all had to make individual offerings to the Lord lest plague come upon them. Numbering the people on one's own was taboo, and David knew it. It was not without knowledge that he sinned.
REVIEW 1961

REVIEW ROBERT S. JUNGE 1961

BIG QUESTIONS OFF CAMPUS. By Robert H. Kirven. Illustrations by Mark E. Kelley. The New-Church Press, New York, 1960. Cloth, pp. 212. Price, $3.50.

     Picture a line drawing cartoon, by Mark E. Kelley, of two grouchy parents with a poor child squashed in between saying, "I can't take sides"; or of a crowd of people, hunched in a hole, fearfully looking upward, and captioned "It will be O. K. to go out again in a couple of weeks"; and you have, perhaps, the first impression of Robert Kirven's new book Big Questions Off Campus. It is certainly unexpected to find a book presenting the doctrines of the New Church containing cartoons and lampooning the problems and conflicts of religion. The cartoon method is of proven worth in advertising and of proven appeal to young people. Most of the cartoons here are in good taste, and some are really very funny. They have the power of expressing in one image many of the problems of our age. This can be very useful in reducing the all-wise, overly serious student to size. The very clever cartoons put clearly before us the place of humor in instruction.
     Humor has the ability to set things in rational perspective. Nothing is gained by making our outlook on life dull and humorless. In this book it is not the cartoons as humor, or as a method of instruction, to which we object so much as their effect of encouraging a free-swinging overthrow of traditional authority, without replacing it with the clear authority of the New Church.
     Young people are already too prone to reject authority. The Ishmael rational refuses the acknowledgment that all life is from the Lord; it even despises authority that comes from any other source than self.

294

The way to lead to maturity, and to a mature acceptance of the church, is surely to guide the young person to the authority from God which appeals to reason; namely, the Heavenly Doctrine - the Word of the Lord in His second coming.
     The following quotation so mars the book from a General Church point of view that this reviewer, for one, would not hand it to anyone outside of the New Church on campus:

     "Swedenborg's writings, although inspired by God and revealing His truths, are not a part of the Word of God. - the Bible - nor an addition to it, nor in any way on a par with it. A lens can focus and direct light, but a lens is not light. Swedenborg's teachings throw the light of the Bible back on itself for greater understanding, and upon life for better living; but they are like a lens for the light of the Bible. They contain no new truth that was not already written in the Word of God.
     "Not every word that Swedenborg wrote in his theological works is truth revealed by God. Swedenborg's part in the Revelation of the Lord's Second Coming was to experience life in the natural and the spiritual worlds at once, and then frame his experience into a theology. In doing this, he used both kinds of experience, and did not always feel it was necessary to distinguish between them. His observations from natural experience were sound and accurate, too, but they were not all divinely revealed. The works were written by Swedenborg, as a result of inspiration and spiritual experience provided by God."*
* Pp. 70, 71.
     In addition, the old - permeation theory is clearly taught throughout. It is, indeed, the spirit of the book.*
* For examples see pp. 184-185, 203-204.
     This summary dismissal of the book for use in its intended purpose may seem harsh. General Church reviewers may give the appearance that no book is any good unless it clearly argues for the authority of the Writings, and this seems like a blind fetish. Yet, while a book need not argue that authority, it should at least be written in the authority's spirit. Mr. Kirven's book clearly is not, and even argues against it.
     But we should not dismiss the book altogether. It handles simply and in a down-to-earth way many of the basic questions which bother young people, and indeed bother many throughout their lives. For example, it tackles such questions as these: Is it Right to Ask Questions about God? Can I Believe in Evolution and the Bible too? Can Atomic Experiments or Warfare Destroy the Human Race? How far Can I Go without Sinning? What Good does it do to Pray? How can You Prove there is a God? Many questions of equal interest are raised.

295

While we might sometimes wish for further explanation, there are many good general references to the Writings, and such titles as Human Destiny, The Growth of the Mind and The Invisible Police are included among the references. The format is clear and inviting.
A recent survey among new members of the church indicates that the college age should be a very fruitful field for missionary endeavors. Holding the interest of young people is one of the greatest challenges to any church, the General Church not excepted. We badly need literature that is adapted to young minds. This new book is an effort that deserves serious study and thought from everyone who may be working with this problem. Mr. Kirven seems to have a feeling for the college age. Teachers, ministers, and others working with young people, may find here some interesting thoughts and suggestions. It is one of those books that is not simply all black or pure white. It makes us ask: "Just what is the proper and up-to-date approach to the college set?" As such, it should be a really good conversation piece.
ROBERT S. JUNGE
OUR NEW CHURCH VOCABULARY 1961

OUR NEW CHURCH VOCABULARY 1961

Celestial. In its broadest usage, this term embraces all heavenly things as distinct from earthly ones. In all other instances it has reference to love and good as distinct from truth and faith. Thus it refers, according to context, to love to the Lord; to the third heaven, which receives that love; to the highest degree of the human mind, which receives the activity of the third heaven; to that kingdom of heaven which is in love; and to the men of the first church, established before the fall, who were regenerated by the implantation of good in the will. There are many compound forms. (See AC 4286, 1096; DP 32; AC 8945, 3240, 5733.)
Charity. This is one of the most important and distinctive terms used in the Writings. In the world today, charity is thought of almost entirely in terms of private or organized relief of material want. According to the Writings, however, charity is not an action at all - although it has no reality unless it is ultimated in deeds. Charity is to will well, and to do good works is to do well from willing well. In itself, charity is an internal affection which consists in a man's desiring from the heart, as the delight of his life, to do good to the neighbor, and this without thought of recompense; and its essence is to will well to the neighbor, to be affected with good, and to acknowledge good as the neighbor. The life of charity is to act sincerely, justly and faithfully in one's office. (See TCR 374; F 13; AC 8033; HD 101.)

296

UNIQUE FUNCTION IN EDUCATION 1961

UNIQUE FUNCTION IN EDUCATION Editor 1961

NEW CHURCH LIFE
Office of Publication, Lancaster, Pa.
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THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM
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     It is safe to assume that during the closing exercises held this month by New Church schools at least one valedictorian, whether speaking for eighth grade or senior college, will say: "We have been taught how to think!" In this he will be perfectly correct, though what is distinctive in the statement may not at first be apparent. New Church schools are not alone in trying to instill habits of thought. Every system of education which is not propaganda or indoctrination tries to do that. What is peculiar to New Church education, and its unique feature as far as it succeeds, is the way in which it encourages its products to think for themselves; for the aim is not that men and women shall think from themselves, but of themselves from the Writings.
     It is just this kind of thinking that is lacking in the world today. Modern man, rejecting the idea of an authoritative Divine revelation, is suspicious of any authority outside of self as a threat to intellectual freedom. As truth is held to be relative, youth can be invited only to participate in adventures of the mind. Where New Church education is unique is in its acceptance of Divine revelation as fully authoritative, and its constant challenge to the growing mind to stretch itself to the utmost in thinking directly from that revelation, not from self-intelligence or that of any other man; confident that in this lies the only true intellectual freedom. As the world recedes further from acceptance of Divine revelation, the need for this kind of thinking will become more and more urgent, and New Church education has a vital and unique function to perform in perpetuating and developing it.

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WHOSE KINGDOM SHALL BE 1961

WHOSE KINGDOM SHALL BE Editor 1961

     Every birth anniversary of the New Church invites us to reflect on how the Lord's crowning dispensation may be further and more surely established on earth. As we enter the last decade of the church's second century, we may usefully reflect also on the matter of change in relation thereto. Certainly the world has changed in the last two hundred years; just as certainly will it continue to change; and if the church is to perform the use of evangelization effectively, it must be able to appraise and adapt itself to its environment. Of that there can be no doubt. But where change may and should not take place requires our most careful thinking, for vital issues are at stake.
     Where the idea of change is valid is not in relation to the principles on which the church is founded but to the ways in which they are accommodated. Divinely revealed doctrines do not change, and in offering them the church has a responsibility not to obscure an important distinction. It has an obligation not to compromise, dilute or sacrifice principles in the name of accommodation, or even to de-emphasize at the behest of human prudence or natural charity. For the Lord alone builds the church, and He can do so only through the truths He has given it as they are, not as men might wish them to be. To jeopardize principle is not to accommodate but to yield to the world.
     It is our belief that there can be no real establishment of the church specific except on the basis of certain things: the acknowledgment that the Lord has made His second coming in the Heavenly Doctrine; the recognition of the Divine authority of the Writings; acceptance without reserve of what they teach about the consummation of the Christian dispensation as the instrument of salvation; belief that the church is new and a church, distinct and to be distinctive, not an advanced denomination in a revitalized Christianity; a conviction that evil and falsity must be exposed and judged before good and truth can be established in their stead; and the life of spiritual charity that can be attained only through the spiritual truth revealed in the Writings.
     These things do not change. They are the eternal truths and goods by which alone the Lord can build the church specific in this world. There is constant need for change in our understanding of them, in our perception of how they are to be presented, perhaps most of all in the spirit of charity in which we ourselves react to them and offer them to others. The perfecting of the church means change, and in these things we must change or die. But an everlasting kingdom can be built only on eternal truths; and any attempt to change the truth will not build but will destroy. On this distinction we need to be absolutely clear.

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EPISCOPATE ENDS 1961

EPISCOPATE ENDS Editor 1961

     At the end of this month, the Right Reverend George de Charms, Bishop of the General Church of the New Jerusalem, will retire from the office which he has filled for twenty-four years. It is fitting that we should at this time, and for the entire General Church, express gratitude for the Divine Providence which has given to us his leadership, and appreciation of the quality of the episcopal government which resulted from his free response to the duties and obligations of the office as he saw them from the Writings.
     Time is needed to evaluate a leadership which has spanned nearly a quarter of a century, and a full and ripe judgment is seldom if ever the production of one mind. Yet without the presumption of seeming to pronounce a final verdict, there are certain things that may be said to which the church will surely give hearty assent. If there is one thing which more than any other has characterized Bishop De Charms' government of the General Church it has surely been that which is expressed in his own frequent repetition of the statement that government must be with the consent of the governed. It has evidently been his first concern that the church should be led by a free and rational response to the plain teachings of the Lord in the Heavenly Doctrine, and this from a clear perception that not otherwise could there be genuine growth.
     Bishop De Charms' leadership has been marked by a high regard for the freedom of the church, by a deep concern for the uses of the clergy, and by an equal concern for the welfare and orderly development of the church's societies, circles and groups. He has shown patience under the dispensations of Providence and with the vagaries of human nature, of which he has evidenced much understanding. His confidence has always been readily given where it was deserved. Yet firmness has not been lacking when it was needed; and it has been his custom, in the light of the facts of a situation, to place the onus for decision where it belongs. In this we may see the marks of an attempt at true leadership: the leading of truth rather than of a man - yet exercised by one whose warm humanity is known throughout the General Church.
     From the beginning, the General Church has looked to its Bishops also for a clear and firm doctrinal leadership, and in this respect also Bishop De Charms has made distinguished contributions which will outlast his years in office. His books, and his many published sermons, articles and addresses have enriched the thought of the church and will continue to influence it for many years to come.
     In saying these things we are not unmindful of Mrs. De Charms, his constant companion at home and so often in his episcopal visits throughout the church.

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What her unfailing support of his uses has meant can be known fully only to him; but some of its results can be testified to affectionately by members of the church throughout the world, who have learned to know her and her husband as friends during Assemblies and other visits made over the years.
With gratitude and affection, then, we may wish Bishop De Charms, and with him his wife, a happy and therefore by no means idle retirement! The church looks to the future; and our natural regret is balanced by appreciation of what has been accomplished and tempered by the knowledge that the Bishop's counsel will still be available; that his services will by no means be lost to the church, concern for the future of which led to his decision to retire at the end of this month.
REMARKABLE ADDRESS 1961

REMARKABLE ADDRESS DOUGLAS TAYLOR 1961

Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE:

     May I use these columns to express appreciation for a remarkable article which appeared in NEW CHURCH LIFE for January, 1961? It is entitled "Petty Evils," is written by the Rev. Erik Sandstrom, and is to be found on pages 6-14.
     What makes the address so remarkable is that it is at once so very practical and helpful and yet profound. It can bear reading over and over again. It conduces to self-examination, and yet it is by no means discouraging.
     Over the years Mr. Sandstrom has contributed a number of fine articles and sermons to this journal. In this one he has, I believe, excelled himself.
     DOUGLAS TAYLOR
PREADAMITES AND THE ORIGIN OF EVIL 1961

PREADAMITES AND THE ORIGIN OF EVIL GEOFFREY P. DAWSON 1961

Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE:

Due to Mr. Sandstrom's courtesy I am able to present an early reply to the objections he offers against the propositions outlined in a letter published in the October, 1960, issue of NEW CHURCH LIFE.
Chiefly, the objections rest in the idea that saying that man, in his first state, is and always has been in evil obliges us to deduce that God created evil. This inference is apparent but not real. The Lord may not be regarded as the source of evil.

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The axiom is that all good and truth are from the Lord, and all evil and falsity are from man. In the matter of "creation" with man, the term refers only to a heaven from the human race. In the series looking to this end, everything is good. It is evident that the Lord did not wish to create marionettes who would merely be extensions of Himself; otherwise He could have formed man immediately in good and truth. But in His wisdom the Lord wanted beings, as it were, outside of Himself, to enjoy the delights of heaven from Him. Thus He created the human mind in a series of discrete degrees providing that influx from Him should pass by stages into an ultimate, called the natural, which, being reactive, thus opposed to influx, would receive it, contain it as in a vessel, that by reaction and opposition it could appear to have life of its own.
To insure this in fulness the Lord also provided that the ultimate should be stabilized by an entire ignorance of the quality of the two higher degrees, so that by learning the individual should appear to gather a knowledge of spiritual and celestial things as if in the order of its own life, and retain these things as if they were its own. Nevertheless, in the first state of reaction and opposition, the natural flows altogether according to the loves of self and the world, and may be described as being disjoined from things which flow only according to the loves of the Lord and the neighbor. Evil is nothing else except the condition of the natural love of man not conjoined with and subject to spiritual love. In the first state it may therefore be said that man is in evil. It is never to be said that he is evil. The former case only becomes the latter through the abuse of rationality and freedom, given him from the Lord to be the means of leading him to heaven. When they are used for other purposes by man, he remains in or returns to his first state by confirmation. He is then evil indeed. Evil is never nothing, but it is only something in man or from him on account of the opposition of his natural in which he is for the sake of heaven. Except for this opposition and reaction he could never have had the appearance of life of his own, nor seen that, in itself and from itself, this is evil and hell, and hence desired it for the sake of heaven until, by the Lord's mercy, the natural might be subdued and subordinated to the spiritual in the process of regeneration. "Creation is not possible without two suns, the one living and the other dead."*
* DLW 163. See also DLW, Part III.
To suppose from this argument that we must say the Lord created evil would be like blaming an architect for the apparent chaos of works in the construction of a building, wherein materials lie about in heaps, and scaffolds fill courts and chambers, so that the final uses of the building are as yet impossible.

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A man is like such a building, the natural having much rubbish from the works which must be expelled before it is completed for human habitation. He is also like the craftsmen who at first know nothing of their proper skills, but become more and more skillful as time passes, should he regenerate. If he does not regenerate, he is like a building under construction filled with lazy tradesmen who corrupt fine materials to make shelters for their own miserable lives, and turn what should have been a dwelling for men into a thieves' kitchen. But the architect never regarded the chaos as the end, nor the possible corruption, but only the dwelling for men which he designed. Since this is his end, it is the only thing he ever created; and in his view, noise, commotion, hammering and din, rubbish and dust, are only intermediate stages looking to the end - permissions whereby the end might reasonably be attained.*
* See DP 203, 215-220.
     Certainly we cannot say a child is evil. But we should admit that he is in evil, for his native proprium is not yet disciplined by his own consent to serve spiritual and celestial uses. It must also have been so with the Preadamite child and man. Heredity is said to be derived from parents, and where this is natural it is so far in opposition to spiritual things. It does not alter the case to inquire about the state of the very first man, even if we could determine whether he came from an animal, a vegetable, or was merely formed "dust of the ground." Suppose he was, after all, formed "dust of the ground"; when the first church with him was expelled from the garden of its perception, he was cursed thus: "In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken, for dust thou art and unto dust shalt thou return." By this is signified "to return to the external man such as he was before regeneration . . . that he was condemned and became infernal."
     If, despite all this, it is still objected that the proposition obliges us to ascribe the origin of evil to the Lord, what alternative is offered? Mr. Sandstrom's letter presents the idea that the Preadamite was not evil, because the natural had not yet been separated by volition; yet not good because as yet spiritual things had not been implanted in his natural mind. "He was, in a sense, in a quite deplorable condition." Surely this evades the point by not being specific. Since the basis for objection would also cause us to make the Lord the origin of the "deplorable state," it should be clear that we can get no profit from this contention as it stands, for it is altogether entangled in difficulties of its own making.
     Of the quotations used by Mr. Sandstrom, Arcana 3167: 2 refers to the things created in order by the Lord as they were profaned by the Most Ancient Church in its decline.

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Conjugial Love 444: 4 likewise refers to things created by the Lord and the manner in which man makes evil in himself. Divine Love and Wisdom 264 describes the organic activity by which the evil is made. Spiritual Diary 3390 refers to "Preadamites who, were regenerated by the Lord and called Adam . . . . thus not evil. Whether he was a Preadamite cannot be known, because Preadamites [lived] so many ages before, and at this day there are very many of such a character." It is suggested that the objection cannot be sustained by such uncertainties as this one. Arcana 286 refers to those being regenerated, as does the whole creation story, thus to the establishment of order in man. The wild animal of Genesis is part of the sixth day of creation. "Void, emptiness, and abyss," referred to in Arcana 17, 18, are qualified and illustrated in Jeremiah: "My people is foolish, they have not known Me: they are sottish sons, and not intelligent; they are wise to do evil, but to do good they have no knowledge. I saw the earth, and, lo, it was voidness and emptiness: and the heavens, and they had no light." Further: "Such a man, also, when viewed from heaven, appears like a black mass destitute of vitality. The same expressions involve the vastation of man, frequently spoken of in the prophets, which precedes regeneration: for before man can know what is truth, and be affected by good, such things as hinder and resist must be removed; thus the old man must die before the new man can be conceived." Nothing hinders good with man except the evil that is with him, whether confirmed or from heredity.
     In conclusion, certain advantages to be derived from the proposition that man in his first state is and always has been evil may be listed:
1)     It acknowledges that at all times the way of the Lord is just and equal, and that Adam was only responsible for his own sins.
2)     It describes evil accurately without recourse to moral absurdities.
3)     It eliminates all the fundamental problems that seem to plague New Church men in their efforts to understand the qualities of the Most Ancient Church, its development to a wisdom more acceptable to the Lord than that of later ages, and the causes and manner of its decline.
4)     It provides a proper perspective in which to view the tale of human history, spiritual and natural, and gives a coherent basis for understanding the successive dispensations.
5)     It is simple and easy to understand in all respects, and does not appear to disagree with the Word at any relevant point.
     GEOFFREY P. DAWSON

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Church News 1961

Church News Various 1961

     COLCHESTER, ENGLAND

     As nine months have gone by since our last report, we must mention, first and foremost, the visit of Bishop and Mrs. De Charms last summer. They came to Colchester after the British Assembly in London, and spent ten days visiting different families. On the first Sunday, the Bishop preached in the morning, and in the afternoon Mr. and Mrs. John Cooper invited the Society to a tea to meet our welcome guests. This was a most enjoyable occasion.
     Our Sale of Work was a busy and successful evening. It brought in the useful sum of ?60.0.0
     The Sons have held regular meetings under their new president, Mr. Dennis Pryke. They heard papers on "The Lord the Redeemer" by the Rev. Erik Sandstrom, "Judas Iscariot" by the Rev. Frank Rose, and "The Female Rational" by Mr. Fred Elphick, and extracts from doctrinal classes on "Imagination and Rationality" by Bishop De Charms.
     Under president Mrs. Martha Appleton, Theta Alpha also had regular meetings in different homes. They heard papers on "An Affirmative Response" by the Right Rev. Willard D. Pendleton, and "Cultivating an Analytical Approach to Recreation and Entertainment" by Mr. Garth Cooper; and on one occasion the Rev. Frank Rose and Miss Ruth Motum gave interesting accounts of different aspects of the Summer School.
     The chief subjects of the doctrinal classes have been two: a series on "The Divine Attributes," by the Rev. Alan Gill, and another, the current series, on Arcana Coelestia, by the Rev. Frank Rose. There are four different doctrinal classes for two groups of adults and two groups of young people.
     Of our congregation of 120, one-third consists of children under 15; another third is made up of the parents of these children and a few others in approximately the same age group; and the remaining third contains those aged 50 and over. At present we have very few in the 20-35 age group, as several of these have crossed the Atlantic to join other societies in the United States and Canada. We hope that some of these will return before very long.
     Last December our pastor was ill, and the Rev. Frank Rose took over his duties for some time. We are very grateful to him for his valuable and inspiring work in the Society and the school. All concerned are happy that he has since been appointed assistant to the pastor by the Bishop.
     Our day school is now larger than ever before. There are 21 pupils between the ages of 5 and 11.
     MURIEL GILL

     NEW YORK, N. Y.

     The calendar of the New York Circle has been followed with much enthusiasm and consistent attendance. This tardy report goes back to Christmas, 1959, when service and a party were held in the home of Mr. and Mrs. Joseph Krause. It was a lovely, warm occasion.
     We continue to hold our services in the church building of the Convention Society on 35th Street, New York, where we are graciously received. Classes are usually held at various homes.
     In March, 1960, the Circle was privileged to witness the baptism of Anthony Cowley, infant son of the William Cowleys. There were many visiting guests, and a social was held afterwards at the church. The Cowley family is now settled in Brooklyn.
     Then in June came our lovely picnic at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Tom Aye in Roslyn, N. Y.

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The picnic, for which Mary Aye produced one of her famous expendable dinners, was preceded by a children's service, a service, and the Holy Supper in celebration of New Church Day.
     Last fall we bade farewell temporarily to the Rev. Norbert Rogers, and welcomed the Rev. Ormond Odhner as our visiting pastor for the coming year at the opening service and class, held at the home of Major and Mrs. Martin Beebe in East Meadow, Long Island. The Beebe girls were thrilled to be chancel girls in their own home. It was fitting that Mr. Odhner should be welcomed there, as he was the pastor who married the Beebes and baptized Marty and the two girls at various places in the Midwest.
     Our services at the church are now held at 2:30 p.m., and are followed by tea and class. At Christmas, the Roland Goodmans opened their home for supper after service and the showing of slides to the children at the church. Francie and Rollie provided all the fun and spirit of an old time Christmas party; Bob Schoenberger made an excellent Santa; Louise Krause brought cookies of all lands; and the Anton Sellners added extra surprises for the children.
     In January, Kirsten Synnestvedt's birthday was the occasion, for another exaggerated tea at the apartment of our musical trio - Marilyn Stroh, Inga Rosenquist, and Kirsten. Our fascinating series of classes by Mr. Odhner has been on entrance into the spiritual world.
     February snows prevented our regular meeting, but the Easter service, on Easter Sunday, made up for that. We had a party after church and children's service, with delightful goodies for the little ones. Now that there is a group of children we hope to have a special program for them.
     At this writing, the Robert Schoenbergers will have the service and class at their new home in May, and we are looking forward to a visit from Bishop De Charms in June. Our officers for the year are: Robert Schoenberger, vice-chairman; Martin Beebe, secretary; Cornelia Stroh, treasurer.
     JANE K. BEEBE

     DURBAN, NATAL

     On Saturday, September 17, the Society once again held its table tennis championships. This was enjoyed by a large crowd of spectators and participants alike. The winner of the ladies' section was Miss L. Cockerell; Mr. M. de Chazal was champion among the men; and the junior mixed section was won by Mr. Teddy Brown. This was a new section, and it proved very successful, all the children participating with great gusto and much noise. The evening ended with an exhibition between the league table tennis player, Jonathan Levine, and the reigning champion.
     A large group of members and their friends gathered for an informal floral demonstration given by Mrs. O. de Gersigny at the church hall in October. We were shown the intricacies, from leaf arranging to the composition of a charming table decoration. The proceeds of this event went to swell the funds of our bumper morning market. That highly successful affair was held in the manse grounds on Saturday, October 29. Stall holders were on the scene early, at 6:00 a.m. Anxious glances were turned on the overcast sky, but fortunately the weather held and by 10:30 all the cakes and produce had been sold. A very successful tombola stall was operated, and with these three stalls, plus a miscellaneous stall and refreshments, the great effort of the Women's Guild realized the magnificent sum of ?102.7.0. This sum has been allocated for new kneeling stools throughout the church and for new pews. It is most encouraging to feel that we need more pews to seat the congregation; it must be a long time since that was necessary.
     The children's Halloween party was held during October and the first teenagers party was also held during that month. About twenty-five children attended their party, all dressed in fancy costumes. Some enjoyable games were played, and the evening ended with the traditional peanut scramble - the most enjoyable part of the evening as far as the children are concerned. The teenagers party was also a great success. Games were played, a delicious assortment of refreshments was enjoyed, and the party ended about 10:00 p.m.

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     Eighty-six members and friends of the Society gathered at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Schuurman to celebrate November 5th in traditional style with a braaivleis and fireworks. All age groups were represented, and the small children thoroughly enjoyed the fireworks and crackers, which were ably set off after we enjoyed our meal of "braaied" meat, potatoes and salad. This was a most enjoyable social event in which all members of the family could participate.
     The children's Christmas party usually starts off the Society's seasonal functions. The children always enjoy their party enormously, and it is very impressive to see all the children sitting around having tea That is usually the quietest part of the afternoon. This time a play, "The Fairy Queen," was acted by members of Kainon School. Mr. Acton gave out presents on behalf of the church, and the children went home excited, tired, and very full!
     Sunday, December 18, saw a large group of the Society singing carols at the Schuurman home. The social committee chairman had the carols moving smoothly, and when we needed a rest the men and women sang separately. What the men lost in numbers they made up in volume! This year, for the first time, we were entertained by a record of the Pittsburgh Society. This gave us all time to get our breath, apart from being most enjoyable.
     The children's Christmas service was again held on Christmas Eve. Mr. Acton showed in his address that all the things which happened when the Lord was born were signs of the Lord's love for men and of the love which men must have for the Lord. We learned of the angel's love of the Lord and of men from the joyful messages given to Mary and the shepherds, which turned their fear into rejoicing. The wise men showed their love by taking a long and difficult journey to worship the infant Lord and give Him precious gifts. We must show our love to the Lord by learning His teaching and following it in our hearts and lives. After the service, the tableaux depicting the Christmas story were enacted. For the first time the singing by the choir which accompanies the tableaux had been recorded, which enabled the members of the choir to witness the tableaux themselves. The children are always much impressed.
     Our Christmas morning service was attended by 162 adults and Children - indeed a record for any service held in Durban. In his sermon, the Rev. Daniel Heinrichs reviewed the wonders which surrounded the birth of the Lord. He emphasized that while Christmas is a time for rejoicing, it is also a time for reflection. For Mary, who brought the Lord into the world, represents the affection of spiritual truth, and it is recorded that she kept all things concerning Him, "and pondered them in her heart." With individual men it is this affection which receives the precious seed of spiritual truth and brings forth the presence of the Lord in mind and heart. Thus it is the quality represented by Mary which is the means by which the Lord is born in the hearts of men. The two things necessary for spiritual birth are the reception of spiritual truth and reflection upon it. The purpose of Christmas is fulfilled when this affection is stirred in man and he is inspired to read diligently and to reflect upon the spiritual truths of Divine revelation.
     The Society ended its Christmas celebrations with a visit to the Ice Show. The gracefulness of the skaters was something we will always envy and never forget. After the show, we all managed to make our way to the Browns' home in Westville, to welcome in the New Year. Coffee and sandwiches were served, and in traditional manner we welcomed in the New Year with "Auld Lang Syne."
     On February 3, our children celebrated Swedenborg's birthday. Mr. Heinrichs was the toastmaster, and he and Mr. Acton provided the children with some very interesting and useful information about Swedenborg. The Women's Guild once more supplied the children with a delicious meal.

     The Mission

     The Annual Ministers' Meetings of the General Church of the New Jerusalem's Mission in South Africa were held in the church at Alexandria Township, Johannesburg, January 10-15.

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Eight Bantu ministers and the Rev. Messrs. A. Wynne Acton and Daniel W. Heinrichs were present. Certain policies and practices of the General Church were considered, as were many of the problems that arise in the work of the church. Two joint sessions were held with certain lay delegates at which were discussed the more practical aspects of the Mission's work, such as membership, the education of the children and young people, the sale of church literature, and church contributions. One open session was held which was addressed by the new Bantu Assistant Superintendent, the Rev. B. I. Nzimande. The Holy Supper service on Sunday morning, at which Mr. Heinrichs preached, brought the meetings to a fitting conclusion.
     During the week of the meetings, Mr. Heinrichs held a doctrinal class for the Europeans in the district at Irene, near Johannesburg. On Sunday afternoon Mr. Acton preached and administered the Holy Supper at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Ball in Irene. More than twenty-five persons were present, most of whom stayed to enjoy the hospitality of the Balls at a braaivleis.
     SERENE DE CHAZAL

     THE CHURCH AT LARGE

     General Convention. The New-Church Theological School at Cambridge, Mass., was host recently to a meeting of the New England Region of the Inter-Seminary Movement. Faculty representatives and students of some ten theological schools in Connecticut, Massachusetts and Maine were in attendance.

     General Conference. The 1961 Annual Meeting of the General Conference will be held in the church of the Accrington Society, Lancashire, and will begin on the 26th of this month.
MIDWEST DISTRICT OF THE GENERAL CHURCH 1961

MIDWEST DISTRICT OF THE GENERAL CHURCH 1961

At its request, and with the approval of the other societies and members involved, the Detroit Society of the General Church has been affiliated with the Chicago District for Assemblies and other district uses. The new and extended district thus formed by the Bishop of the General Church will be known as the Midwest District.

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GENERAL CHURCH CORPORATIONS 1961

GENERAL CHURCH CORPORATIONS STEPHEN PITCAIRN 1961

     Announcements
     The 1961 Annual Corporation Meetings of the General Church of the New Jerusalem will be held in the Benade Hall Auditorium, Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, on Saturday afternoon, June 17, at 3:30 p.m., D.S.T. Notices have been mailed.
     STEPHEN PITCAIRN,
          Secretary
BRITISH ASSEMBLY 1961

BRITISH ASSEMBLY GEORGE DE CHARMS 1961

     The Forty-sixth British Assembly of the General Church of the New Jerusalem will be held in Colchester, England, July 14-16, 1961, the Rev. Alan Gill presiding by episcopal appointment.
     All members and friends of the General Church are cordially invited to attend.
     GEORGE DE CHARMS,
          Bishop
NORTHWEST UNITED STATES DISTRICT ASSEMBLY 1961

NORTHWEST UNITED STATES DISTRICT ASSEMBLY GEORGE DE CHARMS 1961

     The Fifth Northwest United States District Assembly will be held in Seattle, Washington, August 19-20, 1961, the Right Rev. George de Charms presiding.
     All members and friends of the General Church are cordially invited to attend.
     GEORGE DE CHARMS,
          Bishop
SONS OF THE ACADEMY 1961

SONS OF THE ACADEMY 1961

     The Annual Meetings of the Sons of the Academy will be held on Friday, June 23, and Saturday, June 24, at Toronto, Ontario, Canada. All men interested in New Church education are cordially invited to attend.

Program

Friday,     6:30 p.m. Supper
          7:30 p.m.     Address by Academy Representative
          9:00 p.m.     Open House
Saturday,     9:30 a.m. Annual Meeting
Saturday,     1:00 p.m. Luncheon at Skyline Hotel
          7:00 p.m.     Banquet
Sunday,     11:00 a.m. Worship

     Registration, meetings, supper and banquet will be at the Olivet Church, 279 Burnhamthorpe Road, Toronto, Ontario.
VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN 1961

VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN 1961

CONSOLATION IN TEMPTATION Rev. ELMO C. ACTON 1961

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Vol. LXXXI
July, 1961
No. 7
     "And, behold, there came a voice to him, and said, What doest thou here, Elijah? And he said, I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: because the sons of Israel have forsaken Thy covenant, thrown down Thine altars, and slain Thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away." (I Kings 19: 13, 14)

     The affection contained in these words is one of hopelessness and despair. It is the despair of the extremity of temptation, in which man - left to himself, and apparently alone - sees no hope of deliverance. That he is not alone is shown by the question: "What doest thou here, Elijah?" In temptation, in the very depth of darkness and despair, the Lord is inmostly present to Comfort and to deliver.
     Elijah had good cause for his despondency. Bravely and courageously he had faced Ahab, the angry king of Israel, the four hundred and fifty priests of Baal, and the prophets of the queen, Jezebel; and in the presence of thousands of the sons of Israel he had called upon the name of the Lord God of Israel to bring down fire from heaven to consume the sacrifice. The fire of the Lord fell and consumed the sacrifice, and all the people cried out: "The Lord, He is God!" The priests and prophets of Baal were then taken down to the brook Kishon and slain.
     After this miracle, the destruction of the priests and prophets of Baal, and the acknowledgment of the Lord by the people and the king, Elijah's mission seemed to have been accomplished. He had restored the worship of the Lord God in Israel. But it was not so; for when the wicked Jezebel heard of what had taken place, she vowed the death of Elijah. He, in fear for his life, fled to Beersheba; and from there went into the wilderness and lay down under a juniper tree, and asked that he might die.

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"O Lord, take away my life; for I am not better than my fathers." Twice he fell asleep, and twice he was awakened by an angel and fed with a cake and water miraculously provided. The second time he arose, and ate, and went in the strength of that food forty days and forty nights to Horeb, the Mount of God.
     This story arouses in us the deepest sympathy for Elijah in his state of utter desolation. And this will be especially true of anyone who knows the despair of spiritual temptation. Victory on every plane of life is always followed, sooner or later, by a hollow and depressed state, except with the utterly callous. In the battle and in the victory, the love or end in view is active, and it compels the thought to follow it; but after the victory the ardor of the love is stilled and man falls into a reflective state. He sees that his motives have not been pure, and that from the impurity of his love he has to some extent destroyed the very thing for which he was fighting. He falls into a state of inactivity and cynicism, and is tempted to give up - to cease to fight for that good and desirable thing which first moved him. He falls into obscurity of thought, and doubts that his end can ever be accomplished. He is tempted to give himself over to a merely selfish and worldly life. In this state something from within stirs him. He is awakened, and he goes forth again to accomplish his end.
     Elijah represents the Word, or the Divine truth, and the state of its reception in the church and in the man of the church. The essential use of the prophet was to represent in himself - in his actions as well as in his teaching - the reception of the Divine truth. In the spiritual sense, then, Elijah represents the series of states through which the man of the church passes while the Divine truth of the Word is being established as his Lord and King.
     In his victory over the priests of Baal, Elijah represents the state in which man receives the truth of the Word, understands it, and from love and affection lives according to it. This is an exalted state, a state of joy and delight. He sees a beautiful life before him he is delighted with the ideal his eye beholds; and his love and affection are moved to establish it in his internal and external life. He has gained a victory in the interiors of his thoughts and affections; he has overcome many evils and falsities in his will and understanding; but when he strives to realize his ideal in the exteriors of his thought and life, the old will rises up and tries to kill the truth and the vision of it. This is Jezebel. Ahab, the king, represents the understanding. This is convinced. It is Jezebel, the old or proprial will, that rebels and fights for its life.
     This brings the man of the church into a state of temptation.

311

The truth which he thought he had firmly established is destroyed as to all delight; the vision is blurred, and he doubts that he can ever attain his ideal. The wilderness is the state of despair. The juniper tree, under which Elijah sought shelter, represents the obscure perception and thought of this state which is man's only shade and protection from the burning and destroying heat of the love of self. The juniper or broom was the only tree of that wilderness, but it gave little protection. Elijah's wishing to die represents man's despair of attaining his ideal. His falling asleep represents man's falling into a merely natural state in which he hopes to allay his disappointment in failing to attain his spiritual ideal; yea, hopes to kill the very ideal itself.
     In this state of despondency there is influx from heaven, and his first love is twice fed and renewed. That is to say, it is fed and renewed both as to the will and the understanding, as to vision and hope.
     But the end is not yet. The interior evil loves which brought him into this state have not yet been fully discovered and removed. He enters into a more interior state of temptation, represented by the journey of forty days and forty nights into the wilderness to Mount Horeb. In this state he is actually drawing nearer to deliverance, for Mount Horeb represents the love in which the Lord is present. Here Moses met with the Lord in the burning bush. Here the Lord came down in fire and delivered the commandments. In the extremity of temptation the Lord is near; for in that state the man despairs of delivering himself and begins to trust in the Lord alone - to trust in the good and truth of the Word, and to give up self-leading with its conceits and selfish ambitions.
     However, the state is still one of obscurity, which is represented by the cave into which Elijah entered. But this is an obscurity which the Lord can enlighten, for in it man begins to see that his failure is caused by his own foolish thought that he, from himself, could establish his ideal.
     Enlightenment in this state, is represented by the question: "What doest thou here, Elijah?" Questions are asked by the Lord in the Word, although He already knows the answers, for several reasons. By the question the man is assured that he is not alone, that all his thoughts and affections are known to the Lord and to the angels; and this gives him trust that the Lord knows and understands his state and can provide what is good. By this question man is also led to reflect upon his state: to realize that his own selfish loves have brought him into it, and so to be rid of self pity; of the maudlin feeling that he is suffering unjustly which is caused by love for merit and reward, and also by a feeling that he is better than others and does not deserve such treatment. And the Writings add: "A further reason is that man may have consolation from being able to express his feelings, which often proves a relief."*

312

The Lord is His mercy does not heed the bitter cries of a man in deep temptation; for man's sufferings and despair often cause him to cry out against the Lord, and to say and do things that are not from any intention of evil, but rather from his weakness when called on to endure such bitter suffering. From this he receives relief, and so the Lord permits it and the evil of it is not appropriated to him.
* AC 2693e.
     "I have been very jealous for the Lord God of hosts: because the sons of Israel have forsaken Thy covenant, thrown down Thine altars, and slain Thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away." This is the answer the man gives himself. His reflection, caused by the question, leads him to see that the truth or ideal which he clearly saw and accepted, and with zeal sought to establish in his life, is opposed by evils of his own external will. He sees that he has not fully kept the commandments; that he has neglected the worship of the Lord; and that from self-love he has falsified the truth. So now all that is left is the end of good in the internal thought and will, and this, too, will die unless it can be brought forth into life.
     This reflection begins to dispel the obscurity. Elijah is told to go to the mouth of the cave. "And, behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the Lord; but the Lord was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake: and after the earthquake a fire; but the Lord was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice." This seems to teach that the Lord is not as fully present in the wondrous and miraculous events of life as in the faithful, quiet performance of the simple duties of everyday life. The still small voice is the voice of inmost conscience which comes with every conjunction of good and truth following temptation. The consolation, the peace and the joy following temptation, are not, the Writings say, in the victory, but in the conjunction of good and truth that follows the victory. Divine truth is pacific; it becomes loud only as it descends into states of evil. We are moved by the spirit of truth to uncover our selfish loves, and to overturn the falsities behind which they hide. The earthquake is the evident change that is caused in our lives when we accept and live the Word, and the fire is the ardor of love in the heat of battle. In these the Lord is not present as He is in the conjunction or marriage of good and truth that follows these violent changes.
     After these things Elijah was again asked: "What doest thou here, Elijah?" and he again gave the same answer. The will as well as the understanding must be reformed and regenerated.
     After all these wondrous events one might expect some astounding, deeply moving pronouncement from the still small voice.

313

But no. Elijah is told to go and return, and to perform the duties of his office as prophet of the Lord. Angelic life is in use, from use, and according to use. The delights of life are not to be sought in events of great emotion, in feverish activities, or in continual innovations. They are to come from the quiet, faithful, sincere and just performance of our simple duties from an inmost love of serving the Lord and the neighbor - a love tried and purified in the crucible of temptation and established by the marriage of good and truth in the internal man. Amen.

LESSONS:     I Kings 19: 1-18. Revelation 14: 1-13. AC 4572.
MUSIC:     Liturgy, pages 467, 484, 507.
PRAYERS:     Liturgy, nos. 40, 106.
IN OUR CONTEMPORARIES 1961

IN OUR CONTEMPORARIES 1961

     The NEW CHURCH MESSENGER for May 15, 1961, published three articles by the Rev. William F. Wunsch which should be read by all who are interested in contemporary New Church thought. These articles represent the views of some, though by no means all, in the General Convention. Arguing that what we stand for is Christianity, although the understanding of it is carried into greater light, Mr. Wunsch accepts as true neither part of the statement that the New Church is as distinct from past Christianity as that was from Judaism. He sees, not a succession of churches, in that sense, but a series of advances.
     Similarly, the writer objects to the idea of a New Church canon of the Word, and to a "mutilated Bible"; asserting that we should use the "whole Word of God" and not confine our preaching and teaching to "one interpretation of the Word, albeit the deepest meaning." He says also that when we say that we worship the one God, the Lord, the Savior Jesus Christ, the language needs clarification; for this is not the "equivalent of saying that Jesus is God. We, of course, worship the one living God, as do other Christians, and as Judaism does, whose legacy to the world was monotheism."
     The confusion of Divine revelations with the churches founded upon them is not new, nor is the idea that the Writings contain no truth which was not in Christianity from the beginning - this despite the teachings that now for the first time Christianity is beginning to dawn, and that in the New Church there will be new doctrine which was not in the former church. But Mr. Wunsch's reflections should be read in full.

314

INHABITED UNIVERSE 1961

INHABITED UNIVERSE Rev. FREDERICK L. SCHNARR 1961

     6. THE EARTHS IN THE STARRY HEAVENS

     When Swedenborg visited the spirits from earths in other solar systems, he found them to be essentially the same human beings as were all the inhabitants of the different planets, moons and satellites of our solar system. True, they were of a different genius from the peoples of our own system, serving different functions in the Gorand Man of heaven; but nonetheless they all had, the same qualities and capacities which distinguish all human life from all animal, vegetable and mineral life. We have noted in previous articles that each solar system performs a different function in the Gorand Man; and we can see how distinct and different is the use of each solar system from what is said concerning the length of time required for Swedenborg to be prepared to visit the spirits and angels from outside of our solar system, which was not so much the case when he visited those from ours.
     In the other world, associations and movements from place to place depend upon the similarity or dissimilarity of the use, state and genius of the inmost loves and affections. When there is some desire or need to leave the normal state of one's permanent loves and affections, as is the case when one visits another society in heaven, when angels go into the hells to perform various works, or when spirits go to visit those from other planets, it is necessary that they be specially prepared by the Lord. The length of the journey one must take from place to place, or from state to state, depends on how much preparation is required to allow one's states of life to enter into others that are more or less foreign to them. The journeys made from place to place in the other world are just as real as are ours in this world, but the distances are not fixed there as they are here. When we travel here, the distance between one place and another is the same, no matter what state we are in; in other words, our state, or change of state, does not determine how long the journey will be, whereas in the other world it does.*
* See AC 9440, 9579-9581
     For Swedenborg to approach the spirits from earths outside of our solar system required many states of preparation, many changes in his state, by the Lord. Sometimes this required hours, sometimes days.

315

As the changes were being made, Swedenborg journeyed through various areas of the spiritual world. We would note what is said of his experience in being prepared to leave this solar system to talk with the spirits from the first earth in the starry heaven.

     "In a state of wakefulness I was led as to the spirit by the Lord, by means of angels, to a certain earth in the universe, accompanied by some spirits from this world. Our progress was made toward the right, and lasted two hours. Near the limit of our solar system there appeared at first a shining bright cloud, but dense, and beyond it a fiery smoke ascending out of a chasm. It was a vast gulf separating the solar world on that side from some worlds of the starry heavens. That fiery smoke appeared at a considerable distance. I was borne across the middle of it; and then there appeared beneath in that chasm or gulf very many men, who were spirits; for spirits appear in the human form, and actually are men; but whence they were and their quality was not given me to know. Yet one of them said to me that they were guards, lest spirits should pass from this world into another in the universe without leave having been given. That it was so was also confirmed; for some spirits who were in our company, but had not received the ability to pass over, when they came to that great interspace, began to cry out vehemently that they were perishing; for they were like those who are struggling in agony with death, and therefore they stopped on that side of the gulf, nor could they be taken any further, as the fiery smoke that exhaled from the gulf enveloped them and thus tortured them.
     "Afterwards I was carried along through that great chasm, and at length I arrived at a place where I stopped; and there then appeared to me spirits overhead with whom it was given me to speak."*
* EU 128, 129.

     Before proceeding to examine what is said concerning the earths in the starry heaven, we would note that Swedenborg was accompanied on nearly all of his journeys by spirits from our earth. To our knowledge, the Writings do not explain why this was necessary; but we would suppose that the spirits chosen to accompany him, although not always good, were somehow useful in making possible the changes of state necessary for him to be present with spirits from other earths. We would also draw attention again to the fact that wherever Swedenborg went, he found that spirits from our earth had previously been there; and that in every instance these had been wicked spirits, at that time resident in the world of spirits. That was before the Last Judgment had taken place in 1757; but more will be said about this in our last articles.

     The First Earth in the Starry Heaven

     As soon as Swedenborg began to talk with the spirits from the first earth in the starry heaven, he knew from their genius, their manner of speech, and how they understood and explained things that they were not from our solar system.

316

They, in turn, quickly recognized that he was not from their system.* The Writings describe these people as being "modest and somewhat simple, but yet they thought very well."** Their character does not seem to be as good as that found on many of the planets in our solar system. The reasons for this lie in the fact that they worship an angel, and do not approach the Lord immediately. They told Swedenborg that an angel appears to them as a Divine Man, and instructs them and gives them perception as to how they are to live. They said that they know the Lord appeared to the angels in the spiritual sun of heaven, but they did not dare to worship the Lord because He was too great, and therefore they worshiped angels instead.*** Here is a false idea of God; and once again we see reflected in the character and customs of this people a falling away from heavenly order. Everywhere in the universe we find the same truth appearing, that the quality and character and mode of life of all people are determined by their concept and acknowledgment of the Lord. Where there is a flaw in the cornerstone, we will find flaws in everything that rests thereon - and there is nothing of human life that does not rest thereon.
* See EU 129.
** See EU 131.
*** See EU 130
We have seen that most of the inhabitants of the planets in the universe, at least in our system, are in innocence and in something of heavenly order. Most of them go naked. Not so the people of the first earth in the starry heaven. They wear clothes, described as being much like those worn by European peasants in Swedenborg's time. The men had a rather haughty and pompous walk, indicating that they were in somewhat of conceit. Certainly it is clear that evil and falsity exist on that earth, for Swedenborg was permitted to look into their hells, and was horrified by the monstrous and deformed faces he saw there.* The Writings by no means imply, however, that the general state of the people of that earth is evil. What is described is rather a general state of lesser good. Many things indicate that the manner of life described is to be found in the first or lowest heaven from our earth.
* See EU 134, 137.
The people of this first earth in the starry heaven are generally of handsome figure and graceful carriage, and are apparently much like us in form. They have a rural and rather simple type of life. That they tend to be a somewhat external people is indicated by the statement that they have laws which make it illegal to have more than one wife. On some other planets, where conjugial love exists more fully, there is no necessity for such laws; it is a matter of heavenly perception.*
* See EU 134.

317

     We are told very little about the nature of this particular earth. Swedenborg saw "many meadows and woods with leafy trees, and also woolly sheep." * When he asked them how their sun appeared to them, they said that it appeared flamy and smaller than ours. Obviously these people, like all the others we have considered, had little or nothing in the way of the natural sciences, arts or crafts. Swedenborg listed and explained to them many of our sciences, arts and crafts, and again it was mentioned that these do not exist anywhere else in the universe than on our earth.**
* See EU 134
** See EU 133, 136

     The Second Earth in the Starry Heaven

     To be able to talk with the spirits from the second earth in the starry heaven, Swedenborg had to undergo preparatory changes of state that lasted for two days. This is the longest period of such preparation mentioned in the Writings. Because of its length, Swedenborg concluded that the people of that earth are of a genius greatly different from the genius of our earth. Angels from our earth told him that the spirits from that earth have reference in the Gorand Man to "keenness of vision," and have the quality of being "clearsighted." Because of this, he likened them to eagles. Apparently these spirits knew what eagles are, for they became indignant, thinking that Swedenborg was likening them to evil birds of prey. He explained, however, that he was referring to the eagle's keen and clear sight from on high, at which they were satisfied. *
* See EU 138, 140.
     Nothing is stated directly concerning the character of the peoples from the second earth, but we may judge of it to some extent from what is said about various other things, such as their worship and their way of life. When asked about the nature of the God they worshiped, they said that they worship God "visible and invisible"; God visible under the human form, and God invisible not under any form. It very quickly became evident to Swedenborg that they worshiped the Lord much as we do; indeed they even called Him, the Lord. This was true of most of the people of that earth. However, Swedenborg talked with some who were idolaters, who were worshiping idols of stone carved in the form of a man. In talking with such spirits, he instructed them that the only way they could be conjoined with the invisible God was through the knowledge and acknowledgment of God in His Human. That some of them do not even acknowledge this is evident to us from a reference to there being hells formed also from this second earth.*
*See EU 141. 142. 147
     The spirits of the second earth told Swedenborg that they have no princes or kings to rule them, but that they live distinguished into nations, families and houses.

318

When he asked them if they were safe living in that way, they again became indignant with him for implying that they might have robbers in their midst. They told him they did not envy their neighbors their possessions. "What more is needed," they said, "than to have food and clothing, and so to dwell contented and quiet under themselves?"*
* EU 143.
     In physical appearance the people of the second earth are much like us, except they have smaller eyes and noses. These people also wear garments, and they told Swedenborg some interesting things about how they make them from plant fibers.

     "They gather such things as they can spin into threads . . . they then lay the threads side by side in double and triple layers, and moisten them with a glutinous liquid, and so give it consistency, coloring it afterwards with juices from herbs. I was likewise shown how they prepare the threads: they sit leaning back on a seat, and twist the thread with the toes; and when it is twisted, they draw it to them, and finish it with the hands."*
* EU 146

     The parents of the second earth in the starry heaven must spend much time making clothing, for couples with from ten to fifteen children are mentioned as having average families. While a husband has only one wife on that earth, it is said that there are harlots there - a fact that is not mentioned in connection with any other earth than our own.*
* See EU 146, 147
     Describing to Swedenborg some things about the second earth, spirits from it stated that the inhabitants see their sun as about the size of a man's head, and that it appears fiery. Angels told him that their sun is among the smaller stars in the universe. The spirits also said that on their earth they have "meadows, flower gardens, woods full of fruit trees, and also lakes in which are fish; and they have birds of an azure color with golden wings, and animals of various sizes. They did not, however, eat the flesh of these animals, but only the flesh of fishes and also the fruits of trees and certain leguminous plants. They said further that they do not build houses, but dwell in groves, in which they make shelters for themselves among the foliage against rain and the heat of the sun.*
* See EU 144, 145

     The Third Earth in the Starry Heaven

     The people of the third earth appear to be very much in the order of heaven. Such a heavenly sphere breathes forth from the spirits from that earth that the spirits from our earth cannot bear to be in their presence.

319

When Swedenborg approached them, accompanied by some spirits from our earth, these became ill at ease, for the nature of the spirits from our earth was quickly observed. In fact, the spirits of the third earth would not talk to him until some of the spirits with him had left.*
* See EU 148.
     The spirits from the third earth are utterly averse to thinking or speaking of anything bodily or material. So much is this the case that in the other world, when seen at a distance, they appear to others as clouds; dark if there is something evil or false with them, and azure blue if there is something heavenly.*
* See EU 140.
     These spirits worship the Lord in the human form, and have an open communication with spirits and angels by whom they are instructed and sometimes punished. The only falsity they had was the thought that man's spirit actually existed from eternity and was infused into the body at conception. When they found that this was not true, they quickly repented of it. Evil exists on that earth, but it is held under control by the Lord. If anyone thinks and does evil, he is reproved by a certain spirit, who threatens death to him if he persists in so doing. If he persists, he dies in a swoon. In this way the men of that earth are preserved from the contamination of evil. While some fall into evil, the Writings make it clear that the general state of these people is good. They are said to be an upright and virtuous people, who continually turn their thoughts to heavenly things. If one does evil to another; the victim bears no ill will and harbors no thought of revenge.*
* See EU 149, 154; AC 10,517.
     When Swedenborg asked the spirits of the third earth whether they wanted to see some of the magnificent palaces we have on our earth, they replied that they did not. However, they were made to see them anyway. They did not like what they saw, saying that they disliked things made of stone, and much preferred their own palaces which they made of wood.* We would note that the places of worship and the homes of the celestial angels are made of wood in preference to stone because wood is a more living representative of the life of good; not just the life of truth, which is represented by stone. The spirits of the third earth showed Swedenborg and some spirits from our earth the sanctuaries of wood that they had on their earth, and our spirits confessed that they had seen nothing more magnificent. The description given of one of these sanctuaries is quoted because it is so beautiful.
* See EU 150.

     "They were constructed of trees, not cut down, but growing in their native soil They said that on their earth there were trees of wonderful growth and height. These from their beginnings they arrange in order, so that they serve for porticoes and walks, and by cutting and pruning the branches when they are tender, they fit and prepare them so that while they are growing they may intertwine and unite to make the base and floor of the sanctuary, rise on the sides for the walls, and bend above into arches for the roof.

320

By these means they construct the sanctuary with admirable art, elevated high above the earth, and they also prepare an ascent into it by successive branches of the trees extending out and firmly connected. Moreover they adorn the sanctuary without and within in various ways, by bending the leafy bows into various forms. Thus they build entire groves."*
* EU 151

     Swedenborg was not allowed to see the inside of these sanctuaries, but was told that "the light of the sun is let into them through apertures between the branches, and is here and there transmitted through crystals, by which the light falling on the walls is variegated, like the colors of the rainbow; especially the colors blue and orange, which they love more than the rest." Do we wonder from this description that they did not think much of our palaces*
* See EU 151.
     The people of the third earth do not live in societies, but separately, house by house, coming together into a society only for worship. Their houses are low, oblong cottages. All along one wall is a couch, on which they lie one after another. On the side opposite the door is a semicircular recess, before which is a table, and behind this is a fireplace by which the whole room is lighted. They do not have a burning fire in the fireplace, but a luminous wood which gives out as much light as the flame of a wood fire. They said that these pieces of wood appeared in the evening like a fire of burning coals.*
* See EU 152, 153.
     One earthly thing did interest the spirits from the third earth, and that was the fact that we had Divine revelation in a written form. They wondered why such an amazing art as writing should exist on our earth when it is not found anywhere else. However, they quickly understood that our people, being so external, could not have open communication with heaven, and that where this was not possible the Lord could only approach them through such a means.* This passage will be referred to again when we consider the possible uses of this earth to other earths.
* See EU 155.

     The Fourth Earth in the Starry Heaven

     We mentioned in a previous article that the treatment of the subject of the earths in the universe is not entirely the same in Arcana Coelestia as it is in the work of that name. One of the most notable, and possibly confusing, differences is that the Arcana treats of six earths in the starry heavens, while Earths in the Universe treats only of five. The fourth earth mentioned in the Arcana is not to be found in Earths in the Universe.

321

The description of the fifth earth in the former work is the same as that of the fourth earth in the latter; and the sixth earth in the Arcana is the same as the fifth in Earths in the Universe. In treating of the fourth earth here, therefore, we are following the Arcana series.
     Swedenborg did not go to meet with the spirits from the fourth earth, but they were brought to him. So different was their genius from that of the people of our earth, including Swedenborg himself, that in order to speak with them they first had to be brought into the presence of the spirits from Mars. The Martian spirits thus furnished a necessary intermediate state. It soon became evident that the reason they could so serve was that the spirits of the fourth earth had the same general manner of speech as did the spirits of Mars: a partially quiet, inarticulate speech, with ideas and affections being communicated through the expression of the face, especially that of the eyes and the mouth. These spirits told Swedenborg that, when speaking among themselves, they "speak to the use." They said that there were some in the universe who speak to the fifth use, some to the seventh, and so on, all the way up to the fiftieth use; and they explained that speaking to the use means speaking remotely from the thing that is the subject of the discourse. This they illustrated in the following manner. When someone is in a place of worship, and it is asked where he is, they do not say that he is there, but that he is not at home, that he is far from his house, and so on. By this they mean that he is with God, thus in the place of worship, for he is who is in a place of worship is with God, and in so far as he is with God he is not at home, or in his own house.*
* See AC 10,585-10,588, 10,708-10,709.
     Because the spirits of our earth, and those of Mercury, think and speak from the thing itself, and not remotely in this manner, the spirits of the fourth earth cannot be brought together with them. Most of the spirits from that earth worship the Lord. However, many of those who are more simple practice a form of idolatry. They choose an old man, apparently always bearded, and set him up as king and high priest; worshiping him and following his manner of living. Swedenborg saw one who permitted himself to be worshiped after death, and he was severely punished, and then cast into hell.*
* See AC 10,701, 10,711.
     Nothing is said about the physical appearance of the people of the fourth earth. When Swedenborg endeavored to show them some of the objects that are to be found on our earth they showed little interest.*
* See AC 10,712.

     The Fifth Earth in the Starry Heaven

     When Swedenborg was to visit the spirits of the fifth earth,* his preparation took ten hours. On this journey he was accompanied by a Christian preacher out of the world of spirits from our earth.

322

This preacher turned out to be a most unsavory character! He tried to introduce falsities concerning God, and in many ways endeavored to lead the spirits of the fifth earth into evils and falsities. Much is said of his experience with the people of the fifth earth, but this will be discussed when we consider the nature of the inhabitants of our own earth. We would merely note that constant reference is made to the diabolical nature of many of the people from our earth, and their insane activity in trying to seduce others into the denial of the Lord.**
* Called the fourth earth in Earths in the Universe.
** See AC 10,734-10,736
     Little is said about the character of the people from the fifth earth. Generally, a state of heavenly order seems to predominate, for these people still have open communication with heaven. Spirits and angels appear to them as they did to many people on our earth at one time. They do not even know when they talk to a spirit or an angel, for these appear to be men and women living on their earth. It is only when he suddenly vanishes that they know they have been in the presence of a spirit or an angel. In this connection we recall the angels who appeared to Abraham, Lot, Joshua, Manoah and others, and that it was not at first known that they were angels.*
* See AC 10,751.
     The spirits of the fifth earth think of God as a Divine Man; they repulsed and rejected any other idea which the spirits from our earth tried to introduce to them. However, that some way might be found for introducing false ideas seems evident from the fact that some are apparently in evil and falsity already. Indeed it would seem that there is a number of various states existing on the fifth earth. Some of the inhabitants, for example, are said to be naked because they are in innocence; others to be naked because in lustful passion; and others again to be clothed in beautiful but simple garments.*
* See AC 10,737, 10,753-10,757.
     The people of the fifth earth, who are described as being for the most part handsome and beautiful, live a rural and quiet existence. Young women were seen pasturing sheep and lambs, and leading them to drink water from little channels that flowed forth from a lake. The sheep that were seen were large and had woolly, broad and long tails. The dwellings that were seen were large, low, tent-like structures with windows on the sides according to the number of rooms into which they were divided. The roof was rounded, and each dwelling had a door at either end. Swedenborg was told that these houses were made of earth and were roofed with sods. The windows were made of grassy threads, woven together in such a way that the light could shine through. The houses are set apart from each other, but Swedenborg was told that the families visit one another, especially those with children, so that the children can be with others, but under adult supervision.*
* See AC 10,754, 10,769.

323

     The people of the fifth earth are different from those of many other earths in that they keep domestic animals for use, and also plant gardens. Swedenborg saw fields of wheat ready for harvest; also flowers, fruits and plantations. He was informed that on that earth they have a fifteen hour day, and only two hundred days in a year. Their sun seems to be about one-fourth the size of ours.*
* See AC 10,770, 10,771.

     The Sixth Earth in the Starry Heaven

     It took twelve hours to prepare Swedenborg to meet the spirits from the sixth earth,* and again he was accompanied by spirits and angels from our earth. This time, however, the spirits were good. Even so, the spirits from the sixth earth were cautious about receiving them, for they, too, had had previous experience with spirits from our earth that had disturbed them. They told Swedenborg that these spirits had tried to get them to come together into cities and societies, telling them that there were many things to be gained thereby. The spirits of the sixth earth, who were in the perception of celestial order, however, at once saw the intent of that effort - that their compliance would make it easier for false spirits from our earth to gain a foothold and eventually set up a kingdom of their own. At this point the Writings give considerable instruction as to how cities came into being as means of protection against evil powers. Where there are no such powers, neither is there the need for cities. We would note that there is no indication of the existence of cities on any earth but our own. Nor do they exist in the celestial heaven.**
* Called the fifth earth in Earths in the universe.
** See 10,786-10,787, 10,812-10,814.
     In the world of spirits from the sixth earth, Swedenborg witnessed a minor judgment taking place, in many respects very much like the judgements described as occurring in the world of spirits from our earth before the Last Judgment itself. A dim cloud was seen in the east at some height. When this gradually descended, it appeared bright and in the human form. Finally this form became a flaming radiance, around which were little stars of the same color. Thus did the Lord appear in the midst of an angelic society when coming into the world of spirits to bring about a judgment. We will not enter into the details, but we would note again that even on an earth where there is celestial order, there is also something of evil and falsity.*
* See AC 10,809-10,812.

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     The people of the sixth earth receive revelation from angels when they are midway between waking and sleeping:

     "They then hear angels of heaven speaking about truths Divine and a life according to them; and . . . when they become awake, an angel appears to them at the bedside in a white garment, who then suddenly disappears from their eyes, and from this they know that the things which they have heard are from heaven. In this way a vision of Divine origin is distinguished from a vision that is not Divine; for no angel appears in a vision that is not Divine."*
* AC 10,833.
     The spirits of the sixth earth told Swedenborg that they meet together every thirtieth day for worship and hear a sermon from a preacher. The preachers also are taught through visions.*
* Ibid.
     Every effort is made by the inhabitants of the sixth earth to preserve an order in which conjugial love can flourish. They have a most unusual custom in connection with the selection of partners. There are "wedding houses" in which the marriageable young ladies gather under the supervision of an elderly man and woman. The young ladies, who are naked, stand behind a screen, so that only the upper part of the body is exposed. The young men who are old enough to be looking for their partners go to these wedding houses, which are opened from time to time, to see if they can find a wife. If a young man is successful, which he usually knows immediately from the expression of the eyes and the mouth, he offers the young lady his hand. If she goes with him, he takes her to a house which has been prepared, and they are then husband and wife. If she does not go, or if he cannot find the right one after looking in the different wedding houses, he waits until another time. On that earth a husband never has more than one wife. We may certainly see in this custom something of the order of marriage that exists in heaven, although, naturally, it is not a perfect image.*
* See AC 10,837.
     There is only a nine-hour day on the sixth earth, and their year is two hundred days long. Because of this they have perpetual spring and summer. The fields are in bloom and the trees bear fruit continuously. Swedenborg was told that the people live on fruits and vegetables. They also have cows, woolly like sheep, from which they take milk that is mixed with water and then drunk. Their houses are low and made of wood, with a flat roof around which is a coping sloping downward. The husband and wife live in the front part of the house, the children and servants in the rear. Both children and adults go about quite naked; for these people are in innocence, and nakedness does not inspire shame or lascivious thoughts.*
* See AC 10,834-10,836.

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Conclusion

It is not easy to understand why the Lord has revealed all this information about the planets of our solar system and the earths in the starry heaven. However, there are reasons, obviously important ones; otherwise this information would not have been given. We will consider these reasons in our next two articles.
OUR NEW CHURCH VOCABULARY 1961

OUR NEW CHURCH VOCABULARY 1961

Chastity. This term is included as one which has in the Writings a meaning different from that assigned to it in common usage. In that usage, chastity means continence, virginity, or celibacy, and is therefore a quality that is lost by marriage. This definition is unacceptable, both because it implies that the body is depraved and marriage impure and because it refers only to the body, whereas the Writings teach that chastity is essentially a state of the spirit. As the terms are used in the Writings, chastity and unchastity are predicated of marriages and the things that belong to them. Conjugial love is said to be chastity itself, and the term describes the union of one man with one wife when both acknowledge the Lord and each confines their love to the other. Such a union is chaste because inmostly within it there is an aversion to adultery. The distinction between chastity and unchastity is therefore much deeper than one as to bodily acts. Before marriage, chastity is a proper attitude toward marriage which influences the imagination as well as the conduct - one which looks earnestly to a chaste and eternal union and spurns what is opposed to it. (See CL 139ff, 49e.)
Church. As used by itself in the Writings, this term refers to a spiritual organization, the unit of which is the individual human mind. The man who has the Word and understands it rightly, acknowledges the Divine of the Lord, learns truths out of the Word from Him, and lives a life of love and charity according to them, is a particular church; and the spiritual society formed by all such men is the church specific - a term not actually found in the Writings, but used with good authority. Those who do not have the Word, but worship one God, obey His revealed will as they understand it, and live together in simple charity constitute the church universal; and these, together with the former, make up the church of the Lord or the universal church of the Lord. It is our belief that the church specific is not formed apart from the Writings. (See AC 8152, 10,761; AE 20; HH 328.)

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MOHAMMEDAN RELIGION 1961

MOHAMMEDAN RELIGION Rev. ROBERT S. JUNGE 1961

     A STUDY

     Introduction

     The Arab world is in the headlines almost daily. The forces of freedom and totalitarianism are in what may become a struggle to the death for the support of these uncommitted powers. It is important that we of the Western world and of the New Church make a sincere effort to understand these peoples so that, as we seek co-operation with them, it will not be a matter of trying to force our beliefs upon them but rather an effort to help them find their own unique course.
     The faith of Islam is closely linked to the goals and ambitions of the people. Political goals and religious ideals often intertwine. We have no intention of discussing the political implications of this part of the world. While not pretending to understand thoroughly the faith of the Mohammedans by having read a few books, it is still our hope in this article to encourage reflection on the spiritual goals of these peoples. We would welcome additions and discussion.
     The plan is to present the teachings of the Writings, the teachings of the Koran and interpretations of it, and some interpretations of the general spiritual state of the Mohammedan world today.
     Any new church has duties clearly laid out before it regarding the Gentiles; while the Mohammedans are not strictly Gentiles, and might be called an intermediary between the Christians and the Gentiles, still, we, as a church, have a duty towards them. The Writings make no exception regarding the spread of the New Church to the Gentiles when they speak of its growth. In these trying worldly aftermaths of the Last Judgment, when the non-Christian world is obviously coming to the fore, we must always be asking ourselves: What do these forces and these struggles mean to the New Church? In this article we do not ask what part do we play in the natural and political struggles themselves, but rather, what is our part in the spiritual trials that these natural events reflect? With this in mind, we enter a study of the faith of Islam.

327

     Concept of God

     The most important doctrine of any religion is the doctrine of the Lord. So we look first to the Mohammedan beliefs about God. It is interesting that over 90% of their theology treats of Allah, their one God.* First let us examine what the Writings say of that belief. But remember, as we do this, that among the multitudes of Mohammedans there are bound to be differences of belief, and these differences are therefore bound to be reflected in the various descriptions given in the Writings. The Writings indicate throughout regarding the Mohammedans that they acknowledge one God; and we cannot help but admire this belief, so fundamental to all true religion. The Koran puts it: "There is no God but Allah."**
* Hitti, p. 47.
** Mohammedanism; Gibb, p. 38.
     But New Church men will immediately ask: How do they regard the Lord? Have they any concept of a Divinely Human God? For only a Divinely Human God can truly be approached by man. The Writings describe the Mohammedans again and again in this manner: "They acknowledge the Lord as the greatest Prophet, the Son of God, the wisest of all, who was sent into the world to teach man."* But the Koran seems to contradict this when it says: "The Messiah, the Son of Mary, is only the apostle of God and His Word which He cast to Mary and a spirit from Him. So believe in God and His apostles and do not say, 'Three.' Forbear! (it is better for you. Allah is only One God; so transcendent is He that He cannot have a son."** Yet in contrast to this denial of the Son of God, the Virgin Birth is clearly taught: "And she who was chaste, therefore we breathed into her of our spirit and made her and her son a token for [all] people."***
* CLJ 68; TCE 828; SS 105: 3; LJ Post 93-94; SD 5662a; CL 342.
** Surah 4: 171 (See Guillaume, P. 195, for the translation used.)
*** Surah 21: 9, (See also Gibb, P. 43)
     The Koran, then, is not clear; for it defends the Virgin Birth with one hand, and denies that the Lord was the Son of God with the other. Apparently Mohammedans derive different things from the Koran, the way Christians do with the Bible. But lest we have the idea that the Writings do not also recognize this denial of the Lord as the Son of God, we would note their speaking of a man impersonating Mohammed, who tried to convince Mohammedan spirits. He "was actuated to speak to Mohammedan spirits concerning the Lord, that He was not the Son of Joseph, as they believed in the world, but the Son of God himself, by which he insinuated into them an idea of the unity of the Lord's person and essence with the Father."* The Writings say also that they recognize that the Lord "had lived a more spiritual life according to their religious principles."**

328

Again, we read in Conjugial Love: "Therefore the followers of Mohammed could not acknowledge our Lord as any God from eternity, but only as a perfect natural man."*** So the Writings actually indicate the same type of contradiction as the Koran teaches.
* CLJ 69.
** LJ 50.
*** CL 341.
     The Lord's wisdom and prophetship, spoken of in the Writings, are also clearly implied in the following passage from the Koran and many others: "And verily We gave unto Moses the Scripture and We caused a train of messengers to follow after him, and We gave unto Jesus, son of Mary, clear proofs [of Allah's sovereignty], and We supported him with the holy spirit." *
* Surah 2: 87.
     Yet the Writings continue, and define much more closely, the Mohammedan doctrine concerning this denial of the Lord as God. "Mohammedans . . . have . . . denied the Divinity of the Lord, and have acknowledged the Father alone as God." * A modern authority explains further that they do not even like the term Father."** "[That religion] did not acknowledge the Lord as the God of heaven and earth [we are taught], because Orientals acknowledge God as the Creator of the Universe, and were unable to comprehend how He could come into the world and assume the Human; even as many Christians do not comprehend this. . . "***     But again, the Writings contrast this denial with an acknowledgment of the Son.     ". . . it is impossible for them to think that our Lord is one with the Father, but it is possible for them to think of Him as equal, as also that dominion is given to Him over Heaven and earth, because He is His Son."****
* Ath 167.
** Guillaume, p. 195.
*** DP 255: 4.
**** CL 343; TCR 832; LJ Post. 97; SD 5669a.
     Now we know that it is essential to think of God in Human form, or there is no approach to Him. Yet of some Mohammedans we read: "It was also inquired what sort of ideas they had about God the Father; and it was found that they had no other idea than of a created universe, and that the idea was devoid of a human idea, as with all others, consequently, that they had not any idea of God the Father."* This is certainly true of some, but a further passage continues: "They were examined as to what sort of idea they had of the one God, the Creator of the universe; and it was ascertained that it was as it were something human, and not, as with the former ones, as of a universe."** One modern author gives us a picture of something of this humanness of God when he describes their faith: ". . . alongside the terrible and majestic aspects of God as Creator, Supreme Power, Judge, and Avenger, the Koran stresses also His bounty and loving kindness.

329

He is not only 'the Compassionate One, the Merciful,' but also the Protector, the Provider, the Pardoner, the Clement, ever ready to turn to the repentant sinner. He is the Subtle, Who is 'closer to man than his own neck vein,'*** 'the First and the Last, the Manifest and the Hidden.'"**** In spite of these qualities, however, Allah's attributes of love are overshadowed by his majesty. Islam is essentially a religion of submission.*****
* SD 5665a; LJ Post. 96.
** SD 5668a.
*** Surah 1: 15.
**** Surah lvii: 3. (Gibb, p. 50).
***** See Hitti, p. 47.
     One of the dangers, however, of the Mohammedan faith is that in seeking to find something human and approachable they make too much of Mohammed. It is probable that most modern Mohammedans would class Mohammed and not the Lord as the greatest prophet.* One of the Writings says: "But as the Mohammedans make the Koran only the book of their religion, and consequently, Mohammed, who wrote it, is seated in their thoughts, and they follow him with a kind of worship, they therefore think little about the Lord."** Yet even some of these are taught after death to accept the Lord alone. Mohammed himself comes up black and evil, or his impersonators appear and instruct, leading toward true beliefs." ***
* Hitti, p. 48.
** CL 342, 348; TCR 829, 833; CU 69; LJ Post. 96; SD 339, 5663a, 5665a.
*** LJ Post. 78; SD 344, 447, 5666a.
     Many are given some feeling for the Divine Humanity even in this world through the idea of the Son of God; others gain no such idea and therefore have no real idea of God whatsoever. But after death, we are taught, "many of the Mohammedans become Christian, acknowledging the Lord as the only God, because the Father is in Him and He in the Father."* We ask ourselves, must this wait until after death? Why cannot the New Church, with its firm belief in one God, have a particular appeal to the peoples of Islam?
* SD 5246; LJ Post. 91, 101; HH 514:2.
     Certainly we, too, abhor the division of God into three persons. The history of the rise of Mohammedanism, and the struggles of the Crusade period, show clearly the Moslems' intense hatred of worshiping any but one God, and their being totally repelled by image worship. While there are no longer the religious wars, there is little evidence that their convictions in these matters have changed. We read of many descriptions of Mohammedans and Christians discussing the nature of God in the other world, and the Moslems shame the Christians.*

330

The Writings simply say: "The Mohammedans are hostile to the Christians mainly because of the Christian belief in three Divine persons and the consequent worship of three gods, and as many creators; and still more hostile to the Roman Catholics, because of their bending the knee before images; and for this reason they call them idolaters; and the former they call fanatics, declaring that they make God a three-headed being, also that they say one and mutter three, and consequently divide up omnipotence, and from one and of one make three."** We wonder what would be a Mohammedan's reaction to the New Church doctrine? Certainly "many" Mohammedans in the other world were convinced when it was presented to them. And we must remember that the idea of God is the center of all religion.
* BE 37; TCR 183; CLJ 72; SD 344, 6021, 5669a, 5241, 5600, 4831, 5952; LJ Post. 100, 95, 89, 97.
** TCR 831.

     The Koran

     We know it is also extremely important to know what authority is behind a religion, and what their attitude is towards that authority which they believe to be the truth. The Writings tell us: "It is also known that the Mohammedan religion, which came later and destroyed the former religions of many nations, was taken from the Word of both Testaments."* This fact is clearly recognized by the scholars, where we read: "The parallels between the Old Testament and the Koran are many and striking. Almost all the historical narratives of the Koran have their biblical counterparts. Among the Old Testament characters, Adam, Noah, Abraham (mentioned about seventy times) Ishmael, Lot, Joseph, Moses (whose names occur in 34 chapters) Saul, David, Solomon, Elijah, Job, and Jonah figure prominently. The story of the Creation and Fall of Adam is cited 5 times, the flood 8, and Sodom 8. Of the New Testament characters Zachariah, John the Baptist, Jesus and Mary are the only ones emphasized. But many old Semitic proverbs and sayings common to both Hebrew and Arab are found in New or Old Testaments and in the Koran-such for example, as those dealing with "an eye for an eye," "the needle's eye," and "the taste of death for every man." . . . The religion of the Koran comes nearer the Judaism of the Old Testament than does the Christianity of the New Testament. It has such close affinities with both, however, that in its early stages it must have appeared more like a heretic Christian sect than a distinct religion.**
* SS 117e; AE 1177: 3; DP 255; CL 342; TCR 833.
** Hitti, pp. 43-44.
     The Koran is the authoritative Word of God for the Moslem; though he recognizes the Old and New Testament, where there is disagreement, he accepts the Koran as the final authority.

331

We read in Surah 4: 135:

"Believe in God and His apostle and the book which he has sent down to His apostle and the book which he sent down formerly. He who disbelieves in God and His angels, His books, and His apostles, and the Last Day, has strayed far [from the truth]
     The Writings tell us: "A Mohammedan sees from the Koran that God is one, that the Lord is the Son of God, and that all good is from God, that there is a heaven and that there is a hell, that there is a life after death, and that the evils forbidden in the commandments of the Decalogue must he shunned. If he does these latter things, he also believes the former and is saved."*
* AE 1180: 2
     The Koran is the basis of his life and faith. In contrast to many Christians of our day who have rejected all authority including the Bible, and have made religion something purely relative, the faith of Islam is refreshing. If man truly acknowledges an authority outside of himself as from God, that man can always learn and find his place in heaven. The modern Mohammedan apparently still looks to the Koran to pattern his life.
     Now we know that the Koran was given providentially; though it does not have a continuous internal sense, it is a useful book for the Moslems. Perhaps in relation to those of Oriental mind, it could even be classed along with the Epistles or other such books useful for the church. If we were to try to teach Mohammedans, it is possible that we should use this great work in confirmation of our doctrines, even quoting it in our teaching. Good teaching always builds upon the foundations which are already established. ". . . but the Mohammedans receive instruction from angels who had previously been in the same religion and had been converted to Christianity. The heathen, too, are taught by their angels."* "All teaching there is from doctrine drawn from the Word, and not from the Word apart from doctrine. Christians are taught from heavenly doctrine, which is in entire agreement with the internal sense of the Word. All others, as the Mohammedans and heathen, are taught from doctrines suited to their apprehension, which differ from heavenly doctrine only in this, that spiritual, life is taught by means of moral life in harmony with the good tenets of their religion from which they had derived their life in the world."**
* HH 515.
** HH 516.
     Now there is a passage in the Writings which is somewhat obscure, for it may be speaking only of heaven. But it does relate to the way the Lord teaches and leads them. We read: "It was told me that there is a book among the Mohammedans which is common in their hands, in which some pages were written by correspondences like the Word with us; from which pages there is some light in the heavens."*

332

We hesitate, however, to identify this book with the Koran, even if it is spoken of as "common in their hands." Nevertheless, this also indicates building Christian teaching upon the tenets of their faith by which they have lived.
* LJ Post. 98; SD 5809: 8.
     They are protected from profanation by the fact that the Koran is not truly the Word of God. We wonder if the Christian Church, with its increasing emphasis on the Epistles, is not also so protected. We read: ".... that [polygamy] may not be a sin to them, they remain natural and do not become spiritual, and the natural man cannot see that there is any sin in such things as are of received religion; this only the spiritual man sees. It is for this reason that, although from the Koran they acknowledge our Lord as the Son of God, yet they do not approach Him but Mohammed, and so long as they do this, they remain natural, and therefore do not know that there is any evil, nor indeed that there is any lasciviousness, in polygamy."* "They do not know what the Lord taught. It is for this reason that the interiors of their minds, which in themselves are spiritual, could not be opened, since they can be opened only by the Lord."**
* CL 348
** CL 341
     Their way of life is patterned on the Ten Commandments, which they receive through the Koran.* They love justice and do good from religion,** acknowledging that all good is from God.*** Part of this good comes from their sense of obedience, and those who are in it are very perceptive of spiritual things.**** They think faith alone is foolish.*****
* AE 1180: 2.
** TCR 832.
*** LJ Post. 97, 87; SD 5063.
**** LJ Post. 85; SD 5060-1.
***** SD 5952; LJ Post. 100.
     As we think of the possibility of the New Church bringing its message to them, we might well reflect on the following passage: "Mohammedans are in natural [lumen] more than Christians and also desire to know truths more than they. They understood, received, and drank in, more readily than Christians, the fact that all things in heaven and earth resolve themselves into truth and good; that when truth is believed it is of faith, and when good is perceived, it is of love; that two faculties are therefore given to man; namely, understanding and will, and that the truth which is of faith is the understanding, and the good which is of love is the will: further that, in order that many may be truly man, truth and good must be one, consequently faith and love, and in general, the understanding and the will . . . [learned Christians] could not apprehend those things, when yet the Mohammedans understood them clearly. They also clearly perceived that they who have been in the good of life are in the affection of truth, for the reason that good hungers for truth, since truth is, as it were the food of good; and that afterwards with the same ones, truth longs for good; since then truth receives its life from good, so that there occurs a desire of one for the other reciprocally; and that a man who is a man of wisdom and intelligence is characterized by this desire.

333

They ascertained that very many of the Christians place intelligence and wisdom in craft, when yet this is contrary to them and is therefore insanity and foolishness."* Are these, then, more ready to receive the New Church than our Christian neighbors? If so, where are our Mohammedan missionaries?
* SD 5248; LJ Post. 92; CLJ 72; SD 340, 480e.

(To be Concluded.)
EFFICACY OF PRAYER 1961

EFFICACY OF PRAYER Rev. DONALD L. ROSE 1961

     We are all subject to doubts, and it is quite common for us to come into doubt as to the efficacy of prayer. This is a doubt which strikes at the very heart of religious belief. Even in the Ancient Church men contended with it, for it is alluded to in that book produced in the Ancient Church which portrays the trials of the believer's mind. This is the book of Job, in which it is said of the Almighty: "What profit should we have, if we pray unto Him?"*
* Job 21: 15.
     The Lord urged His disciples to pray. His parable seems to anticipate doubt in prayer; for He showed "that men ought always to pray, and not to faint." * Even in the infancy of the Christian Church the efficacy of prayer must have been a subject of doubt with some, for we note that James ends his Epistle in asseveration that prayer does avail.
* Luke 18: 1.
     Those in the New Church may have uncertainties about prayer, and in some instances even unbelief as to its efficacy; but the revelation concerning the spiritual world has been given in order that ignorance may be enlightened and "unbelief dissipated."*
* HH 1e.
     Without truth concerning the realities of the spiritual world do not men commonly doubt that there is efficacy in the sacraments? Do they not doubt that baptism accomplishes anything, or that anything is effected in inauguration into the priesthood by prayer and the laying on of hands? We are to ponder these things in the light of what is revealed concerning the other world.

     Prayer in the Spiritual World

     We know that the angels pray, and that their prayers are heard. Indeed it seems that every prayer we read of in the Memorable Relations is granted.

334

The various examples there given are striking testimonies to the efficacy of prayer.
     Some men in the world of spirits pray that angels may be sent to them. The angels appear and say: "The Lord Jesus Christ has heard your prayers, and has therefore sent us to you."*
* AR 224.
     When a novitiate, desirous of learning, threw himself on his knees and devoutly prayed that he might be instructed, an angel appeared in response to his prayer.*
* CL 461.
     When Swedenborg was confronted with deceptive appearances his prayer for enlightenment had immediate effect. "I prayed to the Lord, and suddenly the interiors of my mind were opened." * He prayed also for the enlightenment of a bewildered multitude. "I will pray to the Lord, and thence bring a remedy by an inflow of light on this subject."**
* AR 926
** TCR 73: 2.
     When angels are instructing they pray to the Lord.* "But this will appear more evidently before your sight, if we pray to the Lord. . ."**
* 5 M 21.
** 5 M 15.
     When angels wished to be allowed to descend with Swedenborg and see into hell they prayed to the Lord. "This was granted."* Some in hell prayed that they might ascend to converse with angels. "And because they prayed to the Lord, leave was given."**
* TCR 159: 2.
** AR 566.
     In the other world the efficacy of prayer to the Lord seems to be such that it can actually be demonstrated in contrast to vain prayers to God the Father.* There is a visible efficacy in the other world, even to the removal of mountains, and it seems to be manifestly proven that "everyone that asketh receiveth." Even a passage about Luther, which may be construed as an exception, shows that prayer is heard and answered.**
* AR 566.
** LJ Post. 36.
     While we are yet in the material body we pray that the mountain of self-love may be removed. We pray for Divine guidance and protection. We pray for deliverance and help. Our prayers are heard and answered in wonderful ways; but because our spiritual eyes are not open, we doubt.

     Doubt and Denial

     Those who deny God do not, of course, believe that there is anything to be effected in prayer. Many who say they do believe in God mean that there is some great ordering force in the universe. Neither would they believe that prayer is heard. It is the belief in God as a Divine Man that prompts men to pray.

335

     Even those who are taught that the Lord is a God of love and wisdom may he confused on the subject of prayer and may be subject to doubts which take various deceptive forms. On the one hand, we have those who doubt for the simple reason that their prayers do not seem to be heard or answered; on the other hand, we have those who, with seeming logic, entertain reasonings against the efficacy of prayer.
     These reasonings begin in truths but lead to false conclusions. One man may observe the teachings that the Lord in His infinite love is working in thousands of unseen ways for our spiritual welfare. If the Lord is constantly doing this, it seems superfluous, even impertinent, for us to ask Him to help us in some specific way. Such a man may say: "Does prayer mean that we should ask the Lord to do what He would not otherwise do? Would this not imply that He is not already acting in every way to help us?" Another man may simply observe that the Lord knows all things beforehand. He may say: "If the Lord already knows, then there is no reason to ask."
     The true understanding of this subject begins, not in reasonings, but in what the Lord has clearly revealed. The fundamental truth is that the Lord wills that man should pray. The Writings do say that the Lord knows it beforehand; "but still the Lord wills that man should ask first.* Man is not to wait idly for a predestined spiritual fate. He is to act and to choose and to make petition as from himself. To the question as to whether in prayer we ask the Lord to do what He would not otherwise do, the simplest answer is, "Yes." What the Lord does for a man is limited according to what the man himself wants. The Lord does not deliver from evil the man who does not desire that this should be done.
* AR 376.
     We read of simple spirits "who when they lived in the body and prayed for anything and did not obtain it were indignant, and gave way to doubts concerning Providence." * We read of the man who "entertains a doubt with respect to the Divine aid and power, because he is not heard." ** Such doubt may be alleviated when ignorance is enlightened. This is made possible in the Divine revelation which is meant by the coming of the Lord.*** In the Writings the Lord reveals His ways to man and shows under what conditions prayers "avail." **** He shows when they are heard, when they are not heard,***** and when they are "but little heard." ******
* AC 4654.
** AC 8179: 3.
*** HH 1.
**** AE 248: 4, 325: 7; SD 3677.
***** AC 4227: 4; BE 52.
****** AC 8179: 3.
      In one sense all prayers are heard,* but some are heard in the sense that they are granted.

336

"To hear" in the supreme sense refers to the Lord and signifies "to provide and bring aid";** "to bring the aid of mercy to him who implores it";*** or, in the case of suffering in temptation, "to cause to cease."**** The Lord's answers to prayer in this world and at this day must needs be hidden for the same reasons that manifest miracles are not now performed. The Writings show that the Lord does not heed a prayer which is contrary to salvation, and that we are to follow our supplications with the prayer that the Lord's will be done.***** He who prays in this acknowledgment will not fall into doubt if the answer is delayed or hidden, or even if the plea is not granted.
* AC 10177: 5, 10430.
** AC 6803.
*** AC 6852.
**** AC 8440.
***** AC 8179:3.
     Notice that what is called the answer to prayer is an actual doing by the Lord.* The thought of the efficacy of prayer as merely a "psychological effect" on the one who prays is not far from the thought of religion as merely something that has a favorable effect on the behavior and mental health of the common people. Many who maintain that religion is useful and even necessary believe that "in itself it is nothing."** That genuine belief in prayer comes from belief in the Lord's omnipresence and omnipotence is shown in Divine Providence, where it is said: "Whoever prays in his heart to God implores Him to lead him, because He is able."***
* See AR 376.
** DP 238.
*** DP 157: 8.

     Prayer for Others

     Some are inclined to doubt that prayer for others can have any good effect upon them. There seem to be two main reasons for this. One is the thought that effectual prayer for another would infringe upon his freedom. The other is the inability to conceive of how prayer for another could come into effect.
     The question concerning the other individual's freedom is answered if we reflect upon the fact that the very real effect of baptism does not take away the individual's freedom to draw to himself spirits of his own nature. We are constantly doing things for others which affect them. We can encourage and comfort them. We can instruct them and exhort them. These things are conducive to their welfare but do not take away their freedom.
     Although it is hard to conceive of the efficacy of prayer for others, we almost instinctively believe in it. We often wish good fortune to another at an occasion such as a wedding. We know that the real meaning of "fortune" is what proceeds from the Lord; and if our wish is sincere we are really saying in heart: "May there be a blessing."

337

We often say that our hopes "go with" others, and we feel the desire actually to communicate or transmit our happiness to them. In a state of charity we are praying, if not with the mouth, yet with the heart.*
* AE 325: 12.
     We are told that an angel can communicate to another his own good, good fortune and bliss.* We are told that in the other life happiness can be communicated to others "by a real transmission that is wonderful."** Swedenborg himself was granted to communicate delight to others by transmissions. These marvelous transmissions are brought into effect by the Lord.
* AC 6478.
** AC 1392.
     A sphere of fortune or misfortune comes from the presence of angels or spirits. We read of evil spirits who were able to send forth a sphere of misfortune;* and it would seem that a sphere of good fortune could be sent forth by angels. Indeed, the teaching that angels sometimes moderate the punishments of evil spirits seems to show the fulfillment of the Lord's words: "Pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you."
* SD. Min 4758; AC 6493.
     "There emanates from every man a spiritual sphere, which is a sphere of his love's affection and its thought therefrom, and this interiorly affects his associates." * Our good wishes for others have an effect, although we may not be sensibly aware of it. Remember that at a wedding in the other world it was immediately after the guests said, "May there be a blessing," that a fragrance filled the room as a sign of a blessing from heaven.**
* TCR 433.
** CL 20.
     The Writings tell us that truths learned from the Lord have an "efficacy" in the spiritual world beyond what man knows.* There is a wonderful efficacy, too, in the good affections which are received from the Lord and from which sincere prayers proceed.
* TCR 347: 2.
IMPORTANT DISTINCTION 1961

IMPORTANT DISTINCTION 1961

"The evil equally with the good can do good. He can assist another, can do him many kind services, from good will, from kindness, from friendship, from compassion. These, however, are not charity with him who does them, but with him to whom they are done. In outward appearance it is charity." (Doctrine of Charity 40)

338

INVISIBLE KINGDOM 1961

INVISIBLE KINGDOM Rev. MORLEY D. RICH 1961

     Ever since the fall of the human race men have longed, consciously or unconsciously, for a return to the golden time and state of Eden. Yet, having lost the way, and no longer knowing in what the kingdom of God consisted, they have developed the most gross ideas about it; and it was to correct, expand and enlarge men's ideas of it that the Lord while on earth so often described that kingdom, sometimes in direct language, more often in parables and similes.
     To the Jews before the Lord's advent, and even after it, the promised kingdom was to be an earthly one established by the Messiah when He came: a kingdom of milk and honey which would extend over the whole earth, in which, one and all, they would reign as kings and priests unto God. Even to the disciples, the kingdom of which the Lord spoke seemed to be a future absolute monarchy which He would rule and in which they would have their administrations as princes on His right hand: and although these first primitive ideas were later refined, Christians in all ages have pictured the future kingdom of God as an earthly one in which peace and prosperity, good and truth, would reign universally - the evil being consumed in the fires of a physical last judgment.
     Yet, had they really attended to the significance of all that the Lord said about it, they could have had a general idea of what it would really be, and they would have realized that their earthly ideas of it were entirely erroneous. For the Lord, near the end of His earthly life, had said to Pilate: "My kingdom is not of this world"; and before that, throughout His public ministry, He had everywhere taught the spiritual, unobtrusive and subtle nature of the kingdom.
     In His parables the Lord had described the kingdom of God as a seed growing secretly, and springing up, man knows not how; as a grain of mustard seed becoming greater than all herbs; as good seed among which tares were sown; as leaven hid in three measures of meal until the whole was leavened; and as treasure hidden in a field, to possess which the finder sells all that he has. Finally, the most direct statement was that made to the disciples: "The kingdom of God cometh not with observation [outward show].. . . for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you."
     These statements should have shown all true Christians that the Lord's kingdom is not of this world.

339

Yet throughout the Christian era the church looked for an earthly second coming of the Lord; one in which He would take on all the power and symbols of an absolute monarch - King of kings, albeit a benevolent one. Particular ideas as to the manner of the kingdom have varied, but the main concept has remained unchanged.
     Yet the Lord's direct teaching was that His kingdom could not be observed because it would not show itself to men's bodily eyes. No man can say of it: "Lo, here"; or "Lo, there." For it is in none of the things which men have hailed momentarily as the kingdom of God: neither in a new political system, nor in any fortuitous set of happenings which have temporarily transformed a people into an empire, nor yet in any brief burst of religious revival and enthusiasm. All of these have, in time, faded and passed away, leaving men sadly disillusioned and with high hopes once more deferred.
     The kingdom is, indeed, a very personal and individual thing, an inner thing in each man which never appears in the physical world except clothed in the garments of outward charity and truth; garments which are not the thing itself, since every man can clothe himself with them - the evil who are not in the kingdom as well as the inwardly good who are of that kingdom. Even within a man it is not an observable thing. It is not such a primitive state of enthusiasm as may occur in evangelism, when a man may be stirred by enthusiastic spirits rather than by angels.
     Although the Lord described some of the characteristics of the kingdom, He never said exactly what the kingdom was. This was because no man, not even among His disciples, was yet ready to understand and receive the truth. But in His second coming the Lord declares it plainly, telling us that His kingdom is His Divine truth, and that it is within man when he seeks and acknowledges truth in the Word. This it is which is as a small seed within man's spirit; growing in him, not quickly and spectacularly, but slowly and silently, so that the man "knoweth not how." An image of this may be seen by close observation in the growth of a man's principles and ideas of truth as he progresses from youth to old age; it may be seen also in the well-nigh unconscious and imperceptible change in thought and attitude that takes place as the years pass with those who receive the truths of the Lord's second coming, this as the Divine truth begins to take hold and to leaven their minds.
     Nowhere, perhaps, can the quality of the kingdom be so warmly and affectingly seen and sensed than in the states of little children, indeed in the states of our own childhood that we are able to remember. Who cannot recall the almost indescribable delight felt in imagining one's self flying over the earth with the wings of an eagle; the exquisite pleasure taken in a crisp, glorious dawn or morning; the awe felt upon sensing the apparent limitlessness of the horizon or the stars at night?

340

And who cannot see something of the kingdom in the magic world of the child, where people and things appear and vanish in a moment, and where a thing can take on instantly an entirely different appearance?
So it is with the spirit of man in which the Lord's kingdom of truth slowly grows, if man allows it. It is a state of spiritual innocence that is preserved even when surrounded by evil; a state of love and charity that is constant even in the midst of turmoil and trial; a feeling of inward happiness and delight reminiscent of childhood's happiness and delight. It was in this sense that the Lord spoke of the necessity of receiving the kingdom as a little child. The seed to which the Lord compared His kingdom is the seed of truth in His Word. If this is taken in by a man it enters as something dead, for it is then mere knowledge of the Lord's teachings. But it is caught up by the Lord into the inner recesses of man's spirit, and there it is warmed and nourished by the Lord's love until it begins to live and move. Knowledge is transformed into living truth; and not only does this take place without man knowing how, but he is scarcely aware of the change. Indeed, so slowly and secretly does this come about that men often fall into the temptation of despair. They are disappointed, perhaps, that nothing seems to be happening. As far as they can see, they are the same as before; and virtually all of their conscious life and thought seem to be so preoccupied with necessary material concerns, so limited by time and space, so bound to external duties and activities, that they despair of ever seeing the promised kingdom.
Yet if they are sincere in their longing, and if they continue to seek first that kingdom in the Lord's Word, the Lord is secretly building His kingdom in their hearts and minds - a state of heaven into which they will enter consciously in life eternal. And something of that state comes through to their consciousness, they know not whence or how, even if rarely and briefly. An unexplainable pleasure in a task well done, a truth seen, a good perceived, is a prophetic glimpse of the kingdom which the Lord is building, surely, if in secret.
RECEIVED FOR REVIEW 1961

RECEIVED FOR REVIEW 1961

THE POMEGORANATE WITH SEEDS OF GOLD and other Stories from the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg. By Amena Pendleton Haines. Illustrated by Eudora Sellner Walsh. Theta Alpha, Bryn Athyn, Pa., 1961. Cloth, pp. 94. Price, $2.00.

341

NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS 1961

NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS Rev. ORMOND ODHNER 1961

     Under Solomon, whose story is recounted in the Old Testament readings for July, Israel reached what historians like to call her Golden Age. Solomon - world renowned for his wisdom, and magnificently Rich - therefore fittingly represents the Lord after His coming into the world: the glorified Lord, that is.
     It was a rather large kingdom that Solomon inherited from David, possibly extending as far north as the Euphrates and reaching south to an arm of the Red Sea. His reign, save at the end, was one of peace, and he used it to bring glory to his kingdom. His court was magnificent and his entourage enormous; a hundred sheep a day were but a small part of his provision. The temple he built for Jehovah, though comparatively small, was lavishly ornate. All was overlaid with gold. If it took seven years to build the temple, it took thirteen to build Solomon's palace. His racing stables at Megiddo housed over four hundred horses. His fleets sailed the coasts of Arabia and the east coast of Africa, bringing him back gold, gems, spices, peacocks, monkeys, and the ivory out of which his throne was made.
     His proverbial wisdom is best illustrated for adults in two cases. In a dream the Lord appeared to him and told him to ask for anything he wished: he asked, not for riches or power or long life, but only for an understanding heart, so that he could better serve his people as their king. And in a prayer at the dedication of the temple he admitted that no building could serve as a dwelling place for God.
     But here and there the biblical story indicates that all was not well in Israel when Solomon was king. Someone had to pay for his luxuries: the people did - in devastating taxes. Someone had to build his buildings: the people did - with conscript labor that took them away from their homes one month out of three. And Solomon's many wives - although they could represent the good in the church universal, scattered throughout all the religions of the world - were not only expensive to support; they also led him and his people into every kind of idolatry and evil, even into human sacrifice. In spite of his representation, Solomon actually impoverished Israel and made life in his country almost unendurable. It is small wonder, then, that as soon as he died his kingdom fell apart, and the glory was gone out of Israel.

342

INTERREGNUM 1961

INTERREGNUM Editor 1961

NEW CHURCH LIFE
Office of Publication, Lancaster, Pa.
Published Monthly By

THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM
BRYN ATHYN, PA.
Editor     -     Rev. W. Cairns Henderson, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager     -     Mr. L. E. Gyllenhaal, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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

TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION
$5.00 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single copy, 50 cents.
     With the beginning of July we enter an interim year. The retirement of Bishop De Charms has become effective, and until his successor is chosen at the Assembly next June, the Right Reverend Willard D. Pendleton will serve as Acting Bishop of the General Church. In this, while not bound by precedent, we follow a procedure first used when Bishop W. F. Pendleton retired in 1915, and again adopted in 1936 when Bishop N. D. Pendleton relinquished the office of executive Bishop.
     The office of Acting Bishop insures that there shall be no hiatus in the ecclesiastical government of the church. Yet the situation in which an acting Bishop finds himself is not an easy one. On the one hand, he does not wish to initiate changes or undertake any reorganization of uses that might bind the future; on the other hand, he must administer existing uses and make provision for contingencies which cannot await settlement later. The steering of a middle course between innovation and a mere holding operation is difficult; yet it must be done, for the uses of the church do not stand still.
     Bishop Pendleton brings to the task administrative experience in the General Church and the Academy and a background in pastoral work and in teaching. He has asked Bishop De Charms' Consistory to continue to serve during his tenure as Acting Bishop. We believe that he will have the support of clergy and laity alike; support given with full confidence that under his leadership the government of the church will be in good hands, and its uses will be well cared for in the coming year.

343

APPROACHES TO TRUTH 1961

APPROACHES TO TRUTH Editor 1961

     It has long been our conviction as a church that the Lord speaks to us immediately in the Writings. Yet it is possible that a certain understanding of this undoubted truth may have led certain New Church men and women to adopt a view that should be re-examined. We refer to the idea that the man of the church should be able to go directly to the Writings, and to the Writings alone, for the solution of all his problems; and to its implied corollary, that something vital is lacking if he does otherwise, or is unable to find there the answers he seeks.
     To be taught from the Word is to be taught by the Lord Himself, yet the Lord teaches through means, though not by them. That is, the Word must be taught mediately through parents, teachers, priests, books, and especially the reading of it; yet it is not taught by these, but by the Lord through them. Thus the young people of the church who look to parents and teachers, and still more the men and women who look to the priesthood, as means of instruction, may still be looking to the Lord alone in the Word for truth.
     Among the means enumerated in the Writings through which the Lord teaches truths are conversation and communication with others, and thus thought within one's self. The man of the church who, as well as going directly to the Writings, takes his more serious problems to a wise and sympathetic fellow layman or to a priest for examination and discussion need not feel, then, that he is violating Divine order; that to do so would be to confess to weakness or defect. Rather is he co-operating with a law of the Divine Providence and extending the means through which the Lord may lead him to the solution he seeks.
     Man can be taught only according to his understanding, and as men vary in understanding, what eludes or baffles one may be reasonably clear to another. We need to measure our understanding of the Writings against that of others; and the mental effort required to see a problem clearly enough to present it to another, the thought and reflection that are stimulated in and by discussion, may become means through which the Lord can lead to a new sight of truth.
     The Lord did not create man to live to himself alone, to wrestle in lonely isolation with all his difficulties, but to enter into uses with others; and among these is that of sharing the understanding of truth that may have been received from the Lord for common advancement in the life of the church. To do this is not weakness. Nor is it a defect in the man of the church to seek skilled, specialized help in those areas where direct answers are not forthcoming in the Writings, and the skills that will one day be drawn from them have not yet been developed.

344

PSYCHIATRY AND THE SENSE OF GUILT 1961

PSYCHIATRY AND THE SENSE OF GUILT Editor 1961

     Psychiatry seeks to rid people of their guilt feelings; the Writings teach that a sense of personal guilt is essential for repentance; therefore we must totally reject psychiatry. With some such generalization as this not a few New Church men have condemned the psychiatrist and all his works. Before such a sweeping judgment is made or confirmed, however, the validity of its major assumption should be tested.
     The assumption is that when the theologian and the psychiatrist speak about guilt they both mean the same thing. The New Church theologian might define the sense of guilt as a feeling resulting from the acknowledgment that one has sinned against the Lord and done evil to the neighbor, and is fully responsible for having so done. It is true that some psychiatrists and psychologists, as individuals, have made value judgments in the realm of theology, insisting that religion is merely a man-made thing. With them we must part company, as we must with those who have forced environmental theories to the point where personal responsibility for wrongdoing vanishes.
     But this is far from being true of all. The psychiatrist, attempting to treat abnormal, neurotic states, is concerned with abnormal, neurotic feelings of guilt, and until this distinction is realized we do not have a basis for just judgment. He is concerned with feelings of guilt that have not been lifted or relieved by appropriate action, either because the true cause has not been understood or because the guilt feeling has become an obsessive fixation. This does not in itself preclude the idea of real, normal guilt which can be removed by repentance; and although we may question some of the theories developed about the causes of abnormal guilt, the distinction should be recognized.
     We, too, have need to be concerned about abnormal guilt. The teaching of the Writings is clear that when self-condemnation becomes an end in itself, self-examination has become an abnormal process. Before our evils can be removed, we must without reservation acknowledge that they are evil in themselves and in us and then make ourselves guilty of them. But this is intended to be followed by actual repentance; and if the recognition of guilt produces a feeling which has a paralyzing effect, then we must get rid of that feeling before the Lord can remove our guilt through repentance.
     As New Church men we must communicate with those in many different fields. One of the most serious obstacles to communication is the tacit assumption that all who use the same words are speaking the same language. This is not necessarily so, and it should be our business to learn what terms mean to others as well as to ourselves.

345

CHURCH NEWS 1961

CHURCH NEWS Various 1961

     SWEDENBORG SCIENTIFIC ASSOCIATION

     The 64th Annual Meeting of the Swedenborg Scientific Association was held on May 17, 1961, at Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania with an attendance of 64 members and 41 guests.
     Mr. Edward F. Allen was re-elected to the office of president. Mr. E. Boyd Asplundh was elected to the Board of Directors, and the following members of the board were re-elected: Messrs. Randolph W. Childs, Charles S. Cole, David J. Garrett, W. Cairns Henderson, Hugo Lj. Odhner, Joel Pitcairn and Kenneth Rose, and Miss Morna Hyatt. At a meeting of the board later in the evening the following officers were elected: vice president, Mr. Charles S. Cole; editorial board: Mr. Edward F. Allen, editor, Messrs. Donald C. Fitzpatrick, Jr., W. Cairns Henderson and Kenneth Rose; treasurer, Mr. E. Boyd Asplundh; secretary: Miss Morna Hyatt.
     The treasurer, Miss Beryl Briscoe, reported a balance of $5898.83, an increase of $819.48 over last year, the increase being due to substantial contributions to the publication fund. Sale of books increased from 196 last year to 264 this year. The number of members had declined from 279 to 278, plus 28 subscribers to the NEW PHILOSOPHY, but four new members joined before the end of the evening.
     The Rev. W. Cairns Henderson gave a report for the editorial board. After the last Annual Meeting, Mr. Donald C. Fitzpatrick, Jr., and Mr. Kenneth Rose had replaced Dr. Hugo Lj. Odhner and Mr. Lawson A. Pendleton on the board. Early in 1961, Mr. Henderson under the pressure of other work had found it necessary to resign as executive editor. Mr. Allen, assisted by Mr. Fitzpatrick and Mr. Rose, had taken over the editorship.
     The report of the Board of Directors noted that a committee consisting of Messrs. E. Boyd Asplundh, Randolph W. Childs, Charles S. Cole and Joel Pitcairn is studying ways and means to promote the uses of and interest in the Association.
     President Allen reported on some of the administrative activities of the Association.
1) Publications. The Association was grateful to Mr. C. S. Cole for carrying through the republication of the Animal Kingdom, to Mr. Harold F. Pitcairn for his Concordance of Selected Subjects in the Rational Psychology of Emanuel Swedenborg, and to Miss Beryl Briscoe and Dr Odhner for their assistance in this publication.
2) Business and Storage. Mr. Boyd Asplundh had been appointed as a committee to investigate the business affairs, storage problems, and sales arrangements of the Association.
3) The New Philosophy. The president paid a tribute to Mr. Henderson, told of plans for present and future issues, and invited dissatisfied readers to submit suitable material.
4) The Office of Treasurer. The president paid tribute also to Miss Beryl Briscoe, who, believing in a change that would initiate younger people into the work of the Association, had decided not to run for office again.
5) The Office of President. Mr. Allen had for several years urged that new men take office in the organization. He had decided not to run for the presidency for the coming year, but after due consideration the Board of Directors had asked him to accept the nomination. However, he said that if he was elected he would immediately appoint a committee to make recommendations for officers to the nominating committee next year.

346

     A colorful exhibition of books, pamphlets, microfilm and placards was displayed on the stage of the auditorium. The purpose of the exhibit, which was designed and put together by Messrs. David Garrett, Lennart Alfelt and Kenneth Rose, and Miss Donette Rose, was to show the activities of the Association and to interest people in becoming members. It will be displayed at the meetings of the General convention in Washington, D. C., in June.
     Mr. Gustav Genzlinger exhibited the model of Swedenborg's flying machine which he is constructing for the Smithsonian Institution and read a progress report. Mr. P. E. Garber, a curator of the Institution, had been here to see the model and had written a letter praising Mr. Genzlinger's work and expressing great appreciation of Swedenborg's inventive ability. He was evidently interested in the most minute details of the machine.
     Reports from the Kitchener and Glenview Chapters and from the Toronto Philosophy Reading Group were read.
     Following the reports, the Rev. George C. Dole delivered an address on "The New Church and Current Old Testament Scholarship" in which he gave a brief survey of biblical criticism followed by a consideration of the implications for the New Church. New Church men, he said, may take one of three attitudes: 1) Swedenborg deals with spiritual matters only, and scholarship with external matters only, so that there is no conflict; 2) Swedenborg's treatment of the literal sense reflects his own times and has been superseded, although his teaching concerning spiritual things remains valid; 3) Swedenborg's statements concerning the literal sense are fact, while current scientific conclusions are opinion. Mr. Dole gave examples of areas of agreement and areas of conflict between the Writings and Old Testament scholarship. He showed how differences in presuppositions make for differences in attitudes, and spoke of some of the presuppositions that are basic to the New Church. Mr. Dole believed that changes in biblical scholarship in the past twenty-five years have been for the most part in a direction favorable to the New Church. The method of "typology" recognizes analogies in the stories of the Bible. However, variations in recently discovered texts pose an apparent threat to our belief in the uniqueness of the Word. Perhaps investigation of the spiritual significance of the variations will resolve the difficulty. Mr. Dole emphasized the point that the prime necessity for New Church men is to live the teachings of the Word, for only in this way will they understand it and be able to convey its meaning to others.
     Several people thanked Mr. Dole for his interesting paper and discussed various aspects. Mr. Kenneth Rose appreciated the point that biblical scholars base their "facts" on their opinions. Basing one's opinions on one's beliefs is not wrong, and we all do it. Many in the Free World who believe in Commander Shepard's flight into space are skeptical about Major Gagarin's. The teaching about the negative principle and the affirmative principle applies.
     The Rev. Ormond Odhner emphasized Mr. Dole's point that the Higher Critics differ from each other considerably, and this gives us comfort. However, this does not mean that we should pay no attention to their work.
     Dr. Hugo Odhner commented on Mr. Dole's scholarship and commended him for a balanced paper. New manuscripts come to light every now and then. New Church men could be disturbed by wondering which text of the Word contains the internal sense; but after a year or so each new discovery is seen to fit into place and is new evidence to show how the Word has been preserved.
     Mr. Dole's paper, as well as the reports and a complete account of the meeting, will be published in the July issue of the New Philosophy.
     MORNA HYATT,
          Secretary

347

General Church of the New Jerusalem FORTY-SIXTH BRITISH ASSEMBLY 1961

General Church of the New Jerusalem FORTY-SIXTH BRITISH ASSEMBLY FRANK S. ROSE 1961

     ANNOUNCEMENTS

     PRESIOENT: THE REV. ALAN GILL

     Members and friends of the General Church of the New Jerusalem are cordially invited to attend the Forty-Sixth British Assembly, which will be held in Colchester, Friday, July 14, to Sunday, July 16, 1961.

Program

Friday, July 14
8:00 p.m.     Reception at Tweed's Restaurant, North Station Road.

Saturday, July 15
11:00     a.m.     First Session. Presidential Address
1:30     p.m.     Luncheon
3:00     p.m.     Open House for Adults and Children
7:30     p.m.     Second Session. Address by the Rev. Bjorn A. H. Boyesen

Sunday, July 16
11:00     a.m.     Third Session. Address by the Rev. Erik Sandstrom
1:00     p.m.     Luncheon.
2:30     p.m.     Divine Worship. Children's address and short sermon
4:30     p.m.     Holy Supper Service
6:00     p.m.     Tea

     Sessions and services will be held in the Colchester Society's church, 175 Maldon Road, and meals will be provided in a marquee behind the church.
     FRANK S. ROSE
          Secretary

349

INEXHAUSTIBLE POWER OF LOVE 1961

INEXHAUSTIBLE POWER OF LOVE Rev. KARL R. ALDEN 1961

Vol. LXXXI
August, 1961
No. 8
     "And Elisha said unto her, What shall I do for thee? tell me, what hast thou in the house? And she said, Thine handmaid hath not anything in the house, save a pot of oil." (II Kings 4: 2)
     It is a law of the Divine operation in the affairs of men that the Lord's presence can never be perceived unless there is something in man that can receive it. It is like the sunlight that fills the vast spaces of the universe at night, but which is entirely unseen by the eye of man except where it shines upon the moon, or on some planet which is capable of reflecting its light. That this truth might be made clear, the prophet Elisha directed to the widow the searching question: "What hast thou in thine house?"
     The widow's house represents our minds; and when we go to the Lord, penitent and humble, seeking to be delivered from the bondage of the creditor, the same question comes to us from the Word: "What hast thou in thine house?" that is "What hast thou in thy mind?" What is there that can receive the life-stream outflowing from the Savior?
     A number of miracles are recorded in the Word in which abundance was created from a very little. But always the question was first asked: "What do you already have?" We can see the Lord in the wilderness, surrounded by five thousand men, besides women and children. To the astonished disciples, who would have sent the multitude away to nearby villages to buy food, He said: "They need not depart. Give ye them to eat!" The disciples replied that they had but five loaves and two small fishes, and what were they among so many? But Jesus commanded the multitude to sit down, and fed them all; and the disciples took up five basketsful of fragments. He did not start with nothing. He started with what they had - five loaves and two small fishes, which, under His hand, was sufficient to feed the multitude.

350

There is always the searching question: "What hast thou in thine house?"
     When the prophet Elijah visited the widow of Zarephath, she had only a little oil in a cruse, and a little meal in a barrel; but she had something into which the prophet's blessing could flow: and because she had this little, it was possible for the Lord to multiply the oil and the flour, so that they kept the widow, her son and the prophet, for many days. So now it was important for Elisha to know what the woman had in the house.
     This is simply illustrated by mathematics. One times a thousand is a thousand, and ten times a thousand is ten thousand. But zero times ten thousand is still zero. There must be something to multiply, or no increase can take place.
     Therefore, when the woman cried unto Elisha, he said: "What hast thou in thine house?" The woman made answer: "Thine handmaid hath not anything in the house, save a pot of oil." Nothing but a pot of oil! But let us see what a pot of oil represents. The oil about which we read was olive oil - the best oil on earth, pressed out of the ripe olive. It is a beautiful golden color, tinged with green; and it has a delicious aroma and a pleasant taste and is very smooth to the touch. It has many, many uses, for instance, as a spread on bread like butter. In ancient times it was burned in lamps, and it was used as medicine. We recall the Good Samaritan pouring oil and wine into the wounds of the man who had fallen among thieves. It softens the skin and the hair, and it was used to prevent friction. The finest castile soap is made from it. The most important use to which it was put in ancient times was that of anointing. Jacob poured oil on the stone that he had used as a pillow when he had seen the vision of angels ascending and descending. Kings were anointed with oil, and the name, Messiah, comes from the Hebrew word meaning "the anointed one." The Lord was anointed by Mary with precious oil a few days before His burial.
     All that the widow had in the house was a pot of oil, but she could have had nothing more precious, for oil corresponds to love. And just as oil removes friction on the physical plane, so love removes anger and irritation between people; and as oil is used for food, so good builds the spirit, for character is nothing but the good of love built into man's actions through determined purpose. The Good Samaritan is the man whose heart is full of love, and he bestows his love upon all who are suffering and are perturbed.

     The fear that drove the widow to the prophet was that her sons would become bondmen - slaves!

351

A widow represents one who sincerely longs for truth, but has it not; the husband, of whom she has been deprived, representing truth. This widow had been the wife of one of the sons of the prophets. As such, she represents the affection for the truths they taught. The two living sons of the widow represent our duty toward the Lord and our duty toward the neighbor. These two young men had been free, but now the creditor had come to sell them into bondage. What is the bondage that threatens spiritual truths in our lives? It is bondage to the natural, to the sensual, to our appetites.
     With all the love of a mother's heart the widow cried unto Elijah. She saw a vision of being permanently separated from her two sons. Her husband was gone; would they be taken away, too? So she cried unto Elisha, and he said unto her: "What hast thou in thine house?" Only a pot of oil! What should she do? The prophet's voice replied: "Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbors, even empty vessels; borrow not a few."
     The Writings clearly show us that just as oil cannot be contained without a vessel, no more can love be made to fill the heart without a vessel to contain it. The word, love, means nothing, for there is no vessel to contain it. But if a man should say love of God, love of my country, love of my church, love of my wife and children, love of my use, immediately there are vessels of the mind that hold the love.
     What love can ultimate itself without the vessels of truth to hold it? This man would love to be a musician. Does anything happen unless he pours that love into daily practice, and by hard and constant work develops a technique which enables him to express his love in terms that will bless others? Another person would love to be an engineer. Will loving alone do him any good? No, not unless he goes to college and receives in his mind the vessels that will hold all of his engineering loves - his love of building bridges or highways, huge buildings or complex machines. Once he has the vessels which are built up by education and study, his love can be poured into any number of enterprises.
     From whence should the widow borrow these vessels? They were to be borrowed from her neighbors. If a child wants to learn music, from whom must he get the vessels of the mind that will hold his love of music? The answer is obvious; from teachers and from books. If a young man wants to become an engineer, from whom must he borrow the vessels of the mind? Obviously from his professors and from his textbooks. But if one wishes to come into the love of spiritual things, who are the neighbors from whom he must borrow the vessels? They are priests, teachers, parents; but above all, the Word itself in the Old and New Testaments and in the Writings. "Go, borrow thee vessels abroad of all thy neighbors, even empty vessels; borrow not a few."

352

Here, in the spiritual sense, is a command enjoining us to borrow continually from our sacred literature; enjoining daily worship and the constant filling of the mind with the vessels of truth. For it is only into the vessels of the mind that the good of love can be poured; only there can the heavenly marriage of good and truth take place. "Borrow not a few!" Only so can the vessels of truth that we have taken into our minds catch the Divine light from the sun of heaven, and from a new resting place in our minds for love.
     The widow was enjoined, however, to borrow empty vessels. We all know how prejudice colors the truths that we read. We are to go to the Word and take from it the truths of Divine revelation empty of human Interpretation - God-given vessels. There must be no admixture of falsity with revealed truth. We must not allow our human conceits to fill the vessels that we have gathered for the reception of the Divine love. The pot of oil cannot be poured into that which is already filled. If we mix Divine truths with the opinions of men they will be perverted and destroyed. Doves cannot nest with owls! In our search for the vessels of truth from the Word there must be sincere self-examination, and we must each approach the sacred page with humility as one who enters into the presence of a king. "Blessed are the poor in spirit; for theirs is the kingdom of heaven."
     Nevertheless there are two dangers with empty vessels. First, there is the danger that we may fall in love with the vessel itself and forget its use, which is to hold the good of love. Second, we may not understand how the empty vessel is filled with love. In our daily contacts with other men and women, many opportunities are afforded to help them from the truths that we know, seeking no reward for ourselves. But too often the vessel seems to remain empty. We say to ourselves: What will it get me? The empty vessels cannot be filled with love when this is our attitude.
     It was said to the widow that she should "borrow not a few." The oil of the Divine love is infinite. With each individual, the reception of this love is conditioned only by the number of vessels which he has built within his mind. Our search for truth should be continuous. As Divine love is infinite, the Divine truth which is found in the Word is also infinite, so that our search for it should know no end. We know from the Writings that the angels never reach the point where they can receive no more. In this increase and abundance rests the joy of heaven.
     The vessels gathered, how shall the oil be poured into them? The letter of scripture is clear: "And when thou art come in, thou shalt shut the door upon thee and upon thy sons, and shalt pour out into all those vessels, and thou shalt set aside that which is full.

353

So she went from him, and shut the door upon her and her sons, who brought the vessels to her; and she poured out. And it came to pass, when the vessels were full, that she said unto her son, Bring me yet a vessel. And he said unto her, There is not a vessel more. And the oil stayed."
     The manner of the pouring is most important. She was to be shut up alone with her two sons. The door was to be closed upon them as she poured the oil into the empty vessels. The marriage of good and truth is a holy marriage, and it takes place in the quiet chambers of the human heart. For the increase of our spiritual life we must have this quiet chamber, with the door shut, where we can meet the Lord. "But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly." All selfish and sensual desires must be shut out; all disturbing influences from the world must be excluded.
     The widow's pouring has another lesson. Until she started to pour she had only a little oil in a pot; but the more she poured, the more oil she had. That is the blessed nature of love. The more love we bestow on others, the larger our hearts become; for love is a spiritual thing, which can be given without losing it. We can see this in so many ways. In family life the first child seems to fill the heart completely, and it might seem that the birth of another child would divide it in two, but quite the opposite is the case. The birth of another child doubles the love.
     So it is with the uses that we perform for the church. The more useful we become, the greater does our love for the church grow; and it is the same with love of our country and love of the use that we perform. The more vessels of truth there are in the mind to be filled, the greater will be the amount of love that is generated.
     Eventually the widow filled the last empty vessel, and "the oil stayed." The influx of love from the Lord into our minds is always according to our state; and, since we are finite, at any given period in our lives we will come to an end of the vessels that can be filled, and then the oil of love will be stayed; but just as soon as we build new vessels, the flow of oil will begin again.
     When the widow came and told the prophet what had happened, he said: "Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt, and live thou and thy children of the rest." To sell the oil means to bless the lives of others through every God-given trait of personality which we possess. While the woman had been shut up in that room with her two sons the miracle signifying the multiplication of love took place. She had been a mighty receiver. Every vessel that her sons had borrowed had been filled with oil. Now she was to become a giver. "Sell the oil, and pay thy debts." The debts she had to pay represent all the gifts that we are given by the Lord: the faculty of rationality - the ability to think that raises us above the beasts of the field; the faculty of liberty to have all the sensations of living from and for ourselves - to have the marvelous ability to love.

354

All the good of love that we have stored up in the truths of the Word must be made use of, must be sold to pay our debt, which is really to the Lord. Unless we acknowledge this the creditor will seize our sons. The sensual life would like us to believe that it is our creditor. It would like to enslave our higher virtues in the chains of sensuality. It would like us to believe that our life flows from the sensual, and that we are responsible to it for all our blessings. But the spiritual man sees that the debt is not to his sensual life, but to the Lord; and it is by service to the Lord that we must pay off that debt.
     "Go, sell the oil, and pay thy debt." When the truths of the Word in our minds have been filled with love from the Divine, then there is an irresistible urge to give that love to others, and in the giving of it we first become really happy and generously free. Not only do we perform the duties of our use with a new pleasure, but we long to be of service in every way possible to our neighbor. The oil of love which we have gained has many uses. Like the Good Samaritan, we will pour it into the wounds of the wretchedly unhappy. Where men misunderstand each other, and the friction of strife arises, we will pour in the love of good will and understanding, and thus soothe irritated feelings.
     With the oil we will pay our debts; but we will do something more, and we and our children will "live" from the sale of the oil of love. Really to live is to have the vessels of the mind filled with love to the Lord and toward the neighbor. All whose minds as such are like the wise virgins who took oil in their vessels with their lamps. Of such David sang, when he said: "Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. It is like the oil on Aaron's head that ran down to the skirts of his garments. . . . For there the Lord commanded the blessing, even life forever more." Amen.

LESSONS:     II Kings 4: 1-7. Matthew 25: 1-13. AC 10,266.
MUSIC:     Liturgy, pages 510, 455, 587, 467.
PRAYERS:     Liturgy, nos. 22, 71.

355

INHABITED UNIVERSE 1961

INHABITED UNIVERSE Rev. FREDERICK L. SCHNARR 1961

     7. THE INHABITANTS OF OUR EARTH

     In previous articles we have examined some of the things the Writings tell us about the inhabitants of the planets, moons and satellites in our solar system. We have also considered the teachings given about the peoples of various earths in the starry heaven. Now we would turn our attention to the nature and character of the peoples of our own earth, as these may be seen when set against the background provided by the other inhabitants of the universe.
     First let us review some of the less desirable parts of our nature which so fully manifested themselves to spirits and angels in the worlds of spirits other than our own. Reference has already been made to various incidents witnessed by Swedenborg in which something of our character may be observed; but we would here gather them together so that a fuller picture may be seen.
     Everywhere Swedenborg went he was greeted in the same manner. The spirits from other earths at first regarded him with suspicion, tried to avoid him, or actually fled from him. Such were the results of the dreadful reputation gained for the spirits of our earth by those of them who had previously visited spirits from other earths!
     The Mercurians thought of us as being worldly and corporeal, and as caring only for material things. They said that most of us actually believed in no God whatsoever; although we had contracted the habit of professing with the mouth that we believe, when in fact we do not.*
* See EU 20, 38, 39.
     The spirits from Jupiter thought that we were the worst of all possible people, and that our physical blemishes, diseases and deformities accorded perfectly with our interior states of life. They had had much contact with spirits from our earth, and had good reason to dislike and shun association with our spirits. Apart from laughing at some of their manners and customs, ridiculing and making fun of them, the spirits from our earth had endeavored to destroy their belief in the Lord; had subtly tried to entice them into forms of government which would have brought them under a cruel dominion; and had even introduced lascivious and filthy ideas concerning marriage whereby they thought to seduce them.

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They told Swedenborg that they thought our minds had been invaded completely by the lusts of possession and dominion. They said that we think one thing and speak another; and that dissimulation, hypocrisy, cunning and deceit, which we thought of as prudence, brought this about. They stated that they did not know any other people who were so prompt and ingenious in the contriving of evil, and who knew and thought so little about what is good. They regarded us as being so external as not even to have the ability to perceive what good is. Yet, even although we were so external, we had the ability to pervert their imagination and thought in such a manner that they seemed to themselves bound, as it were, and could not be extricated and set at liberty without Divine aid.*
* See EU 49, 52, 56, 61, 66.
     The spirits from Mars were astonished that we did not even show any shame when we were endeavoring to infest others.*
* See AC 7746.
     The spirits of Saturn consider us so steeped in evil as to be in insanity therefrom. Besides mocking and making fun of some of the manners and customs of the Saturnians, our spirits endeavored to abuse and insult them, and even to do them bodily harm. Showing a great conceit and a supposed superiority of intellect, our spirits asked them what God they worship, and what God rules the universe. The Saturnian spirits considered them insane for asking such questions, to say nothing of what they thought of the false assumption of intellectual superiority.*
* See EU 98, 99, 102.
     Spirits from the fifth earth in the starry heaven, that is, in the Arcana series, complained that the spirits of our earth tried to confuse them concerning the nature of God. Earth spirits, they said, say that God is one, but obviously think that He is three. This endeavor to confuse the spirits of the fifth earth did not proceed from ignorance on the part of our spirits, but from deliberate intent. Swedenborg found out that many of these spirits from our earth had been monks, preachers and missionaries, and that they had no real idea of teaching any truths, but only the intent to secure gain and dominion. He was told by spirits of the sixth earth that "they [spirits from our earth] study by various arts first to captivate men's minds, but afterwards to subject them to themselves as slaves."' Swedenborg was allowed to speak to one of the monkish spirits who was endeavoring to infest the spirits of the sixth earth, and to ask him what he was doing there.

     "He replied that he taught them concerning the Lord. I asked, what besides. He said, concerning heaven and hell. I asked, what further. He said, concerning a belief in all that he should say. I asked, what further. He said, concerning the power of remitting sins, and of opening and shutting heaven.

357

He was then examined as to what he knew concerning the Lord, concerning the truth of faith, concerning the remission of sins, concerning man's salvation, and concerning heaven and hell; and it was discovered that he knew scarcely anything, and that he was in obscurity and falsity concerning all and each of them, and that he was possessed solely by the lust of gain and dominion which he had contracted in the world and brought with him thence. Wherefore he was told that, because he had traveled so far led by that lust, and was such as to doctrine, he must needs deprive the spirits of that earth of celestial light, and bring in the darkness of hell, and thus bring them under the dominion of hell, and not of the Lord. Moreover he was cunning in seducing, but stupid as to those things which are of heaven. Because he was such he was then cast into hell."*
* EU 172. Cf. SD 1435, 1532.

     The Lord's Purpose in These Disclosures

     These incidents and conversations are not recorded in the Writings merely to amuse us as fairy tales from some far-distant land. True, we find the nature of states of confirmed evil and falsity amply explained and illustrated in many sections of the Writings; as in the description of the Last Judgment and the states in our world of spirits preceding that judgment, the description of the hells, the uncovering of the nature of our inherited proprium, and the fall of the churches. But what is revealed in the teachings we have been examining provides, we believe, an even clearer picture of the power of evil and its insatiable desire to extend itself without limit. Here we see a picture of our hereditary evils once we have allowed them to become confirmed within us. Their activity is not mild. It is fraught with an inmost hatred and anger against all forms of order, beauty, decency, good and truth, and primarily against the source of these forms, namely, the Lord. Note how in every instance in which our spirits endeavor to infest and seduce spirits from other earths, they begin by questioning, then challenging, and then denying, any true idea of the Lord. The reason for this is clear, namely, that the knowledge and acknowledgment of the Lord as Divine Man is the chief and principal concept of every human quality that is good and true, orderly and beautiful. Evil spirits are well aware that if this concept can be destroyed through falsities there are then the means for them to gain control. As long as it stands, they do not have the slightest hope of making any inroads. Such is the importance of the cornerstone which the builders of Christian doctrine rejected.
     Now it is true that Swedenborg's experiences and conversations with peoples from other earths, as recorded in the Writings, all occurred before the Last Judgment in 1757. They all took place when the world of spirits from our earth was in great disorder and confusion, its states largely dominated by falsity and evil. But what of this?

358

Does this imply that because the world of spirits was ordered by the Last Judgment, and because the Lord has now made His second coming, the hereditary nature of the peoples of this earth has undergone some miraculous change? Does it imply that this nature is no longer so dire, so utterly opposed to the loves of heaven? That is not the implication of the Writings; it is the implication of our age, an age which much prefers the word "error" to the word "sin." It is, in fact, the very subtle influence of our selfish and perverted heredity which encourages the idea that all is not as bad as it seems; that the teachings concerning the dreadful nature of our hereditary loves perhaps no longer apply to our modern and humane society. Many supposed lovers of mankind, including some New Church men, find the teachings of the Writings about the state of our earth exaggerated and too harsh. "Where do we see all the evil influences the Writings say are about us and in us? Why, I know lots of good people, and I just cannot believe that so many people are evil." So it is said. Yet what we can, or cannot, believe or see depends on our understanding of Divine revelation, our wisdom, and our willingness to acknowledge evil as evil when we see it. Our concern should not be with how many people are evil, or who is evil, but that we may see the influence of evil and false loves present with us, and, seeing them, acknowledge that they do have the dreadful nature which Divine revelation teaches that they have. Thus, when we allow them so to influence us that we do or mediate evil, we should repent of this as a sin, and not think of it as merely an error of human judgment. This is an acknowledgment which Divine revelation requires of all the peoples of our earth, and it is the first and essential step in reformation and regeneration. It is the reason that the Writings dwell so extensively on the nature and power of evil, and that they explain and illustrate its consuming desire to extend itself over all else.
In showing us how the states of confirmed evil from our earth strive constantly to rule over the spirits from other earths, and in teaching us about the existence of evil and falsity among the inhabitants of other earths, the Writings present us with a new and deeper concept of the nature, power and influence of evil and falsity. This concept is in definite opposition to many of the opinions prevailing in our day.
We mentioned in a previous article that states of evil and falsity were found to exist everywhere Swedenborg went. Certainly each earth he visited, whether in our solar system or outside of it, had its own world of spirits and its own hell. He actually witnessed a judgment taking place in the world of spirits from the sixth earth.* But note this: we find no references to evil spirits of the worlds of spirits from other earths traveling around and causing the universal trouble that spirits from our earth make.

359

Here is another indication of the distinct nature and genius of the peoples of our earth, and the influence they have in spreading evils and falsities. The reasons that our spirits have had such great power and influence are too complicated to enter into in detail here; but we would suggest that they include the following: 1) The love of earth's men for worldly, bodily, scientific and purely material things; 2) Their ability to use the written Word to support falsity and evil, which ability is not to be found elsewhere because that Word does not exist anywhere else; 3) The fact that the men of this earth have the two ultimates of power: the letter of the Word and the knowledge of natural scientifics. As we are taught that in ultimates there is all power, it may be concluded that this last is the reason for their ability to infest peoples of different character all over the universal spiritual world.**
* See EU 170-172.
** See AE 726: 5.

     The Uses of Our Earth to Others

     In describing the nature of the inhabitants of other earths and the contact of our spirits with theirs, the Writings not only give us a wider view of our states of evil and falsity; they also present us with a most inspiring and encouraging picture of the important use this earth is to perform in the future development of the entire universe. Where we find such power to pervert and destroy, we can also find the power to teach, inspire and build. If the cold and external states of the people of our earth need the encouragement of knowing that they can enter into uses which the Lord has provided - uses which will serve not just the people of our earth, but all people in the natural and spiritual universes - they will find such encouragement in the Writings. For, strangely enough, in spite of our fallen nature, the Lord has not only given us a unique and precious gift; He has prepared us to use that gift, if we will, to help others throughout His entire kingdom.
     Something of the particular uses which the inhabitants of our earth perform is evident from our place in the Gorand Man. We are said to relate to external things, to what is corporeal and worldly. We constitute the skin and membranes, and therefore discharge the functions of the exterior parts of the Gorand Man. We have relation to the natural and external sense, which sense is the ultimate wherein the interiors of life close and rest, as in and on their common basis. That our representation pertains more to knowledge than to appetite and desire is evident from the fact that we are often called in the other world "sciences," because we correspond to sciences not abstracted from material things but conjoined with them.*
* See AC 9360; SA 1558a; AC 8630; SD 1741; EU 122; AC 9107.

360

     To understand the orderly use we are to serve in the Gorand Man, we must appreciate the importance of ultimates. All celestial and spiritual loves must be fixed in ultimate things in order to be permanent, and in order to operate and be effective. Before the Lord's first coming, the letter of the Word as known and understood by the minds of men served as the ultimate of order for the heavens from our earth. When that knowledge was falsified and perverted, the letter could no longer serve our heavens as their ultimate basis. This was one reason that the Lord assumed a Human on this earth, so that He Himself could become Divine truth in ultimates, and thus become the means for the heavens to have a resting place. But the Lord nevertheless works through human media, and the people of our earth are still a basis for the heavens from our earth; we are yet to discharge the functions of the skin and the external parts of the Gorand Man. And the marvel of the Lord's first and second comings is that now spiritual truth can be introduced into and remain in our natural minds; and this in such a way that if our minds are ordered by heavenly loves, we ourselves serve as a basis or ultimate for our heavens, and this more fully than ever before; while in the other life we serve as a basis or ultimate for all the heavens.
     Much is involved in this concept of the use of our earth's people that requires further study and reflection. However, we see something of its operation, even prior to the Last Judgment, in some of Swedenborg's experiences with spirits from other earths. Not only do we find Swedenborg instructing spirits and angels from other earths; we also find, sometimes, angels from our earth instructing others.
     The spirits of Mercury wondered whether the inhabitants of our earth could possibly become angels since they were so external. They were told that "those become angels who have lived in the good of faith and charity, and that then they are no longer in external and material things, but in internal and spiritual; and when they come into that state, they are in a light superior to that in which the spirits from Mercury are."* To show that this was the case, an angel from our heaven then spoke to them. Why should those who are more external come into a higher light than others? Recall what the Writings teach about the orderly use of all natural knowledge - that it is a means not only of confirming heavenly things but also of applying them with more wisdom. True wisdom lies in the knowledge, love and use of all scientifics that are in order - especially the truths of the Word, but also those of natural creation; and the Writings therefore refer to such scientifics as "spiritual riches." Where such wisdom exists, celestial and spiritual things can rest on and operate through ultimate things.

361

Because of the written Word and the development of science, this is more the case with the inhabitants of our earth than of any other.**
* EU 27.
** See EU 62.
     In another experience the spirits from Mercury, who thought they knew all there was to know, were instructed by spirits and angels from our earth in the following manner:

     "It was told them that they do not know many, but few things, and that the things which they do not know are respectively infinite, but that those things which they do not know, compared to the things they know, are like the waters of the largest ocean compared with the waters of a very small fountain; and further, that the first step to wisdom is to know, acknowledge and perceive that what is known is little and scarce anything in comparison with what is unknown. To convince them that this was the case, a certain angelic spirit [who was from our earth] was permitted to speak with them and to tell them in general what they knew and what they did not know, and that there were infinite things which they did not know, also that to eternity they could not even know the general things. . . . Another angel from our earth . . . enumerated many things which they did not know. When they heard these things, inasmuch as they had been in pride on account of their knowledges, they began to humble themselves."*
* EU 37.

     Swedenborg often instructed both spirits and angels from other planets concerning the Lord, His Word, and other important matters of religion. The use of such instruction may be seen from the delight with which it was received by others, if not at first, then after a time. He taught angels from Jupiter to be careful to judge from the Lord and not from themselves, and he also instructed them in what it meant to be in the image and likeness of God.* The influence and power that the written Word can have on the spirits and angels from other earths is made evident by a number of incidents, including the following. "There were with me some spirits of the earth Jupiter while I was reading the seventeenth chapter in John concerning the Lord's love and concerning His glorification; and when they heard the things that are there, holiness filled them, and they confessed that all things therein were Divine."** Other spirits from Jupiter were permitted to hear "choirs of angels from our earth, one after another, which with one voice and in harmony together glorified the Lord. Those choirs so greatly delighted the spirits from Jupiter who were with me that they seemed to themselves as if they were caught up into heaven."***
* See EU 62, 65, 81; AC 7811, 8543, 8546, 8547, 8632.
** EU 66.
*** EU 61.
     How long the spirits from our earth had contact with the spirits from other earths before the Last Judgment is not stated in the Writings. It would seem that such contact began only ten or twenty years before the Last Judgment took place. In the work Heaven and Hell, written shortly after the Last Judgment, it is stated that scarcely any other earths know that the Lord took on the Human on our earth.*

362

Certainly, if there had been a long period of contact, such knowledge would have been more common. But now that the Second Coming has taken place, it would appear that such contact is to become the means for the doctrine of the New Church to be spread throughout the universe. This is the wonderful work in which the people of this earth can serve the Lord to bring order and heavenly happiness to all parts of the natural and the spiritual universe.
* See HH 321.
     That the doctrines of the New Church are to be spread and taught from the heavens and the world of spirits from our earth cannot be doubted. When those doctrines were first being revealed in the world of spirits it was said: "The Heavenly Doctrine should be propagated from these nations to spirits who are from various regions of this earth, and then to spirits of other earths." Another passage says that when "the heavenly doctrine concerning the Lord is known on one earth, the rest are thus able to know it when they become spirits and angels." Indeed they are not only able to know it, but "all who come into heaven from any earth in the universe are instructed in the Word."*
* SD 4780, 4781; AC 9356.
     That the people of our earth are to be the ones to carry on the work of spreading the doctrines of the New Church abroad seems to be the definite teaching of the Writings, in spite of the passages which refer to the possible destruction of our earth - passages which will be considered in the next and final article. We read:

     "Although such are the men upon this earth [external and corporeal], they have, however, from the Word, the knowledges of the truths of faith, which serve as it were for a ground in which the spiritual and celestial truths of faith can be inseminated, since without such a ground they could not easily be inseminated - and thus the truths of faith can grow; wherefore also such as possess the truths of faith implanted in knowledges enter more easily, after they have been divested or vastated of exterior things, into the interior and more interior heaven; and because some bring with them such knowledges from the life of the body, they also serve as ministering spirits to instruct others who do not possess such knowledges derived from Revelation; wherefore the Lord has loved our earth more than others; for, to the end that order may be perfect, celestial and spiritual truths ought to be enrooted in natural truths."*
* SD 1531.

     Our Present Responsibility

     Our earth is a mixture of sharply contrasted states and uses. On the one hand, we are the worst and the most external people in the universe; on the other, we are privileged to have a part in the highest and most important uses which the Lord can delegate to mortal man.

363

In revealing the truths concerning the inhabitants of other parts of the universe, the Lord has given us, we believe, an invaluable key to unlock the doors of ignorance and obscurity: the doors behind which lie countless secrets concerning the power and infinity of the Lord; the nature of heaven and the world of spirits; the dreadful influence and persuasiveness of the evils and falsities of hell; and especially the means whereby we may see our own nature and character more clearly, not only that we may see the extent of our fallen condition, but also that we may see the important and wonderful uses which can best be served by the people of our earth.
In the sight and acknowledgment of these uses by the people of our earth lie the wisdom and happiness not only of these people but also of the inhabitants of every earth in the universe and of the heavens therefrom. Why? Because here, on this earth, the Lord has placed His most precious treasure, the written Word - the written Word in which the Lord can be seen ever more fully to eternity as a Divinely Human God. That is why the Lord is said to love this earth more than all others in the universe: not because we are better than others - we are not, we are worse; but because here lies an eternal and unchangeable means of salvation for all peoples in the universe, whether they be in celestial or infernal order.
We do not need to be regenerated in order to start entering into the great uses the Lord has set before us. Even here on earth, and even though we are in the midst of evils and falsities and external things of all kinds, we nevertheless serve the Lord when we approach His Word for instruction in sincerity and affection. For such is the communication of heaven and earth through correspondences that when we read the Word, truths of faith are communicated to the angels from our earth, and in turn to angels of all the earths in the universal heaven.*
* See SD 4663.
IMPORTANCE OF ULTIMATES 1961

IMPORTANCE OF ULTIMATES 1961

"The human race is related to the heavens as a base to a column, or as a foundation to a palace; consequently the heavens rest permanently in order upon the things of the church that are with men in the world, thus upon Divine truths in ultimates, which are such Divine truths as are in the sense of the letter of the Word. What force there is in these truths cannot be told in a few words; into these ultimates with man the Lord flows in from Himself, thus from things first, and rules and keeps together in order and connection all things in the spiritual world" (Apocalypse Explained 726: 6).

364

MOHAMMEDAN RELIGION A STUDY 1961

MOHAMMEDAN RELIGION A STUDY Rev. ROBERT S. JUNGE 1961

     (Continued from the July issue)

     The Life After Death

     While angels are conceived by Mohammedans as created, they are nevertheless like men.* We must remember that Christians interpreting the Koran will tend to read into it their own concepts of the Last Judgment, when many Mohammedans might understand something quite different. We read from Hitti: "The most impressive parts of the Koran deal with the future life. The reality of future life is emphasized by the recurrent references to 'the day of judgment,' 'the day of resurrection,' 'the day,' 'the hour,' and 'the inevitable.' Future life as depicted in the Koran, with its bodily pains and physical pleasures, implies the resurrection of the body." ** But note that it implies this to a Christian author. The Writings indicate that at least some Mohammedans have little patience with the Christian vagaries about the life after death and waiting for the last trumpet. After Swedenborg told them in the other world of these beliefs they said: ". . . they wondered that such a fallacy can reign with Christians, who call themselves more enlightened than others, saying that they know that they are to live after death, are to live in happy marriage, and are to drink wine; and this after they have rejected the cast offs, which had served them for their ultimate clothing in that gross sphere as a body there."*** We do not know what their reception of the New Church idea of the life hereafter would be. From the above passage, it would seem that we might find the teaching whole-heartedly welcomed.
* Gibb, p. 51.
** Hitt, p. 49.
*** LJ Post. 90; SD 5245; CLJ 72.

     Devotional Life

     We have not emphasized the many prayers, the fastings and pilgrimages that make up a large part of the Moslem's way of life. We have not done so, because the Moslem himself separates these acts of worship from his fundamental religious beliefs.* It is the fundamental beliefs in God, His angels, His books, His messengers, and the last day, that are the core of Moslem faith. These are the basic principles that color his point of view. The rest are largely garments.
*Hitti, p. 47.

365

     Polygamy

     The attitude towards marriage and the home is one of the best barometers of the state of any society. No treatment of the Mohammedan faith would be complete without considering their life of polygamy. We have already indicated that they are kept in a natural faith to prevent their polygamous love from profaning spiritual things. Polygamy with them is not a sin, because it is from religion. The Writings, of course, do not tolerate polygamy.* But they point out that it was permitted because of their oriental genius or nature. We read: "They perceived the justice in the reasons [regarding one wife], but answered that they cannot as yet recede from matrimony with many, because it was conceded to them by their religion in the world, for the reason that they are orientals, who, without many wives, would have burned forth into adulteries, and so would have perished."**
* TCR 834; CL 344, 348, 341; Marriage 46.
** LJ Post. 85; SD 5060-1.
     But this oriental culture is changing. The ways of the West are forcing themselves upon the Mohammedan. In some countries, for example, "It is . . . provided that if a woman stipulates in her marriage contract that her husband shall not take a second wife during her lifetime, the contract is valid and the stipulation is recognized." "Egypt, the Sudan, Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, and Iraq are all on the move. The changes which are being made illustrate how a definite attempt to relate the Sharia (ancient marriage and other customs) to the conditions of modern life and to a more liberal view of human relations is being realized in positive legislation."* This change of attitude regarding marriage particularly indicates great changes in the Mohammedan way of life, which may have far reaching effects. *Guillaume, p. 169.

     The Last Judgment and the Polygamous Mohammedan Heavens

     When the Last Judgment came, it was effected upon the Mohammedans as well. Their heavens now communicate with the New Christian Heaven, and look to the New Church to be the basis upon which they rest.* And the New Church is to become the center of light going out to all Christians; Jews, Mohammedans and Gentiles, who make the church universal on earth. The judgment was effected in this order: first upon the Papal religion, then the Mohammedans, then the Gentiles, and finally upon the Reformed.**

366

The way in which they were judged is not so important to our theme; in many ways it was similar to the choirs, visitations, infestalions and vastations that are familiar reading to us.***
* Cf. LJ 69.
** LJ 47.
*** For some description of these see LJ Post. 93-4; also LJ 51, 69, 48; LJ Post. 69, 76, 77, 86, 88, 96; SD 3494, 347, 5664a, 5064, 5062, 5240, 5952, 3030e etc.
     We have seen that they are and were instructed by former Mohammedans according to their religious convictions.* We have seen that they must become clear in regard to Mohammed as being no God. Sometimes he appears, so that they can see his dark character and realize that he is powerless.** Other times they are instructed concerning the Lord by those impersonating Mohammed.*** At still other times they are given to see the nature of their error regarding polygamy.**** Always they are patiently guided towards their place in heaven.
* HH 515-16.
** CLJ 70; TCR 830; SD 344, 403, 407, 512-14, 5268, 5666a; LJ Post. 8; SD 5663a.
*** CLJ 69; TCR 829; SD 339, 509-11(, 5243; LJ Post. 51, 71-75, 79-83, 50; SD 5667, 5664a; LJ50.
**** Cf. CL 344; TCR 834.
     But we must understand clearly what the Writings say of these heavens. Certainly if there is a permanent heaven, as many have supposed, where good Mohammedans can live in polygamy, this would affect our approach to Mohammedans; would, indeed, color our understanding of conjugial love. It involves a much stronger acceptance of the permission of polygamy than most of us are prepared to make. The Writings teach us clearly that the Mohammedan heavens and the Christian heavens are separated, and the reason given is the lasciviousness of the Mohammedans.*
* CL 348, 352.
     In the same series of teachings the Writings say: ". . . that the Mohammedan heaven is distinguished into two, a lower and a higher, I have heard from themselves; and that in the lower heaven they live with several wives and concubines, as in the world; but that those who renounce concubines and live with one wife are elevated into their higher heaven. I have also heard that it is impossible for them to think that our Lord is one with the Father; but that it is possible for them to think of Him as equal, as also that dominion is given to Him over heaven and earth, because He is His Son. This therefore, is the faith of those to whom ascent is given by the Lord into their higher heaven." * Note that the second heaven is called a higher heaven, not the highest, and that it is impossible for those in that heaven to acknowledge the Lord as one with the Father. Another passage in the Writings clears up our problem, at least somewhat. We read: "This heaven, too, is divided into three heavens, a highest, a middle, and a lowest. In the highest are those who acknowledge the Lord to be one with the Father, and thus to be Himself the only God; in the second heaven are those who give up their many wives and live with one wife; and in the lowest those who are being initiated. . . ."**

367

Clearly, then, the passages in Conjugial Love are speaking of the two lower Mohammedan heavens. And we would note that the lowest heaven consists of those in polygamy, but that they are described in Divine Providence as "those who are being initiated." This certainly implies that their polygamous state is not permanent. Two rather obscure passages in the Spiritual Diary further bear out the idea that this lowest Mohammedan heaven is not a permanent state. We read: "There was as it were a distinct heaven represented where the worshipers of Mohammed are; there were, however, only spirits there, but not angels."*** That they were spirits could imply that this heaven was temporary or based upon an introductory state in the world of spirits. We read further: "Mohammed stated that the spirits who were in that heaven where he was were diminishing, and that he knew not whither they went; but he was informed that they were carried up into the angelic heaven, and there instructed in the doctrine of faith, and, moreover, that all their children were in the heavens."**** Certainly a careful comparison of these passages seems to indicate that the belief in polygamy is only a temporary state. A passage from the little work on marriage closes the argument: ". . . they who persist in polygamy in the course of time become so feeble and impotent that they are disgusted with marriage, for lasciviousness brings this with itself. Those of them who are in their heaven have but one wife, and have rejected more, for there is a Mohammedan heaven distinct from the Christian heaven; but they who at last, as do many, acknowledge the Lord as one with the Father are separated into heavens which communicate with the Christian heavens, and with them there is conjugial love." ***** It is quite clear: "Those of them who are in their heaven have but one wife." Those who insist on polygamy become feeble and impotent, which clearly implies that they find their place in hell.
* CL 343, 342; TCR 832.
** DP 255
*** SD 344.
**** SD 345.
***** Marriage 47-8.
     This implies that any exceptions that the New Church might make regarding polygamy when dealing with Eastern peoples would have to be on a temporary basis.
     We would further note that the passage stated that many acknowledge the Lord as one with the Father."* This idea that many come into the true belief and communicate with the angels of the Christian heavens, and come into conjugial love, is repeated in many places.** It is bound to take time, but surely the Mohammedan is not only capable of rejecting polygamy, but that faith is actually the Divinely provided way for gradually turning the Eastern mind to a true concept of marriage.
* Marriage 48.
** LJ Post. 84, 91; LJ 50; SD 5246 etc.

368

     Today every indication is that the old custom of polygamy and the almost slavish position of women is breaking down, but with nowhere to go. Will rebellion against this custom mean that women are made equal, and through their struggles end up in a sorry Western equality, with the wife outside of the home and turning her back upon the wonderful uses of womanhood? Could not our position as to the true nature and place of woman in marriage bring a sensible change in the Mohammedan countries? Is their tenacious clinging to the old Eastern way the result of viewing what dreadful things have come to pass in Western culture regarding marriage? Is a legalized divorce and changing of partners so much superior to the taking of many wives and the support and care of those who have passed out of favor? The West has little to offer, but the New Church has much.

     Mohammedanism and Its Reformation

     The Writings clearly indicate that the Mohammedan faith was permitted in order to appeal to the Oriental mind, and at the same time to break down idolatry.* From its beginning in 622 AD, to our present age, it has grown to encompass over 400 million people. Every seventh person in the world is a follower of Mohammed.** It is still the fastest growing faith in Africa, a great concern to Christian missionaries. They have overcome idolatry in many parts of the world, they have united many divergent peoples and are on the eve of becoming a potent force in the way of life of the whole world. Actually they outshone the Christians during the Dark Ages. Their science and philosophy flourished and they were a virile people while Christianity stumbled on in the darkness of authoritarian religious domination. But in 1517 Luther nailed his 95 theses on the door of the church at Wittenberg, and the Reformation which had been building for several centuries found its leadership. The age of reason in philosophy, of scientific discovery, of the Industrial Revolution with its tremendous economic consequences, all followed in the Christian world. But in the Moslem world the Ottoman Empire was established on that same date, 1517. We read: "Throughout the four centuries of Ottoman domination, beginning in 1517, the whole Arab East was in a state of eclipse. Builders of one of the mightiest and most enduring of Moslem states, the Ottoman Turks conquered not only the Arab lands but the whole territory from the Caucasus to the gates of Vienna. . . . In the meantime the once glamorous Medina, Damascus, Baghdad, Cairo, former capitals of mighty empires and brilliant seats of culture, receded into the background. They became residences for provincial governors and armed garrisons......"***

369

But it is only in the last 50 years that the darkness of the Ottoman Empire has been broken.**** "Muslims are intensely conscious of their decline [we read] from the great days of the Islamic Empire, and a host of writers have analysed the causes which have led to their decline. The tendency now is to repudiate the teaching of the past on fatalism, the inferiority of women, blind obedience to authority, lack of a healthy spirit of scepticism, and a low public morality. Contact with the West has stimulated self criticism, and there are not wanting signs that the new generation is determined to put an end to this state of affairs if it possibly can."***** There are great stirrings politically and economically. The nationalism that became familiar in Europe as she came out of the Dark Ages, is now becoming the by-word of Moslem peoples. They await leadership.
* CL 342; DP 255; CLJ 71; TCR 833
** Hitti, p. 4.
*** Hitti, p. 252
**** Hitti, pp. 254-262
***** Guillaume, p. 192
Within the spiritual realm great upheavals are occurring. The struggle is now between the domination of the Koran, which is no longer adequate to the modern world, and the introduction of new human interpretations. It has many parallels to the fundamentalist question in Christianity. They could so easily lose their sense of authority and allegiance to God if they go the way of modern Christianity, replacing with human intelligence the authority of their sacred writings. They are in danger even now of replacing the visions of eternal life with the hopes of worldly blessings and economic accomplishment. Actually, the Mohammedanism of the Arab world has not yet, but could so easily, become the Arab equivalent of modern wishy-washy, non-doctrinal Protestantism. Do we really hope that the Arab nations will become another modern America or Europe like the one of our day, with the same spiritual vision or lack of it that they have? The Arabs see our lack of spiritual insight. They see our marriages and divorces. They recognize the spiritual limitations of modern Christianity in much the same was as New Church men do. They know that Western culture alone is not enough. They want to believe, but they do not know what to believe.* We must remember that the Writings are not just the hope of the Christian world, or the Western world; they are the hope of all peoples.
* Cf. Gibb, pp. 127-145.

BIBLIOGRAPHY OTHER THAN PASSAGES FROM THE WRITINGS

H. A. R. Gibb: Mohammedanism, An Historical Survey. The New American Library, 1949.
Philip K. Hitti: The Arabs. The Gateway Press, 1943.
Mohammed Marmaduke Pickthall (translator): The Glorious Koran. The New American Library, 1953.
Alfred Guillaume: Islam. Penguin Books Ltd. 1954.

370

SLAYER 1961

SLAYER Rev. MARTIN PRYKE 1961

     The laws recorded in the book of Exodus were given to the sons of Israel at Mount Sinai shortly after they left Egypt. They were of the greatest importance in welding this body of ex-slaves into a cohesive people who were able, forty years later and with the powerful help of Jehovah, to clear Canaan of many of its idolatrous inhabitants and to establish themselves there as a nation. These laws were practical, being both sound in principle and also suited to the people and the times for which they were made. Such laws might have been prepared by any wise and experienced leader of those times, but these laws were different; not obviously in form, but essentially different in content.
     They were given to Moses on Mount Sinai by Jehovah, which means that they were of Divine origin and inspiration. They were not simply laws for a wandering tribe that was building itself into a nation; they were laws which contained within them other laws - higher laws, spiritual laws which are of continual application for all men of all places. Natural laws may be local and temporal in application, but spiritual laws are universal and eternal. The laws of Moses contained those enduring spiritual laws within them because they were Divinely inspired; and now, in the Writings of the Second Advent, they are laid open for a world that is able to receive them.

     Our present interest is in those laws which relate to the slaying of a human being. These laws make a clear distinction between murder with intent and killing by chance. Those who kill by intent and with deceit shall be slain - "a soul for a soul"; but those who accidentally bring about the death of another are held to be innocent and not punishable. They may save themselves from the wrath of the avenging family of the victim by fleeing to a city of refuge, or to the horns of the altar. There they may not be taken until the case has been tried. Up to relatively modern times the church has been held to be a place of sanctuary where no man dare seize another. "He that hath not lain in wait, and God caused it to happen to his hand; then I will appoint thee a place whither he shall flee."*
* Exodus 21: 13.
     Of that which we would call the result of chance, as when the axe flew from the handle and killed a man, it is here said that "God caused it to happen to his hand."

371

The simple of ancient times knew of the Divine Providence, but could not distinguish between this and the Divine permission. Therefore they ascribed everything, evil as well as good, to the hands of God; for them not to have done so would have led to a total denial of Providence. Thus the Old Testament speaks, as in this instance, in these terms, as if God Himself had been the cause of evil.* In reality, nothing is of chance; everything of order is of the Divine Providence, and everything contrary to order is Divinely permitted.
* See AC 9010.

We turn now to the spiritual significance of the laws concerning killing. To kill a man signifies, in the Word, to destroy the spiritual life of another by injuring the truths of faith with him.* Man's spiritual life, his regeneration, depends upon his possessing both good and truth, which, respectively, are achieved by victory in temptation and received from the Word. Lacking either of these elements, he does not have the spiritual life of heaven. Without the truths of faith, a man may be well intentioned and may strive genuinely for the way of salvation, but he cannot find it because he does not know what it is. Thus truth must be given to all; and, under the Divine Providence, that is done in this life, through the Word, or in the life to come through angelic instruction in the world of spirits. To deprive another of the truths of faith is to deprive him of the means to the attainment of spiritual life. If this is done deliberately, it brings spiritual death, or condemnation, upon the doer: "Dying he shall die."
* See AC 9009.
The distinction between what is of intent, or from foresight, and what comes spontaneously from an inherited inclination to evil, or between what is confirmed by man and what remains in his unregenerate will only, is made clear in the Writings.* Man's tendency to evil does not condemn him; evil done without thought, unknowingly, or from a false concept of what is right and wrong, is not imputed to him. Such evil is meant in the words: "He that hath not lain in wait, but God caused it to happen to his hand." However, evils which man from his intellect has recognized to be evil, but which are still committed, are much more serious, for these the man could have avoided. Instead he has confirmed them and made them his own. These are the evils of the man who acts "of set purpose against his companion to kill him with deceit." As there is a distinction between the two kinds of manslayers - a distinction which must be recognized at law if justice is to prevail - so is an equally clear distinction between the state of a man who does evil from ignorance or from an unconfirmed inherited inclination, and one who does it from a confirmed love supported by a self-justifying perversion of reason.

372

This latter distinction is essential to spiritual justice, and is, of course, inherent in the judgment effected upon man in the world of spirits.
* See AC 9009.
     Of the unintentional manslayer the Lord said: "Then I will appoint thee a place whither he shall flee" - a reference to the six cities of refuge and to the horns of the altar, to which they could go to protect themselves from the avenger of blood until such time as their innocence could be proved. In the spiritual sense this signifies the state of blamelessness which is exempt from punishment - the state of those innocent killers who, of no set purpose or intent, injure another in respect to the truths and goods of faith, and so extinguish his spiritual life; not, of course, for eternity, for no man can condemn another to hell, but for the time being.
     Such spiritual manslayers are those who teach falsity and thus lead many away from the truths of faith. While some do so from malice and a deliberate intention to drag others with them along the broader path, many do it from complete ignorance. These are they who have complete faith in their religiosity, believing implicitly in all its irrational falsity. These may, with commendable zeal, teach such falsities to others, plead their cause with every impassioned device, and devote their lives, their wealth and their energies to their fruitless cause. They may ensnare men in their traps of confusion and falsity; yet they are provided with a city of refuge by the Lord, and are enjoined to seek the horns of His altar. His infinite mercy is extended to them, and they may be saved ultimately at His hands.

     The lot of him who slays with intent is different. "When a man shall act of set purpose against his companion to kill him with deceit, thou shalt take him from Mine altar that he may die." Here is premeditation from a depraved will, together with the self-justification of a perverted understanding. It is not ignorance or an unguided inherited inclination to evil that is meant here, but a deliberate committing of evil for the sake of one s own ends - a deliberate perversion of the truths of faith with the neighbor in order that one's own power may be maintained, or perhaps for the sake of personal gain or merit. The contemplation of such sin may seem improbable or far-fetched. We may feel that it could be attributed only to the clergy who twist the teaching of the Word so as to magnify their own power, or who pervert the doctrine for some other nefarious end. Yet this is not the only way in which that sin may be committed; we may all find ourselves tempted to destroy truths of faith in the neighbor.

373

When we are anxious to have our own way, and desire to carry someone along with us in our plans, do we not easily search in all directions for reasons and ideas that will support our plans? Are we not all too ready to twist the truth, even the truth of faith, to suit our own ends and to defend our own case? In this are we not seeking to destroy the truths of faith and thus the spiritual life of the neighbor?
     "And when a man shall act of set purpose against his companion to kill him with deceit." The Writings speak at some length of the deceit here mentioned. "Evils are done," we read, "either with deceit or without it. But evils done with deceit are the worst, because deceit is like a poison which infects and destroys with infernal venom, for it goes through the whole mind even to its interiors. The reason is that he who is in deceit meditates evil, and feeds his understanding with it, and takes delight in it, and thus destroys everything therein that belongs to man, that is, which belongs to life from the good of faith and charity. They who in the world have ensnared the neighbor with deceit in respect to worldly and earthly things, in the other life ensnare the neighbor in respect to spiritual and heavenly things."* We can well see that evil done with deceit carries the hallmark of premeditation springing from wickedly disposed intentions. It bespeaks what is most to be mistrusted and despised. The man who avoids deceit indeed goes a long way towards avoiding all evil, for honesty is essential and basic to all good.
* AC 9013.
     Of those who commit such premeditated evil - in this instance, premeditated destruction of the truths of faith in the neighbor - it is said in the Word: "Thou shalt take him from Mine altar, that he may die." This signifies that he will be condemned even though he flees to the worship of the Lord, supplicates His forgiveness, and promises repentance.*     An altar of Jehovah is the chief representative of the worship of the Lord. Thus a man who meditates evil, rushing to cling to the horns of the altar, seeks refuge in a life of external piety, believing that by means of prayers and vain promises of repentance he can be saved instantaneously. But this is impossible, for "he supplicates and promises nothing from the heart, but only from the mouth. Therefore they are not heard, for the Lord looks at the heart, and not to words abstracted and estranged from the heart. Consequently for such there is no forgiveness, because no repentance is possible with them."
* See AC 9014.
** Ibid.
     We are all tempted to rush to the horns of the altar, thinking that by external acts of piety and repentance we may gain both the pity and forgiveness of our fellow men and have the mercy of the Lord.

374

We read: "It is believed by many within the church that the forgiveness of sins is the wiping out and washing away thereof, as of filth by water; and that after forgiveness they go on their way clean and pure. Such an opinion prevails especially with those who ascribe everything of salvation to faith alone. But be it known that the case with the forgiveness of sins is quite different. The Lord forgives everyone his sins, because He is mercy itself. Nevertheless they are not thereby forgiven unless the man performs serious repentance, and desists from evils, and afterwards lives a life of faith and charity, and this even to the end of his life. When this is done, the man receives from the Lord spiritual life, which is called new life. When from this new life the man views the evils of his former life, and turns away from them, and regards them with horror, then for the first time are the evils forgiven, for then the man is held in truths and goods by the Lord, and is withheld from evils."*
* AC 9014.
OUR NEW CHURCH VOCABULARY 1961

OUR NEW CHURCH VOCABULARY 1961

Civil. This term is used of that part of man's life which comes under regulation by the laws of the state, as distinct from moral and spiritual life, which are subject to higher laws. It occurs also in a few compound forms. Civil good is the good of life in accordance with the laws of the state, which makes man a citizen of the world; civil things are those which belong to the state and are conjoined with the world - those statutes, laws and regulations which bind men together so that a settled and well organized society may be formed; and civil truths are those truths which relate to the things of government and of judgment in the state, and in general to justice and equity. (See AC 8257; Life 12; CL 130; HH 468.)
Cognitions. Although this term is loosely translated "knowledges," it should be retained; it has a very exact meaning and it indicates an important distinction. Cognitions are intermediate between scientifics and truths. In this context, scientifics are the facts of the Word in the Old and New Testaments and the Writings. Cognitions are those facts organized into ideas. When those ideas are acknowledged in the understanding - when man confirms himself in them and lives according to them - they become truths. Cognitions, then, are all the ideas that we have formed from the Word but have not yet appropriated by bringing them into life. (See AC 5276.)

375

ORDINATIONS 1961

ORDINATIONS Various 1961

     JUNE 18, 1961

     DECLARATIONS OF FAITH AND PURPOSE

     I believe that the Lord Jesus Christ is the only God of heaven and earth, and that He is Jehovah from eternity.
     I believe that He came into the world in order to subjugate the hells, and glorify His Human; that without this coming, no mortal could have been saved, and that those are saved who believe in Him.
     I believe that man is created with the faculties of rationality and liberty in order that he may, as of himself, shun evils as sins, and do the goods of charity, and yet acknowledge that the power to do so is from the Lord alone.
     I believe that the Lord reveals His will in His Divine Word, accommodated to human perception, in order to teach men the way to heaven. I believe that the Lord has revealed Himself in His Divine Human in the theological Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg, by means of which He establishes His New Church. I believe that in these Writings the interior things of the Word are opened plainly and manifestly, and that the church, being built thereby, shall never be consummated.
     I believe that the Lord has instituted the priesthood as a means of conveying His truth to the understanding of men. The priest, therefore, must not attribute this truth to himself; but when he is affected with a desire for the salvation of souls, the Lord will grant him to be affected with truths, because by means of them he leads souls to heaven; and he leads souls to heaven when he leads them to the Lord.
     In this belief I now present myself for inauguration into the priesthood. My purpose is to serve the Lord willingly and diligently in helping to establish and upbuild His New Church. For the sake of this use, and in this use, I pray the Lord for guidance and strength that His purpose may be fulfilled.
     GUDMUND ULLRICH BOOLSEN

     I believe that there is one God of heaven and earth, who is the Lord Jesus Christ. In Him is the Divine Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Spirit, or, what is the same, the Divine love, the Divine wisdom, and the Divine of use.

376

     I believe that the Lord created the universe, and that the crowning work of His hands is man, who, through the life of regeneration, can become an image and likeness of God as to his spirit.
     I believe that the Divine end of creation looks to the conjunction of God with man through love, and that this is possible only when the state of love is regnant with both angels and men. Such a state exists with those whose life is interiorly in accord with the Divine truth of the Word.
     Of himself, man is ignorant of the Lord, and of the life which leads to heaven; therefore the Lord has revealed His Divine truth to the varying states of mankind since the beginning of creation, so that he might know the Lord and that which the Lord doth require of him. The successive revelations differ as to external form, but all revelation is the Divine truth of the Lord. I therefore believe that the Old Testament, the New Testament, and the theological Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg are together and inseparably the one Word of God, which is the Divine Human of the Lord accommodated to human understanding.
     I believe that the life of charity, according to faith received from the Word, leads to salvation, and that this should therefore be that for which man principally strives. For this end man should suffer himself to be led and taught by the Lord from the Word, both immediately, and mediately through doctrine and preaching from the Word. In the Divine Providence of the Lord, I believe that He creates and leads men who will serve Him in the priestly office, by inspiring them with a love for the salvation of souls.
     In presenting myself for inauguration into the priesthood of the New Church, I solemnly acknowledge that the Lord has led me to undertake this work. I pray that He will continually give me strength, and the wisdom necessary to serve Him alone, in the faithful discharge of this most holy work.
     GEOFFREY HORACE HOWARD
PRIESTLY USE 1961

PRIESTLY USE 1961

"As regards priests, they must teach men the way to heaven, and must also lead them. They must teach them according to the doctrine of their church, and they must lead them to live according to it. Priests who teach truths and by means of them lead to the good of life, and thus to the Lord, are good shepherds of the sheep; but those who teach, and do not lead to the good of life, are evil shepherds. The latter are called by the Lord 'thieves and robbers' in John 10: 7-16" (AC 10,794).

377

NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS 1961

NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS Rev. ORMOND ODHNER 1961

     In the many volumes of the Arcana Coelestia several distinct subjects are treated of in series, giving excellent illustrations of the different internal meanings within the letter of the Word. The creation story in Genesis 1 is explained according to what is strictly called the spiritual sense, which treats of man's regeneration. Then, through the stories from the Garden of Eden to the Flood and the Tower of Babel, the emphasis in the explanation shifts to the internal-historical sense, revealing the internal, religious states of the Most Ancient and Ancient churches. The accounts of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob and Joseph are explained primarily as to the inmost or celestial sense, treating of the Lord's glorification. And finally, the last volumes of the Arcana, in explaining Exodus, shift back to the spiritual sense-man's regeneration.
     No part, it will be seen, adheres exclusively to any one sense; teachings concerning man's regeneration, for example, are found throughout. It is chiefly a matter of emphasis. All these senses or meanings run from the beginning to the end of the Word, one within the other; and any part of the Word may thus be properly explained on any of these levels.
     The majority of August's daily readings in the Arcana describe the Most Ancient Church in its purity. At first, Man is alone in the paradise of Eden: he is regenerated to the celestial degree, and is so perfect that he finds no enjoyment in the sensation that life is his own; he wants only to attribute all things to the Lord. But then came the first mere intimation of evil: Man, no longer content to be "alone" with God, wanted enjoyment in the feeling that life was his own. It brought on spiritual sleep; but during that sleep the Lord took one of Man's ribs-a bone, a comparatively dead thing, but close to the heart-and out of it fashioned woman. The Lord took the love of self into which the Most Ancients had fallen, instructed it in the truth that everything good and true must be acknowledged as the Lord's, and thus brought it back to spiritual life. Acknowledging that, Man was gifted with a heavenly proprium, and life in paradise could continue.
     It is an interesting little fact that the translation of Genesis given in the Arcana does not employ the name "Adam," but instead uses consistently the original "Man."

378

REVIEWS 1961

REVIEWS Various 1961

THE POMEGORANATE WITH SEEDS OF GOLD and Other Stories from the Writings of Swedenborg. As told to older children by Amena Pendleton Haines. Illustrated by Eudora Sellner Walsh. Theta Alpha, Bryn Athyn, Pa., 1961. Cloth, pp. 94. Price, $2.00.
     The development of New Church literature, from hymns to textbooks, is frequently impeded by a dilemma: the appeal of the Writings is primarily to the rational mind; that of most forms of literature is more toward the sensual. While these two appeals are not mutually exclusive, much of what is intended to be New Church literature lacks one or the other, and so falls short of its goal. This reviewer has attempted to write words for New Church hymns, and the results were for the most part didactic and unsingable. Efforts along these lines will continue, but it seems that the best chance for success is afforded by writing good Christian hymns, the meanings of which will be understood more deeply by New Church worshipers. Rational truth does not spontaneously sing.
     This opinion is perhaps more pessimistic than necessary. New Church Day this year saw the publication of a little book that contradicts it in a most welcome fashion. Amena Pendleton Haines' new book of stories for older children extracts some charming music from the letter of the Writings. She has studied seven memorabilia from Conjugial Love and then retold the stories. The study involved not only comparison of various translations, but checking the original Latin for meanings and distinctions lost in the English versions. Even the seer's own words could not measure up to the wonders of another world, but Mrs. Haines seems to have captured the meaning beautifully. Her careful study, keen imagination, and skillful use of words have produced, not a new translation, but virtually a new description of what Swedenborg actually saw. Mrs. Walsh's illustrations, including handsomely lettered and decorated titles, depict both the beauty and the ugliness of the spiritual world with vivid delicacy.
     The adaptation of these stories involved both omissions and additions. Discussions of doctrinal matters are abbreviated so as to give an idea of their content without interrupting the stories. Explanations are added to convey to children a picture that Swedenborg may have given in a few words. When he mentions the dragon and the beast of the Apocalypse, for example, the author and artist clarify the allusion with some detail.

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     It was something of a shock, after reading this book, to turn back to the original stories in Conjugial Love nos. 42-43, 75-81 and 115. They are, by comparison, almost incomprehensible! Many obscure words are used, and the style is more scientific than literary, so that the story is all but lost. Certainly the full usefulness of the Memorabilia goes beyond the mere telling of a story, and demands such completeness of detail. But in the form in which they appear in the Writings, they may fail to realize a use suggested by Bishop W. F. Pendleton and quoted by his daughter in the Preface to this book: "The use of the Memorabilia is suggested as a means of conveying to the imagination of children the facts of the other world, and thus as a means of introduction to the spiritual sense of the Word. . . They contain as much of the spiritual sense as the mind of a child is able to comprehend."'
     This use can now be realized most fully for these stories of Swedenborg's visits with spirits of the Golden, Silver and other ages. Parents and teachers of the church will be grateful to the lady who has re-told the stories for us, and will hope to see her continue the work with other memorabilia.
     We must, however, heed the author's warning not to use this book in a didactic manner. It should be read by the children themselves, and its attractive binding, type and illustrations adapt it very well to this end. Still, it is more than a " 'pleasure book,' just for the children to enjoy." The simple and yet authoritative picture it gives of the ideal of love truly conjugial is just what New Church educators strive to impart. This book deserves direct association with the church in the child's mind, such as might be imparted by its being given as a New Church Day gift. For a boy or girl to treasure this book as their own, and to read it with the recognition that it tells what Swedenborg learned in heaven, is a valuable step toward an affectionate study of the Writings.
     KENNETH ROSE

WHAT THE WRITINGS TESTIFY CONCERNING THEMSELVES. General Church Publication Committee, Bryn Athyn, Pa., 1961. Paper, pp. 69. Price, 6O cents.

     The object in this compilation has been to select and present those teachings which most directly, simply and clearly describe the nature of the Divine revelation given through Swedenborg. While the extracts chosen are mostly those used by the late Rev. C. Th. Odhner in the pamphlet, "Swedenborg's Testimony Concerning His Writings," published in 1902 and revised in 1920, the matter has been rearranged considerably by the compiler, Dr. Hugo Lj. Odhner.

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Headings, footnotes, and some revisions of the translation have been supplied; and the compiler has also appended some notes to define the relation of the internal sense to the sense of the letter of the Word, and to describe certain states by which Swedenborg was prepared for his office.
That the extracts quoted from the Writings are for the most part those which appeared in the earlier pamphlet is a tribute to the judgment exercised in the original selection. However, we believe that this new compilation contains several distinct improvements. An important addition is the teaching that the explanations in the Writings of the spiritual sense are not written in a sense merely natural, but are a natural sense from the spiritual, which is called the internal sense. The nature of the Writings as the internal sense and their relation to the letter of the Word are brought out more clearly; Swedenborg's state of inspiration is more sharply distinguished from other states induced upon him so that he might learn from experience how the Scriptures had been written and the presentation, instead of having that syllogistic form which seems to press a conclusion, leaves the reader free to draw his own conclusion.
We would readily concede, of course, that when the credibility of the Writings is the issue, their testimony alone may not be introduced as conclusive, since it is a part of what is to be proved. As the compiler states, "the real testimony to the Divine origin and authority of the Writings is the clarity and power of their doctrinal message." It is especially upon the doctrine of the Divine Human that Swedenborg's claim to have been commissioned by the Lord rests; and while the credibility of the Writings does not rest upon his testimony, that testimony is fully supported by the doctrine. To say this is not to detract from that testimony, but to put it in perspective that it may be rightly evaluated and used. When that is seen, this pamphlet may be used most fruitfully and in the spirit in which it was compiled. The original has for some time been out of print. This new production, uniform with other pastoral pamphlets, should be of great use in the church.

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ENTERING INTO THE LITURGY 1961

ENTERING INTO THE LITURGY Editor 1961

NEW CHURCH LIFE
Office of Publication, Lancaster, Pa.
Published Monthly By
THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM BRYN ATHYN. PA.
Editor - - - Rev. W. Cairns Henderson, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager - - - - Mr. L. E. Gyllenhaal, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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

TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION $5.00 a year to any address, payable In advance. Single copy, 50 cents.
     "Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God." In these words from the Apocalypse the adult members of our congregations are invited to advance to the altar rail, there to partake of the Holy Supper. From time to time their appropriateness has been questioned by some who are familiar with the context (Revelation 19: 17, 18); and if the literal sense were the only consideration the question might well be sustained.
     In the internal sense, however, there could be no more fitting invitation to the Holy Supper. John saw an angel standing in the sun, and heard him cry out these words with a great voice to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven. This, together with the words themselves, signifies, we are taught, the Lord from Divine love, and thence from Divine zeal, calling and inviting to the New Church, to conjunction with Himself, and thus to life eternal, all who are in the spiritual affection of truth and who think of heaven. When we think of the uses the Holy Supper was instituted to perform, the eminent suitableness of this invitation becomes apparent.
     Many selections from the Scriptures are so used in our ritual; and the worshiper who wishes to enter more deeply into that ritual would be well rewarded by looking up the spiritual meaning of familiar passages used frequently in the General Offices as well as in the Sacraments and Rites. This can be done with the aid of Searle's General Index to Swedenborg's Scripture Quotations. Even where the letter obviously expresses the spiritual sense, such a study will deepen the idea conveyed.

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ESSENTIAL NATURE OF EVIL 1961

ESSENTIAL NATURE OF EVIL Editor 1961

     Whether or not the Preadamites were in evil has recently been discussed at some length in the pages of this journal. If we are to be able to think clearly about the question at issue, it would seem evident that we must have in mind what the Writings teach about the essential nature of evil. The offenses forbidden in the second table of the Decalogue are, of course, only the ultimate forms in which evil expresses itself. Evil, regarded in itself, is disjunction from the Lord. It is opposition to heaven, and it is the lust of acting and thinking contrary to Divine order.
     That is what the Writings mean by evil. It would seem, then, that the first question we should attempt to answer is this: Can disjunction be predicated of the Preadamites, who, until they became Adamites, were not introduced into conjunction with the Lord, or would their state be better described, with the aid of a factitious term, as one of non-junction? Disjunction implies the severing of a relation. There may be light here in the teaching that the disjunction of the human race from God took place after all the celestial in man had perished, which happened when the Most Ancient Church fell.
     Another question is: Were the Preadamites in opposition to heaven? Our answer would have to take into account the teaching that evil is opposite to heaven, but not the falsity of ignorance. Similarly, we must seek an answer to the question: Were the Preadamites in the lust of acting and thinking contrary to Divine order? The conclusion we reach here will probably be determined largely by whether we believe the Writings to teach that that lust can be predicated of those who are in the falsity of ignorance, or would require some knowledge of Divine order as a condition for its existence.
     We do not raise these points with the intention or thought of settling the question, but because we believe that discussion which turns on a fundamental term should take in the most universal definitions given in the Writings. However, we would raise one question - for consideration, not necessarily for further discussion. That evil is the opposite of good is the plain teaching of the Writings; but can the opposite be said to have existence before that to which it is opposed has come into existence? If this can be answered affirmatively, then the Preadamites could have been in evil; if not, then evil could have had its origin only with the Adamites, in whom good, spiritual and then celestial, was first implanted by the Lord. In that case there would be no inconsistency in rejecting the idea that the Preadamites were in evil because not good, and in saying that they were not-good, yet not evil.

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LAW OF REASON 1961

LAW OF REASON Editor 1961

     It is a teaching of the Writings that causes do not produce effects continuously but discretely; wherefore to judge of causes by inductions which are continuous with effects does not lead to the causes themselves. This seemingly abstract law is of universal and practical application, and it furnishes us with a principle by which we can evaluate much of the thinking current in any subject field which is concerned with cause and effect.
     Historians, political scientists and economists, psychologists, sociologists and criminologists are all concerned with the causes of the effects observable in their fields. As New Church men and women trying to think from the Writings, we should be alert to recognize inductions which are continuous with effects when we examine the theories they propound or analyze the solutions they offer for current problems. For all too often it will be discovered that this law has not been satisfied; that the alleged cause is continuous with the effect.
     Some obvious examples come readily to mind. Those who believe that the advance of Communism can be stopped merely by giving economic aid to underdeveloped nations are tacitly assuming that because Communism has spread where poverty, illiteracy and chaotic conditions are prevalent, these are the causes of its being accepted. The results of a program based on this assumption alone would obviously be disastrous. The same type of thinking may be recognized in some of the explanations offered as to the causes of juvenile delinquency and adult crime; while these undoubtedly isolate contributing factors and focus attention on conditions favorable to disorders, they fall short of uncovering the real causes, and no radical cure may be expected when what are at most secondary causes are mistaken for primary causes. In other fields we find the same fatal error being made; whether by the biochemist who speaks of creating life in the laboratory, the psychologist who defines thought as an electro-chemical process, or the sociologist who finds the origin of religion in man's own needs.
     This is not to say that no useful work has been done in these fields. But the New Church man should be able to evaluate that work, at least to some extent; and for the soundness of his own thinking he has need to grasp the revealed principle that all primary causes are spiritual. From effects nothing but effects can be learned. To think from them only is to think from fallacies, and to try to search out causes from effects is to depart from the way of wisdom. But to know effects from causes is to be wise and to train the light of wisdom on the effects themselves. To this end have the Writings been given.

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CHURCH NEWS 1961

CHURCH NEWS Various 1961

     THE ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH

     Commencement

     The Academy's eighty-fourth Commencement Exercises took place on June 16, in the Asplundh Field House. Sixty-three graduates, from secondary to theological, heard speaker John J. Boericke congratulate them on their maturity in response to the times' needs, and offer them dedication and confidence in the principles of their education. Mr. Boericke's address will be published in a later issue. A list of the graduates and honors follows this account.
     Apparent from the program was the international character of the Academy as a center of learning for the church. Among the seven baccalaureates, for example, Denmark, England and Jordan were represented, as well as Canada and the United States. Valedictorians were: for the Girls School, Margaret York, Millburn, New Jersey; for the Boys School, Hall Rose, Bryn Athyn; for the Junior College, Michael Cole, Glenview; for the Senior College, Willard Thomas, Pittsburgh; and for the Theological School, Gudmund Boolsen, Frederikshavn, Denmark. Their expressions of thanks were graced with humility in the recognition that they could not yet fully know the value of the education they had received. President Willard D. Pendleton, responding to the valedictories, noted the continuity and essential importance of the Academy's work as an arm of the church, and reiterated the speaker's confidence in those who had this day graduated from its schools.
     E. BRUCE GLENN

     ACADEMY SCHOOLS

     Awards, 1961

     At the Commencement Exercises on June 16, the graduates received their diplomas and the honors were announced as follows:

     Theological School

     BACHELOR OF THEOLOGY: Gudmund Ullrich Boolsen, Geoffrey Horace Howard.

     Senior College

     BACHELOR OF SCIENCE: Cum Laude: Gretchen Mirra Schoenberger.

     BACHELOR OF SCIENCE: Najat Khalil Abed, Gudmund Ullrich Boolsen, Viola Alice Friesen, Judith Harriet Kuhl, Willard Dean Thomas.

     Junior College

     DIPLOMA: Gregory Langton Baker, Solveig Olivia Boolsen, Michael Snowden Cole, Michael Peter Croll, Charles Dandridge Ebert, Ulla Elisabet Fornander, Waijny Kristin Fornander, Suzanne Lois Fountain, Jeryl Glenn, John Theodore Klein, Judith Ann Nemitz, Anna Solveig Rosenquist, Michael Price Tyler, Cora Lee Woodworth.

     Assistant in Education

     Eleanore Soderberg Naill.

     Boys School

     ACADEMIC DIPLOMA: With Honors: Kim Woodard.

     ACADEMIC DIPLOMA: Eyvind Hoidal Boyesen, James Pennington Cole, Cory Null Glenn, Lindsay Courtland Lee, Victor Dynamiel Odhner, Douglas Hubert Raymond, Edward Lewis Rogers, Roy Hall Rose, Carl Johan Rosenquist, Duncan Gilbert Smith.

     GENERAL DIPLOMA: Peter Hall Boericke, Henry Bernard Bruser 3rd, Romney Hayden, Michael Graeme Lockhart,

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John Barrie McKenzie, Thomas Emmett Waddell, Marvin Wayne Walker.

     Girls School

     DIPLOMA: With Honors: Patricia Kay Nicholson, Margaret Anne York.
     DIPLOMA: Joan Alden, Barbara Ann Childs, Linda Coffin, Melissa Tebeau Croft, Gail Davis, Susan Gyllenhaal, Christine Ingrid Henderson, Virginia Erna Knapp, Shirley Dian Kuhl, Judith Ann Larsson, Olivia Childs Rhodes, Linda Louise Scalbom, Andri Simons, Charlene Smith, Marcia Lynn Synnestvedt, Yvonne Gay Wille.

     CERTIFICATE:     Katherine Coffin.

     CERTIFICATE OF COMPLETION: Patricia Faye Penner, Louise Deep Smith.

     CERTIFICATE OF ATTENDANCE: Emily Irene Lyman.

     Theta Alpha Award

     Miss Viola Alice Friesen received the Theta Alpha Award.

     DETROIT, MICHIGAN

     Since our last report three new things of particular interest have happened. We are now a part of the Midwest District, our Men's Assembly has met twice, and a group of men interested in the work of the Epsilon Society have organized a local chapter. The Detroit Society will now be a part of what was previously the Chicago District Assembly. We were associated with North Ohio and Pittsburgh for District Assembly purposes, but it now seems more useful for all concerned to make this change. For some time there has been discussion of the need for occasional meetings of all the men of the Society as a forum in which to discuss matters of common interest, also Society uses and needs. Hence a Men's Assembly has been called together twice this year and has filled a real need. A recent visit by the Rev. Karl R. Alden prompted those men interested in missionary work to assemble at the manse on Thursday, May 25.
     Mr. Alden spoke on the work of the Epsilon Society at a Sons' supper and meeting on Sunday evening, May 21. The previous evening, at a Society supper and meeting, he spoke on the work of the General Church Religion Lessons, of which he is the director, and he also preached at the service on Sunday morning. This was a first visit to Detroit for Mr. and Mrs. Alden, and it was a pleasure for some of us to meet them for the first time.
     Christmas festivities began last year with a singing practice on December 13 for all children attending religion classes, in order to prepare music for the Christmas season. Tableaux were presented on Saturday, December 17, at 7:30 p.m. For a time it seemed that there might not be any tableaux; but an appeal brought ideas, written down and handed to the pastor, which made it possible to present a simplified rendition, interspersed with caroling by all present. The festival service was held at 6:30 on Christmas Eve. The form was the same as in recent years and included gifts to the church from the children and from the church to the children. The service on Christmas Day was directed to the adults. Our pastor, the Rev. Norman H. Reuter, chose to preach on the topic, "The Firstborn of God." It might be added, to express the feeling of many, that the real spirit of Christmas is greatly enhanced by the beautiful inspirational Christmas message which has come from Bishop De Charms each year.
     A Holy Supper service was held on New Year's Day. It took place in the evening and was for adults only.
     In January the annual meeting of the Society was held at the church building, and in place of the usual adult Swedenborg's birthday celebration there was a Sons' banquet. Mr. E. Bruce Glenn was guest speaker, and as a representative of the Academy he spoke to us about "Communication and the Humanities." This involved Academy publications - what has been accomplished in the past, and what is hoped for in the future. We now realize much more clearly what our responsibility should be toward these publications.
     The children's Swedenborg's birthday celebration was held on Sunday, January 29, and took the form of a banquet.

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Our pastor was most proud of the way in which the children had prepared their fine papers while he was attending the Council Meetings in Bryn Athyn. We might mention here, too, what fine work our pastor's wife does with the little children for these affairs in helping them to prepare their little offerings. She also gives religious instruction to the younger children at the classes during the week while Mr. Reuter works with the older groups. She has a great deal of affection for the children, and they for her.
     At the weekly doctrinal classes Mr. Reuter has continued the series on the general subject of "The Church." A different series is presented at the class following the monthly supper, this being on the order and organization of the General Church. At the class on February 3, the usual report following the Council Meetings in Bryn Athyn was given. We always look forward to this report, for, not only things of general doctrinal interest are presented to the Society but also many things about the organization and operations of the church.
     On March 25, after the monthly supper, the Rev. Henry Heinrichs addressed the Society on "The Divine Compassion and Pity." He also preached on Palm Sunday. We had our usual evening Holy Supper service on Good Friday, and on Easter morning there was the usual children's festival service to which the children are invited to bring a floral offering, and for which they were asked to learn Mark 16: 4-9 as a recitation. The evening service was converted into an adult Easter service.
     During the weekend of April 15, we were happy to welcome the Rev. Elmo C. Acton as president of the Midwest Academy, together with several officers and members of the board, some accompanied by their wives. They were here to give our Society a general picture of the whole Midwest Academy development to date, plus its prospects for the future. As the Detroit Society is now part of what was formerly the Chicago District Assembly, the Midwest Academy development is now, our pastor pointed out, our responsibility, too. Mr. Acton led the meeting on Saturday evening and preached on Sunday morning.
     The Women's Guild met several times during the year. The December gathering was a combined Theta Alpha and Women's Guild meeting, at which time Mr. Reuter spoke to us. This is a meeting which we women look forward to; the exchange of gifts and the festive Christmas decorations and refreshments helping to make it a special gathering.
     The discussion group has been studying the general subject of "The World of Spirits." At the January meeting the Rev. Jan H. Weiss was a guest speaker.
     Our book room agent, Miss Muriel Cook, continues to serve the Society. Not only does she keep us posted on the latest church publications, but she displays the books in an interesting manner and is always on hand to give assistance when needed.
     Betty and Renny Doering have for many years gone to Florida for the winter, but have always returned to Detroit in the spring. This year they have moved permanently to Florida and they will be greatly missed. Desiree de Charms has also left Detroit, having accepted a position as librarian at the University of Illinois. Donette Rose is now living in Bryn Athyn, and we were most happy to learn of her engagement to Mr. Lennart Alfelt. Jim Kuhn, from Glenview, has had a three-month assignment at the Ford Motor Company in connection with his college work, and has been most active in church functions while here. Peter Lockhart, from Bryn Athyn, has been a student at the University of Michigan and visited for a weekend in March.
     There have been two weddings in the Detroit Society - that of Nancy Cook and Michael Kloc in November, and in May that of Carolyn Kuhl and Walter Bellinger; though Carolyn and Walter were actually married in Kitchener, Ontario, and will live there. During the month of December there were three confirmations - those of Walter Bellinger, Patricia McCardell and Justin Reuter.

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There have also been two infant baptisms.
     FREDA M. BRADIN

     THE CHURCH AT LARGE

     General Convention. At the recent annual session held at Washington, D. C., the Rev. Richard H. Tafel was elected to the presidency of the General Convention. Election is to a three-year term, and the president elect takes office one year after he has been chosen. Mr. Tafel, who will succeed the Rev. David P. Johnson, is pastor of the Society at 22nd and Chestnut Streets, Philadelphia.

     General Conference. The Conference Council has announced with great regret that the Rev. Kenneth W. Staggs has resigned from the pastorate of the Dalton Society and from the ministry of the General Conference of the New Church. After careful consideration, and discussions with the secretary of the Ministerial Advisory Council, Mr. Staggs had found himself unable to adhere to the doctrines of the New Church, and had stated his intention to apply for admission into the priesthood of the Church of England.

     Australia. At the triennial Conference of "The New Church in Australia," held in Melbourne, the Rev. Christopher V. A. Hasler, pastor of the Brisbane Society, was elected to the presidency. The retiring president, the Rev. H. W. Hickman, became vice president.

     West Africa. The superintendent of the New-Church Mission in Nigeria, the Rev. Eustace R. Goldsack, reports that the Mission is now making rapid progress in education. A new grammar school is to be built at Owo on land given to the Mission for this purpose by the Olowo of Owo, and it is expected that it will be opened in January, 1962. The services of a New Church graduate as principal are being sought in Great Britain.

     SWEDENBORG SOCIETY, INC.

     151st Annual Meeting

     The one hundred and fifty-first annual meeting of the society was held in Swedenborg Hall on June 2, 1961, with the president, Mr. Roy H. Griffith, in the chair. About fifty members and friends were present.
     The meeting was opened with the Lord's Prayer. The notice convening the meeting was read. This was followed by the reading of apologies for absence and of a message of greeting from Dr. G. Ferrari on behalf of the Italian Swedenborg Society. The chairman of the Council, Mr. Kenneth F. Chadwick, had sent his regrets that a business engagement prevented his attendance at the meeting.
     The Minutes of the 150th annual meeting were read, confirmed, and signed.
     The Council's report for 1960 was presented by Dr. Freda G. Griffith, joint honorary secretary. In mentioning briefly the activities of the anniversary year, she referred particularly to the provincial meetings in Manchester, Glasgow and Birmingham, which had been very encouraging. The resignation of the Rev. E. C. Mongredien from the editorship of the third Latin edition of Arcana Coelestia was a great loss to the Advisory and Revision Board, and indeed to the Society, but it was hoped that the new editorial subcommittee would press forward with the preparation of the remaining volumes.
     An interesting item in the Library and Archives section, not mentioned in this report because not yet actually received, was the promised gift by the Academy of the New Church of a complete microfilm reproduction now being prepared of the collection of Swedenborgian documents made at Bryn Athyn by the late Dr. Alfred Acton. The gift was being made by the Academy "in appreciation of the work that is being done by the Swedenborg Society," and the Council had expressed their deep appreciation of this action.
     The sales figures again showed a pleasing increase this year, and the Council looked to members and friends in the New Church to maintain the increase in 1961. A display of books, particularly the smaller works, at New Church societies could do much to stimulate the sales - as was shown by the book room at Glenview, Illinois.

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     The study scheme had been revived with some success. An examination had been held, as planned, and three candidates had sat.
     Finally the joint secretary drew attention to the concluding paragraph of the Council's report: though the principal task, the translation, editing, publication and distribution of the Writings of Emanuel Swedenborg, has remained the same for a century and a half, the Society is not living in the past, but is forward looking.
     The honorary treasurer, Mr. R. V. Stebbing-Allen, then read the Auditor's Report and presented the Accounts and Balance Sheet. He gave a clear account of how the Society's money had been spent. Increased activity had, of course, led to increased spending. Over (5,000 had been spent on publishing and distribution, as compared with (2,000 the previous year. The 130th Anniversary Appeal had brought in (1,085, but the ordinary subscriptions and donations were slightly less than last year. Rents of offices and hire of the Hall were up while the expenditure on the building was down, so that there was a surplus on property of (219. The treasurer emphasized that the Society depended on subscriptions and donations from members to maintain the activities for which the Society exists.
     Mr. Alan A. Drummond, joint honorary secretary, then moved the adoption of the report and accounts. He spoke of the great activity during the year, which had met with a definite measure of success, and commended particularly to members the new booklet, Religion and Life, which would be invaluable for people inquiring about the doctrines of the church. Mr. Drummond said that the lecture scheme was being continued as it was thought to fill a very definite use. But if the work of the Society was to go to its maximum we must have more and more new members.
     The motion for adoption was seconded by the Rev. Erik Sandstrom, after which it was open for discussion. Mr. E. 0. Acton spoke of the excellent production by the office staff of the two anniversary lectures and of the brochure on the history of the Society. Miss H. G. Stacey paid tribute to the advertisements drawn up by Mr. Drummond, particularly those in The Listener. The Rev. F. F. Coulson asked that the Council should consider anew how to present to the world the Writings of the Second Coming, remembering that Swedenborg was not allowed to put his name on 21 of the 25 volumes he published; only when the Second Coming was nearly complete did his name appear on the title-pages of the last volumes he wrote. Miss Robertson asked whether it would be possible, if the pocket edition of Arcana Coelestia could not he continued, to bind the standard edition in paperback sections which could be more easily carried for reading on journeys. Mr. L. H. Houghton pleaded for more advertising. The Rev. Erik Sandstrom hoped that the present officers would continue to serve the Society for many years. The report and accounts for the year ending December 31, 1960, were then adopted.
     The president said that as the results of the recent examination had just come to hand he would take the opportunity of announcing them to the meeting. All three candidates had passed, two with merit. They were Miss Pauline Riley of Accrington, Miss Lynda Ford of London, and Mr. William Grimshaw of Accrington.
     On behalf of the Council, the president nominated Mr. E. O. Acton as the next president. He said that Mr. Acton had been a Life Member of the Society for more than thirty years and a most devoted member of the Council for fifteen years. The Swedenborg Society came very high in the list of Mr. Acton's interests and he would be a most attentive president. This was seconded by the Rev. F. F. Coulson and carried with acclamation. Mr. Acton, replying briefly, said he accepted the office in great humility and that he would do his best for the Society.
     Mr. P. Guy Dicks moved the re-election of Mr. R. V. Stebbing-Allen as honorary treasurer. Mr. Stebbing-Allen was just getting into his stride and it would be a pity to hold him back.

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Mr. Arnold Chadwick seconded the motion, which was carried unanimously.
     There being no nominations, no vote was necessary for the Council. The following constitute the Council for the coming year: Mr. E. 0. Acton (president), Mr. R. H. Griffith (vice president) Mr. R. V. Stebbing-Allen (honorary treasurer), Mr. K. F. Chadwick, Mr. Dan Chapman, Mr. P. Guy Dicks, Mr. A. A. Drummond, Rev. Dennis Duckworth, Mrs. F. G. Griffith, Mr. L. H. Houghton, Mr. P. L. Johnson, Rev. C. H. Presland, Miss H. G. Stacey, Mr. Norman Turner.
     The president gave his address, on "Discrete Degrees."
     A vote of thanks to the president and officers was proposed by Mr. George Marshall and carried with applause.
     The meeting was closed with the Benediction.
     FREDA G. GRIFFITH

     SWEDENBORG FOUNDATION

     At the 112th annual meeting of the Foundation, Dr. John S. Peck was elected president to succeed Mr. John F. Seekamp, who had declined renomination. Mr. Seekamp became a Life Member of the Swedenborg Foundation in 1925 and at the same time a member of its Board of Managers, reorganized as its Board of Directors in 1944, was elected vice president in 1944, and president in 1953. A resolution expressing appreciation of his devoted and distinguished services and regret at his decision to retire, and naming him president emeritus, was carried by acclamation, and a handsome parchment scroll embodying this resolution was presented to him. Mr. Seekamp remains an active director of the Foundation. He also holds offices in Convention and associated organizations as chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Pension Fund, director of the New Church Board of Publication and the Swedenborg Philosophical Center, and president of the Brooklyn Heights Society.
     Dr. John S. Peck has served as president and chairman of the Board of Trustees of the New York Society, as a trustee of Urbana University, and as president of the New York Association. In 1958 he retired from the City College of New York as Professor Emeritus of Civil Engineering. He has since served as Adjunct Professor of Civil Engineering and Director of the Materials Testing Laboratory at the University of Massachusetts.

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ORDINATIONS 1961

ORDINATIONS Editor 1961

     ANNOUNCEMENTS
     Boolsen.-At Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, June 18, 1961, Mr. Gudmund Ullrich Boolsen into the First Degree of the Priesthood, the Rt. Rev. George de Charms officiating.
     Howard.-At Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, June 18, 1961, Mr. Geoffrey Horace Howard into the First Degree of the Priesthood, the Rt. Rev. George de Charms officiating.
EDUCATIONAL COUNCIL MEETINGS 1961

EDUCATIONAL COUNCIL MEETINGS 1961

     BRYN ATHYN, PA., AUGUST 21-25, 1961

Monday, August 21
9:30 a.m.     Worship:
     Benade Hall Chapel
10:00 am.     First Session.
     Report of Religion Department: Right Rev. Willard D. Pendleton
8:00 p.m.     Second Session.
     Philosophy of History
Tuesday, August 22
11:15 am.     Third Session.
     Teaching of Composition
8:00 p.m.     Fourth Session.
     Philosophy of Biological Science
Wednesday, August 23
11:15 am.     Fifth Session.
     Teaching of Human Body
8:00 p.m.
     Open
Thursday, August 24
11:15 a.m.     Sixth Session.
     Teaching of Foreign Language
8:00 p.m.     Seventh Session.
     Special Topics
Friday, August 25
11:15 am.     Eighth Session.
     Business Meeting
EDUCATIONAL COUNCIL SUMMER SCHOOL 1961

EDUCATIONAL COUNCIL SUMMER SCHOOL 1961

BRYN ATHYN, PA., AUGUST 16-25, 1961

A. Teaching of Religion. By the Rev. Dandridge Pendleton 9:00-10:00 a.m., August 16-18, 22-25 3:00-4:00 p.m., August 16, 17, 21

B. Teaching of Mathematics. By Mr. Kenneth Rose and Panel 10:00-11:00 am., August 16-18, 22-25 4:00-5:00 p.m., August 16, 17, 21

393

CARE FOR THE MORROW 1961

CARE FOR THE MORROW Rev. DOUGLAS TAYLOR 1961

Vol. LXXXI
September, 1961
No. 9
     "Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." (Matthew 6: 34)

     This Divinely given law, being true at all times and for all men, involves one of the universals of religion. Coming as it does at the end of a series of verses in which many examples are given of trust in the Lord and His merciful providence, our text sums up the whole subject: exhorting us to have faith in the Lord, to have complete confidence that he will provide what is good and necessary for our eternal welfare.
     Let us note at the outset that the translation given in the King James Version does not, at the present day, bring out the full meaning of the Lord's words. When first translated, the expression "to take thought" conveyed the idea of having anxious thought, of worrying about the future, and that is the meaning in the original. It is therefore anxious care and solicitude that are forbidden by this law. Obviously it does not mean that we should never give a thought to the future and its needs, and simply live only for the present in the belief that "the necessaries of life are to be awaited daily from heaven."* For charity itself demands that we think about the future and plan for it with a view to meeting our obligations and supplying our needs. In this there is a looking to use. What we are warned against in the text is a useless looking to the future which brings with it anxiety and doubt concerning the outcome - a fear that, despite our best efforts, we shall be overwhelmed.
* AC 8478: 2.
     It is well known that such anxiety is rife at the present day, and the reason is not far to seek; for if a whole civilization tends to a belief in the self-sufficiency of man, regarding itself as the one and only controller of human destiny, anxiety - care for the morrow - will inevitably plague it.

394

Much of our world is gripped by the dread of wholesale destruction even of annihilation; and it is not surprising that the greatest dread is voiced where there is the least faith in the Lord, for care for the morrow rises when our trust in the Lord fails or falters and it falls in proportion as our faith is in the ascendant. The two are diametrically opposed; we can be only in one or the other. That is why, in the preceding series of verses, we are enjoined to make a choice between two masters. "No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and Mammon."
     Yet which one of us has not, at some time or other, allowed his mind to be filled with anxious thoughts about future states and responsibilities? How often we give way to useless musings about many things, wondering within ourselves: "What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or Wherewithal shall we be clothed?" The forms assumed by these fears are manifold, but there are some to which New Church men and women are especially prone. For example, there are anxious thoughts concerning the establishment and the future position of the church. We are taught many things about this: that the New Church is to be the crown of all the churches that have hitherto existed on this earth; that it will first be established with a few, and will later be among many, even until it increases to its appointed, state;* also that love truly conjugial will be restored to the New Church, and so on. But when we look around us, and see how the things we stand for and cherish most are being trodden underfoot, we begin to wonder and to doubt. How will it all be accomplished? How will the church make its way in an alien world?*
* See AR 546.
     Again, we fall into care for the morrow when we contemplate the teachings concerning conjugial love. Those as yet unmarried wonder, and worry about, whether a partner will be provided for them in this world, or even in the next. Married partners become anxious about their future lot together, trying to settle the question whether they will indeed be eternal partners.
     There is no end to the forms of torment with which we afflict ourselves when we begin to wonder how the Lord will provide. Undoubtedly, however, the most grievous is anxiety about our salvation, our lot to eternity, for this is involved in the "morrow," which stretches forth even to eternity. How will we, who are so conscious of our failings and inclinations to evil, ever be brought of our own free will to love the things of heaven and eternal life - to love them spontaneously and from the heart? How will this be accomplished? Where are the necessary goods and truths, interiorly felt and perceived? "What shall we eat? . . What shall we drink? . . . Wherewithal shall we be clothed?"

395

     But all such thoughts are vain conjectures. While we are in them we do not notice that they constitute a denial of the Divine Omnipotence. In order to see their emptiness and their fantastic nature, we have but to ask the simple question: What use do they perform? "Which of you by taking [anxious] thought can add one cubit unto his stature?" No good thing ever results from anxious thoughts themselves. Consequently they are condemned and forbidden from the mouth of the Lord Himself: not merely declared inadvisable or psychologically harmful, but forbidden - Divinely forbidden.
     The question we have to ask ourselves is this: Do we trust the Lord? Do we really believe that He is the Lord God of heaven and earth, the Creator, Sustainer and Redeemer of the universe, the Omnipotent? Do we at heart believe that the whole purpose and operation of the Divine Providence is directed to one supreme end, the formation of a heaven drawn from the human race, and that what the Divine love wills the Divine wisdom brings to pass? Is it an effective part of our faith that, as the Psalmist says: "The testimony of the Lord is sure"?* "Will the Lord cast off forever? and will He be favorable no more? Is His mercy clean gone forever? doth His promise fail for evermore? Hath God forgotten to be gracious? hath He in anger shut up His tender mercies?"**
* Psalm 19: 7.
** Psalm 77: 7-9
     We are taught in the clearest of terms that the possibility that the inhabitants of any earth should be destroyed is guarded against by the Lord;* that the New Church will stand forth on the earth;** that, as far as conjugial love is concerned, "in the case of those who from early youth had loved and desired and asked of the Lord a legitimate and lovely companionship with one, and had spurned and detested wandering lusts as an offense to their nostrils . . a suitable wife is given to a man and a suitable husband to a woman," either in this world or in the next.*** With regard to regeneration and salvation, we have the promise that "everyone who permits himself to be led to heaven is prepared for his own place in heaven."****
* See LJ 10: 2.
** See AR 547.
*** CL 49,50.
**** DP 67.
     If we believe these things, how can we doubt? How can we withhold our trust in the Lord? In a mind formed by and founded upon these Divine promises there is no room for care for the morrow. Such care is the same as trust in self and distrust of the Divine Providence; for the "morrow" not only includes our state to eternity, and eternity itself, but also refers inmostly to the Lord, who is the Eternal. Hence we are told not to be worried about the morrow, "for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself." There are other things to which man should attend. "Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof."

396

     Here we are confronted with the second part of the universal law involved in the text - that besides the Lord's operation there must also be man's co-operation.* Concerning the Lord's part, we are to have no anxiety whatsoever; it is sufficient for us to concentrate our attention upon our part, that is, upon the active evils of our present state - the "evil" of the day. As the Writings put it: "Nothing else is required of man than to sweep the house, that is, to reject the cupidities of evil and the derivative persuasions of falsity; for he is then filled with goods, because good is continually flowing in from the Lord - but into the 'house,' that is, into the man who is purified from such things as impede the influx, that is, which reflect, or pervert, or suffocate the inflowing good."**
* See TCR 615-617
** AC 3142
     Since, then, the "evil of the day" is the sum and substance of our responsibility, an understanding of what is meant by that phrase is of the utmost importance. Indeed, an imperfect understanding of this matter can often be as much a cause of needless worry as are disorders of the will. The Writings give us a good guiding principle in the teaching that "it is a law of the Divine Providence that man should as if from himself put away evils as sins in the external man; and the Lord is able in this way and in no other to put away evils in the internal man, and simultaneously in the external."*
* DP 100.
     The problem, then, is to distinguish between the evils that are of the internal man and those which are of the external. The term, internal man, has several meanings, but what is meant here is that which belongs to man's hidden ruling love, which may be good or evil.* This dominant love is always far above man's consciousness. "Of the interior state of his mind, or of his internal man, man knows nothing whatever."** Although there are innumerable and indefinite things there, not one of them comes to man's consciousness. He knows no more about them than he does of the manner in which his soul operates in all things of his body; and of that he has no sensation at all. "Neither does he know," we read, "in what manner the Lord operates in all things of his mind or soul, that is, in all things of his spirit. The operation is unceasing; in it man has no part, and yet the Lord can cleanse man from no lust of evil in his spirit or internal man as long as man holds his external closed. Man holds his external closed by means of evils, every one of which seems to him as a single thing, and yet in every one there are indefinite things; and when man puts away an evil as a single thing, the Lord puts away the infinite things in it."***
* See DP 105.
** DP 120.
*** Ibid.

397

     Our responsibility, then, is limited to those single, specific derivations of evil which come to our conscious minds; all else is under the care and disposition of "the morrow." But we should note that the evils which can come to our consciousness are of two kinds. The first are those which come to our attention while we are actually delighting in them. They are brought to the light when we stop and reflect upon the quality of some love in which we may be indulging. The shunning of these evils is what is described in the Writings as the "easier kind of repentance." * The second kind of evils for the removal of which we are responsible are those which relate to our habitual intentions, and which come to our attention only when we examine ourselves.
* TCR 535
     Now it is quite possible for us to know and recall what we intended on a specific occasion. We can know whether we did an action with evil intent, even if that action may have seemed to be good. We may even know, by self-examination, what intention most frequently appears as the motivating force of our actions. Our intentions are not inscrutable, and for this reason we are responsible for their purification.
     But it is precisely at this point that misunderstanding as to our responsibility may arise. We may think that we have to go beyond the evils which actually appear to us during earnest self-examination. We may try to probe more deeply, and thus become anxious lest there be innumerable other evil intentions concealed from our view. The plain fact is, of course, that there are such hidden evils; but we are not to be disturbed by the knowledge of this. They are being provided for, and we are not required to deal with them in our present state. Indeed we cannot. They will be permitted to appear to our conscious minds when, in the good providence of the Lord, we shall have attained a state wherein we may successfully combat them. Whether we actually do so or not is a matter of our free will. But this is our part - the shunning of the evil of the day. "Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof." When this truth is squarely faced, fear for future states loses its power over us, and the folly of trying to judge these future states is made manifest.
     It is very significant that the verses which follow have to do with judgment: "Judge not, that ye be not judged."* This is really a development of the theme of our text. It indeed relates to judgments about the spiritual state of others, but inmostly it refers to judgments and complaints against the Lord and His provisions. It also includes the kind of self-judgment we have been discussing - the endeavor to seek out and condemn the hidden, inscrutable evils of the internal man. All such judgments are forbidden because we, being finite, are in no position to make them.

398

To try to do so is to attempt the impossible, and this inevitably invites states of anxiety. Further, it distracts us from the performance of what is properly our part.
* Matthew 2: 1.
     In worldly matters it is widely recognized that it is the part of wisdom to perform faithfully the duties of our province, and not try to rule outside of it. In spiritual matters, likewise, it is of wisdom to focus our attention and effort resolutely upon our part, and not seek to trespass upon the Lord's domain. "Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof."
     If only we were to heed this simple precept we should be delivered from all forms of care for the morrow. For while our minds are directed to the performance of our part in our present state, anxiety from care for the morrow cannot enter. As we strive - step by step, day by day, state by state - to banish the derivations of evil in the external man, the Lord, at the same time, removes the evils themselves in the internal man, so that we no longer have any delight from them. In this way we are brought gradually into a state of order. That is to say, we are removed from the rule of permission and are brought into the stream of the Divine Providence; and when that is the case, we are borne along, as by a mighty current, to everything of happiness, peace and contentment. As we draw nearer to the Lord's kingdom, our trust is continually strengthened. But it is only when we are completely willing that the Lord be King and Ruler of the mind that solicitude can be forever banished, and be replaced by that trust which is the source of all abiding content in our lot. When that trust is firmly implanted, we are in no wise perturbed by matters relating to conjugial love, to the establishment of the church in the world, and to civil affairs. Our spirits are not ruffled by material reverses; for trust in the Lord and the ascription of everything good to Him bring with them a real acknowledgment of the truth that "the Divine Providence of the Lord is in everything both in general and in particular, nay, is in the most minute things of all, and that the Divine Providence regards what is eternal." * Such a faith is given by the Lord whenever we act against the evil of the day, for in that way alone do we really seek His kingdom. "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."
* AC 8474: 4.
     Let us, then, concentrate our sight and our efforts upon that which the Lord has declared to be sufficient for us to undertake - the removal of those patent disorders which are active in our present state, and which exclude us from His kingdom.

399

Let us turn to the Lord for the strength and fortitude to play our part, for in this, too, without Him we can do nothing. Let us not, then, be too proud to implore His mercy, asking Him to "give us this day our daily bread." This prayer, if matched by our lives, the Lord will surely grant; for it is His will that we prepare ourselves in order that He may dwell with us. Amen.

Lessons:     Psalm 77: 1-15. Matthew 6: 19- 7:5. AC 8474: 3, 4.
Music:     Liturgy, pages 429, 458, 593.
Prayers:     Liturgy, nos. 20, 127.
IN OUR CONTEMPORARIES 1961

IN OUR CONTEMPORARIES 1961

     The editor of the NEW-CHURCH HERALD, writing on the state of the church in a pre-Conference issue, noted that never before in the history of the Conference has the numerical standing of the ministry been so grave or the Conference itself in greater need of leadership. After examining the problems of the ministry, he had these challenging words to say.

     "What does matter, we believe (and we plead with our readers to consider this simple point very sincerely and conscientiously), is the attitude, the outlook, the state of mind - and we find it manifested in some most unusual quarters in the Church - that the distinctive New Church has outlived its usefulness: that the Conference is finished: that the other Churches are now teaching New-Church truth: that we are 'flogging a dead horse:' that we ought to be amalgamating to the full with all other denominations: that the unique nature of New Church thought is unnecessary. This idea, that we are a dying Church, is like poison in the well, the dagger in the back, the tares sown among the wheat. It is the voice of defeatism. And it does not come from heaven!"
     In the presidential address at the annual meeting of the New Church College, London, the Rev. G. T. Hill said: "It may be that we do not realize the stupendous responsibility and power that is laid upon the shoulders of the Church. The character of men's lives and destiny at large is intimately bound up with the quality of the Church. We cannot avoid this responsibility by saying that this means the Church Universal, for from the very fact of knowing and acknowledging this truth we are in the Church Specific, which is the Church from genuine doctrine. This is as the heart and lungs of mankind. On the full and steady functioning of this Church the spiritual health and life of mankind depends."

400

INHABITED UNIVERSE 1961

INHABITED UNIVERSE Rev. FREDERICK L. SCHNARR 1961

     8. THE USE AND DESTINY OF OUR EARTH

     In our last article we noted something of the nature and quality of the peoples of our earth as evidenced in the statements and experiences of spirits and angels from other planets. We saw ourselves as the worst and most perverted and external people in the universe. Besides this terrible picture, however, we also saw something of the unique use and function which the peoples of this earth can perform better than others. We noted that if the scientific knowledge developed by the inhabitants of our earth was used by us as spiritual riches to confirm the truths of Divine revelation, an enlightenment and wisdom could be formed that would be used in teaching spirits from other planets throughout the universe. Even before the Last Judgment took place, spirits and angels from our earth had a certain ability and use in instructing spirits and angels from other earths, as we have seen.
     But to see more clearly the uses which the Lord has given to the people of our earth as a responsibility and a source of delight we must examine the teachings which show the essential nature and purpose of those uses. We find these teachings of the Writings set forth in their considerations of the reasons for the Lord being born on our earth and not on any other earth.

     Why the Lord was Born on Our Earth

     Before the reasons for the Lord's being born on our earth and not on another are reviewed, we would make it clear that it is not our purpose here to consider all the things which the Lord accomplished by being born a man and becoming Divine Man on earth. What we are particularly concerned with at this time are the reasons that the Lord chose this earth out of all the millions of earths in the universe; and, from the import of these reasons, seeing something further of our essential uses and responsibilities.
     The Writings make it clear that the primary reason the Lord chose our earth on which to be born was for the sake of the Word: 1) that it might be established and written; 2) that it might be published throughout the world; 3) that it might be preserved forever.

401

We read:

     "There are many reasons, concerning which I had information from heaven, why it pleased the Lord to be born and to assume the Human on our earth, and not on another. The principal reason was because of the Word, in that it might be written on our earth; and when written be afterwards published throughout the whole earth; and when once published be preserved to all posterity; and that thus it might be made manifest, even to all in the other life, that God became Man.
     "That the principal reason was because of the Word is because the Word is the Divine truth itself, which teaches man that there is a God, that there is a heaven and a hell, and that there is a life after death; and teaches moreover how man ought to live and believe, in order to come into heaven, and thus into eternal happiness. All these things would have been altogether unknown without a revelation, thus on this earth without the Word; and yet man is so created that, as to his interiors, he cannot die."*
* EU 113, 114.

     All through the Writings we find it emphasized, over and over again, that the concept of God as Divine Man, or Divine Human, is fundamental to the salvation of all men, not only on this earth but throughout the universe. The quality and character of each man's love, on earth and in heaven, depend on his knowledge and acknowledgment of the Lord in His Divine Human. We have noted in previous articles that the concept of the Lord as Divine Man is the cornerstone on which all man's thoughts and loves are based. Their quality depends on the quality of his belief in and love of the Lord as a Divine-Human God. We observed, indeed, that every single thing of life - even our most external customs and habits, our worldly pleasures and enjoyments, and the most minute details of living - reflects the acknowledgment of the Lord's Divine Human or the absence thereof. In learning of the states of people on other planets we saw this truth confirmed. Wherever we found an orderly and heavenly state of society, we found also the belief in God as a Divine Man; and wherever we found disorder and chaos, we found the concept of God as a Divine Man confused and perverted with falsities, or totally denied. We cannot be too impressed by the truth that God is a Divine Man, and with the comprehension of this truth as essential and fundamental to the formation of every heavenly quality. Indeed, without some true understanding of it, there can be no real understanding of the fall of man on this earth, the development of the Written Word, and the reasons for the Lord's first and second comings.*
* See EU 118, 121, 158; AC 10,377.
     Now the Writings tell us that the written Word does not exist on any other earth in the universe. They tells us also that the Lord has not been born on any other earth in the universe.* Every teaching we have examined concerning the earths in the universe, and every teaching concerning the Lord and the Word on earth, makes it clear that a written Word will not be given on any other earth, and that the Lord will never again be born as man on any other earth.

402

In our last article we noted how the peoples of our earth relate in the Gorand Man to the ultimates of order, to what is external and sensual. We pointed out that in the fall of the Most Ancient Church, man began to think that he could be wise through the accumulation of natural knowledge and through the sciences.* Herein we find a perfect example of how the Lord, in permitting man the freedom to turn to natural things, in time used that permission to perform the most important heavenly uses. Once man had fallen into external things, we are taught, the Lord guided his search for and development of natural knowledge so that He, the Lord, could use both the search and the development in providing a written Word. That is, the Lord guided man in the development of writing from its first crude beginnings on stones and on the bark of trees to the final printed word. He guided man so that a written Word could be given on this earth in a material and ultimate form; one that could not only be preserved forever to serve the inhabitants of this earth but could also in time be used to serve the inhabitants of all earths, and the heavens from each earth. Since this Word is the means for man to learn of God, and since it was the only means by which the people of our earth could know of God and be saved, the Lord did everything in His power so to establish it that it would always and forever be such a means. As the natural-rational faculty of men on earth developed through the study of natural knowledge, the Lord added to the written Word, unfolding ever more interior truths to meet the state of man's ability to understand. That is why He came into the world the first time, and why He made a second coming.**
* See SD 4663.
** See EU 115-118; AC 9353, 9356.
While the primary reason for the Lord's being born on our earth was the establishment and preservation of the written Word, it is also true that had the Lord not come, the people of our earth would have perished. Had the Lord not protected our spiritual freedom, we would have become slaves to the loves of hell; so blinded was the human understanding by the lust of mere externals that we were a prey to the influences of the hells. Not only did we need to be protected by having the Lord born on earth, and through His temptations overcome and subjugate the powers of the hells over us, but we had to be given truth that would appear obviously before our natural minds. Thus did the Lord unfold and reveal more and more of the letter of the written Word, until finally nothing could suffice but the clear and open dictate of rational truth.*
* See AC 1673: 2, 9400; AE 726: 7, 1084; HH 305, 309, 310; SD 4376.

403

     We noted previously that the Lord is said to love our earth above all others because of the fact that only on this earth is there the fixed and ultimate form of a written revelation.* The Lord loves this earth because of the written Word, not only because it is the only means by which the people of our earth can be saved, but because of the effect it will have on all peoples in the natural and spiritual universe. The written Word and the revelation of the internal sense of the Word is the means for the Lord to give greater wisdom and happiness to all people in all earths and in all heavens. The Lord declared of His second coming that He will make "all things new."* And it is said that at the time of His second coming the spiritual sun shone in heaven with greater splendor. Through the knowledge of the internal sense of the Word and the Heavenly Doctrine of the New Jerusalem the Lord gave to all people the means of new love and wisdom, and thereby new delights and happiness. A new life was given to the very heavens.
* Revelation 21: 5.
** See SD 1531 .
     Angels and spirits from others earths, even though in a celestial order like that of the first church on our earth, cannot have the same wisdom as is possible to those who have knowledge of the written Word. Herein we see something of the great, extensive use the Lord makes of the Word. We read:

     "On every other earth truth Divine is made manifest orally through spirits and angels . . . but this takes place within families; for on most earths mankind lives separate according to their families. Therefore Divine truth thus revealed through spirits and angels is not conveyed far beyond the families; and unless a new revelation is constantly following, what has been revealed is either perverted or perishes. It is otherwise on our earth, where truth Divine, which is the Word, remains in its integrity forever."*
* AC 9358.

     We have seen from our review of the inhabitants of other planets that various falsities do exist even where there is a celestial order.
We have seen Swedenborg, and angels from our heaven, instructing both spirits and angels from other earths; and we have noted those teachings which refer to the uses which the good inhabitants of our earth will perform in helping to instruct people from all over the universe. All of this is being done because of the new light, the new wisdom, provided by the spiritual sense of the written Word on our earth. Indeed it would seem that the written Word has conjoined our earth in a special way with all the heavens and worlds of spirits in the entire spiritual universe, and that this conjunction is brought about whenever the Word is read or preached on our earth. How else are we to understand such passages as this one from the Arcana?

404

     "The Word on our earth is the union of heaven and the world; to which end there is a correspondence of all things in the letter of the Word with Divine things in heaven; in its supreme and inmost sense the Word treats of the Lord, of His kingdom in the heavens and on earth, and of love and faith from Him and to Him, consequently of life from Him and in Him. Such things are presented to the angels in heaven, from whatever earth they come, when the Word of our earth is read and preached."*
* AC 9357.

     In the Spiritual Diary we read:

     "When the Word is being read on this earth it passes by correspondences into heaven. . . . Thus . . . can the truths of faith be communicated to the angels of other earths."*
* SD 4663.

     Will This Earth Perish?

     When we gather together all that is said concerning the importance of the written Word to the entire universal heavens, worlds of spirits and earths, what are we to make of those passages in Divine revelation which seem to indicate that our earth may perish? First, it is to be noted that all such expressions in the Word as "the consummation of the age," "the end of days," or "the earth shall pass away," never refer to the physical earth, but to spiritual judgments upon the various churches which are treated of in the text. The Writings are perfectly clear about this;* and in them we find only one definite and apparently unqualified reference to earth coming to an end. This passage, in explanation of the words, "during all the days of the earth," is quoted in part:

     "That this signifies all time is evident from the signification of 'day' as being a time therefore the 'days of the earth' here mean all time as long as there is earth, or inhabitant upon the earth. An inhabitant first ceases to be on the earth when there is no longer any church. For when there is no church, there is no longer any communication of man with heaven, and when this communication ceases, every inhabitant perishes. As we have seen before, it is with the church as with the heart and lungs in man; as long as the heart and lungs are sound, so long the man lives; and such also is the case with the Gorand Man, which is the universal heaven, as long as the church lives; and therefore it is here said; 'During all the days of the earth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.' From this it may also appear that the earth will not endure to eternity, but that it, too will have its end; for it is said, 'during all the days of the earth,' that is, as long as the earth endures. But as to believing that the end of the earth will be the same thing as the last judgment foretold in the Word ... this is a mistake; for there is the last judgment of every church when it has been vastated, or when there is no longer in it any faith."**
* See AC 931: 3.
** AC 931.

405

     This passage seems to indicate that the earth will come to an end,* must be set beside other passages which speak of the possibility that this earth may come to an end, but always include a qualifying statement. Thus we read:

     "These are the last times, and the human race will perish in this world, unless they revive to themselves and have faith in the Lord."**
     "It is indeed possible that the human race on one earth may perish, which comes to pass when they separate themselves entirely from the Divine, for then man no longer has spiritual life, but only natural, like that of beasts; and when man is such no society can be formed and held bound by laws, since without the influx of heaven, and thus without the Divine government, man would become insane, and rush unchecked into every wickedness, one against another. But although the human race, by separation from the Divine, might perish on one earth, which, however, is provided against by the Lord, yet still they would continue on other earths. . . . It was said to me from heaven that the human race on this earth would have perished, so that not one man would have existed on it at this day, if the Lord had not come into the world, and on this earth assumed the Human and made it Divine; and also, unless the Lord had given here such a Word as might serve for a basis to the angelic heaven, and for its conjunction."***
* The translation of the crucial phrase is unfortunate. Inde constare quoque potest, here rendered "from this it may also appear," is more correctly read in this context: "From this," i.e., the statement in Genesis, "it is possible also to establish" - that the earth will not endure to eternity. It can be so argued, that is, by those who have only the letter of the Word from which to reach a conclusion. [EDITOR.]
** SD 2578. That is, unless "they return to reason." (SD 3412.)
*** LJ 10.

     Final Conclusions

     From what is said concerning the written Word, namely, that it is to endure forever; from what is said of its uses to mankind throughout the universe; from what is said about the spread and growth of the New Church on our earth; from what is said of its being the crown of all the churches and that it is to endure to eternity; and from what is said in the above numbers about the Lord providing against the destruction of our earth: from all of this we draw the conclusion that this earth will never be totally destroyed. Certainly the Lord will not permit it to destroy itself until the written Word exists elsewhere, and the indication is that it will not ever be formed elsewhere.
     Some have suggested that since the written Word now exists in heaven in its fullness, it might, perhaps, serve the same uses to the other earths and their heavens that are now served by the written Word on our earth. However, this idea would not be in accord with the necessity for the Word to be fixed in material and ultimate forms. The Lord would not be present in firsts and lasts as He now is, and the power of the Word, especially its conjunctive power, would be lost.

406

The Writings make it amply clear that heaven must rest upon earth, particularly upon the truths of the Word on earth. Certainly the Word exists in heaven in a written form; but that form is not ultimate - and "in ultimates there is all power."*
* AE 726:5. Cf. AR 798; DLW 221; LJ 1; AC 3726.
If this earth is ever destroyed, the written Word will first have to be carried to another earth. Will this, in time, come about through the development of interplanetary travel by the people of our earth? Is the Lord indeed guiding the orderly development of our scientific research to bring this about someday? He may be doing this. Certainly the effort to develop the various fields of science is an orderly and proper endeavor where the intent is good; and even where it is not, the Lord may still use the results for His own purposes. But this we cannot know. It may be that this earth will always endure, and that the instruction of spirits and angels from other earths by spirits from our earth will spread the New Church sufficiently for them, in turn, to instruct the inhabitants of their own earths. Certainly much of this is being done already.
We know from the Writings that as far as the future state of our own earth is concerned, there will not be any immediate change in the affairs of men. There will still be wars, treaties, and the pressures which currently pervade the spheres of the world.* In reflecting upon the position of the New Church in the future states of the world, let us not expect that its influence will suddenly make a great change in the chaos of worldly affairs. Note how long it takes to change the nature of our own individual loves! In establishing the New Church the Lord has made tremendous changes, but they are not such as we can see with our eyes. They are such that we can see them only with the eyes of the understanding, and then only in the pages of Divine revelation. The Lord has restored spiritual freedom to us; He has given us the doctrine of the New Church; which calls for new learning, new understanding, and invites to new belief, new standards by which to live, as it promises new states of peace and love to be enjoyed to eternity. To enter into this church is our work and our privilege. It is a work with unlimited extension and uses throughout the universe, and a privilege which brings the spiritual peace and internal blessedness of heaven down to earth.** And as this descent of heaven to earth gradually takes place in the hearts of those who learn of the Lord's second coming, the New Church will be established on earth with a deep and enduring firmness, and become a blessing to all peoples everywhere.
* LJ 73.
** See LJ 74.

407

DISCREET DEGREES 1961

DISCREET DEGREES ROY H. GRIFFITH 1961

     (Presidential address to the Annual General Meeting of the Swedenborg Society, London, England, June 2, 1961)

     Last year we celebrated our 150th anniversary, and, as is natural on such occasions, we took a glance backward to see whether the course originally set had been held, and to note some of the episodes in the long history of the Society. In consonance with the prevailing mood, I referred, in my address following the last Annual General Meeting, to a remarkable chapter of New Church history and the equally remarkable people who were concerned, some of whom had a hand in the formation of our Society. The enthusiasm of those early readers of the Writings arose from their appreciation of the distinctiveness of the doctrines of the New Church and of their fundamental difference from the then current philosophies. One of those new and fundamental differences was, and is, the philosophical concept of discrete degrees. This is the subject I have chosen for my brief essay this evening, to serve as a reminder of the fascinating exposition to be found in the books published by this Society.
     The doctrine of discrete degrees is distinctive, basic, and fundamental to the whole philosophy of the New Church. It is a conception that does not command acceptance by those who have regard only to material and physical things and who look for a mechanistic explanation of natural phenomena.

     General Principles

     Swedenborg writes, in Divine Love and Wisdom: "The knowledge of degrees is as it were a key for opening the causes of things, and for entering into them. Without this knowledge, scarcely anything of cause can be known." * Without a knowledge of this subject one cannot comprehend the relationship of the soul to the body, nor of causes and effects, nor "have any idea of correspondences, of representatives, of influx, of order . . . . thus scarcely any just idea of anything."**
* No. 184.
** LJ Post 309.
     Readers of the Writings will be familiar with the word "influx," which has a special connotation in New Church literature. Perhaps it might be described as the inflowing or influence which a higher order of being has on a lower. Reciprocal conjunction is an essential characteristic.

408

For example, life flows from the Lord into man and renders him capable of thinking and becoming rational.* God and man are two planes quite distinct and separate. Man does not become Divine because he is a recipient of life from the Lord.
* See AC 2004.
     A clear distinction is drawn between discrete degrees and continuous degrees. These have sometimes been graphically illustrated by expressing discrete degrees as a series of concentric circles and continuous degrees as a spiral. If these illustrations seem too abstract, continuous degrees can be likened to the familiar experience of light fading into darkness, or some hot object losing heat to become cold. Discrete degrees can be illustrated by an apple: There is the outer skin, the pulp, and in the center the core containing the seed. Each of these three characteristics is distinct and separate, that is, "discrete."
     Other examples are "thought to speech or the affection to gesture, or as the affection of the mind to the countenance."* In the philosophical language of the Writings "these degrees are called prior and posterior, higher and lower, interior and exterior; and in general they are as cause and effect . . . or the thing formed from principles."** In contrast, continuous degrees are likened to the characteristics of the five senses; speech, singing, and "like the sound of a drum."*** The Arcana Coelestia explains in more detail: ". . . things successive are not connected continuously, but discretely, that is, distinctly according to degrees; for interior things are altogether distinct from exterior, in so much that exterior things continue in their life. . . ."**** Hence the soul can be withdrawn from sensual things and elevated towards interior things.
* LJ Post. 307.
** Ibid.
*** LJ Post. 308.
**** AC 10,099.
     A further example is that of the relation of God and man. The Divine itself does not flow immediately into man but by discrete degrees. The analogy is given of the sun of the natural world, which, if its heat and light were not transmitted through the atmospheres by discrete degrees, would consume by its intrinsic qualities all things on earth.*
* See LJ Post. 311.

     The Spiritual World

     All life and power are derived from the infinite love and wisdom of the Lord. This has an application wider than to the universe, for it applies to the spiritual world as well as to the natural world. Consequently the conception of discrete degrees operates in the spiritual world as well as governing the relationship of that world with the natural world. There is no direct communication between, say, the celestial heaven and the spiritual heaven, or between the spiritual world and the natural world except by means of correspondence which can be understood as discrete degrees.*
* See AC 10,181lHH 207.

409

     Doctrine of the Sacred Scripture gives some explanation of the terms "celestial," "spiritual" and "natural" when it states: "From the Lord proceed the 'celestial,' the 'spiritual' and the 'natural' one after another. What proceeds from His Divine love is called the 'celestial,' and it is Divine good; what proceeds from His Divine wisdom is called the 'spiritual,' and it is Divine truth. The 'natural' is from both and is their complex in ultimates."* From this it is seen that the Word in ultimates is in its fullness. Hence the same number states that "such is the Word."
* SS 6.
     All things which exist in the spiritual world and in the natural co exist at the same time because of the operation of the spiritual on the natural in accordance with the principles of discrete degrees.* As the whole of the spiritual world is distinctly discreted into degrees, it is possible to draw conclusions "respecting the perfection of forces and forms which are in similar degrees in the natural world."**
* See DLW 185.
** DLW 201.
     It might seem that the things on each plane, or in each degree, are so different and distinct that they are not in harmony, whereas the position is that things in correspondence make one, as illustrated by the following from Arcana Coelestia: "There are three principles which succeed each other in heaven [which are called celestial, spiritual and natural] . . . . these three proceed in order, the one from the other, and by influx of one into the other successively they are connected together and thereby make one."*
* AC 10,099.
     Further explanation of communication between the heavens is given as follows: "In the highest heaven the angels excel in all perfection the angels of the middle heaven [and these excel] the angels of the lowest heaven."* These angelic inhabitants do not intermingle; "they are consociated according to discrete degrees . . . communication is made only through correspondences, which correspondences exist through the immediate influx of the Lord into all the heavens."**
* DLW 202.
** Ibid.

     In Creation

     We read in Arcana Coelestia: "the visible universe is nothing else but a theater representative of the Lord's kingdom, and this is a theater representative of the Lord Himself." * That quotation aptly and briefly summarizes the relationship between the Lord, the spiritual world, and the natural world. Everything in the universe, however small, represents something to which it corresponds in the spiritual world.

410

The natural things are derived from spiritual causes. ** The natural thing is not the same as the spiritual principle to which it corresponds. Each is in a distinct and separate plane, the lower derived from but discrete from the higher, and operating consistently and in order.
* AC 3483.
** See AC 2992.
     The importance of this relationship is shown in another extract from the Writings: ". . . whatever appears under the sun corresponds, as all the subjects in the animal kingdoms, and likewise all in the vegetable kingdom, all which would instantly decay and fall to pieces unless there was an influx into them from the spiritual world."*
* AC 5377.
     The sun of the natural world is derived from and corresponds to the sun of the spiritual world. The sun of the spiritual world is, of course, not the Lord Himself, but is from the Lord. As is stated in Divine Love and Wisdom: "It is the Divine love and the Divine wisdom proceeding which appear as a sun in that world. * The heat and light of heaven cannot flow by continuity into the heat and light of the sun which we see, but that sun was created and is sustained by influx through correspondences, that is, by discrete degrees.** As the Writings state the situation: "Divine life is internally in the fire of the sun of the spiritual world, but externally in the fire of the sun of the natural world."***
* DLW 86.
** See DLW 88.
*** DLW 158.
     The things of nature serve to fix the continual inflowing power of the spiritual world, which is from God.*
* See DLW 344.
     Evil things in nature, vicious creatures, vermin and disease spreading insects, all have their origin in man and so from hell.*
* See DLW 345.
     There is no direct communication, except only by correspondences, between the things of the natural universe and the spiritual world. This applies to everything in the natural world which has its origin in the spiritual world as cause and effect. Sensual things correspond with natural, natural with spiritual, spiritual with celestial, and there is a correspondence of celestial things with the Divine of the Lord; so that there is an ordered succession from the Divine down to the things of the natural world.
     It is stated in Arcana Coelestia that the things of the natural world "derive their cause from truth which is spiritual; and their principles from good which is celestial; and natural things proceed thence according to all the differences of truth and good which are in the Lord's kingdom, consequently from the Lord Himself who is the source of all good and truth."*
* AC 2993.

411

     The Sacred Scriptures

     The science of correspondences is based on the same principle of discrete degrees. Something in the natural world signifies something quite different in the spiritual world. The "heart denotes the affection of good, eyes understanding, ears obedience, hands power . . . they correspond as natural to spiritual." * In accordance with this principle, "the sense of the letter of the Word is the basis, the containant and the support of its spiritual and celestial senses." ** The Sacred Scriptures are written in pure correspondences. The sense of the letter contains within it three discrete degrees - celestial, spiritual and natural. It is the internal sense that makes the Scriptures Divine and holy, and this holiness can be seen only when the spiritual sense is revealed in the sense of the letter.
* AC 2763.
** SS 30.
     Without a knowledge of discrete degrees, and its special application through correspondences, the Word appears to have only a literal sense. As stated in Doctrine of the Sacred Scripture: "... although it may appear common, yet [the sense of the letter] contains Divine wisdom and all angelic wisdom stored up within it." * Hence "the Word in the sense of the letter is in its fulness and in its power."**
* SS 8.
** DLW 221.

     Man

     There are three discrete degrees in man which he has potentially from birth. These are natural, spiritual and celestial. In infancy he comes into the natural degree, acquiring knowledge according to his capacity. This can develop to the highest point of understanding and is referred to as the rational. The rational as such does not develop into the spiritual. That process is not continuous but is by a discrete degree. The spiritual quality is developed by a love of use which is love towards the neighbor. This again does not develop into the celestial. That is another step. The celestial degree is attained by love to the Lord, which is the same as following consciously and by choice the precepts of the Word.
     These three degrees are opened successively, but man is not aware of these developments within him while he lives on earth. Only when he leaves his natural life behind to enter the spiritual world does he become aware of these higher qualities within him.*
* See DLW 236-238.
     Again, there are three degrees of man's intellectual quality.
They are the faculty of knowing, the faculty of understanding what is spiritual and celestial, and that highest degree of the intellectual by which "the Lord flows into man."

412

It is stated in Arcana Coelestia: ". . . but the things that flow in are received by the rational according to its form, and this enables man to reason, to reflect, and to understand what is good and true."*
* AC 657.
     This theme is developed in some detail in various sections of the Arcana Coelestia. Before concluding this I would add a quotation from Divine Love and Wisdom. ". . . a merely natural man can talk of heavenly things, and preach them, and even simulate them in his actions, although he thinks against them."*
* AC 261.

     Conclusion

     The concept of discrete degrees is simple, its application complex and infinite in variety. Its purpose has the same end as that of all things in creation, that there may be an eternal conjunction of the Creator with the created universe. This can be achieved only by reciprocity of conjunction. The created subject must seek that conjunction by self discipline in following the principles laid down in the Word and understood as to its internal sense. This conjunction is achieved by correspondences and so in accordance with the doctrine of discrete degrees.*
* See DLW 170.
OUR NEW CHURCH VOCABULARY 1961

OUR NEW CHURCH VOCABULARY 1961

Collateral Good. In ordinary usage, "collateral" refers to something which has descended from the same stock, but not in the direct line, and is thus connected but in a subordinate way. This idea is carried over into the Writings, in which it is used to describe a good that is intermediate between spiritual and natural good. Spiritual good inflows directly from the Lord and is therefore in direct line of descent. This intermediate good, although not natural, derives much from worldly things which appear to be good but are not, and it is therefore called "collateral good," which may be thought of most simply as a natural love of spiritual things. To distinguish it from the spiritual good in which are those of the church specific, the good in which those of the church universal are is called "collateral good of a common stock." (See AC 3778, 4189, 4145.)
Common Good. This term, which occurs frequently in the Writings, means the general good of society - the good expressed in such words as commonweal and commonwealth. It consists in the presence of the Divine; in justice, morality, industry, knowledge and uprightness; the necessaries of life, for occupations, and for protection, and in a sufficiency of wealth. (See Char. 130.)

413

DEDICATION AND CONFIDENCE 1961

DEDICATION AND CONFIDENCE JOHN J. BOERICKE 1961

     Commencement Address, June 1961.

     (Delivered at the Commencement Exercises of the Academy Schools.)

     After the whirlwind climax and social gaiety of a graduating year, I am sure that you, as in my day, are settling yourselves back in your chairs with resignation - if not outright boredom - to listen to that timeworn tradition, the commencement address.
     You are probably thinking, "Here is the chance a father has been waiting for, when he can lecture us without opportunity for rebuttal." I have not come to lecture you - but rather to praise you, to encourage you, and to wish you well fervently in the challenges you will meet as the process of learning continues for each of you.
     Now you are probably thinking: "There he goes - starting a sermon on that continuous process of learning. They told us that in class! But we are through school now - we can take our learning or leave it! We want to begin to apply what we've learned." This is, perhaps, why fathers get the privilege of delivering addresses. We know that this process of learning never stops.
     While you young men and women have been learning from books, and from teachers dedicated to this formal process of education, we parents have been learning from application, in other words, by trial and error; and I think most of us in my generation will admit to both trials and errors. And who do you think our guinea pigs have been?
     For most of us the tasks in this new process of learning have been as difficult as those which you have met and overcome. The teachers, I assume, are more acclimated to this situation and, therefore, can face it with greater equanimity.
     Having now tried to qualify myself as a fellow student, perhaps even a graduating student without diploma, I shall tell you a few things I think we adults have learned in this process. Your generation has frequently been referred to as "the lost generation." My wife and I have not found it so. It has been our pleasure and privilege to have in our home, not only our own sons and daughters, but a good sampling of your generation - both from Bryn Athyn and many societies and places throughout the church.

414

     In the course of this contact, we have had an opportunity to measure your generation's maturity with that of our generation at your age, whose foibles, alas, are not too distant in our minds.
     We have observed many of your stages of growing up. As with all youth, sometimes you have been confused. More often, however, you have given us cause to wonder if, in your innocence, you have not come very close to mature applications of truth.
     In short, we cannot go along with the too frequent condemnation of youth today. Certainly there are individuals who have behaved badly, there always will be; but it is not responsible journalism to condemn an entire group for the behavior of a few.
     I do not recall, in my school days, the same informed concern for political affairs both domestic and foreign, the drive for teamwork in many school activities, the sympathy with a fellow classmate who is ill or has problems. These qualities which I have seen in you give me a strong belief that you are consciously better prepared, and more determined to live your lives usefully than I was at your age.
     I would like to say that you are entering a golden era - one where, in an atmosphere of peace, you can work at your uses and develop your abilities toward the ultimate ends of our permanent state hereafter.
     But today, as you all well know, we are not at peace! We are engaged in a new kind of war! - one which has been forced upon us by an ungodly, but very dedicated, political philosophy. And make no mistake - these crusaders believe as deeply in their ends as the best of us do in ours.
     I have long wondered how two philosophies of life - ours of individual freedom and theirs of total subservience to the state - have both been able to meet with material success. The only common denominators I have found are dedication and confidence. I do not pretend to be a student of history, but it seems to me that every important civilization has had these two great qualities. And when these qualities have weakened, that civilization has fallen. Let us not be a civilization failing in these qualities.
     That our opponents on the other side of this world have these qualities there seems no doubt. They are dedicated to the idea that man can live collectively without God. They have confidence that they will bury us, and that our children will grow up under Communism.
     President Kennedy in his inaugural address said: "Ask not what the country can do for you; ask, rather, what you may do for your country." Are we guilty of waiting for our leaders to tell us what to do? It takes a little effort to inform ourselves and to think for ourselves, but the effort is worthwhile.

415

     In this light, let us examine our dedication and our confidence in carrying out our principles. How alive are these qualities within us?
     Let us define these words. "Dedicate" means, to set apart and consecrate as to a deity or a sacred purpose. "Confidence" means, full trust: belief in the trustworthiness or reliability of a person or thing. It seems to me dedication implies a state of mind, whereas confidence implies a motivation to act!
     I do not believe there is too much wrong with the dedication of the majority of our fellow countrymen, young or old. But our confidence has been shaken by the sudden realization that, as we have assumed world leadership, we find ourselves ill-prepared for this role.
     In a sense, we have for many years had our heads buried in the sand, while other nations, which we have regarded as backward, have been steadily and systematically moving ahead. They are now in a position to challenge our superiority in the very areas we have always considered to be our forte - our abilities in science and production. On top of this, we must admit we are neophytes in the devious maneuvers of foreign diplomacy.
     However, it is these very facts that I see as the forces that are molding your generation into one which will meet and conquer these challenges. Never before has youth been so cognizant of what is going on around them! Never before has youth so sincerely demanded to know what they may do to pull their oar! At a time when confidence is only beginning to awaken, now is the time when youth must and will acquire this most important quality.
     In the passage from the Arcana (no. 4352) which was read today, it is clearly pointed out that confidence can exist with the wicked, as well as with those in love and charity. The kind of confidence I am speaking of is the latter.
     Confidence has many faces, and looks toward many things. Before we can have confidence in ourselves to act from the high principles we have been taught, we must have full and rational confidence in the principles themselves.
     We must have love to the Lord, and confidence in his Divine Providence, the plans of which, for good reason, are not given to us to know. Just as the future is not revealed to us, we cannot do anything about the past. As we know from the Writings, however, the present belongs to us, and it is to the present that we have the responsibility to act with the greatest wisdom we can command.
     We must have confidence in the principles on which our nation was founded, and dedication to preserving the basic tenets of these principles. The principles I am referring to are those basic concepts which assure the dignity and freedom of man.

416

It is highly significant that the New Church has grown only in countries where such individual freedom has been guarded.
     We must have confidence that our public servants are carrying out their work to the best of their abilities and understanding, whether or not we agree with their approach. This is not to say it is not our duty to provide constructive criticism and let them know what we think. However, serve your country with pride and never accept derogatory criticism of your country from outside. To do so is to surrender to a frequently used propaganda weapon of the Communists.
     Only after accepting and confirming these elements of confidence in the basic things of our life are we prepared to have confidence in our own God-given abilities to act from these principles. These generals, I am convinced, you young men and women have acquired to a high degree through your education as New Church men and your own determination and dedication.
     Now it is time for you to move on to the particulars of action with full self-confidence. Your earliest endeavor and the current concern of many of you is to find your use. Some find this early and pursue it through higher education. Others find it only after several apparently false starts. Here is one concern of youth, that while it may be worrisome, I have found to be one guided to a large degree by Divine Providence. I do not mean you should sit back and wait; but if you apply yourself diligently to whatever you undertake, your use will become evident. Have confidence that this will be so!
     Never weaken or destroy the confidence of another. This is sometimes done unthinkingly. Seek the opportunity to recognize a job well done. In so doing, another's confidence may be restored or strengthened. It is easy to criticize, but too often we forget to encourage and support others.
     Confidence is a process of development which is unattainable without the relationship of men, one to another. Thus, it is impossible to attain true confidence without recognition of our use to our fellow men.
     The deepest and most abiding confidence which can be attained is through the Lord toward conjugial love between a husband and wife. With the love of a man and a woman, as they strive toward the conjugial, a confidence of the greatest depth and meaning will be born; to love and be loved is a gift from the Lord. Cherish this above all else.
     In raising a family, have confidence in your children. There is something about trust of the parents in their children that produces another generation better equipped to live its life.
     Serve your community - no matter where it may be - New Church or otherwise. Our nation was born from, and is still maintained by, the "grassroots" of community pride.

417

Be confident that you can contribute something useful to this function, for if community spirit and vigor die, most assuredly our way of life will die. The Writings have much to say about our responsibilities in this regard.
     Balanced against the tensions of differing ideologies, the era you live in is one of exciting and dramatic developments. We have seen only the beginning of man's determination to conquer, not only the physical sciences of this world, but space itself. I am convinced that if this was not of order, it would not be permitted.
     I am convinced also that in your lives you will see man devoting a greater part of his energies to solving the human relations that are at the core of present world tensions. Think what progress might be made, in these areas, if the effort spent on defense were channeled into intelligent understanding, education and development of man's human relations! Let us begin this at home by strengthening our own resolve and purpose to resist subtle erosion from godless philosophies.
     Here are wide open vistas of opportunity for real use! - opportunities for which a New Church man is, in certain basic ways, better prepared than most. You entered the Academy to learn and have received an education designed to prepare you for a life of genuine use. Your house has been built upon a rock, which in the rapids of life will remain unmoved. Apply these truths with confidence and each of you will become one in whom others have confidence.
SPIRITUAL CONFIDENCE 1961

SPIRITUAL CONFIDENCE 1961

"But because at this day men have made faith saving without the goods of charity, and yet see from afar that the truths of faith cannot save, because these exist also with the wicked, therefore they acknowledge confidence and trust, and call this faith, not knowing what it is, and that it is possible even with the wicked, and that there is no spiritual confidence except that which flows in through the good of love and charity - not at the time when the man is in fear and anguish, or in persuasion from the love of self and of the world, but when he is in a state of freedom; and not with any except those in whom good has been conjoined with truths, and inrooted by the previous course of life; thus not in sickness, misfortunes, perils of life, or when death is at hand.
If this confidence or trust which appears in a state of compulsion would save a man, all mortals would be saved; for to this kind of confidence everyone is easily reduced" (Arcana Coelestia 4352: 3).

418

NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS 1961

NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS Rev. ORMOND ODHNER 1961

     In the readings from the Old Testament this month we come to the stories of the capture of the northern kingdom of Israel by the blood-thirsty Assyrians (721 B.C.), the taking into captivity of the "lost ten tribes of Israel," and the enforced settling in their homeland of other Assyrian captives from Babylon, etc. Something more of these new "Samaritans" should be known by New Church men, in order that they may understand the implications of the several references to them found in the New Testament. Their history is recounted in the biblical Old Testament, but mostly in Ezra and Nehemiah; and because these are not part of the canonical Word, New Church men are not usually well acquainted with them.
     Here, in II Kings 17, we are told of the initial plight of these newcomers to Israel. Wild animals attacked them, and they believed that this was because they were not properly worshiping "the God of the land." From the Assyrians they procured the services of a captive priest of Jehovah, and he taught them the worship of Jehovah. Dutifully they instituted such worship, but merely along with their other forms of worship - idolatry, human sacrifice, and so on. And so, it is noted, they continue to do "unto this day."
     Over a century later, disaster befell the Jews in the south. Judah was captured by Babylon in 586 B.C., and for about seventy years the Jews were held captive by Babylon in that far northern kingdom. A great broadening in religious understanding then occurred among them; but the feeling that they were God's chosen people increased also, to the practical exclusion of all others, unless they, too, became Jews.
     With the permission of the now victorious Persians, the Jews returned to Judah under Ezra around 516 B.C., intent on rebuilding Jehovah's temple and the destroyed city of Jerusalem. Apparently, however, some of the Samaritans had meanwhile drifted down towards the environs of old Jerusalem. They did not enjoy being dispossessed of the lands they now believed to be theirs, but they nonetheless asked to be allowed to help in rebuilding the temple. After all, Jehovah was their God, too. Haughtily, the Jews refused. Did not the Samaritans worship Jehovah in northern shrines, when yet Jehovah had specifically commanded that in Jerusalem alone He was to be worshiped?

419

The Jews alone were true worshipers of Jehovah. The Samaritans tried legal means to prevent the rebuilding of the temple, but were finally outmaneuvered in this. Jews and Samaritans intermarried, however, much to the horror of Jewish purists; and although a stop was put to this eventually, the attitude of Jewish exclusiveness grew apace.
     A second return of Jewish captives from Babylon was made under Nehemiah some years later. At this juncture, Samaritan-Jewish relations grew immeasurably worse. Again the Jews tried to rebuild Jerusalem. Now the Samaritans accused them of political treachery against the Persians and almost succeeded in stopping them. Prevented from achieving success by this means, they began armed attacks. The Jews continued to rebuild, with one man under arms for each man at work. The Jews planted their crops, the Samaritans burned their harvests. Eventually the Jews won, but their hatred of the Samaritans never died.
     It is small wonder, then, that the Lord's disciples were amazed when they found Him talking to a woman of Samaria. It is small wonder, too, that the Jewish leaders were infuriated when the Lord, in the parable of the good Samaritan, made them admit that a Samaritan could act in a more neighborly way than a Jew. And it is therefore understandable also that the disciples, in the first days of Christianity, were astonished to realize that even Samaritans could be converted to Christianity and receive the Holy Spirit.
     As a closing item of interest, we would note that a small community of Samaritans, numbering no more than a few hundred, still exists today.
REVIEW 1961

REVIEW E. BRUCE GLENN 1961

RELIGION AND LIFE. On good works and the Ten Commandments, drawn from nos. 932 through 1028 of Apocalypse Explained, by Emanuel Swedenborg; newly translated by John Chadwick. The Swedenborg Society, London, 1961. Paper, pp. 92. Price, 50 cents.

This little book is a valuable addition to the body of theological literature drawn from the Latin text of the Heavenly Doctrine. Swedenborg's telling exposition of the several senses of each commandment together with the accordant life that leads to heaven, was intercalated in the fifth volume of Apocalypse Explained. The translator, in presenting it here in uninterrupted form, has made it more available and easier to read.
Of perhaps more importance is the translation itself.

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Any new translation of Divine revelation is interesting; this one challenges more than usual interest, since it is, in Mr. Chadwick's prefatory words, "a version which, I believe, marks an advance towards the goal of presenting the Latin of Swedenborg in a form suitable for a twentieth-century English reader."
     In his choice of English equivalents and in structuring them in sentences and paragraphs, the translator has indeed achieved a more modern style than that to which we are accustomed in the standard texts of the Writings. Structurally, the result is increased vigor and clarity. For example, the Standard Edition of the Swedenborg Foundation reads (no. 932): "What is meant by the goods of charity or good works is at this day unknown to most in the Christian world. . . ." Compare this to the new version: "Most people in the Christian world today do not know what the goods of charity, or good works, are. . . ." In a single sentence, the impact of the change may not appear great; but in the long and abstract paragraphs which characterize Swedenborg's style, the effect on readability may be considerable.
     The question immediately arises as to which version is closer to the original Latin. Swedenborg used the passive form in this, as in many instances. Such was the style in eighteenth century Latin, and in English as well. To the modern ear the form appears needlessly verbose. Most important, the change to active form does not seem, to this reader at least, to alter the sense of the original. Whether the Divinity and holiness of the doctrine are related to the structural form of its presentation, I leave to others; reiterating only that in clarity and vigor the more modern version appears to serve well its purpose as containant.
     The same is true of the liberties taken by the translator in dividing Swedenborg's typically long sentences and paragraphs. Space does not permit examples; let it suffice to note that no. 971, which in the Standard Edition contains 29 sentences and covers two pages without a paragraph break, is here presented in 35 sentences grouped in seven paragraphs. The sentence division is an extension of "modernity" already practised in other translations, since the original number in Latin had only 16 sentences. But the additional paragraph division must certainly offer to most readers a pleasanter prospect, especially to the young people for whom the content of this work is admirably suited.
     As to word selection, however, the translator does not at times appear justified in his departures from former translations. Latin is an exact language; and the additional fitting of terms by Swedenborg to the new concepts expressed through him should warn the translator against innovations which, while mirroring the word-taste of an age, may violate a truth for all ages.

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     Such violence appears to have been done by Mr. Chadwick in substituting "reason" for "rational," in no. 941. The Latin is unequivocal: "Illustratur homo in rationali, nam hoc proxime subjectum est interno spirituali, et excipit lucem e caelo. . . ." The new translation reads: "A man is enlightened in his reason, because this is most nearly underneath the spiritual internal, and receives light from heaven. . . . " That "reason" here should read "rational," and the seriousness of the error, is readily seen from Heaven and Hell, 464: "Those who were opposed to the truths of the church, and thought from science, and confirmed themselves in it by falsity, did not cultivate their rational faculty, but only that of reasoning. This faculty is believed in the world to be rationality, but it is a faculty separate from rationality; for it is the faculty of confirming whatsoever it pleases." Surely this distinction is to be preserved in the twentieth century, even more than before.
     Another questionable translation is the use of "pleasure" as equivalent to jucundum. Swedenborg consistently uses voluptas to name the pleasures of the senses; and the usual translation of jucundum as "delight" seems more appropriate and distinctive to the joys of the mind, whether good or evil, as in "delight of rule" and "delight of uses" (no. 952).
     A final question, that may seem a quibble. In no. 941, it is stated that "understanding is seeing the truths of the church by the light of heaven." The Latin reads: ". . videre vera ecclesiae ex luce caeli." Ex consistently, in Swedenborg and elsewhere, means "from, out of" - as from a source. To translate it as "by" is perhaps to confuse means and source; and indeed, the light of heaven is the source of true understanding, as the same number declares earlier: "Divine truth is light to the angels."
     With the above reservations, it must still be said that this new excerption and translation of doctrine central to life is a commendable work, and, structurally, a challenge to all future translators of the Writings. It remains only to note that the cover is pleasing, and the typography both handsome and easy to read.
     E. BRUCE GLENN
RECEIVED FOR REVIEW 1961

RECEIVED FOR REVIEW 1961

PENSEES ET EXTRAITS DES OEUVRES DE SWEDENBORG. Cercle Swedenborg, Lausanne, Switzerland, 1961. Paper, pp.32

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WORD AND THE BIBLE 1961

WORD AND THE BIBLE Editor 1961

NEW CHURCH LIFE Office of Publication, Lancaster, Pa.

Published Monthly By THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM BRYN ATHYN. PA.

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

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

TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION $5.00 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single copy. 50 cents.
     A few contemporary New Church writers are expanding the designation, the letter of the Word, to include the whole Bible. Their argument seems to be that the entire Bible is Divinely inspired, but in two ways. Some books have the internal sense, others do not; yet the latter are nevertheless part of God's Word because they contain the letter of the Word. But this view is not sustained by the Writings. The teaching is that only those books which have the internal sense are the Word. How, then, can the other books be called the letter of the Word?
     Certainly the writers of the other biblical books received inspiration; but it was the men who were inspired, not their books. That is, they were not inspired in such a way that what they wrote is Divine truth in ultimates, containing within it interior degrees of Divine truth. Thus their writings were not Divinely inspired, and what they wrote is not Divine revelation. Paul indeed spoke from inspiration, we are told, but not as did the prophets. He received an influx according to the things that were with him, which inspiration is entirely different and has no conjunction with heaven by means of correspondence.
     The New Church is not peculiar in having a distinctive canon of Scripture. There is no such thing as a Bible that is received by all Christians. The Church of Rome, the churches of the Anglican Communion and the Protestant churches differ in their received canon, and there are minor differences among Protestants. This might be pointed out to those who think we are highhanded. But whether our exclusion of certain books may be resented has nothing to do with the truth revealed.

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SUCCESSIVE REVELATIONS AND CHURCHES 1961

SUCCESSIVE REVELATIONS AND CHURCHES Editor 1961

     On the part of the same writers there is a tendency to apply what is said in the Writings about successive Divine revelations to the churches founded upon them. Thus they argue that the Christian Church should not be thought of as distinct from the Jewish but as a development of what was within Judaism, and that the same is true of the New Church in relation to the Christian. This is subtle confusion; and while it accords with the current emphasis of American Protestantism on our "Judeo-Christian heritage," it is not in line with the teachings of the Writings.
     It is true that at His first coming the Lord opened the spiritual moral sense of the Hebrew Scriptures, and that preparation for this had been made in the inspired writings of the later prophets. It is also true that at His second coming He opened all the interior degrees of the Old and New Testament Word. Thus it may be said that each Divine revelation was a further development of those given previously, if by this is understood an unfolding of what was concealed within. All Divine truth is one, and its unity is not lessened because it occurs in several discrete degrees.
     But revealed Divine truth is one thing, and what churches have made of it is another. The interior truths revealed by the Lord at His advents had never been a part of Judaism or of Christianity because they could not be known before the Lord had opened them; and both the Jewish and the Christian churches were judged and condemned because, from evil loves, they had completely falsified the truths that were taught in their Scriptures. So what is true of Divine revelations is not true of the churches that were founded upon them, and to confuse the two can result only in serious misunderstanding.
NEW CHRISTIANITY 1961

NEW CHRISTIANITY Editor 1961

This is eminently true of the assertion made recently, that what the New Church teaches and stands for is Christianity. It does! But no more misleading statement could be uttered unless it is made clearly in the light of the teachings that now for the first time true Christianity is beginning to dawn and that in the New Church there will be doctrines that were not in the former church. Without this vital qualification, the hearer may be pardoned if he supposes that the teachings of the New Church are simply a revival of what was known and believed in the primitive Christian Church and can be drawn from the Gospels, given insight.

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     Christianity itself was, of course, the Lord's own teaching as recorded and preserved in the Gospels, and the life to which it leads; and this has always remained with some. But the Christianity which had been fully consummated by 1757 was evil of life based upon a false understanding of that teaching; and even so, the revealed doctrines of the New Church are not a development of the Lord's teaching by continuous degrees. They are a development by discrete degrees; and this involves the revelation of new truths which were not in the former church.
     The issue here seems to turn on what is understood by the church specific. It has long been contended by some that since the Old Church was judged in 1757 it no longer exists, and that all Christian denominations - the Roman Church apparently tacitly excepted - are therefore now part of the New Church. Under this view the organized New Church is simply a sect in a revived Christianity, having at most a deeper insight into truths common to all. To this we take strong exception. We believe that the specific New Church exists only where the Writings are known and acknowledged, and that those in Christendom who are salvable belong to the church universal. With no defect of charity, but with insistence upon all that this distinction implies, we gladly recognize them as our brethren in the Lord's universal church.
     What the New Church teaches and stands for is, then, we believe, the new Christianity: a Christianity that did not exist in the former church, a Christianity that could begin to dawn only when the universal theology of the New Heaven and the New Church had been given to the world as the true Christian religion. To say this is not to display a lack of charity to our brothers in the Christian churches. Rather is it the part of true charity to insist upon this; for the deliberate obscuring of distinctions can only hinder reception of the truth now revealed.
CROWN OF CHURCHES 1961

CROWN OF CHURCHES Editor 1961

We have dealt with these things at length for this reason. Most of our societies and circles will take up again this month those uses which look to the establishment and further development of the church on earth - worship and instruction, the education of our children and young people, and extension work among interested adults. If these uses are to be performed effectively, we must see clearly that what is to be built is new and a church - a new religious dispensation which comes into being only from the Lord through the Writings, and not through any permeation or infiltration of human minds that is making the old church new.

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     If we would do justice to the Word we must indeed emphasize the unity and progressive nature of Divine revelation. More than others, we can appreciate the truth of the Lord's assurance that He came on earth, not to destroy the law and the prophets, but to fulfill; and we see in the Writings the Lord's telling of those many things which He yet had to say to His disciples, but which they could not then bear. In our approach to the Christian world we will do well to present the teaching of the Writings as one with the teaching of the Old and New Testament Word, when that Word is rightly understood. We cannot do less and be faithful to the doctrine itself.
     But the Lord who gave that very assurance told the leaders of Judaism plainly in certain parables that the church had been taken away from them. He spoke of the necessity of putting new wine into new wineskins; and He told His disciples that He would be with them all the days, even unto the consummation of the age. And in our presentation of the doctrines to our people, our children and interested inquirers, we must be certain to distinguish clearly between Divine revelation on the one hand and historic Judaism and Christianity on the other. The Lord's teaching at both His advents was indeed drawn from within the Word as then given, and is therefore in full harmony with that Word when rightly understood. But in each instance, the teaching was given when the church of the day had come to an end, and its nature was such that it could be ultimated only in a new church.
     To insist upon this, firmly though kindly and in the spirit of charity, is more than a matter of intellectual honesty. If we are concerned for the salvation of souls we dare not hide under a bushel the light that has been entrusted to us. The New Church is to be the crown of all the churches that have hitherto existed on the earth; not a further development of them, but of the Lord's true church. To proclaim it as less is uncertain evangelization and may actually jeopardize acceptance of the Heavenly Doctrine.
     Perhaps some of the reluctance to admit this would vanish if it were realized that in thus presenting the church we make no arrogant claims for ourselves. We do not claim that we are the New Church! We do not claim that the organized bodies of the church are all the New Church there is. We are aware of the existence of the church universal, even though we cannot identify its membership. It is simply our belief - and this is behind all our preaching and teaching - that the church specific can be established and upbuilt only by means of the spiritual truth revealed in the Writings and nowhere else. Those who know of that truth may not have the church within them; others cannot have it as yet. The crown of churches comes only through the crown of revelations.

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CHURCH NEWS 1961

CHURCH NEWS Various 1961

     PITTSBURGH, PA.

     Two years have passed since the last report from this Society. The main event since that time has been the acquisition, last fall, of an assistant to our pastor, namely, the Rev. Kurt H. Asplundh. We are most grateful to have him here. Our pastor, the Rev. Louis B. King, greatly needed help in carrying on the church functions and a growing day school, and serving a large city society with a membership scattered over a 40 mile radius. In addition, the two priests have taken on the care of the group in Erie, Pa., which is visited once a month, and make occasional visits to Cleveland, Ohio. Also, classes have been given in Freeport, Pa., once a month.
     The growth of the Society of late is to be noticed in the large increase in the number of children, always a hopeful sign. We have had a large attendance at church, especially at our family services when both children and adults attend. Our day school has an enrollment of 40 pupils, including kindergarten; our children's services have increased; and our Sunday school, held once a month for our young children, has had attendances as high as thirty-four. Our Society has gained nine new members in the last two years, and three members have been lost, one by death and two by their work sending them elsewhere. This leaves us with a total of 113 voting members.
     In the last two years we have had three weddings, two solemnized by our pastor and one by the Rev. Henry Heinrichs. These were the marriages of Geoffrey Howard and Nadine Brown, Marlin Ebert and Laura Brinsley, and Robert Heinrichs and Karen Good. All three were beautiful weddings, held in our church, which was decorated so beautifully, and our service gave the heavenly sphere of a marriage. Each wedding was followed by a reception in our auditorium. Our pastor has had four confirmations and twenty baptisms - fifteen children and five adults. The adult baptisms are most encouraging; the angels surely rejoice, as we do, when someone freely takes on this new faith and becomes a member of the Church of the New Jerusalem.
     Mr. Asplundh has been conducting the young people's class, which includes people of college age and up. It is held every other week and in different homes. Considerable study and work has been done for these classes and they have proved most successful. This past year the members have been studying Dr. Odhner's book, Spirits and Men. A chapter or two is assigned, which they study, and they are then ready to discuss intelligently the subject involved.
     Our Friday suppers and doctrinal classes are highlights in the life of the Society. They are well attended and greatly enjoyed. Of particular note was an interesting series of classes on the New Testament given by our pastor. All our other classes and socials have proceeded as in times past. One new event has been added, however. Under the direction of Mr. and Mrs. Charles H. Ebert, Jr., a social or sports affair of some kind was held once or twice a month for the 7th, 8th and 9th grades - and how they loved it!
     Our annual and semi-annual meetings bring to light the many uses that are carried on by the Society. Our able treasurer, Ed Lee, gives us the financial report, and it is a very large budget indeed that he has to meet.
     The New Church Day pageant this year was a treat.

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Our pastor planned it and helped to execute it with the aid of his assistant, the school staff, the women who worked on costumes and music, and the school children. It was a magnificent pageant depicting scenes from the Scriptures and the Writings. First, a service was held in the church, after which the congregation, still in the sphere of worship, retired to the lawn facing the side of the church. Meanwhile the children had left quietly and were ready in their costumes. Music from the harp set the stage, and before us was an altar on which was the Word, sealed with all seven seals. The children came in procession through the church, following Moses. Moses received the Ten Commandments from the invisible Lord. The children promised to obey and sang Shema Yisrael. Little children dressed like little angels came before the altar, and with utmost reverence knelt down and prayed. No one was found worthy to break the seals and open the Word until the Lord Himself did so. The pastor in his white robe, who represents the Lord, took that part. The souls under the altar came forth to pray after a seal was broken, and each was given by an angel a white robe to protect and comfort him. The woman clothed with the sun and wearing a crown of twelve stars was shown. First John on the Isle of Patmos, cast there by a Roman soldier, told the story; and then, nearly seventeen hundred years later, Swedenborg told what it meant. Then the twelve disciples went forth throughout the whole spiritual world, after which all sang, "The Lord God Jesus Christ Doth Reign." To conclude, the children followed the clergy back through the church. All was done with the greatest of reverence. The costumes were superb, and the playing of the harp for the song and as background music gave one the feeling of being in heaven itself.
     Later a picnic supper was held and games were played, giving to the day a joyous festival atmosphere. The children will long remember the pageant that told about the Word, and so will the adults who were privileged to watch it. It left us with a feeling that we are fortunate indeed to belong to this church, and perhaps with a prayer in our hearts that in some small way we, too, may help the Lord to establish His church on this earth.
     Lucile S Blair

     GLENVIEW, ILLINOIS

     Spring was a busy time for the Immanuel Church Girls' Club. Bert Henderson helped them put on a Pancake Festival in February which was attended by nearly everyone. There was a long wait for pancakes, but one could watch the more ambitious customers playing volleyball at the far end of Pendleton Hall. The girls took in enough money to ease the pain of mopping up syrup from the floor afterwards.
     Mrs. Ralph Synnestvedt, Jr., and their counselor, Mrs. Dick Richter, worked with the girls in producing a play in May. Jill Heilman was most impressive as "The Plain Princess" - even the youngest children got the message that a pretty face is not achieved by selfishness and tantrums! After some very hearty stamps of her feet, the princess learned to work with others and finally became beautiful. A large supporting cast, and wonderful stage settings designed by Marianne Nicholson, put the play over as a smashing success.
     After school, the girls from seventh through ninth grades relaxed for a week at the summer home of Mrs. A. E. Nelson in Palisades Park. Miss Jane Scalbom and Miss Thelma Pike were their counselors. The next week it was the turn of the Boys' Club for camp. They were privileged to use some land owned by Mr. and Mrs. Louis S. Cole, Jr., on Deep Lake in Wisconsin. The Coles have donated land for a future camp-site, although the camp did not materialize this year. Instead of replacing their large tent, the boys will live in small cabins yet to be built. With contributions from the Society, it is hoped that next year there will be a permanent camp which may be used by the Girls' Club as well and for weekend trips by various members of the Society.

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     Both clubs raise money for their own trips: the boys by running movies on Saturday afternoons in the winter, and the very profitable sale of soft drinks and candy; the girls by selling baked goods and sewing at their annual bazaar, plus extras such as those described above. The girls also have an athletic club to get their minds off their heavier duties.
     Our "Hostess with the Mostes'," Mrs. Burwood Kitzelman, has become chapter president of Theta Alpha for the third year. Election was by default; unless legislation is passed to prevent a fourth term, it looks as if she can have the job for as long as she likes. In her spare time she edits the Park News. To give you some idea why her services are so much in demand we will describe our Theta Alpha banquet. Publicity began over a year ago, with several fund drives aimed at bringing a speaker from Bryn Athyn. The Sons do it - why not Theta Alpha? By the time Miss Morna Hyatt and Miss Margaret Wilde arrived in Glenview last spring we had been well prepared by publicity releases about Miss Morna's background, taste in food, and talents. She did not disappoint us. Her talk on the work she is doing in the Girls School was a great help to all parents of girls, past, present and future. Miss Margaret Wilde introduced her, and Miss Sally Headsten was the capable toastmistress. After the formal part of the evening, Miss Morna was featured in "This Is Your Life," with Ralph Edwards (alias Mrs. Ralph Synnestvedt, Jr.) as MC. All those ladies who were not involved in putting on the banquet appeared as students and friends from Miss Morna's past. Now you have guessed the secret. In order to produce a successful affair, Mrs. Kitzelman puts us all on committees; and, of course, we all come to see how well organized we are.
     Another spring tradition, along with piano recitals and bridal showers, is the announcement of a teacher's engagement. Miss Thelma Pike graciously consented to follow it by divulging the fact that she would become Mrs. Bert Henderson this summer. She is also, even more graciously, consenting to teach for another year. We doubt whether England will send us any more teachers!
     Mr. Jesse Stevens presented two concerts: one by the Immanuel Church School Orchestra, in which the alumnae now outnumber the students, and a singing concert by the children of the upper grades. The children have shown that they can do a very good job with some of the most difficult church music. But they always have a few songs that are just for fun.
     The Rev. Geoffrey Childs was our weekend guest in April. He gave a doctrinal class on Friday evening, preached on Sunday, and spoke to the Sons on Sunday evening about the Kitchener Society's re-location program. All of these were well received. We were pleased to see his sermon, "The Power of the Word," printed in New Church Education for April. One thought that stayed with this writer was that the Word in its letter is our strength in temptation, but the Word as revealed in the Writings helps in states of progress and growth.
     Our own clergy have produced a steady fare of excellent sermons.
One which was especially remembered dealt with the story in II Kings 2, where Elijah and Elisha journey from Gilgal to Bethel, and finally to Jericho and the Jordan. This series could deal with: 1) the Lord's states in temptation and His final glorification; 2) man's progress through life; 3) man's states in a particular temptation and his recovery thereafter. This third theme was the one that Mr. Acton chose; it showed how Elijah's mantle represented the power of the Word in temptation.
     Perfect weather marked the Society's observance of New Church Day over the weekend of June 18. School closing was held on Friday afternoon; five girls and two boys who have been most co-operative with church and school receiving their diplomas.
     Mr. Sydney S. Lee was toastmaster for the banquet on Saturday night. One hundred and seventy people attended, drawn out by the excellent program and the large, comfortable facilities of Pendleton Hall - anyone who ever came to a banquet in our former hall on a hot June night will understand this.

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Mr. Lee's program was entitled "The Old and the New." It featured speeches from past celebrations, made by some of our ancestors, enlarged upon by their descendants.
     The opening remarks, made in 1904, were from the Rev. Carl Th. Odhner, represented by Mrs. Acton. Continuing this theme, the Rev. N. Dandridge Pendleton, returning to Glenview in 1924, was quoted as a former pastor who became Bishop. Mr. Acton, in summing up, concluded the series as our present pastor. Other voices from the past were those of: the Rev. Willis Gladish, on "The General Church and the World," with grandson Steve reading the speech, adding some words of his own, and evaluating it in the light of today; Mr. Seymour G. Nelson, in 1898 on religious instruction in the church, Alvin Nelson, a grand nephew reading the speech, and another grand nephew, Bert Henderson commenting on it; Mr. William H. Junge, on financial support of the church. His grandson, Bill Junge, read this speech and commented on the fact that grandfather and his friends were apt to talk all night. Mr. Ralph Junge added some thoughts on support of the church today; but they were interrupted in midstream by Mr. Hugh L. Burnham, represented by Ralph Synnestvedt, Jr., his grandson. This was according to tradition, too. Lastly, we heard from Mr. George A. McQueen - an unusually short speech delivered in 1924 and read now by his grandson Ben. In commenting on this speech, another grandson, Raymond Lee, informed us that "through birth, marriage and other natural calamities" he is related to "the whole shooting match." The subject of this final speech was "The Academy Spirit."
     Mr. Lee engineered his program deftly, despite occasional interruptions from a local radio station coming through the public address system. At the close of the program, Mr. Acton and Mr. Hubert Nelson expressed for all of us thanks to the Rev. Jan H. Weiss for his work as assistant to the pastor in the past years. They presented to him a gift from the Society in appreciation.
     On Sunday, June 17, Family Service was held in the morning, followed by celebration of the Holy Supper. There were two performances of the tableaux in the afternoon, one for children of pre-school age, the other for the school children. Each year the first graders receive a red and white flag which they proudly carry in procession on the following New Church Day. A picnic supper was served in the courtyard outside as a final event - and it didn't rain.
     The weather man evened things up, however, by providing a generous rain on the morning of the Fourth of July. Any child who left his decorated float outside had a very soggy entry in the parade. It did clear up for a curtailed march around the church parking lot, and the prizes were given out. Mr. Gerrit Barger spoke after the flag-raising, and the rest of the program went off without a hitch. There were races, a muddy lunch provided inside Pendleton Hall by the Boys' Club, a few silent films of the early days of the Park, and several ball games. The children spent the afternoon riding the "Catterpiggle." This is a telephone pole with seats along it, pulled by a tractor. It is very old, but seems to last, once more, every year.
     We have lost two of our senior residents, Mr. Louis S. Cole and Mrs. Alvin E. Nelson, who both passed quietly away this spring. All of us who grew up in the Park will miss these respected members of an older generation.
     Mr. Jean Oskar Rydstrom moved to California to live with his daughter. Living in his home for the next two years are the Bryce Genzlingers and their three children. This increase in population was offset by the loss of the Philip Gladish family to Stanford, Ky. The many friends of Phil and Endrede and their six children miss them.
     The season's activities closed on a very happy note. During the adult service on June 17, Mr. Robert Clipper was baptized into the. New Church by Mr. Acton.

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On June 25, Mr. Robert D. Smith of Elk Grove Village was confirmed, and his wife Carol, and two daughters Cheryl and Sandra, were baptized, all by Mr. Weiss, who also baptized Mrs. Naoma Smith, Mr. Smith's mother, in this most touching ceremony. Her husband, Mr. Robert B. Smith of Oak Park, has been a member for some time.

     If this sounds confusing, remember our position in having three sets of Robert Smiths who attend Society functions. There is a third set, the Robert A. Smiths, and now a second Naomi! Overheard at Friday class one time last year: "If those are the Robert Smiths over there, who are the people I just met outside?" The best minds are at work trying to think of some way of designating them in print. Meantime, we do not seem to have any Joneses.
     The Rev. Geoffrey Howard has begun his work as assistant to the pastor. He will be joined by his wife Nadine after their first child has arrived, sometime this summer.
     GLORIA BARRY

     THE CHURCH AT LARGE

     General Convention. The closing of the 1960-1961 academic year of the New Church Theological School marked the end of 40 and 30 years of service, respectively, for two members of the faculty who are retiring. Mr. Horace B. Blackmer, librarian, faculty secretary, organist, and teacher of music and New Church history, was first connected with the school in 1920-1921. The Rev. Everett K. Bray, a former president of the school and more recently a teacher of pastoral care and Christian ethics, joined the faculty in the 1930-1931 academic year.
     At its spring meeting the Board of Managers of the New Church Theological School gave considerable attention to evaluating the school and its relationship to Convention. Feeling that this deserved more thought, and that the Directors of the Corporation and the Faculty should be included in further considerations, the Board of Managers invited these groups to meet with them for two and one-half days in August.
     The Cambridge, Mass., Society has accepted with heartfelt regret the retirement of the Rev. Everett K. Bray from the pastorate. The Society voted to make him Pastor Emeritus, and also to call the Rev. George F. Dole as its pastor. Mr. Bray will continue to serve the Massachusetts Association as its General Pastor, and will continue also to be in charge of the correspondence courses offered by the New Church Theological School.
     The Rev. Anthony Regamey has formally withdrawn his resignation from the pastorate of the Boston Society. He made his decision because of the crucial time the Society is now facing with its rebuilding project.

     General Conference. The Rev. John Oldfield Booth has accepted appointment as Superintendent of the South African Mission. Mr. Booth, who succeeds the Rev. Brian Kingslake, will sail for South Africa at the end of this year.
     The Rev. Joseph Agbaje, who recently completed his training at the New Church College, England, sailed recently for Nigeria. He will work there in the West African Mission.

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VISITORS TO BRYN ATHYN 1961

ANNOUNCEMENTS

People coming to Bryn Athyn who need assistance in finding accommodation will please communicate with the Hostess Committee. Please address letters to: The Hostess Committee, do Mrs. Harris S. Campbell, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
EXTERNAL WORSHIP NECESSARY 1961

EXTERNAL WORSHIP NECESSARY 1961

"But man, while in the world, ought not to be otherwise than in external worship also; for by external worship internal things are excited, and by means of external worship external things are kept in holiness, so that internal things can inflow. And besides, man is thus imbued with knowledges, and is prepared for receiving celestial things, and is also gifted with states of holiness, although he is unaware of this; which states of holiness are preserved to him by the Lord for the use of eternal life" (Arcana Coelestia 1618).
JUDGING THE CONJUGIAL 1961

JUDGING THE CONJUGIAL Rev. DANDRIDGE PENDLETON 1961

433

Vol. LXXXI
October, 1961
No. 10
     "Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature . . . for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart." (I Samuel 16: 7)

     These words were spoken in connection with David's appointment to the throne of Israel. By this was symbolized the advance with the man of the church from historical to spiritual faith: an advance wherein the letter of the Word gives place to the internal sense and enlightenment from it. This forwarding of spiritual life and discernment cannot be judged safely by any external evidence known to man, for its current runs deep within the mental substructure of human awareness. Only the Lord can know the true state of man's interiors. Were man to know, he would destroy himself utterly. Thus it is that, for the sake of his spiritual preservation, man "looketh on the outward appearance," even in the most profound states of religious wisdom; whereas the Lord, and He alone, "looketh on the heart."
     In no other area of human life does this text apply more readily than the sacred institution of marriage. In this regard, the Writings present as it were a rational paraphrase of the text itself when they say that "there are marriages in which there is no appearance of conjugial love, and yet it is there, and there are marriages in which there is an appearance of conjugial love, and yet it is not there. . . . Conclusion as to whether a man has or has not conjugial love must not be made from the appearance."* In their marriage, it is evidently of considerable moment that the partners shall not judge as to whether the conjugial exists or is lacking with themselves; for in the case of such a judgment, in either direction, essential effort is bound to cease, and Providence is restricted to leading through negative results.
* CL 531.

434

     The proper end of marriage is that the Divine may dwell in its own with men, and this by a twofold procreation of offspring - that of natural offspring by whom the heavens may be filled, and of spiritual offspring, or states of mutual thought and affection, whereby the marriage is interiorly warmed and enriched.* Then, we read, "it is on earth as it is in heaven"; for man, male and female, "becomes a form of love and thus a form of heaven, which is the image and likeness of God."** Through such marriages on earth the delights of the angels are said to be "exalted . . . and infilled."*** This exaltation and infilling with the angels arises not only from the internals of love with conjugial partners on earth but from the ultimates of their marriages as well;**** for we are told that there is a certain kind of ultimate conjunction between married partners on earth which, "when it proceeds from chastity, inasmuch as it is the effect of that love, delights heaven in the highest degree."***** From these considerations it becomes clear "how holy marriages are in themselves . . . from creation, and thus how holy they should be esteemed by men.****** And these words are added: "It is true that the earth might be filled with inhabitants . by adulteries as well as by marriages, but not heaven."*******
* AE 988: 5, 984: 2,1002: 3.
** AE 982: 4.
*** CL 144.
**** Ibid.
***** SD 6051.
****** AE 988: 5.
******* Ibid.
     In order that marriages among men may enter into this vital use of angelic reception and return, certain Divinely formulated principles must stand forth clearly and be fully realized. It is to this end that the interior doctrine of conjugial love has been revealed for the New Church. If we fail in our effort to make this doctrine the living center of our lives, we will have committed the most tragic error possible to man. With those who have not this knowledge there cannot be blame for failure. But for those to whom the doctrine of genuine truth has been revealed there can be little excuse; not that the true conjugial will necessarily be attained in all instances, but that the desire for and effort toward the conjugial should continue unabated, regardless of the personal states or temptations through which the man of the church may, in Providence, be drawn. Let not the outward appearance prohibit to the Lord His place in the interiors of the will! Loss of hope on one side, or over-assumption on the other, denies the existence of Divine Providence. Yea, it denies the very existence of God - a denial on man's part which the hells count among their chief treasures.
     The Heavenly Doctrine draws a distinction between the true conjugial and a lower conjugial. The true conjugial - that marriage love which becomes a full receiving image and likeness of the Divine - is possible only between partners who are of a like and genuine faith; for only under this condition, we are assured, can there be a conjoining of the genuine good of the church with its own truth.*

435

In reference to this highest possible outcome of the conjugial covenant, we read in Arcana Coelestia that there ought not to be conjunctions, or marriages, between those of different religious faiths.** Such differences, we are told further, in the work Conjugial Love, inevitably give rise to states of internal cold; which states, however, do not necessarily appear on the surface or in the externals of the marriage itself: nor can these internal colds be relieved, save through the reception of a true religion by both partners.***
* See AC 8998; AE 983: 3, 997: 4; HH 378; CL 241-245
** See CL 241, 242, 244.
*** AE 995: 2.
     We are further informed that because the true conjugial is from the Lord alone, no one can be in it unless he acknowledges the Lord, that is, confesses that the Trinity is in Him. He who approaches the Father or the Holy Spirit as a person in Himself, and these not in the Lord, can have no conjugial love.* What more powerful illustration than this could there be of the assertion in Heaven and Hell, that "it ought first of all to be known who the God of heaven is, since everything else depends on this"?**
* See CL 241, 242, 244.
** AE 995: 2.
** No 2.
     In the case of a marriage between partners of different religious beliefs, while the true conjugial and its inmost conjunction of souls cannot exist as long as this difference remains in force, there yet can be a conjugial which is said to have "a lower seat, being that of good with another truth than its own, or of truth with another good."* There is even the possibility of "some conjugial love," or "something of conjugial love," between two, both of whom are in falsities of religion, yet who have not confirmed that falsity in themselves by a deliberate entrance into the perversions of evil.** Yet even under these latter conditions - wherein, by definition, the true conjugial cannot exist as such - care must be exercised in so far as the partners' judgment upon their marriage is concerned; for there may yet be a leading toward the true conjugial in a future state. In this universal sense, the statement of the Writings is addressed to all. Whether both partners subscribe to a true religion, but one of them does so, or neither does, let them beware of making an interior judgment upon their union; for in so doing they presume to the place of God, and thereby cause His providence to inflow by those negative means called permissions - whereupon much sorrow will be forthcoming that might have been avoided.
* CL 242.
** CL 243.
     The foundation of faith among New Church married partners must contain within it the unyielding conviction that there is nothing which occurs under the sun of heaven or of earth that is not either provided or permitted by the Lord.

436

Remove yourself from this belief and you will remove yourself at the same time from all hope. Retain this belief - retain it through every vicissitude that you may be called upon to endure - and gradual enlightenment and increase of strength will be given. The continuance of marriage, in spirit as well as in body, calls for such conviction with all men on occasion, and more interiorly so with those whose nature is such that regeneration can occur and the true conjugial be established in this world.
How to combine the affirmative vision of love in its ascendancy with awareness and a realistic appraisal of love's inescapable temptations, this is one of the great challenges to be met in educating our young. Nor does this challenge cease with coming of age. For the vision must mature, it must gain in strength and resilience, if it is not to fall before an increase of influx from the hells. And there will be an increase of evil! Of this we may be certain. Not that man himself will necessarily introduce disorder into his marriage. But his weakness, his vulnerability spiritually, is beyond anything that he can possibly imagine. Time and again he will find that he has become the prey of subtle marital discord that is all the more fearsome because it would seem to have little relation to his own conscious thought or action. And let us not be so naive as to suppose that the temptations of which the Writings speak will center primarily in illicit activities outside the proper boundaries of marriage itself! While danger may well arise in that form, there is far more likelihood of disorder having its effects entirely within the legitimate limits of the marital sphere. Regard, for example, the statement that when a husband enters into a state of pride in his own intelligence he is cold toward his wife.* Here is evidently a cause and effect relationship of the gravest kind, and one which brooks no transgression. What wonder, then, that the inmost concern of a wife who looks to the conjugial is that her husband, while succeeding externally in his occupation, shall not remain over long in states of elation arising out of his success? For elation of mind, while it may well provide a much needed respite from labor and depression, soon runs its course in that regard; and if it is continued it becomes the very antithesis of true masculine wisdom. This the wife knows right well, and her perception is acutely tuned to her husband's interior states in a manner that is quite beyond his rational comprehension.* See CL 208
But does the wife here have no other responsibility than that of guiding her man's affections away from himself and toward the contemplation of use? She does indeed, for in all such circumstances she must be on guard lest she turn the husband's love toward her for the sake of herself, rather than for the sake of their interior use together as a receptacle of the Divine in creation. Herein is involved a subtlety of judgment that belongs strictly to the province of woman; nor would any man who reflects upon it care to have this responsibility for himself.

437

His own somewhat less intricate obligations to the conjugial provide ample perplexity for him!
     Yet in all of this there may be little or no evidence on the surface of marriage, nor, unless considerable attention be given, even in that mental realm of conscious living that lies next under the surface. External harmony, and even delight, may be vested in nothing more than material comforts and possessions. "Mutual interests" may be the means of covering over deep wounds of spiritual instability. Separate occupations, other than for reasons of necessity, may originate in a frantic retreat from inner conditions which there is not the courage to acknowledge or resist. Even the love and rearing of children may draw husband and wife into a mutual bond of storge - a merely natural affection and emphasis - which, unknown to themselves, has no roots in any spiritual love either between themselves or for their children.
     As New Church men and women, there is need for us to distinguish in marriage between love that is natural-rational and love which is truly spiritual.* The former can lead to the latter. Indeed we are told that all love is natural in the beginning,** or at best natural-rational, and that this love can become truly spiritual only through the doctrine and life of a genuine religious faith. And it is quite possible to mistake the natural-rational for the spiritual itself, for, on the surface, they may appear as one. Only self-examination - deep, searching examination - individually and in mutual concord, can reveal the difference. There is no cause for alarm or for guilt in the recognition of past states that prove to have been natural-rational, not spiritual; for that is the proper way of approach, and the way in which Providence leads.*** Nor are these past states reckoned, or imputed, "when from natural [man]] is becoming spiritual."**** For neither with men, nor even with angels, can any love ever become totally pure; wherefore we read that it is the "intention of the will" - the desire that the love shall become pure - "which is primarily regarded by the Lord; and therefore as far as a man is in this intention, and perseveres therein he is initiated into the purity and holiness of this love, and successively progresses therein."*****
* See CL 447, 448.
** See CL 455.
*** See CL 98.
**** CL 455.
***** CL 71.
     On the other hand, there are those marriages - and certainly those states in every marriage - wherein all the available evidence would seem to deny the existence of the conjugial. Yet how can it be otherwise when we know that the hells bend every effort toward the destruction of marriage; since in marriage itself, if the true conjugial be present even potentially, there is gathered that force of opposition which can render the hells utterly impotent?*

438

The fact that deepseated strains of human pride and self interest pour forth more obviously into the lives of some than of others provides no measure of interior judgment. An evil, the love of self, unseen cannot be overcome. Men see in different ways, and under varying conditions of life; and the Lord permits and leads accordingly. This is not to say that every marriage must be subject to continually recurring unheavals in order to present the conjugial! With some, this may be necessary; their nature, their temperament, their heredity, and the interior use to which they are being led by the Lord Himself, all may combine in such a way as to call for and warrant it. But with others, this particular type and level of conflict might not only fail to meet their internal requirements of choice but might well harm them permanently by oversetting the balance of their choice. Therefore we are told to "judge not" the conjugial, whether with ourselves or with others.**
* Cf. AE 999:2.
** See CL 531.
     In describing the potential of "some conjugial love" with those who are in falsities of religion, yet not at the same time in confirmed evils of life, the Writings say the following: "With such men there may be good with which, by application, those falsities can be conjoined by the Lord; for their falsities are like various discordant tones which, by skilful combinations and insinuations, are drawn together into a harmony, with its resulting gratefulness.*
* CL 243
     Like various discordant tones! Viewed in the perspective of the entire church as a single organic form, does not the spiritual progress of each one of us answer to this description? And does not every marriage within the church burst forth in strident discord against the "gratefulness" of true spiritual "harmony" at some time or another? Are we not, each one individually and all collectively, so many "discordant tones" which the Lord in His Divine patience, and by "skilful combinations and insinuations" is drawing together, so as to form His heaven on earth?
     Spiritually, in the true sense of that word, we are slow to learn, and even slower to acknowledge. Like the disciples of old, we walk with our eyes cast upon the ground of material life, lifting them seldom save to look with envy or malice upon the lives of others. It is for this reason that the Lord spoke in gentle yet firm rebuke; bidding us lift up our eyes and look upon the harvest, for it is plenteous and ready for reaping. Live not in a world of past memories, for these usually have little kinship with reality; nor yet in anticipation of a future which it is thought will somehow be different from the present, for this cannot be.

439

In the conjugial, its re-establishment and protection, lies the hope for and the safety of the future; and according to our present response, built upon the firm outline of revealed doctrine, will the fulfillment of hope and the continuance of protection be measured. There is no other way. Whether or not a man or woman be married on this earth, all can look to the conjugial, love its promise, and contribute to its protection and use. That is essential to the spiritual life of the race; for we are told that a man has as much of heaven as he has of the conjugial within himself.* The conjugial and heaven are one. They are not separable. "Pray ye, therefore, the Lord of the harvest" - that we may all go forth as His laborers and as true servants of our God. Amen.
* See AE 996:2.

Lessons:     I Samuel 16: 1-13. Matthew 9: 36-38, 13: 24-35. CL 531.
Music:      Liturgy, pages 442, 444, 448.
Prayers:     Liturgy, nos. 49, 65.
IN OUR CONTEMPORARIES 1961

IN OUR CONTEMPORARIES 1961

In a recent issue of the NEW-CHURCH HERALD the editor addressed himself to the question: Why can we not amalgamate with other churches and still retain our distinctiveness? The New Church teaching regarding the unity of God, the internal sense of the Word, the Second Advent, the life after death and the sacraments is so distinctive, he says, that it cannot be amalgamated with anything else. It is a new revelation. That there must be a group which is devoted to these teachings, and which must preserve, love, learn and strive to practice them, is, he states, axiomatic; for the teachings will not mix and cannot be mixed. He concludes that we are of that group, and that while constantly endeavoring to pass on to others what means so much to us, we must preserve with affection and enthusiasm the priceless heritage of which we are stewards.
In an address delivered at the General Convention and published in the NEW-CHURCH MESSENGER, Dr. Garrard E. A. Wyld characterized as fuzzy the idea of the New Church's supposed uniqueness. The Writings, he conceded readily, are unique, but the basic teachings of the church are, for the most part, not so unique today. However, he felt that the mere fact of uniqueness has no value whatsoever. What has value is the ability to speak to human needs. We should concentrate on making clear, positive statements about our teachings and ignore the question of uniqueness. Let us become widely known as the church that makes religion understandable and a necessary part of everyday living.

440

NATURAL MAN 1961

NATURAL MAN Rev. WILLARD D. PENDLETON 1961

     The first of three doctrinal lectures.

     It is the teaching of the Writings that the Word contains in itself a spiritual sense hitherto unknown. Upon the truth of this thesis the validity of the Writings depends. Thus it is that in the introduction to the Arcana Coelestia, which is the first of the Theological Works, we read: "From the mere letter of the Word of the Old Testament no one would ever discern the fact that this part of the Word contains deep secrets of heaven, and that everything within it, both in general and in particular bears reference to the Lord, to His heaven, to the church, to religious belief, and to all things connected therewith. . . . The Christian world, however, is as yet profoundly unaware of [this] . . . Yet that the Word is really of this character might be known from the single consideration that being the Lord's . . . [Word] it must of necessity contain within it such things as belong to heaven, to the church, and to religious belief, and that unless it did so it could not be called the Lord's Word, nor could it . . . [have] any life in it."*
* AC 1, 2.
     Yet the question arises, Is the Bible the Word of the Lord? There are many at this day who doubt it. We can understand, however, the reason for their doubt; for the Word is presented to us in the form of history, and as the Writings observe: "These historicals cannot be the Word [as may be evident from] the . . . fact that when separated from the internal sense there is no more of the Divine in them than in any other history."* Thus the Writings conclude that it is the internal or spiritual sense which "makes the Word to be Divine."** In other words, it is the thesis of the Writings that apart from the spiritual sense the holiness and Divinity of the Word cannot be seen and understood, for it is "this sense which gives life to the letter"; that is to say, it is the spiritual sense which gives meaning to the Old and New Testaments and which, according to the testimony of the Writings, "can convince even the natural man, if he is willing to be convinced."***
* AC 1540.
** Ibid.
*** SS 4.
     We would ask you to observe here the condition upon which a faith in the spiritual sense consists. Man must be willing to be convinced. No man is compelled to faith against his will. If he were, man would not be in freedom.

441

The Writings, therefore, are not addressed to those who deny God, nor to those who will to be led by self-intelligence, but to those who hold certain truths to be self-evident. These are: that there is a God, that God is one, that there is a purpose in creation, and that this purpose is revealed in the Word when the Word is rightly understood. That is why the two major works of the Writings are addressed directly to the derivation of the spiritual sense out of the letter; namely, the Arcana Coelestia and the Apocalypse Explained. To these Apocalypse Revealed should be added. These works differ from other
works of the Writings, such as True Christian Religion, Conjugial Love, Divine Love and Wisdom, in that in Arcana Coelestia and in Apocalypse Explained and Revealed the Divine doctrine is elevated out of the letter, whereas in the other works the doctrine speaks for itself, and then is confirmed by the letter. When taken together, therefore, the Writings themselves present the most powerful illustration of what is meant where it is said in the work, Sacred Scripture: "The doctrine of the church is to be drawn from the sense of the letter of the Word, and is to be confirmed thereby."*
* SS 50.
Our interest in this series of lectures, however, is in the derivation of doctrine out of the letter; and in searching for a series that would serve as an illustration, I have selected the story of Jacob. My reason for this selection is that the subject treated here in the Arcana is the regeneration of the natural man. Here is a subject we all can understand, for the natural man is the man that we know; he is not a stranger to us. In our dealings with self and with others the natural man is much with us. Unlike the spiritual man, who seems remote, the natural man is much in evidence. To the natural man the Writings ascribe all our natural loves and affections, which include most of our interests and preoccupations. Here we find the love of wealth, the love of the sex, the delight of learning, storg?, ambition, our cultural and intellectual pursuits, and a host of other affections and interests in which the mind finds delight. Surely we can understand what the Writings mean when they state that all men are born natural, for man instinctively takes delight in whatever is pleasing to self. We do not have far to look, therefore, for this natural man, for this man is one's self.
Nowhere in Scripture is there to be found a more vivid portrayal of the nature of self than in the life story of Jacob. Unlike Isaac and Abraham, who walked with God, and by whom are represented the spiritual and the celestial man, Jacob was a man of the world. In all that he did his essential concern seems to have been for self. In depriving his own brother of his birthright, in intentionally deceiving his father so that the blessing intended for Esau might accrue to himself, in repeatedly turning his dealings with Laban to his own advantage, it seems as if Jacob took every opportunity to secure for self those things in which the natural man delights.

442

When viewed from the sense of the letter we could draw no other conclusion from the story, but when it is seen from the spiritual sense of the Word we acquire a different perspective.
     It is true that Jacob had sinned. In forcing Esau to give up his birthright he took to himself that which did not properly belong to the younger son of the house. Students are not agreed as to what was actually involved in this transaction. Some say that the inheritance consisted in a double portion of the father's estate, whereas others believe that it also involved temporal authority; but whatever it was, the Writings confine their consideration of the subject to the law of primogeniture, which establishes good, as represented by Esau, as the first of the church. The good here represented by Esau is the good of remains. It is by means of these innocent affections of good that man is governed by the Lord during infancy and childhood. This good, therefore, is characteristic of those primitive states of life before the love of self has become calculating. But the time comes when the mind begins to grow restless under the rule of love as it is exercised through the instrumentality of parents and teachers. With each successive state of mental development, the child more and more wills to be ruled by self. This is the natural inclination of every child, and the reason is that the mind finds increasing delight in the things that are pleasing to self. Thus the child gradually recedes from the delight which he finds in the care and protection of his parents, and instinctively begins to resist the restrictions that others place upon him. This is a gradual process, but an observable one, as any parent can testify.
     In his desire to be ruled by self, man forfeits his spiritual birthright. By means of the Word, however, the Lord has provided the way in which a new will may be formed in the understanding of man. This is the function of truth. By means of instruction the mind is gradually introduced into the perception of those civil and moral laws which are the bases of all social order, and from the rule of love man comes under the government of truth. This transition takes place in childhood, as may be evident from the fact that whereas the little child responds with affection to parental guidance, his older brother and sister become increasingly demanding in their insistence on knowing why they should submit to parental authority.
     By Jacob's succession to the birthright is represented the transition by which man is brought under the government of truth; that is, under the government of law, for truths are the laws of order. There is no other way in which the unregenerate natural can be held in order. Thus in the life of every man the time comes when truth must take dominion over good; when, if for no other reason, man must do what is right for the sake of honor, reputation and gain.

443

To do what is right is to act according to truth; that is, according to the laws of social and moral order. "Thou shalt not kill," "Thou shalt not steal," "Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor" - these are the laws which must first be impressed upon the mind of the child. Without such instruction, how can any concept of good be formed in the mind? Hence the age-old controversy among theologians as to whether good or truth is the first of the church with man. The appearance is that truth is first because apart from truth man can form no idea of good; but if truth is first in time, good is first in end, for truth has no end itself. It is but the means whereby man may be led to good. Hence we are taught in the Writings that the Word is the medium between God and man, for without the Word man could have no idea of God and therefore no concept of good. While many may dispute this on the grounds that there are races and peoples who do not have the Word and yet have well-defined concepts of social and moral good, it is the thesis of the Writings that these concepts were originally derived from the Word of the Ancient Church, although much altered in time.
Yet such is the nature of the natural man that in acting from truth he tends to ascribe to himself the good which he does. This is the sin of self-merit. Like the young man who inquired of the Lord, saying, "Good Master, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life?" * the natural man assumes that the good which he does is attributable to self. This is a basic illusion; and despite the fact that the Writings repeatedly insist that of himself man cannot do any good which is good, the illusion still persists. It seems that it requires a lifetime of regeneration to realize that self is not deserving. That is the difference between angels and men. Hence the teaching of the Writings that the neighbor is to be loved for the sake of the use which he serves, and not on account of anything in himself. In this the spiritual sense breaks with the letter, which places so much emphasis upon the reward that accrues to self through the doing of good. Like Jacob, the natural man is not content with the right to determine for self what is good, but also desires that what he does should be attributed to self as good. Thus, having acquired his brother's birthright, Jacob desired his blessing also.
* Matthew 19: 16.
According to the ancient law of primogeniture, the right to govern over ecclesiastical affairs, as well as temporal affairs, belonged to the first-born son of the house. It seems, however, that the priestly function, although intended for the first-born, was conferred by blessing; and although in blessing Jacob, Isaac thought that he was blessing Esau, it seems that the blessing was irrevocable.

444

This is evident from Isaac's words concerning Jacob: "I . . . have blessed him . . . and he shall be blessed."* This principle is recognized in the church at this day, in that the right to bless in the name of the Lord, having been conferred upon one through the rite of ordination, cannot be revoked. This, at least, is the position held by the General Church.
* Genesis 27: 33.
We note with interest that Isaac did not refuse to bless Esau. In response to Esau's plea, "Bless me, even me also, O my father," Isaac conferred upon him temporal blessings similar to those conferred upon Jacob; but the difference was that in blessing Jacob he had conferred upon him dominion over his brother, and had transferred to him the original promise that God had made to Abraham; namely, that "in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed."* All students of Scripture recognize this statement as a direct prophecy of the Messiah who was to come. It was through Jacob, not Esau, that the Messianic line was to be established, the reason being that if a new will is to be formed in the understanding, good must first be presented to man in the form of truth; that is, as the Word. In this connection we would observe that as long as man is ruled by love he has no need of doctrine. This was the case with the men of the Most Ancient Church. But once the order of life is inverted, that is to say, when man wills to be led by self, he must then do from conscience what he no longer can do from delight; and it is to be noted that conscience consists of such truths as a man may possess. By Jacob, therefore, is represented those natural truths, or civil and moral truths which are acquired in childhood, and of which man's first conscience is formed. But the Writings state: "What the quality . . . of natural truth [is], in the state previous to regeneration, can appear solely from the affections at that time. When man is affected with truth, not for the sake of ends of life, but for the sake of other ends, such as that he may become learned, and this from [an] . . . affection of [emulating others], or from . . . childish envy, and . . . from [an] . . . affection of glory . . . [the order of life is inverted] ."** Nevertheless, although the delight which the child finds in learning is motivated by self-interest, the Writings also observe that "it admits many things that are serviceable to regeneration, and is like a sponge that absorbs both clear and muddy waters; thus also it admits things that would otherwise be rejected, which yet serve as means, and also for forming ideas about goods and truths, and for other uses."***
*Genesis 12: 3. Cf. Genesis 27: 29.
**AC 3563.
***Ibid.
This passage provides the key to the spiritual sense of this series. Jacob is said to represent natural truth, or that truth which comes to us in the form of knowledge; but the Writings insist that "the rational is not born (as is supposed) of knowledge . . . but of the affection of these knowledges, as may be seen from the mere fact that no one can ever become rational unless some delight or affection . . . aspires thereto."*

445

It is, then, the delight of natural truth that is represented by Jacob. This affection or delight is first experienced by man as the delight which is found in learning. Were it not for this delight, with which all men are endowed from birth, man would not be educable. It is in this, therefore, that man differs from the beast. Whereas the animal is capable of perceiving every delight which is communicated to the mind by way of the five senses, man alone is endowed with the ability to abstract rational ideas from sense experience. That is what is meant when it is said that man has the power of abstraction. Because man can abstract his thought from sense experience, he is able to reflect upon the meaning and purpose of life. In other words, he can think in terms of the use and quality of a thing, whereas an animal cannot. Thus man is not only gifted with the power of abstraction, but he is also endowed with a capacity for reflection. To say the same thing in another way: man alone can be affected by truth, and because he can be affected by truth he is able to understand and perceive what is good, for it is as truth that good is made visible to the sight of the understanding. Hence good and truth have meaning to the human mind, but have no meaning whatsoever to the mind of the animal.
* AC 1895: 2.
In childhood and adolescence the delight which a child finds in truth is as yet natural. In this it does not differ from all the other loves of his life. It is said to be natural simply because it is motivated by the love of self; yet from being natural this love may yet become spiritual, and it is through or by means of this love that all the other loves of man's life are regenerated. In other words, it is through the delight which the child finds in learning that the thought of his mind can be directed from thought of self to the thought of use; that is, to the Lord and the Divine purpose in creation. It is to this that the Writings refer when they speak of the formation of a new will in the understanding. This is the essential purpose of New Church education. Through the years of formal instruction - so called because it is during these years that the mind is formed - our primary purpose is to hold the mind of the child in the acknowledgment of the Lord by way of instruction from the Word. This is a progressive process, each step of the way being designed to provide the child with a more interior concept of God; that is, a more interior concept of what is meant by good or use.
But the knowledge of good and truth is one thing, and the life of religion is another; for the life of religion is to do good, and how can a man do what is good until he shuns what is evil as a sin against the neighbor? Hence the Writings insist that the first of charity is to shun evils as sins, and the second is to do those goods which are of use to the neighbor.*

446

It is in this that the regeneration process differs from the educational process; for whereas in states of instruction truth is formed in the understanding, in states of regeneration it is applied to the will. It is, then, through the will to do good that man is regenerated. That is why a child cannot be regenerated. It is not because the child does not will to do good, but because he is as yet incapable of perceiving what good is. Because the delight which he perceives in truth is as yet a natural delight, his mind is focused upon the rewards that accrue to self through the doing of good. As long as man's primary concern is for self he is unregenerate, for not only is his essential delight in self, but in serving the neighbor he attributes to himself the good which he does. Like Jacob, he wants for self that which properly belongs to good or to use. Hence we are taught in the Writings that man should never ascribe to himself the honor and dignity which belong to a use, for they state that to do so, "is to take it away from the Lord." ** In childhood and youth man cannot do otherwise, for in all that he does the child acts from the appearance that the good which he does is attributable to self; but if in adult life he persists in the illusion that the good which he does has its origin in self he becomes, as it were, spiritually dispossessed. Like Jacob, therefore, he recedes from the good of first states, and is forced to flee from the land of his nativity.
* Char. See I, II; TCR 435.
** HD 317. See also AC 10227.

Returning to the letter, we would call your attention to Esau's resentment against his brother Jacob, for it is here said: "Esau hated Jacob because of the blessing wherewith his father blessed him: and Esau said.
The days of mourning for my father are at hand; then will I slay my brother Jacob."* It would seem that in this Esau does not sustain the representation that is accorded to him in the spiritual sense, for good cannot hate. However, here, as in so many instances, the spiritual sense reverses the meaning of the letter, for the subject under consideration is the regeneration of the natural man, which cannot be effected as long as man clings to the illusion of the goodness of self. According to the Writings, this self-derived doctrine must die; that is, man must reject those reasonings from the appearance of self-life which lend credence to those man-made ideologies which would have us believe that self is essentially good. We are reminded here of a recent article in which the author openly states that "selfishness is a good thing, not only because it is creative . . . but because it is according to the harsh but just law of the survival of the fittest."

447

What the author is suggesting is a new kind of morality in which all religious concepts of goodness are to be abandoned in favor of a self-derived conscience which will naturally emerge from one's own thought and experience. It is here that the Writings come into direct conflict with what is frequently referred to as advanced modern thought.
* Genesis 27: 41.
We must distinguish, however, between selfishness and the love of self; for whereas selfishness in any form is essentially evil, the love of self, both as to origin and purpose, is good; for every love by which man is affected has its origin in God, and the purpose of self is that by means of self man may be of use to others. That is why the Writings teach that the love of self is not evil if it is subordinate to use; and also that every man is neighbor to himself, and therefore should provide for himself.* Neither is anyone forbidden to enjoy the pleasures in which self delights, such as the pleasures of wealth and possessions, the pleasures of honor and office, the pleasures of becoming dress and elegant dwellings, the pleasures of good food and drink, and the pleasures of touch.** This is but a partial list of the countless things which God has provided for man's good pleasure, and are intended by Him to be pleasing to self: But when the delights that man finds in these things become ends in themselves, that is, when they are preferred to the delights that are to be found in the service of uses, the order of life is inverted; for God created man a form of use, a form capable of responding with delight to the needs of others. If, in his preoccupation with self, however, man's primary concern is for self and not for others, he perverts the use for which he was created. It is this perversion of use, or inversion of life, that is the origin of all evil. Thus the Writings insist that the origin of all evil is in man himself; for in perverting the use for which he was created, man "turns good into evil with himself, and thus makes in himself the origin of evil."***
* TCR 403, 406.
** AC 995.
*** CL 444.
What is it that the Writings are trying to tell us here? Is it not that there is a purpose in creation, that this purpose is the good of use, that self is the means whereby man may enter into the life of use, but that when the delights which are proper to self are not subordinated to use, evil arises? This is a new concept of evil. In other words, evil is not merely a matter of moral imperfection, as the Old Testament seems to imply: neither is it confined to those social transgressions against the person of the neighbor that are treated of in the New Testament; but when seen for what it really is, evil consists in attributing to self that which belongs to good, or what is the same, that which belongs to God. Take, for example, the institution of marriage. Here is a use which was ordained by God from the beginning, yet how few at this day think of marriage in terms of the use which it is intended to serve.

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For the most part it is regarded as a purely social institution designed to preserve some semblance of order among men. In other words, its real use is not seen, and because the use is not seen, neither do men see the evil that is implicit in the perversion of the use. By this we do not mean to imply that society countenances all manner of marital infidelity; but we do mean that in thinking of marriage as a man-made institution men fail to perceive its real use, and therefore are incapable of perceiving the deeper implications of those evils which invert and pervert the use.
     In all that he does, therefore, the New Church man is confronted by the question of use. But as we cannot resolve this question for ourselves we must go to the Writings; for there, and there alone, can man enter with understanding into the perception of use. After all, what is use? Is it not the Divine purpose in creation, and does not this purpose apply to every human relationship and to every aspect of life? Do not the Writings specifically treat of the uses and responsibilities that are inherent in marriage, in parenthood, in citizenship, and in the various offices that men perform? In each instance the thought is directed to the use involved; and when the use is seen, the good is seen. But it is one thing to see good as truth, and another to live according to it. Like the ancient Psalmist, we are conscious of the limitations of self, and particularly of the hold that self has upon us. With the Psalmist, therefore, we say: "Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it."*
* Psalm 139: 6.
     When we reflect upon what is involved in the life of use, it does indeed seem that we cannot attain to it. Concerned as we are for self, how can we act without thought of self? Yet note here the teaching of the Writings that every man is neighbor to himself, and that every man must provide for himself if he is to be of use to others. * But again, it is the use and not self which is the end in view. We can understand, therefore, what is meant when it is said that in its purity this doctrine is unrealistic in that it assumes that man is capable of acting from motives that are free from concern for self. On first thought this does indeed seem impossible, for such is the nature of the natural man that in all that he does his primary motivation is from self. But what is impossible with man is possible with God. Hence it is said in the Scriptures: "With God all things are possible."** He it is who has provided the way in which man may be delivered from self. This will be the subject of our next lecture.
* AC 6934.
** Matthew 19: 26.

     (To be continued.)

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APOSTOLIC WRITINGS 1961

APOSTOLIC WRITINGS Rev. HUGO Lj. ODHNER 1961

     (The first of two articles.)

     The Writings of the New Church compare the Apostolic Church to a new star appearing in the starry heaven. * Darkness still lingered over the world - a night of spiritual ignorance, when the truths of the ancient religions had degenerated into polytheism, superstition and magical claims; when philosophy had soured into a supercilious skepticism; and when such fashionable perversities as murder, homosexuality, slavery and
cruelties of all kinds debased the codes of society.
* See TCR 176.
     Christianity itself could not begin to dawn until a much later time when the Lord came again to reveal the spiritual teachings for a New Church.* Yet the morning star of the Apostolic Age shone feebly throughout the Dark Ages of Rome and the cold winter of Protestant reforms. For the gospel of the Lord was committed to writing, and the fervor of early Christian faith still breathed in the pages of the New Testament.
* See TCR 700.
     The New Testament includes five books which are inspired by the Holy Spirit and are so written that their letter contains a continuous spiritual sense of infinite profundity. These books are the four Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, and the prophetical Apocalypse or book of Revelation. But as received by the Christian Church, the New Testament also includes a historical book called the Acts of the Apostles, and a group of twenty-one pastoral letters or Epistles - fourteen purporting to be written by Paul, one by James, two by Peter, three by John, and one by Jude.
     The Christian Church was founded on the Gospels as well as on the Epistles. But it is notable that for the elucidation of doctrine Christians have depended, and still depend, on the Epistles, especially those of Paul. This is the more strange since Paul was not one of the twelve apostles, nor did he follow the Lord or receive the Christian doctrine from the apostles. In fact, Paul does not cite a single parable or teaching from the Lord's sayings, but "took all things from himself."* "He received nothing from the life and discourse of the Lord."** He was converted to Christianity by a miracle while he was on an errand to persecute the Christians!
* SD 4824.
** SD 4412.
     It was revealed to Swedenborg that Paul's pious preaching did not emanate from an angelic character. "The love of self with which he had been filled before he preached the gospel remained with him also afterwards."*

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The rest of the apostles rejected him from their company in the other life, even as they had been reluctant to recognize him on earth.
* SD 4412.
     Yet his epistles were, by a permission of Providence, made the chief source of doctrine in the Christian Church lest the Word itself be used by evil men to confirm their falsities."* This does not imply that Paul did not teach the general truths of Christianity and teach them powerfully. The meaning is that his epistles did not contain a spiritual sense, were not sacred scripture. Instead, they were "doctrinal writings," written with the purpose of establishing Christianity, and thus written in a clearer and more intimate style.**
* SD 4824.
** See Docu. 224.
     All the Epistles, including Paul's, are therefore called "good books of the Church." "They insist," Swedenborg wrote in a private letter, "upon the doctrine of charity and its faith as strongly as the Lord Himself has done in the Gospels and the Book of Revelation; as may be seen and found evident by anyone who in reading them directs his attention to these points."* And this is what we are now proposing to do.
* Ibid.

     In the earliest Greek manuscripts of the New Testament, the Epistle of James takes the first place after Acts. This was, perhaps, because the author was believed to be the brother of the Lord according to the flesh, James the brother of John having been killed by King Herod about the year AD. 44.
     In accord with the fact that the apostle James had represented charity, the Epistle of James significantly stresses that side of the Christian teachings. It may also be significant that the Christian Church later placed the Pauline letters before that of James. Luther, whose doctrine of salvation by "faith alone" could not be reconciled with that of James, excluded this epistle from his canon of the Word.*
* See LJ Post. 198, 33e. Cf. SD 6042e; AR 675: 7.
     James addressed his letter to Christian Jews in every land,* encouraging them: "Be ye doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves." "What does it profit, my brethren," he wrote, "though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? Can faith save him?" "Faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone." "Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar? . Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith alone. As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also."
* Cf. Acts 15: 13 - 30 for another such epistle.
     James preached poverty both in spirit and in fact, warning against the corruptions that riches bring.

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He counselled joyful patience in temptations, and stated with spiritual insight that God tempteth no man, but man is enticed by his own lust. But he gave a special warning that religion is vain if a man bridle not his tongue. "The tongue is a little member and boasteth great things. Behold, how much wood a small fire can kindle! and the tongue is a fire - a world of iniquity. . . . It defiles the whole body . . . and is set on fire of hell." "All kinds of beasts have been tamed by mankind; but the tongue," he complains, "no body can tame." Yet out of the same mouth there proceed both blessing and cursing. If you have wisdom, show it by good conversation and meekness of wisdom. But do not glory in wisdom if your heart is full of bitter envy and strife; such wisdom is sensual, devilish. Real wisdom, which comes from above, is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, easily entreated, full of mercy, without partiality or hypocrisy.
     And be patient. "For the coming of the Lord draweth nigh!" Pray! "The prayer of faith shall save the sick." "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed." "The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."

     We have cited this Epistle first because it displays the simple hearted spirit among the early Christians.
     How Christianity spread is known to us chiefly through the book called Acts of the Apostles. It is generally admitted as written by Luke,* who was an early member of the church at Antioch, where he followed the profession of physician.** Both the Gospel of Luke and the Acts were written as letters addressed to one Theophilus. The Gospel was avowedly a continuous narrative based on the testimony of eyewitnesses, while Acts is partly also Luke's own account of his journeys in Paul's company. A better title for the book would be "Acts of Peter and Paul."
* See Luke 1: 1-3, Acts 1: 1.
** See Colossians 4: 14, Acts 11.
     The book opens with an account of the Lord's ascension and the first public preaching of Christianity at Pentecost, the organization of the Christian community at Jerusalem, the conflicts with the Sanhedrin, and the martyrdom of Stephen. Then it tells of the spread of the Christian faith in neighboring districts. Saul of Tarsus is converted by a vision even while bent on persecuting the infant church. Peter is sent to baptize Gentiles, and the apostles meet and approve this policy. Saul sets out on various missionary journeys, mostly to Asia Minor, but also to Greece. His relations with the apostles, his preaching and his arrest in Jerusalem by the Romans, his shipwreck at Malta, and his advent in Rome occupy the main portion of the Acts of the Apostles.

452

     The story of the spread of Christianity thus naturally centers in the strange, colorful and compelling figure of Saul of Tarsus, who, after his conversion, called himself Paul - "the little one." His personal appearance did not command admiration. He was short in stature, bald, with a hooked nose and poor eyesight. His preaching was rather dull and unattractive, at least to his critical Greek audience. * Yet he had the bearing and dignity of a man who was fearless and energetic, keen of apprehension, and able to arrange his thoughts into forcible and logical array; and he convinced Christian posterity that his moral character was everything that was great and noble. *See II Corinthians 10: 10.
     But even his worst critics seem to agree that what he wrote ranks with the most vital and suggestive books that have ever been written, and certainly with the most influential. If we would understand the thoughts and ideals of Christendom from its beginnings, and the phases and turns of Protestant literature, we must become familiar with the Pauline epistles.
     Letters are the least studied forms of writing, and this gives them unusual historical value. This is true of all the Epistles. But Paul's epistles are most carefully constructed, every phrase weighted with a significance that is often lost to the modern reader. They were usually pastoral letters to churches he had visited or which he had organized. They were written with specific problems in mind: to answer questions, to allay dissention or unrest, to settle controversies, or to urge patience and fortitude and give moral advice. But not infrequently he writes in his own defense, whether to express his right to the title of apostle or to put himself up as an example for all to follow.
     The meaning of the Pauline theology would be obscure unless his claim as apostle is clarified. In the Epistle to the Galatians, where he gives his autobiography, he rests his claim on the fact that he had been directly called by Jesus Christ, and not by men. He admitted having visited Peter for fifteen days and having seen James the brother of Jesus, but he stoutly maintained that the gospel he preached was "not after man." "For," he wrote, "I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ."* He claimed to have had later revelations, once being caught up to the third heaven,** and thus was "in nothing behind the very chiefest apostles."*** It was natural that the apostles should be cautious in accepting their former persecutor officially as a full colleague, for they considered their office as belonging only to "eyewitnesses" of the Lord's resurrection. Moreover, this self-styled "apostle of the Gentiles" - although he was a Jew, a Benjamite, a former Pharisee, pupil of the renowned Rabbi Gamaliel - was now doing away with the barriers between Jews and Gentiles and baptizing and accepting converts from among the uncircumcised, excusing them from the Mosaic Law and its ritual requirements.

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Not until Peter had been instructed by a vision to accept Gentiles, and Paul and the apostles had had a conference on the subject in Jerusalem, was Paul recognized officially;**** and even so, Peter and the others leaned toward encouraging the converted Jewish Christians to keep up the practices of ritual worship.
* See Galatians 1L 1, 11, 12, 16ff.
** See Verbo 6.
*** II Corinthians 12.
**** See Acts 15.
     Undoubtedly, Paul was raised up to make it clear that Christianity was in no sense a sect of the Jewish Church. But in his zeal Paul shows considerable intolerance with those who, like Peter, differed from him.* To the Galatians he writes, hinting at Peter "Though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed!" He accuses Peter of dissembling."** "A man, he writes, "is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ." "I am crucified in Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness came by the law, then Christ is dead in vain." "Behold I, Paul, say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing."
* Even in the spiritual world, Paul had contempt for Peter as a simpleton. See SD min. 4631.
     Yet Paul recognized the circumcision of the heart, spoken of by the prophets; a circumcision in the spirit, not in the letter.* "The letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life." "Where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty."**
* See Romans 2: 29.
** II Corinthians 3: 6, 17.
     Therefore Paul felt that Christians should not be bound to the dietary laws of the Hebrews. "To the pure all things are pure," he said."* He went beyond his agreement with the apostles and permitted that Christians eat even meat "offered to an idol" - which probably meant bought from the meat market of a pagan temple or offered in a pagan home. Cautiously he adds that if such practice makes a brother to offend, he would, of course, abstain. "All things are lawful for me, but all things are not expedient."**
* Titus 1: 15, Romans 14: 1, I Corinthians 8, 10: 23-33.
**I Corinthians 10: 23.
     Since Luther relied upon the epistles of Paul for his doctrine of salvation by "faith alone," without the works of charity, it is well to note that Paul, when he said, "A man is justified by faith without the works of the law," was plainly referring to the works of the Jewish ceremonial law. For he continues: "Is God the God of the Jews only? Is He not also of the Gentiles?"*
* Romans 3: 28, 29.

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     Paul never said, as did Luther, that good works, and especially works of repentence, do not contribute to salvation. But neither did he clearly state, as did James, that faith without such works is dead. Yet Paul preached that Christians should not conform to the world, but be "transformed by the renewing of their minds" and present their bodies a living and holy sacrifice in service acceptable to God. Give with simplicity, show mercy with cheerfulness, love without dissimulation, he urged. "Abhor that which is evil, cleave to that which is good. Be kindly affectioned one to another, with brotherly love; in honor preferring one another; be not slothful in business; be fervent in spirit, serving the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, continuing instant in prayer. Distribute to the needs of the saints; be disposed to hospitality. Bless them that persecute you, bless and curse not. . . . Recompense no man evil for evil." "Be not wise in your own conceits." "Provide things honest in the sight of all men." "Avenge not yourselves." "If thine enemy hunger, feed him . . . for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good." "Love worketh no evil to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law."*
*Romans 12, 13: 10.
     The new Christian life here advocated is certainly not contrary to the Lord's Sermon on the Mount. It does not enter systematically into the doctrine of regeneration, but it suggests the essentials of repentance. In speaking of the sacrament of the Holy Supper, Paul goes somewhat further. He says: "Let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body. . . . If we would judge ourselves we would not be judged. . . . But if any man hunger, let him eat at home!"*
* I Corinthians 11: 28-31.
     One of the most beautiful descriptions of Christian charity - or love, brotherly love, agape - comes to us through the pen of Paul. "Though I speak with the tongue of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as a sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge (gnosis); and though I have all faith so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profits me nothing. Charity suffers long; it is kind; it envieth not. Charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own [advantage], is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil. It rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth. It beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things.

455

Charity never faileth; but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know, in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass - as in an enigma - but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as I also am known. And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity."*
* I Corinthians 13.

The high tone of this discourse contrasts strangely with some of the more practical moral advice which Paul gives to the neophyte Christians of his widespread parishes. We must, of course, interpret his applications in the light of his times. Some of the epistles attributed to Paul are written personally and informally. To Timothy, one of his supervisors, he wrote: "Drink no longer water, but use a little wine for thy stomach's sake and for thy frequent infirmities." "Bodily exercise profiteth little: but godliness is profitable unto all things." "Flee fornication. . . . Know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit . . . and that ye are not your own?" * In Hebrews we find the renowned saying: "Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares."** In various epistles there are precepts for different classes of people. Servants are warned to obey their masters and not to talk back or do eye-service as man-pleasers.*** Children must honor their parents. Fathers should not provoke and discourage their children, but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. Young men must be exhorted to be soberminded, sincere in doctrine and sound of speech, beyond reproach. Young women must be discreet, sober, chaste; must keep at home and love their husbands and children, and not run around like "busybodies." Old men should be temperate, sound in faith and charity, and be grave and sober. Aged women should cultivate holiness of behavior and be teachers of good things, avoiding wine and gossip.
* I Corinthians 6: 18, 19.
** 13: 2.
*** See I Timothy 6: 2, Titus 2: 9, Ephesians 6: 5, Colossians 3: 22.
Women were in a special category. Eve was formed from Adam's rib, and she was responsible for man's fall. Woman's salvation lay in childbearing, provided she was virtuous. Man need not cover his head, for he is the image and glory of God; but woman was created for man, as his glory. A woman must not broider her hair or wear jewelry.

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She should cover her head when she prayed as a sign that she is under authority. "Let your women keep silence in the churches," wrote Paul. "I suffer not a woman to teach nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence. If they will learn anything, let them ask their husbands at home." * Husbands should, however, love their wives as they love their own bodies; for even so Christ loves His church, and gave Himself for it. And wives must submit themselves in all things to their husbands, for the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church.
* 1 Corinthians 11, 14, 1 Timothy 2.
     In this statement of the relation of husband and wife, Paul leaves much to be desired. To Paul, the corresponding relation of Christ to the church was a sacred "mystery"; and since he himself was unmarried, a celibate by conviction, and confessedly had no revelation on the subject, we may infer that marriage itself also remained a mystery to him.
     Paul, a Roman citizen by birth, believed in obeying lawful authority. Civil rulers were "the powers that be ordained of God." * This statement was often cited by later Christians to support the Divine right of kings. He also accepted the institution of slavery without protest; for even a slave could be the Lord's freeman, redeemed without a price.**
* Romans 3: 1.
** See 1 Corinthians 7: 22.
     But to be a ruler in the church was to be a steward of God. A bishop must be blameless, vigilant, sober, hospitable, a monogamist, an able teacher; "no striker, nor greedy of filthy lucre" - for "the love of money is the root of all evil";* not covetous; not a brawler, but patient; "one who ruleth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity; for if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the church of God?" He must be able by sound doctrine to defend the church. No novice will do, lest pride infest him; but only a man of good report. Deacons also must be proven and blameless, not double tongued, not given to much wine, nor to greed; and their wives also must be sober and faithful, shunning slander and flippancy.**
* I Timothy 6: 10.
** I Timothy 3, Titus 1.
     Perhaps it may appear from the preceding sketch that the Epistles contain much that is suggestive and useful, that they were "good books for the church." But in addition to the practical aspects there is a side of the Apostolic Writings which needs also to be considered, for the early Christians lived only half on earth. They lived - as John shows in the Apocalypse - "in the patience and expectation of Jesus Christ." They believed that they lived in the "last times."

     (To be concluded)

457

GENERATIONS FOLLOWING 1961

GENERATIONS FOLLOWING Rev. ALAN GILL 1961

     (Delivered at the First Session of the 46th British Assembly, Colchester, July 15, 1961.)

     Upon reflecting over the five or six decades of British Assemblies of the General Church of the New Jerusalem, any who are old enough to have attended the very early ones - or those able to recall the faces and names of the members, young people and children of any of our societies in those early days - will agree that a large proportion of those still with us in this seventh decade of the General Church in this country are third or fourth generation members of the church. Comparatively few are newcomers, with their keen appetite for the truths of the church that is so characteristic of the first generation, and often of the second, their children; though not so often, perhaps, of their grandchildren and great grandchildren - the third and fourth generations. But however that may be, whether this be so or not - and there undoubtedly are many exceptions - their state is different from that of their forebears who came into the New Church from the old. It would seem useful, therefore, on this occasion to note and consider a few teachings of the Writings concerning the state and the problems of such as are born into this church - those who have never consciously sought it and entered it as a result of a thirst for truth not to be found elsewhere.
     Their state is not the same as that of newcomers, of first generation New Church men. Indeed, the teaching is clear that every church passes through variations and changes of state, largely for this reason, that its state as it is with one generation is never the same as it is with a preceding or a succeeding generation. Certainly there were great changes with all former churches, and it must surely be so with the New Church; for no church can remain unchanged, simply maintaining the status quo. Thus we are taught that every church passes through variations of state as to love and as to faith, "by means of elevations toward more interior things and by lowerings toward more exterior things," as is the case with every man who is being regenerated. For the regenerating man is one upon whom the truths and goods of the church have had a regenerating effect - one in whom the spiritual things of the church have effected a change of state.

458

The state of those upon whom the church has had no radical influence is therefore also changed, of course, though this may be imperceptible to them; for wherever there is not a constant progression toward more and more interior things there is retrogression. There is no man the life of whose spirit is not undergoing variations and changes of state continually; and if a man values that life there must, as was said, be progression toward more interior things. Hence the need for these Assemblies, the only reason that we hold them; namely, that there may be progression or elevation toward more interior things, which cannot be accomplished without variations and changes of state. For the former state and life must be left behind if there is to be elevation into a higher one.
Hence also, we are taught, "it is with the church in general as it is with man in particular: his first state is a state of innocence, thus also of love toward his parents, nurse, and infant companions; his second is a state of light, for when the infant becomes a child he learns things that belong to light, that is, the truths of faith, and believes them; the third state is when he begins to love himself and to love the world, which takes place when he becomes a youth and when he thinks from himself, and in proportion as these loves increase, faith decreases, and with faith, charity toward the neighbor and love to God; the fourth and last state is when he does not care for these things, and still more when he denies them. Such also are the states of every church from its beginning to its end. Its first state is likewise a state of innocence, consequently of love to the Lord, which state is called [in the Word] 'morning';* its second state is a state of light; the third is a state of obscurity, which is its 'evening'; and the fourth is a state of no love and hence of no light, which is its 'night.' This is so because evils increase day by day, and in so far as they increase, one person infects another like a contagion, especially parents their children, besides that hereditary evils are successively condensed, and so transmitted.**
* The writer believes that to this may be compared not only the state of the primitive Christian Church but also that of the New Church wherever it is in its earliest beginnings, or of first generation New Church men.
** AC 10,134: 6, 8, 9.
This passage, of course, is treating of former churches, each of which had its rise, decline, and final consummation. We are Divinely assured that the New Church, as distinguished from organizations thereof, is "a dominion of ages which shall not pass away." * Nor need we fear that the organized church as we know it, or its succeeding generations, will fail, if there is but a searching of the Scriptures, and by each generation an elevation toward ever more interior things of love and faith by means of the truths revealed in the Lord's Word to His New Church. *Daniel 7: 14.

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     This progressive elevation there must be this form of active life in the church of every generation, for this is its spirit and its very life. Without it, there come inevitably stagnation and death. Indeed each generation, and every individual thereof, must come into the church as a result of "discovering" it and being inmostly impressed by the truth, the importance, and the vital implications of the teachings of the Writings. The doctrinals of our church are not true because the leaders of the church have said so, or because our parents have believed them. Those doctrinals must be learned, but then examination is to be made from the Word as to whether they are true or not. The Word is to be searched, and there the truth of doctrinals is to be seen before they are accepted and confirmed as expressing man's belief.*
* See AC 6047.
     Recall the teaching often quoted in our rite of Confirmation. "The things which a man as a little child in his first age eagerly learns or believes, and which he afterwards either confirms, or doubts, or denies, are especially these: that there is a God, and that He is one; that He has created all things, and that He rewards those who do well and punishes those who do evil; that there is a life after death, and that the evil go into hell and the good into heaven; thus that there is a hell and a heaven, and that the life after death is eternal; further, that he ought to pray daily, and this with humility; that the sabbath day is to be kept holy; that parents are to be honored; that one must not commit adultery, must not kill, must not steal, and other like things. These things man imbibes and is imbued with from infancy. And when he begins to think from himself, and to lead himself, if he confirms such things with himself and adds to them such things as are still more interior, and lives according to them, then it will be well with him; but if he begins to infringe upon such things and at length to deny - howsoever he may live according to them in externals for the sake of civil laws - then he is in evil."*
* AC 5135.
     Clearly this teaching is especially applicable to those who are born within the sphere of the church, or at any rate have been taught truths by their parents and teachers, and not the false doctrinals of a consummated church, which in later life are repudiated by those who recognize them as false and who seek the truth, find it, and come into the church. For note what is said in the same number immediately before the teaching just quoted. It is referring specifically to one who "from infancy until childhood, and sometimes till early manhood, is imbued with goods and truths by instruction from his parents and teachers." Such a one, it is explained, "then learns them with avidity and believes them in simplicity; the state of innocence favors them and adapts them to the memory; but it places them only at the first threshold. . . . And when the man grows older and begins to think from himself, and not as before from parents and teachers, he then takes up again and as it were ruminates the things which he had before learned and believed, and either confirms them, or doubts about them, or denies them.

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If he confirms them it is a sign that he is in good; if he denies them it is a sign that he is in evil; but if he doubts about them it is a sign that in succeeding years he will accede either to the affirmative or to the negative."*
* Ibid.
     Here is teaching for sober thought indeed, showing, as it does, how vital is the need for goods and truths - imbued by instruction from parents - to be given individual and independent reconsideration in adult life and to be confirmed as one's own. Every generation must do this, and not just accept without question or rational understanding the teaching of parents and grandparents. The Word of the Lord, Divine revelation, of course, is not to be questioned; though that, too, everyone must see for himself to be true. What is required is that every man of each generation, by going to the Lord in His Word - which for us includes the Divine Writings of His second advent - shall by examination and confirmation make his own, revive and re-develop, the truths discovered by his father or forefathers.
     Those born into the sphere and environment of the New Church, into a home in which the goods and truths of the church are regarded as matters of supreme importance, such indeed enjoy a great privilege and blessing; namely, that of not having to unlearn false doctrines and principles before learning the truth, as many newcomers must, and also of being so imbued with the fundamentals of a true faith and of heavenly life from earliest infancy that their adult life may be the richer spiritually. If, in addition, their teachers during their formative years have been sincere and sound New Church men or women, their developing minds will not be impaired or confused by the disagreements and opposition that otherwise exist between the instruction given at home and that received in school. This is one of the reasons that the General Church, and the Academy of the New Church from which it sprung, have always regarded the establishment and maintenance of schools in societies, wherever possible, as of vital importance to the growth, nay, the survival, of the visible, organized church among us. For by a real New Church education, one that touches all aspects of life, the child is imbued not only with truths but also with goods; that is, with affections in the form of remains, from which in later life the child, now a man, may derive an inclination to receive and confirm himself in the spiritual things of the church and to adopt its true Christian religion as his own.
     That this is so is clear from the well-known teaching of the Writings "that offspring born of two who are in love truly conjugial derive from their parents the conjugial of good and truth" - that is, an inclination to conjoin good and truth in their lives - "from which they have the inclination and faculty, if a son, for perceiving the things which are of wisdom, if a daughter, for loving the things which wisdom teaches."*

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It is further shown that it is well known from history and from experience that offspring do derive from their parents inclinations to such things as were of the parents' love and life; though they do not derive or inherit from them their very affections, and thence their lives, but only inclinations and also faculties for them. And it is pointed out that although inclinations for things similar to those of their parents are born with children, similar thoughts and actions may not follow; for depraved inclinations are also inherited, or may be acquired. However, a faculty for the correction of these is implanted also; "from which faculty comes the effectiveness of the correction of morals by parents and masters, and afterwards by themselves when they come to act from their own judgment."**
* CL 202.
** Ibid.
So those who are born into the church, and of conjugial partners, are indubitably blessed greatly as compared with those who are not and who do not find the church before adult age. Nevertheless, such are liable more than others to be tempted not to follow the beneficent inclinations into which they are born, and to make no use of their faculty for the correction of such depraved inclinations as they have inherited or acquired; but instead to allow the development in themselves of a mentality which takes for granted the teachings of the church, which makes no serious effect to cultivate an interior understanding of them, and which finally does not listen to or read them, or attempt to govern their lives according to them. Such are described in the Word as the "lukewarm," the Laodiceans, who are "neither hot nor cold." In the Writings they are described as those in the church "who believe and do not believe; who believe that there is a God, that the Word is holy, that life is eternal, and other things which are of the church and its doctrine; and yet do not believe these things. They believe them when . . . they are in externals; that is, when they are in society and conversation with others; but they do not believe them when they are in their internals, or when they are not in society with others, but alone, in converse with themselves."*
* AR 198.
Even so, although this is a state of profanation, the Lord loves those who are in it; and He offers His omnipotent aid to all who are but willing to avail themselves of it - which they do by shunning lukewarmness, indifference, apathy and inactivity as sins against God, and cultivating actively and persistently a zeal for the Divine and spiritual things of the church, a zeal which takes the form of a lively interest in and genuine affection for the interior things of the Word and the church.

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This may be by no means easy, and fraught with discouragement, for one who, having been born in and brought up in the church, knows no other church or teachings. Hence the Lord says: "As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous, therefore, and repent." And it is especially to those to whom He addressed these words that He speaks also the following well known and comforting assurance: "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me. To him that overcometh will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne. He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches."
OUR NEW CHURCH VOCABULARY 1961

OUR NEW CHURCH VOCABULARY 1961

Conatus. This word means "endeavor" and is often so rendered in English translations of the Writings. In every affection and thought, indeed in every natural thing, there is something spiritual - a constant effort inflowing from the spiritual world to come forth and subsist by ultimating itself in forms of use; one which seeks to do so by setting in action the necessary active and reactive forces. This effort is what is meant by "conatus." It is not force or motion, but that which animates force and through it initiates motion; and if it fails, activity and motion cease. In man, conatus is the will united with the understanding; living forces are the motor fibers; and motion is action. The spiritual world is therefore the world of conatus and the natural the world of motion. (See AC 5173: 2, 3, 8911; DLW 218, 219.)

Concupiscence. Here we have another term which should be retained as marking an important distinction, even though it may fall strangely on the unfamiliar ear. Concupiscence is voluntary evil; yet not so much the evil of the will itself as the continuous lust of evil, and therefore the life that is breathed into it by the loves of self and the world and that sustains it. The various and distinct evils that make up man's ruling evil are called concupiscences; and the derivations of infernal love, which are affections of evil and falsity, are called concupiscences, the term "affection" being reserved properly for good and truth. (See AC 10,283:12; DP 296, 106.)

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FORTY-SIXTH BRITISH ASSEMBLY 1961

FORTY-SIXTH BRITISH ASSEMBLY FRANK S. ROSE 1961

     COLCHESTER, JULY 14-16, 1961

     Our British Assembly this year was unusually happy and inspiring. There was a keen interest in the addresses, and a warm delight in meeting together. Besides this, we were home. After being so enthusiastic about holding our Colchester British Assembly at Endsleigh School two years ago, we had to admit that we were not unduly grieved that those premises were being altered and so were not available for use this year. It was nice to be home in our own church, with the giant marquee set up for meals only a few steps away from the church door.

     Reception. The Assembly opened on Friday evening, July 14, with a reception at Tweed's Restaurant. The first item of entertainment was a complex of spontaneous human conversation that made the restaurant hum with life and anticipation. After more than an hour of this, refreshments were served and wine was distributed for the toasts. The toastmaster explained that the three speeches would commemorate three anniversaries totaling seventy-five years. First he introduced himself(the Rev. Frank Rose) to make some remarks on the News Letter, in continuous publication for over twenty-six years. He then introduced Mr. Colley Pryke, who gave an account of the origins and life of the British Finance Committee (BFC) during twenty-five years of active service. The concluding toast was in honor of the priesthood, as exemplified in the twenty-four years of leadership provided by the Right Rev. George de Charms, so wonderfully assisted by his wife. The speech was made by Mr. A. Stanley Wainscot. Following this program, there was dancing for some and a continuation of their interrupted conversations for others.

     First Session. The Rev. Alan Gill opened the first session at 11 o'clock on Saturday morning with prayer and a reading from the Word. As president and host pastor he welcomed the Assembly and wished it success. Messages of greeting were then read by the secretary. The report of the 45th British Assembly as published in NEW CHURCH LIFE, October 1960, pp. 433-437, was referred to and was accepted as the official Minutes of that Assembly.

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     The business of this first session concerned the British Finance Committee, the principal responsibility of which is the financial side of the Open Road Society. The Rev. Alan Gill gave his report as chairman, and Mr. Kenneth Pryke presented the BFC accounts. After some discussion by the Assembly, the Rev. Erik Sandstrom moved, and Mr. Victor Tilson seconded, the acceptance of the reports and the motion was carried. The Assembly then ratified the Bishop's re-appointment of Messrs. F. G. Colley Pryke, Kenneth Pryke and E. R. E. Briscoe to the BFC, and the appointment of Mr. Roy H. Griffith to serve as a member of that committee. Messrs. A. J. Appleton and Philip Waters were re-elected as auditors.
     With the business completed, the Rev. Erik Sandstrom took the chair while the Rev. Alan Gill delivered the presidential address, on "The Generations Following." In a very gentle but firm way he dealt with the problem of the third and fourth generations in the church, pointing out that each new generation will either add to or detract from the things passed on to it. There is no standing still. If the young people take up the church merely from loyalty to their parents, the church is weakened. The Lord invites His church to enter ever more interiorly into the understanding of the Word as the generations pass. There was a lively discussion in which all five of the priests present took part. Such a formidable opening did not, however, deter the many lay men and women who took part in later discussions. It merely demonstrated the unity of the priesthood in responding to this keynote, and helped to establish at the outset that the prime purpose of the Assembly is to lead the church into an ever more living and profound acknowledgment of the Lord in His new revelation.

     Garden Party. After the session we had lunch in the marquee, and then moved en masse to the home and garden of Mr. and Mrs. Harold Wyncoll. Everything was perfectly arranged for our comfort and pleasure except the one item beyond human control. We will not mention the weather, however. Suffice it to say that there was enough room inside for some 150 people, impossible as it may seem, and that we did manage to spend a fair portion of our time in the freshly moistened garden. Lacking a grandstand on which he could place the group so as to make everyone visible, Mr. Brian Appleton, our intrepid photographer, mounted a balcony and took the Assembly photograph looking down on our eager, upturned faces.

     Second Session. The business at the second session consisted of three short reports and a short discussion. The reports were: editor of the News Letter and visiting pastor (Rev. Frank Rose) and chairman of the British Academy (Rev. Erik Sandstrom).

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Just after 8:00 the Rev. Bjorn Boyesen took his place for an address on "The Doctrine of Use." His concluding definition gives a taste of this beautiful address: "Use is the perfection of love in action." Some of the people remarked during the discussion that although Mr. Boyesen raised a number of questions in their minds in the course of his address, he had answered some of them before the address was concluded. Even so, a number of fresh points came out in the discussion, and some people rose to express appreciation for the comprehensive and scholarly way in which Mr. Boyesen had dealt with the subject.

     Third Session. In order to have two services and a session on our last day, the third session began at 11:00 am., on Sunday. It was somewhat strange to have the accustomed time and place of worship occupied by a session of the Assembly, but the Rev. Erik Sandstrom's address on "The State of Betrothal" preserved the sphere of worship in a truly wonderful way. He stressed the need for early betrothals, and in answer to the objection that there is a danger in prolonged betrothals pointed out that our protection is to be found in revealed doctrine and not in worldly customs. There was a lively and affirmative discussion. Summing it up at the end of the session, Mr. Sandstrom thanked the people for their response, and said that he would be doubly grateful if this would lead to application. Actions speak louder than words.
     We went straight from the session into the marquee for lunch. This was a happy meal gaily interspersed with songs and informal toasts.

     Worship. The Assembly service began at 2:30 p.m., and included a talk for children by the Rev. Frank Rose on creation "by the Word of the Lord," and a sermon by the Rev. Martin Pryke on "A New Song." The sermon reminded us of the distinctly new doctrines which the Lord has provided for His church and was a fitting conclusion to the instruction given at the Assembly.
     The Holy Supper service followed at 4:30 p.m. During this most sacred act of worship the children were being shown slides illustrating stories from the Word at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Dennis Pryke across the road from the church. This enabled the adults to enter into the sphere of that most holy sacrament. There is something very beautiful about having people gather at the Lord's table at the close of an Assembly. It is truly expressive of the fact that the church is living and strong only in the degree that it approaches the Lord and humbly repents.

     Statistics. One hundred and fifty-nine people signed the roll: 85 from Colchester, 42 from London, 17 from other places in Great Britain, 8 from the U. S. A., 3 from Sweden, 2 from Norway, 1 from South Africa and 1 from Canada.

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Attendance figures were as follows:

Reception                105
First Session          98
Saturday Lunch          100
Garden Party          152
Second Session          107
Third Session          108
Sunday Lunch          150
Worship               167
Holy Supper               92 (90 communicants)
Sunday Tea               111

     FRANK S. ROSE,
          Secretary of the Assembly
NEW CHURCH CLUB 1961

NEW CHURCH CLUB 1961

On Thursday evening, July 13, just prior to the Assembly, the New Church Club met in London. The Rev. Bjorn Boyesen gave a very interesting paper on "The Proprium." Twenty-one men attended. In the best tradition of the Club there was an active and interesting discussion of the address.
MINISTERIAL CHANGES 1961

MINISTERIAL CHANGES 1961

The Rev. B. David Holm, who returned to pastoral work at Glendale, Ohio, early this year, has now resumed his duties as visiting pastor in South Ohio and to the Erie, Pennsylvania, Circle.
The Rev. Louis B. King, who, with the assistance of the Rev. Kurt H. Asplundh, had been visiting Erie, will serve as visiting pastor to Cleveland, Ohio, again assisted by Mr. Asplundh.
LITURGY COMMITTEE 1961

LITURGY COMMITTEE 1961

At the request of the Acting Bishop, the Right Rev. George de Charms has assumed the chairmanship of the General Church Liturgy Committee formerly held by the Right Rev. Willard D. Pendleton. The Rev. Kenneth 0. Stroh, who was added to the committee as chairman of the sub-committee on music, will be retained as a consultant.

467

NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS 1961

NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS Rev. ORMOND ODHNER 1961

     The depth to which the Jewish Church had fallen by the 7th century B.C. is graphically pictured in II Kings 22 and 23, which recount the reforms instituted by King Josiah in his attempts to re-establish the genuine worship of Jehovah. There was hardly a sin that was not rampant in the land.
     Many an evil king had ruled Judah during the preceding centuries. The few good kings interspersed among them had not been powerful enough to effect any lasting reforms. The ordained priesthood either stood by helplessly as idolatry and immorality spread or itself took an active part in spreading them. The ancient Mosaic law had long been forgotten, and the books containing it were lost; it naturally followed that the Jewish rituals of sacrifice, washing, etc., were not being properly observed. The temple was in disrepair; and the reformatory voices of the great prophets then in the land - Isaiah, Jeremiah and others - went unheeded.
     Josiah had come to the throne as a boy. In his mid-twenties, for some reason not mentioned, he rather suddenly ordered the temple repaired. During the repair work, Hilkiah, the high priest, came across the "book of the law." (Old Church critics generally believe that he "planted" it, or at least knew well where to look for it.) Hilkiah gave the book to Josiah's scribe, and the scribe read its contents to the king.
     Josiah rent his clothes. The Jews had long assumed that because they were "God's chosen people," Jehovah would be with them whatever they did. Here was a different story. They would remain God's chosen people only as long as they obeyed Jehovah's laws; disobedience would bring their destruction. Now the Jews were not only not obeying the law; they did not even know the law, and they were practising every abomination forbidden in it. Surely, Jehovah would destroy them! And Huldah, the prophetess, confirmed the king's fears: Jehovah would indeed destroy Judah, though Josiah himself would not live to see it.
     Josiah nevertheless assembled the elders of Judah, read them the law, and with them entered into a solemn covenant with the Lord to obey it. Reform began. The idols and images of false gods that had been placed in the temple itself were taken out, destroyed and defiled. The so-called sacred prostitution, which secular history now shows to have been rampant in the land, was brought to an end.

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The human sacrifice still practised in the valley of Hinnom was stamped out, and its shrine was defiled with filth. The altars of false gods and the idols everywhere in Judah - many of them erected by Solomon - were broken and defiled. Shrines and sacred sepulchres were everywhere disrupted and disgraced. Wizards, magicians and idol makers were put to death. A great, solemn passover was held to re-institute the proper worship of Jehovah.
But it did no good. Josiah was killed in battle, and his successors and descendants went back wholeheartedly into all the evils Josiah had fought. The end was near, and it was only a few more decades before Babylonia captured Judah, took her people into exile, and burned Jerusalem and its temple to the ground. Jewish worship was temporarily ended.
REVIEWS 1961

REVIEWS Various 1961

FOR THOSE WITHIN. By Basil Lazer. Published by the Author. Canberra, Australia, 1961. Paper, pp. 39.
     For Those Within is an expression of Mr. Lazer's profound gratitude for having been led to the New Church after years of search for spiritual truth. He was like a prospector who, after years of uncovering minerals of lesser value, has the supreme pleasure of finding gold.
     The comparison is apt if we remember that gold corresponds to the good of love, and that is what Mr. Lazer has rejoiced to find in the New Church doctrines. There is no wisdom without love, no faith without charity, and that is the central idea of his book. He mentions the necessity for application of principles to life and the clear teaching showing the ways in which we should accomplish this.
     There are five studies in the booklet: Now it Can be Told, The Practice of Charity, Who is My Neighbor?, This "Busy" Life, and Victory in Temptation. The chapter entitled "This 'Busy' Life" may jolt most of us just a little, for we are all in danger of being drawn towards the "whirlpool" of modern living with its sensual attractions and apparent gains. It is a timely reminder that more time spent with the Writings is both a privilege and a duty.
     We are indebted to Mr. Lazer for his careful selection of passages from the Writings relevant to his topics. In reading them we may be forgiven for wondering how far we, as members of the New Church, are actually "within."
     NORMAN HELDON

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A NEW CHURCH PARENTAL GUIDE TO SEX EDUCATION. By Jan H. Weiss.
Glenview, Illinois, 1961. Paper, pp. 34. Price, $2.50.
     Here is a little book which loses nothing of its value in being addressed to a selected audience. The author is convinced that the conjugial instruction of children is a parental responsibility that should not be delegated to others, or evaded by substituting the printed for the spoken word. Accordingly, he has attempted in these pages - with considerable success, we believe - to offer guidance to those parents who find difficulty in approaching their children on matters bearing on sex.
     As the title emphasizes, this work is not intended for children. Nor is it necessarily intended for all adults, although we feel that there must be few who could not benefit by a careful consideration of it, and that it will be welcomed by many even among those who are not directly concerned. To those who are it should be of great help indeed.
     The author has wisely not attempted to anticipate all the questions that can arise in this field of education, and there are probably few who would question his judgment or success in trying to lead in what he feels to be the right direction. What is offered here is far more than sex instruction; it is instruction looking to conjugial love and life. The ideals of conjugial love are so presented that the mind is invited to think from the use of sex - and to think from use is to think from the Writings. The information given is fully adequate, but so ordered that the reader is always led from spiritual to natural truths, never the reverse; and the treatment, firm and direct, has the delicacy that comes from a complete absence of the clinical approach or a sentimental pietism. The subject is presented in a holy sphere, but without the selfconsciousness that sometimes accompanies the attempt to do this.
     Of particular interest is the distinction made, and powerfully illustrated, between what is private and what is public. Intercourse, the writer states, is a private act between husband and wife; but sexual intercourse itself can be discussed, provided it is done in the right sphere and does not become a discussion of personal experiences. Of interest also are the fundamental principles of instruction laid down, and the author's reasons for insisting upon the importance of correct nomenclature. The correct anatomical terms, imparted in a sphere of holiness, can become a basis for influx from the Lord through heaven.
     Loose leaflets with diagrams which may be used by the parents for illustration during the time of instruction are placed in an envelope at the back of the book. The book itself may be obtained from the Academy Book Room, Bryn Athyn, Pa., or from the Glenview, Illinois, Book Room.
     W. CAIRNS HENDERSON

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DEAD FRUITS OF APATHY 1961

DEAD FRUITS OF APATHY Editor 1961

NEW CHURCH LIFE
Office of Publication, Lancaster, Pa.
Published Monthly By
THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM BRYN ATHYN. PA.
Editor     -      Rev. W. Cairns Henderson, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager     -      Mr. L. E. Gyllenhaal, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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

TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION $5.00 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single copy, 50 cents.
     Perhaps the most deadly poison that can invade a man, a society, a country, a civilization or a church is apathy. The mind was created by the Lord to react, both affectionally and intellectually, to the stimuli that press upon it. In a state of order, it is repelled by evil and falsity and attracted by good and truth. It acts to combat the one and foster the other, and in so doing becomes truly human. In a state of disorder, it does the opposite and becomes inhuman. But apathy is nonhuman. Under its vitiating influence neither good nor evil, truth or falsity, arouses feeling or prompts to action. There is only a vast indifference. Even an active state of evil is less to be deplored, for evil men can change by repentance; but deepseated apathy, by its very nature precludes the possibility of change.
     If idleness is the devil's pillow, what may not be said of apathy? On the civil plane an apathetic people can be completely enslaved, with or without war, by their sheer indifference to the successive inroads made upon their freedom, and in moral and spiritual life freedom can never be attained if men are indifferent to the bondage in which the hells hold them. Certainly this is the extreme. But apathy induces a creeping paralysis, and there is safety only in recognizing before it may be too late the danger of indifference in any of the things of life. Calmness and selfcontrol are admirable and necessary qualities, but indifference is not. In the end, the spiritually apathetic become the lukewarm, who, indifferent to heaven or hell, can serve neither, since neither good nor evil can affect them.

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BASIC VALUES IN THE CHURCH 1961

BASIC VALUES IN THE CHURCH Editor 1961

     It is noted in the Writings that from ancient times men have contended about the priority of truth or good in the church. Nor has the issue finally been resolved. Rather has it spread more subtly into other areas, while remaining to plague churchmen and even the organized New Church! From time to time there is correspondence in our periodicals which seems to suggest, on one side or the other, that the only possibilities before the church, and between which an irrevocable choice must be made, are the life of charity or a life of study - love, or a mere intellectualism.
     But that is not a fair statement of the case, for we are not confronted by such an either-or situation. Love is life, and the life of the church is love to the Lord and toward the neighbor. Of that there can be no doubt whatsoever. But this life cannot be attained without the truth of the Word, for it is nothing else than that truth in act. Although the Capacity of men varies here as in all else, the life of a New Church man can no more be lived without appropriate study than can the life of a teacher, a doctor or an engineer, whose usefulness depends on his knowledge and understanding as well as his love.
     Probably we would all admit, in rare moments of humility, that the church knows more truth than it yet lives; that we, as individuals, even know truth that we are not yet concerned to live. But when this happens, when we see that we are more concerned with doctrine than with life, the remedy is not to lock the Writings away, hide the key, and go out to do good! The remedy is to seek from the Lord through repentance a new motive in going to the Writings - the purpose of studying doctrine, not as an end in itself, but as a means of discovering those truths which should be applied to our lives. This may be far more difficult, and it will not have swift or spectacular results, but it is the only sure remedy.
     Certainly the test of a church is the life that its members lead, and we should not minimize or forget this. The quality of the church is not to be measured by the range and depth of its intellectual attainments. But the life that is the gauge of the New Church is the life that is lived in accordance with the Heavenly Doctrine revealed in the Writings. This does not mean that all New Church men and women must be profound students, theologians and philosophers. What it does mean is that the New Church is established in the degree that each one, according to capacity, learns and understands, loves and lives, the spiritual truths revealed in the Writings; and this all can do, for these are the Lord's words, accommodated to every state of human reception.

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FOUNDATIONS OF TRUTH 1961

FOUNDATIONS OF TRUTH Editor 1961

     Every now and then reference is made in the church to the "Word of nature." The language of a living church will certainly grow, but it is our belief that every possible accretion should be tested for accuracy before it becomes accepted usage, and that this particular expression is at least unfortunate. It appears to be based on the teaching found in Spiritual Diary no. 5709, that there are two foundations of truth; one from the Word, the other from nature or from the truths of nature, and that these two foundations agree with one another.
     However, the passage continues that the first of these foundations is for the universal heaven, thus for those who are in the light of heaven; whereas the second is for those who are natural and in natural light, thus for those who have confirmed themselves from the letter of the Word in things not true, yea, even false, so as to be convinced of them. The point is, that these can no longer be convinced by the Word, but may discover a foundation of truth in nature; for as the sciences have closed the understanding they may also open it again, which takes place in so far as man is in good.
     This alone raises questions, but the matter goes deeper. The Writings have stated specifically what are the uses that make the Word to be the Word, and nature does not perform those uses. Nature does not teach that there is a God, and that He is the Lord Jesus Christ, that there is a life after death, that there is a heaven and a hell. Nature does not teach faith in and love to Him, or what redemption is. In fact, nature does not teach; and those who suppose that it does will most likely be taught exactly the lessons they have already decided to learn, and no others.
     Nature can neither answer theological and religious questions nor regenerate us. Without Divine revelation, the light of nature leads to materialism and atheism, and may seem to teach ruthless competition and the survival of the fittest. Even in the Most Ancient Church the Word was not nature, but the immediate revelation granted to the men of the church; and it was only because of that revelation that the most ancients could see universal nature as a theater representative of the Lord's kingdom. The whole realm of nature lies before the New Church mind, as before no other, as one in which truth is to be discovered in the light of the Word - truth that will be in full agreement with the spiritual truth of the Word. But let us not confuse this genuine natural truth, which illustrates and confirms, with the truth of the Word which alone teaches. Nature is a foundation of truth, but secondary to and confirmatory of, the Word, in which alone the Lord teaches and leads.

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HOW TO STOP COMMUNISM 1961

HOW TO STOP COMMUNISM KURT H. ASPLUNDH 1961

Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE:
     I think your editorial on "A Law of Reason" in the August issue of NEW CHURCH LIFE was a useful one in view of many current discussions of Communism. Most of these discussions end with the question: "What can I do?" There is a profusion and confusion of answer. Some are convinced that the primary necessity is to re-awaken the free world by informing people of the menace. Others feel that free countries must be more efficiently mobilized or organized for defense by their governments.
     Yet we cannot solve the problem of Communism by information alone any more than we can get to heaven by faith alone. And of what value is it to fight intrusion by Communists upon our freedom and rationality by yielding that very freedom and rationality to agencies of our own country?
     Our thinking should rather take into account the spiritual causes for these natural threats. We are taught clearly in the Writings that "all wars, however much they may belong to civil affairs, represent in heaven the states of the church. Such were all the wars described in the Word, and such also are all wars at this day."* We learn further that "when the children of Israel, who represented the church, departed from their commandments and statutes and fell into evils signified by those nations [which surrounded them], they were punished by some nation, because each nation with which the children of Israel waged war signified some particular kind of evil."** "Like things," it is added, "are represented by the wars of the present day, wherever they occur."
* DP 251: 3.
** DP 251: 3, 4.
     The New Church man must avoid two extremes. He certainly should not throw up his hands and take no civil responsibility on the assumption that the Lord will protect the members of the church. Nor should he, in a zealous effort to save the world, expend his limited energies fighting the effects of Communism while taking no account of the causes.
     The most important single thing a New Church man can do to help to fight Communism is to live the life of his religion. After all, Communism exists in this world because of evils in us. Communism is the outward manifestation of perhaps the most subtle and insidious evils ever known to man - evils not just in Russian leaders, or in some Americans, but also in New Church men. Our revelation gives the truths by which we may learn of these evils and by which we may learn to combat them. As we fight these evils in ourselves, we remove the spiritual causes for the growth of Communism and the spiritual ground which may be its seedbed.

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To fight global Communism, we must first of all fight the tendencies in our own hearts and minds which partake of Communist perversions. To fight deceit in the world, we must first of all fight deceit in ourselves; to fight encroachment upon our national liberties, we ourselves must exercise a sense of responsibility in our occupations and home life; to conquer the power of a Communist dictator, we must first accept the power of Divine authority. As we do these things, Providence will lead us to see our true responsibility and course of action on civil planes of life.
It is true that there are but a few who have knowledge of the spiritual-moral truths of the Writings by which the immoral philosophy of the tyranny facing us may be met on the spiritual plane. Nor does there seem to be any imminence of a great increase in that number. Yet is not that the very reason that we must hold fast to our allegiance? Is not this the very reason for doing all in our power to deepen the life of the Writings in that occupation and marriage to which, in Providence, we have been led? Is not this the very reason for attending to our primary responsibility of instilling a knowledge of that life in others who will receive it, that is, our children? In this way we create a basis for influx from heaven. We open a path of communication between heaven and earth, and invite a protective sphere from the Lord that may be shared by all the simple good on earth. No other task to which we might set ourselves can so help to insure our safety and freedom.
KURT H. ASPLUNDH
SPIRITUAL CAUSES OF WAR 1961

SPIRITUAL CAUSES OF WAR 1961

"It is not known in this world what kingdoms in Christendom answer to the [nations] with whom the sons of Israel waged war; and yet there are those who do answer to them. Moreover, what the quality of the church upon earth is and what the evils into which it falls, and for which it is punished by wars, cannot be seen at all in the natural world; because in this world externals only are evident, and these do not constitute the church; but this is seen in the spiritual world, where internals are manifest, in which the church itself is; and there all are conjoined in accordance with their various states. The conflicts of these in the spiritual world correspond to wars" (DP 251: 4).

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Church News 1961

Church News Various 1961

     LONDON, ENGLAND

     A holiday in the Western Highlands of Scotland and a British Assembly, the 46th, held at Colchester, seem to have come between your reporter and her duties. It therefore seems a long way back down memory lane to the children's New Year's party, but that was the year's opening social activity and it was attended by some eighteen enthusiastic children and their parents. Refreshments, games and fun were the order of the day, and thanks are due to the Misses Marith and Rinnah Acton who made by hand a handsome present for each child.
     It was gratifying to be able to hold our Swedenborg's birthday celebration on the proper day this year. Sixty-four people stayed to lunch and took part in the celebration, the theme of which was "Aspects of Swedenborg's Natural Life." Two excellent papers were presented. The first, by Mr. Victor Cooper, emphasized this great man's humility in the everyday things of life coupled with a deep natural simplicity, despite his outstanding ability in many fields of learning. The second paper, by Mr. Eldin Acton, dwelt on Swedenborg the politician, pinpointing the Assessor's unflagging interest in the affairs of his country and his active participation in its government through his duties in the House of Nobles. Our pastor, the Rev. Erik Sandstrom, gave a characteristic summing up on Swedenborg's three titles: Assessor, Revelator, and Servant of the Lord.
     In February, an anonymous donor presented the Society with a new chancel carpet - a glorious blue, harmonizing beautifully with the church's new color scheme. Bless you, dear donor. You have given much pleasure to many! Later in the same month, February 26, to be exact, after morning service a number of faces showed a certain consternation and cryptic remarks were being exchanged in odd corners. The reason? Well, that Sunday had been chosen as the occasion on which to present a suitably inscribed silver cake basket and a truly blazing azalea plant to Mr. Sandstrom and his much loved wife, Bernice, to mark their silver wedding anniversary, and, alas, only the male half of the partnership was present ! Bernice had unfortunately been confined to the house on that very day with a slight "vaccination" indisposition. Despite this contretemps, the little ceremony of presentation took place amid mutual exchanges of affection, even though the groom looked a little wistful without his bride.
     The London Society was host this year to the young people's weekend, May 20-22, and it was delightful for the organizers to find eighteen very lively young people in attendance. Their ages ranged from fourteen years to twenty and over, and some came from as far afield as Holland. The main party, however, came from Colchester and London and included one unconfirmed member of any church. Judging from their own reporter's remarks in the News-Letter, there can be no doubt that these weekends have a stimulating and desirable effect on the minds of our young folk. The over-all impression is that they are gratified to find their questions at the sessions being answered by the attendant pastors with a sure knowledge and wisdom that they find all too often lacking in the world at large.
     What fun it has been to welcome so many visitors from overseas this year and even to get to know some of them quite intimately! We recall Mrs. Ridgway, who is still in Europe at the time of writing, and Miss Janelle Schuurman, both from South Africa.

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From Bryn Athyn came Mrs. Rowena Merlin; Miss Louise Doering, who plucked her sister Amity from our midst, much to our regret; and Miss Najat Abed on her way to Jordan. Miss Gabrielle Howard came from Philadelphia; and from Miami, Florida, Miss Edith Cranch, who was combining a dietetic conference in London with her Italian tour. Mrs. Pritchard visited us from Toronto; Mrs. Erik Bryntesson, sister of the Rev. Erik Sandstrom, and her son Gunnar, and Mr. and Mrs. Olof Sandstrom and their daughter Karin, from Sweden; and Mr. and Mrs. Opsand from Norway. But we could go on and on! It was with particular personal pleasure that your reporter made the acquaintance of Miss Joyce Bellinger, and renewed acquaintance with her companion on their grand tour of Europe, Miss Helen Swanson, both of Bryn Athyn.
     ISABEL ROBERTSON

     DURBAN, NATAL

     The members of the Durban Society were very sorry when, at the end of April, their pastor, the Rev. Wynne Acton, was confined to bed with a heart ailment. We all missed him during those three weeks, but the Rev. Daniel Heinrichs carried on the work of the Society very ably.
     The Society was whisked round the world at a slide and cine evening held in the church hall on April 14. What an inexpensive and leisurely way of traveling the world! Some very interesting slides were shown, including those of the Game Reserve, the mighty Kariba Dam in Southern Rhodesia, England, the Continent, and the U.S.A. What fun if world travel could be that easy!
     Once again, Salt Rock on the North Coast was chosen for that family church social, the Society picnic. Tennis, swimming and football for the younger members of the Society were the order of the day, and around 1:00 p.m. families gathered round for picnic lunches. The odor of braiing meat could be smelled in the air. Packing up began about 4:00 p.m., and all were on their way home some forty-five minutes later.
     The talent of the Durban Society is on the up and up! This was shown at the talent evening, an event arranged by the social committee. We have hidden talent in the way of singers, dancers and actors. There were many interesting turns, a short play, two recitations, and a troupe dance by the "maid-men" of the Society. Another of these evenings should be held to uncover still hidden talent.
     On Wednesday, May 24, our annual general meeting was held in the church hall. Mr. Acton expressed pleasure at being able to resume his duties after his enforced absence of two months due to illness. He thanked Mr. Heinrichs for having so ably taken control during his absence. He was pleased to report an increase of approximately seven per service in church attendance, and he hoped that this would continue. Doctrinal class attendance had increased slightly, though the position was still not as good as it had been during 1938-1959. He stressed that the more we know of our doctrine, the deeper and more permanent may be the effects of our Sunday worship; and the more regularly we meet in the worship of the Lord, the more delighted may we be at the opportunity of learning the teachings of His Word. We should derive inspiration and resolution from our services, and from our classes stability and a deeper knowledge of how to carry out our high resolves. Mr. Heinrichs reported that although visits this year had been few and far between for various reasons, it was hoped that in the future they would be made more frequently. The treasurer, Mr. Cockerell, stated that there had been a decrease in the number of envelopes used but that total contributions remained approximately the same. The bond on the church bad been reduced to R.4,600 due to Mr. A. C. Braby's bequest. It was pointed out, however, that an additional R.30 per month should be contributed to enable the Society to meet its anticipated commitments for the forthcoming year. Kainon School had had another harmonious year, all the children having worked well together and benefited from New Church education.

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The pastor stressed in his address the vital importance of New Church education in the bringing up of children. Over the past six years there had been sixty-one baptisms. If the clergy, teachers and parents did their respective duty in training these children in the church, wisely and conscientiously, a large number of them would become members in adult years. If just halt this number, say thirty children, attended our New Church school in Durban we would have a school of at least three grades. It could be done, if only we all realized the importance of New Church education.
     The Women's Guild also reported a very successful year, and had financed the re-covering of the kneeling pads in the church and also the making of six additional pews for the church building. It is rather encouraging to think that we require additional pews. The meeting ended with a general discussion of the possibility of purchasing a new organ for the church. Our present organ is in very poor condition, but the matter was referred to the incoming executive hoard for attention.
     Ninety-four members and friends of the General Church attended the New Church Day banquet at the Durban High School Old Boys' Club, which was most attractively decorated with great bowls of red and pink poinsettias and the soft light of candles set on the many separate tables. Four toasts, in the form of speeches, were offered by Mr. Malcolm Cockerell to "absent friends." Included were toasts to Bishop de Charms, who has recently retired from his office; to Bishop Pendleton, now Acting Bishop of the General Church; and the Academy, the father and mother of New Church education. There were two papers: "The Effect of the New Church on the World Today" and "The Present Duties of the New Church." These papers pointed out that the mind of the young child was greatly influenced by what was taught in the home. If our children are being taught outside of the church they are being taught by people, at school and university, whose ideas are purely external, and very often atheistic or agnostic - people who cannot pave the way to a better world. We who have the Word of the Second Coming must attend Divine worship, get instruction from the priesthood, read the Word for ourselves, and so get instruction from the Lord and raise our children in true New Church homes; and in looking to the Lord for leading in combatting the evil prevalent in ourselves and the world about us, we will establish a basis for the conjunction of the Lord with men, without which the whole human race will perish. Mr. Acton excused himself from making a speech as he felt that time had already run out! After the celebration several of the older members, and many of the younger ones, too, remained to enjoy music and dancing.
     The children's banquet was held in the church hall, and a delicious dinner, eaten by candlelight, was provided by the Women's Guild. The four papers were most instructive. They were on "The Five Churches," "The White Horse," "The Holy City, New Jerusalem," and "The Second Coming of the Lord Proclaimed by the Twelve Disciples." Mr. Acton ended the evening by explaining to the children that it is not enough to belong to the church; we must also act it, in trying to lead good and useful lives.
     Two Sunday morning teas have been held during the past three months: one to celebrate the confirmation of Peter Buss at the home of his mother; the other to celebrate the baptism of Mr. and Mrs. de Chazal's second son, and as a farewell for Mrs. Grace Ridgway who was leaving on a trip to England and the Continent.
     During July the Durban Society had the rare pleasure of meeting Miss Elaine Cooper from Bryn Athyn. Miss Cooper, a qualified gemologist, runs a jewelry store in Philadelphia with her two brothers. This was for her a business and pleasure trip combined, her business being to visit the gold and diamond mines of Johannesburg and Kimberly. Miss Cooper gave a very interesting talk on gems and precious stones at a delightful gathering in the home of Mr. and Mrs. W. Schuurman. She referred to many of the stones mentioned in the Old Testament and showed slides of a statuette of Aaron wearing the breastplate, with each of the twelve precious stones representing introductory truths of the church.

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     On Saturday, July 29, a dance was held in the church hall to bid bon voyage to two of our young people, Peter Buss and Vanessa van Rij. It was an occasion of mixed feelings. We were sad to be losing Peter and Vanessa, but happy in the knowledge that they were both making their way to the headquarters of the church, Bryn Athyn; Peter to study for the priesthood, and Vanessa to study to become a teacher. It was a very enjoyable evening, and the hall was very beautifully decorated, with the sea and ships as the main theme. During the evening our pastor presented Peter and Vanessa each with a check from the Durban Society, wished them bon voyage from all their friends, and pointed out that wherever they go when they have finished their studies, their uses there will he as great. We were also given a demonstration by the South African Tango champions, which left everyone feeling a little inferior about their dancing. A lovely supper of curry and rice was served, and the captain of the Van Peter pulled up the anchor at midnight.
     SERENE DE CHAZAL

     THE CHURCH AT LARGE

     General Convention. The 138th annual session of the General Convention was held at Washington, D. C., June 22-25, 1961, with 104 delegates and 36 ministers in attendance. This year theme was: "A Changing Church in a Changing World." Prior to the opening of Convention there were meetings, June 19-22, of the Council of Ministers, the National Alliance of New Church Women, the American New Church Sunday School Association, the Association of Ministers Wives, as well as of the General Council and other groups.
     The Council of Ministers met in Baltimore. Among other things, it heard from the Rev. Owen Turley and the Rev. John King about the study that has been made by them of the organized church body.
     The General Convention and its associated bodies heard several featured addresses. Dr. Garrard E. A. Wyld, a member of the El Cerrito church in California, addressed the Council of Ministers on "The Wayward Layman"; the Rev. Forster W. Freeman, a Presbyterian minister, spoke to Convention on "Our Witness in this Decade"; and Dr. William T. Ham, a lay member of The Church of the Savior, addressed Convention on "A Changing Church in a Changing World." The Convention preacher was the Rev. Calvin E. Turley: his subject - "A Relevant Church." As reported earlier, the Rev. Richard H. Tafel was elected president, and will take office next year. The Rev. Andre Diaconoff of Los Angeles was invested as general pastor of the California Association. An invitation to hold the next Convention at Pawnee Rock, Kansas, was accepted.
     Urbana Junior College has completed a comprehensive study concerning anticipated development during the next five years. The general aim will he to attempt a senior college program beginning with the 1965 academic year. The announcement states: "We will undertake such a program only if we are certain that we can maintain in the junior and senior years those values which are the heart of the first two years. A primary value of the College at present is the philosophic concept of living the good life among the society of men. It is in this that we attempt to live Emanuel Swedenborg's statement, "All religion has relation to life and the life of religion is to do good."
     Australia. While the Rev. E. Leslie Bennett continues to edit the NEW AGE, Mr. William Burl requested the recent Conference to relieve him of his duties as publisher. Mr. Ivan Robinson has accepted the publisher's office.
     The new church building of the Brisbane Society was opened and dedicated last July. The dedication was performed by the pastor, the Rev. C. V. A. Hasler.

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CHARTER DAY 1961

1961

     Announcements
     All ex-students, members of the General Church and friends of the Academy are cordially invited to attend the Charter Day exercises, to be held in Bryn Athyn, Pa., on Friday and Saturday, October 20 and 21, 1961. The program:
Friday, 11 am - Cathedral Service, with an address by the Right Rev. George de Charms
Friday Afternoon - Football Game
Friday Evening - Dance
Saturday, 7 p.m - Banquet. Toastmaster: Dr. Sig Synnestvedt
     Arrangements will be made for the entertainment of guests if they will write to the Hostess Committee, c/o Mrs. Harris S. Campbell, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1961

GENERAL ASSEMBLY WILLARD D. PENDLETON 1961

The Twenty-third General Assembly of the General Church of the New Jerusalem will he held at Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, from Friday, June 15, to Tuesday, June 19, 1962, inclusive. The program and other information will be given in later issues of NEW CHURCH LIFE.
WILLARD D. PENDLETON Acting Bishop
INTERIOR USES OF NATURE 1961

INTERIOR USES OF NATURE Rev. GEOFFREY CHILDS 1961

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Vol. LXXXI
November, 1961
No. 11
     "Blessed is the man that waiteth not in the counsel of the wicked, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord; and in His law doth he meditate day and night. And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper." (Psalm 1: 1-3)

     With the fall of the human race, much of what was angelic and enchanting in earth life faded away from man's comprehension. He lost perceptive contact with the Lord and His angels; his intuitive understanding of nature and its symbolism vanished. Gone were the days when the church of Adam and Eve walked in childlike innocence through the Garden of Eden - the time when earth was a heaven. For the celestial man knew spontaneously, from the heart, the correspondence of every flower and fruit, every leaf and tree. He knew, and felt with piercing delight, that here was heaven perfectly pictured in nature's beauty. Thus nature represented correspondentially the God whose handiwork it was, and what now seems mundane illustrated the laws and life of His kingdom.      With the fall, the heart lost its purity, its spontaneous interior perception. Evil blighted mankind through heredity; and not only this, it blighted nature, too. Animals with an evil correspondence appeared for the first time; noxious plants and growths invaded the vegetable kingdom. Yet through the gift of childhood innocence, childhood remains, there was still a part of man that was and is pure, undefiled. And as there was a separation and protection of good in man, so was there also in nature. There are animals and trees that are still in the perfect order of creation; there is undefiled purity still pictured correspondentially in the vegetable and animal kingdoms.

482

And here nature still confirms and illustrates Divine revelation. There is, in fact, a beautiful and clear analogy between the written Word of the Lord and the created world of the Lord. Both came from Him; both are separate from the fallen human will, as they are in themselves and from Him. There is in each a correspondence that ascends through the planes of creation to the Lord Himself. That there are differences as well is, of course, obvious. The written Word is addressed to the intellectual faculty of the mind on its different planes. That Word, in the Old and New Testaments, is Divinely directed to the sensual and natural planes of man's intellect, respectively, whereas the Writings speak to the rational. As it is displayed in the animals and trees which have a good correspondence, undefiled nature appeals more to the affections. It does not educate, it delights. It appeals to the spring, summer and fall of the heart.
Yet nature may contribute to man's education by the Lord: this through a clear knowledge of doctrine first, and then through the employment of correspondences. When these two requirements are met, nature is a powerful confirmer of Divine revelation. It confirms powerfully, and at the same time with an uplifting beauty. To a degree, even, the genuine correspondences of nature reflect spiritual doctrine - as they did so poignantly with the celestial - by illustrating in their dynamic aspects the operations of Divine truth in the mind. That this is so is clear from the Arcana explication of the dream of Pharaoh's butler. The butler unfolded to Joseph, his fellow prisoner, the dream which had so moved him. "In my dream, behold, a vine was before me; and in the vine were three shoots: and it was as though it budded; its blossom went up, and the clusters thereof ripened grapes."* The budding of this vine, it is said, signifies "the influx by which [spiritual] rebirth is effected." This is so from the spiritual "signification of 'budding' or producing leaves and afterwards blossoms, as being the first of [spiritual] rebirth. The reason why influx is signified is that, when a man is being reborn, spiritual life flows into him, exactly as, when a tree is budding, its life flows in through the heat of the sun. He who is born a man is in the Word occasionally compared to the subjects of the vegetable kingdom, especially to trees; and this because the whole vegetable kingdom, as well as the animal kingdom, represents such things as are in man. . . . But it is especially the man who is being born anew, that is, who is being regenerated by the Lord . . . for he is then implanted in the Divine good and truth. . . . The man who is being reborn begins like a tree from seed (and therefore the truth which is from good is signified by 'seed' in the Word); and also like a tree he produces leaves, then blossoms, and finally fruit.

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For he produces such things as are of intelligence, which in the Word are signified by 'leaves,' then such things as are of wisdom, which are signified by 'blossoms,' and finally such things as are of life, that is, the goods of love and charity in act, which in the Word are signified by 'fruits.' Such is the representative likeness between the fruit-bearing tree and the man who is being regenerated, insomuch that if anything is known about spiritual good and truth, the nature of regeneration may be learned from a tree."** Here is an amazing teaching directly from the Writings which, together with the qualifying statement, should be noted: "If anything is known about spiritual good and truth, the nature of regeneration may be learned from a tree"!
* Genesis 40:9, 10.
** AC 5115: 1, 2.
The life of a tree "flows in through the heat from the sun ";* even as, with man, life inflows from the Lord through the spiritual sun. At adult age, if man has no faith but lives from natural reason alone, he is in winter. There is light, the lumen of the lower mind; but in the spirit there is no vivifying warmth. Spring is the reception of faith - an entirely new light, in that it is accompanied by the warmth of heaven. Spiritual faith opens the rational to the influx of love. In the balm of this interior warmth, the tree of life within man puts forth its first leaves, leaves which signify the budding of spiritual intelligence. This budding signifies the first of spiritual rebirth, when truths applied to life bring the first real intelligence. Early leaves are a promise of what is to come, but they are still far removed from the final fruits; they but offer a promise. But this it not so with blossoms, for here is beauty in form. This depicts the coming of the good of truth to man; it is when, for the first time, truth is done from spontaneous delight. In brief, this is the coming of spiritual wisdom, a quality of life far above the first intelligence.
* AC 5115.
The Writings ask: "Who among natural men is there that sees trees and other plants in blossom, and deems that this is as it were their gladness because they are now producing fruits or seeds? They see that blossoms precede, and that they last until they have in their bosoms the beginnings of the fruit or seed, and thereby convey into these beginnings their sap; and if they knew anything about the rebirth or regeneration of men (or rather, if they desired to know), they would from this likeness see in the flowers a representative of the state of man before regeneration: namely, that man then blossoms in like manner from the good of intelligence and wisdom; that is, an interior gladness and beauty, because he is then in the effort to implant in the life the goods of intelligence and wisdom, that is, to produce fruits.

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That this state is of such a nature cannot even be known [by natural men], because the nature of the interior gladness and beauty which are thus represented is utterly unknown to those who are solely in the gladness of the love of the world and the delights of the love of self."*
* AC 5116: 5.
The coming of blossoms, then, is the attainment of wisdom. In the ladder of regeneration this is an advanced state; nevertheless it is imperfect, for it is a state in which truth, not good, is the foremost quality. Good, as the goal itself of rebirth, is the fruition. First there are the clusters of small, as yet unripe fruit; and finally the fruit itself, fully prepared for the harvest. The spiritual correspondence of near fruition and of fruition is unfolded in the Arcana, in the interior explanation of the butler's dream. In his dream the shoots of the vine first budded, then blossomed; and then he watched as "the clusters thereof ripened into grapes." The Lord reveals that the clusters becoming grapes signifies "the conjunction of spiritual truth with celestial good. This is evident from the signification of 'ripening' as being the progress of rebirth or regeneration even to the conjunction of truth with good, and thus conjunction; and from the signification of 'clusters' as being the truth of spiritual good; and from the signification of 'grapes' as being the good of celestial truth. . . . The conjunction of these . . . is similar to the ripening of clusters into grapes; for in the rebirth, or regeneration, all truth tends to conjunction with good, truth not receiving life previously to such conjunction, consequently not being made fruitful. This is represented in the fruits of trees when they are ripening. In unripe fruits, which here are the 'clusters,' is represented the state when truth still predominates; but in the ripe fruits, which are the 'grapes,' is represented the state when good has the predominance; the predominance of good being represented also in the flavor and sweetness which are perceived in ripe grapes."*
* AC 5117.
Thus the cycle of a tree to its harvest of fruit is, representatively, the cycle of regeneration. In it, what the Writings teach is seen as a Divine truth: "The nature of regeneration may be learned from a tree." We have here unfolded regeneration in its generals, as imaged in the cycle of a tree. But the symbolism does not stop there. It extends to the very particulars of each stage of the tree's development. Thus if the doctrine of regeneration is known, and together with it the scientific facts concerning a tree's development, nature confirms and illustrates the revealed Divine truth: not just the poetry of general doctrine, but the ever more beautiful unfolding of particulars and singulars, until nature actually sings of life - sings of the Lord its creator. In each particular the Lord is imaged, and also the processes of spiritual creation.

485

This is true not only of the fruit-bearing tree, the correspondences of which we have followed; although it may be seen most vividly, perhaps, in the fruits of the earth which are one of the reasons for Thanksgiving. It is true of every flower and form of life in the vegetable kingdom, as it is true of the animal and mineral kingdoms. Each of these has its genuine correspondences in which the Lord may be seen. To say that the Lord created nature, and to joy in this, is but a threshold vision. For the glorification is actually and truly imaged in the growth of every flower, every tree, as is also the regeneration of man. To New Church men this need not be just a sentiment, based on faith without any real foundation. It is, rather, a scientific, doctrinal and poetic truth.
What is the use of seeing within nature both confirmation and illustration of written Divine revelation? To the man endeavoring to regenerate the use is analogous to that of the Old and New Testament Word, though less powerful. The literal Word confirms man's faith, giving it a resting place in ultimates, and giving a powerful conjunction with the angels and with the Lord. Similarly, when the Lord's operations are seen imaged in nature, faith is confirmed, is pictured in ultimates; and thereby a poetic, an affectional, consociation with the heavens is given; one that a purely rational faith lacks. It is indicated in the Writings that the vision of the Lord in nature is progressive according to regeneration, and that the fulness of vision is granted when the sensuous plane itself has been subordinated and regenerated. Then truly does nature become a theater representative of the Lord's kingdom, as it was to the celestial men of the Golden Age. It will be a different vision of nature from that which they enjoyed, but just as powerful and just as deeply moving. Thus it is revealed: When the sensuous plane is truly subordinated, "a happy and blessed feeling flows from the interior man into the delights of sensuous things, and increases them a thousandfold."* This is not just an amazing increase of delights, but also of the vision of the Lord within the kingdom of nature that is His handiwork - a vision that will increase in depth and splendor until man may say, with fulness of love and thought: "O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is Thy name in all the earth!" Amen.
*AC 5125: 2

LESSONS: Psalm 1. Mark 4: 1-29. Arcana Coelestia 5115.
MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 568, 566, 561.
PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. 89, 116.

486

PERMISSION TO GIVE THANKS 1961

PERMISSION TO GIVE THANKS Rev. ORMOND ODHNER 1961

     A Talk to Children

     Once every year, in the fall, when the fruits and vegetables have been harvested, our democratic countries have a special day of thanksgiving to the Lord for all the blessings He showers upon us. In some of our countries we call this the Harvest Festival; in others, just, Thanksgiving. We have this just once a year; but long, long ago the children of Israel in the land of Canaan had three thanksgiving days each year. They were commanded to have three such days by the Lord; and the Lord also told them that when they came to worship Him on these days, they were never to appear before Him empty, that is, never without a gift to give Him in thanks for all the gifts He gave them. And so on those days they often brought presents of fruits and vegetables and other foods to the house of the Lord, to offer them up in sacrifice. And in many places in the world today our children do just the same thing: they bring an offering of fruit into the house of the Lord to be given to His will - given, that is, to the sick and the poor, whom the Lord has commanded us to help.
     Now, why do you think it is that the Lord commands us to give thanks to Him and to worship Him? It certainly could not be that He needs our worship. The Lord has everything there is already, and when we give thanks to Him or worship Him, it does not add anything to Him. It does not make Him feel any better, the way we might feel proud if someone said that we were very nice. No; the Lord demands our worship and thanks, not for His sake, but for ours, for when we worship Him and thank Him, we really come to learn that all the good things there are come from Him. Then we are really willing to look to Him to learn how to get what will be truly good for us after death, and we are willing to look to Him to find out from Him the way to heaven. Heaven, after all, is where the Lord wants to take each one of us; but He knows that we will not be willing to follow Him there unless we love Him at least enough to give thanks to Him, to thank Him, for all the good things He does for us and gives to us. That, then, is why the Lord wants us to thank Him and to have days of thanksgiving to Him, and that is why He wants us to give Him gifts; for when we do those things, then we learn that the only real thanksgiving there is consists in following the Lord and learning and doing what He teaches in His Word.

487

     But we are told in the Writings of the New Church that in the other world spirits and angels can only give thanks to the Lord when they receive His permission to do so. Sometimes they want to thank Him, and they try to; but they cannot. They cannot even open their lips to give Him thanks. They are not allowed to. And the Lord keeps them from thanking Him in order to teach them that they cannot give true thanks to the Lord from themselves, but only from Him.
     Now, this could not happen in heaven, since no angel would do this any more than a really good person on earth would; but suppose that after death in the world of spirits there was a day of thanksgiving appointed, on which each person was to bring a gift of fruit to the Lord. And suppose that one spirit decided he was going to bring the very biggest gift of fruit that anyone could possibly bring - not because He loved the Lord that much, but because he wanted to show off. What would happen? He could not even move. Or suppose a child in the world of spirits said: "Oh, it's thanksgiving again, and I have to take some fruit to church. Mother bought it, so I'll take it, but I'd much rather eat it myself." What would happen? The Lord would not even allow him to start out from his house. (After all, it is not the size of the gift we give to the Lord that matters to Him, but the spirit in which we give it.) Or suppose a person there decided he would offer the Lord a thanksgiving gift just because he was more fortunate than other people and had more things. He would not really be thanking the Lord; he would be thinking of himself and giving thanks from himself. His thanksgiving would be selfish, and he would not be allowed to give thanks, either.
     But, children, can't we see something like this in our own lives here? All of us really have many nice things, and we know it. All of us have some good clothes and nice toys, and all of us eat good food. Why, in our countries we have the best food and clothes and houses in the whole world. Millions and millions of people on earth are so poor that they would think we were all very rich. They dress in rags, and they live in huts, and they rarely get enough to eat. And even more important, in the New Church we have more spiritual riches than all other men on earth put together. We know who the Lord is, and what He wants us to do, and where He wants us to go. (Imagine how sad it would be if we didn't.) And we know what heaven is, and what happens to us when we die. (Imagine how afraid we would be if we didn't.)
     Yes, we know we have the best of every thing there is. But do we always feel thankful for it? No, we do not. Instead we want more than we have; or else we think we are so good that we deserve all the wonderful things we have.

488

And that is not thanking the Lord; that is just thanking ourselves. Sometimes, even on thanksgiving days, we just can't make ourselves feel thankful to the Lord for all He has given us. Oh, we are glad to have it, of course; but we do not feel particularly Like thanking anyone for it - not even the Lord, from whom all these good things come. And do you know why? It is because the Lord will not let us give thanks to Him at such times. He will not give us permission to thank Him, and so we just cannot feel thankful.
     Or sometimes we get jealous of something some one else has - his clothes, or his toys, or maybe his television set. Our mothers tell us not to complain, and say we ought to be thankful for what we have. And, yes, we can see that we should. But we are not thankful, and we cannot make ourselves feel that way. Why not? Because that, once again, is one of the times the Lord will not let us thank Him.
     But why, some times, will the Lord not let us (or spirits) thank Him? The answer is found in something I said earlier: The only real thanksgiving there is consists in learning the things the Lord teaches in His Word and then doing them. Unless we do that day by day, and more and more each year, there can be no real thanksgiving in our hearts, and therefore the Lord will not let us feel thankful for all the good things He gives us. Just looking at all we have is not enough. We could own the whole world and everything in it, and still not feel thankful for anything. Now, we have to do more.
     Yet isn't it sad, not to feel in our hearts any real thanksgiving to the Lord on days of thanksgiving and worship? Isn't it sad that the Lord does not think we are good enough even to let us give thanks to Him? And would it not be terrible, were we to die like this? Then, on days of thanksgiving, we would not even be allowed to attend a thanksgiving service. Yet that is what will happen, when we become spirits, unless we learn beforehand the real thanksgiving that consists in learning and doing what the Lord teaches in His Word.
     Let us pray, then, that day by day, and more and more each year, the Lord will give us power and strength to want to read His Word and learn His teachings, so that we can do them in our daily lives. For if that is the prayer of our hearts, then we can know that even here on earth, and afterwards in heaven, the Lord will let each one of us enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise.

LESSON: Spiritual Diary 2098.
MUSIC: Liturgy, pages 560, 564, 569.
PRAYERS: Liturgy, nos. C1O, C18.

489

NATURAL MAN 1961

NATURAL MAN Rev. WILLARD D. PENDLETON 1961

     (The second of three doctrinal lectures.)

     We are taught in the Writings that all men are born natural, that Is, into the loves of self and the world. This seems to us to be a self-evident truth, for who does not love self, and who does not desire for self the things of this world? But we are also taught in the Writings that from being natural, man may become spiritual, which seems to suggest a state of mind in which man is no longer concerned with self and is free from his former dependency upon the delights and pleasures of the world. This, at least, was the Christian concept of spirituality, and it accounts for the ascetic ideal which would seem to be the logic of the New Testament. Did not the Lord instruct His disciples, saying: "My kingdom is not of this world";* "Ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world";** also that "he that loveth his life shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal"?*** We can readily understand, therefore, how it was that the Christian concept of the spiritual life became identified with self-abnegation and ascetic practices. After all, the question does arise: "What shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?"**** According to the gospel of John: "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing."*****
* John 18: 36
** John 15: 19
*** John 12: 25
**** Mark 8: 36
***** John 6: 63
     We note with interest, however, that in this, as in so many instances, the spiritual sense breaks with the sense of the letter, for we read in the Writings: "It is believed by many that to renounce the world, and to live in the spirit . . . is to reject worldly things which are . . . riches and honors; to be continually engaged in pious meditation concerning God . . . to lead a life of prayers; and also to afflict one's self."* But this is not so. "To renounce the world is to love God and . . . the neighbor; and God is loved when man lives according to His commandments, and the neighbor is loved when man performs uses. Therefore in order that man may receive light from heaven, it is . . . necessary that he should live in the world, and in offices and business there. A life abstracted from worldly things is a life of thought and faith separate from the life of love and charity, in which life the will of good and the doing of good to the neighbor perishes."**

490

From this it is evident that when the Writings speak of the spiritual man they do not have reference to him who lives a life of external piety, but to him "who . . . acts justly and sincerely in every office, in every business, and in every work from a heavenly origin";*** that is from an interior affection of use. It is as simple as that.
* HD 126
** HD 126
*** HD 128
What the Writings offer us here is a new concept of the word "spiritual." That is the power of the Writings. In this, as in all things, they open the way to a new understanding of the Word. Do we not find here a new concept of God, of good, of truth, and of the meaning and purpose of life? Is it not to the Writings themselves that the book of Revelation refers where it is said: "Behold, I make all things new"? * What is new is not the Word, for this has existed from most ancient times. What is new is the Divine doctrine, which is the internal or spiritual sense of the Word. Unlike the former revelations, which were heavily veiled by natural appearances and correspondential imagery, the Writings speak plainly to man; but if at this day they are received by few it is not because they cannot be understood, but because men think and reason from the appearance of self-life. The acceptance of the Writings is at all times dependent upon the acknowledgment of the primary thesis upon which they rest: that there is a God, that He is one, that He is Divine Man, and that the purpose in creation is a heaven from the human race. If a man does not believe this there is no way in which he can be convinced of the truth of the Writings, since there is no way in which he can be brought to see wherein their holiness and Divinity reside.
* Revelation 1: 5
Of all the teachings of the Writings, there is none in which the truth of the Writings is more clearly reflected than the doctrine of use, because this is the doctrine in which all other doctrines are seen in relation to life. A simple illustration of this is found in the familiar teaching that the life of religion is to do good. But the Writings insist that to do good, one must be of use to others. Thus it follows that the good man, or the spiritual man, is one who delights in doing good to others, not for the sake of self, but for the sake of the good that others derive from the use. This, men say, is an exalted concept, but who can act without thought of the good that accrues to self? Is not man essentially selfish, and in all that he does is not his primary concern for self, or for that which in some way is related to self? As an ideal for children, in whom we wish to cultivate some sense of moral and spiritual values, it may be desirable, but in reality, life is not that way. Is not good, like truth, a purely relative concept?

491

Does it not depend entirely upon the situation in which we find ourselves? Do we not do better if we face the facts as we find them and teach the doctrine of enlightened self-interest which frankly admits that selfishness is a good thing as long as it does not conflict with the interests of others or produce undesirable social results?
Nowhere do the Writings imply that of himself man is good. On the contrary, they go so far as to insist that of himself man cannot possibly do what is good. In this they part company with modern thought, which holds that when self is properly adjusted to its social environment it somehow becomes good. But the life of good is not merely a matter of social adjustment; it involves far more than this. It is true that every living organism must learn to adapt to the changing conditions of its environment if it is to survive. In this, man does not differ from the plant or the animal; and as man is a social being he must learn to adapt to the progressively changing conditions of his social environment as well as to his physical environment. This is the problem with which modern psychiatry is essentially concerned. But unlike the animal, man is not merely a creature of instincts; neither is the difference to be found in the fact that, unlike the animal, man is subject to the anxieties that are produced by social stress; for of all created forms, man alone can be affected by truth. Were this not so he could have no concepts whatsoever of right and wrong, good and evil. In short, he would be an amoral being, utterly incapable of abstracting from sense experience any idea which could serve as a basis for a sense of values. In other words, man does not live by bread alone.* In all that he does, the question of values arises. Not until man has determined this question in relation to self, that is, not until man has found a satisfactory answer to the existential question of what is the purpose of human existence, can he be free from anxiety.
* Matthew 4: 4.
According to some medical authorities, the stress that is produced by anxiety is the number one destroyer of men. By anxiety, here, however, is not meant what the Writings refer to as the "cares of this world." These are the normal problems of human existence. What is referred to here is neurotic anxiety which stems from a fear of what cannot be rationally grasped or understood. Being what he is, namely, a reflective being, man fears the unknown; and in an age which has lost contact with God, an age which has lost any real sense of purpose in human existence, it is no wonder that many are possessed by an unreasoning concern for self. The inevitable result is confusion, mental disturbance, a basic sense of insecurity, and a breakdown of moral and spiritual values.

492

As one student of the subject has said, in effect: Even if there is no God, man should live and act as if there were. And as another has suggested: Human reason alone cannot answer all man s questions, it cannot provide what he so desperately needs, namely, order and purpose in the universe. In his effort to provide substitute deities, man has turned to history, to the state, to environment; but in the end they all lead back to the nearly unbearable message that man is alone in a meaningless cosmos, subject only to the blind forces of evolution and responsible only to himself.
But the truth is that man is not alone; there is a God. This is the thesis of all Divine revelation, and the implication is that in the final analysis man is responsible to God. Yet the question arises, What is it that He requires of man? According to Jewish theology it is moral perfection, as is evident from the Ten Commandments. According to Christian theology, moral integrity is basic to God's purpose; but it is not enough. As the Lord said to the Scribes and Pharisees: "These [things] ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone." * By the "other" here is meant the spirit of mercy which embraces all men as the neighbor who is to be loved, and because he is loved, is to be served. It is this dedication to service which is the true spirit of Christianity; and we would note that the ideal of service must precede the concept of use. This, among other reasons, is why in the history of Divine revelation the New Testament preceded the Writings, even as the ideal of moral integrity, as formulated in the Old Testament preceded the Christian doctrine of charity; for how can a man be of genuine service to the neighbor unless he is governed in his actions by sound moral principle, and how can he be of real use to the neighbor unless in the service of others his primary purpose is to promote the good of the neighbor? These are not academic questions, but questions which raise issues that must be determined for good or for evil in the society in which we are living today. Let us have no illusions about what is taking place all around us. We live in an age when the whole question of Western morality, which is derived from the Old and New Testaments, is under attack, not only from without, but also from within. We do not believe that we overestimate the situation when we say that these are critical times.
* Matthew 23: 23.
In their attack upon Christian morality, the proponents of the new morality insist that there is no such thing as evil, in the Scriptural sense of the word. How, they ask, can man sin against a God whose existence is a matter of subjective opinion rather than of demonstrable fact? Yet they agree in this, that man is essentially a selfish being; but, they say, the fact that man is selfish does not mean that he is depraved.

493

Let us free ourselves, therefore, of the guilt complex that is implicit in Christianity, and release the creative energies that are inherent in self. Selfishness, it is claimed, is a good thing when directed to creative activities from which the state and society may benefit. Indeed, they argue that it is men, not God, who are actively engaged in the creative process; they are the creators who have lifted us out of savagery. Does it not follow from this that all moral problems are merely problems of vitality, and if true morality lies in the creativeness of the individual, then is not the purpose of morality to be found in the preservation and sublimation of self? It is a closely reasoned argument; but one question remains unanswered, and upon the answer to this question all else depends; namely, what is the purpose of life?
We note with particular interest that the Writings insist that the love of self is not necessarily evil; it was not so in the beginning. When, for example, the Writings say that man is born into evils of every kind they do not mean that the infant is evil, but that there is in every man a natural inclination to evil. This is so because man instinctively desires those things in which self delights, and this without reference to the uses which these delights are intended to serve. Like Jacob, the son of Isaac, who stole his own brother's birthright, the natural man seeks to secure for self that which does not properly belong to self but to the use which self is created to serve. On this point the Writings are insistent. They teach repeatedly that the delights of conjugial love belong to the use that this love is intended to serve and that when sought outside of the order of the use the delight is perverted. They teach that honor and recognition of any office is to be ascribed to the use and not to the man. Do they not also provide a new concept of human relationships by directing our thought from the person or personality of the neighbor to the use of which the person is but a form? And do they not also teach that the quality of every delight is determined by the end to which it looks? If the end is self, then it is a purely natural or selfish delight, but if it is a use it is a spiritual delight. Hence the teaching in the Arcana Coelestia concerning possessions and honors: "Everyone is at liberty to provide himself with these [things] . . . , yet not for the sake of himself, but for the sake of the neighbor [i.e. for the sake of the use]: he who provides them for the sake of himself provides ill for himself; but he who provides them for the sake of the neighbor [ or the use], provides well for himself. For he who turns his ends to himself, turns himself toward hell; but he who turns his ends from himself to the neighbor, turns himself toward heaven."*
* AC 6938.

494

     But now the question arises, how is it that from being natural, man is capable of becoming spiritual? In other words, if all the affections into which man is born are centered in self, how is it possible that he is capable of being raised above self into the delight of use? The reason is that there is one affection with which man is endowed from birth that differs from all others. This, as already stated, is the affection of truth. As already considered, it is this affection which distinguishes man from the animal, and sets him apart from all other created forms. It is true that at birth this affection is natural, as may be evident from the fact that the delight which the child finds in learning is motivated by self-interest. But this affection or delight is unique, for while in first states its interest is centered in self, it nevertheless serves as the means whereby man develops the capacity to abstract the thought of the mind from self. It is this power of abstraction, this ability to see beyond appearances, this capacity to perceive truths that enables a man to do what the beast cannot do, that is, to reflect on the nature of self. Because man sees truths he can also perceive what is good, and if he will, can do good. To the animal, good and truth have no meaning whatsoever. It is utterly incapable of forming any idea of these deeper realities of life. Unlike the animal, who is governed in all that he does by his instincts, man can exercise a rational control over his natural affections, and this because he can perceive their quality in relation to use. Thus he can determine his life for good or for evil; or what is the same, he can dispose his affections to the service or perversion of use.

     This brings us back to the series in the letter of the Word upon which these doctrinal lectures are based. Our subject is the story of Jacob, by whom is represented the natural man. It is apparent, even in the letter, that in stealing Esau's birthright and blessing, Jacob attempted to acquire for self that which did not belong to self. What is here represented, however, is man's natural disposition to attribute the good which he does to himself; but in taking to self that which belongs to God, man is spiritually dispossessed. Thus the natural man, as represented by Jacob, is forced to flee from the land of his nativity, by which is signified man's gradual recession from the innocence of childhood in which he is protected from the implications of self-life by the good of remains. This is an inevitable process, for as man becomes increasingly conscious of the delights of self he more and more wills to be led by self; and were it not for the fact that the Lord has provided a way in which man may return to good, no man could be saved from himself.
     It is noted that before Jacob went to Haran, the land of his mother's people, his only concern had been for himself. This is descriptive of man's state prior to regeneration.

495

Yet as he stood by the well of the city, behold, Rachel, the younger daughter of Laban, his mother's brother, came to water the sheep. * By the sight of Rachel is signified the perception of spiritual truth. When this perception is given, man is affected by a love which is greater than his concern for self, for once the mind is affected by the sight of spiritual truth, life assumes a purpose that it did not formerly possess. Not only is the thought of the mind directed from self to use, but self is now seen in its proper perspective; that is, not as an end in itself, but as an instrumentality of use. Is it not through, or by means of, self that good is done? How else can a man be of use to his neighbor? Hence the teaching of the Writings that when this love is subordinated to the good of use it perfects the natural, therefore, man may become spiritual through the subordination of self to use. *Genesis 29: 9 **TCR 403
     This is man's part in the regenerative process, for we are taught that if man will but put away the evils that are in the external man, the Lord is able in this way, and in no other, to put away the evils that are in the internal man.* In other words, deliverance from evil is contingent upon man's own efforts; but while man may shun evils as sins, only the Lord can remove from man the delight that of evil by inspiring in him a new delight, which is the delight of use. Yes, as noted, this cannot be done without effort on man's part. Thus it was that Jacob said unto Laban: "I will serve thee seven years for Rachel thy younger daughter."**
* DP 100.
** Genesis 29: 18.
     A work of love differs from all other forms of service in that in the very doing of it there is delight. If, therefore, the end in view is that by means of self we may be of use to others, the mind is free from that sense of tedium which we experience when in serving others our motivating concern is for self. When our thought is determined to use, and we are temporarily free from the thought of self, neither time nor circumstance can deprive us of the delight that belongs to use. Thus in speaking of the years which Jacob served for Rachel, it is recorded in Scripture that "they seemed unto him but a few days for the love [which] he had to her."*
* Genesis 29: 20.
     Nowhere do we find a more beautiful tribute to that love of use which is inspired in the heart of man through the affection of spiritual truth; but the state that is here described is one of fulfillment in which the mind tends to forget the afflictions of former states.

496

While we are still in the way with self, there are times when it seems as if we cannot respond to what others expect of us, and in the performance of our obligations we are not conscious of any delight. In such states we lose sight of our spiritual objectives; and in laboring among the flocks of Laban we are inclined to resent the demands that others make upon us, particularly when we feel that our efforts are not understood or appreciated. We can understand, therefore, Jacob's sense of disillusionment when, having served seven years for Rachel, Laban changed his reward and gave him Leah to wife in her stead.
We have not the time to dwell upon this apparent deception. For our purpose in this series it is sufficient to say that whereas in the letter it seems as if Laban had intentionally defrauded Jacob, we observe with interest the words that Laban spoke in his own defense: "It must not be so done in our country, to give the younger before the first-born."* Before man can act from a spiritual affection of truth, he must first learn to act from a natural affection of truth, that is, from moral conscience. This has been the order of life with all men since the fall. Yet in all that is done from conscience there is something of self-compulsion, and when man must compel himself to do what is right, honorable and just, he is temporarily deprived of delight. Yet we are taught in the Writings that "man ought to compel himself to what is good . . [for] in all self compulsion to what is good there is a certain freedom, which although it is not perceived as such while man is engaged in self-compulsion, still it is within."** Thus, in the life of regeneration, time and again man must do from conscience that which he cannot do from delight. Nevertheless, the assurance is given that if we will but persist, the delight will return. Thus Laban assured Jacob that if he would continue to serve him as he had in the past he could also have Rachel for his wife.
* Genesis 29: 26.
** AC 1937.
But our interest in this series centers more upon Laban; that is, upon the means whereby man is introduced into the life of use. According to the Writings, Laban represents what is called "collateral good" of a common stock. By "collateral" is meant that which is related to, but not strictly a part of, the main thing under consideration; hence we speak of collateral issues. It has reference also to that which belongs to the same ancestral stock, but not in the direct line of descent. That was the case with Laban, who although he was Jacob's uncle on the maternal side, was also related to him through the paternal line in that Laban was the son of Bethuel, the son of Nahor, Abraham's brother. It is through this line of descent that he assumes the representation of collateral good of a common stock.

497

     Since that which is collateral is said to support, or to serve as a means of support for that which is central and essential, it follows that by Laban is represented a particular kind of good. The Writings identify this as gentile good; that is, the good that is common to children and those who are not of the church specific. When we look at the world around us we see much that is evil, but we see also much that seems good. Surely, the world has its share of sincere people who are conscientiously trying to do what is just. These the Writings refer to as the gentiles, and describe them as those whose principles of life are not contrary to truth.* It is not said that they have the truth, for that is what the gentiles lack, but it does refer to them as good because the principles of life that they have formed are not contrary to truth. It is quite different with those whom the Word speaks of as the heathen, for this term refers to those who, through the loves of self and the world, have perverted such truths as they may have at one time possessed.
* AC 2590.
     By collateral good of the common stock, therefore, is meant good which had its origin in a former revelation; but the revelation having been lost (as is the case with the Ancient Word), or no longer being understood (as is the case with the Old and New Testaments), yet serves as the source from which men derive certain principles of life. Note here the difference between principles and doctrine, for whereas principles are derivatives which may support doctrine, true doctrine cannot be seen and understood unless men perceive and acknowledge its source. By the gentiles at this day, therefore, are meant those who do not have the Word in its spiritual sense, but who yet live a good civil and moral life, not because this is to their self-interest, but because they sincerely believe that in this, and in no other way, can they be of service to others. These are the remnant of former churches and dispensations among whom the New Church is yet to be built. The reason is that with them there are remains of good; that is to say, something of innocence, as may be evident from the fact that the principles by which they live "are not contrary to truth,"* that is, to the doctrine of charity for the New Church, which is the doctrine of use.
* AC 2590.

     In our previous lecture we raised the question of whether man is capable of acting from a purely unselfish motive. By this we do not have reference to an impulsive action, as for example, where one man risks his life for another without thought of the consequences. This nevertheless is indicative of man's capacity for unselfishness, even though most acts of extreme heroism are done under great emotional stress. But the real question here is not whether under unusual circumstances man is capable of an apparently unselfish action, but whether in affection and thought, as well as in deed, he is capable of attaining to a permanent state of selfless devotion to use.

498

Of himself, man cannot do this, for such is the nature of self that it cannot possibly rise above self. In this the Writings concur with modern thought. But by means of the affection of truth man is endowed with the capacity to see what is good; and from truth, and from no other source, he has the ability to do what is good. Hence the value of what is called self-discipline, without which self could not be subordinated to use.
But as long as man lives in the world he is as yet in the way with self. We would question, therefore, whether with man upon earth, a purely unselfish motive is possible. If it is, it cannot long be sustained, for until the process of regeneration is complete, that is, until man is regenerate, his natural tendency is to lapse back into self. Nevertheless, the Lord has provided the means whereby from being natural, man may become spiritual; that is, the means whereby man may enter with delight into the good of use. Not only has He endowed man with the ability to see what is true; but because, until a man is regenerated, he cannot yet act from a purely unselfish motive, the Lord has provided a kind of mediate good which serves as a means whereby man may be introduced gradually into genuine good. Concerning this the Writings say: "When a man is being regenerated, he is kept by the Lord in a kind of mediate good. This good serves for introducing genuine goods and truths, but after these have been introduced it is separated from them. . . . [This] is not done in a moment, as some believe, but through a course of years; nay, during a man's whole life, even to its end. . . . Seeing, therefore, that man's states of life have to be so greatly changed, it must needs be that he is long kept in a kind of mediate [or middle] good, that is, in a good which partakes of the affections of . . . [both worlds], and unless he is kept in this mediate good he . . . [cannot be regenerated].
This mediate or middle good is what is signified by . . . [the flocks of Laban]."* This will be the subject of our next lecture.
* AC 4063.
Title Unspecified 1961

Title Unspecified 1961

"It is plain from many things that the Lord saves man from mercy solely; and that he does not demand any praise and rendering of thanks for His Divine benefits is evident from the state of souls, spirits and angels, to whom it is granted to think, say and do nothing, unless the Lord gives leave or permits. . . . If a spirit purposes to give thanks, he can by no means do so unless from manifest permission and leave; thus are those things of the Lord" (Spiritual Diary 2098).

499

USE 1961

USE Rev. BJORN A. H. BOYESEN 1961

     (Delivered at the second session of the 46th British Assembly, Colchester, July 15, 1961.)

     Have you ever asked yourselves the question: "What is the use?" Most often, perhaps, men ask that question when they feel discouraged. It may be because they have become so overwhelmed with an awareness of their own weaknesses that they feel there is no way of overcoming them, no matter what they do. They may feel that they have fought mightily against their evil tendencies, and yet those same tendencies crop up again and again, looming ever more invincible. So men are tempted to give up, saying, "What is the use?" Or perhaps it is not themselves but others who are the cause of discouragement. They have, let us say, had some use in view. Perhaps they have discovered a new process whereby something may be more easily, cheaply and better produced than before, and they have tried to explain it. But people are ever conservative, or have a vested interest, or are just too lazy to try something new. They raise doubts and objections, and finally offer direct opposition; and so the whole scheme comes to nothing. Or, perhaps, you have tried to help a friend in trouble, or to show someone the wonders of the New Church, the excellency of the Writings, the marvels of the spiritual world, but he was not interested! And so you ask: "What is the use?"
     But the same question may also be asked in an affirmative way. You may be the one who is being shown a new process, helped with your work, or introduced to the Writings; and you may be sincerely interested. You wish to know and really understand why the new way is better. So you ask: "What is the use?" And when you have been shown the use, and you really see it, you are eager to adopt it.
     There is a great value in this question: "What is the use?" It serves to illustrate that use, regarded in itself, is in reality something above and beyond what we do, even though it cannot be divorced from all doing. Or perhaps we should say rather that it is something within our actions and deeds, and therefore never separable from them. In a similar way, use is also something above and within all the things of creation - something within its matters, objects and creatures. It is within every part thereof. Such is also the clear and distinct teaching of the Writings.

500

Thus we read:

     "Uses themselves, viewed in themselves, are spiritual; while the forms of use, which are members, organs and viscera, are natural. These, in fact, are series of uses; [and this] to such an extent that there cannot be a particle, or the least atom of any particle, in any member, organ or viscus, that is not a use in form."*
* Love IV: 2.

     It is important for us to realize the implications of this teaching, for they run entirely counter to our normal thinking on this subject. We are ever prone thoughtlessly to identify use with work - to think that we are useful merely because we are working. We think of the functions, offices and employments in which men are engaged as uses in themselves. Yet it should be obvious to any man who reflects on the matter that such is not the case. Men can be very busy without performing any real use! In fact, not infrequently they may cause at least some temporary harm by the things they do. Therefore we should carefully note the teaching of the Writings that "works mean the things that are of man's life, both good and evil." They are "effects of life, for they come out of the life of everyone. If the life is good, the works are good, but if the life is evil, the works are evil. The life that is in works is the intention, which is of the will, and of the thought therefrom; and this life is the life of man's spirit, for it is the spirit of man that intends and thinks. Without this life in the works, they would be only motions like those of an automaton."*
* AE 185.
     Very similar is the following statement in the Arcana:

     "The principal sign whether a man be only sensual, or whether he be rational, is from his life; not his life such as it appears in his conversation and his actions, but such as it is [in them]; for the life of conversation is from the thought, and the life of action is from the will, each from the intention or end proposed. Such therefore as is the intention or end in the conversation or in the works, such is the life; for conversation without interior life is mere sound, and works without interior life are mere motions." * *AC 5128: 4.

     The following statement may well be regarded as conclusive as regards this aspect of the subject:

     "There are three principles in man, which concur and unite together the natural, the spiritual and the celestial. The natural never receives any life except from the spiritual, nor the celestial except from the Lord, who is life itself. . . . The celestial is all the good of faith, and with a spiritual man it is the good of charity. The spiritual is truth, which never becomes the truth of faith unless the good of faith be in it, or the good of charity, in which is life itself from the Lord. That this may be more clearly seen we may observe that it is the natural in man which does the work of charity, either with the hand or the mouth, consequently by the organs of the body; but this work in itself is dead, having no life except from the spiritual, nor has the spiritual any except what it receives from the celestial, which is from the Lord; hence it is said to be a good work, since there is nothing good except from the Lord. This being seen, it must be manifest to all that in every work of charity the work itself is nothing but something material."*
* AC 880: 2, 3.

501

     We may then indeed with good reason ask ourselves: "What is the use?" So much we know, that it is not material. It consists neither of things, nor yet of speech, nor even of actions or works; no, not even of functions, employments or offices as such. Still, it must be carefully noted that neither does use exist apart from these; and this for the simple reason that all these external things are the forms in which the uses exist, and without which they have no existence.
     But perhaps this can be better understood by considering what use is in its origin with the Lord; for it should be evident to everyone that, since the Lord is the Creator of all things, and since everything therefore has its rise out of Him, so must also use. Thus we have the teaching of the Writings:

     "As the Lord is love itself, and wisdom itself, He is also use itself; for love has use as its end, and produces use by means of wisdom; for love and wisdom without use have no boundary or end . . . therefore it cannot be said that they are and exist unless there be a use in which they are."*
* DLW 230.

     The same is taught when it is said:

     "There are three things in the Lord which are the Lord: the Divine of love, the Divine of wisdom, and the Divine of use; and these three are represented in appearance outside the sun of the spiritual world; the Divine of love by heat, the Divine of wisdom by light, and the Divine of use by atmosphere, which is the containant."*
* DLW 296.

     This is the same as to say that the atmosphere proceeds from the Divine of use in the Lord, or rather that the atmosphere is the means by which the Divine of use proceeds. It is therefore full of the Divine of use. By it, that is, by means of the atmosphere, the Divine of use is omnipresent in creation. This is, indeed, the result of the Divine love.

     "Everyone who thinks with any enlightenment is able to see that love has use as its end, and intends it, and that it produces use through wisdom; for love is not able to produce any use of itself, but [only] by means of wisdom. What indeed is love unless there is something to be loved? This something is use; and because use is that which is loved, and is produced through wisdom, it follows that it is the containant of love and wisdom."*
* DLW 297.

     Another way of saying this is that love becomes use in ultimates by means of the atmosphere, so that use is indeed love at its end; and as such it is vibrant and alive with the purpose of love. To this should be added, however, that there is not only one atmosphere; there are actually three atmospheres in each world, the spiritual and the natural, and they "all terminate in their ultimates in such substances and matters as are in the earths."*

502

Moreover, because they all decrease continually in activity and expansion in their progression downwards to ultimates, becoming on the way more compressed, it follows that their heat ends in the ultimates in cold, their light in darkness, and their activity in inertia.**
* DLW 302.
** See DLW 302-306
Still, the substances and matters in the earths retain in them, out of the atmospheres from which they originate, the effort and endeavor to produce uses.* Therefore the inertia of which we here speak is not the same as utter death and extinction. It is rather a state in which the forces of life are held in balance and equilibrium, and are, so to speak, constantly tremulous with the effort to be released into new activity; and when the proper conditions arise, they do, as it were, leap forth into renewed use and work. It is for this reason that the apparent inertia of nature is not called inertia but conatus or endeavor. All of nature is therefore replete with the potentiality of life from the Lord, even to the extent that it may be said to be full of the Lord. Yet the Writings solemnly warn us that "in the substances and matters out of which the earths arise there is nothing of the Divine in itself, but they are from the Divine in itself."** The efforts in them are said to be "not living" - that is, as we understand it, not living in themselves - "because they are efforts of the ultimate forces of life."*** Nevertheless, "inside of these forces, by virtue of the life out of which they spring, there is a striving to return to their origin, through the means that are proferred."**** And since their origin is the spiritual sun, which is the sphere encompassing God-Man or the Lord, there is in all things of creation an effort to return to and serve the human form; that is, to serve man and, in the highest sense, the Lord. That is why everything conspires to the human form, and there is an image of man in everything created.
* See DLW 303.
** DLW 305.
*** DLW 311.
**** Ibid.
But the Writings emphasize that the heat, light and atmospheres of the natural world - that is, those which proceed from the natural sun - conduce absolutely nothing to this image of creation, but only the heat, light and atmospheres of the spiritual sun, and that this image in creation is spiritual. This, in reality, is the same as saying that the real use in creation is spiritual, and that creation is endowed therewith solely by the spiritual atmospheres. The natural atmospheres serve only to provide this use with its external form and shape; to fill it full with matters of the world, and thus to make it fixed and permanent in ultimates.* One might say that the spiritual atmospheres serve to give everything its use, which is always spiritual and like a soul, while the natural atmospheres serve only to provide this use with a body. **
*See DLW 315.
** See DLW 310.

503

     Therefore the Writings also tell us:

     "Use existed before the organic forms of the body came forth; and the use produced and adapted them to itself, and not the converse. But when the forms have been produced, or the organs adapted, the uses proceed from them, and then it appears as if the forms or organs exist before the uses, when yet it is not so."*
* AC 4223: 2.

     One might say that the descending series of creation is a series whereby the forms or correspondences of use are produced by the Lord from uses in themselves, that is, from the Divine of use. But the ascending series of creation is a series whereby uses themselves are produced by the Lord through their correspondences and forms, or out of them as of themselves. Thus the Lord produces uses, not immediately from Himself, but by means of, or mediately through, the things and creatures, and especially the human beings, He has created. Uses, consequently, are always produced by a direct influx into ultimates, and through ultimates into intermediates. Yet we must not think that the Lord produces uses in this way for His own sake, or because He needs to do so; it is done, rather, in order to give in this manner of His own to others - in order that we and all other creatures may have and enjoy the delights of use, for in that alone lie the sensation and happiness of life.
     So then, we may ask again: "What is use?" And now we are able to answer that use is an internal, spiritual striving in all created things, and in all their works, toward their establishment, sustenance and perfection of the human: nay, it is more than a striving, it is an actual creation and constant improvement of the angelic human mind. We might say that everything is a use exactly in so far as it contributes to this end; or, as the Writings express it: "All things which are created by the Lord are uses; and they are uses in that order, degree and respect in which they are related to man, and through man to the Lord, from whom they are."*
* DLW 327.
     One might also say that uses are uses only to the extent that they look toward the Divine end in creation, which is to perfect human society. For, as the Writings say:

     "By man, to whom uses have reference, is understood not only a man, but also an assembly of men, a society smaller or larger, as a commonwealth, kingdom or empire; and also that greatest society, the whole world; for these, one and all, are a man. So likewise is the heavens; the whole angelic heaven is before the Lord as one man; in like manner each society of heaven."*
* DLW 328.

     Thus "the end in the creation of the universe is that there may be an angelic heaven; and because the angelic heaven is the end, so also is man or the human race, since heaven is from this race."* Therefore whatever contributes toward this end is a use, in the degree of its contribution.

504

All things are merely "mediate ends" to this end, and are uses in the order, degree and respect in which they are related to man, and through man to the Lord.** Man alone is the final end, and it is this that is meant when it is written that "the kingdom of heaven is a kingdom of uses."
* DLW 329.
** Ibid.
     We shall not dwell at any length in this address on the mediate ends or uses by themselves, because they are far too numerous to allow of any adequate treatment in a single paper. Let it be enough to observe that they are "uses for sustaining man's body, for perfecting his rational, and [finally and most importantly] for receiving the spiritual from the Lord."*
* See DLW 330-335.
     In the first of this series of uses all the three kingdoms of nature are engaged - the mineral, the vegetable and the animal kingdoms; for they all contribute their part, and indeed unbeknown to themselves, toward the nourishment, clothing, habitation, recreation and enjoyment, protection and conservation of man's body in its proper state. It should be noted, however, that in the Divine economy these uses are not uses in themselves, but become uses only in so far as they regard the establishment of a sound mind in man's body, that is, in so far as they look toward the establishment of heaven. The minerals, plants and animals cannot themselves have this end consciously in view; but the Lord can, because He has created them for this purpose, and man can, too, because he can use them for it, if he will.*
* See DLW 321.
     The uses for perfecting the rational are all the things which teach the sciences and studies which belong to natural, economic, civil and moral affairs. They are uses of a superior degree than the former, and are permanent in so far as they are applied to life. In other words, they are not uses if they are only known; but these rational uses, too, are uses only to the extent that they are applied to spiritual life and thus made to serve the development of a sound angelic mind. As long as they regard the establishment of an external civil and moral life only, they are not as yet real uses, but at best only means of use.*
* See DLW 332.
     The uses for receiving the spiritual from the Lord are all the things which belong to religion and therefore to worship. They are all the things which teach the knowledge and acknowledgment of God, the knowledge and acknowledgment of good and truth, and thus eternal life. Besides being learned from parents, priests, teachers and books, these knowledges are especially acquired through doctrines from the Word, and thus through the Word from the Lord.

505

They might be called the most excellent of all mediate uses; but it should be well noted that, like the former, none of them are of any real use unless what they teach is actually applied to life, that is, unless they are actually used for receiving the spiritual from the Lord; for, as always, it is only in the deeds and works of life that love finds expression, grows, and develops. There is no abstract use; but use is ever present, grows, and is established only in and through action.*
* See DLW 333.
     It is for this reason that works, or deeds, are ever emphasized in the Sacred Scripture and the Writings. The teaching is frequently repeated in the Word that the Lord shall reward man "according to his works"; and the Writings teach that "the goods of use which individuals perform, and from which the common good exists, are ministries, functions, offices, and various employments."* They explain in the same passage that by "ministries are meant priestly offices and the duties pertaining to them; by functions, various offices of a civil nature; by employments . . . such vocations as those of artificers, which are numerous; and by offices, various pursuits, businesses and services." Of these four," the passage adds, "the commonwealth or society consists." It is stated further:

     "They who are in ministerial offices provide that the Divine shall be there; the various civil functionaries, that there shall be justice there, and also morality, as well as industry, knowledge and uprightness; the various workmen that there shall be the necessaries of life; and merchants that there shall be the things necessary for the various occupations; soldiers that there shall be protection; and these last especially, and also agriculturists, that there shall be a sufficiency of wealth."**
* Char. 134.
** Char. 135.

     Yet all of these are of real use only in so far as something spiritual is present in them, or in so far as they look toward something spiritual. Moreover, the teaching is clear and explicit that it is the same in heaven.

     "The heavenly form is such that every individual there is in some ministry, some function, some office or employment, and in work. Such are all the heavenly societies that no one may be useless. One who does nothing, and who wishes to live in ease, or only to talk and walk and sleep, is not tolerated there. . . . Everyone there enjoys his own pursuit. It is the source of his delight. They shun idleness as one would a pestilence. The reason is that everyone there does his work as from a love of use, and so has delight of heart."*
* Char. 137, 138.

     The teaching is given that this is so because "each part of the society, which is an angel, is in charity."* The society inspires the angel, and he contributes his part to the whole.
* Char. 139.
     One might, perhaps, be surprised at this teaching, that even the angels are, at least to all appearances, engaged in external occupations of various kinds. One might think that there is no need for this, since the Writings also teach that they who are in heaven are given everything that they need freely.

506

Food appears on the table in a moment; and even clothes, houses and their entire surroundings are said to be created by the Lord in a moment. But it is well to realize that what is thus created in a moment is not in reality the spiritual uses themselves, but merely the external correspondential clothing or appearance which makes it possible for the real uses of heaven to be seen by the angels' natural minds. For the real wealth of heaven does not consist in correspondences or things, but in knowledges and perceptions of truths, and especially the affections of good which perfect the human mind. These spiritual uses are ever produced, in heaven as on earth, only by the mind's effort and work; and the only difference between angels and men is that angels bring forth these spiritual uses as it were freely and without temptation, though not without effort, and that the external appearance of their work and surroundings is created by the Lord in a moment to correspond with their internal state. This external appearance is permanent or not permanent according to the permanence or impermanence of the internal state of their affections. But with men on earth, external work and surroundings are for the most part fixed and stated, being infilled with the matters of the earth, and men's internal affections are established by means of and within them.
     Much more could be said, of course, about the uses of angels, but we must let a few observations suffice. Besides all the appearances of normal work, as with men on earth, the angels are also engaged in the use of raising and instructing the dead; the guardianship of men on earth; the education and instruction of children, of gentiles and other novitiate spirits, and their protection from evil spirits; the protection of those in the lower earths; and the moderating and government of the hells. They also engage in preaching, and in various offices of government and judgment. * It is to be noted that some of these are actually performed by angels in the world of spirits, and even in the hells, and that they can be described because they are on the whole similar to uses which men perform on earth. But it is said also:

     "The uses which the angels perform in the heavens, and the works which the evil do in the hells, are [only] in part similar to those carried on in the world . . . . there are [in addition] many spiritual uses which cannot be described in natural language, and [says Swedenborg], what I have often marvelled at, which do not fall into ideas of natural thought."**
* See HH 391-393; SD min. 4805; AC 454; CL 17.
** AE 1226: 4.

     Mentioned here is another thing that is worthy of some attention, namely, that the devils in hell also perform work, and consequently also by means of the work, some use. For there is no work through which some use is not accomplished.

507

     To understand hell it is necessary to consider it under a dual aspect. On the one hand, it must be realized that even hell is a portion of the Lord's kingdom and is held in at least some external order under the government of Divine law. On the other hand, internally the devils and satans of hell are opposed to everything orderly, and if the bonds of order were loosed, their evil loves and affections would break out in an orgy of anarchy and crime, destroying even their own society and ultimately even themselves. For evil is by its nature so irrational and contradictory that it would be utterly self-destructive and spiritually suicidal if free rein were given to it. Unless they were restrained, therefore, the evil could not enjoy even the smallest measure of the delights of their own evil loves. It is thus a sign of the Lord's mercy that the evil are constantly held in check by the fear of punishment and the consequent realization of the need for at least some external order and work. In this way do the laws of Divine order become for them the laws of necessity. In this there is no real freedom, but rather slavery. Still, there is no slavery so complete that it does not offer at least some small measure or semblance of freedom, for without that there is no life. It is indeed true that when the evil rebel they are put into workhouses, where they are compelled by overseers to work and where they suffer hard things; and these are like "hells within the hells." But when they submit, and do their work as by self-compulsion, they are given food, clothing and habitation as the reward of their labor; and after their work they are allowed, within certain limits, the private enjoyment of their evils. But they are not allowed to speak falsity, we are told, or to harm others by their evils.*
* See AC 986, 1695.
      We may perhaps wonder what the works of the evil are like, and what are the uses that are performed thereby. Here again we are taught that, as is the case with the works of the angels, the works of hell are to a large extent indescribable, except in the language of correspondences.
     This much, however, is clear, that in its essence the work of the devils is similar to the work of the angels, although its external form is of the lowest and vilest kind. The teaching is that "in hell everyone is compelled to do good and useful work"; yet, differently from the angels, the devils do not perform it "from affection for it."* It is noted that "the works of hell have correspondences with the heavens, but the infernal spirits themselves do not."**
* Char. 157, 196.
** SD 6088.
      We read:

     "The evil are servants in the Lord's kingdom. The services which they there perform are vile, and because of their number they cannot well be set forth. In the other life everyone, whosoever he is, must perform a use; for man is born for no other end than to perform use - while on earth to the society in which he is, and in the other life a use according to the Lord's good pleasure."*
* AC 1103.

508

     We are not entirely without some indication, however, as to what are the uses performed through the work of the evil. The mere fact that they are called uses indicates that they somehow serve for the protection and perfection of the Gorand Man, that is, for society in both the natural and the spiritual world. One use at least is that the evil themselves may learn enough truth - enough of the facts of spiritual life, so to speak - to reduce them as far as possible into order, so that they are amended at least as to externals.* Thus it is written that by "their tasks the evil in hell are led away from the delights of their will"** and it is noted that "as long as they are in works they are not insane, since their works hold their animus in prison and in bonds, so that it does not wander away into the delirium of their lusts."***
* See AC 986.
** LJ Post 230.
*** Wis. XV.
     However, the evil perform uses not only for themselves but also for others. The Writings teach us that "the Lord's Divine Providence causes evil together with its falsity to serve for equilibrium, for relation, for purification, and thus for the conjunction of good and truth in others."* By equilibrium is meant a balance between the influx into men of evils and falsities from hell and of good and truth from heaven. By means of this balance, man in the world is kept in the freedom of choice, that is, in a state of willing, thinking, doing and speaking, wherein he can be reformed.** By relation is meant a situation wherein the quality of good may be known by its relation to that which is less good and its contrariety to evil. For everything is more distinctly perceived by its contrariety to its opposite; thus also a judgment can more easily be made between good and evil.*** Purification, finally, is accomplished by means of either spiritual temptations or fermentations. The temptations are nothing but combats against the evils and falsities that are exhaled from hell and affect men. What spiritual fermentations are, however, is not known on earth, the Writings note; but they take place by innumerable ways both in the heavens and on earth, and this much at least is clear, that they consist in a kind of clarification and purification of the life, through a process less strenuous than temptation. They are, perhaps, a form of vastation. Thus the hells perform a use even for the heavens.
* DP 21.
** DP 23.
*** DP 24.
     In short, we may say that the Lord in His Divine Providence turns the works of the evil to the use of revealing to men its own enormity, and thus to that of assisting men in the shunning of evil. It is, comparatively as poisons are turned by a physician into remedies for the very sicknesses they can produce, or as unclean matters in fields and gardens serve for separating what is useful and not useful in the soil, and thus to produce vegetables and fruits.*
* See AC 1103.

509

     Thus we are finally brought to realize that the real use in all works is, first of all, to assist the human mind in the shunning of evil, and thereafter to do the goods of charity to the neighbor. By idleness, we are told, "the mind is spread out to various evils and falsities, but in labor it is held together in a one."* "The lower mind, when attached to its duty and work, from the love of use is held together, and is then in spiritual delight . . . and is withheld from delight in fraud and malice, and also from the delight in mere talking and feasting, which also is the delight of idleness; and idleness is the devil's pillow." ** Offices, works, employments and administrations of various kinds are therefore what hold society together and protect men from falling into various kinds of evils. Still, it should be realized that the real use or end in all work is more than mere protection from evil. The shunning of evil is, as all in the New Church know, a mere prerequisite; the real use or end in view is to do genuine spiritual good to the neighbor. Use in its essence is therefore the exercise of charity. *** But at this point we have arrived at a whole new side of the subject, almost as it were at a whole new doctrine which is given its own treatment in the Writings. Therefore we cannot now go any further.
* SD 6088.
** Wis. X i: 4.
*** See AC 5664a, 6119, 7038 et al.
     It is enough to summarize that uses in their essence are spiritual, and that we learn them through works and duties, which are actual deeds; and also that they are expressed in such deeds or actions as are of spiritual use. In full agreement with this is the teaching that works are more or less good according to the excellence of the use, that is in so far as they contribute to man's spiritual perfection. * It is therefore not in reality the outward honor and dignity of a man's work that is of importance, but its spiritual use to the man's own mind and eternal welfare and to the mind and the welfare of his neighbor. In its essence it is therefore the human soul and mind itself which is a use, and whatever contributes to its perfection is in that degree a use. Actually, then, it is not the external form of man's work that is the use, but rather the honesty, sincerity and faithfulness wherewith he performs it. It is the perfection of his love to the Lord and the neighbor in it. **See AE 975.
     If, therefore, a man does not love the external form of his work he may seek another form, and it is right for him to seek another form which may better express and correspond to his love. But if he cannot find a better form, let him continue to do the work he has diligently, sincerely and faithfully.

510

Let him remember the teaching of the Writings that "good works are all things that a man does, writes, preaches and speaks, not from self, but from the Lord; and this he does when he lives according to the laws of religion."* Remember: religion is to do good, and to do it from love. Therefore use, in its essence, is the perfection of love in action.
* AE 825: 3.
APOSTOLIC WRITINGS 1961

APOSTOLIC WRITINGS Rev. HUGO LJ. ODHNER 1961

     (Continued from the October issue. The second of two articles.)

     When the Lord promised that after many tribulations the Son of Man would come in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory, the disciples took this to mean a personal return of the Lord to earth. Both they and the early converts to Christianity also believed that this second advent of the Christ was to be accomplished within the lifetime of the apostles, yet not before they had published the gospel in all nations and endured many persecutions. It was probably expected to coincide with the predicted destruction of Jerusalem.*
* See Matthew 24.
     Yet the Lord had warned against the thought that the kingdom of God should appear "immediately."* He had also said: "The kingdom of God cometh not with observation: neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you."** "My kingdom is not of this world" -not of this cosmos.***
* See Luke 19: 11.
** Luke 17: 21.
*** John 18: 36.
     So certain were the early Christian teachers of the imminence of the Lord's return that Paul writes to the Thessalonians, praying that they may be preserved blameless, as to spirit, soul and body, until the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. * "We which are alive and remain," he writes, "shall be caught up together with them [the saints who are asleep], to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord." ** And the saints would then judge the world! "Know ye not," wrote Paul, "that we shall then judge angels?"
* Ibid 4: 17.
** I Corinthians 6: 3.
     But as the years rolled by and the great Day of Jehovah had not yet come, certain explanations were in order. Paul again writes to the Thessalonians, telling them not to be shaken or troubled by the more restless souls, and reminding them that before the great coming of the Lord there will first appear apostasy and a falling away and a revelation of "the man of sin, the son of perdition."*

511

James writes: "Be patient, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord . . . . Stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh."** Peter, in his second epistle, warns against scoffers who say, "Where is the promise of His coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation."*** He reasserts that the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night. The Lord is not slack in His promise, but is long suffering, willing that all should come to repentance.**** "And," he continues, "account the long-suffering of our Lord as salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things; in which are some things hard to be understood, which they that are unlearned and unstable wrest, as they do also the other scriptures, unto their own destruction."*****
* II Thessalonians 2: 1-3.
** James 5: 7,8.
*** II Peter 3: 4.
**** Ibid. 3: 9
***** Ibid. 3: 15, 16
     Peter here loyally defends Paul, but indicates that in Paul's writings there are some things hard to understand, hard to "swallow." For one thing, Peter was a simple, warmhearted man with no claims to particular religious merit, no ambitions to pose as an ascetic. He was a married man. He must have had difficulty in understanding why Paul, who was single, should take a pride in his celibacy, and tell his people: "I would that all men were even as I myself." "It is good for a man not to touch a woman." "To the unmarried and widows I therefore say, It is good for them if they abide even as I. But if they cannot contain, let them marry; for it is better to marry than to burn." "If a virgin marry, she has not sinned. Nevertheless, such shall have trouble in the flesh. . . . He that is unmarried cares for the things of the Lord . . . . but he that is married cares for the things of the world, how he may please his wife." A widow "is happier if she so abide, after my judgment: and I think also that I have the Spirit of God."*
* I Corinthians 7.
     Paul did not lay actual claim to any Divine sanction in this his plea for the glories of the celibate life. "I speak this by permission, not by command," he admits. "As to virgins, I have no commandment of the Lord, but I give my opinion as one who has obtained mercy of the Lord to be faithful." "The time is short," he adds.* It was in his mind that the time was short before the Lord would return to judgment. This was not the time to think of marriage and offspring. The end of all things was nigh upon them.
* Ibid.
     But let us note that since the expected end did not come, there is no stress laid on celibacy in the later epistles.

512

Even bishops were selected from among married men.* "Marriage is honorable in all," says the Epistle to the Hebrews.** To forbid marriage is listed with vegetarianism as heresy in I Timothy, where Paul also succinctly says: "I will that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house, and give no occasion for the adversary to reproach them.***
* I Timothy 3: 2.
** Hebrews 13: 4.
*** I Timothy 4: 3, 5: 14.
     There are, of course, many other things in Paul that are not easily understood. What is meant, for instance, by Christians undergoing a "baptism for the dead"? Seemingly it meant a vicarious baptism in which a living friend was baptized for one who had died before being baptized.*
* See I Corinthians 15: 29.
     Several things in Paul's teachings mystified some of the other apostles. To Peter, Christianity had always meant the preaching of the Lord Jesus as the Christ, the son of God come to provide redemption in fulfillment of the Hebrew Scriptures. Paul, on the other hand, was a cosmopolite-born with the rank of a Roman citizen, bred on Jewish lore, but also versed in the world concepts that had been shaping popular Greek thinking. Paul wanted to be "all things to all men" - a Jew to the Jews, a Greek to the Gentiles. He translated Christianity into the terms of the world's thought and thus carried its message to the Hellenistic mind.
     Thus, where the Jews were quite satisfied with the promise that on the last day their souls would be awakened from sleep and their material bodies rise from the grave, the Greeks were not so easily convinced. "The Jews require a sign," Paul noted, "and the Greeks seek after wisdom . . . . But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the world unto our glory . . . . which things we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him; neither can he know them, for they are spiritually discerned." * When some in the church at Corinth began to say that there is no resurrection of the dead, Paul argued that as there are all sorts of bodies, those of men and of beasts and of birds and of fishes, so also there are "celestial bodies and bodies terrestrial." The body of man at death is sown in corruption, but it is raised in glory. "It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body and there is a spiritual body." "Flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God." "Behold, I tell you a mystery: we shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed."**
* I Corinthians 1, 2.
** Ibid. 15.

513

     Even those who, as Paul thought, would survive to the last day would have their bodies metamorphosed into spiritual bodies - "Changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." The mortal would put on immortality. "O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?"
     This doctrine of a refined, purified or spiritualized resurrection body did indeed take away some of the doubts of the Greeks. For they were accustomed to think of the material body as a prison-house of the soul, and of the surviving soul as a pure spirit or abstract mind; and many had identified matter with evil, in line with the dualistic Persian tradition.
     But the pagan world was in a state of religious flux at this time. The Orient had become Hellenized and the West had been flooded with the esoteric and speculative ideas of the Orient. Above the earth men generally pictured the revolving heavens as seven concentric "spheres" ruled by fearful spiritual powers - planetary demons, brutal gods who cut off the souls of men from the source of life or the land of eternal happiness. An increasing number of mystery cults, with large popular followings, claimed to hold the secret of how to appease these hostile powers. Each promised to transmit to its initiates the magical name of their savior god, or at least reveal the way to defeat or circumvent the demons of the spheres; some by simple magic, some by rituals and sacrifices, others by ascetic abstentions, celibacy, vegetarianism, or mystical contemplation.
     And now Paul began to explain Christianity in somewhat similar terms - weeding out all polytheistic ideas. We might imagine that it would be startling to Peter to find that the beloved brother Paul called baptism an "initiation" and the Christian brotherhood a "mystery." But Paul claimed that God "by revelation" had made known unto him the mystery of Christ, " to make all men see what is the fellowship of the mystery which from the aeons had been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ: to the intent that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known by the church unto the principalities and powers in heavenly places, according to the purpose of the aeons which He accomplished in Jesus Christ our Lord."*
*Ephesians 3: 9-11
     "We wrestle not," he explained to the Ephesians, "against flesh and blood, but against the principalities, against the powers, against the world-rulers of this dark age, against wicked spirits in heavenly places."* "Neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present or things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."**
* Ephesians 6: 12.
** Romans 8: 38, 39.

514

     It is to be noted that Paul here refers to the various names which the pre-Christian gnostics used to describe the powers of the spheres. These powers they also personified as "aeons " - emanations from the original unknowable infinite Source.
     Paul, as did also John in his Gospel, realized that the Lord was the incarnation of the Divine wisdom which some of the Greek philosophers, and lately Philo Judaeus, had called the Logos - the Word or Reason that created the universe and ruled it. The Platonic tradition was that the Logos was the origin of a purely spiritual world of "ideas" or archetypal patterns or substantial forms, according to which all the worldly things perceived by our senses had been formed. In this world of ideas all the attributes and qualities of God stood forth distinctly; and by a fusion with the notions derived from Greek mythology, the various gods became identified in the popular mind with the various elements in this world of ideas, and with the emanating aeons of this Logos-world. Without denying the separate gods, philosophers began to refer to the sum-total of the divinities and prototypes as the "pleroma" or the "fulness."
     Paul in no wise meant to give any complete endorsement to these pagan beliefs. "Beware," he cautioned the Colossians, "lest any man spoil you through philosophy and empty deceit, after the tradition of men, after the elements of the cosmos, and not after Christ. For in Him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily." * He is "the head of all principality and power." He has spoiled principalities and powers, "triumphing over them." ** He is "the image of the invisible God," and "by Him were all things created that are in heaven and in earth, both visible and invisible, whether they be thrones or dominions, or principalities or powers: all things were created by Him and for Him. He is before all things, and by Him all things consist." He is the beginning, and also the Firstborn from the dead. In Him dwells the whole Pleroma, the fulness of Divinity. *** So inclusive is this statement, when rightly understood, that True Christian Religion cites it as containing the essence or summary of the teachings of the Word, which is the "crown of revelations." ****
* Colossians 2: 8, 9. [Italics added.]
** Colossians 2: 10, 15.
*** Colossians 1: 15-9, 2: 9.
**** TCR 11.
     Paul's understanding of the Divine Human was by no means perfect. In the manner of all Christians he speaks of Christ as the Son of God and as the "mediator between God and men."* Redemption over, Christ would return all His authority to the Father, to whom He would then become subject.** "I bow my knees," Paul writes, "unto the Father of our Lord."*** Yet the mystical unity of Christ with the Father is often stressed.

515

"God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself."**** Christ was far above the angels, for it was He that made the aeons and He was the express image of God's person. He sat on the right hand of majesty on high, and was worshiped by the angels as their God.***** God had "given Him a name which is above every name: that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven and in earth, and those under the earth."****** And "Jesus Christ, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God."*******
* I Timothy 2: 5.
** I Corinthians 15: 24, 28.
*** Ephesians 3: 14.
**** II Corinthians 5: 19.
***** Hebrews I.
****** Phillippians 2: 9, 10.
******* Ibid 6.
     A similar lack of clarity marks Paul's discussion of the relation of the Lord to His church. The church, Paul said, is the body of Christ, "the fulness of Him that filleth all in all." "We are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones." "Ye are the body of Christ," he wrote, "and members in particular."* There should therefore be no schism, no ambition or rivalry. The foot cannot say: "Because I am not the hand, I am not of the body." All the diverse functions are needed all share in the suffering and the rejoicing. The unifying thing is charity. *Ephesians I: 23, 5: 30; Corinthians 12.
     But Christ is at the same time said to be the Head and Savior of the church, even as the husband is the head of the wife; and, Paul confesses, "This is a great mystery." It was a mystery which was never explained to the Christian Church. Yet Paul's doctrine is cited with approval in the Writings; for it confirms the ancient truths concerning the heavens as a Gorand Man which had come to Paul by way of Greek tradition. In the Writings, however, clear teachings are given which show that it is not men that compose the body of the Lord, but the uses which the Lord provides for men to enter into and perform.

     From these extracts it may be seen that Paul, although more learned and brilliant than the other apostles, still remained in the twilight of a literal understanding of the teachings which he had absorbed at secondhand from the Christians with whom he had lived and from the gospel which was by degrees being reduced to writing. He, like the rest of the Christians, could not enter into the spiritual sense of the Lord's teachings except in so far as genuine truths were revealed in the letter. He confesses: "Now we see through a glass [a mirror], in an enigma [in dark symbols].
     Yet the Lord had opened the Hebrew Scriptures unto His disciples after His resurrection. "Beginning at Moses and all the prophets, He expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning Himself."* This instruction, which is not recorded in the Gospels, no doubt was circulated among the early Christians by word of mouth; and Paul, in his epistles, preserves something of this tradition.

516

He states plainly that the Jewish rites of sacrifice and sabbath observance were but "a shadow of things to come."** To the Galatians he explains that the story of Abraham's two sons, one by Hagar the bondmaid and the other by Sarah the freewoman, is an "allegory" contrasting the two covenants. Ishmael was cast out because he represented the covenant of the law, the ritual law given in the desert. Isaac, the true heir, represented "the Jerusalem which is above," which is "free and the mother of us all"; that is, the Christian covenant of grace.***
* Luke 24: 27.
** Colossians 2: 17.
*** Galatians 4: 22-31
     Thus Paul considered himself a minister of the new testament, the new covenant; "yet not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth," he wrote, "but the spirit giveth life."* But the most elaborate attempt to find an allegorical meaning in the Old Testament occurs in the Epistle to the Hebrews. It has often been doubted whether this epistle was really written by Paul, as it differs from his usual style.
* II Corinthians 3: 6.
      It is there shown by the writer that Jesus Christ at His advent assumed not the nature of angels, but was born of a woman of Abraham's race, and was "in all points tempted like as we, yet without sin."* The Redeemer had been called, in the Psalms, a high priest "after the order of Melchizedec." Now the epistle points out that Christ need not offer up sacrifices, for He offered of His own blood for all the world. The priests of the tabernacle of Israel only served for the "example and shadow of heavenly things," even as Moses had made the tabernacle "according to the pattern" shown him by the Lord on Mount Sinai. ** Being sprinkled with the blood of bulls and goats did not make those who sacrificed them perfect. The law was but a "shadow of good things to come." "The blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God," should purge the conscience of Christians from "dead works" to serve the living God. The "patterns of the things in the heavens" had to be purified through the Mosaic rituals. But the heavenly things themselves could be purified only by Christ; who entered into heaven itself, while the high priests had only once a year entered into the holy places made with hands. The Christian brethren were now to enter boldly into the holy of holies, through the veil which was the flesh of Christ given in the Holy Supper.***
* Hebrews 4: 15.
** Ibid. 8: 5, 9: 23.
*** Ibid. 9: 21-25, 10: 19, 20.
     Christians must not waver in their faith. "Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." *

517

It was by faith that Israel passed through the Red Sea and possessed its earthly inheritance. But Christians seek a better country. They stand not with dread before a smoking Sinai, but are come unto the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels - to the assembly of those that are "written in heaven."** Here, the epistle adds, we have no enduring city, but we seek one to come.
* Ibid. 11: 1.
** Ibid. 12: 22, 23.
     Peter also, in his epistles, pictures the Christian Church as a new chosen people, a holy priesthood; as living stones built up as a spiritual house, redeemed through spiritual sacrifices. He shows how Christ, "being put to death in the flesh, had been quickened by the Spirit, by which He also went and preached unto the spirits in prison"; and then had risen and ascended, so that angels and principalities and powers were made subject unto Him.* He preaches faith, but also, "above all things, fervent charity. For charity shall cover a multitude of sins."**
* I Peter 3: 18-22.
** Ibid. 4: 8.
     Peter warns against false teachers among the Christians. He warns of the sudden coming of the day "in which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up. Yet we look," he says, "for new heavens and a new earth, wherein justice shall dwell."*
* II Peter 3: 12, 13.
     The signs of those "last times" and the judgment upon apostate Christians are further described by Jude in his brief message. He cites, as the Apocalypse Explained observes, "from ancient books that were written in correspondences."* These books have no spiritual sense, but were composed "in imitation"** of the style of the ancients, and purported to have various patriarchs as their authors. They belonged to the "apocalyptic literature" of the Jews, new samples of which were recently found among the Dead Sea Scrolls. The book of Enoch referred to by Jude dates in part from pre-Maccabean times, when the coming of a Messiah was hoped for urgently. It must be noted that this book is in no wise connected with the book of Enoch which was included in the lost Ancient Word. In fact, it did not become known in Europe until 1773, when the traveler Bruce brought an Ethiopic version to England.***
* AE 735: 4, 740: 16.
** Cf. AC 1756.
*** See New Church Life, 1944, pp. 221-224.
     But our hasty review of the Apostolic Writings would not be complete without a glance at the Epistles of John, the apostle whom the Lord loved. For these letters reveal in a personal fashion the spirit of John, now ripe in age and wisdom and in the love that has been purified in the fire.
     He speaks as one of those whose eyes have seen and whose hands have touched the Word of life - the eternal Word which was with the Father and was manifested unto men.*

518

Though the blood of Christ cleanses us from all sin, he shows, yet, "if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves."** "He that says he is in light, and hates his brother, is in darkness . . . and knoweth not whither he goeth."*** "Love not the world, for the world passeth away and the lust thereof. . . . Little children, it is the last time."****
* I John 1: 1,2.
** I John 1: 8.
*** I John 2: 9, 11.
**** I John 2: 15ff.
     His particular polemic was directed against those Christian teachers who indeed emphasized the Deity of Christ, yet claimed that He had never been born on earth and that His presence before men had been a phantasm. "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits, whether they be of God. . . . Every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God, but is that Antichrist which . . . already is in the world."*
* I John 4: 1, 3. Cf. II John 7.
     "Let us love one another. . . . He that loveth not, knoweth not God; for God is love. . . . If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar."*
* I John 4: 7, 8, 20.
     "There are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit: and these three are one. . . . And we know that the Son of God cometh, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know the true one, and we are in Him that is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life. Little children, keep yourselves from idols."*
*I John 5: 7, 20.
EDUCATIONAL COUNCIL 1961

EDUCATIONAL COUNCIL Jr. DONALD C. FITZPATRICK 1961

     16TH GENERAL MEETING

     BRYN ATHYN, AUGUST 21-24, 1961

     With each succeeding meeting of the General Church Educational Council, the soundness of the judgment which led to its formation is demonstrated and reaffirmed for all those who attend. Occurring as they do shortly before the opening of a new school year, these sessions bring about a renewed realization of the unique opportunities and challenges which the work of New Church education at all levels presents to those engaged in it.
     The church is as yet small and its educators sometimes appear, as did the youthful David in accepting the challenge of Goliath, to have undertaken a task calling for strength and skill they do not possess.

519

Nevertheless the teachers of the General Church do, like David, possess the means to accomplish the task. The Lord has provided the means in the truths of His Word, and this fact, demonstrated again and again each time the Educational Council meets, gives new inspiration to both the new and the experienced teachers in our schools.
     Inspiration is, however, an intangible result of these meetings. It is, in fact, a sort of by-product of the effort to develop distinctive curricula for New Church schools; for as these curricula take shape, we begin to understand how the teachings of the Writings give unity and meaning to the subjects we teach.
     The material presented at the six sessions of the Council this year illustrated the steps necessary to the development of distinctive curricula. To explain these steps may serve to answer some of the questions about how distinctiveness is achieved in education and about why it takes so long to bring about practical expressions of this distinctiveness in individual courses and classes.
     The first step in the development of an organized curriculum is to define the nature and purpose of the subject field and to demonstrate which principles of New Church doctrine can serve to illuminate and organize the study and presentation of the subject. The product of this first step is what might be called the rough draft of a statement of the distinctive New Church philosophy of the subject field. Such a statement regarding the Biological Sciences was presented at the fourth session of this year's meeting.
     The next step in curriculum development polishes this rough draft into a formal statement of the subject-matter philosophy. This philosophy will indicate, as did the Academy History Department's statement at this year's second session, a completely new approach to the study of the field based upon the truths of the Second Coming.
     Once a basic philosophy has been drafted, the work of determining how that philosophy shall be implemented begins. Here new factors enter the picture, for not all students attend church schools for the whole of their formal education. Provision must somehow be made for those who enter from other schools and who transfer later to other schools.
     In addition, New Church education is international in scope, and plans must not overlook requirements and restrictions imposed by governments. Nor may the results of research by scholars and teachers outside the church be ignored. Their experience may point out pitfalls or advantages not discernible to us.
     The final step in curriculum planning is in some ways, then, the most difficult of all to complete. And indeed, its final completion can never be realized, for new research and experience both within and outside of our own schools will lead to continued revision of our work.

520

     These practical aspects of curriculum planning were discussed at four sessions of this summer's meetings in which presentations were made concerning the teaching of religion, foreign languages, the human body, and composition. Each represented much effort on the part of teachers at all levels of New Church education.
     Unfortunately, no brief report can do more than suggest the value of these meetings to those who teach in our church schools. But even a brief report must include a tribute to those whose extraordinary contributions make the meetings possible. To Dean Charles S. Cole, and his program committee belongs the credit for planning and organizing the sessions. Miss Pearl Lineaweaver and Mrs. David Grubb provided morning and afternoon coffee, and luncheons at the Civic and Social Club respectively. These occasions gave opportunity for renewing acquaintances and (in the case of the luncheons) for learning something about how other teachers had spent their summer. Mrs. Hugo Lj. Odhner gave a tea on Tuesday afternoon at which Mrs. J. Edmund Blair of Pittsburgh demonstrated the use of the flannel board in Sunday school classes.
     One final indication of the usefulness of the General Church Education Council can perhaps be gained from the following statistics on attendance:

                                   1961     1969     1958
Persons attending one or
more meetings or classes               76     79     71
Members of the Council in attendance     62     66     62
Members from out-of-town               15     16     15
Ministers from out-of-town               5     6     7

     DONALD C. FITZPATRICK, JR.
EDUCATIONAL COUNCIL SUMMER SCHOOL 1961

EDUCATIONAL COUNCIL SUMMER SCHOOL MARJORIE SONESON 1961

BRYN ATHYN, PENNSYLVANIA, AUGUST 16-25, 1961

Teachers know that the most effective way to learn is to teach others. But most teachers also need to refresh their minds and restore their vision in the stimulating sphere of other teachers. From August 16 to 25, 1961, such an opportunity was afforded all General Church teachers active in the use. About forty of them were able to attend two courses of ten lectures each. One of these was given by the Rev. Dandridge Pendleton, his subject: "The Teaching of Religion."

521

The other, on "The Teaching of Mathematics," was under the direction of Mr. Kenneth Rose, with several guest lecturers participating.
     Mr. Pendleton directed his series of lectures to the problem: How to teach secular subjects in a distinctive New Church way. Without giving detailed directions as to what to teach, Mr. Pendleton covered the more evasive problems of teaching from religion. He stressed the importance of the teacher's sphere, the teacher's personal Newchurchmanship, and his or her study of a subject field from the Writings. Direct instruction about the truths of the church is essential to our curriculum, and Mr. Pendleton listed six truths which can be introduced to children: 1) An idea of the Lord as a Divine Man; 2) the existence and operation of Providence; 3) spiritual freedom; 4) the reality of our association with the spiritual world; 5) marriage as a Divine institution; 6) the doctrine of charity.
     Also stressed throughout the ten lectures was the importance of teaching children according to their states. In summary, Mr. Pendleton urged a continual "returning" to the Writings for inspiration, for there is no better way to insure that what our children then receive will be from the Lord Himself.
     Mr. Rose's course was on the general subject of "The Teaching of Mathematics." More specifically, the lectures included: 1) over-all curriculum; 2) accuracy; 3) educational aids; 4) comprehension and drill; 5) experiments; 6) the correspondence of numbers; 7) curriculum of grades one through three, in detail; 5) mental arithmetic; 9) problem solving. The information gleaned from this was considerable, even to the uninitiated, and it ranged from fascinating generalities - "The half-life of the human memory is eight hours" - to a sharp reminder of the vital role mathematics plays in the development of orderly thinking. No one who attended this study could deny the need for more mathematics in our curriculum, not because of the growing emphasis on scientifics in the world around us, but because of its great influence in opening the rational mind. Before the session adjourned, the Toronto school volunteered to prepare a study of its own grade school mathematics program in the hope of returning in two years with constructive suggestions and recommendations to other teachers.
     Mr. Rose promised no great harvest from his lectures. He offered only to plant a few seeds and left it to the individual teachers to cultivate them. All who were privileged to attend should be reaping benefits for years to come.
     MARJORIE SONESON

522

NORTHWEST DISTRICT ASSEMBLY 1961

NORTHWEST DISTRICT ASSEMBLY MELVA HARTHILL 1961

     BELLEVUE, WASHINGTON, August 19-21, 1961

     The Northwest District Assembly of the General Church of the New Jerusalem was held at Bellevue, Washington, August 19-20, 1961. Bishop George de Charms, accompanied by Mrs. De Charms, came from Bryn Athyn to preside and to lead us in our services. The Rev. Roy Franson came with his wife from Dawson Creek, B. C., Canada, to assist Bishop De Charms.
     In the afternoon of August 19, at 3:00 p.m., the business meeting was held, with Mr. Franson presiding and Mrs. Lillian Larsson, our secretary-treasurer, present. Mr. Carith Hansen of Spokane, Washington, was elected as our secretary-treasurer for the next two years, and it was decided to have the next Assembly in Spokane, in 1963, the Spokane group to make the arrangements.
     The question was raised as to whether we could have a pastor for our Northwest group. Bishop De Charms explained that since we are such a widely scattered group, and there were a number of places waiting for young men ready to being their ministry, it might be some time before we could expect to have one in this district. Also we would have to be able to support him. So we shall work, be faithful, and look to the future; and we trust it will not be long before we shall have a pastor, and a place to worship and to meet, even though some of us might have to travel quite a distance.
     After the business meeting there were many questions and answers before we adjourned. Most of us returned to our motels or homes to rest, if we could do so on this hot day, in the beautiful northeast on Puget Sound, before it was time to prepare for the evening. We met again at seven o'clock in the banquet rooms of the Crabapple Hotel for our banquet. Everyone was dressed in his best clothes and his best smile to greet friends old and new. Everyone was so glad to be present; it was such a happy occasion, and a sphere of joy and love filled the room. The tables were lovely, and a delicious meal was served. Much credit goes to the Bellevue and Seattle groups for their planning and work in making the arrangements.
     After dinner our toastmaster, Mr. Hubert Junge, suggested a toast to the church, and we all sang "Our Glorious Church" with great gusto. The first speaker was to have been Mr. Michael Ridgway; but he was unable to be present, so Mr. Franson spoke to us on "The Isolated Church."

523

Mr. Sterling Smith then started us on "Our Church Evermore," his ringing voice leading us through the song, after which Mr. Junge announced Tom Coffin, who gave a very fine talk on "The Growth of the Church." Again we sang, led by Sterling Smith, this time "Then Together Let Us Stand." Bishop De Charms gave a wonderful talk which brought great inspiration and joy to us all. It is always a pleasure to hear him answer all the questions that people ask - always well, and with wisdom and truth. To conclude the program Miss Anne Jackson entertained at the piano.
     After the banquet was over many friends gathered at the home of Mr. and Mrs. Bertil Larsson for more enjoyment and visiting. Mr. Carith Hansen and Mr. W. E. Hansen entertained with piano and violin music for the Spokane group, dedicating several numbers to their various friends.
     Bishop De Charms officiated at the service on Sunday morning and administered the Holy Supper, the Rev. Roy Franson assisting. Mrs. Marie Hansen received the sacrament of baptism, Bishop de Charms officiating.
     Many friends gathered after church at the home of the Harold Kunkles, and many had luncheon together before parting to go their separate ways once more. To all of the seventy-one people who attended the banquet, and the nearly one hundred who attended the services, the Assembly was indeed, we are sure, a great joy and an inspiration. There were many who came great distances just to be with us. Bishop and Mrs. De Charms brought us a great blessing with their gracious presence, and much enlightenment from all they had to say. We are sure that they will always be a great joy and comfort to all people wherever they may go.
     We were also privileged to have with us Mr. Franson's lovely wife Britta and their daughter Lena. Many of us had never before had the opportunity of meeting them. Of course we always welcome Mr. Franson at our meetings. We bring him our joys and sorrows and our daily problems, and we are always glad to see him and to hear the Word of life he brings to us.
     There were many wonderful people who came to our Assembly out here in the West, some from many miles away. But if we were to mention one we should have to tell about all of them, so we will say only how very happy we were to have you all. We enjoyed meeting every one of you, and you helped to make our Assembly a great success. We shall be looking forward to seeing all of you in Spokane at our next Assembly in 1963, and we hope you will bring as many as you can with you.
     MELVA HARTHILL

524

NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS 1961

NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS Rev. ORMOND ODHNER 1961

     Included in the daily readings for November is the long and beautiful thirty-seventh psalm, a psalm counseling patient trust in the Lord's mercy and justice in spite of the apparent successes of evil men. Their wealth, their power, it is said, will eventually but surely wear away, while those who trust in the Lord "will be exalted to inherit the land."
     Not always, however, are such teachings fulfilled on earth. Sometimes evil men keep their successes to the end of their lives, glorying in riches and honors, while good men suffer unjustly, hungry and unhonored. The Lord allows the evil their riches, we are taught, for with them - from their burning love of increasing their good reputations - they often do more external good for others than do good men who are not inflamed with that lust. Indeed, evil men have achieved lifelong success enough so that history teaches no undeniable lesson that crime does not pay. Sometimes, on this earth, it does; even though in perhaps the majority of cases the truths of this psalm apply literally.
     It is in the spiritual world that such truths invariably and inevitably operate, however; and there they do so because they are the working out of that universal Divine law which the Lord taught here on earth: "All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them." Every good therefore has its reward attached to it, we are told, and every evil its punishment. * So it is that always, in the spiritual world, those who do good from the heart receive good from others, while those who do what is evil from the heart receive evil from others. In its operation with evil spirits and devils this is the law of retaliation - "an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth." In its operation with good spirits and angels, on the other hand, it is what "exalts them to inherit the land," their promised land of heaven.
* See AC 8142.
     Fret not thyself, [then], because of evildoers . . . for they shall soon be cut down like the grass. . . . Evildoers shall be cut off; but those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth. . . . I have seen the wicked in great power, and spreading himself like a green bay tree. Yet he passed away, and lo, he was not; yea, I sought him, but he could not be found. Mark the perfect man, and behold the upright; for the end of that man is peace."

525

HOPE FROM THE PARABLES 1961

HOPE FROM THE PARABLES Editor 1961

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

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

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

     TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION $5.00 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single copy. 50 cents.
     The point of comparison, and therefore of correspondence, in the Lord's parables is always an action - a seed growing secretly, a woman hunting for a lost coin, a merchant seeking goodly pearls. From this we may learn that the kingdom of heaven is an active state. However, the point of comparison is not discovered unless the parable is considered as a whole. The kingdom of heaven is not simply like unto leaven: it is like unto leaven which a woman took, and hid in three measures of meal, until the whole was leavened. In other words, the correspondence is not with leaven, but with the leavening process in the meal; and this is true of all the other parables.
     When the Lord's parables are viewed in this way, an implication appears from which the men and women of the church may take heart. The kingdom of heaven is not outside them until they have been fully regenerated. The moment they enter into the process of regeneration by genuine repentance that kingdom begins to be formed within them; and it is being established in their minds even as they are fighting, not always successfully, against their evils. The church is the Lord's kingdom on earth, and its inner life is that of spiritual charity. But, the Writings teach, the first thing that causes the church to enter into man is repentance, and the first essential of charity is the shunning of evils as sins against the Lord. For our comfort, hope and inspiration in spiritual adversity we would do well to ponder these things: to realize that purification from evil through temptation, with all its setbacks, suffering and sorrow, is yet a state of the kingdom.

526

WONDERFUL IN COUNSEL 1961

WONDERFUL IN COUNSEL Editor 1961

     It is not difficult for those who believe in God to see the fruits of the earth as His creations and to thank Him for them. But it is not always easy to remember that the ability of men to cultivate the ground so that it will yield a bountiful harvest is also from the Lord. Especially in a technological society there is a tendency to attribute to human ingenuity and inventiveness what is made of the raw material, even if that material itself is ascribed to Him.
     Yet the ability to learn, the knowledge that is learned and applied in the development of particular skills and the establishment of sound practices, the desire to investigate ever more deeply and to improve on past performance, are all from the Lord. As He says through the prophet Isaiah: "Doth the plowman plow all day to sow? doth he open and break the clods of his ground? When he hath made plain the faces thereof, doth he not cast abroad the fitches, and scatter the cummin, and cast in the principal wheat and the appointed barley and the rye in their place? For his God doth instruct him to discretion, and teach him. This also cometh forth from the Lord of hosts, wonderful in counsel, excellent in working."
     Without the counsel of the Lord, and the means through which it is given, little if any of the potential within His gifts in nature would be realized by man. That we owe our technology and its benefits primarily to the establishment of the New Church might seem a strange or irresponsible statement to some; but not to the New Church man, who knows from Divine revelation that by means of the Word in the church those who are outside of the church have light.
     There is need that we should at this time praise the Lord with thanksgiving for His counsel as well as for the ultimate gifts which that counsel enables us to enjoy. But there is even greater need for something else. The gifts which the Lord imparts, and wills to impart, to the minds of men are not limited in their possibility to the development of an affluent society, well served by technology, from which physical want and suffering have been banished. The Lord wills to bestow upon men the knowledge and understanding of spiritual truth that will enable them to perceive how His bounty is to be used for the true and lasting happiness of men: not merely for their material prosperity, welfare and comfort, but for their spiritual wellbeing. This is the real work of the Lord, the work of instructing men in the reaching of a spiritual harvest. In it He is indeed "wonderful in counsel, excellent in working"; and for this work we should give thanks from the heart, and at the same time resolve that we will strive to enter into it.

527

REASSURANCE OR TRUST IN DIVINE PROVIDENCE 1961

REASSURANCE OR TRUST IN DIVINE PROVIDENCE Editor 1961

     What is the difference between a rational trust in the Lord's Divine Providence and the attitude that is fostered by the various reassurance cults? The answer may be seen by examining two divergent ideas of what constitutes a favorable outcome.
     The disciple of reassurance and the New Church man both have confidence that there will be a favorable outcome in the issues of life, but they differ in what are recognized as the real issues. With the best will in the world, the former is apt to see the desired outcome in terms of what is favorable to him, and to his society and civilization, in this life; and because he assumes that this will in the long run be best for humanity, he dismisses from his mind every threat of danger with the soothing assurance that God will not suffer the blow to fall.
     However, the teaching of the Writings that the Lord's Divine Providence in all that it does looks to what is infinite and eternal, and to temporal things only as they agree with eternal ones, leads the New Church man to a very different attitude. He, too, believes that there will be a favorable outcome, but in terms of eternal life; and he realizes that in order to provide such an outcome the Lord may permit certain things which, from a temporal viewpoint, may not seem favorable to him, to his society, or to his civilization, in this world. His conviction is not that the Lord will simply not allow disasters to strike, but that to those who trust in the Divine Providence all things conduce to a happy end to eternity, no matter what the appearance at the time and in this world may be.
     This results in an entirely new philosophy of life. The Writings give us no assurance that in the lives of all of us some at least of the things that are loved and prized may not be taken away. But they do assure us that if we react as we should to the dispensations of Divine Providence, we will thereby be prepared for eternal life. This indeed calls for trust of a high order. The promise is given, for instance, that the Lord will preserve His church; but the fact is that we do not really know what may be necessary for the preservation of the church, and should not presume to confirm ourselves deeply in any ideas as to what is; for if events should prove us to have been mistaken, we might fall into serious doubt or even into denial.
     Reassurance invites to a false tranquillity. God will not let it happen! Trust in Providence requires us to form conclusions and to support our considered judgments with energy and intelligence, but never to forget that the Lord's ways are not our ways, and to have confidence even when His ways seem to be hidden from us.

528

LOCAL SCHOOLS DIRECTORY 1961

     1961-1962

     Local schools report the following teaching staffs for 1961-1962:
BRYN ATHYN:     Rev. David R. Simons          Principal
Miss Laura Gladish                          Kindergarten (I)
Mrs. Lorentz Soneson                         Kindergarten (II)
Miss Mary Louise Williamson                    Grade 1 (I)
Miss Gretchen Schoenberger                    Grade 1     (II)
Miss Nancy Stroh                              Grade 2 (I)
Mrs. Grant Doering                         Grade 2 (II)
Miss Erna Sellner                              Grade 3 (1)
Miss Viola Friesen                         Grade 3 (II)
Miss Phillis Cooper                         Grade 4 (1)
Mrs. Ann Kirby                              Grade 4 (II)
Mrs. Victor Waelchli                         Grade 5 (1)
Miss Louise Doering                         Grade 5 (II)
Miss Anna Hamm                              Grade 6
Mr. Carl Gunther                              Grade 7
Mrs. Daniel Echols                         Grade 8 (Girls)
Mr. Yorvar Synnestvedt                         Grade 8 (Boys)

COLCHESTER: Rev. Alan Gill                    Principal
Miss Hilda Waters                              Grades 2-7

DURBAN Rev. A. Wynne Acton                    Principal
Miss Sylvia Pemberton                         Grades 1 & 2

GLENVIEW: Rev. Elmo C. Acton                    Headmaster
Miss Judith Kuhl                              Kindergarten, Grade 1
Miss Jane Scalbom                              Grades 2 & 3
Mrs. Albert D. Henderson Jr.                    Grades 4 & 5
Mr. Bradley Smith                              Grades 6 & 7
Miss Gladys Blackman                         Grades 8 & 9

KITCHENER: Rev. Geoffrey S. Childs                Principal
Miss Venita Roschman                         Kindergarten
Miss Josephine Odhner                         Grades 1-4
Mr. Dirk van Zyverden                         Grades 5-8

PITTSBURGH: Rev. Louis B. King               Principal
Rev. Kurt H. Asplundh                         Instructor in Religion
Mrs. Gareth Acton                              Kindergarten
Miss Helene Howard                         Grades 1-3
Mrs. John Schoenberger                         Grades 4-6
Miss Gertrude Hasen                         Grades 7-9

TORONTO: Rev. Martin Pryke                    Principal
Mrs. Sydney Parker                         Kindergarten
Mrs. John Wyncoll                              Kindergarten
Miss Sylvia Parker                         Grades 1-4
Miss Joan Kuhl                              Grades 5-8

     Special and part-time teachers, whether voluntary or otherwise, are not included here. The teaching staff of the Academy of the New Church is listed in the Catalog Number of The Academy Journal, pp. 4, 5.

529

Church News 1961

Church News Various 1961

HURSTVILLE, AUSTRALIA

     The Sunday school is a notable feature of the Society's activities. Question Day, conducted by the Rev. Donald Rose once a month, shows that the children are gaining a very good knowledge of the stories of the Word. They also know the correspondences of some of the things of nature; even small children being able to say that a mountain means loving the Lord, or, in a bad sense, loving one's self most of all. Question Day is followed by a Family Service.
     The youngest children have their Sunday school lesson in a room underneath the church. This room has been redecorated by Mrs. Brettell and Mrs. Salisbury and is now in keeping with the attractive interior of the church itself.
     A social evening arranged recently was very enjoyable. A program of games, recitations, dances and a sketch kept the party going very happily.
     A series of classes on the Lord's earthly ministry is being given by Mr. Rose. The main purpose is to give us a knowledge of the principal happenings in their chronological order. Sometimes a little of the internal sense is brought out to show, for example, why miracles were performed in a certain way.
     We have enjoyed visits by Mr. Graeme Macleay and Mr. Basil Lazer of Canberra. Mr. Lazer addressed an open meeting of the Sons of the Academy on the subject, "Worthy Receptacles." He has published this year a small book entitled For Those Within.
     Mr. Brian Heldon and Miss Bronwyn King were betrothed at the service on July 2nd.
     NORMAN HELDON

     TORONTO, CANADA

     "How doth the busy bee!" We of the Olivet Society may not be as well organized as a bee hive, but we seem to have been just as busy in the past six months.
     The services have been enjoyed by the large congregations in attendance. Our pastor has the love, ability and knowledge to make of these inspiring hours; if we could only carry the resulting inspiration through into the following week! We have had the privilege also of listening to very fine sermons given by the Rev. Messrs. Henry Heinrichs, Geoffrey Childs, Karl Alden and David Simons, and have thoroughly enjoyed their visits.
     Our Wednesday classes have been varied in that the Rev. Martin Pryke gave a very interesting series on Divine Love and Wisdom, the Rev. Henry Heinrich, brought us a fine series on the Sacred Scripture, and we have heard papers by other members of the clergy on some occasions. These evenings have all begun with excellent dinners made by the capable hands of our ladies, followed by singing practice under the leadership of Mr. John Starkey, which has greatly improved the congregational singing on Sundays.
     The Ladies' Circle met once a month and heard several impressive papers read by the pastor. Among these was a series on "The New Church Mind" by the Rev. Cairns Henderson.
     The Forward-Sons also met monthly, but their meetings are preceded by an excellent supper prepared by various members in turn. The addresses given on those occasions are composed and read by the Forward-Sons themselves and usually give food for thought, arousing plenty of discussion. Usually the piece-de-resistance of their year, not only for them but for all the adults of the Society, is the Forward-Sons' Ladies' night.

530

This year's was an exceptional success. We cannot hope to convey this particular event; it has to be seen, and heard. From the delectable banquet through the thoughtful, well-presented papers to the variety show which rocked the walls with laughter, it was an evening which hit the top. This year it was not the close of activities, as the international body of the Sons of the Academy held its annual meeting in Toronto. This long awaited occasion proved most successful, both for the Sons and for the ladies who were able to join in portions of the program. The Sons will report their activities. We can say only that the Toronto Society was thrilled with the Sunday service, particularly the music, for which we had so many good additional male voices. Also the ladies had some very enjoyable get-togethers. Of course the banquet was a real treat.
     The day school had a happy year and enjoyed many extra-curricular activities, celebrating January 29 with a luncheon at which appropriate informative games were played and a talk on Swedenborg's life was given by the principal. At Easter another luncheon was served to the children, with games and movies, while the older children were entertained by Mrs. George Webb at a bowling party. The children also enjoyed various trips to the Museum, the Ontario Agricultural College, and other points of interest, sometimes joining with the Kitchener school. Of course, the climax of the year was the graduation of the eighth grade: four girls this time - the Misses Paulette Bond, Mary Ellen Fountain, Pamela Orr and Susan Parker. This was preceded by three plays, all of which were keenly enjoyed both by the participants and by the audience. The Rev. David Simons presented the diplomas and gave a most suitable address, expressing in simple language the fact that the Lord's external gifts to man are given for interior uses.
     For a long time the dramatic field has been silent, but this year the Olivet Players presented a New Church drama entitled "The Great Change," in which the action takes place in the spiritual world. Somewhat to our surprise this was quite successful, and a full house not only enjoyed it but put $123.00 into the extension fund.
     New Church Day took a different form this year. It commenced with a simple but impressive service in the chapel conducted by the Rev. Martin Pryke, into which the children marched carrying red and white banners. Later, in the assembly hall, Mr. Pryke talked to the children, telling them of the symbolism of these banners and asking that they be treasured for years to come. Songs and recitations by the children were well given, and as a conclusion a living tableau of the calling of the twelve disciples was presented.
     There have been many social events, such as the spring dance, for which the motif was Japanese - except that we do not particularly associate banana splits and coffee with Japan, though you never can tell these days, and they tasted good. There was also the Society picnic, with 110 folk present to enjoy the woods, the river, races, etc., and at which the Rev. Karl Alden made a big hit with his violin. Again the Ladies' Circle and Theta Alpha joined forces for a final gathering. This time the supper was in the form of many gaily decorated box lunches, and it was followed by a lively and amusing variety program. Theta Alpha organized a games night which not only gave fun to folks but funds to buy books for the day school library. The young people held a progressive party which ate its way through three households and ended with some hilarious games.
     So, life has gone on. We have lost a staunch member with the passing into the spiritual world of Ruby Hickman Strowger. We have gained a nice new couple with the marriage of Mr. and Mrs. John Wyncoll (Nancy Gladish), who are most heartily welcome. With regret, although they carried with them our good wishes, we saw Mr. and Mrs. Deryck van Rij leaving for Bryn Athyn. It was our privilege to attend a very happy wedding, the marriage of Lorna Foley and Fred Woodall, who have our hearty congratulations. We have had babies, each one a blessing, and engagements bringing happy promises.

531

Our members have traveled far and wide, and folks have come to see us. You would be welcome too!
     VERA CRAIGIE

     THE ACADEMY OF THE NEW CHURCH

     Enrollment for 1961 - 1962

Theological School          5
College                    95
Boys School                    70
Girls School               77
Total                         247

     LOCAL SCHOOLS

     Enrollment for 1961 - 1962

Bryn Athyn                    353
Colchester                    14
Durban                    4
Glenview                    113
Kitchener                    27
Pittsburgh                    14
Toronto                    18
                         573

Total enrollment in Academy and
     General Church schools      820
TWENTY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1961

TWENTY-THIRD GENERAL ASSEMBLY 1961

     Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania

     Friday, June 15, to Tuesday, June 19, 1962, inclusive

President's Reception:               Thursday, June 14, 8:30 p.m.*
Commencement Exercises:               Friday morning, June 15*
Registration:                    Friday afternoon, June 15*
First Session:                    Friday evening, June 15, 8:00 p.m.
Banquet:                         Thursday evening, June 19, 7:00 p.m.

     * All Assembly guests are cordially invited to attend the President's Reception and the Commencement Exercises of the Academy Schools, which immediately precede the Assembly.
     Accommodations will be available Thursday night, June 14. Catered meal service begins with breakfast on Friday morning.
     The first general mailing will be late in February. Address all earlier correspondence to:

Robert H. Asplundh, Chairman
2700 Alnwick Road
Bryn Athyn, Pa.

Adele Gladish, Housing and Registration
2941 Marlin Road
Bryn Athyn, Pa.

Geoffrey Cooper, Treasurer
2685 South Avenue
Bryn Athyn, Pa.

532

ADORATION OF THE WISE MEN 1961

ADORATION OF THE WISE MEN Rev. MARTIN PRYKE 1961

Announcements

533

Vol. LXXXI
DECEMBER, 1961
No. 12
     "Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judaea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, saying, Where is He that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen His star in the east, and are come to worship Him." (Matthew 2: 1, 2)

     The Lord had been born, as promised by the angel to Mary. He had been wrapped in swaddling clothes and laid in the manger of a stable, because there was no room for them in the inn. The glad tidings had come to the shepherds as they watched their flocks by night, and they had hastened to worship their Messiah as He lay in His humble crib. On the eighth day He had been circumcised and given the name Jesus, all according to the ancient laws of the Jews. On the fortieth day the law had been further fulfilled when He, the firstborn son, was taken to the Temple to be presented to the Lord. There He was acknowledged by the prophet Simeon, and by the prophetess Anna, after which He was taken back by Joseph and Mary to a house in Bethlehem.
     In the meantime, wise men in the east had seen a wondrous star which they knew heralded the birth of the long promised Messiah. They prepared themselves for their long journey and were then led by the star from their own country to Jerusalem itself. There the star disappeared, and they were compelled to ask: "Where is He that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen His star in the east, and are come to worship Him." Those Jews who were learned in the law knew from the prophecies of the Old Testament that the Lord would be born in Bethlehem; and as the wise men left Jerusalem for that city of David, the star reappeared and led them to the house where the young child lay. There they opened their treasures and "presented unto Him gifts; gold, and frankincense, and myrrh."

534

     The adoration of the wise men is a familiar part of the Christmas story and is one that has caused us wonder from our childhood. We delight to think of these learned men leaving their own country to make a long journey to worship a tiny babe - as yet unknown in the world. We marvel as we contemplate the miracle which showed them a star from heaven and inspired them to follow it faithfully until it led them to their Lord. We thrill, as we think of the worship of the shepherds and the wise men both, to see how both humble and exalted, both Jew and Gentile, were led to welcome the Lord's birth. We see in this the promise of the spread of a knowledge of the Lord's advent to all men of all places and of all times: a knowledge which will, in due time, bring not only light to the eyes of the mind but also warmth to the heart of the spirit.
     The teaching of the Lord's second advent helps us to understand how it came about that the wise men could ever have made this journey and this act of adoration, and helps us to recognize the deeper significance of the story. To grasp this we must first go back to the time of the fall of mankind.

     As soon as the Most Ancient Church began to fall away from its glory it was foreseen to what depths mankind would plunge itself, and the Divine Providence operated to redeem men from the frightful consequences of their own folly. It was foreseen that the descent would be so serious that men would lose their vision of God-Man and that the power of the hells would become so great as to endanger the very free will of the human race. Thus it was also foreseen that salvation could be insured only by God Himself assuming the Human, revealing Himself anew and overcoming the power of the hells.
     It was not only seen that such an incarnation would be necessary, it was also proclaimed to men that it would take place. From that time forward there was a series of prophecies concerning the coming Messiah which served not only to give hope to the world in its darkness but also to preserve the concept of the Divine Human, for only God-Man could be pictured as coming in the flesh.
     These prophecies pre-date the Old Testament, for they began in the time of the Ancient Church which was raised up to replace the fallen Most Ancient Church, and which received its revelation in written Form - the Ancient Word. One of the earliest of these prophecies contained in the Ancient Word is to be found in that part of the Word which was copied by Moses to form the opening chapters of Genesis. The prophecy is found in the words spoken by Jehovah to the serpent after it had tempted Adam and Eve to the first act of disobedience: "And Jehovah God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: and I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; He shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise His heel."*

535

Here the seed of the woman is the Lord who was to come into the world to destroy the power of the seed of the serpent. The powers of evil would bruise the heel of the Lord, that is, would attack the assumed human, even to destroying it by death; but the power of the Lord would bruise the head of the serpent, which is to subjugate the hells.
* Genesis 3: 14, 15.
      For the moment it is important to remember that such prophecies of the Lord's advent as this were well known to the men of the Ancient Church. That church, although centered in the land of Canaan, was spread throughout the whole of what we now know as the Middle East, and even beyond it; which means that the Messianic prophecies were widely spread throughout the inhabited globe of that time. Nor did these become suddenly lost at the time of the fall of the Ancient Church and the establishment of the Israelitish Church, or when the Old Testament was being written. Throughout Old Testament times, and even later, these prophecies still remained with a few who were descended from the Ancient Church and may even still have possessed remnants of the Ancient Word. The New Church scholar will undoubtedly recognize many such remnants as he delves into the antiquities of these lands. Not only did a knowledge of the coming Messiah remain, but "the science of correspondences remained among many Eastern nations, even until the Lord's coming."*
* SS 23:3.
     A most interesting example of this is to be found in the case of the prophet Balaam. It will be recalled that at the time when the sons of Israel were about to enter the land of Canaan and had conquered that part of the land which lay to the east of Jordan, the king of Moab, in the south, became fearful lest they should attack and conquer him. He therefore sent to Syria for the prophet Balaam, that he might curse the Israelites for him. Clearly Balaam was renowned as a great prophet; yet despite the bribes and threats of Balak, the king of Moab, he did not curse the sons of Israel, but blessed them, for he had said that he would speak only those words which the Lord put into his mouth.
     We are told in the Writings that Balaam was one of those who still had a knowledge of the Ancient Word and of correspondences. He still worshiped, and was obedient to, the one God. Thus, when he was inspired to bless the Israelites, he spoke of the Messiah who was to be born among them, and spoke of Him as a star: "I shall see Him, but not now: I shall behold Him, but not nigh: there shall come a Star out of Jacob, and a Sceptre shall rise out of Israel, and shall smite the corners of Moab, and destroy all the children of Sheth."*
* Numbers 24: 17.

536

     Such learned and good men lived long after the time of Balaam. They studied the ancient manuscripts and the science of correspondences. Among them were those who knew from their studies that a Messiah was to come who would indeed be the Savior of the world and would inaugurate a new era on earth. Among such men are to be numbered the wise men of the gospel story who saw the star, and followed it to worship the infant Lord.
     Like Balaam, they knew that the Messiah was to be born among the descendents of Jacob; and when the time came, and their spiritual eyes were opened to see a star in the spiritual world such as they had never seen on earth, they knew from the ancient prophecies, and from their knowledge of correspondences, that this announced the arrival of the Messiah for whom they had looked. Their wonder and joy knew no bounds: they began their journey, to follow the beckoning star.
     The Writings tell us that the wise men came from Syria - which may possibly be taken in a wide sense to include northern Arabia and Mesopotamia; for "in Syria were the last remnants of the Ancient Church, and therefore in that land there still remained the knowledges of good and truth."* Some of those who possessed this remnant of ancient knowledges perverted and misused them in magic - this notably in Egypt; but those meant in the Word by "wise men" did not "care for such things, but solved difficult problems and taught the causes of natural things. In such things as these the wisdom of that time chiefly consisted."**
* AC 3249.
** AC 5223.
     The wise men who followed the star sought to worship and adore the Messiah whose advent had been made known to them. Traveling many weary miles, they bore gifts which should be tokens of that worship: gold, frankincense and myrrh. These three gifts - which have led men to suppose that there were three wise men - represented the internal worship of which they were a clear symbol. They represented good as it is on the celestial, spiritual and natural planes. The life of good is our true and spiritual gift to the Lord; it is the genuine internal worship which is regeneration.
     The bringing of gifts to kings and priests who were approached was, in ancient times, a "holy ritual, signifying initiation."* This was known to the wise men, as was the signification of the three gifts which they chose. From their knowledge of correspondences they selected gifts which represented the internal worship of the spirit that they wished, above all things, to lay at their Savior's feet.
* AC 4262.

537

     The story of the wise men becomes, then, more than an appealing story, a pretty fantasy; it becomes a lesson and an inspiration. If we will follow the knowledges of good and truth made known to us in the Word, even as the wise men followed the star; if we will bring before the Lord the offering of a regenerate life - love to Him and the neighbor, the life of good - even as they presented their gifts of gold, and frankincense and myrrh; then may we truly see the Lord our Savior, bend the knee before His throne, and serve Him to eternity. Amen.

LESSONS:     Numbers 24: 1-19. Matthew 2: 1-12. AC 9293: 1-3.
MUSIC:     Liturgy, pages 534, 520, 532.
PRAYERS:     Liturgy, nos. 51, 117.
STAR IN THE EAST 1961

STAR IN THE EAST Rev. KENNETH O. STROH 1961

     A Christmas Talk to Children

     At Christmas time we celebrate the birthday of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. We worship, and sing songs of praise to Him. We read His Word, and think about all those things that happened so long ago on that first Christmas, when the Lord came down into the world as a little baby. And especially do we remember that the Lord came into the world bringing light. We remember and think about the shepherds who saw the angel of the Lord and the great light of the Lord's glory shining round about them, and who went to Bethlehem to find Mary, and Joseph, and the Babe lying in a manger.
     And we also remember and think about the wise men who came from the east to Jerusalem, saying: "Where is He that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen His star in the east, and are come to worship Him." These wise men lived in the far away country of Syria. But from the Lord's Word they knew that the Lord was going to come into the world, and that He would be born in the land of Judaea, when His star should appear. No doubt the wise men would often look at the sky at night, studying the stars, watching and waiting. And when at last they saw the star that was larger, much brighter, and far more beautiful than the rest, they knew that indeed the Lord was born. So they wanted to find Him. And they followed His star as it led them to Jerusalem, and later to Bethlehem and the Lord Himself.

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     Now what kind of a star did the wise men see? It was not an ordinary star such as you can see on a clear night when you look at the sky. For the Lord's star was not a worldly star. It was a heavenly star. It was a star that could be seen by the angels of heaven: and in this world it could be seen only by those for whom the Lord had opened their spiritual eyes so that they could see into heaven.
     Then what was that star? It was light wasn't it? But it was spiritual light - the light of heaven, the light which can shine in the minds of men, taking away the shadows of ignorance. On that first Christmas, when the Lord bowed the heavens and came down into the world, His coming brought a brilliant light that shined through all the heavens and brought great happiness to all the angels, who knew that the light meant that the Lord finally had come. This is why the angels were heard saying: "Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men." And it was this glorious light that was seen by the shepherds and by the wise men.
     Because this light came from the Lord, it was seen in the east, in heaven. For in the other world the Lord is in the east, where His sun is in the sky. This is why the wise men said that they had seen His star in the east. And this is why, when they followed the star, it led them to the Lord. But it led them in a very special way. For they saw it with their spiritual eyes, which were opened into heaven. Do you know what this means? It means that you, too, can see this light, this star. Of course you cannot see it right away. The wise men didn't see it right away. For they read the Word, studied the prophecies, watched for the Lord, and went on learning for many, many years, until they began to be wise: and only then could their eyes be opened so that they could see the beautiful star in the east.
     You, too, must go to the Word, read it, study it and learn from it, if it is to shed light into the darkness or ignorance of your minds. This is why the Lord came into the world. Men cared so little for heaven and the Lord that they had shut their minds to the teachings of His Word so that their minds were in darkness, and they could not see the pathway to heaven. But the Lord wants all people to go to heaven. And to make heaven possible for those who wish to go there, He came a Light into the world, so that all people would be able to see the way. Some hundreds of years later, when evil men began to find a way to hide that light, to keep good people from seeing the way to heaven, the Lord came again in a different way. He came a second time in a new Word, His Word to the New Church, so that His light should not fail. And when He promised to come again He called Himself the bright and morning Star.
     So you can see that those who belong to the Lord's New Church have a special reason to be happy at Christmas time.

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For we know that the Lord has come again, the bright and morning star, and that His light can be seen by anyone who longs to see it. Sometimes that light may seem hard to find. Sometimes evil spirits bring you worldly, selfish and cruel thoughts and feelings that seem to shut out the light from heaven in your minds, and you cannot see your way. The wise men could not see the star when they were in Jerusalem with the wicked Herod, who hated the Lord. But Herod's chief priests and scribes went to the Word to find out where Christ should be born.
     And if you, too, go to the Word, sincerely trying to find what the Lord says to you, He can help you to turn away from the evil as the wise men turned away from Herod, and will show you the light and the way of love. And then you can follow the light of His truth - you can follow His star until it brings you to the Lord in heaven. When you know that this is possible, should you not be glad and rejoice at Christmas, as did the wise men of old? For it is written that "when they saw the star, they rejoiced with exceeding great joy." Amen.

LESSONS:     Matthew 2: 1-6. Apocalypse Revealed 954.
MUSIC:     Liturgy, pages 526, 521, 529.
PRAYERS:     Liturgy, nos. C9, C8.
IN OUR CONTEMPORARIES 1961

IN OUR CONTEMPORARIES 1961

In the Autumn Number of the NEW-CHURCH MAGAZINE, the Rev. J. E. Elliot considers the question: Which is the correct New Testament? He acknowledges that the traditional Greek text, the Received Text, and the texts which left the hands of the New Testament writers, the Autographs, are not one and the same. However, he thinks there can be little doubt that wherever the Writings quote the New Testament, the Received Text lies behind what is quoted. The explanation of John 8: 1-11 in Apocalypse Explained 222 and of Matthew 6: 13 in Arcana Coelestia 5923, are cited as examples.
These, with many other examples that could be given, lead him to the conclusion that the Received Text was being read by Swedenborg when he received "from the Lord alone while reading the Word" the things he was to make known to men; that that text now serves as the basis of the angelic perception of truth contained in the interior senses of the New Testament; that it is the basis, containant and support of the interior senses; and that it is the correct New Testament for the new age in which we live. This viewpoint presents further problems, which are interestingly discussed in the balance of the article.

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NATURAL MAN 1961

NATURAL MAN Rev. WILLARD D. PENDLETON 1961

     (The last of three doctrinal lectures.)

     The subject of this series of lectures is the regeneration of the natural man, or how, from being natural, man becomes spiritual. To understand what is involved in this we must know that when the Writings speak of the natural man they refer to the man whose primary interest is centered in self and in the delights and pleasures of this world. Thus they say that all men are born natural, by which they mean that man's first concern is for self, as may be evident from the fact that he instinctively seeks to secure for self those things in which self delights. But if from being natural, man is to become spiritual, a new love must enter his life.
     This love is the love of use for its own sake. It is said, for its own sake, because the quality of any affection is determined by the end which it serves, and men can serve uses for reason of self, and this with delight. But he who serves others from the delight that self derives from the rewards of use does not love use for its own sake, but on account of the rewards that accrue to self through the performance of use. Hence we are taught in the Writings that "the angels are utterly unwilling to hear anything about a reward, as being on account of anything in . . . them; [that is to say] they are utterly averse to the idea of reward for any good action [on their part]." * How different they are from men on earth. Yet the reason for this is that the angels know that "good itself becomes not good when reward for [good] is thought of, for then a selfish end instantly adjoins itself, and in so far as this is the case, it induces a denial that the good is from the Lord."**
* AC 3816.
** Ibid.
     This seems like hard doctrine - hard because it seems impossible of attainment, for who can do anything without some thought of recognition or reward? Yet we need not be discouraged, for the Writings hasten to add that,
     "Nevertheless reward is of service . . . with those who have not yet been initiated . . . in good and its affections, [that is] . . . [with those] who [have not yet been] fully regenerated, for these cannot do otherwise than think about reward, because the good which they do, they do not from the affection of good but from the affection of bliss and happiness for the sake of self. . . . But when a man is being regenerated, this is inverted and becomes the affection of good, and then [man] no longer looks to reward."*
* Ibid.

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      But what are these rewards that men seek, and why do they seem so desirable? In general they are remuneration, recognition, social status, honors, dignities, or some other form of compensation to self. The reason they seem so desirable is that they are delightful to self. As it is stated in the Writings: If any one desires to know the ends that are within him, let him . . . [attend] to the delight he perceives in . . . praise and [self glory], and to the delight he perceives from use separate from self."* In this the unregenerate man is not unlike the child, who is governed in all that he does by the thought of that which is pleasing to self. This being so, we can see that rewards serve a purpose, for it is by means of rewards and their opposites, which are punishments, that man is held in external order until such time as he is capable of imposing order upon himself for the sake of the use which he is administering. In this day and age when the great cry is for the right of self-expression, men would do well to reflect upon the effect of their actions and attitudes upon the use they perform. We are told that the sin of this age is conformity, which results in the suppression of self. The underlying thesis here is that self is a good thing; and so it is if it is subordinated to use. But subordination is not suppression; it is a matter of order, and as frequently noted, order is the basis of all use.
* AC 3796.
     That is why the children of Israel were led by means of rewards and punishments. There was no other way in which the order which was basic to the use they served could have been maintained. To a lesser degree the same thing was true of the early Christians. Was it not the thought of reward that inspired the Christian to live a good life? Time and again the Lord appealed to His disciples on the basis of the good that would accrue to self if they kept His Word. In condemning the Scribes and Pharisees, who did their alms before men, He assured the disciples that if they would but do their alms in secret the Father would reward them openly.* When their hearts failed them did He not encourage them, saying, "Rejoice, and be exceeding glad, for great is your reward in heaven."** And did He not promise that when the Son of Man came into His glory, those who followed Him in the regeneration would also sit upon thrones and judge the twelve tribes of Israel?*** What is this but a delayed reward to be granted to those who prove themselves deserving?
* Matthew 6: 1-5.
** Matthew 5: 12.
*** Matthew 19: 28.
      In this more sophisticated age the rewards that are mentioned in the Old and New Testaments have little or no appeal to the imagination. It is the same with the delights and interests of childhood, which pass with advancing age. Yet in essence the rewards which men seek do not differ from one generation to another, but merely in the form which they take.

542

Man is a status seeker and in much that he does is motivated by his relation to the group. By the group here we mean those from whom he desires recognition. This may be a very limited group. Thus when men say they do not care what others think of them they may be quite sincere, but they have reference to those with whom they have little in common, or to those whose opinion they regard as of no value. The truth is we do care about what others think of us, and we want them to think well of us, particularly those to whom we are bound by some common affection or by some mutual relationship, or by some interest or activity in which self finds delight. Every one seeks recognition of one kind or another, and when we feel we are not appreciated we are inclined to resent what we come to regard as the unreasonable demands that others make upon us.

     We have no difficulty, therefore, in understanding Jacob's resentment against Laban, when, after twenty years of service, Laban attempted to deprive him of the rewards of his labors. In indignation Jacob accused him saying:

     "This twenty years have I been with thee; thy ewes and thy she goats have not cast their young, and the rams of thy flock have I not eaten. That which was torn of beasts I brought not unto thee; I bare the loss of it; of my hand didst thou require it, whether stolen by day, or stolen by night. Thus I was; in the day the drought consumed me, and the frost by night; and my sleep departed from mine eyes. Thus have I been twenty years in thy house; I served thee fourteen years for thy two daughters, and six years for thy cattle: and thou hast changed my wages ten times. Except the God of my father, the God of Abraham, and the fear of Isaac, had been with me, surely thou hadst sent me away. . . Empty."*
* Genesis 31: 38-42.

     As presented in the letter it does indeed seem that Laban had sought to take advantage of Jacob; yet the fact remains that had it not been for Laban this dispossessed son of Isaac could not have established himself in the world and returned to his father's house.
     We would recall that this series of lectures is based on the story of Jacob, who in the derivation of the spiritual sense out of the letter represents the natural man. By Laban, his uncle, is represented the good which men do through the instrumentality of services they perform to the neighbor. These are referred to in the Writings as "collateral" or supporting goods because service is basic to use. That is why the flocks of Laban, which Jacob tended, are said to represent mediate good; that is, the good which serves as the means whereby man is introduced into genuine or spiritual good, which is the good of use.
     In our previous lecture we called your attention to the teaching of the Writings concerning this mediate good. It is said:

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     "When a man is being regenerated, he is kept by the Lord in a kind of mediate good. This good serves . . . [as a means whereby man is introduced into] genuine goods and truths, but after these have been introduced it is separated from them . . . . [This] is not done in a moment, as some believe, but through a course of years; nay, during . . . [a] man's whole life, even to its end. . . . Seeing, therefore, that man's states of life have to be so greatly changed, it must needs be that be is long kept in a kind of mediate good, that is, in a good which partakes . . . of the affections of . . . [both worlds], and unless he is kept in this mediate good he [cannot be regenerated]. . . . This mediate or middle good is what is signified by "Laban and his flock.' "*
* AC 4063.

     There are two things we would note concerning mediate good. The first is that it is said to "partake of the affections of [both worlds]," that is, of spiritual as well as of natural delights. This is evident in children, who although their primary interest is in self, are yet capable of being inspired by the thought of unselfish devotion, and in reflecting upon it perceive a delight. This is the source of human ideals; and although the child's ideals are bound up with the thought of some person or persons whom he wishes to emulate, nevertheless, such persons serve as a standard of comparison for an appraisal of self. That is why it is important that we establish ideals in the mind of the child, and why we should exercise care lest in criticizing those whom the child holds in regard we do injury to his ideals.
     But what is true of children is also true of adults. They, too, are capable of being affected by the affections of both worlds. This is apparent in the services which men perform. Whereas it is true that men see herein the means of self-advancement, they also see in service the opportunity to be of use to the neighbor. Not that the desire for self- advancement is necessarily selfish; the Writings insist that it is not selfish if the desire for such advancement stems from the desire to be of greater use to the neighbor; but this is not always the case. But the point is that as long as man lives in this world he can act from reasons of self and at the same time aspire to a life of use. It is to be noted, however, that this is not possible if, in dealing with others, man lends himself to deceit. The reason is that he who intentionally deceives another does so under the pretense of good, knowing full well that he does not intend good to the neighbor, as is evident from the fact that in hiding his motive he seeks to secure for self that which could not otherwise be acquired.
     What, then, is it that the Writings are telling us here? Is it not that as long as man is in the way of regeneration his motives are mixed? How could it be otherwise? Man is not reformed in a moment, much less regenerated. The life of regeneration is a gradual progression which would not be possible had the Lord not provided that while man is in the way with the evils of self-life he could be held in a kind of mediate good.

544

But if this be true, why is it said in the New Testament, "No man can serve two masters"?* In the final analysis, this is true; no man can serve two masters, for sooner or later he must make a choice. Man cannot be held forever in mediate good. This is but a temporary provision which applies only as long as we are in this world. This does not mean that while on earth we can avoid the issue of good and evil, for it is constantly with us, and the ultimate choice is, in effect, the result of a progressive series of choices; but until man is prepared by the Lord to make that choice he is protected from the deeper implications of the evils of self. Sufficient unto each day or state is the evil thereof.**
* Matthew 6: 24.
** Matthew 6: 34.

The second thing, therefore, that is to be observed concerning mediate good, is that while it serves as the means whereby man is introduced into genuine good, in itself it is not good, and if man is to be regenerated he must be separated from it. Thus it was that Jacob, having served the years for which he had contracted for Rachel, now entered into a new contract with Laban. This is significant because it involved a relationship between Jacob and Laban that did not exist prior to that time. It is apparent from the letter that in going to Haran, Jacob was dependent upon Laban for all things. When seen from the spiritual sense this reflects man's dependency upon mediate goods; that is, upon those goods in which self finds delight. But in serving for Rachel, that is, as the mind finds increasing delight in the affection of spiritual truth, man wills to be free from the bondage that is inherent in the service of self. Thus Jacob grew restless under the yoke of Laban, and in entering into a new contract with Laban he insisted that a certain portion of the flock should be his. In this way he sought to free himself from his dependency on Laban so that he could return again to his father's house. We note with interest the curious bargain that he made with Laban. In response to Laban's question, "What shall I give thee?" Jacob answered, "Thou shalt not give me anything; if thou wilt do this thing for me, I will again feed and keep thy flock. I will pass through all thy flock this day, removing from thence every small cattle that is speckled and spotted, and every black one among the lambs, and the spotted and speckled among the goats, and this shall be my reward. * In other words, Jacob set as his price that portion of Laban's flock which was relatively worthless, and as such it seemed like a small price to ask.
* Genesis 30: 31, 32.

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     It is apparent from this that then, as now, breeders placed small value upon those sheep and cattle which did not conform to the standards they had set. In all probability the spotted and speckled among the cattle, and the black among the sheep, were used only for meat. Yet it seemed that what was not known, at least not to Laban, was that these undesirables carried the genes of their progenitors, and by selected breeding could produce offspring that measured up to the standard of the time. But according to Scripture, God was with Jacob, and while there is no scientific explanation of how he succeeded in producing such a high proportion of undesirables among the first few generations, it is recorded that he "increased exceedingly."* It is no wonder, therefore, that in time the sons of Laban complained, saying: "Jacob hath taken away all that was our father's; and of that which was our father's hath he gotten all this glory."**
* Genesis 30: 43.
** Genesis 31: 1.
     We can readily understand why, when men read this portion of Scripture, they ask, Can this be Divine? What is treated of here are the methods that Jacob employed in depriving Laban of his flocks and his herds. What bearing this has upon man's spiritual life is completely obscured by the letter of the Word, which in this particular series cannot itself be understood. Concerning this the Writings state:

     "In these things there does not appear anything Divine, whereas all things of the Word . . . are Divine. Moreover, to know all this is not of the slightest avail for salvation; and yet the Word, being Divine, contains within it nothing that is not conducive to salvation. . . . From all this, and . . . like things elsewhere, every one may conclude that some arcanum is contained within. . . . But [this] cannot possibly appear to any one, except from the spiritual sense. . . . The arcanum . . . can indeed be known in some degree from what has been already said . . . namely, that 'Laban' is such good as can serve to introduce genuine goods and truths, and that 'Jacob' is the good of truth. But as few persons know what the natural is that corresponds to spiritual good, and still fewer what spiritual good is . . . and as still fewer know that a kind of good which only appears to be good is the means of introducing genuine goods and truths, the arcana that treat of these things cannot be easily explained . . . for they fall into the shade of the understanding, and it is as if one were speaking in a foreign language . . . Nevertheless it is to be set forth, because that which the Word stores up in its internal sense is now to be opened." * * AC 3993: 1, 2.

     The particular arcanum referred to here concerns the process whereby the Lord delivers man from his dependency on mediate good. This process has its origin in man's desire to be free from the demands that self makes upon him and culminates in the delight that is to be found in services that are performed without thought of recompense to self. It would seem that in demanding of Laban a share of the flock, Jacob's primary concern was for the rewards that would accrue to self through such an agreement; but on further reflection it is apparent that Jacob's primary interest was not in the flock, but in the flock as a means whereby he could establish himself in his own right and be free from the dominion of Laban.

546

This accounts for the curious choice he made in asking for the speckled and spotted among the cattle, and for the black among the lambs.
     According to the Writings, what is speckled and spotted is that which is composed of black and white, the black signifying what is evil, and the white signifying what is of truth. What is represented here, therefore, is the teaching of the Writings that there are evils with which truth and the good of truth can be commingled, and there are evils with which they cannot. "Unless this were so," the Writings say, "man could not possibly be regenerated."* The evils with which good cannot be commingled are said to be those which "are contrary to love to God and love toward the neighbor."** These are hatred, cruelty, revenge, contempt for others in comparison with self, and those persuasions of falsity which lead to deceit.*** But the evils with which good and truth can be commingled are said to be those which "are not contrary to love to God and love toward the neighbor."**** Examples that are given are the desire to excel others in civil and moral life, and the simulation and cunning that have what is good as their end.***** The same may be said of numerous evils and falsities, which although essentially selfish may yet be directed by the Lord to the service of good. Thus it is said in the Writings:
* AC 3993.
** Ibid.
*** Ibid.
**** Ibid.
***** Ibid.

     "The evils with which goods, and the falsities with which truths can be mingled, are wonderfully disposed into order by the Lord; for they are not conjoined together, still less united into a one; but are adjoined and applied to one another, and this in such manner that the goods together with the truths are in the middle and as it were in the center, and by degrees toward the circumferences or circuits are such evils and falsities. Thus the latter are lighted up by the former, and are variegated like things black and white by light from the . . . center. This is heavenly order. These are the things that are signified in the internal sense by the 'speckled' and 'spotted.'"*
*Ibid.

     Yet why, if Jacob chose the speckled and spotted among the cattle, did he ask for the black among the lambs? If man intentionally chooses for self what is evil, does he not deprive himself of his innocence, that is, of his willingness to be led by the Lord? In the sense of the letter it is quite obvious why Jacob did not ask for the white sheep; Laban would not have concurred in the request. But in the spiritual sense the reason is not obvious, yet the reason is there; for in the internal sense, white signifies the Lord's righteousness and merit, and derivatively the Lord's righteousness and merit in man.*

547

But if, in the doing of good, man believes that the good which he does is from self, and on this account appropriates merit to self, he perverts that which belongs to the Lord in himself. Hence it is said in the Writings that "in the opposite sense, white signifies man's own righteousness, or his own merit."** That was why Jacob chose the black sheep, for by black here is signified a proprium which is innocent. In defining a proprium that is innocent, the Writings say that it "is to know, acknowledge, and believe . . . that nothing but evil is from one's self and that all good is from the Lord, and therefore that what is man's own is nothing but blackness."*** That was why Jacob did not choose the white, for to have done so would have been contrary to innocence;**** for the Writings say: "He who places self-merit in goods . . . believes that all good is from himself; because in the goods he does he has regard to himself, and not to the Lord, and accordingly demands recompense on account of his merit."*****
* AC 3993.
** Ibid.
*** AC 3994.
**** Ibid.
***** Ibid.
The most deep-rooted of all human illusions is the persuasion that self is deserving. This is observable not only in our human reactions to what is required of us by others, but it is also implied in the Old Testament, in the New Testament, and in every human philosophy. The thesis is that he who does good deserves what is good; but now the Writings tell us that as of himself man cannot do what is good, and that he is not, on account of anything in himself, deserving of good. Yet the Lord wills good to all, and He has provided the way in which man may be introduced into the life of good. But by good here is not meant that which seems good to self, but that which alone is good; namely, the good of use.
This concept of good differs from anything that has been known in the past in that it clearly distinguishes between that which pertains to self and that which belongs to use. It is in this that the doctrine of charity for the New Church differs from the Christian ideal of service, for while services are essential to use, and serve as the means whereby man is introduced to use, as long as man persists in the illusion that in the doing of good to the neighbor he is somehow deserving of the good which he does, he cannot attain to the delight of use. The reason for this should be obvious, for when the delight which we find in serving others has as its end the rewards which accrue to self through such service, how can we be affected by the delight of use? Were it not for the fact that man is capable of being held by the Lord in a kind of mediate good, that is, a good in which he can temporarily be affected by the thought of use, no man could form any idea of the delights that belong to use.

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     Who does not respect that which is unselfish in others, and who does not perceive that in the doing of good for its own sake there is delight? But when faced with the choice, man's natural inclination is to those things in which self delights because it seems that in them there is greater delight. That is why there are times when in the performance of uses we find no delight, and also why there are times when we are keenly conscious that we are doing from conscience what we cannot do from delight. It is not because we are unwilling to do what we should, but because in the demands that others make upon self we feel that we are being deprived of the things in which self delights. Because he is what he is, the natural man cannot do good without effort, and it is this effort of the will that we sense as a restriction of life.
     Yet what the natural man senses as a restriction is, in fact, an enlargement of life. It is through the determination to be of use to the neighbor that man is freed progressively from bondage to self. Like Joseph, who through consideration of others was delivered from prison, it is only through a life of devotion to use that man may be delivered from self. But this is another story and another series, which we hope we shall have the opportunity to consider at a future time. We would note, however, that it is the sequel to this series, and involves the deeper issues in man s conflict with self.
     We speak here of man's conflict with self as if it were an inevitable process of life. With all men since the fall this has been true, but it was not so in the beginning. God did not intend evil. In all that He does He wills what is good. But God did intend that man should be in freedom, and if in the exercise of his freedom man turned that which is good into evil, God is not to blame. Neither does He visit the sins of the father upon the son; but as it is said in Jeremiah, "Everyone shall die for his own iniquity."* Nevertheless, with all men since the fall, man's natural inclination has been to self, but by means of the Word the Lord has provided the way in which this hereditary tendency to evil may be reversed. As noted in a previous lecture, this is not some mysterious process which cannot be understood. If, in his freedom, man will but cultivate the affection of truth, and from this affection sincerely endeavor to do what is good, the Lord will inspire in his heart a new delight; namely, the delight that is to be found in the service of use. And marvelous to say, he will find that he has been deprived of nothing - not even of those things in which self delights; for the delights of self and the world are not in themselves evil. Indeed, they are good when they serve the use for which they were intended by God.
* Jeremiah 31-30.
     As New Church men, therefore, we have a unique opportunity. It is unique because in all history there is nothing comparable to the Writings.

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Unlike the Old and New Testaments, in which the meaning and purpose of human existence is obscured by the sense of the letter, the Writings speak plainly concerning these things. Yet it is asked: If this be so, why is it that the Writings are not universally received among men? There is more than one reason for this, but one thing is clear: how can man receive that which he rejects before he has even examined the evidence? Men say that the truth of the Writings depends upon Swedenborg's claim to a Divine commission; that this they cannot believe. But the truth of the Writings does not rest upon Swedenborg's claim to a Divine commission, but upon the testimony of the Writings concerning themselves. This testimony is the Divine doctrine, and we believe this is true because we are convinced that no man could have conceived of these things. But this conviction cannot be supported by a superficial consideration of the evidence. It is at all times dependent upon a progressive understanding of doctrine, and the desire to be led by the Lord in the application of doctrine to life.
STATE OF BETROTHAL 1961

STATE OF BETROTHAL Rev. ERIK SANDSTROM 1961

     (Delivered at the third session of the 46th British Assembly, Colchester, July 16, 1961.)

     Some time ago I was struck by the fact that the Writings have no special word for engagement, but only for betrothal. The Swedenborg Concordance has no entry for "engage" or "engagement," but has a full page under the key words "betroth" and "betrothal." In other words, the Latin of the Writings has only one word and its derivations - desponso, to betroth; desponsatio, betrothal - to designate the preparatory state that precedes marriage. It also occurred to me that in old Swedish usage the more solemn word trolovning was the only one, or virtually the only one, in use, rather than the more modern term forlovning. This is manifest from old literature. I recall that even my own mother always preferred the older of the two terms, which might indicate that as late as in the days of her youth that term still held sway. In our day, however, the old expression is virtually unknown, and one hears only of forlovning. Trolovning means "promise of faith"; and forlovning means simply promise (to marry). Compare "betrothal" and "engagement."
     Now observations like these have convinced me that 1) Swedenborg was familiar only with the word trolovning and that the Latin desponsatio is the equivalent of this in the original language of the Writings; and 2) that when the Writings speak of desponsatio they mean the entire period or state between the confirmation of consent and the day of the wedding.

550

Thus the Writings have only three steps in the orderly progression towards marriage: consent, betrothal, and the wedding.
     In the world at large, too, at anyrate the "white" world, only three steps are common. These are: consent, engagement, and the wedding.
     Against this there are in the General Church, for the most part, four steps: consent, engagement, betrothal and the wedding. It is the contention of the present address that this custom has grown up as an unintentional compromise between what has been inherited from the world and what is prescribed in the Writings.
     When this is said, however, it is not suggested that all those in the past who have adopted the four-step approach have seriously disrupted the proper order of preparation for marriage. On the contrary, it is believed that the inclusion of the Rite of Betrothal in that approach represents an honest desire to obey what the Writings teach, and consequently to seek for the promised conjugial by a life according to the revealed doctrine concerning it. In such an attitude of mind there is innocence, and thus a willingness to be led by the Lord in His second coming; and it is a point of faith that in a state of this nature the Lord is present and does lead.
     Nonetheless, this concession does not rule out the question: Ought our customs to be improved? In other words, may we expect that our young people in this and future generations may be helped by a re-appraisal of the solemn Rite of Betrothal, and the state of betrothal, along the suggested lines so that they may have a better understanding of the purpose of betrothal, an approach more clearly disciplined by revealed doctrines, and consequently a preparation more full of the promise of attaining that "jewel of human life,"* conjugial love?
* CL 457.
     Thoughts of doubt - thoughts containing objections - arise, of course. This has been so before. About six years ago, in October 1955, the Rev. Ormond Odhner had a closely reasoned article published in NEW CHURCH LIFE under the title "Reasons for Early Betrothals"; and this was met with the rejoinder that the Writings teach that "there are various situations of danger (varia discrimina eventum) resulting from an over prolonging and likewise of an over hastening of the time of betrothal."* and with other arguments. This is as it should be. We should always test anything that does not appear to us to agree with what the Writings teach, especially if, in addition, an adjustment of tradition is involved.
* CL 305e.
     It is obvious, however, that the particular argument just cited becomes invalid as an objection if, in fact, the Writings refer to the whole period between the confirmation of consent and the wedding, thus the whole period of engagement in the terminology of the world.

551

Whatever conclusions we arrive at, we must bear in mind that the Writings do not speak of one period of engagement and another period of betrothal. We must bear in mind that the propriety of two such periods has been an assumption on the part of the church; and it is suggested, to repeat, that this assumption has crept in as a result of a tacit influence of worldly tradition.
     Furthermore, may we not legitimately ask: If indeed there are to be two periods instead of only one, why is it that special dangers should attach to the period of betrothal more than to the assumed previous period of engagements? Is not this an anomaly? Is not the period and state of betrothal provided for the very purpose of protecting against those dangers, seeing that the whole purpose of betrothal is that there may be a marriage of the minds? And why should this powerful protection begin only after the minds of the young man and the young woman have been exposed to the dangers for perhaps quite a long period of engagement? The thought that betrothal entails greater risks than engagement cannot be upheld. For the assumption in that thought is that betrothal leads on to a state of greater intimacy - read, physical intimacy - than the state of engagement. Yet this is opposed to the teachings concerning betrothal. "By betrothal the mind of the one is conjoined to the mind of the other in order that a marriage of the spirit may take place before that of the body." * "During the time of betrothal it is not lawful to be conjoined corporeally."** "The prior state ought by all means to precede marriage and the love that is from marriage, without thought of the posterior state."*** This last quoted passage adds: "I have heard one [in the spiritual world] saying that they know not one whit (ne hilum) concerning the posterior state, and that neither have they thought concerning it when they have desired a wife and have seen her. Such is the state of virgins and young girls. Such is the chaste state."
* CL 303.
** CL 305.
*** SD 6110: 48.
     Obviously the Writings do not speak here of mere book-knowledge with reference to sex. The Writings do not advocate ignorance in respect of the marvels relating to the creation of little human beings! There are two distinctly different kinds of knowledge. The one kind is of the memory only, the other is of the affection as well as the memory. The latter knowledge is absorbed into the life of the man. It may therefore be described as a knowledge of the will, as distinct from a merely intellectual knowledge. The knowledges that develop a man are those only which become of the will. These are the angels of God ascending and descending on the ladder of Jacob.*
* See AC 3701: 2-7.
      This, however, is a subject we can only touch on parenthetically in this connection; but we do so in order to clarify the point about "knowing not one whit" concerning the state of marriage.

552

This can mean only such knowledge as would result from an emotional anticipation of the married state, consequently the knowledge - and a very spurious knowledge it is - that is culled from detailed and realistic day-dreaming in which the affections of the will are fully engaged. It is such knowledge that those conversing with Swedenborg on the chaste state had in mind. They had not attempted to acquire such emotional foreknowledge, nor had they dwelt on it in thought; that is to say, they had not desired to experience the ultimate conjunction in thought before it was allowable to experience it in fact. It is this attitude that leads to a marriage that is "happy and lasting," and that introduces a state of pre-marital chastity preparatory to the heavenly chastity that descends into and sanctifies even the ultimate conjunction in the married state.
     The state of betrothal is designed to protect that chastity. It is prescribed in the Writings as a matter of emphasis and urgency, seeing that the natural inclinations of man are of a contrary nature. The mind must be disciplined by doctrine. It must know the doctrine, and it must be admonished to shun unlawful thoughts and imaginary anticipations, as well as anticipations in act, as evil things; in fact, as sins against the doctrine. The mind must be instructed with regard to the betrothal state, and when the time comes it must know that state emotionally as well as intellectually. It must be introduced into the state of the marriage of the minds only, and it must grow in that state without interference of the posterior state, which is to be the full state. The spirit must be prepared and purified before it is allowed to descend into the body, else that descent cannot contain the essence of heaven. Let us know that the conjugial is of the spirit and from the spirit. It is of the body, too, but not from the body. That which is from the body is lasciviousness. From this a man must be purified. He must be brought from the love of the sex to the love of one only of the sex; and the love of that one only must be essentially a love of her mind - on her part, of his mind - and a conjunction with that mind.
     Once such conjunction has been duly established by means of the true betrothal state, it is allowable for the body to respond and reciprocate. Then there is a descent and as it were an ascent; a going forth into fullness and confirmation, and thereby the return of an inmost joy that springs from a feeling of reciprocal and perfect belonging. That is what is meant by the twain being one flesh; for one flesh signifies fullness of conjunction.
     A marriage in which this exists, and in which there is at the same time the true love of children, is alone one that is "happy and lasting."

553

It cannot come about without the preceding state of betrothal; and in so far as the state of betrothal has been honored in a humble and innocent obedience to the doctrines, and thus in a humble and innocent asking of the Lord that He may grant truly conjugial love, so far there is a living promise of the marriage of minds remaining and developing as the everlasting essence of that marriage, which is in fullness, and which belongs to the "posterior state."
     Implicit in all this is the truth that the betrothal state is contained interiorly in all truly conjugial marriages. It follows that where the orderly progression prior to marriage has not been honored, there should be a conscious striving on the part of the married partners to understand the essence of betrothal, and to remove from their minds by repentance all that is not in agreement with that essence. For to understand betrothal is to understand the marriage of minds, and to be introduced into the marriage of minds is to be led into the conjugial. But it also follows that those who are initiated into the state of betrothal in the early stages of their preparation for marriage are powerfully helped in the way of the conjugial. It is with this as with all cases relating to regeneration. As the Writings say:

     "When a man has made a beginning the Lord quickens all the good that is within him, and enables him not only to see evils but also not to will them, and finally to hold them in aversion. This is meant by the Lord's words, 'My yoke is easy and My burden is light' (Matthew 11: 30). It is to be known, however, that the difficulty of thinking in this way, and also of resisting evils, increases in proportion as man commits evils from the will . . . This is the case with those who, in the age of adolescence, plunge into evils without restraint, and then at the same time reject Divine things from the heart."*
* HH 533.

     The Chapter in "Conjugial Love" on Betrothal and Marriage

     Now, having taken a general view, let us analyze with somewhat close attention the chapter in the work Conjugial Love which deals particularly with betrothals and weddings. We will recall all the summary statements of the articles presenting the subject of betrothal and endeavor to stress some salient points in these articles. In so doing we shall be taken into the sphere of the doctrine relative to all the steps leading to marriage, not only from consent and its confirmation in the rite of betrothal, but from the very choice of a partner and the consequent period of courtship. It is believed that all states and practices leading up to marriage are contained in that chapter, and that nothing ought to be allowed that does not clearly fit into the framework of it. I allude to certain practices that have crept in, or threaten to creep in, from the "emancipated" world around us, including mock engagements without serious intent and intimate caresses that excite the body.

554

In approaching our chapter, however, let us bear in mind the promise of the restoration of conjugial love given to the New Church: "After His advent, conjugial love will be raised up anew by the Lord, such as it was with the ancients; for this love is from the Lord alone and is with those who are made spiritual by Him through the Word."* Let us note, too, that the rite of betrothal existed in ancient times,** though it has fallen into disuse in modern Christianity, and that it is administered as a rite before a priest in heaven.*** The return of that rite in the New Church is in itself a sign that conjugial love "such as it was with the ancients" is being restored. Yet a sign is not the thing itself. It only represents it, and is the orderly inauguration into it. The betrothal state itself is at the heart of the matter. And now for our chapter.
* CL 81e.
** AC 5317e, 9182: 4.
*** CL 21: 4.

1. Choice belongs to the man and not to the woman. Three reasons why this is so are offered: 1) Man is born to be understanding and woman to be love; 2) with men is love of the sex in general, but with women love of one of the sex; 3) with men it is not unbecoming to speak of love and to speak of it openly, while with women it is unbecoming.* The basic difference between men and women is here at issue. For our present study, however, it is enough to note that young women should not by words or manner invite men to court them; and that young men should choose, not from fatuous inclination, but from discrimination and judgment. Such choice is first made in their own minds and hearts; but it manifests itself increasingly in the period of courtship, until it becomes fully open in the proposal of marriage. The statement that it is unbecoming for a woman to speak of love refers to the time prior to consent. Obviously it is in order for her to confess her love at the time she gives her consent and afterwards. Yet the principle applies to all states relating to the conjugial; and the principle is for the initiative to belong to the man and for responsiveness and willingness to be the part of the woman. The same principle is present in Article 2, and the reason for it is there given.
* CL 296.

2. It behoves the man to court the woman and ask her respecting marriage with him, and not the reverse. The reason just referred to is stated as follows: "As shown above, with men there is no innate love of the sex.* The teaching "above" - earlier in the work - is more full and reads as follows:

555

     "That the inspiration or insinuation of love is from the wives into the men is because there is nothing of conjugial love with men, nor even of love of the sex, but only with wives and women. That such is the case was shown me in a living way in the spiritual world. Once during a conversation there on this subject the men, persuaded by their wives, insisted that it is they who love, and not the wives, and that the wives receive that love from them. To settle the controversy about this arcanum all the women, including the wives, were withdrawn from the men, and with them was removed the sphere of the love of the sex. With this removed, the men came into a state altogether strange and never before perceived, at which they greatly complained. Then, while they were in this state, the women were brought to them, and the wives to their husbands, and both the women and the wives spoke sweetly to them; but the men were cold to their blandishments, and turning away said among themselves, 'What is this? What is a woman?' And when some of the women said that they were their wives, they answered, 'What is a wife? We do not know you.' But when the wives began to grieve over this utterly cold indifference on the part of the men, and some of them to weep, the sphere of the feminine love of the sex (amoris sexus feminini) and of the conjugial, which till then had been taken away from the men, was restored, and the men at once returned into their former state, the lovers of marriage into theirs, and the lovers of the sex into theirs. In this way the men were convinced that nothing of conjugial love or even of the love of the sex resides with them, but solely with wives and women."**
* CL 297.
** CL 161:2.

     This remarkable teaching - which could not have been known with certainty, and scarcely surmised, without direct revelation - is nevertheless implicit in the still more universal teaching that "man is born to be understanding and woman to be love." If man is born to be understanding, then he is dependent on woman for reception of that which pertains to love; and if woman is born to be love, then she alone can give it. Therefore it is first received by her, and only through her by man. This is true of love in general, and of conjugial love in particular; and since the love of the sex, in its chaste form, is nothing but an offshoot of conjugial love, it follows that this is true of it, too. The love of the sex in its chaste form is the love of one of the sex. To this form a woman inclines as if by connate instinct, because of the influx of heaven of which she is a receptacle - an influx which becomes silent with her only in case of interior or exterior adulterations.
     A man, however, does not naturally incline to one only of the sex; for he, born to be understanding and not love, would be swayed hither or thither as he is exposed to this or that feminine sphere and is attracted by it. And being swayed, he would tend to bend his reasoning into agreement until he is swayed by another feminine sphere.
     This shows the necessity for women to act with prudence and restraint towards men. Unbridled flirtation is a foul thing, and has nothing of heaven in it. It shows, too, the necessity for men to exercise self discipline and judgment.

556

This they can do only from doctrine. From judgment led by doctrine they must bend their minds towards one only; and having found one who accepts their courtship, they should from self discipline approach the sphere of other women only in the sphere of their chosen one, so that through her sphere they may receive and respond to the conjugial.
     Responding, it will appear to them as if love came from them. Once having been enkindled by the interior touch of love they are by nature more ardent than women. Thus love becomes reciprocal. The active origin of love is apparently receptive and reciprocal, and the receiving and responsive party is apparently the active origin.
     It should be added that as men receive the conjugial by means of regenerating women, and particularly a husband from a regenerating wife, so women receive wisdom through regenerating men, and particularly a wife from a regenerating husband. By this there is an actual and constant giving and receiving; an eternal "mutual having" as between the heart and the lungs in the bedchamber of the chest.
     Courtship in this spirit is according to order; but modern looseness and flippancy, and the emancipated tendency of blurring the distinctive qualities of the masculine and the feminine mind - these things depart from order and ultimately destroy the conjugial.

     3. Before she consents, it behoves the woman to consult her parents or those in the place of parents, and then to deliberate with herself. Many will say that this principle is old-fashioned - and so, unfortunately, it is! Yet points of truth are never outmoded. In this case the truth is that a woman, whose nature it is to think from the inclination of her affections, needs to consult others in matters of judgment. After marriage she will consult her husband, whose function it is to present his understanding of the truths of Divine revelation to his wife and to bring forward points of judgment in the everyday problems of applied doctrine. Then, too, the wife will deliberate with herself. But before marriage she should turn to her parents for the guidance and support her affections need. Having obtained the advice of parents or those who act for them, however, it is necessary for her also to deliberate conscientiously with herself. Otherwise she cannot consent with a full heart; and her free, fearless and trustful consent is essential for the growth of the conjugial between the partners. It will be the more fearless and trustful if she knows she has approval from the judgment, knowledge and love of her parents.*
* CL 298, 299.

557

     4. After the declaration of consent, pledges are to be given. This is because such pledges or gifts serve for "confirmations, testifications, first favors and gratifications."* It is in this context that we have the first suggestion as to the timing of the act of betrothal. "It should be known that the giving of gifts, whether before the act of betrothal or after it, is a matter of choice. They are confirmations and testifications of consent to the betrothal if given before, and to the nuptials if given after it."** The following statement in the same passage is also relevant to the point of timing. "Of two who have solemnly promised marriage (spoponderunt conjugium), and who have confirmed their solemn promises (sponsiones) by gifts, it is said that they are pledged and so confirmed."
* CL 300.
** CL 300e.
     It would seem quite manifest that the intention is for the pledges to be given in connection with the act of betrothal, soon before it, or soon after it. This seems the more likely if we consider that the "solemn promise of marriage" almost certainly refers to the act of betrothal itself. Compare the article next following: "Consent, is to be strengthened and confirmed by a solemn betrothal." In fact, the Latin words that mean literally "they have solemnly promised marriage" can also be rendered "they are solemnly betrothed," and have been so rendered in Dr. Acton's translation of Conjugial Love. The same applies to the Latin for "solemn promises," which can be and has been rendered "betrothals."
     These points of translation, however, are mentioned only for further support and confirmation. The real test is in the order of procedure intended by the Writings. Here I repeat that pledges, serving for "testifications, confirmations, first favors and gratifications," are to be given after the consent," and at a time "before or after the act of betrothal"; and that the consent is to be "strengthened and confirmed by a solemn betrothal." All of this seems to imply betrothal soon after consent.
     I am aware, however, that many hearing this view will bring forward their fear that early betrothals might lead to broken betrothals instead of just broken engagements; and, they will say, the former would be more serious than the latter. And so they would. But I would reply to this that we are not to institute a trial period of engagement for fear that the mutual promises of marriage might have been given too rashly. Are we not rather to teach the proper order of courtship, consultation and deliberation prior to consent, so as to hand on to our young people the safeguards provided by Divine revelation itself against any mistakes being made from lack of judgment, knowledge or love? Moreover, is not the state itself of betrothal the best possible protection against such thoughts and affections as would tend to sever the bonds?
     Nevertheless, should a mistake have been made, then the betrothal can be broken.

558

This, although it would be attended with sadness, is obviously to be preferred to a broken marriage. A marriage is a fully confirmed covenant, whereas betrothal is a covenant not yet so confirmed. Also, let us here call to mind that the warning previously quoted concerning an "over prolonging of the time of betrothal" is at the same time a warning with regard to an "over hastening" of that time. The betrothal state requires a period of some length in order that it may develop. If it is too short, the minds will not have been properly prepared for the married state.
     However, as already intimated, the timing of betrothal is a matter that should be seen in the light of a proper understanding of the state itself of betrothal; and that state is what is outlined in the next article before us, the summary statement of which we have already quoted twice, but which we must quote again for the purpose of our analyses.

     5. Consent is to be strengthened and confirmed by a solemn betrothal. Six reasons for betrothals are given, as follows: "1) That after them the two souls may mutually incline to each other; 2) that the universal love of the sex may be determined to one of the sex; 3) that the interior affections may be mutually known, and by applications may be conjoined in the inward cheerfulness of love; 4) that the spirits of the two may enter into marriage and be more and more consociated; 5) that conjugial love may thus rightly progress from its first heat to its nuptial flame; 6) consequently, that conjugial love may proceed from its spiritual origin in just order and may take increase." * In view of all that has already been brought forward it may not be necessary to comment extensively on these points. Suffice it so say that they all relate to the initiation of the entire state that ought to precede the full marriage, that is to say, the state that begins after consent has been given. Note particularly points 1 and 5: "That after the betrothal the two souls may mutually incline to each other" - this, obviously, must begin at once, when both have agreed to become married; "That conjugial love may thus rightly progress from its first heat to its nuptial flame." It cannot be argued that the "first heat" commences after a length period of "engagement" and just prior to a late betrothal! The first heat is when love has been mutually declared. That is when the orderly state of betrothal, initiated by its own solemn act, ought to commence.
* CL 301.
     The season of spring, too, relates to initiation; and it is significant that our passage at once goes on to say: "The state of betrothal may be likened to the state of spring before summer, and the internal amenities of that state to the blossoming of trees before fructification."

559

And it is added: "Since the initiations and progressions of conjugial love proceed in order, to the end that they may flow into the effective love which commences from the wedding, therefore in the heavens also there are betrothals."* I do not wish to be facetious, but it does occur to me that if there is to be a special period of engagement, prior to the period of betrothal, then that would have to be winter!
* Ibid.
     Now, the remaining articles in the work Conjugial Love dealing with the state of betrothal will be quoted only as to their summary statements: this partly lest this address should become too long, and partly in the hope that the essential point of the address will be seen in the summary statements without further elaboration. That essential point is that the state of betrothal is the state of the marriage of the spirits or minds, and that this marriage must precede the marriage that is in fullness - must be properly initiated, and must progress according to the order outlined in the Revelation of the Second Coming. For it is the true betrothal state that makes the subsequent full marriage into one that is conjugial. There can be nothing conjugial relative to the body, nothing that would be called marriage in the terminology of heaven, unless an internal conjunction has been established before the conjunction is allowed to become external also. The subsidiary point is that the development and protection of that holy internal ought to commence as soon as feasible after consent, properly solicited and judiciously given, has been obtained.
     And now let me quote the remaining summary statements:
6. By betrothal each is prepared for conjugial love. 7. By betrothal the mind of one is conjoined to the mind of the other in order that a marriage of the spirit may take place before that of the body. 8. This is the case with those who think of marriages chastely, but not so with those who think of them unchastely. 9. During the time of betrothal it is not lawful to be conjoined corporeally. 10. When the time of betrothal is completed, the wedding ought to take place.*
* CL 302-306.

     The conjugial is at the heart of the church. Her internal health, strength and vitality are measured by the state of her conjugial; and so is her conjunction with the Lord, who is the Bridegroom of the church. Let us pray, therefore, that we may better know, understand and obey what is now taught concerning conjugial love; for the restoration of that spiritual and celestial essence of human life is possible only because the doctrine concerning it has been revealed.

560

BRITISH ACADEMY SUMMER SCHOOLS 1961

BRITISH ACADEMY SUMMER SCHOOLS Rev. FRANK ROSE 1961

     Soon after the war, our people in Great Britain began planning for a New Church high school in their own country. So far these plans have been defeated by the relatively small size of the General Church in the United Kingdom. With only some two hundred members, and about a dozen children who would be eligible, it seems that the use, for the time at least, is beyond us.
     In the midst of understandable disappointment at this delay, we are beginning to see the importance of the educational work of our summer schools. They began rather quietly two years ago, and now, after the third school, it is becoming increasingly evident that we have been able to give many of our young people a real taste of New Church education. And they love it!
     Of course these new projects do not begin out of the blue. The schools are a development of two independent projects: the boys' camps, started by the Rev. Martin Pryke in 1948, and the young people's holidays, started by the young people themselves in 1952.
     The first boys' camp was evidently a trying experience for Mr. Pryke and his assistants. On the third day, a cyclone hit their little cluster of tents on the South Downs, near Alfriston, Sussex. They fought bravely; but when the provisions tent failed them, and they found that all their "dry" clothes were wet, they decided to pack up for home. They lost the battle, but they won a victory for the young people in England. More or less every year since that time there have been boys' camps - a series which came to an end in 1958 with a bicycle tour of East Anglia. The tour was a success, but it became obvious during it that fifteen minutes of instruction a day after twenty or thirty miles on a bicycle was not making full use of the minister's time, or of the camp. Then was born the idea of having our own summer school. The advantages were numerous. For one thing, girls could be invited as well as boys. Three and a half hours of instruction a day could be given instead of fifteen minutes. All three priests in this country could take part instead of one. And besides, summer schools could be much more fun for the young people than the camps.
     The project at once caught on. The three priests, the Rev. Messrs. Alan Gill, Erik Sandstrom and Frank Rose, were all eager to teach. Mrs. Gill and Mrs. Sandstrom were prepared to do the cooking.

561

For later summer schools we had other volunteers for work in the kitchen. The British Academy, formed in 1953 to further New Church education in this country, adopted the summer schools and provided very useful financial help. They asked the Rev. Frank Rose to act as headmaster. The next problems were: where to hold the school, and how to convince the young people that they wanted to spend part of their vacation going to school. We thought we had the first problem solved when our application to use Purley Chase, home of the summer schools of the General Conference, was accepted. Six months later the booking was abruptly cancelled, and we were faced with the problem all over again. We managed to find a place, Wembdon School in Bridgwater, Somerset, which served us well enough, though in retrospect we wonder how we managed. The place was small and ill equipped. This was a burden to the staff; but the eleven young people who came along had a wonderful time and seemed to enjoy the primitive conditions. The school was in session August 8-15, 1959. Classes were given on Conjugial Love, Comparative Religion, General Science, Evolution and Human Body. When the school came to a close, the only complaint was that the young people wanted a longer one next time.
     The enthusiasm of this little group of eleven eliminated any problem we might have had in convincing the young people that they should join the school. All but one of them came to the second school, and as many more again.
     Experience is a great teacher. We entered our second session with quite a head start. We found a much better place only 55 miles from Colchester, Earsham Hall School near Bungay, Suffolk, at one time a stately home of England. The building is set in its own spacious grounds, surrounded by fields and trees, and is itself very large and rambling. So far we have found eleven dormitories for the students and three staff bedrooms. There are four classrooms, a library, two common rooms, a room for worship and evening activities, a kitchen large enough for use as a dining room, showers, a gymnasium, etc. Once there we knew that we had made a real find. We were a distinctive New Church community all on our own.
     This school lasted for ten days, August 10-20, 1960. The classes included further study of Conjugial Love and Comparative Religion, plus courses on Hebrew, the Principia, Rational Psychology, and a general introduction to the Writings. We had students from thirteen years of age to over sixty. The only complaint at the end of a very happy stay was that the young people wanted two weeks next time.
     They were very enthusiastic about the second summer school, but to our surprise and delight, they were even more enthusiastic about the one that is still fresh in our memories.

562

This was the third school, held at Earsham Hall, August 12-26, 1961. Whereas we had twenty-three students in 1960, there were twenty-six in 1961. The Rev. Erik Sandstrom and the Rev. Frank Rose shared the teaching. Unfortunately the Rev. Alan Gill could not join us.
     We arrived in a marvelous collection of wheeled vehicles during the afternoon of Saturday, August 12. It was reassuring to see again in the kitchen the smiling face of Mrs. Beckett, a local resident engaged to help our own ladies with the catering. Our catering staff consisted of Mrs. Harold Jones, Mrs. Joseph Barnes and Miss Elizabeth Pethard.
     The first meal was tea. This was followed by worship, with the first of a series of talks on the moral virtues. We then joined together in practising the music for the service the following day. During a break the young people were put straight to work answering questions in a "General Survey of New Church Doctrine." There was too much for them to finish on Saturday evening; but when they had completed the four parts of the survey and handed them in on Monday afternoon, they had answered, or tried to answer, 168 questions on New Church doctrine. The test was designed to find out what they knew, and did not know, about the main teachings of the church; and, of course, it was itself a means of instructing them. The papers were not returned to the students, and the results were not announced, but due note was taken of the gaps in their knowledge and an effort was made to fill those gaps during the lectures that followed.
     On Sunday we had a service of worship, recreation in the afternoon and discussion in the evening. In this way the students were led into the habits of thought and discussion that would be so useful to them during the two weeks of the school.
     On Monday morning, after some of the eager ones had calisthenics at 7:00 a.m., we had breakfast at eight and worship at 9:15. The young people then went off, notebooks in hand, for their classes. The program was:

     Seniors (17 years and older)
9:30 Divine Love and Wisdom (Mr. Sandstrom)
10:13 History of the New Church (Mr. Sandstrom)
11:00 Coffee Break
11:15 The Gospel of Mark (Mr. Rose)
12:00 Rational Psychology (Mr. Rose)

     Juniors (13-16 years)
9:30 New Jerusalem and its Heavenly Doctrine (Mr. Rose)
10:13 The Gospel of Mark (Mr. Rose)
11:00 Coffee Break
11:15 History of the New Church (Mr. Sandstrom)
12:00 The Spiritual World (Mr. Sandstrom)

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     In practice, Mr. Sandstrom found it better to take two lectures in a row on the same subject, alternating between Divine Love and Wisdom one day and History of the New Church the next. On one occasion the seniors did not appear for their coffee until 11:15, and one of the juniors was heard to complain: "It isn't fair. We are going to miss fifteen minutes of our next lecture!"
     This eagerness for instruction was quite genuine and very gratifying to the teaching staff. One of the students requested extra lectures in the afternoons as well, but this was done only one afternoon when the seniors were particularly anxious to finish a discussion started in class that morning.
     The afternoon program included tennis, badminton, croquet, softball, swimming and walks. After worship in the evening we had table tennis, chess, dancing, singing, games and discussion; and when the lights should have been put out in the dormitories, the young people themselves carried on the discussions until they were reminded that it was time for sleep.
     The middle Sunday of the summer was visitors' day. With a sizable contingent from Colchester, and a number of young people who had come for the weekend, we had a congregation of sixty-three for the service. They brought a picnic lunch and joined us in the dining room. In the afternoon the summer school put on a little concert for the guests which included soprano solos by Miss Janelle Schuurman, trombone solos by Tom Fiedler, a barbershop quartette, and some hymns sung by a little chorus. The parents of some of our younger students seemed a wee bit stunned to find no traces of homesickness, and no desire whatever to return prematurely with Mum and Dad.
     The two weeks passed with incredible speed. Thursday the 24th was the last day of lectures. Then began some earnest studying, both for the examinations on Friday and the "Gala Evening" the same day. It is always a delight to the teachers to see how seriously the students take the examinations, and an even greater delight to read over the papers and see the evidence of future strength. Some of the questions they were asked, and for the most part answered correctly, were:
     "What is the spiritual sun and is it living or dead?"
     "What is the difference between the wisdom of the pure intellect and the thought of the rational mind?"
     "How was it possible for the Lord to be tempted and why was it necessary?"
     After the examinations on Friday morning, preparations for the evening were intensified. Each of the three teams originally organized to wash dishes after the three meals were asked to produce for our entertainment: 1) an historical collection; 2) something artistic; 3) a poem; 4) something musical; 5) an impersonation; 6) a one-act play.

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A lot of thought and imagination were put into these items. As a result, we had eighteen performances, marvelously varied, plus two duets, plus the famous "golf ball" act, plus refreshments, plus prize giving - a long and hilarious evening! The judges awarded a prize to the members of Team B, whose general program was the best of the three and whose outstanding item was a play, Shakespearean in style, depicting a summer school in Roman times with the students playing a solemn game of softball. A true classic! On the more serious side, prizes were awarded to the students who did especially well in the examinations. Stephen Morris was given honorable mention as a promising young student. Miss Miep Braam was given a special prize in recognition of her progress since the last school. In the junior group, Julie Law took first place, Margery Appleton second, and Tom Fiedler third. In the senior group, first prize went to Harald Sandstrom; Marlene Fiedler and Michael Best tied for second; and Erik Sandstrom, Jr., was awarded third. In every case a copy of one of the works of the Writings was given. After the awards, the students reciprocated with huge boxes of chocolates for the two ministers and their wives - a very touching testimonial indeed!
The teachers and staff innocently trusted that such a long and exciting evening would so exhaust the young people that they would not have the strength to get into mischief during their last night. Alas, this was true of all but the senior boys, as the two ministers discovered in the morning when they tried to find their cars. Indeed it was the exhaustion of the staff that made it sleep soundly through all manner of things that would otherwise have aroused it to action. But these we quietly pass by.
On Saturday morning we cleaned the school and packed our miscellaneous wheeled vehicles for home. But the summer school did not end there, as the parents of the young people soon discovered when they found the tales of the school told and retold; and noted that the younger generation is coming more and more to enter intellectually, and with the heart, into the doctrines of the New Church. We may not have our high school, but in a modest form we have New Church higher education in England.
RECEIVED FOR REVIEW 1961

RECEIVED FOR REVIEW 1961

THE HOLY SUPPER. By George de Charms. With Notes by Robert S. Junge. General Church Publication Committee, Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania, 1961. Paper, pp. 42. Price, 5O cents.

565

NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS 1961

NOTES ON THE CALENDAR READINGS Rev. ORMOND ODHNER 1961

     Noah is treated of at length in the daily readings for December. By him, of course, is signified the Ancient Church, but especially the Ancient Church in its beginnings; for there is definite indication in the Writings that the Ancient Church was fully established only among gentiles with whom "there had been no church before."*
* AC 2986.
     The people signified by Noah were descendants of the Most Ancient Church. They were, indeed, the remnant of that church; perverted, but not as badly so as the others. With them, remains had not been destroyed, and from these they retained something of rational truth and natural good something of integrity. The Lord could therefore save them from the flood of evil and falsity that then swept the earth and wiped out the rest of humanity.
     In them the Lord effected an actual new formation in the human mind. Previously, with the most ancients, the will and understanding had been united, and men could understand only what they loved. But now man's inherited loves were evil, which meant that he could understand nothing but falsities. In the church Noah, however, following the separation of the understanding from the will, the same condition prevailed as with us today. Though born loving evil, we nevertheless can understand truths, and through the remains implanted in us we can compel ourselves to obey them. Gradually, as we do this, the Lord builds up in our understanding a love of those truths - a heavenly proprium which seals off the old evil will, just as Noah sealed off the lower stories of his ark from the upper. Thus, in that upper story, there is formed that which the Writings define as conscience.
     Gradually, as the Ancient Church spread out over the lands of the Fertile Crescent and beyond, its store of truths increased. From the beginning it had possessed the correspondential allegories and perhaps the lists of correspondences which "Enoch" had gathered from the Most Ancient Church. Further revelations now came from the Lord through angels and spirits, and at last there came into being what the Writings call the Ancient Word. From that Word and this church rays of the light of truth penetrated to far-distant nations; and this, we know, gave rise to the general common sense and the remains of truth found in so many heathen religions today, so many centuries after the true Ancient Church had perished in eternal death.

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AND PEACE ON EARTH 1961

AND PEACE ON EARTH Editor 1961

NEW CHURCH LIFE
OFFICE OF PUBLICATION, LANCASTER, PA
Published Monthly By
THE GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM
BRYN ATHYN P.A
Editor - - Rev. W Cairns Henderson, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
Business Manager - - Mr. L. E. Gyllenhaal, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

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

TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION $5.00 a year to any address, payable in advance. Single copy, 50 cents.
The anomaly between the state of the world and the birth that will be celebrated this month is no greater, qualitatively, than it was when the Lord came. Then, as now, cruel oppression and hopeless slavery were the lot of many. Hunger and want were grim realities for some. Children were born into uncertainty, if not to misery. Ruthlessness and corruption, exploitation and veniality, dull apathy and selfish indifference, crime and sordidness, all were there. Fear of the known, and of the unknown, was ever present. Yet those who loved and followed the Lord in simplicity when He came received an inner peace that enabled them to face tranquilly the turbulent world in which they lived, and which caused them to realize that He gave not as the world gives.
Peace at home and abroad, much as it is to be desired, is not an essential condition for reception of spiritual peace: the peace the Lord came to initiate at His advent and which He now offers fully in His second coming. Peace on earth, spiritual peace in the natural mind, is not produced by anything that affects the mind from without, and its reception is therefore not conditional upon a favorable external environment. It inflows from within, from the Lord through heaven; and it is granted to those who seek it through regeneration in the situation in which they are, not waiting passively for an ideal situation in which it may come. Thus the promise of peace on earth is a reality, not a mockery! Those who receive it are not exempt from adversity or indifferent to its causes. But they have confidence that the Lord rules all things, and therefore have no solicitude about things to come.

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ELEMENTS IN THE SUPPER 1961

ELEMENTS IN THE SUPPER Editor 1961

     Recently we were asked why, in the Holy Supper, the bread is given before the wine, although the bread corresponds to good and the wine to truth. To say that we follow the order established by the Lord in instituting the sacrament, while true, does not answer the question. It merely transfers it to the reason for that order, and the answer lies in the correspondence of the elements and in the related doctrine.
     The bread of the Holy Supper corresponds to love and good, the wine to wisdom and truth. Certainly, and this thought prompted the question, we must receive the spiritual truth of the Word into our lives before we can become good. But the deeper truth is that unless the Lord first gave us good, we would never receive any truth whatsoever! Unless the good of remains were implanted in infancy, long before any truth can be acquired, we would never have any desire to learn the truth of the Word, to understand it, and to receive it into our lives. Furthermore it is only when man has received the good of charity from the Lord that he can be given genuine wisdom. So the order in which the elements are administered follows the inner reality, that good precedes truth, rather than the appearance that good follows truth.
     Another reason for that order may be seen in the teaching that the Holy Supper was instituted to represent the Lord's love toward the universal human race and the reciprocal love of man toward Him. In this series the bread represents the Divine good of the Divine love which is from the Divine Human, and the wine represents man's reciprocation - which follows his reception of the good of love from the Lord.
     While the elements of the Holy Supper are under discussion, it might be well to observe that the celebrant does not bless the bread and the wine. It is true that the rubric in the Liturgy directs him to do so, and it must be admitted that this is unfortunate. The word, bless, can mean, give thanks, as in the scriptural "Bless the Lord, 0 my soul." It can also be used as in the Christian grace before meat: "Bless this food to our use." But the words, "Blessing the bread," are more likely to be taken literally than as meaning, Invoke the Lord's blessing upon it; and we cannot afford ambiguity here because any misunderstanding might have very serious consequences.
     What is meant by Divine blessing is such that inanimate objects cannot be blessed. Only human minds can receive the Lord's blessing. The bread and wine of the Holy Supper are set apart for a specific purpose, and only in the sense of being so dedicated to a use may they be said to be consecrated. They are, and remain, bread and wine; undergoing no change in their substance or nature.

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DOCTRINE AND THE LAYMAN 1961

DOCTRINE AND THE LAYMAN Editor 1961

     It is accepted without question in the General Church that the formulation of doctrine for the church is a priestly function. We believe that a church is in a state of disorder when it looks to the studies of the laity to bring out new concepts and discover fresh applications of doctrine. Yet any idea that the laity has faith in the faith of the priesthood would be contrary to the spirit and teaching of the Writings; as would the interposition of the priesthood between the man of the church and the Heavenly Doctrine, the denial of full and free access to the Writings, or the assertion that the layman's efforts to study them is so fraught with danger that it should be discouraged.
     There is in the Writings a considerable body of teaching which shows that the laity has a definite function and responsibility in relation to doctrine. Thus we are taught that there are two ways of acquiring the things of faith - through doctrinal things and through the Word; that is, through the derived doctrine of the church or the doctrine presented and through the Writings themselves. Everyone in the church first acquires truths from doctrinal things, and should do so, because as yet he lacks the judgment to see them for himself from the Word. But if truths are not to remain scientifics, and if his faith is not to be merely in those who have taught him and have formulated doctrine, he must go to the Writings for himself when he has judgment.
     Now it might be argued that these conditions will all be met by the layman's reading the Writings systematically and consecutively. Yet we are warned that no one ought to remain blindly in the literal sense of the Word, but ought to form true doctrine for himself from the Word. The layman must seek, humbly, to draw from the Writings doctrine that will guide him in his personal regeneration; and according to the needs of his occupation, his ability and training, and the time at his disposal, he must seek out by study the principles that relate to his function and strive to see their application. Nor do we regard it as wrong for a layman who delights in studies to present them as a point of view to be considered by his peers and as one that may aid their thinking.
     This is not something that will displace or compete with the priestly use. Nor will it breed a wary attitude that refuses to take anything as true or to accept a statement until it has been checked! Rather is it a responsibility and function that, when rightly accepted, will enable the layman to bring to priestly instruction a mind well furnished with ordered ideas which can respond intelligently to the teaching that is given. For the Word is to be searched from an affection of learning what is true, and that affection does not unite with negative attitudes.

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DIRECTORY 1961

     GENERAL CHURCH OF THE NEW JERUSALEM

     Officials and Councils

Acting Bishop: Right Rev. Willard D. Pendleton
Secretary: Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner

     CONSISTORY

     Acting Bishop Willard D. Pendleton

Right Rev. George de Charms; Revs. A. Wynne Acton; Elmo C. Acton; Karl R. Alden; Gustaf Baeckstrom; Bjorn A. H. Boyesen; Alan Gill; W. Cairns Henderson, Secretary; Hugo Lj. Odhner; Norman H. Reuter.

     "The General Church of the New Jerusalem"
     (A corporation of Illinois)

     "General Church of the New Jerusalem"
     (A corporation of Pennsylvania)

     OFFICERS OF BOTH CORPORATIONS

Right Rev. Willard D. Pendleton, President
Right Rev. George de Charms, Vice President
Mr. Stephen Pitcairn, Secretary
Mr. L. E. Gyllenhaal, Treasurer

     BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE ILLINOIS CORPORATION
     AND
     BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF THE PENNSYLVANIA CORPORATION

Right Rev. George de Charms; Right Rev. Willard D. Pendleton; Mr. Daric E. Acton; Kesniel C. Acton, Esq.; Mr. Reginald S. Anderson; Mr. Carl Hj. Asplundh; Mr. Edwin T. Asplundh; Mr. Lester Asplundh; Mr. Robert G. Barnitz; Mr. Geoffrey E. Blackman; Randolph W. Childs, Esq.; Mr. Gordon D. Cockerell; Robert I. Coulter, Esq.; Edward H. Davis, Esq.; George C. Doering, Esq.; Mr. Murray E. Hill; Robert C. Hilldale, Esq.; Mr. John Howard; Mr. James F. Junge; Mr. Edward H. Kitzelman; Mr. Robert Leeper; Alexander H. Lindsay, Esq.; Mr. H. Keith Morley; Philip C. Pendleton, Esq.; Raymond Pitcain, Esq.; Mr. F. G. Colley Pryke; Mr. Gilbert M. Smith; Mr. David H. Stebbing; Mr. Marvin V. Stevens; Arthur Synnestvedt, Esq.
     Honorary Members: Dr. Marlin W. Heilman, Mr. Sidney E. Lee.

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     The Clergy

     Bishops

DE CHARMS, GEORGE. Ordained June 28, 1914; 2nd Degree, June 19, 1916; 3rd Degree, March 11, 1928. Dean of the Bryn Athyn Church. President Emeritus, Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
PENDLETON, WILLARD DANDRIDGE. Ordained June 18, 1933; 2nd Degree, September 12, 1934; 3rd Degree, June 19, 1946. Acting Bishop of the General Church. Acting Pastor of the Bryn Athyn Church. President, Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     Pastors

ACTON, ALFRED WYNNE. Ordained June 19, 1932; 2nd Degree, March 25, 1934. Pastor of the Durban Society, Superintendent of the South African Mission. Address: 129 Muagrave Road, Durban, Natal, South Africa.
ACTON, ELMO CARMAN. Ordained June 14, 1925; 2nd Degree, August 5,1928. Pastor of the Immanuel Church, Glenview, Illinois. Address: 12 Park Drive, Glenview, Illinois.
ALDEN, KARL RICHARDSON. Ordained June 19, 1917; 2nd Degree, October 12, 1919. Pastor-in-Charge, General Church Religion Lessons. Address: Bryn Athyn, Pa.
BAECKSTROM, GUSTAV. Ordained June 6, 1915; 2nd Degree, June 27, 1920. Address: Svedjevagen 20, Bromma, Sweden.
BOYESEN, BJORN ADOLPH HILDEMAR. Ordained June 19, 1939; 2nd Degree, March 30, 1941. Pastor of the Stockholm Society. Visiting Pastor of the Copenhagen, Gothenburg, Jonkoping and Oslo Circles. Editor of NOVA ECCLESIA. Address: Aladdinsvdgen 27, Bromma, Sweden.
CHILDS, GEOFFREY STAFFFORD. Ordained June 19, 1952; 2nd Degree, June 19, 1954. Pastor of the Carmel Church, Kitchener, Ontario. Address: 178 Bristol Street, Waterloo, Ontario, Canada.
CRANCH, HAROLD COVERT. Ordained June 19, 1941; 2nd Degree, October 25, 1942. Visiting Pastor to California. Address: 346 Riverdale Drive, Glendale 4, Calif.
FRANSON, ROY. Ordained June 19, 1953; 2nd Degree, January 29, 1956. Pastor of the groups at Dawson Creek, B. C., and Gorande Prairie, Alta., Canada. Visiting Pastor, Portland, Oregon, Spokane, Washington. Address: 1108 96th Avenue, Dawson Creek, British Columbia, Canada.
GILL, ALAN. Ordained June 14, 1925; 2nd Degree, June 19, 1926. Pastor of the Colchester Society. Address: 9 Ireton Road, Colchester, England.
GLADISH, VICTOR JEREMIAH. Ordained June 17, 1928; 2nd Degree, August 5, 1928. Address: 3508 Linneman Street, Glenview, Illinois.
HEINRICHS, DANIEL WINTHROP. Ordained June 19, 1957; 2nd Degree, April 6, 1958. Assistant to the Pastor of the Durban Society. Assistant to the Superintendent of the South African Mission. Address: 1 Mowbray Place, Musgrave Road, Durban, Natal, South Africa.
HEINRICHS, HENRY. Ordained June 24, 1923; 2nd Degree, February 8, 1925. Part-time Assistant to the Pastor of the Kitchener Society. Address: R. R. 3, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada.

571

HENDERSON, WILLIAM CAIRNS. Ordained June 10, 1934; 2nd Degree, April 14, 1935 - Secretary of the Council of the Clergy. Editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE. Visiting Pastor to New England. Professor of Theology, Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
HOLM, BERNARD DAVID. Ordained June 19, 1952; 2nd Degree, January 27, 1957. Visiting Pastor in South Ohio and to the Erie Circle. Address: 521 E. Sharon Avenue, Glendale, Cincinnati 46, Ohio.
JUNGE, RORERT SCHILL. Ordained June 19, 1955; 2nd Degree, August 11, 1957. Visiting Pastor to Arkansas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Louisiana and Texas. Address: 4141 Everett Street, Wheatridge, Colorado.
KING, LOUIS BLAIR. Ordained June 19, 1951; 2nd Degree, April 19, 1953. Pastor of the Pittsburgh Society. Visiting Pastor to the North Ohio Circle. Address: 299 Le Roi Road, Pittsburgh 8, Pa.
LIMA JOAO DE MENDONIA. Ordained, 1st and 2nd Degree, August 5, 1928. Pastor of the Rio de Janeiro Society. Address: R. Senador Vergueiro, 154, Apt. 1100, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
ODHNER, HUGO LJUNGBERG. Ordained June 28, 1914; 2nd Degree, June 24, 1917. Secretary of the General Church. Dean of the Theological School, Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
ODHNER, ORMOND DE CHARMS. Ordained June 19, 1940; 2nd Degree, October 11, 1942. Instructor in Religion and History, Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
PENDLETON, DANDRIDGE. Ordained June 19, 1952; 2nd Degree, June 19, 1954. Instructor in Religion, Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa.
PRYKE, MARTIN. Ordained June 19, 1940; 2nd Degree, March 1, 1942. Pastor of the Olivet Church, Toronto, Ontario, Canada, Visiting Pastor to the Montreal Circle. Address: 2 Lorraine Gardens, Islington, Ontario, Canada.
REUTER, NORMAN HAROLD. Ordained June 17, 1928; 2nd Degree, June 15, 1930. Pastor of the Detroit Society. Address: 280 East Long Lake Road, Troy, Mich.
RICH, MORLEY DYCKMAN. Ordained June 19, 1938; 2nd Degree, October 13, 1940. Visiting Pastor to the South-Eastern States. Address: 19820 N.E. 12th Court, Miami 62, Fla.
ROGERS, NORBERT HENRY. Ordained June 19, 1938; 2nd Degree, October 13, 1940. Pastor of the Advent Church, Philadelphia, Pa. Visiting Pastor to the New York and North Jersey Circles. Address: 5007 Penn Street, Philadelphia 24, Pa.
ROSE, FRANK SHIRLEY. Ordained June 19, 1952; 2nd Degree, August 2,1953. Assistant to the Pastor of the Colchester Society. Visiting Pastor to the isolated in Great Britain and to the Circles at Paris and The Hague. Address: 41 Ambrose Avenue, Colchester, England.
SANDSTROM, ERIK. Ordained June 10, 1934; 2nd Degree, August 4, 1935. Pastor of Michael Church, London, England. Address: 135 Mantilla Road, Tooting, London, SW. 17, England.
SCHNARR, FREDERICK LAURIER. Ordained June 19, 1955; 2nd Degree, May 12, 1957. Pastor of the Washington, D. C. Society. Visiting Pastor in North and South Carolina. Address: 5903 Pontiac Street, Berwyn Heights, Md.
SIMONS, DAVID RESTYN. Ordained June 19, 1948; 2nd Degree, June 19, 1950. Assistant Pastor of the Bryn Athyn Church. Principal of the Bryn Athyn Elementary School. Address: Bryn Athyn, Pa.

572

STROH, KENNETH OLIVER. Ordained June 19, 1948; 2nd Degree, June 19, 1950. Assistant Pastor of the Bryn Athyn Church. Address: Bryn Athyn, Pa.
WEISS, JAN HUGO. Ordained June 19, 1955; 2nd Degree, May 12, 1957. Address: c/o Mr. Aug Weiss, Boreelstraat 16, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
WHITEHEAD, WILLIAM. Ordained June 19, 1922; 2nd Degree, June 19, 1926. Professor Emeritus of History, Academy of the New Church, Bryn Athyn, Pa.

     Ministers

ASPLUNDH, KURT HORIGAN. Ordained June 19, 1960. Assistant to the Pastor of the Pittsburgh Society. Address: 7023 Meade Street, Pittsburgh 8, Pa.
BOOLSEN, GUDMUND ULLRICH. Ordained June 19, 1961. Resident Minister of the Copenhagen Circle. Address: Frederiksborggade 34, Copenhagen K, Denmark.
CRANCH, RAYMOND GREENLEAF. Ordained June 19, 1922. Address: Bryn Athyn, Pa.
HOWARD, GEOFFREY HOWARD. Ordained June 19, 1961. Assistant to the Pastor of the Immanuel Church, Glenview, Illinois. Visiting Minister, Madison, St. Paul, Minneapolis Circles, St. Louis Group. Address: 2700 Park Lane, Glenview, Illinois.
ROSE, DONALD LESLIE. Ordained June 16, 1957. Minister of the Hurstville Society. Address: 86 Laycock Road, Hurstville, New South Wales, Australia.
TAYLOR, DOUGLAS MCLEOD. Ordained June 19, 1960. Resident Minister of the Tuson Circle. Visiting Minister to Phoenix, Arizona, and San Diego, California. Address: 2536 N. Stewart Avenue, Tucson, Arizona.

     Authorized Candidate

FIGUEIREDO, JOSE LOPES DE. Authorized, August 15, 1951. Address: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

     Authorized Leader

ENGELTJES, HERMAN G. Authorized, November 4, 1950. Address: Laan van Eik en Duinen 206, The Hague, Holland.

     British Guiana Mission
     Pastor-in-Charge

ALGERNON, HENRY. Ordained, 1st and 2nd Degrees, September 1, 1940. Pastor of the General Church Mission in Georgetown, British Guiana. Address: 288 Middle Street, Georgetown 4, Demerara, British Guiana, South America.

     South African Mission
     Pastors

BUTELEZI, STEPHEN EPHRAIM. Ordained September 11, 1938; 2nd Degree, October 3, 1948. Pastor of the Hambrook Society. Address: Hambrook Bantu School, P/B, 912, Ladysmith, Natal, South Africa.

573

LUTULI, MAFA M. Ordained October 3,1948; 2nd Degree, April 13, 1958. Pastor of the Durban Society. Address: Plot 1701 Cleremont, P. O. Clernavile, Natal, South Africa.
MKIZE, SOLOMON B. Ordained August 21, 1938; 2nd Degree, October 3, 1948. Pastor of the Greylingstad Society and District. Address: P. O. Box 38, Greylingstad, Transvaal, South Africa.
NZIMANDE, BENJAMIN ISHMAEL. Ordained August 21, 1938; 2nd Degree, October 1948. Assistant to the Superintendent. Pastor of the Deepdale and Bulwer Districts. Address: Polela Health Centre, P/B Bulwer, Natal, South Africa.
SABELA, PETER HANDRICK. Ordained August 21, 1938; 2nd Degree, October 3, 194; Pastor at Ohlange New Farm. Address: Ohlange Institute, P/B Durban, Natal South Africa.
SIBEKO, PAUL PEFENI. Ordained October 3, 1948; 2nd Degree, March 23, 195; Pastor of the Alexandra Township Society. Address: 161 11th Avenue, Alexander Township, Johannesburg, Transvaal, South Africa.
ZUNGU, AARON. Ordained August 21, 1938; 2nd Degree, October 3, 1948. Pastor the Kent Manor Society. Address: Kent Manor, P/B Ntumeni, Zululand, South Africa.

     Ministers

MAQELEPO, ARMSTRONG. Ordained April 13, 1958. Minister of the Qucenstown, Quthing and Sterkstroom Societies. Address: Phahameng School, P. O., Quthing, Basutoland.
MBEDZI, PAULUS. Ordained March 23, 1958. Assistant at Alexandra Township. Address: 131 3rd Avenue, Alexandra Township, Johannesburg, Transvaal, South Africa.

     Societies and Circles

     Societies

ADVENT SOCIETY OF PHILADELPHIA     Rev. Norbert H. Rogers
BRYN ATHYN CHURCH                    Rt. Rev. Willard D. Pendleton (Acting)
CARMEL CHURCH OF KITCHENER, ONTARIO     Rev. Geoffry S. Childs
COLCHESTER SOCIETY, ENGLAND          Rev. Alan Gill
DETROIT SOCIETY, MICHIGAN          Rev. Norman H. Reuter
DURBAN SOCIETY, NATAL, SOUTH AFRICA     Rev. A. Wynne Acton
HURSTVILLE SOCIETY, N. S. W., AUSTRALIA     Rev. Donald L. Rose
IMMANUEL CHURCH OF GLENVIEW, ILLINOIS     Rev. Elmo C. Acton
MICHAEL CHURCH, LONDON, ENGLAND     Rev. Erik Sandstrom
OLIVET CHURCH, TORONTO, ONTARIO     Rev. Martin Pryke
PITTSBURGH SOCIETY               Rev. Louis B. King
RIO DE JANEIRO SOCIETY, BRAZIL     Rev. Joao de M. Lima
SHARON CHURCH, CHICAGO, ILLINOIS     Rev. Elmo C. Acton (Supervisor)
STOCKHOLM SOCIETY, SWEDEN          Rev. Bjorn A. H. Boyesen
WASHINGTON SOCIETY, D. C.          Rev. Frederick L. Schnarr

574

     Circles Visiting Pastor or Minister

COPENHAGEN, DENMARK               Rev. Gudmund Boolsen
DENVER, COLORADO                    Rev. Robert S. Junge (Res.)
ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA               Rev. B. David Holm
FORT WORTH, TEXAS                    Rev. Robert S. Junge
THE HAGUE, HOLLAND               Rev. Frank S. Rose
JONKOPING, SWEDEN                    Rev. Bjorn A. H. Boyesen
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA               Rev. Harold C. Cranch (Res.)
MADISON, WISCONSIN               Rev. Geoffrey Howard
MIAMI, FLORIDA                    Rev. Morley D. Rich
MONTREAL, CANADA                    Rev. Martin Pryke
NEW YORK, N. Y.                    Rev. Norbert H. Rogers
NORTH JERSEY                    Rev. Norbert H. Rogers
NORTH OHIO                         Louis B. King
OSLO, NORWAY                    Rev. Bjorn A. H. Boyesen
PARIS, FRANCE                    Rev. Frank S. Rose
ST. PAUL-MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA     Rev. Geoffrey Howard
SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA               Rev. Douglas McL. Taylor
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA          Rev. Harold C. Cranch
SOUTH OHIO                         B. David Holm
TUCSON, ARIZONA                    Rev. Douglas McL. Taylor (Res.)

     In order to avoid confusion, it seems well to observe, in the official records and the official journal of the General Church, the recognized distinctions between a "Society," a "Circle," and a "Group."
     A "Group' consists of all interested receivers of the Heavenly Doctrine in any locality who meet together for worship and mutual instruction under the general supervision of pastors who visit them from time to time.
     A "Circle" consists of members of the General Church in any locality who are under the leadership of a regular visiting Pastor appointed by the Bishop, and who are organized by their Pastor to take responsibility for their local uses in the interim between his visits. A Group may become a Circle when, on the recommendation of the visiting Pastor, it is formally recognized as such by the Bishop.
     A "Society" or local "Church" consists of the members of the General Church in any locality who have been organized under the leadership of a resident Pastor to maintain the uses of regular worship, instruction, and social life. A Circle may become a Society by application to the Bishop and formal recognition by him.
     WILLARD D. PENDLETON,
          Acting Bishop.

     Committees of the General Church
                              Chairmen
British Finance Committee          Rev. Alan Gill
General Church Publication Committee     Rev. Hugo Lj. Odhner
General Church Religion Lessons     Rev. Karl R. Alden
Committee on the Liturgy          Rt. Rev. George de Charms
Military Service Committee          Mrs. Philip C. Pendleton
Nominating Committee                Mr. H. Keith Morley

575

Orphanage Committee               Mr. R. W. Childs
Pension Committee                    Mr. Edward H. Davis
Salary Committee                    Mr. Philip C. Pendleton
Sound Recording Committee          Rev. W. Cairns Henderson
South African Mission Committee     Rt. Rev. George de Charms
Visual Education Committee          Mr. William R. Cooper

Address all Committees, Bryn Athyn, Pa. except the following:
Rev. Alan Gill          9 Ireton Road, Colchester, England
Mr. H. Keith Morley     14 Ballantyne Court, Islington, Ontario, Canada

576

Church News 1961

Church News Various 1961

     KITCHENER, ONTARIO

     A new era is about to begin for the Kitchener Society. Our old building has been sold, and when we move out next year the whole society will take many happy memories with it. Most of us received our elementary schooling in the square white building and are quite used to it.
     We hope to start shortly on a new building on the John Evens farm, which is a few miles south of Kitchener. Lots will be available for any New Church family which wishes to become a member of the newest community. Although it will be small at the start, we feel confident that the future will see the development of a thriving Canadian New Church center.
     A contest was held to decide upon a name for the development company that will subdivide the land and look after the selling of lots. The winning name, suggested by Miss Loella Eby, was Cholon. It denotes beauty, or the serving of a good purpose.
     Although our moving project is foremost in our minds, and entails endless meetings for some of the committees, our regular uses are being carried on and a number of visitors have been welcomed and enjoyed. On February 3, we held our Swedenborg's birthday celebration and the Rev. Martin Pryke gave a paper on "The Method of Giving Revelation." The Rev. Fred Schnarr also visited us in February and at a special meeting addressed us on "Responsibility for Mental States." In March the Sons imported the Rev. Dandridge Pendleton for their annual Ladies Night, and he gave a very interesting talk which he titled "Color, Feminine Beauty, and Research." The Rev. Jan Weiss visited us for a weekend in April, reviving old friendships. He preached on Sunday morning and also gave a talk on his recent book for parents.
     Bishop and Mrs. Willard D. Pendleton visited us on May 5, and at a banquet in the church hall that evening Bishop Pendleton explained that the purpose of the episcopal office is to provide for unity in the vision of truth throughout the church. The following night a social-reception was held and we showed off some of our local talent in a variety type show.
     At the end of May, the Rev. and Mrs. Karl Alden were in Kitchener for a few days. Into that brief period Mr. Alden squeezed a doctrinal class and a sermon, as well as meeting and talking with the Epsilon Society and the women who are concerned with the Religion Lessons.
     Our own members have also been busy at society functions. In January, Mr. John Kuhl gave a paper on music to the Women's Guild, and Mr. Bob Schnarr talked to Theta Alpha on the history of the New Church in Eastern Canada. The following month Mr. Stanley Hill addressed the Men's Assembly on "Aspects of Politics"; and at the New Church Day banquet the speakers were the Rev. Geoffrey Childs and Messrs. Dirk van Zyverden and Stanley Hill. Their subjects were, respectively, growth in the church, the presence of the Lord in New Church schools, and seeking for truth in the Writings to guide our actions.
     There have also been two weddings this year, and we are pleased to see that both couples are staying in Kitchener. The marriage of Vivian Kuhl and Mel Riepert took place on March 20, and that of Carolyn Kuhi and Walter Bellinger on May 20.
     During the summer the lake at Conestoga Dam took on a more New Church look as several new cottages went up. On any Sunday afternoon you could get a preview of our community as people strolled up and down the road from one cottage to another.
     GILBERT NIALL

577

     WASHINGTON, D. C.

     Looking back over the past year, we are aware of a change in attitude on the part of the Society that has occurred during this, the second year since we acquired our own church building. This change was noted by our pastor, the Rev. Frederick L. Schnarr, at our annual meeting in January, 1961, when he said:
     "Whenever a church group, or any other group for that matter, enters into a new state and a new activity, there is a sense of challenge which causes everyone to put forth unusual effort. In the first states, there are few works that seem insurmountable. In the first enthusiasm, obvious jobs are completed, problems are at least temporarily solved, and new uses to establish the New Church are entered into with sincerity and conviction. But now we must think of entering into a new state which involves more real effort than the former. As our activities and uses crystallize and become more routine, something of the first enthusiasm and inspiration tends to wear off. Now we begin to analyze and re-examine our various efforts and uses, for to continue them requires more of a reflected and deliberate conviction."
     This new state has indeed required of us more real effort than the former. But it has brought its own reward in a new sense of permanence and stability that heretofore had not existed.
     During the month of September, 1960, we resumed the regular Friday Suppers and doctrinal classes which had been discontinued during the summer. Mr. Schnarr presented two doctrinal series during the season: the first, an excellent treatment of the subject of self-examination; the second, a series on our responsibility for our physical and mental states and disorders which was an expansion of the theme of his address to the Bryn Athyn Society during the week of the Council Meetings.
     Besides the regular services and doctrinal classes, we were delighted to have with us on various occasions visiting ministers and one candidate. Mr. Geoffrey Howard, then in his third year of theological school, gave a class on "Inspiration" in which he discussed the ways in which the various prophets and the evangelists were inspired by the Lord. His sermon on the priesthood the following day was equally instructive and enlightening. Mr. Howard returned to Washington in December, at which time his doctrinal class dealt with the Hebrew and Greek sources of the King James Version of the Bible, as well as more recent findings which indicate that that version is substantially correct.
     On November 26, the Right Rev. Willard D. Pendleton was the main speaker at a Sons' sponsored banquet here in Washington. His address on "The Concept of God in the Educational System" was fascinating. We are deeply indebted to Bishop Pendleton for the extensive study he has made in this field; a study which has culminated in his book, Foundations of New Church Education - the text for one of our young people's series a few years ago.
     The Rev. Morley Rich visited our Society over the weekend of January 29. His doctrinal class marked our commemoration of Swedenborg's birthday, and the theme was how the Divine Providence prepared Swedenborg for his use as a revelator, which preparation was the result of the evolution of knowledge from the beginning of the world to Swedenborg's day. This occasion also marked our second joint meeting with members of the Convention Society in Washington. The following day, Mr. Rich preached a sermon on "Our Angelic Guardians" in which he stressed the uses that angels perform to men during sleep, which uses can be performed more effectively in proportion as man has a basis in genuine truth.
     The Rev. and Mrs. W. Cairns Henderson came to Washington for the weekend of April 7. Following the supper on Saturday evening, Mr. Henderson spoke to us in his capacity as editor of NEW CHURCH LIFE, stressing the uses that this publication serves to the church and pointing out that, as a repository of church records and documents, it is the official organ of the church.

578

He mentioned also that its policy, while liberal, is formulated and carried out within the framework of the beliefs of the General Church. Mr. Henderson conducted the service on Sunday and preached a sermon on "Wisdom," reminding us that while man must seek to become truly wise as of himself, he must acknowledge that wisdom is not man's but the Lord's with him,
     During that same weekend we were delighted to extend our congratulations and very best wishes to Miss Cecy de Mendonca Lima and Mr. James Boatman, whose betrothal was announced on April 8.
     The annual meeting of the Washington Church of the New Jerusalem took place on January 6, 1961. The various reports, including those of the pastor, secretary, treasurer and committee heads, all testified to a continued increase in membership, uses to be performed, and obligations to be met. These reports not only gave us cause for pride in our past accomplishments but also made clearly evident the need for renewed dedication and effort in furthering the uses of the church.
     Once again this year we were afforded the privilege of having the senior class from the Academy visit our Society while on the annual trip to Washington. The senior boys, together with the boys of the junior class, arrived on March 19, The boys were welcomed by the Society at a buffet supper at the church, during which the guests introduced themselves and told something of their plans for the future. A similar supper was held for the senior girls on April 30, after which Col. William Kintner spoke to us on the uses to be performed by New Church women in relation to the present world situation. He stressed, among other points, that it is only in the free world that the Writings have been accepted and the New Church established.
     Our membership continues to increase, although we have suffered the loss of several families. Col. and Mrs. William Kintner, Mr. and Mrs. Norwin Synnestvedt, and Mr., and Mrs. Robert Caldwell moved to Bryn Athyn during the summer, while Mr. and Mrs. John Caldwell left for Billings, Montana. All of them were longtime members of the Society and their absence will be felt in many ways. To offset these departures, however, we have been delighted to welcome several new people to the area, among them Dr. and Mrs. William Radcliffe, Mr. and Mrs. Charles Runion, Mr. Dan Ebert, Mr. Robert Newkirk, and Miss Gwenn Synnestvedt.
     The first wedding to be held in our church building took place on June 18, with the marriage of Mr. David Doering and Miss Doris Elaine Bachmann. Not too long thereafter, the marriage of Dr. George Stebbing and Miss Mary Rodriguez was solemnized, on September 5.
     GAEL PENDLETON
NEW CIRCLE 1961

NEW CIRCLE 1961

On October 25, 1961, the group meeting in San Diego, California, was recognized by the Acting Bishop of the General Church as the San Diego (California) Circle of the General Church of the New Jerusalem, under the pastoral care of the Rev. Douglas Taylor as visiting minister.

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General Church of the New Jerusalem 1961

     Announcements

     ANNUAL COUNCIL MEETINGS

     The Annual Meetings of the Council of the Clergy and of the Board of Directors of the Corporations of the General Church have been scheduled to take place in the week of January 22nd to 27th, 1962, at Bryn Athyn, Pennsylvania. HUGO LJ. ODHNER Secretary